Mara’s soft, strained voice startled Talis. “What about escaping back through the portal and freeing Palarian? He can return home and so can we, and the portals will close naturally. Wouldn’t that work?”
“It seems like it would work, except it’s too obvious.” Talis sighed and ran his fingers along parched lips. “Aurellia is bound to have set some trap, some snare at the portal entrance.”
Nikulo jabbed his finger towards Talis’s backpack. “Check the Surineda Map. That’s the only way to be sure.”
Talis felt stupid for not thinking of it earlier. In the heat of battle, his mind had been completely drawn away from any notion of escape. He opened the map case and felt waves of golden light coursing up his hands and through his body, warming him until a fever flushed his skin with sweat. The map unfurled easily and he closed his eyes and pictured the portal still open at the beach. He commanded the map to display any traps or wards guarding the area near the portal, and the map zoomed in and displayed hundreds of magical wards all around the portal. The traps were probably all set to prevent leaving Vellia, while still allowing Aurellia’s forces to enter from the other side.
“They must have all just been recently set… I saw Relech sneak off into the dark when Rolovian was stabbing the chieftain’s heart with shadow magic.” Nikulo’s face contorted into a grimace as if picturing the vile scene.
“I never thought we get could out of here that easily. Isn’t this just a one way trip?” Mara sighed and covered her eyes with her palms. “We’ll never make it back home….”
“No!” Talis hissed, leaning in towards Mara, surprised by his own outburst. “Don’t think that…we have to believe we’ll make it back home and set things right. I can’t accept that we’ll be stuck here on this alien world with no way back home. As long as the twins portals are open there’s a chance.”
Nikulo studied Talis with a wry look on his face. “Have you forgotten our pledge of loyalty to Aurellia? Because if you have, I can assure you, he’ll do his best to remind us of our oath. The question is how can we cause the oath to be broken, or would we be free if he dies?”
The strands of garlic and onion were swept aside by Aurellia’s hand, his black eyes gleaming viciously in the firelight. He slowly gazed at Talis, Mara, and Nikulo with a piercing look that felt like a mallet striking Talis’s gut.
“But how can you kill one already dead?” Aurellia cackled wickedly, and ran gaunt fingers along his wet lips. “Oh, traitorous children, do you not wonder the reach of my ears? I know all and see all, the spiders and the flies and the moths, they all whisper secrets to me. The cold, north wind talks to me. The moon divulges her secrets.
“Now, here we are, in waiting for my army to arrive, the game of time…an opportunity for you to learn…separately. And to let your heart grow fond through distance. Yes, I believe that is wise. You, fat one, you’ll study under Rolovian the Mad and expand your knowledge of potions. You crave such knowledge, am I correct? And you, pretty child of shadows, you’ll spend time learning stalking with Elder Relech, the master thief, full of guile and deception. Talis, the loyal one, you’ll spend time with me, although I doubt you’ll enjoy the time, but you’ll learn a thing or two. Come now, come to the fire, come to dinner.”
At his words, Rolovian crept up and motioned for Nikulo to follow. Nikulo’s eyes held a morbid apprehension as he glanced at Talis and Mara but he finally followed Rolovian over to the far corner of the hut where they settled around a small, bubbling pot.
Talis grimaced in pain as Mara clenched his arm. He stroked her back and whispered in her ear that things would work out all right, that they would be back together soon. When he glimpsed Aurellia’s idiotic expression of fake concern, Talis forced himself to remain calm and unaffected.
“Such a tender couple…so young and passionate. I trust you’ll both cooperate now?” Aurellia’s raised eyebrows sought the approval of Talis. “If you do so, this will ensure you’ll see each other again. If not, I fear this beloved girl will be the first one to die.”
Aurellia studied Talis, as if searching for signs of anger, but found none. He flourished a shadow-filled hand and the formation of a bubbling ink-cloud expanded to the size of a man. Relech appeared from within those shadows, locked his claw-like fingers around Mara’s arms, and Talis shouted her name, but her screams and anguished face were yanked inside the shadow cloud.
Talis clenched his eyes shut and listened to the sound of his pounding heart. Where did he take her? He hoped and prayed that wherever the hideous creature took Mara, that she would be all right. He thought about resisting, opposing Aurellia in a fight that Talis knew would lead to his death, but then his death would be futile. There would be no one to help save Mara, no one to bring her back home, no one to restore Naru to safety. He would bide his time, learn from Aurellia, strengthen his skill in magic, build his power. And then use it all against the dark lord—kill him, obliterate the memory of Aurellia’s ill deeds from the world. He vowed to do this thing, no matter what the cost.
“I have sworn a blood oath to you, and I will obey.” Talis lifted his submissive eyes to Aurellia. “Tell me what I must do.”
Aurellia looked pleased. “You must learn the art of dying, so that you cannot be killed.”
3. DEATH MAGIC
The words brought to life the memory of Talis stabbing Aurellia in the heart. The ash and the laughter. Aurellia’s amused eyes at Talis’s pathetic attempt to kill him. What did it mean to learn the art of dying?
“There are as many schools of magic as there are grains of sand in the sea.” Aurellia sat and leaned against a sack of rice, releasing a long, fatigued sigh. “Just as a fighter discovers new sword techniques to win against his enemies, so a practitioner of magic seeks to develop new spells to surprise and gain victory over his opponents.”
Aurellia withdrew a small silver knife from within his black robe. He slit his wrist and with his other hand caught the ash spilling from his veins, his eyes gleaming mysteriously.
“A school of magic I invented all myself—Death Magic. The ability to survive the blade—” Aurellia stopped himself and studied Talis cautiously. “And many other forms of physical and magical attacks. Let’s leave it at that for now. Over three thousand years ago I had great need for such magic, and through torture and despair I discovered a new art—and survived. And through the use of this magic have survived countless times since.”
Talis said nothing, and instead stared at the ash spilling into Aurellia’s wrinkled, white palm, wondering what fire made the ash. Was Aurellia’s heart an ever-burning inferno that made ash instead of blood? What kind of monster was Aurellia and what did he want here on Vellia?
With a frown on the dark lord’s face, Talis broke his gaze and glanced into Aurellia’s curious eyes. “Yet you bleed…bleed like other men, bleed ash instead of blood.” That makes him vulnerable still, Talis thought.
“Ash is not blood. A loss of blood means death. An emptying of this shell of ash would make me light, raging, frenzied. I would be the inferno, the phoenix, rising from my spilled ashes.” Aurellia cackled softly, as is imagining a terrible scene. “A sight…such a frightful sight. Pray, boy, you never see it.”
Indeed. Talis grimaced at the thought of encountering Aurellia in such a situation. So he has many such protections. Failsafes. A counter against his destruction.
“You are fire, you hold the sun in your heart, and the strength and form of the dragon lies within you.” Aurellia’s expression was one of a person in deep in thought, considering the implications of his words. “The last part makes you unique. Vastly unique, if the truth were told. It is rare for a human to possess a second form. Some the eagle, some the puma, some the pig. Hah. Perhaps your friend Nikulo possesses such a form.”
Talis scowled at Aurellia, irritated at his insult. Besides, over the long course of their journey Nikulo’s muscles had hewn away the fat in his body. He wasn’t thin. And he now commanded respect with his hulking
form.
But why was the dragon form so rare? Surely here on Vellia, with so many dragons about, there would be many who held command over the form of the dragon? Or did Aurellia know of some other secret that he was unwilling to share?
“Death Magic only works when the right elements are in place. Fire. Sun. The ability to assume a form.” Aurellia’s voice was low, concealing.
“Is it permanent?” Talis shuddered at the thought of never feeling his heartbeat again.
Aurellia shook his head slowly, a smile creasing his wrinkled face. “Layers and layers of secrets. The short answer is no. Learning Death Magic is more like learning yet a new form, a new position to fix yourself onto. One can always change back to your human shape. But, alas, who would want to do such a stupid thing?”
Talis scoffed. “Who would want to learn how to die? It seems to me the only stupidity lies in the desire for death. I’ve been there, at the gates of the Underworld, with death on my lips. I’ve no desire to return.”
“Then you’ll make an obedient pupil.” Aurellia fixed evil, black eyes on Talis. A chill ran along Talis’s spine as he felt a dark power creep inside. He really had no choice. He had to learn whatever Aurellia intended to teach him. Or else. His life lost and the lives of his friends and family. And the lives of the innocents in Naru.
He bowed his head to Aurellia’s extended finger and felt the touch of death spreading across his scalp, dark fingers digging into his brain. Lights flashed and flickered in his mind’s eyes—flickered and died. When the darkness was absolute, crushing and oppressive, fire rained down. Fingerlings earnestly seeking matter to consume. The heat rose up along his ankles as if he were being burned at the stake. Talis opened his eyes, the agony too great, and a shiver went through him as he surveyed a vast, mountainous expanse. Another vision? The silver moonlight poured over the arid landscape, cracks and deep fissures marring the symmetrical shape of the mountain. Odd, Talis thought, the mountain range seems strangely familiar. Where have I seen it before?
A trio of dragons glided over a mass of jutting granite, circled up and around, then plummeted inside one of the fissures. A cave? Talis froze as he sensed Aurellia stalking up alongside him, gazing at the view.
“This should be a familiar scene to you. The shape of the ridgeline? What is above ground here is below there, on your world, the twin to Vellia.”
Damned, but now that he said the words, he felt like he had seen the mountain range before. Yet somehow, it was different. There were volcanoes, lava flowing from those fissures, pouring down the mountainside. A sudden realization struck him. That was it. The Underworld. If the lands above were like the Underworld on his planet, were the lands below on Vellia like his world? He dared not think what the land of the dead was like here on Vellia. Or what horrific creatures dwelt within the realm.
Talis watched Aurellia as he stared at the mountains. The dark lord’s body remained rigid, eyes fixed, face held in some unreadable expression. Why did he summon such a vision? What was in those mountains that he wanted? Gods…Aurellia wants the dragons. Or is it something that the dragons possess? Some ancient hidden treasure, containing a power to aid in his fight?
“Within those mountains lies our destination. An impossible journey.” Aurellia seemed amused with himself. “The gall to assault the kingdom of dragons. A direct attack would mean utter failure. Trickery is in order. While the main force sails to the continent—to meet our enemies—you and I will make our way to those mountains.”
“What about Mara and Nikulo?” What would happen to his friends? Perhaps this was part of Aurellia’s plan to keep Talis subdued and obedient.
Aurellia chuckled as if it were ridiculous for Talis to ask such a question. He pointed a wrinkled finger at the fissure where the dragons had entered the mountain. “There is the entrance to the kingdom of dragons. Ghaelstrom. A vastly older kingdom than those of the ancients of Vellia. If one can believe such a thing is true. It is said that within Ghaelstrom lies artifacts and crystals of immense power, weapons forged from the Brilliant Ones, from the ancient kingdom of Tur a hundred thousand years ago. They possessed the seed of all knowledge and civilizations. Of all magic. The seed planted from the Starwalkers. The mythical race that leapt from star to star, on their endless adventure through the galaxy.”
Talis craned his neck back and gazed up at the wash of stars flooding in through the black night. Dreams of endless adventure captivated his imagination. How many other inhabitable planets were out there? Millions? How many civilizations, how many schools of magic? The possibilities roared through his mind. His thoughts were interrupted by the nasally sound of Aurellia’s voice.
“It is said the Starwalkers have no home. That they’ve journeyed across space and time to so many planets they’ve forgotten their origin. Legend says they’ve even forgotten who they are. Their very nature is formed as a collection of all their travels. These seekers hope to understand themselves through understanding others. Other cultures and civilizations. Other languages. Other sentient creatures.”
“Do they ever return to a planet after they’ve seeded it?” Talis thought that perhaps the seeds of knowledge left by the Starwalkers often failed to take root. Would they return to see how things had developed?
“Quite frequently, yes.” Aurellia was quiet for a few heartbeats, as if considering the implications. “From what I have heard, they have returned several times to Vellia. In fact, the principles of casting a World Portal spell were learned during their second visit. The ancients from the Kingdom of Tur had flourished, both in prosperity and knowledge, especially the working knowledge of magic. When the Starwalkers returned they were joyous, and as a gift to the ancients of Vellia, they showed them how to mine powerful crystals inside Vellia. And they taught them the runes necessary to cast a World Portal spell. The first planet the ancients of Vellia journeyed to was Chandrix, the middling world. And once on Chandrix they discovered rune-stones with runes to many worlds, including your world, the world we call Yorek.”
Talis frowned, wondering if the Starwalkers intended to recruit more Starwalkers, more adventurers into the unknown. “Why would they give the ancients such a powerful knowledge of traveling between planets? Wouldn’t the ancients crave traveling endlessly as the Starwalkers did?”
“Well many did and some didn’t. And the fear of loss was pervasive amongst the ancients of the Kingdom of Tur. Especially those of the royalty. Originally some of the ancients of Vellia left to join the Starwalkers. Many on Vellia feared that such knowledge would lead to the disintegration of their civilization. And our history tells us this fear led to civil war. The fracture of the Kingdom of Tur. Most of the ancients eventually left to either join the Starwalkers or to create new groups of Starwalkers. Many vanished off into endless travels into the unknown. Few ever returned.
“Those that remained on Vellia banded together and formed the Kingdom of Zhael. They scribed the four principles: one, the knowledge of casting a world portal spell was limited to the highest, most trusted rank in their magical order; two, no more than two hops were allowed during travels to other worlds; three, observation was required before interaction with those met on new planets; four, once observation proved that those met merited interaction, contact was established and the ancients were required to stay with them for a minimum of two years and a maximum of five. No further visits were allowed and the ancients of Vellia were mandated to return home before the five years were up.”
Talis pictured the ancient city of Urgar and realization struck. Something had gone wrong there. “Were those principles broken when the ancients went to my world?”
Aurellia’s face was shrouded in darkness. A shooting star danced across his black eyes. Talis could feel a constriction in his chest. Was he sensing Aurellia’s pain, his remorse? Was Aurellia the one that broke those principles? The dark lord’s voice sent a shiver through Talis as he spoke.
“The principles were proven to be irrelevant. Arbitrary. There w
as war and blood, too much blood…” Anguish oozed from every word Aurellia spoke. “We fought for intellectual independence. Freedom from the constraints of obsolete thinking. In a way we won, in a way we lost. The immortals of Vellia tricked us. Trapped us on Yorek. That is until you came along, loyal servant, and led me to the lost Temple of the Sun. The crystal. Our salvation and our return.”
A heavy sigh escaped from Talis’s lips. His foolishness had led to Aurellia’s salvation? And not only once, but twice, on Yorek. Dooming Palarian and the ancient turtle. Those ruby eyes. Immense twin crystals keeping the portals open between the worlds. Portals that now allowed the power of Aurellia’s armies and his sorcerers and necromancers to join up in the fight to try and overthrow the ancient rulers of Vellia. But would it be enough? Talis doubted it. He could sense Aurellia needed something else to help win the battle, something there in that cave, in the kingdom of the dragons.
“You’ll fail in your fight, won’t you?” Talis stared into Aurellia’s eyes for signs of truth. “They’re too powerful…the ancients…you need something from those mountains. What is it?”
A wry smile flowered on Aurellia’s leathered face. “You’re clever, my boy. Yes, indeed there is something there in the lair of the dragons that I need. Why do you think I let you live? Why do you think I gave you the gift of immortality found with the Zacrane Dagger? Do you think I’d waste it on a young whelp with a gift for casting spells? I never even bothered to really notice you until my old friend, Palarian, informed me of your newfound ability to assume the dragon form. Yes…clever boy, only that interests me.”
“But what good is a human who’s able to take the shape of a dragon? Surely the dragons can see through that.”
“Yes! Of course they can, that’s the point.” Aurellia flashed brilliant white teeth that shimmered in the starlight. “There is a legend, of the human mage who has the ability to assume the dragon form. The dragons of Ghaelstrom know that legend by heart. Once we fly in there together—you in dragon form—the dragons will treat you like a god. The embodiment of legend; the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy.
Dragon Mage (Blacklight Chronicles) Page 2
