They knelt before the goddess of fate and destiny.
"My goddess, what brings you here today?" Ember asked while facing the tiled floor.
"It is time for me to get involved in your activity," Arkana said, her voice echoing.
Ember looked up at her and said, "It is an honor, my dear goddess, but I must ask why?'"
"Do you object, Ember," Arkana replied.
"No, it's just that...you once told me that you must not get involved," Ember explained. "You said that you would not reveal our future if it is to come true."
"Yes, I stand by what I said, but there is another demigod I must confront."
Caim
The day after Akielas had left Kazenolumos Caim had an impulse to search for that old tome. A book he had not taken seriously before, but now its pages haunted him.
On his tiny isle that floated a half mile away from Kazenolumos in the sky, his Effeelion friends challenged him to a tabletop game called Fongmuh Zanzuzu, which was Xaianese for Mountain Bird. Three Effeelions were sitting with him, playing on a round table. Davir, a tan blonde-haired Effeelion; Megdee, a brunette olive-skinned girl wearing an orange gown; Vidian, a brown-haired boy wearing a green cardigan with a turtleneck underneath.
The game board was square and took most of the table space, marked in a grid with fifty squares. In the center of the board was the summit, the victory spot, and all over the board there were smaller summits that were one to four inches high. Each player had three pieces and they had to get all their pieces to the center summit for a victory. Each player could only move their pieces one square per turn and, along the way to the summit, they would encounter other player's pieces and would have to push their pieces back using aeromancy. To use aeromancy the player would have to flip a golden coin and, when all three coins were flipped, he or she had to wait three turns to recover their aeromancy and use their coins again.
Caim never lost at this game, but the Effeelions always challenged him anyway. The only time that he lost was when he played against Kazemee. She was the only one that could outsmart Caim when they played one on one.
Today Caim won once again and placed his third piece at the center summit.
"Five times in a row," he pointed out. "Well, you three need to come up with a better strategy if you want to take me down."
"How did Lady Kazemee outsmart you in this game?" Megdee asked.
"Even us three could not win against Caim," Davir said.
"I think Caim is cheating. He is a demigod after all. Maybe he can read our minds and know our next move," Vidian complained.
Caim laughed and pat them on the head. "It would be an unfair game if I could read minds. You three were not so easy tag teaming against me. It was three on one."
"Well, I am not giving up," Davir said and pounded the table. "Let's play again."
"I apologize my pointy eared mates, but I must go to the library," Caim excused himself. "I have something very important to research. You may stay here and continue playing if you like."
The three Effeelions continued their table game, resetting the pieces to play against each other.
Caim flew from his island over to Kazenolumos and ascended to the third level. When he reached the dome, he entered through an open window then landed gently on the marble tiles. Some members of the council were chatting while the twins played Mountain Bird in the corner.
Lord Nehushine giggled at Kazemee's jokes, which Caim thought were awful and tasteless. Lord Tweng and Tortori were drawing on scrolls with feather ink. Caim approached Lord Nahushine but his presence did not get the elder's attention. The demigod cleared his throat and Kazemee winced at him.
"Do you not see that we are talking," Kazemee said unpleasantly.
"Do you not see that I want to ask a question," Caim argued.
"You two are worse than a pair of gulls fighting over leftovers," Nehushine joked. "Caim, my son, what story do you have for us today?"
"Son?" the demigod questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"You are like a son to me," Nehushine said. "I am over five hundred years old after all. I see all of you as my children."
Caim scratched his head, suddenly feeling awkward. "I am flattered...umm...sir."
Nehushine and Kazemee laughed at him. Sometimes Caim forgot that Lord Nehushine had a sense of humor. Perhaps I am the one lacking humor, he criticized himself.
"My lord, I would like to look at the Grimoire of the Sky. Do you know where it is?" he asked politely.
The two council members looked at each other then back at Caim. "And why do you need it?" Nehushine asked.
"My lord, I do not need to ask permission to use the grimoire," Caim said assertively.
"You know how protective we are of the grimoire," the council leader said. "You can use it, but be extremely careful with it and do not take it outside of this level."
"I know sir."
"Come with me." Nehushine beckoned and stood up. "I will show you where it is. I had to keep it safe. Some of the younglings snuck in here and took it without permission not so long ago. I became concerned and hid it within our libraries. It is the last copy of the Grimoire of the Sky and it would be a tragedy to lose it."
Caim followed the leader of the Effeelions. Just beyond the crescent moon-shaped platform, there was a glass covered pedestal where Caim last saw the grimoire. No one but the council of seven ever touched the tome.
Nehushine glided to the bookshelf that was ten feet high and even had stairs to reach books at the top. Between two shelves Nehushine approached a wall made of zeustoss. He placed a hand on the wall then chanted, "Aerophos Glyph." An illustration of an hourglass glowed on the wall. There was a clunk behind the wall and it began to open, moving inwards then to the left, revealing a private library. They entered the chamber and Caim saw the grimoire on an ivory table. The universal symbol of air was carved on the marble walls, a spiral with four swirls illustrating wind.
"There once was a boy who lived with us, just like you," Nehushine said. "He spent countless days in this room reading the Grimoire of the Sky. The boy was a student of Kazemaru Aiyama, who was one of Prodigus Kollos' apprentices from ancient times. One day the boy reached a higher level of enlightenment and left this realm. We Effeelions believe that he may have reached the realm of light."
"Interesting. What was his name?" Caim asked curiously.
"His name was Siddhartha," Nehushine answered. "When I meditate in this chamber, sometimes I can hear his voice whispering the words of the grimoire, as if his will has remained here, yet his spirit flies in Elysious, the paradise of light."
Hearing the story of this boy put a smile on Caim's face for some reason. He felt as though it was the story of a friend he had not seen in decades. He walked toward the grimoire, pulled up a chair and sat at the table. The cover of the grimoire had an illustration of open skies. Caim placed his hand on the cover and felt the maju of its authors. "Kazemaru Aiyama and Meili Song," he whispered. "This book contains their maju. A part of them still lingers within the pages of this grimoire."
"When you are done, leave the book right where it is. Do not take it out of this chamber," Nehushine demanded.
"Understood sir," Caim responded.
Nehushine exited and sealed the hidden entrance to the chamber. Caim was left alone with the grimoire.
The demigod began to browse through the pages. There were chapters with spells and how to cast them. There was an entire chapter dedicated to Aeramus, the dragon god of air and his siblings. There was one towards the end about summoning magic and the limbo, but what interested him most was the chapter on magical items. As he skimmed through that chapter he immediately paused when he saw a drawing of the Aero Cosmo Jewel. Caim had read this chapter before but he wanted to try something different, a skill that he had not tested.
The Grimoire of the Sky was written in the language of dragons using the alphabet of the Elves. Caim read a paragraph that he had read multiple times. The words echoed in his
mind but, for some reason, he could not comprehend them. Perhaps it meant something different during the time the book was written.
With the power of the eternity one can use the aero jewel to reach spaces where men are not allowed. Spaces that men cannot see with the naked eye or magic. Spaces where only those who hath eternity can reach. Only with eternity can thou open doors to new realities but only if thou can see those realities in the unmanifested. The jewel alone will not take thee to new realities. Thou must first awaken to the unmanifested within and then the doors will open. Find eternity in the unmanifested where all existence came from and thou will travel through many doors to realities farther than Necrovania and the realm of light.
"I don't understand it," Caim said to himself. "What in cosmo is the unmanifested? What is this reality that the authors speak of?" Then he repeated. "'With the power of eternity one can use the aero jewel to reach spaces where men are not allowed'. Where men are not allowed? I am certainly no man. I am a demigod." Caim continued reading.
Although the aero jewel can take thee to realities far away, it does have limits. To go into further realities, one must use all jewels. The jewel with the eternity of its brothers and sisters can ascend thee to unspeakable realities where men hath not walked. Combine thine eternity with that of the jewel and thou shall experience a reality beyond Odealeous.
Someday when all men hath reached enlightenment and all nonsense comes to an end, all men will see this reality and this reality will invite them. Surround thine self with those who hath reached a summit of enlightenment greater than that of men and with the jewel and thine's eternity, a door will be open to new realities. Remember to see that reality first in the unmanifested and then thou shall be able to see through the door.
It was an old language. Older than the common tongue. Older than Ozilanji, the language of the Elves. "Did Prodigus Kollos and his apprentices speak in such a way?" Caim asked the unknown. "It is difficult to understand. These words meant something different two thousand years ago. I assume that eternity means cosmo, but what is the unmanifested? Perhaps it's that which does not exist and yet, how can I see something that does not exist yet." Then it dawned on Caim. "By believing in it first of course. Yes...yes...yes...but wait, how can I believe in a realm that is not of this world?"
The Grimoire of the Sky contained everything that an air mage needed to not only master the element but also to know everything related to its element. Caim had read this book many times but this section interested him more than anything else. Caim believed that this was a small hint that pointed to what the Effeelions had been seeking for so long. The realm of Cosmus.
"The Effeelions believe in Cosmus, the god of all creation," he said. "And so do I. You don't need to see something to believe in it. I do not need to believe in a realm that I have not yet seen. Is this what the authors meant by the unmanifested? Eternity means cosmo and the unmanifested is the space where everything begins. The space where ideas arise. The space where everything that has no form then takes on a form...when it is manifested."
It wasn't until now that Caim began to understand what these old words meant. He had asked Nehushine and the members of the council what the grimoire meant by eternity but they could never understand what the unmanifested meant. "The space of no form, where ideas are formed," Caim repeated and the words filled his mind.
"Surround myself with those who have reached a summit of enlightenment greater than that of men and, with the jewel and my eternity, a door to new realities will open," Caim whispered with eyes closed, meditating on the words. He then opened his eyes and looked at the symbol of air carved on the zeustoss wall of the chamber.
"Could the door be a metaphor for portals," he questioned. "What if realities is the old word for realm. As in...a realm or world in which we live. A world that we accept as our reality. It is obvious that Kazemaru and Meili could see and understand something that other people did not. Why was the word 'reality' used to describe the realm? Maybe, like the Effeelions, the authors knew that people could only accept what they could see and capture with their senses. That was their reality, even though they had magic. So then those who used the aero jewel could open doors to new realities, meaning new realms. However, the aero jewel was always in the hands of the Effeelions. They have always been the keepers of the relic of Aeramus. The Effeelions, the enlightened ones...surround myself with those who are enlightened."
The answer was near, Caim could feel it.
"Nehushines said that there was another boy before me who had reached enlightenment and ascended to the realm of light," he said. "What if he didn't ascend to Elysious. What if..."
When he had that epiphany he closed the grimoire, placed his hand on the cover and prayed, giving thanks to the authors for writing the book so long ago. He then approached the wall from where he came. The image of an hourglass appeared on the wall, made a clunking noise then began to open. Caim exited the chamber and immediately sought Nehushine.
The old Effeelion was still chatting with Kazemee and again Caim interrupted them.
"Lord Nehushine!" Caim chimed in, coming between the two Effeelions.
"Will you ever stop," Kazemee complained.
"This is important. We need to try this at once," Caim insisted.
"Try what exactly?" the old Effeelion asked.
"I am going to open a portal and this time I will be able to see beyond the stars of Odealeous," the demigod promised. "I have an idea and it requires the Aero Cosmo Jewel."
"Have you forgotten what would happen if we remove the jewel from its domain," Nehushine reminded. "Our fortress will fall from the sky. The jewel is the reason why we live in the clouds."
"Yes, I know, but hear me, Lord Nehushine," Caim pleaded. "I can use the jewel for a short amount of time before the fortress begins to fall. I will open a portal and put it back in its place. I promise, everything will go smoothly."
"Smoothly?" Nehushine doubted. "And have you tried this yet?"
"You have helped me open portals before, but we could never see very far," Caim said. "The grimoire says, if we use the aero jewel, we will be able to reach realities that men have not touched."
"So, you came across that old verse," Nehushine replied and stroked his long goatee.
"Yes, do you not think that by 'realities' the authors meant realms," Caim deciphered. "And the word 'unmanifested' is a reverse for that which has form. I think what the old sages were trying to tell us is that within all of us there is a realm, a reality or some kind of empty space where eternity resides. Eternity meaning cosmo, which is infinite power. Lord Nehushine, I need all seven of the council members to lend me your consciousness so that I can open a greater portal to a realm much farther than that of Odealeous."
"Our consciousness?" Kazemee asked. "Are you crazy? How can we 'lend' you what is internally ours?"
"I will extract it," Caim answered.
His answer left Nehushine and Kazemee dumbfounded. The Effeelions had tried countless ways to find the realm of Cosmus, the god of all creation. They had astral traveled from the realm of light to Necrovania. They had searched every corner of Odealeous, from paranormal locations to the most bizarre lands untouched by men and haunted by spirits. They had spoken to the Lumnos, the beings of light from Elysious. They had spoken to Odiamus, the dragon god of darkness, but they received no clues or answers, only riddles in Dragiarg, the language of the dragons. They once gathered all the Valiarmos, including the Golden Sun, millennia ago but the ritual did not bring them closer to Cosmus. However, out of all their trials and errors, Caim knew that the Effeelions have never used a relic of the gods. They knew how sacred the cosmo jewels were and dared not harm their bearers. The Greamos with the emerald jewel, the Laguans with the sapphire jewel, and the Amaranth tribe with the crimson jewel. The Effeelions respected all life on earth, but Caim was willing to break some boundaries.
"You are willing to risk our precious fortress?" Nehushine asked.
"Think a
bout it. The Effeelions have been searching for a way to enter the realm of Cosmus," Caim replied, raising a fist. "You once told me that you assembled all twenty of the Valiarmos, believing that it would help open a direct portal to the realm of Cosmus. You once spoke to Thogemus, the dragon god of twilight, as day shifted to night and the dragon god would not reveal his secrets. Millenniums have passed and the Effeelions still search to their hearts content." As he spoke so passionately all the council members heard his words and drifted towards him. Caim saw the council of seven with frowning faces, as if ashamed or embarrassed of their failed attempts, then he continued. "After I became a demigod and was blessed by the dragon god Aeramus, you chose me to be your guardian and fellow philosopher. It's been sixty years living as a demigod and, as we enter a new age, the age of twilight, I say it is time that we do things a little different. It is time that we take bigger risks."
"We Effeelions approach our endeavors gently," Tweng said.
"You are asking us to sacrifice ourselves," Areira said, hovering near Caim's left.
"Although risk is required, danger must be evaded at all cost," Kazemee added.
"I understand what you all mean, but, has doing the same thing for so many years brought you any success," Caim responded bluntly.
"That’s hitting below the belt," Tortori replied, hovering near Caim's right. He had a pipe in his lips and puffed smoke, forming clouds shaped like dragons. "The human side of you speaks very loud with blasphemy."
Caim elevated five feet off the ground and looked down at the council. Nehushine had not spoken despite what the other council members had said about Caim's idea.
"Lord Nehushine, have you anything to say?" Caim asked.
"I agree with Caim," the council leader answered. "Sometimes we have a bias against Caim's human side but, perhaps that is what we need to make this possible. I saw what Caim's human side did when we were attacked by that Specter ten years ago. I trust both his god-like and human abilities. Perhaps it's risky, but that is not to say that we cannot manage our risk."
Spirit of Mages (Rift of Chaos Book 2) Page 9
