Hi guys. I hope you all are doing well. I've been busy painting Warhammer models lately so sorry for a delay. Cheers.
Chapter 23: Collector of Tales
…
Previously
"Don't 'Sorin' me, Kord. You had one job. ONE SIMPLE JOB! Instead, you picked up a fight with another planeswalker and almost get my servant killed. What say you?"
…
Q/A & Reviews
Andrews31: I want to leave constructive criticism, but this chapter feels like you wrote it drunk or half asleep. It has no flow unless the jumping around it does is the tone of the chapter you're going for. If it's an omake it would make more sense. Anyway, please when you post the sequel to this story please update this one to tell usvits up thank you.
You can say it as an interlude for the stupid jokes I can think up to that point. Sort of an Omake, but still relevant to the story. Cheers
Hexenbiest: A million and one Negative points for STATURARY RAPE!
Well. Shit.
Animo fanfiction: Dragon bow to neither "man nor Gods."
Also, Angel, Demon, Giant, Plant, Wall, Sapporing, Bushwagg, Beast, Eldrazi, Construct, or any of the 251 creature types in MTG.
Animo fanfiction: The family so weird I love it!
Glad you love it!
…
They fucked up alright. Or so Sorin thought.
The bitch Arlinn Kord just shrugs it off as if it was no big deal. She even dared to look at him with such unrepented eyes he wants to tear her throat off. It would not be easy fight and unleashing that amount of power in Ugin's sanctum would draw the dragon ire, but killing a mother of his servant would not inspire much loyalty. So, he has to tolerate it. Until he could totally justify the action, anyway.
"Well." The she-wolf opens her mouth. "We kept the balance, as we always do."
"Keeping. Balance." Sorin repeated. Word by word. His rage continues to grow. "You have one chance to elaborate before I tear your neck off."
"We …." She opens her mouth again but Sorin interruption came quicker.
"Think before you speak. You have only one chance. It would be a shame if this is your last."
Arlinn raises her hand and about to protest. Then she becomes stoic and put it down.
After a few minutes pass, the she-wolf is back to fully operational. By this point, the pup had stop training and joined the adults. He was surprised to see Sorin here and wanted to ask a question. Luckily Vol and Narset knew how to read the room.
So, the boy's mouth was shut. To be clear, he didn't keep it shut on his own.
The sentence "Shhhh, Jon. The adults are taking business." was used.
"Alright. It all started when we found who the necromancer was. I supposed you already knew and somehow didn't bother to tell us. A test for Jon, perhaps." Arlinn looks at the ancient vampire right in his eyes and starts her story. "Liliana Vess. I heard she want to kill some demon trapped in the Helvault. We also heard about another planeswalker who is hunting her down. Garruk Wildspeaker, I am sure you heard about him. So, you see, what we did was the best course of action we could take."
"So, you directly confront Garruk instead of being an oriole behind a mantis?" Sorin asked back.
…
Jon is confused. He got that Lord Sorin demanded an answer as to why did they pick a fight with Garruk. Even he wondered whether it was the right decision. They almost died, for crying out loud. He trusted his mother knew what she was doing then, and he still does now. She must have a good enough reason, and Lord Sorin's questioning would be a great opportunity for him to learn.
Then the vampire asked why they did not become a bird behind a bug? What?
Is that a code for something?
He looked at auntie Narset and uncle Vol. They seem to understand what's going on.
"Aunt Narset. What are they talking about?" He whispers. Not wanting to disturb the conversation that is going on. His mother said something about having two planeswalkers makes things too unpredictable. Something she copied from Ugin, no doubt.
"What part did you don't understand?" she whispers back. "I think everything is clear."
"Narset, you must remember that the brat doesn't have a clue about idioms." Uncle Vol faintly joins in. "The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind."
Aunt Narset nods at uncle Vol words. Whatever that means, it helps him fuck all in better understanding the situation. Why is there another bug involves now? And what in the Devil's Breach are idioms.
Meanwhile, his mother is drawing some sort of map on the wall. Ugin would not be pleased if it was discovered. Knowing his mother, it would probably be up to him to clean it.
"It's an old saying that means someone who is attracted by immediate interests without thinking about the possible dangerous results. In Sorin's usage, he asked why did you two confront Garruk directly instead of after his inevitable fight with the necromancer." Aunt Narset explains. "That is the simplified first layer of that analogy. As for the deeper layer, you will learn when you're older."
"What's an analogy?" Jon asked. This is going to be a long conversation to have. It's not his problem that the adults forget to educate him on this matter.
…
The vampire is pissed, but that what he already expected from talking to the she-wolf. She didn't see any problem with her management of her son's assignment. Their mission was to find out Liliana's motive and if possible, stop her. Removing Garruk when they already knew what Liliana would do made perfect sense to her. They knew of her plans about the Helvault. They could prepare for her upcoming move. Mission finished. What's the problem?
Sorin, on the other hand, preferred a more concrete result. It was true that the assignment was completed, but he expected the boy to go above and beyond.
"Why are you so worried about Helvault?" Countered the she-wolf "That thing existed since forever and it had never once been interfered with, let alone broken. What could a lone necromancer do when countless demons, witches, and vampires couldn't. Unless you know some secret that we do not."
Sorin, for once, doesn't respond. He just glares. Bat-glare. He is considering something, for sure. Weighing the pros and cons, as any leader should.
There are a lot of pros. His pawns will understand the significance of the Helvault, learn about the biggest secret of Innistrad, and marvels about his once invincible prowess. They would be easier to control.
There is but one con. He had to tell them about Nahiri. It is bad enough that the two idiots think that she was his wife. True, he created Avacyn in her image, but that didn't mean fucking anything. Let alone, he had to admit how he fucked up and locked both on them inside the Helvault.
One thing the ancient vampire hate is to admit his past mistake.
Good thing he possesses information that will shock their way out of this losing situation. The necromancers already gathered their army. Thraben will be under siege soon, and he could make it sound like their fault.
So, he sterns his face and grunts. "Fools! The army of the dead is about to march on Thraben. What great work you two did. This may escape your tiny minds but when Thraben fell, all the balance would be lost, and everything would go extinct."
It actually would but it would take a long time for everything to spiral out of control. Without Thraben, humanity would fall. Without humanity, there would be no food for vampires, and they would turn on each other. Without humanity, werewolves cannot increase their number. Without humanity to supply their faith, angels are meaningless. Everything and everyone will fight each other to extinction.
In about … well …. centuries. It does not sound so bad for a short-lived mortal. Unfortunately, Sorin is anything but.
With that, Arlinn looks at him with such unemotional eyes as if to say "A bit too dramatic, don't you think?"
Every action this bitch takes seems to make his fuse shorter and shorter.
"if that scenario really happens, then I will be very displeased and will hold you two responsible. Believe me, you will not want to face me when I am angry." With that, he turns and points at Jon. "Especially you, Snow. If your mother and Ugin can't make you a useful serf, then I will be forced to take a drastic measure."
"What about the Helvault?" asked Arlinn.
"Forget about that. Only those who possessed a specific Avacyn's blessing could unlock it. On that note, make sure to kill them if they decide to do so. Just in case." He waves. "And Snow."
The boy startles. "Yes, my lord?" asked.
"Don't ever say I never gave you something nice." Sorin unleashes his spell at its maximum power. Tendrils of pure black mana envelopes Jon completely. The boy is at his complete mercy. If he wants the boy to die, he would. If he wants the boy to be fully healed and better than ever, he would.
And that is exactly what happened. The boy's blood is surely strong enough, he just kicks its regenerative property to high gear. Such is a wonder of Sorin's sangromancy.
"Also, tell Ugin that some idiot elf had destroyed another Eldrazi's binding. He better be prepared for war." Only then he planeswalks away without looking back, ignoring the mother and son duo, and especially Ugin's lackeys behind him.
…
Jon soon learns that the cold air of Tarkir can remains still even after Lord Sorin had left the plane. Tension. Tension. Tension. It is something that he never gets used to in this family. The multiverse is always full of surprises, and there is always something going on.
And batshit crazy things happen very frequently when you live with four other planeswalkers.
"Well. Nobody got hurt. That went better than I expected." Said Arlinn.
According to Jon's logic, his mother's words imply that she anticipated Sorin at least lashing out in anger. Which meant she probably knew that situation could occur since she decided to fight Garruk. That also meant she either planned that many steps ahead or not planned ahead at all. Both are reckless in their own way and Jon isn't sure which one is worse.
"What now?" Asked Jon. "What about Eldrazi's binding and the elf?"
"Not our problem, Jon. Let Ugin handle it." She waved it off, ignoring the presence of the two Tarkirians in the room.
"Well, it's our problem." Grumbled Vol. If this is anyone else, he might be annoyed. Luckily, Vol is surprisingly understanding planeswalker. Must be some by-product of time travel after regaining sanity thing. "Actually, it's Ugin's problem, but it would soon be ours if we want to continue staying on Tarkir."
"Point. Exactly." Arlinn's voice is like a rock. She locks Jon's head in her arm and starts laughing.
"Let's go before Sorin changes his mind. If we are fast enough you might score some heroic point warning that cathar girl of yours. Or you could wait until she is overrun and swept her away. A wolf in shining fur."
"MOTHER!"
…
Moorlands. A hive of scum and villainy. At least that what's Thalia feels like right now. The murmur tales of a horde of zombies innumerable marching toward the city sprang up as frequently as she breathed. The rumor itself was quelled as quickly as it spread, but a new worse one seemed to always take up its place.
And she lived in Thraben, the most secured place in the plane. The church has the most power here. This is where they are strongest. This is where they are safest. Yet, people are in a panic. Cowards.
The higher-ups had ordered the city lockdown. Nothing shall pass through the gates or walls, whether dead or alive. The supplied are requisitioned from the mass. The food is rationed. The men and women are levied and armed. Even an idiot would realize that the city is preparing for a siege.
Thraben had never been under siege in how many centuries. Then again, they used to have Avacyn and her full flight on their side. Now Avacyn is gone, and the angelic flight is scattered throughout the plane.
Thinking about the current situation, Thalia lets out a long sign. The battle to come would be messy, but that what she was training for. It is what she prepared for should …. No …. When she takes up the mantle of the guardian from Lothar.
This battle would be her greatest test. The one she aims to pass with flying color.
That should take her mind off Jon. The bastard seems to vanish into thin air despite her best effort of locating him. Then again, she couldn't ask around for a suspected werewolf boy without giving information that will implicate her, didn't she?
It's not that she missed him or anything.
…
The forest is quiet. Too unnaturally quiet. No birds. No beasts. And It makes sense when anything that isn't dead instinctively stays clear from a zombie horde the size Innistrad had never seen in many centuries. Well, that was true until a mother and son emerge from the blind eternity.
"Home sweet home" uttered Arlinn Kord as she emerges from the blind eternity along with her son.
"Do you have to say that every time we return, mother?" Asked the pup.
Arlinn tempts to smack him in the head, but she knows her pup is too slippery for that now. So, she only grins but does not answer.
And Jon knows too well what that grin means. So, he keeps his mouth shut. Good.
"Anyway. Since I did not care for the slightest how bad Thraben would be after the siege ended. And, you have a sweetheart in there. You can take the lead in the planning, Jon. A test on your judgment if you will." Nonchalantly said the she-wolf. "You have … well … few hours."
"Few hours!" Jon yells. "How can I come up with a good plan in only a few hours!"
Arlinn snorts. Her son always walks too close to a line between careful and cowardice than what she is comfortable with. His self-doubt is something that she could not rid of no matter how hard she tried.
Not that she tried really hard. Arlinn doesn't know how to mother.
"We don't need a good plan, Jon. A semi-decent one is good enough. As a planeswalker, trouble always seeks us one way or another. You must learn to think on the fly. And if things blow up at your face, you must also learn to deal with it." She said. "How can you become experience when you had not made mistakes here and there along the way?"
"Aren't you supposed to give me a trial where failure means a small consequence and a wound pride?" The boy retorted. Had his mother been anyone else, that might change her mind a little.
Too bad his mother is Arlinn Kord. It is impossible for him to change her mind with mere words.
"Who's the mother here, me or you?" That makes Jon winces. "That's what I thought."
…
Jon soon finds himself going into a metaphysical placed called "The Tank" as he slowly walks out of the forest. He doesn't know why it is called "The tank" but everyone he talked to use that term and at this point, he is too afraid to ask.
What is his mother always say again? "Don't just fight hard, fight smart." Or is it "Do what I say, not copy what I do." He couldn't quite remember. Perhaps both are true, perhaps not. But how could he fight smart?
Perhaps his auntie and uncle's wisdom would help. What does auntie Narset always say again? "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." but uncle Vol always says "Friend is an enemy who hasn't attack you yet."
Enemy. Friend. Smart. Attack. Say. Do. Hard. Smart. Fight. Well that help him fuck all!
Then Jon decides to screw that thought and draw another wisdom from a more reliable source.
Sorin? No, the vampire is too dominating, and Jon doesn't have what it takes to do the same.
"When the weak tried to emulate the strong, they die a horrible death." That's what Atarka said to him. Not that he would trust another word from that bitch of a dragon ever again, but her words hold true.
Surrak? He doesn't think punching the head off an entire zombie horde is achievable.
Sakta? Nope. Definitely not. Not after what she did. Sure, he didn't feel so bad now, but no on principle.
Then Ugin? The old wyrm said a lot of things, but Jon does not understand even half of it. Unlike the others, Ugin always shares his wisdom during his lecture. Too much wisdom too little subtance, if Jon had the courage to say it to the dragon face.
Who else then? Tamiyo? Hmm. He only met her once but she seems irritated by his mother but still called her a friend so she must be wise. What would she do in his situation again? Observe, probably.
Well, that didn't help.
Perhaps another elder dragon would do. Vaevictis Asmadi? That damn dragon went silent recently and Jon doesn't have a slightest idea why. All he knows that the dragon is an untrustworthy schemer. But perhaps schemer is what he needed to be right now. So, what would Vaevictis do in this situation?
Manipulating others to do your work. Send your enemy to fight each other. Make sure you come out on top. What's the phrase he used again? "Willingly lose a battle to win a war. Sacrifice the limbs to keep on living." Yes, that's what he claimed to do.
Wait.
The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
Mantis. Cicada. Oriole. Twist. Lick. Dunk. Wait what?
In a moment of brilliance, it hit him. Jon goes into a trance and starts seeing letters and numbers appeared out of thin air. Lines that connect each component of his plans draw itself.
Thraben cannot fall or Lord Sorin will hold him responsible. It neither makes sense nor fair, but that's how lord Sorin does things. Then again, he does not mention that Thraben couldn't suffer a great loss. The severe the damage, the more effort of rebuilding, which gives the creature of the night a free reign over Innistrad for a time. That's the best outcome for the denizens of Ulwenvald.
Well, at least he is on to something. The goal is clear. He just needs to find a way to reach it. Then another thought emerges in his mind.
What if the destruction of Thraben was not the necromancers' true goal?
Liliana wants to open the Helvault. Maybe the key is kept somewhere in Thraben? If that is the case, then the siege is just a distraction? A cicada that an Oriole deployed. If that is the case, what then?
Lord Sorin said that only those with a specific Avacyn's blessing could open the Helvault. So, Liliana needs to capture one, possibly the Lunarch. So, as long as the Lunarch is alive and is in hiding then Thraben will be held hostage. But if the Lunarch is dead, then there is no point in attacking Thraben anymore?
No. Liliana could still attack Thraben just to get the next best thing. There is no guarantee that only the Lunarch could open the Helvault. Perhaps any cardinal or high ranking cathar would do.
But what if Liliana had the Lunarch in her custody early on during the siege? Her goal is the Helvault so she would probably retreat right away. It would cost her a massive number of her troop but why should she care? By then she would already achieve what she came for. He just needs to make sure that she doesn't have enough body to attack Thraben again before killing off the Lunarch. That way, Tharben would be battered but still stand.
It would be a tall order, but not impossible.
Jon feels smart but he learned enough to not put much importance into that feeling. "Triumphant pride precipitate a dizzy fall." He isn't sure who said that one, but it is relevant. Then again, if his conjecture is wrong, he fucked. Everyone and their mother will come after his ass, or that's what mother would describe the situation.
Heh. His gut feeling tells him that it's true. No risk, no reward.
"Mother," Jon calls. "I have a plan."
…
Jon's planning took a surprisingly short time, only a few minutes. Sure, there is a lot of holes to be poked through and many details to be ironed out. Sure, it's crazy. But they did an impossible before and they would do so again.
"You want to do what!" Screamed surprised Arlinn Kord. This is the craziest plan she has ever been a part of, and somehow it dangerously makes a lot of sense. Her son was not as stupid she thought he was. That's a good thing. In fact, she is happy that inside the naïve and dense behavior Jon normally shows lies a keen mind, a schemer, and an opportunist.
What sort of mother wouldn't be proud of her boy being like this?
But he also played a very dangerous game. Saving the city by effectively killing its head.
"You heard me, mother. We are going to kill the Lunarch to save Thraben." Proudly said Jon. "But first we need to parlay with the necromancers. Just to make sure that the damage to the city is limited."
"And do you realize that you need to somehow trick the entire church to let the Lunarch somehow be vulnerable enough to be captured. Even if you pull that off, there is no way Lothar would let the Lunarch going anywhere unguarded. Not when he and his underling still draw breath." Countered Arlinn.
Jon's smile instantly drops. This can't be good. What's going on within his mind?
"Yes." Jon seems confident but something weighing him down. During their time together she knows it only means one thing. Jon isn't proud of what he is about to do.
It does not take her long to put the pieces together. Her pup is a simple man. There are not many things that he holds dear. A stupid sense of honor is one of them. A relationship is another.
"You are going to use that girl, don't you?" She asks. Knowing full well what his answer will be. But her pup must fully accept his actions and its consequence. Do or do not, there is no try. As a planeswalker, doing thing halfway always lead to disaster.
Jon solemnly nods. "What will be, will be, mother." He said. "I will make sure she stays alive."
…
In the deepest pit of Jon's mindscape, Vaevictis Asmadi smiles. His influence over the host body grows stronger by the second. The boy's thought more and more like him. Good. It would only make things easier after he takes over the body and discards the human psyche. All he needs to do is wait. Wait for the host to grow into his prime. His return is imminent. There is nothing anyone can do to stop him.
All that left to do is to seek and destroy that slippery mutt. Last time, it showed up unexpected and costed him greatly. He won't repeat that same mistake again.
Only if he knew where the mutt went. Seriously, the host's mindscape is not that big, but he just cannot find the cur.
…
Custom Card of the Chapter
Name: Imperfect Education
Mana Cost: 1UB
Type: Enchantment
Card Text: Whenever you draw a card, draw two cards, then discard a card instead.
Flavor Text: Jon's education isn't perfect, but it is good enough for him to survive in the multiverse. Provided that other planeswalkers aren't involve, of course.
Rarity: Rare
