We stand apart from the warring powers; our interest lies in recording events. Yet, like all living creatures, we wish to survive at any cost. The gift of immortality is neither a gift nor free. Infinite life exposes our life threads such that the whispers of the void rend even our minds. We stand on guard against the void, even as our own fall into insanity.

  Tsang‘algama Hornspear, Chief Guard of the Foxfolk

  cautioned new recruits to the Sanctum Guards

  at the edge of the Ruins of the Progenitors

  The winds carried the deep chill of frost and ice with them as Solomon navigated the treacherous terrain to the northeast of the newly restored village. He had tracked the undead to the north, many kilometres from the town. The area had turned mountainous and inhospitable to life – few trees could thrive in the rocky canyon despite the raging river nearby. The bluster of the wind was only occasionally interrupted by the awkward shuffling of abandoned zombies, pitter-pattering in a confused dazed unless provoked by living creatures.

  The lone undead that Solomon encountered were quickly dispatched, no threat to most adventures on their own. The thorny shrubs and diseased rodents were far more dangerous than a shambling, rotting corpse. The berries occasionally adorning the shrubs were a shocking purple with bright yellow fuzzy patches. Solomon did not need his magic to know that they were poisonous.

  Every so often, Solomon encountered a cluster of the mindless undead attacking a desperate rodent or other small mammals. The tiny critters would put up a strong defence, tearing chunks of flesh from their undead assailants. As he approached another group of the undead, Solomon could tell that they had cornered something more significant than a rodent.

  The creature was large and cat-like, hissing steam at the undead harassing it. It was larger than the most gigantic wolf that Solomon had ever seen, standing about a metre and a half tall. While it had a furry mane, it had no skin but rather hard interlocking scales covered in soft fuzz. Rather than cat paws, the creature had a dragon’s deadly talons. Spiky, serrated spikes poked from its spine. It kept its tiny wings close to its body. It looked draconic in nature. Suddenly Solomon could sense the intense interest of his goddess.

  “How rare, a young tragon,” Kruonis said, her words whispered in the back of his mind. Solomon shivered at the menacing undertone in her voice. “Their species is on the verge of extinction.”

  “A tragon?” Solomon asked, a tiny bit of wonder filling his voice. He had read about the species in an old tome that had slowly crumbled into dust as his astral form had turned each page. The description the author had provided failed to do the magical beast justice.

  The undead angrily attempted to kill the young tragon as Solomon watched. Yet, they could not do more than irritate the beast for all their attempts. The shrubs would move to tangle the undead, thorns ruthlessly penetrating their decayed flesh. Direct blows were met by earthen fury as the tragon’s magic caused stone spikes to erupt from the earth.

  Solomon ran forwards, leapt into the air, and incinerated the undead warriors. Ash was all that remained of the undead as Solomon cautiously approached the young tragon, curiosity raised. As he neared, Solomon realized that the tragon had been injured. A vampire had likely struck at it while going to or from the village. It was unlikely to have been injured by the lesser undead like the zombies and skeletons harassing it. They could not breach its tough and scaly hide.

  Solomon felt sadness and pity as he approached the tragon warily. While the magical beast was known for superior intellect and friendly interactions with people, it was still a wild animal and deserved respect. It hissed at him quietly as he approached.

  “I do not want to hurt you,” Solomon said with gentle firmness in his voice. “If you permit it, I will heal you, young one.”

  The tragon’s eyes narrowed, but it stopped its hissing. Solomon slowly approached and cast a minor healing spell to recover its injuries. It gazed over its now healed wounds and started to purr.

  “You are just an enormous cat, are you not?” Solomon asked the tragon, not expecting a response. “I wonder if it is okay to pet it?”

  “I will thank you for keeping your hands and opinions to yourself, dragonkin,” The tragon’s thoughts were broadcasted in the area. “Your help was appreciated, though.”

  “I had read that your species was intelligent, but I did not expect that you would be capable of general area telepathy,” Solomon said. “What are you called?”

  “I am me; there is no other.” The tragon said sadly. “Few tragons still live.”

  “May I grant you a name? I mean a name for you as an individual, rather than the name of your race.” Solomon asked. “My name is Solomon, and I am of the dragonkin race, as you astutely commented on earlier.”

  “An interesting proposition,” The tragon took several moments to mull the idea over. “I accept your offer. What name do you wish to give me?”

  “For your wisdom and kindness, I grant you the name of Sage,” Solomon said. “The name refers to a being that has attained a higher level of intelligence. With your virtuous personality and skill with nature magic, I think it suits you.”

  Sage slowly winked at Solomon before disappearing into the shrubs. Solomon stood there for several moments after the tragon left, feeling they would meet again. Perhaps Sage would be less lonely then.

  “That was unwise,” Kruonis said. “Naming the tragon has complicated its fate and yours as well. Even I cannot know how Sage will evolve nor how their fate will shape them due to your interference in their fate.”

  “It was just the right thing to do,” Solomon said. “I do not know why, but I am sure it was the correct action to take.”

  “It is unwise to follow your instinct blindly,” Kruonis chided, her voice interlaced with pride and frustration. “Like when you intervened with Zaria’s death, I felt an otherwordly presence touch your life thread. Possibly your future self creating temporal paradoxes and causal loops.”

  “A loop?” Solomon asked. “Are you saying that I am interfering with time? Or that one day I will?”

  “Your future self is the cause of a transference event to your current self, affecting your development and ensuring a targeted future. Both versions of yourself exist, but the original entity cannot be determined. This loop generates infinite versions of self that are all part of a single entity. Or, to phrase it differently, one is infinite, and infinity is one.” Kruonis explained. “Paradoxes are dangerous representations of what humans call fate or the will of the goddess. They often view it as something to fight against, not realizing that they are causing it to come to pass by trying to avoid it.”

  “But, based on that, my future self is trying to guide me towards a future that that version of me would prefer?” Solomon said. “The issue is that this changes what I perceive as the preferred outcome.”

  “Exactly. As your development changes, the ideal future you are seeking changes with you.” The goddess said. “Leading your future self to meddle again in the past, infinitely causing ripples throughout the fabric of spacetime. The ripples cause small fractures in the barriers between dimensions, risking dimensional collapse.”

  “How can I surpass the rules of magic to tweak my own destiny?” Solomon asked. “When I turned back Zaria’s time just a few moments, the resulting backlash shattered the protective curse you had placed on me. It would have killed me without the power of my future self flowing into me.”

  “When I made you my avatar, it came with several abilities and skills that you have yet to fully grasp or unlock. They are unique to you.” Kruonis explained gently. “The first skill you have already used in the caves is your ability to see the threads of fate. The eyes of the avatar let you see potential futures right now with the activation of your magic. As you become more skilled, the ability to do so without consuming your magical power will become unlocked. If you use the skill in battle, it will become stronger faster. It may show you other things as you become more practiced, like the strength of your foes compared to your own power.”

  “It seems dangerous to meddle too much with these gifts, but I am sure they will prove useful to me,” Solomon said. “Back to the topic of Sage, why will their naming impact the future?”

  “Tragons are an ancient species that are undergoing an extinction event, similar to the dragonkin. They are as old or older than the dragons that used to protect this world before it became Eden.” Kruonis said sternly. “Like the dragons, the tragons did not live long when humans invaded our world. They were hunted for their genetic material.”

  “Their genetic material?” Solomon asked. “Like, their blood?”

  “Yes,” Kruonis said. “They were used to modify the first humans into the dragonkin. The cruelty and malice of the Progenitors created numerous demihuman races as they searched for the key to wield the power of this world. They needed to adapt to survive here, but they also sought immortality. The secret of how dragons and their ilk lived forever. Unlike the dragons, tragons were an easier target.”

  “But they did not succeed?” Solomon said. “They instead discovered the capability to use magic and started the first mage war.”

  “Precisely,” Kruonis said. “And granting a name to a creature is a form of magic usage. Sage will now evolve with the individualism that the tragons have never had access to. Who can tell what the consequences are?”

  The area around Solomon was entirely barren of any signs of life; not even the hardiest of plants seemed to thrive in the areas around this lake. The lake was surrounded by tall cliffs on every side. Several rivers conjoined to form a massive waterfall at the north end of the lake, where the monastery was situated. Solomon’s instinct told him he was close to where the vampire coven called home. The subtle stench of undeath was everywhere, but he could not sense the unnatural chill that accompanies the immediate presence of the hate-filled undead.

  The knowledge that Nathair owned the property gave Solomon a chill. The monastery was as old as the castles and other buildings created by the dragonkin, yet somehow the stones radiated evil energy. Wrapping himself in magic that curved light around his form, Solomon resolved to investigate the cursed building.

  Floating on the wind, Solomon soared to the monastery while invisible. The place was well defended, with powerful guards stationed on the monastery’s walls at regular intervals. They wielded dual large steel broadswords with a crossbow for ranged combat. Their armour was thick plate draped with a pure white cloth. Somehow, they managed to appear both holy and menacing simultaneously. Robed priests also wandered the area carrying wands, books, and staves. The symbols matched a similar set on High Cardinal Irving’s robes and staff, suggesting to Solomon that Nathair and Irving were more interconnected than Solomon had first realized.

  Even more interesting – the guards radiated demonic void energies, similar to the demon-hunting soldiers commanded by Nathair to pursue Solomon as he fled into exile. Many of the higher ordained priests overflowed with the power of the void, their malice and contempt for the few who seemed to be human hard to miss. Yet servants were necessary to keep the buildings clean, the fires lit, and the guards sated.

  Priests of the void walking alongside guards that radiated darkness with a vampire coven hidden in an estate owned by Nathair near a dilapidated mining village seemed ominous to Solomon. Void magic was sourced in the power of destruction and generally could only be used through sacrificial blood magic ceremonies. A tendril of thought blazed to life suddenly: is this where Nathair creates or trains his demon hunters? They managed to stand against and help destroy Cortana’s astral form, so they deserved to be treated with the utmost caution.

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  A glimmer of light from around the neck of a bishop caught Solomon’s eye. The trinket emitted an aura of creation and light magic, nearly strong enough to distract Solomon from the bishops’ void energies and convince him that they were human. It would probably work on most mortals, if not all. Yet, to Solomon, the taint of the void was like a bad smell and hard not to notice once detected. It lingered at the back of the throat, nauseating with the clinging feel of phlegm or day-old vomit.

  The black marble blocks placed around the premises felt as though they were enchanted against uninvited visitors to Solomon’s magical senses. Carefully floating closer, Solomon felt sudden terror as the enchanted blocks stripped away his flying and invisibility enchantments. Snarling, he threw himself backwards and away from the stones, recasting the light and wind spells that were needful to be hidden once more. He observed the monastery, nervously awaiting an alert to be issued or any indication that he had been spotted by the guards. As the silence stretched onwards, Solomon breathed a relieved sigh. And glared at the stones. Somehow they were enchanted to break apart or nullify spells, and given that they were interlaced throughout the monastery grounds, it was unlikely that Solomon could infiltrate the buildings to investigate the property.

  “Each stone is likely aligned to void magic, which means anything based on creation magic will be nullified upon approach,” Solomon muttered quietly, trying to frame his thoughts as he studied the stones intently. “It is a clever way to design a barrier system. If I could freely use void magic, I could enter without being seen if I wished, but all other forms of magic will give way to the void-based nullification enchant. It also forces the acolytes to accept the taint of demonic power to learn their trade, and before they even realize it, a demon is bound to them. I will need to find another way to enter the grounds or prepare to fight the horde of demon hunters.”

  Floating away from the monastery, Solomon scanned the surrounding landscape for anything unexpected. The estate was more extensive than he had first thought, with more buildings and facilities to the north of the main buildings. A small farm was maintained, likely to provide emergency food when a supply shipment was delayed. It was not large enough to provide for all the folks in the area in a sustained manner without outside deliveries.

  The necessity of food and supply deliveries was one of the many ironies of trying to maintain a self-sustaining compound disconnected from a broader community. Youths and young adults were needed to farm the land and tend the livestock. In contrast, older adults often repaired used equipment, or tanned animal hides to create new outfits. It was a hard life and one that required several generations of family to sustain it in the wilderness. The further from a village or city, the more challenging life was. Childbirth was deadly, and under the scripture of Dievas, no man may marry more than one wife at a time. Although, mistresses were a common way to circumvent the laws of the church and increase a rural homesteads population. Children as young as four would find themselves fully put to work with suitable jobs and a career pathway to promotion. A large enough family would even be able to create luxury products beyond the basic food supplies usually sold or traded at the nearby market.

  Solomon felt a tinge of sadness, reflecting on how Ausrine and Ulric had improved the lives of the common folk by providing free education and childcare. The knowledge-sharing efforts had advanced farming equipment to aid smaller families in their quest for sustainable practices and provided apprenticeship training for specialty crafts to many youths.

  It was unfortunate and regrettable that Ausrine had fallen before her work had become truly too entrenched to uproot. While it had spread from Ulrics’ domain to a few others, the efforts could not be maintained and withered without funding from the royal coffers. Ulric had nearly bankrupted his domain to keep the work going without raising taxes until his citizens decided that each village would raise funds needed for the community centres. They knew that Ulric could not fund the effort himself but recognized the positive impacts on their lives.

  As his sadness faded to a feeling of pride, Solomon focused on the immediate task. The void barrier stones were placed approximately ten metres apart on the grounds throughout the monastery. This left little opportunity for a direct scouting effort to find the vampire coven. Still, Solomon thought he could scout through the earth in astral form with luck and some distance.

  Moving himself a considerable distance away and using a combination of magic and nature to hide his body, Solomon verified that he would be safe for a quick scouting session in astral form using his magic. Within moments, he separated his spirit from his physical body and was free to roam and explore. He would need to be cautious since undead sentries and vampires would be able to see his astral form as he wisped around the area.

  Despite the increased drain on his magical reserves and mental fortitude, diving into the earth felt no different to Solomons’ astral form than diving into a chilly lake. Yet, his existence as a spirit allowed him to sense the earth’s structure around him by drawing on his full power. The hive-live cave network sprawled beneath Solomon, with the living and undead swarming throughout. He had been right about the void barrier stones only preventing a direct infiltration. Few would have the magical reserves to attempt a roundabout scouting session.

  A glimmer of natural light energy attracted Solomon’s attention, like a beacon of light in the sea of undeath. Even considering the danger, Solomon could not help but investigate the source. Flitting through solid rock was tiring but necessary when exploring caverns deep in the earth. Traversing the tunnels would require too much time and raise his chances of being spotted by one of the wandering undead.

  Entering a chamber, Solomon caught sight of one of the mortals leaving the room. She was around his age, maybe slightly older, with long blond hair-tinged grey from dust. Her rags told him that the woman was likely enslaved or another type of prisoner, forced into labour to help the clergy and vampires maintain their temple. She was not a risk to him; Solomon could tell that her blue eyes did not have the sight to see him in his astral form. Nor was she whom he had come to investigate, despite a nagging feeling that she was familiar.

  In the center of the room hung a prisoner that the vampires feared. Chains blackened from blood securely stretched out the captive, her once white wings drenched in blood and tightly bound. The archangel had been brutally, terribly tortured for decades from the appearance of her injuries. Instead of eyes, all she had left were gouged-out sockets that looked like an ancient wound. Cursed talismans and spell stones were carefully placed to suppress her power and leave her trapped, unable to fight back.

  Like the dragonkin, the Progenitors created the angels as a guardian race. The lesser angels were often wingless; archangels had large functional wings for which they often crafted custom armour. They were usually talented with healing and illusion spells based on light magic. Rare was the angel whose talents lay with shadow magic. Like many of the guardian races, the angels had fought hard against the dominion of the dragonkin and were counted as neither friend nor foe.

  “Do my senses deceive me?” The archangel’s thoughts were strongly projected to Solomon. “One of the dragonkin yet lives?”

  “Greetings, guardian,” Solomon replied politely, through direct telepathy. “How came you to be here?”

  “I was trapped here long ago by the very demon that I had been hunting at the behest of Empress Ausrine,” The archangel said. “I am known as Serenity, once known as the light of hope.”

  “I am known as Solomon,” Solomon said. “I seek to be a mageknight.”

  “Solomon? Yet, that is not your birth name, is it?” Serenity asked. “In your spirit, I can sense the faint touch of Ausrine, the late empress of the dragonkin. She had two children, and I would guess you are the forgotten prince.”

  “Your senses do not deceive you,” Solomon said. “But my name is Solomon, and it is the name that I have chosen to take as my own. I worship the goddess of time and became soulsworn as the avatar of my goddess.”

  “It is a mighty name and one that suits you well, Solomon,” Serenity said. “The peaceful monster that walks alone. Great violence awaits you along your path; this even I can ‘see’. A sea of blood forms at your feet, even in your astral form. You are well-matched with your goddess.”

  Solomon flinched back at her words; their accuracy cut him deeply. Moments of silence passed before Solomon could sort out the chaos of his thoughts to communicate once more. “I have made my fair share of mistakes in the past.”

  “Honest, yet callous. The blood of the innocent never fades.” Serenity said, pausing. “You asked how I came to be here, and I gave you but a brief explanation. Have you heard of the archdemon Mincatu?”

  “Perhaps,” Solomon said. “I have slain a few demons as I follow my path.”

  “Likely minions of Mincatu or his allies then. The archdemon Mincatu is the demon I had been hunting at the request of Empress Ausrine,” Serenity said. “My failures led to the fall of the dragonkin empire. What do you know of the fall?”

  “Very little,” Solomon admitted. “Other than it began with the death of Ausrine.”

  “Then listen closely to my story, and I shall shed some light on how your present came to be,” Serenity said. “Of all the dragonkin rulers, Ausrine was different than those who had come before. Less war-like and more human, she put an emphasis on bettering the lives of her citizens. But, even being the empress does not confer all the power to make all decisions. The council of nobles was staunchly opposed to her plans. None were more opposed than Nathair, who cited the constant demonic threat as the main reason to avoid social work amongst the populace. So Ausrine went on a widespread campaign to purge all regions of demonic influence. During the purge, she made stalwart allies with demihuman leaders among the non-dragonkin. The rulers of the dwarves, elves, and a human named Ulric rallied to her cause. Seeing their usefulness, Ausrine raised their statuses and brought them into the council of nobles. Xenophobia prevented the dwarves and elves from being truly accepted in the council. Ulric was seen as a peasant despite his wartime accomplishments. Bit by bit, the shady side of the council became apparent to Ausrine. The dragonkin ruled due to strength of arm alone – a moment’s weakness would be her end.”

  “What does this have to do with Mincatu?” Solomon asked.

  “Just a moment,” Serenity chided. “Ausrine granted Ulric lordship over the northeastern wilds. He would use the land to trial her new policies and see education, healthcare, and scientific innovation make an impact in the lives of all. Eventually, this led to a richness in the region. However, as Ulric successfully rolled out Ausrine’s initiatives, unrest and anger festered within the council. Even those who benefited financially, such as the church, advocated for the advancements to be rolled back. While the church had made significant financial gains as townsfolk increased disposable income, they also had a stark drop off of worshippers. Then the high cardinal had an opportunity to strike back. Leveraging Mincatu’s constant incursions as an excuse, Irving had put forth a motion to halt all non-essential activities until the demon was caught.”

  “I met Irving; he serves King Nathair now,” Solomon said.

  “That is not surprising – I suspect that many of Ausrine’s’ foes have banded together to rule over her people,” Serenity said. “Irving pressed Ausrine to address his agenda without rest until she ordered a force to address the threat posed by Mincatu. She asked me to go with Irving and the soldiers to hunt down the demon. When I finally cornered the demonic scum, Irving struck me with a powerful binding spell. I fought against him but was no match to resist him, Mincatu, and the vampire priestess, Elessa. Together, the three bested me, trapping me here as you see me now.”

  “You have suffered much,” Solomon said. “Why did they not kill you?”

  “Blood,” Serenity explained. “Like how they would seek your blood for its power, they sought mine for its divine protection. Elessa leverages it as protection from the sun and a power source against demons. Irving’s clergy can also use it to hide the influence of the void from those who do not recognize the touch of the void.”

  “Power against demons? But I thought that this Elessa was in league with Mincatu?” Solomon asked, puzzled by the inconsistency.

  “Mincatu is a traitor to his kind,” Serenity said. “He helps Elessa to trap and drain demons of their void-tainted blood. Every drop is used to strengthen the dark blood magic that the vampire coven practice. It empowers their ability to create and command the undead. They then help dispatch enemies of Irving at his discretion.”

  “And support King Nathair in his rule,” Solomon concluded. “By my hand, I will end their lives so that I can live freely.”

  “Would you take up your mother’s crown?” Serenity asked.

  “I do not seek a crown or dominion over how folks live their lives,” Solomon said. “I am content to let others rule; I have never desired to sit on a throne.”

  Solomon could feel danger approaching his corporeal form and knew he had limited time before his astral projection would be interrupted. Other than Serenity, he could sense other captives and enslaved workers that could be critical targets to rescue from their prisons. He turned to leave the archangel, noting where Serenity was located so that he could free her when he cleaned out the nest of the undead.

  “Wait!” Serenity said. “Before you leave me, please, kill me.”

  Solomon paused, hesitating. Like Cortana, Serenity was one of the guardian races with power beyond human knowledge. “I could kill you, but what is in it for me if I do so? What if I made you a different offer?”

  “What offer?” Serenity asked. “Can you not see that I have suffered enough?”

  “Revenge against those that have harmed you. A future not lost in darkness but forged in darkness—a chance to be a beacon of light beyond these walls once more.” Solomon said. “However, I do not offer this freely.”

  “Then what is the catch?” Serenity asked. “I have nothing.”

  “You have yourself,” Solomon said. “I can free you from this prison, but the price for my help would be to bind yourself to me.”

  “Why do you ask for this?” Serenity asked. “Why should I go from one prison to another?”

  “Is vengeance against your tormentors not reason enough? I would not be a cruel master.” Solomon said. “I want to eliminate the demonic incursion from this world, throw down unjust rulers, and live freely. I have bound one other already with the mastery of fire, and I seek to add your power of light to my strength.”

  “With the power of fire?” Serenity mused. “Few creatures have a mastery of fire save the fire dragons, but, no, the dragons have abandoned this world for the next as they hide in Dragath.”

  Solomon threaded Cortana’s spiritual energy through to his astral form, knowing that Serenity would be able to recognize the red dragon’s fiery power. The empty sockets where her eyes once sat widened as Serenity detected the energy.

  “Impossible,” Serenity said. “Yet, undeniable. Very well.”

  “So, you accept my offer?” Solomon asked.

  “Yes,” Serenity said. “If you manage to free me from here, I will serve you and grant you my power. Yet, be cautious, for you tread between the shadow and the light with your every action.”