Endburn: Chapters 33-34 (Patreon)

Chapter 33

As the creature broke free of the waves, Theo could only stare at it. He'd heard multiple reports of this being as one of the aeon-class threats in the Nine Worlds, an ancient creature that no one truly understood. It was said to roam the oceans of Fithe, causing trouble with its mere presence even when it didn't attack undersea cities.

None of that prepared him for seeing it in person.

This was no fish, it was a primeval beast. It had a head larger than a chariot, the front of its body almost entirely composed of jaws that could have swallowed a person whole. The entire body was covered in thick armored plates, giving even the fins a blocky appearance. Yet it also twisted with sinuous grace, the spiked scales along its spine sliding together perfectly.

Theo realized that it reminded him of an ancient species like a dunkleosteus. Other than the sheer size, the main differences were the heavy jaws and the eyes. Those froze Theo in place as it passed: the eyes were topped by bony ridges, turning the space beneath into a black pit with a single red sphere glowing within, less an eye than a glimpse into the void. Theo had locked eyes with many different species and none of them had struck him as so alien as this.

All of those impressions flashed past in an instant, because the beast was moving as quickly as the Ophaons. Theo couldn't think of it as a fish, this thing was a leviathan. It had apparently been chasing Melitta, but it shifted in midair and instead rushed toward the Underqueen and the fourth stage demon, catching them both in its maw and driving them into the ocean.

At first Theo reprimanded himself for being stunned, but the entire battlefield had hesitated for a moment when the leviathan appeared. Even Plutalgion had frozen in his position, no expression on his gold-dripping helm, then he was the first to move: he began to form a liquid gold blade.

Just what was the leviathan? Theo had been told that it was a demon, but he had just seen it attack another demon, which they never did. Either it was targeting the Underqueen and didn't care about anything else, or the rules didn't apply to demons this ancient. Theo wasn't fully convinced by either explanation and when he tried to examine the leviathan he got only a sense of inky blackness.

There was no more time to worry about ancient mysteries, not when the fight was resuming. The desperate gambit had taken down the demon, but now there were three Tymetronese soulcrafters who could all target Guchiro.

They seemed supremely confident: the Demonweaver was trying to hem in Guchiro while Plutalgion floated forward, liquid sword in one hand and a golden sphere in the other. The Goldreaper stalked around the edges, ready to lunge in at any time.

This was definitely the moment: if Theo could save Guchiro's life, that was more important than any quick attack. But just as he was about to use his singularities, he felt something shifting beneath the waves.

He couldn't see anything in the dark waters, but his gravity sense detected an incredibly heavy mass swimming directly toward his first singularity. Had the leviathan noticed? Was it going to eat his singularity? Theo wasn't willing to test his strength against this ancient power, so he tunneled the singularities into the sky instead, barely preserving them before the jaws snapped closed.

It was fortunate that he did so, because he hadn't needed to intervene. The Underqueen burst from the ocean, shedding water in all directions, and shot into the main battle. Plutalgion had to summon a claw of gold to keep her armor from smashing into him and she pushed him away, right up until he began to swing his liquid gold sword and she had to retreat.

Now Guchiro and the Underqueen were flying back to back, able to defend one another, and the most critical moment had passed. The Underqueen's armor was severely damaged and Guchiro was bleeding, but they could still fight.

While all of this had been happening, Melitta had circled around and come up beside Citizen Dominion. He had been injured in all the fighting, at some point Theo hadn't even registered, and needed her help to rise. Hopefully the two of them would weirkey away and Theo would get his opportunity.

Instead, the Goldreaper plunged toward them, blades first.

Citizen Dominion raised his arm, a layer of stone forming over it, but the golden spike punched through both the stone and Citizen Dominion's arm. He cried out in pain and the Goldreaper grinned savagely. The other limbs were slashing out and it seemed likely that both Dominions would be stabbed to death before Theo could act.

A pair of giant stone hands erupted from the waves around Citizen Dominion. At first it looked like a desperate defense, but Theo realized that it was more than that. One of the hands pushed Melitta away while the other wrapped around the Goldreaper, trying to crush him.

Theo had his binary complete and another singularity prepared, so he knew this was the time. Just as he was about to help Citizen Dominion, he heard a cry from above.

Guchiro fell backward, clutching one arm. Fragments of darkness scattered through the sky, shattered by Plutalgion's liquid gold blade. As Guchiro fell, Plutalgion moved faster, generating another technique and preparing to end him.

At this speed, there was only time to save one: Theo tunneled his singularity beside Guchiro.

He tried to shift and act to save Citizen Dominion the next second, but he was too late: the Goldreaper tore free of the stone hand and closed the remaining distance. The pointed limb thrust out, stabbing more times in a single instant than Theo would have expected, piercing Citizen Dominion's body over and over.

The wounds had to be mortal, and Theo thought he'd seen Citizen Dominion die right then. Yet somehow, the small, plainly dressed man raised his hand in a fist. Another stone hand slammed into the Goldreaper from behind, smashing them together.

Shrieking and roaring, the Goldreaper stabbed and cut, tearing apart Citizen Dominion's body, yet he refused to die. Both stone hands wrapped around them and the man raised his hand out of the press. It closed into a fist again, trembling from the pain, and a third stone hand formed above.

When it plunged down, it thrust all three of them into the depths. Theo's last sight of Citizen Dominion was him falling into the dark waters, wrapped in a bloody embrace with the shrieking Goldreaper.

There should have been time to mourn, but in the long moments Theo had watched, the battle had already resumed. Theo's interception had given Guchiro time to recover, and now he and the Underqueen were circling. Plutalgion was as unmovable as always, but the Demonweaver appeared shaken. She had lost a great many of her demons and there was a pearl lance stabbing through her side.

The leviathan's mass continued to circle underneath them and Theo was glad he couldn't see its hollow gaze. He expected it to choose its moment, yet to his surprise it slipped into the depths and disappeared.

"Not enough." Plutalgion seemed more amused than anything and raised his hand to begin forming another liquid gold blade. The others attacked before he could finish it and the battle resumed.

As much as Theo wanted to join in, blocking the single attack from Plutalgion had drained him. He was surprised to find that his singularity still floated in the air - it hadn't been destroyed and somehow he'd maintained it even while distracted. It was brimming with energy now from having absorbed Plutalgion's attack and it took all his attention to keep his three singularities from falling apart.

At least they were still growing in power and stability as they absorbed cantae from the battle. Theo flexed his hands together, preparing to tunnel or move them, but he didn't see an opening.

The fight between the four aeon-class soulcrafters was even more intense than before, all of them except Plutalgion moving with an edge of desperation. At his present level, Theo didn't see where he could find a good opportunity that couldn't be turned against his allies. Melitta hadn't even made the attempt, retreating further when Citizen Dominion had pushed her away.

Theo had managed to preserve his strongest technique, even from the leviathan, so he had to act. If he waited too long, the chance would be gone. So many things could go wrong, from one of his allies falling to the Goldreaper returning, since he doubted that an Ophaon would die like that. Yet he might not even see his chance before it slipped away from him.

"Is this all?" Plutalgion kicked against the Underqueen's shell, snapping one of its spikes and sending her tumbling across the sky. "Still not enough!"

Before Theo could act, someone else arrived. Not an eruption from below, not a figure descending from the heavens: there was someone standing in the sky with his hands in his pockets.

Emperor Dave of the Mercury Court looked rather ordinary compared to all the other combatants except for a stone slate that hovered in front of him. But in the instant he appeared, rectangular lights lit up over the battlefield. Many of them had no clear target, but two were centered around Plutalgion and the Demonweaver, and those two shrank rapidly.

The Demonweaver fled skyward, barely avoiding the razor thin light that sliced through her robes. Plutalgion let it constrict around him and merely grunted, then shattered the technique with a roll of his shoulders.

Perhaps he should have dodged, because in that moment Dave's hands flew and he began casting a dozen techniques at once. Box after box tried to hem in the Demonweaver, and when Plutalgion turned on him, a solid rectangle appeared in his path, forcing him to bash through. Guchiro and the Underqueen attacked as well and more rectangles appeared alongside them, defending as they pressed their assault on the two Tymetronese soulcrafters.

It all passed in an intense few moments that Theo wouldn't have even been able to perceive a year ago. Their coordination wasn't perfect, but Dave played excellent support and they pressed inward, driving their opponents back.

All at once the Tymetronese defense failed: Plutalgion was braced against a lightstorm from Guchiro when a pearl lance slipped past him, piercing the Demonweaver through the heart. That wasn't enough to kill her, but the lightstorm twisted in her direction, shredding her demons and battering her through the sky. Dave swung his hand wildly and another rectangle burned into the air around her. This one slashed closed and cut the Demonweaver in half.

In that moment, it seemed like they might end the entire war without Theo even needing to act. His allies converged, trying to carry their momentum through to end everything.

Plutalgion moved too quickly, pulling the pearl lance from the Demonweaver's body to use as a club even as his other hand generated a golden claw, keeping Guchiro at bay. They pressed inward and Dave summoned another rectangle, but Plutalgion seemed to explode in liquid gold and the world itself shuddered.

In the aftermath the tide had turned again. Guchiro skidded back, bleeding from both arms. The Underqueen sagged in the air, blood pouring from a massive crack in her armor. Dave stumbled in fragments of his broken techniques, his stone slate cracked in front of him.

"Not enough." Plutalgion threw himself into the air, closing on Dave, secure in his moment of triumph.

But this was the chance Theo had been waiting for.

The first singularity took Plutalgion from the side, driving him through the sky. It failed to absorb him, but liquid gold was being drawn out of his body at a rapid rate. Theo tunneled his binary into Plutalgion, but this time his opponent was ready, meeting the technique with a liquid gold slash.

One singularity was obliterated... but the other spun around, orbiting its partner, and joined the first. The sheer intensity of the power being absorbed was too much for Theo and he lost control, resulting in an explosion that tore through the clouds and sent shockwaves through the ocean.

In the aftermath, Plutalgion hung in the sky. He still lived, but one of his arms ended in a stump that dripped gold. The sky around him was filled with the remnants of techniques and soulcrafters surrounded by their own blood. Everything seemed to hang in the balance and it was all Theo could do to remain standing straight, staring at the old monster.

Plutalgion didn't speak, he merely stared back with molten gold eyes. Slowly, almost like a deliberate provocation, he raised a hand holding a golden weirkey. Then he was gone.

Theo sagged in the air, held up by nothing but his own overspent cantae. He should have been glad for any number of reasons, but it was hard to make any thoughts move through his mind. All he could think was that, as far as he had come, he still wasn't strong enough.

-

Chapter 34

The battle in the north had been fierce, with bestial demons that displayed a variety of abilities that made them dangerous even at the titan stage. Fiyu had been proud of their performance, since they had managed to prevent even a single fourth stage demon from emerging. She and Lifemate Nauda had worked together especially well, which was a joy after so long in separate battles.

Then she had returned and discovered that the true battle, the worst of the war, had taken place elsewhere.

Fortunately Lifemate Nauda had already recovered, so Fiyu did not need to tend to her. Two days after the aeon-class confrontation, Relative Guchiro and Friend Theo were still unwell. They had been at a secure location when she reached them, but everyone agreed that Fiyu could hide them even better, so they retreated to the south of the continent.

Apparently House Blacksilver had new complexes even in the far south, so they stationed themselves in a remote monastery. Other Blacksilver representatives knew how to contact them, which they would do if there was an emergency and her companions were required to fight.

Many seemed to believe that this was inevitable, and Fiyu dearly hoped they were wrong, because the two of them were in poor condition. Relative Guchiro had taken grievous injuries that, even after a day of being tended by Lifemate Nauda, still impeded his movements. He lay in bed, soulcrafting when he wasn't healing, and Fiyu stayed at his side whenever she could.

Friend Theo's injuries were less severe, but his soulhome appeared to have been scorched by his involvement with the battle. There was something strangely muted about his mannerisms now, something she had not yet had time to explore. It was not the same as the soulhome damage she needed to repair, yet his soulhome had been sorely tested nonetheless.

After another healing session, Lifemate Nauda left their room with weariness in her lower back. She might not be injured in the same way, but she also needed support, so Fiyu moved to her side quickly and her lifemate quickly wrapped her arms around her.

"How are they?" Fiyu asked.

"Theo just needs time to work," Lifemate Nauda said, "but your relative... there's no soulhome damage, but his wounds are healing unnaturally slowly. The techniques he took must have been designed to bring down aeon-class soulcrafters."

"Do they... want to talk? I had hoped to learn more, but..."

"I think the problem is that we don't know enough. They already told us what happened and the rest is all unknown. We probably won't understand the full fallout until we get messages from Blacksilver."

The next day continued with the same quiet contemplation, which would not have been unpleasant if her relative was in good health. She spoke with Relative Guchiro once and he urged her to finish the full saturation process instead of rushing to Dominion. He didn't give a rationale, but she could see that the battle had shaken him.

When someone arrived in the region, it wasn't a House Blacksilver ally like Fiyu had expected: it was the strange outsider named Dave. She immediately extended her senses to scan him thoroughly, expecting some sort of trick, but outsiders were hard to mimic. He must have learned their location from House Blacksilver, so Lifemate Nauda went out to bring him into their hidden chamber.

"Where's Theo?" Associate Dave demanded as soon as he entered. His clothing appeared immaculate, but Fiyu could sense injuries underneath, sealed with some sort of silver liquid.

"Not even a hello?" Lifemate Nauda asked.

"I only have time to explain once. Ah, there he is. Come on, no time to be injured."

When the other outsider entered, Friend Theo's distance vanished. His body tensed at first, muscles in one arm shifting as if he intended to push himself up, but Associate Dave waved that aside.

"We need to thank you," Friend Theo said before the other outsider could speak. "You risked yourself for our sake. Without you, we probably couldn't have kept the Demonweaver pinned long enough to kill her. I know it must have cost-"

"You don't know," Associate Dave said bitterly. "It was just what I feared: while I was gone, the Salebrante struck my court. One of my Dominions is dead and the attack on our capital has weakened our reputation. The sharks are already circling."

"Was it worth it? You don't get to kill an aeon-class threat every day."

"There's no point asking if it was worth it: we've already taken on the debt and my people are paying the interest every day." All the anger went out of Associate Dave's body and he shook his head. "I can't help you again. Even if I could afford to leave Deuxan, Plutalgion blew up my combat tablet. He was even worse than I feared."

"Then all I can do is thank you again." Friend Theo extended a hand and, after a pause, the two men shook in a strange fashion. "We'll do our best to make it worth it."

"If you survive this, you better believe I'll call this in as a favor. Maybe not now, but if my siblings get back, or the Salebrante attack again..."

They spoke for a while longer, and as Friend Theo subsided there was space for Fiyu and Lifemate Nauda to ask questions. Associate Dave had carried a few letters from Blacksilver along with him, mostly discussing broader casualties, and he brought some news verbally. No aeon-class soulcrafters had been involved in the war since the battle, as far as anyone knew.

"Oh, and the leaders want to talk to you." Associate Dave jabbed a finger at Lifemate Nauda. "That meeting is going to be tense, believe me. If you want more info, you should talk to them."

Associate Dave left soon after, and Fiyu knew that Lifemate Nauda could not linger for much longer. If the Norronese Dominions requested her presence, the situation was likely truly dire, and it was better to have representation there than to let the debates continue without them. Fiyu kissed her lifemate fiercely before she left, then set herself to defending her remaining companions.

The encounter had unsettled them, however, breaking the silence that had reigned before that point. It was scarcely an hour after Lifemate Nauda departed that Fiyu heard the two of them beginning to speak, so she hurried to the healing chamber to join them.

"Are we sure the Demonweaver is dead?" Friend Theo asked.

"She is dead," Relative Guchiro answered flatly. "I felt her soulhome collapse."

"How injured do you think Plutalgion is? I saw his arm was gone, but I don't know how his body works."

Relative Guchiro only shook his head in response and it seemed like they would lapse into silence again. After looking between them anxiously, Fiyu spoke. "It is very impressive that you were able to join in such a battle. I hear it was the most dangerous fought in Norron in generations."

"It almost wasn't enough," Relative Guchiro said. "My shielding wall has never been inadequate to prevent soulhome damage, not since I was a young man. But if I hadn't undergone the process Senka suggested... I think I would have been left with permanent damage."

"Absorbing that one attack shook me," Friend Theo agreed. "Plutalgion isn't like the others."

"Do you think he could be Cheraon-tier?" Fiyu asked. Up to this point, anyone being Ophaon was enough to place them in the aeon class far above her, but as the conflict escalated she would need to differentiate between tiers.

The two men glanced at one another strangely and eventually Relative Guchiro spoke. "Plutalgion may be Cheraon, maybe not. It matters less at this level, and he doesn't feel like a normal soulcrafter. I'm not sure what to make of it."

"Couldn't read the leviathan either," Friend Theo added.

"Past any question of ranks or techniques... Plutalgion didn't feel human."

Fiyu frowned at this word, and apparently Friend Theo was thinking the same thing, because he spoke up. "That word is slippery when it comes to soul translation, what do you mean?"

"I do not mean Ichili," Relative Guchiro said stiffly. "In my journeys I have fought beings from all across the Nine Worlds, and sometimes beyond. There is a commonality to them, no matter how different or vile they may be. Plutalgion is... something different."

"How do you think we can beat him?" Fiyu asked.

"I don't know. Even if I had fully crafted my Ophaon floor and trained for another year, I don't think I could have done it. I... do not know."

It felt terrible to hear her relative so uncertain and Fiyu had to restrain herself from offering false hope. Though he had always been a grand figure to her, she knew that he was only a person. He required support and even guidance, just like anyone else. She could not resolve this problem or even speed up the healing of their wounds, but Fiyu could at least shield them while they recovered.

As she did so, her thoughts kept returning to the battle and what it meant for them. Tymetron had been dealt a grave blow, yes, but her allies still didn't know the extent of their own losses. Worst of all, Plutalgion had proved he was willing to stand against equal opponents, which would prove devastating if he ever turned his sword against civilians.

The cantae flowing within Fiyu's soulhome felt so thin and slow.

~

The meeting took place in the ruins of Dris Kolonb. Nauda didn't know if that had been intentionally chosen for the symbolism or if the ruins were just a convenient location, but it struck her as a grim omen. From the air she could see that some parts of the city had been partially repaired, yet she hadn't been called to any of those parts.

Instead, the remaining Dominions met together around a table of ruined marble.

There weren't many officials this time, except for a few clusters lurking at a distance. Only Crintak, Melitta, and the Sword of Asplundat sat at the table. Even though Nauda had been told that Citizen Dominion was dead, she hadn't really come to terms with it until she reflected on how much the balance of the continent had changed. These three were the new Norronese Dominions, and if they survived the war, they would shape the continent going forward.

"Nauda," Melitta said with a forced smile. "Come join us."

Strange as it felt to join a table like this, there was a fourth side open for her. They had no chairs and no one was acting as a servant, so Nauda picked up a piece of rubble that had a smooth surface and dropped it on her side of the table so she could sit with them.

"Where is the Ichili?" the Sword of Asplundat demanded almost before Nauda finished sitting. "Can his wounds really be healed?"

"Guchiro will be fine," Nauda said firmly. "He isn't at full strength now, but he's well on his way."

"What about the Deuxan?" Melitta asked. "We didn't expect him and don't know anything about him. Do we have a new ally?"

"Unfortunately not. He had a vendetta against Plutalgion, but he can't fight our war for us."

The Dominions grumbled a little at this, but they didn't seem surprised. Soon they were back to discussing the state of the continent, occasionally adding digressions to bring Nauda up to speed. It sounded as though both sides were exhausted in the wake of the battle, and without the Demonweaver, the excess demons were distracting Tymetron's armies just as much as Norron's.

Instead of getting involved with those discussions, which were out of her control anyway, Nauda analyzed the Dominions themselves. Crintak spoke rarely and sagged in his seat, looking like a shell of a man - instead of the gemstone, he wore an eyepatch that failed to cover the burn marks across his face. The Sword of Asplundat was a furious presence, always snapping at the others and demanding more. Melitta didn't appear injured, yet she was more subdued than Nauda remembered, perhaps similar to Theo.

"How many soulcrafters beyond Dominion do they have?" Melitta asked the table. "Plutalgion hasn't been seen again, but I refuse to believe he isn't alive."

"There were reports of the Goldreaper being sighted in Tymetron," Crintak half-whispered.

"Nonsense!" The Sword of Asplundat slammed a fist into the table. "Citizen Dominion gave his life to eliminate that monster! Do not dishonor his sacrifice with rumors and propaganda. Tymetron is reeling from this blow and they only seek to project strength."

The other three exchanged a brief glance: she was likely wrong, but there was no point arguing over it. Both sides had taken a serious blow and it was difficult to see what the new shape of the war would become.

"What about the Underqueen?" Nauda asked. Her heart sank as her question prompted grimaces, head shakes, and glowers.

"She abandoned us," the Sword of Asplundat snapped.

"She was severely injured in the battle," Melitta explained more mildly. "It was... apparently a greater price than she was willing to pay for Norron. She has retreated to her undersea domain."

"Will she come back after she's healed?" Nauda asked without much hope.

"Not only is she not coming back, she told us that if we informed anyone about the extent of her injuries, she would retaliate against Norron herself. No, that bridge has been burned. We can pretend that she is still with us, but we have no more allies. Given the price paid by the Underqueen, many other doors have closed... we aren't getting any more support from the oceans."

"Not that fish of yours?" The Sword of Asplundat leaned forward, scowling at Melitta. "What were you thinking, bringing in such a chaotic element? Citizen Dominion might still be alive if not f-"

Melitta placed her hands firmly on the table. "You weren't there. Luring that creature was the only way I could have an impact on a battle that threatened to create multiple fourth stage demons."

They continued to stare at one another, rage against weariness, and Nauda wondered which way it would break. The two of them would continue clashing for now, but this enmity could grow in the future. Normally the Wavefront had neutral relationships with the other two major powers, since they shielded the continent from so many undersea wars. Would the conflict between these two grow into something worse, or would the balance of power outweigh their personal feelings?

In the end, there were limitations to how much they could discuss: once they understood the new war fronts, all they could do was keep fighting. It went unspoken that the Ruling Cities might be suffering if Crintak couldn't hold up his end, and no one placed too much trust in the Grand Dominaton. So long as Tymetron remained subdued, they wouldn't have to make deep sacrifices, but it wouldn't last.

All of them wanted Nauda to join the fights in their part of the continent, so she did her best to follow the Blacksilver way and made commitments to all three. That would overtax her and keep her away from Fiyu, but Nauda considered it protecting her wife and her allies while they prepared. This was one of the few chances for her, personally, to make a substantial difference in the war.

That seemed to be all they needed from her: the three Dominions would keep debating smaller details, but Nauda could feel that her presence was no longer wanted. She left the table and considered going straight back, but instead began wandering the city.

She soon spotted a few Blacksilver members who had set up a clinic, providing healing for soulcrafters injured in some conflict too small for Nauda to be certain what it even was. One of her goals was to talk to House Blacksilver, but unfortunately these members didn't have any contact with higher ranks. Nauda remained, hoping to make a connection, since she had become increasingly conscious of the delay caused by weirkey travel - minuscule in times of peace, ever so long in times of war.

Then she turned a corner and Tythes was leaning against a wall. "Hey there."

"You." Nauda glanced around, but they seemed to be alone.

"I want you to praise me for not going with my first idea. I was going to create a copy of myself in the shape of a jar with a face, and it would have been very funny. But I thought you might not be in the mood to laugh, even at my brilliance, so I stifled myself."

"What is it this time?"

"I thought you might want to know that things have been very quiet with the inter-world factions." Tythes examined his fingernails with feigned nonchalance. "That might sound good, but it is in fact very bad."

Nauda folded her arms. "Why is that?"

"Previously when Tymetron overextended itself, its enemies would strike at the heart of the empire. Powerful soulcrafters were killed by the Demonstalkers and the House of the Lost made cities disappear. But this time, there hasn't been retaliation."

"They must still have enemies."

"They do, but they're limited for two reasons." Tythes pushed himself off the wall and shoved his hands into his pockets. "First, they're concerned about how much they saw the Underqueen and others who fought Plutalgion pay for it. Plutalgion is a wounded beast who many see as too risky to engage. Second, he appears to have called in a favor: the Salebrante is moving to counter his enemies."

"I already heard about that part." Nauda massaged her forehead as she shifted her thinking to these higher strategies. "So what does it mean? That we can't hope to injure Tymetron so deeply that all their enemies team up against them?"

"That would have been the cleanest end to the war, but yes, I think it's off the table. Everyone is going to hold back and see what happens... except maybe the Eternal Spectrum, because they're still funding local mercenaries. Congratulations on that fight in the Gold Wastes, by the way."

She didn't bother to ask how he knew. The only question for her was what Tythes was up to with this conversation and whether there was anything she could gain from it. Before she could come up with her next maneuver, Tythes twitched to the side and suddenly collapsed into gooey cantae.

It was inexplicable until the next moment, when a messenger rushed around the corner and scrambled up to Nauda.

"They need you," the woman gasped. "Now. There's been an attack."

"Aren't there always attacks?" Nauda asked, even as she pulled on her gauntlet. "We were just discussing the war and-"

"Tymetron has gathered their Dominions. All of them. They aren't letting the war rest."

-

Okay, time for the note I didn't post last time, now that the cliffhanger is done (replaced by another =P). In this book I wanted it to feel like everything is on the line, with various trump cards and reserves being put into play. Now, I know some of you will point out that all the aeon-class organizations haven't gotten involved, but this isn't the last book yet!