Secret of the Sunstones, Part 1: The Wanton Kingdom

Chapter LIX : Withdrawal

Earlnight of Quartus, Twelfth Day of Autumnmoon

Richard Cromwell paced the length of his throne room, alone. One by one, his subjects had forsaken him. Some of them detested his new policies. Others were revolted by his darker methods. None capitulated fully. At least, not once they finally understood the extent of his ambitions. In his rage, he murdered many of them. The halls of the palace were now stained with their blood. But, in the end, he knew his kingdom couldn’t run itself. He had no choice but to expose the survivors to Abaddon’s breath.

The Ahriman had such wondrous mind control powers. They were, perhaps, Richard’s greatest tool. They were superior to compulsion magic, which was banned by the Scholar’s Creed and merely granted wizards the ability to control a man’s body. However, a man who inhaled the blue smoke followed out of loyalty, with mind still intact. As long as it didn’t require creative thinking, anyone under Abaddon’s influence retained the faculties of their own intelligence to carry out the Ahriman’s will. Or, rather, King Richard’s will.

Richard eagerly awaited the opportunity to assume Abaddon’s form again. The transformation granted him unfathomable powers, torrents of divine energy that coursed through his veins. The experience was exquisite! Even now, the sunstone beckoned from his pocket. He could taste its powers again in a heartbeat … if only the price of using it wasn’t so steep.

Richard wasn’t naïve to the dependence it formed. Each time he called on Abaddon’s powers, the Ahriman’s dominion over him strengthened. If not metered carefully, he would eventually lose command of his own body. He had to be careful. Resisting the allure was a constant struggle. The power tasted so sweet. He yearned for just one more sip. Holding back caused him pain. By the end of the day, he lost focus, he couldn’t sleep, his body itched, and his hands shook.

He felt the effects at that very moment. He wiped his brow, now drenched with sweat, and looked to the wall. A great, golden mirror had once hung there, but he destroyed it. Now, only a few shards remained along the edges. He despised the image staring back at him. It reminded him of the monster he had become. His skin had once been soft and youthful, but now it rested on his bones like old putty; dried, cracked, and barely holding together. After summoning the Ahriman so many times, shredding his flesh, and putting it back together, he wasn’t sure how much more he could take.

There was a solution, though. Virgil let it slip a few days earlier. The man was always slippery like that. Never trustworthy. Always with an ulterior motive. Always holding back important information. Until Richard caught him in a lie and commanded him to spill his knowledge. This time, the value of the information was incalculable.

Richard learned that the sunstones had a counterpart. Virgil called them moonstones, elements of the spell cast a thousand years ago to imprison the Ahrimen. They had the power to nullify the Ahrimen’s corruption. With one of these moonstones in hand, Richard could draw upon Abaddon’s power any time he wanted, without consequence. The only question was where to find them.

Virgil claimed the moonstones had been lost in the cataclysms of the Omega War. To find them, he built special instruments, which he installed on the new airbase design, called Zounds. Richard had tried to accelerate the ship’s completion, but it required the cooperation of its creator, whom Virgil had foolishly locked in the dungeon. Sadly, the design required the Grand Craftsman’s creativity, and he had to do it willingly, which meant that Abaddon’s magic wasn’t suitable to coerce him.

Richard tried to convince him, too. He even promised a share in the sunstones’ power. But the stubborn man refused! Meanwhile, Richard grew desperate. He gave Virgil one more chance to persuade Cedric to capitulate; but if he failed, other options were needed.

After all, Richard was the most powerful man in the world. He had Gnostic Knights and Royal Guard, ready to serve at his beck and call, and he had Abaddon’s magic. He ordered his men to search far and wide, focusing on regions with significance to the old myths and legends. After all, these stories predicted the power of the sunstones. Surely, there were other truths to discover. Mount Abakai, for instance, was Koba’s sacred mountain, mentioned throughout the ancient myths.

Richard actually thought he was quite cunning to snatch these artifacts before Virgil got his hands on them. Although, he wondered if Virgil conducted his own search, in the hope of double-crossing his king.

“Traitor!” he snarled at no one in particular.

He hated that Virgil held onto so many secrets. He only divulged them a bit at a time. And always so cockily! Richard wanted to rip the man’s tongue straight out of his mouth, followed closely by his spine. And he would have done so, if he didn’t also believe that Virgil was far more valuable alive.

He yearned for a time when the clownish man was no longer useful. Virgil didn’t have the skills to advise the world’s most powerful ruler, and he had no place in Angkor’s future. Yet he stuck his fingers so deeply in the country’s daily governance that it would be difficult to replace him once Angkor’s dependence on him ended. Richard had to find a way to reassert control. He needed a moonstone.

He saw a figure approach from one of the mirror’s remaining shards. A Gnostic Knight.

He turned around, feeling hopeful. “Abraham?”

No, it couldn’t be. His old friend was dead. Or was he? He recalled somehow that Bram was sighted on Mount Abakai. But, that seemed impossible.

The Knight removed his helm. Richard was overjoyed. “It is you, Abraham!”

The Gnostic shook his head and spoke in a deep voice. “No, Sire. My name is Samuel.”

Richard was disappointed. He was quite familiar with Samuel Cortez, who looked strikingly similar to the Knight who had betrayed him. These days, he had trouble telling them apart. He still regretted sending his old friend on a false mission to Ur. But Virgil convinced him that Bram needed to pass some foolish test of loyalty. Supposedly, if he annihilated the Gaian tribe of his own free will, he would be more useful. The Gaian threat needed to be dealt with, either way, but Richard would have preferred to tempt his Knight with a drink from the font of the Ahriman. One sip of its power would have had Bram suckling for more. His loss was another strike against Virgil. One that would not soon be forgotten.

He lashed out. “Why are you here?”

The Knight didn’t even flinch. “You summoned me, Your Majesty.”

He bowed gracefully, and his voice was soothing. “I would have arrived sooner, but I was outside the city when the messenger contacted me. I’ve been preparing for the attack on Koba.”

Samuel was an expert in wizardry, though his mastery in combat was equally impressive. His strength easily surpassed Richard’s other scholars. Among his spells was the coveted translocation, which allowed a person to travel instantaneously across distant regions. Richard wondered if an Ahriman might grant him similar powers.

He wiped his brow, already wet again with perspiration. He rubbed his hands against his robes, trying to stop them from shaking.

“I’ll get straight to the point. I just learned hours ago that Rungholt is back in the hands of the Kitezhians. They were hiding in underground lairs, and they captured some of our men. I’m talking high-ranking soldiers with valuable intel. They took some of our airships, too! I need you to mobilize the remaining units to quell this rebellion. Permanently. Burn the city to the ground, if you must.”

Samuel stood tall and unyielding, his emotions hidden behind an ice cold façade. “Sire, the remaining forces prepare for the attack on Koba. There’s no better time for us to obtain the Sagittarius Stone.”

“No!” Richard sputtered, pounding a shaky fist into a cold and clammy hand. “I won’t risk it. If Kitezh spreads word of what we’ve done, our plans will be in ruin. We must redirect the attack at once!”

Samuel took another step forward. His stature was so commanding that mighty King Richard felt himself taking a step back.

“My Lord, with our resources so dispersed, scouring the land as they are for moonstones, we can’t be fighting a war on two fronts. We still have the element of surprise to attack Koba, but that window is vanishing rapidly. If they build their defenses, we’ll lose our chance. Besides, Kitezh doesn’t have the means to attack anytime soon. We’ll have plenty of time to quell the rebellion, once we obtain the Koban sunstone.”

“Didn’t you hear me?” Richard squealed. “The real risk is if they expose our lies! The rest of the world doesn’t know that we attacked a sovereign nation, nor that we put people of Kitezhian descent to death within our borders. If these travesties are revealed, nations across Gaia will rally against us!”

The Knight was unperturbed. “Yes. But by then, Your Majesty shall have three sunstones in his possession. Let the world try to defy us. We’re nearly invincible, already.”

Richard returned to pacing. The Gnostic wasn’t thinking far enough ahead. Without moonstones, more sunstones were useless! He could barely wield one of them as it was. He supposed if Kitezhian invaders were foolish enough to attack him directly, he could use the Pisces Stone to destroy them. But there was too much at stake to make Angkor vulnerable so early. Especially if other nations joined them.

He wrung his hands, knowing he had to make a choice. Address the Rungholt liberation, and the window for a third sunstone would close. Yet attack Koba, and he would roll the dice on whether he’d find a moonstone or two before his plans unravel.

“Very well. Pursue the Koban sunstone. But I want you to lead the mission personally.”

Samuel smiled, a rarity for the Knight. “Yes, Your Majesty”

“Now leave me.” Richard waved his hand in dismissal.

Samuel bowed and spoke a few words. His body disappeared with a wisp of black smoke.