Chapter : Prologue

Chapter : Prologue

What makes a good King? the Grave Warden idly wondered as he dangled his legs off the edge of his great towers roof. Power? Ruthlessness? The strength to take something, and the will to use violence to that end? Or is it humility? The willingness to listen to others? To acknowledge ones own wisdom is never sufficient to rule a Kingdom? Or maybe

He closed his eyes and pondered the question, as hed often done over the many long millennia hed stood vigil over the plane of Aeternaoften from the exact spot he now sat, reveling in the charms of the paradisical island hed crafted for himself. He wished that meant he had some special insight, but he could never definitively answer his question. There were so many qualities that a King neededmany contradictorythat settling on any felt wrong.

It all comes down to what a King ought to be, I suppose, he thought, his heart sinking as it often did whenever that thought drifted through his head.

In the far distance, lightning flashed and thunder boomed, reminding him why the question weighed so heavily on his mind on this day, of all days. It seemed the uninvited guest whod been squatting on his plane for several decades was finally coming to pay his respect to the Grave Warden, Aeternas Planar Lord.

His island sat in the center of a great sea, which itself sat in the exact center of the plane of Aeterna. At the center of his island sat his towera monolithic thing, built as a perfect cylinder made entirely of stone that stretched so far into the sky that the Grave Warden was often able to dangle his feet into the clouds whenever he sat atop its perfectly flat roof.This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com

The Grave Warden rarely allowed the weather around his island to be anything less than perfect, but as was his guests wont, the mans arrival was heralded by bone-shaking thunder, eye-searingly bright lightning, and storm clouds thick enough to shroud the Grave Wardens island in darkness.

These storm clouds rushed closer to his tower, borne by a howling gale, and poured freezing rain all over his warm, tropical home. Despite the strength of these winds, thoughstrong enough to pick a mortal man right up and carry him dozens of feetthe Grave Warden sighed and pushed himself to his feet, completely unaffected.

The wind hardly concerned himhis feet remained solidly planted atop the flat roof of his immense stone tower. Neither did the rain bother himit simply vanished before touching his clothes. The thunder and lightning that wouldve blinded and deafened a mortal, likewise, had little effect upon him, aside from serving to irritate him for disturbing the serenity of his home.

The Grave Warden could sense his guest coming, and it seemed he wasnt alone; he was bringing his entire Clan with him, or so it seemed. Dozens of enormous arrowhead-shaped arks, bristling with magic weapons, cut through the clouds as they moved to encircle his tower. Thousands of men and women emerged from the massive magical flying machines to complete the encirclementpowerful mages all, for they flew under their own power. The auras of so many powerful mages caused the ambient magic power around the Grave Wardens island to roil and churn and mightve even killed any magicless mortals around if the Grave Warden had allowed any to live on his island.

None of these mages were the guest he was waiting for, though. Their King, the man whod led them to his plane, to Aeterna, who had ordered the conquest of all the lands over which the Grave Wardens tower loomed.

Jason Keraunos, the Storm King.

Only after the Grave Warden had been surrounded did the Storm King reveal himself, appearing a hundred feet over the roof of the tower in a flash of lightning.

He was a tall and broad-shouldered man, armored in beautiful golden plate that had images of eagles embossed in fine detail over every available surface. A magnificent sword hung at his waist, its handle and guard gilded and shaped to look eagles talons. The blade was long and straight, though the Grave Warden could sense a tremendous amount of magic flowing through it.

The Storm Kings features were well-defined and evocative of the masculine idealsquare jaw; long, proud nose; and sharp cheekbones. His eyes and short hair were both the same shade of dark brown. He was a handsome man, cutting the image of the perfect warrior-King.

The Grave Warden, in contrast, was about as close as a man could be to average, appearance-wise. His was a face that could be lost in just about any crowd. His medium-length hair was a neutral brown, as were his eyes, and his skin wasnt pale or tanned enough to unambiguously belong to any ethnicity.

But it was no contest of looks the two were about to have.

The Grave Warden took a few steps away from the edge of his tower, while the Storm King floated downward until he hovered imperiously a couple dozen feet over the tower roof, staring quite literally down his nose at the Grave Warden. Half a dozen others followed him, five men and one woman. All bore similar appearances to the Storm King.

He brought his children here? the Grave Warden thought with some shock. Bold. Missing two sons, though

Welcome! he called out aloud. He spread his arms in a gesture of hospitality and repeated, Welcome!

Though he acted genially, with but a thought, the Grave Warden silenced the storm with but a thought and the barest expression of his magic power. The wind blew its final gust, the rain vanished, the last peals of thunder rolled across the suddenly calm sea, and the storm clouds dissolved away, leaving the island bathed in warm sunlight once again.

Many of the mages in the air around the tower prepped for combat in response, their auras betraying their violent intentions. The Storm King, however, only had to cast his gaze around him for his Clansmen to relax.

The Grave Warden continued, I was wondering when you would finally arrive, King Jason! You made me wait a long time! A long time!

The Storm King softly snorted. His lips turned upward in a confident smirk, and he said, A King arrives whenever he pleases; it is for all others to wait. Do you know why Ive come, Planar Lord?

Hopefully not to stifle me in pointless court ceremonies! the Grave Warden replied. I am known as Ambrose! Feel free to use my name! Feel free!

Ignoring him, Jason Keraunos gravely intoned, I have come to receive your submission, Planar Lord, and to take possession of the treasure you guard! Your plane has fallen to my forces; you have no alternative! Surrender now or face the might of my Clan! Surrender now or be crushed by the strength of a million planes!

The Grave Wardens welcoming demeanor faded, though didnt disappear entirely. With a snap of his fingers, a pair of simple, though comfortable, chairs appeared on the roof. He sat in one and wordlessly offered the other to Jason Keraunos. The Storm King chose instead to remain hovering above the towers roof.

Invoke his name all you wish, Planar Lord, it will deter me not, for I do not fear the dead.

You will not back down, then? the Grave Warden quietly, almost pleadingly, asked.

The Storm King responded only with a wave of power; his aura surged in strength, not doing the Grave Warden any harm, but causing the sky to darken with storm clouds once again. Outside of the soundproof bubble the Grave Warden had summoned, he could sense the rest of the Storm Kings Clan preparing themselves for battle, too.

You are a terrible King, the Grave Warden sadly stated, his smile fading as he slowly took to his feet. Ambition is an enviable trait among Royalty, but you have led your Clan to my plane on a fools gambit. You and your Clan have destroyed yourselves, all because you attempted to take what is not yours, what you have no right to claim.

All I desire is mine, for I have the power to take it, the Storm King stated.

You dont have the power to take this, the Grave Warden said with a tone of finality. Before the Storm King could answer, a meteor, appearing in a flash of light, crashed into one of the largest arks the Storm King had arrived with. The meteor punched clean through the arks defenses and splashed so harmlessly into the sea that it was clear this was no accident.

Fire poured from the ark as its engines struggled to keep it in the air with such a massive hole torn through it. Metal screeched as the superstructure failed to hold the veritable flying fortress in the air, and it began a nosedive into the sea.

Neither Ambrose nor Jason saw it hit the water, for the moment that the meteor struck the ark, the Storm King moved. His body flashed with lightning, his aura shining as brightly as the sun itself to the Grave Wardens magic senses. The wind howled all around the tower as the Storm Kings power inundated their surroundings. Jason Keraunos called a storm of unbelievable proportions down upon the Grave Wardens tower

and Ambrose weathered it with ease. He was a rock amidst the tsunami, a mountain within the typhoon. Meteors came raining down upon the arks and the arks dove and listed to avoid them. From deep beneath the waves of the sea, enormous stone hands rose to catch the arks, shattering them with incalculable strength. The arks responded in kind, firing their weapons, bathing both the island and the giants in light and lightning, but to no avail.

The Storm King and the Grave Warden exchanged hundreds of blows in a matter of seconds, so quickly that it seemed almost an eternity for the Storm Kings children to charge.

For a brief moment, the Grave Wardens tower at the center of the plane of Aeterna became one of the most dangerous places in the universe. Such power shook the plane, cracking its surface, breaking cities dozens and hundreds of miles away, and causing untold numbers of deaths. The water of the sea boiled as lightning fell into it as thickly as rain. Bodies fell just as thickly around the Grave Wardens tower, splattering to paste as they hit the ground. The blood of thousands of powerful mages soaked the island, and after several minutes, so too did the first of the Storm Kings children.

The Storm King and his family roared as one in grief and anger and redoubled their efforts to kill the Grave Warden, but their efforts were for naught; a moment after the first, the Grave Warden sent another Prince falling lifelessly to the ground. One by one the Storm Kings family fell, but even when Jason Keraunos was left alone, battered and bloodied, he refused to surrender. His pride simply wouldnt allow him to. And in only a matter of seconds, he joined his family and Clan in death.

The battle was as short as it was destructive. Countless bodies littered the island just as all of the Storm Kings arks burned in the raging sea. The Storm King himself, as well as all of the children and Clansmen that hed brought with him, had been laid low by the Grave Warden.

Ambrose himself, once the fighting was finished, stood upon the beach where the Storm King had fallen. He bled from a hundred wounds and his skin had been burned black over more than half of his body. However, now that the fighting was over, his wounds healed rapidly, leaving him looking none the worse for wear in mere seconds.

The Storm Kings, however, did not. Jason Keraunos, who had invaded his plane fifty years prior, now lay dead at his feet.

How many thousands of your Clan members have you condemned to die over this mistake? the Grave Warden wondered aloud as he stared down at the dead Storm King. How many will die when the rest of the universe hears of this? Will your Clan survive? He darkly chuckled. Will those who are left seek revenge against me?

Ambroses eyes drifted from the Storm Kings body over to his sword, now lying on the beach and sparking with brilliant green lightning. Such a weapon could not be left unsecured, but before Ambrose could take a single step toward it, the weapons hilt dissolved from the green lightning, leaving the swords tang bare. Lodged within it, Ambrose could see what mightve appeared to a mortals eyes to be nothing more than a thin sliver of discolored iron embedded within the swords shining metal, though it was almost blindingly radiant to more magical senses. The Iron Needle, a Universe Fragment, an artifact of incalculable power.

With a clap of thunder that shook the island and a flash of lightning that almost blinded Ambrose, the sword, and the Universe Fragment within it, shot into the sky, leaving Ambrose behind.

The Grave Warden could only smile and laugh. Universe Fragments were fickle, and if they did not allow themselves to be wielded, then the cataclysmically powerful artifacts were as useful as paperweights. And the Iron Needle, it seemed, would not allow him to wield it.

Ambrose took no offense, though he tracked the Iron Needle as it shot northward. He wondered how long it might stay in the air, and where it might land. Repairing Aeterna wouldnt be easy if he had a Universe Fragment flying around it for a millennium. As his eyes turned back to the Storm King, he wondered again what would happen to the rest of the Storm Kings Clan, both on Aeterna and elsewhere. One of the strongest men in the universe had just died, as had the most powerful members of his Clan.

Who will replace you, I wonder? Ambrose asked Jasons corpse. Will they come here to accomplish what you did not? Or will they just forget about you? Will your Clan be destroyed, all traces of it lost to time? Will all knowledge of their foolish King that led them here, to die at my hand, be lost?

Ambrose sighed as, with a wave of his hand, the bodies of the Storm King and all of his immediate family were gathered before him.

You were a strong adversary, he said with great respect. By your metrics, I suppose, you were a worthy King. Now, be at peace.

Jason Keraunos and his familys bodies disappeared as Ambrose took flight once more.

How long until a new Storm King rises? he wondered aloud. A thousand years? Ten thousand? A hundred thousand? Or even longer? I hope that whoever they are, they show more wisdom than you. I hope I hope.

Ambrose once more took a seat on the edge of his tower, unblemished from the terrible battle that had just taken place around it. He sighed again and turned his mind toward fixing the terrible damage done to Aeterna in this battle, though he knew that it wouldnt be long before he returned to the question hed been pondering before Jason Keraunos arrival, only now he had much more to think about.