Shards of Shadow [Parahumans/Wheel of Time]

[horngeek]

Speaking of the Horn
"Silverbow"

methinks a familiar face is going to show up…

 

[Ellf]

​

Chapter Eighteen: Howl

The inhuman shrieks agitated her dogs, Yips especially, but something else out there was agitated as well. Rachel could feel it, like an extension of her power. The dogs didn't like these so-called "Buds of the Shadow," that much she was certain of, neither did… the ones she felt in the woods around Armsmaster's compound. It was like they were telling her something. That they would help when needed, but she couldn't be certain.

What Rachel was certain of was that more of the creatures Taylor and not-Breakthrough had faced last night were on their way here. Dinah Alcott had confirmed that, and that meant they needed weapons. Yes, her dogs were trained well enough, but if she was going to be helping them, she needed to be armed. So did everyone else.

"Dragon, you have some satellites set up here, right?" Taylor asked, something Rachel felt might have been a stupid question. Given how sick she had been, Rachel wasn't going to hold it against her. Besides, she was curious where Taylor was going with this.

"Yes, of course," Dragon said. "But I think it would be easier if Lookout were to send out some drones with my own."

"Already doing that," Kenzie said. "I'm looking around the town for anything that looks like what we saw last night."

"Something's in the air too," Aisha said. "Peep, do you have anything that you can use to look up there?"

"I'm looking already," Dragon said. "We're… oh dear."

Rachel cocked her head. The one thing she really hated about dealing with Dragon was the fact that her body language was all messed up. She'd gotten better about reading human body language over the past couple years, but Dragon's still messed with her. The AI overexaggerated motions and it just felt a little unnatural to her.

Defiant made his way over to a computer, and he started looking things over. His mouth tightened into a line while reading whatever he was there. "That's… far more than I was expecting, even with the amount that attacked the City."

"How many?" Lisa asked. She looked between Dragon, Defiant and Kenzie, and then her lips pursed. "Oh. That many, huh? That doesn't make any sense. If they were here on Gimel when we got here, why hadn't we seen any until now?"

Taylor frowned. "How many?"

"Hundreds," Dragon said. "I can't get an exact count yet, but they're on their way here, being driven by something. From the north."

"There's something in the sky for sure," Kenzie added. "It's really fast though. I'm working on getting a good picture of it."

"How long?" Rachel asked. Hundreds of enemies. That wasn't good, but it wasn't like they were necessarily going to all hit at the same time. Plus, Dragon had guns that she could use.

"At their current location and rate of travel, about two and a half hours until the first of them start to arrive," Dragon said.

"Is there any way that we can reduce their forces?" Taylor asked. "They aren't capes. The rules shouldn't apply to them."

"Let's just fucking kill them," Rachel said. It was simple enough. The ones she'd seen that had attacked the city were wearing what, chain mail? That didn't hold up to any sort of assault from a normal high powered gun let alone what tinkers could build. Plus, if they could just get them shot, she didn't have to risk Taylor or her dogs. Or really any of her other people. "You can do that, right?"

"I have some of the Dragonflight available," Dragon said. "But there are weapons I'm reluctant to use on the forest they're traipsing through to get here."

"Several hundred is still a lot," Victoria said. "Can you get a more exact number?"

"Looks like… at least five hundred, Victoria," Kenzie said. "And… four of those flying things. And… two Fades. I see them on black horses."

"These things attacked the City last night, right?" asked the guy that Rachel couldn't be bothered to remember the name of. He was the kid's dad, or something. "And they're headed here?"

"It looks like it, Dad," said the kid. Presley was her name, right?

"Do we have to worry?" asked the woman that came with them.

"Twelve point nine five four percent that they make it to this building. Two point three four seven percent that they manage to injure one of you," Dinah said. She rubbed her head some. "I have a few more questions in me, but I suggest that those of us staying in the building arm themselves as a just in case measure."

"I'm not staying in here," Taylor said.

"Your fever just broke, Taylor," Defiant said. "You shouldn't be engaging in combat so soon after getting over that."

"I'll have Rachel and Malan with me," Taylor said, looking at each of them. Rachel still wasn't too sure what to make of the Ogier, but she was glad that she could actually be in a position to help her friend. "I don't think they'll let anything happen."

Rachel nodded.

"Yes, of course," Malan said. "Though, perhaps we should be less hasty about this."

"They're attacking today, Malan, very soon even," Lisa said. "I know Ogier like to take their time, but there is a time for haste. That there is an excellent reason for us to be hasty. Dragon, you'll be thinning their ranks, right?"

"As best I can. I'm mobilizing the Dragonflight at the moment," Dragon said. "Victoria, I have something that may make the fight easier on you."

Victoria blinked. "What do you mean?"

"A similar weapon to the one you used during the Titan fights," Dragon said. "A revision that is nearly complete. After I get the Dragonflight suits in the air, I'll lead you to it."

The smile on Victoria's face looked predatory, even more so than the usual smiles that some people had. Rachel remembered the weapon Antares had used against the Titans, some sort of tinker gun. If this was like that, then it might help cut down some of the Trollocs and their Fades before they got to the town.

The sounds of jet engines roared to life outside the building as Dragon activated her suits. One of the suits, a serpentine one with loudspeakers attached, flew down to the village below, warning them to retreat into their homes and off the streets as the other four took off toward the approaching army.

Dragon led Victoria off somewhere deeper in the house, and Rachel went over to stand next to Taylor, followed by Yips and her black labrador, Smokey. She placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, and the two dogs nuzzled in, supporting what Rachel wanted.

"You okay, Taylor?" Rachel asked. Taylor still looked a little shaky to her. Perhaps whatever she'd gone through the night before was still affecting her. She might not have had a fever anymore, but that didn't mean she was out of the woods yet. Rachel had personally seen that sort of thing with dogs under her care. Some dogs just wanted to get back into the action, but sometimes even with her help, they weren't ready just yet. Taylor had been similar back in Brockton Bay. Admittedly, she hadn't had much choice then, but she did now.

She also didn't have her old powers. She had brand new ones. Supposedly. Fuck if Rachel knew how they worked. She wasn't even sure Taylor did.

Taylor looked over at the screens, on which Dragon's suits could be seen firing upon the approaching army. The Fade on screen raised its sword arm, directing some of the Trollocs in the back of the army to raise their weapons. They fired upon the Dragoncraft with some guns that Rachel had no hope in identifying, but Dragon's suits were too fast, too nimble. Sure, the Trollocs might have gotten a few lucky shots, but Rachel doubted that Dragon's suits would go down to piddling bullets that way.

Were some of them using bows and arrows?

"Dragon might be able to get all of them," Taylor said softly. "But… I'm not sure. Something's screaming out there, louder than it has any right to."

Rachel tilted her head, looking toward the door to outside. She felt it too. It wasn't just her dogs that were anxious, but it felt like something out there, something more was unnerved by these so-called Buds of the Shadow. It was like another sense, outside her power yet similar. She couldn't explain it. "Yeah. Just wrong."

Taylor nodded, smiling down at her. She'd gotten so tall while she was away the first time, and even now, she seemed taller. Short compared to her new friend though, but everyone was, even Dragon.

"You good with fighting these things?" Taylor asked.

Rachel snorted. She supposed with Taylor having been gone for a few years, she might not have remembered that Rachel would have her back regardless. Even without her bug control, Rachel knew her friend was a formidable foe, and it would be easy enough to back her up.

"Right," she said. "I'm going to need some ammunition, and probably something for up close beyond the gun."

Rachel nodded. "Baton won't be good enough against these."

"I have something that you can use, Taylor," Defiant said as he walked up to them. He raised his hands in a placating manner as Rachel and Taylor both stiffened slightly. "Sorry, couldn't help but overhear. What I've got isn't quite what you were used to the last time you borrowed one of my weapons, but it should fit with your needs in this fight. Hellh--"

"Rachel," Rachel said, cutting him off. "Just use my name, Defiant. I'm not wearing a costume."

Defiant nodded. "Rachel then. Would you like something as well?"

"An axe?" she asked.

"And if you have a larger one, probably one for Malan too. I don't think he'd be comfortable firing one of the Trolloc guns," Taylor said, glancing to the Ogier.

His tufted ears twitched and he turned over to them. It took him maybe three steps to cross the room from where he had been, and his voice rumbled out as he spoke. "While I would prefer to not need to use violence at all, if you do have a large weapon so that I may be of assistance should the fighting make it this close to the city, I would appreciate it."

Defiant looked up at Malan and then nodded. "I think I might have something or be able to cobble something together in a short amount of time. And Taylor, you needed ammunition for your pistol? I think I might be able to equip you with something with a bit more punch."

He led the three of them back into another room, passing by the room Victoria and Dragon had gone into. Rachel noted the presence of Tress with the hero, but the primary focus in that room was the weapon Dragon had on a pedestal. The weapon was massive, a gun that looked like it belonged mounted on some sort of vehicle like a helicopter or a tank, with a long thick barrel that extended out three times Victoria's height. If the gun were anything like the one Antares had used against the Titans, it would fire some sort of laser, with little to no recoil so that she could carry it with no issues. Dragon implied that it was going to be better, somehow, but Rachel didn't really care about the how. It shot a laser, and the laser would kill shit. That was what was important.

The cabinet in the back of the room drew Rachel's attention on entering, as it had a number of panels and tinkertech wizardry on it. It probably was made of some sort of chrome or special metal or something, and immediately to the right was a workbench with a variety of components laid out on it with tinkering tools. Obviously the tools weren't the important thing as Defiant had gone straight for the cabinet, tapped a few buttons on it, and it slid open, revealing his technology.

"I'm sorry that I don't have another jetpack for you, Taylor," Defiant said. "But since you don't have your bug control, that probably wouldn't be the best idea at the moment."

He reached in and pulled out one of his halberds, sized appropriately for Taylor. She took it in her real hand, bringing her prosthetic up to look over the buttons on it. She smiled when she pressed one of the buttons and the haft retracted into something small enough for her to wear at her waist.

"Thank you, Colin," Taylor said. "What other functions does it have?"

"The nanothorns are there, at a familiar place for you, at a similar placement to your knife, and the blade itself is sharp. I'll give you some clips of ammunition for your handgun as well to go with it," Defiant said. He then looked over to Rachel and Malan. "As for you two… I don't have an advanced halberd for you two, but you wanted something like an axe."

"If you have one," Malan said as he looked over the arrayed technology. "Or any blade that is sized such that I would be able to hold it."

Defiant nodded, and he pressed another button, causing a panel to slide away, revealing some more traditional historical weaponry. "Dragon and I decided to do a little bit of forgework to help the town, and axes are good for cutting down trees. I have one that's oversized for a human, and some normal-sized ones. Rachel, Malan, take your pick."

Rachel stepped up alongside the Ogier, and she passed her hands over the weapons. They were all items that would be helpful in dealing with basic village building work. She took a woodcutter's axe, something she was familiar enough with, given what she'd had to deal with at her shelter, and Malan took something that more resembled an oversized thresher with a wide blade. Its haft was maybe the length of one of his legs, about to Taylor's chest, but it seemed to fit well in his arms.

Taylor glanced at the item Malan took and then back at Defiant. "Be honest, you were thinking of trying a new form of halberd with that."

Defiant laughed. "We should check on the advancement of the army."

The four of them made their way out to the observation room and were joined by Victoria, Tress and Dragon along the way. Dragon gave a significant look to Defiant, and Rachel suspected that meant something bad.

Taylor seemed to agree with that assessment, frowning as they got back to everyone else. Immediately, she made her way over to Lookout and Chicken Little. Rachel followed so she could keep her friend safe.

"How're things looking?" Taylor asked, looking between the two of them and back to Dragon.

"Dragon's dealing with a lot of the Trollocs with her suits," Lookout said. "But…"

"The suits keep getting attacked by something in the air," Dragon said. "It's not much damage, but whatever it is, it's using some sort of sonic attack that's able to disrupt my systems."

"And the Fades don't seem to get shot at all," Chicken Little added.

"I still don't think that the children should be looking at this," said Presley's father. "These… things… they shouldn't be watching them die."

"Fades. Plural. How many?" Taylor asked.

"I've counted six separate ones," Lisa said. "Each leading a group of Trollocs. While Dragon's been able to more than decimate them, there's still a good amount coming."

She looked between Taylor and Rachel, frowning. She nodded as she looked back at Victoria. Then she continued. "Dinah's numbers are always accurate. Regardless of how many we get rid of…"

"There's still a high chance that the attack is happening soon," Taylor said. "We need to think about evacuation. Get people to safety."

"Peep can do it," Aisha said, suddenly appearing. "She and the other Tenders can get things together for an evacuation. I'm pretty sure she has some portal tech that can get them to safety."

Taylor glanced over to Victoria who met her gaze. Rachel wasn't sure what passed between the two of them, but they seemed to come to an agreement.

"Sveta, Lisa, Aisha, can you guys help organize the evacuation with the Tenders?" Victoria asked, and when they nodded.

"Dragon, are you able to lend a hand?" Lisa asked. "These people know you."

"I'll help, but some of my attention will be on the army," Dragon said.

"Sixty-eight point four seven five percent," Dinah said, and when people looked at her, she elaborated. "The chances of a complete evacuation with no casualties. However, the evacuation can still work…"

"Almost seventy percent," Defiant said. "Taylor, what are you wanting to do?"

"Delay them long enough," Taylor said. "Then the five of us, we get to where we need to go."

Defiant nodded, and he led the way out of the building, stopping only once for Taylor's ammunition on the way. He brought them to a single Dragoncraft, directing them to board, and Taylor did first, followed by Rachel and Malan with her dogs. Victoria held her gun and floated up to keep pace with the craft as it rose.

Rachel slowly began the ramping process, radiating energy to increase her dogs' mass. She needed them to be able to fight well against these creatures.

Then, as Yips had gotten about to half of Malan's height, the Dragoncraft rocked, mid-flight. She saw it out the open side door, a creature that looked vaguely like a very pale man with large leathery batlike wings. Its eyes were far too big to be human, and blood red lips surrounded a mouth full of misshapen fangs. It let out a shriek that echoed throughout the craft, and then clutched the edge of the open door.

Immediately, Taylor shot it, a bullet passing through the talon grip it had on the door, forcing ichor out of its wound. Yet it just gripped tighter, and it started… crooning, looking right at Taylor.

Taylor's eyes unfocused, and she took a step toward the creature and the edge of the Dragoncraft.

"Taylor!" Defiant yelled, and Malan immediately grabbed onto her shoulders, holding her in place.

The Dragoncraft started to lower, tilting toward one side ever so slightly such that Rachel could see the ground. They were maybe one hundred feet up. One choice.

Rachel snarled, ramping Yips and Smokey up as far as she could in a short amount of time. They needed to survive this. She pointed at the thing on the door. "Hurt! Kill!"

Her dogs jumped onto the creature, Yips biting onto its neck and Smokey on its body. The dogs went out the door of the Dragoncraft, dragging the creature down with them, tearing off its head. They landed on a meadowed hill below, snarling. Shortly after, another similar creature slammed into the ground next to the first and her dogs. Its body exploded on impact, and a glance at its trajectory showed Victoria, already aiming her gun.

The Dragoncraft lowered further, and the echoing roars, shrieks and howls of the assembled army, along with the explosions from Dragon's other suits reached their ears. Then, at the top of the hill, they could see them. It wasn't just hundreds. It was thousands.

Rachel wished she'd brought more dogs or Bastard along with her. She wasn't sure how they'd make it through this without help.

Then, from another direction, she heard the howling of wolves. Of wolves, not Trollocs. She knew it was them. It had to be.

We come.

Rachel gripped her axe, and she stared at the approaching army, much more confident.

With her golden eyes.

​

 

[Ellf]

That chapter took way too long to complete.

 

[Prince Chrom]

With her golden eyes.

Click to shrink...

As someone who is mostly here because you're a really good writer, what's the significance of this?

 

[Ellf]

As someone who is mostly here because you're a really good writer, what's the significance of this?

Click to shrink...

I'm going to put this in a spoiler because while it's something people who have read the books may be familiar with, it's something that people who are currently watching the show may not be.

Spoiler: Goldeneyes

Rachel's eyes turning golden here is an indication of a Wheel of Time power. It's a common thing in Wolfbrothers and Wolfsisters. Basically, like Perrin Aybara in Wheel of Time, she's got an affinity for Wolves. Which fits Rachel, anyway.

 

[Windborne]

Yeah Rachel being a Wolf-sister is not at all surprising. Fun chapter as always. But given how utterly broken Perrin was by the end of the final book I'm expecting great things from this development. Not surprising given what he was, Ta'Veeren, but if Rachel can learn to pull off even half the stuff Perrin did she's going to become an utter nightmare to fight and will be one of the deadliest things on the planet.

 

[Functionality]

Victoria's height. If the gun were anything like the one Antares had used against the Titans, it would fire some sort of laser, with little to no recoil so that she could carry it with no issues. Dragon implied that it was going to be better, somehow, but Rachel didn't really care about the how. It shot a laser, and the laser would kill shit. That was what was important.

Click to shrink...

Rachel has her priorities straight.

Then, as Yips had gotten about to half of Malan's height, the Dragoncraft rocked, mid-flight. She saw it out the open side door, a creature that looked vaguely like a very pale man with large leathery batlike wings. Its eyes were far too big to be human, and blood red lips surrounded a mouth full of misshapen fangs. It let out a shriek that echoed throughout the craft, and then clutched the edge of the open door.

Click to shrink...

Ooooooh, a vampire.

Then, from another direction, she heard the howling of wolves. Of wolves, not Trollocs. She knew it was them. It had to be.

We come.

Rachel gripped her axe, and she stared at the approaching army, much more confident.

With her golden eyes.

Click to shrink...

Hahahahaha FUCK YEAH.

 

[Prince Chrom]

I'm going to put this in a spoiler because while it's something people who have read the books may be familiar with, it's something that people who are currently watching the show may not be.

Spoiler: Goldeneyes

Rachel's eyes turning golden here is an indication of a Wheel of Time power. It's a common thing in Wolfbrothers and Wolfsisters. Basically, like Perrin Aybara in Wheel of Time, she's got an affinity for Wolves. Which fits Rachel, anyway.

Click to shrink...

Thank you.

 

[Ellf]

Rachel has her priorities straight.

Ooooooh, a vampire.


Hahahahaha FUCK YEAH.

Click to shrink...

Draghkar aren't exactly vampires. Though they're probably inspired by them. They eat souls, not blood.

 

[JamesB]

Yeah Rachel being a Wolf-sister is not at all surprising. Fun chapter as always. But given how utterly broken Perrin was by the end of the final book I'm expecting great things from this development. Not surprising given what he was, Ta'Veeren, but if Rachel can learn to pull off even half the stuff Perrin did she's going to become an utter nightmare to fight and will be one of the deadliest things on the planet.

Click to shrink...

If by "broken" you mean "overpowered", then yes. After all, in the Dream, balefire is just a weave and doesn't really matter unless you want it to...

 

[Windborne]

If by "broken" you mean "overpowered", then yes. After all, in the Dream, balefire is just a weave and doesn't really matter unless you want it to...

Click to shrink...

TAR is only part of that, and yes I meant overpowered. Perrin by the end was capable of going anywhere he knew in Reality in an instant. The combat applications of that single capability is massive. And Taylor would absolutely munchkin the fuck out of that for Rachel. Combined with the advanced technology of the current Age and Rachel might end up being more deadly than Perrin even without being Ta'Veeren.

 

[Blademaster]

From the perspective of someone who never read worm, at least, Rachel also seems much more violent than gentle Perrin and far more connected to her wolf side, which would make her even more deadly as she won't have Perrin's reservations. Or it might make her go mad

 

[Ellf]

​

Chapter Nineteen: Killing Field

Violence is not something that comes natural to those of the Ogier. Often, they opt to spend their lives in their steddings studying history, telling stories, singing songs, and building. Given their size, innate strength, and the layers of protection provided by the stedding itself, an Ogier can go their whole lives without ever engaging in any sort of violent activity, even amongst themselves. However, there are a few among the Ogier who study methods of defense, such that if the need ever came, they would be able to defend their people, or perhaps, they would be able to defend others.
After all, very few stories had truly pacifistic protagonists, and there always were those Ogier who wanted to leave their mark on history. Malan, son of Koimal, son of Senar had not originally been one of them, until he met a one-armed human girl. Something about her drew him in, made him want to be better, be stronger. Then, when he met her fellow ta'veren, he understood. A story was being written, and like his ancestors before him, he could not simply stand at the sidelines, chronicling it.

No, Malan had not been a fighter, had not expected to need it. However, to help Taylor recover, he learned. Despite her size, Taylor had been an effective person to work with, to critique his own form. He trained so he could be ready to help his friend with the story she would become part of. He just hadn't quite realized the depth that it would be necessary at the time.

Trollocs and Fades… Eyeless were ancient stories made manifest. Here, once more, gathering an army to attack a human settlement. Malan knew humans led short lives thus their haste made sense, moving to accomplish as much as they possibly could before they died. But this? The amassing army, the thousands of… what had Taylor called them? Buds of the Shadow? They meant to cut those already short lives even shorter, and that was something he just could not allow.

He gripped the axe that Defiant had lent him as he stared over the outstretched field. The Trolloc army had a mishmash of weaponry, some with swords, axes, even oversized farming implements, and others had larger projectile weapons. The ones with guns shot them into the air, the gunfire joining with their echoing roars. Sitting on horseback among them were the Eyeless, letting out roars of their own, revealing their sharpened teeth. In the air around them were more of the crooning creatures that had attacked the flight craft they'd approached the area in. The smell of gunpowder reached his nose, and as he looked up, he could see the machines that the woman known as Dragon had set upon them. Serpentine machines held aloft by turbines and scramjets, each one unleashing missile upon missile on the encroaching army.

The explosions rocked the countryside, and alongside the Dragonflight, Victoria floated, wielding a weapon thrice her size. Each time she fired it, a beam of light burned through a swathe of the Trollocs, incinerating its way through their bodies. Yet still they came, charging toward Malan and the humans he was with.

Taylor's friend Rachel, with a golden glint to her eyes, held up her free hand, the one not holding her own axe, and she glanced at the two dogs, if Malan could truly call them that at the size they were currently, who had taken protective positions nearby. The armored enlarged dogs stood taller than even he did, and their jaws looked like they could tear an Ogier's head off with a single bite. Or a Trolloc's.

As the first wave of Trollocs approached, Rachel pointed. "Yips! Smokey! Kill!"

The dogs snarled, bounding toward the Trollocs. Yips pounced a wolf-headed Trolloc, pushing it down the hill with the dog on top. The larger dog, Smokey, went for a boar-headed one, biting its weapon arm as the creature swung back an axe to strike. Six of the approaching Trollocs went after the dogs, and the other five charged further up the hill.

Taylor's pistol barked twice, each shot hitting an approaching Trolloc, one in its shoulder and the second in the middle of its forehead, while Rachel led the charge after her dogs. She slipped to the side of the first Trolloc's sword, and her axe bit into its arm. She reared back and swept for the Trolloc's legs. Taylor fired her gun twice more, and a Trolloc fell to the ground next to Rachel, bleeding from its neck. Rachel's opponent fell next to its compatriot seconds later, and she followed with an axe strike to its snout. Blood spurt from the wound, and Rachel let out a snarl that was matched by her dogs.

"Malan, focus!" Taylor called out.

He nodded, stepping toward the nearest Trolloc, a ram-headed one that was raising its sword at him. He met its blade with the haft of his axe, lashing with a kick to its solar plexus. It staggered backward, and he was quick enough to swing his axe once more. This time, the blade caught it right at its neck, driving the ram-headed Trolloc down into the ground. The axehead cut through the Trolloc like a hot knife, and it let out a pained roar.

"On your left, Malan!" Defiant called. "Get down!"

Malan dove to the ground as the armored man leveled his halberd at the encroaching Trollocs. The blade of the halberd launched from its haft, slicing through a Trolloc's arm before exploding, the shrapnel embedding in the creature's boar-like muzzle. A new blade formed from something on the haft of the halberd with a static blur surrounding it. He spun around, driving the blade through a wolf-like Trolloc's head as the Bud of the Shadow's sword licked his armor.

"That's new," Taylor yelled out, after shooting two more Trollocs. She sidled up to Defiant. "You couldn't launch the blades before."

"I was inspired after the Titans," Defiant said, bringing his halberd up to block an overhead blow from another Trolloc. The ground gave way under the blow, sending dirt upward. Defiant gave a shove, spinning out of the way of the Trolloc. He slashed the Bud of the Shadow across its muzzle with his blade.

The ram-headed Trolloc roared in pain, and it swept its axe across Defiant's path. The blade caught itself on Defiant's armor, sending him sprawling over.

"Defiant!" Taylor yelled, and she jumped at the Trolloc, her own halberd shimmering with that same static blur. She drove the halberd through the Trolloc's armored shoulder, and then withdrew it, pushing off of the Shadowspawn. She repeated the action twice before getting thrown backward.

Malan caught her before she hit the ground. "Taylor, are you all right?"

"Fine," she said, and she glanced over at the Trolloc as it fell. Then she hopped out of Malan's arms. "Check on Defiant. I'm going to help Rachel."

As Taylor ran over to the other girl, running alongside her dogs, Malan noted that the enhanced animals had advanced toward the line of Trollocs, tearing into the Shadowspawn. The Trollocs' blades dug into the armored flesh of the dogs, but even bleeding, they stood, returning as much as they got.

Taylor spun the halberd around. She slashed one wolf-faced Trolloc across its stomach, slipped between the hoof-tipped legs of a boar-faced one and drove the halberd upward into its torso. When she reached Rachel's side, Taylor went high with the halberd, while Rachel attacked low, taking out a Trolloc's legs. One Trolloc raised a gun to shoot at them, but they placed the cut down Trolloc between them and the bullets.

Howls came from the nearby forest, and a pack of wolves joined the fight, attacking the groups of Trollocs and leaping at the flying crooners. The Trollocs bit into some of them as they fought, tearing bits of flesh and fur off the canines.

"No!" Rachel called. "Yips! Smokey! Hurt! Kill!"

Malan couldn't pay any more attention to that as he made his way toward Defiant. The armored man was surrounded by Trollocs that had made it past the kill line. He held them off with his halberd, unleashing little flechettes into ones that got close.

Malan slashed his axe into the back of a Trolloc's head, and without waiting for a result, he pulled it out to swing again. He shoved the Trolloc aside into another, and he repeated with the next-nearest Trolloc. Their strength was comparable to his own, but he had a brief moment of surprise, with their focus on the armored human.

"There's so many of them," Defiant said when Malan got close, but he wasn't sure whether the man was talking to him. "Where are they all coming from?"

It became clear he wasn't when Malan heard Dragon's voice come from within his helmet. "Somewhere northeast of here. Lookout is doing her best to trace it while the others help with evacuation."

"What about the Fades?" Malan asked before slamming his axe into another Trolloc. He'd seen them on the battlefield, but with the explosions and the bright light of Victoria's laser beams, he'd lost track of them. "Can you ask her about them?"

Defiant looked up at him for the briefest of seconds before firing off another wave of flechettes into another Trolloc. They kept coming. The ones in the city had fled when their members started to die, but these Trollocs seemed more determined. Perhaps more afraid. Malan wasn't sure what could cause that, but there were stories. Old stories.

Servants of the Shadow, such as the Trollocs, could be compelled, driven past their basest natures. Whatever Victoria was capable of with her power had let her induce some sort of fear reaction in the Trolloc she interrogated, and it had responded like it had been conditioned to follow that sort of thing. From what Malan knew and what he had seen, they weren't the brightest beings around, but even animals fled when faced with loud noises and death. Trollocs died in droves here, killed by Dragon's machines, by Victoria's laser, or by those on the ground. They had superior numbers, but they were outmatched in weapons and ability. Yet they kept coming. They had to be compelled.

By the Fades.

"Malan wants to know where the Fades are. Did you or Victoria manage to get any?" Defiant asked Dragon over the radio, after running a Trolloc through its head with his halberd. As the eagle-headed one dropped, he slid the halberd out and stabbed through another.

"I don't know," Dragon said. "They behave similarly to Mama Mathers for my sensors, so I'm never fully sure if I'm seeing them or not. "

Malan brought his axe up to block a Trolloc's sword. Catching the blade under the axe's curve, he twisted in an attempt to disarm the Trolloc. He wasn't sure which of them would be stronger, himself or the Trolloc. His muscles strained against the bear-headed beast's grip. Then abruptly, he shoved the axe toward the Trolloc, driving its head into the creature's chest, and with a twist and pull, he got the sword free. Then he shifted the axe and chopped upward, cutting into the neck and muzzle of the Trolloc.

"Do we have a name for the flying creature that attacked the Dragoncraft?" Defiant asked. He paused for a little and glanced over at Malan with an approving smile. Taylor had spoken highly of this man when she was in recovery, and Malan knew that she wanted to have her friends get along. Respect went a long way, and Defiant was asking for his knowledge.

Sadly, he didn't have much knowledge about the crooner. It may have been one of the other servants of the Shadow that had been mentioned in Elder Sharam's stories, but it wasn't one of the main ones. He'd taken to just calling it "crooner" in his head, but he wasn't sure that was a good enough name, even in the Ogier tongue. "Not from me. Crooner is the closest thing I have."

"Decadent and Syndicate have taken to using the name Temptabat," Dragon said. "But I don't agree with that."

"Malan called it a Crooner," Defiant said, as the Trollocs seemed to break up some. "Tell the Tenders that name instead."

"Don't like their name?" Dragon asked with a short chuckle. Then she paused with a brief gasp. "Defiant. Colin. Something's happening near you."

Dead Trollocs littered the ground around them, and while Malan could see more approaching, they were keeping some distance now. As they got closer, some got hit by Victoria's laser, dying instantly, but among the approaching Trollocs was a Fade on a horse so black that it reminded Malan of the deepest, darkest part of night. It somehow seemed to just not be there when Victoria's laser hit. Instead, it reared back its eyeless head, letting out a challenging roar, pointing its sword right at Defiant.

The Trollocs surrounding it parted, as a wave, making way for the Eyeless to approach. The horse clopped closer, again ignoring the laser, somehow. Its cloak blew back, revealing masculine midnight black plate armor. Its face, though slightly different from the one he'd seen in Perpetuity, still was pale, and its black hair was wiry yet slicked back. The sword in its hand gleamed black in the sunlight, and it came closer.

"We found one of the Fades," Defiant said.

"Or it found us," Malan said, changing his grip on the axe. "The stories say the Eyeless are vicious fighters, that their swords steal souls if you are cut by one."

"Then I just won't get cut," Defiant said. He looked over to Malan as he leveled his halberd at the approaching Shadowspawn. "Malan, I want you to listen to me. I will be fighting that thing, but if it looks, at any time, like I might need some help, I want you to take your best blow with that axe of yours."

Malan nodded. "Do you think you can kill it?"

"I certainly can try," Defiant said as he took his own approach toward the Shadowspawn. "Keep the Trollocs away, and if you need to help one of the others, feel free. But do what you feel you need to."

Malan nodded. Taylor had asked him to help Defiant, and as he glanced over to where his friend was, she stood side-by-side with Rachel and two wolves. The gleaming yellow eyes of the wolves matched that of Taylor's friend, and while that was curious, they were handling the Trollocs in their way. He didn't need to help them at the moment.

The Eyeless dismounted from its horse and approached Defiant, stopping a mere two yards away. It was shorter than the cape was in his armor, but as he watched the thing, it seemed to slip in and out of the shadows, there one second, gone the next.

Defiant simply started circling around it. The Fade matched Defiant's movement, seeming to lock whatever passed for its gaze upon him. Neither seemed to want to make the first move. Defiant took two steps toward it, the Fade took two steps back. The Fade made a half-step toward Defiant, and he retreated the same distance.

Defiant frowned behind his mask. Malan wondered what must be going through his mind as the man flourished with his halberd, clearly attempting to bait something out of the Fade. When nothing came, he just kept circling the Shadowspawn.

Suddenly, with a lunge, the Fade thrust his blade at Defiant's shoulder. Defiant met the blade with the haft of his halberd, deflecting it with some difficulty. The Fade twisted its blade, applying more pressure. Lights flared on Defiant's helmet, and Malan heard what sounded like mechanical whirring. The man shoved the blade aside and punched the Fade across its face.

It roared at Defiant, flickering in place and attacking again. Back and forth the pair went, thrust into parry, parry into riposte. Defiant would swap functions on the halberd, and that static blur appeared, but the Fade's sword just met it without giving. The blade heated up, and Defiant moved faster, but the Fade kept pace. More parries. More ripostes. Each time going faster, neither giving an inch.

Defiant's lips pursed. Malan could only imagine what must be going through the man's head. He hadn't been able to get a hit in, but it hadn't looked like it was the right time for the Ogier to step in. If he distracted the man at the wrong time, the sword could do something. Malan wasn't sure if it would penetrate the man's armor, but every armor had its chinks. Every armor's weakness could be exploited.

The Fade tried for another thrust with a fancier flourish, one almost expected from a blademaster. This time, Defiant separated his halberd, using the lower half of the haft to block, and the upper to riposte, driving the blade into the Fade's shoulder. The static blur ripped through the blackened steel of its armor, pushing through flesh and out the other side. The Fade screamed in pain, and Defiant pulled the halberd's blade out. He went to try again, but this time, the Fade parried.

"Malan! Go help Taylor!" Defiant cried. "I've got it!"

Malan nodded and ran to the last place he saw his friend. Once more, he charged into a pack of Trollocs, throwing his weight into them, pushing them aside, slashing with his axe. Blades nicked his arms, but none went deep. He pushed through them, helped by wolves nipping at their ankles, tearing at their arms. The path grew clear, and he came upon Rachel and Taylor, back to back.

"Malan!" Taylor said when he got close. He noted some blood coming from her cheek, and some coating in her hair. "How's Defiant?"

"Fighting a Fade," Malan said honestly.

"Brave," Rachel said, and she gave a sharp whistle. Her dogs leaped onto two more Trollocs, tearing at their throats. "Too many of them."

Taylor spat out a word that Malan didn't quite understand, but he got the intent. A curse of some sort. "Victoria, can you hear me?" At Malan's confused look, she smiled and tapped her ear. Ah, some sort of radio device.

"Taylor?" Victoria said, apparently having the same.

"Can you clear a circle around us? Avoid the wolves, they're friendly… I'm going to try something," Taylor said.

"Taylor, what are you planning?" Malan asked as Victoria floated down, her blonde hair flailing behind her in the wind, as she kept hold of a massive gun in front of her.

"If it works, you'll see," Taylor said, and she nodded to Victoria. She gestured with her prosthetic arm. "Keep them off us."

"Not a problem." Victoria fired the gun at the Trollocs, the laser it emitted struck and burned through multiple Trollocs at the same time. She spun around, pulsing the fire so she didn't hit the wolves or Rachel's dogs.

Taylor meanwhile stood in one spot, with Rachel on one side of her, Victoria floating above, and Malan nearby as well. Malan watched for any approaching Trollocs as Taylor closed her eyes. Whatever she was doing, she started moving her hands, and he saw her moving her mouth in a wordless plea.

Victoria continued her barrage as missiles rained down from Dragon's aerial machines. The Trolloc army continued to be destroyed, yet it still came.

Then, three things happened almost simultaneously. First, Taylor's eyes shot open, as her hair started to raise back behind her, as if static electricity were passing through. She raised a hand up, and she touched Victoria. Electricity seemed to arc around something surrounding Victoria's body, tracing its way along a massive multi-armed form and down to the gun in her hands and theirs.

Victoria fired her gun once more, and the electricity sparked along the laser, exploding outward in a rain of blue-white plasma, each one striking a Shadowspawn. The ground erupted where the laser-fed lightning hit, destroying the Trollocs on the spot, spreading through the open field. The wolves and dogs were untouched.

At the same time, Defiant once more stabbed his halberd into the Fade, this time, through the Eyeless's neck. With a twist of the blade, he severed the head from the body, and a shudder went through the Trollocs even as they began to get struck by lightning. Several hundred died at that moment, and hundreds more died with the lightning. Even more died with the missile barrage follow-up from Dragon.

The whole area had become even more of a killing field. What remained of the Trollocs started to flee at that point. The wolves howled, and they started to run off.

Taylor dropped to a knee, panting. Malan moved to pick up his friend. "What did you do, Taylor?"

Taylor smiled. "Used my power." As he looked closer, some of the skin on her face had cracked, and it gave off the smell of cooked flesh. Not all of it was that bad, but there was a little.

"Everyone, this is Defiant." The voice came from Taylor's comm bead and Victoria's at the same time. Malan heard it clearly. "We may have a problem."

"Defiant, this is Victoria," she said. "We just cleared the valley of a whole army. What's the problem?"

"It's the Fade," Defiant said. "It's not going down."

Malan frowned and glanced over to where Defiant was. The headless Fade was still locked in combat with the armored man, pressing its sword against the haft of his halberd.

There had to have been something in the stories about this, didn't there?

He just needed to remember.

​

 

[Windborne]

Fun chapter as always, you know now that I think about it, Colin being Lan's reincarnation might make sense. Or maybe Galad?

 

[JamesB]

Fades have a problem learning they are dead. After they "die", they keep moving around for a while, continuing to fight. The best approach is to either withdraw and let them be until they fall over, or, if that's not possible, remove the arms + legs so it is no longer a threat.

It would have been nice to see Rachel power up the wolves, but it's not time for that to happen yet. Her power works even better on wolves than it does on dogs.

Taylor seems to be trying to do a Rand al'Thor impression, of using the one power to make a lightning storm that goes after Trollocs, like Rand did in the Stone of Tear.

 

[Ellf]

​

Chapter Twenty: Lights Out

It was almost too easy, too painfully easy to kill the oncoming Trolloc army and the other creatures with the new gun Dragon had given Victoria. It shot in a similar fashion to the one she'd wielded against the Titans, and it cut through the so-called "Buds of the Shadow" like a hot knife through butter. Well, the Trollocs and the new flying creature got cut down easily, anyway. Something about the Fades had them dodging the beams, even when she was certain that they passed through their bodies.

Then Taylor did whatever she did, passing an energy that Victoria could feel through her and into the gun. Combined with Defiant beheading the Fade, whatever Taylor and Victoria did got rid of the assembled army en masse. Perhaps some of the Fades got away, but the army was dead, gone. Dragon's craft continued to float above, surveying the area. Defiant's voice over the comm came, mentioning that the Fade he'd engaged wasn't going down.

"What do you mean, Defiant?" Victoria asked, lowering closer to the ground. Malan, Rachel and Taylor looked curiously up at her, and she gave them a shrug as she took a hand off her gun to adjust her earpiece. She wasn't entirely sure she'd heard him correctly. "Clarify for us?"

"What I said, Antares," Defiant said. "I've decapitated it, but it's still fighting me, pushing even harder."

Victoria narrowed her eyes, and she floated up into the air so she could get a better view of the battlefield. As she rose, she could see them. Trolloc corpses littered the field, some blown to pieces from the missiles Dragon had been using, others cut apart by her laser, and still others either torn apart by dogs, shot by guns, ripped into with axes or Defiant's halberd, and then the rest, taken down by the power-fueled lightning that Taylor managed to channel through her. Of course, that wasn't what she wanted to focus on.

No. Defiant was. The armored tinker faced down a bloodied Fade about a hundred yards away, halberd clashing against the blackened metal of its sword, meeting each wild swing that the headless creature gave. How the body still managed to see Defiant, Victoria wasn't sure, but Fades didn't have eyes to begin with, from what little she'd seen of them. So perhaps it didn't need to see Defiant to attack him. However, judging from each consecutive wild swing, she was sure that the creature was acting only on some sort of instinct rather than with any intelligence.

"Keep it occupied, I'm on my way," Victoria said over her comm. While she'd fly faster without carrying the gun, dropping the gun at this height wasn't safe for anyone. Instead, she just took it with her, making her way across those hundred yards in fifteen seconds rather than the two or three it would have taken if she'd been unencumbered. She lowered the gun safely to the ground about ten yards away from Defiant and the Fade, and she grinned. Pushing off of nothing, she shot forward at the creature, and with all of Fragile One's arms, she grabbed tightly onto each of the creature's limbs. Her own hand grabbed onto the cloak of the thing, then she grabbed onto its shoulder.

It really was missing its head. She spotted the Fade's head rolling around about twenty feet from them, a blank expression on its eyeless face. There was something just unsettling about that look. The Fade's body kept squirming in the arms of the Fragile One, but she wasn't unable to hold it still. It might have been strong, but she was stronger.

"Thank you, Antares," Defiant said, stepping back out of the creature's range, clearly as a just-in-case measure.

"Victoria," she corrected. "I'm retired, remember?"

"Victoria, then," Defiant said. "Thank you. I could have kept going, but I'm not sure how long it would keep doing that."

Victoria nodded, and she squeezed each of the limbs until a loud cracking noise could be heard. She didn't loosen her girp yet, but the creature's sword dropped from its right hand. For a brief second, she considered picking it up, but a tingling in the back of her neck had her feeling like it would be a bad idea to touch the sword. To wield it in any fashion. It was giving off something akin to an aura of malice.

"Curious, it's still struggling," Defiant said, and the eyes on his helmet lit up. "We don't have any real data on these things just yet. We were able to do some autopsy work on the Trollocs and study two live specimens. These, however…"

"It's hard to do an autopsy on something that isn't dead," Victoria said. "There were four more of them here, but I think they left when Taylor did… whatever she did." The whole light show, her glowing and the energy she'd felt go through her… Did the Fragile One notice it as well? She'd have to worry more about it later.

"Yeah, her power… whatever it is," Defiant said. "It seems to be versatile. Without some more tests, I'm not comfortable trying to do any sort of rating on it."

Victoria nodded. "And these? Oh, don't mess with the sword too much."

"Why?" Defiant asked.

"Bad feeling," Victoria said.

"The swords of the Eyeless were supposedly forged using the souls of innocents, corrupting them so that they can do more harm," Malan said as he approached, Taylor leaning on his left side. Rachel flanked him on Taylor's left, and behind them were her dogs, getting smaller, and two wolves. "Assuming the legends about them are true."

"Do the legends mention anything about them not dying without their heads?" Defiant asked. "Most things die that way."

"Not Endbringers," Taylor said. "I know there were times that the heads got blown off and they lived."

Defiant nodded, conceding the point, but he glanced back to Malan.

The Ogier scratched his chin. "I believe that the legend stated that sometimes the creature may die yet its body may not realize it's dead yet. I must admit that when Elder Sharam told the story, I wasn't paying as much attention."

"When would it realize it's dead?" Victoria asked. A flash of insight from the Fragile One had her looking directly at Taylor. She wasn't sure why the woman would know the answer to the question, but she'd had other answers. She needed to talk with Taylor some more, figure things out.

Taylor gestured with her prosthetic arm toward the setting sun. As the sun started dipping below the horizon, the Fade's body stopped moving, and Victoria was able to release it. When it crumpled to the ground, Taylor nodded. "I'm not sure why, but it looks like when the sun sets, they die, assuming they're dead dead."

"How did you know that?" Victoria asked.

"Dreams," Taylor said in a tone that said she wasn't willing to go further into it.

"What now?" Rachel asked. "Back to the house?"

"I'm sorry, but no," Dragon's voice came over the speaker on Defiant's armor. "Miss Alcott was clear that you five should get on your way to your destination. I'll send over a better craft for traveling that will include a proper bathroom and shower, along with shower facilities. It will also have some food for your travel as well. Malan, I assume Ogier can eat human food?"

"Yes, we can," Malan said. "And vice-versa. But some human food is a little… strong, I believe is the term. I would prefer milder foods."

"Got it," Dragon said. "I'll get your transport to you in fifteen minutes. Victoria, you are free to take the gun with you, and Defiant can make any necessary repairs along the way."

"We don't know exactly what we'll be up against," Taylor said. "If we'll be up against anything."

"More of the Shadow's minions may be expected," Malan said. "And I suspect future battles will not be as apparently easy as this was."

"What makes you say that?" Defiant asked.

"The Shadow is far from stupid. It tests the waters with cannon fodder, sending an army to die so that it can understand capabilities," Malan said. "Yet parahumans are varied in what they are capable of."

"This coming from more of your legends?"

Malan nodded. "The creatures that we saw assembled… the Trollocs. The Eyeless. And the flying ones, I believe that Elder Sharam called them as Draghkar. They are creatures created and tainted by the Shadow's influence."

"You mentioned souls before," Taylor said, and all gazes went to the sword the Fade had been wielding. "How can a soul be used in forging a sword?"

The Ogier shrugged. "I wish I could explain it, but it's a legend. Elder Sharam's stories about the Eyeless spoke about soul-forged blades made of blackened steel, and that sword matches the description."

"For what it's worth, it feels off," Victoria said. "Something about it just isn't right."

Taylor nodded. "If… if there's genuinely a soul in it, trapped in it or worse… I wonder if it's possible to free the soul somehow. Maybe make it so that the blade is broken."

"As much as I hate to say it, that sort of speculation isn't something that we can really indulge in," Defiant said. "But we can probably set up some threat ratings for the creatures we faced… so that if… when others face them, they know what they're getting into."

"After a shower and my dogs are fed," Rachel said, her eyes gleaming golden in the twilight. "Taylor needs to eat too."

"We all should," Victoria said. "Wherever we're going, it's going to take us some time to get there, given full speed might just shoot us past it."

Defiant nodded and did something so that his helmet retracted, revealing his face. "Of course. Still, I want to get the report done on these as quickly as possible. While I know that Dragon and the others will probably have their own inputs, we were actually here on the ground, saw them in person."

Victoria nodded, and she glanced up in the general direction of Dracheheim. The Dragoncraft that they'd be riding in would likely arrive soon. "I guess we could start on the Trollocs. We've already got a bit of a profile going on them."

"Yes," Defiant said. "Brute 2, borderline Brute 3. Not very intelligent, but very violent. They seem to be able to follow basic tactics and react to a fear stimulus. The ones wielding guns didn't really seem to understand how to use them, as if they're new to them. According to Riley Davis, some are capable of triggering."

"When you say triggering, what do you mean?" Malan asked.

"Capable of gaining superpowers," Taylor said. "They have corona pollentia?"

"Some did that Riley autopsied," Defiant said.

"That's… disturbing," Victoria said. "They're already stronger than a normal person. What would happen if they got powers?"

"We still kill the fuckers," Rachel said. "They're not right. Sightblinder's rot…"

"Where did you hear that?" Taylor asked.

Rachel shrugged. The wolves behind her milled about, moving in circles. Given that they'd helped in the fight and didn't seem hostile to them, Victoria figured that Rachel had things under control with them. After a few seconds of milling, the wolves dashed off, leaving Rachel with her dogs standing next to her.

Taylor frowned, but she nodded. "Without powers, they won't hold up against most parahumans or modern weaponry, but that's only if they use the current tactics. Normal people won't be able to fight them well without guns."

"Some parahumans won't be able to either," Victoria added. She wouldn't want to see Kenzie or any of the Tenders try, and Lisa was definitely not a frontline fighter. Still, guns were often the great equalizer, albeit with the caveat about some parahumans being bulletproof. Clearly the Trollocs were not. "I'm not sure on the Fades."

The sound of the approaching Dragoncraft interrupted their discussion, and they all voicelessly agreed to put it on hold until they had boarded. The craft landed thirty yards away, and Victoria floated over to pick up her tinkertech gun so that she could load it on once the door opened. The craft was a transport craft designed for multiple people, almost like a floating bus of sorts with a cargo hold that Defiant had directed for Victoria to place the gun in. When they all boarded, Defiant led the way up to the transport's flight deck, where at the front, there were seats set aside, but toward the back, there were several bunk beds, along with a reinforced padding, clearly put there for Malan.

This was where they were intended to sleep and eat, and Victoria suspected that the craft was designed originally to act like a prefabricated household, just able to move and float through whatever methods that Dragon had tinkered into it.

As they all took seats at a table in between the sleeping area and the flight deck, Defiant passed out energy bars. "I have food for your dogs as well, Rachel."

She nodded to him, silently, and she set Yips down next to Smokey. When Defiant laid out the food, she made a gesture to them. The dogs let out a short bark and they went for it.

"Our destination is input into our autopilot," Defiant said. "But I've set it to give us some time before we get there. We can finish up our discussion on these creatures."

"Shadowspawn," Malan said. "It's what Elder Sharam called them."

"Fits with the Buds of the Shadow that my power called them," Taylor said. "If powers call spawn "buds." Like how second generation powers happen."

Victoria nodded. "Close enough. So, we determined Trollocs are Brute 2 or 3 and aren't all that smart. Let's come back to Fades. There's a lot we can say about them. What about those… what did you call them again, Malan? Drag-car?"

"Draghkar," Malan said. "Elder Sharam called them Draghkar, the Shadow's Assassins. They suck out the soul, leaving a husk behind, and then they drain life. They are supposed to be able to hypnotize people, draw them in."

"Like Taylor," Rachel said with a grunt. "Fucker sang to Taylor, and she started moving."

"Definitely a master ability of some sort," Defiant said. "The so-called soul sucking could be a striker ability if it requires touch. Life-draining touch and master to draw them in…"

"It looked like a winged man, almost," Taylor said. "Not quite human, but it might be able to pass if you weren't paying close attention."

"So, Stranger 1, then? Stranger 1, Master in a similar way to Canary, though perhaps more limited, so… roughly 3, and Striker 5, I think," Victoria said. "Don't get too close, pay attention, and block out its music if you can."

"I'm sorry, I'm a little out of the loop here," Malan said. "What are you doing with these numbers and categories?"

"An old Protectorate and PRT thing from Earth Bet," Defiant said. "It's a way of categorizing threat levels of capes, determining what sorts of preparations and precautions are needed in dealing with them. The categories indicate a type of power, and the number indicates the level of preparation or danger that the ability represents. It doesn't necessarily indicate the specific strength of the ability, just the threat it would pose to a normal human. Even abilities with low numbers can be used in such a way to go beyond what the supposed threat rating would indicate. Taylor here… had a habit of doing things like that."

Taylor shrugged. "You work with what you have. Not everyone gets the ability to fly and hit things hard."

"My powers are a little more than that," Victoria said.

"I know. The Aura. The instinctiveness, and the enlarged force field after… things," Taylor said, trailing off a little. Victoria appreciated her not going too far into past events. Instead Taylor shook her head. "Really, the ratings are just guidelines more than anything else, as I understood it from my training. The big thing is what category of power you're dealing with. You deal with a blaster differently than how you'd deal with a thinker. The number only really matters if it goes above five. Below five, normal humans could engage with the right gear. Above five, and their SOP is usually to leave it to capes."

"Do you think that the Fade would have anything above five?" Malan asked.

Taylor shook her head. "Even with the soul-forged blade, the armor, the not dying until sunset… I think it might be a Stranger 2 or 3, given what we saw it do with the video cam footage."

"Brute on the same or slightly lower level than Trollocs, but also able to take more punishment," Defiant said. "Smarter though, and they are able to adjust their tactics on the fly."

"Master," Rachel said. "It controlled the Trollocs. They died when it lost its head."

"Mind control of some sort," Victoria said in agreement. "Should we assume that they all are the same?"

"They're all the same in Elder Sharam's stories that Malan's mentioned," Taylor said. "Eyeless. Fade. Who knows how many there are out there? I also get the feeling that these aren't the only kinds of Shadowspawn. The Shadow itself lingers outside, and there was that weird thing with all the crows outside your home, Defiant."

"I'm not sure if Aiden ever has had that many crows in his flock before," Victoria said. "But… that's more a question for Tattletale."

"It's a murder of crows," Taylor said. "He had a murder of crows. I thought you were supposed to be teaching a college course."

"On parahumans, not ornithology," Victoria said. "Other than Chicken Little, how often do you think those two subjects actually cross?"

"I did a lot of entomological research, and it led a little into the ornithological research too," Taylor said. "It helped with dealing with Aiden's nightmares when he was little. Charlotte, Sierra and I would talk with him about birds, and it helped him calm down over a cup of tea."

Victoria idly wondered if what she'd seen in Shardspace when looking at Aiden's shard matched with that story. Reconciling the Taylor of that time with the Taylor in that memory didn't work all that well. The current Taylor, what she'd experienced of her anyway, was someone she could picture sitting over a cup of tea with a younger Aiden, discussing birds. Perhaps it was hindsight bias against Skitter. Even if she'd ultimately helped out, Taylor had been a frightening young girl, even after Victoria had been in the asylum.

"I'll give out some sanitizer before you eat," Defiant said. "But I do suggest that people make use of the facilities before we decide to go to bed."

"How long until we reach where Dinah pointed us?" Taylor asked.

"Approximately three and a half hours," Defiant said. "But I think we'll touch down near there and head in once the sun is up. I'm sure none of us are really in the mood for nighttime exploration of an unknown ruin."

Taylor and Victoria nodded. Rachel had already leaned back in her chair, focusing on eating the energy bar that had been provided. After sanitization, the rest of the group did the same. It wasn't the most enjoyable of dinners, but it was passable.

The rest of the trip was taken up by lighter conversation, with Taylor telling some stories from when she was in Stedding Tsaris, which Victoria countered with some stories about her classes and how the Chicken Tenders sometimes asked for her help. She still kept tabs on all of her old teammates, and each of them knew that if they really needed it, she was available. It was a reason why Kenzie had contacted her in the first place. Breakthrough may have been gone, but the friendships still remained.

Taylor nodded. "It will probably remain even after death. Swansong did worry about you in that dream."

"How long have you been having dreams like that?" Defiant asked. "Is it like your new power?"

Taylor shrugged. "Sometimes I feel like the dreams aren't actually new. After… Contessa did what she did, the dreams are a part of what helped me come back to myself."

"Dreams are powerful," Victoria said. "And… there's a lot about them that we don't understand. The link with the powers themselves and humanity is filtered through dreams. When we all went to sleep to deal with both the Titans and Ziz, we found ourselves in a collective shared dream, where our powers were. Sure, some of us were separated, but… there were people I was able to speak with. Dead and gone people."

Taylor nodded. Victoria was sure, based upon what she knew of Taylor Hebert's history and character, that if Taylor had been given the opportunity, she'd have taken the plague as well. Not necessarily because she trusted that people would make the right choice but because she would. What other people did wouldn't matter in the long run.

"So, any clue as to what Dinah is sending us to?" Victoria asked. "Important dreams?"

Taylor shook her head. "I think the past two days have been a little much with the Shadowspawn. No dreams that I know of. All I know is that Dinah says we need to go there."

"I don't like relying only on precognitive information," Victoria said.

"Dragon's managed to align a satellite roughly in the area and get us a scan," Defiant said. "It isn't a substitute for arriving in person, but I can show you what we know we're heading toward."

Rachel shrugged from where she was with her dogs, but Malan sat up straighter alongside Taylor and Victoria.

Defiant gave a sweeping gesture, and the table lit up with a hologram. The area surrounding where their destination was displayed on the table in a holographic form. A river cut through a plane, descending from a nearby mountain range. At the center of the river, on an island that had the water flowing around and through it, was a city made of white stone.

It reminded Victoria a little of the Roman Coliseum, stripped of its paint, damaged in the long years before Scion destroyed it completely, but unlike that, this was clearly older. The city itself had long since been abandoned, its residents long dead. At the center of the city, towering over the ruins of the city proper was a collapsed remain of a several-story tall tower made of a similar white stone to that of the city proper. The tower of white definitely drew her attention though.

As it also drew Taylor's.

"I wonder what that settlement was once called," Taylor said quietly.

Malan looked at the image with fascination. "Tar Valon. The city was once Tar Valon."

"How do you know?" Defiant asked.

"My people built it."

​

 

[Windborne]

Fun times, and boy is Rachel drawing heavily on TAR. Maybe Hopper reborn if not Elias or Perrin or that one other wolf brother whose name I completely forget. Great chapter as always @Ellf!

 

[Blademaster]

Fun times, and boy is Rachel drawing heavily on TAR. Maybe Hopper reborn if not Elias or Perrin or that one other wolf brother whose name I completely forget. Great chapter as always @Ellf!

Click to shrink...

Hopper wouldn't get reborn, I think? he died in the dream

also Egwene reincarnated, going back to Tar Valon. that would trigger some dreams, oerhaps. and about Egwene, the dreams pretty much confirm Taylor is Egwene. I was pretty sure before, but now there is no doubt

 

[edofthesquid]

At the center of the river, on an island that had the water flowing around and through it, was a city made of white stone. The

It reminded Victoria a little of the Roman Coliseum

Click to shrink...

Is the rogue The deliberate or an editing artifact?

 

[Ellf]

Is the rogue The deliberate or an editing artifact?

Click to shrink...

Corrected it. Thanks.

 

[Windborne]

Hopper wouldn't get reborn, I think? he died in the dream

Click to shrink...

Riiight, I forgot about that little detail. So either completely new Wolf-sister or reincarnation of past Wolf-brother we know about it is.

 

[Blademaster]

Riiight, I forgot about that little detail. So either completely new Wolf-sister or reincarnation of past Wolf-brother we know about it is.

Click to shrink...

likely new, since in the books, souls are gendered. like, it may be going like the series and theyre not, but we saw no indication to it. Taylor is Egwene, and Victoria is likely Elayne, both stayed the same gender

 

[Byzantine]

There is also the possibility that particular line is wrong - die in the dream you don't get reborn seems like it would kill off the heros a little too quickly, and the shadow didn't seem to really try to press for it the way you would expect.

 

[Ellf]

​

Chapter Twenty-One: The Leader

Jake enjoyed parties. The women. The food. The music. The women. Even now, after the second time the world nearly came to an end, people craved parties. He craved parties, because it meant that he was alive. That he would get to experience the true human condition. At a party, all was laid bare. Given enough plying, enough booze, and you could see who the people were. How they truly belonged. Men who thought their girlfriends would stay with them forever quickly were disabused of that notion when the girls were presented with, well, a better option.

Jake Crowley was that better option. He had power, and he used it for the betterment of his people. They had been called the Fallen because they dared to point out what had been the ultimate truth. The world was coming to an end, and it nearly had twice already. While there were disagreements between the families on what the specific route necessary was to prepare for the End of the World, his older brother and sister worked with the McVeays and the Mathers families well enough. It wasn't his department though.

No, Canaan was. He had a settlement that needed supplies, booze, drugs, food, and medical support, after what had happened with the Titans. Those tufted-eared giant freaks had offered, but nobody was willing to trust them. They weren't human. They'd never been human. While they weren't quite like the monstrous powered, they still posed a similar threat. They wished to stop the End.

He'd dreamed about the end of the world ever since he was little. That was why he partied. That was why he took his wives. Together, with them, they would face the end of the world and join in, earning a place at whatever table the world would sit at. He knew that his wives would obediently be at his side. They always had been, ever since he had taken them. He wasn't like Heartbreaker though. No. Far from it. He treated his wives with respect, giving them all the drugs and alcohol that they could ever want. He even allowed them time with other men, should they so choose, but ultimately, they were his.

Jake walked the streets of Canaan, noting the preparations going on for yet another party. Someone had managed to acquire a large shipment of liquor, which meant that that evening, they would be drinking. He gave significant looks to the young women of the town as they passed, greeting each of his people by name. There was Jared, the baker, Marcus, the technical guy, and each of their two wives.

Lucas, de facto leader of the local Shadow Riders after his boss had turned Titan and then disintegrated, nodded to Jake as he passed. "Jake, good to see you."

"Lucas," Jake said, nodding in return. "You ready for tonight?"

"Always, brother," Lucas said, adjusting his leather jacket. "We managed to get a good new group looking to party. They're bringing in some extra food from the City."

"Heard it got a name now," Jake said. "Perpetuity."

Lucas shrugged. "Don't really care about that. Until shit gets bigger elsewhere, it's the only Gimel city, and they got freaks out the wazoo there."

"'Swhy we're here instead," Jake said. The freaks, and those who said they were just like anyone else could go to Hell. "World might have staved off the end for now, but it's still coming. I can feel it in my bones. The party still has to go on."

And if he needed to do a little bit of rigging the dice, he would. He was sure that with the new recruits, his wives would welcome a little more fun tonight.

"I don't know, Jake," Lucas said. "Heroes might have it in hand."

Oh, now that wouldn't do. Jake seized his power, grasping the rushing torrent of power and forcing it to bend to his will. Wrapping strands of power, lightly weaving them together, he touched Lucas's head. "Of course the heroes don't have it in hand, Lucas. They might think they do, but we know the truth. There's no stopping the true end. There's just welcoming it."

Lucas nodded, his eyes glazing over slightly. "Yeah, you're right, Jake."

He let the strands of power settle over Lucas, coiling around him the way he would a hostage, and he tied them off strong. Lucas wouldn't doubt him again. Not with the way he wielded his power. "The Shadow Riders are all ready to party, right?"

"Like I said before, always," Lucas said. "Could use some new capes in our ranks, if you got em."

"Not yet," Jake said. "But you never know what could happen. Might even be able to find some of those old powers in a bottle."

"Mm, that'd be nice," Lucas said. "Won't need to train new people up that way. Better than getting some new sluts or something."

Jake grinned. That was the Lucas he knew. He just needed to reinforce who he was, rather than letting his doubts come out to play. Of course, he would never completely control someone. He wasn't Heartbreaker, after all. All he needed to do was just subtly influence them toward his direction. "We'll see what we can find. Old Cauldron remnants aren't exactly easy to locate."

"You'll do what you can," Lucas said. Then he snapped his fingers. "Oh. Shit. Forgot to mention a rumor I heard. Someone said they spotted Khepri in the City. Walking with one of those giant freaks."

Khepri was a name that made him shudder involuntarily, even while grasping his power. It made him lose focus enough that the power slipped out of his grasp, and he immediately seized it again for the confidence it gave him. He'd not had the chance to wield it against her when she fought Scion. She'd controlled him, but when she couldn't actually use his power, she just set him aside. She'd discarded him, and nobody discarded Jake Crowley. If she was back, he could show her just how wrong she was.

Wouldn't it just be a pleasant feeling to have Khepri, the slayer of Scion, at his beck and call? Add in Antares, and he'd manage to succeed where the Mathers had failed. Both girls probably would love to unleash their inner party animals. Given the proper motivation, he was sure he could show them the time they needed.

"Thanks for the information, Lucas," Jake said, nodding to his friend. "Do me a favor and go set up the refreshments for tonight. I've got a couple more rounds to make and checking in with the wives."

"Shit, don't know how you handle so many," Lucas said. "I'm tired just thinking of that and have a headache from their nagging."

Jake shook his head. His wives were the perfect women. Young, childbearing age, attractive, and perfectly submissive to what he needed them for. Sure, sometimes he might lend them out, but ultimately they knew who they belonged to. He made sure of that when he brought them in and took them.

The best part was that none of them were influenced by the Mathers branch at all. This was all his charisma, his charm, and his power to bring them to his side. Yes, he may have influenced things a little with gambling, showing them just how lucky they would be to be with him, but they quickly learned.

He waved to his friend, ensuring that the preparations would be in place. The party tonight was something that would be a sight to behold. He walked further down the streets of Canaan, to the house that he'd had built, a veritable manor, made of a mixture of materials, wood, concrete and metal, fit for a true leader of men. Sometimes he would host parties here, but for the most part, it belonged to him and those he chose to allow near him at night.

His wives were devoted enough to him that Jake had no worries of betrayal, and the rest of the Fallen in this town were much the same. He would only need to wield his power to subtly support their views. If he needed to, of course, he could even defend his town from those who would dare try to impose anything upon them. He rather suspected that the PRT had rated him with a Trump rating when they found out the variety of what he could do, but he didn't have any confirmation.

None of his wives were of what had been the PRT, after all.

He released his grasp on his power when he was outside his house. There would be no reason, no need to use it inside, and he trusted that his wives would be fine. After all, they would be preparing for tonight's party. There was a chance that he'd end up with a fifth wife after tonight, but really, his real target would be Khepri. She would be the ultimate prize. Sure, from what he remembered, she wasn't a very attractive woman, but having her under his thumb was an attractive enough prospect on its own.

The moment he stepped inside, he heard a familiar bit of laughter. It was a woman whose voice he recognized, and the fact that the laughter seemed to echo inside his skull told him who it was. The laugh had come from his living room. Christine Mathers. How she had managed to get into his home without him having heard bothered him. He went to seize his power.

Or rather, he tried. What? What was that? His power had never failed him before. He could sense it, but between his grasp and the power was something blocking the way.

"Well now, aren't you precious?" asked a female voice. He looked around his foyer for the source of the voice. A seductive bit of laughter came, and a dark-haired woman dressed in a black silk dress with an embroidered silver spider web pattern faded into his view. She flicked her long hair back over her shoulder. "Come now, Mister Crowley, we have much to discuss."

She gestured for him to follow her as she led the way into the living room. He tried to seize his power once more, reaching out for it, but the wall between him and it only seemed stronger now.

"Surely you didn't think it would be that easy?" asked the woman.

Seeing no choice, he followed her into the living room, where a much younger looking Christine Mathers sat on an armchair, her white hair pulled into a long braid. She gave him a winning smile, and she gestured for him to take a seat by the couch. "Jake Crowley, it has been some time since I've seen you, boy."

"You aren't that much older than me," Jake said, and he took a further look around the room.

The dark-haired woman took a seat on the arm of the armchair near Christine Mathers, and she lightly ran a hand over her hair. Sitting on the couch was a red-haired man with pale skin, and in his eyes were flecks of something dark moving across them. His lips quirked in a smile as he looked Jake over. It made Jake try to seize his power once more.

"He has power?" asked the man as he looked to the dark-haired woman next to Christine Mathers.

She nodded. "He is struggling against the shield, but it's there."

"Jake was always one of the more stubborn of the Crowley boys," Christine Mathers said. "Less willing to work with me, unlike his sister. However, his wives seem to be trained up right. Wonderful girls you have here, Jake."

Matilda, his eldest wife refreshed the contents of drinks that were on the tables.

"What are you doing here, Mama Mathers?" Jake asked.

"Looking to mend fences," Christine said. "As I've been shown the truth, and I want to share it between our families. Madame Moghedien here, and her friend--"

"Call me al'Thor," said the man with a smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Crowley."

"What have you done to me?" Jake asked.

"Just cut your access to the Source," al'Thor said. "For now, until you hear us out."

"Yes," Moghedien said. "Christine has told me such wonderful things about your family, Mister Crowley. How you prepare to help usher in the End of the World… But I believe you focused on the wrong aspects of it."

"Yes, it's not the Endbringers that are the true end," Christine Mathers said. "They were only the harbingers, leading the way to the truth. The Great Lord, our God, will bring the ending we desire, leaving the us as his chosen people. Devoting ourselves to Him will bring about our eternal lives."

"Great Lord?" Jake asked. "Chosen? I thought we already worshiped a Lord, our God. And he sent the Endbringers to smite the unworthy."

"Come now," al'Thor said, as he walked over to Jake. He wrapped an arm around Jake's back, and Jake noticed that the man was taller than him, and he dressed sharper, wearing a pair of slacks and a dress shirt. "Haven't you always felt it? That feeling in the back of your mind, that the world was broken? You worshiped Endbringers, which made sense in some ways, but they came from beyond. They, like Scion before them, were aliens, come to Earth for a reason. However, the Great Lord of the Dark is so far beyond them, beyond even the Creator himself. He simply wishes for an end of all of this, just as I know you have."

Jake tilted his head.

"You party as if the end of the world is not far off," Moghedien said. "And you seek women as your own. You have power, yet unlike some of your fellows, you never sought to use it to fight. You never took up a name other than your own."

"The Great Lord wants you, Jake," Christine Mathers said. "He has said so himself. He wants all of the Fallen as his chosen people. We need you."

"Couldn't you just use your power on me?" Jake asked. Valefor would be able to force the issue, and Mama Mathers's power was one that he hadn't had a good defense against. He had better than most, given his power's capabilities though. "Or have your son do so?"

Christine Mathers glared at Jake. "Perhaps you didn't hear. My boy Elijah was murdered. While the Great Lord has said he can bring him back, he requires someone to take his place. He will not restore a life without taking one in return."

"And you're picking me?" Jake asked.

"Of course not," Moghedien said. "You have power. You can channel Saidin, and you have the potential to channel the True Power like al'Thor… like Christine. My boy, al'Thor can do your introduction to the Great Lord."

Jake looked at the man who had his arm around his own back, and al'Thor smiled. "The first time you feel his Vastness, you will be amazed. However, I believe you have touched it before, when reaching for your power. Moghedien has shielded you from that power so that you might truly understand what it is you are reaching for."

More black flecks went across al'Thor's eyes, and he met Jake's eyes. A shiver went through Jake's body, and he felt a charge of power rush through him. It was like no drug that he'd ever tried before, a vast source of unending power, limited only by the intelligence behind it. It felt comforting, like the being behind it was… willing to work with him. It… He had a name, taken as his own, and the name was Shai'tan, the Great Lord of the Dark. Jake could see how Christine would want this for religious grounds…

But the Crowleys were never about the religion. The Crowleys were about the power and the end of the world. Jake knew the world would end, but now he knew how. The Great Lord would bring about the end, but He needed the help. He needed all the help he could get as He needed to rebuild. He needed Jake's help. Someone with imagination, with power, and the willingness to use it. In exchange, He offered Jake the potential for immortality. He would not die so long as he chose to pledge himself to the Great Lord.

And he did, feeling his own eyes briefly change to black before fading back to their normal brown again. The man calling himself al'Thor smiled at him. "Welcome back, brother. I see you have chosen."

"There's much that I need to learn," Jake said. "But we can still have parties, right?"

"Oh, I insist on it," Moghedien said. "However… we may need… tributes… We are rebuilding, after all."

"Tributes?" Jake asked.

Moghedien waved an arm, and two orange tears ripped their way open in his living room. A stone room lit by torches were on the other side of the portals opened. Two cloaked humanoid figures stepped through them, each dressed in black armor. One had a slightly more feminine shape than the other, but when they lowered the hoods on their cloaks, Jake blinked. Their faces had no eyes.

"These are Jasca and Maris," al'Thor said. "Myrddraal, servants of the Great Lord, and now your lieutenants, Jake. They will help you collect your tributes so that new weapons can be forged for them, and for their Trolloc progenitors. A new Age necessitates new tactics."

"And for the Great Lord to bring back Valefor?" Jake asked. "A similar tribute is needed?"

Christine Mathers smiled. "I have one in mind, if you please, Jake."

"Who?" Jake asked.

"Your youngest wife," Christine said. "Jessica seems the least trained of your wives, and she would benefit most from taking my Elijah's place."

He did like Jessica, but… Lucas was right about one thing. Having four wives was not an easy task, and if he was planning on having a fifth wife, it would be even harder. Especially a willful one like Khepri. Valefor replacing Jessica… perhaps would be better for the Fallen… No, the Chosen in the long run. Especially if the Great Lord could bring him back with his power intact.

"Very well," Jake said. "I had been looking at replacing her soon, anyway. Khepri supposedly has been spotted."

"Oh?" Christine asked. "You may not have an easy time with her. But I'm willing to help you for one further request."

"What's that?" Jake asked.

"Elijah's murderers," Christine said. "Moghedien and al'Thor have already promised that I would be the one to take their lives. But I would like your assurance as well."

"An eye for an eye, Mama, a life for a life," Jake said. "I won't interfere."

"Good," Christine said. She leaned into Moghedien's stroking of her hair.

"There is but one more thing, Jake, before I release you completely," Moghedien said. "You never took up a cape name other than your own. Why?"

"It never felt right," Jake said. "My siblings never did either."

"Yet Valefor had one, Lionheart did too, and so did Elligos," al'Thor said. "Perhaps you just never found the right one."

"And what would that be?" Jake asked.

"There is one that might fit, and the Great Lord has authorized me to bestow it," Moghedien said. "You will get to decide on your own costume, should you want one."

"Okay…" Jake said. "What's the name?"

"The Great Lord has chosen you, Balthamel, as his new servant," Moghedien said. "Congratulations."

Balthamel. Its meaning came to him. The Essence of Youth.

Fitting.

​

 

[Windborne]

Wellll fuck. And I just bet that it's freaking Moridin posing as Rand. Ugh.