The Last Whisper of the Gods Saga: Stories from Ayberia

by James Berardinelli

  The portal chamber was a vast, empty tower. Its sole purpose was to shelter the portal and, despite being thousands of years old, it was unbowed by weather, disuse, and time. The turret, once comprised of wood, had long since decayed into nothing. Not even sawdust remained. The portal’s housing dominated the room: a high, smooth column of stone with stairs carved into the side, circling up and around the perimeter for close to a hundred feet before reaching the top. The actual portal was a hole in the apex of the column.

  “Who built this?” asked Kara, gazing up in awe. Her eyes were unfocused; the call was fogging her concentration.

  Myselene recited a lesson she had learned from Gorton in her youth. “Men under the personal direction of the gods. The builders of the portals may have been the last of us to see the gods in the flesh, before they retreated to the heavens where they spent millennia watching and occasionally acting. Originally, there were many portals built - one for each of the gods, it’s said. Now, this is the only one to remain.”

  With Myselene in the lead, the two women made their way up the staircase single-file. It was a long, slow climb. Although craftsmen had been brought in to shore up the stairs, there was only so much that could be done, especially since Lavella had decreed that no one should be allowed within the portal chamber for more than a short period (and only with proper supervision, which meant her). The steps were pitted, cracked, and uneven. Considering their age, however, Kara thought it remarkable that they were usable.

  The call was forceful here, far more insistent than it had been even as close by as outside the fortress. Kara found it difficult to hold a thought. Her mind kept drifting. It was an itch she couldn’t scratch. She could understand why Lavella had cautioned that, once she had heard its song, she wouldn’t be able to banish it. Comecomecome, it implored. She desperately wanted to accede.

  They were both exhausted by the end of the 400-step climb and Kara was dizzy from a combination of physical exertion and the influence of the call. The staircase terminated on a smooth landing fifteen feet in diameter with a hole big enough to swallow man in the middle. The portal’s stygian depths made the darkness of a moonless night seem false by comparison. Nothing in this world was as devoid of light.

  This was the third time Myselene had stared into a portal. The first time had been long ago, in dead Ibitsal. The second had been after the war, when she had come here to seek Sorial. Although she was unmagical, the otherworldliness of the portal made her nape hairs stand on end. She could only imagine what her daughter was experiencing.

  But Kara was too benumbed by the call of the portal to feel much of anything. Nevertheless, she knew it when he arrived. His presence was so forceful that it stilled the portal, allowing her to focus.

  The portal’s black surface shimmered and an insubstantial form emerged, floating up to hang in the air above it. It was a gleaming, shimmering avatar - insubstantial but crackling with power. Although translucent, the details of the ghost’s features were evident - a representation of Sorial as he had been before he had embarked on the quest that had awakened his magic: a 17-year old stableboy with a shaved head and a serious face.

  “Your Majesty.” Sorial’s voice was deep and resonant. Kara couldn’t decide whether he was speaking aloud or directly into her mind.

  “Your Magus,” Myselene responded. When she bowed, Kara followed suit.

  Sorial turned his gaze toward the princess. “Can this be her?” There was something akin to wonder in his tone.

  The queen smiled. “It is. This is Kara, our daughter.”

  “I remember her… but just a baby. I held her in my arms and just for a moment I wished my duty lay elsewhere.”

  “Fifteen years have passed.”

  “Have they? I suppose so. I think I told you time doesn’t pass in The Otherverse the same way it does in Ayberia. Much as I try to bring structure and order to it, The Lord of Chaos is constantly interfering…”

  “…Because you’re not flexible enough.” This was a new voice - a feminine one.

  Myselene smiled. Hearing these two squabble peeled back the years. Apparently, even their transition into The Otherverse hadn’t changed the fundamental dynamic between them.

  “She looks like you, Your Majesty,” said the female voice. “An almost perfect replica of how you looked when we first met. A good thing, too. Having her father’s features would be a burden no girl should have to bear.”

  Tentatively, Kara spoke, her voice frail from nervousness. “You’re really him? Really Sorial the Great?” It seemed almost impossible.

  “Is that what they call Sorial these days? Quite an ascension for Warburm’s stableboy. Actually, I’m not him - at least not in the strictest sense. I comprise his essence as well as that of one other. You could even say that his essence dominates. But I’m more than Sorial - or less, depending on your perspective. ‘The Lord of Order’ sounds pompous, however accurate it may be. If you feel the need to call me something, Sorial is as good as anything, although ‘Once-Sorial’ might be more accurate.”

  Turning to Myselene, he said, “Chaos speaks truly despite her sharp tongue. Your daughter is beautiful.”

  “Our daughter,” corrected the queen. “However you may be transformed, there’s still much of Sorial in you. Your body, no. But your mind and your memories, yes. Kara is beautiful but, more importantly, she’s clever and intelligent. Regrettably, she’s also tainted by your magical aptitude. The quality in your blood so prized by Ferguson has been passed to her.”

  “She hears the portal?”

  Kara spoke before her mother could respond. “Come. Come. Come.”

  “Yes, I remember that. Sometimes as gentle as a lover’s caress. Sometimes as harsh as a mother’s switch. Once you hear it, it will haunt you. I’ve always sympathized with those whose path is blocked. They hear the call but can’t answer it without dying. Perhaps that’s why there were so many suicides among potentials during the old years. They say my mother killed herself to prevent being used as a hostage but I’ve always wondered if that was the only reason.”

  “I think… you may be right.” The voice of Chaos was thoughtful, as if her companion had spoken something she had never considered.

  “You were there,” said Myselene quietly.

  “Alicia was. And a part - a very important part - of her is me.”

  “Is there no way… do I have to go through the portal?” The thought of stepping into that blackness frightened Kara. The call might be soothing but the impenetrable depths of the portal were anything but that.

  “It’s your heritage,” said Sorial. “I don’t think anyone faces a portal without trepidation.”

  “You did,” said Chaos.

  “I didn’t have much choice. I was under siege. If I had delayed, I would have died. Alicia, however, had to be pushed into the portal.”

  “By Rexall the Betrayer,” spat Chaos.

  Kara was as shocked by the name as by the rancor in Alicia’s voice. Her uncle a “betrayer”? Obviously, there was a story here she hadn’t been told.

  “Who is not more than 500 feet away. I could arrange a reunion if you’d like.” Myselene said this with a smile but there was an edge to her voice. Kara knew that, although her mother might never say the words, she was devoted to Rexall. The fact that she had never taken another husband or lover was proof enough.

  Sorial read the queen’s tone. “You and Rexall. It makes sense. It always made sense, at least after Azarak. Kara, why don’t you want to be the next Lady of…”

  “…Fire,” supplied Myselene.

  Sorial’s image grimaced but he quickly re-ordered his expression. “Sorry. I’ve known two Lords of Fire. The first started the great war. The other resulted in Alicia coming here in tatters. I guess there must have been many great Lords of Fire but I haven’t known any.”

  “Then Kara will be your first.” Regret tinged Myselene’s words.

  “I just want to be normal! I want to sit at court and learn from m
y mother and grow up to be what I’ve been trained to be. Now, just because I came here, just because I have this voice in my head, I have to jump into that pool of blackness and throw away the last fifteen years.”

  “I can’t say which is the bigger sacrifice - being a wizard or being a princess,” said Sorial. “But I know from personal experience that controlling magic is as much of a curse as a blessing. I can’t affect material in your world, but the portal straddles the universe of matter and The Otherverse. I may be able to…” He paused for a moment and his image briefly wavered. “…There. Done.”

  Suddenly, the call was silent. No more comecomecome. For the first time since approaching the portal’s location, Kara’s mind was clear. “What did you do?” she asked in wonder.

  Sorial chuckled. Booming and resonant, it as a strange sound. “I can’t say for sure. It’s like that sometimes, playing with the order of things. But the portal no longer sings to you. I’m not sure it recognizes you or, if it does, it willfully ignores you. A word of caution. Although I didn’t change the potential inherent in you, I changed something about how the portal interacts with you. I don’t know what would happen if you ever tried to enter it. My advice is to never make the attempt. It could transform you or kill you. Not a risk worth taking. Now, be a princess and let someone else take the title of Lord of Fire.”

  “Sometimes, stableboy, you show remarkable sense.” The affection in the words was unmistakable. For the moment at least, Chaos was all Alicia.

  Kara and Myselene embraced, neither able to hide her joy or gratitude at the gift bestowed by The Lord of Order.

  Their stay by the portal lasted several hours longer. They discussed a variety of things, some momentous, some mundane. Sorial was more curious about what was happening in Ayberia than he had been during his previous appearance. Myselene suspected that was because he no longer felt overwhelmed by the newness of The Otherverse. It had become his home; he had been there for nearly as long as he had lived in the material world.

  Once the encounter was over, Order and Chaos winked out of existence, returning entirely to The Otherverse. Left alone in the darkening chamber, Myselene turned to her daughter. “There’s no turning back.”

  “Yes, but it was my choice, not something forced on me. The priests, Lavella, the portal - all of them sought to force me in one direction or another. But my father - a father I didn’t know I had until recently - freed me from all those compulsions.”

  “Then let’s go home, Your Highness. Now that you’re of age, you have a new life ahead of you.”

  “One I’m excited to begin.”

  * * *

  From Shadow of the Otherverse:

  “Myselene met twice more with The Lord of Order before she slipped her material bonds. The first time was on the occasion of Kara’s Maturity. Publicly, she wanted to present Azarak’s heir to The Lord of Order for his blessing. Privately, she wanted to give Sorial an opportunity to take the measure of the girl he had sired. What occurred in the portal chamber that day was known only to Kara, Myselene, and The Lord of Order. The two women entered solemnly, were inside for the better part of nine hours, and emerged looking composed and not the least bit weary.”

  * * *

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