Inevitable

Dax Paragon stared. “What in Uul's name is that?”

The military parade continued beneath his balcony. Tight ranks of Chaos Legion soldiers marched through the streets of Lyveria. It was both a celebration of their victory and a show of power—a warning to any who might think to rise against them. Dax ignored it. He stood and peered into the distance, shading his eyes from the sun with one hand. A low rumble resounded, and dust and smoke billowed up from where the Watchtower of Armonbei used to stand.

“M'lord, what is that?” his aid asked. “Some new military weapon you've commissioned?”

Dax shook his head. “Not me.”

Something towered over the roofs—something metal and monstrous and getting closer. A building gave way, crumbling in upon itself. Dax could make out steel limbs as the hulking behemoth continued inexorably toward him. The blare of trumpets and the pounding of drums drowned out its approach. More buildings collapsed. Dirt and debris rose in the distance.

The Chaos Legion soldiers stood beneath him and saluted Dax sharply. The music reached a crescendo and ended. Dax was supposed to stand and give his speech. Instead, a hollow moan rent the air. The crowd and the soldiers whirled toward its source. A massive, overwrought fist bristling with spears slammed into the top of a building only one street away.

Dax rose to his feet. “I think it's time we left,” he said, and not waiting for his aid, hurried from the balcony, through his stately quarters, and toward the stairs. When Bartle the Omen fell on the Elesian Plains of Dumacke, his army fled in terror. No one had ever wounded the great knight in combat. Now, he lay dead, slain by Silus of the Rift.

Days later, his daughter, Elewys, found his empty shell of armor. Silus's magic had scarred the grolium plate. What the Knights of Omen had once thought to be impenetrable was buckled, ruptured, and ruined. She fell to her knees and wept.

That was when Bartle's shade came to her. He spoke of the torments he had braved to return so he might see his daughter one last time.

Elewys rescued his spirit, drawing it into the Amulet of Secrets that all priestesses of her holy order carried. She traveled to the once great city of Viphis, which had been destroyed by the Chaos Legion's forces. Picking her way through the rubble, she clung tightly to her amulet, praying that the workshop of Khulon still stood.

Khulon was sorting through the debris when she found him. Elewys told the old man about the fall of her father, and she saw the fire of determination ignite in his eyes. He and Elewys left the city and set off into the foothills until they reached a large cave, where Khulon's old workshop stood, untouched by the invasion. He took the Amulet of Secrets and set to work preserving the spirit of Bartle.

Days turned to weeks, weeks to months, and months to years. Yet each time Elewys visited him, the determination still burned. He had built a great construct, one so gargantuan that Elewys barely reached halfway to its knees. He had welded and riveted massive grolium plates together; it looked much like her father's battle armor. Khulon clambered over the huge build, adjusting bits here and there with his wrench, always working, always busy.

Five years later, on a cold winter's morning, Elewys visited as usual, but she found Khulon sitting outside the cave, wrapped in furs and smoking a pipe. At first, she thought something was wrong, but Khulon only smiled and told her he had finished. It was her turn now to imbue the runes of her holy order onto the armor.

Elewys remained in the cave for days, only stopping to eat, drink, and sleep. Her prayers manifested themselves in golden runes that were absorbed onto the grolium plate. When she finished, she touched the Amulet of Secrets to the dull brixnstone crystal that sat within the heart of the construct. A buzz of power went through her as her father's spirit passed into its new vessel. The construct came to life with a jerk, joints moving and whirring as life flowed into them. It was the most frightening thing she had ever seen, but it was also her father.

“You live again.” Elewys wiped the tears from her eye. “Now, you may take your revenge upon the Chaos Legion for what they did to you and our beloved realm. Now, you can destroy them.”

Khulon puffed on his pipe. “Oh, your father will take his revenge all right. Of that, I have no doubt.” He smiled. “In fact, I'd say it's inevitable.”