414
Addavein stood on the prow of the Dreadnought, alone, watching Mark land at his house in the city with his friends.
He took a deep breath.
Addavein felt centered in a way he hadn’t felt in well over a year.
“This was good. This is good.”
It was time to do even more good.
Addavein took to the skies, moving faster and faster, flickering the space around him with more magic than he ever could have used in his human life.
Within minutes he had crossed over the ocean to hover in the skies over his destination; a small city located on the northern shores of Empire Okuana. It was a relatively unknown location, but the spires that reached out from the farmlands, the strong walls, and the plentiful fields of grain and small villages scattered throughout the land, were all well made. This land held a great deal of cultural significance.
It was the Main Outpost of Xerkona.
It held the Palace of the Fates, and though some people liked to pretend it was ancient, it was only 200 years old. It was mostly a white dome on a castle-sized structure made of many such domes.
The three Fates stood at the top of the central dome.
Addavein had been expected.
Addavein landed in front of the three Fates, and each of them were like him. Dragons, but with mostly human forms. One was green, the other blue, the last one red. They wore white veils on their faces and their bodies, but the overall nature of their truth was not hidden at all.
They didn’t keep their wings, though; not like Addavein. Addavein was very proud of his wings, and how they served as fashion and function, being a part of him and also Power Level 100 in all ways.
Addavein wanted to tease the Fates about that, for Addavein found himself truly joyful to see people like him. A lot of histories had a lot of theories about how the Fates worked, how they came into existence at all, and calling them ‘hidden dragons of a different sort’ had always seemed marginally correct. But now Addavein knew the truth, and that truth was his own truth now.
But that wasn’t important at the moment.
Addavein happily said, “I expected Dominant to kill you all, but I am joyful to find myself wrong!”
“We did not plan this,” the first Fate said.
“We did not hope for this,” the second Fate said.
“But we will take advantage of it all the same, and you will too. You will be Addavein, forever more, talzarki to the Ascendant Inheritor. You will bring this world kicking and screaming into a new age of enlightenment, like the old age, and you will not repeat the mistakes of the past,” the third Fate said.
“But Dominant has killed us,” the first Fate said.
“A new Fate will need to rise,” the second Fate said.
“If you check the roof you will find a recording device, whereupon this message was written 3 days ago. We cannot guide you further, but Inheritors are beyond the touch of Fate, so there is hope, yet Dominant is coming for you and yours. He is coming for the Ascendant Inheritor. When he awakes, it will be an apocalypse for Aluatha. Good luck, Addavein,” the third Fate said.
“Be your past,” the first Fate said.
“Be your present,” the second Fate said.
“Be neither of those, and so, so much more,” the third Fate said.
And then a crack broke through one of the bricks below Addavein’s feet.
The illusions of the Fates flickered and faded, their astral bodies dissipating, their final message… done.
Addavein hadn’t even noticed that it had been a recording. It was so well made… Because of course it had been well made. They had likely foreseen something like this happening years ago. Maybe even when Addavein was first born. Maybe sooner. Or maybe the failed assassination of Mark had gotten the kaiju rolling.
“... This is not good,” Addavein muttered to himself.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on NovelFire.
Addavein spent a bare moment peering down through the stone of the dome, to the central room of the Fates.
Their bodies were scattered into blood and flesh across the walls.
Were their killers still here? Ah, yes.
Burrowed horrors were in the walls; things of flesh and bone and necromantic purpose, waiting for anyone to venture into the place so that they could be torn apart as well.
Addavein expanded his sight beyond the Home of the Fates. More flesh horrors lurked the ground under little patches of disturbed dirt and in the ceilings of villager homes, nestled in the rafters, and in the closets, hidden and waiting. Most of the village was empty, though. The Fates had gotten their people to leave, then? Seemed like they had. Not everyone chose to leave, though. Some stayed, and then they died, their bodies scattered across the floors of hallways, weapons uselessly broken, armor cleaved into pieces along with the bodies underneath that armor…
What’s this?
Some very tiny Dereks were in the offices of the Fates, pulling apart books and things and dodging flesh horrors. They were about 2 inches tall, all of them, and Addavein wondered what they had found.
Addavein didn’t blow their cover by talking to them, though. The flesh horrors were already annoyed at the books moving around, but the Dereks were hiding whenever the horrors came around, and the flesh horrors weren’t actually finding any Dereks at all. The horrors were currently acting autonomously.
If the flesh horrors saw or felt Addavein show up, then their controllers would surely pop an alarm.
Addavein did take the broken recording of the Fates, though, and then he left.
Addavein flew back to the settlement.
He found a Derek on the streets of the settlement and beckoned to him. The Derek easily walked toward Addavein, whereupon Addavein picked him up and flew them promptly to the Dreadnought, while other people wondered what was going on.
“I’ve never done it with a dragonperson, but I’m willing to try!” Derek said, grinning, as he stood on the open deck of the ship.
“Were you there for the event with the Fates?” Addavein asked, ignoring the offer.
“... er. Yes. You were… There?”
“I just came back. Had a disturbing message from them.”
Derek said, “There’s a dryad right outside of the village, buried deep and waiting to catch anyone that shows. I’m glad you didn’t disturb it.”
“I know how to hide… and you know how to hide, too, it seems.”
“Sally’s shrinking comes in really handy.”
“What did you see? Did you… did you see them die?”
Derek professionally said, “They alerted everyone in the village to leave, and then an hour later the bone killers came in. They popped up out of nowhere, out of the ground probably, and started killing. Not everyone left right away, so they had targets. The Fates didn’t leave at all. They stood in the center of their room… and they looked at me and told me something and then told me not to tell anyone. I’m wondering if I should, though. Anyway, uh… the bone killers came in and killed the Fates and the guys too loyal to leave. Ripped them apart. And then the killers went into the walls and floors and waited.”
“They’re called flesh horrors and they’re made from the people who die inside Okuana. They’re loyal to the Grove. They’re not all there, mentally. Mostly, they’re autonomous, but they will report on you if they see you, so don’t be seen.” Addavein asked, “Did you tell the Collective this? Mark?”
“Yes, and not yet. They told me to be really careful, but I’m being careful anyway. Mark is busy sleeping.” Derek asked, “Should I… tell you what they told me? I feel like I should.”
“Speak if you feel you must.”
“... If I say it, then it can’t be unsaid. It’s pretty simple, and you can probably guess it already, but it’s about the future; about what has to happen to make the System Reset possible.” Derek asked, “The thing about knowing the future is that it could be a self-fulfilling thing, right?”
“Common misconception,” Addavein said, “The future is always being written and no prognosticator is ever good enough to see too far ahead.”
“And yet, the Fates…” Derek said, leaving it at that.
“Make a choice, Derek.”
“... If I tell you this, then we go down a certain path, for sure.”
“Just spit it out already.”
“We have to kill Dominant. He’ll never vote for a System Reset.”
Addavein took this information in stride. “To be expected, really.”
“Yeah but… he could be less of an asshole… sometime? Right? Maybe if we pressure him enough?”
“Doubtful. Thank you for the update. Let me know if you find anything else out.”
“I don’t work for you… but, sure.”