The Elementalist: Sky City (Book One)

Epilogue

Thundering with rage, a man sat upon a throne hundreds of miles from Sky City, and he could not really comprehend what he was being told. News of Sky City traveled to his watchful ears fast, and he could feel the grip on his empire beginning to crumble.

"Off with their heads!" Viktor screamed, referring to any soldier incompetent enough to have failed him in the Sky Kingdom.

They were all quite worthless in his mind.

A circle of royal advisors stood around the Emperor's throne, taking the brunt of his anger, and most looked at the floor, lest they be the next target of an outburst. His closest advisor, the only man among the council brave enough to speak, approached and bowed. He was a mousy man, with thin features and a distrusting face.

"Your lordship," he said. "What will you have us do? The Sky Kingdom is sure to have open rebellion throughout. These small resistances now have a distinct advantage over us, and I'm sure it won't be long before they move to liberate the other Elemental Kingdoms. Do you desire that we send our armies to Sky City to combat them?"

Leaning to the side in his throne, Viktor buried his head in his palm. He ran his fingers up his red hair, to the gold crown that sat atop, trying to regain his composure.

"Not all..." he declared finally to the waiting men and women of his council. "Half will go to Sky Kingdom and half... to Magma City"

"Magma City sir?"

"Yes, that's where he'll be heading next."

Snapping his fingers, Viktor Krane stood. Everyone immediately fell to their knees and bowed as a sign of ultimate respect.

Viktor wanted more than anything to go to Magma City himself and handle what his incompetent army could not handle themselves, but he knew this to be foolish. To leave Capital City now, in what would become war, would only create more problems. He had a severe lack of trust in his advisors to run a war, and no matter how scared he was of this Elementalist, he knew the conflict with Sky Kingdom was a much bigger concern–at least for the moment.

He had an idea though, that might help both problems.

"The Machine," Viktor announced.

"Yes, sir?" the lead advisor stuck his head up from kneeling. "The farming machine? The one that was destroyed?"

"Yes... I want you to begin production on a massive scale. And begin with the other prototypes as well."

"Now sir? Is farming really a priority in this time of war?"

"Yes... now."

The advisor wasn't sure why farming equipment was a concern of the emperor, but that was only because he was not as clever as Viktor Krane. Viktor knew very well the machine's power, and he understood that power could be used for far sinister purposes. With the right adjustments and ideas, it could become his ultimate weapon.

So let this new Elementalist go to Magma City...

What awaits him will be far worse than anything he'd seen before.