Zedd stood at the crater, observing the molten lava below him. He knew what he had to do, but he had to calculate his jump accurately. By closing his internal eyelids, Zedd managed to see the Essence distribution inside the mountain. Lava, like fire, was an element. Elements were conjured using Essence. All Zedd had to do was to find where the Essence ran weaker than the rest.

'This Painted World is a pocket dimension, frozen in s.p.a.ce and time,' he thought as he observed lava bubbles pop and release fetid smoke. 'Whoever created this s.p.a.ce had hidden his treasure very well.'

Zedd shook his arms and legs and got ready for the jump. He could see the areas where Essence was weak, but jumping through them meant changing his course midair. Whatever was hidden inside the mountain was worth all the trouble however. Zedd had been looking for this place for almost a century.

Now that he stood above danger, he wasn't sure he'd found the place just yet. After all, the secret weapon of the Monarchs was a myth that n.o.body dared pursuing. Zedd on the other hand knew it was a fact. He'd seen visions and memories of ancient Monarchs. All of them pointed to Ulmir's Domain, or in other scriptures, Fort's lost realm.

'Lucky Utar put me in the vault instead of keeping me near him,' Zedd thought with a large smile. He took a last breath then jumped down, into the skin melting fire pot. He couldn't fly, but he could change his course midair by using some trickery. One misstep and he'd find himself swimming in lava, even Darkstar couldn't survive that.

Essence, Zedd learned dictated the rules of the world. If lava was weak at some spots, it meant that some other, stronger, energy was interfering with it. Perhaps that was what blocked the volcano from erupting. Zedd plunged towards the first spot. As soon as he felt the air getting cooler, Black Eyes activated a spell called Dash, the one Brahms (leader of the imperial forces in Ulmir's Domain) used to escape from Vaneel.

The spell allowed Darkstar to create a pus.h.i.+ng force beneath his feet. The surface beneath him was irrelevant since the spell bounces off the air and pushes the user forward. Using this spell multiple times, Zedd managed to travel from one air pocket to the other. It was a dangerous endeavor which looked, on paper, like suicide.

To whomever watching from the crater above, they'd see Darkstar plunging inside the lava and disappearing. Zedd, however, had found an air tunnel inside the liquid fire and navigated through it. One misstep, one extra push and he'd melt down excruciatingly.

The deeper he got, the sharper the turns became. If felt like the designer of this tunnel wanted to kill whoever attempted the descent. Zedd however kept navigating through the sharp turns nimbly. He came close to death twice but managed to adjust his course. After what seemed like an eternity, Darkstar finally managed to see the ground below.

He gently landed on an ethereal tunnel. Lava circulated around him as walked toward the base of the fire mountain. It felt like he was walking inside a gigantic aquarium. Instead of water and fish swimming all around him, Zedd could only see liquid fire… and eyes.

It didn't occur to him to watch his surroundings before. He was busy navigating the difficult sharp turns to notice them. They were swimming around the tunnel looking at him, unblinking. The sight was unsettling to say the least. No matter how powerful a person could get, there was no escaping the wrath of the elements. 'If this tunnel breaks, I'd be their next meal…'

Surely enough, Zedd saw the transparent tunnel around him cracking. 'Why does this always have to happen?' he thought as he started running, das.h.i.+ng through the long straight, transparent corridor. The creatures seemed to become agitated. They slammed against the transparent tunnel and cracked it even more.

Black Eyes felt heat getting in through the cracks. Soon, the whole tunnel would collapse and he'd find himself trapped with no way out. 'Mending this thing might make it unstable,' he thought as he dashed even faster. He could see the end of the tunnel ahead of him. There was a cave by the mountain walls. He only needed to reach that.

He was a few paces from reaching the place when he heard the sound of gla.s.s shattering. He didn't have to look back to understand what was happening. He felt the suffocating heat chasing him. It felt like you've just opened the windows on a hot dry air. All the coolness in the tunnel was replaced by suffocating heat.

Screams followed and the whole mountain shook. The fire creatures were swarming the tunnel and Zedd had only but one choice, Vanish. He activated the spell and found himself near the cave entrance. He risked one last look behind him. Thousands of magma creatures with s.h.i.+ning eyes were swimming toward him. The lava was but only three paces from him when he entered the cave. A large slab of metal slid down the cave entrance with a loud bang, sealing Black Eyes inside.

He swept the sweat from his forehead then looked around. He was in a vast cold room with a scepter in the middle. He estimated that at least ten wars.h.i.+ps could be fitted inside. The magma creatures behind the closed door shrieked and banged at it furiously. The earth around Darkstar shook. Everything before him became a blur as the earth shook even more violently. Then Zedd heard a loud explosion. The volcano had erupted.

Zedd approached the scepter, or rather, swayed right and left as he attempted to reach the scepter. Rocks rained down on the room which threatened to collapse at any moment. He tried vanis.h.i.+ng next to the weapon but realized that he couldn't use magic inside. Perhaps that was why he appeared in front of the cave entrance instead of inside it.

He fought to keep balance as he walked forward. The ground beneath him began to crack under the falling rocks weight. He had to reach the object before he was propelled outside, like the rest of the magma creatures. At long last, he was near the object. When he made to touch the thing, everything stopped. It felt like time and s.p.a.ce both had seized working.

Zedd couldn't move or think. He could only observe the object slowly levitating in the air then approach the man with black eyes. Then as sudden as everything stopped, the world resumed moving around him. The mountain still rumbled and rocks still rained down above his head. Zedd grabbed the scepter then felt his entire body being pulled out from its place.

It felt like he was shrinking in size then expanding at rapid intervals. The scepter he held didn't change at all. His face contorted and his teeth clattered as he shrunk and expanded. He was in agony but couldn't even utter a word. The world before him spun at a dangerous speed. He knew he was teleporting, but didn't know where to.

When he came to, Zedd felt a significant drop in temperature. He was lying on top of wooden floor, the scepter tightly clutched in his left hand. He stood and looked around him. He was inside some cabin. He forced his body to stand then stumbled to the cabin door. Upon opening it, Zedd gasped. His eyes sparkled and his smile was never any wider. He had finally found what he was looking for, the Mothers.h.i.+p.

The largest s.h.i.+p ever constructed by the all-powerful Monarchs was under his command. He climbed toward the captain's deck then looked at the world below him. Only clouds surrounded the flying s.h.i.+p. Zedd looked around in amazement. He'd never been so high in the sky before. The feeling of having the cold winds caress ones face was priceless, especially after his previous bout with the magma creatures.

The captain's helm in front of him looked like a seven pointed star. Strange metallic objects intertwined to form the star with seven points. But from what Zedd had found out about the Mothers.h.i.+p, the helm was an eight pointed star. He looked at the scepter in his hand then understood what to do. He inserted the object inside the star and watched it move by itself and find its rightful place.

The helm started rolling then detached itself from the s.h.i.+p. It kept rotating in the air, shrinking in size until it became the size of a walnut. The eight pointed star floated in the air, s.h.i.+ning a bright golden light. Zedd touched the object then all his senses seemed to have awakened at once. It felt like his brain was on fire. Before his open eyes, millions of images flashed.

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He could see the first construction of the s.h.i.+p. He saw the architects arguing about the type of weaponry they could use. He saw people being instructed on how to navigate the s.h.i.+p, make her fly and soar the skies. He saw the galactic map installed in the captain's cabin. It seemed like he was given complete command over the s.h.i.+p, as its captain and rightful owner.

Zedd walked down toward the cabin in which he first landed. It was small room, compared with size of the s.h.i.+p. He headed for the desk in the middle then prompted the galactic map.

"Welcome aboard the Mothers.h.i.+p," a voice greeted him. It sounded more like a screech than a voice really. "Mothers.h.i.+p scanning for lifeforms," the voice went on. "Captain identified, Zedd Darkstar, formerly known as Myles Stalwart. What would you like to do captain?"

"Can we change your voice for starters?" Zedd asked.

"Certainly," the voice answered. Its screeches caused Zedd to wince involuntarily. "Scanning for voices to choose from, please wait." Zedd crossed his arms and looked around. He still couldn't believe he managed to find the mother of all s.h.i.+ps. "There are three trillion voices to choose from. Would you like me to switch to manual navigation? You'll be able to choose the voice that best suits your preferences."

"Just… choose one, randomly, and quickly. You sound like two machines humping…"

"Is this to your liking sir?" the voice spoke once more. It sounded like a man in his forties, deep and confident.

"Better!" Zedd exclaimed. "Now pray tell me dear voice, where are we?"

"We are flying above Lord Fort's Domain. It seems it has sustained heavy damage over the years."

"How long have you been stationed here?" Zedd asked. He didn't understand why n.o.body's seen such a large s.h.i.+p. Especially since Ulmir's Hunt had been a tradition in the lands of Kozag for more than six hundred years.

"Calculating," the man's voice said. "This s.h.i.+p has been stationed here for three thousand six hundred and forty two years. Any more questions sir?"

"Why hasn't anybody found out about you in all these millennia?"

"We're hidden in plain sight sir. The only way to reveal the Mothers.h.i.+p's presence is by order of the captain, or if the s.h.i.+p is in outer s.p.a.ce."

"Is this realm important to the Monarchs?" Zedd asked. He hoped the s.h.i.+p would say no. His plans depended on this.

"You should know that sir, you are the captain," the voice answered, deep and monotonous.

"Oh right, the memories that pa.s.sed on to me after I touched the scepter." Zedd concentrated on the information that flashed by his mind. He had received billions of years' worth of memories. His brain, however powerful and quick it was, couldn't process everything so quickly. He concentrated on Ulmir's domain, only to find out it was a hiding place for the wars.h.i.+p.

Whoever left the scepter inside the Castle didn't leave behind his memories, Zedd could only surmise it was a desperate attempt to hide the weapon from the Scions. He opened his eyes then ordered the interface to load the weapons. He had a plan to set in motion. And since Ulmir's Domain wasn't Monarch territory, Zedd felt free to go all out with his new toy.

"Where are we now?" he asked. "The exact location of the Mothers.h.i.+p, I mean."

"We're anch.o.r.ed above the Castle," the voice answered. "Would you like me to destroy it?"

"No wait," he answered. "The moment isn't right. We'll wait for them to give the prize then we'll strike."

"As you wish sir," the voice answered. "Would you like to see what's happening inside the Castle?"

"Can you do that?" Zedd asked, pleasantly surprised.

"I can sense a watchful familiar in the castle. A Monarch's request cannot be refused."

"Do you mean that you speak their language too?"

"Yes!"

"Then show me what's happening in the Castle. And keep the Photons on me when we finally make our presence known."

"Understood." The voice answered.