Skyvenom: Chapters 46-47

Here are your chapters for this week.

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Chapter 46

Theo tumbled from one atmosphere to another, his stomach lurching, and instinctively kicked away from whoever had grabbed him. Instead of the sharp winds of Deuxan, he felt the suns of Noven glaring from all sides. He barely registered them as he looked back at who he'd kicked.

It was a man wearing a gold robe with his hands stuck in the pockets. More importantly, he was definitely from Earth.

"Hey there," the man said amiably. "I just want to tal-"

Before he could finish the sentence, Theo activated his Deuxan weirkey and leapt back. Not to Socirro, to a completely random location. He found himself hanging over a vast silver river with elegant barges sailing across it, festooned with shining ribbons. It might have been beautiful, if the man hadn't appeared in the sky seconds later.

"Alright, look-"

Again Theo left, this time using two weirkeys in quick succession. First he used his Noveni weirkey, as if retracing their steps, but while he was still twisting in the formlessness between worlds, he instead gripped his Slescan weirkey. The chitin jerked painfully in his hand before he managed to fling himself to Slest and the purple sunlight bathed him.

It had been doubly random this time, so he was lucky that he hadn't ended up near a hostile empire. At least he couldn't see anything on the horizon, just purple and blue wasteland in all directions. Actually, it looked less like a natural environment than a region that had been blasted absolutely clear. He could investigate that later, if the strange man didn't appear again.

Two seconds passed, then five. Theo was just in the middle of breathing a sigh of relief when he heard the voice.

"I'm not with Vistgil!" The man had somehow gotten behind him, waving both hands as if to get him to stop.

It could have been a lie, but the abrupt statement still made Theo hesitate. And the man didn't take that moment to seize him, he just relaxed and stuck his hands back in his pockets.

"Oh, good. We really need to talk, but the reason we haven't before now is that I was afraid you were working for him. I knew you weren't like the others from Earth when you turned down cheap power, but I was worried that Vistgil might be recruiting smarter people."

"You were behind the Mercury Court test?" Theo's eyes whiplashed between narrowing and then suddenly widening. "Wait, are you Emperor Dave?"

"Wow, please drop the emperor part. But yeah, I'm Dave." He said it so casually that Theo almost couldn't believe it. This man apparently ruled one of the most powerful courts on Deuxan, he was important enough that Senka was aware of him, and yet all that prominence seemed to slide off him. Come to think of it, Deuxan robes didn't usually have pockets, but he seemed to have specially done his so he could stand casually.

Well, it was better than Raythe Darkblade.

"If you're really against Vistgil," Theo said carefully, "then you understand my paranoia."

"Oh, absolutely. This could have been a whole lot easier if we'd just talked to each other in the beginning, but... let's just say that isn't a good general strategy. Vistgil has his fingers everywhere. For somebody who doesn't seem to like to do anything, he really gets around."

Now that they weren't leaping between worlds, Theo realized something else: Dave was strong. Not just strong for his tier, far stronger than anyone he'd met in all the courts - presumably the tier beyond Dominion. If Dave had wanted to attack, it seemed like he had so much power that he could definitely force things. Then again, the same was true for Vistgil, and he'd always used manipulation right up until the very end.

"Let's handle this logically," Theo said. "If you're talking to me, you must want something from me. But unless this is extortion, that means you need my cooperation, so I want a show of good faith. So you should answer my questions first."

"Oh man, you remind me of some guys." Dave scratched the side of his face. "But I guess that makes sense. What do you want to know?"

"What is Vistgil trying to accomplish?"

"If I knew that, my life would be a heck of a lot easier." Dave laughed, but when Theo didn't laugh in response, he shook his head. "Alright, let's try this instead... doors exist naturally between Earth and the Nine Worlds, but they're very rare. Vistgil is intentionally drilling holes, letting humans through, and coaching them to soulcraft as fast as possible, then killing them off before they can become a threat to him. Did you know all that?"

"I suspected." Despite himself, Theo was beginning to relax slightly. Senka had been suspicious of the Siblings, but the House of the Lost had spoken about them like they were distinct from Vistgil. "So you don't know exactly why?"

"I have guesses, but they're just guesses. His flunkies from Earth often destabilize things a bit, but not on a massive scale, so I think his objective must be something more indirect."

"Just how many schemes does Vistgil have in play?"

Dave let out a low whistle. "That's the real question. There are serious shades of gray there and they don't all make sense. Let me put it this way... Vistgil doesn't seem to have any underlings he can order around, but he influences a whole lot of people. For example, he doesn't directly control the Landguard in Tatian, he just pushes them in the wrong direction, especially when it comes to outsiders. But the Worldguard? No influence at all, as far as I can tell."

"Worldguard?"

"Oh, you might not have met them yet. The Landguard only covers Tatians from Authority to Dominion, anyone aeon-class graduates to the Worldguard. Very small group, but obviously dangerous. You know about the sides of Tatian, right? Right. Well, they unite at the very top tiers to deal with the real world-threatening problems."

Information was coming at Theo too fast, opening up a dozen new questions for every one that was answered. And yet, his mind circled back to one thing... "Aeon-class?" he asked. "I know there are three tiers past Dominion, but I don't even know what they're called."

"Look." Dave rubbed his eyes with one hand. "I could tell you all that, and in fact I'd be happy to later. But there's no point talking about those details, for the same reason I'm not asking you how some shows ended. We have higher priorities. Just trust me when I say that there's no magic formula I can share that will make you instantly soulcraft to an upper tier. It's hard work all the way."

"Fine." Theo would have been suspicious, but there was little point in Dave being evasive when it came to names. "I have a more important question: why are you hanging back and doing nothing, letting me almost get myself killed, if you think we could work together against Vistgil?"

"The Salebrante."

"I've heard of them, but I don't know the details. They're related to the Demon Court?"

"The Demon Court is just an empire, with all the failings that come with all empires. They have their faults, but they're just people." Despite his casual tone, the irreverence had vanished from Dave's face and he met Theo's gaze without blinking. "The Salebrante are different. They have ties to the Demon Court, but they're an independent organization that works wherever they want. Mostly on Deuxan, but they've been branching out into other worlds and it's a serious problem."

"And they're enough to limit you?"

"Definitely. The Salebrante has multiple aeon-class forces. Normal soulcrafters, fleshmaskers, I honestly think they might have some real demons. If they act openly in my sphere of influence, I could punish them. But if I act too recklessly, and they ambush me, I could die too. If I threw myself at every cause within my power, I'd be dead within the year."

Theo grabbed hold of the first handle he had to make sense of it all. "That sounds like a sort of mutually assured destruction. Aeon-class soulcrafters are all threats to one another, so they have to act cautiously."

"Yeah, that's a decent way to think about it."

"And is Vistgil in the same class?"

Dave was silent for a while, staring out over the barren landscape. "He's in the same general class, but... he's better. If he's a soulcrafter, and I'm not completely sure about that, he's a tier up from me. I might be able to fight him for a while, but if I had to fight fair, I'd lose. Hate to say it, but it's true."

"Then why doesn't he attack you?" Theo asked.

"Well, funny thing... I think he can't." Dave gave a defensive shrug. "You wouldn't be the first person to think I'm crazy, but that's my theory. Vistgil likes to kill people and destroy higher tier soulcrafters, but he rarely attacks directly. Unless he just has very strange objectives, it seems more like he's limited in some way and so he has to act via subterfuge."

"Could it just be other aeon-class powers?"

"Could be, but there aren't as many of those as you think."

"How many?"

"That's getting more into lecture territory." Dave sighed and shoved his hands deeper into his pockets. "I really do want to talk, but here's the thing: the Demon Court is causing more and more trouble there on your continent, and I'm sure the Salebrante are just waiting in the wings to strike. I have to hold back to counter them if they do, so I'm really hoping you can resolve things."

"It would have been nice if you'd shown up a while back, before we risked our lives and went into debt. Now the war is basically over, either way. If you're an emperor, you have a lot of resources behind you, right?"

"Admittedly, I do. If we work together, I could definitely give you a leg up. It won't let you leap through tiers, but if you need Deuxan materials, we might be able to help."

"But?" Theo drew out the word, waiting for the catch.

"We need to talk about the Teraeves situation." Any trace of humor was gone from Dave's voice now. "I tried to do some searching, so let me see if I got this right: you visited the Nine Worlds before and met someone named Brigana ai Teraeves. You both died, but you managed to get back here, without Vistgil's help this time. But as soon as you tried to look up your old companions, you got into a lot of trouble... is this sounding about right?"

"Then I got a bunch of different stories about why her family was important. I still don't understand that part... my other old allies turned out to be no one in particular, and they didn't cause any trouble like this."

"It seems like Vistgil's usual MO is to nudge random people toward his favorite Earthlings. They're people who will motivate them, or maybe occasionally spies for some organization for another. But as far as I can tell, they just get killed off at the end and forgotten about. So this Brigana of yours... she's the exception. And I think Vistgil made a mistake. See, the time dilation makes it confusing, but this was before our time. He didn't have his system worked out yet."

"Could she have left a message?" Theo asked, feeling a shadow of a sort of hope he hadn't experienced in a long time. "Is that why the Teraeves vaults matter? Some kind of hint about what Vistgil is planning?"

Dave winced. "I hate to do this to you, but I have to kill that theory right away. My friends and I analyzed the vaults a while back and we don't think they contain anything but a trap. It's just another one of Vistgil's schemes to kill off stronger soulcrafters, or people from Earth he doesn't control. So the only real hint..."

"Is the fact that he changed his usual plans." Theo nodded as he accepted that it wouldn't be so easy. "Maybe I wasn't supposed to meet Brigana, or her family knew something, or they started looking into the matter afterward."

"Right. There's some hint about Vistgil's goals and limitations, but I can't figure out what it is. I was hoping you'd have a lot more information, actually."

Theo wondered if some of the details he'd discussed would be relevant and decided to keep them close to the chest for now. Even if he could trust Dave, they seemed to have bigger problems. Before he asked about any of the immediate issues, he had to know more. This was the first time he'd met someone else from Earth and actually wanted to know them better.

"So how do you go from Earth to the head of a Deuxan Empire?" Theo asked. "That must be quite a story."

"It is, but I can summarize." Dave closed his eyes and suddenly looked much older than his youthful features suggested. "There were four of us - we got called the Siblings, right? I think we were another mistake by Vistgil, because he never brought through multiple people again. At the start, we were his golden children, probably just like you, and he gave us everything."

"Did you have Artifacts of Elghiera?"

"Oh, you've figured he was using those? Yeah, they're real artifacts, much older than anyone living, but Vistgil seems to be hoarding them. I really wish I could get my hands on one again, but the last time we tried to talk to someone else from Earth, Vistgil retaliated and we almost died. That's one of the reasons we're so cautious about this."

"So you... lost your artifacts at some point." Theo snorted. "When I lost mine, it was because Vistgil tore off my arm."

"Ouch. No, see, we started to cotton onto the fact that he wasn't telling us the whole truth, and I guess you could say we went rogue. Off the beaten path he'd had planned for us, where the real soulcrafting gets difficult. This is one of the reasons I think he must be limited: he didn't just snuff us all out, he manipulated others toward us. They nearly killed us, and we lost the Artifacts, but we made it out and eventually became strong enough that he can't just kill us. We hope."

Then why had Theo been killed directly? He shoved aside the question to focus on the story. "So there are four of you."

"Were." Dave winced and shook his head. "This isn't the most top secret of secrets, but don't spread it around. The other three Siblings? They went back to Earth. It would take a while to explain, but it's partially to do research, partially for the sake of their soulcrafting."

"So why did you get to stay and rule the empire?"

"It's the opposite, I'm afraid. I'm the black sheep, so I had to stay and take care of things. Let's just say I've made some mistakes in the past. Now I'm probably locked at this tier forever, just like Authorities with a bad ascension. When the others come back, they'll be stronger... we hope. If not, then I don't know if we can win this. Aeon-class powers aren't exactly common, but across nine whole worlds..."

"Okay." Theo rubbed his forehead as he tried to organize all the information and figure out what actually mattered most. "Maybe I trust you, but how can we actually help each other? You can't add new Strongholds into the convocation, and I assume if you could provide other support, you already would."

"We can't throw ourselves into your war, but we can lean on the Demon Court, and we can especially get involved with this bigger messy stuff. You could say that's why I'm here." Dave laced his fingers and cracked his knuckles. "Everybody is dancing around the Teraeves business. You have any hidden secrets that would help with that?"

"I'm afraid not, but..." Theo took a deep breath as he thought about all the trouble this had caused him, and realized that what he needed wasn't victory. "Maybe the problem is secrets."

"What do you mean?"

"Vistgil works in the shadows, right? You said he destroyed a whole family, but only once. Now the Teraeves vaults are just another trap, and it definitely tied me up for years." Theo smiled as the plan fell into place. "So maybe we should drag it out into the light."

Chapter 47

When Theo returned after the ambush, his mood was so different that Nauda almost wondered about him. The story he had to tell about this "Emperor Dave" and the Mercury Court seemed wild. And yet, in her gut, Nauda didn't distrust him. Theo wasn't changed, he was just more himself, as if meeting someone from his own world had refocused him.

Now he was out, rushing between Occoire, Greater Ostic, and who knew where else to make final arrangements. In his absence, Nauda couldn't help but look at Fiyu.

"Do you think he could have been replaced by a fleshmasker?" Fiyu asked. "I do not believe that a fake would be able to behave so much like Theo, though."

"I think it's him, he's just inspired." Nauda couldn't help but shake her head. "You know how he gets once he's fixated on something."

"Theo-sister normal," Krikree said from her chair. "Krikree can smell."

There was some question about whether or not fleshmaskers could fool other senses, because it seemed like such weaknesses would be too obvious. Nauda didn't really doubt him, especially not the quick smiles he would flash. No, it was their Theo, and they'd just have to trust that he could take them through this.

When he returned after his most recent trip, it looked like he was ready to stop rushing around, so it was time to talk. Fiyu noticed the same thing and sat up, despite Nauda's protests. She was back to her usual outfit, though Nauda knew that she had a few bandages underneath and was far from fully healed. But arguing with her would be futile, so all Nauda could do was try to protect her.

"Here's the situation," Theo told them. "Everyone is worried about this war going to a convocation of souls vote, because if the result is close, it will just keep escalating. The Demon Court is playing along with the rules, so long as they think they can get what they need, but if necessary they can bring in more soulcrafters. And if that happens, the Mercury Court will respond and it will be all out war."

"Why can't this Dave help us?" Nauda asked.

"He claims he's limited by the other forces involved, and I'm not sure he's telling the full truth, but I believe him about the broad strokes." Theo drummed his fingers on his knee as if his mind was racing too fast for his body to contain. "What everyone wants is for this to end, quickly and simply. Apparently behind the scenes that's what they were trying to accomplish during the armistice, and it's why Esaire got so much support. The key thing is that he's still under the same constraints."

"You mean that he wants to attack us," Fiyu said. "If we die, the war will be over regardless of Strongholds."

"Exactly. But the same applies to us: if we can capture or disable all of Esaire's Authorities, they won't be able to escalate to the convocation. Now, a valid strategy would be to hide and wait, recruit enough Strongholds to secure absolute victory. That's why we have to lure him out... and this is the part that you aren't going to like."

Nauda instinctively reached to take Fiyu's hand, as if that could shield her. She didn't know exactly what he was going to say, but as Theo continued, it didn't surprise her.

"They've been searching for Fiyu's location, hoping to finish her off before she recovers." Theo winced as he felt Nauda's glare. "Hear me out. I've told Sartozi to leak information about her location, which will confirm that she's moving in Western Ostic. When Esaire hears, he probably won't be able to resist the urge to attack her."

"Does it have to be the real Fiyu?" Nauda asked.

"I'm afraid so. They aren't going to be lured in easily, and they must be a little suspicious, so a decoy might arouse suspicion."

"I am feeling better," Fiyu said, and drew her mouth into a determined line. "I would not be able to fight them all, but I can play a role."

"We don't need you to fight for long," Theo told her. "Actually, I was going to give you the Deuxan weirkey. Wait for one of them to attack you, then draw both of you to Anguedan, where Janne can provide backup. You might be able to do even more than that, but we'll have to talk about it, and I don't want you to risk yourself."

"I will do this. I must."

"Will they be doing the same thing to us?" Nauda asked.

"I don't think Esaire has many weirkeys," Theo said, "but yes. So the second part of the bait will be luring Esaire into attacking me directly, which I don't think he'll be able to resist. Maybe he'll attack one-on-one, maybe he'll ambush, but either way it will draw pressure off Fiyu."

"What if he doesn't take the bait?" Senka crawled up the side of the bed, staring at them with bloodshot eyes. "I mean if he just ignores everything."

"Then I've done a lot of subterfuge for nothing." Theo smiled at Senka with more compassion than he usually showed. "But I think he will. He's been obsessed with me for a long time now. While you're here, do you have anything to add?"

"I certainly can't fight." Senka pulled herself up the rest of the way and lay there, covered in cobwebs. "I still think you shouldn't have talked to Dave, but if he was working for Vistgil, we'd all be dead. Don't mention me, but get all the information you can." Then she disappeared over the side of the bed.

"What do?" Krikree asked.

"I have a special contingency role for you," Theo said. "Since they want to finish us off, they'll very likely be using anti-weirkey stones, like they tried against Fiyu. But out in Western Ostic, there's nothing to work with, so they'll have to use a lot. If they attempt it again, I want you to seize those stones. Fight them if you have to, but your first priority is to capture them all."

All of this seemed straightforward enough, except there was something slippery in all of it. Nauda could tell that Theo was talking around something, but it wasn't trying to deceive them, he just had something else he was waiting to reveal.

"Where does that leave me?" she asked. "Just more backup?"

"Not at all," Theo said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm afraid I need to ask you to play one of the most difficult roles..."

~ ~ ~

Finally, the outsider had made a mistake.

Esaire had been getting more and more nervous, especially as Amaeli needed to spend more time negotiating with Urmandix. She wasn't particularly enthused either, though she'd never betray the family when so much was at stake.

Worst of all was the fact that Occoire Court seemed to be pulling away. Lalye hadn't fought with them recently, claiming to be busy with border problems, but he was sure she was lying. Esaire had been worried that they might lose Occoire entirely, until Sartozi's agents revealed critical information. The Ichili woman had been right under their nose, and now she was vulnerable.

As he looked over the group, he felt his confidence rising again. He still had himself and six powerful Authorities, all outfitted with excellent armaments and the best sublime materials his family's debt could buy. Above all, Esaire had studied the hated outsider thoroughly and prepared himself. There might be a surprise technique or two, but Esaire would be able to shut his gravity down utterly.

All they had to do was go out to a miserable little hole like Western Ostic and strike while their opponent was vulnerable. At last, the nightmare that had started in Anguedan would be over.

~ ~ ~

Usually before a battle Theo was tense, constantly aware that he could die at any moment. This time he found himself strangely relaxed. Maybe it was the Strongholds hanging over them or maybe it was the intense conversation with Dave, but the upcoming threats felt like only one more step on the path.

If he could just survive this battle, end the convocation one way or another, Theo could finally put an end to it. Not merely the vendetta, but the trap that Vistgil had put into place a century ago by slaughtering Brigana's family. For the first time, he would be striking directly at one of Vistgil's plans, and if all went well, he'd be eliminating it entirely.

But he couldn't afford to think about all that, not when he had nearer priorities. Fiyu was getting ready to move, so Theo would be meeting with Nauda at any moment now. He took a while longer to stand at the edge of Western Ostic, staring over the wasteland that would soon be a battlefield.

"You're going to fight, aren't you?" Victon walked up behind him, for once not leading any wubbos.

"That's right," Theo told him. No sense lying about it now.

"I... I was going to offer to help. You've done so much for me, and this seems serious." Victon shook his head sadly. "But I saw Nourise aima Ostic. A Stronghold is so unbelievably powerful... I have such a long way to go."

"You're right to stay back, but there's one thing you can do." Theo turned to him and put his hands on his shoulders. "Protect Western Ostic. Pull in the herds and keep anyone from running out and getting themselves killed. If you can make it through this, you have a chance at the future."

"But won't both sides be pressing on us again?"

Theo chuckled darkly. "If we survive this, people will forget all about you."