Lateral Movement

by Alzrius

920 - Ploy Time

Thilaera’s stormbolts were stronger than Lex would have thought a mortal capable of.

The electricity that she summoned didn’t sweep down from the clouds, nor was it something that came from her outstretched hand. Instead, it simply erupted from the air itself, generating a massive burst of lightning that was thousands of times stronger than anything nature could have produced on its own. The bright flash swallowed him, Solvei, and several nearby eladrin that were being driven back by Spice and Sirrush. Even Thilaera herself was engulfed by the crackling release of power, buried under the sea of lightning that she’d unleashed.

But Lex had known that it wouldn’t harm the elf woman or her allies in the slightest, having foreseen that the streamers of lightning would flow along their unintended targets without hurting them. Instead, the electricity passed through them as though they were living conductors, arcing back around...directly toward him and Solvei.

This wasn’t any mere lightning spell, unleashing its power in an uncontrolled discharge that would strike everyone in the area. It was a tightly-controlled, intricately-designed battlefield enchantment, made so that it could be unleashed into the midst of a chaotic engagement while still only harming the individuals its caster wanted killed. Everyone else would be spared, no matter where they stood in relation to the spell’s radius.

As far as war magic went, it was an impressive piece of work.

But the treasures Lex had received from the lesser titans he’d subdued were far more impressive.

Ah! yelped Solvei as Lex pulled her close. M-Master?! What-

Hold still.

It was to Solvei’s credit that she obeyed immediately, a single shudder passing through her as she entrusted herself to him completely.

Then the lightning swept over them both.

To no effect whatsoever.

Thilaera’s spell was strong enough to overwhelm any conventional spell of electrical resistance. Even with the innate resilience that his titan status granted him, Lex knew that he still would have been injured by that attack. Solvei critically so.

But as the tendrils of electricity raced toward them, the single scale that Lex had placed on his collarbone – a coin-sized item which was easily overlooked – suddenly flashed blue. In an instant, it spread out to cover his entire body, azure scales sliding out from it one after another faster than the eye could follow, until he was completely covered in them. And, as he forced additional power into it, the squamous covering continued to spread, wrapping around Solvei until she was covered from head to tail, making them look like a pair of sky-colored dragons that were embracing.

And when the lightning struck them a millisecond later, it played along the blue scales helplessly, unable to so much as scorch a single one of them.

But that was only to be expected. Against the might of the Pentachromatic Armor that Lex had received from Bida – a powerful artifact created from five scales, one from each of the elder dragons that the goddess Tiamat had selected to be her mates – Thilaera’s stormbolts were nothing more than noisy flashes of light.

A few seconds later the lightning ended, the magic which kept it going expiring. The Pentachromatic Armor immediately retracted, and Solvei stumbled slightly as Lex released her, a dazed expression on her face. “That-”

She didn’t have a chance to finish as chanting came from above.

Glancing upward, Lex pushed Solvei away suddenly, getting her clear just as Vystalaran’s spell took effect.

Immediately, a translucent hand twice Lex’s size appeared next to him, rushing forward to wrap its fingers around him before squeezing down with enough force that even diamonds would have been pulverized instantly.

Lex didn’t so much as glance at it as the monstrous digits curled around him, instead staring up at Vystalaran coldly.

But despite his lack of reaction, the dark red band of metal around the first talon of his right foreleg – the treasure he’d received from Jezebel – glowed brightly. Immediately, a powerful aura rose up, as axiomatic as it was malevolent, accompanied by a red light that was literally hellish. It washed over Lex harmlessly before engulfing the massive hand, which immediately went slack, twisting and shaking as though it had suddenly become palsied.

“A Ring of Perdition!” Vystalaran’s brows rose as he watched his spell fall apart, unable to withstand the counterattack by an artifact that was supposed to only be found among the ranks of Hell’s nobility. “How do you have that?!”

“You should be more concerned for yourself,” replied Lex, rising up to point balefully at the levitating mage.

Despite not making any outward sign that he was casting, Vystalaran’s eyes immediately widened, and he started weaving a counterspell. But a second later Lex’s magic slammed into him, invisible but unstoppable, and he hurtled backward as though struck by a meteor, his face pale as he coughed up repeated mouthfuls of blood.

A short distance away, Solvei cocked her head. She wasn’t entirely sure what was going on – Lex’s sudden reappearance was reassuring, but the allies he’d brought with him had thrown her for a loop, to say nothing of the new gear he had – but the way he was acting now struck her as oddly passive.

While she hadn’t seen his fight with Kryonex, she’d witnessed his battles with Hvitdod, Sissel, Prevarius, and numerous other enemies. In those fights, Lex had always done his best to seize the initiative, coming up with aggressive plans of attack and doing his best to push his foes into a corner, as well as fighting viciously when he found himself backed into one.

But now, even though she could feel killing fury bubbling up from him, it didn’t seem to manifest in the aggressiveness she would have expected. He wasn’t roaring threats at the elves, nor were black crystals erupting from the ground around him. Even the single counterattack he’d directed against Vystalaran just now had seemed almost perfunctory, as though he’d done it because it was expected of him rather than because he was out for blood.

Not to mention that he hadn’t even bothered to bring Belligerence out.

It didn’t make sense to her at all.

She had no further time to ponder it, however, as she saw Loraestil suddenly leap out at Lex from behind.

Solvei had no idea how he’d gotten that close without her noticing; it was as though he’d somehow faded into the background, making her overlook him despite knowing how dangerous the elf was. Worse, the blade in his hands was glowing softly.

Just like when it had cut Burly down for the second time.

Master, look out! she called telepathically, even as she raised an ice wall between Lex and Loraestil. She had no illusions that it would be able to stop the elf; not when he’d twice felled the enemy she’d barely been able to scratch, but if she could just slow him down for a moment-

But she couldn’t even do that much as Loraestil simply murmured a word in that musical language of his, causing his boots to shine with a glow of magic. Then he took another step, as though meaning to plunge face-first into the ice wall as he raised his sword-

And then he vanished, appearing right next to Lex as he brought the two-dimensional blade down toward the unicorn’s neck.

---

Something’s wrong.

The feeling of unease that had gripped Lex ever since he’d arrived on the battlefield was growing worse. It wasn’t his trans-temporal sense warning him of some hazard in his future, nor was it some sort of mismatch in what his various forms of sensory input were telling him. As far as he could determine, everything was as it should be.

And that was the problem.

It had been because of the elven pantheon that he’d needed to engage Kryonex in a fight. While normally a god would never attack the faithful of another god directly like that – such a thing being an act of war akin to a head of state trying to murder another nation’s ambassador – political pressure from the elves had forced the other members of the pony pantheon to keep the Night Mare from intervening.

Apparently, raising him to titanhood ran the fringes of violating an agreement the pony gods had with the elven deities, who were both more numerous and more powerful. To the Night Mare’s contemporaries, his fight with Kryonex had been little more than a test, needing to overcome the demigod in order to show the pony pantheon that he was enough of an asset to be worth potentially provoking the stronger group of gods that were the elven deities.

Of course, the so-called “test” had gone markedly awry, leaving him with no alternative but to invoke his goddess’s aid when Adagio’s interference had resulted in a monster far worse than a demigod running amok. But her aid had only been to rein the void creature in, and while it had resulted in his gaining a powerful new weapon, he had still dealt the finishing blow to Kryonex on his own, without any further assistance from the Night Mare.

All of which should have earned him the rest of the pantheon’s approval, at least insofar as standing up to the elven gods went.

And yet, the three elves that had shown up here – apparently looking for him, according to Solvei’s memories – were provoking no reaction whatsoever from the Night Mare.

Lex felt highly confident that the barbed wire which now made up his left foreleg had no less of a connection to the goddess than the strands which had once wrapped around his flesh and blood limb. If she was intent on warning him of something which would potentially have upset her – or even pleased her – then the tangled strands should have reacted accordingly.

And for all that the Night Mare championed self-reliance and personal strength, she was also a deity of loyalty, who would always be there for her faithful. Which was why Lex couldn’t fathom why she was being silent now. Lex knew her well enough to be certain that she’d begrudge the elven gods whatever they were up to now.

These three elves were obviously here as part of some sort of ploy. But without knowing more about their gods, their pantheon’s structure, and the nature of their deities’ relationship with the pony gods, he could only form imperfect guesses as to the specifics.

Given that they had come looking for him specifically, but seemed – based on everything he’d seen so far – far too weak to pose any sort of serious threat to him, the likely explanation was that they were sacrificial pawns, meant to be cut down by him so that the elven gods could then cite his actions as justification to...what? Demand that he be handed over to them for punishment? Leverage his so-called wrongs for political concessions from the Night Mare? Go to war with the pony pantheon altogether?

There was something here that he was missing; some crucial piece of information that he hadn’t ascertained yet.

And of course, none of that took into account Burly Brawl’s presence here.

It hadn’t escaped Lex’s notice that Solvei had overheard the bulky earth stallion mention that someone named “Grimmy” had informed him about what had happened here.

While it was possible that was someone else entirely, hearing that name had made Lex immediately think of Grim Darklight, the individual who was – according to what he’d been told by White Wraith and Sanguine Disposition – not only the head of the Night Mare’s temple in Viljatown, making him a high-ranking member of her faith, but had also constructed some sort of artificial Charismata.

Sanguine Disposition had warned him that this other pony might view him as a rival; was his having sent Burly Brawl here proof of that?

There were too many questions, and not enough answers.

Which meant that Lex couldn’t afford to make a careless mistake. Not when the consequences could potentially have divine repercussions. That was why he’d assigned the retinue he’d brought back with him to not only do most of the fighting, but to focus on the summoned creatures, waiting to see what response it had provoked, not from the elves but from the Night Mare.

But all he’d received was silence.

That had been the case again when he’d been attacked by Thilaera. And even just now, when he’d cautiously lashed out at Vystalaran, hitting the mage with an attack that he knew wouldn’t be enough to kill him.

And yet there was still nothing; the barbed wire that made up his foreleg hadn’t so much as twitched.

The same way it hadn’t when he’d twisted his communion spell in order to contact Kara. Or when he’d subsequently made a deal with the love goddess to let her be worshiped in Equestria.

It was too much for him to overlook. The Night Mare clearly hadn’t withdrawn her favor from him – he still had the Charismata, and was still receiving divine spells – but at the same time, it was like she was ignoring him completely. That had made sense when he’d fought Kryonex, but not now.

Something was seriously wrong.

Master, look out!

Solvei’s warning came almost at the same time as Loraestil appeared right next to him, his glowing sword already descending in a deadly arc.

The weapon was a powerful one; even with a split-second glance, Lex could see that it was heavily ensorcelled, more powerful than Belligerence had been before the Night Mare had bound that void creature into it.

More than that, he hadn’t been able to foresee the attack. Apparently Loraestil had some sort of spell on him that was artificially recreating a limited version of his foresight – similar to how Sanguine Disposition’s reality-bending spell that he’d used to make sure the Libram of Ineffable Damnation would come to him was a weak facsimile of divine reality-alteration – which was interfering with his ability to see what the elf was about to do.

Which meant that it wasn’t just gods whose futures were beyond what he could detect; other individuals with foresight were similarly blind to his trans-temporal awareness...though that likely worked in reverse as well.

In the same moment that Lex took note of that, Loraestil’s sword struck him.

But not on his neck.

Instead, Lex watched as the elf’s face twisted in shock, staring at where he’d blocked the blade...with a single, upraised talon.

“Impossible!” blurted the elf, eyes bugging out and mouth hanging open in shock. “Nothing can stop Uskeche’Kerym! How-”

Then he looked past Lex, and his next question died on his lips.

But Lex didn’t bother to look behind him, able to feel that the Soulsaver Halo which he had received from Agrat – the massive, five-foot diameter ring of light appearing upright behind him rather than over his head – had manifested.

“Uskeche’Kerym, is it?” murmured Lex, his tone one of disinterest. “That ‘Ghost Blade’ of yours is a powerful weapon. But not powerful enough.”

“This can’t be!” shrieked Thilaera, staring at the halo with a thunderstruck expression. “That ring you wear is of Hell, and your armor is made of a dark dragon! No one who uses such things could possibly possess the favor of the celestial realms!”

“Don’t ascribe your own limitations to me,” scoffed Lex, flicking his claw and knocking the Ghost Blade out of Loraestil’s hands, causing it to spin through the air as he knocked it away.

Behind him, the Soulsaver Halo vanished, disappearing back into his aura until it was needed again.

Loraestil fell back, immediately moving to retrieve the blade, even as Thilaera and Vystalaran both began casting again.

But Lex didn’t bother to pay attention to them, instead silently invoking his communion spell, this time without altering its intended recipient. He needed to find out why the Night Mare was suddenly ignoring him, as well as the significance of the elves here, before things spiraled further out of control.

A moment later Lex felt his spell connect, and-

Who are you?!

-he froze, shocked into immobility.

The voice that he’d heard just now had been the Night Mare’s...but at the same time, not.

Instantly, the barbed wire that made up his left foreleg began to writhe of is own accord, buzzing angrily. In an instant, its cohesion came undone, no longer recognizable as a limb as the individual strands began to separate, waving about in agitation. They curled around his neck, his legs, and his tail, the razor edges easily slicing through his defenses.

And in his mind, the familiar and yet alien voice resounded again.

WHOOOO AAAARE YOUUUU?!

Author's Note:

Restraining his rage, Lex uses treasure after treasure to try and unravel what's happening, only for something to go horribly wrong when he tries to contact the Night Mare!

Is Lex right about the elves being there as part of some deeper scheme? And what's happening with his goddess?

Comments

[Booster Spice]

Uh oh. Lex items artifacts are a totally next level still from the elves, whch means no matter what, the Elves Pantheon is going to be Very Intrested in Lex now, especially their Seers placing Lex into the same state as Belligerance Void?

As for Nightmare, wither somehow Lex reconnected to Author locked. Author banish locked Nightmare by erasing her memories of followers so she is staring from weakness of zero follower power base, or like his Tulpa, he missed enforcing a certain contraint on his communication, so he has got A Nightmare, just not precicely and exactly His Nighmare? The Equestrian Nightmare?

[Not so New Brony]

It appears that the Author has done quite a lot to the Night Mare if she can't even recognize her champion. That is if this is the Night Mare he is familiar with...

Apologies for the lackluster review here, still recovering from the last few days from a nasty flu bug I caught from my nephew.

[Alzrius]

11836999 The treasures that Lex has received from the lesser titans are proving to be quite handy indeed, aren't they? So far, the ones we've seen have made the elves' strongest attacks moot, and that's still less than half of them! Clearly, he's not someone to take lightly...but given that the elven pantheon is likely quite suspicious of him already, that may make things worse.

Of course, that something is clearly wrong with the Night Mare, presuming that even is the Night Mare (or the right Night Mare, or something else altogether) is far more alarming. At this point, Lex still has no idea what happened with The Author, and so is likely even more surprised than we, the audience, are!

[Alzrius]

11837833 Yeah, that part at the end is disconcerting for quite a few reasons. Hopefully Lex will figure out what's going on and what to do about it...but I doubt the elves (or Burly, for that matter) will give him a chance.

And I'm glad you're feeling better now! It's definitely that time of year when illnesses go around, so make sure to rest up and recuperate!