Spirit of Mages (Rift of Chaos Book 2)

by A. J. Martinez

  He landed inside on one knee with his fist striking the ground, causing it to crack. He looked around and his fists shook. The roof was destroyed. Many scrolls and books had been burned and the platform was flipped over and broken into pieces. It was a debris of marble, granite and alabaster. He noticed that the large circle on the floor had descended, meaning that one of the Specters was already in the chamber of the aero jewel. He gazed down the cylinder and, although he could not sense the Specters, he was sure they were inside.

  Caim heard someone groan under the debris. It came from around the broken platform. He glided over the rubble, looking for the person under it. It was not one but two. The Luna twins were injured. Nova Linda and Nova Luna. Twins that had lived to be three hundred and twenty years of age. Caim used his cosmo magic and elevated the rubble, digging the twins out of the debris.

  He grabbed them both and brought them to his bosom. Dust and blood were smeared on their faces, their tunics tattered. They coughed and slowly opened their eyes. Caim could still hear their hearts beating.

  "Please live," he said. "I know I am a demigod, but, I don't have the power to bring loved ones back from the dead, so please live, just a little longer."

  Linda coughed and her lips spread into a gentle smile. "We have done...all...that we could. Please...save...Kaze...no...lumos..."

  Luna's heart had already stopped, then Linda's heart surrendered, and the twins died in his arms.

  "No, please," Caim begged. Something painful seethed within him. "Linda and Luna. You were my favorite ones, whenever we went hunting for knowledge. I have always loved how you two were..." For a moment he was not sure what it was. His eyes were warm and moist. Then a wet drop trickled down his cheek and his throat constricted. For the first time in sixty years, he shed a tear.

  He placed the twins down on top of a table where the council would read scrolls and covered them with a sheet. "I will make this right," Caim whispered.

  He went down the cylinder that passed through all three levels of the sky city. It was dark and a long way down but, with his speed, he reached the bottom in a few seconds. He glided through an archway and at the end... there it was...

  The floors were covered with rose quartz. The ceiling had gold protruding from it, and shards of diamonds jutted out from the walls. In the center of the chamber hovered the Aero Cosmo Jewel on a heavenly pedestal. The jewel was oval with three curving shards rising up and shaped like feathers. Within the jewel it looked like a sky frozen in time. The only vile view in the chamber was Jairo and Hertha standing before the remnant.

  "Just like old times. Don't you remember?" Jairo said and gestured at the jewel, spreading his cloak open.

  "Yes, I remember how I stripped you of your magical abilities," Caim replied. "Just how did you recover your magic?"

  "Sorry, that is exclusive," Jairo answered. "If you want to know, then you will have to join with us."

  "Don't make me laugh," Caim said. "Joining you would be like living in the darkest pits of Necrovania. You have no respect for the living things of this world, yet you claim to want to save Odealeous."

  "Suddenly, you care about the world when what you really want is to use the jewels," Hertha added. "Hypocrisy, it is common amongst you air mages, claiming to be spiritual. You are holy one day, then you kill the next."

  "Even the most peaceful of creatures must know how to defend themselves when tyrants such as yourselves try to take what is not yours," Caim replied. "You think ridding the world of magic is the key to balance, when what you are actually doing is destroying Odealeous. Your part in this story will end in more than just blood. Do you think that the creators will allow such imbalance in the world? You are not doing this for compassion, you are doing it for greed.

  "What do you know about us?" Hertha bellowed.

  "Calm down," Jairo said, pulling Hertha by her cloak before she lunged for Caim. "Can't you see that he is trying to use your anger against you. As a demigod, Caim knows human emotions more than you think. He is trying to make you become emotionally compromised."

  "Ah, I see," Hertha said as she settled down. "I almost fell for it."

  "You are all still children in my eyes," Caim lectured. "You plan to rule the world, yet cannot even control yourselves. You are nothing but a bunch of spoiled brats dropping your feces on the very plate you eat from."

  "Say whatever you want but you know it is over," Jairo said and chuckled. "We now have three cosmo jewels. There is nothing you or Akielas can do to stop us."

  "According to what Akielas had told me, you are simply reinventing his original plans to rid the world of magic," Caim said mirthlessly. "The world is in deep trouble if children like you rule, with your abandonment issues. You simply seek approval from your father and wish for him to tell you how much he loves you."

  "You geezer haired looking shite!" Hertha rasped and lunged for Caim with her staff.

  Caim opened a portal and sucked her in with an air vacuum. Hertha fell in and, as the portal closed, her battle cry faded.

  "Now that she is out of the way, it is your turn," Caim said.

  Jairo rapidly released a cloud of black smoke from within his dark cloak. Caim rushed forward and, when he tried to grab the Specter, Jairo had already disappeared and the aero jewel was gone as well. The three nude female spirits on the pedestal vanished and all the gemstones in the chamber lost their rich colors and turned to dull grey rocks.

  "Damn it," Caim cursed. "Out of all things, I always fall for that trick."

  Caim returned to the dome, flying up the cylinder from which he came. He ascended over Kazenolumos and already saw it dropping gradually as it lost maju from the aero jewel. He tried to detect the Specters' maju but, for some reason, he could not feel their presence anymore. "Those staffs must be doing something to hide their maju and cosmo," he concluded. "I can't even sense the cosmo energy from the jewels either. If they can hide from me, then they can hide from Akielas as well, and it looks like the master is not doing so well either. This is not good. A mage that cannot be detected even by me is too dangerous."

  "Caim!" he heard Nehushine's voice from below. Tweng and Tortori followed Lord Nehushine on clouds. He looked at the three Effeelions. Their clothes were tattered, their beards were singed and full of ash and debris. Sweat drenched their brows and mustaches. "This is the second time that someone has taken the Aero Cosmo Jewel. You must find them, hurry!"

  "I can't," Caim whispered.

  "What do you mean you can't?" Nehushine asked with frustration.

  "For some reason I can no longer detect the Specters," he answered, gazing down at the falling city.

  "Don't tell me you are losing your powers," Nehushine said.

  "No, it is not my powers," Caim replied. "They have done something to outwit me. They can hide their maju from me and even the cosmo energy of the jewels. I am not sure how they did it."

  "What about the city? You can't just let it fall," the old Effeelion said.

  "I won't be able to hold it up for long, but I can place it somewhere safe," Caim said and plummeted to save the city.

  Thousands of Effeelions flew out of Kazenolumos screaming, "Flee! Hide in the forest! Hide in the wild where no one will see us! Escape! Abandon home!" Like a swarm of birds they left their homes with tears and sorrow. "Find a safe place and hide!" Caim shouted as they flew past him. For millennia the Effeelions lived in the sky and now, for the first time, Kazenolumos had dropped lower than it ever had before. Even as the city fell, fiends continued to attack, flying in the sky, thousands of them remaining.

  "How can I let this happen?" Caim asked, highly disappointed.

  A light shone from above and he was sure it was not the sun. This light contained healing maju. He had felt it before. He spun around and gazed up at the light, ignoring the falling city. A mandarak wider than Kazenolumos illuminated the skies and Caim was sure that this light came from the realm of light. Eckxio, was the first word that came to his mind. "He did it, he acqu
ired the Angel Valiarmos."

  The magic circle above cast a wall of light as large as its perimeter that stretched up to four miles. Even as a demigod, Caim had never seen such wonder. He looked down at the city and saw that it was elevating again. The mandarak was helping the city to rise again. He looked closely at the design of the mandarak. It had the upward arrow for the symbol of illumancy. It also had illustrations of nude humans with golden discs on their backs, like suns. It was a work of art that looked much like stained glass.

  He noticed that he was now able to detect the Specters. He could sense their maju, but he was still unable to feel the cosmo of the aero jewel.

  "In the end, light always wins."

  Eckxio

  He stood behind the prestigious Lumnos, Siddhartha. After passing the trial, Eckxio received the Angel Valiarmos and, just as he was about to enter the portal to go back home, he witnessed the fall of Kazenolumos. The Lumnos gathered around to help him. They formed a circle with Siddhartha and created a mandarak that would save the city from falling. Eckxio stared down into the magic circle and watched as the city rose back to its position in the sky. He clutched the winged pendant around his neck, eager to wear the Valiarmos.

  "Siddhartha, it's time for me to go," he said, standing behind the Lumnos. "How long will this mandarak last?"

  "A few days to give the Effeelions enough time to recover," Siddhartha said. "Go now and help your friends. Leave your mark on the world, brave Elf."

  Eckxio nodded then looked back at his new friend, Uvaris. She looked at him and blushed.

  "Thank you, for everything," he said in a shy manner.

  Uvaris glided towards him, wrapped her arms around his neck, then kissed his cheek. "She will find her way back," she whispered in his long ear.

  "I hope so," he replied. "I will get her soul one way or another."

  Uvaris floated away from him when he attempted to call the Valiarmos. He clutched the winged pendant and closed his eyes. The pendant began to shine a soft light and slowly elevated him off the crystal floor. Eckxio felt the spirit of the Valiarmos swirling around his body as it glowed with a brand new power. He felt a thrust in his back that pushed his chest forward and spread his arms wide open. Light radiated off his body and he felt the armor cloaking his body. Swan-like wings spread on his back as white as snow, and the sword, Hadraniel, flashed in his left hand. The light vanished and his feet touched the floor with a thump. Eckxio looked at his armor and gaped in awe at its beauty and craftsmanship. It was silver with white filigree and hemmed with gold. His pauldrons curved up, shaped like wings. His chest plate had the symbol of illumancy embossed in the center, an upward arrow. In his right hand he carried a shield forged of zeustoss and mythium. He noticed that the shield worked as a scabbard for his sword. He was able to control the wings on his back, flapping them a few times, and said, "I need to learn how to fly, fast."

  "Don't worry, you will," Siddhartha said. "Once you move through the sky, the spirit of the Valiarmos will guide you. It's intuitive. Listen to the Valiarmos and you will master it. Also, never be afraid of your own darkness. It will make your bond with the Valiarmos much stronger."

  "Thank you, Siddhartha, I will miss you," Eckxio said and embraced the Lumnos.

  "And I will miss you, Eckxio," Siddhartha said. "Say hello to Nehushine for me."

  Eckxio flapped his wings, slowly ascending, until he was a dozen feet off the crystal floor. He was frightened at first but then he dived into the mandarak, like jumping into a river, entering the world of Odealeous.

  As he fell down from the mandarak, the first thing he noticed was Kazenolumos and its islands rising gradually. Fiends swirled around the city and fought against Effeelions. His Elven brothers fell to the darkness of the beast from the underworld. He could sense Auron's maju as well as Caim, and someone else that seemed to be on their side, but he could not sense Akielas's maju. He did not worry at the moment. He plummeted until he reached the second level of the city. He saw the chaos that had been caused by fiends, and the city reeked with the infectious maju of the Specters. When he appeared, the fiends paused, then flew towards him, screeching for his blood.

  "It is an honor and a pleasure to be able to vanquish the darkness once again," he said as they coiled and thudded their wings, moving toward him from the inner city. "Return to Necrovania!" he yelled and raised his sword. The blade was as clear as diamond and released a light brighter than the sun. A light with divine maju, with rays that pierced through the thickest kaminyte.

  Fiends shrieked and tried to flee, but their bodies turned to ash faster than they could flap their wings. Their kaminyte armor released black steam and fractured, unable to withstand the light of Hadraniel. When the light had vanished, Eckxio stared at his sword and thought, "If it can fracture kaminyte without even touching it, perhaps it can cut the masks of the Specters."

  The sword began to vibrate in his hands. Its maju was so great Eckxio had trouble controlling it, but then he used extromancy to combine his maju with that of the sword. As he focused on the combination of maju, the sword began to settle and he was able to handle it better. "It has a mind of its own, so it seems. The sword is still getting to know me. The more we fight, the stronger our bond."

  Eckxio felt two maju colliding against each other. He looked up at the third level of the city and saw Caim blasting Ember with eye beams. Caim pushed Ember with an unknown force and the Specter broke through the floor and fell to the second level. Hertha appeared behind Caim, threw an attack at him with her staff but missed, then rushed away again. The demigod ignored her and returned his attention to Ember.

  "Even a demigod needs help," Eckxio said and, just when he was about to aid his friend...

  "Where do you think you are going?" Jairo said as he approached with his kaminyte katana.

  "Why, hello there," Eckxio said, sarcastically. "You masked fiends have become stronger. I am guessing it was not your own work."

  "Good guess," Jairo replied. "We have our own unique way when it comes to power, but I didn't come here to talk about that. How about a spar while your friends are busy. Let's see how durable your new armor is."

  "I appreciate the invite," Eckxio said and shifted his body to face Jairo. "You will be the first Specter to witness the wrath of Hadraniel."

  "Who?" Jairo asked but Eckxio rushed into him with such a blow that he almost failed to block.

  Hadraniel pushed against Jairo's kaminyte katana. They fell through the clouds until Jairo managed to spin away. Eckxio gave him no time to flee or even to think. The Elf swung his crystal sword, yet Jairo managed to block and parry every attack.

  "I heard kaminyte was unbreakable, but today I am going to prove that theory wrong," Eckxio swore. "Stop running away from me!"

  Jairo flew away but Eckxio quickly reached him. He had become so fast with the Valiarmos, he had to squint as the wind hurt his eyes. Side to side he clashed blades with Jairo. Swooping in and out of the clouds, they collided every time they saw each other. As always, Jairo disappeared with a cloud of black smoke and reappeared behind Eckxio. Before the Elf was struck, his opponent was quickly repelled by the armor and kept his distance.

  "Too bright for you?" Eckxio asked with a smirk.

  "What is this winged armor that bathes you in light?" Jairo asked.

  "This is the Angel Valiarmos," Exckio answered. "It was given to me by special beings."

  "I have never heard of the Angel Valiarmos," Jairo replied. "All I know is that it won't be enough to defeat us."

  "Who made you the judge?" Eckxio said and dashed between clouds.

  Jairo cast a beam of shadows at Eckxio but the Elf raised his sword and retaliated with a divine light that stunned the Specter, canceling his shadomancy. In fear, Jairo flew up towards the city. Eckxio knew that he sought aid from his friends so he sped up and, within seconds, he was in front of Jairo. Again they clashed swords and his foe tried using aeromancy. Eckxio used his extromancy to absorb the air currents around h
im then release them as a propeller, delivering a powerful stab at his enemy. Although his foe managed to block it, he was able to wound Jairo's shoulder when Hadraniel slid over the kaminyte sword. Jairo grunted then lashed out with his sword, refusing to show weakness.

  "You have something that does not belong to you, I can sense it," Eckxio said. "You have an item that contains maju similar to that of the Effeelions. Give it back and I might spare your life."

  Jairo began to laugh and hovered back inside a cloud. Eckxio flapped his wings, causing a gust of wind to prevent Jairo from being able to hide. "Whatever it is that you have, give it back now. I know it does not belong to you. I can feel it. Your laughter speaks for itself."

  "That Valiarmos must be giving you extrasensory abilities," Jairo guessed.

  "Perhaps," Eckxio replied and beckoned. "Give it back, now."

  "You don't even know what it is. Fine, I will show you." Jairo finally surrendered. From the darkness of his cloak he pulled out a cosmo jewel.

  Eckxio had never seen it before but he was sure it was one of the jewels, the Aero Cosmo Jewel that Akielas had mentioned. He knew that Jairo stole it the same way the Specters stole the Emerald Cosmo Jewel from the Greamos.

  "That is the jewel of the Effeelions," Eckxio said. "Give it back or I will take it by force."

  "Yes, that's right, come and try to take it. You are just what I needed," Jairo said then flew away, down to the Kumo Sora Mountains.

  "He speaks nonsense," Eckxio said, perplexed. He plummeted following Jairo, falling like an eagle from the sky. "He won't be able to disappear from me, but I can't take any chances."

  His speed gave him the upper hand in flight. Jairo had trouble keeping him away. Eckxio intended to finish off Jairo so he sheathed his sword. He crashed into his foe, wrapping his arms around Jairo's torso and trapping him.

  "No! Get off me!" Jairo rasped and struggled to control his flight.

  Eckxio was shorter but he was physically stronger. His years of swordplay and rough training had given him the strength he needed to handle those that were bigger than him.