Ilus Rises: Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

The skies darkened before they brightened, staining the clouds with the light of a new day.

Mya breathed in the cold air and let it go, the sails catching some wind but it was mainly the oars pulling them forward now.

She shifted her shoulders, easing out the kinks that had snuck in. Can’t believe I actually slept. Its been what, fifteen years?

“No wonder I was a bit spacey. I need sleep again.”

It was bittersweet, it was great not needing to sleep while being a captain, checking on the ship and making plans or learning more. Though it had been nice to wash away the day’s worries with a bit of shut eye and feeling refreshed the other day.

The rope railing shifted as Desari appeared seconds later pulling herself up the ladder.

Got a pump for washing water in the back of the ship,” Mya pointed in the direction of the showers. “Each time you pump it’ll pour water on you.”

Desari held up a hand in thanks and disappeared back down into the hold.

Doesn’t look like she got much sleep.

Petor walked back from his spot at the bow.

“Good for me to put some tea on?”

“Might as well, see the third mast up, between that and the fourth there’s a kitchen, second floor down.”

“Thanks.” He headed back the way he came.

Appeared back on the deck, washed but her hair was dry.

“How the heck did you get your hair dry?” Mya asked as Desari climbed up to the poop deck.

“Just guided the water together and pulled it out. Want me to smooth the waters out?”

“If you can.”

Desari summoned her mana and cast her spells, Mesurial’s speed started to increase as the rolling motion of the waves calmed.

Desari kept glancing over but avoiding her gaze, holding back a question or something.

It went on for several minutes before Mya turned to her, Petor walking across the deck towards them and Valter coming out of the hold, wiping his head with a towel once he was up on the deck.

“Well you got something your curious about,” Mya said.

“Didn’t think I was that obvious,” Desari said.

Petor and Valter climbed up to the poop deck with two mugs each.

Desari accepted hers from Petor with a nod of thanks.

“Its about that scrying book that you got and those ingredients. What do you need them for?” Desari asked.

“Thank yah,” Mya took the mug from Valter and breathed on the rising vapor. “Well I learned about scrying, good skill to have as a captain on the seas, find out where the weather be brewing and if there are pirates about.” She drank from the mug as she had all of their attention.

Sweet sweet caffeination made her sigh. “Shit it is good being able to taste things again.”

“Agreed,” Valter raised his mug and drank from it too.

“Supposed to wait a bit for it to cool down,” Petor muttered, breathing on his own tea.

“I’m a decent scryer, those ingredients I got are on the stronger end.” Mya sucked on her lower lip in debate.

“Look, okay don’t get your hopes up, but I wanted that book on Irshon so I might know if I can see across worlds, planes and the like. I think that we can do it.”

They all started shifting. “Now before you get all excited, scrying ain’t exactly, well exact at times in the same world. Let alone across worlds and through the dang planes. I think that I can get us images at the very least of what you want to look at and it has to be something that you hold dear or you remember really well.” That got them thinking and back on their heels.

“Before we start we’re going to need to modify my scrying table, then learn some augmenting spells. Might have to route through the planar gem which I ain’t none too excited about because that thing fires up a flare for all to see. Then we’re also going to need to grow the ingredients.”

“Well I can take care of the ingredients,” Petor said.

“Table seems like my area,” Valter said.

“What spells are we talking here? I think I could also put wind and water mana into the planar gem then it shouldn’t bring in so many elementals curious about a new source of power,” Desari said.

“That’s about what I thought you would all say.” Mya took out papers and in Petor’s case packets that held the various ingredients and handed them out. “There’s your tasks to be done.”

They all bowed their heads as Mya took another drink of her tea. “Now I told you all what I learned last night, how about you three, you get some reading in too?”

Just by the glances she could tell they had.

“Valter?” She picked him out to start the ball rolling. Also so Desari was last, she was sure that whatever information she had would derail everything else.

“Good thing is that I think I can shape Dimantium metal. Bad thing. I don’t think I can melt down the armor that we have into anything usable in a short period of time. It would also take an amount of heat and work that I don’t think my forge can handle right now and I wouldn’t want to try it on a ship.”

“Very fair and I appreciate you not trying to singe Mesurial’s decking.”

A sail snapped in agreement.

“What would you need?” Desari asked.

“Preferably, I’m going to need some type of heat source that pours out mana at the same time. Dimantium is formed with mana and heat together. I wouldn’t be able to provide the amount its asking for.”

“Well if we know some bastards that deserve annihilation I can burn their souls, that will provide mana and heat,” Mya said.

“That would work,” Valter nodded. “Would need to be strong enough that burning they have enough mana, would you need their core and their soul?”

“Yeah, bind the two together, the core captures the soul and holds the power, stops it from crossing over,” Mya scanned them again and threw up her hands. “Come on, not one of you is alarmed about burning souls for weapons?” She threw out her hand at Petor. “Aren’t you supposed to be a paladin?”

Petor shrugged. “Some people just have to die. There’s evil in this world that doesn’t even deserve the torments that wait them on the other side. Worse if they get their paradise on the other side. We burn them up to make something that keeps us alive? I’m for it.”

Mya looked at Desari.

“How much power do you think burning the soul of a god would give us?” Desari asked.

“Depends on the god, but should be able to smith most things with a god’s soul.”

“Well, at least we’re all on the same page about this,” Mya said. “Before you ask for a core we’ve already got, remember we don’t have much gold gems and other gear.”

Desari clicked her tongue. “You’re right, mines held mostly as credit with the LTC.”

“I got some in physical cash,” Petor said. “And we have all that loot too.”

“Soon as we get to this convergence point I’m gonna see about selling off as much of it as possible. Get some coin before we jump into the material plane,” Mya said. They nodded along. Like coming in with a great trade. Low on cash, high on goods.

“Petor you find out anything?” Desari asked.

“Some freaky deaky lore, but yeah I did.” He scrunched up one eye and held out his hand trying to decide what to say and looking like he was trying to explain a boob.

“You got something to say or fondle the air for a bit?” Mya drank over her tea.

“Like to play with the air for a bit more thank you.” He grabbed the air again, making her sputter as Valter grinned into his mug. Desari let out a suffering sigh and drank from hers. “Though if you must rush me. I think that I can use the oath between us all to send mana through the tethers in our souls.”

“That could be very useful,” Valter said.

“And I can drain an area of ambient mana so that mages can’t cast in it.”

“Be good against creatures made of mana and casters,” Desari said.

“That’s what I was thinking. Though I would need a volunteer to see how it works,” Petor said.

“I can try, I was the one that formed the contract and I think I know the most about mana. Mya I’m sure knows about souls more.” Desari looked at her.

“Makes sense to me. I basically soul bind all the zombies I make to put them under my control. It pulls on your soul a bit but nowhere as deep or interconnected as the contract between us all,” Mya said.

“Desari you learn anything from your book?” Petor asked.

“Yes, though none of it really easy. Gods are similar to lich,” Desari said.

“Oh?” Mya drained her mug.

“There are a number of lich that turned into gods actually. Lich have some kind of container that will draw their soul in and from there recreate their body so that they might ‘live again’. Here the container is the celestial realm. With time and devotion they are reborn.”

“No wonder they were so effective. They understood how to do it,” Mya gritted her teeth. Bastards. She waved Desari to continue. She was going to bring them down to the world, to the water they distained so much and see what they thought about suffering and living in the world they enforced.

“There are various ways one can kill a good, basically it comes down to starving, entrapment and sacrifice. Starving you kill off their supporters and those that follow them so that their power dwindles, you can do this by assaulting their celestial realm or their followers in the other planes. No devotions, no more power and they get weaker and weaker. Long game.”

“That’s a lot of killing,” Valter said. Not against the idea but sounding tired at the undertaking Mya noted.

“Yes, the other ways offer interesting possibilities. Entrapment means separating them from their celestial realm and that power. Entrapping their souls or their bodies. Can use formations for this. Hold them in one place. Can even use them as a resource. Several powerful weapons and items are said to be powered with god’s souls.”

“Like how Jorai’s soul and power was being pulled into the altar at Sorelli,” Petor said.

“Right. Gods souls are no less vulnerable than our own souls.”

“Just if they get back to their celestial realm that they can remake themselves and come at us again,” Mya played with the lip of her mug as she hung the handle from her forefinger.

“A god’s soul trapped within their core will keep accumulating energy based upon their believers and celestial realm,” Desari continued. “It turns their cores into a power source. Turning it into the source of soul fire that burns on all of that devotion and power fueled by the souls of the god’s believers-that’s actually a workable idea.”

Think of a Doomcutter with a god’s soul lashed to its mast.

“Though, perhaps the most direct and destructive, is offering up their soul to other gods.”

“Don’t think any of them should be trusted. Don’t know which ones are in league with the others. Good, evil, they’re all playing their own game,” Petor said.

Mya spat to the side in agreement.

Desari’s smile took on a wicked edge. “Not all of them like one another and there are those more than willing to offer a boon to those that offer up a soul. When a god’s soul is judged by another god. They claim their celestial realm and judge all of their followers within it.”

Mya tapped her mug. Ella?

“Looks past the whole killing a god to get to their soul though,” Petor said.

“Killing a god isn’t the hard part if they’re on the mortal plane. The hard part is getting through all of the followers around them,” Valter said. “Xander used people’s faith to push his wars. Though he himself was weak without his celestial power. Had us capture the generals and powerful enemy so that he could kill them himself to get powerful. A war god that never stepped upon a battlefield.”

“Part of the reason that gods like to stay in their celestial realms. There they are protected and they have a lot of power that they can use,” Desari said. “Lots of heroes challenged them in their domain and found that out.”

“Tricky but not impossible,” Petor said.

“We’ll need to get stronger to do something like that and Ilus will have more information to help us,” Desari said. “Creating and using this Scrying spell is the only thing we can do right now.”

“Been wondering what my old crew have been up to.”