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  Eradicator

  Magitech Legacy Book 5

  Chris Fox

  Chris Fox Writes LLC

  Copyright © 2020 by Chris Fox

  All rights reserved.

  Contents

  Previously On

  Cast of Characters

  Prologue

  1. Cleansing the Flame

  2. Reaching The Bridge

  3. Madness

  Interlude I - Playthings

  4. Bargains

  5. Run Ragged

  6. Kahotep

  Interlude II - Tormentory

  7. Departures

  8. Arrivals

  9. Spirit Mushroom

  Interlude III - Tuat

  10. Stealth Run

  11. Enemy Response

  12. The Shade of Nebiat

  Interlude IV - A Goddess Scorned

  13. Not Fair

  14. Earthmother's Blessing

  15. Milestones

  16. Fun Town

  Interlude V - Indoctrination

  17. Holding Cell

  18. Flight School

  Interlude VI - Pacing

  19. Tested

  20. Do It Swiftly

  21. Translocate

  22. Implode

  Interlude IX - Victory

  23. Minister of What

  24. Next Steps

  Epilogue

  Note to the Reader

  Battle For Starn

  1. Starn

  2. Buying Time

  3. Crewes

  4. Hunting

  5. Into the Fray

  6. Enforcers

  7. Extraction

  8. Aftermath

  Previously On

  You know that annoying feeling when you pick up a sequel and have to make that monumental decision? How well do you remember the previous book in the series? Do you dive right in or do a reread?

  I always tell myself I’m going to do the reread, but I can never wait and so I jump right into the latest book. Sometimes I can’t remember what happened, so my solution for my own books is to write a Previously On, delivered just like the recap before most of our favorite TV shows.

  Here’s what happened in Sanctuary, told from Jerek’s perspective.

  * * *

  Last time on Magitech Legacy…

  * * *

  Hey, there, uh, random person. Don’t make it weird. Last time you made it weird.

  So here’s the short version. I flew into the eternal storm known as Sanctuary to find a lost city that predates our universe. The Confederacy, the minister, and the necromancers all had their own reasons they wanted me to find it, presumably because it contained amazing relics from before the godswar.

  This prick, Utred, a necromancer who rides around on one of their harnesses, and the son of Necrotis, used me like a puppet. He rode my soul into the city, and it looked like he’d won.

  While there we met a god by the name of Reevanthara, who revealed that no violence could be done. He’d been manipulating events, and was the reason I didn’t get water magic when we visited the body of the god Hotep.

  Instead I received an ability called Greater Purify which can cleanse anything, so I cleansed Utred.

  Necrotis’s hot-crazy daughter (not to be confused with crazy-hot) assaulted the Word of Xal. She killed my mother, and devoured the god Inura, so not exactly my favorite person. Things looked extremely bad (TM), but then Xal’Aran, the demon hero guy, rolled in and just wrecked her.

  My friends and I finally killed Jolene, who’d been working for Necrotis, and got the payback we were after. The end.

  * * *

  How about the long version?

  * * *

  The story kicked off with Utred telling me he had my father’s soul in a bottle, and that if I didn’t fly into the Sanctuary storm to find a lost city he’d use that shade to kill my mother.

  I told Lady Voria, and she decided me going was a good idea. We cut a deal. If I went in and learned about the necromancers, and brought the intel back to Voria, then she would attempt to resurrect my father. I’d need to get the bottle and bring it back to her.

  There was some relationship drama between Vee and me, but it was boring and you don’t care, so we’re going to gloss over that. She stayed behind to learn artificing from Inura, while the rest of us headed off to Sanctuary.

  Utred met us at Sanctuary Station, outside the storm, and insisted we exchange wards. We took a necromancer named Siwit with us into the storm, and he demanded I leave a hostage behind.

  My options were Miri or Kurz. Miri can keep me alive, and rocks the depths out of a pair of yoga pants. Kurz can do some cool stuff by enslaving souls just like Utred does. It wasn’t a hard choice, and I left Vee’s brother behind.

  Seket’s incredible flying took us through the supposedly un-fly-able storm, and Siwit did the secret necromancer handshake when we ran into their fleet. As it turned out, necromancers have all sorts of customs around honor.

  They needed me to do the secret handshake, which turned out to be getting my ass kicked in a duel. I ran up against a drifter summoner, with a large earth elemental. I can’t remember her name, but as Bob bashed my face against the deck repeatedly I definitely remember the elemental.

  I managed to break the soulshackle holding him, and he made pasta sauce out of the necromancer, so I won by default.

  The necromancers attacked us anyway, which Siwit told me happened because they thought I cheated. Because I worked for Utred, they assumed I worked for Necrotis, and apparently the necromancers didn’t like her any more than we did.

  Anyway, we crashed on—get this—the body of a dead water god. The source of the storm? Virkonna rammed her moon-sized sword through the god of peace. The air comes from the sword. The water comes from the wound.

  I sort of expected the Marid we met there. Water people make sense on a water god. I did not expect bear people. Bears are scary. They hate necromancers, so Siwit waited on the ship while we tried to find a way to repair it.

  The Marid let us visit the Mind of Hotep, and some of my friends got water magic. I really wanted water magic. Water magic would have been awesome. It would have unlocked the Greater Path of nature, which means I could, like…grow gills or make armies of badger-people.

  But I didn’t get water magic. Every Catalyst can give you a special ability, and I received Greater Purify. I was justifiably pissed. I got robbed.

  Anyway, when I got my BS not-water-magic ability I experienced a vision of Hotep. I saw how the Umbral-frigging-Depths were created. As it turns out our reality stole all the magic, all the life, and most of the matter from the Depths. We left them in darkness to create the Great Cycle. Learn something new every day.

  Well, during this vision I figured something out. I realized that if I wanted to get inside Sanctuary, that I needed to pray to the city itself. I took a covenant with the city that I would do no violence there, and presto…I teleported inside.

  Note that I didn’t, like…tell my friends before I did this. The rest of my crew were left behind. When I arrived I was met by a straight up fantasy-roleplaying style dwarf. Like the super cliche ones with the bulbous noses and the bad Scottish accents.

  This dwarf gave his name as Reevanthara, and I recognized him as the dude who’d stolen all the magic. The Great Cycle had been his idea. He effectively created our whole existence, or helped anyway.

  Utred made his move, and seized control of my body. He couldn’t make it into the city on his own, because he’s a dick. But he could ride my soul into the city. Apparently I am not a dick.

  I rode shotgun in my own body while Utred verbally sparred with Reevanthara, but then cliche-god dropped a bomb. I hadn’t gotten water magic, because he said I needed the Greater Purify ability.
/>   I looked at my own soul, and realized that the magical BS Utred used to soulshackle me counted as an affliction. So I purified it, and vomited red smoke all over the place. As far as I know Utred is still floating around in the holy city as a cloud.

  I used a temporal matrix I found there to whisk my crew from Hotep, and magic us all back to the Word of Xal. I even grabbed the Remora. Note that I when I had access to the machinery of the universe I was not smart enough to grab Kurz, or to remember that my dad was still in a bottle somewhere on Utred’s ship, and that I should grab him too.

  I returned to find that Briff had finally molted, and became a full Wyrm. Pretty badass. He’s really scary. Anyway, Miri, Briff, Seket and I arrived to find that the Word of Xal was once again being boarded.

  The Devourer of Hope, the daughter of Necrotis, had brought an army of unliving. She hit the bridge, and killed both my mother and Inura, though not before Inura passed a codex with his knowledge along to Vee. Did I mention she’s in love with a dead god? Yeah, there’s that drama we’re not talking about.

  No, I don’t want to talk about Mom’s death. Yes, I sound like I’m fine. I’m totally fine. Not fine.

  Anyway, we’d have lost that battle if not for the help of the Confederate pantheon. The fire god, Crewes, showed up with his massive spellcannon, and laid waste to some of her forces, but the Devourer beat him, and things were going south.

  I couldn’t help, because Jolene, the same Inuran who’d blown up my planet if you’re keeping score, now works for the Devourer, and was leading the assault on my crew. I rallied them, and we took that bitch down.

  The Devourer probably would have killed us all, but Xal’Aran, the most famous god in the sector, rolled into my cargo bay. The fight with the Devourer has more views on SEIZURE than the next four largest posts going back to the inception of the platform.

  Aran turned the tables and killed the Devourer. We won, if becoming an orphan can be called winning.

  But Necrotis is still out there with a Great Ship, and we have no idea what she plans next. Whatever it is I’m damned sure we’re not going to enjoy it.

  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!

  This list is massive, so if you’re listening to the audio version feel free to hit next track if you don’t want to hear it all. For the rest of you I put it at the front so you’d remember there’s a list if you get lost keeping track of all the names.

  The Vagrant Fleet

  Briff- Dragon hatchling tech mage and Jerek’s best friend.

  * * *

  Dag- Jerek’s father. Former Arena sensation.

  * * *

  Jerek- Relic hunter and captain of the Word of Xal. Also a self-styled historian, and has been to Sanctuary, the city of the gods that no one has seen in tens of millennia.

  * * *

  Kurz- Vee’s brother, a soulcatcher.

  * * *

  Miri- A personal shopping assistant and all around badass Jerek met on the Inuran trade moon. Hopelessly in love with Jerek, but would never admit it.

  * * *

  Seket- A paladin of Inura transported through time from the height of the dragonflights to serve under Jerek.

  * * *

  Vee- Inuran artificer and member of the lurkers descended from the Vagrant Fleet’s technicians, who stayed behind to tend to the fleet when it went dormant. Sometimes love interest for Jerek. Currently in love with Inura.

  Gods, Wyrms, & Demigods

  Arkelion- Son of Drakkon.

  * * *

  The Devour of Hope- Daughter of Necrotis and powerful necromancer. She devoured her own name, and now eats the names of others.

  * * *

  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.

  * * *

  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. Nebiat is in control of Krox.

  * * *

  Malila- The guardian of Xal, a demon queen who rules the Skull of Xal.

  * * *

  Marid- Wyrm mother of the water flight. Devoured by the Ternus ships that formed Nefarius.

  * * *

  Necrotis- Necrotis’s true identity is unknown, but she is a daughter of Inura, and was a long time outrider during the height of the dragonflights. Now ruler of the Maker’s Wrath and possibly the most powerful necromancer in the sector.

  * * *

  Nefarius- Nefarius is a Void Wyrm of immense power who ascended to godhood in the earliest days of the godswar.

  * * *

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

  * * *

  Reevanthara- Annoying Mary Sue god who has, like, every power imaginable. Reevanthara architected the Great Cycle, and is perhaps the oldest surviving god, and the only known one who remembers the creator being.

  * * *

  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.

  * * *

  Tuat- Eldest son of the Wyrmmother, and self-styled God of Death. Tuat was banished, and his name removed from all official histories.

  * * *

  Utred- Annoyingly smug necromancer and son of Necrotis.

  * * *

  Virkonna- The Wyrm of air, sister of Inura, Neith, and the Earthmother. Virkonna is known as the mother of the last dragonflight and 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.

  * * *

  Skare- A powerful Inuran patriarch, who worked 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.

  Necromancers

  The Shipmother- The legendary lich-god, an unliving who is at least eighty millennia old. She guided her people into the storm, and has kept them safe from the wrath of the dragonflights ever since.

  * * *

  Siwit- A bright rising sta
r within the necromancer ranks, Siwit wears three centuries, a child among his people.

  * * *

  Shipfather Uldris- A minor demigod and tutor to Siwit.

  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.