“He is not Maxx anymore,” Pultine, the aboatia, says gravely. Her arms are crossed at her chest and her wings reach up high at her back, toward the high red flame of Gu’s Disc.
Zacchaeus Turner, the Earther from an Earth that is not in universe Prime 5, kneels close to Pultine’s feet where a grisly corpse is splayed out before them. There isn’t red blood that an Earther like Zacchaeus would recognize, but it is clear that the body of a living being had been violently ripped and shredded to a pile of bits and there is a faint cloud of light blue, Divine Essence, that seemingly evaporated up from the body.
“He always been capable of this,” Zacchaeus says, shaking his head slowly. The bits of body in a pile are that of a Hira, the large buffalo-like dwellers of the Disc of Gu who are among the most fierce fighters of the Disc, a Disc known for strong fighters and fierce battles.
“The Maxx that I met was not capable of destroying Fonlanders, definitely not a Hira. This one is Za and the Superguardian hasn’t displayed power on par with the Za before. Maxx is an other realmer. Even the strongest of Prime 5 weren’t thought to be formidable opposition to an Endlader, but Maxx destroyed a Hira, apparently as casually as one rips paper and discards it. This is not the Maxx we knew. He is more dangerous than I could have ever imagined.”
The guardians of the planet Bludon are defenders of their homeworld in universe Prime 5 where the Fonlands encroach regularly and often, and the Superguardian, Maxx, has always been the strongest among them. Maxx defeated Metatron of the planet Endla during the Arbitration of Hysteria, and Metatron is an iteration of the Vodun Lêgba. His victory there solidified his place as the strongest being of universe Prime 5, but even the power he displayed there pales in comparison to the powers Fonlanders have witnessed since he’d arrived on his quest to find a weapon capable of killing death itself.
“That’s scary as fuck coming from a mmoatia,” Zacchaeus says as he analyzes the pieces of the mangled body.
“Aboatia,” Pultine corrects. “Mmoatia is more than one. Anything out of the ordinary about this one?”
Zacchaeus stands as he sighs and shakes his head slowly. “It’s old, Maxx is long gone from here. We ain’t catching up.”
Pultine glares at Zacchaeus. “Then let’s go, I’m sure someone around here saw this happen and where Maxx went.”
Zacchaeus glared back at the aboatia. “We have to treat this like an investigation. We’re supposed to be collecting clues and following trails. But you act like that ain’t worth the time.”
“I’m just tired of slow walking this,” Pultine admits, still angry but trying not to hurl it at her partner. “I feel like we can’t catch up the way we’re going. We stayed too long with the last corpse asking questions and taking sketches. This probably happened while we were doing that.”
“It didn’t, I’m pretty sure this one, and the last few bodies were all killed in the same attack.”
“How is that possible?” Pultine asks incredulously. “This is only the second corpse we’ve found on Gu’s Disc, the ones prior were on Sakpata’s Disc.”
“Look at the pieces of this corpse, Pristine,” Zacchaeus explains. “They’re not all from the same body. I had a feeling something was strange before we left Sakpata’s Disc, but you was rushing me and I didn’t quite put it together. You said this a Hira? But look at that there, that’s Kammapa limbs, from the last corpse we found before we came here. And I’m pretty sure some of this Hira was with the last corpse we found here in Gu’s Disc, and the ones on Sakpata’s and Agê’s Discs.”
Pultine kneels like Zacchaeus had been and when she lifts what seems to be a severed foot made of stone, Zacchaeus lets out a sound of protest.
“Come on, you can’t just be touching stuff like that with your bare hands…”
“You’re right, Zacchaeus. There is something strange afoot…”
“I see what you did there,” Zacchaeus interjects with a laugh.
“But what this suggests is that Maxx is dismembering Fonlanders and scattering body parts in specific locations. This can only mean one thing. The Superguardian is doing death magic.”
“Death magic? Why? Do you need that to find this legendary weapon Gu made?”
Pultine shrugs. “The weapon is a myth, who knows what it takes to find or if it’s even real. But Maxx must have stumbled onto something. We need someone with experience to analyze these corpses for clues.”
“Good thing I been taking detailed pictures,” Zacchaeus says. “Who you got in mind to help?”
“Ahdis, if she’s not busy…”
“When we left Agê’s Disc she was pretty concerned about Ariel. And I don’t know if we can even access the Time Chamber on Jo’s Disc. It’s locked down until they figure all that out.”
“Right, well let’s ask around and stay on the trail until we figure out who can help.”
Pultine takes flight, and Zacchaeus isn’t far behind.
“I hope this is sufficient,” the armorer says, trying to hide the fear in his voice. “But for what you are planning, I don’t know that anything is sufficient.”
“I’m sure it will do what it needs to do.” Maxx stands before the reflecting wall in the armory as the armorer works at the green tinted metal of the elaborate armor on his shoulders. Bludonians, even the Superguardian, have hard shells that grow at their backs and are completed with hard plates on their chests, so Maxx’s armor would be incomplete on most anyone else in the Fonlands. The armorer created panels of metal to reinforce Maxx’s shell, and it is a very heavy set of armor that the Superguardian wears with no effort or struggle, even if the armorer is tired and sore from lugging around the various pieces by himself.
“If you would allow me to call for assistance, I’m sure…” the armorer starts before a scowl from Maxx makes him stop short and continue his work.
“I have been kind to you, blacksmith,” Maxx says, his black eyes pointed and unblinking. “I could drain all of the Divine Essence from your body and leave you a dried husk here in your workshop where no one would find you for many risings and settings of Gu’s red flame. No one would miss you, blacksmith, only your tools and the fire of your forge. That is why I chose you. I watched you for a while, come to your workshop, slave over your work that is brilliant but not quite flashy enough to be chosen by the warriors who could bring you more acclaim. You are talented, and listening to me, following my instructions to the letter, will change our fortune, blacksmith. Soon, all of the Fonlands will know me and the armor that I wear to take my revenge. Mouthing off will only get you killed, and that would be a tragedy considering the future that is ahead.”
The armorer looked down at the grass floor of his workshop and he was visibly shaking, so much so that he dropped his tool.
“I think this is good for now,” Maxx says dismissively and he doesn’t even notice the armorer leave him. Maxx holds his right hand in a tight fist, the claws of his fingers digging into the skin of his palm. His left hand is up, pointer finger high, and he moves the other fingers of his left hand deliberately as he says words so archaic that even the armorer wouldn’t have recognized them if he had remained in the workshop long enough to hear them. Then there is a flash of purple energy that explodes and instantly subsides, leaving a figure standing before Maxx.
“This better be good,” the man says angrily. His dark face is set into a scowl to rival Maxx’s, but Maxx now smirks at the man.
“Is that anyway to show gratitude to your savior?” Maxx asks. “If not for me, you would still be floating oblivion.”
“Did you bring me here for this, to gloat? I prefer oblivion to whatever this is.”
“Fine,” Maxx says with a mad look on his face. He looks like he is between extreme anger and delighted glee, his face could shift into either based on the kinetic energy building in his eyes and the smooth, green brown, skin of his brow. “Then I will never summon you again, great refugee of the dead realm. And you will never know the Fonlands again, I will see to that. You will never touch the hand of your love again. I’m sure that Ahdis…”
“Don’t say her name!” the black man yells and he quickly contains his anger, then sighs loudly. “I betrayed myself to you because I know that you are not the villain you pretend to be. I sense the goodness in you, Maxx the Superguardian, but you are being corrupted. I know that you feel the taint taking complete control of you. you are too strong of will to be seduced by the darkness…”
Maxx is chuckling, mad smile plastered on his face, eyes unblinking.
“Are you done, Shini? The darkness and I have made a pact and until Owuo no longer exists, then we are one. So there is no reason to speak into me, Shini. The Maxx you sense deep down inside of me is tucked away until the goal is accomplished and then you can appeal to him to bring you back to the Fonlands permanently to reunite with your long lost love, but this Maxx, the one who holds your destiny in his hands, is not moved. If you choose not to cooperate, then you can enjoy the oblivion forever, but I know that isn’t what you want. So tell me, what is the next location? I am eager to offload these body parts. Even I think it’s strange to lug around a sack of corpses.”
“You can’t possibly comprehend the incredible magics that you are disturbing to pull this weapon from Gu’s resting place for it. I don’t care if you kill Owuo, but you are attracting the wrong attention to yourself, and to me for that matter…”
“I guess you are choosing oblivion…” Maxx starts to move the fingers of his hand.
“Fine!” Shini shouts and he begins to move his left hand, palm down, in concentric circles that stirs up a cloud of purple magic. Soon a picture forms in the purple glow, a vision of a large stadium in a field of grass. “Good luck setting the next marker there. That is the Arena, the only place on Gu’s Disc that is always full of Fonlanders.”
“It will be tricky,” Maxx says, staring at the busy crowds around the perimeter and in and out of the Arena.
“Take me with you,” Shini pleads. “I’m under your control while I’m here under your summons, you’re wasting a valuable resource sending me back at all.”
“I know that you are scheming,” Maxx says with humor in his voice. “But for the sake of maintaining my stealth until the right moment, I might not have a choice. Let’s go to the Arena.”
PRL Serials 