The Shadow of All Worlds

  Chapter 19

  Voak stood in one of the many rooms of the tallest tower of Za-xayek. He had explored most of the city both secretly and not so secretly. He had started to become bored with the architecture, and the twisted images and dark structures quickly melded together in his mind. There seemed little individuality to this city, just a mass of corrupted stones and other such things. This is why a certain suit of armor within this room fascinated him.

  Kept behind glass, he had never seen armor so finely detailed and spectacular before. It had been forged by a metal as majestic as it was white. It stood out like a single flame in a world of black and didn’t match its dark morbid surroundings. It vaguely resembled certain pieces he had seen in the Hall of Heroes within Ebulon.

  He now knew both of the cities quite well. The Ulnath had been correct that none of the mages of Ebulon had sensed his presence while he had explored that city. He didn’t find the place particularly interesting. The tower of Ebulon was almost the exact opposite of this tower, save for that it was larger and superficially grander but it too bored him. He had to be careful about what he spoke of to the Ulnath. He knew they were after the Shadow Stone, the problem was, try as he might he hadn’t been able to find it. He knew that Morzu supposedly was the only one that could wield its power, but he was no fool when it came to magic. He was quite sure that given enough time he could’ve found a way to use the Shadow Stone under his own control. That was if it was even real.

  He began believing that maybe the stone was what that shadow mage had said it was, a mere legend. It didn’t matter too much to him, he knew that the baths of the Ulnath had power he could use as long as he could find the right ingredients. But he had to be certain, the Shadow Stone supposedly had powers beyond even his own. If there were the smallest chance that it was real and the Ulnath weren’t simply deluding themselves he would have to play along until he knew for sure.

  “Marvelous isn’t it?” Voak knew the voice of Kroven when he heard it, turning his head slightly to allow the Ulnath to come into view. Realizing that Kroven was talking about the armor Voak looked back to it as he said, “It certainly stands out compared to the rest of the city.”

  “That would make sense,” Kroven explained as he stood alongside Voak.

  “Considering this is one of the few items in this city that wasn’t forged here.”

  “It was forged in Ebulon,” Voak replied, not taking his eyes off of it.

  “You seem certain of that?” Kroven asked, although Voak knew he already knew the answer. It was one thing that he didn’t like about any of the Ulnath, in particular this Kroven, everything he said seemed like an attempted riddle as if he was ready to lie at any moment for the cheap thrill it gives.

  “Are you going to tell me any different?” Voak asked.

  “No, you are correct. I take it you searched the Hall of Heroes while you were at Ebulon.”

  “I followed the king into the hall, surrounded by his guards.” Voak replied, showing that he too had a penchant for lying. He had visited the hall, but no one had bothered to guard it.

  “You didn’t search anywhere else did you?”

  Voak glanced over to Kroven, there was a flicker of accusation in his eyes, he wasn’t as big of a fool that Voak first thought he was.

  “I did what was asked of me. I followed the king and listened to their plans.” He explained, doing his best not to smirk, he wasn’t used to playing such games, because normally he could rely on his powers to get what he wanted, not this time. But nevertheless he was surprisingly good at this game of words.

  “So why would the Ulnath need a suit of armor from Ebulon?” Voak asked, having seen the impressive armory that Za-xayek possessed, they were in no short supply of such things.

  “This isn’t just any armor,” Kroven explained, enjoying the explanation. “This armor was forged for a specific purpose, to help channel the power of the Shadow Stone to its up most.”

  Voak took a closer look at the armor giving its extricate detail a thorough examination. He then could see it for himself, a place within the chest plate, it would be ideal for a precious stone to sit within. It certainly wasn’t proof that the Shadow Stone was real, but it had gotten Voak’s curiosity.

  “How did you, the Ulnath, get this armor in the first place?”

  “100,000 years ago we once saved Ebulon from being conquered…” Krovin began, his tone darker than usual, heavier as well. “I personally took this armor from the royal armory, knowing it may one day prove valuable to us…and finally we will have a chance to use it.” There was a sincerity in his tone that Voak hadn’t heard from him before, perhaps the Shadow Stone really was more than just a myth and not just a way for the Ulnath to convince everyone to help them in their cause.

  “I am aware what the Ulnath did to help Ebulon.” Glancing over to Krovin he could tell he was waiting for a proper explanation. “I overheard a shadow mage speaking about it to the one called Kae, so it is true you really did teach them shadow magic.”

  Krovin simply stared for a moment, perhaps he didn’t enjoy this game as much as Voak once thought.

  Looking back at the armor Krovin said, “indeed we did…speaking of powers…we are grateful that you used yours to help us. I have informed Morzu and Oos about what you overheard in the city, it pleases us greatly that everything seems to be falling in place.”

  “I am glad to hear that,” Voak said, lying through his recently corrected teeth. Oos could be hacked to death for all he cared, only this Morzu held possible uses for him.

  “As a reward for what you did I have a gift for you.” Voak now looked away from the armor watching as from under his cloak Krovin revealed a sword. Instantly he could tell the weapon had been forged within this city. The blue of the metal matched the armor and clothing the Ulnath wore.

  “Why are you offering this to me?” Voak asked, knowing that Krovin had seen his powers and knew that he didn’t need a sword for protection.

  “Because you very well may need it for the upcoming battle.” Krovin explained a small smile appearing on his face. “We have no idea how many otherworld warriors will come to aid Yadi, we will need everyone on the battlefield, including you.”

  Voak was no stranger to battlefields, he knew them well, he also knew of certain tactics, because he too had used them in his life.

  “You’re not hoping that I die in this war of yours are you? Hoping that an Ebulon soldier will strike me down so you can forget about the deal we made?” Voak asked unflinching, he was playing no game, this was a dead serious question.

  “If that were the case would I be offering you one of the finest swords ever made in this city?” Krovin asked. Voak glanced back down at the blade, it indeed appeared to be a fine weapon. “I haven’t forgotten what I told you in the bath house, I shall help you get what you desire. But the other part of the deal was that you help us and our plight is far from over. For 100,000 years we have waited for a chance to get the Shadow Stone and wipe Ebulon off the face of this world. That chance is finally in our grasp and we will not take it for granted. While your powers are useful for observation I also know they can be used to slaughter and we need a massacre to take place. We need to see you out on that battlefield, aiding in our cause, otherwise there is no reason to keep our end of the deal, I am sure as a wise man you can understand that.”

  Voak didn’t like his tone, he seriously considered taking the sword and removing Krovin’s head from his body. But he had to remain calm. He too had been waiting for a chance to finally accomplish his own desires.

  In that moment though, with the sword shining in spite of the lack of good light, his mind wondered to what he had seen of Ebulon, a crippled city far from the greatness it once supposedly possessed. More importantly he thought about this Confederation of Orcs, the ones responsible for bringing Ebulon to its knees. Having heard that the Ulnath were of such a species, questions needed to be slain in his mind.

  ?
??The Orc Confederation that almost destroyed Ebulon and brought it to such a weakened state still exist, if it is warriors you need why don’t you reach out to them instead of calling for help from other worlds?” Voak stopped a smile from appearing on his face, while he normally enjoyed tormenting others it wasn’t with words. More importantly he had a basic idea of the reason why the Ulnath weren’t part of the orc confederation, it was a truth he could use to see if Krovin really did enjoy lying.

  Voak had kept his eyes upon Krovin the entire time, watching and waiting for the tiniest subtlety that would expose Krovin as a prevaricator. Krovin didn’t seem rattled by the question, if anything he appeared almost eager to answer it.

  “Our original intention was to enter Ebulon after the Orc Confederation had killed everyone and every thing, they weren’t conquers they were destroyers, they had destroyed every other human kingdom in the realm so there wasn’t much reason to think they wouldn’t succeed. But they didn’t because of creatures from other worlds coming to save Ebulon. So it seems fitting that we would use the aid of other world beings to help us destroy it.”

  “That doesn’t answer the question,” Voak stated, his tone as flat as paper.

  Again Krovin didn’t seem rattled by this and that is what made Voak suspicious, he felt like Krovin always chose his words too carefully.

  “ The Ulnath are to other orcs like kings are to farmers, both kings and farmers need to eat, but a farmer only deserves what he grows himself, a king has a right to the finest foods and any good king never shares his feast with the farmers. The Shadow Stone is our feast and we will not share it with any one from this world.”

  Voak had heard the gossiping of several Ebulon soldiers about orcs, everything he heard wasn’t complimentary, orcs were said to be dim-witted, brutish and foul. Voak was certainly surprised to hear that the Ulnath were actually orcs, for they were elegant, well spoken and seemingly quite wise. Voak had detected distaste in Krovin’s words. It was the distaste most kings had for their subjects, a distaste that he hadn’t heard in King’s Yadi’s voice. There was a time in his life where Voak would have admired Yadi, but he was a much different man back then. He didn’t like Krovin more upon hearing his explanation, the possibility of someday killing him hadn’t left his mind, though his words were adding credibility to the Ulnath cause. Every Ulnath spoke in a similar way, they drank almost identically, even the way they walked was like mirror images of one another. It was clear they didn’t care too much for diversity.

  “You won’t share your feast with farmers but you will with foreigners. A strange kind of trust that is,” Voak pointed out.

  “It is because this world isn’t your home that makes you, along with the others ideal to aid us, once our obligations with one another are complete you shall all return to your own worlds, something that cannot be said about the orcs.” He paused as if tasting something foul in his mouth, like even speaking about the other orcs sickened him. “You can always trust someone who needs something you have or can provide. We need your help in keeping the Ebulon forces occupied until we can get our hands on the Shadow Stone…I don’t need to tell you why you need us.”

  Krovin may have spoken with a liar’s voice, but it was a strong truth that Voak found himself accepting. Until Voak had seen the Shadow Stone with his own eyes he couldn’t be sure, but until then he had to ensure the Ulnath had no liability to deny him access to the Shadow Stone’s power.

  Slowly he took the sword in hand, feeling how perfectly it was weighted. He stepped back and began cutting the air with the blade, turning and twisting the weapon in his hand as if fighting off a legion of invisible enemies. It had been a very long time since he had wielded a sword, but his muscles hadn’t forgotten how to use such a weapon to its utmost. He finished the display and admired the blade once more, it was one of the finest weapons he had ever held.

  “Quite impressive,” Krovin said truthfully, surprised that Voak possessed such skills with a sword. “It will help you kill many of our enemies…. Before I forget I should ask do you think that anyone from your world will come to aid Ebulon.”

  “Someone already has apparently,” Voak responded admiring his own reflection in the blade. “At the least I heard his name mentioned, although I could not find him within Ebulon.”

  “Perhaps he will be there out in the open during the battle.”

  Voak thought about what that would mean, how it would bring him one step closer to immortality once and for all. With a powerful gaze he looked to Krovin as he said, “I certainly hope so.”