Thanks for sticking around!
Hello again to everyone! So sorry that it has been a while, but I’m back at it, working hard to wrap up Princedoms. It's been very exciting, as young Elex Vains is relegated to continuing to follow his own whims and compass to figure out what is going on, and to seek answers in the only way he knows how.
Here is an excerpt from Chapter 7. Not much editing yet – little more than a once over – so there are likely to be some grammatical SNAFUBARs, but it takes place during the deep breath before the plunge of a large battle. Let me know what you all think!
More to come soon!
As they continued marching on, Elex could see that others from the settlement – older and not appearing the fighting type – were now present, most of them carrying torches and lighting huge bonfires, filling the air with the sounds of crackling fires and the glow of rising ash. As Elex followed the crowd toward the opening that lead to the floating pier, more people were setting up the huge pointed timbers he had observed earlier; they were planting one end into the ground, leaving the sharpened end leaned up against the fence and pointing outward, creating an abatis barrier facing the water. As they walked out onto the docks, the crowd naturally thinned to side-by-side at best, and continued toward the edge of the lake – a place that Elex had not explored. They were approaching the “witches towers” he said taken note of before and, again, it appeared as if they were swaying in the mist that rose from the water.
He shook his head and produced a nervous grin. “I swear that those things are moving.”
“They are,” Chaza spoke quickly. “This entire section of mountain moves constantly; that’s why it was flooded and given a floating pier. It makes it easier to navigate.”
Elex replayed what Chaza had said a few more times before looking back up at him in shock. “The mountain moves?”
“Everything moves, Elex. And some of what moves is harmless and just unnaturally animate. But other things are quite the opposite. This area flows with a strange magic of chaotic property, and it gives life to much that it comes in contact with.” He looked back down at Elex. “And that’s why we’re here.”
Again, Elex remembered that he had never found out the nature of their purpose and what it was they were doing. “Chaza? Why are we here?”
“Chaotic properties, Elex. You know what they do; you were in the catacombs in Chile, and you saw firsthand what chaos can do to nature. Well, for whatever reason, it’s like chaos flows here from some source during the time of a full moon. It comes in contact with organic matter, and brings them to life. Animals, plants, insects, rocks, water, you name it. Imagine each one of these things being given their own will and ambulatory properties, and all of them wanting to destroy everything. Transylvania, Elex. Why do you think this place is a breeding ground for stories of the fantastic and creatures of horror? Take some of the standard wildlife in a mountainous and temperate area and imbue them with the same properties that spawned demons, and what do you get?”
Elex looked forward, hesitant to utter the words coming to mind. “The basis for werewolves and vampires.”
Chaza smiled. “That’s right, Elex. Unlike the campfire discussion we had after the three demons attacked the village in the Atacama, here, you’re welcome to speak of bigfoot and the Lochness monster.” He smiled and looked down at Elex once again. “Because here, they’re not ridiculous. Here, young Elex, there be monsters.”
Elex nodded his head, signaling he was at least processing the information, not necessarily understanding it. “So we’re here to …”
Chaza smiled. “We’re here to be Van Helsing, Elex. We’re here to kill a bunch of evil creatures and monsters, and evil elemental constructs. We’re the first and last line of defense in destroying whatever ebbs from this area, and they have to be stopped here. They cannot escape this area, because once they disappear into the Carpathians, they’ll go elsewhere, and they’re much harder to track, contain, and destroy. They’ll attack other villages, towns, settlements … basically, they’ll get into the world, and camouflaging their presence, the damage, and our world becomes compromised. With the coming of each full moon, more of these … constructs get created, so we get groups of celestials to come and volunteer their time, talents, and sometimes lives to contain and defeat them. The Purgatorians have been a part of the effort since the beginning, as it’s part of our charge on Earth. That’s what goes on here, that’s what we’re doing, that is what we’re up against. Basically, it’s nothing you didn’t physically deal with in South America, and it’s nothing doctrinally different than what you’ve been doing for the last several months.”
Elex continued staring at Chaza, now fully taking in what it was he had gotten himself into. A few moments passed and Assur walked up behind the pair of them. “We’ve got about ten minutes until the moon is officially full, gentlemen, and we need you both in position. Chaza? As always, we need your strength and your defenses on the ground, just behind point.”
Chaza nodded to him, then turned and flashed a quick smile to Elex. He started to walk toward the end of the pier, where Elex could see another perimeter fence and gate. A few seconds later, Assur called out to Chaza again. Hey glanced over at Elex for a moment before turning back to the Purgatorian. “Do you think Mr. Vains could help out at ground zero?”
Chaza looked back at Elex, then back at Assur before replying, “That’d be good. He’s pretty perceptive; he’s got a unique visual gift, so he should be able to pick up attackers before they’re actually in view.”
Assur smiled and nodded his head, then put a hand on Elex’s shoulder. “We’ve heard the stories, Mr. Vains, now we’ll see what you can do.”
Elex smiled back slyly. “Yes, you will.”
