By the time the Leviathan and the Behemoth had reached Fort Constance, the terrain visible below them had changed significantly. Whereas the lands surrounding the capital were dominated by old growth forests, the horizon to the north was predominately rolling hills and prairies. There weren’t many trees to be seen, and those that existed were small and clustered around infrequent sources of water like rivers and lakes. There weren’t as many towns or villages as to the south, either, though the roads that lined the land were clear and well-maintained.
The most notable feature of the land they came across during the long flight was a massive crater with a small lake in the center. The crater had to be at least ten miles in diameter and was a near perfect circle. Fort Constance had been built on the edge of the cauldron, overlooking the ancient impact site. If Jadis had been back on Earth, she would have felt safe in the assumption that the huge hole in the surface of the world had been made by some prehistoric meteorite. However, considering what she knew of Oros, she had to wonder if the odd landmark was just another sign of the destructive war between the gods from long ago, like the cliff that split the land in half by the capital, or the massive rend-marks under the surface of the world in Weigrun.
Landing at the fort went without incident, in part thanks to Severina flying ahead to make sure no one panicked on their arrival. As it turned out, the commander of the fort had already received word about the advent of airships thanks to couriers spreading the news far and wide. Actually seeing the airships still caused quite a stir, but at least none of the soldiers in the fort were as freaked out as Meli had been the first time she had seen the Behemoth.
Since this flight was serving as something of a test run, Jadis and her crew didn’t use Fort Constance’s available facilities and instead camped in and around the airships. No issues arose, beyond the fact that Jadis and her lovers couldn’t really find a good time to enjoy each other’s company in the intimate way that they preferred. The Leviathan didn’t have the privacy barriers that the Behemoth did, so they were forced to rely on more typical tent structures. Plus, there were far too many high CLR people around who would have absolutely taken notice of any lewd activities. As fun as a little romp in the bedrolls was, Jadis didn’t want to make things awkward for everyone else who was on the trip. Especially since Bridget’s younger brother was with them.
The next day the airships lifted off early, as everyone was unified in their determination to reach Glanum before nightfall. Unfortunately, the goddess of the storm, Tamar, didn’t make the second day of their trip easy. A couple of hours after they took to the skies, a rainstorm blew across their path. The wind and rain were relatively mild, but their progress was still slowed as they were forced to compensate for the bad weather. It wasn’t until after they had pushed past the clouds that Jadis realized they were flying over a mountain range.
The mountains in this part of the world were small, relatively speaking. Their peaks were rounded and didn’t reach anywhere near the heights of the mountain tops in Kalters Wall. They looked old to Jadis, like the Appalachian Mountains of her home state in Pennsylvania. They didn’t have the same green look, though, as these mountains were mostly covered in dusty rocks and scrub brush rather than verdant forests.
As they continued northwest, a landmark located on the far side of the mountains drew their interest.
“Look there,” Severina pointed out the window, catching Syd’s attention. “Do you see that old tower?”
Leaning forward in her sturdy seat that had been special made for her height and weight, Syd took a moment to pick out the landmark the Seraphim was pointing at. It only took a few seconds for her to spot the tower, and when she did, she let out a low whistle.
The structure started at the base of one of the mountains, and yet the top of the tower reached above the height of the mountain’s peak. The spire was thin for something so tall and made of stone, spiraling in a twisting pattern that exuded a sense of arcane mystery. As they passed the tower, Jadis could actually see where a massive quarry had been dug on the side of the mountain to supply all the stone that must have been needed for such a colossal building.
“Wow. Impressive,” Syd commented. “That tower is huge. Who lives in there?”
“No one,” Severina replied. “At least, not anymore. That tower used to be one of many that marked the border between the empire and the Republic of Arx Pergrandis. The towers served as a defense against invasion thanks to the magics stored within, as well as the large military garrisons they supported. One of the former Heroes of an age ago was from Arx Pergrandis and he used his power and craftsmanship to build those towers all along their borders. It was only through the magic and enchantments that he alone mastered that such massive structures were possible.”
“Yeah? What happened to them?” Syd asked as she tried to spot more of the towers but saw only the one. “Where are the rest of the towers?”
“The empire conquered Arx Pergrandis centuries ago. Many of the towers were torn down in the battles, and those that weren’t fell into ruin as none were left after so many years who could maintain their magics. That tower there is the last still standing. Emperor Somerulf gave the order long ago that everyone except for researchers with special permission must keep a distance from the tower, since its enchantments may fail at any point in the next few decades.”
Syd’s eyes were drawn to the back of Noll’s head as Severina’s speech reminded her of the expansionist nature of the Alfhilderunn Empire. It wasn’t only Noll’s homeland of Bastoc that had been conquered. The empire had a history of dominating nearby nations, starting all the way back at its founding. The people living in Alfhilderunn were good people, and as frustrated as Jadis was with some of the leadership, there were good rulers in the empire, too. Still, it had to be uncomfortable to be one of the huge country’s neighbors. They were not a nation that was content to mind their own borders.
With their ship having passed by both mountains and clouds, Jadis was able to get a better look at the land that lay below them. The terrain was similar to what she had seen on the other side of the mountain range, though there were subtle differences. While this part of the world also had few trees, the land wasn’t exactly a prairie, either. There were far more hills, with many rocky outcroppings and what looked like loose rocks everywhere. Considering how high up they were, Jadis realized that the rocks she saw had to actually be gigantic boulders the size of houses, at a minimum.
The place painted a picture of massive upheaval, though an ancient one. There were few trees, but the ground was dense with low brush and tall grass. There were also many small rivers and streams flowing in erratic paths through the tumultuous spaces between the hills and boulders, showing that the area had a strong capacity to support life, even if the flora wasn’t as green as the south’s forests.
It was at that moment that she thought about life that Jadis realized that something was wrong.
While she could see plenty of plants and water, what Jadis couldn’t see were animals. Not that she would have expected to see much considering the ship’s altitude. It wasn’t as though a squirrel would have stood out to her, even if it was sunning its hairy taint on a rock for all the heavens to see. However, Jadis had great eyesight. Better than great, since she had a skill duplicated from Sorcha that improved her vision. And yet, no matter how hard she looked with all three pairs of eyes, she could not spot any sign of deer or goats or any other large game animal.
“Are there no deer in this part of the world?” Dys asked Sabina. “Or other big animals? Antelope or oxen or whatever?”
Sabina looked up from the sketch she was drawing of some new enchantment. Violetta was sitting next to the smith, her attention engrossed with the outline. She, too, raised her eyes to look at Dys, then turned to look out the window on her right. Sabina did not look out the window, however, but instead grimaced unhappily.
“Probably not right now, no. I mean, normally there would be lots of large animals like what you’re probably thinking of, but there wouldn’t be any left in the area with the demonic invasion going on. Most animals have enough sense to get as far away from Demons as they can, if they can, and the herd animals are usually the first to migrate away. We’re getting close to Volto, I think, which means all the animals that can flee have probably done so, just like most of the people have.”
“Jadis,” Noll called out to Dys. “On your left.”
Glancing over at the old wolf, Dys saw that Noll wasn’t looking out the window across the aisle from him but was instead sitting with his eyes closed. Still, she followed the veteran’s direction and looked out the window on her left.
There, a mile or so away, was a small town. It was probably around the same size as Bridget’s hometown of Brightstone, though its design was different. It still had the tall defensive walls and watchtowers, however, the buildings were of an unfamiliar style. The structures looked more Mediterranean to Jadis’ eyes, for lack of a better word. Eldingholt’s architecture had been almost art deco in design, mixed with a northern European aesthetic. These buildings, on the other hand, reminded Jadis more of Greece or Rome. She supposed that made some kind of sense, since the other decorations and designs she had been shown that were in relation to Volto had been of a similar nature.
Other than the different style of building that had been employed, there wasn’t anything else odd about the town. Overall, the place looked normal. Except…
“I don’t see any lights,” Dys said out loud.
“No smoke, either,” Violetta added. “There’s still light left in the day, but there should be smoke for the cooking fires at least.”
“I don’t see any movement at all,” Dys continued as she stared hard at the town. “The streets are completely empty.”
“You won’t see anyone,” Noll spoke with a tired growl. “It’s been cleared out.”
“That’s how most of the towns are right now,” Severina added to the conversation. The paladin was sitting across from Syd, but she had her head turned to look at Dys, or maybe the window beyond her. “The villages and towns of the counties and dukedoms along the border with Volto have largely been evacuated. Only the larger towns and cities are still populated. Even though the line is being held strong by the army, the chances of demons slipping past their guard and making it to less defensible settlements are higher here than in the central lands.”
“Besides, no one wants to be near the border if something catastrophic does happen,” Bridget said in dour tones from where she sat behind Dys. “All those people in those villages and towns would be the first to die.”
Dys continued to watch the town as it receded into the distance, her thoughts circling around her concerns about the demonic invasion. Jadis had seen the results of homes being abandoned back in Weigrun; the concept wasn’t new to her. Still, Weigrun had been a barely tamed wilderness where there were few settlements and a small population. These lands had far, far more people who called them home. Imagining the uncountable number of men, women, and children who had to uproot their lives due to a violent and senseless war of destruction made Jadis’ temper flare.
“How many more hours until we make it to Glanum?” Syd asked after a long few minutes of silence in the cabin.
“At our current rate,” Severina murmured quietly, “I would guess we will arrive shortly after sunset.”
Checking the position of the sun, Jadis estimated that they were an hour away. That was still a long time, relatively speaking, and yet she could feel her nerves crawling under her skin. Jadis could easily chalk her anxiousness up to the way her companions had been warning her about the dangers of the approaching front line, however, the feeling in the pit of her stomach felt different than that. A worry was gnawing at her bones and she couldn’t shake the mood off.
“Are you alright?” Eir asked as Syd got to her feet.
“Yes. No. Not exactly,” Syd mumbled as she paced a few steps forward, then a few more steps back. “I’ve just… I’ve got this feeling in my gut…”
“You feel it, too?” Maeve asked with a dark intensity in her tone.
Syd glanced down at the Fetch. She was seated on her own, near the back of the cabin. The shapeshifter was still wearing a copy of healer’s robes, only she had changed her form to look like an inverted version of Eir, namely a purple elf with red hair and eyes. Maeve was staring at Syd, her posture a falsehood of calm as a hidden tension strained under the fake robes she wore.
“Yeah, I do,” Syd agreed. “It feels like bugs chewing on my kidneys.”
“Or stones knocking together in your stomach,” Maeve stated in an inflectionless monotone.
“Or like your sap has turned to sludge,” Meli said quietly as she stared out her own window.
“Or it’s as though your heart has dropped out of your chest,” Severina said as she, too, stood up. “And it’s flopping around your feet with every beat.”
“We’re all on the same page here, right?” Dys called out, loud enough that everyone could hear, not just the other avatars. “We’re getting poked by our gods.”
“Poked,” Meli let out a huff of disbelief. “I have not felt the Shephard’s touch in years. Now, of all times, he sets his hand upon my soul.”
“Something evil is approaching,” Severina said as she pulled her helmet on.
“Or we’re the ones approaching something evil,” Dys murmured as she picked her own helmet up from a nearby seat.
“Everyone!” Jay shouted from her spot near the cockpit. “Get to battle stations! I want you all armed and armored! We don’t know what we’re about to fly into, so prepare for anything!”
“Sev, can you fly over to the Behemoth and make sure they’re ready, too?” Dys said quietly to the Seraphim as an uneasy rustle filled the air from everyone’s movement. “I’m sure Tegwyn is feeling this, too, but I want to make sure.”
“Done,” Severina nodded once before quickly turning to the exterior door.
“It’s going to be okay,” Syd told Sabina as she rested a steady hand on the smith’s shoulder. “I’m sure your father and brothers are fine.”
“I’m sure they are, too,” Sabina gave her a nervous smile back. “They’re strong. Everyone in Glanum is, too. They’ll be fine. They will be.”
As Syd stood by her worried lover, Dys turned to look at the one avatar in the Leviathan who had not commented on the gut feeling that had just washed over them collectively.
“I don’t expect that you would, but…” Dys sighed as she crouched down next to where her demonic lover was seated, “have you felt anything from Samleos? Other than the usual bullshit, I mean?”
“Yes…” Alex said, her tentacles held close to her body in a deadly stillness. “I feel him…”
“You do?” Dys asked in surprise. “What are you feeling from him?”
“Anger…” Alex breathed out, her two-tone voice vibrating deep in her chest. “Cold and burning… Anger… And more…”
“More?”
At Dys’ prompt, Alex turned her head, all three of her neon blue eyes locked onto her face.
“Anger… And… Anticipation…”
244