Vain Glory Read online

VAIN GLORY

  by

  Shawn O’Toole

  *****

  PUBLISHED BY:

  Cover Art Illustrated by:

  Shawn O’Toole

  Vain Glory

  Copyright © Shawn O’Toole 2014

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this story, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Your support and respect for the property of this author is much appreciated.

  This story is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are products of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

  *****

  Vain Glory

  *****

  Chapter 1

  “Call of Duty”

  The Mystic Confederacy was the civilization of a united Great Race and the oldest of the six Galactic Powers. Its technology was medieval but its magic highly advanced. Its people were tall and slender with bluish beige skin and long, lustrous black hair. Their faces were long and their eyes either blue or gray.

  Vain Glory was a female of the Mystic race. As was typical of her kind, her large irises were deep blue and she was left-handed. Her long, narrow hands and feet had only four digits each. Miss Glory slipped on black, elastic trousers and black boots. She donned and fastened a snug, black blouse. She brushed her long, black hair and fastened it into a ponytail.

  “Have you ever encountered Phantoms?” asked the rich, melodious voice of a male of her kind.

  “I have not,” answered the mellifluous voice of Vain Glory.

  The male was the renowned swordsman Nefarious Good. As was typical of the males of the Mystic race, a long goatee hung from his chin. He advised Vain Glory, “The Phantoms are only partially material, giving them an uncanny elasticity. Their swordsmen stretch ahead of themselves, so as to flank you and to harden their strike. Do not parry. Lung forward and cut the thin, stretched part of them.”

  “Mr. Good, though I have yet to encounter Phantom swordsmen, I am trained in how to deal with them.”

  “Good. Allow me to mention, or remind if you have been told, that Phantom swordsmen use illusions to distract you. Phantom warlocks may accompany the swordsmen and are themselves masters of sensory manipulation. A warlock is wary to draw near but should you assail one, it may lash out with tendrils to sting your nervous system.”

  Vain Glory smirked, “I myself have mastered the technique of inflicting neural shock by touch.”

  Nefarious Good arched an eyebrow.

  The Galactic War was raging. Vain Glory and her new companions were on a quest to thwart the Phantoms, People of the Third Eye. The Phantom army was swift and terrible, massacring every village, town and city it passed through. Civilians fled, only to be chased and cut down. Soldiers and partisans were plagued by incessant illusions and harried by constant raids.

  “The 27th Legion is beleaguered by thrice its number and soon to be overrun,” Captain Reckless Wisdom told the three of his party. “We must shatter the crystals of the enemy artifice. We must even if we are never to return.”

  Nefarious Good, Vain Glory and the priestess Moody Serenity all nodded their acceptance of the danger.

  Numinous was a planet between its yellow sun of the day and its smaller and cooler red sun of the night. It was a desert world and the eleventh state of the Mystic Confederacy. The Phantoms hoped to take Numinous, to use it as a base to invade three other states and a colony world. The 27th Legion fought to stop them but was outnumbered, outflanked and now surrounded. A powerful, crystalline array broke spells and denied the Mystics the use of portals. The famed Heroic Tetrad of Reckless Wisdom had come to destroy the artifice.

  Each of the four heroes rode upon a bipedal steed. They kept to the hills and valleys, so as to conceal their movement. “What became of my predecessor?” Vain Glory asked Nefarious Good. Though she was the scout he was the lead rider.

  Mr. Good answered, “He perished.”

  “He perished in battle?”

  “No. He did not see the Phantom. It beheaded him without a fight.”

  The priestess Moody Serenity rode immediately behind Miss Glory. The cleric told the scout, “Our beloved companion was avenged. Nefarious chased down and slew the offender.”

  Mr. Good stated, as if dismissing the praise, “The Phantom was a scout. I could not allow it to report to its fellows.”

  Captain Reckless Wisdom was a bold soldier and a powerful wizard. He led his tetrad from the rear but not in cowardice. Though a swordsman and an archer he was better with magic than with weapons. His wit always found the better way. His magic proved of wondrous utility. As he rode at the rear of the procession, he muttered and waved his hands, concealing the tracks of them all. “Miss Glory,” he addressed his newest companion. “We have come into the territory occupied by the enemy. You are our scout. Please venture ahead of us and happen upon whatever awaits.”

  “Yes, sir.” Vain Glory spurred her mount past that of Nefarious Good and disappeared into the rocky hills.

  Moody Serenity asked, “Nefarious, my friend, what do you think of our new scout?”

  “I shall think of her whatever she proves to me.” Moody Serenity laughed.

  Vain Glory proved an excellent scout. She found the many hidden Phantom lookouts and led her companions away from their sight. “Well done,” Nefarious Good commended her, “but be ready. Sneaking through pickets shall not be so easy.”

  “Mr. Good, I have oft done so before.”

  The swordsman snickered. He remarked, “Your little clone women were weak, slow and their senses dull. These shall be Phantom warriors. They can see in the dark as easily in day and they can hear unuttered thoughts. They strike swiftly and oft unnoticed.”

  “Mr. Good, the ‘little clone women’ wear devices which allow them to see in the dark. They plant artifices which sense the warmth of life.”

  “Miss Glory, we lost a scout because he was fearless. Be afraid and wiser for it.”

  “Mr. Good, I am afraid. I joined our army to fight what I fear. I shall not allow this enemy to kill us all.” The swordsman glared at her. Vain Glory assured, “I shall be bold for I must be bold. I shall be mindful, however, and selfless.”

  Nefarious Good smiled. He commented, “You speak as if a mother of our people. Miss Glory, perhaps you care nothing for glory.”

  “I care nothing for glory!”

  “I believe you. My companion, I now trust you.”

  Moody Serenity and Reckless Wisdom looked at each other… and smiled.

  The form of a Phantom was vaguely humanoid, mildly luminous and somewhat amorphous. Its color was yellowish white but changed with its mood or at will. A Phantom’s three glowing, yellow eyes were the only distinct trait of its spectral aspect.

  A Phantom soldier wielded a sword with a long, outward-curving grip and a short, broad, curved blade. The entity stood at its post, believing itself hidden in plain sight. Alas, it was spotted by the senses of a mind not so easily deceived.

  Vain Glory crept towards the Phantom sentry. She drew her sword… and sprang, plunging her blade through the alien’s back and out its bosom! The Phantom’s eyes flashed and its shape expanded. Its eyes went dim and its form melted.

  The barely material flesh, bone and blood of a Phantom lost its cohesion when slain. The flesh and bone liquefied and mixed with the yellowish blood. None of it stuck or stained. The blade of Miss Glory’s sword was as clea
n as if it had not been used. She sheathed the weapon and crawled towards another guard.

  Nefarious Good, Moody Serenity and Captain Reckless Wisdom remained hidden as they awaited the return of their scout. She returned, reporting, “I have cleared the way of guards but three alarm spells remain. I left the spells unbroken for we may go around them. Follow me and stay close.”

  The four Mystics crawled and tiptoed their way past boulders inscribed with glyphs. They passed the goo that was once Phantom sentries. They scaled a sheer cliff and hid among rocks.

  A crystalline obelisk within a circle of smaller such obelisks sat atop a hill. The obelisks glowed and three bright lights orbited the top of the tallest one. “Our objective,” Captain Wisdom told his soldiers.

  Phantom swordsmen surrounded the crystalline array and a coven of Phantom warlocks were at the foot of its middle obelisk. The Reverend Moody Serenity fretted, “We shall be unable to sneak upon it.”

  “Yes,” Captain Wisdom agreed. “Mr. Good,” he addressed the swordsman. “You must cut your way to the middle obelisk that Miss Glory may follow you. Guard her with your life as she does her part.” Mr. Good nodded.

  “There are too many,” Moody Serenity worried. “Sir, even Nefarious Good cannot fend off so many.”

  “Reverend Serenity,” Captain Wisdom addressed her most formally, “Our 27th Legion is soon to be overwhelmed and its every soldier slain. We must be bold if we are to save our people.”

  “We must be wise if we are to do so.”

  “Do you have a better plan?”

  Moody Serenity suggested, “Allow me to attack whilst the rest of you remain hidden. I shall lure guards away.”

  Captain Wisdom chuckled, dismissing, “You believe our enemies are so foolish to be lured by such an obvious ruse? I do not. Mr. Good shall cut his way to the middle obelisk and Miss Glory shall follow. You and I shall draw as close as we may but keep our distance. We shall do are part by casting spells.”

  A coven of thirteen warlocks operated the crystalline array. A hundred fifty-six swordsmen guarded them. Nefarious Good told Vain Glory, “I shall be hard pressed to survive much less protect you. Are you ready to die for the lives of our people?”

  “I am.”

  “Shall you flinch as the terrible throngs converge upon us?”

  “I shall not.”

  Mr. Good gazed into the eyes of Miss Glory. She peered back, her countenance unflinching. The male grinned, telling the female, “Follow me.”

  Nefarious Good cut and stabbed his way through the circle of Phantom swordsman. Shrieks and wailing of surprise and anger sounded! Vain Glory followed behind Mr. Good, stabbing and slashing what foes converged and gave chase. Phantoms stretched ahead of themselves, their swords brandished. The Mystic swordsman lunged and cut the stretch-leaping aliens asunder.

  The priestess Moody Serenity held her staff in her left hand as she outstretched her arms and sang. Her mighty voice roared as unseen flames that burned away the curses the enemy muttered.

  Nefarious Good slashed and skewered the converging droves. Vain Glory darted past him and slapped putty onto the middle obelisk. She wore the signet-ring of Captain Wisdom. She pressed its seal into the putty and whispered, “It is done.”

  Even from afar, the wizard Reckless Wisdom heard the awaited whisper. He raised his sword and wand aloft. He voiced an eldritch scream and the glowing, towering, crystalline obelisk shattered! Whether to live or to die the mission was accomplished.

  The Galactic War, like all wars, ended. Though ravaged, the Mystic Confederacy endured. Its people were quick to rebuild and again flourish. They mourned their many dead. They celebrated their valiant heroes.

  Vain Glory returned to the village of her family and old friends. Her home, as was typical of the houses of the countryside, was a dome with many windows. A friend was visiting: the maiden Gabby Shyness. The guest ogled the sword hanging on the wall. Gabby wondered, “Do you miss the thrill of adventuring?”

  Vain answered, “Fighting for my life and the lives of others was not amusing. Please do not trouble me with memories of the war.”

  “Was it exciting to visit alien worlds?”

  “I have never been to an alien world. I served defending our own states and colonies.”

  “You encountered aliens.”

  “Aliens trying to kill me. Gabby, please do not pester me concerning the war.”

  Gabby shrugged. She mentioned, “I remained here during your adventures. I was told I was fortunate.”

  “You were,” Vain insisted. “War is horrible. It would do nothing for you to see such death and destruction. I am glad you were away from it all.”

  “My friend, you are a Heroine of the Confederacy. You are worthy of praise.”

  Vain countered, “I was but one of many soldiers doing her duty.”

  “Nefarious Good was your companion.”

  “He was.”

  “I hear tell he has become a troublemaker and a murderer.”

  Vain Glory sneered, “I do not know of what you speak but I do know Nefarious Good. If he made trouble it was to right a wrong. If he killed it was to defend or avenge. Do not slander a good name with rumors.”

  “I am sorry.” Vain nodded her acceptance of the apology. “Beloved Vain, I never mean to trouble you.”

  Vain giggled. She assured, “My darling Gabby, I am fond of you for you are never boring.”

  Gabby confided, “I am proud of you, Vain Glory, for all you have done. I am ashamed of myself for doing nothing.”

  “Nothing? Gabby, your singing is the loveliest I have ever heard.”

  “Few hear it.”

  “Move to the city. Sing for all to hear.”

  “I would be lonely in the city.”

  “I shall visit you.” Gabby said nothing, which always meant something was wrong. Vain pressed, “Your lovely voice is lost in the obscurity of this lonely village. Sing where all may hear you. We shall enjoy your voice all the more.”

  “Come with me.”

  Vain Glory loathed the hustle and bustle of cities. For Gabby’s sake she considered, “Perhaps.”

  “Perhaps not,” Gabby dismissed the idea. “In this village I am a lovely singer. In the city, however, I would be but one of many. I would be alone in a crowd.”

  Vain Glory stated, “I was but one of many soldiers. I became among the best of them. Alas, I rose above the many.”

  “Many strive and to no avail.”

  “Soldiers and singers alike,” Vain Glory concurred. “Do nothing and you shall do so to no avail. Strive and you may prosper. Let us only hope for what we strive for.”

  A month later, Gabby Shyness was on her way to the city. Before leaving, she told Vain Glory, “I know you wish to stay. Stay. I shall be living with family. Shall you visit?”

  “I shall.”

  Day later: Vain Glory was surprised at how boring and lonely life was without the prattle of Gabby Shyness.

  Miss Glory was out in her yard tending to her garden… when a carriage stopped in front of her house. A burly, scaly alien wearing only a loincloth was the driver. The big alien dropped to the ground with surprising nimbleness. It opened the door of the carriage. A male of the Mystic race wearing dark blue robes stepped out. “Miss Glory?” the Mystic asked.

  “Yes.”

  “I am Ambiguous Clarity, a professor of divination at the Academy of Magic. May we talk, in private?” The stranger pointed at Miss Glory’s house.

  “Yes,” she agreed. The big alien stayed with the carriage.

  “How quaint,” Dr. Clarity said of the interior of Miss Glory’s home.

  “Tea?”

  “Yes, please.”

  As Miss Glory prepared tea for herself and her guest, she noted, “The Academy of Magic is on the other side of the world.”

  “Indeed it is.”

  “You have travelled far, Dr. Clarity.”

  “Oh, I have travelled much further, as have you. We shall be travelling
beyond should you oblige me.”

  “Where would we be going?”

  “To an obscure world.”

  “Does it have a name?”

  “The planet Bosky.”

  “I have never heard of it.”

  “As I have said: it is obscure. Though a promising world in of itself it is painstaking to reach. Anomalies disrupt magic and technology alike. Though troublesome, our Confederacy lays claim to it… as do the Greater Humanity Empire, the Delver Plutocracy and the Concubines of the Great Seen Unseen. The Penumbrans brokered a treaty between us all and assumed the role of administrators.”

  Miss Glory brought the tea to her guest. “Thank you,” he accepted it.

  The hostess sat. She sipped her own tea before blurting, “Dr. Clarity, I do not know you. I have never heard of you. Why have you come?”

  “Vain Glory, Heroine of the Confederacy, I have come calling for the sake of us all.” Miss Glory arched an eyebrow. She waited for her guest to explain. He confided, “I am an agent of the Ministry of Vigilance. I am soon to embark on a perilous quest. Please come with me. I have need of your prowess.”

  There was a long, tense silence as Miss Glory pondered Dr. Clarity’s words. She realized, “You are reticent to elaborate on the particulars lest I accept.”

  Dr. Clarity nodded, explaining, “It is best you know nothing lest you are involved.”

  “Why me?”

  Dr. Clarity grinned. He told, “Others were considered but you are the best for what shall be required of you. I have studied your dossier and interviewed Captain Wisdom. The signs favor you on this matter.”

  “What shall be required of me?”

  “I shall have you do what you do best. Miss Glory, please understand that the hard won peace we now enjoy is imperiled. My quest is to thwart an insidious plot. Join me and I shall tell you more. Decline and I ask that you tell no one what I have told you.”

  “Dr. Clarity, I shall join you.”

  The agent of the Ministry of Vigilance grinned. He mentioned, “My divination assured me that you would. You are too adventurous to refuse me.” He stood, telling Miss Glory, “A carriage shall come for you in four days. We shall meet again a day after that. Miss Glory, your Confederacy thanks you.”

  Mystique was the eighth moon of a blue and purple gas giant. Mystique itself was white with clouds, blue with seas and green with forests. Farms and cities dotted the eight continents. Vain Glory admired her world as she travelled its roads. Her carriage and many steeds and wagons came to a halt as they waited their turn through a white, glowing arch that was a portal from this side of the world to the other.

  The Confederate Middle was the capitol city of the Mystic Confederacy. It was domes and towers of stone among fountains, groves and flower gardens. Many buildings were as much glass as stone for Mystics were fond of sunlight. There were no engraved images of any kind for such eccentricity was exclusively human. Gates were few and there were no slums for even the lowly were smart and trustworthy.

  Vain Glory was brought to one of the few guarded buildings: the Fortress of Vigilance. She was given quarters and allowed to visit the common rooms and gardens. Dr. Clarity visited her the next day. “Was your travel pleasant?” the professor asked Miss Glory.

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Miss Glory, I shall confide our quest with you after supper. You shall then be granted your choice of garb, weapons and equipment.”

  “Dr. Clarity, I have yet to be sworn in as an agent of this ministry.”

  “My dear, your oath as a soldier shall suffice.”

  Vain Glory ate alone in the cafeteria, as she always did. She was still surprised by the lack of chatter among the many diners. She wondered, “Is all secret in the Ministry of Vigilance?”

  After supper, Miss Glory was met by Dr. Clarity whilst on her way back to her quarters. “Let us walk,” he urged. She nodded and obliged. The professor told her, “We shall be venturing where all may smile but none are friendly. Confide nothing. Trust no one. Test all you hear and doubt all you witness.”

  “I understand, sir.”

  “I shall be the guest of Lady Dolorous the Enticing of the Early Light. You shall accompany me as my bodyguard and my bodyguard shall be my valet. We shall spy. Big-Big shall fight should the need arise.”

  “Big-Big is the alien who drove your carriage?”

  “Yes. He is fully trained in the use of swords, knives, bows and arrows, firearms and plasma weapons. Despite his simplicity, his instincts are infallible and he is wily. He has a surprising knack for tinkering with devices.”

  “He is a megasaurian,” Vain Glory recognized Big-Big’s race. “They are monstrous savages we should have killed to the last.”

  “You doubt his loyalty? You wonder why we never slew them to the last. Miss Glory, we drove his people into the hills but we never conquered them. They were still raiding and pillaging us when I made peace with them. They have since served us honorably as scouts and raiders. They helped drive the Phantoms from Numinous.”

  “They did? I did not hear tell of it.”

  Dr. Clarity shrugged, explaining, “We prefer them to be an unpleasant surprise for our enemies.”

  Dr. Clarity decided Miss Glory should meet Big-Big. He introduced, “Big-Big, this is Miss Glory. She is our friend. She shall join us on this most perilous quest.”

  The megasaurian was scaly, greenish gray and wore only a loincloth. His face was broad and his features hard. His yellow-within-orange eyes were close-set and his pupils elliptical. His physique was heavy with powerful muscles but his mannerisms were graceful. He smacked his chest, greeting, “Big-Big!”

  “Mr. Big-Big, Dr. Clarity speaks highly of you.”

  The savage cocked his head to the side, as if confused. He blurted, “Miss Glory says nice. Miss Glory feels bad. Miss Glory loathes Big-Big.”

  “Forgive me, Mr. Big-Big. I do not loathe you personally. I am prejudiced for I have heard tell of savagery.”

  The megasaurian guffawed, “We fight! You fight! What is bad?”

  Vain Glory arched an eyebrow. She looked at Dr. Clarity, who explained, “He is amused, not offended. Miss Glory, please be mindful that we invaded his world. His people merely fought back.”

  Miss Glory studied the scaly brute. He smiled, thoughtlessly showing his fangs. He swore, “Big-Big lives for Miss Glory. Big-Big dies for Miss Glory.”

  Vain Glory was deeply moved by the crude oath. She trusted the savage, perhaps because of his blunt simplicity. She responded, “Mr. Big-Big I am honored to be your companion.”