The First Lich Lord

Chapter 106

With the ziggurat fully secured, we set about improving it. Vito was intrigued by what Id found. The blood forge itself was fascinating, but the small necropolis held his attention. At first, he refused to explain what was so fascinating about the necropolis, but eventually, he broke down and did.

I dont know much, Im certain there is more information below than I know about the subject. Vito and I were sitting around a table going over one of the ritual books I had brought up. Wed made good progress in learning the language over the last week, but it continued to elude us. A long time ago this world was inhabited by a race known as the Nephelium. I dont know what happened, but the presiding theory is they angered some great god who then proceeded to wipe them out. Only a handful of the race survived that cataclysm, those that did fled and disappeared into the world. Some even became gods themselves. Im certain what you have found is the tomb for those of that once great race.

I felt a chill listening to him. Any idea why the ziggurat wouldve been built near them? I feel like the presence of a source of death magic like that would be problematic.

I am not certain, but I think this script etched on the door will answer that question once we can translate it, Vito said.

The sooner we get this translated the better for a lot of reasons then. I bent back over the book.

Unfortunately for you, you cannot devote all day every day to this. Vito pulled the book away from me. You need to keep growing in strength.

I groaned. Ever since we returned from conquering the ziggurat, Vito had taken it upon himself to become a personal trainer for all of us. He had us all in constant forms of practice of some kind. Raven hed given a tracking talisman and set her lose out in the marsh. The tracking talisman would let him know if she got in over her head. Maxwell had been practicing with his conductor and several skeletons we had created for him, sometimes he would force Maxwell to work with regular undead as well.

For me, there was a mixture of monsters he tracked down and had me fight, magical theory, combat sparring with him. All the while the two of us also worked on translating the books and converting as much of the ziggurat as we could to death magic.

For now, this place would be my stand, and when we were found, as I was certain we would be, things would change drastically. It was an exhausting cycle, despite me not having the ability to even get physically get tired. By the end of each day, I needed to meditate for some time for my brain to process everything accomplished.

Raven and Maxwell always looked worn down. Along with Maxwells music, Vito would set Maxwell up in the harbor and have him fight different kinds of monsters. Those fights were confusing to watch, but I saw a steady improvement in Maxwells powerand not just from the levels.

After another week of studying, we moved on to more complex rituals and other books from the archives. This is one of the few places where an enhanced intelligence score shows its weight in how it affects us. While neither of us could fluently read the language we had notes and a growing translation dictionary. I was certain we were missing many nuances, but we finally reached the point where we both felt like we could answer some questions.

Vito and I traveled down to the bottom floor. He headed straight for the necropolis while I studied the map and made a quick sketch of it before setting out.

The tunnels led me through rooms clearly dedicated to different weapons. As I passed through, I examined the book laid on the pedestal in each room. This turned out to be brief summaries of what the weapon was. The first room had been dedicated to a wicked-looking dagger going off the sketch in the front of the book. The next page made me pause in shock. The first line read Omi Blade, Superior Blood Weapon.

Id had my suspicions about what these rooms were for, but I hadnt expected third grade superior blood weapons. In retrospect, that might have been silly, but from what I remember Friar Brown saying, I thought they were far rarer than this would indicate. If the first chamber I came to was for a superior blood weapon, I wondered what the chambers would be like for deeper in. Also, not every chamber were for weapons, some contained armorI hadnt realized blood weapons could include armor.

The first two grades of blood weapons were far more common and had not been hunted down by the church. The third and fourth grade weapons, superior and true blood, had been destroyed by the church. If this place was a vault for the knowledge on how to create them, it was imperative that Olattee never find it if I wanted to keep the knowledge. Heck, if they even knew that I knew about this place, I doubted they would ever let me go even if I fled the country.

I checked my map and moved on. The next room had a connecting tunnel that led back to a room marked by a staff. This one was marked by a spear; there was a definitive progression. It was another superior blood weapon.

The spear chamber did not lead to what I expected when I checked my map. Instead of one tunnel leading deeper there were two, one went right and one left. I took the one on the left and came into a room marked by a scythe. A sickle and staff connected to this room.

Two tunnels led deeper, the one Id come from and another that the map showed curving deeper in. The other tunnel opened into a room with a symbol showing two sickles stacked on top of each other. When I read true blood weapon on the second page, I was stunned for a moment.

True blood weapons, according to Friar Brown, were wielded by the generals of the Blood Sultan armies. They were devastatingly powerful and would warp and change the wielder.

Only one tunnel led out of this room, to a room with icons that showed the two sickles attached together. The diagram indicated how they could be broken apart and used separately.

Once again, only one tunnel led out, taking me to the room Id been searching forthe blade staff. It was the form I originally found Mercy in. As I walked down the tunnel, I reshaped Mercy back to that shape, it wasnt overly useful in most situations, but its beauty was breathtaking.

Mercys blade became sharp on one side and had a rippling design like waves on the ocean on the other. The hilt was made to look like a circlet of thorns. The shaft became wrapped in a black cord while a thick black ball formed at the other end as a counterbalance.

The blade staff room was the biggest and my map told me no tunnels left it.

The first page of the book showed Mercy, and any doubt I held vanished. That was my weapon. The next page shocked me even further. The title read Blood Reaper, Living Blood Weapon.

Friar Brown had said he thought there should be a fifth-grade weapon category for these blood weapons. A grade that was wielded by the rulers of the Blood Sultanate but there wasnt one, or so he had thought. This appeared to confirm that thought. I pulled out a blank book and began to turn pages as I used my translation dictionary to transcribe and copy down as much as I could.

***

What did you find? I asked Vito when he joined me many hours later still working in the blade staff room.

I was right, Nephelium are entombed there. I could hear his smile as he continued. From the translation, that is the tomb of the original blood god that predates even the nation that Valdor replaced, and buried around him were his closest followers. This ziggurat was built as both a vault of knowledge and to protect that tomb.

Thats a little disconcerting, I said. We have the buried body of a god.

It is an incredible thing. Vito shook his head. Gods are just mortals who touched on the divine and learned how to work nature energy at a massive scale. When they die, or more likely killed, if a body is left behind, it is no different than the body of some other insanely powerful creature.

You want to create undead, I accused as I looked up from the book.

Of course, I do, my lord. The excitement in his voice made me smile. It is not often you find the bones of such old and powerful beings as a Nephelium. The minions we could create would be dreadful and wonderful and powerful beyond anything.

Wouldnt that mean they could overpower us? I asked.

No, at least not the way I am thinking, Vito was quick to assure me. To prevent that from happening we would tie their levels to your own. As they grow in strength so would you, and as you grow in strength so would they.

You mean like a scalable weapon? Like Mercy? I nodded over at where Id leaned Mercy against the wall. Why havent we done something like that before?

Essentially, yes, Vito said. But there was no point, and nothing we have ever crossed wouldve been worthy of the effort required. Truth be told, I will likely need you to consult with Damien quite extensively. It would be best if we could create a mental construct for him to inhabit to help us.

The muscles on my forehead twitched as I attempted to raise my not-yet-existent eyebrows in surprise. I thought creating something like that was too expensive and difficult to bother with.

Normally, yes, but as we have established, this is an exceptional opportunity. He waved his hand as if to push the topic aside. For now let me know what you have discovered, let us focus on gathering the information we came here for.

Truth be told what I discovered is terrifying and gruesome, even compared to what I did to become a Lich. I gestured at the book on the central pedestal. I had learned different abilities that I didnt know Mercy even had, it would take a long time to learn all of them. This book is an overview of what Mercy is, how it was created, its general abilities, and among other things. It references several different books I believe are in this chamber about the abilities, if you would be so kind as to find them.

Of course. Vito moved to one of the shelves and began to read through the titles using his own translation dictionary. Tell me what you have discovered that is more gruesome than turning you into a Lich.

I know you dont necessarily agree of that assessment, but I feel like you will agree that this is just wrong. I flipped back a few pages in my translated book. To summarize, Mercy was created to serve as a weapon for one of the sultans. This book contains a recipe, let me just read you the first three ingredients listed.

Then that means, these books are like templates for creating more of these weapons? Vito interjected before I continued.

Yes. And Ive double checked this twice. The lifeblood of 100,000 innocents, the broken hearts of 10,000 spouses as they watched their companions die, and the souls of 1,000 twisted by torment. Vito stared at me with eyes truly full of horror. As a vampire, he knew when I said souls, I didnt mean soul energy, but the soul itself. It goes on to things that are just as terrible.

They bound true souls into that weapon? Vito hissed and glared at Mercy. What would possess them to do such a thing!

I dont know. I shrugged, having had a similar reaction when I first read it. Based on my experience with Friar Brown, I knew it was possible, so I hadnt doubted the words. Im glad theyre no longer around. There is evil and darkness as the world sees us, and then there is real evil.

This weapon is an abomination, Vito said. We must take it to someone to release the souls. Most people would consider Vito evil, and maybe rightly so. But the torture and manipulation of true souls was something even vampires were opposed to.

I dont think we need to, I said as I turned to another page. The wielder of this mighty weapon can feel the presence of the souls coursing through it as they bend the blade to their will. Somethings happened to Mercy between when it was created and now. There are no souls in it, I should be able to feel them as a Lich. You should too if you pick it up.

Vito nodded slowly. You are of course right, my lord. He picked up Mercy and closed his eyes. There are none here. How does it retain its ability to shape to your will?

I have no idea, I said, turning back to my translation. But other than the horrific side of its creation, this is very useful in explaining some of the things about Mercy. I might even be able to find a way to upgrade it so its more in tune with what I am. It appears that it was meant to be bound to a person, and its implied that its a deeper binding than a soul bond.

Vito sat Mercy down and returned to reading through the books. I wonder if its possible to adapt the recipe so that it would work with death magic. Obviously, we remove the bit about souls, and preferably the torture as wellthings created with that kind of energy are never good. But when we convert that forge up above to death magic, imagine the things we could create.

I was having much the same thought, I agreed. There are some very interesting sets of armor I was wondering if I could create. What I currently have is incredible as far as armor goes, but it doesnt hold the same power as whats down here.

Mercy was a mythical weapon, the highest class of rarity, which didnt always mean power, but in Mercys case, it did. And I was guessing any of the mythical armor down here would mean immense power.