Amazon Apocalypse 3: Chapter 81 (Epilogue) (Patreon)

Reluna, on the World of Themyscira...

When the battle ended, Reluna gathered up her fellow apprentices. They had a few wounded, but all had been on a training expedition that had been inexplicably canceled just before their classes went on break—meaning all of them were equipped with a full set of talismans and health potions.

Clearly, the Serpent Lodge considered their apprentices expendable, because they were all dead. The Dragon Lodge apprentices had been of a higher caliber than their rivals, but the fight still shouldn’t have been as one-sided as it was. Nobody had expected Carter, the local leader they were working with, to counter the enemy leader on his own, or to have specialized weapons for devastating enemy charges and cracking open enemy spellcasters’ shield talismans. With Carter leading the charge, an almost even battle had quickly turned into a slaughter.

“That was one hell of a battle, Reluna!” one of her fellow apprentices said.

Reluna recognized him from one of her classes—his name was Jerund, she thought. He was a Barkborne from one of the wild worlds. His family had been dryads for generations, but he’d been gifted and was sent to learn more sophisticated magic at the Dragon Lodge Academy. Like Reluna, he’d eventually distinguished himself enough to progress to the point he was given the chance to study on one of the Dragon Lodge’s core worlds, a world of wizards under the direct rule of one of the lodge’s most powerful members.

“It was a tougher fight than I thought it would be,” Reluna admitted. “But the Samhains are always good about paying up when someone calls in a favor earned. We did good work today.”

“Plus, we cut those Serpent Lodge dropouts down to size! They really weren’t anything special.” Jerund laughed, but then he turned serious. “There was someone out there who was damn scary, though.”

“Dramonar, I think his name was,” Reluna said. “A C-Grade, and the leader of the enemy army.”

“No, not him. The guy who killed him… he was a human, right? I saw you speaking to him. Do you know him well?” Jerund asked.

“A bit.” Reluna shrugged. “He’s a bit of a mysterious figure from a newly integrated world.”

“A Shardlord? That’s a valuable title...” Jerund said.

“I think he mentioned it recently upgraded to Shardking.”

Jerund’s bark-like eyebrows lifted. “Isn’t that the title the headmaster goes by? You know, Shardking of Raya Mucaria Academy? The Dragon Lodge’s personal mystic dimension?”

Reluna nodded. “That’s the one.”

“No wonder he’s so powerful. And to think he’s recruited an artificer, as well. I’m sure he will form a powerful faction when the System is done integrating his world.”

“I believe he did the artificing himself.”

“That’s impossible! We saw him fight. He’s clearly a combat spellcaster. There’s no way he can be an artificer.”

Reluna shrugged. “Master Artificer, actually.”

“Even more impossible!”

“No. He made me this!” Reluna showed off one of her enchanted storage containers. It was certainly better than showing off her illegal Rod of Annihilation.

Eventually, all Jerund could do was stare at the box and shake his head. “You know, I used to be considered a prodigy as a child. Then I went to the academy, and there learned I was only moderately skilled. When I reached Raya Mucaria, I realized I had to study day and night if I wanted to keep up.”

He looked up at the sky and shook his head. “And now?” He sighed. “Now, I see I’m like a frog in a well, unable to see the width and breadth of the heavens.”

Others expressed similar concerns. Now that Reluna considered it, Carter really was something special. He punched well above his grade—on a multiversal level. There was a good chance she’d just spent the last few weeks watching a legend in the making. She realized she had a lot to think about as she sent her comrades home.

Thankfully, Carter had a skilled teleportation specialist on retainer. How someone from a newly integrated world could afford someone like Thulga, Reluna didn’t know. But considering how many other surprises the man had up his sleeves, that was hardly worth looking into.

“Twelve to Glacia, please,” Reluna told Thulga.

The orcish teleporter glanced around, obviously counting heads. “Twelve and not thirteen?”

“I’ll be staying here,” Reluna explained.

Her fellow apprentices waved goodbye, battle-worn and with a few wounds, but all pleased at the experience they’d gained with their success. Everyone had benefited, gaining a few levels from that battle—Reluna most of all.

She’d been at the peak of D-Grade for a long time. She’d earned a lot of experience pearls thanks to her many years of brilliant work as a student, but she’d hesitated to take that last step. Reaching C-Grade was a big step in the Dragon Lodge. It was the mark of someone who’d graduated. C-grades were no longer considered students or apprentices, but full-fledged wizards worthy of their robes.

“And that means politics...” Reluna sighed at the thought.

The past ten years she’d shored up her foundations and taken more than a few leisurely vacations. In a way, she’d made the most of her last days free of responsibility.

As soon as she took that last step, though, she’d be expected to play the great game so many of her peers seemed to enjoy. The Dragon Lodge wasn’t nearly as cutthroat as some others—like the Serpent Lodge, for example—but that didn’t mean its members didn’t jockey for position and power.

Most found themselves driven to the lodge’s outer holdings, either by choice or by necessity. Such fringe wizards could be found in trading outposts or lesser academies where the Dragon Lodge searched for talented gems hidden among countless backwater worlds.

Most would consider Galbatorix to be one such cast off. Reluna now suspected, however, he had personal reasons for setting up shop here in a small fortress city in this backwater, rural region of Themyscira.

She had known the Samhain clan had deep roots—despite the humble appearance of their fiefdom on this world. While they didn’t have a mighty seat of power like most large clans did, they had family ties with almost everyone of importance. The Dragon Lodge was no exception to that rule. Not even the Council of Matriarchs dared seize their ancestral holdings from them, despite ruling Themyscira as a whole.

And yet, for some reason, both daughters of the Samhain main line had tied themselves to a young man from a newly integrated world. He was certainly capable, but the mere fact the Samhain ancestors allowed him to claim not just one, but both of their main family’s daughters was proof there was more to this young man than Reluna had thought at first glance.

As if there wasn’t enough evidence to suggest as much. This Carter Smith wasn’t the newly integrated backwater tribesman she’d expected to find when she’d arrived on his relatively small shard. Starting next mission, she would read the mission’s parameters and situation update before making her dramatic entrance.

As things stood, there was no way she’d survive the C-Grade politics of the Dragon’s Lodge—not all alone. She needed somewhere to grow and gather support. One thing was clear, the Samhain ancestors thought this young man would be important someday. 

Reluna had to admit she agreed.

Musing about what made Carter special, she sought advice from the only person in this quaint town who might give her answers—Galbatorix the wizard. She found his shop in the same place it always was.

He was back behind the counter reading a book, just as he’d been before this latest emergency.

“Sir? I sent everyone else home. The battle is over,” Reluna reported.

The hundreds of assistants he’d hired on to get them out of the streets were gone. The shop was empty once again.

“Ah, Reluna? Yes, you can give me a full report.” He nodded at a pile of papers at one end of the counter. “The enchanted pen will take it down.” He gestured to a quill that floated in the air next to the papers.

Reluna gave her full report of the battle from her perspective. In all likelihood, unless she became famous someday, nobody in the Dragon Lodge would ever read it. But the bureaucrats back home loved their paperwork. There were entire cities dedicated merely to filing and storing the endless number of TPS reports the lodge sent and received.

The Dragon Lodge was supposed to be a decentralized organization that provided great freedom to its members. But since she was working for the lodge in an official capacity, she was expected to fill out a TPS report. There was always paperwork to be filed.

Going into as much detail as the lodge required took her nearly two hours. She was pretty sure Galbatorix napped through most of it. But once she was done, he opened his eyes and congratulated her on a job well done.

“There’s one thing that I’m concerned about, Sir. Before Carter Smith killed Dramonar, the leader of the enemy army, I sensed him cast a powerful sacrificial spell.”

“Mhm. You sensed that, did you? Well done”

“It was a very dark spell.” She shuddered. “As I understand it, such a spell shreds the user’s soul into its constituent pieces and tributes the remains to the patron.”

“Ah... yes. That’s why we don’t teach that one. The System is a big advocate of recycling, you see. You can refine souls all you want, but destroying them to the point the System can’t reincarnate them is a bit taboo.” He studied her. “I’m impressed you were able to recognize it. What little remained of that young man could only be used to fill the body of a monster. By the time his fragmented soul can pilot a person again, it will have regrown into something completely unrecognizable.”

“The Serpent Lodge teaches this spell?”

Galbatorix shook his head. “That spell didn’t come from the Serpent Lodge. I’m almost certain it’s one from the Cult of the Chaos Serpent. That’s who the boy’s soul went to, in any case—or at least the parts of it that remained. It looked to me like the Chaos Serpent harvested his resentment and personal animosity and discarded the personality completely.”

“Dramonar is truly dead, then?”

“Deader than dead, but a bit of his anger remains.” Galbatorix shrugged.

“What use could the Chaos Serpent possibly have for some early C-Grade’s resentment?”

Galbatorix smiled. “You’d be surprised at all the things souls are good for. That pen over there, for example, has a tiny fragment of a soul in it—not enough to destroy the maker’s soul, but the poor fellow had to learn to write all over again after he put that part of himself into the quill.”

“Does this mean the Chaos Serpent is making an item?” Reluna asked.

“Or a curse. Or perhaps just an especially angry spell. There’s really no telling. But I suspect our poor friend Carter is going to find himself on the wrong side of it. Someone really should warn him.” He looked pointedly at Reluna.

“They’re targeting Carter?” She blinked.

“That is what Dramonar’s resentment and animosity would be most useful for, I’m sure. Again, it could be any number of things. Perhaps some followers of the Chaos Serpent plan on using it to send some particularly powerful monster in his direction. I just hope our young friend will be ready for it, whatever it is.”

Reluna took a deep breath. This was the last moment she’d have to back out. Was this really what she wanted?

“I suspect he would appreciate the Dragon Lodge’s help if he runs into such trouble,” Reluna suggested.

“I suspect so.” Galbatorix stroked his beard. “Someone at the peak of D-Grade, who could finish their racial evolution on his shard, would make an ideal ambassador, wouldn’t you say?”

“If it would please the Dragon Lodge, I would be happy to volunteer for such a role. Carter’s shard has proven a valuable trade partner, has it not?”

Galbatorix nodded. “Indeed it has. And you would be the logical choice, since he already knows you. You know, young lady, they said you’ve been at the top of your class for twenty-five years. Only recently, after hitting the peak of D-Grade, did you suddenly catch a case of the lazies that has stretched on for ten years or so.”

Galbatorix grinned at the wide-eyed look on the young sorceress’ face. “No need to explain why… I’m sure you have your reasons. Just know that I expect great things from you from here on out.”

“The transfer doesn’t need to be approved by someone higher up?” Reluna frowned.

Galbatorix ran his fingers through his beard and gave her a wink. “Despite how it looks, with me being out here in the middle of nowhere, I still have some pull with the lodge.”

Reluna bowed low. “Thank you, Master Galbatorix. I won’t let you down!”

“Oh, don’t worry about me. I’m easy to please.” The old wizard laid a finger alongside his nose. “It’s that young Carter fellow you have to worry about.””