Chương 1346: 1376 - Lords of Death III

"I suppose I can stop my story for a moment," Veles said.

"You look like you have questions…"

"Only about a million," Leon snarked.

"Hmm. I believe we're going to be fast friends if you're so curious a man." Leon smiled thinly. He was open to having a new friend, but there were still things that were bothering him. For the moment, however, he kept his more pointed, accusatory questions to himself. He'd address those in a moment; for now, he wanted to know more about what Veles had revealed about the universe.

"So, from what you've explained," Leon said, "the universe was everything at once, and it only became the solid, immutable, physical universe that we now inhabit after… something happened?"

"A fine enough explanation," Veles responded.

"And you don't know what the catalyst for that was?"

"I do not. Believe me, I'd love to know, myself, but I haven't been in a position to investigate the mysteries of the universe's birth for a very long time."

"That's… something to keep in mind…" Leon whispered. He wondered what the Great Black Dragon might say about this 'catalyst'. Given that he claimed to have ended the cult—at least, Leon assumed it was the same organization—that Veles belonged to, he wondered if it would enrage the dragon, if he might take it as some slight or trespass.

Leon stole a glance at Veles and also wondered why the man was so chatty with someone descended from the being that at least claimed to have struck the killing blow against his group. For now, he resolved not to ask about the Great Black Dragon, at least until he understood if that question might not be taken well.

"I find it interesting," Leon continued, "to hear that Khosrow himself came to your… academy?""' Academy' works.""' Academy', then. I find it interesting that Khosrow came to your academy less than a year before it was destroyed by the Primal Beings. The timing is… intriguing. How long was this before Khosrow's rebellion?"

Leon knew from what he'd been told by the Thunderbird that destroying the cult had been the last joint act of cooperation between the Primal Gods and Devils before Khosrow launched his rebellion, but for all he knew, a million years could've separated the two.

"I… I believe it was around a decade? It's hard to tell; I was lost in death, and Khosrow's early history is filled with all sorts of legends that I was never able to verify. Given how few reliable records survive from that time, I can't say for certain exactly how long it was between Khosrow's visit and the beginning of his war, but 'around a decade' seems like a good estimate." Leon nodded.

"That's what I wanted to know. Or rather, it leads into my real question: Khosrow came to your academy, learned something that he found satisfying, and relatively speaking, almost immediately began the war that cast down the Primal Beings and lifted humanity to the rulers of the universe?"

"It sounds like you're asking if what Khosrow learned sent him to war," Veles stated. Leon nodded slightly, though he added, "Given what you said, that he first went to your academy with particular questions already in mind, I have to assume that he was already planning on going to war—perhaps even to the point of being in the final stages of preparation… But I'm curious as to how much the information he left your academy with played into his subsequent actions.

Was he only told things that confirmed what he already knew, and did it only encourage him to continue on his path? Or was it so perspective-changing that he decided to launch his rebellion immediately afterward? Or was it all completely unrelated, and it was only a coincidence that he launched his war so soon after?"

"A decade is a long time, my young friend. And as I said earlier, Khosrow was visiting many learned men and women, anyone who might be able to shed any light at all upon the nature of the universe. My fellows were not unique in that regard." Leon pursed his lips, trying to picture himself in Khosrow's place, guessing as to what might have been going through the future-Great Lord's mind when he arrived at the academy, and when he left.

"I wonder what he already knew," Leon whispered.

"How much of what he was told by your leaders were things he already knew, and how much was new. How much went against his other sources and how much confirmed those sources… And it seems like this fundamental question of the formation of the universe played into his decision to rebel in the first place." Leon hesitated, then added, "I can only guess. I suppose it might just be a coincidence that he came to your academy right before his rebellion.

Maybe just to satisfy his curiosity before he crossed a bridge that he intended to burn behind him?"

"He is not here to answer that question," Veles lamented.

"Would that he were; I have quite a bit to say to the man."

"You may have a chance to do so," Veles said mischievously. Leon swung his head around so quickly that his neck cracked, the sound echoing throughout the gray land that they stood in.

"The Kingdom of death," Veles continued, "is where everyone ends up, eventually. You may find him if you search long enough…" Leon's shoulders sagged, and silence stretched for a long time between them.

"You should finish your story," Leon suggested.

"You have no more questions?"

"They can wait. Finish. Please."

"Hmm. There isn't much left. I wandered for a long time, lost in cold darkness—if you truly have a black Heartwood seed within you, then you know of the kind of frigid abyss I speak…" Leon nodded in understanding. The cold of the Heartwood seed wasn't as harsh as Triton's ice, but it sank deep into the body, past any protections that might be thrown up against it.

"The ritual I performed that saw me stuck in this 'between' place," Veles continued, "also allowed me to retain some of my power. I used what I had to learn more of where I had found myself, learning to wield that 'death magic' that was so different from more recognizable magic power. And in doing so, I learned how to move between worlds, though it took a long time before I became good enough to do so for any great length of time."

"Moving? Like how you brought us here?"

"Yes." Leon looked around. The gray landscape was not where he wanted to spend a long amount of time, but he could think of more than a few benefits to having access to such a desolate and unreachable world… Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"I managed to regain a semblance of life thanks to a friend," Veles continued.

"He brought me a chunk of amber." He sighed and almost collapsed backward on the rock he sat upon.

"In all my years, I still have no idea what he did to that piece of amber. But whatever it did, it brought me closer to life than I had been since before that ritual. I did not completely return to life, but I was able to walk amongst the living again and interact with the living world! I was still unseen and unheard, but I was confident that I'd be able to improve my condition later…"

"This 'friend'," Leon pressed, seeing a place where he could start bringing up his other concerns, "who were they?" Veles smiled serenely, almost condescendingly, in the way that Leon himself was quite familiar with—it was a smile of a man who wasn't going to answer his question.

"Someone I performed a service for," he said.

"I cannot be more specific. Let us leave it at that." Leon frowned, but since Veles hadn't pressed him on any of his half-truths so far, he decided to give the man the same grace.

"Since then," Veles proceeded, "I have been a wanderer, seeking out any knowledge or power that might improve my condition."

"One that doesn't also rob you of your connection to death," Leon stated with a grin.

"Yes. It may be impossible according to all orthodox views of magic and the universe, but I know that it's possible. It just requires the willpower, the drive to see it happen! I will find the solution I seek, eventually…" Despite his misgivings, Leon found himself respecting that attitude quite a bit. He liked to think he'd be the same way if he were caught in a similar situation.

"Did your other friends help you much?" Leon asked.

"You said that I'm only the fifth person who's been able to see you. And I suppose that makes Sar the sixth."

"Yes, your 'Ancestral Hart'. After this, I hope to have your permission to speak with him more, to find out how his power allows him to see and hear me…" Leaping on the opportunity, though trying not to look too eager, Leon immediately replied, "You have it. Well, you have it so long as Sar agrees." Veles nodded gratefully.

"But… about your friends?" Leon focused.

"You were visiting one at Khosrow's Fane, as you said… Might I know who that was?"

"You might, though I won't divulge their secrets," Veles stated. Leon smiled bitterly, trying to cover up a spike of frustration that raced through him. While his opinion of Veles had improved, he still suspected the man might at least be tangentially related to the Khosrow fanatics at the Fane. Learning that the man had another connection to Khosrow, even if it was, by Veles' admission, relatively distant, only solidified that view.

"As for my friends as a whole… I'll have to admit to telling a small lie earlier…" Leon's eyes narrowed, and he gave Veles his full attention.

"You are familiar with ideas of resurrection, are you not?" Leon nodded, recalling what Ryonos had said about resurrection when they spoke during the Belicenian Games. The White Dragon had said that he hadn't heard of any cases of resurrection since the Primal Age, and that all had apparently involved Heartwood seeds.

It was apparently generally assumed within the Great Dragon Clans that Heartwood seeds, or perhaps any power over life and death and resurrection, were commanded by the Primal Gods and Devils, or that they at least knew more about those matters than anyone else.

'In that, it seems Veles' academy and the Great Dragon Clans agree…'

"My friends… are those who have seen the other side, who sailed across an Aesii and returned. They are those who have been touched by death, yet returned to life, fully and completely."

"I've heard," Leon said, "that Heartwood seeds are required for such things…" Veles smiled broadly.

"Yes, those things do seem to be common factors, don't they?" Leon couldn't help it; he imagined returning to the Forest of Black and White and performing some grand magic that broke open his father's Heartwood tree and allowed him to rise from the dead. It took no small amount of effort to force that fantasy down, though it was certainly harder to do so now than it had been after his conversation with Ryonos.

"If it was ever a thought," Veles added seemingly as an aside, "the power that you've used on others—your black lightning—doesn't seem to have granted anyone the ability to see or hear me." Veles' smile widened even further as he pushed himself back to his feet.

"Though knowing that you've managed to imbue magic power with death is beyond validating! I knew that it was possible; now I only have to figure out how to apply it to myself!" Veles had started pacing, but quickly whirled around to address Leon directly.

"My new friend, I would like to study your black lightning. I need to know how it works! How it's possible!" Leon fought off a grimace. He wasn't ready to admit that he had a Universe Fragment and that it was that artifact that gave him that power. Even Veles had speculated that a Universe Fragment was responsible for his power, but there was a difference between speculation and confirmation… Still, after a moment's thought, his mind started to at least shift, if not change.

"I think that can be arranged…" he murmured. Then he waved a hand at their surroundings.

"Will you teach me to do things like this?"

"If you wish to know more of death and how to wield it, then I would give you a warning: the more you immerse yourself in it, the more you risk becoming more like me. Do not forget that you're already almost certainly stuck …" Leon recoiled as if the word had physically struck him. He couldn't quite bring himself to say the words, but he still thought with wavering conviction,'We'll see about that…'

"I… still want to learn," Leon stated.

"If this is going to be part of me, I should know as much as possible, if only to avoid making mistakes." Veles nodded sagely.

"Wise. So be it. I will teach you, and you will allow me to study your black lightning!" Leon was about to agree when Veles grinned and added, " And speak with your 'Ancestral Harts'…" A sigh forced its way past Leon's lips.

"Fine. Fine. But only if they agree to speak with you, too…"

"Leon, my new friend… we have ourselves a bargain…" Veles held out a hand, and Leon hesitated only a moment before clasping his forearm.

"We should figure something out to keep in touch," Leon said as they released each other.

"I have a method for that; we'll speak more on it once your lessons begin! For now, why don't we return to the living world? I didn't want to steal you away for too long…" Leon still had a few questions, but he held his tongue. As much as he wanted to begin right now, and to bombard Veles with a million and one questions about the Primal Age, Khosrow, the rebellion, death, and everything else, he was still a King, and he imagined that Veles practically stealing him away might have alarmed some of his people…

With a snap of his fingers, Veles transported them from the lifeless space they'd been speaking in and back to the courtyard that they'd departed from. Everyone who had been there when they'd left was still there, along with a few more familiar faces: Archelaus, Illum, and Ingrid were speaking with the others with looks of grave concern.

"King Leon!" Gaius shouted, the first to notice his return. Immediately, Leon was assaulted by an intense chorus of elders, ministers, and Paladins, all calling out to him, asking if he was all right and what had happened to him. Only Sar remained quiet, staring intensely at Veles, who remained beside Leon.

"I'm fine," Leon assured the crowd filled with so many of his most powerful supporters.

"I hope the dour faces I'm seeing weren't caused by my brief absence?" Everyone went quiet then, and even Sar's gaze flickered to Leon with worry etched deeply into his features. Leon almost demanded an explanation when Archelaus stepped forward and offered it without prompting.

"Leon…" He nodded to Illum and Ingrid.

"We received a warning that… Anax Alderion is on his way here… we have less than a week until his arrival…"

Their return induced an avalanche's worth of noise from those they'd left behind, but Veles paid no attention to any of it. Though he'd agreed to help Leon, these more mundane concerns were beneath his notice. Besides, Veles knew that Sasan had high hopes for Leon and that there would be a reckoning when he returned to civilization with the fire confluence.

He kept his face neutrally pleasant as he knew that both Sar and Leon could still see him, but he internally shuddered with dread at what Sasan was going to do upon his return. Veles shared the man's vision and wholeheartedly aided him in the Great Endeavor, but Leon was different from Sasan. Veles suspected that he might have more to learn from Leon than from his other friend… Still, he wasn't going to get in the way of two friends who were almost certainly going to be at each other's throats.

After all, Veles knew that Sasan's hopes for Leon being a champion of humanity were going to be dashed the instant he learned of the younger man's ancestry. Shame and melancholy warred within Veles at the thought of keeping that from Leon. He couldn't betray the Great Endeavor, but he was not going to relish what Sasan was going to do when he returned. Veles watched Leon's back as the younger man took charge of something that seemed important to him and his people, but which Veles couldn't care less about.

'It will be a shame to lose you,' he thought.

'But a man who does not choose between his friends abandons both…'