Dreams of Jupiter

Part 4 - A New Horizon

Steve became thoughtful at point. 

"Ceana has the power to reignite the fire within that drove the Vengazi into space, leaving Vandium's familiar confines to conquer the stars themselves." He frowned. "Unfortunately others realized that as well, scions of forces that don't have Vandium's best interests in mind. The greatest of these adversaries is Korsahg, the Witch Lord. Gathering his shadow acolytes, he struck, intending to take Ceana by force and prevent her from giving our people new life." 

"But you said Caena would restore the Vengazi's greatness," Myles asked, confused. 

"So I did." 

"Then why would one of you not want that?" 

"As I said, a number of races were trapped on Vandium when the empire fell. Some have remained our allies while others have become neutral as they pursue their own agendas. Yet others have become our greatest adversaries, their goals diametrically opposed to those of King Feron, leader of the Vengazi. Korsahg is one such antagonist, belonging to a malevolent race known as the Broen. Once our closest friends and allies, the Broen have become the vilest of enemies, seeking to thwart and destroy the Vengazi at every turn." 

Steve's thoughtful frown deepened. 

"While I don't bend the knee to Feron, we are allies and friends. He asked me to personally watch over Ceana at Caer Anoth, the Seer's Refuge, a well-defended fortress. Despite that, Korsahg and his acolytes, traitors from all races that have sworn allegiance to him for promises of power, successfully stormed the fortress and took the seer from me. I survived his treacherous attack only by the thinnest of margins, my escape spell throwing across space and time to distant Earth."

"So Korsahg is more powerful than you?" Myles asked. Steve quickly shook his head. 

"While the Witch Lord has become quite powerful with his turn to the shadowed arts, he is not my equal. It was the reason why he deployed Shadow Blades against me. They are highly skilled assassins that use the arts to cloak themselves in darkness and give themselves greater strength and speed." Steve suddenly grimaced, his hand unconsciously reaching for his side. 

"With my attention on Korsahg and his acolytes, the assassins struck and I was gravely injured." 

"That's when he took the seer," Myles grimly finished for the sorcerer, having seen what he was leading to. Steve nodded in confirmation. 

"With her in hand, he will initiate a ritual that will wrest the essence of hope from Ceana's body so he can destroy it. Without that essence of hope, we will dwindle to nothing and the Witch Lord, the Broen, and their minions would finally have their victory." 

Myles let a long breath ease out his nostrils as his brain tried to absorb and process everything Steve had told him. Which, if he were truthful with himself, was pretty hard to believe. 

Yet here he was, standing on the surface of an alien world, something none of his senses could deny. Since that was the keystone to this fantastic tale, it now led to reason that the rest, as improbable as it sounded, was as real as the alien ground beneath his feet. The question was: what was he going to do about it?

Myles wanted to make a difference. Damn it, he wanted to do something that had meaning. Something that would change the world. It was the reason he had joined Tesla at Colorado Springs. Tesla's coils were going to change everything and he wanted to be part of it.

While this wasn't the world he thought he would be changing, it was a world he could change by helping Steve rescue this seer. All he had was one more question.

"Help me here, Steve," he began. "I'm confused. You make the Vengazi out like the good guys in this situation, and the Broen: the bad. Yet you also said the Vengazi carved out an empire from the stars with might and technology. That makes them sound pretty brutal to me."

Myles paused, a frown on his face.

"So are the Vengazi really the good guys here?"

Steve slowly nodded.

"A valid question, my young friend. Considering our history, you could've argued either way at several points." Then his face grew grim. "However, the Vengazi are not supporters of genocide. Nor do they rush to war to crush the hopes of another race. You may not like our history, but we certainly aren't the dark creatures we find facing us from across the abyss of ideology and intent."

He paused to look at the jungle around them.

"I do regret taking you without asking, but my need was great, as I'm sure you now see. Once the seer is safe, I will do what I can to return you to Earth if you so wish."

It was Myles' turn to slowly nod.

"I'm not sure if that answers my question the way I want.  But it's enough of an answer for me to move forward." He took a step towards the lean sorcerer.

"What do you want me to do?"