Prologue

 

In the time of the 72nd ring

“No, I do not know what they may say,” Domaren admitted. He glanced at Isnyra, who seemed locked in a forward stare, and then back to the enormous doors. He swung his arm back and pounded on them.

Isnyra kicked the door.

“This is ridiculous,” she hissed.

Domaren added his complaint.

“What is the delay? Open the doors!” He yelled. After one last bang, he tilted his head back towards Isnyra.

“And honestly, I’m not sure I know what I would say if I heard the news that we are about to deliver,” he uttered with a measured concern.

The two godknights listened as the massive beams slid out from their typical positions of prone reinforcement. After dense thuds and bangs, the doors shook and cracked open, squeaking and groaning on their ancient hinges. Domaren and Isnyra marched through them the moment there was room, just as they and the other knights had countless times before. The knights then set off at a brisk pace while a guard shuffled along in a hasty attempt to keep up.

“Lord Domaren, Lady Isnyra,” the Prumo Hald guard pleaded. “Please, this is highly irregular,” the guard said, each subsequent syllable escalating with agitation. He motioned for other guards back in the corridor to join him. As they stepped out from the shadow, their movements sent the particulate in the air whooshing and scattering about. After rushing over, the contingent of six guards stepped in front of the godknights and blocked their path.

“I must insist you wait here while we confirm your visitation with the Kihdai,” the original guard said firmly. His hand rested on his sword’s pommel, but he had not yet drawn it. Domaren looked down and smiled as the guard repositioned his hand.

“You can insist all you like,” Domaren said. His voice dripped with annoyed emphasis. “But the Kihdai instructed me and Isnyra to report back to them at the earliest viable opportunity as to the status of the errand they charged us with. Do you understand?”

The guard’s hand slowly slipped down off the pommel towards the handle while Domaren tracked his movements. He then turned his head enough only to lock eyes quickly with Isnyra.

“I absolutely understand your statement, Lord Domaren, but we receive our directives from the Kihdai just as you do. Now, if you can respect the instructions they have given us, we will simply confer with our mutual… superiors… and arrange to escort you as soon as they have given us permission to do so.”

Domaren had a reply, but inspected the entire group of guards for their hand placements instead. Each now had their hands on their weapons. Their bodies were tense and ready. Feigning a sigh in order to look down but towards Isnyra, he saw a sharp light growing brighter by the moment.

“Now Isnyra!”

Before the knight’s name finished leaving his lips, Isnyra’s knightstone unleashed a torrent of blinding light across the entire expanse of Prumo Hald’s main hall. Almost as quickly as the light shot out, it subsided. Standing before the guards now were Domaren, holding Verikta, his ancient weapon, and Isnyra, Godknight of the Dragons, in her true, red dragon form.

“Now, you must truly let us pass,” Isnyra said. Her vocal cords had morphed and swelled with her transformation from human to dragon. As she spoke, her normal volume smacked against the walls and rattled iron fixtures. She also sent paintings sliding on their mounts to just shy of level.

Domaren slid his feet from his preparatory stance into an offensive one.

“Your delay is costing lives,” Domaren said. “Stand aside.”

Before the provocations escalated to violence, however, a voice bellowed from the opposite end of the hall.

“Isnyra?”

Domaren held Verikta over his head but let his head fall to the side to peer between the guards. A large silhouette, approximately twice as tall as Domaren, loomed imposingly in the threshold of the distant room’s firelight.

“Where are the others?” The distant figure asked. “Please, come speak with us. Tell us what you have learned. Guards, thank you, but let them pass.”

Domaren let his double-handed grip break as he slowly lowered Verikta. But as his arms fell, the corners of his mouth raised. Without saying a word, Domaren reiterated his authority with the guards, and slid Verikta into her scabbard.

“Come now,” the figure said. “We must have the latest news.” As he pivoted to return to the room he entered from, he heaved into another set of interior doors to open them far wider than needed only for himself. “Man and dragon, come along.”

Isnyra walked around the group of guards while Domaren walked straight forward and split them down the middle. The guards said nothing as the knights forced them to step back or bump into their fellow guards. Domaren held the eyes of the only guard that had spoken with them and continued silently reminding them of their place. After a few seconds and once Domaren felt he had made his point, he turned and jogged to catch up with Isnyra. Isnyra turned her massive head and neck just as he caught up with her.

“Maybe we can discuss the topic of Prumo Hald guards needlessly delaying godknights from seeing to their business,” she whispered. But even in a whisper, Isnyra’s voice carried.

“What? Yes, perhaps,” the waiting figure replied. “But that isn’t quite as pressing as other news I hope you have for us.”

“Yes, of course,” Isnyra said in her normal, rumbling, alto voice.

The two knights finally arrived at the threshold of the next room and could make out the figure whose voice they were confident they had identified. Craeas was the one who had welcomed them. The form he had chosen at the birth of the virtues was that of a human, though somewhat augmented in size and stature.

“Kihdai Craeas,” Domaren said after stopping to bow.

Isnyra followed suit with a head bow of her own. “Kihdai Craeas.”

“Hello friends, yes, come, come,” he said. “Come in. Where are the others?”

“The answer to that forms the bulk of our news, Craeas,” Isnyra said.

“I see,” answered the Kihdai. “Follow me. Let’s share your news with the others as well.”

Craeas turned and marched towards the center of the sprawling and sparse room. As Domaren and Isnyra followed, they noticed the other Kihdai sitting in their massive but plain thrones, as they usually do when discussing matters of their creation. But whether they had been speaking about unknown topics, Domaren and Isnyra could not determine as they approached the center of the room, for none of the Kihdai spoke. They merely turned their heads and watched their visitors step closer.

The responsibility of filling the silence fell to the popping and crackling of a substantial fire feature in front of the thrones. Running in a circular ditch a few meters in front of the Kihdai, the fire basked the gods in a gently wavering wealth of light. A bulky chandelier made of iron, matched in circumference to the fiery ring below, dangled freely from an anchor high above. The large iron ring accommodated some hundreds of candles. Layers of overlapping and dried wax drippings caked the sides and obscured large portions of the fixture’s metal.

“Please, knights,” Craeas suggested, “enter the circle and tell us what you have learned.”

The duo obliged as they were told and proceeded towards the fire circle as Craeas returned to his throne. Domaren hopped easily over the fire with Isnyra following quickly after. The cavernous chamber and distance between thrones accommodated dragons easily. With another two dozen human paces, the two knights reached the center of the circle.

“Thank you for coming to us with whatever news you may have,” Craeas said. “Please, begin when you are ready.”

“Why have only two of you come?” Another Kihdai, Heiluna asked. Her assumed form was that of a seaver, a smooth-haired bipedal race with a massive tail.

“That is our news, Kihdai Heiluna,” Domaren replied. His words came slowly, and with a weight that pulled his head down as he spoke. After looking to Isnyra as if still in disbelief, he continued. “It seems that the source of the uprisings across Stä Bläsjä are our some of our very own knights.”

The dwarf Kihdai roared as he shoved himself up out of his throne. “What? What evidence do you have of this?”

“A large, combined force confronted us when we arrived in Mashka, Kihdai Taedon. Tens of thousands from most races as far as we could tell.” Isnyra paused to let the initial wave of unfortunate news settle before continuing.

Her next words carried with them a melancholy lilt as if still in disbelief, herself.

“Domaren and I had spoken with the other knights just days before and agreed to meet them in Mashka before traveling further east to investigate various revolts, but… that meeting never happened. At least not as we had discussed previously.”

Heiluna, who had vacated her throne as well, paced in slow circles around it. Holding her hands behind her, she stared down deep in thought, but stopped for another question. She hinted at having hope that the allegations were false, but wavered towards certainty.

“And how did you confirm the other knights were part of this opposing force?”

“We saw them, Kihdai,” Domaren replied. As with his previous comments, Domaren struggled with saying more. “We spoke with them. And after, we had to fight them.”

Craeas, Taedon, and the other Kihdai stopped pacing or peeled themselves away from their distractions of thought. Each Kihdai then snapped their eyes into sharp focus on the pair of knights at the center of the circle.

“We all planned to meet at an abandoned farm on the outside of town,” Isnyra said, before Domaren continued.

“And when I arrived on the morning we had agreed to, I only found Isnyra, waiting. There was also a child who had apparently been compensated to stand and wait for our arrival to deliver us a message.”

“The message conveyed what we would soon learn was a ruse,” Isnyra continued. “It said that an ambush had delayed the others and to come quickly to assist. Naturally, we raced off to the defense of our fellow knights. But when we arrived at the new location, we found the large army, formed and ready.”

Domaren took a turn in continuing the account.

“Many races were on the field, but we could not confirm definitively. I don’t recall seeing any dragons,” he said, nodding thankfully at Isnyra.

“After we relayed this news to you,” Isnyra said, “we were planning to confirm who isn’t part of this treachery and organizing a proper response.”

“Thank you. We can appreciate that,” Taedon said, “but you still haven’t mentioned specifics regarding the other knights.”

“Yes, I apologize,” Domaren said. “Upon seeing the army, Isnyra and I approached.”

“Just the two of you?” Craeas asked.

“Yes, Craeas. We wanted to learn more about what was transpiring, and felt comfortable we could repulse them, or flee if necessary.”

“Unfortunately,” Isnyra continued, “we ended up having to flee.”

Domaren nodded at his fellow godknight, and then at the Kihdai before resuming.

“After crossing the field and closing the distance between the gathered army and ourselves, the other knights stepped out from behind the front ranks.”

Incredulous at what she must have felt were impending revelations, Heiluna dropped her crossed arms and stomped towards Domaren and Isnyra. As she stepped wide over the recessed band of fire, she folded her large tail against her back to protect it. Once on the interior of the circle, she let her armored appendage slap back down to the ground before raising it back up slightly to its normal height while she walked. She marched over to the two knights and slowed only when she was within arm’s reach of them. She spit her next words out sharply and slowly while her face twitched to contain her anger.

“What… did… they… say?” She asked.

Domaren took a careful moment to gather his thoughts and consider how he would present them. Not out of intimidation or worry about how the Kihdai would treat him or Isnyra—knowing Heiluna reserved her anger for the others—but again, because he still had trouble believing what he was about to say.

“The other knights spoke of dissatisfaction, Kihdai,” Domaren said, respectfully. “They cited a growing concern for the welfare of their people, mismanagement of creation, and regarding the proxies, what they felt was an exploitation of their rank.”

Craeas turned towards Domaren and glared down at him with a manifest stare of hate. The truant knights were not there to receive his admonishment, but as Craeas blasted out in primordial rage, Domaren and Isnyra would temporarily do.

“Mismanagement?” Craeus shouted. He turned towards the other Kihdai as he flailed and continued his roaring tirade. As he boomed and yelled louder and moved about with added animation, he squeezed a fist and fanned the ring of flame so that it grew three times in height.

“How can those to whom we have given everything, aspire to such egregious levels of idiocy that they think they can take issue with us, over anything?”

The god’s thundering question tore through the halls of Prumo Hald’s corridors, his disgusted and furious volume eclipsing Isnyra’s earlier rattles and vibrations. Immediately following Craeus’ rhetorical question, Heiluna wasted no time in planning a response. Craeas released his fist and allowed the flames to return to normal.

“Where are these fools at currently?” Heiluna asked.

In an effort to reset his thoughts, Domaren blinked for the first time in what felt like decades. Glancing at Isnyra, he then swallowed only to wet his throat.

“We weren’t able to glean very many specifics—” Domaren attempted, but Taedon interrupted.

“Wait,” the dwarf Kihdai blurted. “What happened after they voiced their concerns? Was anything else said?”

Isnyra stammered slightly as she recalled the rest of the encounter.

“Oh, only that they had these concerns and that they wanted our help,” she said.

“Help with what?” Heiluna asked.

“Help with fighting you,” Domaren said after hesitating. “Fighting the proxies. An absolute rebellion.”

“And how did you respond?” Craeas asked with an unsettling softness.

“We absolutely rejected the notion,” Domaren said as he motioned at Isnyra. “We challenged them on their motives, their thinking, and not only told them we disagreed with their justification, but told them why they were wrong.”

For the first time since the conversation began, the Kihdai had no immediate reply. Isnyra concluded the story.

“We argued back and forth for a time,” she said, “but soon after that is when they gave their armies the order to charge. We fought for hours. At one point Domaren and I had become separated, but once we finally regrouped, we decided to break off and report what had transpired.”

Again, the room fell silent as the Kihdai considered the news, and undoubtedly considered their response. Breaking the silence, Isnyra spoke up once again.

“Kihdai, Domaren and I are loyal. We have confidence in you and are grateful for this existence. There are countless untold in the general population who feel the same way, and I know your proxies are of the same mind. Whatever action you wish taken, we will see to it.”

Domaren nodded at Isnyra’s prudence and her sentiment. “I agree with every word, absolutely.”

The dragon Kihdai turned and spoke his first words since the two knights first arrived.

“Good,” Kihdai Skuroth said, lingering on the word. “Good. And I’m sure we will want to discuss specific tactics, but I believe I speak for all Kihdai when I say we encourage you to conscript, recruit, or otherwise press anyone necessary for this cause. We will not tolerate rebellion.”

“Agreed,” Taedon boomed.

“Understood,” Domaren said. He was then prepared to let the conversation continue, but the notion of recruitment reminded him of an opportunity.

“I wonder, Kihdai,” he said. “There have been rumors for some time now, that there are some… daemons that wish to abandon their ways. To escape eternal purgatory…”

Heiluna bounced with a hearty a laugh.

“You can’t possibly be suggesting that we have anything to do with any of them,” she said.

Before she could continue, Skuroth responded.

“Their power… their decay magic… could potentially serve us as a significant benefit in this,” Kihdai Skuroth said. “Does anyone disagree?”

Craeas looked up from his thoughts, but returned to them just as quickly. There were no objections.

The two knights stood patiently and dutifully, waiting for their next command from their Kihdai. The Kihdai that had remained seated were all standing now. Some stared into the fire, pensive with thought, while others continued pacing. Finally, Craeas came to a halt, his ceased movement and loud, hearty step catching the attention of the others. He looked around at the faces of his fellow creators to measure their disposition as if silently asking for their agreement on what he was about to say. He then turned slowly to face the two knights and stepped towards them.

“Listen to each word that I am about to say and keep them close,” Craeas began. In contrast to his earlier rage, his tone had returned to its previous warmth and kindness. “Both of you should leave here knowing that we empower you and sanction you to acquire anything or enlist anyone,” he said as he motioned to Skuroth in acknowledgment of his suggestion, “and execute any task that you deem necessary to accomplish your charge to peacefully or violently dismantle any such attempt at a rebellion. It will fail. You will see to it. Negotiate agreements. Have treaties signed between nations. Get the proxies together. All of it. Assemble a response that has no equal, and that none can counter or overcome. Do not rest until you eliminate this threat. Educate them on the repercussions of their misplaced ambitions and ignorant assumptions. Deliver pain. Be the very definition of consequence and our unrelenting instruments of wrath.”

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