Legacy of the Dark Sage



Kyran let Dusk gave a brief explanation of what transpired before their call.

A slight crease appeared on Axil's usual straight-laced face. She glanced at Kyran for the briefest moment that Dusk failed to notice.

Kyran had seen it though, and in that brief look, he managed to convey his desire to speak to her alone.

After hearing what Dusk needed to report, Axil advised him to continue with his other task while she discuss their next course of action with the rest of the members. Deception might have implied that the Somuli Sovereign chose to join their faction but since Flos remained silent about it, Axil believed it wise to not jump into conclusion. Nevertheless, the fact that Deception was granted a position that practically gave her free reign in moving around the plane was concerning. Axil advised Dusk to be extra careful.

When they were done, Axil asked Dusk to step outside so she could speak with Kyran.

Kyran initially thought Dusk would complain but the latter was surprisingly respectful. Since Kyran could not possibly let Dusk step outside his room, he let him stay while he found another safe spot for him and Axil to talk privately.

Kyran warped to his room in Armakea's HQ. Once there, he did forego any formalties or idle chatter and went straight to the point.

"The Sovereign in the Kingdom of Cretea is fake. There is no need for you guys to make any moves."

Axil's eyes narrowed. She asked, "What's your basis?"

"I can't go to details, but I met the one who was supposed to become the Sovereign. However, he chose not to ascend for reasons I can't disclose."

Though Kyran did not say anything, his implications was already a huge clue.

Kyran was only ever interested in knowing the Saint's identity and had focused on going around the Land of Eidum. There were few inhabitants that he could have met. Thus, it was easy to narrow down who Kyran meant.

Axil caught onto it, and could not help but give a wry smile.

"You sure have a way of being subtle," she commented.

Kyran only shrugged. He then asked, "Is Dusk's mission top secret?"

Axil did not respond at once. She studied him for a second before finally saying, "That depends. Why did you ask?"

"Since he is in Armakea, I reckon his mission is here. I am currently helping the Eidums conquer it, though. If his mission is here, I'd like to know what it is. I'd like to avoid conflict of interest with you guys as much as possible."

"Here?" Axil repeated with raised brows. "I thought you and Dusk are... You mean you just..."

"Let's stay on track here."

"I'm sorry. I had the impression that you did not want to use your magic in case others notice you."

"It's safe here."

"I see, thus, the phrase 'currentlyhelping' the Eidums."

"Can you tell me?"

"Don't worry. Dusk's mission will not hinder your conquest in any way."

"Really?"

"Yes," Axil nodded. "Since you decided to target Armakea, then you should know what they are known for."

"They are known for many things," Kyran replied with a shrug. "Which one are you referring to?"

"Their claim of being true owners of Lost Technology," Axil answered with slight amusement in her eyes.

"You mean Dusk's mission has something to do with Lost Technology?"

"You are an Array Saint, I am sure you found it odd why in Somuli they are unable to make use of it and called it Lost Technology."

"I do," Kyran admitted with a nod. "But it is not my priority, that's why I never really thought much of it."

"You should," Axil told him with a meaningful look. "We Guardians are not only interested in finding ways to protect the Lower Realm in the coming War of the Sovereigns. We also want to find the real reason it is happening.

"Unfortunately, finding clues proved to be an exhausting and lengthy endeavor but not entirely impossible…"

Axil went on to explain that they found a clue to the first ever War of the Sovereign in an abandoned plane. Though she called it a plane, it was more of a fragment rather than a whole plane. One of their members arrived in that place to check if there were any inhabitants. But it was almost devoid of life and its only resources were rare stones.

After excavating some of those stones, they discovered a large tablet buried under ground. The tablet had runes on it. However, when they tried to decipher what was written on it, they realized the runes were unfamiliar. Not even the most knowledgeable in several runes among them understood any of it.

Axil and the rest continued to explore the abandoned plane and found more similar tablets. Unfortunately, most of the tablets used the same runes from the first tablet they discovered. When they finally found a tablet that they could understand though, they were shocked at what it said.

The tablet was a record of an event that happened several hundred thousand of years ago. It told about a very powerful race with a similarly powerful and advanced knowledge in magic. Because of these, the other races grew to fear them, while some grew jealous. And then, a war broke out.

Sadly, the entry on the tablet stopped there, and after searching the plane for more, they only found a piece of broken fragment which only said: 'The war destroyed worlds and divided realms, and that terrible year came to be known as the War of the Sovereigns — The King's Lament.'

After some time, Axil and the rest of the Guardians would find similar tablets in different planes. Some they were unable to decipher because of their unfamiliar runes, but a few they managed to learn. And thus far, they were able to glean that the race that had been targeted during the first War of the Sovereigns were called the Ancients and they not only possessed unparalleled knowledge in Magic, but also Technology.

It took Axil and the others years before they finally understood that the Technology mentioned in those tablets were what they knew as Array.

Dusk's mission was to find the tablet Armakea said to have discovered. Axil and the others believed it was similar to the tablets they found and wanted to know if it had more clues. Apart from that, Dusk had to find out why Somulians could only make use of the Lost Technology and could not replicate it.

The more Kyran heard Axil's explanation, the more his interest was piqued. He did find it strange that no one knew how to make Array in Somuli. The only reason he did not think much of it was because there were planes in the Lower Realm that did not know anything about Array. Even Array Creation was impossible in those planes because their magic laws prohibited it.

"Does the other Sovereign factions are aware of the first war?" Kyran asked after Axil finished her explanation.

Axil paused for a moment, as if to collect her thoughts before answering, "We believe so. Not all of them, though."

"But are they aware that the first war is connected to the Ancients?"

"There are plenty of abandoned planes in the Lower Realm," Axil replied with a wry smile. "I cannot say for sure if the things written in the tablets we found are the only record that spoke about the first war's connection to the Ancients."

As if thinking why Kyran might have asked that question she added, "If you wanted to know if that is the reason they are interested in the Human plane being rumored as a remnant of the Land of the Ancients, then rest assured that is not the case.

"The Land of the Ancients could be found in almost every history of every planes in the Lower Realm. They are either mentioned as part of a lore, or even anecdotes, but they are there. No one knew how these things came to be, though."

Kyran felt his head throb from this new information. He could not say he was invested on learning about the truth of the Ancients, but he had been hearing about them ever since he stepped out of his comfort zone within the Regis Estate. Not to mention, his innate magic seemed to have some connections with the Ancients, and that was not to say because his magic was considered Ancient magic.

It was more with the tablets Axil and her faction discovered. Those tablets they could not decipher.

Kyran wondered if the reason they could not decipher it was because it was written in Void runes. After all, compared to the runes used by other Ancient magic, there were no record of the Void.

"Dusk has the ability to move undetected," Axil continued after a moment's silence. "So you do not have to worry about him getting in the way on your conquest."

After some hesitation, Kyran asked, "Can I see all the tablets you found?"

Axil did not respond immediately. She more or less guessed Kyran was not asking to see the tablets they had already deciphered but those they have not. If it was only her, she would not mind showing it to him. However, some members might have reservations especially since Kyran was only considered a consultant and not an official member of the Guardians. Though Kyran had been helping them for a year, he only worked with Loar or Wings.

In the end, Axil nodded her head and said, "Alright."