The Shadow of All Worlds

by Shane Porteous

  Chapter 11

  The city of Za-xayek was as vast as it was eerie. It seemed to hold many secrets, the kind of forbidden knowledge that most of the world would shudder upon hearing. But Voak had no fear of this place, only a great curiosity as to what knowledge he could find.

  He had been watching the Ulnath and those from other worlds closely. He saw how eager some of them had been to help the Ulnath, but not out of selflessness. They all had their own agendas. Voak was no different, of course. He was sure they all saw the Ulnath as a means to an end. He already had an end in mind, now he just needed to find a means. He had been searching this city ever since Oos had given his speech about seeking more power. He was interested in what the Ulnath may have been hiding.

  He was able to go about his search unseen, the powers of teleportation and invisibility were second nature to him. What he had already come to realize was this city had most likely originally been built for a much larger population, perhaps as many as half a million. Such a number impressed him, since even the grandest cities of Slute were built to hold no more than a 100,000.

  This added another mystery because he had counted the Ulnath carefully, and there was little more than a mere two thousand of them. This meant that either many had died, whether through war, disease or disaster or the Ulnath really enjoyed their space. Gaining an answer to that mystery wasn’t a priority for him. The less Ulnath there were the less eyes were watching him, making his search all the more easy.

  He had silently followed the Red Lady for a little while, knowing that she too was searching for something. She had roughly a third of her army searching this city and he had originally planned on simply waiting to see what they had found. But he grew bored with such a notion. Her army seemed too dedicated to her, like thousands of eyes that belonged to a single being. He liked blind loyalty, it had served him well once upon a time, but what he was searching for was unique, and empty minds couldn’t fathom such a thing. As always, he realized that he would be better off doing the task himself.

  He was glad he made that choice for he found something the Red Army hadn’t, even though they had recently searched this same area. He reappeared in front of a certain structure, his head lowered, his twisted face obscured by his round helmet. This structure was as twisted and as dark as the others, but it was no tower. It was much smaller, structured like a square of black and gray. It was not its shape so much as the odors that came from him. It smelled ancient and mystic, two of Voak’s favorite scents. As he looked upon it with his bizarre rectangular eyes a smile of squared sharp teeth reached across his face. The towers of Za-xayek hadn’t interested him much, they didn’t hold anything that could be of use to him, but he had a feeling that this building would be different. There was an open doorway into the structure. Strangely, there seemed to be very few locked doors in the city, though the Ulnath didn’t strike him as an overly trusting type.

  Regardless, an open door just made his search all the easier and as he stepped through it he was struck by various odors. All were foreign to him, smells that never existed in the world he had come from. The smells weren’t of death, at least any death he knew of and death was something he was quite acquainted with. Only a certain type of darkness frightened him and the black he entered wasn’t of this type.

  The darkness didn’t last very long, soon giving way to a strange collection of purple light. The light wasn’t of any sun, nor of any flame, it was a kind of light Voak had never seen before. There were no windows within the structure and yet few shadows reigned inside.

  He could see a mass of decorations upon the inner walls, made by the same architect who had designed the towers. He could see statues forged from a material that held mysterious of their own. Strangely the light didn’t reflect off them, yet they could be seen clearly. Some of the statues were copies of the Ulnath while others were more twisted and more animal like. It wasn’t obvious what the statues meant, but they appeared in ascending order. The last looked exactly like an Ulnath while the first was a monstrosity in anyone’s opinion. They were well detailed but lifeless. Voak had no concern of them coming to life and attacking him.

  He was actually more interested in the source of the purple light. It covered the entirety of the large room leaving not a corner in shadow. He was quite sure he was alone in the building. It was not so much through sight but rather through smell that he came to realize this place was a bathhouse of some kind. The scents were rising like steam out of many various pools, some were circular, others more rectangular, while others were framed by shapes Voak couldn’t even describe. Apart from the colour of the liquid that filled them and the way they smelt, these baths didn’t appear grand or mysterious. Still there was something about this bathhouse, something that was different to all the other structures of the city.

  At random he chose one of the baths and knelt beside it, wondering what the liquid was. Apart from it not being water, the answer wasn’t obvious. He peered down and saw his reflection, the sight of it made him hiss like a snake. He knew what he looked like and had long ago accepted his hideous. But that didn’t mean he enjoyed his own reflection at all. Though the liquid was thicker than water for something that carried so many scents it wasn’t particular thick. He watched it for a moment, hoping to see movement of some kind. But after several moments there wasn’t so much as a bubble, the liquid was completely still, almost unnaturally so. It didn’t smell putrid or rotten, which indicated that its purpose hadn’t been forgotten. Now he just needed to discover what its purpose was.

  When sight and smell didn’t give him the answers he was looking for he hoped that touch would. He removed the glove from his left hand, revealing long wretched fingers. There was a feeling of uneasiness that washed over him, a feeling that rarely swam through him. He ignored such a notion, he had dealt with many substances in his life, many that were more potent than whatever this liquid was. Still his movements were slightly slower than normal, a small part of him hesitant. With a single finger he touched the liquid and was surprised that it felt solid, like he was touching a slime-covered stone. He had stuck his finger in completely when something caught his eyes.

  He watched in silence as from the middle of the bath a bubble was forming. At first the bubble looked quite normal but then it began to swell. The whole motion made the bubble seem alive, like some dark and ancient force was controlling it. Voak watched on, his finger still in the liquid as the bubble began to ascend. It remained connected to the rest of the liquid. It reminded him of a fly trapped in a spider’s web doing its best to try and escape. The movements of the bubble grew quite violent, and, bizarrely it seemed as if the bubble was drowning within the liquid. With Voak’s finger still within it the entire bath of liquid rose up like a wave from an angry ocean.

  Before Voak had a chance to do anything the liquid reached over, swallowing him like a serpent. He could be seen within it, thrashing around much like the bubble had. His ribald face consumed with shock, his limbs frantically thrashing about. All of his efforts did nothing to change his predicament and before the moment was over he was pulled deep into the bath.

  The liquid quickly died down, returning to the calm state in which he found it. The violent moment had been replaced by a strange sense of serenity and silence. Like a sword impaling an enemy Voak’s hand violently ascended out of the liquid. It had been so powerful a moment ago, but now offered no resistance. Keeping his head close to his chest, thus hiding his face he quickly pulled himself out of the bath. He scurried on his hands and knees, wanting to get as far away from it as possible.

  He didn’t know what had just happened to him, but in some ways it reminded him of dying, something he knew all too well. But the feeling of the death wasn’t the only sensation, it had become replaced by something he couldn’t possibly describe. Most of the liquid didn’t accompany him out of the bath, the few drops that peppered his garments seemed to seep into them slowly, not leaving so much as a single wet mark.

/>   When he was satisfied that he had gotten far enough away he sat back. The breaths escaping his body were quick and frantic. Wanting to ensure that there was no trace of the liquid on his features he brought his ungloved hand to his face. He had planned on wiping it clean but as soon as he got to his nose his hand stopped suddenly. The movement ended so quickly it was like his hand became frozen.

  His nose didn’t feel right, it didn’t even feel like his nose. He had forced his eyes closed during the violent submerging and only now opened them. His breathing tightened, becoming near silent as slowly he moved his hand from his face. He looked at his palm like it was the greatest mystery he had ever faced. Turning his hand over revealed the effects of the liquid. His hand was no longer riddled with marks and sickness, in fact it looked very human. Glancing back to the bath he was filled with a chill. Slowly he touched his nose again, it didn’t feel long and twisted, it felt small and structured. To prove to himself that his sense of touch wasn’t lying he quickly moved back to the bath, showing no fear of the liquid. With clear hesitation he looked down into is reflective pool and immediately a gasp escaped his lips.

  His eyes were no longer rectangular, they were small and circular, the glowing orange of them was gone completely, and he could see pupils within them. His chin had widened, and the large pair of dark wrinkles vanished from his cheeks. His face had changed completely. Gone were the monstrosities, replaced by well-designed features.

  The replacement face wasn’t a stranger to him, just someone that he hadn’t seen in a very long time. This was his face, the face that belonged to him before he had corrupted his body with spells, potions and everything in between. With a shaking hand he removed his helmet, allowing fine thick locks of hair to fall past his ears. It had been so long since he had possessed hair that he had almost forgotten what it looked like. But now the memories came flowing back, these strands were almost identical to the ones that once covered his head. The other noticeable exception was the colour, in place of what should have been light brown was a very dark blue. The tone of the colour was the same as Ulnath hair, but his skin didn’t become a pale green. He opened his mouth, seeing that his teeth were no longer sharp or foul. He smiled, and for the first time in far too long the gesture didn’t appear monstrous.

  This couldn’t be real, yet he knew he wasn’t dead. Perhaps this was a dream of some kind, the liquid keeping him in a kind of suspended reality. In that moment he didn’t really care if this was real or not. Now kneeling, he raised his hand before him and summoned energy. He watched the small blue spheres dance around his fingertips before vanishing. The liquid hadn’t stolen his powers. If anything they seemed easier to summon.

  “Quite remarkable, isn’t it?” A voice asked.

  Voak quickly turned in the direction of the sound. An Ulnath was standing near the entrance. He recognized this Ulnath as one of the group who had accompanied Oos out of the tallest tower when all the other world beings had gathered. This Ulnath was more handsome than most of his kind, yet carried a unique darkness within him. Voak watched as within the purple light, the dark blue garments of the Ulnath seemed to shine almost a silver colour.

  The Ulnath walked around the baths. “It never ceases to amaze me,” he spoke with a kind of melancholic tone, like he was about to recite poetry. The kind only a dark mind would enjoy hearing. His voice was more humble than that of Oos’s but there was no weakness in his words. “What these baths are capable of doing.”

  “What are they?” Voak asked, amazed that even his voice had changed. It was still tainted by corruption, but no longer consumed by it. The Ulnath stopped once he was about 5 feet away from him.

  “That is hard to describe, they are a mixture of many things, shades of magic you see, from many forms of sorcery. They were gathered together with the purpose of cleansing corruption from one’s body, but I am guessing you have already figured that out. As powerful as these baths are though, they cannot cleanse the soul. Their effects are little more than skin deep.”

  Voak thought on his words, ignoring the fact this Ulnath was looking at him like he was an injured deer, ready to be slaughtered. “You’re Krovin right?” Voak asked, knowing the answer.

  Krovin nodded slowly. “And you’re Voak, the interesting thing is, is that we have never been introduced although you know my name and I know yours. You certainly have an interesting collection of powers, I imagine they are of great use to you as my powers are to me.” Voak heard the taunt in his tone, it seemed Krovin was aware that he had been silently watching the Ulnath, but in that moment Voak didn’t care he had much more important things on his mind. Voak stood up slowly, Krovin didn’t so much as flinch in response.

  “These baths? Do they have the ability to stave off death?” Krovin noticed the desperation in his eyes, the anxiousness in his tone. He seemed not to care that Krovin had been following him.

  “The power of immortality? The power of invincibility? Those are two things beyond even the power of these baths.”

  Voak narrowed his eyes and Krovin could see his mind turning over. “The power that Oos made mention of? The power that he will give us would that be great enough to defy death forever?” Krovin smiled and even to one such as Voak the gesture seemed morbid.

  “I will not lie to you, the power that Oos spoke of is a power like nothing you would’ve ever seen before. But I cannot guarantee it can make you immortal, not by itself anyway.”

  “What do you mean?” Voak asked.

  “You have a set of powers of your own, abilities that are very versatile, much like the baths, your own powers combined with the powers that Oos can give you may very well be enough to give you what you desire.” Voak lowered his gaze, his mind heavy with both thoughts and possibilities. “Of course if you knew someone or something that already had the power of immortality or at least a way to use necromancy we may very well be able to create immortality, maybe even invincibility.”

  “How?” Voak asked, his voice intense and concentrated. With the slightest motion of his head Krovin guided the gaze of Voak to the triangular shaped bath.

  “You’re lucky you didn’t try to take a swim in that bath, its liquid is used to strip beings of their powers, its liquid consumes them you see. If you knew someone with the powers of necromancy that bath could take such a power and with the knowledge the Ulnath possess, we could very well find a way to forge a permanent way to escape death.” He could see the eagerness in Voak’s eyes, clearly he had someone in mind for just such a purpose.

  “But…” Krovin began, his tone stern enough to bring Voak out of his own thoughts. “We have no desire to help anyone or anything that doesn’t help us in return. We called each of you from your own worlds to help us achieve our goal. So far you haven’t helped at all.” There was a time in his life when Voak would’ve struck Krovin down for speaking to him with such a tone. But his pride meant little now, not when there was finally a chance to escape death, once and for all.

  “What do you need from me?”

  Krovin could tell from his tone that Voak was desperate, and so he kept his smile.

  “Morzu isn’t the only one that can call for aid from other worlds. The Ebulon king has the same ability…” He noticed a flash in the eyes of Voak, a great revelation of some kind. “We have waited for this chance for thousands of years, and we have plans in place, but we cannot rely on those plans alone. We need to know what Ebulon, particularly what King Yadi…” he added in disgust. “…Will be planning as well as how he is reacting to the attacks on the mines and refugees.”

  “And?” Voak asked, subtly wanting Krovin to get to his point. “As great as our powers are they are of this world and the mages of Ebulon have similar powers. If we tried to sneak into the city under the cover of shadow the Ebulon mages would be able to detect us. But your powers are not of this world, the mages would have no knowledge of your magic, thus you could enter the city undetected, you could listen in to what is happening and no
one in Ebulon would be the wiser.” He could see the effect his words were having on Voak and so he continued. “If you do this for us we will do all in our power to help you escape death…once and for all.”

  Voak simply stared at Krovin for a long moment, but there was no way of knowing if he could trust him. However, he couldn’t doubt the powers of this bathhouse. He had tried countless times to rid himself of the twisted appearance and had failed. These baths had already proven their power to him.

  “As long as you help me, I will do whatever you ask.” Voak said.

  To this Krovin nodded, his smile widening. “Very good,” he said. “In truth I would have allowed you to continue your search of this city. Za-xayek is quite a sight to behold. I was actually planning on asking the one called Kae to use his powers to observe Ebulon. But it seems that he has abandoned our cause.”