Ultimus Thesaurus: The last Treasure (Era of Change Book 1)

by Maximilian Warden

  Isaac didn’t know the truth and I wanted to leave it at that for the moment. His help had finally allowed us to understand what Jasper found and I knew that this gem was of great value for my unknown adversary. Under no circumstances could I allow him into the possession of this power, but the solution to the puzzle turned out to be harder than expected.

  Chapter 29: The Solution to the Puzzle

  It was the day of change. Lucia awoke from her nightmares and even if her soul buffeted and her body was weakened, she still knew just one target.

  “I will accompany you when you open the temple. My father did leave me this message and it has to be me who ends his journey,” she said and tried to get up.

  She was still too weak to walk alone, but each of my tries to prevent her from doing it failed miserably. Her conviction was so strong that she forgot what pain and loss had done to her. For her there was still hope, but for me this was only an attempt to displace the past.

  “If you want to join us, that is ok, but you should know that these people out there do not see us as equals. For them, I am only a tool and whatever rests behind this door they see it as their property.”

  Of course she was not interested in what I said, since she had already made up her mind. I therefore asked Isaac to ensure that her pride would not cause her any harm.

  He had read all these books, which had taken me many weeks and above all that, he even understood their contents. In his opinion Aton could not only transmit his own desires and emotions, but that he was also able to receive and process those of the people around him. He believed that Jasper had planned to use this ability in order to strengthen his own desires. Aton had used the power of the stone for too long and as a result the runes burned deep into his flesh.

  So we set up a small camp in the front of the temple and Isaac began with his experiments. First I had great hopes for a quick success, but a lack of progress rapidly made me doubt that we would ever reach the other side of this wall. Since the plan of Isaac stated that Aton could receive our thoughts he relied entirely on this idea. We were just standing there and thought about opening the temple. But even after many hours nothing happened.

  The people began to observe us and therefore it was not long until Tybalt would learn about it. All attempts of Isaac notwithstanding, the praying, shouting about and all the crying and begging did nothing to help us.

  “We should accept that he is no longer Thamyris. His powers are gone and Jasper may have simply not known it. He did make his own share of mistakes,” I said, but both Lucia as well as Isaac did not want to give up.

  They did however not search for an answer; they just became set on the idea that Jasper Lawrence could not be wrong. For me this door was closed and everything that remained, were the words on it and less those behind it. I touched the words on the door and noticed that they were moving. It was a bland shimmer, a light flickering like the withering light of an old candle. With my thoughts, I tried to reorder the symbols and with every touch I changed the image they depicted. Isaac could not see what I saw, but he noticed that I was close to solving the puzzle.

  “The truth is life, as fire to water is smoke, carried to the ground by the unstable air,” I said and the fingers of the stone hand imprint changed their position.

  Now we looked at a new puzzle, whose solution was immediately revealed when Aton ran past us and pressed his right hand on the imprint. A loud mechanical banging resounded in the interior of the temple and with a huge effort the door slowly moved to the side. Behind it we saw nothing more than pure darkness until the last meters of the door disappeared in the mountain, lighting up dozens of torches in the interior. We had done it, but the people of the island would soon find out about this fact. Therefore we rushed in, as fast as we could. The knowledge behind this gate was unimaginable. Many generations had accumulated it, because each wall and each pillar wore a font, riddled with strange symbols and glyphs. All told a story and at the very end of the long room there was the stone of power.

  It pulsated with energy and it was sending out a quiet but penetrating humming sound that hit us marrow-deep. Around it there were large statues. Jasper had send Lucia a small version of these. The huge sound crystals before us were undoubtedly a new message, but they were too heavy for anyone to carry them alone. Lucia ran immediately at them, but Isaac asked her to wait, since he wasn’t sure whether it was safe to activate the statues. The last that we had seen, disintegrated to dust as soon as it had delivered its message and he feared that this time not only the statues themselves could disappear. We should be prepared, as there was no easy escape from this temple, but Lucia had no further interest to care.

  The only advantage that remained was this moment of weakness, which gave us time, since Lucia alone was not in a position to activate the statues. Jasper had not only found all this technology, he also found a way to use it to his own advantage. These technologies, this knowledge, everything here was so old and yet he could bring it back to life. But I, who still couldn’t believe how he managed to open the temple, couldn’t do anything but stand here and wonder whether the message that we would soon be hearing, really was what I was looking for. I hoped to at least get the answers that I needed, because if this stone was not the treasure that we have been looking for at Jasper’s behest, where was it then?

  “We have no more time. Help me with the crystal, otherwise Tybalt will stop us all,” I exclaimed determined and joined Lucia in her struggle.

  I could still see the hate in her eyes, but also a hint of forgiveness, that I wanted more than my own safety. We heaved up the crystal on our shoulders and fixed it inside of the statue, which then began to shine. The air around it vibrated and it was as if the time in this room was blurring. When we finally also activated the second statue, it dipped the space below us in a bright beam of energy, whose heat touched my heart and made my mind foggy. Only when the light disappeared, we saw a man in front of us, made of flesh and blood, but whose life time had already ended. It was Jasper Lawrence, with a smile on his face he looked at his daughter who immediately flung her arms around him.

  “I am back,” he said and took a step back to the pedestal, on which the stone of power rested.

  He looked at it and he laid his right hand on the shiny surface of the artefact. Only with the strength of his thoughts he closed the temple and gave us more time. Tybalt was now no longer waiting for an invitation and since he shunned no kind of violence, my betrayal was only the last straw.

  “They are not able to open the door, but we have only little time. I need you to listen to me now, it is essential because this is the last chance that remains to me to save this world. I have made many mistakes, began to sacrifice many people in order to reach my dreams and now it seems almost as if a single life is not enough to make up for all that I have done. I am so sorry, Lucia. Only in the face of death I have understood my love for you,” he said and shed a tear, which slowly slid along his cheek only to de-materialise as if it had never existed.

  It was now clear that this was not really Jasper, but perhaps I finally understood the reason for our journey. The knowledge that this man found, had never left the temple because it was never in this temple. We found nothing more than a recording, a relic of the past that I so painfully urged to forget.

  Chapter 30: Messages of a Dead

  It was a moment just like another dream, a blurred and yet clear image of the idol, which I had lost. He seemed unnaturally normal for someone who was supposed to be dead and every word that he said put me in confusion. This man had been so much more than what those who knew him had ever seen in him. He had overcome death and now he spoke to us beyond time.

  “My plan has failed, I see. I have tried everything to get the news to you as enigmatic as possible, but he has again managed to beat me. I regret your loss, all of these deaths in our country. Perhaps it is my fault, because I could have told you from the outset that this is no ordinary treasure,” he said and touched the magic
stone again.

  “What are you saying? We have sacrificed everything on this trip, and done many things that changed us. Why would you not to tell us the truth? What knowledge have you found?” I asked him and the stone began to shine.

  “We do not have much time. I will show it to you,” he answered and took the stone into his hand.

  Every word that he said was set in motion and his every thought drew a picture, which became visible for us. He told us a story that was older than any human being.

  “When this world was young, there were beings of the greatest power. The name of these creatures was Omnii – they are what we call the gods. They had powers that allowed them to shape this world and the world which they created, was called Terra. However their children were born without any kind of power and their appearance and their spirit were dysplastic. Without the ability to evolve further, the gods decided to create a new being that they would call Draco - now known as dragons. These beings had great potential that has grown several times over the years and the gods bequeathed this world upon them. They forgot their own children and left them to their fate in the shadows of the large moon Iguar.

  At that time there was no sun, only complete darkness, which is why the malformed beings went even deeper into the dark shadows under the surface of Terra. The Draco increased in their numbers and took the rich soil for their kind.

  But after many thousands of years the original children of the gods had developed further. Their mind and their abilities were not those of the gods themselves, but they continued to challenge them and asked for the price of their origin. The gods were pleased with the wishes of their children and as final decision they started a war that should decide the true ruler of Terra. This war has lasted for many years and with every small step the children of the gods defeated the Draco. They took almost eighty percent of the surface of the earth and began to build a world empire.

  The gods however did not feel like their children had won, they could only see that they were too weak to sustain. They gave them the name Nani - and these were the same creatures that we know today as the dwarves. The Nani didn’t give up; instead they now started an uprising against the gods themselves. They built a machine that would help them to ignite the sun and thus they created and brought the light to our world. Angry with the violence that had been shown against the gods the Draco destroyed the machine and triggered a violent storm that would rage for many thousand years. This storm shattered the world in many small and large islands and shaped it, as we know it today.

  Only a few dwarves and only a few dragons survived the storm, which finally stopped when the dwarves rebuild their machine. The gods decided to leave this world and find a new one instead and they left a book in which all the knowledge of their life had been collected in. Only the dragons had the gift to read it and therefore the power of the gods was in their hands.

  The Dwarves were powerless and while they disappeared again into the underground, the dragons conquered the seven heavens. Each heaven awarded to a newly developed generation of dragons, strengthened and blessed by the secrets of the first book.

  There were the red dragons, known for their masterful talent in dealing with the fire and the light of the sun. The yellow dragons, whose impenetrable armour and speed were regarded as unbeatable. And then there were the blue dragons, who were lords of the winds and masters in controlling the air around them. It is said that a single wing beat of their kind could bring upon a swath of destruction.

  The green dragons, their wisdom and determination led to the biggest technological developments of their time. The purple dragons, whose gift was the manipulation of thoughts, and finally the black dragons, the so-called kings, bearer of all gifts, and thus in possession of everything I mentioned before. The last heaven, known as the exile, fell to the white dragons, those who possessed none of the gifts of the gods and their children were not considered dragons at all. They were just as cursed as the gods themselves and were therefore outcast.

  It is us who slowly developed many thousands of years ago from the children of the dragons and we are also the reason for the disappearance of all these species. The prophecy of the gods said that the white and black dragons are fighting and that only one of them can claim this world as their own. For this reason, the population was held down and every child in the white dragon population was killed at its birth. But many of them were hidden in the underground cities of the dwarves who still wanted revenge for the past. As enough children had been brought to safety, the leader of the white dragons stole the first book and gave it to the dwarves.

  He asked them to use the machine again and destroy the dragons once and for all. They ignored the risk that the rest of the world could also forever be destroyed and they triggered another storm. This time so few of the dragons survived that they could no longer fight against the dwarves. This was the beginning of our time and also the beginning of hatred that would grow over many thousands of years. The technologies of the dwarves allowed them to enslave many of the dragons and to keep them in their cities as animals. Only the black dragons were too powerful to be controlled and so they vanished in the shadows under this world which the dwarves once ruled.

  And the dwarves felt safe over the years and they had lost their fear which had protected them for such a long time. Without an unlimited life and without the knowledge of the book, it was impossible for them to protect their world forever. Therefore a final war began that would bring upon the end of the dwarven empire. Too proud and blinded by hatred they plunged into the darkness of the earth and lost everything. The last king of the dragons, Lowan brought the kingdom under his control and used the knowledge of the book in order to create new dragons. What he did not know was that the people who were the heirs of the white dragons, had a poison running through their veins that would soon result in the death of his entire kind. The human blood was used to destroy the dragons and allowed us to have the power that they had denied us for so long.

  Neither the dwarves nor the dragons could at the end of the war claim this world as their own and a cult who called themselves the born-again founded the Seven Kingdoms. The dragons and the dwarves took the western continent and lived in a continual conflict. And while humanity blossomed everything else began to wither away. Today there is only one living dragon king and he is the reason for my death.

  His name is prince Marko and even if his shape is similar to that of a human, so I can assure you that he is none. His hatred against our kind goes so far that he is ready to destroy this world only to fulfil the prophecy of the gods.

  I have brought you here, so that you will receive this message in safety. It was a difficult journey and more is still before you.

  The page I sent to you is a part of the first book and I have hidden the rest of it in a place that no one can get to; not even Marko. But now, because it is so far away, we no longer have a choice. This stone should ensure that the knowledge gets to you safely, but its power is now depleted and therefore its benefits have ended. I had believed that Thamyris could recharge it again, but the magic of the king of Atlantis seems to slowly leave this world. All the agony that I forced you through and the trials you faced won’t have been in vain, I promise you that.

  Jacob is a special young man and he will be the key to this fight. Your home, your passion, your faith to achieve greatness and the doubt that the world had in you, are the reason for Marko’s interest in you.

  He tried to take everything from me and his anger knew no bounds. I did what I did and I protected my family with all that I had, but in the end my own depravity was too much to bear. This weakness of a human being is the reason why he does no longer see us as dragons. However you have survived and now you will change. Your humanity is everything that will stay and the faith in your heart will protect you. Take the stone and ensure that Lucia is safe. You are the last white dragon, the protector of this world and the only one who can stop Marko.

  Even if I regret many things tha
t I have done over the years, I believe, that I have achieved enough for one lifetime. The love to my wife and my daughter, had always given me hope that somewhere out there everything is possible. But this light of hope casts a shadow on the world which could soon drown it in darkness. Many have tried to rise against Marko and neither technology nor magic could stop him. Now the time for a decision has come and I think that you know what is right when the time comes. Mine however has now expired and I feel that as it slowly devours me.

  Go back to the place where you have found me and take the ring from my finger. He will give you the knowledge to reveal what the gods gave to the dragons so many years ago. Only Magnus Doyle is able to read it and I know that you will find the solution to everything when you hold the treasure in your hands. I regret that I can’t tell you more, but he is already closing in on us.

  Jacob, Lucia I would like to thank you and I ask you that you never forget who you are. Your friendship is the bond that holds this world together.”

  But before Jasper could finish his sentence, the door of the temple opened up and the stone in his hand floated away.

  The man from my dreams was standing at the gate and looked at us with his glowing ruby red eyes. He took the stone into his hand and the image of Jasper disappeared. The armour that he wore was coalescent with his body and dark sharp scales covered him from head to toe. He was the last dragon king, prince Marko.