Despite the rather absurd situation I found myself in, or maybe it was precisely because of it, I pushed it all to the side, deciding that before anything, I should familiarise myself with my new surroundings to a greater extent than just taking a stroll around the throne room. At the same time, I also suddenly felt far less sure of myself, and for reasons I couldn’t quite put into words, I didn’t think I was ready to dive deeper into Vuthe’s personal quarters, or even the meeting rooms found behind the throne itself.
Rationally there was absolutely no reason for that. But it had slowly started to really settle in that this was going to be my new reality and I was inhabiting the body of a person who, at least according to Abyss, had perished. I didn’t know how long it had been, nor did I have any idea of what exactly had transpired. Not to mention that Abyss could also just be lying to me. Although, truth be told, that wasn’t too likely.
Abyss might be a bit weird and definitely more than just a bit terrifying, but she usually didn’t make a habit out of lying. At least how I imagined her. Which… I now really started to appreciate wasn’t necessarily how she was in reality. Yes, she had made it clear that I was the catalyst for this world and the people in it, and she had definitely let it shine through that she was capable of reading my thoughts and recalled more of my work than just this one. But that was still no guarantee that she was truly the same character I had dreamed up so many years ago, with all the same quirks and ideals that I had given her.
Nevertheless. Fact was that I was inhabiting Vuthe’s body, and for reasons I couldn’t quite place it felt… disrespectful to just barge into her personal quarters or the meeting rooms she frequented. A sensation entirely based on emotional input, and perhaps intensified by the strangeness of the situation, but one I couldn’t shake either way.
So, I decided to check out the rest of the city first, hoping to at least find some answers to the many questions I had. The most important of which were as follows:
What had happened exactly for Thelvadore to fall?
What version of Thelvadore was I even in?
What happened to the rest of the Kingdom?
And what was I going to do in the future?
The first question probably wasn’t the most immediately important, but it was still the one that kept me occupied the most. Thelvadore was mostly composed of former slaves, and while many of them didn’t belong to particularly powerful races, there had been at least some more powerful beings who had called this kingdom their home. Not many, but likely more than average compared to most non-draconic societies. Between Hydras, Dragons, Serpents, and other non-draconic races, there was no shortage of powerful warriors. Least of which Vuthe de Thal and her Council.
That meant that anyone who could do them in was a threat to be taken seriously. Especially since it wasn’t just a giant crater, but still held ruins. The question was how much of the city was pulverised, and what signs of battle there were, if any.
Keeping my pace slow, I made my way over to the massive doors that signalled the end of the Throne room, idly studying the various weapon racks to either side as I went. The doors were made of solid wood and metal, and large enough to permit a dragon, if a small one, entry. By any metric they should’ve weighed hundreds if not thousands of metric tons. Yet, when I touched them, they obeyed my wish effortlessly. I barely even had to put any effort into pushing them open.
I wasn’t sure if that was simply due to Vuthe’s raw might, or if there was an enchantment of some variety at work. The palace had always been something I had kept purposefully vague, eluding to a lot of things, but never outright stating it. Which showed in the half-familiar design it had.
Given that one of Vuthe’s friends, Tizanta isk Thesekar, an Astral Serpent and the second most prominent spellcaster of the group, was a master at long lasting spellwork, especially when assisted by one of the many Runesmiths in Thelvadore’s employ, it would be no trouble at all to install something to help move the enormous doors.
I stopped, just as the doors had swung open enough for me to fit through with room to spare, the thought of Tizanta carrying with it a mild rush of panic.
Tizanta was, next to Vuthe, the oldest character in the roster, together with Calagrophy de Thal, a light dragon who, despite the name, was not, in fact, related to the dragoness whose body I was currently inhabiting. More troublingly, Tizanta was also Vuthe’s long time girlfriend. If she were to be alive, she was likely the first to realise that I was not the Vuthe she knew, should we ever meet.
And I had absolutely no idea how she would react. Although I would hazard a guess that it wasn’t going to be pleasant either way.
I shook my head, banishing those worries to the back of my mind. Right now I couldn’t do much about it anyhow, so I was better served continuing my investigations for the time being.
Crossing the threshold, I found myself in the large hallways that led almost directly to the massive entrance hall of the palace. The design was oversized, given that it had to accommodate draconic beings, but also not overly lavish. There certainly were decorations to be found, and I doubted that they were cheap per se, but by design Vuthe’s palace remained more grounded than most.
After all, she had never wanted to be Queen. Thelvadore had been a means to an end, and even after her reign had been extended far past what she had initially planned for, she had made a point to remind herself every day that this was a duty, not something to take for granted.
As I looked around, studying the decorations a bit more thoroughly, I thought back to all the fun I had writing small lore snippets about how the other kingdoms perceived the strange behaviour Vuthe displayed, since this was a world far more mediaeval than modern. To many, luxury was synonymous with monarchy, and Vuthe had very deliberately broken that tradition every moment she could.
Within the first few steps into the hallway I already got a far better idea for the destruction that was awaiting me. The palace itself seemed mostly intact, although even it had suffered greatly, with many of the coloured windows having been broken, allowing for an unobstructed view onto the surrounding city.
The sight was… I wasn’t quite sure. Some part of me perceived it as gut wrenching. If I had to hazard a guess, that was the part that was influenced by Vuthe’s own body, and perhaps even instincts and, terrifying as the thought might be, perhaps even emotions. She had, after all, spent over two millennia building up this kingdom. It would be entirely natural for her to feel devastated at the sheer destruction on display.
Another part of me felt more awed than anything else. Less at the destruction and more at the sheer enormity of the sight. This was a city I had dreamed up, to see it in the flesh, even if destroyed, was… I wasn’t sure what to even call it.
And destroyed was right. In a way the sight reminded me more of images I've seen from after the second World War, than any mediaeval city. Most of the buildings were more rubble than standing, although despite this, the streets were strangely clean. Far too clean, really. Almost as if most of the buildings had collapsed in on themselves rather than being bombed into oblivion.
Strange as it was, I almost got the feeling that that assumption might be right. Although I couldn’t explain why for the life of me.
As I meandered along the hallway towards the exit, I paid closer attention to the damage the palace had suffered. Most of that seemed to be minor; broken windows, marred walls, destroyed furniture, deep scratches, and marks of ash and fire. But the building was still standing. From what I could tell, none of the outer walls seemed to have collapsed.
Really, most of the damage sustained felt more the result of personal combat, with marks that I knew instinctively to be left by various weapons, some of which I somehow knew to belong to Vuthe’s Queensguard. My Queensguard, I supposed.
That in and of itself was not too surprising, given that Vuthe was deeply knowledgeable with just about every weapon this world had on offer, and I had already figured that I retained some of her instincts and knowledge. I hoped that that would make it easier for me to act the part, although I still dreaded having to try and convince others that I was indeed who I claimed to be. Since, technically, I wasn’t.
When I finally arrived at the entrance hall, I found it like most of the rest of the palace I had seen so far. Even from afar I had seen that the massive wings forming the front door had been destroyed, and rather violently so. Probably some form of high level magick or a powerful warrior type bursting through the defences. The sheer destruction on display made me think that it wasn’t a slow effort through the nearly impenetrable defences, rather a single mighty blow that turned the doors into so many splinters.
I frowned at the sight, another good indicator that whomever had been responsible for the downfall of Thelvadore hadn’t been a weakling. I had my theories of who was responsible, of course. Being intimately familiar with the lore of Thelvadore, and Satien at large, I had insights few shared. If any at all did. But before I jumped to conclusions, I wanted some more evidence. After all, Abyss had said that this was based on my work, but not necessarily the same.
Stepping through the ruined gate, I found myself standing atop the massive stairs leading down towards the main plaza. Thelvadore was probably a bit atypical to your average mediaeval type city, with the palace being placed right in the middle and without any walls or even security gates. Partly this was due to Vuthe’s sense of duty to her people, which meant that she treated her charges more like equals than commoners. Another part was simply the sheer power she held.
If anyone would be capable of killing her in her palace, then they would undoubtedly be powerful enough to go through whatever security measures Vuthe might think up. Unless she herself powered a defensive spell, with the help of Tizanta, there was no way to keep the kinds of threats to her life out. And even then it would be difficult.
For all of Vuthe’s power, defensive magick was not her strong suit.
Therefore, the palace was built more like a mayor's office rather than a mediaeval castle or anything like it.
Descending the half dozen flights of stairs made up of ten steps each, I found myself in the middle of an open area that once would’ve hosted markets and other festivities. Now it bore the marks of time and disuse. In a way, the lack of any debris, due to the way the surrounding buildings had been destroyed, felt almost more eerie than the ghost town itself.
Of course, the plaza hadn’t escaped damage. In fact, there were some rather intimidating looking marks left in the stone ground, some undoubtedly left by a dragon or two. But overall, it was likely the least marred place I’ve seen so far.
I stopped, looking around for a long moment, before turning my gaze to the sky. It was grey and depressing, the sort of weather normally threatening a storm. Rather fitting, I felt.
It took me a long moment to realise that it wasn’t daytime. I knew, intellectually, that Vuthe had some rather potent dark vision, but the fact that it had taken me this long to realise that it was still night, or at least twilight, shook me a little. Something I’d certainly have to get used to.
A big part of the reason why I hadn’t noticed was that I could perceive colour perfectly well. Darkvision, as commonly depicted, usually came in greyscale. I hadn’t actually ever really bothered to differentiate between greyscale or not, at least not as far as I could remember, so perhaps that was why things worked differently here. Or perhaps it was one of those things that differed from the world I had put together.
Thinking about it for a moment, I had a theory as to why there might be a difference, if there was one. Darkvision working in greyscale likely stemmed from the fact that colours were difficult to see without light, since colour was nothing more than the way our eyes perceived the different wavelengths of light particles.
If that was the case, then Vuthe being able to see colours could stem from the fact that dragons, as magickal creatures, didn’t necessarily see the same way humans did, and instead interpreted the magick around them. That would mean that I saw colours because that’s how this body automatically interpreted the world around me.
Well, whatever. It wasn’t really important, more an idle thought really, and it was unlikely that I could figure out if that theory was true or not anyway. Not to mention that it really didn’t matter much either.
Slowly turning in place, taking in everything in my immediate surroundings, I wasn’t quite sure where to go next. It was pretty clear that Thelvadore was mostly, if not entirely, destroyed, which also left me without any clear goal.
Or, perhaps it was more accurate to say that I felt utterly lost.
I was standing in the middle of a fantasy town that I had dreamed up over years. And yet, for all the excitement I should probably feel, seeing destruction on this scale just hammered home what forces were at play. Forces that might still be after me, if they ever learned of Vuthe’s miraculous survival.
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