Quest for the Dragon Soul Pt. 03

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Night descended upon Videsh'Achar and the twin moons rose to keep a watchful eye on the deserted streets. Tayne had decided to travel by darkness to ensure her anonymity, but since the sunset she had encountered nary a soul, but for the occasional stray dog or cat.

As she walked the back alleys, Tayne was struck by how the city had grown during her exile in the Umbraland, when she was caught on the wrong side of an exile spell. But her exploration of the city taxed her sanity almost as much as her exile. The city and the walls had tripled in size and when she found the Library of the Advocates, the tower she had known to stand equal to the gates of the city in height, now reached towards the heavens. But like everything else, it was tarnished with ash and fires burned from its multiple windows. If she concentrated, she could hear plaintive moans the distance. There were survivors, but when there was a moan, a Quieting Angel flew off and the sound was eerily silenced.

Tayne was saddened by all the wasted lives that littered the ground around her as she approached the one piece of her memories of Dar'Achar – now Videsh'Achar – to remain intact: the Fountain of Thu'll Achar. He was the God of the Advocates and the Keeper of the Truths Unknown. His image topped the otherwise simple fountain: he was portrayed as carrying an amphor full of wine from the Well of Thoughts and also the Scrolls of the Advocates. But though the water still pumped though the fountain, it was deep crimson in color, full of the blood of the dead.

Tayne realized she was thirsty and her belly rumbled. She could not drink of the fountain, so she began to seek any kind of puddle that might have collected after the rainfall of a few days ago.

Tayne finally found water in and upturned pot that once held a plant – the liquid was stale but drinkable.

"A girl!" Tayne suddenly heard from behind her. She pivoted and pulled the rock she had fastened into a make shift blade from the sash around her waist – three emaciated men dashed for her. Though malnourished, they were quick and made strong by the prize she presented. They surrounded her and she wished she had her cutlasses – she also wished her magic was as strong as when she was around Khaln. But she only had her wits and her stone knife.

"C'mere, bitch," the man on her right said as he grabbed her wrist – he was likely accustomed to fearful women being cowered by his words. Instead, she stepped into the man's reach and smashed her elbow into his jaw with a vertical strike. As his head snapped back, Tayne gabbed opposite sides of his collar and pivoted while pulling her arms over her shoulder, throwing the stunned brigand to the ground.

Another of the brigands grabbed her chin from behind and yanked her back – Tayne seized the momentum and performed a back flip while within her assailant's guard. When her head pointed at the ground, her knees smashed into the brigand's face, shattering his jaw and cheekbone. He crashed to the ground and she completed her flip with a foot on each side of the brigand's head.

In her mind, Tayne replayed the scene and she she heard a scrape on the cobblestone, she knew the third brigand was almost upon her – still crouching, she twisted and lashed out with her stone knife. It slashed against the inside of the brigand's thigh deeply enough to make him bleed out. He fell backwards and cried out. Many more footfalls echoed from the alleys surrounding the fountain. Tayne was gratified to know that even without her cutlasses and magic, she could still fight. But she could not overcome whatever numbers were to come pouring from the shadows.

Remembering the general direction of the Hall of Steel, Tayne rushed towards the south part of the city and down shadowy alleys, her ears full of the rustling of a growing mob that followed her. She dashed left and right through gradually narrowing streets she knew would force the mob into a bottleneck she hope would dissuade their pursuit. She was astonished to remember the streets and alleys that were the secret way to reach the Hall of Steel.

When she finally met the end of the winding path, the massive marble doors she expected to find had been replaced by a single, tall, stony wall. Tayne was shocked to see that such a beautiful and massive monument was gone, She banged the wall as voices in the distant night grew louder and closer. The mob, now a moving, single file of estranged and mad individuals, closed on her with a murderous intent.

Tayne tuned to face her oncoming fate when a hiss escaped the wall she was leaning against and she fell back into an inky darkness. When the first brigands arrived where she was sure to be, they found only empty air and a blood splattered, stony wall.

Tayne was pressed against the translucent barrier that separated her her from the murderous mob. As the mob battered and spat at the wall, she quietly watched until they mob grew tired and finally retreated back in a single file till the last man disappeared. Once assured she was alone, Tayne peered into the darkness – she could perceive the lightest hint of mint, sage, pepper and other spices.

Tayne proceeded cautiously, although the scents tugged at her hunger with a desperate tenacity. Were the smells an illusion she wondered, or perhaps a trap?

Her fears were suddenly lifted when her outstretched arms touched a cool but solid surface, Her fingers traced ancient engravings and the solid marble gates of the fabled Hall of Steel glowed with white light. Bailla'Tayne Jeva felt her eyes well up with tears at the sight of the entrance to the place she called home. She spoke the old invocation and the marble gates cracked open and the splendor of the Hall of Steel was revealed to her longing gaze.

Bailla'Tayne Jeva crossed the threshold of the Hall of Steel and was instantly surrounded by the walls she held so dear. Each wall was braced by curving columns of gray steel that reached high. Columns of white and black marble marked the corners of the Hall as well as the downward sloping staircases that lead to the sleeping areas. The floor was made of polished cherry wood and there was a light well at the top center of the hall that allowed sunlight or moonlight to illuminate the great room. Below the well and at the center of the room was the statue of the goddess Asteytis. She had the form of a coiled snake with the eyes of a woman and fangs made of sharp steel. Asteytis was the mother of all steel and the patron of justice and vengeance.

The statue was surrounded by a richly decorated table covered with bowls of fruits and vegetables and plates of cured and salted meats. Bailla'Tayne Jeva dropped her stone knife and walked tentatively towards the buffet, fighting her instinctual drive to dive into the spoils and assuage her growing hunger.

But the scents of the meats were overwhelming and she grabbed at the salted pork and bit gleefully into the meat. Its taste was like bliss and she grabbed at the fruits and found a cup of honey wine to wash her mouthfuls down. Bailla'Tayne Jeva remembered how such meal awaited the Blade Brides when they returned from battle, bruised and bleeding but heartened by glory.

Yet, there was no glory now. Bailla'Tayne Jeva knew her sisters were dead – as was her family.

She screamed and threw the empty cup of honey wine and saw it smash against the statue of Asteytis.

"Damn the Gods!" Bailla'Tayne Jeva screamed at the night. "Why did you bring me back to a world full of nothing!" She fell to her knees before the table, knocking over a jug of wine and a plate of fruit.

"If the world is empty, child," Bailla'Tayne Jeva heard all around her. "Then, you must fill it."

IV

The snake statue of Asteytis cracked and shook – Bailla'Tayne Jeva jumped to her feet and spun to face the crumbling monument. As pieces fell away, they revealed the form of a woman: she was tall, with tan skin and long, black hair. Her limbs were examples of toned perfection while her hips flared suggestively and her breasts, small but firm, ported pointed nipples. The high cheekbones and sensual lips and straight nose hinted to a regal ancestry, but her eyes were the same as the those of the snake statue.

"Asteytis?" Bailla'Tayne Jeva whispered before bowing to her Goddess. The avatar of the goddess motioned and the section of table between her and Bailla'Tayne melted away. Bailla'Tayne stood silent, awestruck at the force that emanated from the avatar.

"Bailla'Tayne Jeva – daughter of Bailla'Tayne Tevam and Lady Javosis. Once a mage maiden, but the depth of your mana was insufficient. Once a Blade Bride, but lost when the dream eaters were exiled to the Umbraland. Now, you stand a refugee before your goddess."

Bailla'Tayne Jeva felt her body tingle and watched as her jute garment fell away like dust and the caked blood and crusty dirt that covered her face and limbs lifted from her soft skin. Bailla'Tayne Jeva gasped as her head seemed to catch fire and she felt an increasing weight upon her head. She grabbed a silver platter off the table, pushed away the fruit it bore and looked at her reflection. Her long, amber hair grew down past her neck and down to her lower back.

"There," the avatar of Asteytis said. "You have reclaimed your former beauty." The avatar approached Bailla'Tayne and caressed her cheek and leaned in closed and lightly pressed her lips to the Blade Bride's.

"You are needed, Bailla'Tayne," Asteytis said as she kissed the Blade Bride's cheeks. "The world teeters on the brink of darkness."

Bailla'Tayne Jeva gasped when Asteytis put a fiery hand on her firm breast and slipped her tongue to meet the Blade Bride's. Asteytis gently coaxed Bailla'Tayne to the floor where she lay her body atop her apostle's. Bailla'Tayne was pleasantly reminded how the feeling of feminine flesh on flesh was different from when she fucked Khaln. Where his flesh was hard and his desire relentless, a woman's touch was delicate and patient, seeking to please and be pleased in due time.

But this woman, Bailla'Tayne realized, was a goddess – her desires were beyond what an acolyte like her could understand. Yet, Asteytis's desire was clear from the way she pressed her breasts to Bailla'Tayne's, their hard nipples were like dueling diamond tips that ignited a pressing desire in Bailla'Tayne's loins. The Blade Bride sighed as goosebumps rippled across her skin when Asteytis licked the soft area at the base of her neck. The avatar's hand slid between their pressed bodies and her slender fingers worked across Bailla'Tayne's sex. The Blade Bride trembled as Asteytis kissed her nipples and squeezed her pert breasts as she worked her way down to Bailla'Tayne's pussy.

The avatar of the goddess Asteytis parted Bailla'Tayne's legs and lavished an agile tongue across the Blade Bride's sex – Bailla'Tayne sighed and squirmed and huffed with each feathery contact between her pussy lips and the goddess's lissome lips and nimble tongue. When Asteytis flicked her tongue around and across the Blade Bride's clit, Bailla'Tayne moaned and pressed her thighs against her goddess's head while her pussy dripped across the avatar's chin. Asteytis swallowed Bailla'Tayne's fluids and then rose to her knees to look down upon her acolyte. Bailla'Tayne gazed into her goddess's glowing eyes and pushed herself away before turning her body around so she could position herself beneath Asteytis's divine pussy.

Blessed liquids dribbled down the avatar's inner thighs and Bailla'Tayne lapped at them greedily as the avatar of the goddess Asteytis lowered herself upon her acolyte's body – the two women rolled on the floor as their mouths explored the inner folds of one another's pussies.

Asteytis moaned as Bailla'Tayne encircled the avatar's clit with an agile tongue – the Blade Bride was proud that she could bring pleasure the her goddess. Asteytis trembled as her body was ravaged by an orgasm that shook the foundations of the Hall of Steel – yet she did not release the Blade Bride. Bailla'Tayne was enveloped in a growing bliss as the goddess made flesh sucked on her clit and savagely slipped a finger in and out of her pussy.

Acolyte and goddess held each other's thighs as they settled on their sides, their faces pressed to their mutual sexes and their mouths and lips moving in a rhythm of pleasure. The flesh of the avatar of Asteytis crackled with sensual energy that plunged into Bailla'Tayne's skin as she felt her pussy quiver and her whole open up to receive the goddess.

"My Goddess! My Goddess!" Bailla'Tayne moaned as her pussy gushed her orgasm like a burst damn – her fluids spread across her thighs and the avatar sucked the tangy juice with ravenous appetite only divinity could demonstrate. Asteytis pressed her finger to Bailla'Tayne's clit and sucked on her pussy lips and the Blade Bride replaced her moans with screams of pleasure as her trembling cunt unleashed a river of liquid the avatar swallowed with glee.

As her limbs ceased to shake, Bailla'Tayne began to slide her stiff tongue into the goddess's pussy, finding the regions inside that she knew made a mortal woman squirm – she was happy to find the same effect in the avatar of the goddess Asteytis. They had rolled such a way that Bailla'Tayne was on her back and she licked and kissed the avatar's pussy – the goddess made flesh arched her back and moaned in a forgotten language as she came, making the floor and walls of the Hall of Steel ripple in sympathy with the ripples of bliss that roamed her divine flesh.

When the avatar quieted from her explosion of bliss, she moved from the Blade Bride and sat down facing her. Asteytis grabbed Bailla'Tayne's ankles and dragged her over so that the Blade Bride could wrap her legs around the goddess – Asteytis supported her buttocks with her strong hands and used her fingers to tease Bailla'Tayne's dripping, excited pussy.

"Your sisters live through me, Bailla'Tayne Jeva," the avatar of Asteytis whispered. Bailla'Tayne hugged the goddess made flesh tightly but she opened her eyes and saw the phantoms of her long dead sisters. They embraced each other as they peered at the acolyte and the avatar – rays of eldritch light connected them all.

"And through you, they will act to end the menace of The Call of Skaelor," the avatar said as she kissed Bailla'Tayne. "Find the one called Khaln – go to him and together you will rekindle the sparks of magic. The fire will spread across all living souls and the The Call will crumble and the gods will arise anew."

"I've felt it with him," Bailla'Tayne said as she ground her pussy on the avatar's hand. "More magic than I ever felt before."

"Yes," Asteytis said while she slid the Blade Bride off her lap and she went to her feet."Tell me of it."

Bailla'Tayne obeyed and laid down on her back and reached between her legs, fondling her pussy at the thought of Khaln.

"It's like laying with an inferno," Bailla'Tayne whispered, her clit between her fingers while her pelvis jerked. "When he fucks me, its like being filled with a blinding light that burns clarity into me."

Bailla'Tayne slid a finger into her juicy pussy and made small circular motions in her cunt and whispered between moans: "Each thrust is like a jolt of power leaving me breathless and wanting more." Fingers found her erect nipples and she pinched them hard. "He is almost be a primal force ... a god!"

Within moments of speaking those words, Bailla'Tayne Jeva lost all perception and drowned herself in the bliss of her ignited pussy as her fingers moved in an out of her and across her clit in a attempt to capture Khaln's ferocity as a lover and she came with a deafening moan and a river of juices from her pussy.

Asteytis watched Bailla'Tayne Jeva descend from her orgasm and when she was still, she offered her hand to help the Blade Bride to her feet. "Arm yourself for there are those who would keep you from him."

Bailla'Tayne obeyed her goddess and examined the weapons lining the walls. She sought a pair of cutlasses as she once possessed but none were there – but on the walls of the Hall of Steel, she found a lightweight short spear. Its shaft was of durable dark wood and the tip was of glowing bronze with black reflections. Its edges were razor sharp and deadly. She also found a short sword that would be the perfect sidearm to complement the spear. The bronze blade was the length of her arm and its hilt was carved of gray bone covered in simple, black leather. The Blade Bride also donned a linen under dress and wore an new armored skirt to which she attached an armored breast plate that formed a V in her back and crossed in the front , just beneath her pert breasts.. It was made of small steel plates woven with flexible leather bands. The spaces on her sides were laced with chainmail and leather. And finally, she wore a helmet with a large base to protect the back of her neck and a grille in the front to cover her eyes and nose. It was adorned with ornate wings of steel and the sides and a chevron of horse hair on the top.

"You are now as beautiful as you are powerful and deadly," the avatar of Asteytis said. She then pointed towards the marble gates of the Hall of Steel – the Blade Bride Bailla'Tayne Jeva bowed in deference to the avatar of her Goddess Asteytis and then walked though the gates, ready to vanquish any who stood between her and the man named Khaln.

Had Bailla'Tayne Jeva looked back, she would have seen only the trampled remains of her beloved Hall of Steel. In the place of the avatar of Asteytis stood a slender, feminine figure dressed in a long gray cloak that swayed over the ruins of the Hall of Steel.

V

"I am Slodovor Ven Tivar," the old soldier said as Khaln dressed in an old but well maintained, long sleeved, chain mail shirt covered with a dark, leather cuirass, pants and leather boots.

"I was there when the Vanguard Draconis staged the ceremony that ultimately lead to your birth," Slodovor added as Khaln faced him. The Qoazti archer Ziel-Tan eyed Khaln wearily as he found a decanter and poured some collected rain water.

"You said you might be my grandfather – you didn't participate in this... Ceremony?" Khaln asked, his voice acrid.

"Not directly – it was my son Fedovor and two others who committed the acts. I ... collected the selected participants."

Khaln's jaw clenched when he imagined his mother Preya being dragged off and be fed to some scoundrels and used as a plaything in the name of some obscure order. Ziel-Tan and the other women rested the hands on their fighting axes as bursts of red light pulsed beneath Khaln's skin.

"But you watched when they put their hands on her," Khaln hissed.

Sensing his desire and seeing the red pulses of light, Slodovor sighed. "Killing me would not change the past – the ceremony was necessary. Your mother had the bloodline in her." Slodovor looked away from the Khaln's heavy gaze. "We were not good men."

"That runs in the family," Khaln whispered when he found a chair and let himself drop in it. The old soldier grabbed a stool and pulled it close. The women stood to the outskirts, surrounding them.

"The Vanguard had seen the extinction of magic coming long before the outbreak of the Arcane Ailment. We could not stop it – it wasn't meant to be stopped."

"So we collected the archives since the time of the Rise of Man, after the Sentient Void was filled by the war of the foreign gods and the seeding of magic. It took generations for the Vanguard to track the lineages of the first carriers of magic.

"Three male heirs and three female heirs were needed. But we didn't know which bloodlines would create the male carrier of the spark."

Khaln stood looked at Ziel-Tan and the other warrior women. "I was the only successful attempt – but not the first."