On the Wings of Dragons: Path of the Wielders 3

by Cleave Bourbon

  As soon as he was at the top of the stairs, Kaxen slammed the chamber shut. Adrenaline pulsed through his body as he followed Rennon out into the main building. He paused a moment and took out the golden serpent from his pack. As soon as it was close to the staff, it wound its way around the shaft as if it always belonged there. Next, he put the crystal in the space at the top, and the wood of the staff fixated to it. Lastly, he opened the amulet, and a green mist snaked out and joined with the crystal. Kaxen thought a moment about General Sythril being trapped inside the crystal and hoped that didn’t somehow adversely affect the key. The crystal began to glow, and the staff projected the location of a stone platform in the mountains, with a metallic door sealed in the background in the air in front of him.

  Kaxen turned to his friends. “I am so thankful that all of you have faith in me. I know you don’t understand what it is I am doing yet, but you will shortly.”

  Morgoran burst through the chamber door.

  “Time to go. Wish me luck.” Kaxen looked into the crystal. “Take me there,” he said.

  There was a flash before his eyes, and then he was on the platform, much the same way a Lora Daine worked. The air was freezing cold, and blowing snow pelted his face. He started to head for the metallic door when a sharp cracking sound made him turn to see what it was. Morgoran stood behind him a few paces.

  “Don’t look so surprised, Kaxen. It seems the dragon stones are finally working again. All I had to do was set it on the trail your crystal left behind” He held up the white, clear stone. “Aurelie,” he said.

  Kaxen bolted for the metallic door, and Morgoran threw some kind of spell at him. Kaxen felt the staff fly out of his hand toward the door as he spilled backward. He grasped at anything he could as he slipped off the edge of the platform. He barely managed to grab ahold of the ridged edge.

  “It would be a pity if you fell from way up here,” Morgoran said.

  Kaxen clung to the side of the platform. He thought Morgoran was acting in an uncharacteristic manner, but he was more focused on survival. He looked down into the abyss below and then pulled himself up. Morgoran was standing with his arms outstretched to the sky where heavy clouds swirled and boiled. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed every time Morgoran clinched his fists. Kaxen knew that he planned to kill him. “Morgoran, why are you so adamant to stop me? You are a wielder! I would think you would want the tome to be found.”

  “I do, just not by you.” He crashed another round of lightning at Kaxen. Another figure came flying in behind Morgoran. It hunched over at landing and then slowly stood upright, towering above Morgoran by a head. It appeared to be a larger version of a Krullen Thul, complete with leathery wings and a toothy maw. It stood behind Morgoran but did not attack him.

  A sudden realization pervaded Kaxen’s mind, and he had to suppress his intense anger. “Who are you? You can’t be Morgoran!”

  A wicked grin emerged on the old wielder’s lips. “Clever boy, I would probably jump to the same conclusion in your place, but I assure you, I am Morgoran. The same Morgoran cursed with damnable clear eyes; the same Morgoran sitting drooling in his soup, confused, senile, and doomed to see only possible futures for year after year.” He pointed his finger. “I have seen you, Kaxen Adair of Brookhaven, for far too long!” He let loose a bolt of lightning, and Kaxen dove out of the way.

  The creature from behind Morgoran moved. It came directly for him. He glanced over at Dranmalin, trying to will the sword to come to him, but it still did not recognize him and stayed where it was. The Brae Daun Thul reached down, pulled up Kaxen by his shoulders, and tossed him to the stone opening in the mountain. The cold wind blew dry snow in swirls across the stone platform, and he shivered. His left arm screamed in pain, and he was sure it must have been broken. “Morgoran, you must have learned by now that Toborne isn’t who you think he is. He is evil.”

  “Toborne!” Morgoran shouted the name with contempt. “Toborne is next! I wouldn’t let that betrayer have his way any more than I would you.”

  “I am not the one who cursed you! Why are you punishing me for it?”

  Morgoran stopped for a moment. His face distorted into an angry scowl that said Kaxen was asking a foolish question. “Because if I don’t stop you now, you will!”

  “What?” Kaxen was livid. “You are doing this because I might do something to you in a possible future?” Kaxen pushed himself up. The Brae Daun Thul was slowly striding toward him. “Something here is off. If you are Morgoran and you want to kill Toborne, then how come Toborne’s creation is attacking me and not you?” The creature reached for Kaxen and lifted him straight up. Kaxen let him despite the pain of the grip the creature exerted. He reached out, working through the pain in his left arm, and grabbed the creature's head in both hands. He could feel the power of his mind flow through his body, through his hands, and into the creature’s head.

  “Stop that. What are you doing there? Let that creature go!” Morgoran let loose a torrent of essence that bashed into Kaxen, sending him hard to the stone platform. When he recovered from the fall, Kaxen struggled to breathe.

  The Brae Daun Thul turned on Morgoran and seized him as he hurried to finish off Kaxen. Morgoran used his magic, and the creature turned him loose for a moment but quickly seized him again. Kaxen again felt Morgoran drawing in massive quantities of essence, but before he could loose it on the creature, it slammed the old wielder into the platform, his head hitting the stone the hardest.

  “Stop!” Kaxen commanded the creature as soon as he could draw breath. He hobbled his way over to the now unconscious Morgoran. He managed to move his left arm, in pain as it was, to the side of Morgoran’s head. He placed his right hand on the other side and grasped Morgoran’s head. In the same way, he turned the Brae Daun Thul, he planned to take away Morgoran’s bitterness and anger, but he found none there. Instead, he found regret and remorse, and something else. He pursued the other emotion and found it wasn’t emotion at all. He captured it in his mind. Someone had influenced Morgoran. Someone had placed thoughts in his head. He probed the entity more, and it turned on him, trying to take him over, but he didn’t let it. He saw a face. It was Morgoran’s council; it was the cleric, Kerad! Kaxen dispelled the entity from Morgoran’s mind and relaxed his body. Exhausted, he let himself lie back on the stone platform.

  After a time, Kaxen forced himself to get up from the cold stone surface. Morgoran was still unconscious. “Pick him up and bring him inside,” he instructed. The staff was still where it had fallen. Kaxen retrieved it and proceeded to the door, all the while warding off the bitter cold and the searing pain. Sheer determination and curiosity drove him on to the metallic door. He touched the crystal to the door on a whim, but nothing happened. He asked it to open and nothing happened. He scoured the surface for some hint of what he must do to get the door opened to no avail. Kaxen slumped down with his back against the door.

  Morgoran came to and rubbed his head. “What the thunder?”

  “Welcome back, Morgoran,” Kaxen said.

  “Kaxen? What has happened here? The last I remember I was ready to blast you off this platform.”

  “You remember fighting me then?”

  “Aye, I also remember feeling the anger and control welling up in me without knowing why. It felt like when you want to eat that last honey cake and you have already eaten too much, but you go ahead have that last one anyway.” He studied Kaxen for a long moment. “I am interested in what you find behind that door, but I am more interested that you survive to see what is behind that door.” He produced the Lora Daine from his side pouch. “I will return in a moment with Kerad; he will have you fixed right up.”

  “No.” Kaxen reached for Morgoran’s arm with his good right arm to stop him. “Get Asrion. Don’t let Kerad go anywhere or come here.”

  Morgoran was perplexed. “Kerad? He is my most trusted advisor. He was by my side the entire time I was cursed.”

  “Just go and bring me Asrion.” Morgoran
nodded and used the dragon stone. As soon as he was gone, Kaxen struggled up to his feet. “Make certain that if Kerad ends up here, you detain him.” He searched the hideous features of the creature. “Are you still able to take the form of Melias?” The creature did not react to the name at first, but after a moment, he nodded. “Good. Don’t do it right now; stay as you are. I am sorry this happened to you, my friend. I am, however, glad I was able to find you in there and bring you back.”

  A sharp crackle in the air signaled that Morgoran was back. Trendan and Asrion were with him. “Asrion would not come with me at first. I tried to find Kerad, but I was told he left through the portal. Asrion finally agreed if I brought along Trendan.”

  “Morgoran is back to himself,” Kaxen said. He didn’t want to say too much in front of Morgoran until he had the chance to find out why the wielder did not remember it was Kerad who betrayed him.

  Asrion mended Kaxen’s arm with a bone-mending chant, helped his scrapes and bruises, and gave him something to ease his pain. As soon as Kaxen was up and around, he had Asrion help Morgoran.

  Trendan tightly pulled the new cloak that Kaxen gave him and meticulously examined the door for an opening.

  “I would imagine that any kind of magic used to open that door will fail to open it,” Morgoran said. “It is supposed to house the Tome of Enlightenment. Those already enlightened will not have an effect.”

  “How are we supposed to open it then?” Kaxen asked.

  “It’s a good thing we brought Trendan. He has no use of magic, correct?”

  Trendan spoke up. “No, I have no magic affinity.”

  “The only obstacle I can see now is that he is only a half-man. It may not recognize him as a non-magical man.”

  “I see,” Kaxen said. “Only a man without magic can open the door.”

  Trendan leaned into the door, and it pushed open. Inside was a vast cavern lit by colossal, glowing-white crystals. At the center of the cavern was a pedestal containing a thick, leather-bound book.

  Kaxen hurried over to it and picked it up. Morgoran winced but relented when nothing happened.

  “In the future, I would suggest that you never simply pick up anything that has been sitting on a pedestal for ages. They are usually trapped in some horrible way,” Morgoran scolded.

  After wiping off the dust, Kaxen opened the book.

  “Can you read it?” Asrion asked.

  Kaxen chuckled. “Actually, no.”

  “Let me see that.” Morgoran stood behind Kaxen and peered over his shoulder at the pages. “I should have realized. This is the knowledge and magic given to man by Vex. The first men came from the island continent of Lux Amarou. This is written in ancient Amar. I don’t think there is a man still alive that can read or write Amar except on Lux Amarou.”

  “People still live there?” Trendan was surprised.

  “Very few. Most of the Amar left Lux Amarou and settled Trigothia. They held onto the ancient tongue and customs for a while, but the old language died out in Trigothia ages ago. The continent of Lux Amarou is covered in old ruins, overgrown vegetation, and other dangers. That place makes Ishrak look like a modern paradise. I have only been there once, and I never wanted to go back.”

  “So is there a way we can get there by Lora Daine and bring one of the people back who can read this tome?”

  “Not likely. A Lora Daine is limited by distance; not even the biggest and best one in Draegodor could go that far, and even if you could, no Amar would step foot over here.” Morgoran shrugged. “We can take it back to Asterial at By’temog. He used to be pretty good at reading old languages. I don’t know if his knowledge goes back this far, but it doesn’t hurt to try.”

  Kaxen shut the tome. “No, I would recognize some of these words if Asterial could read this.”

  “I would postulate that absorbing someone’s essence doesn’t automatically give you all of their thoughts and abilities. It would also stand to reason that even with all the essence you absorbed, those wielders who still live might know things you still do not. It doesn’t automatically give you the sum of their experience either. You must be careful not to lean on that knowledge too much.”

  Kaxen nodded. “Let’s go back to By’temog and talk to Asterial then. Give me a moment while I go take care of the Brae Daun Thul.” He hesitated. “Before I go, what happened to King Occelot?”

  Morgoran chuckled. “Thankfully your spell didn’t hold long. He reverted back to himself shortly after you changed him. We slipped away during the commotion.”

  Kaxen nodded before exiting the chamber. Outside, he looked around for the Brae Daun Thul. “Melias?”

  The creature lumbered over to him.

  “Fly to Lux Enor and tell the master that I have the tome and will be there soon. Tell him that I have defeated Morgoran and that I know who the betrayer is. Have him tell Kimala to continue as planned. Do you have all that?”

  The creature nodded.

  “You are sure you can still speak in the form of Melias?”

  The creature nodded.

  “Go, fly, and I will be there as soon as I can find a way to get there without raising suspicion.”

  The Brae Daun Thul took flight and flew off into the cold, snowy night.

  Chapter 25

  Asrion awoke to bright light all around him. When his eyes adjusted, he could see a small white structure with a golden door a few paces away. He picked himself up and made his way to the construction. It appeared to be no more than a well-crafted and intricately-carved golden door in the middle of a white marble box that would take no more than eight paces to walk completely around, which he did. After a few moments’ hesitation, he opened the golden door and entered. Asrion was surprised to see the room inside was enormous. It was much bigger on the inside than the outside. Gold and white furniture, placed meticulously throughout the room, complemented vast paintings and tapestries of bloody scenes of war in a strange kind of opposites attract sort of way. The vibrant colors of the tapestries and paintings, especially the red, broke the monotony of the white and gold.

  Asrion tried to look at all the scenes in the room, but before long, he noticed that someone was sitting on one of the divans. Her golden hair and white and golden robes, coupled with the brightly lit room, hid her from his view at first.

  “Hello?” he called out.

  “Aye, I know you are there, Asrion. I was letting you enjoy my artwork. Are they not beautiful?”

  “They are very beautiful, if not a bit morbid. Scenes of war and death, I mean.”

  The woman turned on her divan to face him. “Do you not recognize me? This is my work all around you.”

  “Loracia?” Asrion fell to his knees and bowed to the floor.

  “Rise, my cleric, there is no need to be so formal here.”

  Asrion rose. “Forgive me, but what is the proper title to call you? Goddess, maybe Your Grace, or Your Majesty?”

  “You may address me as Loracia. I may be a goddess to you, but I consider myself a mother and a healer before a goddess.”

  Asrion still felt very nervous and awkward.

  “Relax, my cleric, sit.”

  As if she could sense his apprehension, her words soothed him, and all the tension drained from him. He sat down on the divan opposite Loracia.

  “Impressive room,” he said.

  She looked around as if trying to figure out what he was referring to. “It’s my inner sanctum, hidden from the rest of the realm of Venifyre, hidden from the other gods.”

  “Oh?”

  Loracia smiled, and Asrion thought he would turn to ash at how sweet and sincere it was. Loracia’s features were almost too stunning to look at for long. A beauty so intoxicating, it was nearly painful to take it all in at once. “You see, I am going against my husband’s wishes by bringing you here. He would be furious if he found out. He has instructed us to all stay out of the affairs of the world, but we have found that directive to be impossible to uphold. We all love our creat
ions so.” Her voice had an ethereal quality to it. “Besides, I happen to know Vex breaks his own decree and interferes almost daily. There is a lot happening at the moment.”

  Asrion giggled in spite of himself.

  Loracia was also amused. “I understand. You are drunk on the light of this place.”

  “Is that what it is?”

  “I am afraid I do have that effect on your kind when in my presence.”

  “You are the goddess of life! I can feel it everywhere.”

  “Oh, yes, you would. I am sure more than others. I must remember that. Forgive me, Asrion, but when I brought you back that day at Signal Hill, I had to alter your life force permanently.”

  “I have thanked you in my prayers, but now I have the opportunity to thank you in person.” He stood and bowed deeply. “Thank you, my goddess.”

  “You are most welcome. Now, sit back down, and I will get to the point. It may be a bit difficult for you.”

  Asrion complied and made himself comfortable.

  “I am afraid that I brought you back for a selfish reason. My husband, Vex, sometimes needs a little help, a push, if you will. I do love him dearly, but he does not work well when it comes to matters of life and death. The secret is that Vex, or Fawlsbane Vex as you may know him, has always had trouble creating life. He needs me to keep life and death running smoothly.”

  Asrion nodded.

  “Look at me droning on,” Loracia said. “I can see I need to be more direct.”

  “This all comes down to me somehow?” Asrion asked.

  “Yes, but not only you. The task I ask of you I do not ask of you alone. It takes both sides of the coin to make it whole. One-half will never make a whole; you need the other.”

  Asrion felt sedated and lethargic. “What is happening?” At first, Asrion did not recognize the woman dressed in white robes walking up to them from behind Loracia, but as she neared, he could see her face clearly. “Fayne!”

  “Aye,” Fayne said. “Loracia has brought me here too.” She giggled and held her hand over her mouth to stop herself. She sat down next to Asrion.