A Dream of Empire Ch. 010

Serious chapter / no intercourse warnings. Sorry it's been so long! You may need to re-read chapters 8 and 9 for context.

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Lord Talos of Evora

Dun Aysla, Unincorporated Imperial Territory

15^th of Sunfall, 1282 D.f.

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Talos awoke under a pile of lovingly placed furs in the center of a ruinous courtyard, surrounded by the warm bodies of two others. He glanced right, finding Alanna curled up sweetly with him under the furs. To his left, Tatiana, snug in her own bedroll. Fully clothed. Good.

The man groaned, realizing he must have fallen asleep during the sorceresses' endless discussions of magics. It had been a positively dull exchange to his ears, but he hadn't meant to drift off. At least Casiama had the love to summon a cascade of soft furs to warm them in the night.

He shifted a bit under the furs, trying to find a potential method of retreating from them without waking Alanna. After half a minute he knew there was no way out of her tight grip around his waist. He heard the soft words of a familiar elf behind him a moment later, sneaking up on him completely unexpectedly. As was her way.

"Talos," Casiama whispered happily. "Good morning."

Talos glanced skyward, barely finding a hint of sunlight. It was technically morning. The worst kind of morning. Had Casiama been waiting for him to wake?

"Morning," he grumbled softly. The elf strode to his left, wearing her full battle dress without the white-gold jewelry, except for the thin circlet on her head. She crouched beside him, placing her hands on her skirt.

"Faranya and I solved the final puzzle, but I will need to borrow Dawnbringer. May I take it?" Casiama whispered with a smile. Talos had already raised a palm towards his pack, where the glowing sword was laid, offering it to her without question.

"What's a sword gonna do?" he asked, noticing Tatiana's eyes already stirring from sleep. She woke mid-conversation.

"'By the Gods we were wrought, of the Gods we have sought.' Dawnbringer!" Casiama recited enthusiastically, just that much louder.

Talos shook his head. "I'm not following you, honey." The elf rose gracefully from her crouch.

"Wrought meaning 'built by', so... that fits, as Dawnbringer was hammered in Absolon's divine forge," she justified, walking towards Talos' pack.

"Supposedly."

"And sought meaning... the gods are looking for it. And we found it in Kianra's chamber, remember? Before we took it?"

Talos shrugged, forcing Alanna to stir adorably under the furs. Did the gods he didn't believe in care that he took their sword? Could it even be asked?

"Okay. Well, go ahead and try it out. Just... don't lose it," Talos replied with a rare hesitation. He had grown far too attached to the blade; Talos hadn't used his old bastard sword for the better part of a year now, and wouldn't ever appreciate returning to the mundane weapon. Not to mention, it was forty miles away at the moment.

"Thank you, my everything," Casiama whispered. Talos heard the soft scrape of the blade's sheath against his pack, then nothing as Casiama walked away hurriedly with soft step. Tatiana rolled towards him when she was out of earshot.

"We should follow her, Talos," she whispered with a pout; the girl's normal expression.

Good morning to you too, he mused. "Why?" he asked instead.

Tatiana shook her head gently. "I had a... dream. Of this place. Of being unwanted here. I fear the forefathers of Remilla are none too pleased of our presence."

"A... vision?" Talos asked with another rare hesitation.

"Perhaps. I... don't know for sure. I've never had the propensity for them."

Talos nodded seriously. "Hm. Well, the elves still breathing here today are on our side... but, I agree. I'm curious as well. In fact, I haven't been told anything of what they're doing." He glanced to his right, and shook his woman awake with an impatient hand.

I'm already awake. Go away, Talos heard echoed inside his head.

"No. Get up," he smirked, squeezing the enchantress tighter against him.

"But Talos... the cocks haven't yet crowed," Alanna whined.

"There aren't any cocks here, honey."

"Oh... oh yeah?" she yawned, nuzzling against his shoulder. "That's funny. 'Cause I think I'm sleeping next to a big one," she accused softly, smiling. Tatiana giggled over his shoulder.

Talos wasn't sure how he fell into that verbal pitfall, smirking as he rose awkwardly from the furs. He patted his leather armor down when he found his feet, giving a hand to the enchantress a moment later. Alanna rose with little fanfare, unlike her tired complaints would have suggested.

Tatiana rose on her own when they did, the shadow under her eyes smeared from the unsympathetic passage of night. Alanna found it somewhat charming; the first fault she'd ever seen on that sorceress's pretty visage.

Talos rolled his shoulders, cracking them to wake to the day. It was still quite cold this early in the morning, judging from his lover's silent protests bouncing through his head. Clouds, barely visible in the modicum of light, were already rolling in from the sea. Alanna took another five minutes to equip her proper clothes, whatever liquid confidence she had yesternight being drained out of her system by now. Tatiana, looking towards the citadel, popped a small green leaf into her mouth as she waited for the other sorceress. She casually offered another leaf to the man beside her as she chewed on it.

"Mm?" Talos grumbled.

"Mint," Tatiana whispered. "For morning breath."

"Mm." He took it. Must be a Tardian thing. "Ever had coffee?"

"Um, no. It's a narcotic."

"Narcotic. Right," Talos nodded. "Well, I like coffee."

"Mm," Tatiana acknowledged. Talos followed the sorceress's gaze towards the citadel to the east, which gracefully rose sixty feet into the sky.

"So, I finally thought of a short name for you," Talos smirked.

"Oh? Did you?"

"Mhm. Tanya."

"Absolutely not, Talos," Tatiana husked, playfully punching his shoulder. "My father called me that when I was a child."

"My mistake," Talos chuckled, taking the hit.

The pair then shared a comfortable, thinking silence, until Alanna returned dressed. She was pressing a hand against her forehead to relieve herself of her morning fog, and, without ask, she did the same for Talos when she reached him.

Talos extended a hand towards the tower, and nodded towards Tatiana. He figured she would know the way, having explored the ruins during the previous sun.

With an affirming nod she led them through the courtyard, then through a small door on the opposite side. They were met with a long, wide corridor running east and west, which would have been pitch black had there not been magically-illuminated vines and bushes running along the walls. Talos had almost forgotten to be amazed by the sight as the party turned in the direction of the citadel, their steps echoing softly through the passageway.

The doorway at the end of the stone hall opened up as they neared, and a lithe elf trimmed in lengthy, bouncing blonde hair - and not much else - stepped through it with her arms crossed. Faranya scowled at their arrival. Talos stepped to the fore, outstreching his arms as if in harmless greeting.

"Good morning, princess," he said as he neared, smiling as warmly as he could. The elf pursed her lips, and her arms remained crossed.

"If you three are looking for breakfast, you can try the orchard in the west hall," Faranya offered with honeyed words.

Talos smirked, letting his arms drop to his side. "We were actually looking for you, princess."

"You have found me."

Talos wordlessly commanded his lover to read the elf, instantly finding worry, hope, and a fierce territoriality to ensure the humans did not pass her barrier. He stopped just five feet from Faranya, crossing his arms as well. He let his gaze do most of the talking, and Faranya stepped backwards to lean against the door behind her.

"The citadel is... off-limits to humans."

"On who's authority?" Talos smirked.

"My own, and all the power my ancestors have placed in me. Talos, we all have our secrets. Be assured your Cass is well and good behind this door, and you all can leave on the eve."

Talos shrugged, keeping eye contact with her. "Doesn't seem very fair to me. I brought Casiama here to assist you, then I'm the one left out?"

"Yeah! I thought we were friends, Faranya?" Alanna frowned.

The elf in green flicked her gaze between the three humans, gulping silently. "We are. Well enough..." she murmured reticently. Talos stepped forward, motioning for the door handle.

"Then...?"

She made no move to stop him. Rather, Faranya stepped gracefully to the side, her cloak fluttering once through the damp air of the dark corridor. She, like the first time Talos and Alanna encountered her, made no effort in concealing any of her alluring form today.

"Will you not let me have one secret, Talos?" she asked with exasperation.

Keeping eye contact, Talos reached for the door as the elf wrapped an arm weightlessly over his back. He would gently push her through the door first, though he remained close enough that her arm would remain where it was.

"If it doesn't involve Casiama or Dawnbringer, sure. Unfortunately, princess, this secret contains both."

Faranya looked towards the floor as they continued making their way to the citadel, nodding in agreement to his statement. Talos wondered how the elf got around unscathed without shoes as his gaze followed hers.

"It's working, Talos. The seal reacted to the blade... but, only when Casiama presented it. Curious, is it not?"

"What do you mean?" he shrugged, hoping her arm would lift.

"It did not do the same for me. The door only... remained," Faranya sighed, letting her fingers drift further down his back. She did not release him.

"Hm. Ideas?" Talos asked of the others. Tatiana, walking four paces behind him, cleared her throat.

"The hex could be configured for multiple authorization vectors. Casiama's blood, plus the artifact."

He grunted, finding the statement reasonable enough. He noticed Faranya's nodding pout in the corner of his eye, likely still coming to terms with her new status as just another commoner. He pinched Faranya's naked waist to hopefully lift her from that pit, only receiving a light yelp and retreating hand in response.

"Do not touch me," she snarled, having just been doing the same in reverse. Talos poked her again, retreating to the far wall with a grin when she waved a dismissive hand his way. Faranya picked up her stride to remove herself from his immediate presence.

"Don't be disheartened by the hex, Faranya," Talos assured her. "You're still Remillan, with or without the spell's agreement. The spell does not think. It does not know."

"I am the rightful heir of Tilarion the Defender. It should know," the princess replied dejectedly.

Before them was a small antechamber, which widened towards a doorway into the citadel proper. Tile murals of jade, onyx, and quartz decorated the walls of the chamber, walls that were only illuminated by the pinks and blues of Faranya's magical shubbery. An opened and intricate stone door stood in the center of the far wall, just behind a small staircase of marble.

Talos pretended to be interested in the room's decorations, his gaze drifting along those hallowed walls. "You're the heir of Remilla? Truly?"

Faranya twisted about, meeting his gaze with one far colder. "By attrition, and by fortune. My father met his end upon a human's blade fifteen years ago, and my brothers in exile have less years."

"Shouldn't it fall onto one of your brothers?"

"Younger brothers," she retorted swiftly. The man still shrugged, though Tatiana's gentle words redressed his ignorance a moment later.

"The crown of Tor Remilla passed - passes," she corrected, "in absolute cognatic fashion. Faranya, being eldest, would inherit before her brothers."

The man shrugged again. "Mm."

He had never heard of such a bizzare scheme. All the realms of men were passed along male lines, after all, even so far as to skip over a ruler's daughter if she herself bore a son. Women were seen as an inheritance of last resort; seen as a shame, even, in many corners of the-

"Ow," Talos whispered, getting his ear pinched by his voyeuristic lover for the crimes of thought. She took his hand in hers after a playful smirk and ascended the marble steps with him, following in Faranya's graceful and alluring wake.

The corridor past the stone door was almost as long as the first. They were slowly making their way into the ground now, judging by the mellow slope of the floor. Talos noted how much further the citadel seemed to be from the inside.

"What do you hope to find here, Faranya?" Talos asked as casually as he could, his eyes fixed on the elf's bouncing golden locks.

The princess outstreched her arms, without turning to face the question. "Answers. Why would my grandfather, Tilarion, build all of this," she asked, her heightened voice bouncing off the stone walls, "when you humans were invading our lands from all sides? This cannot be any mere fortress. It must not be."

"Maybe there is no justification, Faranya. Perhaps he only wanted to gift the world with one more work of art before the end. Perhaps he knew humanity would have no appetite for architecture."

"He was no artist. He had no time for art. Tilarion was forced to endure thirty years of merciless human aggression," Faranya retorted, strutting with more enthusiasm now that they were nearing the second door.

"More the reason, I think," Talos replied on deaf ears.

The corridor opened up again, flattening out into a smaller antechamber with an opened door at the anterior, just like before. The stark walls of this chamber provided a spartan contrast to the murals of the first, while a bouncing Casiama, holding a sheathed-but-glowing blade, provided an amusing one.

"It worked, it worked, it worked! Talos!"

The man grinned, releasing Alanna's hand to stride towards his elf. She bounded towards him, her cheeks puffed in delight, and jumped into his arms. "It worked! Dawnbringer is truly of the heavens!"

"I'm happy for you, Cass," Talos smiled, appreciating her unimaginable warmth.

"Casiama," Faranya said seriously, "did you explore inside?"

Casiama removed herself from her lover's arms, bowing an inch towards Faranya. "I did not. It is your birthright, princess. I will accompany you, however, if that is your wish."

"It is my wish. Thank you," Faranya replied with a smile, "for being here, and for being so kind. I will never take it for granted in such foul times." She strode towards her fellow elf, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Suriasolaphos, Casiama."

"Essensimos," Casiama bowed graciously. "You are most welcome." The pair interlaced fingers upon Casiama's rise, and opened the wings of the massive door as one. The slabs of stone made no noise as they weightlessly swung open, revealing a darkened chamber. Faranya's light had not yet reached here.

Talos pursed his lips, letting the elves get a head-start on him. He certainly did not want to ruin their moment of triumph.

"Cass knows old Elvish?" Alanna asked in the interim.

"I guess," Talos shrugged. "Didn't know there was such a thing."

"Actually," Tatiana whispered, her eyes fixed nervously on the dark chamber before them, "that was the Dragontongue. I... had no idea that elven royals still spoke it."

"Hm. You know it?" Talos asked. She nodded, hesitantly, once again impressing him with her arcane knowledge.

"Fluently. Many off-worlders still believe we speak it," she admitted with a wince. "Perhaps... now I know why..."

Tatiana summoned an orb of light as the trio hesitantly stepped into the darkened chamber past the stone door. Glimmering runes on the left wall soon caught her eye, and she halted to examine them. Talos and Alanna looked on as she knelt before them, holding each other's hands for comfort.

Talos, for the first time in a season, suddenly felt his heart drop in his chest. Alanna felt the same. They were not sure why, or where the sensation had spawned from, yet an overwhelming feeling of unwantedness fell upon them nevertheless. They felt acutely aware that they did not belong within these hallowed walls.

As if on cue, Tatiana began translating the silvery runes on the wall for all to hear. Her voice was brittle. Shaken.

"A blight from the south. A departure of beauty. They have come to despoil... to destroy is their duty. Plague, famine, death, woe. Ruin their purpose, their reason to sow. Battles, wars, render all to dust. All for a crown, they do what they must."

Tatiana paused, gasping when the final set of glimmering runes transformed into Elvish scripture before her very eyes. She could barely speak. It was meant... for them.

"Children of ruin, you will sit on a throne. A throne of ash, and a thousand bones."

Shit.

Tatiana spun towards Talos, her eyes wide as moons. "Talos-"

"We are leaving. Cass!" he yelled down the darkened chamber. Dawnbringer, sheathed at her hip, lit the immediate proximity around her. She appeared to be examining a large stone column, about twenty yards in. She turned to face him. A twinkle of recognition.

"What?!"

"We're leaving! Let's go!"

"Why?!"

Faranya's fleeting scream from further in the chamber answered for him. A flicker of light. A whisper of stone.

"Faranya!" Casiama shrieked after her. Two flickers of light. An orchestra of stone.

The world turned from one understandable to one alien in the blink of an eye. The chamber was suddenly awash with an eerie green glow. A massive stone was now visible in the center of the hall, green as emerald, large as a ship. It hummed a nascent hum. It drilled into his ears. Her ears. All ears.

A pillar of twisting, eerie flames erupted from the stone, illuminating the chamber brighter than day. A massive rod of gold, suspended above the emerald, directed its energy towards the ceiling of the citadel. The moon tower of Dun Aysla cracked, tore, then crumbled to dust.

The flame howled. The pillar of fury screamed with the defiant voice of a million souls, dominating one's hearing entirely. With the sixty-foot citadel crumbling down around them, the spinning flames continued on undeterred towards the heavens. The rod of gold twisted on its own, curling the emerald's boundless energy to the west.

Talos, Alanna, and Tatiana were far enough away from the stone that the fortress held in place around them. Alanna was screaming something. Talos was grabbing Tatiana's arm, to lift her from the floor. He then tried to run towards the shifting pillar of flame. Alanna held him back.

NO.

Talos yelled 'Cass'. No one, including himself, actually heard him say it, but Alanna understood the intent. She exhaled and trudged in after him, fighting the aetherial winds emanating from the emerald, and the loosened stones above and around them.

Crashing marble and broken stone. It does not think, it does not know. The roar, the howling, the defeaning cries. A throne of ash, and a thousand bones.

The great emerald stood firm in the center of that sundered tower, surrounded by blinding light and complete disaster. Talos scanned the chamber, fumbling over rocks, his hands pressed against his head. Did he see Casiama blink out of existence? He might have...