Chapter 38: Dreams of Steel

Chapter 38: Dreams of Steel

A quick reminder that this is the last chapter before the change of schedule. Underland will now update on Thursday until I complete Kairos: A Greek Myth LitRPG. After which I'll focus full-time on Underland.

This story doesnt match historical records, Marianne said as she sipped her tea. Not at all.

Valdemar considered her answer as he drank his own cup, his face unreadable. A slow-paced piano song resonated across Mariannes apartments, sung by invisible musicians. The noblewoman had heard it only once in her life at one of Saklas many balls, but it had left such an impression that she remembered it to this day. Instead of a hedge maze, the world beyond her window had transformed into a copy of the Lightless Ocean with a colossal shape playing with a ship on the horizon. Marianne found the sight strangely soothing.

I have studied imperial history in-depth, Marianne continued. Instructors had drilled texts into her young head one book at a time. The Blood was only discovered around 300 B.E. through contact with troglodyte tribes years into the Descent. Mankind was completely disunified back then, with warlords trying to carve out pockets of civilizations. The first recorded case of necromancy was in 243 B.E., and Lord Och himself is first mentioned in historical records in 129 B.E. as a powerful necromancer fighting against the fallen Dokkar Kingdom of Nidavelir. There was no telling he was even a lich back then, though its likely considering his lifespan and magical might. Even history books aren't certain if this was a namesake.

And Empress Aratra? Valdemar asked with a frown. I know she invented the Bloodstream network of Earthmouths in 18 B.E. and then proceeded to conquer the human enclaves in the War of Unification.

Which was the first time the term Dark Lords appeared in historical records. In fact, the title belonged to the sorcerer-kings who pledged to unify mankind under Aratras leadership. Marianne put her cup aside. Official records say that the empress was born in the flames of the Sack of Nielson during the First Dokkar Wars in 191 B.E., leading mankind to victory at the age of sixteen in 175 B.E.

Waves crashed against the window outside, though no water stained the glass.

All of this to say that however ancient they are, the Dark Lords appeared long after the Whitemoons arrival, Marianne explained. As for the Church of the Light, although it was already a major underground faith, it was only officially consolidated into the organization we know today in 24 After Empire. There is no mention of a Sophia in the scriptures, and the faith generally considers the First Enlightened One Marcel Moonstone as its true founder.

You have done your research, Valdemar said with an amused smile. I didnt expect such a wealth of details.

Marianne blushed a little. I should have spent more time reading magic than history and religious books.

All knowledge is useful, he replied before squinting. If its not too private Do you believe in the Light?

Yes, Marianne confirmed with a nod. If anything, facing the likes of Shelley had only strengthened her faith. Although I dont support the inquisitors zeal and witch hunts, the Church has lighted my way many times. Lord Ochs tale is unlike anything Ive heard before; heretical even.

Yet I suspect that for all the embellishments and possible falsehoods, there is a nugget of truth in it. Valdemar scratched the back of his head. Who else but Lord Och and Empress Aratra were among the original Dark Lords?

Only Lord Och and Empress Aratra successfully defended their titles from death and usurpers. As for the nature of their immortality, one is a lich, and the other keeps the secret of her eternal youth well-hidden.

And who writes the history books youve been reading?

Marianne smiled as her partner had put his finger on the root of the problem. The Knights of the Chain.

An order that infamously burns books spreading dangerous ideas and imprisons free-thinkers like yours truly, Valdemar replied while returning her smile. Are there any living or undead witnesses to the era before the empire still at large?

Marianne considered the question. The Oldblood nobility in Saklas had earned its peerage by supporting the Empress during the War of Unification. However, Aratras inner circle was a tight-knit community that rarely left the confines of Saklas imperial palace and faced increasing competition from new generations of sorcerers.

Some of Empress Aratras officers have survived as undead since the empires inception, she replied to Valdemar. But I dont think any of them predated its foundation by much. Lord Och invented Soulstones making mass-producing sentient undead possible in 39 B.E., and I think vampires emerged long afterward.

Which would leave Lord Och and Empress Aratra as the only survivors of the ancient era. They could have easily rewritten history and doctored official documents to hide their true origins.

Even if they modified human history, Hermann himself confirmed that the first humans learned the Blood from troglodyte shamans, Marianne pointed out. The Empire has absolute dominion over its texts, true, but troglodyte tribes keep their own records. So do the Dokkars.

The Nightwalker showed that there are other forms of magic than the Blood, Valdemar pointed out. This Sophia, if she truly existed, might have used another. It might also explain Empress Aratras immortality.

Even if part of the story is true, how does it help us right now? I support solving the mysteries of our past, but we have more pressing problems right now.

Valdemar played with his cup. Finding the truth about that story could help us deal with Ialdabaoth.

Marianne put the two and two together. Ah, I see. Youre thinking about the wards keeping Ialdabaoth imprisoned. If Lord Ochs story is partly correct, then they were put in place by a rival entity. The more they weaken, the more Ialdabaoths power grows.

This being probably used a different magic than the Blood. If we could reverse-engineer the spell, then strengthening the wards to keep Ialdabaoth asleep would become a genuine possibility.

If we can use this magic at all. Marianne stroked her chin thoughtfully. If the Light could truly empower its worshipers, why does only the Blood hold sway in our world? Because of the unspeakable crime that the Dark Lords committed?

I dont know, Valdemar replied with a sigh. And I dont know where to look for answers either. Maybe I should ask Hermann and Frigga to compare their historical records with ours.

The forbidden archives in the Pleroma Institute should have what we need, Marianne suggested. They are only accessible by Masters and high-ranking members of the Knights of the Tome, but they include a copy of all imperial texts, including original, uncensored volumes. If you could convince Lord Och to give you permission

The room trembled, the duos cups falling off the table and breaking on the floor. The tea inside evaporated instantly into fine particles alongside their containers parts. The music stopped, instantly drowned out by an alien cry.

Valdemar instantly rose from his chair and rushed to the windows, opening them to gaze at the ocean beyond. Are you kidding me? he muttered in astonishment. Again?

Marianne joined him, and immediately covered her mouth to hide her laughter at the sight.

An enormous, squid-like giant larger than the Pleroma Institute cried in the middle of the imaginary ocean. His squamous hands held the remains of a broken ship against his chest, while shards of the vessels sank below the waves. The giants six eyes let out a flood of tears.

Valdemar put his palm over his face in embarrassment. Even in our dreams, he still finds ways to break his toys.

How many does that make? Marianne asked with a wide grin as she rested her hands against the windows stool. If we count the ones in the waking world?

Valdemar had made it a habit of turning his bones into makeshift toy ships for his familiar to play with, but none of them lasted for long.

Ive lost count, Valdemar sighed as he turned his gaze to the ocean. The strange Nightmare of Kazat could be seen deep below the dark water, a sunken city buried underneath a sea of dreams. Thankfully, the oceans level doesnt rise with his cries.

I wish I could dream him a replacement ship, Marianne confessed as she watched the depressed familiar in the distance. Though she had knowledge of oneiromancy, she was more comfortable with raising mental fortresses than weaving dreamboats into existence. Im still sorry for turning your dreamscape into my apartment. This was the shape I was most comfortable with.

Its fine, and way better than the wasteland that came before. Valdemar looked at the depressed Ktulu cradling the ship with a deep sigh. Im sadder that my familiar has more power over the Primordial Dream than I do.

The fact he can interact with the dreamworld at all means he has nothing to do with the Qlippoths, Marianne reassured him. And you have an additional guardian.

Despite her words, Marianne felt Ktulu might cause more trouble than he would solve. She certainly hadn't expected the familiar to take the form of a colossal giant in the dreamworld rather than the manageable baby he was in the flesh. Even the ocean surrounding the apartments was the creatures doing rather than Mariannes.

I could conjure decorations more to your liking, Marianne suggested to Valdemar.

Dont bother. I would rather learn to create dream objects by myself. Valdemar gritted his teeth as he raised his hand towards a corner of the room. Perhaps he was trying to create a new shelf or a painting. Whatever the case, he failed. Though it may take a while.

Young Marianne will suffice to protect us, the Dark Lord replied with absolute confidence. Even though she wasnt certain if he meant it or not, the noblewoman found the lichs response flattering. You shall fortify this area and make sure that our dwarf neighbors do not attack us from the rear.

Very well, we shall await your return. The knight-commander turned to his troops and instantly barked orders at them. Summon earth elementals and raise fortifications. I want the Derros to fight for every patch of ground.

After watching his allys troops with a hint of amusement, Lord Och turned to face Marianne and Valdemar. Now come, children. Lets not waste precious time.

Leaving the Excavators holes behind, the group followed the lines deeper into the metal tunnel while the Knights fortified the choke point behind them. Only the noise of their breathing and footsteps echoed around the group, while the tremors grew weaker and eventually vanished. The golden lines glow allowed them to see a few meters ahead of them, but little more.

Marianne focused as she walked, ready to strike at the first sign of ambush. Her enhanced sense of touch and hearing allowed her to visualize her surroundings, to sense the cables inside the walls. Oil coursed through pipes below the floor and grinding gears turned above her head, their noise muffled by the steel shielding.

These arent fortifications, Marianne whispered in case anyone listened. She didnt understand half of what the hidden devices in the walls did, and she worried that the Derros could hear their words. This is a mechanism of colossal size.

An infection of metal in the flesh, Valdemar whispered back. Like in the Outer Darkness.

Altering the body shouldnt affect dreams. Unlike his two protgs, Lord Och made no effort to lower his tone. Unless, of course, this apparatus main goal is to attack the nervous system with machinery.

Was that why the Derros stole brains? Valdemar asked. To understand how our minds worked and use this insight to affect Ialdabaoth? What purpose would it serve?

Who knows? As I told you once, Otto Blutgang is a rare genius whose mind works on a different level than common mortals'. He plays for higher stakes than conquest.

The admiration in his voice surprised Marianne, who had grown used to backhanded compliments at best. What stakes, my lord?

If I had to guess Lord Och chuckled. I would say transcendance.

Transcendance? Valdemar asked, but the lich only answered with a chuckle.

Transcendance? From what, the mortal condition? Derros couldnt use the Blood, so the path of undeath was closed to them. Was their king trying to achieve immortality through technological means instead?

How long did they walk through this tunnel without encountering anyone? Minutes? Hours? While Marianne and Valdemar were tense, Lord Och spent his time glancing at the walls line with a thoughtful look. An outsider would have mistaken him for a researcher on a stroll through a garden of exotic flora rather than an archmage infiltrating enemy territory. This is what absolute power looks like, Marianne thought. The easy confidence of invulnerability.

As she focused on her sense of touch and echolocation, Marianne noticed subtle oddities in the metal. Small islands of glass in a sea of steel, hidden from view in the darkness outside the glow of the golden lines.

Look, Marianne warned as she pointed her sword at an imperceptible orb of stained glass growing out of the steel. A machine eye of some kind.

Its not alive, Valdemar confirmed, slightly unnerved by the device. And I see others in the darkness.

They know we are here, Lord Och replied before mockingly waving a hand at the glass eye. Please be a good guest and say hello.

Valdemar pointed a finger at the glass eye and blasted it to pieces with a blood bullet. Shards fell on the ground, and Marianne heard a subtle clicking noise echo through the tunnel.

No Derro came to intercept them, but the glass eyes always watched them. Marianne could feel their gaze all around her. The feeling was different from the fleshy, alien eyes of Underland, who lacked reason and intelligence. These glass devices had been made with mortal hands, and Marianne was certain that something cold and calculating watched the intruders through them.

Why dont they intercept us? Valdemar whispered, just as unnerved as she was.

They want us to move forward, Marianne whispered with a frown. Somehow, she would rather have faced opposition. This whole journey reeked of a trap. If anything happens, move behind me. Lord Och will revive no matter what happens, but if the situation degenerates beyond control, retreat to the checkpoint while I cover your rear.

I can defend myself, her partner replied, and I wont leave you behind. We either leave this place together or not at all.

Though his concern touched Marianne, she squinted at him in disapproval. What good is a bodyguard whose charge runs heedlessly into danger?

You are more than a bodyguard to me.

I trust you as much as Hermann and Liliane now.

Marianne should have rejoiced at these words. So why did they leave her feeling disappointed? I cant think like this, the noblewoman told herself. She and Valdemar had grown to trust each other, but anything more would interfere with her duties.

Eventually, their long walk ended before a fortified steel gate not unlike those in Lord Bethors tower. A strange window of glass stood above the threshold, but it led to nowhere. Nor did any guard watch over this obvious checkpoint.

Marianne put a hand on the doors surface, trying to guess its thickness with her enhanced touch. At least two meters in depth, she said. I cant sense anything beyond.

Do not fret, Lord Och replied as he looked at the windows. They will welcome us soon enough.

Click.

Click.

Click.

Marianne raised her revolver at the window while Valdemar prepared to cast a spell at any moment. Glass eyes turned to gaze at them in the darkness and the golden lines turned red.

The window glowed.

Its glass surface projected distorted colors and images. A shadowy humanoid figure appeared in the middle of a white glow tainted by gray lines. A buzzing sound erupted from the window, half a screech and half a whisper.

What spell is this? Marianne wondered, slightly disturbed as the figures features distorted uncontrollably. An illusion? No, I should have seen through it this is real. But I dont sense any sorcery at all. Its not a phantom projector either

Red lightning coursed through the walls lines and the door rose with a thunderous noise.

Marianne immediately moved in front of her charges, weapons raised at the gates. As this steel curtain slowly rose, she expected to face an army of golems and Derros on the other side.

But no enemy awaited beyond the threshold.

As the path laid open before her, the distorted figure at the glass window vanished. Lamps lit up beyond the door, revealing a lengthy corridor.

Trap? Valdemar asked warily.

Worse, Lord Och replied. His jovial demeanor had abated, replaced with caution. An invitation.