by Pedro Urvi
“Father, we must leave. There is no time to lose.”
“I will not be able to. Save yourself. Save your mother and as many as you can.”
Adamis looked around him. The fighting was chaotic, heart-wrenching. The casualties were piling up. Explosions and elemental missiles were coming from all sides. Rock and marble were exploding. The chamber was surely going to collapse. It would not withstand that kind of battering.
And at that moment, as if it were following hard on his heels, the lethal mist arrived. He looked up through the broken dome and saw the cloud pass over them, spreading out towards the Second Ring. Under its shadow the mist descended and penetrated every opening. A few moments later the entire chamber was enveloped in the poisonous substance. The fighting stopped. Warriors and Lords of both sides stared at the strange phenomenon in bafflement. The dampness and bitter taste reached Adamis once again. With heavy sorrow in his soul, he knew they were all doomed.
“I am sorry, Father…”
Laino seemed to read what the mist meant in his son’s gaze.
“Is it the end?”
“Yes, father,” he said helplessly.
“In that case, before I die I need to tell you a great secret.”
“You can trust me. Although nothing you might tell me matters any longer.”
“Even so, I want you to promise you will respect my wishes.”
“Always. Father, what are your desires?”
“You will bury me in my temple. I am the last of the Five High Kings. They are already resting in their temples. I too wish to rest there for all eternity.”
Adamis nodded repeatedly. “I will do that, Father. You have my word, I will take you there.”
“Thank you … now listen, it is important that you should know this. We, the Five High Kings, made a secret pact. A pact to live and rule forever. We built a great secret chamber where we spent a long time experimenting with hibernation. And after many failures, we finally succeeded. We discovered how to hibernate and come back revitalized, rejuvenated, able to rule for another thousand years. It took us an eternity, but in the end we succeeded. More than once, in our frustration at our failures, we came close to destroying the Chamber of Hibernation, but we did not give up. We completed the project. We took the technology to our funerary temples so that no one would suspect anything. We would be buried with all honors, but we would return.”
“I know this, Father…”
“You know? How is that possible?”
“I followed Asu the night of your last secret meeting. He was spying on you. He found out everything, and so did I.”
“That explains… many things.”
“Do not worry, I understand what you were trying to do. I never wanted to rule. I would have supported your plan.”
“Thank you… we swore an oath not to confide in our heirs, in our Houses. The greed of the Golden… the risk of betrayal… was too high.”
“Yes, I know. Among us it is boundless. I know that very well.”
“Exactly. That is why we decided not to trust our own people to bring us back in a thousand years once we were hibernating in our mortuary temples. Everybody was to believe we were dead. I created a system which would avoid our having to trust the Golden to wake us up when the day came.”
“A system? I do not understand…”
“Before I tell you, you must promise me you will not judge me.”
“I am no-one to judge your acts. How were you going to wake? Who would do it?”
“This will surprise you: slaves. Hybrids, to be precise.”
“Hybrids?” Adamis repeated incredulously.
“Yes. We experimented on them in the utmost secrecy. For a long time. Not even Notaplo knew. Hybrids with Power, the ones Notaplo called an exceptional anomaly, are really hybrids born of our seed, the seed of the Five High Kings.”
Adamis was shocked at this. He could not believe what his father was telling him.
“But… but that means… and those poor human women? I cannot believe it.”
“They did not suffer, I can assure you of that. The seed was implanted artificially. They were not even aware of it.”
“It is an outrage!” he cried, with Kyra’s image burning in his mind. “That does not make it acceptable!”
“No, but it was necessary. The women were none the worse for it, and they were taken good care of.”
“That is no excuse!”
“I knew you would not approve of it, which is why I never told you.”
“It is absolutely unacceptable! I do not understand how you could lend yourself to such an act, much less that it was your own idea!”
Laino gestured at the corpses of the warriors around them. “I was trying to avoid this.”
Adamis closed his eyes and shook his head. The wickedness of it overwhelmed him.
“You have to understand my reasons… a war between the Houses was approaching all the time. I wanted to prevent the death of thousands of our people.”
“Even so, Father… we are not Gods, even though we might have thought we were. We cannot play with the lives of those less powerful.”
Laino nodded, with tears in his eyes. “I see that now… I realize my mistakes… our arrogance… All my attempts, however well-intentioned, have failed. War has come, and it has destroyed us. Asu will lead his surviving Golden to a destiny of horror… I ask your forgiveness for what I have done.”
“It is not me whose forgiveness you need to ask. It is men, all the slaves.”
“It is too late for that. I need your forgiveness before I leave for my eternal rest. Forgive me, son, for this, for having condemned you, for all my mistakes…”
Adamis took a deep breath. He did not want to forgive him, since what he had done was unforgivable, an inexcusable abomination. But he was dying, and he loved his father. He felt he must grant him the rest he begged, even though he did not approve.
He took his father’s hand in his own. “You have my forgiveness.”
“The slave… Kyra…”
“Yes, father, tell me.”
“Her father was Oskas… he came of the seed of High King Gar, of the House of Fire.”
Adamis nodded. “I see. And Kyra’s mother?”
“Another Hybrid with Power. Born from the seed of Edan, of the House of Water.”
“Why allow the mixing?”
“The larger the number of descendants, the greater the guarantee that they would come to wake us on the appointed day. At this moment there are two generations of Hybrids with Power born of the seed of the five high kings. First there were five, now there are still very few of them, a dozen, but there will be more, for the seed will be passed along with the blood of men. In a thousand years there will be a good handful, and the strongest, the ones in which the Power is most latent, will answer the call. That is the system I created.”
Hearing this, Adamis thought of Albana. She too was a Hybrid with power.
“Albana. Which House?”
“Albana is of our House, the House of Ether.”
“Only that? She is not mixed?”
“She is pure.”
Adamis nodded.
“One more thing, my son,” He moved his hand to the Royal Medallion of Ether which hung at his neck. “This medallion is imbued with great Power: not only mine, but that of every single one of our people. It represents the House of Ether, it is enchanted so that it will defend its bearer. To defend the High King in case his rest is perturbed. Only one worthy of our House can wear it. Each one of the Five High Kings has one, and they have been enchanted in the same way.”
“I understand. I thought it was just a jewel, that its value lay in what it represented, in who it identified: the High King of the House.”
“No, it is much more than that. Far, far more… it is very powerful.”
“I see.”
“Everything is written down in two sacred books: The Book of the Sun and the Book of the Moon. These Tomes are the key to th
e system I created. They look like mere log books of knowledge and facts: they contain a great deal of information about our civilization, our Temples and Portals, our Power and Abilities, our history and significant events up to this moment. But hidden among all that information is something more important… Whoever knows what to look for will be able to discover my system in them. In them I have stipulated the manner and the time for summoning the Hybrids to wake us.”
“I understand… have you used hidden spells, as was done in the old times?”
“Exactly. Both books are enchanted. I used much of my Power for it. Everybody uses discs now, but I used the ancient methods.”
“So these books are the key to understanding your system.”
“The books and the Medallion of Shadows.”
“The Medallion of Shadows? What does that do?”
“It watches from the shadows. It is enchanted and imbued with the Power of the Five High Kings. It will watch over our rest so that we run no risk. If we should do so, it will summon the Hybrids with Power so that they can act. It is the watcher which will prevent betrayal, or else some natural or chance disaster, before the day of awakening.”
“I see you left nothing to chance.”
“I was always good at thinking,” he said regretfully, “although not good enough to save my people.”
“Do not blame yourself. Nobody could have foreseen this.” Adamis was thoughtful. An idea began to take shape in his mind. An unlikely idea: surely it would not work. But perhaps… what could he lose? They were all doomed in any case. The enemy army attacking in front of them, the toxic cloud above and the Royal Portal which was not working. The idea took shape more strongly in the face of his despair. And who knew? Crazy though it might be, it could even work. I will try it anyway. We are already dead. I have nothing to lose.
“Where are they? How can I find them?” he asked urgently.
“They are hidden and guarded by three Guardians: The Guardian Priest of the Sun, the Guardian Priest of the Moon and the Guardian Priest of the Medallion… so that they do not end up in the wrong hands. I will tell you where… my strength is failing me…”
Adamis embraced him. Laino whispered the location to him.
“Are the three there now?”
“Yes. I sent them as soon as the attack began. I wanted them to be safe.”
“How can I use them? How can I find the hidden passages and spells?”
Laino explained, and with his last breath, the last trace of life left him and he died in his son’s arms.
“Thank you, Father,” Adamis said, and wept for his loss.
Part of the wall crumbled, and several Warriors of the House of Fire leapt in over the rubble, hurling fireballs as they came.
“Block the gap!” Teslo cried to his men. “Keep them back!”
Adamis called the Priest, who was waiting alert a few steps away.
“Take him and follow me. We will take him to his Funerary Temple, as was his wish.”
The Priest nodded and gently took his dead Lord in his arms.
“The High King is dead!” Teslo cried, and raised his sword.
All the Warriors and Lords raised their swords.
“Long live Adamis, the new High King of the House of Ether!” Teslo proclaimed.
“Long live Adamis!” they all shouted, and fell to their knees.
Adamis looked proudly at them. “Rise and fight, my faithful ones! For the House of Ether! To the death!”
“For the House of Ether! To the death!” they cried, and returned to the fight.
Adamis addressed his Champion, who was soaked in blood and sweat.
“Teslo, I need you to gain some time for me so that I can evacuate as many as possible.”
“At your command, my Lord.”
“It is not an order… it is a request…”
“You are my King. I live to do your bidding.”
“Thank you, Teslo, but you know what I am asking you.”
“Yes, your Majesty. I will give my life for my House. For that I was born, for that I became a Champion.”
“Thank you, Teslo,” Adamis said, and clasped the massive shoulders firmly. “Thank you.”
“Go, your Highness. We will hold out as long as we can.”
Adamis shot a last glance at his brave followers. All the Warriors and Lords still alive were fighting with all their Power. None of them would come out alive. He took a deep breath and exhaled. He had to go on; there was only the remotest of chances. Followed by the Priest, he headed off towards the palace cellars.
“Where are we going, your Highness?”
“To the First Erudite’s chamber of knowledge.” To Notaplo’s chamber.
Once in the crystalline chamber, he smiled at the countless memories it brought back to him. Beside the House of Ether’s translucent monolith of knowledge, he saw two Erudites. These were Notaplo’s disciples.
“Come closer,” he called.
“Yes, your Majesty,” said the elder of the two. “How may we be of service in this grave hour of need?”
“When I was a little boy, Notaplo let me play with him here.”
“I remember, your Majesty.”
“Then perhaps you may remember that Notaplo let me “escape and explore the world”?”
“Yes, your Majesty.”
“Do you know how he did that? Could you replicate it?”
“I believe I could, your Majesty. My master endowed the monolith with this capacity. It has its own source of Power so that its use would not be detected. It is a secret known to very few.”
“Luckily I know it, and I can remember it. We are going to “escape and explore”.”
The Erudite nodded and began to operate the controls of the monolith.
Adamis turned to the other Erudite. “You: go to the Royal Chamber and look for the Queen Mother. Tell her to bring all the survivors here. Quickly. The enemy is about to break our last defense.”
“Right away, your Majesty.”
Adamis gazed at his Father’s dead body in the Priest’s arms.
“We will give him the royal rest he deserves.”
“Where, your Majesty?” the first Erudite asked.
“My Father’s funerary temple.”
The Erudite nodded again and went back to working on the monolith. Brilliant golden lights in the form of rings ran along its surface. Suddenly, with the monolith in the middle, as if it were part of it, there took shape a golden sphere, six feet high. A moment later it was filled with something like liquid silver.
“It is active, your Majesty,” the old Erudite said.
The Portal gave out flashes of silver.
“Priest, do you know your duty?”
“Yes, your Majesty. I am a Guardian Priest. I will watch over my Lord’s rest. Nobody and nothing will ever disturb it.”
Adamis bowed to the Priest, who crossed the Portal with the dead King in his arms.
“Goodbye, Father…” Adamis murmured. He felt a great void and a pain in his chest. He put his hand to it and remembered the Royal Medallion of Ether. It had gone with his father. He thought of going to get it back, but there was no time. He had to save his mother and the others. If he ever needed it again he knew where to find it: in his father’s coffin in his funerary temple. He wondered whether the other High Kings had been buried with their jewels. Yes, they must have been. That is what they planned, and that is how they will have been buried: with their medallions, in their Funerary Temples, with their Guardian Priests. Except that they will not return from eternal sleep as was their wish. None of them. The plan did not work. I am sorry, Father.
He turned back to the old Erudite.
“I want you to create another Portal. The biggest and most powerful you can.”
“Very well, your Majesty, but it will use up all the Power of the Chamber of Knowledge. We will not be able to use it again.”
Adamis nodded. “It is a one-way journey. There will be no return. There will be no m
ore journeys for us.”
“Very well. I will get it ready. It will take me some time.”
“Hurry. Once they are all here, we must go.”
The refugees started to arrive. Golden from the Houses of Water and Ether filled the corridors and the chamber of knowledge. After them waited the Golden of the Houses of Earth and Air. When the Queen Mother came to Adamis he told her what had happened to his father Laino. Her eyes filled with tears and she knelt before her son.
“Long live the new High King of the House of Ether,” she said with bowed head.
“Mother, it is not necessary…”
“But it is,” she said. “I, as Queen Mother, kneel before you and swear fealty to you, my son and new High King.” All watched this, then they too knelt. Adamis was impressed.
“Please stand, I beg you.” He took his mother’s hands and helped her up. “Are they all here?”
His mother’s eyes were filled with a deep sadness. “All those we could gather together. There are not many of them. The others are dead.”
Adamis sighed. “It is all we can do.”
He turned to the old Erudite. “Is it ready?”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Activate it.”
The Erudite operated the monolith of knowledge, and an enormous portal formed around the artifact. A golden ring held it. Inside it the silver surface which formed it began to vibrate and flash. The translucent monolith was transferring its Power to the Portal.
“Forward! Everyone! Through the Portal!” Adamis ordered them.
The surviving Golden of the four houses began to cross, with Adamis spurring them on to go faster. They did not have much time. The forces of Asu’s army were on the point of entering. The last refugees crossed the Portal, and Adamis insisted that his Erudites cross before he did so himself.
He heard a terrible explosion from the floor above, and knew that his people had died. The last line of defense had fallen. His Mother was waiting in front of the portal.
