Chapter 36: Shadows
Filius was very pleased to hear that the Praetor wanted to hear a status report of his device. He walked the dank halls of their current base in The Outer Lands, only occasionally lit by the small clusters of white crystal that stubbornly grew into the faded yellow stone. He hated those crystals, a small sample of purity in a realm of darkness. Nothing was ever pure, it was always just a mixture of everything else, always dark at the center. None of the other Clerics said they were bothered by it, but then again none of them had his background.
He walked around the systematic maze of their current home until he finally came to the Praetors closure, behind a large ancient gateway. He inserted his rune tablet into the middle of the black metal housing in the center of the cosmic door. The black tendrils retreated from their four posts, shrinking down until they were all inside the small black box. The cube floated in the middle of the door way, keeping the door open until the tablet was removed.
He could see Praetor Alberic pacing back and forth, his dark steel armor and crimson robes shuffling and clinking as he moved back and forth. "I am ready with the report you asked for Praetor." Alberic looked his way, the gleam of his helmet dimly lit by the small glimpses into the infinite cosmos he kept around his chamber and the occasional chaotic bolts of energy. "Did it work? Have you found a new world for us to utilize?" Filius bowed, his crimson hood and dark shroud unable to allow him to fully express his delight.
"I have found such a world Praetor." "And have you found a way to get there?" He cackled greedily. Filius let a smirk form on his face under his hood. "I have indeed Praetor. I utilized one of our portals to a different purpose and was able to somewhat send one of our knights to this distant realm." "Somewhat?" "Yes, I am afraid Praetor that while it was able to send Dodorol to this distant land, Dodorol's body and the device remained behind." Praetor Alberic pondered this news, unsure of what to say. "It is a shame that Dodorol suffered, he was one of our bravest knights."
"I am afraid that he volunteered wholeheartedly to go, as he always thought he was the only one that could survive the trip Praetor. I do think that his pride got the best of him." He was all too familiar with the knight's hubris, a part of why he sent him in the first place. Alberic was not pleased to hear that the device was currently malfunctioning. "I want you to fix the World Warper as quickly as you can. I am tired of living in this dull void of existence. I want to walk on true ground once more."
Filius bowed, showing his obedience to his desirous lord. "Yes Praetor. I will begin renovating the World Warper as soon as possible. It may take a while, but I assure you that you will feel soil beneath your feet before long." The helmeted man looked pleased by Filius' words, the glint of his eyes shining gold behind the slits of his mask. "Good, I know you'll pull through for me Filius. You always have in times past. It will be a great day when you succeed me as Praetor." "It will indeed my lord. I bid you fare well; I have a project to attend to." He bowed one last time and turned to leave the Praetor to his desirous visons. He removed the small stone tablet from the cube, which then regrew the four dark tendrils and reformed the impossible cosmic barrier.
What a fool Alberic was. Did he really think that Filius was going to obey him when he was the real ruler? He had been planning for years the events that would unfold so that he could do his own personal assignment. Everything was falling into place, just how he planned it. He thought viciously about what he would be able to do and how he would soon be able to meet his brother. After he crawled from this worthless world of shadows, it would only be a matter of time before he met Felix again.