The Warlord

Chapter 23: Morella

After the connection with my witch host broke, I decided to venture into Heaven's catacombs. The entrance is hidden underneath the palace, and its tunnels are guarded by dark, prowling guardians. They did not take kindly to me, even after I showed them the pendant passed down through Heaven's queens for generations. At least Heaven's secrets will be safe in those damp, shadowed caverns, but I have no desire to return there any time soon. I went in search of more information on getting the warlord here, and possible answers to why the portal closed. There was a faint but thick magic clouding the portal; one that was definitely not the Top Order's. In all my years I had never felt anything like it before; it was decrepit and withered, but also subtly strong and ancient. The scriptures and tomes offered me no answer to the strange magic, and I did not find anything that could help the warlord reach the upper realm. The forgotten prisoner is their best shot, and it is a fool's one; who knows if she is still alive after all these years.

In the end, I will find another way to advance my plans if the warlord cannot make it here, but it will be a bothersome setback. The only intriguing piece that I found amongst all those crinkled scrolls and dust-worn tablets was an old legend from the primordial gods. They were simply basic emotions and aspects of the lesser versions of us gods: humans. Harmony birthed the three sisters in the Top Order, each standing for a mellow, loving concept. Chaos fathered Zarul, Kassiel, and my husband: death, power, and war. Other primordials walked amongst those two as well, but they were always the strongest; the mother and father of the gods, and the ones that created humans. 

The primordials told many stories and legends before we drained their power away, but they also told prophecies and spoke of the future. Here one of the primordials with divination wrote of a domed palace caging a hideous beast that would bare its fangs down on the humans, and then the gods. A knight with starlight and hope in their hands would be the one to slay the beast, but no other could stand against the monster. The only domed palace I know of is Serestine's, and who else lives in there full-time except for the mortal queen herself? This rumored demon is sure to be dwelling within her; a being powerful enough to call the Top Order down to the middle realm, and one that will ultimately slay them.

For a while I attempt to reopen the portal, but the old, sage force is too intricate and strong for me to break it. No doubt the Top Order have already spread their propaganda that it was Serestine who ruined the portal, and not this strange magic; no one has looked into it, and if I try to call in experts to examine the portal, it will draw unwanted attention towards me. Huffing, I walk back to my quarters, and proceed to stretch my magic down into the middle realm.

The queen is, fortunately, by herself in the throne room, probably handling her kingdom's affairs. My tendrils of magic sink into her skin, and then into her soul. I search for the demon, for any inkling of hideous darkness. Every corner yields nothing, every corner is glowing as a healthy human soul should. For a moment, I almost yank some of her life force out in my disappointed rage, but I keep my emotions in. Slowly, I draw my magic out and call it back to the upper realm. My hands are trembling with anger, and I knock over a baby blue vase, the piercing, shattering sound soothing my nerves. The Top Order has the upper hand now, and all I can do is hope that Serestine has a plan to either find the forgotten prisoner or contact me.