The Sixth King

I appeared silently in the clearing just before the sun kissed the horizon. The same worker was there, her eyes showing she was not controlled. She was lying down, head down. I stood for a moment before deciding to get her attention.

Please tell thy queen I have arrived.

She jumped to her feet and stared at me for a moment. Her eyes turned red.

“You are back. I did not believe you would follow your word.”

I do not give my word lightly, and I do not break it when unnecessary.

She smirked. “If you say so.” Her horn glowed, and a scroll appeared in front of her with a loud crack and a flash of light. “I’ve had a map drawn up of the borders to our lands. Now you know them.” She flung the scroll at me, but I caught it easily. I opened it and on the paper was a map, with geological features clearly marked and the borders, thankfully, were easy to determine while on foot. About a quarter of the area was shaded.

Chrysalis continued, “You can go anywhere in my lands save for the shaded area without needing my explicit permission. The shaded area contains the main hive and I don’t want you to kill anything in there. If you do want to visit, find any worker and ask to speak to the queen. I’ll hear it and take control. You can bring one other animal, sentient or not, with you, but they must be near you at all times so the workers know not to kick them out.”

I cut in before she could continue. Why art thou allowing me in thy lands at all, queen?

“Because your arrival was heralded by the Prophet, and I tend to agree with the old bastard. Besides, if the prophecies come true, I want to be on your good side.”

I would have smiled if I could. I thank thee for thy honesty.

“No problem. Anyway, the only condition for that is you need to tell me beforehand. If I find you within a league of the border, I won’t be mad, but farther in and I will assume you entered intentionally.”

Very well.

“If you need something I can give, talk to one of the workers. They should be pretty much everywhere; just wander a bit until you see one. Normally they hide from strangers, but I’ve had them not do that for you and anyone you bring.” She sat down and her horn glowed again, another scroll appearing in front of her with a loud crack and a flash of light. “This is a full list of the rules I’ve set. Not too long, and I told you most of the essential ones.”

My thanks. With another slight twist, I teleported both the map and the rules to the same rock as the other two places and wove the same enchantment over them. Chrysalis blinked her eyes in surprise.

“What did you do with them?”

I teleported them to the site of my future house and prevented others from picking them up. Why dost thou ask?

“Because that takes a huge amount of power. Selective enchantments and long-distance teleports are both energy-heavy. Are you using gems to power the spells?”

I was unaware such a thing was possible.

“Incredible. Any other spells you’re holding right now?”

A shield above the scrolls to protect them from weather.

“Huh. And it’s steady? Even such a distance?”

Yes. At this point, I was beginning to realize that I should have been tired from my previous exertions, but instead I felt identical to when I first had woken up.

“Incredible. Absolutely incredible. Anyway, follow the worker. Have you tried flying yet?”

No. Before, there was no need to attempt it, so I did not.

“Well, you’re trying it now. Unless you can blind-teleport to my hive.”

I should like to try, if only to irk thee. But I will fly. Lead on, changeling.

As the worker began to take off, I spread my wings. They felt huge, and looking back, I could see them stretch to either side almost my entire height. With a single powerful pump of them, I launched almost thirty times my height into the air. I accessed my knowledge and used it to fly to where the drone was hovering.

“Huh, so powerful wings as well. Impressive. Follow the worker.”

Just before she turned away, I noticed her eyes turn back to blue. She immediately moved forward at a fairly great speed. I followed the worker as she flew to a large, pointed hill. As we approached, I noticed that the top had been cut off, leaving a large area exposed. We landed there and I set another location ward but removed the faint mundane light and muffled the traces of magic. The workers and soldiers around me stared briefly before, with a quiet whisper across the hive mind, returning to work.

The worker whom I was following stamped on the ground three times and muttered a word in the native tongue of the changelings.

"Avari'te."

I noticed that I still knew what she had said, even though I could not hear it naturally. A hole opened in the ground, and the worker jumped in. I followed suit after readying my telekinesis to catch myself if there was not enough room for my wings. As it turned out, the hole opened into a massive cavern, which I took to be the inside of the hill. The worker turned to me, eyes still blue, and spoke. "Follow close behind me. You would not want to get lost."

I did, and the worker led me through a twisting maze of tunnels. After several minutes of what appeared to be random wandering -- but never lead us into the same tunnels -- we arrived at a pair of massive, ornate steel doors. They were inlaid with gold in abstract polygonal patterns, symmetrical across a line which I assumed to be the separation between the doors. Studded in the design were many gems, each anchoring a ward, and each ward reinforcing the others. It was a brilliant design; with all of the wards active, one could open the doors with a touch and still lock them to withstand nearly anything. The wards also soundproofed the room and blocked any magic from entering.

After a few moment of being able to admire the doors, my guide’s horn lit and the doors silently swung open. She immediately continued forwards into the room. It was a fairly long hall, with two rows of columns on either side, evenly spaced. Each one was designed identical to the ones in its row, but no two rows had the same pattern. Upon a closer inspection, the columns all had gems inlaid in the same positions to support enchantments to strengthen the obsidian from which the columns were carved and confuse those who look at them, that the queen could gain the upper hand in negotiations.

At the end of the columns was a massive, pure white marble throne with geometric designs carved into it as well. The designs were outlined in obsidian and at each intersection was a gem, helping to support a shield to protect the queen in case of attack. Before the throne were two guards, encased in shined steel armor with gold patterns laid on th

The queen herself sat on a cushion which covered the entire seat of the throne, and stared at me. Through the hive mind, she addressed the worker, telling her to go. The worker complied and flew out between the columns, presumably returning to whatever task she had before she was called to guide me.

“So, you are the Sixth King,” she said.

I do not yet rule. As such, I should not be addressed as a king. I go by Azrael.

She blinked in surprise. “Very well, Azrael. Do you know why I asked you come?”

I suspect thou wouldst demand an apology for mine offensive behavior when we first met. I meant no harm; I was only confused by my sudden arrival to this world and the loss of memories for a life I know I lived.

This time, her jaw, quite literally, dropped, before she shook her head and recovered. “You… You ask for my forgiveness?!”

I, confused at her shock, simply said, Yes. Wouldst thou grant it?

“B-but… What? Why?”

I trespassed, acted like I owned the land, and demanded I be allowed free entrance. ‘Twas rude and hardly right; I should have striven instead to leave when I was informed of mine inappropriate entrance to thy lands.

Chrysalis didn’t bother to contain her shock. At the time I was still confused as to why she felt it; as far as I knew, I was the only one who had done anything wrong. Was I violating some sort of custom?

“But-- You’re a King! The Sixth King! You rule all lands! You have equal right to pass anywhere without interruption, and I didn’t realize who you were until I had confronted you!”

Clearly, no custom was violated. Instead, I was being feared for no reason. My voice was quieter, and laced with the threat of violence. I am no king. I have not earned the right to rule and so I should not use it. Dost thou understand?

She gulped. “Y-yes.”

Good. My voice returned to its normal state. Thou would have attempted to apologize to me?

She nodded with fear in her eyes.

I thank thee for the kind gesture. Thou now knowest that ‘tis not necessary. Interrupt me to thy pleasure; I am no king. Yet, boy. You are not king yet.

I barely controlled a surprised flinch at the voice echoing through my mind -- it sounded much like my own, but much older. I could not trace it.

And you never will. I shall reveal myself when I choose, and not before.

As the voice faded, Chrysalis spoke, her voice more confident. “Very well… Azrael.” I noticed her guards had moved to her side to offer comfort; I decided to peek into the hive mind and was nearly overwhelmed by the chorus of mental support pulsing through it. I pulled out of it immediately to meet a disapproving stare from Chrysalis. “You would intrude on my Hive?”

My voice jovial, I said, I would indeed, out of curiosity. As always, I shall not harm thee or thy subjects. I apologize if it was wrong.

She grunted. “Fair enough. Keep to that policy and I’ll be fine with whatever you do.” I had left some remnant of me in the hive and saw that, despite her brave words, she still feared mine anger.

Thou needest no facade. I can see thy mind through the Hive. I know thy fear is still present. And I know I would wish it away if it was possible. I can only hope that I shall get rid of it by my actions, now and in the future. For now, I have tasks to complete before the morn. Wouldst thou allow my exit?

With my words, she gave up trying to appear impassive or arrogant, and stopped hiding her emotions. From a detached point of view, it was fascinating, as I was able to nearly read her mind; as a creature with morals it was horrifying to know I caused such fear in any living creature. I vowed to never cause such terror again, and where I did, to assuage the fear and become -- if not a friend -- at least not a hated ruler.

I teleported out of the Hive and to the clearing I'd earlier seen, and decided to read the scroll left behind for me by the Prophet. I picked it up and opened it.

Inside, there was only a map of the region, and a detailed one at that. About three minutes’ flight away was a red cross, marking a location. On the side, where it was only empty space on the map, there was a short paragraph.

If I’ve done my work right, I’ve just met you in the company of two good friends of mine. It will be immediately after a dangerous encounter; I know not what -- it’s three thousand years in the future, I can’t tell it that accurately! Anyway, I’m not sure if I specified it when we spoke, but I want to meet the morning after at the spot marked on the map. We need to have a serious chat about how you got here, what you remember, and how I can help.

I looked where the red cross was, and focused my power to teleport near it. I flew high into the air, compared the location on the map to the landscape below me, and realized that he meant to meet where we’d met before. I landed in the same clearing and set another location ward, then teleported back to my clearing.

At first, I simply wanted a shelter where I could keep items which must be protected from the weather. Just before I reached into my store of knowledge to find out how to conjure things, the voice spoke again. OK. first, call me Five. Second, don’t do things that require a lot of power -- you’ll learn why later; for now, I’ll stop you from doing it. Once you learn the cost, you can decide if it’s worth it. Third, and last, your Scythe can morph into other shapes. Try it. The voice faded, and impressed on my mind was the knowledge of how to do it. I willed it into the shape of an axe, cut down a few trees, and built a small hut that would provide temporary storage over the boulder. I then picked up all four scrolls, shaped the Scythe into a chisel, and carved it into a short, wide platform. Placing the scrolls back down, I enchanted the rock so none but I could pick things up from its surface by any means.

When I finished, I still had a decent amount of time before daybreak. I decided to sit down and see if I could find any reactions that were motivated primarily by fear. As I did, I suddenly noticed that the voice had spoken to me before. It had told me that Eir was a gryphon, and instead of reading text the voice had said its translation in my mind. Well done. You’ve half guessed what I am. It still won’t tell you who. I, of course, was very confused by this. Oh, shut it. You’re smarter than you give yourself credit for. You’ll get it soon enough. With that, the voice again faded, leaving me alone in my own mind.

Experimentally, I tried to morph the Scythe into a glove of sorts. It fit my hand relatively well and, by making overlapping plates, allowed me a full range of motion as well. I noticed that I had to have both wood and metal in the new form, or it would not work, so I made it a wooden base with the metal from the scythe covering it. I tried to make a second one out of it, but couldn’t pull the two apart. I assumed that all pieces had to stay in contact with each other at all times -- the hinges in my glove provided that. Either way, I only needed it to conveniently stay near me, while still letting me hold things with that hand, and having a single glove would suffice.

On a whim, I decided to shape the wood to form intricate designs across the surface of the glove. When it finished, moving my hand was almost hypnotic. The organic curves and twists caught the eye and drew it in. I studied the shape of the glove - the Scythe’s Form - and committed it to memory, that I could form it again later. Heh, nice gear. Anyway, Sun’s about to come up. I’d say you should go to that clearing to meet with… Starry Sky. I was somewhat surprised at the hesitation in Five’s - Finally - voice, but he didn’t tell me why. I remembered that Starry Sky himself had hesitated before saying his name, and suspected they were related. Indeed it is, and you’ll find out pretty soon. Actually, I’m slightly surprised you haven’t already; it’s pretty obvious.

I ignored the veiled insult and teleported to the clearing. The manticore was back, but Starry Sky was not there yet. I spoke to the manticore. I’m about to speak with a friend. Can you come back later, please? It nodded, then turned around and padded away. Just before it left my sight, I said, Thank you. It turned back and gave me a toothy grin before continuing on to its lair.

A few minutes afterwards, Starry Sky arrived. You know, you can also think of him as just “Starry”. It’s a pretty common practice to just take the first name. I inwardly nodded.

“So, you’re the Sixth King. Been wondering when I’d get to meet you.”

I have been called as much, though I do not wish to rule.

He stopped walking towards me for a moment. “Ooh, a humble one! That’s a nice change. So, how’d the meeting with Chrysalis go?”

It was my turn to stare. How didst thou know?

“Oh, the same way I know everything. You get my map?”

It clicked. He was the Prophet -- and still alive after three thousand years, somehow. And it was so blatantly obvious, I was slightly shocked that I hadn’t seen it before.

So thou art immortal?

He winced. “Yes.” After a pause, he said, “Also, we need to work on getting you to speak in Modern Equish.”

I had chosen to speak like this. I shall not change my mode of speech. What thou sayest shall not change it.

He smiled. “Well, that’s fine. Can you speak in Modern?”

Most likely. I have yet to try.

“Good enough for me! Onto the next point. You’re immortal. A bit like me like me, you’re truly unkillable. You also possess the one thing that can kill anything, anywhere. Well, nearly anything.”

My Scythe?

“Indeed. By the way, nice Form for it. Can I see it?” Without thinking, I handed it over. A split second before he grabbed it, he stopped. “I’m one of the things that it can’t kill. The Kings like me too much to make me as vulnerable as that.” A smirk appeared on his face. “Anyway, hand it over.”

I did so, and he didn’t die. As soon as my bony fingers lost contact with it, I realized that most of my power was gone. Yeah, that’s one of the limits. Trust Proph, he’s a good guy normally. He’ll help you until the end of Reality, and I’m not exaggerating.

Meanwhile, the Prophet had finished his inspection my my Scythe’s form. “So, you met Five yet? No idea who he is, but I’m told he’s supposed to have introduced himself by now.”

Eh, go ahead, tell him about me.

Yes, I have. As of yet, only by telepathy, but I have spoken to him.

“Telepathy? Huh. There’s only maybe six or seven creatures I know that could do that.” He squinted at me, before they widened in shock. “Wait, that Five?! Oh, this is brilliant. You couldn’t have a better voice in your head.” He frowned. “And I’ve got all the rest.” His smile came back. “Righty-o, then! Let’s be off. Follow me.”

I decided to trust him and followed. We walked until the sun was at its highest, but the Prophet showed no signs of stopping. We walked for almost the full day before, as the sun began to kiss the horizon, we saw an old, ruined castle in a clearing, a river flowing past it. The Prophet quickened his steps and said, “We need to get there before sunset.” He began to canter towards it, and sped up to a full gallop quickly. I opened my wings and flew after him. As we approached further, he turned to the left. The sun was about halfway obscured by the horizon when we arrived at a tiny door in the side of the castle.

“It’s the one entrance that isn’t warded. Trying to enter through anywhere else will teleport you a thousand meters away.” He paused, before correcting himself. “Sorry, this one is warded, actually. It does the same thing unless I’m within about twenty meters.”

I was confused. And how long is a meter?

He looked back at me, a sheepish grin on his face. “Right, I forgot. Memory wipe and all that. I’m almost exactly a meter tall. You’re about two. A second is about the time between two of my heartbeats, I weigh a little under a hundred kilograms, and that’s all the units I can think of for now. Call me if you can think of any others.” He paused, and after a moment a tiny square of gold with the letter P on one side and six dots, five of them depressed and one not, on the other, appeared in midair above him. It was wreathed in power and floated over to me. I plucked it out of the air. “Keep that with you. If you ever need me, hold it and say my name twice. I’ll be there soon. It’ll only work for your mental voice, by the way -- if anyone else tries to use it, nothing will happen.”

We finally walked in, and he opened a door to reveal… emptiness. Complete and utter void. “Whoops! My bad.” He closed the door, closed his eyes in concentration, then reopened it and it showed a massive hallway. “Yeah, the whole outer structure is a massive fake. Really nothing there. The real castle is in a pocket dimension where the so-called ‘mods’ have infinite power. Each of the Six should already be one, and I know I am. He looked at me and nodded. “Yep! Everything’s all set then. Well, explore a bit.”

Why did we need to be here by sundown?

“Oh yeah! Right, follow me.” He walked down a door and opened the third one on our left. “Right, so if you want to leave this place, go back through that door we came in from. Anyway, let’s find your bedroom. The view from the windows is incredible.” Beyond the door was a massive room with a king-sized bed, a giant wardrobe, an elaborate desk with many supplies on it. There was also a cabinet by the bed, but I knew not what was inside. The Prophet ignored all of it and strode instead to the massive window. I wondered what could be outside, if it was a pocket dimension. Should there not be nothing? “Turn around. I want the view to be a surprise.”

I did, and he opened the heavy curtains. A brilliant light filled the room with dhifting, multicolored shadows. He said, “Alright, you can look now. I’d recommend coming to the balcony here first.” I teleported next to him and turn around. Before me was a massive, shifting landscape of a huge planet. Streams of light played over its surface like living beings, and I stood enraptured. I could tell that my meager sight couldn’t record its infinite majesty, and that no matter how long I looked I would never pierce its secrets. I fail to describe in words its beauty; no image can do it justice -- the only way to truly experience it is to visit it, and that is hardly possible any longer.

“That, my new friend, is what I call Oblivion. It’s a gigantic ball of raw magical power of all four types -- Chaos, Harmony, Life, and Death -- existing together somehow. Touching it will instantly truly kill any being in any reality. Inside, there’s a single room. None have managed to enter it, and it’s said to contain the Secret of the Universe. No one knows what the Secret relates to -- is it magic? Science? Until someone discovers what it is, we won’t know. Oblivion itself exists unchanging, even if it looks dynamic now; it exists across all times and places and realities.” His smile died and his eyes lost their emotion. “I understood its secrets, and no words can communicate them. It’s beautiful and a curse; by Its power I was ‘gifted’ with my immortality and my power.” He put a twist on the word “gifted” as though to suggest it was hardly that.

“Each time you draw on your power, it takes from this. Imbalancing too much it will destroy all existence. There is enough that normal usage will hardly do anything, but you must be exceptionally careful. Five will warn you when you near the limits of the power you can take. Once you learn to take equally from each type of power, you’ll be fine, but that knowledge is locked until you Ascend.” He turned around and walked back inside. “Lastly, it only goes into active mode like that at sunset and sunrise. Normally it’s only a ball of whiteness. It’s calming down now, but we have things to do.” He stood at the window. “Come on, Six, let’s get going.”

With a certain amount of willpower I tore my eyes from the beauty and walked after the Prophet. ‘Tis beautiful.

“Indeed it is. Sorry for the long speech, but it’s only the first of many. I need to tell you a lot, especially about your power. And my prophecies.”

I shall listen.