The Storm King

The arena around them shook like there was some titanic being shaking their toy. Given what they had discovered below the arena, Leon thought that that might not be the least appropriate comparison, and as the inhuman screech of the burning figure below them echoed through the entire building, he redoubled his efforts to get the hells out.

He, Maia, and Valeria fled from the underground chamber with all due haste, knowing that not only was this burning figure an extreme danger to themselves, but would also alert others to their presence. Already, Leon could hear the rumbling from the burning figure’s exertion of power setting off alarms all over the arena above them.

“Get to the sand!” Leon shouted as they emerged into the temple. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like there were any guards they’d missed in the building that might’ve been able to respond to this event, but he didn’t take that for granted. “Go invisible!” he ordered as he kicked the temple door open.

He, Valeria, and Maia grasped each other’s hands so as to not lose each other and quickly faded from view as their respective invisibility accessories activated, and from there, they began running for the stairs. They passed the stirring guards they’d knocked out earlier as the arena shook again with another deafening screech of the burning figure, though Leon took some comfort in the fact that it was a little more muffled than it was before. What wasn’t muffled were the shrill alarms echoing throughout the building, which he guessed would’ve been beyond deafening if any mortal had been around to hear them.

They barreled up the final set of stairs and through the unlocked gate. Leon could hear some confused screaming from outside in nearby buildings, but more importantly, he could now hear the approach of many hurried footsteps, all of which sounded like they were in lockstep, implying local military forces.

Leon urged the other two onward, finally bursting out into the arena stands. Leon had told them to get to the sand, but this was far enough as far as he was concerned. But this was where he faced his first real problem, for they had flown in, and with the waves of magic senses he could feel hitting the arena with every shudder and scream from the burning figure, they weren’t going to be able to fly out, again. They’d have to turn off their invisibility at least for a few minutes if they were to try, and that would only get them seen.

But they had other solutions. Leon pulled Valeria and Maia away from the sands, whispering, “We’ll have to climb; flying is our last resort.”

“Got it,” Valeria replied, and Maia squeezed his hand in agreement.

The stands went quite high, certainly high enough for Leon and Maia to jump up to the roof if they needed to. Valeria was more of a gamble, but at the fifth-tier, Leon didn’t think she had much to worry about.

They reached the top of the stands and jumped in unison, reaching the roof with ease, and even more fortunately, with their invisibility still intact. From there, Leon was able to see with his own eyes what his ears and magic senses had already told him: the arena was already, only a couple of minutes after they found the burning figure beneath the arena’s temple, nearly surrounded by Cortuban soldiers.

The soldiers were about what Leon would’ve expected from the Bull Kingdom in terms of quality. Standardized gear centering around mail and cloth armor, simple open-faced helmets, the same small shields that Santiago’s bandits had used, and spears as a primary weapon, with many of the stronger mages having swords at their waists. In the distance, though, Leon could see that many more opulently-armored mages were on the move, and he could even see Alfonso himself already riding out of the central citadel on the back of a huge black wolf with a band of several dozen powerful horsemen at his back.

More notably, however, was that Leon’s retinue had left the club and rushed over to the arena and were even helping the Cortuban soldiers lock the place down, though their eyes were wide and searching, clearly looking for his group.

“Let’s go!” Leon urgently whispered, and he pulled Valeria and Maia to the edge of the roof, where the three then dropped to the ground with the grace that came almost naturally to powerful mages. From there, it was easy enough to slip through one of the shrinking holes in the cordon before reinforcements from elsewhere in the city could show up, and finally reappeared in an alleyway not too far away from the rest of the retinue.

Anshu was the first to notice their reappearance, having been looking back just as they crept out of the alley.

“Leon!” Anshu called out, waving to them and calling attention to their presence. The rest of Leon’s retinue and many of the nearby Cortuban soldiers then took notice of him, too.

“Finally!” Alix shouted. She looked like there was more she wanted to say, but then the arena shook again, and the screech that Leon knew to the be burning figure came from the arena, now so muffled and distant that it was almost unrecognizable save for the power it projected, blanketing over the entirety of Andalus and much of its hinterland.

Whatever that thing was connected to, Leon could tell it was powerful if an immobile ‘channeler’ that was sealed far below the ground and behind many layers of stone and magic could so impact a city the size of Andalus.

Leon waved to his retinue, giving them an expression that clearly told them to save their questions for later as he, Valeria, and Maia walked over to join them.

“Elise and Anzu?” Leon asked as he joined the others.

“Should be on their way back to the Heaven’s Eye Tower,” Marcus responded.

“Neither wanted to leave,” Alix added. “We had to insist.”

Leon projected his magic senses again, and he saw Elise and Anzu flying much slower than he knew Anzu was capable of back toward the Tower, both casting frequent looks back toward the arena with worried expressions.

He sighed, unable to do much about that for the moment. Fortunately, additional soldiers arrived from other parts of the city, closing up the remaining holes in their cordon and letting Leon’s retinue fall back, their assistance no longer necessary now that the officials had arrived. With that done, Leon sent Alix running back to the Tower to make sure that Elise knew he, Valeria, and Maia were fine. Alix protested some, but Leon insisted, and she reluctantly followed his order.

Leon then pulled his retinue back a little farther, getting some more space between them and the Cortuban guards that were still massing, and once they’d gotten that distance, he started getting more insistent questioning looks from the rest of his retinue. However, when he glanced over his shoulder and found that King Alfonso was going to be riding close to where his retinue was, he just shook his head.

As he expected, the King’s route took him along the large boulevard adjacent to the smaller street that Leon and his retinue were at, and he almost felt it when Alfonso noticed his presence. The King’s eyes locked in his direction, seeing him with his magic senses despite the buildings in the way. He altered his course slightly and instead of riding directly to the arena, he soon rode up to Leon’s side.

“Leon Raime!” Alfonso called out, his grave expression lightening for just a moment. “What brings you out here?”

“I was partying with my friends when all of this—” Leon paused a moment just as another screech from the burning figure shook the arena and the surrounding buildings. “—happened. We didn’t know what was going on, but we figured we might be able to help out, in any event.”

Alfonso slowly nodded. “Your offer of assistance is appreciated, but this is an issue for us to deal with, first. Please, return to Heaven’s Eye. If we require the assistance of the Guild, we’ll put in a formal request.”

Leon smiled in acceptance, and he nodded to his retinue, leading them away from the arena and any issues that might come with his presence. But he kept his eyes on Alfonso, and he got the impression that Alfonso knew exactly what was going on below the arena, or at least had some inkling of it. All traces of the energetic and joyous King that Leon had seen earlier in the day was gone, leaving nothing but a hardened war leader confronted with a threat to his city. And as he led his retinue back to the Heaven’s Eye enclave, he noticed another group of soldiers leave the citadel on a course for the arena, this one much larger and led by an armed and armored Isabella.

In total, by the time they arrived at the arena, he estimated that there would be at least five thousand Cortuban soldiers locking the arena down.

Whether or not that would be enough to secure the place was another thing entirely. He didn’t know how much they knew about the burning figure, or about its connection to the arena. He didn’t know much about its power other than that it was connected to a tremendously powerful demon. As it was, he could only hope that he didn’t accidentally doom thousands of people to their deaths by waking that thing up.

And he figured it was time to get some answers, if only so that he could relax and not let his guilt eat away at him for hours until the arena stopped shaking.

[Xaphan,] Leon whispered to his demonic partner, [let’s talk.]

The demon of flame didn’t verbally respond, but Leon felt his attention.

[What in the hells did we just see down there?] he demanded to know.

[A channeler,] Xaphan repeated.

[Right, you said like a vampire?]

[Yes, but only on the surface. A vampire is human that has made blood sacrifices to their contracted demon by consuming blood, with their body eventually adapting to the consummation of blood until it requires blood for sustenance. The magic power locked in that blood would flow through the human to the demon, strengthening the demon. The demon would then reciprocate by providing some of its power to the human.

[A channeler is different in that it’s more of a sacrifice to the demon, acting as a permanent one-way channel to funnel power to the demon. They have no agency, no will. They’re little more than a shell, more an extension of the demon they’re connected to than an independent creature unto itself.]

[And it was the source of the blood magic I noticed earlier?] Leon asked.

[The likelihood that it wasn’t at least involved is so remote that it’s not worth considering,] Xaphan replied, confirming Leon’s own suspicions.

[So, that makes it clear that the power absorbed from the fights—the sacrifices that the Cortubans made to their gods—was instead channeled into this creature, and then to the demon at the other end?]

[Yes.]

Leon scowled. [I suppose, then, that that only leaves the question of who knows what. Actually, there’s another question that leaves: you said you recognized that power.]

Leon didn’t continue, but let the conversation fall into several seconds of awkward silence before Xaphan finally explained, [I believe that was a channeler left there by Amon. Or created at his behest. Something like that.]

[Amon? Your old enemy who competed with you for the title of Lord of Flame?]

[The very same.]

[The one who sent vampires to attack my home? The one who infiltrated the Bull Kingdom with his servants and—]

[Yes,] Xaphan interrupted. [Do you know any other Amons?]

[Not yet. I suppose it makes a degree of sense that we found some evidence of Amon’s presence, though. I mean, even Jormun admitted to having some dealings with vampires of a fire demon…]

[When did he say that?] Xaphan demanded to know, to Leon’s surprise, which lasted until he remembered that Xaphan had already left his soul realm by the time Jormun had revealed all of that.

Leon then explained to him the few stories that Jormun told him. He told Xaphan of the strange stone that Jormun had stolen that gave him a vision of eyes wreathed in flame, of how that fiery being entered his mind with ease and stole information it wanted, and of his dealings with the vampire who approached him years later.

[Would’ve been nice to pass this information along months ago,] Xaphan grumbled.

[I had a lot on my mind at the time,] Leon protested. [It just kind of slipped through the cracks.]

Xaphan grunted in apathetic acceptance, then quietly elucidated, [That stone that the pirate found was likely a ritual beacon. It carries traces of a demon’s power and allows even those with no knowledge of demons to contact the demon connected to the beacon. It also allows the demon to connect with the one holding the beacon if they’re not careful. Sounds like that’s what happened with the garden snake.]

[Mm. But I’m surprised to find evidence of Amon all the way out here, I’d figured that with everything that Jormun told me, that we’d not be encountering any of his lackeys until we reached Imperial territory, at the very least.]

[Amon had vampires in the Bull Kingdom. Powerful vampires. Expect him to be everywhere.]

Leon subtly nodded. If he were to really think about it, though, he was surprised that Amon hadn’t made any more moves against them since the attack on his villa years ago. He would’ve expected another powerful vampire or two to have come knocking at his door in the time since.

[Maybe… maybe things are going to be different…] Leon muttered half to himself. [If Amon knows that we’re on the move, then maybe he’ll start becoming more active again?]

[Possibly,] Xaphan responded. [If the pigeon is correct and he’s replaced me as a Lord of Flame, then he also likely has many other things vying for his attention. Finding and killing me is undoubtedly a priority—I threaten him too much for him to ignore me—but being one of the most seven most powerful beings that rule over the Elemental Plane of Fire is not a position that leaves much free time to pursue personal vendettas.]

[That’s something, I guess,] Leon said. [I think our days of not running into his vampires might be over, though…] He cast his gaze back and noticed that Isabella had reached the cordon, and with her reinforcement of the soldiers already locking the arena down, Alfonso was gearing up with a hundred of the most powerful mages there and clearly getting ready to storm the arena. Other groups of Cortuban warriors were doing likewise all around the arena.

‘To be a fly on the wall when Alfonso finds the temple…’ Leon thought to himself with more than a little regret. He dearly wished to know if the man’s piety was true, or if he was a secret demon-worshipper.

If he were the former, then it would hardly change much. This whole event would only serve to expose a subversion of the Cortuban religion, and Alfonso would likely stop at nothing to stamp it out. If he were secretly worshipping Amon, though, then Leon might have more of a problem with him.

Of course, were this just a regular demon, then Leon might not even bother himself over it. But since this was Xaphan’s avowed enemy, then he couldn’t just turn a blind eye. If Alfonso were in league with Amon, then Leon would feel honor-bound to kill him.

He wasn’t going to make any moves unless he knew for sure, though. He wasn’t in the business of killing Kings unless he knew for sure that they were his enemies. Moreover, while he didn’t think that he and Alfonso could be friends, he had a good impression of the man, and hoped that they wouldn’t have to come to blows.

The arena shook again as Alfonso took the lead and stormed into the massive building. By Leon’s estimation, with the number of Cortuban soldiers at his back and storming the other entrances, Alfonso would reach the temple in only a few minutes.

He slowed slightly as his attention focused upon the arena, desperately searching for any sign that might indicate Alfonso’s allegiance one way or the other.

Unfortunately, he and his retinue reached the Heaven’s Eye enclave before anything else of note happened. Leon had his retinue come to his guest house, however, and once there, he took a few minutes to reconnect with Elise, and then filled everyone in on all that he, Valeria, and Maia had discovered.

It was a long discussion, for while his retinue had known about Xaphan for some time, and were by and large accepting of the demon, Leon hadn’t told any of them about Amon.

As Leon spoke, he noticed that at some point, the arena had stopped shaking, so he projected his magic senses once again as delicately as he could. He couldn’t see within the arena, but he saw Alfonso meeting with Isabella out in the middle of the sands, the two speaking softly enough to each other that if Leon wanted to know what they were saying, he’d have to strengthen his magic senses enough that they wouldn’t remain undetected.

But Alfonso looked livid. He was controlling himself, but Leon could tell that the arena was being bathed in the King’s killing intent. Isabella weathered it with what looked like no effort at all, but many of the other mages around were clearly struggling under the weight of their King’s aura.

Leon wasn’t sure how to take that anger. Was Alfonso furious that someone found the secret demon temple, or was he furious that his religion was being subverted? Leon had no answer, and so was forced to turn his attention back to his retinue.

At the very least, it seemed that whatever Amon’s channeler had been doing was halted.

“… So,” Leon said as he finished his explanation, his eyes flitting between his retainers, “do any of you have any questions?” He didn’t look to any of his lovers, for he had no more secrets he kept from Elise, Maia, or Valeria. All three already knew of Amon, and the only new information he’d provided them was what Xaphan had only just provided to him, in turn.

“If I get this right,” Alix spoke up, her eyes wide with realization, “those vampires that attacked your villa during the welcoming party, nearly killing us, were all sent by this Amon fucker?”

Leon nodded in confirmation.

“Fucking hells,” Alix muttered, not saying anything more, but clearly clenching her teeth in fury.

The others in Leon’s retinue didn’t blink that much, either.

“After what we saw with Jormun, this isn’t that surprising,” Marcus drily stated.

“Just another enemy to kill,” Alcander added, his voice dripping with what Leon thought to be an almost perverse degree of anticipation.

Anshu merely nodded, saying, “You expect me to kill your enemies, no matter what they may be. I expect the same from you.”

Leon nodded again, tacitly accepting Anshu’s promise and expectation.

Gaius remained quiet, though, and when Leon turned his eyes to him, the golden-haired nobleman stared back for several long seconds.

Eventually, he said, “This demon stuff really rubs me the wrong way…”

“You’re not the only one,” Leon responded.

“You have one inside of you,” Gaius countered. “I think your judgment might be a bit impaired.”

Gaius’ voice had a few hints of hostility within them, and Leon fell silent for a moment.

“Let’s talk more about this later,” Leon eventually said. “Tomorrow. For now, let’s all just get some rest, it’s been a long day. Stay armored and keep your weapons in reach, just in case. If nothing happens by morning, then I think we can all relax. Until then, be ready to drop everything and fight.”

Everyone nodded and began filing out of the room. Gaius paused a moment at the door, casting a look back at Leon, a frown gracing his handsome features for a moment; just long enough for Leon to know that their talk tomorrow was going to have to be a heavy priority.

But for now, he was tired, and he just wanted to go to sleep for a few hours. He also wanted to stay awake and stare at the arena, hoping that any information might be gleaned about this whole situation from the Heaven’s Eye enclave, but in the end, Elise convinced him to get some rest. Here, they were under the protection of Heaven’s Eye, and if Alfonso was his enemy, it would be difficult for either of them to strike at each other. Besides, she’d be able to get more information about what was going on in the morning.

With a sigh, Leon agreed, and he and his family settled in for the night.