Chris Fox - The Complete Magitech Chronicles: Books 1-7 in the Epic Space Fantasy Saga

The Circle of Eight

If you like The Magitech Chronicles, were also working on a pen & paper RPG and the Kickstarter is going live right around the same time this book came out. You can learn more at magitechchronicles.com or our Magitech Chronicles World Anvil page.

Weve got maps, lore, character sheets, and a free set of rules you can use to generate your own character.

I hope you enjoy!

-Chris

V oria hopped from the ramp before the transport had completed its landing. She clung tightly to her jacket as the sudden wind buffeted her. Voria didnt let it deter her, leaning into the gale as she crossed the landing pad. Like everything in the Tenders palace, the landing pad was cut from shayawood, taken from the corpse of the goddess herself.

That wood shone in the sun, whorls of brown and red, drinking in the sunlight. Voria had never been this close to the palace, and had never seen so much shayawood. It had been designed to awe, and it succeeded.

The view only reinforced that awe. The palace floated in the sky over the world of Shaya and afforded a magnificent view of the goddess herself. Her body stabbed into the sky, the immense redwood branches scraping the upper atmosphere. A multitude of tiny starships flitted back and forth between them like flocks of tiny birds.

Were a single limb to break, it would doom the cities clustered at the base of the mighty tree. That was the dilemma of Shaya. The goddesss lingering energies created a breathable atmosphere around her body, but if you left that radius the rest of the moon was barren and inhospitable. They needed her body to survive, but that body could also destroy them.

Voria wove a path through the wind, snaking her way to a pair of wide palace doors. They were flanked by a pair of war mages, each encased in golden Mark VIII spellarmor. They cradled menacing black spellrifles, the barrels lined with spell amplification sigils. Voria could make out nothing of their faces behind the mirrored faceplates.

To her surprise, both war mages snapped to attention when she approached.

Major, boomed a male voice from the mage on the right. The Tender is expecting you. Shes made theunusual request that you be allowed to carry your weapons, and that you not be searched.

What is it you think Id be hiding, exactly? All Im carrying is a spellpistol. If the Tender wants to wipe me from existence, no spell Im going to cast will make any difference, Voria countered. She waved at the doors. Lets get this over with. I have a war to fight, and I dont have time for politics.

The guards stepped aside, snapping back to attention. Voria eyed them suspiciously as she passed, trying to understand the reason for their respectful behavior. The Confederate Military was a joke to Shayan nobility. War mages did not salute officers, rank non-withstanding. Even her training as a true mage wouldnt warrant that kind of respect.

She entered a spacious greeting room lined with hover-couches. A blue one floated in her direction, nudging her hip in invitation. Voria shoved it away, and continued toward the rooms only occupant. The Tender stood next to a golden railing, shayawood vines snaking around it. Shayas branches were visible behind her, though the woman herself commanded attention.

Her hair shone in the sun, capturing all the colors of autumn. Reds and yellows and golds all danced through her hair, changing as the light shifted. It poured down her back in a molten river, contrasting beautifully with the Tenders golden ceremonial armor.

Voria had often been called pretty, but she knew she was a frumpy matron next to the Tender. Though, in Vorias defense, she didnt have the blood of a goddess to magically enhance her beauty.

Welcome, daughter, the Tender said, beaming a smile as she strode gracefully from the railing. Thank you for coming so quickly.

Just because you slept with my father doesnt make you my mother, Voria countered flatly. She schooled her features, attempting to hide the pleasure she took from needling this woman.

The Tender raised a delicate eyebrow, stopping a meter away. She frowned disapprovingly, and even that was done beautifully. I meant figuratively, daughter.

Why did you call me here? Voria demanded. Shed fluster this woman if it killed her.

Because this, all of this, will be wiped away unless you prevent it. The Tender stretched an arm to indicate Shaya and the cities below her. She smiled warmly, as if shed just related a bit of political gossip. Would you like some lifewine? Or an infused apple?

The Tender crooked a finger, and a crystal ewer floated over to Voria. Golden liquid swirled within, and Voria could feel the power pulsing from it. It was, for her people at least, literal life. But drinking it would cause her eyes to glow, revealing her true nature for hours.

No, thank you. Voria stepped away from the ewer and frowned at the Tender. Certainly your time must be valuable. Youve dropped a melodramatic statement about Shaya being destroyed. Please tell me thats just hyperbole.

I am being quite literal, Im afraid. If you do not fulfill your role in the struggle against Krox, then all of this will be wiped away, the Tender explained. She sighedprettily. Please, come with me.

Fine. Voria crossed her arms, eyeing the Tender as the woman led her from the railing.

The chamber curved around the outside of the palace for nearly a hundred meters, finally ending at a pair of tall double doors. Unlike most of the palace, these were not shayawood. They were covered in a multicolored mural depicting Shaya herself.

Voria leaned closer, realizing that the door was covered in thousands of tiny scales. Dragon scales, each of incalculable worth. They glowed with their own inner fire and their combined magic brought the mural to life. Branches swayed as an invisible wind rippled over the doors.

The Tender placed a palm on each door, then pushed gently inward. The doors opened of their own accord, sliding away to reveal a dark chamber. Voria followed the Tender inside and waited impatiently for her eyes to adjust.

The doors slammed shut behind them, and a bonfire sprang into existence near the center of the room. The flames were pure blue, edged in white. Their sudden light illuminated sigils emblazoned on the floor in a circle around the flame. A ritual circle, possibly the most powerful that Voria had ever witnessed.

What am I seeing? Voria asked, abandoning all attempts to fluster the Tender. Shed fought in the Confederate Marines for four decades, and had never seen magic on this scale before. The immensity of the power humbled her.

This is the Mirror of Shaya. It is an eldimagus for finding and interpreting auguries. You are familiar with auguries? the Tender asked, walking gracefully to stand just outside the magical circle. The flame brightened at her approach, like a pet preening for an owner.

Conceptually. Theyre visions of a possible future, dreamed by a dead god, Voria ventured. Divination wasnt one of her strong suits, though she was proficient enough with the basics.