Realm of Monsters

Chapter 592: Broken Soul

  “Zavinti,” Holo whispered. 

  Holo stood over her old friend and stroked her hair. Zavinti breathed softly but showed no signs of waking up. “When I saw Caligo riding her into battle I hoped I had seen wrong… But it really was her, wasn’t it? What did Caligo do to your sister?”

  “We were hoping you could tell us,” said Reldros.

  Now Holo understood why Reldros was being so polite. The red dragon was usually short-tempered. He was proud to be the son of a dragon lord and it showed in the way he spoke down to others. Zavinti was the more reasonable of the two and she often was left in charge when Kaleidrog was away.

  But Kaleidrog was dead, Zavinti was in some sort of coma, and half of the dragon lord’s brood was killed in their battle against the dragonbanes.

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” Holo muttered.

  Reldros glared at her. “My sister is not dead.”

  “That isn’t what I— What I meant to say is, I’m sorry for your losses during the siege.”

  Reldros nodded stiffly, somewhat mollified. “My father knew his enemy, he knew what he would face when he ordered us to fly into battle. …I just don’t know why he never told me about Caligo or her true identity.”

  “Because Kaleidrgo was ashamed,” said Stryg.

  The retinue of humanoid dragons all turned to Stryg at once, their eyes full of skepticism. Anger burned in Reldros’ eyes and he struggled to swallow his temper. After a long, tense breath, he spoke, “And what would you know about my father, godling?”

  Holo shook her head subtly, but Stryg ignored her warning and answered, “Ananta fought to protect Kaleidrog and the other dragons from her father, the primordial Unildyr. It was Ananta and her mate, the dragon king Vismarya that ended the war and saved your dragon-kin. And how did Kaleidrog and the other dragon lords repay them? They betrayed Ananta and tried to kill her. She only survived because Vismarya sacrificed himself. Everything that’s happened since, the Sundering, the Schism, the culling of your species by the Calamities, this entire war and the war that will surely follow, it’s all because of your parents and the other dragon lords. That’s why Kaleidrog was ashamed.”

  The dragons growled as Stryg spoke, but only Reldros replied. “And how would you, an infant, know of such matters?”

  “Ananta told me,” said Stryg without thinking.

  “And you expect us to believe the words of that manipulator? Over our own dragon lord?”

  “She had no reason to lie. I saw the pain and rage in her eyes.” Stryg shook his head, “She wasn’t lying. Not about that.”

  “Well, then it’s settled then, hm? We’ll just take the judgment of an infant as truth,” Reldros scoffed.

  “Leave him alone, Reldros. Before I rip out your throat with my fangs,” Lunae growled and stepped in front of Stryg. Even in her humanoid form, she towered over the others. Reldros stood taller than the rest and even he barely reached her hip. Only Holo and Melantha in their true forms came close, but both of them had opted for their human appearances.

  Yet Lunae’s threat did not quell the brood’s anger. “You are but three titans and a baby, you’d stand no chance,” said one of the dragons.

  “Maybe. But for that,” Melantha and she pointed at the dragon, “I’ll kill you first.”

  The dragon paled and took a step back.

  Stryg glanced around anxiously. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck in a battle between gods and dragons. From what little Holo had told him, Kaleidrog’s son and daughter were gods in their own right.

  Holo stepped in between the two groups and raised her hands placatingly. “There is no need for us to fight.”

  “...She is right.” Reldros glared at his dragons into silence, “We are here for their help, not a battle.” He bowed his head to Lunae, earning a few quiet gasps from his brood. “Forgive my own for their disrespect. They are— on edge, after the battle. We have lost many. I only hope you can help us save one.”

  “Make your ask, but stay away from Stryg,” Lunae replied.

  “As you wish.”

  Stryg looked up at the Mother Moon. “Thanks, ah—!”

  Lunae picked Stryg up by the scruff of his neck and planted him behind her. “Stay quiet and only listen. If you cannot do that, then Arden will escort you outside until this is all over.”

  Chastised, Stryg nodded mutely, his pointed ears drooping more than usual. Lunae gestured to Reldros to continue.

  “We know Caligo and my sister fought in the valley a few weeks ago. I saw the wreckage and aftermath of their battle, but I couldn’t find her, until the night of the siege. Caligo somehow was controlling Zavinti, I’m just not sure how. After Caligo and the dragonbanes retreated, my brood and I were able to subdue my sister. She resisted and struggled, but in the end, she reverted to this form and hasn’t woken up since. I believe Caligo did something to her dragon bond.” Reldros looked at Holo and Melantha, “We were hoping the daughters of Death might know more, given your nature and abilities to do with souls.”

  Holo winced in understanding. “It’s not that simple.”

  “How so?” asked Reldros.

  “It’s true, as half-titans, we’ve inherited the blood and nature of our father. All his children are inextricably connected to his Core Aspect, death. But we can also inherit some of his other Aspects. I myself inherited his Traveler and Navigator Aspects, my connection to those two is stronger than with the Core Aspect.”

  Reldros frowned. “So you cannot help us?”

  “I can’t, but she can,” Holo gestured to her sister.

  Melantha stepped forward and gently ran the back of her hand over Zavinti’s cheek. “I am closest to my father’s Core Aspect. And you’re right. There is something wrong with Zavinti’s bond.”

  “A dragon’s bond is sacred, unique. We can only bond once in our entire lives and most of us never do. It’s dangerous and finite. If that bastard somehow forced the bond on her, then—” Reldros clenched his fists and tried his best to contain his fury.

  “It wasn’t the bond that Caligo changed, well, not directly. It was her soul.” Melantha narrowed her eyes, “It seems that Caligo broke Zavinti’s soul into fragments and then held them together with his own power. I think it’s how he was able to force her into a bond. And when Caligo left, the power holding her fragmented soul left as well. It’s amazing her soul is even still intact, it speaks volumes of her power and will.”

  “Can you fix it? Her soul?”

  “I can’t,” Melantha admitted. “Our power is over the souls of the dead. I could try and repair her soul but I would kill her in the process.”

  “What good would that do?” he scowled.

  “Your sister is living on borrowed time. Her fragmented soul can only hold on for so long. Eventually, sooner rather than later, her soul will break entirely and she will not go to the Soul Chasm, instead, she’ll simply cease to exist entirely.”

   “No,” he whispered softly.

  “It’s not a great plan, but if I repair your sister’s soul, though she’ll die, Zavinti will go to the Soul Chasm and join your father. The Chasm’s gates have been shut ever since the Schism, so Zavinti nor any other soul will be reborn into the world, but there is still hope. Someday the Soul Chasm’s gates will reopen and the cycle of rebirth will continue. You may see your sister again.”

  “Would she even be a dragon in her new life?”

  “Souls each have their own peculiar shape. They are reborn in the same kind of body from their previous life. A drow will still be a drow. However, dragons are not native to this world, I’m not sure a dragon’s soul can even be reborn, let alone into a dragon.”

  “So… she’ll be gone forever?”

  Melantha sighed, “I can make an exception.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I am a goddess of death. I could travel to Soul Chasm and locate your sister’s soul and guide her into the Chasm’s gates myself, and ensure she is reborn. I can’t make any promise that she’d still be a dragon and the gates are still closed as we speak.”

  Stryg stared at his sister wide-eyed. Not only was the Soul Chasm real, but his sister could actually visit it?

  “What of my father?” asked Reldros suddenly. “And my mother?”

  Melantha narrowed her eyes. “You are asking for a lot.”

  “I’d be willing to pay. Anything. A favor for a favor.”

  Melantha shook her head, “It’s out of my control.”

  “I thought you said you were a goddess of death? How is the realm of the dead out of your control?”

  “I am a goddess of death, I am not Death himself. Need I remind you, it was my father who killed your mother? Who knows what happened to your mother’s soul? If it wasn’t completely obliterated by Death, then he probably buried her somewhere deep in the Chasm where she could never be found. Or worse, he’s using her soul for one of his experiments, or he’s simply torturing her soul for all eternity. There are a thousand different things that could have happened to her, none of them are good. Need I say more?”

  “No,” Reldros swallowed the lump in his throat. “No. That’s enough.”

  The pride and anger in the dragon brood’s faces died out as Melantha spoke and was replaced with a deep sadness and bitterness.

  “…What of my father?” asked Reldros.

  “Kaleidrog was also a dragon lord, just like your mother. Even if Death didn’t kill him, I’m certain he was waiting for Kaliedrog’s soul in the Chasm. My father isn’t a merciful being. The Calamities were born for one purpose. Kaleidrog’s fate was sealed long ago. He knew that. I suspect it’s one of the reasons why he avoided confronting Caligo in the first place.”

  “So when my father sacrificed himself to stop the titan queen… he knew what would happen to him?”

  Melantha nodded. “Kaliedrog wanted you and your sister to live. He chose your future over his own.”

  “And now my sister is going to die, no matter what I do,” he mumbled in a broken voice.

  “There may be another way,” said Holo.

  Reldros’ head snapped up. “What is it? Tell me.” 

  “It’s risky,” admitted Holo.

  “I don’t care. If there is some way to save my sister I need to try.”

  Holo paced in a circle, speaking her thoughts aloud. “The greatest of chromatic mages have powers that surpass an arch mage. I myself am one of them, but my chromatic abilities come from countless years of training and my titan’s physiology allowing me to handle spells of incredible amounts of mana at once without burning myself up from the inside. And yes, I am talented in magic, moreso than practically anyone alive, I was born to be so, the result of countless generations of selective breeding.”

  “What’s your point?” asked Reldros impatiently.

  “My point is, that despite all of those things, there are beings whose chromatic magic surpasses even my own, even yours. A select few were born throughout the ages whose chromatic abilities came naturally to them, even more easily than it did to dragons. Parathyan was one of them. My sister is another,” Holo gestured to Melantha. “She was casting Blue spells when she was still just a toddler.”

  “And yet her chromatic powers only account for half her strength, and even she cannot save Zavinti,” said Reldros.

  “It isn’t only about raw power. Parathyan was not a warrior and yet his creations marveled even the gods. He changed everything when he created the Realm Gates. The chromatic abilities of people like Parathyan defied all limits of what was once thought possible. There is another, one who could save your sister. Wren the Black.”

  “Wren…?” Reldros muttered.

  “The greatest black mage alive. Wren is a true mage, a master of soul magic. No one knows how old they are, all I know is that Wren is a mortal who has lived for thousands of years by migrating their soul from one body to another.”

  Reldros wrinkled his brow. “I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

  “As I said, people like Wren defy all limits of what was once thought possible. If anyone could heal your sister’s soul it is Wren.”

  “Okay. Where do I find this Wren the Black?”

  Holo grimaced. “That’s the problem. Wren is elusive. They usually never reveal their identity. I don’t know what body they’re inhabiting. I’m not even sure which of the ten Realms they’re in right now.”

  “So what you’re saying is that it’ll be difficult to find Wren… and my sister is running out of time,” Reldros muttered.

  “Melantha can heal your sister’s soul right now, but Zavinti will die in the process.”

  “Or I can try and find Wren the Black, but if I’m too late, then my sister’s soul will break entirely and she’ll be gone forever…”

  “I told you it was risky.”