by Jeremy Dwyer
However, this King Xander was, by far, the worst and most corrupt mortal whom Gadamalto had ever met. The man was filled with pride sufficient to fill the skies and the seas and the land, with much to spare. The greater the pride, the greater the fall, was the rule that Gadamalto knew. He thought Xander to be nearly like himself in the magnitude of pride, if not the scale of actual power. Gadamalto was curious to learn what was ahead, and he believed that this man’s eternal screams during the condemnation he would eventually face would be a feast during which he could all but forget his own suffering for his betrayal of the One True God.
Gadamalto knew good from evil, and which paths in a mortal’s life led to which ends. As a higher spiritual being – a former Guardian Angel – he had chosen a path of freedom: it was freedom from good, so that he could be the lord of his own realm, rather than being subject to the commands of the One True God, of whom he was envious. This realm was given to him, and was perpetually filled with souls of deceased mortals who rejected the Laws of the One True God and the rescue of the Redeemer. These were his companions in suffering. He suffered, as well, and his only soothing relief was to delight in the sufferings of countless others. If that companionship should ever end, hearing the sounds of his own screams of pain would be too much to endure.
As a demon, Gadamalto had no hope of salvation of any kind, so he learned to take what pleasure he could in the loss of salvation of everyone he could deceive into following a path of perdition leading to condemnation. Gadamalto was a master of deception, using even truths mixed with lies to entrap the unwise.
~~~
“You have bargained with the most dangerous being of the spirit world. I fear him, as should you,” Rivka said.
“No, I should not. There are things you don’t understand, and greater powers of which you have no knowledge,” King Xander said.
“I know enough – Gadamalto is the tormentor of the condemned. He is more than cruel enough to torture the billions that have gone to him in their corruptions. Those who bargain with him will pay even greater costs. You have taunted him and spoken condescendingly, so you will pay the worst cost of all. He will never forget you!” Rivka said.
Rivka now regretted helping King Xander return to the material world. It was partly – even largely – by her power. This meant that it was partly – even largely – her fault. The day would come, she feared, when she would pay an especially high price for this, besides her other actions.
“He will remember me, always! True enough!” King Xander said, laughing.
“Don’t laugh! The more that you mock him, the worse it will be!” Rivka said. She was frightened for being associated with King Xander, if the demon should hold her accountable. She feared that her own destiny was the Maelstrom, unless she could use the powers of the Zovvin Ocean waters to somehow avoid mortal death. Some drinkers of the ‘ghost waters’, she was sure, could steal the youthful bodies of others and extend their own lives by a generation. It was a power she had not mastered, and if she failed to transfer and could not return to her former body quickly, then her true death – and confrontation with Gadamalto – might come much sooner.
“I am your King! Never forget that!” King Xander said.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Rivka said, grudgingly, as she was in no position to deny the statement. The question was, of course, for how much longer that would be true.
King Xander thought nothing of Gadamalto, as he had eluded the demon in the past, when he had lived, reigned – and then died – in a prior age. Only, he never really died.
CHAPTER 3: Designing and Financing the City of the Light
In the continent of Baradaxa, deep within his lavish estate in the north central region near the coast, Sebastian stood in a large room with forty-two (42) foot high ceilings, as it was designed to serve as a dock for the many smaller sailboats he owned. The room was a rectangle two hundred ten (210) feet from north to south and sixty (60) feet from east to west. In the floor were three (3) water-filled channels, each seventy (70) feet long and twelve (12) feet wide, extending lengthwise from the northern wall toward the center of the room. They were separated by eight (8) foot wide dry platforms that provided access to the boats that were ordinarily in the channels. There were narrower dry platforms – only four (4) feet wide – to the far east and far west sides of the channels.
Sebastian stood on the rectangle of solid ground that was one hundred forty (140) feet from north to south and the same sixty (60) feet of width, east to west, as the area with the channels.
Standing by his side were the architect, Fantine, as well as Cassius. Surrounding them, on the same platform, was a hexagonal arrangement of six (6) stone white pillars, each twelve (12) feet high, and three (3) feet in diameter. At the top of each pillar was a deep blue spherical diamond that was three (3) feet in diameter. The pillars were spaced fourteen (14) feet apart.
“The waters in this channel are Elanatin, in this one are Dead Waters and in this one are Ikkith Tar,” Sebastian said, pointing to each channel in turn.
“That should be sufficient for this test,” Cassius said.
“Mixing even a pair of waters presents a stability risk – they can be volatile. Mixing three (3) of them presents a much greater risk,” Fantine said.
“My calculations indicate that the crystallization should stabilize them before they reach volatility,” Cassius said.
“Do you have any empirical data to support that, or are your calculations purely theoretical?” Fantine asked.
“I’ve worked with this mechanism before, my dear architect,” Cassius said.
“I’m also an experienced alchemist,” Fantine said.
“Of course you are,” Cassius said, clearly annoyed. He drank the Medathero Ocean waters, which enhanced his intelligence far beyond hers, even though the Kazofen Ocean waters gave Fantine perception and control at the low-level crystal structure of the water that he could not have. The mathematical understanding of structure, as far as Cassius was concerned, was the superior ability.
“I’m sure you have worked with this machine before. But that doesn’t answer my question. The waters have their own power to them, that far surpasses any machine,” Fantine said.
“Don’t be so confident that you know every facet of each water’s behavior,” Cassius said.
“I know enough about the waters from working with them, and I’ve watched you design this machine. It has the potential to initiate or catalyze some very powerful water reactions,” Fantine said.
“Are you ready to run the constructor test, Cassius?” Sebastian asked.
“In a mere four (4) minutes, which shall begin as soon as we step outside of this arrangement,” Cassius said.
Fantine, Sebastian and Cassius all stepped outside of the hexagon whose corners were marked by the stone white pillars.
At this, Cassius held up a small metal rod in his hand – a rod which was capped with a small blue diamond that was five (5) inches in diameter. He twisted the lower and upper portions of the rod in opposite directions and the blue diamond began to glow. Six (6) beams of light shone from the diamond on the rod that Cassius held, with a beam going to each of the larger blue diamonds atop the pillars. The blue diamonds atop the pillars became bright and the diamond atop the rod that Cassius held turned dark.
After a moment, beams of light formed between the diamonds atop the pillars, forming every diagonal between the hexagonal arrangement of pillars, for a total of nine (9) beams. Soon, the beams began to – or appeared to – rotate. The waters from the channels were soon drawn up and turned into a mist and were caught in the rotation of the beams.
Fantine stood back, alarmed. She had seen the designs that Cassius had worked on, studying them in detail, and thought that she understood how the constructor worked. Yet, she did not fully understand its speed or its power. The calculations that described the machine were partly within her mathematical ability, and she understood the waters well. However, the complexities of the
manipulations that the machine performed on waters by bending light using the diamonds were perplexing to fathom and surprising to see.
The water rushed through the room, creating a thick haze that soon became like a blizzard. It lit up in a way that it shouldn’t – none of those was the water of light – so Fantine became fearful that the waters were about to turn volatile because they were being mixed. Cassius looked on at the rush of water that lifted up from the water channels and became a miniature tempest before their eyes, and knew that the light was merely the effect of the constructor’s beams reflecting off of the water crystals.
Within four (4) minutes, the entire ordeal settled down, and there were six (6) thirty (30) foot high glowing blue crystalline walls, each four (4) feet thick and fourteen (14) feet long, in between the diamond-capped pillars of the constructor.
“This is a hopeful sign…a very hopeful sign,” Sebastian said. He was impressed, but he did not want to jump to conclusions yet. Enthusiasm had its place, and he was taming it within himself, so as not to be disappointed if the old man encountered difficulties in bringing this machine up to a much larger scale.
Fantine also looked closely at the structure, surprised, and even impressed. Then, her architectural and alchemical mind quickly turned to skepticism. “However, with three (3) waters comprising its structure, are these walls stable?” she asked out loud. At this, she drank anew of the waters of the Kazofen Ocean from her vial. They were highly purified, as she had purified them herself, using the powers gained from drinking a less pure mixture of waters of the Kazofen Ocean, so as to manipulate the crystalline impurities that existed in the water and remove them. This made her current potion of Kazofen waters more effective when she drank it, so that she could use more of the innate power she had, multiplied by the water’s power. Fantine began to look deep within the structure of the walls. The Kazofen waters gave her deep insight into the crystal structure.
“What do you see, architect?” Cassius asked.
“I see the waters are laid out in alternated bands, in a sinusoidal pattern,” Fantine said.
“Does it appear stable?” Cassius asked. He had no doubt, but was looking to humble the architect.
Fantine was able to manipulate the structure by pushing on a section of it – drinking the Kazofen waters gave her that power, as well – and she began trying to unsettle it a bit to see what happened, without bringing the wall toppling down on her. She could perturb it slightly, but not all the way through.
“It appears to be a resilient material, a hydrological mixture of the three (3) waters, with an interlocking geometry that gives stability. However, the luminescence is a different matter,” Fantine said.
“Do you understand why it radiates light?” Cassius asked. Again, the old man knew, but he was just testing her.
“It appears to be reflecting light that was stored in the water crystals, perhaps from the operation of the machine,” Fantine said.
“Correct,” Cassius said.
“It took a month to build, and four (4) minutes to work. So, how long will this take to scale up, to a full size enclosure?” Sebastian asked.
Cassius pondered his answer. He wasn’t keen on giving unless there was something to be gotten out of it. He knew that Sebastian was wealthy – few didn’t – and had designs on a greater profit that was far beyond subsistence or even mere comfort. He prepared to bargain before giving Sebastian what he wanted. “At what scale were you planning to have the constructor operate?” Cassius asked.
Sebastian had recently drunk anew of the waters of the Elanatin Ocean from his own vial, and was energized sufficiently that he could read Cassius’ every thought. He knew that the old man was seeking immense financial gain, and planned on bargaining for greater payment in return for building the constructor to full size. Of course, that was assuming that the old man could figure out how to scale it up correctly. “The walls here are fourteen (14) feet long, thirty (30) feet high, and…” Sebastian said.
“Four (4) feet thick, according to my calculations,” Cassius said.
“To create the protectorate and border all its land, they each need to be three hundred fifty (350) miles long,” Sebastian said.
“And two hundred forty (240) feet high, two hundred (200) feet thick,” Fantine added.
“Those are extraordinary dimensions. To prove that it is even possible to operate the constructor at that scale, I will need to obtain thousands of the largest and highest quality diamonds, while having them cut to the most precise specifications. Fantine has been most helpful in that capacity, so far; yet, we will have to work diligently, and may need assistance,” Cassius said.
Sebastian read Cassius’ mind and knew that the old man was requesting the diamonds to build his own wealth, and only needed six (6) high quality large diamonds – albeit large ones that were alchemically joined from a few dozen smaller ones, no more than a hundred twenty (120) total – and the rest he planned on keeping as profit, while saying that they were merely expended in the construction process. Sebastian saw that the old man was in no hurry to help, and would delay and give excuses until he had the reward he sought.
“Very well. I will give you access to my vaults, so that you can evaluate the diamonds held there and select those you will need,” Sebastian said.
“Yes, I have many calculations to make, and I will be needing Fantine to help me identify the most suitable diamonds, and provide any alterations,” Cassius said.
“If you are ready, then,…” Sebastian said, gesturing toward a doorway at the southern end of the room, leading to a staircase up to the study.
Fantine and Cassius followed Sebastian, who led the way to the door, up the stairs and into the study. The room was circular – seventy (70) feet in diameter, with walls thirty (30) feet high – and lined with thousands of books.
Cassius was impressed the first time he had seen the study, and no less impressed now. He considered that it might be worth his while to spend time in Sebastian’s study and find a rare book that might give a glimpse of arcane knowledge he could peddle for advantage.
Fantine thought the vast collection of books to be a waste, given that Sebastian was not given to a great deal of reading, and there were far more books here than even an avid reader could hope to consume. That is, there were too many unless the reader was a drinker of the Ursegan Ocean waters and could use their quick sight ability to scan all the tomes, and had sufficient intellect to absorb the contents. Reading fast, Fantine knew, was no guarantee of comprehension, and many of the usual drinkers – the Chroniclers of the Oath – were not particularly intelligent in her estimation. They collected facts, but did not connect those facts to discern the larger picture.
“Is there something here that may be of interest to you? Feel free to browse through these books, if they could assist in your planning,” Sebastian said, noticing their wandering eyes and minds.
Sebastian did not have any particular need for the books, personally, and was planning on giving the volumes to those who would most appreciate them – poor families who could not afford to visit Emeth and study the writings in that city’s archives for themselves. He had already given away books numerous times to poor farmers in surrounding villages – villages he owned. He then sent his servants to Emeth to transcribe more of the vast and ancient archives into books. The information in Emeth spanned hundreds of millennia and far exceeded the capacity of anyone – or even everyone combined – to ever read, and it was growing all the time. There was always something new to be learned, and not just from reading the archives. His servants were always required to visit the annunciation room and return with what news had been publicly reported by the Chroniclers, so it was to his benefit to dispatch them to Emeth on a frequent basis.
“At a later time, perhaps,” Fantine said.
“We have to focus our attention on the selection of the most suitable diamonds,” Cassius said.
“This way, then,” Sebastian said. He led Fantine a
nd Cassius to another cylindrical room which was the same size as the study. In this room, there were many mechanical levers and dials and a large globe – twenty one (21) feet in diameter – in its center.
Sebastian pushed and pulled on some of the levers and an area of the floor around the globe opened up to reveal a spiral staircase.
“One would never have suspected,” Cassius said, having paid close attention to which levers that Sebastian moved, and in which direction and in which order. He had recently drank anew of the waters of the Medathero Ocean from his own vial, and they made him alert and logical and attentive to detail. He planned on having full access to the wealth of this estate, and taking his share of it.
“How accurate is that globe?” Fantine asked.
“It’s a perfect replica of the one in Emeth,” Sebastian said.
“Which? There are several,” Cassius asked.
“From the hall where the land surveys are kept,” Sebastian said.
“The Sixteenth Hall, then,” Cassius said.
Sebastian then led them both down the spiral staircase, descending forty (40) feet. They were in a narrow tunnel that was only twelve (12) feet wide and high.
“Through that door is one of the vaults,” Sebastian said, pointing to a metal door at the end of the hallway, perhaps one hundred fifty (150) feet away.
Sebastian then led Fantine and Cassius to the door and he inserted a key into the door and unlocked it. When he opened the door, they all entered an octagonal room that was two hundred ten (210) feet across and thirty-two (32) feet high. It was filled with diamond after diamond in chests, in sculptures, on picture frames, in a sculpted fountain, and in the shapes of pyramids and other monuments that were replicas of those from Emeth.
Cassius’ greedy heart schemed and wondered how many of these he could take for himself. Yet, Sebastian knew this was Cassius’ plan and so he showed him the smallest of the vaults, and one in which the diamonds were of a low quality. Sebastian’s vast fortune would barely be reduced if the entire contents of the room were stolen.
