Summoner 21, page 4
The moment was ruined when we soared over the hill.
The entire Enclave was in chaos, even more so than it was at the Academy. Smoke billowed high into the air from unseen locations, and the screams of the civilians below rang out like a dark, eerie chorus. It was as if the entirety of the Enclave had decided to come out of their homes and amass in the square, and as I watched them rush to and fro like cattle, I considered what to do. I’d flown out here to get a better look at the moon, but I couldn’t just let these unarmed civilians go uninformed and unprotected.
“Sera, we need to dip lower,” I commanded the Archon. “Those people down there need us--”
“Gryff, I know your heart hurts for them,” Sera said in my ear. “But there’s nothing you can do at the moment. You may be the leader of the Archons and the most powerful mage in the entire human realm, but by human standards, you aren’t their leader. You must wait until your superiors give the official command.”
“Am I just supposed to ignore them?” I pressed as I watched people run in aimless circles.
“For now, yes,” the dark-haired goddess replied. “Your headmaster and the Grand Mage will have an idea of how to proceed. You cannot save everyone on your own, especially when we need to focus on the moon.”
“It’s not like you to say things like that,” I scoffed. “You’re always going on about how I need to seize dominion and all of that, command the human armies myself instead of awaiting orders. But now, when I want to do it, you tell me not to?”
“You don’t need to seize it,” Sera protested. “Now that the Archons are yours, the humans will come to you. You will be revered for your power, I’m certain of it.”
“I appreciate the confidence you have in me,” I thanked my lover. “I just hope it’s warranted.”
“There’s no reason to not be confident.” I felt the Archon’s shoulders shrug. “You are the Beastmaker, the human who was prophesized to rule. Once, I believed the Beastmaker to be a conqueror, one who would leave trails of bodies and blood in their wake. But now I know the Beastmaker, the true ruler of the realm, is more than just a killer. He’s a warrior, meant to fight against any darkness and rule his people with intelligence. Right now, you must focus on the darkness.”
“That’s all very diplomatic,” I sighed, though I knew Sera was right. As much as I wanted to act on my own, I needed to wait for Headmaster Sleet or the Grand Mage to issue orders.
If I wanted to be the best leader I could be, I needed to do things according to my head and not my heart.
A piercing alarm suddenly cut through the symphony of screams and shouts, and I watched as the citizens below us came to a standstill. A pounding headache bloomed behind my eyes as the shrill alarm pierced my eardrums, and I tightened my hold around the snapdarner in response.
“Maker, that’s intense,” I groaned as Sera’s grip around my waist tightened. “I’ve never heard an alarm like this before.”
“The mortals are certainly responding to it, though.” The dark-winged Archon pointed a long-nailed finger below us. “I can understand their terror. I feel so much of it.”
The mass of people had frozen in their tracks, and moments later, I watched as each of them retreated to their homes. I let out a sigh of relief. There were still plenty of stragglers, but as long as a majority of the civilians took shelter, they had a chance at staying safe.
“I guess you were right about Sleet and the Grand Mage having things under control,” I allowed as I watched droves of people leave the square.
“Of course, I was,” Sera laughed lightly, and her chin rested on my shoulder. “They’re going to be fine, Gryff. I’m sure the Enclave has had a plan for this type of thing for a while.”
“You think they prepared for a random apocalypse?” I wondered with a raised eyebrow.
“No, but I think after all of the attacks that have threatened Varle, it’s not a surprise an alarm was created,” Sera sighed against me. “We need to breach the walls and get a closer look at the moon.”
I was surprised to hear the Archon so level-headed after she’d displayed such fear when the moon had shifted, and I wondered if she was just trying to be brave for me. Even if she was, I was proud of her for prioritizing duty over her discomfort.
“You’re right,” I agreed with her. After I gave the village square one last look, I gave a nonverbal command, and then the snapdarner took off at an even faster pace than earlier.
As we ascended, I commanded the snapdarner to weave through the various airships that zoomed through the air at lightning speed. Some remained tethered in place, but others devoted to military transport flew toward the Academy, and I tried to stay out of their way as much as possible.
Finally, the orange walls that protected the Enclave filled my vision, and the snapdarner flew upward until it was nearly parallel with the structure. I tightened my hold around the monster, and before I knew it, we were out of the Enclave.
Now that there was nothing to obstruct my vision, I found myself in awe of the expanse of ruby sky. The night was entirely starless without even a cloud in sight, and an unnerving sense of dread flooded me once again.
This was all so undeniably eerie.
“I hate this,” Sera whispered behind me, and she tightened her grip around my waist as she began to shake.
“I know,” I said, and I placed a hand on top of hers. “I do, too.”
As we soared over the dark green lands beyond the Enclave, I got the sense that even the snapdarner seemed uncomfortable by the shifted landscape. The further we flew from Varle, the more timidly its large, translucent wings beat, and we began to lose speed.
“Hey, hey, hey,” I whispered to the snapdarner. “It’s okay. That thing won’t hurt you, I promise..”
I needed everyone to remain calm as we scoped out the situation, so I sent a wave of reassurance to the monster. The dragonfly was reluctant at first, but moments later, it let out a low trill in response, and we resumed our normal pace.
Finally, once we were clear of any obstacles and obstructions, I commanded the snapdarner to hover in place and fixed my gaze on the moon.
I narrowed my eyes to try to get a better view, though the effort did little to help me. The moon was still far enough away that I could only see the lines of black that flared around the surface. The long, spindly appendages surrounding the ruby-tinted orb reminded me of a monster I’d fought in a village called Adorna, a fearsome beast known as the vinkrimsul. The monster was one of Carth’s herd of mega-sized monsters, and it consisted of long, tangled, vine-like appendages of a similar color to the ones on the moon. I didn’t know if the pair were of any relation, but without any other type of feature, it was hard to make any other comparisons.
Suddenly, I had an idea.
I freed one of my hands from the snapdarner and carefully reached into my bandolier. I retrieved a pale-blue wing-shaped essence crystal and crushed it in the palm of my hand. My vingehund manifested itself in the air and let out a surprised bark as it looked around.
“I need to borrow your sight, girl,” I addressed my canine-like summons. The vingehund had pristine vision finer than my own, and if I were to get a better look at the moon, I needed a little enhancement of my senses.
So, I reached through the bond between my monster and I and concentrated. To my surprise, the effort was barely even noticeable, and my vision grew crystal clear almost instantly.
“Whoa,” I remarked as I peered around. My vision had been well enough before, but now that I shared the intense focus of the vingehund, my human eyeballs may as well have been coated in mud.
“The other Archons have made your powers stronger,” Sera pointed out to me. “You’ll find your abilities come to you with minimal effort now. In fact, you probably didn’t need to summon your vingehund to begin with. You could have simply manifested her abilities with a single thought.”
“Holy shit, are you serious?” I asked the monster goddess.
“You’re the Beastmaker,” Sera reminded me. “You’re stronger than any mortal man. That fact that you were able to capture nine goddesses within your mind alone is only proof of that.”
“I guess that’s true enough,” I realized. Then I glanced over at my vingehund and gave her a small smile. “If that’s the case, I won’t exhaust you more than you need to be. Go ahead and rest.”
My vingehund gave an affectionate bark and then disappeared as I recalled her to my hand. I replaced her essence crystal in my belt and then turned my attention back to the moon. Much to my delight, my vision remained enhanced, and I let out a small laugh.
“Wow,” I breathed. “This will definitely come in handy later.”
“Can you see the moon monster with more clarity?” Sera asked.
“It’s a lot clearer, but we could get a bit closer,” I decided.
“Then it shall be done,” the Archon confirmed, and after a clicking sound left her mouth, the snapdarner flapped its wings and took us higher into the thickly-scented air.
As we ascended, I fixed my gaze on the blood-red surface of the moon. I narrowed my eyes and zeroed in on one of the tentacles.
Any resemblance I’d likened to the vinkrimsul was lost the moment my eyes focused on the tendrils. The color was nearly impossible to describe in words. It was black, but not in the way I had perceived it before. It wasn’t merely dark, it was completely devoid of light. Even the most advanced, pitch-black darkness couldn’t compare to the void-like shade of the tentacle.
The tentacles writhed and pulsed, almost like a plant at the bottom of the ocean, and the number of tendrils had increased significantly since the first look I’d gotten at the moon. It was nearly impossible to count each individual appendage, and I soon lost track after I began to try.
“Maker, that thing is super fucking freaky,” I assessed, fully knowing that my statement was entirely obvious, but I didn’t have the right words to say it. Whatever was on the surface of the moon wasn’t anything like another creature we’d ever faced, and as I stared at its writhing tentacles, I couldn’t help but wonder if the monster’s presence had any bearing on the appearance of the moon.
“It is,” Sera sighed. “I feel like it’s watching our every move.”
“I wonder how you can sense that, and yet not have any indication of what it is,” I mused.
“I wish I knew as well,” Sera agreed. “From the moment it appeared, I just felt its eyes upon me, like it was judging me for my transgressions. I can feel its hatred. For me, for you, but especially for the child growing inside of me.”
“You are sure?” I asked as I studied the tendrils. “What if the monster just happened to show up right after we made love? It wouldn’t surprise me after everything that’s happened in the past two years.”
“I don’t know, Master,” Sera whispered. “The timing of it all is too precise, and these emotions--”
“The moon was already in a strange position before we had sex,” I pointed out to the dark-winged goddess. “It looked closer than I’ve ever seen it. Maybe we just so happened to get together on the same day that monster was set to arrive.”
“That all feels too convenient,” Sera said. “I don’t know…”
“I know it seems unlikely,” I replied. “But other than what you are thinking, it’s the only other theory I have right now.”
The snapdarner hovered in place as I continued to figure out more about this enemy.
My eyes followed the long appendages, and I tried to figure out what they were doing. Any normal monster would have sent their tentacles below to try to swipe at their opponents, but whatever was on the moon seemed to have a different idea. It’s writhing tendrils were outstretched, like a parasite looking for something to attach to.
Perhaps it is searching for something to attach to, a small voice spoke up in my consciousness. The high-pitched, musical quality of it surprised me, and I recognized the tone of it instantly.
“Quilla,” I addressed the skeleton-faced Archon. “Do you know anything about the creature?”
Not exactly, the goddess lilted in a calm and slightly amused tone. But there’s a familiarity I can’t deny.
“Have you seen it before?”
I’m searching through my memories, but cannot find a clear image, Quilla sighed. It’s more intuition-based, like the others. As Sera said, I can feel its hatred.
“You definitely don’t sound scared like the others,” I observed. “Why is that?”
Something about the goddess’ calm tone bothered me, and I wanted to get to the bottom of it before the Archon could deceive me. Quilla had pledged herself to me, but I still wasn’t certain I could trust her, and the fact she wasn’t as horrified as her sisters was a major red flag.
I am not afraid, the goddess replied. Though my reasoning isn’t what you’ll want to hear. Not that it’s any surprise by the look of my face, but my power is most aligned with death and energy magics. I don’t know the identity of this beast, but I sense we’re kindred spirits in that way, so I don’t fear it in the way my sisters do.
“I suppose that makes sense,” I allowed, though I was still skeptical. “But what did you mean about it searching for something to attach to?”
With how much distance there is between us and the moon, I can’t be certain, Quilla replied. I just think there’s some truth to your comparison. I can’t explain it, but I have the sense it needs to feed.
“It’s like a spider trying to catch us in its web,” I mused as I studied the sight with a mixture of fear and awe.
“What would it want with the planet?” Sera whispered. “Why does it wish to devour us in such a way?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “But if we don’t figure it out soon, I fear what will come.”
I prided myself on my ability to come up with a plan on the fly, but for the first time, I had no idea how to proceed. Normally, I would summon a monster, an Archon, something that would help me accomplish my goal, but how was I supposed to take on a foe so large and so out of reach? Short of breaching the atmosphere, it felt like there was little I could do to take the entity on.
I will advise you, Gryff… this monster is already powerful, Quilla warned me. More powerful than you can imagine. It’s going to take all of your power and ours to defeat it, and even then… it may not be enough.
Chapter Three
The goddess’ words lingered in my mind and repeated like some kind of haunting mantra, and for a moment, I felt swept up in her foreboding statement. I’d faced so many opponents in the past few years, but nothing with this sort of weight to its power, and up until now, I’d never been so tense about an enemy.
“We need to get back to the Academy,” I decided after a moment. “Sleet needs to know what we’ve discovered, and staring at the moon isn’t going to shift it back to silver. I can muse and wonder all I want, but that’s not going to help us.”
That’s very smart of you, master, Quilla replied.
“Thank you for your help, Quilla,” I addressed the goddess. “I appreciate it.”
Sorry I couldn’t be of more assistance, the skeletal Archon responded, and then I tightened the wards around the goddess.
The goddess had been helpful, but I didn’t want to let down my guard around her just yet. Until I’d had more time to speak with them, I couldn’t trust Hunnah and Quilla as much as I did the other Archons, and I needed to keep them at arm’s length.
Once Quilla’s wards were secured, I closed my eyes and focused on my magic. The vingehund’s powers had been helpful, but I also needed speed on my side, so I concentrated on borrowing power from my speed slug.
The creature’s magic tingled through me just as the power from my vingehund had, and a shiver ran up my spine as I felt it course through my veins.
This was so fucking cool.
Once the magic became one with me, I focused on redirecting it to the snapdarner. It probably would have been easier to just attach a slug to the dragonfly summons, but I wanted to test my new abilities a little more and figure out what I was capable of. If I could telepathically shift abilities from monster to monster, without having to physically place them atop each other, that would be advantageous for future battles.
The snapdarner chirped as the magic surged through it, and it let out another trill as it beat its wings.
“You’re learning,” Sera remarked in an amused tone. “With more practice, you’ll soon be nearly invincible.”
“I don’t know about all of that,” I scoffed. “But I appreciate the confidence in me.”
“I call it as I see it,” the goddess said, and her shoulders shrugged against me.
Before I could reply, Sera gave the snapdarner a single command, and suddenly, the monster beat its iridescent veined wings and took off at a faster pace than it had before.
The snapdarner flew back toward the secure fortress of the Enclave, and my heart thudded as we approached it. Sulfur-scented air beat harshly against my face, and it took all of my concentration to remain focused on the task at hand and to keep my mind off the foul odor.
Instead, I peered down at the ground below and tried to get a look at the villages that resided just a bit outside of the Enclave.
Nattanger was a little too far away to scope out, but there were some smaller villages I didn’t know the names of sprinkled amongst the forestry. I focused my vision on a few of those areas and was relieved to see only a few villagers were outside their homes.
The people of the Wilds were more resourceful than they ever got credit for. Enclaves had the benefit of xanyarstone walls and military forces to protect them, but the people of the Wilds had to think on their feet to survive, and I felt a swell of pride as I studied the villages below.
Even though I was technically a resident of an Enclave myself, I would always consider myself to be a man from the Wilds.
“We’ll need to get troops out here,” I assessed as the snapdarner flew on, and I lost sight of the village. “I know the people can handle themselves, but that doesn’t mean they should go without protection, especially with the number of forces at our disposal.”
