Mark of the Fool

The surprise attack had failed.

Even with what should have been the element of surprise and superior numbers, its mighty Ravener-spawn were dead, killed by traitors and outlanders. Very quickly. It could detect no casualties among the mortals…and they were still coming at full speed.

They would reach it in minutes.

It turned its attention to the many tunnels leading to its chamber.

Its army was on the way to the cavern…but not quickly enough. Most were still spread throughout the many tunnels, they would take too long to get there.

The treacherous Heroes and their allies would reach it long before the majority of its forces did.

It could always make more spawn, but…its plan was to have more time to rebuild its stores of energy.

In the end, the fight would come before it was ready.

It contemplated that.

And…

‘So be it,’ it thought, its awareness turning to Uldar’s body. ‘If this is to be the way this trial ends. Then this is how it ends. In this last confrontation, we will see who will inherit your kingdom, creator. We will see.’

“Remember,” Alex said. “The Ravener’s capable of all kinds of magic. It can mimic a lot of different spells, and alter their effects because of the power of chaos inside it. It also has the ability to shoot devastating beams, but what’s also really important to remember is that it can make hundreds of poisons.”

“I remember that,” Cedric said. “But, I have miracles that’ll stop poison in its tracks.”

“As do I,” Merzhin joined in.

“Good. And if anyone gets poisoned by it, get to Cedric or Merzhin, quick. Don’t think you can just tough it out and fight it off: the longer those venoms are in your body, the more damage they’ll do. Remember what happened to Uldar.”

“Got it,” Theresa said, stalking ahead of the group. She, Grimloch and Brutus watched the earth elementals tunnelling. “Are…we nearly there?”

Alex looked back, asking that question of the lead astral engeli.

“Yes, archwizard. We will reach the god’s body in just over two minutes at this rate,” she reported.

“Got it, which means we’ll be outside whatever chamber it’s in before that,” he said, then asked an earth elemental, “How far are we from the chamber we’re tunnelling to?”

The earth elemental’s response made Alex’s pulse skip. “According to what the astral engeli and earth elemental say, we should breach the chamber with Uldar’s body in just under a minute.”

The huntress took a deep breath. “This is it, then. This is really it.”

“I will have a miracle ready in case the Ravener fills the space with poison,” Merzhin said. “Orb of Air will stop us from breathing it in, but I know that some poisons can be caustic to the skin.”

“Hmmm… I am not sure it would release such poisons into the entire space. Remember: most of its spawn have no immunity to the sort of poisons it can create,” Isolde said. “If it were to flood the space with venoms, it would kill its own guards and defenders. There is also Uldar’s body to consider: I would be surprised if it released gases that could damage it.”

“Good points, but we should be careful anyway,” Alex said. “Remember: a cornered enemy can get erratic, making it more unpredictable and dangerous.”

“Any final words for us there, Mr. Leader?” Grimloch asked, his voice rumbling like shifting rock.

Alex was silent for a moment before offering words of caution. “Just remember: strike hard and fast, but don’t get reckless. We’re trying to distract it for now so that Merzhin and I can do our thing. Don’t die. Protect our devices, and don’t let them get damaged. They’re too important.”

Ahead, the tunnelling noise changed to a hollow, echoing one…

Three canine heads began snarling and growling.

“Brutus hears something through the rock,” Theresa said. “And he caught a strong scent of Ravener-spawn…and something else.”

That chill Alex had felt earlier, grew.

He took a deep breath. “Alright, everybody. May the Traveller guide and protect us. Remember, we trained for this. Stay sharp.”

“May the Traveller guide us,” Cedric and others echoed.

Merzhin exhaled as rock fell away in front of them.

“Ravener!” the Saint cried. “We wish to speak to you!”

The Ravener’s attention shifted.

They were here.

That stirring within it lessened.

Across the vast chamber, rock cracked, stone fell away to reveal a tunnel carved in the cavern wall.

The Ravener didn’t move.

And then…

“Ravener!” a voice called. “We wish to speak to you!”

The construct paused.

‘They wish to speak to me?’ it thought. ‘What is there to speak about? The time has come for the trial…’ It examined its stores of power.

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It had rebuilt much of its strength, but not enough for what it was to face.

Additional time would be welcomed, and if the mortals’ words granted it even a heartbeat longer to build strength, then it would hear them.

“Speak, then,” the Ravener invited

“Hold on,” another voice called, one sending a pulse of rage coursing through it. “I’m sure you have a huge army waiting for us. If we’re going to keep things civil, I’m asking you to call them off while we talk.”

It knew.

It could tell.

This new voice belonged to a Usurper.

The one now called the General.

The treacherous thing that should not be.

The one bent on ruining all.

The true enemy.

Silence followed while the construct struggled, fighting the desire to throw away caution and simply destroy the interlopers.

But…strategic thinking muffled its wrath.

‘You have a purpose for this…More time. …you will gain more time…’ it thought.

“Minions. Stop your approach. Do not move or attack unless I command it,” the construct ordered.

Surrounding its lake, its many spawn paused, looking up at their master. Some bristled, eager to stop these intruders, then calmed, not daring to defy their orders. Spawn that were streaming into the cavern paused at its many entrances. A sizable force had joined the Ravener in its chamber, but the bulk of its army was still outside.

They would halt, until told otherwise.

“My servants will not attack you, unless commanded to do so. Come, then. Come before me,” the Ravener said.

The party remained quiet, but alert.

“Alright, let’s go,” Alex said, floating out of their tunnel and into the Ravener’s titanic cavern. As his forceballs spread out in front of them, lighting up more of the space, red light pierced the utter blackness. It was darker there than in any place he’d ever been in; but not just from a lack of light…something else hung in the air, stifling all light.

The forceballs appeared dimmer, their light not reaching quite as far as it normally would, and the further they flew into the cavern, the less light they seemed to emit.

Though they continued floating forward; hovering perhaps a hundred feet away, Alex still couldn’t see the other end of the cavern.

What he could see, though, was Ravener-spawn.

A seemingly endless army of hostile monsters, filling the chamber floor and looking up at him and his companions with unconcealed malice.

Such huge numbers of the Ravener’s elite spawn gathered together in one place was a nightmare to behold.

Spawn Knights, air blasting spawn…even titans.

“What the…” Alex whispered. His forceballs cast light on Ravener-spawn titans, towering in the chamber, the crown of their heads not reaching the ceiling. Not even coming close.

As Alex’s companions floated around him, squinting through the dark, Merzhin spoke. “Ravener, I will use a miracle to light this chamber. It is not an attack on you.”

Silence.

And then a simple: “Proceed.”

The Ravener’s voice was…not what Alex had expected. In his mind, he had imagined its voice would be a copy of Uldar’s. Maybe slightly colder and less emotional, but it would sound like its creator.

It did not.

Not at all.

The voice was androgynous, neither deep nor high, and carried an odd banality. It wasn’t a voice that would capture hearts and captivate minds.

If anything, it reminded Alex of the deadness of Lucia’s voice during her days as a sky gondolier: emotionless, detached, calm. It was not the imagined voice of some villain plotting to destroy the world…it was average, like it belonged to someone going about their day performing a tedious job.

And yet, there was something beneath that banality, an…undertone that dug at his subconscious. Something that dredged up ancient, primal memories long buried deep in his brain. Something that made him feel like he was huddling in a cave in a primordial world, listening to the sounds of a predator slaughtering terrified prey in the nighttime wilderness.

Listening and hoping that predator would not turn its attention to him.

He shook the feeling away.

“Oh, Traveller above, please light the way for us,” Merzhin prayed.

A small bead of white light formed in the palm of the Saint’s hand.

He blew on it, and the speck of illumination flew deep into the cavern, exploding in a star of divinity, shedding sun-bright light. The cavern turned from pitch-black to daylight.

And Alex gasped.

It was even bigger than he’d imagined.

Far bigger.

The ceiling might have risen a thousand feet above them—maybe higher—and the width of the cavern was many times its height. It seemed to have no end. The walls were honeycombed by dozens of massive entrances, surrounding scores of Ravener-spawn frozen in the act of entering the chamber, on their way to join their brethren already assembled inside…their number seemed endless.

Alex watched closely, his eyes drifting over them until…at last, the young archwizard laid eyes on his kingdom’s ancient enemy.

On his former god’s greatest betrayal to his people.

On the Ravener.

The orb of darkness hovered in the centre of a tremendous lake.

Its appearance was unsurprising: a familiar black ball, a dungeon core swollen to truly gargantuan proportions. Yet, there was something beyond its appearance.

Something that made him feel like a mouse looking into the eyes of a snake.

‘It’s our natural predator,’ Alex thought. ‘Uldar created it to be our natural predator and that’s exactly what I’m feeling…that and…contempt.’

Hatred.

He took steadying breaths, keeping his burning hatred controlled, knowing that the construct felt the same for him. Wave upon wave of white-hot hate emanated from Uldar’s creation, focused on him, filling the cavern.

Once again, Alex acknowledged a truth: this world could not continue on with both of them in it.

The General and the Ravener.

The idea of them had been crafted by a mad god.

Neither would allow the other to continue to exist.

But the young archwizard held his tongue.

He could not speak his mind.

Not until he calmed the fury burning inside.

“You’re up, Merzhin,” he said quietly.

The Saint nodded, floating forward as their companions joined him.

“Ravener,” Merzhin called. “I would like to ask certain questions of you, and perhaps I can answer any questions you might have. I wish for us to understand each other. To understand…”

His voice fell away for a moment.

Alex followed his gaze.

Behind the Ravener—sitting on a throne perched atop a tower across the lake—was Uldar’s body. The god looked just as regal as he had in his sanctum…and just as wounded.

His lifeless eyes stared down on his creation.

Suddenly, there was movement.

Slight, subtle movement: the Ravener moved just a bit closer to the corpse.

‘It’s protective over his body,’ Alex thought. ‘Just like I suspected. Good to have that confirmed.’

He turned his gaze back to Uldar’s construct.

“To understand what?” the Ravener asked. Its voice spread through the titanic chamber. “What is there to understand that is not already understood. We are enemies. I am meant to destroy you. You are meant to destroy me. This is the way. You are servants of Uldar, you are my enemy—”

“We know,” Alex said evenly. “We know everything that’s happened. We know why you were created. And we know why you fight us: it was all Uldar’s doing to heal himself.”

The Ravener paused for a moment. “If you know that much, then you know that we are fulfilling the purpose to which we were all directed by our creator. What do you not comprehend?”

There was an edge to its voice.

But also…agitation? No, maybe—

“I do not understand why you are our enemy,” Merzhin said. “It makes no sense to me.”

“It makes no sense?” the Ravener asked, its tone incredulous. “We were made for a purpose. We are fulfilling that purpose. What else is there?”

“Choice,” Merzhin said. “Uldar had a purpose in mind for us…but we know what that purpose is. He wished for us to heal him, but…” the Saint paused, looking up at the god’s body.

“Uldar is dead,” Alex said, his eyes blazing. “And you are destroying a kingdom on behalf of a corpse. What does that gain you? How does that benefit you?”

“General…” the Ravener whispered. “At last, we meet. It has been a long time coming.”

Alex remembered his first vision of the Ravener in the Cave of the Traveller.

“Yes,” he slowly nodded. “Yes it has been.”