//------------------------------// // 932 - Backup Plans? I Hávamál // Story: Lateral Movement // by Alzrius //------------------------------// It had taken Lex less than a second to conclude that he had no hope of defeating Vystalaran. Nor had it taken much longer than that to determine that escape was equally impossible. While he didn’t know the full extent of what Gladoneral’s avatar was capable of, Lex couldn’t imagine that Vystalaran would lose to him in either speed or teleportation. Even fleeing to another world would only work if it was one where the elven gods weren’t worshipped, and the only such place that Lex knew of was Equestria. Which was currently closed off to him by a blockade of angels. Trying to send himself there now would have resulted in those self-righteous meddlers waylaying him on the Astral Plane, and there was no chance that Vystalaran wouldn’t be able to follow him there. The only place he might have been able to escape to without Vystalaran catching up to him – assuming that he was even able to cast his plane-shifting spell without interference – would have been Darkest Night. Based on what Lex knew of divine politics, and with Vystalaran having said that he didn’t want Burly Brawl injured for fear of it making him look like the aggressor, the avatar wouldn’t dare follow him into another deity’s realm. But even leaving aside what had happened when he’d tried to commune with his goddess a few minutes ago, transporting himself there would mean leaving everyone else behind. He wouldn’t even be able to teleport Solvei, Nenet, and Mei Li to his side; the damage that Gwynharwyf had inflicted on their bonds made that self-evident. And while Lex could already feel that the connections were repairing themselves, Vystalaran would have plenty of time to abduct those three...not to mention the seven others whom Lex had taken under his service. Or even Thermal Draft, if Vystalaran knew about her. Heart’s Desire might have been able to wish them all to Darkest Night with him, but that was uncertain; while the ring was a powerful artifact, it was far from almighty. When leveled directly against other individuals, its magic could be opposed by sufficient power, and more than one of his companions had spell resistance. Since the ring’s power didn’t come from him, they wouldn’t know not to fight it when it tried to teleport them. And Mystaria had said that she was taking Thermal Draft to the abode of her grandmother, who was supposedly a powerful wizard, which meant her residence was likely warded. Nor could his tulpa, according to his foresight, find an item that could boost the ring’s power...or otherwise guarantee that he’d be able to get everyone else to safety if he retreated. Lex had no compunctions about retreating from a fight that he couldn’t win; although it would grate on him severely, he wasn’t so foolish as to throw his life or his freedom away out of arrogance. But he would never, ever abandon someone else to save himself. He’d already broken a core tenet of his system of morals when he’d killed Adagio, and what he’d done to Mei Li – to say nothing of that orgy he’d had with those lesser titans and their servants – was almost as shameful. If he left the people he was responsible for behind, Lex wouldn’t just be abandoning them; he’d be abandoning himself. Death was preferable to that. But finding a way to turn the tables of Vystalaran was even more preferable! And if he couldn’t do that on his own, then he just needed to find someone who could. Which meant a god. The question was which god to reach out to. Based on what the Night Mare had told him just prior to his fight with Kryonex, the elven pantheon wielded considerable influence across the known planes of existence. Enough so that the pony gods – who were not only a much smaller and less important group, as far as divine associations went, but were also apparently had a poor relationship with the elves – were extremely reluctant to do anything that could antagonize them further. It hadn’t escape Lex’s notice that, even though he’d passed the pony gods’ test by defeating Kryonex, none of them had appeared to confront Vystalaran now. And with the Night Mare not only not sounding like herself, but also not seeming to recognize him, Lex had significant doubts that calling upon her would have availed him. So instead, he used Heart’s Desire to wish into existence a portal to the one god – or rather, the one pantheon of gods – who had not only the political clout to stop Vystalaran in his tracks, but also the will to do so. Hopefully. I wish there was a direct connection between this place and the Aesir. And at the same time as the ring made his wish come true, Lex sent a message through the opening. He didn’t bother encapsulating them in a spell or putting the missive in writing. Instead he simply projected a single thought through the portal, the psychic equivalent of a shout, audible to any sapient being on the other side: I am the one who slew Kryonex. Immediately, a figure appeared on the other side of the gateway. Whatever happened now, Lex knew, was completely up to the disposition of whoever was coming through. According to what Kryonex had said before he’d died, the Aesir – whoever that collection of gods was – were invested in Hrothvitnir, the wolf who had created the utvalgte and the adlets both, and whom Kryonex had slain and absorbed. Why they cared, Lex had no idea, nor did he know how they’d react to his having killed the demigod. But he was gambling that, once he told them that he still had a piece of Kryonex, and intended to use it to uplift Solvei, the Aesir would object to whatever plans Vystalaran had for him. If not, or if the Aesir wanted to take revenge on him for what had happened with Kryonex – or simply collect what was left of the demigod and leave – there would be nothing Lex could do about it. For the briefest instant, Vystalaran’s face flickered. Then his polite smile was back in place as he stood up, putting Thilaera back on her feet – though she swayed unsteadily, her eyes glazed as she looked at her missing arm – and beckoned Loraestil closer. “The two of you, be on your best behavior,” he announced, ignoring Lex completely as he suddenly withdrew his aura, turning to face the portal. “We have a very important guest joining us.” A moment later, the shape on the other side of the gateway came through. And, to Lex’s shock, it was a pony. But a pony unlike any he had ever seen. A stallion, the newcomer lacked wings or a horn. His coat was grey, but unlike the slate hue that Lex had, this stallion’s was much lighter, the color of a cloud that was just beginning to hint at a storm. His only clothing was the saddle on his back, and his mane – which, like his tail, was a much darker grey, akin to a cloud about to burst with rain – had several small braids tied in it, each of which had a small stone dangling from the end...and which had a glowing rune carved on it. Runes that Lex recognized, thanks to Solvei. Nor was that all that was notable about the stallion. His height was akin to that of Princess Celestia, perhaps slightly taller. But he was easily twice as long as the alicorn, his body extending further back; the better to accommodate his eight legs. The sight of which was bizarre enough that Lex only distantly noted that the newcomer’s flank had no mark of any kind on it. Looking completely unperturbed by the new arrival’s bizarre appearance, Vystalaran gave a deep bow, Thilaera and Loraestil doing the same a moment later. “Welcome to Everglow,” murmured the avatar, “Lord Sleipnir.” The pony – Sleipnir – eyed the elf for a minute before returning the polite bow. “You have me at a disadvantage,” he replied a moment later, and Lex was surprised at the high – almost child-like – pitch of his voice. “You know my name, but I’m afraid I cannot say the same.” “My deepest apologies,” continued Vystalaran, straightening up. “I am Vystalaran, avatar of Gladoneral, and I am quite honored to have such an esteemed individual visit this world.” “As I am most pleased to be here,” replied Sleipnir, giving his own polite smile in reply. “Indeed, I’ve asked the High One if I could visit this realm for some time now. However, I believe my invitation was sent by another...?” He trailed off as he looked Lex’s way. For his part, Lex had stood back up the instant Vystalaran’s aura had retracted, which had been only a moment before his wire-form had expired, as though it couldn’t sustain itself without a direct application of divinity to resist. Likewise, Belligerence was once again in his pocket dimension; meeting someone with a weapon bared was almost guaranteed to make a poor impression, and with this “Sleipnir” being the only thing standing between him and Gladoneral’s avatar, Lex knew he couldn’t afford to mess this up. “My name is Lex Legis, champion of the Night Mare,” he answered, giving a bow of his own. “And I’m very pleased that you saw fit to answer my communique.” Sleipnir quirked a brow, the corners of his lips turning upward. “Given the nature of that ‘communique,’ as you put it, ignoring it was out of the question. The High One would have liked to come and speak with you personally, but unfortunately, he has no presence on this world.” Which means you’re not a god yourself, Lex knew. That suggested that Sleipnir was almost certainly a titan in his own right, since Lex couldn’t see his future either. “Lord Sleipnir, if I may be so presumptuous?” broke in Vystalaran, waiting until the eight-legged horse had turned back to him before continuing. “This stallion who calls himself Lex Legis is an accessory to certain aggressive actions that his goddess’s pantheon with regards to my own. You should know that he’s reached out to you now in hope that you’ll interfere with my prosecuting him for his actions.” Sleipnir cocked his head, giving a grunt, and Lex once again cursed his inability to read into the expressions of others. “Is that so?” murmured the alien horse, shooting Lex a look. “I contacted you because I’m aware that the Aesir have interests relating to Kryonex’s death,” he replied, being deliberately cagey. He wasn’t sure how much Kryonex’s relationship with Sleipnir’s pantheon was public knowledge, and the last thing he wanted to do was accidentally spill a secret that the eight-legged horse wanted kept. “Given that I have materials relevant to those interests, it seemed prudent to bring those to your attention before the unchecked aggression of this...elf, caused the situation to worsen.” Sleipnir cocked a head. “Materials, you say?” Lex nodded. “I have them with me, and am willing to show you, though I’d understand if you didn’t want certain other parties to see them...” Vystalaran’s brow furrowed for the briefest moment, then his face was all smiles again. “In that case, please allow me to suggest that Lex Legis turn over all of his possessions to you right now, Lord Sleipnir – save only for the weapon he used to kill Kryonex, as that’s evidence of his pantheon’s warmongering – and then I will take him into custody. That nicely solves both of our problems, wouldn’t you say?” “I believe that would be for the best,” agreed Sleipnir after a moment’s thought. “I’m certain that the High One would not want the Seldarine to think that the Aesir has any grievance with them, nor do we wish to.” “You’re being hasty,” snapped Lex. “The materials in question-” “Will be reviewed by the Aesir,” answered Sleipnir coolly. “If the High One decides that he needs to converse with you directly, then he’ll know who to speak to.” “As Lord Sleipnir said,” chuckled Vystalaran, giving Lex a triumphant look. “Now, do hurry up and turn over everything you have. The sooner you do so, the sooner we can make the journey to Foelvan.” “Unless, of course, you wish to make an enemy of a second pantheon,” added Sleipnir. “In which case, I’m sure the High One wouldn’t mind if I helped our elven allies capture a criminal.” Cursing inwardly at how things had gone, Lex paused, trying to think of a plan- “I would ask that both of you stand down.” The voice – soft and feminine – floated down from above as a sunbeam broke through the clouds. The alicorn mare that descended on the shaft of light than was a vision of loveliness. Her mane and tail were golden, shimmering with soft iridescence. Her wings were multicolored. Chaplets of gold decorated her figure, and ribbons floated around her. More notable than that was the aura that radiated out from her. She was like a warm memory on a spring day. A light laugh shared with close friends and family. Quiet contentment in the simple joys of home. The serenity that came with knowing that everything was going to be alright. “Lord Vystalaran, it’s good to see you again,” she smiled warmly, nodding to the elf as if they were old friends. “And Lord Sleipnir, please allow me to introduce myself.” She dipped her head, her horn almost touching the ground before she looked back up at the eight-legged stallion, who had a stunned expression on his face. “I am the Sun Queen, the head of the pony pantheon. And I would ask that you reconsider allowing the Seldarine to take Lex Legis.”