by M K Drake
The stage is covered in a smoky mist. The remaining Majjai in the hall clamber to the top of it and wait for the mist to clear. Before them lies a man dressed in a frayed dark grey sleeveless karategi, and no shoes, with smoke sizzling off of his body. On his belt is a sword, that looks almost exactly like Atticus’s own Sword of Ages.
Elric looks over this being who has fallen through The Void, and turns to the others in disbelief before uttering in a fearful tone, “Kazmagus!”
The Scrolls of Kazmagus: Catalogue Translation ID 234.63: Hearthstone remnants:
The rumours of the cradle appear true. We have found the final remnants of the hearthstone that contained the creation and shaped our existence.
It matches the stone for the third sword of power, and must be kept from Razakel at all costs. His armies grow, and his lord Asmodei still plagues our lands with his attacks. Where is Kazmagus? We do not know, but he leaves us to fight these battles on our own without aid. I fear he is either lost, or is disinterested in our survival.
The seer staff has given us some hope, the Majjai Six will aid us one day. Until then, the hearthstone of creation must be kept safe.
Chapter 10
Allegiance
The night sky is still humid and hot above the desert sands of the Sahara, close to the Egyptian borders. The moon is high and bright, casting its light over the motionless wave-like dunes. The Horseman rides upon his steed, treading softly over the delicate ground, breaking the small grip that the grains have on each other with each step. The World Ender is not here to merely bask in the moonlit sky; he has another purpose. To meet with those that would offer their services to aid his quest. What name they will choose to address him plays on his mind, he goes by so many: The Horseman, The World Ender, but only a few know of his real name of Vengeance. He feels confused as to his path with so many titles; regardless of this confusion, he will win these days, and carry out his plan. He ushers his horse forward to get a better view.
The sand falls away, but the large, grey horse’s footing is always sure. Vengeance notices a new entrant into this conflict with a feeling of some foreboding. The earlier battle with the Majjai Six barely flexed him, but they still escaped somehow; however, it is not the perpetrators of that action that he now senses, but something else. Something is trying to escape The Void, and appears to have succeeded; he gives it till the morning before the escapee reveals himself.
The soft plodding sound as the hooves of the grey horse meet sand is disturbed only by the faint breeze that occasionally makes itself known, welcomed by the few small creatures that make the desert their home. They scurry to avoid being trampled on by the Horseman, creating their own little tracks in the sand, which fade quickly as the grains slip away.
His heavy cloak is unmoved by the breeze, its weight is such that it is not affected by such trivial forces. And it relieves the cold he feels, no matter the surrounding temperature. He desperately needs a soul, but will not take one out of hunger. His sense of honour while on the planes of the Earth realm is heightened. He knows his brothers are forever watching him, and he must act honourably, within their own instructions. He cannot kill the chosen one, but he wonders if he can effect his death. Will humanity care? To him, it seems that humanity cares very little over its own miraculous existence. A billion galaxies containing billions of stars, yet they flourish within this miracle by causing death and destruction and inviting the demonic entities into their world, they meddle with time, kill for meaningless things. Trinkets, land, a piece of paper, wealth, greed, jealousy. Do they deserve this world, the life they have been given by the order of the cosmos? Are they even aware of what exists beyond their lands? The elders and angels have all tried to educate humanity, but mankind twists all that it is given to them, those with goals other than betterment deform morality. The message is always lost.
Movement behind him disturbs the Horseman’s thought. A shadow that follows but has no owner skulks over the moonlit dunes until it pauses close to him. Shadow Wolf rises from it, solidifying into reality from the darkness. The Horseman looks towards the demon with a degree of nonchalance. Unmoved by the beast’s ability, he sniffs the night air. “I could smell you coming from quite some distance. The moon’s light showed your path. For a master of shadow, you are quite clumsy.”
Shadow Wolf snarls for a second, before another look quietens him. The Horseman is an imposing being, and can strike fear in the heart of the bravest. He clenches the reins of his horse before addressing Shadow Wolf again, “I thought there were more of you?”
The demon points upward as Scourge, carrying Alvarez, blots the dark blue canvas of the night sky, the beast gliding downwards on giant wings to the desert surface.
Scourge lands with a deep resonating thud, sending a cloud of sand into the air. “Forgive our tardiness, my liege. I was delayed to receive final words from Lord Razakel before departing on the journey.”
“And what did he want?”
Alvarez slides from Scourge’s back and dusts the sand from his thin cloak. “To ensure we understand that you, my Lord, are in charge here, and that we are to aid you with all of our abilities and knowledge. He also has word of the Scrolls.”
“Do tell.”
“The Watchers, they have the location. We tortured one to near death and then forced him to watch us torture his wife. He soon talked,” Alvarez speaks with glee with this news, almost salivating, wishing he had been the one to have actually carried out this act. He tries hard to control himself and not turn in to his beast form, gifted to him through the cocoon of enhancement by his master, Razakel. “The group leader is near, in the capital city of the lands of Egypt.”
The Horseman looks towards the borders, they lie in the distance, the light from the nearest city twinkles faintly on the dark horizon. “Then to the city we go.”
The quartet take to the sky, with Shadow Wolf jumping onto the back of Scourge alongside Alvarez.
It does not take them long to traverse the night and reach the city of Cairo. The Horseman leaves his steed on one of the taller buildings and floats down to the ground, staying within the shadows.
Scourge transforms back to his humanoid form as Professor Snugglebottom. Shadow Wolf melts back into his silhouette, while Alvarez disguises his demonic features by using his cloak to cover his head and arms.
The Horseman’s bulk does not aid him well in matters of stealth, so he follows behind the others, allowing them to take the lead, and ducking under any canopy or corner he can find that will disguise his presence.
The city is quiet, save the odd taxicab that passes by with its horn beeping for what appears to be no apparent reason, a common trait in Cairo. As they near a main road, the number of cars sounding off increases, causing a multitude of loud, out-of-tune notes, almost as if a child is hammering down on all the chords of a piano randomly.
“We should be more discreet out here; we do not want to alert the Majjai to our presence,” the Horseman says, and beckons the others to take a more discreet path through the alleyways, hiding from view.
A pack of rats are raiding one of the bins down the next alley our collective group of unearthly beings navigate through. They stop instantly, sensing the evil presence, and scatter, squealing into the night, knocking down some empty boxes in their haste. Shadow Wolf emerges and points to a tall residence at the end of the dusty, backward, narrow street they are on. As they walk further down the street towards this building, the cacophony of horns lessens in volume, replaced by distant chatter from behind closed windows and curtains.
Shadow Wolf leads the way up the wall with the Horseman again taking the rear, grabbing the stone work as they haul themselves upwards and causing some of the brittle exterior of the building to crumble downwards. One of the windows slams open to have a look outside, Shadow Wolf hides the group by forming a veil of darkness over them. The curious human looks around, and upwards, but can see nothing of interest, and shakes his head as he moves back inside and close
s the window.
A few more meters and the dark ensemble finally reach the level they are after.
Alvarez sniffs the air. “Hmm, I smell someone familiar here, her scent. She is the mate of Mage Callan.”
The Horseman scoffs. “Then, my friends,” he says mockingly, “It appears we have arrived.”
Scourge takes that as a signal and crashes through the window. There are about ten Watchers in the room, Serenity amongst them. They scream loudly as some try to make for the door to escape, but Shadow Wolf is too quick for them. He flies over to block it, and snarls loudly at any who come close to him. The Watchers gather in the centre of the large room; Serenity holds them back, trying to shield them from the demons.
“How dare you enter here, the Majjai will destroy you if you dare lay a hand on us. Mage Callan will take your heads!”
The Horseman enters the room through the gaping hole that Scourge has created. As the dust settles, the Watchers are silent as their eyes discover who the demons have allied with.
“Good. So, you know who I am. You Watchers are a special breed. Honoured by Angels, and therefore, you will be treated well.” The Horseman has known of many a Watcher that has arisen to angelic status. It is seen as a just reward for sacrificing themselves to protect the realm, not just for humanity, but for all living things. However, he is also fully aware that too many deaths without souls rising to their keeper, be it dark or light, would alert his brothers, which he cannot allow to happen.
He moves towards Serenity, his footsteps heavy, thudding against the wooden floor. “However also know this: if you do not give me what I need, your ascension will be… accelerated.”
“Why are you here Horseman?” Serenity asks, trying to sound as strong as possible.
“You already know. I… require the Scrolls. The Pharaoh’s Scrolls.”
“What makes you think we have them?”
“Do not toy with me, human!” the Horseman roars loudly, his voice reverberating around the room, such is his power, causing a powerful gust of wind to bounce all over the walls throwing glasses and small plates to the floor, shattering.
Alvarez sniffs the air again, and steps towards the now cowering Watchers. He approaches one in particular, and smells his skin, hissing into the air after each intake of breath. This Watcher is quite well-dressed, a smart half-sleeved shirt, he is slightly balding but still well-groomed with a light, well-kept beard. The Watcher tries to avoid all eye contact, but Alvarez does not relent and pulls him from the group by his arm. The Watchers scream again, a few try to pull their friend back, but Alvarez is too strong and does not even feel their efforts. He delivers the Watcher to The Horseman, “This one my Lord. He has the scent, he knows.”
The Horseman looks the Watcher up and down. “Your lineage. You are aware of what we seek?”
The Watcher nods fearfully. “Y… y… yes. But, I… I cannot tell you.”
The Horseman snorts, he is almost impressed with this show of courage, but he knows how to break a man, “Really?” He puts a hand on the Watcher’s shoulder, and as he does so he shares a vision of the Watcher’s family. “Ah, your name, it is Abe…, you have a family. A son, Solomon. I shall send Shadow Wolf to visit him.”
“No!” Abe screams, “You will not touch him!”
Shadow Wolf snarls and yelps in the air, excited about the impending order for new blood to be spilled. “Let me go Master! I will cut this filthy human and his spawn.”
Abe looks towards the demon and then back to the Horseman, his body shows his resolve crumbling at the very thought of harm coming to his boy, and he succumbs to the duty of a father, to protect his child. “It is guarded. By a…”
“No Abe! You cannot!” another of the Watchers screams, she steps out from the group, “You will sentence us all to death!”
“Silence!” shouts Scourge, and throws a blow towards the Watcher trying to dissuade their captor. The Watcher dodges and Scourge’s fist crashes into the floor. Another watcher tries to flee, and runs towards the door. Alvarez springs forwards and with one slice of his claws cuts the escapee across the midriff, she drops to the floor instantly.
The Horseman, angered at the shedding of blood, bellows to the entire room, “Enough! You wish to ignite the wrath of Angels? You fool!” He steps over to the fallen Watcher and kneels down. He places a hand onto her head with his face sullen as he senses her life force slipping away. “I am sorry, Watcher, the wound is mortal.” He closes her eyes as she sobs and places his hand on her chest. As he does so a white light begins to shine outwards. “Your sacrifice will not go to waste; however, I’m sorry, but I cannot allow you to inform the heavens of what has transpired. Your soul is mine!” The Horseman sucks in the light, drawing out the fallen Watcher’s soul. He takes only a moment to absorb it fully and breathes deeply as he is re-energised.
The death of the Watcher sends the demons in to a frenzy, they howl into the air as the remaining Watchers stare in disbelief.
Serenity tries to calm them, Abe stands silently, glaring at Alvarez.
The demon continues to laugh before turning to the Horseman. “Take them all! The souls! Ha! We have a soul-taker in our midst. This is what our King promised you, I see? Souls of the dying. We can give you more!”
The Horseman is disgusted, he questions the worthiness of allying himself with these demons, but he knows his own ends have their means. This is one of them. “No. I only take what I need. Interrogate him, this Abe. Then restrain them all. Use any torture you deem necessary, but do not kill them.” He thinks it best not to inform his allies of the true reason that these souls must be kept with their bodies.
The Horseman steps back, and observes the demons do what they most enjoy: causing pain and misery. After a while, he looks out through the one remaining intact window and sighs, “For the end of days.” Then his eyes widen at the realisation of who is trying to escape the Void, “Kazmagus is coming.”
The Majjai Journals:
Wow, that was certainly interesting. Ju Long is the Dragonheart. I thought he was cute before, but to learn he is this being of myth, of honour, well it is certainly alluring. He is so funny, when he is actually able to talk.
Joyce said he is usually much more talkative, that they usually can’t shut him up. Anyway, we shall see what happens.
Right now I’m really worried about Spitfire. The core crystal containing the soul is what concerns me most. I’m sure I can repower his main power source, but without the crystal being sufficiently energised, I’m not sure what point it would be.
I wonder if a new housing would work?
I will consult my brother, he will surely know of a way, or at least be able to point me in the right direction. I promised Spitfire he would be ok, and I aim to keep that promise.
Oh and Atticus, wow! He is awesome! Definitely something there between him and Joyce, that is certain, but who wouldn’t be at least a little bit attracted to the Chosen One? I’ve seen the little posters in the lockers of some of the Majjai girls here. He is certainly popular. But there is also a lot of confusion inside of him, almost as if he himself does not believe.
I’d be really interested in analysing this white magic he is rumoured to possess. Khan mentioned that white magic was used in Aria, and Atticus actually managed to blast Razakel back through his portal – that would be amazing if it is true. I wonder if it is on any par with the fusion reactor we have been trying to harness, or even surpasses it.
Now, if only I could fit that reactor onto a craft to get it here. That would surely be enough to re-energise the soul container.
Maybe I could persuade Ju Long to help me, I’m pretty sure dragons have amazing muscles, he could carry it over. Ha! Who am I kidding, he must have a girlfriend, I’ll make sure to ask Safaya about this sometime soon.
Pali Kaur
Chapter 11
The Sword of Al Amir
“Hurry, we must get him to Madam Healsey!” Elric shouts to the other Majjai. They are all sti
ll standing in disbelief, staring at Kazmagus. The magnitude of the event only now begins to relent and their senses are beginning to kick back in. It’s the smell that hits them first. The Void reeks of sulphur, and the mist that has just dissipated smells strongly of it.
Kazmagus remains motionless on the stage with steam still rising from his muscular body. His exposed arms are riddled with battle scars and healed burns, his karategi attire is torn in some places but still held together well, save for the frayed areas around the shoulders.
Everyone is locked into a shocked state. If Kazmagus has just escaped from The Void, it is an unprecedented act. Nothing has ever escaped the clutches of this prison, no Majjai, no demon, no gods.
Professor Sprocking moves to the unconscious Kazmagus first. He touches his shoulder and then checks for a pulse on Kazmagus’s neck. “He is alive, but cold, extremely cold,” he says, and looks towards Elric. “How is this possible?”
The old Majjai moves next to Professor Sprocking. “I do not know. This has never happened before, and if this is truly Kazmagus, and he found a way out of The Void, then he is even more powerful than we could have imagined.” Elric touches Kazmagus’s hand and closes his eyes. The others can see his eyes moving fast underneath his eyelids, the motion is side to side at first, then accelerates into random directions before opening again, widely, “He is not alone in there; quick, Khan, Olof, carry him, we must get to the medical room now!” Elric orders as he stands and moves away to make room.
