Enmity of Atlas

Leo wandered the city streets for some time, taking in the sights and the architecture, the unique terrain of an unknown location. It was similar to Aria in some ways, familiar but different. There were a lot more ramps and staircases throughout the city than in Aria, the result of the much cliffier terrain. More verticality was required to traverse the area in general, it was no surprise that the city wasn’t exempt. They could have leveled the ground, theoretically, but the amount of energy it would take to flatten such a large area of land simply wasn’t worth the effort. Other than the difference in streets, however, the cities were quite similar. The buildings were tall and grandiose, this area certainly being an affluent district, so it reminded Leo a lot of home, the rich streets of Aria. He felt a pang of sadness suddenly thinking back to the home he would never have again, but he didn’t let himself dwell on it. They were moving forward. The tragedies behind them couldn’t be undone no matter how sorry for himself he was. At some point, Leo realized how hungry he was, his stomach growling painfully. They did stop for lunch, but it was quick and small, which didn’t couple well with the breakfast he skipped. Now would’ve been a great time for dinner.

“Hey, kid!” Leo looked up. Above him, leaning over a balcony railing was a handsome blond man with sparkling blue eyes. He looked young, probably still in his 20’s. “Leo, right?”

“Uh, yeah! Do I know you?” Leo called back up.

“Perfect!” the man replied, ignoring Leo’s question completely.

He vaulted off of the balcony, landing hard on his feet next to Leo. Before Leo could respond, the man grabbed him by the hem of his shirt and leapt back up, standing on the railing with both of them, now. The sudden movement disoriented Leo, but he was actually getting better at holding his stomach. After being put through the ringer so many times by Walibeld, he was slowly gaining endurance. In front of them there was a massive table with dozens of different dishes, each one steaming and fresh. They looked immaculate, too. This must’ve been quite the expensive restaurant. The man set Leo down, taking a seat back at the table and digging into several of the dishes at the same time, his hands moving much faster than Leo would have expected. Leo took a seat across from him, looking at the food, his stomach rumbling.

“Dig in! I couldn’t possibly eat this much by myself,” the man said.

Leo grabbed some food, starting to eat, “Why did you even order this much? Are you alone?” Leo asked between bites.

“Aylin loves this place. I’ll be taking the leftovers with me when we’re finished here. I think I’ve still got a couple heating plates on hand.”

Leo stopped dead, the name Aylin ringing surprisingly familiar, “Aylin as in-”

“The left hand of the Conqueror, correct. And I am Zalis, the right hand of the Conqueror. But I don’t think titles really matter much. You can just call me Zalis.”

Leo sat there, mouth ajar, almost disbelieving. Zalis? That Zalis? Being a denizen of Verulik, Leo had heard that name hundreds of times, each one in the context of some grand feat. Zalis was generally considered the fastest man alive, and incredibly powerful at that. Leo knew he was a lightning mage, but now knowing about aspect, he guessed that Zalis had one which made him even faster somehow, a specialized build entirely dedicated towards sheer movement. Supposedly, Zalis was supposed to be able to run a mile in less than a second easily, but there was no way to prove that claim. Even if you were there to see it, he’d just be there one second and gone the next.

“It’s an honor, sir,” Leo said, bowing his head. He was too stunned when he saw Geren to show him proper respect. He would do better this time.

“Lift your head. I’m not here to domineer over you. Once we’re done chatting, we’ll both be on our respective ways.”

“I…okay. Was there a reason that you wanted to talk? I don’t presume you simply wanted someone to have dinner with.”

Zalis laughed, a boisterous and bright sound, “While the company is appreciated, you’re correct. I could have grabbed just about anyone to have dinner with, a whole party if I was feeling particularly lonely. There’s a couple reasons that I wanted to speak with you, actually,” Zalis said, still eating rather quickly, “You, in particular, not Trenton. You can pass anything I say onto him yourself, if you find it pertinent. Firstly, Geren told me what happened when I got back, told me what you two told him as well. I’ve lamented every day since that I wasn’t there to do something, but it’s too late now. My job, especially in the absence of you know who, is to see that the kingdom is stable and well defended. I’ve taken immediate actions to secure the defenses of Dasellium, Wyrm’s Perch, and Zerital. Luckily, Arnis and Zylor are much more competent than Tiev, so at the very least, it’s unlikely that any more cities will fall.”

“Wait, you knew that Tiev couldn’t fight? Why did you let him be a duke!?” Leo shouted, leaning forward with a sudden intensity.

Zalis sighed, rubbing his brow, “It’s complicated, annoying political complications really. He was the brother of the king before the Conqueror. So when the Conqueror was chosen to become the next king, a lot of people denied him, supporting Tiev as the true successor instead simply because of his blood. The Conqueror made a name for himself as a general, so it wasn’t a huge disaster, but it’s taken us the last decade just to wrangle the last bit of the public back into his favor. As a compromise, about a decade ago, the Conqueror allowed Tiev to be the duke of Aria, knowing full well that Tiev wasn’t fit for the job. It was the only way to reunite the whole nation. The trade off was that the Conqueror convinced Walibeld to protect Aria, acting as the real duke in Tiev’s place. However, because his title was technically unofficial, he wasn’t actually privy to much confidential information. We kept him in the loop more or less, but something like our absence was kept a secret, especially since we couldn’t risk a message being intercepted. As such, he also left at the same time, an unfortunate coincidence. Whoever our enemy is, something I’m also looking into as we speak, they know what they’re doing.”

“What did you even leave for? What about the Conqueror? What could be important enough to abandon the cities for so long?”

“I can’t tell you about the Conqueror's mission, that’s confidential, but it’s of vital importance, I assure you. As for mine, I was lured away, embarrassingly enough. A member of the veil broke into the city-oh right, are you familiar with the veil?”

“I am. We met the 3rd veil.”

“You met…” Zalis lurched forward, his eyes wide, but he stopped to calm himself before he continued, “tell me about it,” Leo quickly recounted the encounter, making sure not to miss any details. Zalis sat there, his brow furrowed, “You’re lucky he wasn’t aggressive. Even with Walibeld close by, he easily could’ve killed you before Walibeld was able to intervene…I ran into the 5th veil, personally. He broke into the city and tried to kill one of the generals, a newer kid who's still a bit weaker than the rest. I ended up chasing him for about 2 weeks to the west, but I wasn’t able to catch him. When I got back and heard what happened to Aria, I figured that they were just trying to get me away from the city, keep me busy with a juicy lure, and I fell for it like a dumbass. Aylin, the left hand, had a similar issue. I won’t bore you with the details,” Zalis stirred some alcoholic beverage on the table with its straw, muttering to himself for a while.

“Is it safe to be talking about this in public?” Leo asked, looking at the surroundings.

Zalis pulled something out of his pocket, a little round device, “I’ve got a dampening sphere active. No one outside of this table can hear this conversation, no matter how hard they might try. Don’t worry, I’ve enough sense not to divulge military secrets without proper safeguards, at least.”

They sat in silence, Leo trying to think of something to say to break through Zalis’s temper. A failing as big as this one must’ve torn him up inside. Leo could only imagine what whirlwind of emotions he was feeling in this moment, “There was something else, wasn’t there?” He asked finally.

“Oh, right. This was actually a request from the Conqueror. As you’re aware, your father perished in combat about 15 years ago. Your family received the bereavement package, but there was actually something else, as well. I wasn’t particularly close to your father, nor am I familiar with your heritage, but from what I’ve been made aware, there’s an honor that’s supposed to be given to a Fairfelt heir when they turn 18. It’s meant to be done from father to son, but the Conqueror said he’d be filling in in place of your father. They were really close from what I’m aware. I haven't pried much into it personally. Whenever you’re able to stop by the castle in Dasellium, you’ll receive the honor from him personally. That coin Geren gave you acts as a way into the castle, so you should be all set,” Zalis looked up, gazing at the setting sun, letting the tension in his body release with a sigh. “Looks like I’m out of time. Sorry to leave so suddenly, but I have to be back in Dasellium by sundown. See ya!” Zalis said, giving Leo a big smile, before disappearing in a flash of brilliant lightning, all of the food on the table suddenly just gone.

Leo sat there for a moment, mulling over all of the information Zalis had given him. He’d never heard about a special honor, but if it had to do with his father, then he wasn’t really interested. Leo stood, deciding to head back to Olin’s. But, just as he attempted to do so, one swift shot to his head knocked him out cold, his body slumped over the empty table.