Chapter 13-359: Hollow Legions

Leaving behind the magnetic pulse was instantly apparent, as richer Elemental Air power was suddenly pervading the atmosphere around them. The zone was less than a hundred meters wide, but their Pact Wings instantly thrummed with new strength, and their Ring with the same.

Most of the greater Elemental Powers were not yet Infused into the Ring, but the Aura and efficacy against creatures of Air was. Any such meeting them were going to be quite afraid of them.

The areas didn’t become populated rapidly, but the numbers did increase, and Legion quickly noticed a few things.

The first was that there were no weaker creatures at the higher tiers of these clouds. As they reached the third tier, there was a jolt, and they passed through a repulsive field, crackling about them and seeming to test their souls, a sensation so sharp they immediately hove to a halt.

It greatly resembled the feeling of passing through the Dome. An unseen Ward against spiritual strength and Levels?

Resuming their course, they considered that, looking down at the creatures passing by and flitting between cloud islands below them, rolling over to examine those above in contrast.

No... ‘small’ creatures above them. Or weak ones, younger ones...

They would have to ascend more and see if it improved, but from here, it looked like the higher tiers only held more and more powerful creatures, nothing that was small or weak, and they were descending to lower tiers to hunt, or retreating to higher tiers to get away from anything that might pursue them.

Nothing small, nothing young. Could babies only survive the pressure if born on the first or second tier?

That would basically force all creatures down here eventually if they wanted to have children. The higher tiers would be austere dwellings for creatures that were childless and did not want to be disturbed. Things would come down to hunt and have children, retreat to be alone on their own territories, above lesser challengers. The sheer odiousness of the vertical movement would still drive any active hunters into the bottom two tiers, as two vertical miles of ascent was not a small amount of effort for most creatures unless there were strong thermals all over the place... which Legion didn’t rule out.

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The cloud islands seemed to consist of the interwoven roots of trees, empowered so thickly that they were floating and gathering water vapor around them. Over time, lost leaves and debris, perhaps from higher levels, built up a solid surface ‘floating’ on the cloud vapor gathered to what were effectively minor nodes of elemental power.

Most of the weather affecting the lands below rolled below the cloud tiers. As they flew, they noticed few cloud formations building up through the illusory level. There seemed to be a clear divisor between the two systems.

Unsurprisingly, the skyships were made of whatever wood such trees were, and seemed to have some difficulty moving up and down all that much. Legion didn’t see many of them moving about in the third layer at all, while the scattered traffic was everywhere, if uncommon, on the first. They seemed to be a combination of fighting and salvage expeditions: raiding other cloud islands, inhabited or otherwise, for food and resources.

It was a while before they found a cloud large enough and developed enough to be called a town instead of an extended family enclave.

The first sky sailors they saw were humanish, but with longer faces and different skull shapes, a branch of mankind that wasn’t sapiens. They actually had fully developed tails and were built smaller than Homo Sapiens, nimble and agile as they fearlessly cut through the skies they couldn’t fly in themselves, without parachute or glider or anything. Their tails were often used as position anchors with sturdy posts located throughout the skimming-style ships they used. Rising was accomplished by wing manipulation and moving at speed, otherwise the boats’ natural levitation fell to a default level. It was hard to tell if it was affected by the weight inside...

Conflicts here seemed to be more about hunting areas, although the developed cloud island actually had fields developed around trees that were unusually tall and powerful... and the crops seemed to be flourishing, from what Legion could see. They also had a more martial air, no doubt to protect that food source of theirs.

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There was another Barrier at four miles/tiers, and it seemed to repeat every two thereafter. Slowly ascending, watching everything, Legion noted fantastic species of birds, winged magical beasts, drakes of all types, and multiple dragons, the last contesting with the largest birds as the lords of the skies. The dragons were in the serpentine linnorm or Oriental style, a lesser combat form than a Western Dragon ideal, bringing the bird/snake conflict into the sky.

They were moving over a more ‘settled’ area below, with larger vessels occupied by multiple races. Also, they saw their first populations of winged humanoids able to fly around below them, and they were winged apes and monkeys.

Well, at least it wasn’t gargoyles. The winged primates seemed to have control over a major cloud island jungle, a good five miles across, and were given a wary distance by any vessels nearby. Anything that came in too close attracted flights of spear-wielding winged primates to take to the air and go raiding.

There was a race of elven people here; their ships were larger, more developed, and swifter in the air, obviously magically enhanced, although they didn’t tempt the winged apes, either. They seemed close to the Sidhe, being fair-skinned and haired, with ornate light armor and classic medieval weaponry. The looks sent from the other vessels as the elves swept by were both respectful and afraid, and the apes didn’t go out of their way after them, either.

Where their center of civilization was, who knew...

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Twelve tiers up, most of Legion’s rider souls had to retreat from the external pressure, which was grinding down on them with actual force. Going above a tier you didn’t qualify for was actually very dangerous.

The numbers of creatures dropped precipitously as they rose, until only some of the larger magical ones were in the skies as they streaked into Tier 20.

Queen Rayetizvisha laughed and pushed out as they breached into 21, forcing back the flesh-flaying pressure, and they continued their climb and Mach-speed travel and survey.

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Tier 33 and 34 were obviously at their cap. They could probably endure 35 with constant fast healing for some time, but eventually they’d be pushed back down.

There were still at least fifty levels of clouds above them.

Winging along at this level were the kings of the skies: looming monarch-level birds that ruled over rocs and the like, as well as older and more dangerous dragons of various types.

And Jotuns.

The first giant they saw was seated on the edge of a lonely cloud out in the middle of nowhere, cross-legged and meditating on the winds. However, they saw him open his pale eyes and turn his head to follow them as they cut across the skies, sensing them passing at speed even though Legion was invisible.

Way over twenty feet tall, blue-white skin, dark hair trimmed smartly, toga and sandals and some silver and gold ornamentation. The fact he was meditating up at Tier 17 was indicative that he was definitely no pushover, and even if the creatures here would loom over him, they weren’t bugging him.

The Cloud Jotun cloud castle was pretty impressive, too.

It looked somewhat like a normal human fortress, only at quadruple scale. How the cloud island held up all that weight basically meant there was more magic at work. The stones were finely cut, a pale pinkish hue that blended well into the reddish sky and clouds.

There were Jotuns riding white-winged rocs on patrol about it. Legion didn’t get within miles, but they were certain the rocs saw their flaming backtrail... not that it made any difference. The great birds’ magical flight couldn’t possibly overcome that much air resistance, so the huge raptors had no chance whatsoever of catching them, and technically Legion could even outrun the horns and warning calls of the creatures and their riders.

But they weren’t looking for fights, they were scouting, Mapping, and looking for that damn Shroudzone as they curved around the interior of the world.

The castle was only a curiosity. The winds would send it somewhere else soon enough, so charting it into The Map was nothing more than a place marker of little relevance, other than its Cloud Tier. They must have another settlement(s?) down lower somewhere where children were raised...

Pushing Mach 1, Legion continued their travels around the world inside the planet, looking and charting, wondering idly what wonders on the lands below they were missing staying up so high and saving themselves some travel time...

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“<Who Are You?>”

The words were magical, more thoughts given form than anything actually audible. That meant the sender knew they were moving fast enough that words would just be an unintelligible blur to them.

It was also in Draconic.

The Polyglot Feat was a wonderful one. Since it was based on Master Fred’s Intellect and the total languages they all knew, they had all found they could learn languages with blinding speed, and had proceeded to do so if possible. Queen Rayeti knew many languages, but the nature of demonic telepathy also meant they could communicate with anything intelligent enough within range, so learning the minutiae of many languages had not been anything of interest to the lilitu.

With Polyglot, they had been able to learn literally scores of languages just from the memories of her travels in various societies... and that included Demonium itself.

Legion turned their head, and banked their wings to make a long turn.

The voice also had a demonic accent...

The owner was about three miles away, gliding serenely through the sky, dark flames trailing faintly off his extended wings and along the curve of his tail. This was indeed a more Westernized dragon in form, more lizard than serpent.

It was an Abyssal Maw, a dragon of fire born in Demonium!

Its scales were like charred armored plates, with red cracks revealing the inferno within them. A veritable forest of spiked horns formed a crest about its head, trailing ash and soot as they burned like embers, but never faded. Balefire burned in the lambent yellow-green eyes as a head larger than an average car turned to follow them as Legion approached, arcing around to catch up effortlessly to the dragon from behind, braking to come in at the same level, timing it perfectly to sweep right over its extended wings and take up position not all that far from its head.

-Queen Rayetizvisha,- they /replied, not bothering to talk audibly past the wind. -What does a Burning Elder of the Abyss in such a picturesque location?- they /asked him with a faint smile.

A burning eye studied them as they studied him in turn. There were scars and marring on his armored scales, gouges and scrapes by powerful creatures who were not pleased to have him around. They hadn’t seen any of the Firebirds, but at least two of the dragons they’d seen in the distance had been fire-breathers, so it had definite rivals here.

-I have a son who controls an empire in the lands below. I was visiting with my daughter when the way home was severed, and have been trapped here. What does a lilitu in this miniscule realm?- the ancient dragon replied lazily, yet warily.

-This one comes from the surface, seeking to learn where the Shroudzones of this Hollow World were located so they can be destroyed.- She paused significantly. -This one would wonder if the Elder might be willing to share some of his wisdom in matters of destruction towards bringing down the Shroud that keeps him here?-