Cory Herndon - The Fifth Dawn

Glissa , a familiar voice sounded inside her head, giving her a start.

“Slo-” she caught herself. Slobad?

What is left of Slobad. Glissa must listen. Must know what will happen. Maybe can stop. Huh.

Why didn’t you say something before?

Couldn’t. When crab-legs woke up, I could. Crazy magic. Huh. Did you see the needles?

Needles? An image of the strange spires that dotted the surface flashed unbidden in her mind.

Those needles. Seen them. Huh.

Yes. What are they?

They’re part of web. I made them from littler constructs. They’re filled with serum. All the serum left in the world, huh?

Glissa examined the huge struts again that supported the mesh ball that caged the mana core. The serum absorbs magic, doesn’t it?

Yes. The needles will take from suns and send it to the lacunae. The soul traps-

Soul traps?

Had metal man collect them all. All in those needles closest to lacuna. Those ones are hollow. He needs souls to charge serum. When suns line up over each lacuna, crab-legs sends all that hypercharged energy into the core. Then second wave destroys core, wipes out last soul traps, and takes your spark.

Soul traps? Glissa repeated. She didn’t hear Slobad’s mental response, if he sent one, because she suddenly received the most powerful flare she’d ever experienced. She stood in a clearing in the strange forest that she had seen long ago. Several other elves, their bodies made of soft flesh, surrounded her. She felt without knowing how that they had come here to hide. She also knew somehow that these elves were the last of their kind on this strange plane.

Suddenly the elf closest to her disappeared in a flash, and within seconds the others popped out of existence one by one. Finally, a bright white light swallowed Glissa whole and the flare world vanished.

Crazy streaks of color flooded her vision next. Flashes and streams of energy streaked past at impossible speed. She could not feel her own body, only the sensation of constant acceleration, faster, faster. The silver globe of Mirrodin appeared in the center of the light show and grew rapidly, and filled her vision entirely. This was a Mirrodin free of life, covered in odd geometric shapes. Unable to slow herself, she rapidly approached the surface then veered off toward a snarled mass of silver that she realized was the Tangle-only this ancient forest did not yet contain a hint of green. Disembodied Glissa skimmed low along the smooth silver forest floor then collided with a small boxy shape surrounded by leafless vines.

She felt herself enter the shape, or maybe it absorbed her. Then, in another blinding white flash, Glissa was standing next to the small box, panting and out of breath. She looked down at her hands and saw the familiar green skin covered in metallic plates. She shook her head and felt cords of tangled cable hair whip at her ears. Glissa heard voices, and cautiously set off in their direction through the weird silver Tangle, the small box forgotten.

As abruptly as it had begun, the flare ended, and she blinked. She was still bound into the rack within the Panopticon.

Soul traps , the voice in her head said.

That’s how he brought us here , Glissa thought. Memnarch was still scuttling about the Panopticon.

Originally. But now he’s gonna use them.

But why kill so many people? If he needed their souls?

There was no response.

Slobad?

They not dead.

What? There are thousands of dead.

Nope , the voice rang in her skull. Bodies fallen. Don’t work. But the souls can’t go anywhere. It’s-

Ghastly. What will happen when he drains the traps?

That, not sure. Wasn’t important to construction. Maybe everyone goes home. Maybe all die.

Can’t you do anything?

Can’t yet. Working on-

The voice ceased, and the elf girl felt a twinge of discomfort as the needle retracted from her neck. Memnarch had finally stopped fussing with his controls and crystal panels and now clacked his way over to Glissa.

“It thinks Memnarch a fool,” the Guardian said. “Thinks I cannot hear. I shall have the spark, the power, and a new, pure world to shape. Before, I was as a child, playing with his father’s sword but grasping the wrong end through sheer ignorance, Karn. I allowed the flesh on this world out of hubris, thinking I could change it. Now we shall start over, you and I, as equals.”

The air was humming like a swarm of wasps. At first, Glissa thought it was the energy continuing to build, but it sounded more like actual wasps, big ones.

Or beetles.

A monstrous, rusty iron blur dropped through the open roof of the diamond structure and slammed into the side of the Guardian’s head. The blow didn’t topple Memnarch-he was far too stable-but surprised him enough to make him momentarily forget the elf girl. Before he could locate the first attacker, another large black shape smashed into his back, shattering one of the bulbous serum tanks he wore and sending glass and silver-blue fluid spraying about the chamber. Memnarch screamed in fury.

With that, the nim attacked en masse. They poured from the black lacuna in a great swarm, descending on the Guardian again and again, refusing to give him a chance to recover.

“Psst!”

Glissa looked to her left. Raksha was crouched in a shadowed alcove, holding Geth’s head by the ears so the necromancer’s eyes could stay on the nim. Glissa’s eyes widened and a silly grin spread across her face.

“Told you I was the best damned necromancer on this plane,” Geth hissed with glee. “Body or no body. Just took me a while to get them to listen.”

“Enough!” Memnarch screamed from the center of a dizzying black whirlwind. Memnarch’s shout had magic behind it, and a translucent blue sphere formed around his body. Several nim bounced off the force field and were sent flying off in every direction. The blue sphere expanded outward, washing over Glissa, Slobad, and the hidden Raksha without any effect. Geth’s head, however, was torn from the leonin’s grasp by the expanding anti-necrotic shockwave and flew high in a lazy arc. Glissa lost sight of Geth almost immediately, unable to turn her head.

The effect of the wave on the flying nim was even more devastating. Geth’s head had bounced off the waved like a ball, but every nim that collided with the sphere disintegrated into a gaseous green cloud. By the time the sphere had reached the interior to dissipate harmlessly against the silver surface, the nim were gone.

Simultaneously, the leather straps holding her in place went slack and dropped to the floor. Glissa felt a sudden surge of power as the restraining magic released her, and she stepped out of the rack on unsteady legs, not really sure what had just happened.

“No!” Memnarch bellowed and crab-ran to Glissa once more.

“NOW YOU PLAY FAIR, HUH?”

The voice emanated from millions and millions of tiny, insignificant builder constructs.

Memnarch skidded to a stop just in front of Glissa, staring at the silver sky above him. With a quick glance at Raksha, who nodded, Glissa launched herself at the Miracore as the leonin dove into one of the Guardian’s spindly legs.

The Guardian howled with rage as all around them his plan did its best to come to fruition without him. The air was thick with the odor of ozone and a vibration that Glissa could feel in her bones more that she could hear. The elf girl grabbed hold of the Miracore and yanked down with all her might, but the chain was too strong, and didn’t give. Glissa felt warm blood flowing into her hands as the edges of the talisman sliced into her skin, but she refused to release the Miracore.