Enmity of Atlas

Trenton doubled over in pain, throwing up everything he’d eaten that day onto the cold stone ground on all fours. What the hell had just happened? Off to his side, he could both hear and feel Leo in a similar situation as him, rejecting the contents of his stomach onto the ground, a quite visceral sight. Once he collected himself, he got to his feet, trying his best to avoid stepping in the disgusting pile starting to drip off of the cliff they were on. From the ground beneath him, he could still feel the ever present rumbling, but it was softer now–more distant.

He looked around, trying to come to terms with what just happened. The cliff they were now standing on was unfamiliar, some random hunk of stone just like many of the other cliffs they’d been traveling on. Below them, another gentle forest sat, its trees undisturbed by the force of nature that just swept through. But as Trenton continued looking up, he noticed the foliage of the forest begin to devolve into chaos, trees and ground ripped asunder, destruction not dissimilar to the ruins of Aria. Off in the distance Trenton could see the worm that had threatened to consume them just moments ago tunneling in a straight line off to their left towards some unknowable goal. Somehow, they had been teleported and really far, too.

“Looks like it wasn’t after us…some mad coincidence that it was traveling towards us in the first place. Except…” Walibeld said, his eyes tracing the worm’s path. “It’s headed in exactly the direction we came from–Aria.”

Trenton watched as the worm slowly receded into the distance, its head long gone, and it’s neverending body mindlessly following along. For some reason, even despite the fact that it just tried to kill them and destroyed the area they planned to travel, he felt sorrow watching it go–like he’d failed–somehow.

Lost

Sad

Lonely

Confused

Friend

The foreign words bounced around Trenton’s skull, destroying any sense of cohesion he tried to muster together. He failed. He should have done something. He should have said something, but why? Where were these ideas coming from? Why should he feel so bad for that beast?

As Trenton contemplated his conflicting wash of emotions, Leo rose shakily to his feet, his face snowy, “What the hell was that thing?”

Walibeld looked over at him, his left eye closed tighter than usual and his right more foggy than before, “Do you recall when I said there were beasts that could rival even the kings? That was one of them, the great earth eater–Terraphage,” Walibeld sighed, rubbing his face. “Elder beasts, they’re called. There’s only four of them in existence, all ancient. They’re mostly peaceful, but Terraphage and Kullisates both lash out every now and then. Luckily, they only tend to go after the capital cities because of how many people there are, so the kings deal with them mostly. I’m not really sure what it is that Terraphage is after in Aria, assuming that’s even where it’s headed. It has no need for sustenance, so it’d have no reason to go for the corpses,” Walibeld looked over at Trenton, who stood arms partly outstretched toward Terraphage, face twisted in a mad mix of emotions, “are you alright, Trenton?”

Trenton pulled his arms back in, and steadied himself. “Y-yeah…I guess…I don’t know,” Trenton dredged his eyes away from the worm, looking over at Walibeld, “What now?” Trenton said, deciding to leave his questions for later.

“We’ll wait for the rest of its body to pass. It's some thirty miles in length, so it’ll take some time, but it’s too risky to move about right now,” Walibeld said, still gazing out at Terraphage in the distance.

“Th-thirty?” Leo said, his whole body shaking violently.

“Yes, thirty,” Walibeld responded nonchalantly.

Trenton walked over to Leo, putting a comforting arm around the terrified boy's shoulder, who only crawled into the fetal position in response. He was holding himself together pretty well all things considered. Few would be able to come out of a close encounter like that with clean britches, so Leo leaving with just a terrified tremor wasn’t too bad. They sat there for the next half hour, watching the worm travel along, causing even more destruction as it went. But eventually, its body narrowed, coming to a pointed tail which disappeared over the horizon. It was gone, wholly and truly gone.

“Well, looks like we won’t be able to travel along the bridges anymore. We’re only displaced about two miles from where we were, so we’ll be continuing as we were, more or less,” Walibeld looked up, his eye scanning the setting sun. They had maybe two hours at most before it turned to nightfall. “Shit…I’d like to reach the cliff Terraphage jumped out of before sunset. There’s a landmark there that should make for some nice shelter, but it’s a couple miles away still. We won’t be able to make it at the pace we’ve been traveling,” Walibeld looked down at the two of them sitting together, Leo still shaking slightly. He kneeled next to them, his voice softer. “I can only imagine what that must have felt like to you two, so soon after Aria. However, such things are the nature of this world. There is power greater than you can comprehend around every corner…think about it this way, instead. Nearly anyone else in the world would have died if faced with a beast as mighty as Terraphage, but not we. We are still living,” he stood, taking a step back from the two boys who were now both looking at him expectantly. “I’ll give you two reprieves from travel for the rest of the day, but we still need to close the distance,” Walibeld gently picked up the two boys, slinging them over his broad shoulders to keep them secured. “I’ll start slowly and pick up pace as I go. Be certain to focus your presence on yourself. The sudden movement might make you ill.”

True to his word, Walibeld started out slowly, making a slight jogging pace, eventually building up to a sprint, before finally moving so quickly the ground blurred beneath them, the wind whipping at their unguarded bodies. The world lurched and turned as Walibeld leapt off the ground to bounce between various cliffs, the three of them sailing through the dusky sky like a lone rocket challenging the sky. For Trenton, the interminable shaking reminded him of the great destruction they just witnessed, albeit on a much smaller scale. It was everything he could do to even keep focus on his presence enough to keep his body in one cohesive piece. Every time they landed it sent a painful jolt through Trenton’s entire body, a dull throbbing pain slowly building the longer they ran. At this point, he wasn’t even sure if this was better than traveling on his own or not.

Finally, after what felt like eons, Walibeld slowly started to come to a stop, the massive cliff coming into view just before them. In one clean motion, Walibeld stooped low, taking care not to scrape the boy's bodies against the ground, before launching them upwards, landing lightly at the top of the cliff some several hundred feet tall. He took a couple more steps forward, setting Leo and Trenton down on the ground just in time to avoid Leo hurling all over Walibeld’s clothes.

“Don-” Leo tried to say from the ground, but only succeeding in succumbing to a second round of retching. “Never again. I don’t want to do that again.”

“Good, I don’t plan on it. Traveling on your own will help build your stamina,” Walibeld responded, looking down at Leo struggling to his feet, Trenton helping him. “Come. The sun's setting.”

Walibeld began moving, but this time, not in their typical northward direction, instead making his way along the edge of the cliff in the opposite direction of Terraphage’s path of destruction.

“If I’m not mistaken, there should be a structure here. It’s a bit rundown, but it actually has a ceiling,” Walibeld said, looking up at the gray clouds forming above them, the first few raindrops already landing, “...which might be necessary tonight.”

Quickly now, the three of them made their way along the cliff, the terrain slowly slanting upwards and the rain coming down faster and faster by the second. Finally, as the rainstorm turned into a torrential downpour, the building Walibeld mentioned finally came into view. It was a grand structure, larger than Trenton had ever seen before, with tall towers, arches, and windows. Although clearly a building made as a grand monument many years ago, a building almost comparable to one of the capitals central castles, it now stood crumbled and decaying, windows broken and walls crumbling, foliage infesting its hallowed grounds.

“A temple?” Leo said, soaked and shivering, once they’d made it under the building's portico.

“Of a sorts. I’m unfamiliar with the exact nature of the building, but I’d rather liken it to a cathedral given its size. I came across it many years ago in my travels, and have rested many nights within it since. Come, there’s a room towards the top where we can rest,” Walibeld responded, nodding towards the door.

With Walibeld in the lead, the three of them slowly made their way through the cathedral, walking through the large rooms almost certainly once decorated with all sorts of religious paraphernalia. As they moved, they wove their around collapsed pillars, through hallways with their roofs caved in, and up spiral staircases with steps missing. The building was still standing and was a shelter of sorts, but it was clear that no one had touched up the place in many millenia. In fact, the whole building might’ve already collapsed if not for the faint glowing runes lining every surface, basic protection runes by the look of them. Finally, after ascending what seemed like their hundredth stairwell, they made it to a long hallway, a large double door at the other end blocking entry.

“That door still seems to be in perfect shape,” Trenton noted, coming up behind Leo and Walibeld.

“You’d be correct. For whatever reason, whoever built this temple saw fit to fortify this room in particular, so it still stands almost untouched even after all these years,” Walibeld responded, making his way to stand in front of the doors.

Now able to see a little more clearly, Trenton noticed the massive glowing symbol carved into each door. Although he didn’t recognize what symbol it was, the size and keen luminescence told him it was of a caliber similar to the runes that adorned Aria’s walls. Runes like these could only be created by advanced mages, one’s of supreme caliber, indicating this place was much more than it originally seemed. Many years ago, this cathedral might’ve even been home to the chosen clergy, the closest followers of the gods. Trenton remembered hearing a while back that the runes on Aria’s wall weren't actually created by anyone in Aria, instead being created by one of the king's generals all the way from Dasellium because no one else had the ability to create strong enough runes. But, that would’ve happened hundreds of years ago, so there was no way to verify the truth in it.

Trenton walked up to the door, standing beside Walibeld and looking up at the great structure. Even without an arcane lock protecting the entryway, it’d be impossible for either Trenton or Leo to move the doors. They were simply too large and heavy. But, Walibeld should have no problem getting through. He’d just need to nullify the lock for a little bit.

“Step back. I’ll need a second to draw the inverse rune to this one,” Walibeld stepped forward with his right arm outstretched, his finger glowing faintly.

But before Walibeld could even touch the door, it began to open inwards, an unseen force willing it open.