Darkness and Hellfire

Chapter 42 Intricate And Mystical.

“I am sorry but class information on paladins is limited as it is.” Alexander replied to Lenna’s inquiry. She had been looking for any information that might shed some light on why she hadn’t learned her first fifth level spell. “It is even harder to get information on Oathbreakers because most orders try to censor that information. If anyone found out that an Oathbreaker could be stronger than an Oathkeeper of the same oath it would be chaos.”

“What am I supposed to do then?” Lenna questioned.

“I would consult someone who is both ancient and cannot be censored.” Alexander advised. “Perhaps the C.A.S.T. Guild Leader could be of help. I have heard that he has an extensive library that is older than most countries.”

“Or Lua.” Isaac offered. Both Lenna and Alexander looked at him like he had just uttered blasphemy of the highest order. “What? She is a goddess, she fits both criteria and has proven to be more than happy to help out even without us asking for it. If she doesn’t feel like responding for whatever reason she won’t and we can try something else.”

“I suppose.” Lenna conceded. “I should pray under the moonlight, maybe wait until the full moon.”

“That is over a week away.” Isaac reminded her.

Lenna nodded. “If we cannot find anything before then I will ask her, if we can then I will not have bothered my goddess over something a mortal could solve.”

Isaac shrugged. “It’s your class and she’s your goddess.” He replied. “I like her and all, and I am incredibly grateful for everything she has done for us, but I am not one of her people.”

Lenna cocked her head to the side in question. “You could be.”

“Huh?” Isaac said dumbfounded. “But she’s a dark elven goddess.”

“That doesn’t really matter.” Lenna replied. “Especially if our strands of fate become fused. If anything, it would probably make it easier for both of us to get to her when we die.”

“I… huh. That’s interesting. I don’t know why but I was under the assumption that gods were limited to those of their race.” Isaac confessed.

“Fusing your strands of fate?” Alexander questioned.

“Yes.” Lenna replied to both boys. “Alexander, would you be able to get a message to the Fatebreaker?”

“Oh.” Alexander said. “I was wondering how you were planning on breaking the laws of existence and the soul.” After a moment of thought he shook his head. “I could send a diplomatic message to the high elven city he lives in but that is it. There is no guarantee that he will even get the letter.”

“That is good enough for now.” Isaac replied.

“What do you want the letter to say?” Alexander asked.

“That a hero and a princess request assistance with something that only he can do.” Isaac replied with a grin. Lenna almost asked him which one of them was the princess but she didn’t want to pull an Isaac and get sidetracked in the middle of a conversation.

Alexander looked confused for a moment. “I can do that.” He agreed and then turned back to Lenna. “As for your inquiry, I am afraid that I do not even have a direction to point you.”

Lenna nodded. “Thank you anyway.” She told him.

“Of course, I am here to assist.” He replied.

“You look a lot better than last time.” Isaac commented. “Have you been able to sleep?”

Alexander nodded. “Yes, thankfully Lady L’Vore was up for a change in schedule after I made a small donation to her paint stores. She has also been eerily silent for the last few days.” He explained.

“She is working on a project for me.” Lenna explained.

“Is that what the leaf from an Elona’s Sapling was for?” Alexander wondered.

“Yes.” Lenna replied. “She is making a shield for me and decided that it would be the best medium for her plans.”

Alexander put his hand on his chin in thought. “I may have to go see her. I am certain that whatever she has planned will be both amazing and horrifying in its own way.”

“Naturally.” Lenna agreed. “If it was any other way it wouldn’t be one of Jala’s projects.”

—

Isaac and Lenna searched through the public, guild, and even Arbencroft libraries to no avail. Alexander was not exaggerating when he had told them that Oathbreaker information was censored to an incredible degree. All they could find were warnings about potentially dying when breaking one's oath. The search had taken them the rest of the afternoon and evening. Soon it was the following day and Isaac had settled in to meditate on Celeste’s rooftop. One of the best ways to show that Isaac was ‘still recovering’ was to meditate in a place that others could see/feel him. That was not the real reason Isaac had decided to meditate however.

Isaac had meditated quite a few times and on more than one occasion he felt like he was on the cusp of something. What that was he had no idea but he intended to use the day to try and find out. Lenna decided to busy herself with a few other things that were important but not time sensitive while they still had a break from any craziness. Lenna’s route took her to Jessica Silverstrand to check up on the clothing she and her daughter were making out of drider silk, then to the worksite of their future house and attached workshop, and then finally to the painter to have Isaac’s armor painted black because as beautiful as blue, copper, and gold looked it was very offbrand for the man who called himself the Lord of all that is Dark.

They had split up just after breakfast and Isaac had sent Kahtesh to tag along with Lenna. He doubted that anyone would still give her trouble but just in case they did Kahtesh was under orders to protect her and give a ‘proportional’ response. Isaac left what was ‘proportional’ up to the little dragon. He was also under orders to listen to Lenna but that did little to suppress her worry that the dragon wouldn’t smite someone for something trivial like a snide comment.

Isaac sat cross legged on the rooftop and began his meditation the same way he had every other time. He let everything go and immersed himself in the feeling of the dark mana pouring through him. His consciousness drifted along the streams of dark mana as he felt like all of the stress and tightness of his mana pathways wash away.

The dark mage stayed hovering in the air, held aloft by the mana pouring through him like a dam’s spillway, for hours. He had no way of keeping track of time as his mind was blank but his consciousness was expanding. Over time it was as if a veil had lifted from his eyes, as if his ears were no longer plugged, as if the hairs on his arms could tell him about the world around him. He knew instinctively that what he was experiencing was the world through the perspective of the dark mana that was connected to him. He felt the gentle breeze of mana flowing through all of existence but he felt the darkness itself as well. The shadows cast upon the roof from neighboring buildings gave him a place to experience the world from. The dancing shadows cast by firelight were like his own skin. The ocean of blackness that hung over everything within the Innerworld felt like his ears. His Polarity Sense was his eyes, used to find potential subjects in the event that they hid from him within the light. Isaac’s perception of everything continued to both increase in clarity and range until all of a sudden it stopped.

Isaac was startled awake by Lenna rolling him onto his back. “Isaac. Isaac!” She called out to him. His eyes snapped open but they were having trouble focusing as his mind tried to resynchronize with his body. “What happened to you?” Lenna demanded. “Kahtesh suddenly brought me back here.”

Isaac’s eyes finally focused in on Lenna and he saw his dragon next to her, also staring down at him as if he had just died, and he blinked a few more times before speaking: “I have no idea.”

“There’s blood on your face.” She told him. “Did you get hit by something?”

Isaac shook his head. He wasn’t sure why he knew that wasn’t the case but he was sure that he would have sensed something flying at him through the darkness. “No… I,” He rubbed his temples as his pounding headache drowned out his thoughts momentarily. “I think I passed out.”

“How?” Lenna demanded. “From-what caused it?”

“Information overload, I think.” He postulated. “The world was so… vast… intricate and mystical.” He said with furrowed brows. “I felt the world from…” He shook his head as he tried to find the right way to explain it to her. “I was the shadows, the dark mana, the darkness of, well, everywhere.” He said and gestured around them. “It was so much and it just kept going. There is just so much.”

Lenna helped him sit up and gave him some water to help clear his head. “I don’t think you should meditate alone anymore.” She told him.

“Would it have mattered?” Isaac asked. When Lenna didn’t answer Isaac’s mind drifted towards one of the strange feelings that floated through his semi-conscious meditative mind. “Why subjects?” He whispered aloud. “Why would they hide in the light?”

“Isaac?” Lenna questioned with concern on her face and in her voice. “Are you alright?”

Isaac nodded. “Yeah, it’s nothing but a strange stray thought.” He started to get up but before he could even get his butt off the ground Lenna had her hand on his shoulder. “What?” He asked her.

“Can you breathe through your nose?” She questioned him.

Isaac looked at her with some confusion on his face before he tried to inhale through his nose and quickly started coughing. He ran death flames through himself and felt his nose shift slightly and his headache fade away. He still couldn’t breathe through his nose though. “It’s full of dried blood isn’t it?”

Lenna nodded. “Probably.”

“Great.” Isaac replied with a deadpan expression. “I could use a hot shower.”

“Not until the house is finished.” She reminded him.

Isaac shook his head. “I think an actual hot shower is the thing I am the most excited for”