5: Family Ties

Fifth watched her reaction and it was just as he had predicted. “You are correct my phoenix, I have taken very careful steps to insure that our private conversations are exactly that, private. As you know I have never desired to share power, but you and me, we have never been adversaries, we both see the practical side of things and there are those moments when mutual benefits come from strategic alliance. Besides myself there is only one other I have ever trusted within the upper ranks of the Dark Queens armies.” He smiled thinly; she would know he was referring to her. “I have a plan, it is complicated and of course presents significant risk not only from a health stand point but if we get caught it will mean certain death for the both of us. The Dark Queen will not stand for the necessary means through which you and I can achieve this power. Fortunately we can mask what we are doing until the very end, and by that point no one will be able to stop us.”

He walked over to her and placed a scroll on the desk she was leaning on. As Piramay turned to observe it he unrolled and placed a weight at all four corners to hold the parchment down. On the map she would see a plan drawn out in intricate steps, the first of which involved using a device which simply had the word “soul well” scrawled out beside it. “As you know all life is energy, and the most concentrated life force energy resides within the living creations of the gods. This energy can be tapped and stored and if we collect enough of it we can use this energy to crack the sky.” He reached into his robes and produced a small bag just a little larger than necessary to place your hand in. He reached in and removed an object the size of a shooter marble and held it in the palm of his hand. Instantly Piramay would be able to see that it was the same thing in the upper portion of the parchment. “The soul well can store the energy kinetically and then I can release it to create the catalyst. The magic necessary to do so will be a significant drain on us both, and we will be solely reliant on the three towers to protect us for about a month.” He looked up and smiled, “As I said, no reward without risk.”

He placed the soul well back in the bag and then turned to the map again, “Right here, in the center of the Plains of Solamnia where the headwaters for the Vingaard River reside is the epicenter. We will need to harvest 5276 souls and store them in the soul well for the plan to be successful. This will mean a rampage of razing every city, hovel, hamlet and town we can find. We can do this in the name of the Dark Queen, but secretly we will be collecting the energy of the dead. Once the soul well is charged we will head to the tributary between Gaardlund and Nightlund, which is where we produce the scar.” He pointed to the triangular shaped spot on the map which he had hand drawn. The tips of the triangles corners each had a tower like object drawn and he looked up at her. “The three towers will become the conduit for the power. Once it is established and under our control we can move the power into the heavens to better blanket the whole of Krynn, but for now we need to establish a power source. Our power will be drawn from this point, and it will weaken the further we move from the area. I don’t mean short distances but there will be noticeable weakening say, if you were standing on Razor’s Edge near the Blood Sea of Istar or somewhere in Silvanesti. Now, the trick is going to be using the power harnessed here to shatter the moons, once we have destroyed them all magic on Krynn will be lost, except for ours, and then we will be the gods of magic. There will be two new moons established in the heavens to pour power over the landscape, one of fire, one of shadow.”

He stood back to his full height and looked at her, “So Phoenix, what do you think?”