Adrift: Raven's Wail

"One mortal can be the great change any number of Gods desire, One mortal can also be the downfall of an entire Divine Dynasty if mistreated and abused! Heed my words, ye of the Ichor of the GODS, progeny of Faal the Conqueror! Treat thy mortal servants with care and tenderness; if you don't, great misfortune will surely follow!"

Usher of Immortals; Fourth Volume revised.

Kaine sat alone at the ritual room he together with several trusted mages and Kaede had put together for what was essentially an assault into Lucrezia's soul with the usual suspects, said suspects were all over the castle getting ready as the Chronomancer ran sets of calculations and interfaced with a aspect of reality he often left to Arthur to deal with—the intersection of Mind-Body-Soul.

Brushing up on the theory was not enjoyable. Still, they had finally done it, and now only the Dragoness's part remained as Kallista worked on an altered imbuing agent, not unlike the fruit the Dragonic troops used to clear their minds of the ghosts of war. The same method Lucrezia had used to help Vivienne, what felt like ages ago... Kaine shook himself and started walking around the ritual room, tapping the lines with his staff and muttering small incantations to ensure everything was in place.

"More Gods came to petition aid, even after the news broke out, Lucrezia was in bed with powers from beyond the cosmos, huh?" Kaine spoke out loud to no one in particular, "A veritable host of Divines ready to toss their people and Sphere's worth of power to aid and later establish ties with the woman in hopes of a morsel worth of power and connections with the outside realms that were in the process of being allowed limited trade with All-Father's domain.

"Insane, never mind the fact that the war effort has already shifted back to the stars now that the construction efforts within the Kingdom were handed off to others. And yet anyone whose head is working even half properly knows how much power she will wield in the coming years should this...rescue mission? works and Lucrezia wakes up to kick things into high gear again." Kaine finished the last minute work and moved towards the exit of the ritual room.

Lucrezia's castle, and similarly, the entire realm under her command, was a whirlwind of activity as every single able-bodied individual who had pledged themselves to her worked day and night to mend the scars of the war that were still raw within many of them. Kaine saw the new airships the undercity had built for the war flying overhead, displaying great flags of allied nations and Lucrezia's house sigil.

"Woe to anyone who wages war on us after this," Richard spoke as the young man met up with Kaine in the Castle's kitchen. Both had the same idea of snacking on something as they waited for Kallista. "Dramatic names for those five, Idun insisted on it as a show of strength." Richard smiled as she shook hands with Kaine, "The Hammer, Spear, Sword, Shield, and Axe, designed to act as the beachhead for any place we might be warring." Richard spoke as he forked down a plate of freshly done salad with red meat.

It's a shame we can't bring them to our next destination. Richard wanted to speak about that, but didn't for some reason. Kaine nodded as he moved towards the door and left him after getting a quick bite of some bread with meat that was around. The Chronomancer walked the halls and corridors of the castle until he found Kaede meditating in their room. She smiled and got up to embrace him.

A small kiss gave away her state of mind, Kaede was exhausted and worried for Lucrezia, this entire thing was putting an enormous pressure on her skills as a mage and acting as emotional support for the others was not a easy task, yet she kept at it with a tired smile that reached her eyes and quiet determination that heated his chest, the two remained embraced for a long moment before moving towards the biggest courtyard of the castle.

A dragon waited for them.

Kallista walked with her head held high, on her back a simple burlap sack filled with the final ingredient of this madcap mission to restore Lucrezia's mind and soul from whatever realm she dwelled.

The dragoness sighed, emotions she hadn't felt in absolute ages flaring at the most random of times, making her feel like a young hatchling all over again. She couldn't deny it anymore; she was attached to that crazy mortal, and there was a pull to Lucrezia that she couldn't deny. Seeing her locked away inside that prison of crystal made her blood boil, and memories of old battles flared.

Yet Revenge had being denied, not just for her but for every close ally of Lucrezia as the mother of the woman who struck Lucrezia down committed the foulest deed of Kinslaying, heads in her hands and a simple request of exile to the deepest reaches of the north, Kallista knew quite a few Divines who were mighty angry at that and wished to petition the Unbreakable himself for their souls for further punishment.

All of that was secondary now, even the Killing of Malphas the Traitor, Kallista stood at the threshold of the ritual room and made her presence known. A rumble of gears and the soft purr of magic welcomed her as the mighty door opened, and the crew gathered for the mission nodded in her direction. Eager faces that hid gloom and worry, but ready all the same, as the Dragoness did her part of the whole deal.

Complicated rituals, items meant only for Dragonkind and worse of all, Knowledge of a place only privy to the highest powers, these mortals would behold it all as each one of them stepped into their positions and fed the ritual their mana and life essence both, with a nod from the Undead Priestess Castra-Cam the connection to their souls and mind was made and the ritual was complete.

Only one step remained, the most crucial step, as Richard took to the middle of the ritual room and placed his palm upon Lucrezia's coffin, with a grunt of power, all of them, except Kallista, kneeled, and then a silence fell over the crew. Kaede, Vivienne, and Castra-Cam were the first to close their eyes, followed by Richard, Saa'ryu, and Arthur. Kallista looked towards Kaine and smiled. The young mage nodded and finally closed his eyes.

"All-Mother watch over me," she spoke and closed her eyes, ready for one more, and hopefully the final battle of this saga.

"Incoming!" Hope screamed as her divination spells went off. The group was still shaking off the dizziness from the ritual as they stepped into whatever soul or mental realm this was. When the first iron-tipped spear flew past her, landing near Richard, she knew something was wrong! "Lucrezia! Stop this madness at once, we come in peace, you deranged woman!" she screamed at the fog, and the reply was anything but civil.

Kaine and Kaede sprang forth with shining shields of pale blue complexion as a mighty wind banished the fog around them. They had landed on top of a hill that overlooked a stretch of flat land with such color that it felt almost primitive. Yet what grabbed their attention was a massive force of at the very least five hundred foot soldiers being led by men on top of chariots.

"Gods be good, even in a comatose state, this woman dreams of war." Arthur shook his head in disbelief. "Richard! Your wife-to-be needs to relax a little! There's no way we can survive this if they have mage support!" Arthur screamed, and Richard turned to him, but before saying anything, Kaine raised his hand. "They don't have any," Kaine interjected. "There's not a hint of magic among that warband."

Silence fell like a blanket among the party as everyone digested the news, "We fight then?" Kallista spoke at last, her head turning to Richard and then Hope. Both nodded, and the game was on.

"Saa'ryu, decapitate their command structure! Kaine, Kaede, and Arthur, I want long-range bombardments, Kallista! You are in charge of keeping the skies clear and killing anything that might be an issue in the air and ground alike; the rest are with me! We charge straight at the head of their formation!" His orders came as barks, and the crew started working like a well-oiled machine.

Yet these primitive shades were not as weak as they appeared to be; more than once, they fielded bolder throwing contraptions that had Kaine and Kaede work overtime to raise the appropriate shield. Twice, Richard had Hope slaughter cavalry charges that came from the sidelines. Once those stopped, the Leader who sat upon a chariot being pulled by 6 huge horses made a hand gesture, and the enemy was reinforced with crazed soldiers clad in nothing but fur and animal bone, howling and screaming like Northern Berserkers.

Richard took a closer look at the foot soldiers and their leader's gear, Iron, bronze, and other metals that indicated a smaller control over the forge, yet their tactics were superb against the enemy they were facing. Shield walls, pikes being used to halt the trio's charges, smaller stabbing swords, almost like a rapier, ready to poke them to death. Even their primitive artillery was effective in a way.

Yet to the might the entire crew fielded this small army would not last, Kallista herself after confirming they had nothing for air combat began to reap scores of soldiers and berserker, Saa'ryu was nearly done with her grim tasks as well and now only the leader remained barking orders in a strange language Richard could not decode, yet all of this...seemed familiar somehow.

It was when Vivienne leaped towards the Leader and stopped mid-stab that he noticed something was not right with this; that hesitation nearly got her cut down, but Hope was on the job as fast as lightning. With her God-Slaying spear, she pierced the enemy and saved Vivienne. Richard closed in on killing the honor guard that remained and faced Vivienne, who was currently staring at the Enemy Leader with a complicated look on her face.

He was about to ask what happened before something made him look at the body, which was turning into mist. Something in that face made him... "It is as if I know this man," Richard whispered to himself as Vivienne nodded but said nothing. The crew reunited and stared as Mist engulfed them again. "This is some sort of defense mechanism woven into both her mind and soul, and these soldiers, their gear does not fit anything I have seen in either history or my own eyes." Castra-Cam's form appeared beside Richard. "Apologies for the delay, my friends, something was stopping me from coming earlier. An expertly made ward against the kind of magic I was using to send you people in, but keyed to undead individuals, whoever made this did not want the Unbreakable poking around Lucrezia's soul." She finished with a small bow.

"This does not bode well, my suite of investigative spells is telling me we are due more fighting, Arthur?" Kaine turned to his friend as this specific branch of Necromancy that dealt with soul-spaces was his wheelhouse. "Aye, my friend, at the very least we will be fighting five more instances of protective measures if my spells are interpreting this correctly. And with the difficulty going up every time as well," He smiled as the rest grunted in acknowledgment.

"With you here, Castra, our chances will be better and our front assaults stronger," Richard spoke as he clasped hands with her. One more ally against waves of fighters and whatever the hell Lucrezia's soul was conjuring to halt their progress.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Weapons, Kallista was starting to hate these vile things as she divebombed another entrenched position commanded by Lucrezia's soul shades. Armed with eerily accurate cannons and spears of fire akin to what the Magi-Tech vanguard used before Idun found Lucrezia, things were starting to fall into place for the Dragoness, and the implication of many, many irregularities with her Friend were adding up to a particularly nasty revelation.

"Kaine! BLAST THEM!" Kallista roared as the young Chronomancer warped above her with his staff high up to the skies, the very definition of an avenger and slayer of evil. The shades below them sounded a fighting retreat, but it was not enough as spheres of fast-forward time fell upon the position, turning all to dust. To the north, Kallista saw flashes of light and the roar of cannons as the rest of the group tried their best to find the Commander, a name given to the master shade by Richard after their first encounter with the entity.

"Human, I said, Blast not turn them into ash." Kallista touched down and shapeshifted into her humanoid form. "This was the last long-range support the enemy had; the Commander will show its ghastly face again, I am sure of it." She watched as Kaine stared at the ruins of the enemy camp. Something was bothering the young mage, and she had an inkling he was already connecting the dots.

"Noticed that, did you?" Kallista asked, and his face twisted into a grimace."All-Father, protect me if this is the upper layer of whatever mental and soul protections she has, we will be in for a long haul." Kaine remained silent.

"Speak, Kaine, before I have to drag Kaede here to get you to talk." Kallista paced around him as the mage waved her off."It is no leap of logic to assume Lucrezia is tied to whatever this is, a part of her belongs to all of this carnage, and I don't think..." Kaine caught himself mid-speak, "Never mind, whatever this is, will be revealed at the end, I am sure of it." his voice was muffled by the sound of a shrill whistle far, far away.

The Commander had entered the field again.

Kallista took to the air again in her dragon form, and Kaine concentrated for another teleport. When he opened his eyes, the sight that welcomed him was a dire one; the entire group was pinned down by waves of charging soldiers wielding the strange weapons with pointy blades at their tips. Kaine did not need to wonder much as he recognized a suicide charge by the screams coming from the shades.

Vivienne was at the tip of their formation, her sword glowing with purple flame as waves of the grim fire spread all over the enemy line. Hope, together with Arthur, leveled the battlefield with sheer rocks removed straight from the ground and catapulted into the backline of the enemy. Yet the suicidal charge did not stop, and even when Kallista herself joined the fray with jets of blue flame, their numbers refused to thin out.

Kaine tried to encase the group within a dome of force, but he and the rest felt a roaring noise coming from the skies, another followed from over the mountainside, and the entire party saw the enemy's leader, on top of what looked like a train Lucrezia had made was fused with a giant centipede, it cralwed in its many legs as the noise peaked in intensity before the thing halted.

Up in the skies, a monster of flesh and metal hovered above them, it twisted and groaned into what looked like a ship, a specific type of ship designed to travel the stars... Kaine did not think twice as he grunted with effort and dumped his entire reserve of mana and divine energy into shaping the mother of all defensive spells. Kallista herself dove into his position with a look no Dragon should have on its face.

Pure panic.

Blinding light came out of the twisted ship from the skies, a beam of overwhelming power crashing into Kaine's spell as Kaede and Hope rushed to aid him, eventually, every single member of the group was throwing every spell they had to shore up the defenses, but that was not all as the vehicle the Commander Shade sat on top shifted into itself as hulking soldiers pounced out of its insides.

It also began its bombardment, shells and other munitions Kaine could not see slamming into them as whatever forces the Shade had in reserve mustered themselves. Kaine could not hide his surprise as the forms warped into something familiar and yet very alien. Regular-sized soldiers and vehicles meant for transportation, armored siege engines with cannons that looked very eager to hammer his shield in.

"He's going to drown us in numbers!" Saa'ryu spoke with alarm as the beam of energy faded. Castra-Cam grunted and flew up in the skies, her face grim with resolution and conviction as the woman spun her scythe twice. Kaine's eyes were wide with surprise as he beheld what had to be one of the most secret rites of necromancy he was aware of, and with Castra's twist added to the mix.

The hulking warriors of the Shade fired their weapons at her form, the projectiles exploding into barriers hastily erected by Kaede and Hope as Kaine worked into a spell that would turn their patch of earth into a stone fortress, slow, he thought to himself, too slow! His mana reserves were not recuperating fast enough. He cursed loudly as even the Divine energies of his patron Goddess took their sweet time to return.

"Well, guess we know where all those ideas for the weapons and suits of armor came from now, eh, Richard?" Arthur spoke with some cheer. "Yet the design speaks of something very, very wrong, can you see it as well?" he pointed to the Commander Shade and the smaller troops.

"No magic, nothing they have been using against us has a single iota of mana on it. It is all mechanical and chemical. A wonder of pure..." Richard's face twisted into a grimace. "Pure technology," both men stood quiet after that.

Saa'ryu, who was near them, asked no one in particular, "Who's the Commander Shade then?"

No one replied as Kaine's reserves came to an acceptable level and he grunted with power once again, slamming his staff on the ground and raising a mighty fortress of sheer stone around them. Kallista took to the skies once again, and the rest of the group rushed to the walls as they beheld the enemy army massing at a distance. Castra's spell was nearly over, by what Kaine could tell as well.

A rumbling from below made them watch the ground. An entire host of skeleton warriors rose and stood at the ready, behind them cavalry sat on top of massive skeletal steeds, and together with them were 6 chariots made out of black bone. The skeletons that were on top of those looked regal, kingly even, as Kaine couldn't help but whistle in pure awe. Here it was, one of the trump cards Castra had and the stuff of actual legends.

With her scythe, she pointed towards the enemy, and with rattling noises, the skeleton host charged.

They all knew it; the Final battle against whatever thing this shade was had started.

Hope was grasping for air as she raised huge towers of sheer stone to stop the wave of incoming artillery from the Shade army. It was a constant rain of shells and weird projectiles that followed her friends around like mad birds, followed by huge explosions. The enemy shades had gotten upgrades mid-battle now, and it wasn't just their war gear, tactics, and even the soldiers themselves that changed to something eerily familiar.

Saa'ryu was the first to call this out; she charged together with Castra-Cam's skeleton host to deliver a decisive blow on the Commander shade's army, but was pushed back with such violence that Kaine himself had to bail the woman out from the thick of it. Minutes of horrifying melee ensued before the host broke through the Shade army, and the first upgrade happened right before their eyes.

Everyone watched as the maid spoke, "These are all similar to our troops, weapons, gear, even the clothing patterns and ways of fighting. We are seeing My Lady's inspirations for her armed forces, even if Ra'Tyrius had influenced some of it, the lion's share of the labor belongs to whatever this is." Silence was thick after she spoke, like a heavy blanket covering the group.

It was Vivienne who spoke afterwards, her voice small and trembling with emotion, Hope knew well. "It's the Commander Shade." She stopped as everyone turned to her, waiting for the rest of whatever truth she had gleamed or decided to share with them. "When Lucrezia saved me... In what I now know as a my realm of the soul and mind much like this one we are in, He was there by her side, not as a fully grown man we see now but as a younger version of him, full of righteous fury and ready to fight the curses that were deep inside me, him and..." She didn't finish as the group felt the weight of said revelation.

"Arthur?" Richard asked, "Castra?" he stared at the two necromancers among them waiting for an awnser and Arthur spoke first "I don't believe it's a parasitic entity, Lucrezia dealt with the church of the Unbreakable and even went through one of their harshest tests" Castra nodded as she took over "It is something...Beyond my particular sphere of power Richard, I have an inkling of what might be but that is..." she paced around the group before snapping her head to the skies "More enemies incoming, we can discuss this later once the Commnander is defeated" Castra finished by flying up to the sky followed by Kaede, Kaine and Vivienne.

Richard looked at Hope, worry behind his gaze as the thought of some soul entity sucking the very essence of Lucrezia away still lingered in his mind, she smiled and moved in for a Hug, there was no need for words as the two embraced each other for a moment before leaping into battle again. The enemy's army was readying itself for the slaughter as their troops up in the skies faced against Kallista.

Hope felt her own blessings shift and slot into place. It was high time she ended this once and for all.

Carnage and thunder were heard up in the skies as the group split up to punch through the enemy horde. Castra's skeletons were doing the brunt of the work against the Commander's shade, terrifying weapons of war, and now upgraded soldiers who behaved like the specially trained troops Lucrezia had told Hope once. It was a complete mess of chaos and rage that got her feeling powers trembling for a release.

And so she did, turning the tide together with Arthur as her beloved, also unleashing his malefic power upon the Shade's army, enacting a panicked response from the enemy as their heavy artillery and armored carriers thundered with barrages of steel and powder. The shades being cut down by the two, together with Saa'ryu and the others, flayed wildly with their weapons, entire seconds' worth of ammo being spilled out from their weird machines, and once the bullets were done, suicidal charges with bayonets trying to drown them in with sheer numbers.

A roar from the skies shook the earth around Hope as Kallista's glow in pure divine power radiated so much heat it felt like she was being baked alive beneath the summer sun. The Dragoness then locked into the Commander's shade position and, with another roar that stung the entire battle to a halt, flew towards him, breaking the sound barrier as she did and crashing into him like a comet!

Hope saw then what made Kallista do such a drastic move as shadows loomed above the clouds, massive structures of metal loomed in the skies, their bellies loaded with strangly shaped projectlies and while Hope did not know what kind of payload they had she knew that was not something she wanted falling upon her head and that of her friends, a mad rush ensued as everyone went forward to halt the Commander Shade.

It was Vivienne in the end who got the kill. Saa'ryu, together with Richard, pinned the bastard down, and Hope had to halt the freakishly fast honor guard it had. He smiled as the young woman pierced him with her blade.

"..." words flew from his mouth but none cold understad it, Richard barked for a translation spell out of Kaine who flew down from the skies after halting the first plataforms and the Mage cursed under the strain of keeping so many spells up, seconds flew by before the Shade's voice was clear on everyone's ears "...I set free Truth, for It shall set us all free, free and wild and forever, ever and ever!" a mad smile upon his face as he went up in smoke.

Hope found herself alone in a white room, in front of her was a shadowy form of a woman sitting on top of a throne of glass and crystal. "Kneel," she spoke, and Hope had to stab her spear on the ground to not follow. A smile appeared on the shadow's head as pearly white teeth flashed. Hope felt deeply disturbed at the scene and found her voice at last, "Reveal yourself, Shade!" Hope screamed, and the shadow spread open her arms.

Lucrezia stood there, a smirk of haughtiness dancing on her lips as her eyes burned with rage. "Speak my name, Peasant, Kneel to me!" she ordered, and Hope did not relent, her mind working faster and faster as she tried to piece together what this meant. The Shade had a trap ready when he met his end, so this must be the "Truth" he spoke about in his last moments.

Hope felt dread coming up her spine as the shadowy Lucrezia summoned a rapier made out of ice and rusted iron, a gnarly weapon that was no doubt a symbol for something... Hope stood at the ready for battle, but the Shade merely twirled the weapon around, as if playing with Hope. She opened her mouth to speak something before Hope felt a surge of power on top of her, with a mighty crack, the illusion was broken into smoke, and the group stood at the ready near her.

Kaine spoke, his voice laced with a tiredness everyone could relate to now "Some sort of trap cast in death by the Shade took everyone out, you were the last one to escape Hope" He pointed to Vivienne and Saa'ryu who had tears in their eyes "It was not a pleasant experience for most of us, Can you speak with the two of them so we can get moving? I fear we" But Kaine was cut off before he could speak as beams of light slammed into everyone, and there was only darkness.