Chapter 773: Primordial Beings

Stryg leaned forward, relieved to finally have some answers. “What exactly was the vision about then? Tell me, please.”

“It’s not the ‘what’ that concerns me. It’s the ‘whom.’ That is the problem,” Wren said.

“Me?” Stryg pointed at himself, confused.

“No. The ones who should not have been there. The Primordials.”

Stryg felt his heartbeat quicken. “I don’t… I don’t understand.”

“Me neither,” Titania said with puffed cheeks.

Wren gave her a wry smile. “I’m sorry, but I think this conversation should be held between adults.” With a flick of her wrist, the gems encased in the rims of the mirrors flashed with light for a moment. The air pressure shifted and a visible shimmer appeared around Titania like a bubble. The sune girl yelled something angrily but Stryg could not hear her.

“What did you do?” Stryg asked, jumping to his feet.

“Nothing dangerous. The child is perfectly fine. I simply created a barrier between us, not much different than what a red mage might do. Titania cannot hear what we say, nor can we hear her. Once the delicate nature of this conversation is concluded, I will release the barrier.” Wren gestured to the plush pillows, “Please, sit.”

Stryg looked at Titania to make sure she was alright. For the most part, Titania seemed fine, albeit somewhat annoyed. He raised his hand in reassurance and she calmed down after a few moments. “Alright, tell me what you know,” Stryg said to Wren as he sat back down.

“Maeve explained to me the contents of her vision. A terrible storm that swallowed the sky and a vortex below that swallowed the sea,” Wren said.

“It swallowed ships and an island, too.”

“Yes, and you were standing at the center of it all. But you were not alone, were you? There were two others standing on the island with you.”

“A man and a—” Stryg slowly turned and looked at Titania, who had gone back to eating her dates. “...A child. You think it’s her?”

“Possibly. Either way, I would keep her close to you. Do not let any harm come to her.”

“I won’t,” Stryg said with an adamant tone that brooked no argument.

“Good.” Wren nodded, satisfied. “I do not know the identity of the man or child in Maeve’s vision, but I do know of the others.”

“What others?”

“The ones watching you from the sky. The Primordials.”

“Eyes as large as the moon,” Stryg recalled Maeve’s words. “They terrified her.”

“As they should. They weren’t simply a part of her vision. When Maeve peered into the future, the Primordials’ future selves peered back at her and in doing so, they garnered a glimpse of the past.”

“And that’s a problem?” Stryg asked, somewhat confused.

“Primordials are not like us. Their existence extends through time. If Maeve can peer into the future, I have no doubt that at least one of those Primordials can do the same. ”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because the being Maeve described in her vision, eyes like a dragon’s that burned with the fire of the sun, is no other than Drakith. If Maeve’s ability to peer into the future is derived from her Spark of Drakith, what do you think the progenitor of all chromatic mana can do?”

“The same if not more,” Stryg muttered.

“The future is wrought with possibilities and inconsistencies, it is impossible to guarantee any single path is the correct one. The problem is that Drakith peered into Maeve’s mind and soul. With that information, those inconsistencies drop. You have to understand, when the Queen of Titans destroyed the gate into the Null, Drakith was cut off from this world. But now he has information he did not have before.”

“Like what?”

“I do not pretend to know the inner workings of the mind of a Primordial Being. But he now knows that dragons still live in this land and that chromatic mana has taken root, poisoning Aleirune. If I had to wager, I would say Drakith will be looking for a weakness, an opening back into our world.”

“...Fuck,” Stryg muttered.

“Indeed. But Drakith is only half the problem. The other entity, the three eyes of darkness staring down at you. I believe that to be Unildyr, progenitor of void mana, and father of the dragonbane.”

“Of course, it is.” Stryg ran a hand across his face and groaned.

“I do not know why Unildyr has interest in this world, save for his long-standing war with Drakith, but unlike the Dragon Primordial who has his children to aid his cause, Unildyr has no allies in the Ten Realms. I do not believe him to be as pressing of a threat.”

“Um. I’m not sure about that.”

Wren cocked an eyebrow. “Explain.”

“You know Caligo?”

“The Ebon God of the Deep Earth? Yes, I have heard of him, though we have not personally met. There were rumors about his involvement in the battle of Holo’s Shade a few years back. What about him?”

“Caligo is a titan…”

“Yes, I guessed that was probably the case. Other immortals rule as gods, but the Ebon Realm has always attracted your kind.”

“That’s not exactly what I meant. Caligo is not just a titan. He, or rather, she, is the Queen of Titans, Ananta.”

Wren leaned back in her array of pillows as she took in the news. “So, the Queen lives…” she muttered. “This is good. Ananta was said to be the strongest of her kind during the war against Unildyr. Perhaps she could be an ally.”

“No, you don’t understand. I spoke to Ananta. She told me that Unildyr is her father and that he was right to try and exterminate the dragons and their kin.”

Wren stared at Stryg for a long moment. “Are you saying that the Queen of Titans is our enemy and possibly working for Unildyr?”

“I’m not sure about the Unildyr part, but yes.”

Wren sighed deeply. “This is bad. Very bad. Ananta would know vital secrets long lost to the rest of us, secrets that not even the Calamities are aware of. And if Ananta is truly the daughter of Unildyr, then she is as powerful as Calamity if not greater.”

“I’m not certain about that. Melantha, Lunae, and Holo fought Ananta and forced her to retreat when she attacked the city,” Stryg said proudly.

“Then Ananta held back.”

“It didn’t seem to me as if she—”

“Ananta’s mother was Love, the first daughter of Aleirune. That alone, coupled with Ananta’s age, would have made her a formidable opponent. But if what you say is true, then she is also the daughter of Unildyr. If she had wanted to, none of your friends would have survived their battle against her.”

Stryg furrowed his brow. “Then why? If she could have killed Lunae and the others, why didn’t she?”

“Ananta is still the Queen of Titans even if the Queendom of Vesir no longer exists. Perhaps she did not want to kill the last remnants of her people. Or perhaps she got what she wanted… There are rumors that Solis walks the Null Realms again. Is it true?”

“It is.”

“This does not bode well for us. There are too many unknowns at play.” Wren looked Stryg over, “You’re hurt. The Astral Light has left its mark on you.”

“I’m fine,” Stryg said reflexively.

“You’re not. And whatever problems you’ve gotten yourself mixed up in, you’ll need your strength to deal with them. You are safe here, son of Stjerne. I suggest you take my offer and rest while you can.”

The idea was tempting, but Stryg didn’t know how long he could spare at an oasis in the middle of the desert. “I’m not sure I’m good company right now. We are being hunted.”

“The girl and you?”

“Yes.”

“By whom?”

“My brother.”

“Syrus? He would never go against your father. Which means, he will not harm you. Most likely he was sent by your father to fetch you,” Wren surmised.

“No, his name wasn’t Syrus.”

Wren frowned. “What? No, that can’t be. Your father has only one living son, besides you.”

“I wouldn’t know. But the man had titan blood, he looked like me. He was a True White. And he was strong. Very strong,” Stryg admitted begrudgingly. “If he hadn’t underestimated me, I would have died. Even then, we only escaped because a group of rulus warriors sacrificed themselves to buy us time to get away.”

“A True White?” Wren’s frown deepened. “...What was his name?”

“Sidus.”

“Sidus is alive?” Wren whispered.

“You know him?”

“If it really is him, then he would be the eldest living scion of Death. He was your father’s right-hand. He believed Melantha was a threat to the Mortem Order, that she was trying to destroy the Mortem’s plan. The story goes, Sidus confronted Melantha. When she tried to run, they fought.”

“And Melantha defeated him,” Stryg finished. Melantha was the greatest of Death’s children, his favoured child. She was a prodigy the likes of Parathyan. Holo had told him the story of Melantha’s battle with their brother, though she had never named him.

“Is that what you think happened? No. Melantha lost. Sidus saw her for what she was, a problem to the Mortem Order. So he raised his sword to kill her. That’s when another stabbed him in the back, straight through the heart. Holo betrayed her brother that day in order to save Melantha. The two sisters ran away and sparked the rebellion that followed. I thought Sidus died that day, but it seems I was wrong. We all were.”

“I don’t… I don’t understand.” Stryg shook his head. Had Holo lied about the story? “How did Sidus defeat Melantha? She is a Spark of Drakith, right? A prodigy of chromatic magic beyond the likes of any other.”

Wren gave him an odd look. “What is a Spark in the face of absolute destruction? Sidus wasn’t only a True White. He was the only scion of Death who could ever control the Astral Light, at least partially so. If Sidus is truly after you and if he finds you, do not fight him. Run.”

“Noted,” Stryg said grimly.

Wren glanced at Titania, who seemed bored. “Does she know about the Astral Light? What you did?”

Stryg felt his heart clench at the thought. “No. I’d like to keep it that way.”

“I understand. If I may ask, what drove you to ignite the Astral Light?”

“There was a battle. I needed to destroy a weapon.”

“What weapon?”

“Something of tremendous power that Holo believed would threaten all of us. I came to this Realm to track it.”

“Interesting.” Wren narrowed her eyes. “And you destroyed this weapon.”

“I think it survived. I think the ones who took it belong to House Clarus. I’m heading to Olduun to stop them.”

“You’ll accomplish very little in your current state. Best to rest while you can. My mirrors will keep you hidden in this place while you recover.”

“Maybe you’re right.” Stryg looked down at his own chest. Even now, it pained him every time he took a breath.

“Good. It’s settled then.” Wren snapped her fingers and the shimmer around Titania disappeared.

Titania looked up, her ears twitching. “Finally! What took you so long?” She threw her arms up in protest.

“Apologies, darling. We have finished with our private conversation,” Wren handed her another bowl, this one was filled with oranges.

Titania glared at her, though she still grabbed an orange anyway. “What did you guys talk about?”

“Nothing too important. Although, I was hoping you and I could share a bit of a chat, as well,” Wren said.

“Wait, what are you—” Stryg said.

Wren snapped her fingers and the air shimmered around Stryg, cutting off all noise from the outside.

Titania couldn’t help but grin smugly at Stryg’s obvious discomfort. “It’s not fun, is it?”

“I suppose you’re right,” Wren agreed.

“Okay, you can remove the sound-thingy. Whatever you want to tell me, you can say it in front of Stryg,” Titania said.

“Are you sure about that, Lady Clarus?” Wren asked.

A shiver ran down Titania’s spine. She swallowed hard, “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“There is no use in denying it. There were rumors that Lady Lydira Clarus had a young child in her manor,” Wren said.

“T-That doesn’t mean it’s me.”

“The personal sigil of House Clarus on your amulet would say otherwise.”

Titania gasped and looked down at the amulet hanging from her neck. She had forgotten the sigil was even there.

“Stryg may not be familiar enough with the heraldry of Olduun’s Houses, but I am not so unversed in the Aurous Realm’s nobility,” Wren said.

“Please, don’t tell him,” Titania pleaded.

“My lips are sealed, child. But I must ask,” Wren took a puff from her pipe, “Does he know what you are?”

“He doesn’t know I’m a Clarus.” Titania bit her lip and looked at Stryg.

“No. Not who you are. What you are. What you really are. Does he know?” Wren leaned forward as she saw the look of confusion cross Titania’s face. “Do you know?”