Soulwielder Book Two: Corruption

Enter: Terialis

I rushed over to Leif's body but he was already dead. His corpse laid sprawled out on the floor of the room.

Xorg walked up to me and sighed. "Oritz, there's something I must ask of you."

I didn't look away from my fallen friend. Commander Xorg had done nothing to save Leif and just let him get murdered for no reason. "Oritz! Do you want to stop the king?"

My building rage was stopped and I turned to face the Yeti. "Yes," I spoke.

Xorg gestured to the plans in his hand. "Then listen closely. King Frosharth intends to go to war with Terialis. He already has support from Earth and Fiorione."

My jaw dropped. We had battled the Terialins once before in a war that ended with no winner. The war had been started but the Terialin Leader planning to invade us because of our element's advantage.

I had always wanted to finish those pests off after what they had started but Aquosis had intervened and ensured their existence would continue after the war turned against them.

Yet, after the near massacre, I had just witnessed on the battlefield and what the king had just done to Leif, my patriotism was at an all-time low. "B-but with the expansion into the monster territory here how-"

"He plans to start a draft." Xorg interrupted. "Even with the full force of our army, we couldn't beat them. And now our resources will be too split. It will be too costly. The men that will die in an unprovoked conflict will be far greater than we've ever seen before."

I nodded. "We can't let that happen. But how do we stop him? The King already has his mind made up."

Xorg handed me the papers. "The plan is to engage in an all-out attack on the capital, violating every agreed-upon treaty and law. The king believes that with a full-on attack they can take the capital with ease. Even if they can, it'll be costly."

"So what's the plan then?" I asked, looking down at the top-secret plans.

Xorg handed me a travel pass. "Get to Tertonica's National Defense Building and give these to them. They must be made aware of what's to come. And then, go into hiding. You won't be able to return here if you do this mission. The Terialis Underground is a safe place to hide and there are illegal portals down there to other realms you can take refuge in."

I took all the information in and then looked down at Leif's body. "Alright. I've already committed treason once, I oughta do it again. Even if it helps those Terialin scum."

Xorg shook my hand. "Good lad. I will do what I can to convince the king not to go through with this war but I fear you may be Terialis's only hope."

I put all the papers together in a bag. I had a few belongings I needed to collect from the barracks but I would be leaving soon enough. "Commander Xorg, I'll hopefully see you on the other side."

Xorg nodded. "Indeed. Now get going."

I ran out of the room and hurried to the barracks where I prepared the remainder of my things. I rushed to the transporter and had a moment of doubt.

There would be no going back if I did this. I'd be leaving my shop behind, my friends, everything I knew. But if I could save these soldiers and the future drafted soldiers, that would be worth it.

I jumped into the transporter and set the destination for Tertonica. The transporter lit up and I was pulled through my realm into Terialis.

I stepped out of the machine and looked at my surroundings. I was in the transportation center of Tertonica. The air was dry and hot.

The building was made of clay but I could see the bright light outside from windows on the roof and felt it practically blinding me.

I showed a Terialin worker my pass and proceeded out of the building. Terialins were staring at me as I walked to the exit.

They were hybrids between humans and moles. Having small pupils and wearing shaded goggles during the day. They were very short and had long claws on the ends of their four-fingered hands.

A Yeti in Terialis was a rare sight due to the two groups' history but everyone seemed to mind their own business as I walked out the door.

Tertonica was built inside a series of interconnected caves and ravines so most of it was underground with larger buildings being built within the ravines.

I used signs to try and navigate to the central ravine where I would find the National Defense Building but the area was unfamiliar and most of the tunnels seemed to be the same.

Everything was packed with people and extremely claustrophobic as a result. I could barely wrap my mind around where to go so I sat down at a bench in a square.

I looked at the bag that contained the papers and wondered where everything had gone wrong. Just a few months ago I had been fighting alongside two friends to stop some evil villain and now I was all alone.

Melora and Avian often occupied my thoughts and I wished for nothing more than to see them again. "Oritz? What are you doing here?"

My head shot up and I leaped to my feet when I saw who was in front of me. The Mermaid who had traveled alongside Avian and me, Melora. "M-Melora? What in the Fristice are you doing here?"

Melora crossed her arms. "I asked you the same thing." She gave me her toothy grin and I was immediately reminded of the young girl's personality.

I figured there would be no point in lying to her and told her how I had to warn the Terialins of an impending invasion.

"Wow." Melora whistled. "You've gone all-in on the treason thing since we last met? I like it."

Oritz sighed. "I suppose I have. Now, why are you here?"

Melora shrugged. "I'm supposed to be at some boarding school learning proper obedience but instead decided to take a vacation. My mother won't know either way."

The young girl's rebellious spirit and independence never failed to surprise me. "Well, that's fortunate. Maybe you can help me find my way through here."

Melora nodded. "I've been here for a good while now so I know my way around. Follow me." Melora hurried down a tunnel and I rushed after the Mermaid.

"So, have you heard grok Avian at all?" Melora asked.

I shook my head. "Not a word. I've tried leaving some messages but it seems like nothing is going through. Xorg's been to Earth on special meetings once or twice but hasn't seen him either."

Melora sighed. "That's our Avian. I'm sure he's fine, probably just forgot that he even could contact us."

I wasn't so sure that was the case but it wasn't like I had any better ideas. I had to hope he was alright.

Melora came to a stop outside the building and gestured to it. "Here we are!"

The building glistened from the bright light shining down on it and a metal plate going from one end of the ravine to the other held it in midair.

I walked up the stairs and pushed open the metal door into the stone complex. I went up to the front desk and pulled the papers from my bag. "I have some highly important information here about Frigidty's intent to attack Terialis in an all-out war."

The Terialin at the front desk's eyes widened as they looked at the mound of papers signed with King Frosharth's distinct signature.

They were about to take the stack of papers and say something when alarms began to sound and the ground started shaking.

I rushed outside hoping that it wasn't Frigidity launching a surprise attack and was only partially relieved to see giant Sand Spirits descending on us from the top of the ravine.

Melora and I locked eyes. "Ready to take them?" I asked and she nodded.