The Red Hand

Interlude 12 – A Grim Future.

World-ending calamities, an evil race attempting to bring about the destruction of the world, and four heroes summoned by the gods themselves to save everyone. It seemed to be a classic tale of good and evil, light and darkness, and the four teenagers summoned to Enoris certainly thought so.

After being summoned to this strange and fantastic world, the four heroes were filled with excitement at the prospect of being granted magical powers and sent on a quest to save everyone. A few had even read stories about this happening during their free time, which left them with a... distorted view of events.

In the months and years after their summoning, the four heroes fought at the behest of the gods and the allied races to drive out the Spirits. A race they had been told was actively plotting the end of the world, and the numerous magical disasters they'd seen since their arrival only served to confirm these claims. After all, as one of the heroes said, why would the Gods lie to them?

After slaying countless Spirits, destroying villages, defeating their mightiest champions, and even laying siege to the Spirit's Capital, the Heroes were informed that the Spirits had used cursed magic to flee Enoris rather than remain and face justice. At first, there was joy among residents of the world and the Heroes, for the assumption was that with the Spirits driven away, the disasters would cease. Unfortunately for them, and the people of Enoris, they did not.

With the continuing magical disasters, that only seemed to get worse with each event, and panic began to spread among the Enoris's residents. The Gods seemed unable to prevent further catastrophe, and with the clock ticking towards the next disaster, many were wondering what would become of this world. Some thought it was doomed, while others had faith in their Gods and believed they would find a solution. And others simply went on with life as if nothing had change.

Nineteen-year-old Imperial Crown Princess Rebeckah Barnes was not a particularly pious individual, and the purge of the Spirits was something that she deeply opposed on both a moral and practical level. However, as the heir to the Imperial throne, she had no choice but to follow her father's declaration of expulsion, enslavement, and extermination of the Spirits. During the Great War, she personally witnessed the slaughter and enslavement of thousands of Spirits, and had grown ever more disgusted with her people, and their willingness to commit such horrific acts of slaughter in the name of their Gods.

When the conflict was declared over, and the Spirits were driven from this world, she'd hoped that peace would be lasting. Though, at the same time, she believed that the humans and other races had committed an unspeakable act of horror, one that they could never hope to atone for and one that they would most likely one day pay for.

Unlike most Imperial Nobility, she had met a few Spirits during her life. Most were little more than residents of the patches of nature which surrounded the Capital, but she'd come to appreciate them and their ways, even learning the art of Wind Magic from them when she was a child. This had given her a very unique insight into the mysterious people and their culture, and helped shape her view that the Spirits couldn't be responsible for the magical disasters around the world.

When the disasters did not end after the Spirits were driven into exile, her worst fears had been realized. Rebeckah quickly came to the disturbing conclusion that the gods had, at best, been wrong about the Spirit's culpability, and at worst, LIED to their followers, leading them to genocide an innocent people.

Her first thought was to spread such information to others and attempt to show the world the evil that the Gods had committed, but it quickly became apparent that doing so would see her killed, if not by the Gods themselves, then her own family. The Gods and their Church held an iron grip on every society that worshiped them, and their clergy held sway even over her father, a man who was suppose to be the most powerful leader on the continent.

Locking herself within the Imperial Castle and drowning in despair, she could not help but think that all was lost, and that there would never be consequences for the horrible act the Gods had perpetrated. That was until she was visited by the Elariel, the Goddess of Time. Naturally, the Princess had some choice words for the Goddess, and in her fury, she condemned her and her fellow gods for their actions. She told the red-haired Goddess that she and her ilk should be destroyed for what they commanded their followers to do, and that they had no right to act as anything other than the Demons they truly were.

Surprisingly, Elariel did not become angry with Rebeckah, nor did she argue the point. In fact, to the Princess's shock, the Goddess told her that she was right. Elariel accepted the fact that she and the other Gods had done an unspeakably evil act, only made worse by the fact that they knew that it wouldn't solve the problem.

According to Elariel, the Gods were well aware that the Spirits were not at fault for the magical disasters taking place, and they knew that killing them would not stop the slow degradation of their world. Furious, Rebeckah demanded to know why they issued such a command to their followers, only to be told a horrible truth.

Enoris was a doomed world, and one that didn't have long left. Elariel informed her that in a few centuries, the magical disasters would increase in frequency and destruction, leaving most of the world uninhabitable, and a few centuries after that, the entire world would collapse. The reason the Gods had the Spirits exterminated was because they needed the energy released from their deaths, since killing them was technically a form of blood sacrifice. Such a thing was an abhorrent practice, and one that was almost universally banned. However, the Gods seeing no other option decided to commit the largest blood sacrifice in Enoris's history by condemning hundreds of thousands of souls to death.

Naturally, this was not a decision that most of the Gods made lightly, as they knew just how vile the act of sacrificing the few to save the many was. However, things only got worse from there, as it turned out that Elariel and a few of the other Gods were misled by their peers. Originally, they only agreed to this plan reluctantly because they believed that the Spirits' lives would be used to fix the problems with Enoris's and allow it and its people to survive. However, once the Declaration of Destruction of the Spirits was issued, Elariel and the others were informed of the real plan, which left her disgusted and horrified.

After she explained all this to the Imperial Princess, Elariel humbly requested that Rebeckah aid her in putting a stop to her fellow Gods' plans. Initially reluctant to help a God after everything they'd done, Rebeckah eventually agreed to help her once she was informed of the true intentions of the gods and what their plan was. According to Elariel the Gods had truly gone mad, and they were preparing to sacrifice this entire world to save themselves, something that neither she nor Rebeckah could ignore.

After a very lengthy discussion, Rebeckah's first order of business was to find a specific person to aid them in their plans. This person was someone that she knew very well from the legends and texts about her, and there was likely no one more suitable for the job. The only problem was that their target was illusive, and finding her wouldn't be easy. After months of investigations, stakeouts and using contacts in the criminal underworld, Rebeckah eventually found who she was looking for and set off incognito to meet with her.

After slipping out of the Imperial Palace, Rebeckah raced towards the Imperial City of Westerland on a fast horse, well aware that time was of the essence. This was only made worse by the fact that was no guarantee how long her target would remain within the area, and Elariel told her that there some doubt as to her willingness to work with them.

After leaving her horse at a nearby stable, Rebeckah rushed towards the City's Adventurer Guild. Her agents reported that the person she was looking for had been frequenting it as part of an ongoing mission and that she would return from a recent outing soon.

"I just hope I've made it in time." Rebeckah practically sprinted towards the guild hall. The Sun would be going down soon, and she needed to find the person she was looking forward to before nightfall, lest they disappear into the darkness.

Stopping in front of the door, she composed herself before slowly pushing open the large main doors. Rebeckah herself was a registered adventurer and occasionally took quests, so she was used to the environment of the guild hall. Knowing that it was unwise to walk around openly as the Imperial Crown Princess, she used a disguise when acting as an adventurer to hide her identity. Her Azure hair, a trademark of the Imperial family, was changed to an ordinary brown color, and she went under the alias Fey while she was acting as an adventurer.

The inside of the guild hall was busy, even this late in the evening, and based on the large number of people at the main desk, it seemed that a party had just come back from a mission. As Rebeckah slowly approached the group of adventurers, her eyes scanning over each one looking for her target.

{Nope. No. No. No. No.} As she looked at the crowd, she became increasingly frustrated and worried as none of the people their matched the description of her target. The one she was after was notoriously elusive and hard to find, not because they went out of their way to hide, but because they tried to blend in as much as possible. While they were a historically famous individual, the average person would likely have no idea who they were dealing with unless you told them directly. This meant that she was effectively trying to find a needle in a haystack, and if Rebeckah let this chance slip away, then there was no telling how long it would be until she could track her target down again.

{Dammit I don't see her anywhere!} Rebeckah bit her lip in frustration. {I was told that she'd taken a quest to wipe out a nest of Black Tigers in a nearby forest, was my intel wrong? Or did she already leave?}

Rather than start running around the city, Rebeckah decided to wait and see if her target showed up later. Taking a seat in the corner of the guild, she kept watch on the door while listening to the conversations between the various adventurers. A few people mentioned someone she thought sounded similar to her target, but she couldn't be sure if it was her or someone else.

While it might have been easier to simply ask about the individual they were discussing, Rebeckah knew that would be a bad idea. Generally, asking about other adventurers was considered suspicious practice, and most wouldn't give information about appearance or names, even to other adventures. Nobody wanted to find out later that someone got killed because they carelessly gave out names or locations, and thus unless you gave most adventurers a very good reason you wouldn't get that kind of information out of them.

After nearly an hour of waiting, Rebeckah was almost ready to begin searching the city when the guild door opened and in came someone that made Rebeckah's eyes go wide.

"What an absolute pain in the ass..." An orange-haired woman with green eyes in a brown trench coat entered. At her side was a sky blue sword without a sheath, it's color not too dissimilar from Rebeckah's real hair color.

{THERE SHE IS!!!} Rebeckah had to stop herself from leaping out of her seat and running up to this woman out of excitement and relief. She'd finally found her target, now all she needed to do was talk with her.

"Ah! There you are, Hally." One of the other adventurers that had been at the counter earlier called out to her. He and a group of others were sitting around one of the large tables, eating and drinking together. "We were wondering where you went. Did you get lost or something?" He laughed as she walked over.

"I fucking wish that was what happened." Hally groaned as she walked over to the gray-haired man. "Some fucking noble brat wanted one of the Tigers I took down, and wouldn't leave me alone until I gave it over to him..." She groaned. "This is why I can't stand nobles. They're such a pain in the ass..."

"Oof." One of the women at the table gave a wry smile. "Been there, done that. So my condolences. Did he rip you off?" She figured that he did.

"Basically..." Hally sighed. "I could have just told him off, but then that would have caused all kinds of drama and I just can't be bothered with that whole mess.” She shook her head. “But it's fine. It's not like I need the cash anyway, and I do this to help people more than make a fortune for myself anyway." She was more than good on money, and could have easily retired long ago, but chose not to.

"Lucky you for having so much money.." Another adventurer laughed. "But unlike you, we actually do this to live, not just for fun."

"Don't worry, one day you'll be able to relax and enjoy yourself like me." Hally winked.

"Yeah, sure." The adventurer rolled his eyes as he sipped his drink. "That will probably be five minutes before my death!" He and the others laughed at his joke.

"And a happy five minutes they will be!" Hally joined in on the laughter.

"Will you be sticking around? We'd love to have you join our party, and your skill is incredible. Not to mention hanging around with a legend like you would be fun!" One of the other adventurers at the table asked with a laugh.

"Nah." Hally waved him off. "I'm a lone wolf through and through. I don't do parties, plus I'll be heading off soon anyway. I need to go to the Dwarven Kingdom after this, so I'll probably head out tonight after getting a bit of rest."

"Well, that's too bad..." The adventurer looked sad. " But that was to be expected. Then at least let us buy you a drink. You saved our asses today!" The rest gave a cheer, and Hally accepted, drinking with them for a while until the group disbursed for the night.

{Alright, if I run full speed. I think I can be there by morning.} Hally thought to herself as she reached for the door, ready to get moving onto her next adventure. But before she could even open the door, a young woman called out to her.

"Excuse me." Rebeckah approached her as she moved to leave, causing the orange-haired woman to stop. "Forgive me for bothering you this late at night, but could I please speak to you... privately?" She figured being cautious was needed, since she was in no position to stop Hally if she tried to leave.

Hally glanced over at her. "Could you tell me what for? I'm a very busy person, and I don't have time to waste on silly things." She didn't really want to deal with anyone right now, and was ready to get a move on.

"It's..." Rebeckah looked around before whispering. "I'm here by the request of Lady Elariel..." She didn't really want to say the Goddess's name aloud, but figured that she needed to get Hally's attention somehow.

{How many times is that woman going to bother me? Does she have no shame? I thought I made it perfectly clear that I don't want to deal with that bitch ever again. Not after what she did.} Hally sighed. She really wanted to take off at full speed, but she knew better than to try and flee from the Goddess of Time.

"Fine, but this better be important. Otherwise you are going to experience my displeasure for that woman." Hally turned around and motioned for Rebeckah to follow. The two girls walked up to the front desk and Hally used her status as an Mythril rank adventurer to secure a private conference room upstairs for them to speak in. The room would come with soundproofing magic to prevent any eavesdropping, so they could both be sure that nothing would be overheard by third parties.

{I just hope she'll listen to me. I know that she doesn't like getting involved in world affairs anymore, but I hope she understands just how dire things are...} (Rebeckah)

The two women entered a small conference room on the second floor of the guild hall. Hally took a seat on one of the couches and pointed to the other one across from her. "Alright let's make this quick. If you're here to waste my time, I'm out. Though judging by the fact that the Imperial Princess came to greet me herself. I've already got a bad feeling about this." She sighed as she put her feet up on the table.

"You knew who I was?!?" Rebeckah's eyes widened. No one had ever seen through her magical disguise before.

"Of course I did." Hally laughed. "You might be using magic to mask your physical features, but I've been around the Imperial family long enough to detect when someone has their blood. From there it was just a simple deduction based on other information I've gotten over the years about you." She shrugged. "So what do you, or rather what does Elariel want? I thought I told her I'm done running errands for her." She huffed.

After deactivating the magic which altered her appearance, Rebeckah started to speak, but was cut off partway through. "Lady Halifax. I've come here to-"

"Please drop the formality." Halifax sighed as she shook her head. "I hate that stuffy crap, so call me either Halifax or Hally. I don't want you talking to me like some high and mighty Noble..."

"Umm..." Rebeckah didn't really know what to say. Halifax was a legendary existence in this world, so speaking to her informally was not something the Princess wanted to do. "Ok then, Ms. Halifax. I've come here to request your aide." She bowed, deciding to try a less formal title which Halifax seemed to accept.

"I figured that was why you were here, and unless you've got a really good reason why I should break my policy of not get involved in the affairs of this world anymore, then you're going to get the same answer I gave your ancestors when they came crying to me three hundred years ago." Halifax clicked her tongue in irritation. She hated when people came to bother her, and she found the constant demands made of her to be annoying.

{This girl is of Sherry's blood, meaning she's probably going to be very stubborn...} (Halifax)

"I am well aware that you've walked away from the people of this world, and I do not blame you. Not after what was done to the Spirits." Rebeckah nodded.

"Yeah, considering you basically exterminated them for no reason, I think I was right when I considered the people of this world a lost cause." Halifax gave some mocking laughter. "If I could leave this place behind, I would, but sadly that's not possible."

{I just want to be left alone... is that too much to ask? These people have never been grateful for what I or others have given them. Its always more and more and more, and they never even stop to think of the toll that takes on...} (Halifax)

"Yes, well..." Rebeckah figured that Halifax would be prickly, but this was a bit more than expected. "I was sent on Lady Elariel's behalf. She wishes for your aid in saving this world along with another one from a great calamity." She continued. "This world... this world is doomed, Ms. Halifax." Rebeckah locked eyes with Halifax, whose eyes momentarily went wide at her words. "Lady Elariel has informed me that the magical disasters occurring around this world are a result of a structural flaw within it, and that in a few centuries... this world will cease to exist."

"O-Ok..." Halifax hadn't expected this.

{Why can't things ever be simple? Is it too much to ask for them to need a Dragon slain or Princess saved? No its always world ending fucking disasters...} (Halifax)

"So she needs my help to fix this problem? I'm sorry but that's-" Halifax was cut off by Rebeckah.

"No, that is not why I'm here. Lady Elariel does not seek your aid in stopping this world's impending doom. " She shook her head. "There is likely nothing that can be done at this point to stop the destruction of this world." Those words still made her own blood run cold.

"T-Then why have you come here? What could you possibly need me for?!?" For the first time in a long time, Halifax was confused.

"If things would end with the destruction of this world, then I believe that would be a fitting end for us. After what our people have done to the Spirits and how we've covered the land in their blood... I believe it would be only right for us to perish after such an unforgivable sin." Rebeckah gave a bitter smile. "However, things will not be so poetic I'm afraid. Most of the other gods... they are planning to flee this world rather than die with it."

"F-Flee?!?" Halifax exclaimed in shock. "What?!?"

{How is that even possible? And where would they even go?!?}

"They intend to follow the Spirits to the world they fled to. The plan is to drain this world of whatever magical and spiritual power it has to force a connection between the two worlds." Rebeckah didn't fully understand it herself, but was trying her best to relay what the Goddess of Time told her. "Unlike mortals, Gods cannot freely or easily travel between worlds as they are bound to the world they were created in." This was basically a way to keep them from messing things up and then just going somewhere else. Ideally this would give them a vested interest in a world's stability, but it seemed there were ways around this restriction.

"So they plan to abandon this world to its fate and jump ship?" Halifax grit her teeth in irritation.

{Why am I not fucking surprised?!?} (Halifax)

"They intend to sacrifice the people of this world via various means to collect their life force and magical power." Rebeckah's face went dark as she explained. "Effectively, they want to conduct a blood magic ritual on an unprecedented scale. One that would allow them to force open a pathway, and then flee."

"Those twisted bastards!" Halifax punched the end of the couch hard enough to break it slightly. "They're more than happy to take these people's faith and love! But the moment things start looking dicey they spit in their face to save their own assess!"

{This is why I HATE Gods!} (Halifax)

"Naturally, Lady Elariel and some of the other gods are not in favor of this." Rebeckah said with a wry smile, not wanting to anger her any more. "Which is why she sent me to find you."

"I understand that part. My issues with that bitch aside, I know for a fact that she wouldn't go along with something like this." Halifax sighed. "But I'm not sure what you want from me. I can't fight gods, and we don't exactly have people powerful enough to go and strike them down."

{Those heroes are equally worthless...} (Halifax)

"We don't want you to fight them." Rebeckah shook her head. "I've come to ask you not to save this world... But to save the other one." She looked at Halifax, her eyes showing both great sadness and determination.

"Save... the... other... one?" Halifax repeated those lines back to her.

"The other Gods intend to send the Heroes to that other world to lay the foundation for a connection." Rebeckah explained. "Thus, Lady Elariel wishes to send you ahead of the heroes to warn that other world, and to find a way to prevent the gods from crossing over." If they could do that, then at least the Gods of Enoris would go down with the proverbial ship.

"And how am I supposed to do any of that?" Halifax wasn't really sure what she was supposed to do or how to even cross between worlds. “I don't have that kind of power.”

"Lady Elariel and the other Gods who oppose this plan will provide enough power to transfer you to that world. Once you're there, you should seek out the Spirits along with the most powerful fighters you can find." Rebeckah said. "If you can do that, it might just be possible to defeat the Heroes and prevent the Gods from enacting their plan."

"But that would still mean this world dies..." Halifax didn't really care for the people of this world anymore, but it was still her home. Seeing it destroyed was not exactly a pleasant thought, and it would mean the demise of millions of innocent people. "Why would the Heroes go along with this plan anyway? I doubt they'd openly support mass slaughter of this entire world just to save the Gods." She almost said the mass slaughter of an entire people, but they'd already done that.

"Because that's not what they think they'll be doing. Rather they will be told that the Spirits are still causing the magical disasters, even in their exile. On the surface, their mission will be to chase down the remaining Spirits and destroy them to save this world." Rebeckah explained.

"Ok, but how are they going to connect the worlds?" Halifax asked, and Rebeckah's face went dark again.

"By using more blood magic." Rebeckah answered. "The heroes will be given several magic spells and items to use in the killing of the Spirits. These will collect their souls and use their power as part of a ritual. Once enough power has been gathered in that world, the Gods will begin something similar here." She continued. "They only need a relatively small ritual to take place in that other world, since they can use their power here to do most of the heavy lifting."

"And those heroes will be none the wiser..." Halifax shifted her jaw in thought. “I can't imagine they're going to like the truth once they find out. But but hat point, it would already be far too late.”

{If the Gods manage to flee to that other world, who knows what kinds of horrors they might commit on its population. They already had a pretty bad track record with the treatment of people of this world, but if they were willing to kill so many people just to save themselves...} It was a grim prospect, and one she didn't want to think about. {Either way, they can't be allowed to succeed. Not after everything they've done and especially now that they're planning something so heinous. At the end of the day, this will ensure that Elariel gets payback for what she did to me. Though her death... The idea doesn't fill me with joy as much as it does... sadness...} (Halifax)

"Exactly. So, please." Rebeckah bowed deeply. "I know that you've no love for this world, but please... please help us save an innocent world from destruction. This world is doomed, but we have no right to bring another down with us."

"Well... If I recall correctly, I believe that I told you that you'd need to give me a damn good reason to get involved after all these years." Halifax stood up. "And if there's a better reason than this..." She cracked a smile as she stuck out her hand. "Then I don't wanna see it."