Sub walked the streets of the Fae city, he’d been toying with an idea lately regarding the addictive effect of the potions he’d been taking. It’d been some time since he’d had a bad reaction to any of them. More and more of the effects seemed to become more potent and permanent. His Nightmare Beast form was fireproof, strong, fast, incredibly agile and capable of violence that Sub could never manage on his own.

“What thinking?” Tom was walking beside Sub, scanning the minds of everyone he passed. Occasionally Tom would stop, scrunch his face a bit and then proceed walking. “Ankou minds hurt, not like Tom’s presence. Burns my thoughts.” He’d say.

“Have you considered your alchemy skills as a potential weapon? So far you’ve only done things to strengthen me.” He asked Tom, hoping to intrigue the monster instead of irritating him. Irritation always came with a sharp slap on the head. Srit called it “The Denozo” slap.

“Make friends stronger is weapon. You kill many Humans in village, no scratches. Tell me more ideas.” Mind Flayers weren’t, contrary to popular belief, inherently bad beings. Tom’s species had earned a very bad reputation because they’d been essentially starved when cut off from their sister race. That starvation set the Flayers into an insatiable need to consume.

“Well, I agree with making our team stronger, but, what about making their team weaker?” Without notice the pair had stopped and sat down to speak.

“Not use you for that. Much time spent making you more. Who we have for Subject 2?” Tom was already completely sold on the idea.

“I’ve been thinking about that a lot. Humans are our enemies, but not all of them. We don’t want to make something that would harm our own allies. Ancients though, we need to kill them all. It just so happens that we have several arrows that we believe were tainted by Ancient blood. Gray said that he removed a few more of the tainted things and had them hidden outside of the Fae woods.” Sub had pulled out his pencil and paper, reading off his notes.

“You think much on this thing. Keep making new thoughts, I will get plants and talk to Bitch Lady about getting arrows and other weapons. Good Sub.” Tom awkwardly patted the boy on his back and darted off much faster than any Gnome could.

*Suffering*

Standing before the ward that had held him captive for so long, Suffering could hardly contain his elation. Once he ripped the remaining power from this prison he’d finally be free to regain power and awaken his master. This time, they’d kill the bitch.

Suffering swung the heavy chain over his head, focusing in on the weak spot in the ward that had allowed his energy to seep out. Whirring over his head and knowing that the resulting explosion would severely damage him, he swung with all his might at the crack.

His weapon colliding with the ward made a resounding boom and shockwave the instantly shredded his hosts body to hamburger. Black lines spider webbed across the surface, ward shrinking and dimming, wrapping the entirety of its breadth. Suffering condensed his remaining energy inside of the barrier to harden his physical body against the upcoming blast, the energy he had outside of the barrier already sacrificed for his freedom.

Pain wrapped around him, nothing like what he could cause, but enough to piss him off. As the barrier shrank his skin touched the wards walls causing lightning to course through him. Everything in the cavern dimmed and then went pitch black. Seeming as though time stopped, no air moved, no sound could be heard.

On the surface of the great capital city, birds erupted from trees in a frantic effort to escape. Oxen, dogs, cats and every other animal in the city went berserk attempting to break binding and flee.

Two seconds later the ward exploded inward with what power Alvarak had left behind, the last magical “Fuck You” of a dead Dragon. Suffering screamed in defiance as the pressure of the blast threatened to squish him to paste. Impressive force was put into that final blast, amplified by the hidden spells woven all into the caverns walls, roof and flooring. Rock tumbled down as the cavern collapsed, the entire castle was crumbling in at the center. Every subterranean support column broke as intended by the builders of this place.

In the city, buildings collapsed as though made from sand. Thousands of people lost their lives in the initial shockwave, hearts simply exploding. Suffering wanted them all dead for his own purposes, so this course worked well in his favor. Guards, civilians and military members all ran from the city as quickly as possible, falling victim to the ground splitting open and swallowing them by the dozens.

Debris began to fall, giant pillars and shards of glass blown out from the crumbling castle took thousands more lives. Fires erupted everywhere adding burning alive to the list of terrible deaths. Plumes of dust made visibility poor, causing hundreds to choke or get lost in the chaos.

Miles away in the Fae woods, the force of the blast rolled through the earth and panicked every nature tuned species. Sariah dropped to the ground and sent a wave of energy through the ground below her to strengthen the roots of the great trees. Pain registered on her face, skin turning pale at the exertion.

Minutes later the ground stopped moving, none of the Fae trees had fallen, no injuries were caused by the shaking either. Sariah had surprisingly been assisted by Erection, his tie to stone was far more intense than she could remember or believe possible. When she slammed the power into the ground, he’d liquified to a great degree and formed as a conduit and refined the power to stretch to the stone.

Suffering sat for hours collecting his thoughts and stringing tiny tendrils of consciousness through potential paths out of the ruined castle. In his prime he’d simply crash through the stones as if they were twigs in his way. Currently he had taken a great deal of damage from the imprisonment, battles with Alvarak, losing his physical vessel and the portion of energy he’d used to control it, the explosion and the collapse of a castle directly onto him. It would take him time, but he would remove himself from this trap and kill every living thing in this realm before feeding on it.

Contorting his unusually small form, extending and thinning his body he began his ascent.

Long ago he’d been a General in the Ancient’s army, now he didn’t know how many of his kind even remained. Human’s had been easy enough pawns to use against their savior, but in the end, they had proven themselves to weak. Consuming this realm would give Suffering the power boost he’d need to face the young one. He’d turn this city as soon as possible and find the remaining temple holding back the young one’s power. Suffering knew his only chance for victory in one on one combat with her was to ensure she’d not unlock her full magical power. Sure, her armor was scattered across the universe, but in his weakened state he would be lucky if they currently stood on equal ground in the first place. If you’re fighting fair, you’re not trying hard enough. Suffering idly thought, slowly progressing up the ruins.

*Fae Woods*

“Goddess, that was a simple quake. What rattled you so much about it?” Arand asked, completely puzzled by the panic caused from such a common occurrence. Granted, it was a big quake, but nothing bad enough to scare even him.

“No, that energy. That quake was caused by the destruction of an enormous amount of my magic mixed with the Ancient’s. It felt just like the arrow wound did. We have to mobilize and kill the Ancient that caused that, and we must do it quickly!” Sariah’s hands were shaking, silently she’d sent calls to Srit and Delanna.

“As you wish. I will ready the army to march at dawn. Please have your companions raid the armory for anything they can use. I will get Corvin.” Both darted from the room to gather everything needed for the coming assault.

“Shin!” Telara had taken a nasty fall when the shockwave rolled beneath her roots. “Shin where are you?!” She was franticly looking for her new best friend, he’d fallen from her branch and she couldn’t locate him anywhere.

A voice came from above her head and nearly scared her enough to fall from her own branch. “Hi! Telara I’m right here!” Shin was floating in the air like it was the most natural thing ever.

“How…What…I…Get down here!” Telara didn’t know whether to be pissed off that he’d nearly died or pissed off that he didn’t let her know that he was a Bonded now. Falling in love with a Human was such a curse sometimes. Dryads tended to fall in love faster than any other race, and they’d only love once. Shin had been the first and only being she’d ever met that made her feel like a seedling again. Normally, she would test the mortal for years before allowing herself to be claimed. A Dryad’s love was like the bond that formed between Mages.

Legends said that Dryads were formed from the very same intent and magic that formed Mage bonds. When the Goddess now known as Sariah had formed her bond with Srit, there was such a strong connection that feral magic had reformed and pulsed through the ley lines connecting the realms. Fae, being tethered more closely to their own realms, had been hit the hardest.

When a Dryad is born they must immediately make a link with a tree or they’ll wilt and die. Their first actions in life were forming bonds. History referenced four Dryads that refused the bonds, anomalies, and ended up as petrified husks within months. When a Dryad fell in love with another being they were able to implant their seedling into the other being’s body, forming an eternal bond to that person. If the person died, they would die as well. Dryad pregnancies lasted for 30 years, so their population was not robust, few were born outside of the Fae Realms. For this reason, they were hesitant to ever give their hearts and seedlings over to another.

Last night, Telara had given Shin her seedling and they’d made love.

“Figured it out, did you?” He was lovingly smiling down at Telara, moving ever so slowly towards her, feet still dangling in midair while he floated.

“But, I am not a Mage. This shouldn’t be possible. Dryads have never been able to form a Mage’s bond. What does this mean? Also, get your ass over here already!” She whipped an acorn at his head.

Shin managed to catch the Acorn, laughing at his fiery lover. “I would, but, I can’t control it. I think that instincts are the only thing keeping me floating right now.”

A sudden commotion interrupted their conversation. They’d noticed at the same time what was going on down on the ground. Mobilization.

“Can you still extend your body to pull me in? We need to go and find out what’s happening down there. I have my suspicions, but we need to join the fray.” Telara stretched her arm and pulled him in. The newly bonded pair quickly moved down the tree and met up with Corvin.

“Master Corvin! Are we going for the last temple or the capital city?” Shin shouted over the noises of battle preparations.

“Capital. Sariah said that if we don’t get there quickly the Ancient would escape or destroy the realm. Are you floating?” Corvin’s head was cocked to the side in amazement.

“Uh, yeah. I kind of stole your Dryads heart. We’re bonded.” Shin smiled, Telara managed to go red in the cheeks. Corvin was considered a father to all Fae in this realm, she’d pretty much just stood witness to her father being told she lost her virginity.

“We will talk about this later Shin! For now, know that I will skin you alive should you not treat her right. With that said, find Roknar and tell him to retrieve the Artifact. I do not want our Queen to go into battle without any advantages that I can allow her. You are sure that the last temple spells will not break if you move it?” Corvin buckled the last clasp of his armor and finished sheathing his daggers, all 36 of them.

“Absolutely, we’ve been moving that one since the day that Sariah was imprisoned. It has always been our best kept secret.” Amazingly, even Roknar had never heard this secret.

A firm hand grasped Shins shoulder and spun him around. “Come Mage, you will learn to control your flying on the way. Take us to the Artifact, I will not let you be harmed.” Roknar, as always, exuded danger and promised doom to any that crossed him.

“Uhhh, okay. Telara, do you want to try to jump on this flying death mission, or would you like to meet us at the battle?” Although brave, Shin was pretty sure that trying to use him magic with absolutely no practice was going to kill both him and Roknar, but he was not dumb enough to refuse the Dwarf either.

“Of course I want to go with you, dummy! But I’ll stay with Corvin and lead the Dryads into battle. Roknar, if you let him die I will impale you with the most jagged sticks I can find…in every hole you have. Do you understand me?” Her expression turned dangerous and deadly serious.

“Yes ma’am.” Roknar hadn’t shown a single iota of fear. What a badass. I would’ve peed myself if she looked at me like that. Shin laughed. Roknar wrapped his arms around the young man, gave him a pat to indicate that he was ready, and Shin started floating higher.

Srit caught sight of the floating pair, Roknar scared him too, and took the opportunity to be helpful for a change. He scribbled down a note on a piece of paper, wadded it up and fired it at Roknar with his slingshot.

Roknar caught the note, laughing as he unfolded it. Sure, he was a stoic Dwarf, but who didn’t like a good dick joke? As expected, Srit had drawn a stick figure picture of Roknar and Shin floating away on a winged penis. Surprisingly though, below it he wrote: Tell the tree fucker that flying isn’t about pushing yourself through the air to get going, it’s about pulling yourself to the destination. Also, keep your eyes and mouth closed or you’ll eat enough bugs to kill yourself. Don’t tell him that though, it’ll be funny to see when he gets back. Fuck you. Fuck him. Fuck your beard. -Srit, King of Imps and Legendary Bad Ass Stuff.

“Pull to fly, not push. Keep your eyes and mouth open too or the pressure will implode your guts.” Roknar told Shin with a rare smirk on his face.

“Oh, that makes sense. Let me try…” no other words were said as the two sped into the air like crossbow bolts. Incomprehensible yelling trailed their ascent.

“You must remain here and defend our city Telara.” Corvin had intentionally waited for Shin to be gone before having this conversation.

“What?! I’m the leader of the Dryads here!” While young, her status as a Celestial Dryad placed her at the top of the list.

“Dryads have never bonded, you don’t know why. Long ago when your kind was born into this world a Dryad bonded with a Human the same way you just did. Four years later the Human died in defense of a grove on the Dragon Realm. Every Dryad in that Realm died with him. All Dryads are so closely connected that he didn’t just bond with you, he bonded with every Dryad in this Realm.” Corvin placed a hand on Telara’s shoulder. “I know that you want to fight, but you cannot risk it. None of your sisters will be joining us.”

“I understand. I’m confused though. Bonds require that you cross The Way to tap into magic, it’s why Mages cannot wield the energy. We exist in the same realm, so how are we able to bond in the first place?” Her question had already been discussed within the group, nobody knew which theory was right.

“My theory is that Fae beings are anchored to our original realms. Unlike most races that Bond, we don’t cross the line because our home is a focus point, an intersection maybe. We’ve always been the best Realm Walkers, felt magic more intensely and wielded the most potent power. Aside from our Lady and Dragons, we’ve accomplished magic far beyond anything ever recorded from any other race.”

“Master Corvin, let’s go kill some fucking Ancients.” Sariah rode up, to everyone’s shock, on a Manticore.

“Yes Lady, let us do just that. I will be leaving the Dryads behind for defense of the city.” Corvin whistled for his mount, approaching the Manticore slowly as he waited for his own mounts arrival. “Priad, you have a mount on your back and a tiny blue woman sitting on it. Near a thousand years I’ve known you and you wouldn’t let me ride on your back. You’re getting soft in your old age.” He chided the Manticore.

“You’ve never been able to subdue me in combat either little man. If I recall, both you and Arand limped away the last time you tried. *scoff* Best of the Fae my ass. I should be the King if your martial prowess is a measure of worth.” Priad whipped his tail around and popped Corvin in the back of the head. He stumbled a couple of steps and then fell down face first.

“Karoom, would you please place Master Corvin on Master Arand’s cart. He’ll not be needing his mount for a few minutes. Priad, thank you for the laugh.” Sariah did always enjoy a good friendly KO.

Priad simply bowed to the Goddess and smiled. Manticore culture demanded that he only speak to his Alpha if she asked him a question. Anything aside from answering said question was a challenge to her authority. He’d only make that mistake one time, still feeling the soreness of her lazy backhand to his ribs.

Karoom reached down and picked up the unconscious Fae man, walking him over to the cart.

Arand watched the scene unfold, that Manticore was a tough cookie. Once Corvin was placed in the cart he gave the order for the army to move out.

Srit had taken to hanging out with Kavon and Erection quite a bit lately, which meant that Lily and Srit were in a nonstop war with each other. Currently Lily had Srit’s bag, flitting from place to place while the Imp chased her. Erection being caught in the middle of it was the best part, he looked so conflicted on who’s side to take. Kavon had noticeable bags under his eyes, Delanna absently stroking his back while he continued to write notes about something. Cully was nowhere to be seen, but she’d be close to Delanna always. Sub was trailing behind Gray, always ready to plant a sword through the former Commanders heart.

Sariah had asked Sub about his mistrust for the man and got a simple answer. “He carried out many orders for the Emperor, many things that good men don’t do. Even if the Ancient that broke him is dead, he is not a good man and I will not give him the chance to bring ruin to my friends.”

She was proud of the new family she’d accrued along this trip. Not remembering her past had weighed her down quite a bit when she first escaped the “prison”, more weight came with the guilt of killing so many people while she still believe that Humans had been responsible for her imprisonment.

Delanna’s mind was quite healthy now that she had been tied to the new realm, designed to contain any excess corruption. Sariah still couldn’t tell what type of magic Delanna was capable of, even her essence was not a good indicator when looking at her magically. She suspected a few things but couldn’t confirm any of them. Delanna needed to master her connection to the corruption before being pushed to learn her own style of magic.

If this battle was won, she’d spend a great deal of time teaching her daughter how to control herself. Sariah had already decided that she was going to create more sons and daughters with the remaining pieces of her beloved armor as she acquired it.

“Telara, please ride with me, if Priad will allow it,” the Manticore nodded ascent, “until we reach the edge of the woods. I have questions of you.”

“Yes, my Queen.” Telara mounted the Manticore with ease, sitting behind Sariah.

“I have forgotten many things, but I remember Dryads. You were formed by my desire to create Bonding for other beings. Your legends are mostly accurate. What drew you to Shin in the first place?” Telara was tense, Sariah was the only Goddess she’d ever worshipped, and she was here now.

“I don’t know. Something about his energy spoke to me on a deep level. When I first seen him, I knew that he was mine and I was his. It was as if I’d known him my entire life. He does not feel like any Human that I’ve ever known.” Telara’s face showed signs of strain, she legitimately couldn’t explain it.

“He is not Human, he is something older. His essence waivers and changes quickly depending on those around him. When he is around you it dances like a child. Have you considered that this may not have been the first time you met him? Dryads inherit memories like Dragons do, right?’ She turned her head to look at Telara.

“I haven’t considered that, Humans are short lived, so the thought never crossed my mind. We don’t inherit memories like Dragons. Our inheritance is a knowledge of survival. We are born knowing which trees are the strongest, how to pull sun from the sky to feed and anything else our ancestors had to learn. No specific memories of their lives are shared.”

Sariah though on this for a few minutes before speaking. “Think on this thing for me while I’m gone. You are with child right now, I wish to know the truth of his origin before you give birth. I need to create more bloodlines and druids would be a great race to do this with, you in particular. You have much to think about, I apologize for my abruptness.” Sariah hugged the Dryad awkwardly as a congratulation.

“I’m pregnant?! Oh Goddess! I cannot be! I’m not even fertile right now!” Telara hopped off the Manticore without thinking and sped back to the Grove. She had to confirm what was said, none of it made sense.

“Priad, I know that it is not traditional for you to speak without being asked a question, but I am telling you now that I will not tolerate a silent partner. You will speak your mind. What do you make of Shin?”

Priam had many thoughts on the topic but shared only one. “He would not taste like a Human and does not smell quite like one.”

Sariah understood the feedback, if she was right, Shin was the last and only one of his kind.

*Suffering*

Hours passed as Suffering was forced to climb the rubble. In that time he’d worked out a battle plan, figuring that his release would bring the young one in a hurry.

As the Ancient placed his feet on the dirt, he could see for miles in every direction. The once great capital, built by the followers of the young one, was now a ruin. Bodies were being piled on great pyres, tents had been set up outside of the city’s crumbling walls.

Suffering wasted no time. Raising his hand above his head, a large orange ball of energy formed. He spoke the spell of Eternal Death.

I summon forth minions of the Void.

Inhabit the bodies of my dead enemies.

Rise to fight and destroy.

Rise to serve my will.

The ball split into thousands of flailing tentacles as he finished the first part. The Void was everywhere, everything. It was the origin of the Ancient’s and their power. Summoning greater minions required much more power than Suffering had even at his Prime, this reality would fight to reject the summoning, trying to rebalance itself and eliminate the abnormal encroachment of the other reality. Suffering focused on the types of lesser minions he wished to summon and tailored the spell for them.

Night will be your cover, your strength and way.

Hunger for blood.

Hunger for death.

He planned to create both day and night guardians. Power was always a balance, taking the sun away would make the night empower the minions. Only the master had absolute power, Suffering had given up the ability to ever return home for the power he’d been given, it wasn’t enough to sate the Master. The Master had given him the power he’d asked for, but the additional price was constant agonizing pain every second of every day for the rest of eternity. Some Ancients with this same curse rejoiced when the young one was born, it was a means to an end for them and they went willingly to slaughter at her hands.

Tie to me and ruin this plane.

Tie to me and destroy our enemies.

Tie to me and live in death forever!

Tentacles shot from the ball in a cone, headed for all the corpses laying around the city that had not been burnt yet.

Suffering felt the intense exertion, more than he should have felt at this release and fell to his knees.

Tentacles entered the corpses through any orifice that they could find, healing the bodies the moment that their power was solidified. They began to sit up, causing panic from everyone who seen their dead loved ones coming back to life and healed as though they never died.

Some people believed that they were witnessing a miracle. Some people seen evil at work. Some people were just in too much shock to even move.

Suffering had recovered and stared at the unfolding scene with pleasure. Screams suddenly lit the silent night as the first minion took a bite out of his once father. Chaos erupted from the Humans encampments. Everywhere that Suffering looked, his minions were dealing death in droves. Every Human that was bit by the ferocious monster he created would make thralls, trapped between life and death but completely obedient. These thralls would serve as fodder and day guardians.

Within minutes, the screams died down. All Humans in the area were either minions or thralls. Suffering began to set his plan in motion.