An Untitled Novel

“Why is the demon here?” The Wizard asked, seeing Grey upon entering the salvaged Elthrice ship. Basil realized that using the Elthrice craft for transport was a bad idea. Not only did he just reintroduce Grey to her former captors and the killers of her group, but he’d also introduced her former captors to the last surviving member of the raiding aliens that wrought destruction on their capital. Even though Grey did not participate in the attack, she was certainly not popular among the Lizard King’s people.

“She lives on the ship; we’re trying to research-” Basil began to say before being cut off by the Wizard. “This creature should-” but the Lizard King shot him a glare and he stopped. Although the Lizard King did not appear happy to see Grey, at least he seemed willing to keep his dislike of Elthrice internal as everyone processed the tumultuous events of the prior week.

“I presume you wish to radio ahead and alert your people that this is not an Elthrice attack?” ACE asked. “We do not have a working radio at our capitol building” the Lizard King said, shifting slightly. “My people know of the captured demon machines; they should not attack us. There is a field slightly north of our capitol, you may land there.” Though no movement was felt, moments later the door opened to a muddy brown field with no crops. A very light and misty rain dusted the landscape.

“I will go ahead and instruct my keep’s people to prepare a feast. You may join us and wait there if you would like” The Lizard King said as they stepped out of the craft. Basil looked around curiously. “If it’s alright, I thought I might walk around a bit and meet you there shortly.” The Lizard King seemed pleased. “Of course, you may see all our fine city has to offer. I’ll instruct an escort of soldiers to join you.”

“I should be safe without an escort, I’ve become pretty capable recently.” The Wizard shot Basil a death glare; referencing their previous fight was perhaps not the best answer to the offer. The Lizard King seemed more forgiving, clearing the air with a forced laugh, though his eyes portrayed mixed emotions. “Well, perhaps I know all too well. We will be ready by sundown, finding the keep will not be a hard thing to do.”

Basil began to follow the Lizard King and his people into the city, but turned off at what appeared to be a street market. He wandered around for some time while taking in his surroundings, of which the first thing he noticed was the temperature. As soon as he stepped off the craft, he noticed it was probably thirty degrees colder. While the rain likely had some blame, much of it likely lay on being considerably south of the Domum equator. Despite a familiarity with cold and the (object) increasing his tolerance to such things, he still found himself growing cold.

Another thing Basil noticed was the state of the city. The generations of decline that Spiro mentioned seemed evident once he began to look for signs of them, seeing walls that were likely once immaculate stone works being reduced to worn and poorly maintained structures. The clothes people wore around him seemed much more basic, mostly made from wool or leather, rather than the more processed fabrics in the other nations he had visited. Finally resolving to remedy his chill, he purchased a coat from a nearby vendor. Though it took a little haggling to get one to take Arkepello silver, he got the merchant to accept and received a coat that was little more than a large sheet of wool with sleeves. It did at least feel quite durable and warm in the rain, “Even if he had gotten fleeced, pardon the pun.”

He checked his watch, the small silver object stating it had been nearly an hour since they landed. Though the sun was still in the sky, it had already begun to fall behind the looming castle, casting an almost ominous shadow across that part of the city. The Lizard King didn’t lie when he said it would be easy to find, as Basil could see it in the city center at a higher elevation than the rest of the city, towering over everything else. Though still very light, the rain began to increase; partially obscuring the beginning of a sunset that rested above the tall structure through and small opening in the clouds. Basil almost froze in his tracks at a simultaneous sense of wonder and dread that the sight contained within it.

“Already beginning to look like a local I see?” The Wizard asked as if a statement of fact as Basil began approaching the castle’s gate, the torch in the Wizard’s hand going out in the rain. Though nobody recognized Basil in the city, as he entered the castle’s comparatively smaller courtyard, he began to receive odd looks and stares from soldiers and officials who appeared to hold mixed opinions of him. “I should warn you that the hall is not yet prepared” the Wizard said, breaking the two’s silence as they continued their walk into the building. “No worries, just wanted to get out of the cold and could use to set up the generator anyway.”

The Wizard changed directions, leading Basil towards the room where they intended to set up the generator instead of leading him to the hall. Basil began to pull out his flashlight as the halls became darker, but with a quick wave of his hand, the Wizard’s torch burst back into flames. Basil’s surprised look asked more questions of the Wizard than any words could, but the Wizard continued walking wordlessly. As they remained silent, however, Basil asked the other question that had been on his mind. “So, how exactly did you wind up with an Elthrice Orbital’s (object)?” Basil expected some sort of glare, but the Wizard seemed ambivalent about the question.

After a long silence the Wizard answered the question in a neutral tone. “This has been in my family’s line for generations, though it is not the source of my or my forbearer’s magic. I do not even know for certain it is ‘Elthrice,’ although it appears it may be. The captured one said they had attacked our civilization before, and their existence and collapse predate even our oldest records, so such events may be lost to time. But I myself am certainly not Elthrice.”

Basil nodded, still unsure what to make of the situation. The Wizard, however, continued to speak.

“They were a profoundly stupid people. Not in their technology or their knowledge, which were immense, but in their hubris. A people who think too highly of themselves and rely too heavily on their machines become easily understood by others, and they themselves become blind to threats which they dismiss. That alone engineered their downfall. They believed themselves to be all powerful, and that their machines were too complex for others to use against them, and therefore they controlled them with absolute authority. Their hubris failed them once when their own people seized control of them, and then again when those who had seized control did not expect those such as myself to be able to seize it and turn it against themselves.”