The wind cleared the dreadlocks off his face. As he stared down the crowded streets, he saw the great pyramids of his ancestors reigning just three miles away from the village. The blood of the Mahamuths ran through his veins. An ancestry of kings and treasures rest inside the pyramids, but he didn’t care about them. The only treasure he cared about hung from his neck. The Golden Sun.
He had taken it from his father before he left the palace. His father did not trust him with the Golden Sun. Ganicus wanted the family relic for so long. A relic five centuries old. If his father discovered that he took it without permission, King Mahamuth would set Ganicus’ arse on fire.
I will put it right back where it belongs. Ganicus said to himself. Father never searches the lower chambers. In seven days, I will be back, and he will never know that it was missing. Seven days is long enough for me to learn how to use it. Father wants to keep it hidden, never knowing its power. I say, why let old magic get lost in the pages of history? If father had learned to use the Golden Sun, he could have defeated the queen in the north. That is why the green queen nearly destroyed us five years ago.
He dare not show it to anyone outside the palace. If anyone saw him carrying such a golden rare item, they would pilfer it, but Ganicus was not afraid. He was a well-trained mage and skilled in swordplay. He kept his mind sharp and always sought to learn more.
His horse ran out of the village and into the desert. Ganicus took one last glance at Donkor. He stared into the rays of the sun and a tear ran down his cheek. “Pikan,” he whispered and a spark of fire blazed on the palm of his hand. The sun stoked his magic.
The prince and his assistants ran through the desert for half an hour. They drank water from a gourd and fed their horses along the way. The prince did not like being out in the sun too much. He missed the comfort of his chamber in the palace where he could lie with his girlfriend, and his servants fed him grapes as he lay on cushions and fine silk. This desert, this inferno and dry lands were not for him. He had traveled the deserts before, but comfortably, with servants carrying him as he was protected from the sun. This was punishment to him, but he tried not to complain. He was going to show his father that he could handle any task. Father just wants me to get out of my comfort zone.
The pyramids reigned hundreds of feet high. Cobra soldiers stood by the entrance, hooded and armed with sabres and spears. Ganicus and his assistants entered and left their horses outside. The air was thinner inside.
“Here we are, my prince,” Shakur said, standing before two passages. One passage ascended and the other descended. Torches lit the way, and their steps echoed. It was dusty, and Ganicus felt himself inhaling minerals.
“This is where we will spend the next seven days. What is my father trying to do to me?” Ganicus said hopelessly.
“Worry not, my prince.” Shakur clutched the prince’s shoulder. “I am here to guide you.”
Shakur took a torch from the wall and walked down the descending passage.
“Wait! Why are we going down? Why not up?” Ganicus asked. He hated being underground; it was a phobia he had since he was a child.
“My prince, the tomb of your grandfather is down this way. This is where all the kaminyte is kept.” Shakur beckoned, but the prince was hesitant and somewhat afraid. Ganicus clenched his fist and took a deep breath. He nodded, and Shakur led the way. Down the passageway they went, torches lighting the way. Four Cobra soldiers followed behind. It was a long walk down. It was like going down hills, but there was nothing to grab on to. Within minutes, they reached a subterranean chamber.
Miners dug with shovels and pick axes. They were all topless with only brown cloths covering their privates. There were dozens of men digging and searching for kaminyte, but there was none in sight. Earth mages levitated boulders and dug, using their maju to control the rocks. The light of the torches cast dancing shadows on the wall. They had packed food in wooden boxes and casks of ale and water. The air reeked of sweat and other unknown vile scents. They had tents to rest in and wood to start a fire.
“For how long have they been here?” Ganicus asked unpleasantly.
“For several weeks now,” Shakur replied. Their voices echoed inside the chamber.
“Well, at least, they look healthy. My father is not the type of man to mistreat his people. Unlike my grandfather. Where is the coffin of the old man, by the way?”
“The coffin is over there.” Shakur pointed at a coffin that lay on a pedestal. Ganicus saw it but quickly ignored it. He had no interest in seeing his grandfather’s corpse. The old man died with an unpleasant history.
Ganicus paced around the chamber, watching the workers and earth mages dig. He noticed an enormous hole like a well in the center of the chamber. He walked to the edge, craned his neck, and gazed down at the darkness.
“What is at the bottom of the hole?” Ganicus asked in awe.
“We found an incredible piece of kaminyte, but it is stuck underground. It was under your grandfather’s coffin. The king believes that your grandfather, King Hidan, was hiding kaminyte,” Shakur explained. “Kaminyte is not like most minerals that are easy to break with a hammer. We are trying to dig around the piece of kaminyte and see if, perhaps, we can pull it out. That is why we have been here for so long.”
“This is going to take forever. It is a good thing I know terramancy,” Ganicus said, then thought, these earth mages must be weak.
“I believe we shall soon finish, and these workers will be able to go home,” Shakur said as he stroked his beard and walked away.
Ganicus remained gazing into the darkness of the hole. As a mage, he could feel the maju of the kaminyte at the bottom of the hole. It was dark maju. He had fought mages who used shadomancy before. He was familiar with dark magic, but he had never seen an object that contained such maju. What is my father going to use kaminyte for? He pondered as he gazed. He won’t bother with the Golden Sun, but he invests his time in kaminyte. What are you up to, father?
Suddenly, the ground shook and stones fell from the high ceiling. All the miners and mages paused and looked at each other in terror. Chatter echoed in the subterranean chamber. The ground shook again; dust and rocks fell from above. The workers began to panic and so did Ganicus. He hated being underground, and it was hard to breathe. He feared dying in such a dreadful place. I just arrived, and I am already experiencing an earthquake. Curse you father.
“Shakur, what is happening?” he asked panicking. He surveyed the chamber, trying to find Shakur. “Where are you?” he yelled. Still no response. As he walked amongst the panicking workers, he stumbled upon something. At first, he thought it was a boulder, but when he looked down, Shakur’s head was cracked open. He felt cold fear climbing up his spine, giving him goosebumps. Ganicus guessed a rock must had fallen on Shakur’s head.
“By the desert god,” he whispered in despair.
“Everyone! Get out of the chamber at once!” yelled a commanding earth mage. They all huddled out of the chamber. Ganicus couldn’t decide whether or not to bring Shakur’s body.
“Forgive me, my friend. You have been of great help,” he said to his dead friend. He ran towards the passage. Suddenly, something broke through the high ceiling of the chamber. A great hole in the ceiling opened, and the light of the sun beamed through. It was as if someone had dug their way through the pyramid.
“Great Majithus. What is happening?” He gazed at the person who had dug their way into the chamber. The stranger was clad in black, wearing a white mask with two horns rising. A cracked opening in the mask for the left eye. A wide cloak covered the body of the person.
“Who are you?” Ganicus asked. “How in the world did you break through the pyramid? That is impossible.”
“It’s called terramancy. Earth magic. Only a high-level spell can do such a thing,” answered the stranger in black. Whoever it was, a young female voice echoed from the mask. She then looked up into the hole in the ceiling from where she had entered.
“Com
e my lovelies,” she called and beckoned something or someone from above. Growls and shrills echoed. Ganicus stared up and saw black creatures falling down into the chamber. He panicked and ran towards the passageway, only to find it blocked by boulders.
“Bastards, they left me behind. Shite!” Ganicus became frustrated.
“Terras levitas!” he shouted. His terramancy was weak. It could only budge the boulders blocking his way out. He pressed his maju into his spell, but the earth element was just not his specialty.
“Oh desert god. I am only good at fire and air. There has to be a way to get out of here.” He spun around and saw the black creatures that the masked girl had called. Some were canines with spikes on their backs like daggers, and some large and muscular, as tall as trolls. Some had swords for arms, and others carried jagged clubs. None of the black creatures had eyes. They only had mouths with sharp teeth and slits for nostrils that twitched.
“Ah, there it is,” said the masked girl, staring into the darkness of the large hole in the center of the chamber.
“Stop! That kaminyte belongs to my father,” Ganicus said. He was afraid, but he did not forget what he was there for.
“You are still here? I thought you ran away with the rest of the miners,” said the masked girl, turning her attention to Ganicus.
The black creatures seemed to be at her command, and they all gathered around her. They growled and hissed at Ganicus. He had nowhere to run or hide. I will not be eaten alive by these beasts, he thought.
“Who are you? I command you to take off that mask,” he said.
“Command?” The masked girl laughed. “I am not one of your workers. My name is Hertha, and I am here to take this lovely piece of kaminyte.” She extended her arm over the large hole as if to cast a spell.
“Hold it…Hertha is your name.” Ganicus drew his sabre and pointed it at her. “I am prince Ganicus, son of Oba Mahamuth. I command that you leave this chamber. Here lies family property, and you do not want my father’s army after you.”
Hertha laughed hysterically at Ganicus as if he were a child trying to stand up to her.
“Typical spoiled prince. Think you can get whatever you want because of your inheritance.” Hertha’s black creatures began to pace towards Ganicus as if to pounce. “I have my own army, and I think a spoiled prince, like you, will make good food for my fiends.”
“Fiends?” Ganicus whispered, acknowledging what they were.
A black canine pounced; it was as tall as he was. “Pikan argsas!” yelled the prince and hurled his sabre that was covered in flames. It plunged into the head of the canine. The beast fell and its body turned to ashes. Ganicus lifted his sabre from the ashes in disgust.
More fiends pounced, teeth and claws as sharp as swords. Ganicus let out a roar and ignited his sabre using his maju. “Pikan fang!” he yelled, swung his sabre, and released a line of fire from the blade. Red energy slashed through the fiends, and their bodies turned to ashes. Dozens of them attacked him, and he vanished them all with a slash of fire.
The larger ones trudged towards him. They carried jagged clubs, muscular fiends, shaped like men.
“Not bad for a prince. My trolls will keep you busy while I pull this kaminyte from the ground,” Hertha said.
Ganicus did not sense her using any maju. He heard a thud and saw the edge of the hole rising as Hertha pulled the kaminyte with her unknown magic. Ganicus thought she was using terramancy.
“By the desert god, how is she doing that?” he questioned. A fiend swung its club. He ducked then severed the fiend’s leg. The creature dropped to one knee, and Ganicus stabbed its chest with an ignited blade. The creature turned to ashes, and three more trudged towards him.
“Damn it!” he cursed and saw Hertha pulling the kaminyte with her powers. He watched as the ground spread open and the great kaminyte stone levitated towards Hertha. Within a few minutes, Hertha did what the miners and mages were trying to do for weeks. What kind of magic is she using? Whatever it is, it’s not terramancy, Ganicus wondered.
He fought the large fiends. They were slow and fell to his fire magic. The fiends kept him busy, while Hertha stole the kaminyte. Ganicus saw it. It was three times his size and thicker than the pillars of his palace. It was pure black steel containing dark maju.
“It’s time to go, my lovelies; return to me,” Hertha commanded her fiends. She raised a cylindrical glass object over her head. There was a claw inside a dark liquid. It had a silver top and base.
“Return to the relic of your creator,” she commanded. The bodies of fiends turned into black smoke, and the relic absorbed the smoke like a genie returning to its lamp.
“Terriora levitas!” she yelled.
Ganicus recognized the words of her spell. She was using a high-level earth spell. She thrust her palm upwards, and with her maju, she punched a larger hole in the ceiling from which she came. The ground shook and more sunlight beamed from above as the hole opened wider. Hertha flew up and behind her, the enormous dark monolith ascended.
“No! If father hears about this, he will punish me. I can’t let her get away.” Ganicus was not very talented with terramancy, but he had a much greater skill. A skill he inherited from his family.
“If I can’t dig my way out of here with earth magic, then I will let my Eedahlan do the work.” He removed his right glove and armlet. A mandarak was tattooed on the back of his hand. A tattoo with the symbol of terramancy. Ancient codex and line art inside a magic circle. As he chanted, the mandarak began to glow on his skin.
“Terraibos Goro!” he yelled. He pressed his hand on the ground, and his maju spread the magic circle under his feet. The mandarak expanded up to thirty feet and shone inside the chamber.
“Goro, I summon you,” he called upon his Eedahlan and stepped out of the magic circle. He heard a grunt echo inside the chamber. Suddenly, an arm as thick as an oak tree punched out of the mandarak and smashed the ceiling. Then a head came out of the mandarak. A scowling face gritting its teeth. It had golden skin, and as its torso rose from the magic circle, golden armor and chains clanked.
“Goro, get me out of here,” Ganicus told his Eedahlan. The summon roared and grabbed Ganicus with hands as large as gates. He could not see what was happening while inside the hands of his Eedahlan. All he heard were rocks and gravel tumbling all around and Goro’s stomps. Within minutes, Ganicus felt sun rays through the fingers of Goro. The Eedahlan opened its hands. Sunlight blinded Ganicus, and when his view cleared, he saw the tunnel that Goro had made exiting the pyramid.
“Father is going to kill me,” Ganicus said. “But I would rather take his punishment than be stuck there.”
Goro placed Ganicus on its shoulders. The prince stood fifty feet above ground on his Eedahlan, a golden armored giant. He surveyed the desert to find the white masked girl. When he spotted her hovering over the pyramid, she seemed like a speck in his vision, but the kaminyte that floated next to her was three times her size.
“Goro, there she is. Grab the kaminyte!” Ganicus commanded. Goro responded with a grunt and ran after the floating kaminyte. Hertha tried to fly away with it. Goro jumped and reached out with its arms extending thirty-five feet. The Eedahlan successfully grasped the kaminyte and fell. When it landed, sand billowed like clouds and wind gusted.
“Yes! I didn’t use up all my maju for nothing. Now, let’s get rid of that masked fiend, Goro.” Ganicus triumphed. Goro grunted then released a blast of fire from its mouth, bathing Hertha in an inferno as she hovered in the sky.
“Roast in the abyss, you masked thief,” Ganicus said. When Goro ceased its flames, Ganicus saw Hertha falling from the sky. She landed on a hill of sand and rolled down. The pillar of kaminyte tumbled and thudded on the sand.
“Today is a glorious day, and now that I have my grandfather’s kaminyte, I won’t have to stay in that underground chamber for seven days. Perhaps, father will forgive the destruction of the pyramid for my success in returning the kaminyte safely to him.�
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A yowl echoed from below. Ganicus gazed down and saw Hertha casting a spell. A mandarak glowed on the sands.
“She is summoning,” Ganicus whispered and watched her Eedahlan rising from her magic circle. Hertha’s Eedahlan rose from her mandarak like a tower. It was a rock giant as high as Goro. Fifty feet in altitude. It had no face, only green gems glowing on its face like eyes and throughout its body. It trudged through the desert towards Goro, and Ganicus braced himself for a fight of Eedahlans.
“Come on! No one has ever taken down Goro,” Ganicus yelled.
“We shall see,” Hertha said atop her Eedahlan. Both giants collided. Goro landed the first blow, but the rock giant did not even budge. The rock giant pushed Goro, and the golden behemoth staggered back.
“Don’t let it take you down, Goro,” Ganicus shouted. Goro swung its chains at the rock giant and managed to remove an arm. The rock giant lifted its fallen arm and reattached it. Rocks gravitated towards the giant, reassembling its arm.
Goro unleashed a blast of fire, bathing the rock giant in an inferno, but it walked through the flames then bashed Goro and knocked down the golden Eedahlan. Ganicus fell off his summoned creature and rolled on the sands. He quickly stood up and tried to use aeromancy, but realized that he was dry on maju.
“Damn it!” he cursed and kicked sand in frustration. The rock giant lifted the kaminyte steel that Goro had dropped. The rock giant smashed it on Goro’s head. After being struck by kaminyte, Goro could not get up again.
“No!” Ganicus yelled. Goro had failed him, and Hertha had the kaminyte, once more.
“Here is a little something for you to remember me by,” Hertha shouted from atop her Eedahlan. Ganicus saw a purple spark on the shoulder of the rock giant. He looked closely and saw that Hertha was creating a purple orb in her hands. The orb swelled and ballooned until it became larger than the head of the rock giant. He had never seen purple energy before. It’s not made of maju. What kind of magic is this? What is she? Ganicus thought in terror.
Sin of Mages: An Epic Fantasy Series (Rift of Chaos Book 1) Page 9
