(Chronicles of Aetys)

Gaaldûr Timeline:

2779404 UD (Universal Date)

23754 FGE (First Great Empire)

Earth Timeline:

14234 BCE (Before Common Era)

General Aetys surveyed the scene laid out before him, his bright green eyes flicking back and forth. They had lost too many men and gained not nearly enough ground. He looked out across the plains, dotted with small trees and grasses flowing in the wind. He saw a Kalorï tree growing from between two rocks, its swirling purple and orange fruit seeming to glisten in the sun and he felt a tug in his gut, wishing he could consume of its healing flesh in the midst of this battle. In the distance there was a lake with rippling waters set against a backdrop of towering snowy mountains. He always found it fascinating to look up at the mountains and see snow when the sun was beating down on him in a way that made it seem impossible for cold to even exist. He turned his attention to the castle. A great wall, 70 feet high, capped on each end by looming towers topped with battlements with men swarming behind the parapets wielding all manner of magic, weapon, and magical weapon. The open plains surrounding Käsattometon made it even more difficult to attack than did the 10 foot thick walls layered with thousands of years of enchantment work. No one knew for sure how old the castle was but it was known to date back to before the Treaty of Gaaldûr and the formation of the First Great Empire. His thoughts were interrupted when his second in command came up beside him.

“Sir! It looks like they're getting ready for another barrage. What should we do?” He looked slightly frantic. Aetys remained calm, his short, stubbly, gray beard framing thin lips that betrayed nothing of what he was thinking. He looked down his sharp nose at the officer, wrinkling the tan, leathery skin of his forehead as his long, stringy hair blew in the wind.

“Do the mages think their enchantments can hold off another attack like that last one?” Aetys asked.

“They're not sure sir.” he said, hesitating. “They said they can try to have the sorcerers reinforce their shielding with tiaki charms but it may not work.” he glanced back towards the medical tents at the rear of their encampment. “Several of the mages fell in that last attack. It was just too much for them.”

Aetys gazed out across his men. Most of them looked sharp and determined but a good number were weary and tired. They huddled in groups around fires, looking fearfully towards the castle where the sounds of preparation could be heard drifting across the plains. The officer before him, his second in command, was Commander Zuave. Zuave, who had short-cropped black hair and a hardened appearance that contrasted the soft look in his electric blue eyes, was, in fact, a kind man. He cared almost too much for his troops – which is why Aetys chose him, for it was Aetys' duty to be more strategical and less emotional when making decisions in battle. Everything in war and indeed in life is about balance, and this was something Aetys knew well. He sighed. By the sounds coming from the castle there was little time and therefore only one real decision to go with.

“Have the second battalion mount the Thystra as quickly as possible and get some huna type charms going. Do we have anyone good enough to do a Hanokani? If we should all perish here I want them getting away, not being detected because of some half-assed huna charm that any second-level sorcerer could see through.”

“Yessir!” Zuave nodded and hustled off. Aetys watched as they brought out the Thystra, great beasts resembling a cross between a horse and a lion with wings coming from their front shoulders. Their thick black fur is tough and naturally magic resistant, making them ideal steeds for battle. Their heads come in somewhere between a cat and a dog, with large teeth protruding from a menacing mouth and cutting eyes that do not belittle the intelligence they posses. Armor had been fitted to them, gothic in nature, similar to Aetys' full suit made of shining black metal inlaid with intricate gold designs glowing and pulsing with magical power. As the second battalion mounted a hum could be felt building from the direction of Käsattometon. Power crackled through the air and the ground began to shake as he watched a spellcaster of some sort make the riders and their Thystra disappear one by one.

“Everyone ready yourselves!” he shouted across the camp. Most of the soldiers raised their hands to the sky, palms up, and began to concentrate. Power built above them, their collective magics attempting to form a barrier to protect them from the onslaught to come. With a great roar, a tangle of flames came thundering towards them from the castle – tongues of purple, blue, orange, and red licking across the ground at an alarming speed. Aetys drew the greatsword Velitel from his hip and held it to the sky, focusing his energy into it and watched as a cone of magical protection spread out from him. The flames reached the edge of camp and he felt the heat. His ears were filled with nothing but the roar of oxygen being sucked from the air to fuel the instrument of death approaching him. The enchantments protecting the camp began to give way and he watched as several mages fell to the ground from the exertion of trying to maintain the spells.

“CLOSE RANKS! CLOSE RANKS!” he yelled out, hoping for his voice to be heard over the destruction. Some of his men moved closer, into the protective circle cast by Velitel, but not many heard. Suddenly, the world around him filled with fire – everything burned. He heard screams of agony and smelled the sickening scent of charred flesh in the air. Everything was white and he wondered if this was it – 223 years of life and it ends here on this battlefield. Nothingness enveloped him. Slowly, with a high pitched keen, the world around him returned – though nothing remained outside the circle. He cast his gaze around. 10 men. Out of 500 he had come with, he had lost all but 10, and 182 of them in that attack alone. His superiors were fools sending them to attack Käsattometon. They must have known it to be a suicide mission. His blood boiled with rage and his determination peaked. He would not perish here today. It wouldn't be the first battle he had won nearly single handedly, and he was going to make sure it wasn't the last. He knew they wouldn't have another attack like that ready for quite some time – which could perhaps give him the chance to get close enough to finally do some damage. They would probably send out a battalion in an attempt to round up the stragglers, and they would no doubt send at least one extremely powerful spellcaster, as they surely knew of Aetys' presence on the battlefield.

“Let's move forward men! Let your brother's deaths not be in vain, victory can still be ours!” He lowered his blade and charged forward, determination on his face. Across the battlefield he saw the doors of the castle open and a battalion stepped out. At their front stood a towering figure, obscured by robes. Aetys could feel the power radiating from him all the way across the scorched earth that separated them. A hex flew out from behind him, cast by one of his men. The smoky, crackling ball of green energy surged towards the enemy as the gap between the groups closed. They were less than 50 feet away now and the hex reached the party. It struck the robed figure and dissipated like dust thrown against the ground on a windy day. The figure laughed and raised his hands, palms touching, and pointed his fingertips towards Aetys and his men.

“MOVE!” Aetys yelled. He and his men dove to the sides as a great fissure opened in the ground where they were previously standing. The earth trembled as the ground broke and crumbled beneath their feet. Aetys jumped into the air, gravity manipulation charms in his armor allowing him to float above the crack below. He reached his hand out towards the fissure as if grabbing for something, and poured power forth. The earth rumbled once more and the ground began to grow hot. Lava erupted from the crack and surged towards the hooded figure, bubbling and searing the earth, filling the crevice. Aetys followed behind it, closing the gap between himself and his opponent. As he approached, the spellcaster raised his hands above his head and a flowing mass of blue energy began to form above him, about 5 feet wide. He cast it forth and it slammed into the lava, turning all of it to stone instantly. Aetys focused on the charms in his armor and brought himself heavily down just 10 feet from his foe, driving his right foot into the ground. Energy erupted from the ground underneath the robed figure, crackling red and yellow, enveloping him in a column that extended into the sky. Aetys was wary, for his view of the spellcaster was now obscured. Suddenly, a hand grabbed the leg he had driven into the ground and began to pull him under. Aetys reached out with his left hand and grasped the fabric of spacetime, pulling it around him until it folded across and allowed him to step through, bringing him 5 feet left of where he was. From his point of view, it was a simple sidestep. However, to an observer, it would appear as though he had teleported. His foe was unable to maintain his grasp and had disappeared.

He held his blade up, waiting for the attack that was sure to come. Light glistened from the shining silver edge of Velitel and the golden hilt glinted in the sun, the blue stones set in it swirling with power. Suddenly, a thin rapier came at him on the right, seemingly from nowhere. He parried with ease and held up his left palm, blasting a shot of compressed air at the area where the attack had come from. The figure materialized and stumbled back, thrown off balance. Aetys struck out with Velitel and the tip of his blade found a home in the man's gut. It wasn't deep enough to be fatal, but that wasn't what concerned Aetys – what concerned him was the glowing purple blood that gushed from the wound. As the spellcaster stepped back and Velitel withdrew, the robes fell away to reveal a horrifying sight. What he thought was a man was in fact some sort of sick hybrid – too deformed to even identify what species were brought together to make it. Its skin was pale and grey, its limbs thin and long. It was bony to the point that he wondered if it even possessed muscles, as the skin appeared to hang directly from the bone. It had tall pointy ears that were tattered along the back, like they weren't fully formed. Yet truly the worst part was its face – possessing of no expression, its lipless mouth was a grizzled hole dotted with sharp teeth. Two nostrils were inset on a flat space just above the mouth-hole, and just above those two small black beady eyes, almost touching, staring at Aetys with no real awareness. He saw nothing in the eyes – just a lust for power and destruction. The Abomination screeched and waves of magic undulated the air between them. Aetys slashed with his blade and power flew from the tip. The creature dodged and fired back a bolt of blue energy that had a sickening smell like a dead body left to rot in the sun. Aetys jumped, desperately trying to fling himself out of the way. The energy struck his right foot and a searing pain shot up his leg. He quickly grasped his thigh with both hands, still flying through the air, and poured lækna energy into it, stopping the hex's progression. He watched as the flesh of his foot turned purple and began to burst, blood pouring forth as chunks of meat fell off. He landed hard on the ground on his side and skidded to a stop. Wincing, he scrambled to his feet just as the Abomination was upon him, shrieking. He wondered why it would close range instead of firing another hex when, for the first time, he saw its hands, and he recoiled in disgust. Whoever had worked the devilish magic that no doubt created this horrific creature had seen fit to saw its hands off and replace them with the claws of a Lydekk, an extremely deadly predatory flightless bird. Standing as much as 8 feet tall with shades of blue and black in their feathers, Lydekk utilize their magic to produce a potent curse in their claws that acts as a venom to anyone unlucky enough to be sliced by them. As the Abomination drew near Aetys raised his sword in an attempt to block but was still off balance due to the extensive injury to his foot. The shrieking emanating from the dry, cracked mouth-hole of the creature seemed to dim away as the four long razor sharp black claws came slicing through the air towards Aetys. He poured magic into his free hand at the same time as he brought his sword up, but he knew he could complete neither in time and felt his eyes reflexively close as the inevitability of death began to creep its way into his head.

He waited for the searing pain of the slash and slowly opened his eyes as he realized that it never came. Standing in front of him was commander Zuave, burned and bloodied. Aetys' eyes widened in surprise. He had not been among the 10 men who made it into the protective circle and it was remarkable he survived. He had reached out grabbed the Abomination's wrist before it could make contact with Aetys. Aetys saw his opportunity and slashed, cleaving the creature's arm from its body. Zuave stumbled backwards and Aetys saw blood. He realized the Abomination must have seen Zuave at the last moment and redirected its strike. Zuave was able to stop it, but not before those sickening black claws penetrated straight into his gut, deep enough to touch his spine. Aetys wanted to rush to his friend's side, to aid him, attempt to heal him, but the battle was far from over. The Abomination keened at a volume that made Aetys wish he had been born deaf. He slashed Velitel upwards sharply, but the creature jumped back just in time to avoid the blow. Aetys' body rippled with power as he raised his left hand and pointed at his opponent. The spell spilled from his mouth like heat rising from the desert earth on a hot summer day.

“Immolo.”

Flames erupted from the Abomination's body, engulfing it in a miasma of searing inferno that could easily melt even the most hardened of steels. Aetys stood at the ready, still feeling weary for some reason. Suddenly, another hex from within the flames. He sidestepped, spun, and put the tip of his blade out. He directed magic through his arm to the tip of the blade as he spun and whipped his elbow and wrist, causing the speed of the tip of the blade to far exceed that of his actual spin. A resounding crack echoed across the plains and just as the flames dissipated a shockwave of energy left the tip of the blade in an arc. It traversed the small gap between them nearly instantaneously and slammed into the miraculously unburned body of the Abomination. The creature flew backwards and let out a roar. One arm gone and it just now seemed to be getting angry. Aetys grimaced as he tried to put weight on what was left of his foot. He grabbed the robes that had fallen from the creature and tore some off, wrapping it around his foot/stump in a futile attempt to help control the bleeding and dull the pain. As he looked up, his foe was upon him again. He parried the remaining claw and thrust his blade out at his foe. He could feel his swordplay getting sloppy, his mind dulled by the pain. Another slash of claws, this one narrowly missing his left ear. As he ducked down he fired a hex upwards. Crackling yellow energy flew from his fingertips in a bolt of plasma and struck the Abomination under the chin. Its head snapped back but its body remained still, absorbing the impact with its neck of all things. Aetys quickly jumped back, putting some distance between himself and the creature. He brought Velitel up, flat in front of him, and began to spin it, so fast that it almost seemed to become a solid circle. The air popped and hissed as energy built in the blade and indiscriminate flares of light radiated out from the spinning cloud of power. The incantation boomed across the plains like a brilliant declaration, eclipsing all other sound.

“Folmê Kintana!”

A circle of energy exploded from the blade, white with the intensity of starlight, and streaked towards the Abomination. It screamed as the light engulfed it. Aetys felt that this spell should be enough destroy the creature. As the blinding light faded away, however, it remained standing, looking only slightly more battered. Whatever the hybrid had been made from, it obviously possessed a high resistance to magic of all kinds and not just flames. He closed the gap quickly and slashed with his blade, catching the Abomination off guard and managing to lay open the flesh across its chest, adding fresh wet purple blood to the mix from the drying cake on the wound in its gut. It swung back with its remaining left claw and he quickly brought Velitel around to parry. He caught the creatures claw but the tip scraped along his armor, making a noise akin to the one that the Abomination was so fond of releasing from its wretched mouth-hole. The golden inlay on his armor glowed in bright relief to the black metal and there was a release of energy, sending them both flying back. The enchantments on the armor had backfired while attempting to absorb the energy of the curse of the Lydekk's claw. He cursed the second-rate enchanters of the Great Empire for their shoddy work. He managed to stay on his feet, however, which was fortunate. He faced the Abomination and thrust both hands into the air. The temperature dropped sharply and a cold wind rolled in as ice crystals began to form on Aetys' hands. The world around them seemed to grow darker and colder by the second as power built in the air. He breathed in deeply and felt the clutch of ice on his heart as he released the spell. The words seemed to slide from his lips like snow down a slope, rumbling from his chest in a chilling manner.

“Mitåton Kyla.”

A blast of cold akin to the void of space struck the Abomination, covering its body in a sheet of ice and freezing everything around it. Aetys moved in quickly to strike, but as he brought his blade to the creature's neck the ice cracked and he felt the pressure of a claw against his armor. The metal sizzled and hissed with energy, slowly giving way. He let out a yelp of pain as the venom made contact with his skin. He jumped back quickly, making sure that the claw had not drawn blood. He was intact for now. The Abomination was working to free itself from the ice. It had definitely been slowed down by that one, and its breathing seemed ragged.

His mind raced as he tried to come up with a way to end the miserable existence of this awful creature. He needed time to think. He thrust the blade of Velitel into the ground as the Abomination was approaching. He centered his mind, breathed in deeply, and felt the power building in his body. His voice rang out like holy bells, as though he were attempting to summon an angel to save him.

“Karê Vuur!”

A circle of blue fire erupted around Aetys. The Abomination slammed into it as if it were a wall. It may have some type of immunity to fire and a resistance to magic, but the unholy methods used to create it would prevent it from crossing the sacred circle formed by the spell. For now, at least. He had to think of a way to destroy it permanently. The creature sneered at him and hissed. He smirked.

“What's the matter fella? Can't get to me, can ya? Getting mad, are we?” The Abomination screeched its now familiar screech and Aetys laughed. Maybe if he couldn't destroy the body he could at least trap the creature and render it harmless. He lifted his good foot, putting his weight on Velitel, still stuck in the ground. He slammed his foot down and a wall of earth grew out of the ground behind the creature. It crouched low, wary of his plans. In one swift motion, he withdrew Velitel from the ground and brought the tip upwards in a slashing arc, once more releasing a shockwave of energy. The Abominaton was blasted back into the wall of earth and Aetys was upon it in moments. He reached around its body and pushed his fingers into the rock, grabbing and pulling it like clay, weaving and wrapping it around the Abomination. It struggled, slashing out with its remaining claw and striking against his armor, but Aetys held tight, despite the pain of his wounds. The creature screamed as he worked the rock over its face, covering its quivering, stinky mouth-hole once and for all. He worked and pushed and pulled until he had woven the Abomination completely into the rock face and nothing could be seen of it. He paused, and waited, but nothing happened. Satisfied, he put his arm out, palm facing the ground, and thrust downward. The butte sank back into the ground, swallowed up by the earth. He turned just in time to see four hexes flying towards him, courtesy of the battalion which had accompanied the Abomination, whom Aetys had forgotten all about. He brought his hands up desperately but the hexes suddenly fell apart before he could even do anything. He looked to the sky and couldn't help but to smile. He had also forgotten all about his own second battalion, who flew away on the Thystra. They rained hexes and spells down upon the enemy. Aetys turned back and scanned the ground for Zuave. He saw his friend and ran to him, already building lækna in his hands. When he reached Zuave, however, it was already too late. He felt the pain well up inside him and held back tears. It was time to get the hell out of there and save the few men who had managed to make it this far. They had undoubtedly barely put a dent in the castle's forces at this point, not to mention the castle spellcasters would no doubt be ready for another magical barrage very soon. He waved to the skies and called out. Several Thystra came down and he and the now 8 remaining men scrambled onto their backs. Aetys leaned down and pulled Zuave's body up with them. A man such as he deserved a proper burial. They all did, but this was as much as Aetys could do. They quickly turned and flew away into the horizon, leaving the horrors of Käsattometon behind them.

Epilogue

Aetys stood before the military council, dressed in light armor, fine leather adorned with swirling emblems of silver and gold, inlaid with stones of power. He gazed up to the dais, fitted with six chairs for the six Admirals in attendance. The dais sat at the end of a frilled purple and gold carpet which stretched down the center of a long narrow building whose walls were decorated with the history of the First Great Empire. His mind wandered, thinking of the funeral and burial of Zuave that he had just come from. It had been a beautiful ceremony, befitting of the commander's kindness. Every troop still living that had ever served with or under Zuave seemed to have been there. The only thing that could have been better would've been having his friend still alive.

“So then, explain to me why it is that you abandoned your mission?” asked on of the Admirals, snapping him back to reality.

“I am sorry to say it sir, but we suffered defeat at the hands of the enemy.” replied Aetys.

“Correct me if I'm wrong, General Aetys, but I see you standing here before me, alive. Along with this I hear 8 other men and an entire battalion of Thystra riders survived. This does not sound like defeat to me.” The other Admirals nodded and murmured their agreement. Another one spoke up.

“You know how this military works. You either win, or you die.” he said. Aetys was growing more and more angry.

“Respectfully, sirs, that was a damn suicide mission you sent us on and you knew it.” Aetys shouldn't have said that but his years of dedicated service made him feel bold, knowing he was useful to them and they would think twice before doing anything rash. One of the admirals laughed.

“Fine, you're right. So we will let the treason of retreat pass, if you tell us in detail what transpired.” He looked down at Aetys expectantly. So Aetys told the whole story, painstakingly remembering and bringing to life in detail the death of every soldier, desperate to see even a shred of compassion on the faces of his superiors. But he knew better. Only when he spoke of the Abomination did they seem to become interested.

“Some kind of abomination, you say?” one asked.

“Was it like a hybrid of sorts, perhaps?” another chimed in. Aetys nodded. The admirals turned and muttered among themselves for a moment. They turned back.

“Very well, continue your tale.” Aetys continued, detailing the hard fought battle between himself and creature. Upon completion of the story, the admirals actually seemed happy.

“So the Abomination is eliminated? You put him deep, their spellcasters won't be able to recover him?” Aetys nodded, but their eagerness made him suspicious.

“I feel quite confident he won't be bothering anyone any time soon.” he said. The admirals smiled and nodded.

“Very well then, that will be all, you are dismissed.” Aetys felt unsatisfied and he had a sneaking suspicion that made him feel sick to his stomach.

“You knew of the Abomination, didn't you?” he accused. They looked at him carefully, remaining silent. “You knew of the Abomination and you sent me to kill it, so why not just tell us that was the mission?” His voice raised slightly at this point. One of the Admirals sighed.

“Listen. The only way to guarantee you even had a shot at killing it was to do the mission the way we did. If we had sent you alone or with a smaller party you would have been struck down before ever getting close to the castle. The sacrifice of those men's lives was necessary to wear down the large-scale attack power of the enemy and that was the only way to ensure a decent chance of them sending that creature into battle at all.” Aetys felt his blood boiling and opened his mouth to speak. An Admiral cut him off.

“Let it go, General Aetys. You shouldn't have even been told that. You're dismissed, and if you speak out of turn again I'll reinstate that treason charge.” Aetys saluted and did an about face, marching out of the room as sarcastically as he could without actually being disrespectful. Dark thoughts swirled through his mind. This would not be the end of things. This war had to be stopped. This empire had to be stopped. If he had to be the one to do it, then so be it.

THE END

Photo Credit: National Park Foundation