Jasper was the first stranger who had entered this island alive. They worshiped him as an ambassador of the gods, and they told me that he taught them the words. The words were probably from the ancient writings that he had obtained on the island, but Tybalt wouldn’t even let me into the vicinity of these scripts. It was not that he feared that I could destroy them; he just didn’t have access to them himself. He said that the bringer of words sealed the door of the temple before he disappeared. None of these people knew how to open the door, but he expected a solution from me. Lucia, Aton and Isaac were also in this city, but they were held captive as Aton seemed like a monster to these people.
They told me that I could see my friends on the next morning, but I had to attend some festivities before that, as they wanted to honour my arrival. I didn’t care for these festivities, but these people knew no one except themselves and so it was only natural, that even a person like me seemed special to them. They called me Albus, which was an old word for white. They said that their belief dictates that there were once seven heavens for the seven kingdoms.
They knew a lot about the world in which I grew up, and taught me the words that Jasper had once taught them. The heavens were divided into seven colours - red, yellow, blue, green, purple, white and black - each standing for the power of the kingdom. But the origins of this faith were founded in a time long before the foundation of the seven kingdoms themselves - in the age of the old gods. Before our world fragmented, dragons lived in this world and they were the elect creatures of the gods. Once they should have ruled the world and the seven heavens. But there were two sides, the side of the black dragons, the dragon kings and the side of the white dragons, the born-again.
Only one side would win this conflict and at the end rule over the kingdoms of the gods as their true heirs. But as the world fragmented, the dragons died and the knowledge of the gods was lost. Now the titans became the keepers of knowledge, until they also perished from this world. And now, where there were only simple people left who could guard this knowledge, they feared that the dragons would rise again.
I couldn’t really believe any of that, as it became clear to me that I never really had received this bottle. Even though it was still in my possession, it seemed to me as if my mind played tricks on me just to give a meaning to everything around me.
Tybalt and his disciples were brave people who were just waiting to be finally freed from their knowledge, but now that I came to this place, I did not know whether I wanted to be the person who would free them. The dragons were dead, if they had ever existed, and their descendants have surely followed. This knowledge was now only a danger for the humans of this world.
But before I would be allowed to see the entrance of the temple, I had to deliver a speech. It was expected of me that I preach the words that Jasper taught them. All the people were wearing wide and long robes and they had put on masks that depicted the head of a dragon. They played loud music, the drums gave a wild rhythm, and the fire in the middle of the large square was burning just like before and lit the night.
And even though this city seemed to never sleep, I never saw someone on the streets outside. Tybalt however took my problems rather lightly and decided to forbid any further questions, at least until the ceremony was over. They had set up a platform, at the end of the steps of the temple, for the speaker. Large parchment scrolls written in illegible fonts were lying on the ground and should be read out by me. This must have been the knowledge that Jasper gave to the born-again.
I skimmed the texts, while Tybalt presented me a white robe. He asked me to put it on, despite me being observed by thousands of people. The mask that he wore however was terrifying enough to accept his simple request. I was unsure what the robes had been made of, as I couldn’t fell the material on my skin. I felt more than uncomfortable with the feeling of absolute nudity while delivering a speech to a foreign audience; however, I was left with no choice.
They adored me because of my white hair and truly believed that I was one of their born-again dragons. As I was given the first passage, the music stopped and all people knelt down. At the same time the drums stopped also and for a moment I had the feeling that the fire changed as long as the drums were not playing.
The text was difficult to read and although the people were waiting for me, I wanted to first understand what I was going to say. The text had been translated and knowing Jasper he had probably left out the most important parts. These words came from a book that they called the Heritage of the Dragons. It noted that the words should only be spoken by a dragon priest and that they were dangerous enough to be afraid. I swallowed, inhaled deeply and put a smile on my face as last postponement, but in the end I was forced to speak these words, even if I was not a priest.
“The blood is power and the born-again will arise from it. Where the black dragons once swept over the country like large storms, there we will see the rays of the sun and the tears of grace. The rain of healing will wash away the blood of kings and the floor will be nourished. On this ground, the born-again will settle down and they will distribute their seeds all over the world. And now speak the words,” I read, and the drums started from the beginning.
The beats were louder and the rhythm faster and the people stood up and cried out: “We shall rise again, we will kill our enemies, and we will take and drink their blood, so that the world is clean again. We are the born-again, the masters of the seven heavens.”
When I heard all of them speak with one voice and when even the stone under my feet trembled from their power, I understood that I was not seeing a simple island’s nation, who guarded the ancient knowledge. It was an army that was waiting to be unleashed, but I had no idea why I was the one to lead them.
Chapter 23: Jasper Lawrence
An explorer, adventurer, scholar and an unknown was the man to whom I once dedicated my life to. But the days that passed faded, while the present illuminated the way before me that seemed to be hidden by the mist of the future. I asked myself whether Jasper saw in me the same as these people. Was I truly some kind of re-born? Or was it simply my otherness that made me the centre of attraction, or at least made me look like it? They gave me a house, away from the city, and they still denied me the right to see my friends. Everything seemed like a dream, a horrible nightmare from which I could not wake up. Tybalt was of ruthless nature and with every meeting my impression that I was only a prisoner for him became more and more established. He firmly believed that I knew the secrets of Jasper, and he wanted to know everything from me. Maybe I was just too passive, yielding and anxious, but the experience on this island made me yet another person.
If I was not re-born before, so I was when I came to this island. There were so many things that I couldn’t understand, but how should I, if even the great Jasper Lawrence grew desperate with them. Beings, alive since thousands of years ago, could in my opinion not exist.
You would notice them, or they would have to hide. But I was sure that no one could bear the pain of an almost endless life and easily endure it, it would destroy their soul. But precisely this mystery, that Jasper had sought for his entire life, had cost him, what he had too little of. The message of the stranger, the dreams in which I urged to find the secret knowledge and to destroy them, the wish that everything would stop, they tormented me day after day. I could not sleep, I could not think, I could not even cry. Lucia had lost her emotions and in the night when my fatigue finally granted me sleep, I looked into her eyes and I saw nothing but endless frost. The captain had awakened something inside of her that has always been there, but should have never been roused.
Jasper had been afraid that it would be I who would once destroy her, but in the end I would be the one to save her. That I promised, not only to her, not even to Jasper, but I promised it to myself. This should be the act that would deliver me from my sins, and that brings upon the light, and no more shadows. These people who hold me hostage were not well in spirit and their intentions were p
robably the darkest of which I had ever heard and yet I had no other choice than to follow them. It took several weeks, but with time came also the feeling of everyday life. I became increasingly indifferent and soon felt no qualms to do just about anything. They called me Albus, gave me the finest white robes of the city and saw me as a model of change and forced me to spread the words. I had become their warmonger, and I started to like it. These people saw me as something special, and even if their intentions were awful, so was the feeling to be worshipped the best I ever had.
Every fourth day, I believe, they brought new wood to the fire at the grand square. The people hold the belief that if the fire should ever go out, the dragons would arrive and destroy the island. Using fire as a protection against dragons and using the black liquid as a sacrifice to the gods. Every week, two people were sacrificed the exact same way as the pirates before. Now I knew that they killed these men because they would have killed someone anyway, and hadn’t I been shackled and blind it could have been me instead. I was still afraid that the captain would sneak into my house at night, but it was probably more likely that he had died in the dark forest. Tybalt had some stubborn tendencies, above all, his poise, which clearly showed his almost endless selfishness and narcissism. Everyone should fear him, and he wouldn’t let anyone forget that he was the leader.
He was a typical barbarian, and he wanted me to be the same. He saw in me a prophet, and he saw my white hair as a coat of arms for the born-again. I wished that my father was able to see how these savages carried me proudly on their shoulders, wanting to hear of my wisdom, even if I never had what they’re looking for. They wanted to be sure that I was on their side before they would allow me to see the gate to their temple. And I wondered why all that was left of the former rulers of this island, the titans, was their temple. And even that had been lost to a stranger faith.
I could take a glance at the massive gates during my speech and I was unsure as to how Jasper had managed to seal it off.
Many questions had still to be answered, and when I thought about it, I still didn’t know who Jasper Lawrence was. He had never enjoyed an education and even in his home town he was seen as a controversial person. Most called him a daredevil, a charmer, adventurer or charlatan. But when I looked at what he achieved, I was sure that he didn’t just fake his knowledge. He was an influential man, and yet he made nothing from it. Neither his daughter, nor his home country he could protect.
The search for knowledge has never been safe, because for some it could be an annoyance what you find out. But the death of this man had hardly been deserved. Even that of my father hadn’t been.
For the people on the island death was a natural process; almost so natural that people looked forward to it. This sacrifice which they made, struck me as brutal and unnecessary, but for them it meant the re-birth. They believed that each week two of the born-again had to be sacrificed to nourish the ground and protect the island from the dragons. The words that Jasper taught them, weren’t just based in this faith, no they encouraged them to go further. Soon, they would want to leave this island and bring the knowledge out into the world. Jasper had acted wisely and initially prevented them from doing so. But the seal that he cast onto the door of the temple should now be broken by me, because the knowledge wasn’t secure in the hands of these people any longer. The time had come to redeem the born-again, even if they would not voluntarily disband.
Killing them however was not an option since they were far superior in terms of numbers and were always prepared for an attack. But I could make them believe in my words which constituted a far greater power to people like these. As long as they thought that I spoke the words of their gods, they would follow me and they would even abandon what means everything to them. And even if I was wrong, I would have been ready, to die on this island as long as the knowledge was destroyed in the process.
But at that time I had still not seen the true extent of what Jasper Lawrence had planned, and even if I had, I still lacked the faith to believe the things I saw. Some plans were simply too grand to be understood by a single glance.
Chapter 24: Entrance to the Temple
It took four months, estimated on the basis of little lines that I made in my improvised calendar, to finally get to my friends. They were sick; Isaac was nothing but a skeleton. Next to him was his barrel with the elixir that presumably up to this point in time must have been almost completely exhausted. Lucia could hardly recognize my face, but Aton showed no change. Thousands of years he was previously locked up, and so he hardly noticed such a small period of time.
“Iago is that you? Will you free us?” asked Lucia with trembling and frail voice.
“They have caught me, but they believe that I can solve the mystery of your father. Finally I have been allowed to visit the temple, and I believe that only Aton can open it. I have already tried to convince them to set you free, but unfortunately they do not listen to me. Even if it sounds hard, I ask you to be a little more patient.”
“Patience? We are no longer alive. For weeks we haven’t spoken to each other, just to preserve what little strength we have left and they only give us the most necessary things, so that we can barely survive. We thought that the pirates have killed you, but now you are here in the clothes of these barbarians and want to tell us that they have also caught you? If you are really our friend, then you would not hesitate. Free us, or keep away from us,” she replied and her strong cough almost broke some of her ribs.
The dark chamber, in which they were held captive, was overrun with spider webs and the smell of death. Rats were crawling around everywhere, and not a few of these animals had already died. It hurt me that I had to be the one who seemed to cause all this again and with time the people no longer doubted this to be true. I was one of the born-again, even if only for a few weeks. And the people, who should mean the most to me, became of almost no importance at all, and I understood that now.
Therefore I left them behind and made haste to meet up with Tybalt, who to my surprise wasn’t accepting to meet with me. He was currently in search for new disciples for his inner circle which normally meant that he was using the younger girls of his people and made them false promises.
My attention was therefore given to the door of the temple again, as I seemed to have made quite the progress in the last couple of days. Many of the symbols on this door weren’t very old and it was almost as if I could see the handwriting of Jasper in them. I did not know how he did it, but in the middle of the door was an area in the size of a hand. This hand was not ordinary, because some of the fingers were on the wrong side. In addition there were a large number of symbols on these fingers, which in turn formed short sentences. If you read them from right to left, they said: “The Word; Water is life; fire to smoke; air unstable; carry to earth.”
I was not sure what these words meant individually but I had the idea that the hand of Aton was large enough to fill this imprint. He was the key, because we had to free him from prison. If he could tell me what these sentences meant then I could open the door. But first of all I needed to set him free. Tybalt soon came to the entrance of the temple and as always he was carrying his mask and an uncanny smile on his face.
“Progress, Albus? We expect the new victims soon, and we hope that the words will lead us. Behind this door is the key and I know, that the bringer of words has sent you because you are one of us.”
His words were numerous and incomprehensible, but his intentions were clearly defined. It was the death of my friends that he was alluding to. He wanted to see results and if I wasn’t able to present them I would be of no value to him.
“I think that I know how to open the door. I only need my friends, because I believe that they are the key. I know that they are,” I tried to convey, but the look of Tybalt said everything.
“We will see if they really are as important, as you say. There’s always tomorrow, but the day after - who knows. The gods require of us that we rise, because the
dragons do not wait. They will try with all their power to claim the knowledge for themselves. Then no one will ever be safe again, not even your friends. Think about that Albus, and don’t disappoint me again,” he said and put on his mask.
The dark face that it showed was hardly more terrible than the hypocritical man behind it, but my body shivered in fear every time I saw this mask. Something bad would soon happen on this island and I had felt it now for days. The sacrifices were made ever so frequently and often times the rules were forgotten. The people laughed and glorified this dreadful spectacle, almost as if the end of days was fast approaching.
No one wanted to watch it anymore instead a foggy darkness infected their hearts and shrouded the meaning of these rituals and even I could not escape. This place was so nefarious but if also offered my soul all the things which it had longed for. No laws, no rules, a mere longing for fulfilment. But the price for this fulfilment was high and with time I had understood that my friends paid it.
Realizing that, I had planned to put an end to all of this at today’s festivities. I didn’t want these people to live a life without remorse any longer. They should see what was behind the dark walls, and they should choose whether it was right or wrong. As always they waited until it was night and accumulated a lot of wood for their great fire. It was never cold on this island and real darkness was unknown to these people. The darkness, which I had always lived with in fear, seemed to not exist at this place. Nothing except the dark forest, which almost entirely vanished in thick fog, was there for the people to remember what true fear meant. They lived without consequences and without the love for life. They loved what they did and fulfilled every desire they could ever have, but they couldn’t understand the value of these things.
Ultimus Thesaurus: The last Treasure (Era of Change Book 1) Page 12
