Shadowborn Read online

  “Sing praises to the angels,” Marius shouted to them when he stood in the center of the gathering. “And do not doubt the importance of your place in this battle. Seraphim may rule the skies, and the siege engines of old may carve the earth, but you are the bones that shall hold our army together.”

  The soldiers cheered, a chant of “The Speaker Reigns” echoing behind Marius as he continued down the wide dirt road carved by the weight of Center’s army. Marius felt the warmth in his breast, weeks of nerves steadily easing. Everything had come to this. The rebellions would be crushed, the minor islands subjugated, and order restored in their little place above the Endless Ocean. The next time L’adim dared to attack he would face a united humanity instead of the squabbling tribal mess it was now.

  Er’el Jaina Cenborn met Marius at the gathering of angelic knights. She stood prim and calm with her hands crossed behind her back, but her eyes sparkled with excitement.

  “Measures are proceeding without incident, though we lag significantly behind schedule. Our chance for attacking at dawn are long behind us.”

  “It is no matter,” Marius said, the two passing between groups of knights milling about. The soft hum of their wings, numbering in the hundreds, filled Marius’s chest with a pleasant vibration. “Dawn, afternoon, midnight: it will all end the same.”

  Knights quickly crossed their arms over their chests and bowed low as the two passed. Marius dipped his head in return, ensuring each group received his acknowledgment.

  “We’ve used every single ferryman for this invasion, putting a halt to our trade and travel,” Jaina continued. “The other islands will likely sense something is amiss.”

  “And what will they do if they know?” Marius asked. He gestured to the army of angelic knights surrounding them. “Will they ambush us on the way despite being thoroughly outnumbered? Or will they gather armies together to challenge our landing?” He laughed. “Let them, Jaina. Let them bring the entire forces of all four islands together to face us. Victory will still greet us.”

  The two approached the final stretch of land prior to the island’s edge. Ferrymen buzzed through the air like an angered swarm, hundreds of them coordinating liftoffs and assigning positions. All across the ground dashed the theotechs with cloths, prisms, and tools. Their work was almost done. The engines waked.

  Towering over all were the weapons of the ancient world. Grand cannons on wheels. Turrets laced with slender steel pipes to funnel the barrages of coordinated fire. Wall breakers powered by fire in their bellies and light elements in their battering rams. Marius’s favorite were the five machines that resembled metal men. Each one required fifty light elemental prisms to power, but they gave their controller unmatched precision and control. They were the knight giants, and Marius had personally assigned the five theotechs that would pilot them.

  “Breathtaking, isn’t it?” Marius asked. Theotechs swarmed over the machines, cleaning, tweaking, and latching chains to the enormous platforms beneath them.

  “They are an impressive sight,” Jaina admitted. “But their cost is extraordinary. I find it no surprise our ancestors gravitated toward Seraphim warriors. They are far more efficient in prism usage.”

  “Now is not the time to count the cost,” Marius said.

  “I find the moment before the battle the perfect time to count the cost,” Jaina said. “Otherwise how can you be sure you are willing to pay?”

  Fair enough. Marius continued toward the edge, his imagination growing wild. He’d witnessed only a few of the ancient weapons tested to ensure their proper functionality. What might it be to hear the song of a hundred cannons? Such a beautiful destruction, that horrible symphony. Despite the heavy cost, Marius knew in his heart there was no other way. After today it would be centuries before another minor island thought of rebelling.

  “Where is my transport?” Marius asked.

  “There,” Jaina said, pointing. “At the very edge.”

  They passed one of the knight giants, and Marius paused beside it. The machine was designed to look like one of the knights from the ancient stories, every inch covered with shining silver steel. In its right hand it held a sword the size of a man. Its left hand was empty, the center of its palm an interlocking pyramid of six focal prisms. Marius climbed atop the enormous platform of logs lashed together with iron so he might touch its armored leg. What had the world been like before the Ascension? What mighty empire crafted such deadly creations? How many once walked the earth, for Center only held tiny remnants of weaponry from the ancient civilizations. As much as the potential destruction frightened him, he could not deny the awe-inspiring sight of those metal monstrosities slowly crossing the battlefield.

  “Soon,” Marius whispered.

  A few knights and theotechs stood around the marble platform, waiting for Marius’s arrival. The Speaker stepped between them, accepting their respectful, if impatient, bows. His custom platform was simple in design, though extravagant in decoration. A golden chair rested atop a thick slab of marble. All across the platform’s sides blazed runes and angelic images drawn with melted silver and gold. Eight pairs of small silver wings marked the thick steel rings drilled into the marble. Silver chains looped through the rings, awaiting their ferrymen to lift them up and carry Marius into battle.

  “I apologize for the delay,” Marius told them as he settled comfortably into the throne. “But I found myself admiring the work of our theotechs. They have done a marvelous job restoring the ancient weapons to prime condition.”

  “That they have,” said General Garnett. He was a burly man, with a thick black beard braided down to his belt. It was his responsibility to command the ground forces come landfall, and such responsibility left him in a near-constant sour mood. “But I still beg of you to reconsider their use. Too many of these machines aren’t tested, and my soldiers have no experience fighting alongside such firepower. They’re an unnecessary risk. My men will crush Weshern’s ground forces with ease, as will our angelic knights. Leave the machines here, and carry them in only if you must.”

  Not a new argument by the general, but the most passionately given.

  “I hear your worries, and I ask that you believe me when I say I do not take them lightly,” Marius said. “But we have underestimated Weshern before, and we cannot risk doing so again. We will go in with all our strength.”

  “My men will die from friendly fire,” Garnett said. “Know that their deaths are not on my head.”

  “Nor are they on us theotechs,” Jaina said, frowning at him. “This is war, General. I would think you well aware of the risks all that entails.”

  “Enough,” Marius said, cutting both off. “This is an hour for sacrifice and triumph, not bickering. If everything is prepared, summon the ferrymen and let us take to the air.”

  General Garnett bowed before leaving in a huff. Marius was more amused than upset by the lack of respect. Garnett was a temperamental sort, but his soldiers loved him, and they would die for him. In return, Garnett fought for their safety, feeling all too often that the ground forces were overlooked in favor of the more famous and legendary fighters in the air.

  “The soldiers are ready,” Jaina said. “And I believe most of the war machines are prepared for flight.”

  “And the knights?”

  Jaina pointed to the sky.

  “I think we’re about to have our answer.”

  A golden-winged knight flew low overhead, and she twirled while descending to land in a kneeling position before the Speaker.

  “My lord,” Knight Master Allison Trevarch said with bowed head.

  “Rise, Allison,” Marius said. “Are my knights ready?”

  Allison stood, her hands on the hilts of her two swords. She was tall even among the men, her hair a fiery red and her left cheek marred by a long scar traveling halfway down her neck. Allison wasn’t the most skilled of his knights, but she was the keenest mind and the strongest leader.

  “We await your command,” Al
lison said. “My knights are eager for a taste of battle. Our spars and training do not do the exhilaration of war justice.”

  “Indeed,” Marius said. “The Weshern Seraphim have proven admirably resilient, and there is a high chance the other islands will come to their aid. Are you ready to face such a force on enemy territory?”

  Allison smirked.

  “We are knights of Center. Let them come. All traitors to God will fall before our blades.”

  Marius waved her away.

  “Return to your knights,” he said. “We leave in but a heartbeat.”

  She bowed low.

  “To a glorious battle,” she said.

  “And a peaceful end,” Marius responded.

  Allison’s wings shone with light, and then with a jump she soared into the air. Marius glanced to the side, seeing Jaina conversing with several young theotechs. She finished speaking, then returned to Marius.

  “It appears all divisions are reporting ready for liftoff,” she said. “We await your order to begin.”

  “Consider it given.”

  Jaina’s calm veneer momentarily broke into a smile.

  “We start a new age, Speaker,” she said. “History will remember this day as the day our islands unified as one.”

  “Worry not for history,” Marius said. “Only for survival.”

  The Er’el returned to the younger theotechs and gave her order. They scattered, rushing to spread the word. Marius tapped the arm of his chair with his fingers, telling himself to be patient. It would take some time for the legion of ferrymen to carry the incredible number of forces to Weshern.

  The roar started weak at first, then built and built as wings of both knights and ferrymen hummed together. Eight descended around Marius’s platform, taking up the chains and staring skyward for orders from their supervisors to lift. Jaina stepped atop the platform beside Marius, arms crossed as she coolly watched the proceedings.

  “This must have been what the Ascension was like,” she said as countless platforms steadily rose into the air.

  “I have witnessed the Ascension,” Marius said. “And it was far more beautiful, and far more terrifying.”

  The knights flew overhead, taking up the vanguard to protect the slower, vulnerable platforms carrying soldiers and machines. The last time Marius witnessed so many was during a military parade through Center’s capital. It failed to compare. The urgency, the excitement, only added to the wonder.

  Marius glanced over his shoulder. The first of the machines was rising into the air, dozens of ferrymen latching chains to the chest pieces of their harnesses. Their small, stubby wings flared with light, and steadily the platform left ground. More platforms carried soldiers overhead. They would secure landing zones before the war machines followed, while the knights would ensure no Seraphim bombarded from above or below. Last came a platform full of Marius’s specters, eager for their chance to bypass the front lines for a chance to strike at the royalty who would be hiding deeper within the island.

  More and more platforms rose, a dizzying display flying at many varying heights to reduce the likelihood of a collision. The sky filled with wings, all the world humming with their pleasant thrum. Glorious. Just glorious.

  Once half the soldiers were ahead, a ferryman supervisor hovered near, shouting an order to the others. The chains tightened, the ferrymen lifted, and then Marius’s platform lifted off the island and began making its way toward Weshern. Marius settled into his throne while Jaina kept herself steady by holding the throne’s side.

  The gathered force of Center’s might flew through the air. They had no need for the element of surprise. What did it matter? They had the power to destroy worlds. Marius did his best to relax. They moved at a steady, easy pace. The knights ahead hovered more than flew, their legs dangling as they drifted southeast. The floating green-and-brown sphere that was Weshern steadily neared. Occasionally, the island vanished behind a cloud, reemerging that much closer. If Marius squinted his eyes, he thought he could see the tiniest of specks swarming the island’s outer edge. Weshern’s Seraphim preparing for battle. What trick might they attempt? What hope did they have against such might? No doubt desperate messengers were flying to Candren, Sothren, and Elern. The other islands would see Center’s invasion on their travel. Marius hoped the incredible display would dissuade them from joining in.

  “It seems Weshern still plans to fight,” Jaina said, the island now dominating the foreground. “Fools. I truly believed they would surrender.”

  “I wouldn’t have accepted it,” Marius said. “The sheer cost of coming here was tremendous. We will not leave without offering an example to the other islands.”

  “And what example is that?” she asked.

  “All of Weshern burned to the ground.”

  Even Jaina looked taken aback.

  “But what of their rivers?” she asked. “Their forests and towns? It will take years to replace, rebuild …”

  “Perhaps decades, even,” Marius said. “But it can be done. A total collapse and submersion beneath the Endless Ocean? That cannot be rebuilt. There is no undoing such a catastrophe. I want the very thought of rebellion crushed this day, Jaina. No more illusions of being separate nations. No more Archons and lords and Seraphim. They will be extensions of Center, obedient and powerless.”

  The Er’el did a remarkable job keeping her voice calm.

  “Why were we not told this beforehand?” she asked. “You said you only wished to crush Weshern’s military.”

  “And we will,” he said. “But there was no reason to risk doubt among the theotechs as to the necessary level of destruction. As we progress city by city, continue giving orders to attack. The rage of battle will quell any potential doubts. I have already informed Allison of the full extent of the destruction we must unleash. The fire and stone of her Seraphim will scorch the earth raw. Only select fields will remain unscathed, for our people must be fed. When we resettle Weshern, it will be with loyal citizens of Center.”

  Jaina waited a long while before answering.

  “So be it,” she said. “The angels have ordered the destruction of sinful civilizations many times before. I will ensure everyone knows that this was their punishment for sending Galen crashing to the ocean floor. But what of the other islands? Will they submit to a dismantling of their hierarchies?”

  Marius looked upon the beautiful lakes of Weshern, the thin, sprawling forests surrounding them, and he felt a pang of sorrow for the impending loss.

  “After they see the price of rebelling, not a soul will dare resist our power.”

  Jaina’s hand clutched the side of Marius’s chair hard enough to whiten her knuckles.

  “We do this for the future of our race,” she said. “I understand. In time, our people may view this day as one of triumph, but I will not preach it as such. Not while I live. Is that acceptable, my Speaker?”

  “Ours is a heavy burden to bear,” Marius said. “And yes, I accept. I would be a cruel man if I demanded your heart rejoice in slaughter.”

  Weshern was so close now, the southern edge of the island looming before them. Marius saw little spots of silver hovering about the island, no doubt the Weshern Seraphim scrambling together to form a defense. It would not be at the island’s edge, he saw. Neither soldiers nor Seraphim awaited their landfall. The villagers fled in thick streams northward like panicked little ants.

  “Give the order,” Marius told Jaina.

  The Er’el slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out a small light elemental prism. Set into the back of Marius’s throne was a golden gauntlet, and she pulled it free and slid it on, powering it with her element. Aiming upward, she activated the gauntlet. Instead of destructive ice or fire, the gauntlet shone a thick white beam heavenward, signaling the other theotechs manning the war machines. Jaina cut it off momentarily, then shone it two more times, the signal for beginning the invasion. The knights scattered in all directions, creating a firing window. The thrum of win
gs magnified tenfold, bone-chilling in its volume as the ancient machines drew power from their prisms. Marius caught himself clutching the arms of his chair and he forced his fingers to relax.

  For our future, he told himself as the first of the cannons erupted. For our children.

  Balls of flame the size of houses lobbed through the air, their destination the closest of the villages that would be their landing zone. The projectiles detonated upon contact with the ground, exploding outward with a roaring inferno. The grass instantly charred, stone buildings blackening from the heat, their wooden roofs suddenly ablaze. The last stragglers at the northern half of the city vanished amid the smoke and ash, never to be seen again. More cannons fired, the second volley of ice and stone. Boulders blasted through homes, crushing fountains and trees alike as they rolled to a stop. Last came the lightning, concentrated beams that widened over time. Their light was blinding, their power so great that buildings crumbled against it. The beams raked the city, ripping it apart. Deep grooves in the earth marked their passage.

  Within minutes, the village was decimated.

  “The day is already won,” Marius whispered. “Who could dare challenge such might?”

  Jaina flashed a single beam of light, ending the barrage. The angelic knights swarmed the rubble in search of potential resistance. None awaited. Marius’s platform settled into the heart of the destroyed city. The ferrymen hovered a few dozen yards away to afford the Speaker privacy until he beckoned them back. The ground rumbled. The first of the siege weapons settled to the blackened earth and rolled from their platforms. Smoke belched from pipes of those fueled by fire, others crackled and whirred, their enormous weight counteracted by light elements or their wheels turned by inner machinations powered by electricity sparking through wires from lightning prisms.

  “So little remains,” Jaina said, absorbing the destruction. Hardly a building stood untouched.