by M K Drake
Atticus and Shadow Wolf face off. Atticus holds his sword, the Sword of Ages, forward with one hand, and charges a fireball with the other “Bradley, stop this madness!” he shouts.
Shadow Wolf snarls at the Majjai warrior. “Fool! How many times do you need to be told that Bradley is no more? He is consumed within me, I feed on his rage, and the blood of his family.”
“Your kind cannot continue to do harm.” Atticus feels the cold realisation that there really is no hope. Bradley, his one-time tormentor at school, is gone. Consumed by the darkness of Shadow Wolf. He releases the fireball which strikes Shadow Wolf hard, sending him careering into Scourge.
“Fools!” roars Scourge, as he dusts himself down, “I hand them to you on a plate and you still fail!”
Alvarez stands, “Silence! You would be dead if we did not aid you.”
The Majjai surround the three demons but before they can attack, Scourge flaps his wings again, but this time taking him into the air. He grabs Alvarez who has reverted to his humanoid form and Shadow Wolf. The demon soars above the rooftop of the forest, sending more branches crashing down, and disappears into the sky.
“Should we follow?” asks Ju Long.
Marcellus steps forward and stares at the sky to try and track their foes, “No, let them go, Scourge is too powerful in the air, and we have to let the others know of The Horseman.”
Atticus has not heard of this being before, he looks around at the others – apart from Kahn – who also appear to be perplexed. He looks towards Marcellus with a look Atticus can tell is foreboding, “Who is this Horseman?”
Marcellus sighs, “A being I hoped we would never need to encounter. You have heard of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse yes?”
Atticus nods.
“Well, they used to be five. The Horseman Scourge is referring to was called Vengeance. He was banished. He holds no allegiance, he acts more as a mercenary for hire.”
Khan interrupts. “Banished he may be, but he still holds the right of World Ender.”
“Yes Khan, you are right, he is a World Ender, a bringer of the End of Days, but he is weaker without his brothers. We do not know why he was expelled from the ranks of the Horsemen, but what we do know is that he still holds most of his power, and he walks the Realm of Earth, seeking souls to absorb in payment for his services. The older the soul, the greater value it holds.”
A breeze whips up ominously through the trees, as Marcellus finishes his sentence. The light is so low now that Joyce lights up a fireball so that they can all see. “We should head back to Spitfire, it’s late, there is not much more we can do here.”
The spring night air is still cold as winter attempts to hold on, not wanting to give its time away to the sun of summer. Atticus hands his cloak to Joyce to keep her warm, as Khan gives his own to Safaya. The girls both say thank you. Olof looks at Ju Long, who returns the gaze.
“Well?” Ju Long says as he waits for Olof to act.
“Well what?”
“Fleece please!”
Olof smirks before shooting a blast of ice, encasing Ju Long, and picking him up to take back to Spitfire.
“Oh man! Dude, it’s already cold! And you give me an Ice Jacket!”
“Always moaning my friend. At least you are not walking.”
Ju Long tries to struggle free from the ice, but soon gives up and accepts his fate of being a temporary ice statue.
A Majjai History, Vol 2 Chapter 5: Time Infinite:
Time is a very complicated thing. There are many things that are able to influence it in small ways, to slow time down for example, or even speed it up, but there are very few things that are able to truly manipulate it.
The Quantorbium, long rumoured to be lost, was one such object that could truly manipulate time. Enough as to allow a being to travel through it and not only observe the past and the future, but also affect change there.
The very fact this device was created – and you can read more about that in the revised edition of Myrddin’s History: Vol 1 – was regarded as a disgraceful act by many elder Majjai. They feared it would anger many of the Eternal’s, as they keep time in check through Time Infinite.
This state of time allows beings to read the history of the universe. But, history can be changed, as proven by the Orb, as can the future. The re-writing of time is taxing, and some have wondered if making even the smallest of alterations to the Prime Timeline (discussed later in this book), is to create a ripple of change so vast that the very fabric of reality could be torn, and would inadvertently destroy existence itself.
Time Infinite is a great unsolved mystery, we know of it, but as only Eternals are able to properly decipher the information within it, our knowledge of it will remain scarce. Perhaps that is a good thing.
Chapter 6
The Mecha-Knights
Professor Morgan rattles the knocker to Elric’s chamber, he is nervous already, and has spent the last five minutes pacing the hallway, concerned about bringing more stress to his friend’s attention.
“Enter.”
The Professor opens the door warily, hoping to find Elric in a comfortable and good mood.
“Come in, Benjamin,” says Elric softly, sitting at his desk, his arms laying on its surface with his palms together. Looking down his nose towards Professor Morgan, head tilted slightly forward, he raises one hand with palm outstretched and indicates for the Professor to sit in front of him.
Professor Morgan walks in, and steps towards the chair, his footsteps echoing on the hard marble floor. He spots a cup of Earl Grey tea just in front of him.
“You pacing outside my office gave me enough time to make us both a cup of our favourite tea.”
Professor Morgan takes a deep breath of the perfumed aroma of the hot beverage; it calms him down and he is very thankful for it. “Elric, as you asked, I did a bit of digging on this General David Crawford,” Professor Morgan takes a sip of his freshly-brewed Earl Grey, he feels it is rather necessary to maintain his composure with the news he is about to unfurl, “His service record is quite exemplary. After he left Wysardian Manor, he joined a Territorial Army division in Bedfordshire. His skills and drive were noticed, and he was accelerated through the ranks. Expert pilot, expert at hand-to-hand combat, intellect in the top ten percent. He singlehandedly took down a terrorist cell while he was out shopping and spotted something he felt was odd – he was unarmed at the time – and he now works for a division of the government that even MI6 does not know exists. For all intents and purposes, we are dealing with the best of the best. How we stop him, without bringing more attention to ourselves, is beyond me.”
Elric ponders for a moment, “Maybe we don’t stop him. Maybe we give him exactly what he wants.”
“What do you mean?”
“Perhaps Atticus was right. Maybe it is time – how much longer can we hide, Benjamin? Razakel is after the scrolls, and it is getting too taxing to hide the remnants of the latest battle at Aria. My own life is no longer going to outlast those I surround myself with. It is difficult, but the torch will need to pass to Atticus fully sooner rather than later, and I fear he will not be ready to face both a battle against the non-Majjai threat as well as the demon threat.”
Professor Morgan takes another sip of tea, “I understand my friend, but we should talk to the other elders first.”
Elric nods in agreement, “Those talks can begin tomorrow. We have visitors coming.”
“Visitors?”
“Mage Marcus, of the Mecha-Knights. He and some of his members are arriving.”
“Interesting, they do not often mingle with us. What brings them?”
Elric looks through the window as he spies Spitfire returning from Ennerdale Forest. “I asked them to come. Barmak may hold the key to the Scrolls of the Pharaoh.”
“The soul of Spitfire?”
“The very same,” Elric responds solemnly. “But also the soul of my friend.”
The Majjai Six and Marcellus can be he
ard running through the corridors towards the chamber. They burst through the door with some haste, almost falling over each other. Ju Long brings up the rear and nearly succeeds in toppling the group onto the floor.
“At least I knocked,” titters Professor Morgan as he hears the commotion behind him.
Elric raises his gaze, “What is the rush my friends? Did all go well in the North?”
Marcellus pulls himself from the group of Majjai, “Not quite, old man. Scourge ambushed us with Alvarez and Shadow Wolf. We defeated them, but they managed to escape.”
“Pity, we’ll need to keep tabs on those three – they are quite dangerous – Shadow Wolf especially. He is unhinged, judging from the reports of what he has done to the Burrows family.”
“Elric, there is something else.”
The attention of both Elric and Professor Morgan is fully attained, with the pair both looking attentively towards Marcellus. “What is it?” they both say in unison.
“Razakel has engaged the help of The Horseman.”
The Majjai Six, Professor Morgan, and Marcellus all wait for a response. But Elric is silent.
Atticus looks upon the master Majjai’s face, he has never seen this look of worry before, “Sir, are you ok?”
Elric shakes his head as one does to wake from a trance or a day dream, “Are you sure? This does not bode well. The World Ender does not ally himself to any side… what could Razakel have promised him?”
Khan speaks up, “The Horseman only wants for one thing: the end of days.”
“Yes, but the end of days is not only for humanity, dear boy, it is for the demonic realm too, everything within our plane of existence. It is not your fairy-tale biblical story. It is greater than that, and more final. His brothers would not allow it, I’m sure.”
“Well,” says Marcellus, “he is involved; it is only a matter of time before he shows, and we need to be ready for him. He is a powerful enemy. Possibly as powerful as Razakel.”
The young Majjai look at each other with concern, and then towards Elric.”
“Come Marcellus, let us not scare the children. Take them home now. We have a very busy day tomorrow. Visitors are coming.”
“Very well,” Marcellus ushers the Majjai out of the room, closing the door behind them.
Professor Morgan stands and makes his own way to the door, “I’ve not seen you this worried before, my friend. This Horseman, he is not the worst we have faced.”
Elric places his hands beneath his long silvery beard and under his chin before leaning forward, elbows perched and resting his head upon his newly-constructed support, “No, he is not the worst, but it is what he brings with him that concerns me. The links to Marcellus; there is a bond between the Horsemen of the Apocalypse and our friend, I’m sure of it. The only way Razakel can hope to control a negative outcome with his allegiance to the Horseman is to have a contingency.”
“But what possible plan could he have to counter such a being?”
“Well, since your research into General Crawford was so exemplary, I have something else for you to investigate.”
Professor Morgan enjoys these little investigations, even if the outcome of them is sometimes ominously troublesome, “Do tell.”
“Have you heard of the Amethyst of Al Hammad?”
# # #
Atticus wakes early, Joyce managed to heal everyone’s injuries from the encounter the night before on the way home, and he is thankful for her assistance in ensuring there are no bruises or aches, but the lateness of their return has taken its toll. The tension of missing another moment to see how Joseph is coping adds to his growing stress. Atticus tries to shake it off and sits up, propping his pillow against the bed’s headboard.
He checks the time and gets out of bed, the new rug on the floor tickling his toes as his feet burrow into it, its thick pile feels warm and helps to welcome in the morning. Even on this tiring Monday, it manages to soothe Atticus, but the relief is slight, and nothing more than a façade.
He showers and dresses quickly for school. As he opens his wooden door it has that same creak that Sophia was always pestering Joseph to fix. At one point after Sophia’s death, Joseph was going to mend it, but both he and Atticus agreed not to, as it served as a nice reminder of her. The list of things they decided not to change is a long one, but in the light of how Joseph has been acting, Atticus wonders if it is time to start making that list a lot shorter.
Joseph appears to have already left for the day and Atticus eats a quick breakfast before preparing to leave for school.
The weather is unpleasant as he peers outside. The rain splatter is constant, hammering into puddles. Atticus grabs an umbrella before heading out. He is almost tempted to ignore the ‘no teleportation’ rule and snap his way to Wysardian Manor, but relents. He has not perfected this mode of transportation yet and fears sending himself well off course, he remembers disturbing a baker at the supermarket once as he was pulling out the day’s fresh bread – he only got away with that one by pretending to request one of the loaves to be sliced, all this, with the baker’s face looking like he was wondering how he got there in the first place.
It doesn’t take long to reach the manor, the rain has hastened Atticus’s pace, helped by the eagerness to find out who these visitors are that Elric had mentioned the night before.
“Atticus!” Olof bellows. “This way.”
Atticus spots Olof just beyond the main gates, he catches up quickly, noticing something rather odd about the large Dane as he approaches. His hair is bright pink.
Olof recognises the stare as he has encountered it several times already this morning, “Ju Long thought it would be funny to add hair dye to my shampoo. He will be suitably punished in good time.” He hands Atticus a small object as he finishes speaking.
Atticus guesses what Olof has handed to him, trying very hard not to laugh at Olof’s new shade. For those times when the Majjai have had to miss classes, Elric had devised a unique method of substituting the gaps with a modified thought crystal. It gives the user knowledge, filling them with the lessons of the day. Atticus and the other Majjai have found them most helpful, especially due to all the demonic activity this past fifteen months. It appears that Razakel had not only sent demons for the battle; but also sent many more through the portal – the Slugs, Draygoyles, and Screamers that General Crawford had referred to –while the fighting was going on. It has meant quite a few clean-up operations as the Majjai hunted demons causing havoc across the globe.
Atticus places the thought crystal to the side of his head and closes his eyes, still sheltering under his umbrella from the rain. The crystal melts in quickly. It doesn’t take long before the rules of calculus and the day’s science lessons are imprinted into his mind. Atticus wishes learning the Majjai abilities would be this easy, but Elric refuses to use the thought crystals in this manner, as it does not balance well; the element of control cannot be taught in such a way.
The two make their way through the main doors and head directly towards one of the larger Majjai training halls. The other Majjai Six members are already there, and in the middle of the hall all of the chairs have been moved away to make way for Spitfire, who sits, engine idling, waiting patiently.
“Why are we here?” asks Ju Long.
“To meet the group of people who created the vessel for Spitfire.”
The Majjai Six swing round to see Elric walking in with Mage Callan, escorting six curiously-dressed Majjai. They are all wearing some sort of silvery fabric, but as they get closer it looks more like some form of tightly-woven chainmail. On their wrists they have what appears to be keypads and screens, the ones on their left arms are longer, with the screen portion almost covering the entire inner area of their forearms. They are all also wearing some form of cape, again, metallic, but black, with a thin red line along the edges and velvety-looking hoods.
“Mecha Knights,” whispers Khan to Atticus. “This will be interesting.”
Atticus turn
s to Khan, “Why?”
“Spitfire doesn’t really like these guys.”
“But, they saved him didn’t they?”
Khan continues to keep his voice down, so as to stay well out of earshot of the new arrivals. “To a point; even though he does not fully remember his time as Barmak, he feels that that is the fault of the Mecha Knights. He once feared they care more for their technical advancements – and that he was merely another of their experiments.”
Spitfire revs his engine hard. “Why are they here?”
Elric intervenes before Spitfire becomes too agitated. “They are here to help, old friend. Let me introduce you to the new High Elder of the Mecha Knights, Mage Marcus.”
The tallest of the Mecha Knights steps forward and drops his hood back towards his shoulders. His hair is long, down to his shoulders, and is a deep, dark black. He raises his right hand to his chin, caressing softly a noticeable scar, “Good day, my friends; please, do not treat us as guests, we are family. Allow me to introduce my companions: Majjai Kayban, Majjai Wilson, Majjai Julius, Majjai Simaska and Majjai Rafael.”
The Mecha Knights step forward as their names are called, Mage Callan counts their number before turning to Mage Marcus. “Were there not two more?”
“Yes,” replies the Mecha Knight leader. “They are running a little errand; they should be here shortly,” He turns towards Spitfire and walks slowly towards him. Spitfire growls and snorts, ejecting a small jet of fire from his exhausts. “Easy there, we are not like the others; we are here to help you, here to fix you, and hope to give you back your memories.”
Spitfire stops revving his engine and stays still. “To what purpose? Why do you care?”
Elric decides to assist, he steps forward and pulls up a chair to sit next to Spitfire, “The very last mission I sent you on, dear friend, back when you were Barmak, was to seek the scrolls. Your last communication to me was that you had found them. You know of the dangers we face – with the addition of the Horseman to the fray, the more knowledge we have, the better the chance of saving this realm. Now, you know that I will never force you to do something you do not want to do. If you say so, I will not allow this to happen; we will try to find another way, another clue.”
