Jackal Among Snakes

Duke Rovostar crouched at the top of a hill, watching the Dragon Palace radiate shadow with morbid fascination. He, just as all his men, had felt the strange force that emanated outwards… and now witnessed what seemed to pull the world inwards. And as he did, he recalled the conversations with Traugott.

#####

“Why are you doing this?” Rovostar had asked, his scarred face dancing in and out of light as a single torchlight flickered.

Traugott, the dark-skinned Magister, had smiled. “You attended the Order. You know of forces beyond comprehension… but you’ve never experienced them.” His eyes wandered to the torch he held. “I had shelved trying to understand the gods, trying to bear witness… but I realize, now, I struggled on that field because I stared at a shut door. I have been enlightened, recently, by a chance encounter with someone who knows more than I do. Perhaps ‘encounter’ is the wrong word… but I was enlightened nonetheless.”

Rovostar recalled narrowing his eyes back then as they met in the loyalist camp. At the time, he’d thought this was just nonsensical ramblings.

“This realm is just as dangerous to the gods as the gods are dangerous to us,” Traugott said with a smile. “Spirits, gods, souls… all three are interconnected parts of a larger whole. One is transitory—a key. The other two are… symbiotic,” he explained. He examined Rovostar’s face, then laughed. “You don’t have any idea what I’m talking about, do you? Well, it doesn’t matter. Orion is the key to what we both want. I will distract him for your ends, which ultimately serves my ends. That’s the end of the matter.”

“This is a dangerous man we’re talking about,” Rovostar had cautioned. “He crushed the head of some pompous Magister with his bare hands. He makes a habit of brutalizing the arrogant. When he was on my side, it was reassuring. As an enemy, Prince Orion is nightmarish.”

“I’m not intending to fight. I’m intending to distract,” Traugott shook his head. “And I assure you… Orion will have his eyes on nothing else.”

#####

As Rovostar stared at the palace in recollection, Georgina walked up beside him. “I’m ready,” she declared.

“I’m not,” Rovostar said idly, questioning only now if he had too eagerly accepted help because of their desperate position. “But I never have been ready to fight, not really. Let’s recover His Majesty.”

#####

he cast were not done at opportune times, his accuracy was off, and his general situational and spatial awareness were not especially high. The only thing enabling this combat to last more than

a rarity. Perhaps Orion should’ve realized that something was wrong with this strange tactic of his opponent. But under pressure from

this all you’ll amount to?” he questioned calmly, his

and waved them forward as though he splashed through an ocean. In response to his whims, ice waved across the floor. Traugott fell backwards gracefully, shrouding his body

body disappeared, he reached, trying to catch him. He had expected his fingers to meet stone… yet instead, they sunk through. Shocked, Orion tried to

the first time in recent memory… what he grabbed resisted his strength. And unlike normal, the darkness Traugott had fallen into persisted like a puddle of abyssal ink. Orion put his feet to the ground firmly and

Traugott’s voice from behind Orion.

no source. The prince fell to one knee in shock, and for the first time he could remember, feared what was

should be happy,” Traugott continued, his arms still at his side. “You will get what you want, Orion. I never lied. You turned

of voices, each and all in extraordinary pain. He released

have carried with me a door to which only I have the key,” Traugott said calmly. “Yet you, parasite-ridden host that you are… are a skeleton key,

fought to no avail even as a hundred voices screamed in agony in his ears. Then, without warning, he felt a sudden deprivation. His mind felt

spirits leave you, having opened the border. I was right.” The Magister watched in a self-satisfied yet pacific

shifted dramatically. The resistance from beyond the inky portal of darkness failed, too, and the prince managed to wrest his arms out somewhat. Slowly, he gained momentum. As

around it as though being sucked inside. Whatever emerged writhed. The more light it absorbed, the more clearly defined its form became. Orion barely recognized it as a gargantuan colorless finger with a long uncut nail. It tried to widen the opening, like a finger stuck through a hole in a cloth shirt. And eventually… it succeeded, and a second protrusion rose up. Yet more light rushed to feed

the spirits…” he kneeled down. “The creature

hand out at his chest. He managed to get a ward up, but Orion broke straight past it and punched the man in

torn to shreds. Traugott held his right shoulder with his

damaged his lungs. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve proven a theory of mine with your help,” he said as his shoulder corrected back into place. His eyes glanced back

there with a clear mind. The whispers that had troubled him… they were gone,

that absorbed all light. Orion started to walk forth, feeling that whatever tried to

time enough to free itself. As soon as it came through, the opening shut, disappearing into nothingness. The new