Dissension (2 page)

“Daviathan!  You dare interrupt the high council while in session.  We have tolerated your arrogance long enough, you shall be punished,” Theodoros screamed and slammed his hand down.

Daviathan stood in the center of the great hall.  It was an elaborate room with white, marble floors and spanning, arched ceilings, covered with cryptic murals.

Toward the back of the room was a long, black table made completely of onyx.  It was raised ten feet from the ground on a platform and behind it sat several men all cloaked in identical, black robes.

“It is true Theodoros," Daviathan replied.  "We shall all be punished, but not for my arrogance, but for the stupidity of this council!”

Theodoros shot out of his seat, knocking his heavy wooden chair to the floor.  He opened his mouth to speak, but a taller man stood and placed his hand on Theodoros’ shoulder.

“You are out of line Daviathan.  The high council must be respected,” the man said calmly.

“Lupercus, I wish there were time for respect or the normal customs due this council.  Unfortunately, time is no longer our ally.”

“Speak your peace then,” Lupercus ordered.  His fierce orange eyes blazed into Daviathan like the sun.

“The spectrals, it is as I have feared.  They have dealt us a fatal blow.  Abrax and his wife are dead, the portals have been stolen and all the protectors slaughtered.”

Theodoros gasped as the other men jostled to their feet.  There was an eruption of chatter, council members turning to one another in outrage.

“Lies!” a younger looking man screamed as he shook his finger at Daviathan.

He removed his hood; his dark, black hair still covered his eyes.  His face was thin and angled; his skin dark, absent an imperfection.

“It is no secret, your disdain for the council.  Now blasphemy has fueled your outrageous claims,” the man continued.

“Cleonicus, he would never,” Lupercus interjected.

“Don’t be fooled by his empty acts of valor.  This is all a ploy to unseat the council, an attempt at a coup with his aging counterpart.”

Like a streak of light, Daviathan sailed through the air.  One moment he was standing in front of the council, the next moment he had Cleonicus by the throat.  With little effort, he slammed his face into the hardened surface of the table and leaned over him.

“You claim to know much young fool,” he said with an angry growl then pressed closer.  “Know this boy, if your seat is what I sought I would’ve long since taken it…by force!”

“He did not mean to offend Daviathan,” Lupercus said, hesitantly approaching him.

Daviathan sighed and slowly loosened his grasp on Cleonicus’ neck.  He took a step back and Cleonicus quickly righted himself as he scowled at Daviathan.

“Apologies to the council, I mean no disrespect,” Daviathan said and cleared his throat.  “It is urgency that forces my hand.  We performed the contai on Abrax.  With his final breath he told us the spectrals seek the master portal.”

“Impossible!” Several of the council members stammered in unison.

“It is true,” Tarian pleaded as he found his voice.  "I saw it myself."

“Daviathan we have lived here for centuries.  Our defenses have stood the test of time.  We have thwarted many a foe, as we will with these inbred mutts,” Theodoros said defiantly.

“Do you hear this?” Cleonicus asked and turned to Lupercus. “He would have us believe the Spectrals are after a weapon that they know not.  And even if they did have knowledge of its existence, they could never use it.”

“Oh, I do believe they know of it Cleonicus and with the proper assistance they could access its power,” Daviathan said and raised his eyebrows.

“Riddles are for fools and children Daviathan.  Speak your mind,” an older man known as Iasos demanded.

“It is no secret that many in this council have believed the spectrals had turned an elder.”

“Ha!  That rumor died along with its originator,” Cleonicus laughed.

“Indeed it did, but a younger council member, someone like you Cleonicus, could’ve easily picked up the charge.”

“You dare!” Cleonicus raged.

“I do!” Daviathan shot back.

“Enough!  Daviathan do you have proof of any of this?” Lupercus asked.  He stepped in between them and held out his arms.

“Send an envoy, go yourself.  You will see that my words are true.”

“That would suit you wouldn’t it, an empty council, ripe for the taking?” Cleonicus pressed on.

Daviathan didn’t respond.  He stared at Lupercus with a determined look in his eyes.  He'd known him for decades, but in these chambers personal relationships were pushed aside to serve the needs of the many.

Lupercus considered him for a moment.  He knew Daviathan to be an honest man, but his claims were beyond reason.  Still, he deserved the benefit of the doubt.

“Cleonicus, travel with Tarian and Daviathan to Abrax’s station," Lupercus finally ordered.  "You yourself can verify if his claims are real.”

“Lupercus, certainly there… there are others that are better suited,” Cleonicus stuttered.  “You cannot mean me to leave the council just to indulge his foolish endeavors.”

“Who would be better?  I’m sure under your watchful eye no stone will go unturned.”

Cleonicus made to object, but Lupercus held his hand out and a small blue sphere floated across the table.  Tarian and Daviathan stepped forward then looked to Cleonicus.  Gritting his teeth he joined them as they stepped into the portal and vanished.

A Cowards Betrayal

A familiar smell hung in the air.  The smell of death, the smell of a life snuffed out prematurely.  It was a rancid, hopeless smell; so thick that it was almost palpable.

Candles lit each corner of the dusty hut.  The flickering glow, casting shadows against the bumpy, clay walls.  Daviathan and Tarian stood in the main room, watching as Cleonicus pretended to inspect the area.

“There is nobody here.  I’ve seen enough,” Cleonicus said, not trying to hide his annoyance.

“That alone should raise suspicion should it not?  It was you yourself that sent Abrax here.”  Daviathan walked past him and began to look around.  “His body was right here, you can still see the blood trails.”

“Possibly, but none of that suggests the claims you made to the council.”

“You cannot be that foolish Cleonicus.  If we do nothing we shall all perish.”

Cleonicus smirked at him and shook his head.  Scuffing at the blood marks with his shoes, he sighed and glanced around with disinterest.

“I grow weary of your games Daviathan,” Cleonicus whispered as he disappeared into another room.

Daviathan grinded his teeth and glanced at Tarian, sharing a look of exasperation.  Instead of preparing for battle and awakening the other elementals, they were here with a coward justifying their claims.  Daviathan was a warrior and politics of this kind had no place on the battlefield.

“Tarian, come help me with this,” Cleonicus called out.

“Could they have paired us with a more useless councilman?” Tarian said as he turned the corner and headed into the room.

Rolling his eyes, Daviathan walked into the kitchen.  Abrax had assimilated himself quite well, he thought.  Rows of colorful plates and bowls were stacked on the counters.  Paintings and different types of artwork hung from the wall.  A century and a half on Earth was bound to rub off, bound to make someone seem more, human.

Elementals weren’t meant for such things.  An immortal species, they didn’t adjust well to the finite ways of humans.  Prior to Abrax no elemental had lived on Earth for longer than a decade.

A thin layer of dust had accumulated in the hours they were gone, but time didn’t pass here like it did where they were from.  Days here were mere minutes back home.

Running his finger across the wall, Daviathan thought of Abrax and his final words.  The master portal, even Daviathan didn’t know its location.  As an elder he was privy to many things, but the master portal was a heavily guarded secret.  Only the guardians and the council members knew where it was hidden.

As Daviathan walked back into the living room, a strange sensation ran through his body.  He paused, turned his head to the side and strained his ears.  An ominous feeling seeped down his spine and the hairs on his arms spiked.  Something was wrong.

“Tarian?” he called out.

He waited in silence, but there was no response.  Slowly moving his hand to his back, he slid out a dagger and shifted quietly to the wall.  He called for Tarian again.

When there was still no answer he slipped into the room.  Glancing from side to side, he walked purposefully like a hunting lion.  Something moved in the corner behind him, but he was too slow to react.  Before he knew it, he was on the ground and Cleonicus hovered over him with an evil smirk.

“You should’ve stayed back in Elisia,” Cleonicus spat as he raised his jagged sword high overhead.

Daviathan rolled out of the way just as Cleonicus brought the sword crashing to the ground.  Jumping to his feet, he slipped and his leg shot out awkwardly.  Recovering, he glanced down at the floor, streaks of blood were smeared across it and Tarian’s ragged limbs were strewn about.

Horror and rage shot through him like an arrow.  Tarian had been his oldest friend and longtime mentor.  Now his body lay broken at the hands of a coward.

“Fools you both are really,” Cleonicus called from behind him.  “You and your pathetic love for the antiquated ways of the elementals.  With your councils and guardians, shepherding the portals when we were meant for such greater things.”

Daviathan’s hands shook with anger.  He slowly turned his head, his eyes narrowing into thin slits.  Cleonicus stood a few feet away from him, poised to strike.  His treacherous hands gripped his sword tightly, the needlelike tip directed straight at Daviathan.

“Guardians of the dimensions, protectors of the gateways.  Why do we serve when it is ours to rule?” Cleonicus droned, shaking his head like he was scolding a school child.  "An eternity acting as nothing more than babysitters for spoiled children.  Do you really think this is what he wanted for us?"

Cleonicus spoke with disdain dripping from every word.  He slowly rotated the hilt of his sword in his palm, his eyes locked on to Daviathan, studying his reaction, awaiting what he knew was to come.

“Don’t worry Daviathan; your death will pass quickly," he continued to instigate.  "I cannot say the same for those back in Elisia.”

A bolt of pain ripped through Daviathan.  For the first time he noticed the small, shimmering light in the corner of the room.  He couldn't believe he hadn't seen it earlier and now he understood why Cleonicus had been stalling.

“A tunnel key.  What did you do Cleonicus, what did you do?”

“Isn’t it obvious?  As we speak the Spectrals are laying waste to your precious city and from the ashes we will build a new race, a better race.”

“No!” Daviathan wailed.  His voice reverberated through the hut, shaking the entire structure.

Cleonicus surged forward in a flash.  He brought the sword sweeping through the air, moving so fast it sung as it sliced through the tiny particles of matter.

With a clang, the metal crashed into the stone floor, but Daviathan was already gone.  He had moved so fast Cleonicus didn’t even see him.

Raising his sword, he spun around, but what he saw behind him was no longer the Daviathan he knew.  What stood in his place was something much more than a man, much more than an Elemental.

His shirt had been obliterated revealing a blue toned skin, hardened with spikes.  His hands were now talon-like claws, sharp as razors.  His eyes beamed a fluorescent white and his hair blazed red like fire.  His muscular chest heaved up and down with each breath as if he was sucking energy from the air.

“How?  It is impossible.  Ascension is beyond you,” Cleonicus gasped.

“And yet here I stand.”

Daviathan lunged at him just as Cleonicus swung the sword.  He caught it in his hand stopping the blade in his palm.  He wrapped his claws around it in a vice-like grip and crushed the metal into tiny flakes of silver.

With his other hand he drove his claws into Cleonicus, pushing him backwards until they slammed into a wall.  Cleonicus gasped, splattering blood into the air.  He released the crumpled hilt of the sword and brought his elbow crashing into Daviathan’s head.

Daviathan stumbled backwards as Cleonicus slid down the wall.  He recovered almost immediately and dove at Daviathan, crashing into him like a battering ram.  They both flew backwards and smacked into the floor with Cleonicus landing on top.  The impact was so intense it cracked the stone.

“I’ve seen things Daviathan.  The Spectrals have shown me our true potential.”  Cleonicus spat as he wrestled for a better position.

He wrapped his hands around Daviathan’s neck and he pressed his knee into his chest.  He could feel his heart beating through his fingertips.

“They will all die and there is nothing you can do to save them,” Cleonicus growled.

He stared into Daviathan’s eyes as he tightened his grip.  His fingers constricted, coiling around his neck like a python.  He squeezed with all his might, wanting nothing more than to crush the life from him.

“You’ve always overreached,” Daviathan grumbled.

Suddenly, Daviathan grabbed Cleonicus’ wrist in one hand and began to pry his fingers away.  Bucking wildly, he slung Cleonicus overhead, sending him flying through the air.  With a thud, he landed on the floor and tried to scurry to his feet.

Before Cleonicus could stand Daviathan had crossed the room.  He stood over him breathing heavily, his eyes burning like a wild fire.  An intense power radiated from him that shook the walls and sent furniture toppling over.

Cleonicus sat up onto his knees and glared at Daviathan.  He sighed feebly and wiped blood from his mouth.  He looked pitiful, a crushed man, finally realizing that he was on the losing side.

“Our true power…is beyond your comprehension,” Daviathan said in a dark voice.  Then, in a flash, his claws moved like the wind searing through Cleonicus’ neck sending his head spiraling into the air.

Cleonicus’ headless body toppled to the ground.  Daviathan stared at it momentarily, tilting his head to the side in mild interest.  He’d absolutely loathed him for so long and to finally see him parted from this world was almost euphoric.

He quickly snapped out of his trance as the twinkling of the tunnel key caught his eye.  He glanced across the floor, searching the room for the remains of Tarian.  It wasn’t their way to leave the fallen behind, but this was not normal circumstances.

Daviathan made for the doorway then stopped and turned as he neared the glowing blue portal that they had arrived in.  He looked back to the tunnel key that Cleonicus had created.  It was a bridge of sorts linking any place back to their home in Elisia.  It still sparkled in the corner, but there was no point closing it now.  Once it had been opened the access would be completely controlled by the other side.

Daviathan took one last glance into the room that would become Tarian’s coffin.  He closed his eyes and squeezed his scaly hands together into fists.  Slowly they began to glow red and pulse brighter and brighter.  Opening his eyes he unfolded his fingers and a wave of fire shot from them, instantly engulfing the hut in a sea of ravage flames.  With one last look, he turned and stepped into the portal.