Nefarius Read online

  Nefarius

  Magitech Chronicles Book 6

  Chris Fox

  Chris Fox Writes LLC

  Contents

  Cast of Characters

  Previously On

  1. Ambushed

  2. Disquieting

  3. The Children of Nebiat

  4. Lost

  5. Blessing of Voria

  6. Expected

  7. Actionable Intel

  8. An Offer

  9. A Plan

  10. Divine Terraforming

  11. Forgiveness Is Better Than Permission

  12. The Bad Guys

  13. Outmaneuvered

  14. Damage Control

  15. Going Home

  16. The Pitch

  17. Simulation Theta

  18. Drifter Rock

  19. Operation Reclamation

  20. Outclassed

  21. Taking a Stand

  22. The Power of Prayer

  23. Triage

  24. Sand in Their Faces

  25. Sister

  26. Not for You to Decide

  27. Questions Without Answers

  28. Reunion

  29. Back to Normal

  30. Leave Me Be

  31. Party Crasher

  32. The Crucible

  33. Legacy

  34. I Accept

  35. Framed

  36. War Council

  37. Waking a Goddess

  38. Holy One

  39. Kheross of the Last Dragonflight

  40. Voice of the Outriders

  41. There Can Be Only One

  42. Sky Brawl

  43. Warrior Gods

  44. Committed Now

  45. Underestimated

  46. Goodbye

  47. The Fist

  48. No

  49. Reassigned

  50. Broken

  51. Bitter Answers

  52. Are You Mad?

  53. Yes, Pharaoh

  54. We Ride to War

  55. Contingencies

  56. Premonition

  57. NEF-1

  58. Something Sensitive

  59. Sacrifice

  60. Too Easy

  61. Boss Fight

  62. The Cost

  63. Vengeance

  64. Should Have Known

  65. Rebirth

  66. Aftermath

  67. Unexpected Allies

  68. The Scorpion and the Frog

  69. Bitch, I Invented Betrayal

  Epilogue

  Note to the Reader

  For Pat. I am incredibly grateful for your

  quiet wisdom, and unfailing enthusiasm.

  Thanks, Dad.

  Cast of Characters

  The Magitech Chronicles are vast, and we now have a dizzying array of gods, demigods, drifters, Shayans, planets, and other stuff. Below you’ll find a mostly complete list to remind you who’s what.

  If you find anything missing, please shoot me an email at [email protected] and I’ll get it added!

  Gods, Wyrms, & Demigods

  Arkelion- Son of Drakkon. Currently works for the Krox and was recently involved in the assault on New Texas.

  Drakkon- The Guardian of Marid. Dwells on the world of the same name.

  The Earthmother- A Wyrm of tremendous power. Sibling to Virkonna and Inura. Killed by Krox during the godswar. Her body is now used to lure primal drakes, which Krox has been enslaving for millennia.

  Inura- The undisputed master of air in the sector. Inura was the chief architect of the Spellship. Sibling to Virkonna and the Earthmother.

  Krox- One of the most ancient gods in the sector. Krox was dismembered during the last godswar, but his children have been conspiring to raise him. Nebiat finally succeeded in doing so, and is in control of Krox.

  Malila- The guardian of Xal, a demon queen who rules the Skull of Xal and who is connected to both Aran and Nara.

  Marid- Marid is an elder god slain by Shivan in the early days of the godswar. Her body lies on the world of the same name, and is protected by her Guardian and son, Drakkon.

  Nefarius- Nefarius is a Void Wyrm of immense power who ascended to godhood in the earliest days of the godswar. She is sometimes referred to as a he, though the reason for the change in gender is unclear. Nefarius was slain at the end of the last godswar, but her Guardian, Talifax, is conspiring to bring her back.

  Neith- The first arachnidrake, and the eldest of the draconic siblings. Sister to Virkonna, Inura, and the Earthmother, but much, much older.

  Shaya- A mortal raised to godhood by Inura in order to defend her people. Died doing exactly that. Now entombed under the great tree on the planet Shaya.

  Talifax- Guardian of Nefarius. Talifax’s age and race are unknown, but he is rumored to be nearly as old as Xal.

  Virkonna- The Wyrm of air, sister of Inura, Neith, and the Earthmother. Virkonna is known as the mother of the last dragonflight, and slumbers in torpor on the planet Virkonna, watched over by her children. Virkonna helped Inura build the first Spellship.

  Xal- One of the eldest gods in the sector, and also one of the largest repositories of void magic. Xal allowed himself to be killed by a pantheon including most of the other gods on the list, because he knew eventually that would allow for his return. Best known now as the Skull of Xal.

  Inurans

  Jolene- A powerful Inuran matriarch. Mother to Kazon and Voria.

  Kazon- Brother to Voria, son of Jolene. Kazon was mindwiped alongside Aran, but has since returned to take his place in the Inuran hierarchy. Kazon owns a huge chunk of Consortium stock, but has turned over his voting rights to his mother.

  Skare- A powerful Inuran patriarch. Skare is a rarity among Inurans. He’s ugly. Skare is also corrupted by Nefarius, and is working with Talifax to raise their dark goddess.

  The Krox

  Frit- Frit is an escaped Shayan slave, one of the Ifrit, who were molded by Shayan slavers into beautiful women made completely of flame.

  Kahotep- Son of Nebiat, grandson of Teodros. Kahotep, or Kaho for short, is Nebiat’s last surviving son. He is a powerful true mage and master scholar.

  Nebiat- Daughter of Teodros, granddaughter of Krox, mother of Kahotep. Nebiat is a centuries-old Wyrm, and one of the most powerful true mages in the sector. Her hatred of Voria borders on irrational.

  Teodros- Son of Krox, father of Nebiat. Teodros was a hatchling during the last godswar, and played no notable role. However, he’s spent the intervening millennia gathering strength, and building his people into a military powerhouse. Teodros orchestrated the rise of Krox, but did not live to see his work completed.

  Shayans & Drifters

  Bord- Bord is a lower-class Shayan born in the dims at the feet of the great tree. He was conscripted into the Confederate Marines just before the Battle of Starn, and has been cracking bad jokes ever since. Kezia’s boyfriend.

  Ducius- Thalas’s father. Ducius has been a Caretaker of Shaya for many years, one of the most powerful political positions, second only to the Tender. After Eros’s death, Ducius took up the role of Tender, and is currently the leader of the Shayan people. However, he is Tender in name only and lacks the divine infusion that both Eros and Aurelia had.

  Ducius hates Voria. Kind of a lot.

  Eros- Eros was the head of the Temple of Enlightenment on Shaya, and Voria’s original master. Eros became Tender of Shaya when Aurelia died. Eros died shortly thereafter fighting Teodros in the Chamber of the First.

  Kezia- Kezia is a blonde, curly-haired tech mage drifter born in the dims, not far from where Bord was raised. She was conscripted in the same wave, and went through basic training beside him. Bord’s girlfriend.

  Thalas- Son of Ducius. Thalas was Voria’s second in command for several years. He was executed by Voria for in
subordination during the Battle of Marid.

  Voria- Daughter of Jolene and Dirk. Sister of Kazon. Voria served as a major in the confederate military, and commanded the Wyrm Hunter until she acquired the mythical Spellship. She now commands the Shayan defense against Krox’s inevitable invasion.

  Ternus

  Governor Austin- Austin is a young, ambitious politician in the wrong place at the wrong time. He is woefully unprepared to lead his people during a time of war, and is desperate for allies that can help his people survive. Seriously distrusts magic.

  Fleet Admiral Kerr- Commander of the Ternus fleet during the Battle for Marid, and subsequently promoted to Fleet Admiral and placed in charge of all Ternus fleets.

  Nara- Former space pirate, now powerful true mage. Nara was mindwiped by Voria, and conscripted into the Confederate Marines. She’s fought alongside Aran, Crewes, Bord, Kez, and Voria ever since.

  Pickus- Pickus is a freckle-faced grease monkey turned tech mage who has somehow found himself as Voria’s right-hand man.

  Virkonans

  Aran- Born on Virkon. Manipulated by Neith into being mindwiped in preparation to forge him into a tool to kill Krox and Nefarius. Aran is currently the Captain of Aran’s Outriders, a mercenary unit based out of the Talon.

  Kheross- Father of Rhea. An ancient Wyrm from an alternate timeline where Virkonna was overcome by a sea of blood. Kheross was corrupted by Nefarius, and despite being cleansed on Shaya, still bears the mark. He’s currently allied with Aran’s Outriders, but Aran doesn’t trust him, and Kheross knows it.

  Rhea- Daughter of Kheross. Rhea is an unknown quantity. She believes herself to be a human Outrider, but is in fact a Void Wyrm. She is a powerful war mage, with limited true magic. Until recently she was held on Yanthara, in the custody of the Temple of Shi.

  After Crewes freed her, she joined the Outriders with the rank of lieutenant, and has become a devoted member of the company.

  Yantharans

  Marcelus Crewes- Brother of Sergeant Crewes. Marcelus is a prosecutor living on Shaya. He prosecuted Voria during her trial.

  Sergeant Crewes- Brother of Marcelus Crewes. Sergeant Crewes was born on Yanthara. He voluntarily joined the Confederate Marines, and was quickly assigned to the Wyrm Hunter. He is one of the strongest tech mages in the sector, and his mastery of fire is unrivaled.

  Sarala- Priestess of Shi, and former girlfriend of Sergeant Crewes. Sarala is the head of the Temple of Shi, and is responsible for guiding new members to the Catalyst. She dated Crewes briefly in secondary school, but that ended when Crewes enlisted in the Confederate Marines.

  Previously On

  You guys all know the drill by now. The Previously On is where I get to snarkily relate the previous book, and is always my favorite part to write. That said, having recaps for every book is getting longer and longer, and we’re reaching a point where it is no longer feasible.

  You can check out all the recaps at magitechchronicles.com/previously-on. Odds are really good there will only be one more in the main series, as I plan book 7 to have a real ending. There will be spin-off series!

  One last thing before I let you get to the recap. We’ve begun play testing the Magitech Chronicles pen and paper RPG, so if that’s something you’re interested in, sign up to the mailing list at magitechchronicles.com and I’ll get you some details.

  The first ever game was run at the 20BooksTo50k convention. I played with five science fiction authors, several of whom I’m betting you’d recognize. By this fall I’m hoping you’ll be playing too.

  Okay, enough about me. Let’s get to the recap.

  Last time, on The Magitech Chronicles…

  Shit just got real, yo. At the end of War Mage, Nebiat seized control of Krox through the spell her father Teodros had created. Our Main Bad Guy (TM) is more powerful than ever, and we know right off the bat that she wants to blow up Shaya.

  In Krox Rises, we get a scene with Nebiat asking Krox for the God Instruction Manual, but Krox gives some predictably cryptic replies. Nebiat decides she’s going to lay the smack down on her enemies, and is more than a little butthurt at how things played out in War Mage.

  The Krox were supposed to win. Now she has the power of an elder god. She can cheat.

  Nebiat tries to open a Fissure, but it collapses on itself, because she is a star, and a Fissure can’t survive in the presence of a star. Krox explains that there are denizens in the Umbral Depths that even he fears, and that this is a security measure to prevent the denizens from getting out. It’s almost like the author is preparing for a spin-off series.

  Krox tells Nebiat that if she wants to throw around god-sized spells she needs god-sized magic. She goes to the planet where her species were born, and finds that the Krox are born from primals attracted to the headless corpse of the Earthmother, one of the oldest Wyrms in the sector. Krox has been using her to create armies of dragons, which the sector has taken to calling ‘Krox’.

  He drains a bit of the Earthmother’s magic, but is very careful not to take too much. Now Nebiat has enough earth to do some truly dastardly stuff.

  We flip to Aran.

  He and the rest of the company are being led onto a talk show set to meet with Governor Austin, the leader of Ternus. Aran and company are hailed as war heroes, presented by Erica Tharn, the reporter we met in War Mage.

  Then a second star appears over Ternus. Guess who it is? Yup, Krox is here and he’s playing for all the marbles. Aran feels immense earth magic, and it turns out that Nebiat has increased the density of all minerals comprising the crust, mantle, and core of the planet.

  This was super fun to research, and I got to learn all about what would happen to a planet if you suddenly doubled its density. Try to imagine doubling your weight. Many people wouldn’t be able to walk. Even those who could would have trouble surviving for very long. Heart attacks would kill hundreds of millions in the first few days. Within a few weeks almost everything would be dead.

  Most stuff wouldn’t live that long though. Every satellite, ship, and defense platform in orbit would come crashing down, and be completely incapable of escaping the planet’s gravity well. The raining debris would create a nuclear winter.

  Nebiat is not a very nice person.

  Aran and company are at the top of a giant space elevator, which begins to buckle under the increased gravity. The governor tells them that the Talon is here, and he will give them their ship back if they’ll get him off the station.

  We get a tense run back to the ship with Aran carrying Tharn. She grows pale, and has a heart attack just as they reach the airlock. I felt pretty bad about killing her, but it made sense. The human body can only withstand so much.

  Our heroes pull some standard heroics, and safely get the Talon airborne. We see the space elevator slam into the doomed planet, and watch all the stations and ships crashing. It was a hell of a way to kick off a book.

  Meanwhile, Voria is trying to muster a defense at Shaya. Her godsight tells her that Krox is coming, and that Shaya is doomed unless she can somehow find a way to resurrect Shaya. They need a goddess to oppose a god, but that seems impossible since Teodros drank the pool of life, and now they don’t even have enough magic to keep the dome going that protects the part of the planet with an atmosphere.

  Voria meets with Ducius and the caretakers and they perform a ritual to stabilize the pool. It takes some of their magic, and amplifies it through Ikadra. It’s enough to keep the dome going for a year, and then they can perform another ritual…assuming there’s a planet left after Krox comes.

  Inura and Kazon show up in her quarters and Inura tells her that she’s going to have to figure this out on her own, but that she can do it, and all the tools she needs are here. Have you ever had a boss who gave you an impossible job and no resources? Voria is pretty pissed, but Inura just translocates away. We’re very annoyed.

  Flip back to Aran, who is still helping the Ternus government. They’re running relief efforts from the Talo
n until they can get the Wyrm Hunter back and transfer command. Ternus has a smashing plan. They want to buy a fleet of corrupted ships from the Inurans so they can fight back against Krox.

  Aran knows this is a terrible idea, but also knows they’ll never listen to him. Plus, it turns out he has other problems. Kheross is all over his ass about getting his daughter Rhea back. Plus, Nara, Kaho, and Frit are in the brig, a gift from Ternus to Voria.