Chapter 17: Lies that the tomorrows will be better than today
The conversation drifted elsewhere afterwards.
Trade routes, Cold Iron, the Northern weather, increasing roamer sightings near the wall, and many more topics.
By the time dinner ended, the sky outside had turned dark.
Lord Ferris rose first.
"I hope you enjoyed the meal."
"I did, I liked it very much in fact."
"Good."
The old man smiled and then added casually.
"Do try not to throw any more silverware at my children."
Jin nearly choked on his wine.
The old baron walked away before he could say anything.
✧ ✧ ✧
By the time Jin was returning to the room where he was staying, the courtyard had gone quiet and night had settled over the manor.
Moonlight reflected off the patches of frost that had formed across the stone pathways.
Winter was growing stronger the further north they traveled.
Jin stood near the training grounds.
A handful of soldiers were still practicing despite the cold. Steel rang against steel.
He observed them closely.
Jin had no experience using the sword or any combat for that matter. But still he could see that their movements were smooth, efficient, and disciplined.
Every strike looked very effortless.
And watching them made him realize the fact again.
He was weak.
Pitifully weak.
A single trained soldier could probably beat him senseless. He would have never considered something like this on Earth.
There - Strength wasn’t important.
But here?
Here, strength determines whether you live long enough to see tomorrow.
The realization made him uncomfortable.
’God damn it, Encrid. Why couldn’t you have trained a bit?’
It was just as he was complaining that he noticed.
A boy was standing watching the training ground, his eyes were swallowing every movement of the practicing soldiers.
He was observing every strike, stance, and footstep with great concentration.
Almost like a hungry beast.
It was Gus.
Jin looked at him for a moment, then looked back at the training rounds.
Gus hadn’t noticed him, and Jin didn’t bother to speak.
The cold wind moved through the courtyard, and both of them simply stood watching stronger men train.
Neither of them knew what the road ahead had in store for them.
✧ ✧ ✧
The Chamber looked like it had once been a temple.
Stone pillars stood here and there, cracked and worn by centuries, their surfaces scarred.
Dozens of candles burned around a circular platform carved into the center of the room. Their flames trembled despite the still air, casting long, distorted silhouettes across the walls.
A hooded figure knelt beside the platform.
"The pulse has weakened."
His voice echoed through the chamber.
Another figure approached, carrying a bronze bowl. The liquid inside shimmered in silver for a moment and shifted to red and then back to silver again.
"Let’s begin the third infusion"
The kneeling man dipped his fingers into the substance and traced symbols across the stone.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the entire platform vibrated.
A low hum spread through the chamber. Several acolytes immediately covered their ears and lowered their heads.
Several of them fell unconscious to the floor.
"Control yourself," an older voice commanded.
An old man emerged from the darkness holding a staff adorned with multiple rings at its tip.
Unlike others, he wore no hood.
His scalp was completely bald, covered in scars that spiraled around his skull.
He tapped his staff to the ground, and an energy surged from it, compressing the hum back into the platform it emerged from.
The acolytes visibly relaxed.
"The emperor’s hounds are searching every nook and border," he said calmly. "Three of our bases have already been discovered."
Silence answered him as no one dared to speak.
The old man approached the platform, and his pale eyes studied the runes.
"We can not delay it any longer.
His finger hovered over the symbols.
"The emperor is drunk on his authority, the nobles are high on their power."
He dipped his fingers into the bowl.
"They think they are safe beyond the wall and their armies are all-powerful."
He started drawing the symbols himself, and a strange energy started infusing into the platform.
A faint crack echoed from somewhere beneath the stone, which made the hooded man and the acolytes stiffen.
"They think that the crown creates authority."
There was another crack, and it was louder this time.
A few candles flickered out, and the room suddenly felt colder.
The old man’s expression, however, did not change.
"But they don’t know that the empire is built upon lies."
The humming grew stronger.
So strong that even with the old man’s power binding it - the acolytes were drooling white foam and falling unconscious.
"Lies that tomorrow will be better than today."
A sharp sound rang through the chamber. Several of the acolytes, including the hooded man, gasped.
A few of them stepped back in fear.
A thin line of crimson light had appeared across the center of the platform.
The kneeling man swallowed.
"High Seer...."
"Continue the process."
"The pressure is exceeding predictions."
The kneeling man continued to draw symbols over it even as he disagreed.
"Continue."
"The vessel may not survive."
"The old man’s lips curved into a smile.
"You underestimate the ancient beings too much."
The final seal was broken.
Silver liquid flooded through the carved channels.
All the runes got ignited, and the chamber shook violently.
Candles exploded one after another.
And a deafening cry echoed through the room.
It wasn’t from a human.
Not from an animal or a roamer either.
It was something older and something hungrier.
All the acolytes fell to their knees.
Some laughed, some screamed, and some others went completely crazy.
The crimson light intensified until it became impossible to look at directly at the platform.
The stone slab at its center finally couldn’t hold the pressure and split apart.
The old man stepped forward.
For the first time in decades, a genuine excitement appeared on his face.
"There you are."
The light slowly faded, and the chamber became silent.
And resting within the shattered stone was an egg the size of a man’s torso, its shell veined with glowing crimson cracks that pulsed like a beating heart!
✦ ✦ ✦