Narrated by Shae Strong and Randell Moore
“I’m honestly a little surprised that a liech would come here,” Baleraphon mused as the three men drew closer to the camp. “Not exactly the friendliest place for one.”
The Golden Paladin considered the knight’s statement. Lieches were magi who specialized in necromantic magic, specifically with the intent of becoming immortal. They used ‘permanence’ magic, which select few (the Golden Paladin being one such individual) knew was just another word for soul power usage. It was very powerful and rare magic, but it took its toll.
The Golden Paladin supposed that if True Immortality was your goal, though, you might come to think that sacrificing soul power would even itself out in the end.
Either way, Archaic Earth was teeming with people and environments that would eat a liech alive. Arthur and Hesa notwithstanding, there was the current atmosphere of mages snapping up any power they could, and a liech was a tasty temptation if he wasn’t strong enough to handle being ganged up on.
“Perhaps he’s here to join forces with Merlin?” The Golden Paladin mused aloud.
“Unlikely,” Leif said, deadpan.
By then, they’d crossed the threshold of the magic tripwire attached to the proximity alarm, which predictably set it off. They could hear a clear trilling, like a bell, echoing throughout the camp. The Golden Paladin stifled a sigh as people began to gather, and thought to himself, Well, we’ll call this a drill.
A mage had started to sprint towards them and then paused in confusion at seeing the composition of the group. The Golden Paladin waved the mage off, and the three men swiftly entered the camp itself. The Golden Paladin ordered the nearest runner to pass along the stand down order, then angled towards the command wagon. Since both lieches and Lief used magic, he’d need to bring Hesa into the loop before they could proceed any further.
The Golden Paladin allowed himself a small, rueful smile as he thought of Hesa. He’d just left her not an hour past, after what had been an extremely difficult day (and even harder conversation). And here he was about to call on her again.
Well, it’s not like rest was a luxury much expected on the road to war — not for any of them.
They still were dealing with the trickle of ‘volunteers’ and refugees alike, so someone like Leif wandering into the camp wasn’t actually as much of a surprise as one would think. Hesa would likely take it in stride.
The Golden Paladin climbed the steps to the command wagon and rapped sharply on its closed door, calling, “My Lady? Are you still within?”
After a moment, the door popped open. Hesa’s gaze shifted from the Golden Paladin to over his shoulder, only briefly registering Bale before settling on Leif. Her eyes narrowed quizzically. Then she gave a short sigh and turned around to disappear back into the wagon, leaving the door open.
“I suppose there will be no rest for us this night,” she said, echoing the Golden Paladin’s earlier thoughts. He chuckled.
“Deadman Leif,” the Golden Paladin said as they all settled around the large central table, “this is Celestial’s Prophet and King Arthur’s right-hand, Lady Hesa. Lady, Leif tells us he is here on hunt for a liech, whom he has tracked to this planet from the necropoli.”
Hesa’s brows shot toward her hairline and she looked at Leif again with renewed respect. “Imperium, is it?” she queried, completely ignoring the Golden Paladin and referring to the neon purple weapons still floating behind Leif. “Impressive.”
“Celestial’s Prophet,” Leif said in an intrigued monotone. The Golden Paladin felt somewhat out of the loop as the two powerful magi seemed to be communicating on a wavelength he couldn’t parse.
“So,” Hesa said, leaning forward and steepling her hands in front of her. “Tell me more about this liech.”
“First,” Leif said, “he is newly-birthed, which is why it is so imperative that we find and destroy him now. He invaded the necropoli and attacked our former leader, Arturo, like a coward. You may remember, Lady, that Celestial conferred two artifacts upon our people when we were recognized as a species. These artifacts give one individual, who we usually choose as our leader, the ability to access the Threads of Life and Death.”
Leif paused, frowning slightly. “Becoming an unliving … a Deadman … it is not fair. We are not asked. And many of us would lose our minds if forced to continue inhabiting a body we had already severed ties with. This chosen individual volunteers to take on the pain of guiding the unliving who do not want to be here into their next life.”
“Fascinating,” Hesa mumbled. “I’d heard of the artifacts, of course, but my own Lady is, ah… shall we say… particular about what information she chooses to share, and with whom.” Her reticent smile said that even Celestial’s Prophet wasn’t immune to her peculiarities, and that Hesa was somewhat frustrated by this behavior.
Leif nodded and continued. “Arturo was our volunteer and leader. We found him dead, and were able to piece together after the fact that this magus had used various other artifacts to sneak in and use Arturo’s connection to our artifacts — and therefore the Threads of Life and Death — to cast permanence magic on himself. Through Arturo.”
Everyone at the table winced. Being used as a conduit for powerful magic was difficult, even if you had consented and were prepared. If you were neither of those things…
“He found a way to circumvent the exchange?” Hesa finally managed, aghast. “This is dire, dire news for your people. If one magi can successfully turn himself into a liech that way, it won’t be long before you are under constant attack.” She frowned, as though something were bothering her.
Leif smiled grimly. “Not if I destroy him before he can make himself known. Then, it will not be seen as a success; just another failed attempt to bend the rules. All is not lost; the way the artifacts are used is by taking them into the body. Yes, if word were to get out, we would have magi at our doorstep every waking hour, looking for their own slice of True Immortality without knowing the full facts. But they wouldn’t be able to actually accomplish it without the artifacts — which I plan to retrieve.”
A silence fell; Hesa was staring at the table, her brows knitted. “The magus — the liech… You said he used other artifacts to commit the crime?”
“That is what we determined from the magical residue left behind, yes.”
“What’s on your mind?” The Golden Paladin prompted Hesa.
“It’s unusual for a magus to collect artifacts,” Hesa said slowly, somewhat distantly. “Even evil magi consider it cheap or cheating. They want to succeed by their own power, however twisted a definition ‘their own’ might be. It’s how they feed their egos.”
She squeezed her eyes shut, her face twisting with dread, and asked, “Among the artifacts — did you sense a power stone of Celestial?”
Leif floundered for a moment, as if her question had taken him entirely off guard, then answered, “...Yes.”
Hesa stilled as though frozen in time, then let out a slow, shaky breath. “It’s Kulle.”
Dun DUN DUNNNNNN.
Wait wait wait. Kulle — Hesa’s former enslaver and all around piece of shit — is now a liech?? And they just saw him!
What will our heroes do now?! Find out next time!
N.A. Soleil is a portmanteau pseudonym of the two authors' names.
