Morgan was standing by the edge of the wood by the edge of the estate. Her feathers were ruffled and she was obviously very much on edge. I put my hand against the wall and made it crumble as I moved out of the shack and crouched. "It's Ignis! What are you doing here! We were told you guys were all dead!" I tried to shout while whispering. She looked me up and down. "If your Ignis then I'm a bloody troll! Ignis would know our favorite game though." She glared at me. I shrugged.
"We played tag after I rode you like a bucking horse. That was when I was a Salamander. Any more questions?" She gave me a mean look before huffing and walking over. A wing came up and smacked my forehead in irritation as she walked closer to the building.
"I thought I heard other voices here besides yours. Who else is here?" She questioned.
"Do you remember Megan? One of Samantha's friends?" I asked unsure of what she would say. She took a moment to think.
"If I remember right she was a small girl that always hauled that poorly named male dragon about dressing it in bows and ribbons. Quite the funny girl." She chortled.
Suddenly a squeal escaped the shack as Megan who was covered in soot stormed out leaving a puff of ash in her wake. "I didn't know at the time ok! Why can't people understand that?!" Megan screamed out. I chuckled as Morgan raised a feathered brow in disinterest. "Was merely trying to lure you out. After all my friend is quite good with a bow. I saw an arrow shoot toward me from a tree and my tail flicked out fast enough to deflect it away.
"Damn it Gerald! Can't you see we are having a conversation?!" I shouted and unleashed my aura. Morgan face froze into one of terror and stood quivering beside me. "Come out of that tree now or so help me I will fetch you myself. If Samantha were here she would be ashamed!"
I heard scuffling, thumping, and swearing. I heard the crunch of leaves as he finally landed on the ground. He was a little taller than I remember and his face had a dark beard on it. He looked like he had gone through hell. "Who are you and why do you know me?" He grunted. I rolled my eyes. "Of all the insufferable things fate forces on me it's the power of change and the lack of recognition that mortals have to recognize it. Your sister had a familiar yes? I am that familiar! Now she's trapped by the king and I am here to save her! And unless you useless bunch are going to help me, stay out of my way!" I shouted and stomped off toward the ruins of the mansion.
"Where are you going?" Morgan called out. "To get some bloody sleep! I haven't slept for 3 days!" I entered a more stable looking part of the mansion where the ground was visible and lit the ground ablaze. A great fire rose and relitigate the timbers. I laid down amid the flames and finally. Peacefully. I managed to sleep. My dreams were of flying and having Sam on my back enjoying the breeze. The dream didn't last long but it was nice.
I woke in the ashes of a completely destroyed house. The stones were destroyed and even till they were just dust floating about the the breeze. I stretched and stood. The sky was still cloudy and full of smoke. I found my things close by out of the mansion I had slept in. Dragons Cry shot into my hands like a puppy waiting for it's owner to wake up. The weapon slowly slithered over and tapped my boot like a grump wishing me an unhappy good morning. "You are not a morning person." I said with a raised eyebrow. ( I never expected weapons to have a true personality. Perhaps the souls are effecting it.) I thought quizzically as I ventured around the area.
"Somebody finally woke up. That fire was going for almost a day and a half. We were a little worried you'd start the forest on fire." A voice said. I turned to find a face I had not seen in what seemed to be a lifetime.
"Duke Carnac! I thought you were dead." My eyes were wide and my mind filled with questions. "How?" I could hardly utter anything as my mind corkscrewed through everything. He smiled a bit. It was grim and it was obvious. His face looked slightly burnt like he had been hit with a hot iron recently. I looked around in the trees. "Where is Malphus? Isn't he normally with you?" I asked. I might have hated the bird but I still hoped he made it.
Unfortunately the Duke shook his head. "In my efforts to escape Malphus sacrificed himself. Burnt alive in that house despite his best efforts. Hence my current condition. Not much better than being dead." He grunted out.
I nodded sadly. His neck down on his left side had apparently suffered extreme burns till his familiar died in the fire. (Guess that was the backlash few talk about. ) I thought sadly. I would miss the old bird. Suddenly the Duke placed his arm on my leg. "You have probably been deprived of real news. Let me tell you of what happened after you left." I nodded slowly understanding that this might be a harsh tale.
"The king sent his men to collect Samantha a few days after your departure. The were brutes that dared to assault my wife in our own home. So I accused them of being brigands playing as guards and had them stripped and executed. None of them had ever been seen before in our kingdom and none had any fame to speak of. So I thought nothing of it. Turns out they were mercenaries that the king hired to be his troops. He no longer trusted his own citizens since long ago." He stopped to take a breath before continuing. His breath sounded sharp and painful.
"A few weeks went by before our mansion was laid siege to by the kings men. They claimed treason without giving us reason. They set fire to our grounds. Malphus put out the fires multiple times and we beat them off with a barrage of magic and skill. It only lasted 2 days. An assassin snuck into our home murdering Bryant in his sleep. He almost got Gerald but Morgan maimed and almost killed him. We attempted torture but he killed himself with poison."
"Every attempt came at great cost till one night the mansion was once again lit ablaze and this time by a fire we couldn't put out. It was ghostly green and anyone who touched it turned to ash. The flames lasted moments before withdrawing. But the damage was done. Our home was still hot and aflame with normal fire. So much that we had to flee. My wife managed to get out with Geralds help. But... Malphus... My poor Malphus." His head hung in his hands and tears began to pour out.
I understood the mood swings. One second fine the next a total wreck. "How long have you all been hiding in this place?" I asked. Gerald walked over through the grass. "2 months. We have been in hiding ever since the fire. The kings men already searched these grounds for us a hundred times. but never found us due to mothers spider mouse.
Little blighter has an ability to turn allies invisible if it wants to." Gerald grumbled.
I looked at them all solemnly. "Well then. I guess I should pay you back for the kindness you gave me for all that time." I rumbled. They gave me a strange look. I thumped the ground with my right foot and held out a hand. I began to recite a long incantation.
"Blood brother of the earth! He who was bound in chains by titans and gods! Mighty one of the mountainous regions!" I shouted as the ground rumbled. Cracks exploded the ground outward flinging dust into the air.
I continued my chant seemingly unfazed by what was happening around me. "He who bears a world on shoulders of granite and legs of solid stone! Maker and Unmaker! Shadow of the fallen! He who bore the worlds skies!" Spikes of crystalized rock pierced the ground sticking into the air. Multicolored lights refracted through them as I chanted. "Hair of the storms and shout of thunder! Belly of oceans and tears of rivers! Arms of wind with the fury of the great tempest!" I shouted as a great wind rose and lightning struck around us. Everyone huddled into a group beneath a large wide spike that sat at a slanted angle. "He who's blood is molten rock and heart is a great roaring flame! He who's power rises everlasting with dawn and dusk regardless of belief and rotation! He who's might struck stars from the sky! I call thee by thy name Oh foreshadower of destruction! Mighty one of the natural Law! Guardian Of the balance which was decided by the world! For the World! Come My Golem! Come! Atlas!" I roared into the skies. Molten lava poured from the ground as the earth lifted beneath us. The smithy crumbled as a 20 foot by 20 foot head emerged from beneath the ground. It's eyes opening to reveal massive rubies with diamonds making up it pupils.
An explosion shook the ground as an arm 80 feet long and 15 feet wide came forth from the earth sending soil and magma flying in all directions. I kept my power flowing. Feeding off the golems connection to the ground and it from me. The power was immense as I struggled to control it. A giant soon stood above a crater. Its form standing hundreds of feet in the sky. It felt like standing on a sky scraper. "Onward to the Capitol!" I roared at the giant as it headed there. Some might wonder why the giant instead of my big form. The answer is easy. But I'll save that for a later date. The giant thumped along the ground gathering mass as it moved. The golem I had summoned was one used in a war centuries ago according to ancient scrolls in the dwarven Libraries. Not certain as to how it got there though. Dwarves suck at using magic.
The main premise was the golem gathered materials as it moved gaining mass till it was big enough to essentially step on the enemies castle. I couldn't do that considering Sam was inside. But I had a different plan. One you'll find out later. My mind raced as I drew energy and released it constantly. It took a day to reach the capital.
A massive army of mercs awaited us. Thousands of human and elf mercenaries filled the grasslands between the barren unpopulated land southward and the castle town. I was completely unfazed however due to my golem having grown from a couple hundred feet in height and maybe 50 to sixty wide. To a whopping thousand feet tall and a couple hundred feet wide. Catapults began to launch rocks at the giant which only added to its body. Mercenaries began to scatter as we drew close to the city. My weapon hummed as though it knew we were almost to the end of our journey. I grimly kept my focus firm and my resolve unmoved.
It wasn't long till we were in the middle of the battle field that i released the spell. The head suddenly enveloped us as I released the spell and wove a new one. A cannonball spell I called it.
Outside POV: The Giant stopped dead as the head morphed into a ball. The giants body began to shake as red energy glowed from its chest dangerously making all the mercenaries nervous. The smart ones started running for cover. The stupid stood still staring at it. The glow suddenly stopped and then an explosion rocked the air. The golem exploded into thousands of shards of crystal that flew at dangerously high speeds.
Ignis POV: That's what I did alright. I made the worlds largest grenade. Thousands of lives wiped out in an instant and thousands of blood puppets created from the souls of those that refused to move on. I created my own army out of the horror of the kings mercenaries. And thousands more joined when they died to hands and bodies made of blood. The ball I was in was sent rocketing toward the castle grounds and landed hard in the kings courtyard.
I made the ball crumble and sent the others to search the castle grounds for Samantha while I caused a ruckus. Dozens of guards entered the courtyard. Not one soul left there unless you count my sudden accumulation of a couple dozen Blood puppets. My weapon hummed as blood dripped from it. I swung it sending the blood into the grass and cleaning the blade slightly. "Time to get to work." I grunted as I started the death March of this worlds century.