Architecture & Adversity

by Jeremy Dwyer

  Erikkos listened for signs of the enemy, but heard nothing.

  ~~~

  Prince Marku telepathically reached out to Princess Rodica and Leslawa and told them to remain quiet – the enemy has entered the Citadel. He then channeled the music powers he had from splitting the Dead Waters and created a sound barrier. After this, he walked the interior hallway until reaching the outer diamond doors, which he unlocked and opened. Leslawa and Princess Rodica followed him closely.

  Princess Rodica used her powers of light to look down the marble hallways and around corners until she saw the enemy. She telepathically communicated this back to Prince Marku and Leslawa.

  Prince Marku then concentrated his powers of darkness to create a cloud of frigid darkness ahead of him. He proceeded to walk forward, quietly, under the protection of a sound barrier, which silenced his footsteps.

  Princess Rodica concentrated her powers to send a hot beam of light ahead, burning the intruders around a corner in the hallway.

  ~~~

  Nestor fell to the ground in pain and his skin began to burn from an intense beam of light striking him.

  A wave of darkness came at them, and Count Terzo felt the pain of the shadowy cold as it enveloped him. He struggled to get away from the damaging chill, but he could not find his way because it was in the form of a cloak of darkness.

  Skylla was also enveloped in the darkness. The cold did not bother her, due to her robust health from the Trerada waters.

  Nestor felt the cold darkness and was confused, especially as he was still feeling the burn at the same time.

  Erikkos felt the pain and began singing again, louder than before. The music made the Citadel shake so violently that the ceiling and walls began to crumble more rapidly. Even the floor cracked and became unleveled. He was in agony from the attacks of hot light and cold darkness, but he had every intention of destroying the attackers first.

  ~~~

  A large piece of marble fell from the ceiling, striking Prince Marku’s left shoulder. He groaned in pain and fell to the floor, bleeding.

  Princess Rodica focused her powers of light even more, so as to incinerate the enemy.

  Princess Rodica yelled at Prince Marku, saying: “Stand up! Fight!”

  Leslawa began to back away, fearful of the conflict, despite the powers she wielded.

  ~~~

  Nestor felt his chest burning like it was on fire, even while he was surrounded by a patch of cold darkness, in which he could not see. His flesh began to tear apart from the battle of hot and cold that was raging on his skin.

  Count Terzo ran forward with all his strength and speed, swinging his sword violently, hoping to directly battle his enemy, or at least graze them with the blade.

  Erikkos repeated his song, shaking the Citadel further.

  Skylla concentrated all of her power on resisting any injury, but it was tiring.

  ~~~

  Another block of marble fell, striking Prince Marku on the head, splitting his skull. He struggled to heal from this life-threatening injury. He made progress, albeit slowly, because the powers of all waters flowed through him, including the regenerative powers ordinarily given by the Trerada waters.

  Smaller blocks of marble fell, hitting Princess Rodica. She concentrated more intensely. This time, she screamed with the power of music, projecting her own voice far down the halls.

  Leslawa reached into the spirit world like never before – she disappeared from the physical world and went into the realm of ghosts entirely. She did not care for the battle, and was angry that these powers had never been shared with her before.

  ~~~

  Count Terzo escaped the cold darkness but then felt a blast of loud sound so powerful that it knocked him backward. He quickly stabilized himself by extending his arms and hands backwards and toward the floor, so as to avoiding falling onto his back and receiving a crippling injury. The sword he carried worked as a balancing pole, and he wielded it deftly enough to not slice himself in the process. However, the additional loud sounds disturbed another block of the marble ceiling above and it fell, striking Terzo on the chest. It was so large that it crushed his heart, throat and skull, killing him instantly.

  Skylla ran forward, finding her way out of the darkness, only to be hit with an intense beam of light, burning her momentarily. She got out of the way and began healing the injury.

  The beam of light that continued to strike Nestor caused his skin to melt away, exposing his beating heart. He had not escaped the cold darkness, and the cold chill of it froze the blood in his arteries and the valves in his heart, causing it to cease its beating.

  Erikkos drank anew of the waters of the Pirovalen Ocean from his vial to be energized to the maximum degree possible, given his own high innate potential. He then recited his song more powerfully than before, rattling the Citadel, bringing down large parts of the ceiling, shaking the walls and creating a larger rupture in the floor.

  ~~~

  An enormous chunk of the marble ceiling fell and crushed Prince Marku, killing him before he could fully heal.

  Princess Rodica was also struck, but only by the edge of the marble chunk. It knocked her unconscious and left her bleeding profusely.

  ~~~

  Erikkos heard something disturbing – a crackling sound – and realized that he had taken matters too far. Another portion of the ceiling began to fall, narrowly missing him but striking Skylla, knocking her unconscious and crushing her ribs and lungs. In less than a minute, even her heart was crushed, so Skylla breathed no more from the weight of the massive marble fragment that pinned her. The healing powers of the Trerada waters were not quick enough to save her from this.

  Erikkos quickly drank anew of the waters of the Pirovalen Ocean from his vial and was energized to his maximum level once again. He then used the power of his voice to manipulate sound very carefully so as to displace the falling stone above and around him. He thereby escaped the Citadel through a fracture in the wall, then went through the breached city wall surrounding it and hid in the nearby forests of Javanda. There, he used his power over sound to listen for signs of danger within and around the Citadel. For all the difficulties and danger he had faced, he wanted to receive a reward in the form of learning whatever knowledge the enemy had.

  ~~~

  Princess Rodica lost so much blood that her heart stopped.

  She felt her spirit descend into a dark place of swirling confusion. She felt as if she were bound, but could not see the chains.

  “Where am I?” the spirit of Princess Rodica asked.

  “You are in the Maelstrom of Vengeance,” a deep and frightening voice said.

  “Who are you?” the spirit of Princess Rodica asked.

  “I am Gadamalto, the Master of Spirits in the Maelstrom. In your life, you captured others and kept them as your slaves for pleasure. Now, you will be made a slave to me, and be made to serve and suffer eternally, with no pleasure at all,” the deep and frightening voice said.

  ~~~

  Prince Marku felt his spirit descend into a dark place of swirling confusion. He felt as if he were bound, but could not see the chains.

  “Where am I?” the spirit of Prince Marku asked.

  “You are in the Maelstrom of Vengeance,” a deep and frightening voice said.

  “Who are you?” the spirit of Prince Marku asked.

  “I am Gadamalto, the Master of Spirits in the Maelstrom. In your life, you captured others and kept them as your slaves for pleasure. Now, you will be made a slave to me, and be made to serve and suffer with no pleasure whatsoever, yet you will only stay with me for a while. By the ritual you engaged in, you gave your spirit over to the demon named Dajazameril, who will take possession of you later. Until then, you are mine,” the deep and frightening voice said.

  ~~~

  Skylla felt her spirit descend into a dark place of confusion and pain and fear and betrayal.

  “Where am I?” the spirit of Skylla asked.

 
“You are in the Maelstrom of Vengeance,” a deep, hateful and frightening voice said.

  “Who are you?” the spirit of Skylla asked.

  “I am Gadamalto, the Master of Spirits in the Maelstrom. In your life, you tempted with your sensuality and betrayed and murdered in search of power. Here, you will know betrayal, yet no pleasure,” the deep, hateful and frightening voice said.

  ~~~

  Nestor felt his spirit descend into a dark place of confusion and more confusion and pain.

  “Where am I?” the spirit of Nestor asked.

  “You are in the Maelstrom of Vengeance,” a deep, twisted and frightening voice said.

  “Who are you?” the spirit of Nestor asked.

  “I am Gadamalto, the Master of Spirits in the Maelstrom. In your life, you searched for a path to wealth rather than the path to truth. Now, you will be forever lost,” the deep, twisted and frightening voice said.

  ~~~

  Count Terzo felt his spirit descend into a dark place of confusion, betrayal, hate and pain.

  “Where am I?” the spirit of Count Terzo asked.

  “You are in the Maelstrom of Vengeance,” a deep, hateful and frightening voice said.

  “Who are you?” the spirit of Count Terzo asked.

  “I am Gadamalto, the Master of Spirits in the Maelstrom. In your life, you had no love, and betrayed those who might have loved you, because of your thirst for power. Now, you will know only hatred and betrayal,” the deep, hateful and frightening voice said.

  ~~~

  The various walls of the Citadel soon gave way, and the ceilings collapsed in the rooms of the slaves, killing them as well. Indigo and Drystan were crushed to death by the falling structure, as was Amaltheia.

  ~~~

  Amaltheia felt her spirit descend into a dark place of confusion, betrayal, hate, sorrow and pain.

  “Where am I?” the spirit of Amaltheia asked.

  “You are in the Maelstrom of Vengeance,” a deep, hateful and frightening voice said.

  “Who are you?” the spirit of Amaltheia asked.

  “I am Gadamalto, the Master of Spirits in the Maelstrom. In your life, you had no love, and betrayed even your young daughter who needed you, preferring to search for power and pleasure. Now, you will know only hatred and betrayal, becoming completely powerless and feeling no pleasure,” the deep, hateful and frightening voice said.

  ~~~

  The spirit of Leslawa found the area of the spirit world near the room where the lake was located. The room was hardened such that it did not completely crumble like the rest of the Citadel, although it was heavily damaged, and the ceiling was slowly giving way as the walls buckled inward. She was able to return to the material world within the room, however, and she appeared on the central island. The cylinder surrounding the marble basin was cracked and twisted, being reduced to thousands of shards of protruding crystal, all as sharp as knives. It was still filled with yellow-green gems, but many of them appeared to be cracked or even shattered. She reached her hand through a gap in the ruined cylinder, pulling on the few yellow-green gems that still looked intact and held them in her hand.

  Leslawa marveled at the gems, now that she knew what awesome power they had. She gathered as many as one hundred twenty-seven (127) of them and placed them into pockets in her robes. After this, she exercised her powers and returned to the spirit world, so as to escape the Citadel before it completely collapsed.

  Once in the spirit world, however, she felt a voice of a powerful being connect to her own spirit, saying: “Look what you have found. Now, you will come with me.”

  The powerful being was a spiritual minion serving under the demon named Dajazameril. Under the demon’s direction, the spiritual minion had been observing the occurrences inside of the Citadel to learn of the importance of the place and of its contents and inhabitants. Aware that Leslawa had acquired something of great value and brought it into the spirit world, the minion marshalled the spirit of Leslawa to the region of the spirit world within the crystal fortress.

  “Master Dajazameril, I have brought her spirit to you. She carries the gems that can split the Dead Waters and release their powers. I have seen them and they are true,” the spiritual minion said.

  ~~~

  Dajazameril spoke through the third ruby spire in which he was confined and said: “My Lady, I have in captivity the woman who holds power over the Dead Waters. She brought the source of the power into the spirit world.” His voice resounded throughout the crystal fortress.

  “What is the form of this power?” Polyxene asked.

  Dajazameril spoke through the third ruby spire and said: “She carries gems that split the Dead Waters to release all the elemental powers.”

  “Bring her to me,” Polyxene said.

  ~~~

  Dajazameril directed his spiritual minion to expel the spirit – and the body – of Leslawa into the material world.

  “Return to the material world!” the spiritual minion said, and he pushed the spirit of Leslawa into the material world inside the crystal fortress, so that her body appeared with the spirit intact.

  ~~~

  Polyxene watched as a woman appeared in front of her. She was ready, however, and immediately touched the floor around the newly materialized woman, molding the crystal of the fortress floor to rise up around this woman and encase her completely.

  Leslawa felt herself locked inside of crystal all too suddenly. She struggled to breathe.

  Polyxene touched the crystal encasement around the captive woman and altered it, so as to remove her robes and search them. She found one hundred twenty-seven (127) yellow-green gems inside the pockets of the removed clothing. She then altered the crystal encasement further, twisting and shearing it until the physical body inside was cleaved into seventeen (17) parts, including at the neck, skull and chest cavity.

  Leslawa still had the elemental powers of all waters flowing through her, including the power to heal. However, the healing power was overcome by the destruction of her brain and heart that happened much too suddenly.

  “Excellent work, Dajazameril,” Polyxene said.

  ~~~

  Leslawa felt her spirit descend into a dark place of swirling confusion. She felt as if she were bound, but could not see the chains.

  “Where am I?” the spirit of Leslawa asked.

  “You are in the Maelstrom of Vengeance,” a deep and frightening voice said.

  “Who are you?” the spirit of Leslawa asked.

  “I am Gadamalto, the Master of Spirits in the Maelstrom. In your life, you consorted with the demon named Dajazameril through rituals of twisted pleasure, luring others into his service as well. Your soul is condemned for this, but you will only stay with me for a while. Since you gave your spirit over to Dajazameril, he will take possession of you later. Until then, you are mine, to be tortured as I see fit,” the deep and frightening voice said.

  ~~~

  “Now that I have pleased you, My Lady, will you release me, so that I can serve you in a greater capacity with my full strength?” the voice of Dajazameril asked through the third ruby spire.

  “Release you? Nonsense! What I shall do now is learn the structural secrets of these gems for myself. If they truly split the Dead Waters to give all elemental powers, then I will find many uses for them,” Polyxene said.

  “I yearn to be free. I promise to serve you, My Lady, with my great powers once my liberty is restored,” the voice of Dajazameril said through the third ruby spire.

  “Now is not the time for that, demon. More of your kind must still be captured so that I can achieve my goals. I need you to remain where you are,” Polyxene said.

  CHAPTER 34: Lives of Regret and Judgment

  Borislav stood on a dirt road, flanked by the one thousand eighty-eight (1088) other Pilgrims of the Burning Road and the one hundred two (102) new recruits they gained. They looked over several miles of burning farmlands of western Meridianus, to which they had set fire, noticin
g the charred corpses of farmers who did not repent of their ways and join the Pilgrims. A swarm of locusts could be seen ahead, devouring crops that were not yet burning.

  “Divine Wrath is fierce. Even more is to come, until the world repents. Judgment is at hand. These are not the last sinners to be marched along the Burning Road, which purifies by fire until the soul is ready to enter the Kingdom of God,” Borislav said.

  “Shall we continue the march, spreading the message and the wrath to those who will not repent?” one of the Pilgrims asked.

  “In time, the message will spread. Fire burns the skin first, and then the bones underneath, and then the organs within, until it reaches the heart, which is in the center of a person, where their evil is found. We have just begun building the burning road from the western coast toward the center of this land, where the greatest evil is. Now, we will travel to the east, and set fire to its ports, and move inward from there,” Borislav said. He turned about and walked along the dirt road, toward the western coast. The Pilgrims and new recruits all followed him, returning to the Port of Sedurabrith, which was also burning, since the fire had spread in every direction. The port town residents formed a bucket brigade, struggling to contain the fire.

  Once in the port town, Borislav led the Pilgrims and the new recruits as he boarded the Bronze Harvester, where the full number of the Pilgrims was one thousand two hundred twenty-nine (1229), and the one hundred two (102) new recruits brought that number to one thousand three hundred thirty-one (1331), which included Borislav as well as Tikhon and Petya, who had remained on board.

  “Tikhon, chart a course for eastern Meridianus,” Borislav said.

  Tikhon drank anew of the waters of the Atrejan Ocean from his vial and was energized. He listened to the sounds of the stars to learn their positions and movements. From this information, he determined a course and began sailing the Bronze Harvester northeast until it reached the Admiral Ramalaxis Bridge. From there, he converted the ship to its airship configuration, with the masts and sails pivoted to the sides, and the ship rose to one hundred twenty (120) feet of altitude. Tikhon steered the ship eastward over the land bridge and returned to sea level in the Trerada Ocean. He converted the ship’s masts and sails to the upright position and continued the voyage, traveling eastward across the Trerada Ocean until reaching the Farmer’s Road land bridge. Again, he converted the Bronze Harvester to its airship configuration, elevated the ship to one hundred twenty (120) feet of altitude and traveled eastward over the land bridge, returning to sea level in the Pirovalen Ocean. He converted the ship’s masts and sails to the upright position and sailed southeast, staying close to the eastern coast of Meridianus.