Chapter Six – Elden Fortress
Sukko was now stood outside of the infamous Elden Fortress, it was mid-afternoon, and to his delight, he could feel a huge amount of frustration from within the place. He smirked. He'd also annoyed Blaze all morning, by being so super illusive, but had to keep her at arm's length, especially for this mission. He was now well rested and well fed, and ready for whatever the Wizards had for him. But he wasn't arrogant. He was going into the Fortress not underestimating it at all, the Magical powers these Wizards processed. Arthur was fine, though very worn out, still giving Sukko super accurate directions for everything, making the mission significantly easier.
Sukko used to gather intelligence for Sonic on Eggman, so he recognised and fully appreciated good intelligence when he received it and took full advantage of it. The Wizards of the Order of Elden were expecting an all powerful Sorcerer, all showy, like he was back at the tavern, ready to prove himself against them. An all-out fight. Sukko sniggered. Wrong Blue Hedgehog. That was his twin's methods of doing things. What the Order of Elden was going to get was the King of Stealth as his absolute best, and, to Sukko's total delight, it caught them completely off guard.
Riverton's patients had now worn incredibly thin. He had waited all morning for the Sorcerer to show and got nothing. Even interrogating Arthur had also revealed nothing. The Wolf pup had been terrified but Sukko, through the Telepathic link, of which the Wizards still knew nothing about, had masterfully talked the boy through it. Telling what to say and when to say it. Arthur obediently doing exactly as he was told. It worked, the Order of Elden were none the wiser and yet Sukko knew everything, the Wolf pup's trust of the Blue Hedgehog Sorcerer absolutely sky high. With the Sorcerer guiding him, he was getting his confidence back, and now all he had to do was wait, telling his new Master everything he needed to know. He was coming for him.
Now roaring with frustration, the Lizard had sent Wizards out into the pine forests to search Sukko out, many of them running straight past him, as he stood there completely still, leaning against a tree, very close to the front doors of the Fortress, behind his Cloak of Invisibility. His Invisibility was so subtle that the Wizards failed to see the cast, let alone feel it. The Sorcerer, on the other hand, had been concentrating on the shield surrounding the citadel. Arthur's knowledge of it was limited, as it had been erected before the Wolf pup arrived, and taking it down, which he needed to, to enter, wasn't going to be easy. In fact, it was going to take a lot of Magic. Sukko smirked. Maybe enough Magic to empty the entire Fortress of Wizards. Them coming out to look for him. In fact, he was relying on it. Like moths to a flame. They had done back at the tavern.
Seeing Riverton's pace in sheer frustration, atop the outer wall of the Fortress amused Sukko, but his bright red eyes didn't. The Sorcerer had also noticed more Wizards showing the tell tale sign of corruption, as red eyes appeared to be everywhere. But not all the Wizards, including Everglade and some others, who were desperately trying to fight the avalanche, but failing as they were striped of their staffs and thrown, to Sukko could only guess, were the dungeons. He growled. It was happening significantly faster then he'd anticipated. Were these Wizards worth pulling out? Potentially, yes. They had not yet corrupted, but expecting them to fight against their own kind, in this civil war, might be too much. But Sukko sighed, as he saw the coast clearing, timing his attack beautifully, their corrupted Wizard comrades were now long gone, and could never be returned. Death was now their only release, though Sukko downright objected. He was a Doctor, he did not kill. But he knew of no other way to save the corrupted. Throughout history, across the galaxy, death was the only way.
With the coast clear, and now silence all around him, a temporary lull, Sukko concentrated hard. He was stood a few feet from the wall of the Fortress, in the deep shadows of the pine trees. Sukko could do some casts from behind his Cloak of Invisibility, such as Orbing, but not all. High-level casts, like this, he had to show his face for. His eyes glowed bright blue and his held out his hands. His arms were slightly bent at the elbows and his wrists were touching though his hands were fanned out like a flower, six inches apart, fingers out stretched. Gritting his teeth, as a large and extremely powerful ball of bright blue light, pure Magic, appeared in the bowl of his hands. He squealed as he pushed the Chaos Sorcery hard, pointing the ball directly at the shield of the Fortress ahead of him. He could feel intense resistance from it.
The ball of Magic grew and grew until it finally filled the bowl, touching his fingers, until finally Sukko let it rip, immediately feeling the intense drain. He concentrated, punching though the drain, guiding the ball straight at the shield and controlling how Magic spread across it. The bright yellow shield spasmed violently against the bright blue Chaos Sorcery attack, but Sukko was just too strong and after several minutes, it completely gave in and vanished.
Showtime.
Sukko, quickly regaining his composure, dived for the main front door, just as they were swung open, expertly hiding in the triangular gap between an open door and the wall. He was panting heavily, only just staying conscious. The cast to remove the shield took far more out of him then he'd anticipated, but at least now he had a few minutes rest.
He heard voices all around him, as feet battered the ground beneath the door. Riverton could be heard shouting orders, as the Wizards spanned out into the forest looking for him. Absolutely everyone ran past him, but no one looked behind the door. To hide here was old fashioned espionage, but at the Fortress, Magic was king. The Wizards were so heavily dependant on it, that anything else was beneath them. Hence the simplest of tricks seemed to be passing them by, as Sukko wasn't even using any Magic to hide. They arrogantly believed that no one would have the guts to do such a trick against them. Oh, how wrong they were.
Sukko listened intently and waited patiently. He delayed for the split second silence when all of the Wizards had left for the forest but none has arrived back yet, and no one was left by the front doors. After several minutes, he got it, and immediately reappeared from behind the doors and ran through them, into the Fortress. Into the spectacular entrance way and foyer, but Sukko didn't stop. He kept on running, his long black coat and blue quills, splaying and flapping out behind him. He ran past doors and windows, down corridors and stair cases. It was indeed a labyrinth, but Arthur's directions were so good that even the Magic oozing from the heavily impregnated walls, didn't cloud his judgement. Regardless, Sukko didn't like it one bit.
Running through the Fortress took far longer then expecting but thankfully, he saw no one, and the handful of Wizards he did see, were easily avoided. But Sukko was hoping to be in and out of the citadel before the Wizards got back from their failed search for him, but now he realised that wasn't going to happen. He was going to have to find another way out, one he'd wanted to avoid, as he had no idea if it would work. Around corner, after corner the mighty Sorcerer ran, until finally, he made it to Arthur's dungeon door, and a karate kick at the door, instantly broke it open.
He burst through to find the Wolf pup had been unchained from the walls, but was now in a dangerous neck brace, too scared to speak. Everglade had got Arthur in his arm, and holding him firmly with the other, as he had no staff and was now staring down the Blue Hedgehog with everything he had. He still had chains dangling from his wrists and was bleeding badly. He'd obviously forcibly broken himself free from his own prison. He growled, frightened.
"You." He spat. Sukko gulped. He had no idea. The Telepathic link between him and Arthur his been somewhat compromised since entering the Fortress, them unable to talk, which Sukko had planned for, but he genuinely wasn't expecting this. Sukko growled back at the Wizard and to his surprise, sensing no corruption. He was just absolutely terrified.
The Sorcerer wasn't surprised. The Order of Elden was crumbling all around him. Sukko suspected that he was maybe one of only a handful of Wizards not taken by the corruption, potentially the last one, but as Sukko heard voices all around him, through the walls, he realised that they had to leave and soon. Sukko raised his hands.
"Everglade?" He stammered but the Wizard just panicked. He went white.
"I knew you were the Sorcerer but nobody believed me. Who are you? Where did you come from?" He demanded. "And what did you do the Order of Elden?" He cried. But Sukko lowered his hands and just sighed.
"Nothing." He spat. "It had corrupted even before I arrived here. It would have happened even if I hadn't have come, and your Princess would have long died by now." He heaved. But Everglade just stared, stammering hard.
"But I overheard Riverton's plan to murder the Princess using the poison dart. I was on by way there to intervene and stop it, but got caught in the town stopping some thieves." He gulped, still staring at Sukko. "You got therefore me. It seems your faster." He added, but Sukko sniggered.
"It runs in the family." He smirked but Everglade gasped.
"But your not the Blue Blur. He's no Sorcerer." He growled, still reeling at the fact that he never did find that book. But then Arthur piped up between gasping for breaths between Everglade's forearm and elbow. He pointed at Sukko.
"Twins!" He wheezed. Everglade stared, his old squire finally confirming what that book would have done. That identical twins do exist. Again, he'd only suspected but never proved it. Regardless, as he looked back at the Wolf pup, it still didn't answer another question. He snarled.
"What to you want with the boy?" He hissed, still not willing to give up what was his. But Arthur had enough of his old Master, treating him this badly, and finally let his anger roar. His eyes glowed green and plumbs of bright emerald green luminescent vapour-like hue exploded from his hands, giving him the strength to throw Everglade off of him. Arthur stood there, in his full glory to a now terrified Wizard cowering on the floor. He gulped.
"Sorcerer?" He stammered, to a growling Wolf pup showing far more power then he didn't even know he had. Sukko smirked, he was proud. That took guts, but now was not the time. Suddenly, back at the door, he heard voices at either end of the corridor to the dungeon. He looked back at his fellow Magic users, and heaved.
"We have to go, now." He demanded, deciding that Everglade was coming with them. He was a good Wizard at heart and Sukko realised that if he left him behind, he almost certainly be killed. But to the Skunk's and Wolf pup's total horror, Sukko didn't run for the door, he ran straight for them, at full speed, with nothing behind solid underground wall behind them. They both panicked as Sukko grabbed both their wrists with his hands and seemed to jump up. Suddenly the bright white Orbs swirled, as Sukko pushed hard past the Magic of Elden Fortress itself to initiate the teleport.
Orbing is the power to teleport to another location through the use of Orbs. When someone Orbs, they turn into a swarm of bright white ball of light that rise upwards, or sink downwards, depending on the direction of travel. It was extremely weird and took some getting used to. It wasn't Chaos Control, or teleporting via Magic, both of which worked on the same premise. Teleporting your entire body in one singular movement. Orbing was like the atoms of your entire body were painlessly split apart and teleported individually, and then put back together at the end. It gave the first time traveler severe nausea. That did ease significantly with subsequent travels.
Sukko could travel anyone anywhere, with his White-lighter gift, all anyone had to do was physically touch him. But he couldn't teleport between dimensions. He tried to go home back to Mobius upon first arriving in the Sol Empire and failed, landing back in the Palace again. But the centuries of dormant Magic lying with Elden Fortress was blocking his escape and Sukko had to push down deep within his gut, and show the power of the brother of the Hero of Mobius to finally punch through and break free of the almighty citadel. He hadn't wanted to Orb but he had no choice. The drain was going to be enormous. Not the Orbing itself, but using his own Magic to punch through the blockade. But being caught at this moment in time, wasn't an option. Being cornered and outnumbered in enemy territory was only going to lead to the three of them being killed or worse, corrupted. Better to face them on neutral ground, there they had the control.
With an explosion of white light in the form of hundreds of Orbs, they ascended upwards and out of Elden Fortress and home. Both Everglade and Arthur squealing in fright. Straight to the courtyard of the Palace of the Sol Empire, in a matter of seconds. But who says Sukko doesn't have a sense of humour especially in a crisis. In fact, he was famous for it, to Sonic's utter annoyance, and didn't completely, on purpose, teleport the Wizard robes and hat that Everglade was wearing and he landed in nothing but his brown whist coat, leather cap, trousers, and brown leather shoes. What he had on beneath the traditional dress. It had been left behind.
Everglade was dumbfounded, when he landed, at both the process and the fact that now it was completely striped of his Wizard-hood, feeling very exposed. Arthur also landed on the ground, heavily winded. Both were stunned to suddenly find themselves outside of the Palace, having experience their very first real teleportation. Everglade had travelled via the Airborne cast, group flying, many times, but this was true Teleportation, something he didn't believe possible. Sukko, as always, landed perfectly on his feet, but buckled over slightly gasping for air from the drain, but was recovering quickly, faster then his comrades, and as he finally stood up straight, looking around, he found the Palace surprisingly empty. But Everglade sat up and began to cry. He sniffed.
"You've humiliated me." He squealed, but Sukko rounded on him, panting heavily himself, making it perfectly clear to everyone that he was in charge now. He growled.
"Everglade. It was a diversion. What will the Order of Elden think when they find nothing but your robes and Wizard's hat left behind?" He spat, but Arthur, who too was now back on his feet, cut across Everglade before he had a chance to answer. He looked at the Wizard and heaved.
"They will think you're dead." He panted, but Sukko just grinned inanely.
"Exactly." He hissed. "And people don't normally chase dead men." He added. But Everglade just stared, his tears instantly stopping. He stared up at the almighty Sorcerer. He gulped.
"You've done this before, haven't you?" He stammered. But Sukko sighed deeply, hanging his head. He nodded.
"Being born, someone like me, in a place where Chaos Sorcery is highly illegal, yes, I've done it before." He sniffed. "Mainly to cover my own tracks." He added. Everglade gulped, and he and Arthur looked at each other and shuddered. Sukko was Mobian and both had heard of the horrors that the Magic users had had over there. The fact that Sukko had even survived gave some indication of just how good he was. Everglade hung his head in shame. He heaved.
"Thank you." He whimpered. "And I'm sorry." He added, genuinely meaning every word of it. The mighty Blue Hedgehog had just saved his life, and as for Arthur, he'd seriously underestimated the Wolf pup. He now felt guilty for treating him so appallingly badly. He hadn't deserved it. But as they looked at each other, the both of them realised that they had to put all their past transgressions behind them, now that was someone significantly more powerful then both of them in their midst. The mighty Sorcerer was incredible, with power and skills beyond anything they knew and yet they both trusted him. It was the look. Both had heard of his famous brother and yet this Blue Hedgehog was more capable of standing on his own.
There was deep loyalty there, Everglade could feel it, and now it was firmly directed towards the Princess. Everglade had to admit, he did feel the same. He sighed. Sukko smiled and bent over slightly, offering Everglade a hand, of which the Skunk took, the Hedgehog pulling him to his feet. He winked.
"Pleasure." He grinned. Everglade was stunned but grateful as he looked at the Palace, he immediately knew something was wrong, as Sukko spotted too, especially as Gardon stumbled into the courtyard, through the main door, badly injured. Sukko immediately ran to his side, closely followed by the other two. The Koala was shaking, grabbing the Sorcerer.
"Doctor." He stammered, to the surprise of both Everglade and Arthur, but Sukko instantly shut him down. He growled, the professional in him kicking in.
"Gardon, quiet and hold still." He ordered to be immediately obeyed by the Koala. Sukko gritted his teeth and holding his hands to just over the injuries, suddenly streams of extremely delicate bright blue luminescent vapour-like hue poured from his palms, and into the guard. Sukko concentrated hard, his eyes glowing intensely as healing was both difficult and incredibly fiddly work. Both Everglade and Arthur watch in silent awe at the Master at work, giving Sukko the space he needed. Both witnessing Magic on a scale they had never seen before. Healing was nearly almost impossible using incantations and rituals.
But this, Sukko could do. He had spend years as a Doctor doing this, and within minutes, Gardon was fully healed, his life no longer in danger. The Koala immediately hugged the Sorcerer. He smiled.
"Thank you." He heaved, but then scrambled to his feet, desperation in his eyes. "Please, the others." He begged, pointing inside. Gardon then ran inside, followed immediately by Sukko, Arthur and Everglade to the total destruction on the inside. There were groans everywhere, of the injured and dying that lay everywhere and immediately Sukko got to work, one by one, healing them all. Thankfully, no one died.
Everglade gasped in horror. He instantly recognised the damage. He gulped.
"This was done with Magic." He squealed, absolutely mortified. The mere thought of using Magic to harm, especially on this scale, sickened him to the core. But Arthur ran over to him, grabbing him by the arm, causing the Skunk to back away. He still feared the Magic in those hands, even if it wasn't yet trained. Arthur heaved.
"But why would the Order of Elden attack the Palace?" He wondered. "I thought it was me or Master Sukko were meant to be the sacrifices for tonight's Black Magic cast." He explained. But then Everglade grabbed him, completely forgetting about Arthur's own Chaos Sorcery. He went white, and gulped.
"The Princess." He stammered, and immediately anyone who was fully healed, fanned across the entire Palace looking for her. They found her bed chambered completely burned out, which made Sukko growl. He was kicking himself. He suspected that Blaze was in danger but there was very little he could have done about it. He couldn't have left Arthur and Everglade. They would have been killed. But they still have some time. Sukko opened his mind out into the Sol Empire and quickly found her Telepathic signature. She was alive, well, for now, but where, he had no idea, but all the fire made him intensely worried. But Everglade calmed him. He sighed.
"The Princess is a Pyrokenetic I can guarantee that she caused all the flames, but it looks like it wasn't enough." He growled, Sukko raised an eyebrow. A Pyrokenetic, he wasn't expecting that, but he did smirk, looking down at his own hands. But then he noticed on the ground in the deep ashes by the door of the chambers, someone clearly digging their feet into the dust to leave footprints across the carpet. The Sorcerer grinned.
"That's my girl." He sniggered, rather cheekily, to the complete confusion of all then around him. Leading away from the chambers, the footprints left an extremely subtly trail right across the entire Palace. Sukko could see them, but he quickly realised that he was the only one who could, so he highlighted them with his Magic, the footprints now glowing bright blue.
They all ran after them, until they came to an end by the front door, where it was obvious that an Airborne cast was performed, taking the Princess with them. But at the end of the footprints, there was a single arrow, pointing in a rather odd direction, which knowing Blaze, was leading to the location of where her kidnappers were taking her. She must have marked it with the toe of her shoe while they were preparing for the group fly. Blaze, as the ruler of the Sol Empire, knew her kingdom, extremely well. Every island, every sea chart. So she knew exactly where she was to be taken, allowing her to tell her rescuers to follow. But the arrow wasn't pointing in the direction, however, everyone was expecting. Elden Fortress, it pointed the other way. Sukko frowned, he had no idea. But Everglade when white, now seriously terrified, violently shaking. He gulped.
"The Princess is to be the sacrifice for the Black Magic cast tonight. That arrow is pointing straight at the Isle of Avalon." He stammered. Arthur frowned, but Sukko was none the wiser. But Everglade quickly caught on, looking at Sukko. "Sorry." He added. "You wouldn't know. Black Magic isn't cast at Elden Fortress, but at the Isle of Avalon. It is the highly sacred burial grounds of some of the first Sorcerers to ever come to the Sol Empire. You've been talking to Arthur, I can tell, but he wouldn't know about Avalon either. It is only the senior high level Wizards in the Order of Elden who are permitted to set foot on the island, or even know about it. I have been privileged enough to go there, as I tried to stop that Serpent Sickness curse but failed. Some good I was." He heaved, only to have some slight giggling coming from Sukko. He was eyed up by the Wizard. His jaw dropped. "The tavern, that was you?" He asked, absolutely stunned. The Sorcerer nodded, grinning inanely. Everglade grabbed his hands, Sukko let him, still smiling. He examined them, utterly amazed. "How?" He gasped. "How do you cast the way you do and not die from the drain?" He deeply wondered. "I have witnessed many a Wizard perish trying to achieve only some of what you can do." He asked. Sukko heaved.
"Drain doesn't endanger the lives of true born Sorcerers, but it does caused intense fatigue." He sighed, looking at Arthur, who gulped. Sukko smiled. "But with years of mental training, I have learned to punch through the tiredness and carry on, when I have to." He nodded, though panting heavily under his breath, as if to prove the point. The enormous cast at the Fortress, plus the Orbing and then all the Healing was leaving it's mark on Sukko. Now he had a hunch, it wasn't over yet. But he was very confused.
"What is the Black Magic cast to be performed?" He asked, rounding on Everglade. But the Skunk just gulped.
"I don't know." He stammered, only to be glared at. He raised his hands. "I swear. I don't know." He said again. "Riverton kept that information close to his chest and only shared it with those very close to him. With whom he called 'The Converted.'" He growled. But Sukko cut across him. He hissed.
"'The Corrupted', you mean." He spat. Everglade nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly.
"Yes. I knew something weird was going on, from the very beginning, but just couldn't prove it, and your appearance didn't really help, making me a laughing stock." He added. "But that was partially helpful, as no one took me seriously and I was able to move to the sidelines for my own safety. I was ignored, believed to be harmless. I knew I was way out of my depth as Riverton took over everything as more Wizards fell in line. I was desperate to get out but once you taken the Oath to the Order of Elden, there is no way out." He stammered, now terrified of the consequences of what Sukko had done. The Sorcerer noticed and intervened. He sighed.
"There is no Order of Elden anymore. It is all but corrupted, gone." He smiled, grabbing Everglade by the shoulders. "This is your chance to create a new Order." He grinned, but Everglade snapped himself off of him, non believing. He hissed.
"That is, if we win." He spat. But Sukko rounded on him, sounding so uncannily like his more famous identical twin brother, in situations like this, that he caused several people listening nearby to stare. He scowled.
"We will win." He growled, but then he began pacing around. He heaved in frustration. "I can't go and rescue Blaze without knowing what I'm walking into." He hissed. To do that was indeed suicide. They all knew it, but then Arthur freaked. He panicked.
"But Master Sukko, you may not have the choice." He squealed, pointing to the sky. "Dusk is falling." He stammered. They didn't have long. The ceremony would be starting within a few hours. Sukko growled, as his anger flared and the deep purple aura surrounded him slightly. It was sheer desperation. He grabbed both Arthur and Everglade, frightening them both. He scowled at them.
"Please." He begged. "Give me something. You've both lived and worked at the Order of Elden. There have got to have been something going on, strange and unusual apart from the corruption?" He demanded, heavily out of breath. Both Everglade and Arthur looked at each other as the exact same thought crossed their minds. Both of them had noticed but neither had done anything about it, but against the corruption, there was very little they could have done. They nodded at each other.
"The Library." They said together. Sukko frowned, immediately backing off, not understanding at all.
"What?" He asked, but it was Arthur who answered first. He heaved.
"The Order of Elden in the Fortress has an enormously extensive and magnificent Library, or it did. Thousands of years of Magical knowledge stored in hundreds of books to be shared throughout the generations." He explained. Sukko nodded. That made sense for something as old as the Order of Elden but then he frowned.
"So, what happened to it?" He asked, keen to learn. Arthur looked at Everglade who nodded for him to continue. He gulped.
"We don't know." He heaved, Everglade agreeing. Arthur bit his lip. "The books just began to vanish, just as the corruption started. First the Library was striped of unwanted knowledge, and then all the books began to go, until I last saw it, it was barely half full." He stammered, only to be immediately cut across by Everglade, who looked terrified, he heaved.
"And when I was captured and striped of my staff, when I last saw the Library, it was empty." He gulped. But Sukko frowned.
"But why empty the Library? What would it achieve? To assimilate a Library using Magic, is to read the books at speed, leaving the knowledge unharmed. Corruption, as for as I know, doesn't destroy knowledge. It seeks power and..." He said, only to be immediately cut across by Everglade. He squealed.
"But knowledge is power." He finished and then going absolutely white, as it hit him and extremely hard, as both his hands came up over his mouth, swearing very loudly. He then began to stammer, muttering to himself, not believing his own voice. "He wouldn't..." He gulped. "He couldn't." He cried, and he was only when Sukko shouted at him, did Everglade finally snap out of it. The Sorcerer growled.
"Everglade." He spat. "What's going on?" He demanded. Now the Wizard was violently shaking. He gulped and hard.
"It's Riverton. I know what the Black Magic cast is. He's creating a Fountain of Knowledge."