New Neopian Times

Note: I know that the Nova Storm is a concept from the Battle for Meridell, but I decided to use it in my Memories of a Lord stories anyway!

From the highest stone balcony of the great Citadel, amidst the curving towers and spiraling turrets, the revered Lord Kass cast his gaze down upon the slumbering land of Meridell. The sky was paved with night, but the orange tips of dawn's fingers could be seen creeping up the horizon. Meridell's own fortress, the long-standing Meridell Castle, had suffered an attack. Where the north-eastern turret had stood, crumbling cobblestones now took its place. A smirk curved his hooked beak while he admired his own workmanship.

Kass pushed aside the rusted telescope and turned, staring into the eyes of his faithful attendant. "Ditri," he said, his voice maintaining its usual curt edge, "the report on the attack, if you will?" While he posed it as a question, Ditri knew there was no answer but compliance.

The Darigan Uni fell into a sweeping bow, her snout reaching to the balcony's stone floor. "My Lord, the attack went as planned. No harm fell upon Skarl nor his guards. The castle stands, but the second turret has fallen."

Kass nodded, his smirk growing. "Well done, indeed. At the point of the hour, five more Novas will be dropped. Three in the plane of Meridell, one in the Dark Plane, and the last in the Meri Acres farmland. Once that has been done, the skies should be alight, and the message can be sent. You understand this, Ditri?"

The Uni rose from her bow, but her head still remained tilted. "Indeed I do, my Lord." She turned her body and trotted back into the airborne fortress.

Kass' silent laughter was heard by none save himself, as were his murmurs. "Skarl will surrender the throne, and then my search for Darigan can truly begin..."

The sky lit up, ablaze with a violent light. The eyelids of an emerald-winged Korbat burst open, taking in the blinding light before immediately shutting tight. The blaze faded, revealing the stars and dawn-tipped horizon once more. The Korbat sat up, vigourously rubbing his eyes and shaking off the bits and pieces of hay that stuck to his back. It had been an uncomfortable bed, what with all the scratching, but the haystack was a feather mattress when compared to the stone floor of a canyon, or being hauled across the moors of Meridell.

The castle stood not too far from him, easily visible against the dark sky--though even from the Dark Planes it'd be difficult to miss. He could see quite plainly the damage the castle had taken, for after the attack only a few hours before, a tower had been destroyed, leaving irritable and sleep-deprived craftsmen to develop a temporary replacement. Kass was planning an offensive maneuver; Meridell's castle didn't need any sort of weakness at such a time as this one was.

Shard turned his pallid face to the sky where the light had blazed. For one fleeting moment, the notion of the Citadel suffering damage worked its way into the Korbat's mind, but vanished when he could just barely spot the airborne structure camouflaged in with the blackness of the sky. He let out a dispirited sigh, yet felt a sense of relief in the back of his mind. Far, far back.

Where did that light come from? Shard's thoughts inquired. His eyes felt heavy from the interrupted sleep, but instead of resting, he kept his eyes on the horizon, waiting for the sun to rise.

Kass traveled swiftly through the fortress, past and through flocks of confused pets and hectic scramblers, with his robes sweeping through the air behind him. Beads of sweat had formed across his the plumes of his face; never had the furnace heated the Citadel so strongly. Whoever's blame this belonged to would soon learn how high the Citadel really was.

Master Vex, the attendant to the Citadel's former owner, burst through a passageway. Orange flames licked up the steps behind him. The sheen on the Mynci's weary face showed the amount of perspiration. Kass stepped up, grabbed Vex by the front of his robes, and thrust him up so their eyes were level. "Who did this?" Kass asked in an icy whisper.

Vex swallowed, his breath shaking, before saying, "The sorcerer, Sargill. He was preparing the Nova attack you ordered in the dungeon, but it went wrong... sir, you mustn't focus on Sargill, the prisoners are escaping! Haskol and Galgarrath have already apprehended most of them, but the Yellow Knight is missing, and--"

"He's in the dungeons where the flames are. I tried to get him to follow me out of there, but he--"

"I'll find him. Order Sargill's apprentice to follow through with the attack, and keep the search for the knight going. Nobody leaves this Citadel." Kass' glare left no question, no room for defiance. He returned Master Vex to the ground, who bowed and uttered many stammered apologies before running down the corridor.

The crimson flames crackled at the doorway to the dungeons. It was a long way flying down from the Citadel, and it was even longer falling, as Sargill would soon learn.

Dawn had stretched past the horizon, and was fingering its way up the sky. The sun had shown itself over the lines of trees surrounding Meri Acres Farm, but was still slightly hidden. Morning had not yet arrived.

Shard's gaze caught the Citadel. He peered at the great stone structure, with its ethereal towers and its curving arches. When he squinted his eyes, it was almost as if he could see curls of orange inside the fortress through the lower windows. This is what no sleep gives me, Shard thought to himself bitterly.

Flopping down upon the haystack, Shard closed his eyes, letting his mind swim in his thoughts. There was too much ambiguity around him, too much self-conflict. And the circumstances didn't help either. Two armies on the brink of war, soon to raise their swords. Shard would get caught up in with it, of course. What good would that do? I have to leave Meridell.

To where, though? No matter where in Meridell he traveled to, war would reach it, and he'd be pulled back. But what if I leave Meridell? he thought. If his obscured memories served him right, an ice-capped mountain served to the north of the land, and a prehistoric wasteland to the north-east. A small island to the north-west of Meridell served as an option, but... I might as well face it. I can't fly, I can barely walk, and I have no Neopoints to pay for travel. He was stranded in Meridell.

An explosion resounded through the sky, followed by the blinding light. Shard opened his eyes, squinting through the violence of it. Five balls of light fell from the Citadel's spire, and began to plummet towards the ground. They spread in separate directions as they fell, branching off to different parts of Meridell. The first one fell in a spiral towards Meri Acres Farm, colliding with a deafening explosion. The second spun directly below the Citadel, landing in the Dark Planes. The third, fourth, and fifth changed their angles, circling through the air. Shard's eyes bulged; their course was the plain where he now stood.

Kass hid his beak under the sleeve of his long black robes. The fire crackled around him, half-hidden amongst the jet-black of the billowing smoke around him. The plumes of the smoke had filled the entire dungeon, leaving no room to see. His robes, crafted with the aid of a Dark Faerie, were safe from igniting, but seared his feathers and skin nevertheless. Kass' eyes watered and burned, too, scorched by the acrid smoke.

"Sargill!" Kass roared, his voice nearly drowned out by the sound of the inferno. "I order you to show yourself!"

No reply. Kass grunted; it'd just be that much harder that the Pteri would be thrown towards the Dark Plane.

Squinting through the smoke and flames, Kass could see a dark blur crouched in the dungeon's far corner. The lord smirked wickedly. "Sargill," he said, the name drown out, with his voice filled with a taunting edge. "Sargill... Sorcerer! I see you, Sargill! Come out, and prepare to suffer for your insolence."

The shape stood up, flailing its narrow wings. The flames grew, until Kass' path through the fire was engulfed, leaving him trapped in a circle. The Eyrie snarled, drawing his wings back. He thrust them forward. A blast of air shook the dungeons, cutting a path through the smoke and fire. Sargill stood, back against the stone wall. Clutched in the Darigan Pteri's wing was a long wand.

"Dare you attempt to burn me again with your sorcery, I'll destroy you right here in this inferno you created!" Kass barked, holding Sargill by the scruff of his neck as he did to Vex.

Sargill's eyes glistened tears, be them of fear or the fire, but he had enough bravery to defy his lord. "Master! Kass!" Kass' eyes widened with rage. "No! Lord Kass, beloved tyrant, owner of this fair fortress, creature to whom many bow, rightful owner of Meridell... please, Lord Kass, do not punish me, for I did not create this blaze! I did not set off the Novas!"

The Eyrie growled. "Liar! You shall not lie to your lord, and adorn it with flattery!" Kass let go of the Pteri with one hand. "Your grave, Sargill." He raised his fist, and swung it with his might to the stone wall. Astoundingly, the stone burst away. The sky was illumined with the oranges and pinks of dawn. Downwards, below the Citadel, was the jagged peaks and stone canyons of the Dark Plane.

The blaze continued as Kass reached his arm out the window with Sargill's black-streaked yellow wings trying to hold on. "Ka-- Lord Kass! I beg of you to listen! The Nova did not light on my command, or at my negligence! It was that Mynci, Master Vex. He set off the Novas! He knows how long I have served you, and how loyal of a subject I've been. He's attempting to be raised to Attendant of the Citadel again. Mark me, he'll be after Ditri soon! His allegiance now and forever will lie with Lord Darigan! He's power hungry, I tell you! Mad!"

Lord Kass arched his brow. Vex, a traitor? Always a little half-hearted with his compliance, but Kass had always thought him to be lacking enough courage to try to usurp his position. "You speak lies, Pteri! Your neglect is where the blame falls, not Vex. And here's to stopping you from flying to safety." Sargill shrieked out in pain as a loud snap could be heard. His left wing was broken. Kass picked up Sargill's wand that had fallen to the ground and tossed it from the Citadel. "No flying for you, sorcerer. And don't expect any last words. You used those with your cries."

And even from Meridell, any peasant staring up at the sky would see the yellow dot falling from the Citadel.

The ground flew up into the sky as the first Nova landed. Shard, who was standing in that spot only a minute before dodging, was sent soaring into the air. He came crashing down on the ground hard. He was winded, gasping for his breath to return, as the second Nova came down where he was lying.

Rolling aside moments before impact, Shard felt the Nova's power as he was forced off the ground, toppling over himself before landing hard on his back again. More of the dirt was thrown in the air as the third Nova, a safe distance away, collided with the ground.

Once a moment had passed, the Korbat could sit himself up again. He shook off the dust and debris and turned his head to consider the damage. Three craters, two a mere pace apart and the third not much farther, littered the otherwise neat plain. Shard stared up to the sky, searching for the source of the attack. His eyes swept across the Citadel, which seemed to be soaring awfully lower than usual. From the tallest turret of the Citadel, standing against the pale light of dawn, it seemed as if hundreds of black glows burst forth. Shard watched in amazement as they traveled to the center of the sky, situated between the Citadel and the clouds directly above the castle, and arranged themselves.

"The sky!" one of the carpenters exclaimed. The Nimmo pointed one long finger to where the dots were swimming in circles in the sky. "Hundreds of lights!"

"Not lights, you half-wit!" barked a grizzled red Draik armed with a spear. "Novas! Dark Novas in the sky!"

Squinting, Shard discovered they truly were Dark Novas. The Novas aligned themselves, spinning amongst each other, before finally stopping. A message.

Upon the top of every hour, when the belltower rings out the time, five Novas shall be released. Until the throne has been renounced, and the revered Lord Kass has been claimed King of Meridell, the land will not be spared from the Lord's attack. Surrender, or the citizens of Meridell shall perish.

All across Meridell, from the throne-room of the castle to the smouldering farmhouses of Meri Acres, the message was read, and the land was swept over with fear.