The Blackwyrm Chronicles #2: My Little Campaign of Carnage Gets out of Hand

Chapter 101

I felt the ent sense my aura, and I shivered as it spoke: "Why are you here?" Its ancient voice rasped from within my mind.

"I'm here to talk to Queen Matilda." I replied.

"Why?"

"I need her permission to roam her province so I can hunt down a man by the name of Azrael."

"He is no man." The ent began gravely, "He is a monster that has tried to burn me and my brothers down time and time again. Tell me, what do you wish to do to this monster when you hunt him down?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to kill him for his crimes against the eight ethereal planes."

"One cannot kill a creature that has given their soul up in pursuit of power."

"Well, I'll still kill him. Even if I have to sacrifice myself to do so, I will do everything in my power to take him down."

"You will shatter your team if you do such a thing." The ent told me, "I can sense the connection that exists between you and the eleven other people that have accompanied you to Ilfhannin-especially the young girl and the woman with the yellowish-green aura. To sacrifice yourself would cause unimaginable pain and misery for those you care about the most."

I sighed heavily: "To achieve a great victory, you must first subject yourself to great loss." I told the ent, reciting what Miras told me, "It's not fair, but I'll do whatever I have to do because I'm the only one crazy enough to go toe-to-toe with Azrael. He's too great a risk: I can't let him live."

The ent was silent: it seemed to read into my aura even more before speaking again: "There is a sincerity in your heart that few people possess, Helix Maestro Blackwyrm-lord of the seventh ethereal planes and husband of Luna Anaheim Tsuki. You are sincere in your wish to end Azrael, and you are willing to embrace death should it come for you. You are brave, and you are foolish."

I laughed sadly, "You're right-I am a fool. With everyone saying it's impossible to kill Azrael, maybe I am a fool for trying. Regardless of that fact, I'm still going to try. I'm not going to sit on my ass while Azrael kills innocents. There is a way to end him, and I will find it. Mark my words."

The ent laughed quietly, "Maybe I was wrong about you. Well, at any rate, you are about to arrive in Queen Matilda's throne room. Please, do mind your manners when you talk to her."

"Of course," I told the ancient entity, "Thank you for talking to me-I seem to have a knack for attracting ancient entities."

"It has been a pleasure."

True to the ent's word, we were nearing a set of double doors that were made out of fine wood. The image of a majestic stag was engraved on each of the doors, and various types of wisteria clung to it. The periwinkle flowers that grew off of the wisteria were beautiful as a swarm of butterflies flew around us. The wisteria also gave off a pleasant smell.

"Wow..." I breathed, "This is...amazing."

Dorrian sneezed loudly.

Analise chuckled, "Way to kill the mood Dorrian."

"S-Sorry," he breathed, "My allergies ar-a-a-choo! Damn it..."

Erron chuckled, "There appears to be a generous amount of pollen in the air."

"Generous?" Dorrian echoed doubtfully: "This is not a generous amount of pollen-no, this is a shitton of pollen."

"You make a fair point," Erron replied dryly, "I was trying to refrain from stating the obvious, but I digress."