14-34. Speedrunning

The nightmare of too many legs and far too many eyes loomed over Elijah, chittering menacingly before crashing down on him. Elijah fell to one knee, then collapsed with a dramatic groan.

“You got me!” he shouted, his voice echoing through the cavern. “Oh no. What ever will I do?!”

Peter the giant spider stood tall, preening as if he’d conquered a Primal Realm, all on his own. Then, his body descended into happy wiggles that elicited a peal of genuine laughter from Elijah.

He pushed the enormous arachnid away, his fingers tangling in dense but soft fur, before he let out a long, contented sigh.

If he was honest with himself, he’d forgotten all about Peter, the spider who’d adopted him, then settled next to the dolmen he’d built in the Hollow Depths. That had lasted right up until Elijah had stepped through the portal and found himself facing the arachnid – and his many, many children.

There were thousands of them scattered throughout the cavern, and they’d spread to plenty of others as well. Where Peter had found a mate, Elijah had no idea. But the knowledge that the spider was happy and healthy did Elijah’s heart good.

Because of that, he’d spent the past few days there, just refamiliarizing himself with the spider and meeting his many offspring. Some of the younger ones had a habit of biting him, but even if they managed to break the skin – which wasn’t often – their venom was far too weak to cause any real damage.

He picked himself up and rested his hand on one of Peter’s fuzzy legs. The spider had grown to the size of an African elephant, which to some, might’ve been horrifying to behold. But Elijah looked at the powerful creature like a man looking at an overlarge puppy.

“You know I’ve got to go, right?” he said.

Peter let out a few chitters. The arachnid understood more than Elijah could have ever expected. He wasn’t as intelligent as a human being, but he wasn’t that far off, either. The biggest difference wasn’t in pure processing power or memory, or even self-awareness. Rather, it was a disconnect between the way they thought.

Peter’s prey drive was almost overwhelming. His instincts took prominence within his mind, leaving little room for anything else. But like a pet, he remembered Elijah. Even loved him, after a fashion. He was capable of joy and excitement, anger and frustration. And every other emotion Elijah knew of.

It was confirmation that animals, especially in the new world, were far closer to humanity than they’d once been. With enough time, Peter would one day achieve sapience.

How long would that take, though? Decades? Centuries? Beasts – especially guardians – functioned on an entirely different power scale, so he had no idea what the future had in store for Peter. But based on everything he’d seen, especially with Oscar’s pack, it was more than possible that one day, Peter would find himself just as mentally and psychologically advanced as any human being.

Not yet, though.

Which meant that Peter didn’t really understand why Elijah had to leave. He followed him for miles until, at last, he realized what was going on. The chittering whine he let out was heartbreaking, but outside of one last goodbye, Elijah didn’t let himself be affected.

Not too much, at least.

From there, he moved along, often using Shape of the World Serpent to speed him on his way. So it didn’t take long before he found himself outside of Eldrathûn. The illythiri city was easily recognizable, even if it had changed considerably. With the abilities of powerful Tradesmen, a lot could happen in thirty years, and the elves had used their time to expand and beautify their city.

But it was still distinctly alien, characterized by tall, thin spires connected by lace-like bridges and crystal trim.

As Elijah entered the city on foot, he also saw that they had taken great pains to incorporate subterranean trees – most of which gnarled, with prickly needles and even spikier fruits – into the layout. Was that because they revered nature? Or was there some other reason? Perhaps they just liked the look.

Elijah also saw plenty of evidence of their religion, which centered around the worship of a drachnid. Mostly, he could ignore the subtle spider engravings he saw so frequently, but a tendril of rage crept into his mind every time he passed one of their temples.

And that tendril tightened its grip when he saw their priests.

His ancestral hatred of drachnids was as strong as ever. Not as powerful as what he reserved for vespirans, but close enough that he wanted nothing more than to rip them all to shreds.

But Elijah had long since learned the value of self-control, even if he didn’t always exercise it. In this case, he did. The illythiri had shown that they could move past their initial aggressive tendencies, and it just wouldn’t do for Elijah to shatter that tentative stance.

So, he forced himself to focus on other things.

Like the fact that there were plenty of humans among the dark elves. They were still the obvious minority, but there was enough diversity to suggest that Eldrathûn had positioned itself as a world power. Curiously, there were no other types of elves there. Not that Elijah saw, at least.

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Maybe their worldliness drew that particular line in the proverbial sand.

In any case, Elijah wasted no time in the city, and not just because he was on a schedule. Mostly, he just didn’t like the atmosphere, and he suspected that he never would. Their devotion to their spider goddess saw to that, but Elijah had to admit that his attitude was at least partially affected by their attack on Ironshore.

Elijah could forgive, but he had quite a lot of difficulty with forgetting.

Soon enough, he found himself approaching the palace. It was an imposing building of sharp spires and delicate lines, but Elijah mounted the steps without hesitation. He only made it a couple of steps before a pair of elven guards blocked his path.

“I’m here to see Siala,” he announced. “My name is Elijah Hart.”

They clearly recognized his name. The tightening of their hands on their ornamental halberds was enough to signify that much.

But unfortunately, Elijah wasn’t allowed into the palace straightaway. Instead, he was made to wait for nearly an hour before a white-robed priestess approached. He wanted nothing more than to rip her throat out, there and then. But he restrained himself long enough to hear her out.

“Empress Siala is unavailable at this time. She will meet you in two days time,” the woman said. “In the meantime, please –”

“Fine. I’ll be back then,” Elijah said, turning on his heel and descending those couple of steps. He didn’t need to hear any more.

The following couple of days were frustrating. Elijah tried to keep himself busy, but everywhere he turned, he saw evidence of their religion. So, he ended up staying in a human-run inn at the edge of the city until he was allowed to meet with the Empress of the illythiri.

When he finally did, it was obvious that they’d spent those two days pulling out all the stops as they planned the surrounding ceremony. Elijah had no interest in that, so he endured as much as it took to be inoffensive, but cut it shorter than the elves preferred.

In the end, it still took most of a day to get what he wanted out of them – a slot to enter the Primal Realm known as the Red Marsh. Once, his intentions to conquer it had been stymied by Sadie’s insistence that they split up. But now? He wanted nothing more than to go in and tear through it.

Sure, it would be weaker than it had been during Sadie’s run. The elves were organized enough to keep it from rebuilding to its former glory. However, Elijah still thought he could get something out of it – even if that something was only the relief associated with meaningless slaughter.

Over the course of his time in Gorveth, Elijah had leaned on exterminating abyssal monsters as a coping mechanism. And in doing so, he could become quite a violent person. He could control himself well enough, but there was some ineffable quality that came with unmitigated carnage that he found comforting.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t go straight in, and instead, he was forced to wait until the current army had completed their run.

So, when he set out across the Hollow Depths, he took his time. The landscape was much changed from his first trip, largely because the region was no longer under assault from an endless army of trolls. And in the three-plus decades since he’d last visited, it had had plenty of time to recover.

For the following week, he lost himself in nature. He allowed himself to appreciate the swamps and deserts, the forests and jungles. When he finally arrived at the gate that marked the entry point of the Red Marsh, he felt refreshed from his stint in Eldrathûn.

He also found himself facing an illythiri fortress that had been built around the Primal Realm’s gate.

Elijah approached, expecting to have to explain himself, but as it turned out, that was unnecessary. They’d clearly been informed of his impending arrival, and he was escorted to the gate without delay.

“Are you certain you wish to enter alone? You are a demi-god, but…”

Elijah interrupted the elf, saying, “I think I’ll be okay.”

Then, he entered.

The first thing that hit him was the cloying humidity that blanketed any swamp. But he soon smelled the unmistakable odor of blood. Trolls were close, he reasoned.

So, without further ado, he shifted into his dragon form and cast Eternal Plague.

He didn’t bother building it. Instead, he simply kept the spell going, and with each passing moment, fist-sized mosquitoes manifested in a swarm all around him. Within a few minutes, it had encompassed the entire surrounding fortress that marked the staging point for the Primal Realm. By the end of that first hour, his swarm had spread far beyond the walls.

Elijah kept them under firm control, though he didn’t discriminate in his targets. If it moved, the conjured mosquitoes attacked, often covering animals or lurking trolls in an insectile blanket so thick that it was impossible to see their prey’s true features.

During his time on Gorveth, Elijah had used Eternal Plague to assist in pollinating Druhmor. Doing so required an incredible amount of control, which was only possible because of his advanced mind cultivation. It allowed him to feel everything around the swarm, expanding his sensory capabilities by no small margin. It was different than using his locus, Soul of the Wild, or his normal senses. Blurrier. Almost like he was looking at an impressionist oil painting through dirty glass. But it was still effective enough that he could see his enemies.

And that was sufficient.

Elijah kept Eternal Plague going for more than two days, and in that time, his swarm spread across the entire swamp. It was ringed by mountains, beyond which were the phoenixes that would respond if he took the treasure to them. But Elijah didn’t need them. He could deal with the trolls all by himself.

They didn’t fall easily. Their regeneration was far too powerful for them to succumb to a few afflictions. But the swarm was endless.

Of course, Elijah was forced to use Grove Conduit. He also tapped into False Grove, and he was surprised to find that the pool of ethera attached to the Antlers of the Wild Revenant was much, much larger than it had been before he’d completed the set of armor he’d donned before entering the Primal Realm.

Because of that – as well as his increased ethereal regeneration and the power of a demi-god – Elijah managed to keep it going until all but the most powerful among the trolls were slaughtered.

That was when he let the swarm dissipate.

But the side effect of that spell also gave him a good sense of where every other enemy was located. So, Elijah wasted no more time before launching himself into the air and going on the hunt.

The creatures might have been mighty, but Elijah was a dragon. He was also a demi-god. And they’d been weakened by his afflictions. So, when he attacked, he did so with an extreme advantage that he didn’t even need.

The slaughter was total.

Elijah’s victory was complete.

And he conquered the Primal Realm after only two days.

When he exited the Red Marsh, the guards on duty were obviously shocked at his return. The fortress commander could only stare in awe as Elijah thanked him for allowing him inside. Then, without any more fanfare, he resumed his dragon form and flew away.

That was one Primal Realm down. Only a few more to go.