Mark of the Fool

Chapter 874: Who Are They Praying to?

The archwizard’s eyes turned toward Aenflynn’s castle. “What have you done?”

The Fae lord was beaming, pleasure filling his expression. He folded both hands behind his back like a naughty child hiding a stolen biscuit. “Not a thing. I did nothing.”

“Do not take me for a fool. I have spells that sense the rhythms of divinity; you are not the first entity with divine power I have battled, and you likely will be far from the last.”

“Oooo, scary!” Aenflynn shuddered mockingly.

“Divine power is rising around the throne. So I will ask you again…what have you done?” the goatman demanded.

The Fae lord’s eyes twinkled. “Again, I did nothing. It is those you fight for and alongside who are responsible for whatever you’re sensing, not me.”

“Fascinating. It would seem you are trying to occupy me with some useless ridd—” The archwizard’s voice trailed off. “Oh. Oh I see now.”

“Yes, you do, don’t you?” Aenflynn licked his lips and spread his arms as though he was basking in the sun. “Thameland is in deadly peril, wouldn’t you agree?”

“And that means the Thameish are desperately praying for help,” the archwizard grimaced.

“Uldar,” the archwizard said simply. “So this was your plan. Stalling long enough for faith to start flowing because of the turmoil in Thameland.”

“Thaaaaat’s right!” Aenflynn laughed, his mirth rolling through the clouds. The heavens shuddered. “You are strong, wizard. One of the strongest opponents I have ever faced. But! Your arrogance will be your undoing.”

“As though you do not suffer from arrogance yourself,” the archwizard said.

“I do, but—while you were pressing me earlier—now…” Aenflynn’s eyes flashed. “I have power to burn.”

Both ancient beings moved at once.

The Chancellor of Generasi let fly a wave of hungry darkness at the Fae lord.

Aenflynn whistled once: producing a short, dull note.

Reality buckled.

The archwizard’s spell shattered.

An invisible wave struck the beast man'schest, sending him spinning through the sky. Aenflynn whistled again, creating a prison of divine light to form around the archwizard, sealing him in a cage of raw, reality-warping power.

Baelin froze, as though stopped in time.

“As I said, power to burn,” Aenflynn laughed. “Power to…oh.”

His eyebrows shot up.

Within the prison of divine light—where time itself should have been frozen—the archwizard was moving, steadily breaking free of the cage.

“You are all proving to be shockingly resourceful,” Aenflynn mused. “Ah well, I’d better move on to the next part.”

Guards were flooding into the throne room, weapons raised and eyes alight with fury.

Aenflynn’s effigy was humming a merry tune while relaxing in his chair. “Hold,” he commanded. “Gather before the barrier, then kill the pair of them when I order it. Oh, and someone be a darling and blow your horn. We should invite more reinforcements to this fete of ours.”

A fae knight nodded, and blew his horn.

Already, the young archwizard could hear more guards charging up the stairs.

Alex glowered at Aenflynn’s effigy, it kept humming contentedly.

The stone being was entirely too smug for the General’s liking.

“You know, I need someone to share my good news with and you two are, what I would call, a captive audience, and so you will do nicely. I just informed your old friend of it as well, mostly to agitate him.” He grinned. “It appears that a sea of faith has come from Thameland to replenish the throne, all thanks to the conflict in your homeland,” the Fae lord explained. “While that is good news for me, it is not so great for you, and leads me to believe that you will not prevail for much longer. Do you two now understand why you felt the power of the throne rise?”

“Filth,” Merzhin hissed, turning toward the inner barrier.

He focused, raising his hands.

The barrier flexed, but remained strong.

“Don’t waste your time, little Saint, you couldn’t break through it before, you’ll certainly not break through now that the throne is further empowered. Wouldn’t you agree, Fool?” Aenflynn looked at Alex.

Alex remained silent, analysing him.

He wasn’t about to let the Fae lord have the satisfaction of seeing him react to his baiting.

The young archwizard eyed the guards, gathering outside the divine ward. Several of his streams of consciousness were preparing spells. The instant a single one of those guards attacked, he would make them wish they were never born.

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“Your plan has some major flaws,” Alex pointed out.

“Oh?” the fae lord looked at the General closely.

“Sure, faith flooding from Thameland is powering your dead friend’s throne— from the fear and carnage you and Uldar’s watchdog are causing—but what happens after that?” Alex asked him.

The young archwizard’s mind was working quickly. “…are you really going to let the Ravener run amok?” He called on the Mark of the General, putting sincerity and stern concern in his voice. The Fae lord’s attention was needle focused on him. “If I was you, I would stop it. Now.”

“Truly? And whyever would I do that?”

“The Ravener’s talking about rampaging until everyone is dead. It’s talking abouttrials…about wiping out every Thameish soul, which will deny you your power, especially if it sends its Hunters out to kill every Uldarite who’s away from Thameland,” Alex pushed on.

“And?” Aenflynn cocked his head. “Do you know what we in Och Fir Nog call the times when the Ravener returns? We call them—”

“The time of plenty.”

Aenflynn’s stone eyebrows shot up. He leaned forward, looking at Alex with renewed interest. “Ooooh my, well aren’t you better informed than I expected? So, you should know that my people don’t much care if every living mortal from Thameland dies. We benefit. And since I don’t believe you are trying to appeal to my more altruistic traits…where are you going with this?

“Simple math,” Alex met the effigy’s gaze. “With most or all of Uldar’s people dead, there’s going to be no more fear or faith to power that chair. The divinity will fade. In fact…” He pushed harder. “If the Ravener manages to kill the Uldarites outside of Thameland, then the throne’s power will vanish, like smoke. You’ll lose your ultimate weapon. That’s the position you’re in. Either we kill you, and you lose. Or the Ravener kills every Uldarite, and your weapon loses all power. But, there’s a third choice you can make. Stop the Ravener.”

Aenflynn’s brow furrowed.

The Fae lord’s effigy looked confused.

“Otherwise, you cannot win,” Merzhin panted, straining against the inner barrier. “We will find a way to break through this. And break through you, as well. We have done so to every opponent we have faced. There are too many lives relying on us and we cannot fail here, and so we will not fail here. You cannot win.”

Aenflynn raised an eyebrow as though more confused.

“Ooooooh…” He suddenly slapped his fist against his other palm in realisation. “I see the problem now; you are labouring under a misunderstanding. Do you truly think this is about winning? Young, mortal burglars, I assure you, I won before you even stepped into Och Fir Nog.”

Alex went silent, his expression a mask.

Merzhin’s face turned bright red.

“You know what, as a final favour to you, I will tell you what I mean and I assure you; I’m not doing it because I enjoy the sound of my own voice, despite its natural beauty.” He chuckled, obviously enjoying himself. “In any case, do you know what I did the moment I learned you were likely on your way here? Oh, and my apologies, since you probably can not ask me questions with your faces all contorted in confusion and dread. So, I'll just tell you!”

Aenflynn leaned forward. “Och Fir Nog has faced attacks from every realm sharing her borders since long before I inherited the throne of my kingdom. Together, Uldar and I had fought my kingdom’s attackers when he was well. My enemies visited catastrophe after catastrophe upon this realm. They were the true cause of your god’s sickening, and eventual death. They were the cause of the Ravener! Were it not for their mortal lackeys using a demon lord and modifying it to kill my friend while they violated my realm—” His voice gained heat. “—there would be no Ravener, and Uldar would be watching over your people and still fighting at my side to this day. It is their fault that this entire situation occurred. So, I exacted rightful vengeance.”

“What are you talking about?” Merzhin demanded, still straining against the inner barrier.

Alex examined it. Perhaps if he joined Hannah’s power with Merzhin’s…but could he do that? What if—

“Before you reached my realm, I used the throne to destroy every domain on Och Fir Nog’s borders. Their fae lords are dead, their armies are crushed, and their realms are ready for new settlements. My vengeance was already complete before you even confronted me. Hence why this—” He gestured at Merzhin’s efforts. “—thing you’re doing is futile. I have already won.”

He looked at Alex. “Your ploy was a good one. You attempted to divide and conquer, and it might have worked had I still needed the throne…but I think you miscalculated my need, confusing it for greed. I have been satisfied ruling my realm for many thousands of years, and I will be satisfied ruling it for many thousands more. Och Fir Nog’s enemies have fallen and their legacies have been scattered to the wind. I would call that more than satisfactory.” The Fae lord gestured to the throne. “So, if the Ravener eliminates the throne’s source of fuel and power, that is fine, it has served its purpose; I no longer need it. It will just remain here in my castle as a reminder of my old friend.”

Alex cursed the Fae lord softly.

‘He's smarter than I thought,’ the General’s eyes kept moving, looking for an advantage. But Aenflynn had him and Merzhin trapped between the divine wards with nothing Alex could use. There was no way spells would be passing through the two wards if Hannah’s power couldn’t…

Alex paused.

An idea crystallised in his mind.

‘It might work!’ he thought. ‘If I just…there. I’ll have three streams of consciousness focusing on that. A fourth will concentrate on Hannah’s power inside me, and on making it reach farther.’

He placed a hand on Merzhin’s shoulder as the young Saint prayed to the Traveller.

It would take time, but if this worked—

“Oh, and one more thing,” Aenflynn raised his index finger. “I know about your little ploy to deny the Ravener fear. One of you wizards used magic to stop the Thameish army from fearingtheir enemies.”

Alex looked at Aenflynn sharply.

“Oh yes, I know all about that. The Ravener informed me that it was being denied its favouritesource of energy. Oh, don’t look so surprised, Merzhin. I have been in communication with the Ravener for some time now: my communion with the throne lets me make connections with Uldar’s…‘watch dog’, did you call it? Information is not the only thing I can pass through our connections. Don’t you feel it, young Saint?”

Alex looked at Merzhin.

The Saint shook his head, looking puzzled.

“Oh, I'm so glad I haven't lost my touch for subtlety. I’ve been sending a small stream of divine energy to the Ravener, replacing what you stole from it. I kept the stream narrow, avoiding detection while preserving the throne’s strength. But…as I said, I have more than enough power to burn. The Ravener has told me that it is presently under attack from your group. Which is not very sporting of you people, is it? Shame on you for ganging up on, and picking on a poor little construct that is without its full strength. …So, why don't I fix that?”

‘It is time,’ Aenflynn’s voice said through the link.

‘Time?’ the Ravener asked.

The fae lord giggled.

‘Let us just call it ‘a time of plenty’. Drink up, my friend. Drink up.’

The stream of divine power trickling into the Ravener, suddenly exploded in a roaring ocean of energy, rapidly filling the stores that Uldar’s construct was draining.

Elation surged in it.

‘Thank you!’ A very pleased Ravener expressed its gratitude to the Fae lord.

‘Thank me by maiming those mortals fighting you. Killing them will also work nicely,’ Aenflynn said.

‘Gladly.’

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