“Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth.”
-Albert Camus

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Zed escaped the Ever-Fruitful Tree sect and returned to Formenos, where his friends continued building a settlement for the coming humans. With only six months to go, the pressure is mounting...

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Daelan the DamnedChapter 1

“Are you ready to head out, Jen?”“Almost.”Joseph stopped by her room to see what she was doing. He surveyed the room quickly. There were clothes on the floor, but fewer than usual.‘Maybe the talks are getting through to her.’Posters of edgy bands that few people had heard of adorned the walls, and plushies from her favorite animes were on the windowsill. Imogen was lying on the bed, face up, staring at her phone, finger flying around and tapping on the screen.‘Texting. Of course,’ he sighed. He regretted giving his eleven-year-old daughter a phone, but she and his wife had ganged up to convince him that her social life would be non-existent without it. He did have to admit that her gaggle of friends all had them.He decided not to give her a hard time. This was supposed to be a good day, so he just continued packing the fishing gear in the SUV. Jen showed up in the garage a few minutes later.“Okay, I’m ready.”“Could you grab the sandwiches that mom made and put them in the cooler?”“Sure.”“Thanks.”Before leaving they both said goodbye to Anna. Jen just gave a quick “Bye, Mom,” while Joseph gave her a kiss and a quick squeeze of her bottom that, judging by Jen’s eye-roll, was not as discreet as he had thought.Joseph smiled with embarrassment at his wife in mute apology.She shook her head and smiled. It was her way of saying “You dummy” and “I forgive you” at the same time.“Have fun.”“You too.”He wasn’t sure what Anna would do, but when she had the chance she usually got together with one or more of her friends. Though Joseph knew she loved them, he also knew she looked forward to days like this.The drive to Joseph’s favorite fishing hole was quiet. He liked to talk with his daughter at times like this, but their relationship had become awkward over the last year. He used to go camping with her, but she wasn’t as interested these days. Joseph regretted that they seemed to have less in common all the time. He wasn’t sure what to do about it. If the fishing trip didn’t go well, he might break down and let her paint his nails or something.“How are your friends doing?”“Fine.”“Are you guys going to do something tomorrow?”“Probably.”“Have you watched any good anime lately?” Joseph didn’t know much about anime, but knew Jen and her friends enjoyed it.“Not really.”Joseph sighed quietly. Jen clearly wasn’t in the mood to talk, so he let it be. When they got to the stream, Joseph handed Jen his fishing pole and the fly she had made in the last few days. While it wasn’t as neat and tight as store-bought or the ones Joseph made, it wasn’t bad for a first try.‘Besides, there’s nothing like catching a fish with a fly you made.’After they put on their waders they went out into the gentle stream. They walked out to Joseph’s favorite spot, where he demonstrated how to flick the flexible rod back and forth so the fly would land in the water and then flick back out, mimicking the movements of an actual fly. He then let her try.Jen’s casts were awkward at first, but with some guidance she became smoother. Joseph knew that coaching her longer would be counterproductive. At some point you have to do it yourself and figure it out, so Joseph moved to a different area, leaving the prime fishing spot to her.They fished for the next couple of hours, occasionally moving to different areas. Joseph loved fishing. He loved being out in nature, seeing the sunlight glinting off the ripples in the water, hearing the insects and birds.‘I could do without the gnats, but nothing’s perfect.’Joseph was pleased that Jen caught a couple of trout. They released one because it was too small, but the other was a pretty good size. When they decided to call it quits they had four fish in the water-filled bucket.“Are you ready to gut the fish?”“Ugh. I guess.”Once she started, Jen got over the grossness and did a good job. The scales on the fish were small enough that they didn’t have to be removed, but Joseph used the opportunity to teach her how to do it anyway. When they were done they rinsed their hands, pulled the sandwiches out of the ice-filled cooler, and put the fish in.“Dad?”“Yeah?”“Can I ask you something?”“Of course. What’s up?”“What do you do when you mess up?”Joseph looked over at her. Jen looked uncomfortable, her hands clasped between her knees, eyes downward.“That depends on the mess up. What happened?”She told him a convoluted tale that, to his amusement, boiled down to her and one of her friends liking the same boy, who probably hadn’t even been through puberty yet. In her social maneuverings Jen started a rumor that her friend, Madison, was just using Liam to get to his friend, Brian.When Joseph sorted it out, he chuckled.Imogen glared at him. She was too full of righteous wrath at the moment to be just “Jen”.“It’s not funny, Dad!”“Sorry, sorry,” he said as he held up his hands placatingly. “I wasn’t laughing at you. I was laughing at how much more complicated your relationships are than mine.”She muttered, “I knew I should have asked Mom…”“Hey, hold on. Asking Mom is a good idea, but I might be able to help too.”She looked at him skeptically, but still asked, “So what do you think I should do?”“What do you think you should do?”Jen rolled her eyes. “If I knew that, I wouldn’t have asked.”Joseph just gave her his own skeptical look, only his was the cocked-head version that said, “C’mon, really?”Jen frowned and looked down. “I-i don’t want to.”Joseph thought about how to approach this. After a few moments, he said, “There are two kinds of people in the world, Jen.”When she saw that he wasn’t going to continue until she said something, she rolled her eyes. “Let me guess, people that screw up, and people like you who don’t?”He shook his head, smiling. “No, though I’m flattered you think that, even if you were joking. No, everyone screws up. The two kinds of people are: those who do what they can to fix it, and those who pretend they didn’t screw up. Your mistake bothers you, like a sliver. It hurts. You can ignore it, but it’s always there, and the annoying pain reminds you of that. The best thing to do is get it out as soon as you can. If you wait, you’ll still have to get it out eventually, and it will just keep hurting in the meantime.”Jen chewed on her lip.“What happens if you ignore it? Does it eventually stop hurting?”He shook his head again. “Not really. It still hurts; you just get better at ignoring it. You just keep getting more and more slivers until you become one big ball of pus.”Jen laughed at the unexpected image. Afterward she nodded and said, “Yeah, I get it.”“Good.” He ruffled her hair, which she pretended to hate.“Gross! Your hands smell like fish, Dad!”‘Okay, maybe she actually hated it.’ He turned to her with a bright smile. “See? I screw up too. I’ll fix it by washing your hair. C’mere, and I’ll give you a patented river hair wash.”She rolled her eyes.‘How many times can that girl roll her eyes in one day?’“Let’s just go, Dad.”“Alright. Just know that if you ever want that river hair wash, I’m good for it.”“I’ll keep that in mind.”They had finished their sandwiches while they talked, so they cleaned up and stowed everything in the car. The drive home was just as quiet as the drive to the river, but it was a comfortable kind of quiet.When they arrived home they parked the car and opened the back of the SUV to pull out their gear and cooler. Anna came out while they put away the rods and tackle box.“How was the fishing?”Joseph grinned. “Good! Jen caught two, only one of them was even smaller than her, so we had to let it go.”Jen stuck her tongue out at Joseph. “I think we could have caught all of the fish in the river, and even combined they wouldn’t have weighed as much as you, Dad.”Joseph mock-frowned and said, “Now you’re just being mean.”Sensing that she had him on the ropes, Jen grinned. “It only hurts because it’s true.”Joseph turned to his wife. “Do you hear this daughter of yours?”Anna nodded with a gentle smile. “I do. Unfortunately, someone has taught her how to be sarcastic since she was in the cradle.”“I wonder who that could be?”“Yes,” she said as she rolled her eyes. “I wonder.”Joseph pointed at her in accusation. “There! You see! She learned the eye-rolling from you!”Anna shook her head with the corners of her lips curled up and started to roll her eyes again but, when she realized what she was doing, forced herself to stop.Joseph was about to crow in victory when he heard steps coming up the driveway.“Joseph Santos?”“Yes?” he responded while turning around.He saw a man wearing sunglasses and a beanie lift a gun and point it at his chest.‘What the…?!’ “Imogen, Anna, run!”He pushed his daughter to the side and started to lurch towards the gunman. Before he even finished the first step, he heard the roar of the gun and felt the impact of the bullet.Though he was shocked, his other selves had been through enough physical trauma and danger to fill twenty lifetimes, so he pushed through it. When the man saw him continue to stagger forward, he shot twice more, dropping Joseph to the ground. Despite the roar in his ears, he heard his wife and daughter screaming.‘Run, you fools!’ he thought while desperately looking for them through his blurry tears. He saw Anna run towards him. He wasn’t sure whether she was coming to help him or attack the gunman. Either way, the gun roared again and opened a red bloom on her chest.‘Oh, no. No, no, no… Imogen… please, run…’He looked for her, but everything became fuzzy, muddled, and, all too soon… quiet.**Fifty-three beings felt the loss of Joseph. None of them had been experiencing Joseph when he died, so no one was alarmed. Sometimes one of them died. It happened.When the second one died seconds later, though, they all reacted. It was possible that it was a coincidence, but…When the third died, they knew. Someone was hunting them.Some of them were powerful, and some were not. Regardless of their abilities and actions, their lives continued to be snuffed out. A sea elf in an underwater city. A dwarf in a mountain fortress. A human on an expedition in a jungle. An elven woman caring for her baby. All dead.**Darius, the God-King of Sicanthus, broke out of his meditation and looked at his surroundings, though his attention was not on the spartan but expensive decor. He hadn’t experienced anything like this in his 108,000 years of life. Thirty-two of his avatars had been killed so far, and the number was still rising. Whoever had done this had obviously put forth enormous effort and had detailed knowledge about his avatars. They had been on fifty-three different planets, after all. Well, fifty-two planets and that place. Setting up a hit like this must have taken decades, at least, and a vast amount of resources.It didn’t take a genius to figure out that it had to involve people very close to him.As he pondered which of his confidantes it could be, the door to his bedroom opened. In walked his second wife, Helen. She was beautiful as always, but her malicious smile ruined the effect. She had always been ambitious. That part of her had appealed to him tens of thousands of years ago, but he had changed. Now, she just seemed shallow.Helen had been his top suspect, so it was not a great surprise that she was here. What did surprise him was that his younger brother, Tyrus, and his friend and general, Lysander, followed her. His eyes narrowed as he took them in.With a negligible effort that was as natural to him as breathing, Darius opened his third eye to take in the people before him. He saw the karma that hung heavy upon them. They carried the stink of betrayal and blood.‘And… lust?’Darius laughed bitterly when he realized his betrayal was as base and banal as what happened daily to the lowliest street sweepers and beggars in his empire.‘I am cuckolded. How droll.’There was a mystery still. How did they have the courage to do this? As strong as they were, he was stronger by far.Helen bowed. “Lord Darius, greetings.”Darius snorted. “What have you done, Helen?”“It is not what we have done, my lord, but what we are doing.”“And what is that?”“Killing you.”Angry at their betrayal and brazenness, Darius cycled his energy to literally crush them where they stood. His energy, normally so quick to respond to his desires, moved like molasses. Like tar in his veins. He looked at his hands and his body in shock.He reached out to the energy in the air. He knew it should be plentiful—he had created the mana-gathering arrays himself, after all—but he felt nothing. After millennia of god-like power, he felt like a cripple.Helen laughed, and his brother and erstwhile friend smirked. “You feel it, don’t you? How dead your energy is. We have been administering a subtle poison to you for the last thirty years. You have no idea how much we’ve done to make this moment possible. The years of planning, gathering resources, finding allies and agents, coordinating it all, and solving problems along the way.Darius looked at the threads of fate into the past to get a feel for what they had done. He saw a few of the “problems” Helen mentioned—loyal subjects who discovered a part of the plot and were killed to silence them. Even in the midst of his troubles, Darius mourned them.‘I’m sorry that I wasn’t a better king for you. Rest in peace.’Darius looked at the three of them and asked, “Why?”Lysander stepped forward and gestured at him and the mat that Darius was kneeling on. “Because this is all you do! You stay in here for years, and decades, and centuries, contemplating your damn navel. You pay no attention to your empire!”There was an “or us” that was heard, but not spoken, at the end of his complaint.‘Has it been so long?’Darius had spent tens of thousands of years building his power and his empire. After he had laid all his enemies low and achieved everything he had set out to do, he was unsatisfied. He was bored. He could have invaded other planets, but that just felt like it would be more of the same. He wanted something more. Something meaningful.Darius started what he called “The Sum of All Men” project. He created avatars of himself and sent them far and wide to experience the universe so he could learn and—hopefully—grow. The early avatars were all extremely powerful. Though they did not often use their power, they always knew it was there if they needed it. Darius eventually realized that his avatars were not experiencing the same kind of life their fellows were, because they never risked anything. They were never in danger. They never lacked money. They could usually solve their problems as easily as snapping their fingers.He started sending out avatars that were mere mortals. Men, women, elves, humans, dwarves, gnomes, orcs, and beasts of various kinds. Some were beautiful, and some were ugly. Some started with a multitude of gifts, and some with the rags on their backs. They were spread throughout the planets he knew about so they could live, experience, and comprehend.Comprehend what? Darius wasn’t entirely sure, but he felt like there was something he was grasping at.As his mind returned to his beloved and hated enemies, he felt pain. He had experienced enough through his avatars to have a broader sense of self than most. While he was angry and wanted to deny his friend’s accusation, he knew in his heart it was true.‘Hell, the fact they got this far without me detecting the plot is the strongest proof of my negligence.’Darius sighed. He had screwed up badly, but that didn’t make their betrayal acceptable. He rode the threads of fate to see how he could defeat his enemies with his paralyzed powers. His expression grew ever dimmer as every thread he followed ended in his death. The closest he came to success was feinting an attack with his physical body, and then running away to buy time to clear the poison from his body. Though he never entirely regained his powers, he was able to kill his brother and wound Helen and Lysander. But he still lost.

Worse, their fighting devastated his empire, the planet of Sicanthus. Billions of people died, and significant portions of the planet turned to magma.Though he would dearly love to kill his traitorous brother and give grievous wounds to his wife and friend, he wasn’t willing to do it at the price of so many.‘I am sorry, my people. I hope they are better rulers than I was.’Darius returned his attention to where it had started—his avatars. He mourned that they were all dead except for one, Daelan the Damned, as the other avatars had come to call him.‘Poor Daelan.’A thousand years ago Darius discovered, for the first time, an alternate plane of existence. It was an exciting discovery that was quickly dampened by the nature of the place. Though he had long since given up believing in gods or goddesses, the plane bore an uncanny resemblance to how various religions described the state and suffering of sinners after death. The avatars started calling the plane “Hell”.Darius believed experiencing suffering could be enlightening, so he asked for volunteers. No one wanted to go. He could have forced one of his avatars, but that would have been wrong. No one volunteered until he created Daelan. “Send me,” he said.For the last 20 years, he had suffered. Darius noticed that, unique among the avatars, none of them experienced Daelan. Ever.Darius did, but it was, well… painful. Now Daelan was the only one left. Apparently his enemies had not learned about Hell.While talking with them, Darius gathered information that Daelan would need to grow stronger. He had long since mastered dividing his consciousness to execute multiple tasks simultaneously. It was child’s play compared to creating an avatar.He had to be selective about what he sent. Daelan simply did not have the capacity to remember everything that Darius knew, so he picked possible cultivation paths for him and sent everything he would need, along with information about his brothers’ and sisters’ deaths.He thought about transmitting a piece of his consciousness. It was sorely tempting, in part because he did not want to leave his son alone in such an awful place. He knew, in his heart of hearts, though, that part of his motivation was that he didn’t want to die.Darius shook his head. He had strived and failed. It was his son’s time, not his, so he used all of the capacity to give Daelan information he would need. It would have to be enough.Task finished, he made peace with his ending. It was time to die.

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