Magic's Genesis- Reckoning

by Rosaire Bushey

  In the building the noise had stopped – if it had ever existed. Several clean tables were arranged around an open space and each table was full, the occupants looking quickly over at the newcomers and idly shifting their gaze between them, lingering on Hokra but saying nothing. None looked at the white guide and quickly their heads turned back to their tables and they continued to say nothing. There were no dice or cards, or even drinking vessels. What they were doing there was impossible to determine, only the silence was complete.

  Crossing the silent entryway, they moved to a smaller room at the back, and the white guide used his long fingers to manipulate an intricate system of gears, activating a door in the floor which slid silently to the side revealing a winding staircase which seemed to go almost straight down. The guide moved several steps onto the stair and looked up, nodding and extending his fingers and pulling them back toward his body, indicting they should follow him. Hokra was the last person to step onto the staircase, and when the door closed over them, it was Dravud’s voice that urged them all to hold the rails and keep clear of the staircase’s center column.

  In perfect silence the stair started to move, turning slowly in a counter-clockwise circle. The effect in the darkness was stark, and at once the three living travelers reached out to grasp each other’s shoulders. Even Hokra who preferred being underground, was caught off guard by the movement.

  “The trip shouldn’t take long,” the white guide said. “It’s unusual to see people who are so upset by the movement of the stair.”

  “My charges are ‘special’ guests to this realm. They have been given access to special privileges.” Dravud’s voice was slow and direct. The white guide fell silent under the taller man’s gaze.

  “Are those diamonds?” Hokra started to reach beyond the stair rail toward what he thought were gleaming stones in the ground surrounding the stairwell when six very strong white fingers reached around the center column and grabbed Hokra’s shirt sleeve and pushed it forcefully back toward his chest. “No, they are not diamonds. Unless you are prepared to go hurtling into the very heavens, I suggest you keep your hands inside.”

  “Stars?” Haustis looked to the white guide. “Do you mean those are stars?”

  “What else would they be?” He turned toward Dravud, “I hope they are worth Karjan’s time. They don’t seem particularly worthy to me of any special privileges.”

  Lydria held Hokra’s hand on her shoulder and smiled at the prince. With the slightest jolt, the stairs stopped moving and as each person stepped off, the stair moved down a little more so that each might disembark in turn. Leaving the stair, they walked along a corridor bathed in deep red light and turned a corner to find an enormous door that seemed to be made of liquid fire. Rivulets of orange flame and molten rock poured over the top edge of the door and to the floor where it disappeared. “There is no heat. What is this, then?” Hokra snapped at the white guide.

  “There is no trick, I assure you. If you touch the door, you will perish in agonizing pain. The fire will attach itself to you and work its way slowly up your arm before falling to your feet where it will begin its journey up your legs. You will be very aware of every sensation.” The white guide’s smirk seemed to indicate he had been witness to the torturous death in the past, and he continued with zest when he realized they had discovered his secret. “When your limbless body sits on the floor, the fire will slowly eat away at your ribcage. Ultimately, when you have no more to burn, it will take your eyes and face and you will start your journey anew, standing in front of the path you chose after leaving the beach.”

  Dravud looked at the pale faces of the three travelers, raised his eyebrows and nodded his head as slightly as he dared to convey a confirmation of the white guide’s description. “However, what our friend fails to tell you is that if you have the key, or if you are invited, the fire will cease, and you will be allowed entrance. Is that not so?”

  The white guide laughed and nodded to Dravud. “You know it’s true. You know all of it is true, Dravud.” He turned to the others and whispered, “Your guide is the only person who has ever touched the door of fire and not endured the miserable fate I have just described. It cannot be explained, and so Vul Griffis himself gave Dravud providence over the beaches and he is the only guide permitted full access to all the kingdoms.” The white guide’s jealousy of Dravud’s ability to travel freely through the kingdoms was not lost on Lydria, despite a perfect delivery that fooled everyone else. Sensing she may have guessed his true intentions, the white guide lowered his head and turned away from Dravud and moved past Lydria toward the fire door, whispering so only Lydria could hear, “He’d better enjoy it while he can.”

  Spreading his twelve fingers out wide and putting his arms above his head, the white guide looked like a birch tree in winter, swaying back and forth as if in a wind, and seconds later, the fires stopped, and where a door of flame had stood, a rainbow door of gems stood now, cold and inviting. The gems were not pieces held into place, but great shards of gems like fieldstone creating broad strokes of red, green, aquamarine, blue, amethyst, and by the handle, diamond. “It seems you are invited.” The white guide opened the door and stood aside, motioning Dravud and the three travelers inside.

  12-Karjan

  A woman who Lydria immediately knew could only be Karjan, met them soon after they crossed the threshold into her apartments. That she was the only person in the room merely confirmed the fact, but her presence told them all that she was in charge of this place. She was uncommonly tall at well over six feet, rippled muscle clearly visible through clothes that wore her.

  Lydria looked for a moment and thought that the woman before her was everything she was not. She was beautiful, with flowing blond hair that curled seductively on either side of a face that was made in a mirror. Her skin was proudly displayed in deep cleavage and bare forearms and was the perfect color. Every time the woman turned, the shade of her skin shifted so that she was the perfect color of Lydria’s pink/white, the perfect shade of Hokra’s brown, the perfect shade of Haustis’ ebony. Every physical characteristic that a person could have, was represented on Karjan – only perfectly, and only momentarily.

  Lydria blinked and looked to Dravud who apparently had just introduced her to their host and Karjan smiled. Her teeth absolutely straight and level and as white as sun-dried bone. “How delightful, Dravud,” she seemed to purr at the guide and that’s when Lydria saw the tail. Attached to Karjan’s backside, a long, fat tail, like a forest cat, matching the color of her hair with every swish back and forth, barely touching the floor. With the spell broken, Lydria’s eyes moved up to meet her hosts’.

  “It’s the skin color, isn’t it?” Karjan waited a moment and burst into laughter at Lydria’s obvious discomfort as she searched for a response. She put her arm around Lydria’s neck, her perfectly manicured fingernails glancing off her collar and eliciting a small note of surprise at the hard sound they made. Karjan moved her arm to take Lydria by the elbow, locking it in her own and holding her hand over the human’s forearm, and together they walked past a long wooden table and into a more open area, toward an enormous desk made of rose marble and behind it to a wall full of dark coverings that reached around behind the desk in a gentle curve. With a wave of her hands, the white guide moved quickly to manipulate a series of chains and the coverings rose from the floor into the ceiling revealing more darkness, picked out by spots of orange light, and in the far distance, another town, larger than Herewist, and brighter. The silhouettes of towers and tall buildings reached high into the dark sky.

  “You know what that is?” Karjan asked Lydria without turning to see her. “That is Agubend. That is where you must go next to reach your destination. But you need my help to get there.” She turned sharply to Lydria, with a military precision in the movement that was accentuated by the great tail, whipping her body around to face the wielder. “What are you going to do for me?”

  The question came as a surprise. L
ydria had expected Karjan to open with a list of demands for her service and was about to ask what she wanted when she realized what had been asked. She looked quickly to her friends whose expressions showed they had no idea of what they could offer this woman.

  Karjan laughed again. “What to get the woman who has everything? Is that it? Well, let me help you. You could free me from this apartment, that would be nice, but that may be too much to hope for. You could stay and keep me company, especially you,” and by the way she looked Lydria couldn’t tell which of Haustis or Hokra she was looking at. “Either of you, or both of you. Or all of you. With four of us we could have such fun.”

  Haustis and Hokra looked to each other and briefly to Dravud who had not moved an eyelash since entering the room. Lydria hoped her own expression didn’t give away the horror she felt that they might be trapped by this woman, as pleasant as she seemed to be.

  “Oh, do relax, won’t you?” Her breathy voice was calming, and she waved a hand toward them, her skin turning the rusty shade of Hokra whenever the Chag was embarrassed. “You cannot stay with me, not before you do what you need to do, or fail to do it. Then, you are welcome to return, of course. Until then, I need you to find something for me.” Karjan turned to walk back along the table to where the others still stood, her tail wrapping itself lazily around Lydria’s ankles until it slipped away to follow its owner. “I used to have a ring,” she said, staring for a moment at the white guide and then running her fingertips across the table top, accentuating every partial sentence with her eyes and staring at each of them in turn. “It is a very special ring, that matches the door to this room. Find me that ring, and I will see that Dravud can escort you directly to Agubend…though you may not like what you find.”

  She moved around the table and took a seat next to Haustis, patting the chair next to her until the Eifen sat beside her, their knees almost touching as they faced one another. Karjan moved her eyes up and down the Eifen’s body and smiled with her mouth closed, her eyes taking in the warrior and her skin shifting to match that of her guest as she took on Haustis’ coloration from toe to hair. “This is a most exquisite shade, dear. I think I may live in it for a time. Honestly, it’s the loveliest thing I have ever seen – a jewel in darkness.” She sighed and placed her palms on Haustis’ shoulder and kissed her on the cheek. Her eyes opened slightly as her lips pressed against Haustis’ skin but Lydria saw her recover almost instantly, pulling back and staring deep into Haustis’ eyes while holding her face in her hands for a moment longer than perhaps even she had meant. “Lovely,” Karjan repeated, in a soft voice that was filled with both longing and loss.

  When Karjan turned back to Lydria, her eyes had changed as well, the right green, and the left deep blue. “It’s not often I get something new, and to have two new looks, well, what more could I want.” She stood and traced a finger along Haustis’ shoulder and walked back to stand between Lydria and the others. “I hope you don’t mind if I took the green for my right eye,” she said. “It seems to go better with this.” She pointed her fingers to her breast and dropped her hands indicating the new skin tone she had adopted. Seeing Lydria’s eyes turn to Hokra, Karjan turned as well and sent an appraising eye over his skin and clothing, brown, and tan – earth toned with little color or superficial exception, she looked at him as one might a burned pudding. “Two is enough for now.” She turned her back on Hokra and lifted her tail high as she moved back to the windows and Lydria.

  Still exalting in her new look, her tone as she spoke came as something of a surprise to all three, “The ring is exactly like the door. It fits across all four of my fingers, but I warn you, do not put it on. If you manage to find it and put it on, well, I still won’t have it. And you will begin your journey again with no memory of having ever been here.” Her voice was sharp, and dismissive as if she’d had enough of her new playthings and wanted them out of her sight. But she softened a little when she realized how quickly she had altered her tone. “You may ask one question before you go.” Karjan moved to the center of the room, behind the massive table.

  Lydria looked to the others who shook their heads before asking her question. “If the ring is exactly like the door, how will we be able to touch it to bring it back?”

  Karjan smiled broadly, her teeth shining like beacon lights on a rocky shore. “Well, that’s the trick, isn’t it? Good bye.” She waved her hand and the white guide opened the door again and ushered them quickly outside. Just before the rainbow door closed, they heard Karjan laugh and saw her wave as the doors clanged shut. Seconds later fire was falling from the door again, its promise of a slow and agonizing death to anyone who touched it embedded in their senses.

  “Well, we should get moving then, we’ve got a long way to go.”

  “We?” Hokra stopped and stared at the white guide.

  “Oh, yes, we. If you manage to find the ring, Mistress Karjan will not very well trust you enough to bring it back here. Besides, aren’t you in a hurry?” He looked to Dravud who nodded his assent. “Find the ring, give it to me, and I have the authority to see you on your way. And as we’ll be traveling together for a while, I should tell you, my name is Alabast.”

  “Of course, it is.” Hokra shook his head and fell to the back of the line and waited for the two guides to lead them.

  “Where will we start?” Lydria looked with pleading eyes to Dravud who turned his head, his eyes expressionless, to Alabast.

  “We will start with its last known location. Outside the gates of Agubend.”

  “Wait a minute.” Hokra rushed forward again, his bald head inches from the white guide. “You know where this thing is? Why haven’t you just gone to get it yourself?”

  “Oh, master Chag Ca-Grae, that would spoil all the fun. But no, that is not possible, and I will explain when we get there. Trust me, you will understand all when we arrive.

  Alabast walked quickly out a side door opposite the door of fire and the stairs, and led them into a corridor that looked, Lydria thought, much like what she had seen on the staircase. Alabast confirmed as much when he reminded them all to keep their hands to their sides and not touch anything, looking pointedly at Hokra.

  “How long will it take to get to where we are going,” Haustis asked, her eyes not moving from the light-flecked walls.

  “As long as it takes. Honestly, Dravud, have they been this way since you brought them from the beach?”

  Dravud turned to the travelers and smiled, indicating that Alabast’s gruff tone was his natural one, and that no offense should be taken.

  “The path we follow is clear and we will not be hindered,” Alabast said, moving forward without looking behind at those who followed. It will not take us long. But you may wish it had.”

  For whatever Hokra thought of Alabast, it was certain that he was either respected or feared in the lands surrounding Herewist. The road they took was as dark as the forest, and even the madmen who remained in the trees, unwilling to take up the chase of Wynter, kept their distance and remained silent, hidden behind what dark stumps they could find.

  Once during the journey Haustis slowed and motioned for Lydria, who started to turn back to see what her friend had found. Dravud placed his hand on her shoulder and gently turned her and quietly urged Haustis to continue moving.

  “Do not let Alabast know of the gold marks you have found. In the Nethyn Plains you can trust no one.”

  Lydria could not contain her surprise when she heard Dravud’s voice in her head and turned quickly to face the man who walked to her left. Without breaking stride and without acknowledging her look, he answered her silently again.

  “I admit, I am curious as to both how I knew to try and how you are able to hear me. Something deep within me has awoken, like a third eye turned to see harm and treachery. Of course, here, those things are everywhere one looks.”

  Dravud said nothing else other than to warn Lydria not to try to communicate in the same way either with him or with her friends. “
I have not been here so long so as to know the limits of Alabast’s power; or the power of any other thing along these paths.”

  Alabast led them down into a small ravine, and over a narrow stream that moved as much as a puddle. Instinctively Lydria, Haustis and Hokra jumped the stream so as not to touch the black water in its shallow bed.

  “Nothing lives in the water of the Nethyn Plains,” Alabast said, though how he knew they had jumped the stream Lydria couldn’t fathom. “With the exception of the leviathan in the border sea, of course.”

  Climbing out of the ravine, Lydria stopped at the top and looked out toward a new sight, although so similar to previous sights they might as well have been the same. The city before them could only be Agubend. It was larger than Herewist, with towers of silver that rose out of the ground and stood higher than trees. From a distance their spires were invisible against the light-less sky, but with the lights of the city below, the towers glowed like icicles in a bright summer sun. People moved freely, and many gathered in an open space in the center of town. The movement of the people was quick, and light as opposed to the trudging shuffle of those in Eigroth and Herewist.

  “As the people of Herewist have accepted their fate, those who have made it to Agubend have embraced it,” Dravud said. The guide stood with his feet spaced wide and his arms crossed over his chest. Lydria could see his jaw clench and rest and wondered what could have happened here that would make Dravud so tense.

  “A little further now and you can try for the ring,” Alabast said, his face curling up in a grimace that suggested he didn’t think they would succeed.

  There were no gates to Agubend, but people rarely left the city. To go into the wild, especially backward toward Herewist was an idea that didn’t occur to the people here. Walking through a busy street several blocks from the center of town, Lydria passed people talking and laughing, lovers sitting close, and people holding bottles.