Page 16 of The Night Prince

“Prepare me so that I might have things to say to ease his mind,” Aquilan requested.

“I don’t know if that’s possible.His beliefs are not based upon logic.”She let out a long breath and then added, “Basically, he’s convinced that the Leviathan are massing in the Under Dark, preparing for another invasion of Earth.That their numbers are far larger than we understand and we’ll be overwhelmed unless we do something about it.”

“We have killed enough of them that they can’tmasslet alone overwhelm us,” Aquilan pointed out.

“He says that there could be endless amounts of them as no one truly knows how they procreate.Perhaps they simply split and split again.”Elasha shook her head as if disagreeing with her own words.“In any event, he thinks the only way to truly defeat them is to enter the Under Dark and destroy their nests.”

“The Under Dark?Ah, yes, where there is no light!I can definitely see the Sun Elves fighting down there to great success!”Rhalyf chuckled.

The Leviathan were fearsome foes, though they were hardly theworstthe Under Dark had to offer. But they seemed to have no limit as to their ferocity and sheer joy in killing much like the Kindreth.Only wielding the light against them had turned the tides of the war.So going into the Under Dark to confront them was a non-starter for the Aravae.Without the Sun’s additional power to their magic, the Leviathan would, indeed, overwhelm the Sun Elves’ forces.

Elasha sent him an odd look.“Need I remind you thatyouare a Sun Elf and would be one of those forces, Lord Neres?”

Rhalyf tried to recover, “Yes, what I meant was that it would be–”

“Foolish,” Aquilan cut in with a frown.“Darcassan worries we would be overwhelmedhere, yet I know that we would most certainly be overwhelmed in the Under Dark without the protection of the Sun.Many would die.Far more than already have.And what would it accomplish?Our goal is not to extinguish every single Leviathan’s life. It is simply to drive them back where they belong and protect humanity.We have achieved those goals.And if the Leviathan foolishly dare return, we will destroy them utterly.”

“Very well said, my king!”Rhalyf nodded.

“Darcassan understands our weakness in the Under Dark, which is why…” Here, she paused and nibbled at her lower lip, “Well, he believes that we should go to the ruins of Illithor and–and take whatever weapons remain there to use against them.”

Rhalyf drew in a strangled breath as he whispered the name of the most ancient Kindreth city, “Illithor?”

It was thefirstKindreth city in the Under Dark and their former capitol.Spellbooks, weapons, and riches that King Vex had not been able to take with them on their journey down below were said to still remain there.These treasures were enchanted, of course, with spells that would strip the flesh and take the souls of any who dared try to steal them.People like Darcassan.And likely even him.But still the siren song of powerful magics called to Rhalyf. Illithor’s wards kept its location hidden from all but King Vex so it was impossible that Darcassan could ever find it.

“Darcassan wishes us to use Kindreth Blood Weapons?”Aquilan’s voice was hushed and filled with a Sun Elf’s horror of such things, focusing not on the city, but its contents.

Blood Weapons were a Kindreth’s most powerful offense and defense.Lament, Rhalyf’s Blood Weapon, appeared as a stark black and white tattoo along the outside of his left leg.It pulsed as he thought of it.Firmly, he drew his mind from it.It wouldn’t do for Lament to appear in his hand at that moment.Even someone as dense as Elasha would recognize that Summon. He’d already caught Aquilan looking at it speculatively in the past.But the king’s love for him had likely caused him to not ask questions to which he did not wish the true answers.

“I told you that he was raving, didn’t I?”Elasha shook her head again.“He’s consumed with it, Uncle!He thinks of nothing else.Father caught him heading out to the ruins of that nearby human city to find a rift that would take him to Illithor.”

Rhalyf let out a snort.“A rift to Illithor?How does he expect that to happen?Illithor was warded to remain hidden by Vex himself!No one–certainly not the Leviathan or Darcassan, for that matter–could find it, let alone open a rift from it!”

He spoke without thinking and a sudden cold sweat dotted his upper lip as he realized what words had left his lips.He gritted his teeth and reminded himself he was to be unaware of all things Kindreth, but here he was, blathering on about things that few, but the most devoted scholars would know.Luckily, neither Aquilan or Elasha seemed to notice his mistake.

It’s the king’s sadness!I am speaking too openly in the hopes of easing his conscience.But I am just revealing too much.

Elasha just shrugged helplessly.“It’s all absurd!But he claims that one of the humans who survived the original Leviathan attacksawIllithor through one of the rifts.”

Aquilan tensed as she mentioned one of the three survivors.Rhalyf mentally tucked that into the back of his mind.He had been surprised that the king had never asked to meet those three humans who had managed to avoid death before they had arrived on the scene. It would have been a political coup to meet with the survivors.They would, undoubtedly, be grateful for Aquilan’s heroic actions in saving their lives. He was rather curious himself how they’d managed to stay alive until Aquilan arrived.It all seemed so unlikely considering humans were completely unable to defend themselves against Leviathan.But those three had made it through.

Elasha continued, “Evidently, the human was so struck by this alleged vision that he asked to speak to Glass Scholar Neldor Loravye about it.Though everyone agrees that a terrified human is highly unlikely to be a reliable witness, Darcassan is positive it’s true.He’s mad as I said.Just mad.”

It can’t be true.Truly cannot be.And yet…

He thought of Illithor’s soaring black towers, its light as air bridges, and hushed temples.He’d never been there.He was too young by an age, being born when the Kindreth had settled far deeper in the Under Dark.But he’d read about it in the forbidden books his parents had tried to hide from him.His fingers had traced the intricate illustrations and he swore that sometimes he walked those winding streets in his dreams.

For Illithor was a Vex city.Hewn from the rock and soaked in the Night King’s own blood and magic, it called to all of the Vex bloodline.There were tales of his kin trying to make their way back to it.All died on the way, of course.For a wild moment on his journey from the Under Dark to the Lieran Plane, Rhalyf had considered trying to find it, too.

But no.

Illithor was a poisonous daydream.A siren song of death.And he’d turned his steps to the Neres family and from there tohere: the king’s best friend and a luxurious life of few cares and plenty of carnal delights.He was glad that he hadn’t sought out Illithor, but had come here instead.This was the dream.Illithor was a nightmare.

But he snapped away from those dangerous thoughts as he caught sight of several dust trails in the distance. “Ah, it appears we have some visitors.”

Aquilan looked at where his gaze was pointed.The dust trails were heading in their direction at a rapid pace. Rhalyf let magic fill the air around him.It snapped and buzzed like a coming storm.He felt that familiar lust for battle fill him.

“Separatists,” Elasha hissed and her right hand dropped to the hilt of her sword, Meremel. “What could they possibly be thinking trying to intercept us like this?”

---