The Final Redemption by Michael Manning (novels in english .TXT) 📗

I found nothing.

My heart had grown numb,or perhaps grey, as empty as the black void I saw within myselfwhenever I turned my magesight inward. My emotions had drained awayalong with my energy, leaving me an empty husk. And yet I am alive and whole once more, with enough strengthto move easily, I thought silently.Well, maybe not alive.

It was at that point thatI realized I also had no feelings of disgust, as I most certainlyshould have had. I just woke up covered indead roaches, centipedes, ants, and… Ikicked at the mound of dead things, shifting it with my foot to seewhat else it might contain. Along with the insects I discovered anassortment of mice, a snake, and largest of all, a dead fox. Mostof the bodies had been perfectly preserved, as if they had driedout slowly without rotting or putrefaction. Only the fox seemedfresh, still warm to the touch.

“I must smell terrible,” Iobserved, though there was no one to listen. Sniffing the air Icould detect nothing rotten however, just the smell of dry dirtmixed with the fresh scent of the forest blowing toward thehills. Touching me killed them, and did soin such a thorough manner that they didn’t even rot. My body musthave drawn the life from everything that came into contact with it,even the fox.

Considering the fox, and its obviouslyrecent demise, I figured it must have been what finally brought meto consciousness.

“Too bad for you,” I said to the foxas I rubbed my now functional jaw. My internal numbness made itimpossible to even enjoy my own sarcasm. After thinking for a fewminutes I began walking west, traveling in the direction that wouldtake me back to more populated areas. I had no real desire to doso, and I almost chose to head farther into the mountains, but Iknew there were things I had to do. My normal motivations werecompletely absent, but no other course of action held any appeal tome either.

I considered calling the dragon tocarry me, but I decided against it. I was in no hurry. Instead Itook my time, walking carefully through the rocky terrain. Themorning sunshine failed to warm me, as if it was reluctant tolinger on my skin. It fell upon me and illuminated my surroundings,but it still left me cold.

Birdsong filled the air,cheerful as ever, but I felt no joy. The world had turned to ash;grey and flavorless. My sense of smell still seemed to operate, butmy internal state rendered it meaningless. This could get really boring, Ithought, but even that failed to bother me.

I traveled without stopping, withoutrest, walking onward through both dawn and dusk, heedless ofwhether it was day or night. My magesight made daylight irrelevant,and I never seemed to tire, so I kept moving. I was untouched byhunger or cold, and I wondered idly if I would ever need to eat;thus far the idea seemed unappealing.

Days passed and the land smoothed,becoming gentler while the trees grew more densely. Eventually Idecided to try sleeping, but it proved to be a futile exercise. Ilay in the darkness, hidden under leafy boughs that shaded me fromeven the moonlight, but sleep wouldn’t come. My thoughts keptcircling, turning over past events, and pondering the future. Inthe end, I rose and began walking again. Without the need for sleepor physical rest there was little difference in walking and lyingstill.

Over time, I becamegradually aware of dim connections between my inner void andcertain distant others.My best guess was that I had assumed Thillmarius’connections to the other shiggreth. The spell weaving that I hadstolen from him probably acted as a sort of central fulcrum for theother undead he had created. I wondered idly whether it mightenable me to control them, but I didn’t bother testing the theory.It seemed pointless either way.

My first surprise came early onemorning as I passed listlessly through the trees. My feet hadbrought me ever closer to Albamarl, though I had no real desire tosee the city again. I simply had nothing better to do. My travelthrough the forest had brought me to the Myrtle River, the sameriver that would eventually pass by the capital. Following itsimplified my journey, but it also brought me close to the varioushuman villages that were built on its shores.

I had just skirted one small hamlet inthe early predawn hours. Confident that there were no other humanswithin a distance of at least a mile or two, I had turned mythoughts inward, ignoring my surroundings while my body made itsway, following the lightly wooded riverbank. It was a state similarto sleeping, but it brought no comfort or true rest. Instead, mythoughts merely circled, repeating past events and memories beforemy inner observer. Watching those memories, I feltnothing.

So absorbed was I, that I very nearlywalked into a bear before I noticed its presence. A warning gruntbrought my attention back to my surroundings where I found myselfstanding a scant two feet from a very large brown wall of fur,muscle, and teeth. Somehow my approach had startled the bear aswell, for he jerked and rose to his hind legs at almost the sametime.

That’s a biganimal, I noted mentally. Even fear seemedto have taken a vacation. Without stopping to consider that mymagic was gone, I spoke, “Shibal.”Then I had the familiar sensation of aytharmoving and the massive creature slumped to the ground.

I felt slightly weaker aswell.

It seems my magic isn’tentirely gone after all, I thought. Usingmy magesight I tried to look inward once more, and as before, I sawthe same black void that had replaced my center. It seemeddifferent though, as if it contained an energy of its own.The antithesis of aythar, I decided. Perhaps I had accumulated the power from theanimals that had died around me while I slept in the cave. Therewasn’t any way I could be sure.

“Yes there is,” I said to myself then,and glancing down I appraised the bear slumbering before me.Reaching out I put my hand on its shoulder, and immediately I couldfeel its strength pouring into me. The great beast was a wellspringof aythar, and within its body I could sense the fire