"Jason," Lance said, standing just outside of the pod door, "Are you sure you'll be okay?"
He nodded, "I'll be fine. Even if I run into Kazon, Lithia's spell will keep him from locking my suit. All the other threats we know about I can handle, and I won't be alone. Once we reach the castle, we'll all move as a squad."
"Alright, but until then please be careful." She told him, stepping backward over the threshold.
Everyone else was packed inside already, even Halm, who was forced to lay on his side in order to fit. Into the pod. Alistair and Nolvi were in the cockpit as planned, hopefully they would be able to pull off their end of the plan. Jason reached toward the keypad, only for Lance to seize his gauntlet with both hands.
"Please, be careful." She told him, holding his hand tightly.
"I will." Jason nodded, "Go get strapped in, this is going to get bumpy."
Lance smiled, releasing his hand and simply nodding in reply, right before the pod door slid closed.
He waited for a full minute before he bumped his chin, "All set?" Jason asked.
Alistair's voice crackled back over the radio, "Yes. Can you see where you're going?"
Jason then shut both his eyes, everything directly in front of the pod becoming visible, "Affirmative."
This spell was known as Third Eye, Jason himself hadn't cast it, rather it had been Alistair who had, linking Jason to it directly. Despite that, it needed to be Jason who had to maintain the spell, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to see through it. Apparently, once a spell was cast, you could take over maintaining it to make it your own, but it was a deliberate process. He could not take over other people's spells in battle unfortunately, he'd thought it would work the same as Counter Spell but Passing, the transfer of active spells, wasn't even close to the same thing. Taking over Third Eye felt more like being handed a grenade with the pin pulled out, making sure it didn't pop during the transfer.
He would need to learn this spell properly one day, but for now this would have to do. He could see clearly the path ahead of him, as long as he kept both his eyes shut. This unfortunately meant that he couldn't see out of his main body, but for the task at hand this new point of view would be necessary. Otherwise it would be up to Alistair to tell Jason what was ahead, which would take focus away from the spells he would need to cast. Jason placed his hands against the pod door, digging his sabatons deeply into the snow and grinding his heels until they were partially dug into the dirt.
"Taking off in three, two, one." He said, launching forth.
He pushed it forward quickly, the pod sliding across the snow with ease. He adjusted the pressure between his hands, subtly correcting the course of the shuttle whenever it began to veer off center. He sprinted across the field quickly, splitting the snow and leaving a trail of wide boot prints behind. If everything went well, then this trail would be the only indicator that something had passed through. Thankfully the incline was mostly clear of snow, but a discerning eye would be able to tell that something had moved through it.
Now was not the time to think of that. By time they found any such trail, they'd be well into the castle. It would be nearly impossible to spot anyway, as a thick fog had rolled in, obscuring most everything from sight. He couldn't even see the castle walls, just the red Crimstolys glowing brightly around them. The mouth of the incline was visible enough at least, and he was approaching it rapidly.
They made impact, the invisible pod suddenly tilting upward and scraping up the stone bridge silently. Jason didn't slow as they hit the incline, rather he actually gained speed, the stone a much better surface for his sabatons to grip onto. If Nolvi couldn't time this right, then they still needed enough momentum to bash straight through the gate, so Jason would provide exactly that.
He dug in hard, actually pushing himself instead of just relying on the strength of the Phalanx suit. If he really wanted to, he could run up to eighty miles per hour, even pushing this pod. That would certainly generate enough force, but there was a problem with that top speed, as soon as he hit the end of the incline, the pod would go flying, he needed to stay relatively controlled so that wouldn't happen.
"Brace for impact if Nolvi can't do it." Jason warned.
"She can." Alistair replied firmly.
Jason clenched his jaw as he proceeded up the massive incline, the world in front of his Third Eye beginning to blur past. Then finally, they reached the top of the incline, the pod slightly flying off the top. Jason quickly caught it before it could land, using his hands to pull it back to the ground before immediately pushing forward once again. The gate was only a couple hundred feet away now, and as Jason had suspected, there were guards posted in front of and atop the gates. All of them wore sleek plate-mail, the metal a dark purple hue, spirals etched upon their surface. Glowing purple eyes stared out from the Corinthian-like helms, but any other features were indistinguishable through this fog. They all wielded long halberds, their edges wavy and glowing crimson, matching the long capes that fell down their backs, the collars lined with black fur.
There were a dozen standing before the gate, the butts of their polearms resting against the ground as they stood straight-backed. The ones up above were manning several ballistas, the steel tips also glowing red. Jason suddenly felt furious, remembering what Alistair had called Lance. He felt his blood begin to boil, but he took a deep breath, clearly the Crimstolys were at work, he'd not cave into his anger. It was strange, Twindil's aura only seemed to lessen the effect when near the crystals, not cancel it out completely… well it didn't matter, it was nothing compared to what Lithia had put him through.
Jason pushed straight past the guards, bracing for impact. Nolvi would have a very short window to make this work. Through the Third Eye, he saw as the iron bars of the gate were sliced, right before being bent outward by an unseen force. At the same time, Alistair suppressed any noise such a thing would make, casting an illusion to make the gate appear as if no damage had happened to it at all. Jason pushed the pod straight through, not making contact with any of the gate's frayed edges.
He grinned as they passed soundlessly, opening his real eyes for just an instant to see if the guards had noticed. They stood, still staring down the path as if nothing had happened. It had really worked after all. Jason shut his eyes again, peering through the Third Eye to keep his path straight. The whole city was seemingly carved from smooth obsidian, pure black with towering spires that stretched high into the foggy sky and out of sight. There were other, more squat buildings surrounding these tall towers, back when this city was livable, those would have likely been where commerce took place, as they were connected to the spires. Either that or that was where people lived, or both.
The road that led forth was made up of dark bricks, also seemingly carved from obsidian. The glossy material lightly reflected the pale fog that hung over it, it made Blackgaze nearly look like it was from a dream. The snow that fell atop the obsidian immediately melted, implying that the rock was warm to the touch.
"Wow." He heard Nolvi crackle over the radio, "I had no idea that Blackgaze would be so massive."
"Or so empty." Jason replied, "Besides the guards at the gate, I don't see anyone around. I thought there would be an army of Fiends here."
"If there is one, it would be at the palace, along with Kazon and the Twelve." Alistair said.
They fell silent as Jason continued to push them along, the pod silently scraping up the black brick road. Chunks of obsidian broke off on occasion, leaving another potential trail for hostiles to follow. With his current speed though, they wouldn't catch up to them until after the battle with Kazon was concluded, hopefully anyhow. Jason found himself baffled at just how massive the city was, for even after an hour of sprinting at his top speed, there was still no sign of the palace.
"Jason?" He heard Lance's voice over the radio. "Is this thing on?"
"Affirmative." He replied, "Everyone else has their radios as well, right?"
There should have been enough for everyone, and he'd shown them all how it works. He was surprised that they didn't radio in already, but he supposed that they may be nervous about fiddling with the buttons.
"We've been in the city a while now, how far do you think it goes?" She asked.
"No idea." Jason said honestly, "But we have to be getting close."
"Alright, well I just wanted to let you know, I hate you." She said, "How could you think of me as being yours?"
Jason's eyes widened, "What?"
"I can't be around you anymore, I'm sorry."
His heart dropped to his stomach, "What do you mean!?" He asked, "How would you have known-"
Jason's eyes narrowed.
"You aren't Lance."
"How dare you!" The false Lance cried, "Forcing me into your arms every night, of course I would hate you!"
Jason clicked off his radio, but the voice still continued, "How could you treat me like a thing?"
That confirmed it. This voice, wherever it was coming from, was in his head. Not only that, it was using one of his fears against him… they were in The Coven's domain, the three illusionist hags that could warp one's perception of reality, as well as bring out their victims fears. This meant that they really were getting close to the Spiral Palace.
He bumped his chin, "The Coven's active, I'm not sure where they are, but you need to ignore whatever they show you. It's not real."
"I know." Alistair huffed, "Just keep pushing the damn pod."
He sounded stressed, meaning that the Coven's magic was already at work. They all at least had an advantage in knowing that what they faced was fake.
"Slated for Re-Indoctrination." A voice whispered, in his ear, an echo of the past, "Let's get this over with, strap him in and we'll have him out and in the field again in just a few seconds."
Jason's jaw clenched, his eyes going wide… he couldn't do this… he couldn't… It was just too funny.
He grinned, a whisper from a memory was the best The Coven could do? What a pathetic joke. He brushed aside the illusion easily, like water on a windshield. A trick like that might have worked on Hoplite, but not him. Jason was not impressed. Hopefully everyone else would have an easy time as he did resisting their petty tricks.
Lance plugged her ears as a steady buzzing began to fill the air, thousands of tiny wings beating in unison. Jason had just come over the radio to tell them that The Coven was here, meaning that they'd be drawing out everyone's deepest fears. Her jaw clenched, eyes going wide as she saw a single wasp begin buzzing around the pod. No one else seemed to see it, all currently battling their own demons. Kid'ka was sweating profusely, shocked into stillness as his mouth worked, but didn't produce any sound. Twindil merely clasped shaking hands together, praying to Afina, asking for her divine protection. Halm was openly weeping, tears rolling down his cheeks.
"I'm not too short for you!" He cried.
She turned away to glance at Theopalu, who was still somehow sleeping despite all of this. That was until Kid'ka suddenly let out a yelp, that was when he awoke, eyes wide for only an instant before he shook his head.
"Petty illusions." He said, waving them off dismissively, "No one with an ounce of sense or willpower would fall for something so ridiculous." He continued, wasps beginning to crawl out of his ears and mouth.
Lance looked away, "You're fine then?" She asked, inching away from the illusory wasps that began drawing closer to her, "What is it you're scared of?"
She needed to distract herself from the horrors that were around her. They were fake, she knew that, but these wasps certainly seemed real, right down to their awful little dangling legs and soulless eyes.
"I cannot tell you." He replied, "You would be struck down by the Pillars themselves if you knew."
Struck down by the Pillars? Lithia had said much the same thing, after she ranted about Daxhar, about how nothing could stop him. Lance didn't ask if that's what his illusion was, not wanting to be incinerated on the spot.
"How do the hags know what we're afraid of?" Lance asked, breath catching as a wasp nest formed on the ceiling, the twin of the one she'd knocked down in her youth.
"They don't." Theopalu said firmly, "I've seen this before, it's a spell cast from the House of Dandenlona, it manifests what the victim fears, it is known as Internal Terror. There are versions of this spell that can be more specific, though most mages wouldn't bother with those, what would be the point? The base spell will pull out those fears already, without needing to know your enemy. These witches could not possibly know what it is I fear, for they would have been struck dead if they did."
So it was at random then. She'd heard Jason over the radio, briefly panicking about something before saying 'you aren't Lance'. Soon after that, he'd come back on to tell them that they were in The Coven's domain. What was it he feared that would involve her? She couldn't continue on that train of thought as the illusory wasp nest fell straight into her lap. Lance shrieked as thousands of wasps spilled out of it, filling the entire pod and blotting out all other sound, including her own thoughts. Then in an instant, they were gone. Her breathing was uncontrollable as she looked around, cold sweat seeping from every pore.
"I'll protect you from their petty tricks." Theopalu told her, "I'm sure for you, it must have been wasps. Lancela, you must realize that such insects are no real danger to someone like you."
"Help everyone else too!" Lance cried, gesturing to Halm and the Pillar-Born, "They need not go through this."
He merely glanced at Halm, the Fiend's breath catching before he let out a sigh of relief, "Thank you for that, I don't handle rejection well." He nodded to Theopalu, "I heard some of what you were saying."
Theopalu sighed, sitting back in his seat once again, "It is no trouble."
Twindil and Kid'ka were still in a state of terror, except Elum, strangely enough. He remained silent, seemingly unaffected by the Coven's spell.
"Theopalu?" Lance asked, "Why aren't you helping them?"
He shook his head, "I cannot interfere with their struggles, this is something they must overcome by themselves."
She frowned, "But why?"
"It is my role as Guide." Theopalu said, "The Pillar-Born I take under my wing must overcome such hardships on their own, they won't grow stronger otherwise."
"Guide?" Halm asked, craning his massive head toward Theopalu.
"We will have a bit more time before we reach the Palace, I see no harm in telling you." He sighed, "Everything is all out in the open now, what's the point in hiding it? My father is the Unbound, Mazeek."
Halm gasped, "You are a Pillar-Born, you said you weren't!"
The Demi-God then explained the difference between himself and Pillar-Born, about how being born into divinity was different from being implanted with it.
"Strange, I didn't think Gods could sleep with people." He said, putting a hand on his chin, "I wonder if Dandenlona would be taller than me, or Kyria." He grinned, "Then again, they'd be far more powerful then me, I can't protect a Goddess. Saihara is off the table as well, given her marriage to Darax."
"I don't understand how you can speak casually of such things." Lance shook her head, "Those are deities, not tavern wenches."
Halm shrugged, "Wishing to die for a couple centuries has made me more brazen, I suppose."
"Dandenlona would not be opposed I'm sure, but those bound to the Pillars are too occupied to copulate with mortals." Theopalu said, "But anyway, as the Guide, I teach Pillar-Born to fight, to cast mighty spells and to bring them to difficult battles… but I don't want to do this. Fate ropes me back into this role at the end of every age, no matter what I do to avoid it. A curse from my father."
"Mazeek has tasked you with this?" Lance asked, "For what purpose?"
"To end Godling Wars quickly, the faster one reaches the point of ascension… well, the faster they can destroy the competition. When one Pillar-Born remains, they ascend. Mazeek thinks it's a good way to mitigate the damage a Godling War can cause, but in truth I do not know if it really matters. That is why I will not help them here, if I take care of all their challenges, they cannot grow to the level of strength required to end the Godling War."
"So you have trained Darax himself?" Halm asked, "The God of War?"
Theopalu laughed, "Indeed I did. He was always such a hot-headed oaf, but when it came down to it he was nigh-unbeatable. Not even Lithia could bring him down once he was at his peak. It was he who imprisoned her back in the Third Age."
"Were the myths all true?" Lance asked, "About how cruel Lithia was, I mean."
Theopalu's face darkened, "None of those myths are exaggerations. She is a force of evil too cruel to allow free, count yourselves lucky that she chose to aid you, rather than turn you into her toys."
"She did toy with us a bit, but she seemed more like a mad old lady than an ancient force of evil." Lance said, "I can't say that I hate her, but I certainly don't like her."
"There is no creature more selfish on this planet than Lithia." Theopalu told her firmly, "Everything she does is to further her own aims."
Lance frowned, but didn't retort. Lithia telling Lance to learn brewing could not possibly help her in any way, not unless she was wanting some of the alcohol for herself. Lithia wasn't a good person, but she was clearly different now from when she was sealed away by Darax. Millenia of isolation gave one plenty of time to think on things, after all.
She did not voice that opinion, instead she asked, "You aren't going to help us with this coming fight, are you?"
Theopalu hesitated before shaking his head, "No, I will not. As their Guide I must let them fight their own battles. Unless I am directly attacked, they are on their own."
"But me, Halm, and Jason aren't Pillar-Born." Lance countered, "Can't you help us?
"I don't intend on leaving the pod when we arrive. You can remain in here with me if you wish." He told her, "I will protect you as long as you are here with me."
Halm scoffed, "I do not need protection, this is a fight I've been craving for centuries. Jason as well, he's not the kind of man to be content sitting around."
Lance's hands clenched into fists, "And I won't let him fight alone."
Theopalu sighed, right before smiling, "Hard to believe the little sniffling Trinkett I saw stung half to death over two-hundred years ago would be so willing to fling herself at Kazon." He said in a near-disbelieving tone, "But here you are. Do me a favor and live, Lancela. Just imagine how angry Terlin will be once he sees that you return alive, and with Kazon's head no less. That would shut his mouth."
"Well, I had enough incentive to live before," Lance began, grinning, "now I have to see this through no matter what. Nothing would be better than proving him wrong once and for all."