Of course, he wasnât really God. Not even a god. Just a mortal magician from a long line of magicians who called themselves âGod.â
Kell looked around at her friends, all celebrating the death of the so-called âPrimarch.â None of them had lived under his rule, not like Kell had, but they knew just how cruel he could be. While happy that he was finally dealt with, the threat he had posed still stood in front of them. The Engine.
âWe have to deal with this, somehow,â Kell said, approaching it. âWe leave it here, someoneâs gonna come looking for it.â
âAnd we canât well destroy it,â Gemmer commented, following behind Kell. He looked up at her, his dwarven stature not doing him any favors against Kellâs elven height. The only one taller of her in this group was Ten, the tallman. âPure icesteel. Plus all the magic thatâs stored inside it. Beyond even my capabilities.â He rapped his knuckles against the engine, a dull, cold thud emanating from it.
âWe can hide it somewhere, then,â Ten suggested. âA place only us four know. Gemmer, you can find a large enough tunnel that wonât be disturbed. With Lannyâs help, we could seal off any entrance. The engine was lost once before, it can be lost again.â
The group turned towards Lanny.
âWell,â the halfling began, âit shouldnât be impossible to do. I-Iâll need Gemmer and Ten to help get all the rubble, but my magic should be able to seal off any remaining cracks and make it look like nothing was ever there.â
Lanny was a magic-user, a âmysticâ as he preferred to be called. Some others have called him âwitchâ, but he disliked that title. âMysticâ suited him just fine. Kell had magic of her own, though from a source alien to this world. Like the Primarch, she too was a Primage. Most elven sorcerers were, though some had tapped into the magic of this world rather than relying on the magic of the old.
For the rest of their journey, Kell felt useless. She wasnât strong enough to help with gathering rubble, and her magic was categorically incompatible with Lannyâs, so she couldnât help with sealing the cave. She was just⊠there. And so she did all that she could. She slept.
She was tired. Drained from her fight with the Primarch. She was the one that had held his attention, and was almost able to go blow-for-blow with their magic. While he flung electricity at her party, she flung blades at him. She pulled them out of the way of death and destruction. She helped them fight against his illusions.
She was the one who landed the final blow.
It wasnât even intentional. Not really. In a volley of blades, one had just⊠landed right. Straight through Godâs throat. He died just like any other man. Kell knew he would - the religion of the Primarchy preached that the body was mortal, while his soul was god. But why did his blood have to be just the same color of red as her own?
The worst part was there was no dignity. He clawed to life in his final moments, choking on his blood, trying to get up, fling one last bit of magic at her in revenge. But he couldnât.
No, not couldnât. Here, in her dreams, she saw something in his eye. Not inability. Not even the eyes of a man who knew he was dying. There was something devious in those eyes, like he knew something they didnât. Almost a smile in his lips.
When his body hit the floor, there was only silence that seemed to ring throughout the ancient building. Silence that wasnât broken for what felt like minutes, until Kell began the conversation about dealing with the engine.
When Kell awoke, Gemmer and Ten were still quarrying rocks and rubble. Lanny was beginning to seal off the cavern they brought the engine to. Sighing, she made her way to the fire they set up and began making food for the four of them to eat. She could make herself useful somehow.
âSleep well?â Lanny asked as he made his way back to the campsite, wiping rock dust off his hands. He looked chipper. Kell didnât.
âGuess not,â he replied to her silence before sitting down. âWell, we should be happy itâs almost over. That hack is dead. The world is safe for another day.â He smiled as he pulled out a piece of unleavened bread from his sack and Kell handed him a bowl of stew.
âTo saving the world,â Kell said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster for a toast.
âTo saving the world!â
âAye, are you wizards drinking without us?â
With the voice of Gemmer complaining about missing a drink, Kell could tell that he and Ten were done with cracking rocks for today.
âJust stew,â she said. âYou drank all our alcohol before we were a week out of civilization, Gemmer, remember?â
The two men sat down by the fire and accepted their stews, eating gratefully to recover from their day of hard work.
âSo, whatâs everyone going to do once weâre done with this?â Ten asked as the fire started to burn down. Night was coming upon the group, and it would be best to start resting sooner rather than later, but conversation persisted.
âIâm returning to my clan,â Gemmer said. âIâve spent too long away for a dwarf that isnât a traveller.â
âIâm also going home,â Lanny piped up. âIâm sure my books miss me.â
Right, Kell thought. His books. Why on earth did he animate them again? The whims of this mystical halfling always seemed trivial to her.
Ten nodded. âIâm also going home. I have a girl waiting for me.â
Everyone looked at Kell apologetically. She didnât even have to say anything. She didnât have a home to return to. Especially not after she killed the god of everyone she ever knew.
âIâllâŠâ She desperately wanted to say something. To ask if she could go with someone. Or keep adventuring with them. Anything other than being alone. But her voice would only let her say one thing.
âIâll stay here, for a bit. Make sure nothing happens to the engine. Maybe wait for the next bit of adventure to take me.â
The words werenât what she wanted to say, but everyone nodded like it was a good course of action. Kell couldnât do anything but look down at the fire, reduced to embers. Their food was cooked, and it wasnât a cold night. They had no more need for the fire. So she put it out.
Kell had another dream that night.
It was the day of her Zelgearch coronation. She stood in the hall of the Primarch, the day she first met him. She stepped forward. Her first year as an enforcer played in her mind. The outsiders she killed, only vague faces now.
She stepped again. Her second year. She was a prodigy, and progresses faster than most others. Already she could move metal with enough precision to cut off someoneâs fingers, one at a time. Slowly.
Third step. Third year. She killed her superior after a dangerous mission while he slept. She didnât want to share the accomplishment. That mission was what for her here.
She stood right before the Primarch now. She glanced back. How could she have covered such distance in only 3 steps?
Looking back forward, something was wrong. Her crown wasnât there. On a Zelgearch coronation, youâre given a crown of daggers. Zelgearch meant âMaster of Bladesâ in the elven tongue. The Primarch smiled at her, and removed his own crown.
Kell kneeled, head down, as the Primarch placed his crown on her head. When she looked up, the Primarch no longer stood before her. Instead, she did. A blade flew at her, lodged in her throat, and Kell stumbled backwards onto the floor below.
Gemmer woke up early the next morning to get to work. He was surprised to find Kell up already, starting the fire again and making breakfast. She had seemed so down yesterday, but now she seemed⊠fine. Happy even.
âMorning,â he grunted, sitting down next to her.
âGood morning, Gemmer,â Kell said, handing him a plate with some eggs.
Gemmer looked around. Where did she get eggs? Did she grab them from a nest? Regardless, he wasnât going to let a good meal pass him by. Theyâve been living off of ration stew for too long.
Kell resumed her cooking as Gemmer began to eat. She started 2 more eggs on a metal plate for whoever was up next. After Gemmer finished his food, he grabbed his in invictide pickaxe to return to quarrying.
âThe sooner this is done, the sooner Iâm back with my clan,â Gemmer told himself as he got to work.
After some time, Ten came to join him. Lanny got to sealing their rocks in. At this rate, the cavern would be sealed off before sundown. This only inspired the men to work faster.
Lanny panted as he sealed off the last bit of cave. That was it. It was pretty much perfect - he didnât think anyone would be able to tell there was ever anything other than cliffside here. Heâd gone through most of his energy in order to finish this today. Maybe heâd ask Gemmer to carry him for a bit.
No, that dwarf deserved some rest too. Theyâd rest here one more night, then head off in the morning. If Kell wanted to stay here she could, but Lanny didnât understand what went through the Primageâs mind. Sheâd return to civilization soon enough, she was a smart lass.
One more dinner, one more fire put out, and one more rest.
No dreams came to Kell that night. They werenât necessary anymore.
As the three men left the campsite, they each gave a gift to Kell. A magical bauble from Lanny. A silver sword from Ten. And a dwarven helmet from Gemmer.
Kell waved them off with a smile as they began their journeys back home, knowing that this was all behind them now.
Once they were far enough, Kellâs smile dropped. She grabbed her bag and rummaged through it, grabbing an Icesteel dagger. She had taken it from her superior she killed. A useful tool, especially now.
The elf made her way to where the cavern once was. She didnât waste time thinking before the blade dug its way into stone. She didnât have time to waste if she was to take the engine back to the Primarchy and declare herself the new incarnation.
