“This place is called The Origin Spring, a place of hope for the youth of Vellia. My brothers and sisters and I would make the long trek up here to escape the heat of the city.” The old sorcerer released a heavy sigh and scanned the area, as if to allow the scene to absorb in his mind. “I loved coming here as a child. The waters smell sweet and invigorate the spirits. Heroes and great leaders came here after defeats to revitalize themselves and prepare their minds for battle. The waters here run deep, down to the depths into the very heart of Vellia, to a mysterious place, a place imbued with the strangest power known to the world.”
Nikulo cupped his hands and quickly scooped the spring water, relishing in the honey-sweet taste. A tingling wave of energy spread down his throat and into his stomach, causing his mind to awake from the dullness. The night became luminescent and brighter and the air crisper than before. But the oddest part of Nikulo’s feeling was the sense that something had entered his mind. A kind of ancient knowing, as if a being was looking out of his eyes, curious, fascinated by the newness of what it saw. And the being was growing inside.
“I should have warned you about drinking from the waters—there is a great cost.” As Palarian studied Nikulo, the world seemed to melt away into a gelatinous haze. “The waters do hold vast power, but they are also filled with life: tiny, sentient beings with particularly possessive and crafty ways. Once they attach to their host, they stay for life.”
“Are they dangerous?”
Palarian laughed freely and placed a hand on Nikulo’s shoulder. “Incredibly dangerous! All the citizens of Vellia know better than to imbibe in the waters of The Origin Spring. Though I suppose you didn’t know any better. Don’t look so worried…I doubt you’ll die—those sentient beings want to live, after all. Now that I think about it, I’m not sure what will happen to you. It’s been a while since I read the ancient scrolls containing stories of the foolish ones who drank of the waters. Did they go mad? Did they grow powerful and conquer the world? Or perhaps in their insanity and strength they destroyed the world….”
Nikulo felt a cold sensation spread along underneath his skin and a shock of fright lanced through his heart. What if the sorcerer’s words were true?
“If memory serves me correct, the foolish ones went through a speedy transformation. Do you feel dizzy? A kind of warping of your vision? Does the world seem smaller to you, and people and objects appear farther away?”
Yes, he did feel all that and more. His hearing had become incredibly acute: he could hear the scampering of squirrels along branches high in the trees above. Even in the dark he could see the tiny hairs of ants crawling along the moss. Smells exploded all around him: the sweetness of mountain rose, the rancid stench of a dead deer decomposing, the hint of storm in the mountain breeze, and smoke, from fires burning, to the south, towards Illumina…
He turned his gaze south and stared, fixing his eyes on the dark and distant city. A pulse of power shot through his spine and his senses grew even more focused and acute. In an instant he was there, watching the great and golden capitol of Vellia under siege, her spires and mansions and magnificent buildings burning. A swarm of undead slaying and biting and feasting on the indolent citizens. Death had come to the ancient city of Illumina.
“What do you see?” Palarian sidled his way up alongside Nikulo, and fixed his eyes south.
“Illumina has fallen to the invaders—the Starwalkers and their undead army.”
“So easily? Did they even put up a fight?”
Nikulo shook his head, for indeed he was not seeing any resistance. Whatever wizards left in the capitol had fled, for the dark skies were clear and the ground beneath frothing with the undead citizens of Crystalline, now warriors for Jeremiah and the other Starwalkers.
“Wait, I see two figures giving up a good fight, at the top floor of a palace—it’s Aurellia! And another figure fighting alongside him. This man is cloaked in the light of the sun and wields a vast power. Look!”
“I see the city, boy, although vaguely through wizard’s sight, but not as clearly as your new heightened senses show. You recognize Aurellia? The other figure must be Regent Donoval—the brother of Aurellia—the man Aurellia craves revenge against. How fitting, brother fighting alongside brother, battling a common foe.”
“And another smaller figure hiding behind Aurellia—it’s Mara! Do you think they can survive fighting against the Starwalkers?”
“Unlikely…although the combined power of Aurellia and Donoval would be a fearsome thing, I doubt they’ll last for long.”
“Why don’t we go and help them? Talis is there and Mara as well—we should help, no matter if it means our death. The reason you came back to Vellia was to return home, and now your home is being destroyed!”
Nikulo’s body wracked with a sudden pain. He dropped to his knees and crumpled up, feeling a churning, twisting sensation strike his stomach. Thousands of tiny, curious faces filled his vision, staring at him in the darkness of his closed eyes. Their voices united in chorus and sang him a song of hope and power and conquest. Images of him as a king dominated his mind: of him wearing an opulent, gold crown, of millions prostrated before him, worshipping his baleful countenance, of him as a conqueror, his armies slaying millions on a bleak battlefield.
“You will rule them all, rule many worlds and many people,” the voices chanted. “Let the other fools fight—seize the power, seize what lies underneath the capitol. We will show you, let us show you, go to the capitol and we will show you. It is waiting, the fragment is waiting for you.”
A terrific scream shot from Nikulo’s mouth and he grasped the hair around his temples, trying to make the pain and pressure go away. He stared at the sky, begging for mercy from the Goddess Tolexia, for her to heal him of the sentients invading his mind. The Goddess remained silent, ignoring his pleas. He continued to stare at the sky, hoping for an answer.
Thousands of black shapes poured across his vision: sorcerers and necromancers flying towards Illumina. Nikulo jumped in surprise at the sight, glancing at the city, then back at the flying shape leading the aerial assault. Was it true? Nikulo squinted and zoomed in for a closer look. The figure riding fast—a mass of bubbling shadows around him—was Rikar.
“What do you see up there?” Palarian squinted, his head raised towards the sky.
“Rikar—my old friend and traitor. He’s leading an army of sorcerers and necromancers to Illumina. If that fool can go help, then what are we waiting for? Let’s go help Talis and Mara!” And the voices sang in his mind: “Go, but let the others fight, steal away, under the capitol, into the deep, the heart of the city—find the fragment!”
“If you are in such a rush to go and die, then I won’t stop you. But I have to warn you, even with all of Aurellia’s forces and Regent Donoval at his side, they still lack the power to beat the Starwalkers. The Ancients of Vellia never resisted them. I’m sorry, I won’t join you in your folly. Vellia is my home, and it will remain so. But the Starwalkers will leave once they get what they want, they will leave and venture out again on their endless adventure through the stars. But if you must go, then go, and take this gift from me, the gift of flight. May the Lord of the Underworld have mercy on your soul.”
Nikulo felt himself rising above the ground, and he aimed his sight towards the stars. He flew after the mass of Aurellia’s army, but stayed far enough away to stay hidden, and followed them down as they plummeted towards the battle between Aurellia and the Starwalkers.
The voices once again sprang strong in his mind: “Hide yourself, hide, stay hidden from foes! Imagine you are dark and night, invisible, and it will be so!”
Obeying the words, Nikulo laughed as his arms and legs disappeared from sight, thrilled at the power that surged through him. He veered his flight away from Aurellia’s necromancers now casting spells and changing the allegiance of the undead below. His eyes focused on Aurellia, and Mara hiding behind, and he called upon the beings inside him to grant him safe passage
through the shield of shadow and shimmering light.
He landed in the dark room, behind Aurellia and Regent Donoval, who were casting furious spells and feeding their shield to absorb the Starwalker’s assaults. Mara cringed in the corner, a ghostly aura around her, as if some kind of magic was hiding her from regular sight. He stalked up next to her, and lowered his voice to a whisper.
“Mara…it’s me, Nikulo.”
She jumped in fright and quickly scanned left and right, trying to find him. “Where are you? Are you a ghost?”
“No, silly. I’m just invisible—like you, right?”
“How do you see me then? Even Aurellia and Regent Donoval can’t see me. How is it possible? And how did you get in here, the door never opened and no portal formed. What in the name of Nyx?”
Nikulo asked the beings inside him to allow Mara to see him, and now she gaped with wide eyes at the sight of him. He grinned and did a small bow.
“At your service, M’lady. Now let’s get out of here. What Aurellia and Donoval are fighting outside is far more powerful than they are.”
“How do you know the Regent’s name?” Mara stared at him as if uncertain of who he was.
“Palarian told me his name.”
“What? The old sorcerer is back on Vellia?”
“It’s a long story…can we do this some place else?” Nikulo jabbed a finger towards the door.
Mara followed and they timed the opening of the door with an explosion that rocked the shield wall outside. They slid quietly through, and closed the door when Aurellia launched a whining, piercing spell at the enemy.
“Where is Talis?” Mara raised a hand to Nikulo’s chest to stop him from moving.
“He’s outside with the Starwalkers—forced into their service—with Charna. They know of his power to command the Surineda Map. They plan to take him on their journey through the stars and use his ability to find crystals of power. But first they need something here in Illumina, something they believe is theirs, and I think that whatever they are looking for is underneath the palace.”
“Go down, down deep, into the vaults, the fragment is there—go!” The voices were stronger now and sent a wave of nausea churning in Nikulo’s stomach. The beings were fixing themselves firmly on his mind. He blinked when Mara waved a hand in front of his eyes.
“Are you feeling ok? You look really pale and sick. What’s happened to you?”
“Never mind…I drank some foul water at a spring. Let’s hurry up before the Starwalkers break into the palace. Are you coming?” Nikulo waited for her at the stairs and despite the suspicion in her eyes she followed him down.
The voices led him to the first floor, and guided him past several ballrooms into a massive kitchen that smelled of onions and roasted meat. His stomach grumbled and begged for food.
“Gods, I’m starving. Can we get a bite to eat?”
Mara frowned and rolled her eyes in disgust. “At least I know you’re really Nikulo…who else would be hungry in the middle of a massive battle. Go ahead. But shouldn’t we do something to try and help Talis?”
Nikulo had shoved a fried chicken thigh into his mouth. “Dis iz hwelping him.”
“Just eat first, stop talking with your mouth stuffed so full. Your face looks pregnant. Where are we going anyways? No, no, my bad, ignore the question, just finish chewing.”
“Down into the vaults. Come on, I’ll eat on the way.”
“How do you know your way around the palace so well? It’s so weird, it’s like you’ve been here before.”
Off ahead Nikulo heard footsteps walking down the hallway. He gestured for Mara to stop. “Wait, I hear someone up ahead.”
“We’re still invisible, right?”
“I don’t think we’ll be invisible to Starwalkers…and I think that’s who is ahead of us.” Nikulo closed his eyes and listened to the words of the beings in his mind: “Hurry up, take the next door, go quickly before they come!”
He tugged on Mara’s hand and they ran ahead together, and opened the first door on the right. Down the stone stairs they raced, winding around and around for eleven flights of stairs until Nikulo felt so dizzy he could barely stay on his feet.
“Here…the vaults are on this floor.”
“This is ridiculous, Nikulo. Talk to me already! Why in the name of the gods do you know your way around here so well?”
Nikulo knew he had to make up some lie, he couldn’t tell her the truth—that some sentient beings had invaded his mind and were guiding him. She’d think he was crazy…
“Palarian cast a spell over me…to help me fly and get into the palace. He gave me his memories and knowledge of the building.”
“But why didn’t he come with you?”
“Listen, it’s a long story—he went to convince the dragons to come back and fight with us.” Nikulo almost laughed at how easily the words slipped from his mouth, as if they were true—were the words true? “Can we just keep going? Stop looking at me like that! Do you want them to catch up to us? Can’t you hear their footsteps above? Let’s go!”
Mara stayed quiet after that and followed him down the hallway, past warehouse rooms filled with crates and stacks of boxes. Inside a freezer filled with ice blocks he found a tarp covering a secret door in the floor. It was locked, bolted shut with a complex series of locks guarded by an eleven rune-character locking system.
“What are you going to do now? Don’t tell me that you can actually read those characters or that you can somehow know the lock’s combination?”
Nikulo closed his eyes and the beings flashed images of the runes lining up in the correct sequence. He slid the runes in the right order and snapped open the locks one-by-one. Mara sent him an evil grin.
“All part of the old sorcerer’s spell?”
“I said he gave me his memories—”
“And you’re telling me these locks are over four thousand years old—back before Palarian once lived in Vellia? You expect me to believe that?”
“Are you coming or not?” Nikulo climbed down the ladder into the darkness of the tunnel below. He heard Mara’s I-give-up-sigh and chuckled to himself, knowing she wouldn’t let him go on by himself. After what seemed like ten or fifteen minutes of climbing down, his hands started to get sore from grabbing rung after rung of the ladder.
“Can you cast a light spell or something? I can’t see a thing,” Mara said.
Nikulo only now realized that the entire time his heightened senses had made the darkness somewhat visible to him, but Mara had to be completely blind in the darkness of the tunnel. He remembered back to one of the early spells his master had taught him at the Order of the Dawn: summoning a magical torch to light your way. He smiled, remembering how many times he had failed at the task.
Now, filled with the power of the sentient beings inside him, he was surprised at how easy it was to cast the torchlight spell. The room blazed with warm, yellow light and cast eerie, flickering ladder-rung-shadows onto the earthen walls of the tunnel. Instead of just summoning light, he was surprised to discover that he’d brought an entire torch into existence that hovered and followed his descent.
“I didn’t realize you knew the art of summoning,” Mara said, her voice wry and testing. “What’s next, you’ll show me you’ve somehow learned Light Magic? Or perhaps Shadow Magic… Tell me, what has Elder Rolovian been teaching you?”
Nikulo reached the bottom and glared up at Mara’s challenging eyes. She wielded her dagger and twirled it around as if inviting him to attack.
“Something has tainted you, I can smell it.” She took a step towards him and sniffed. “And it smells rotten to the core, almost as foul as your stinking breath.”
“What’s gotten into you? I come and rescue you from the dark lord and this is the thanks I get?”
Mara laughed a mocking laugh at him, pointing at his belly as if he were the most pathetic excuse in the world. “A fatso like you, come to rescue me? Are you drunk on too much ale again? I never ask
ed you to come, I was doing fine on my own. Why don’t you tell me the real reason you’ve come down here to the Regent’s vaults? What are you trying to steal down here before the Starwalkers get to it first? My guess is Elder Rolovian sent you to distract me from killing Aurellia, and for me to help you while you retrieve some powerful relic for the dark lord. Have I hit too close for comfort?” She prodded his stomach with her dagger.
Nikulo glanced down at the dagger and noticed it was eerily glowing green and reeked of death and the morbid power of the Underworld. The sentient beings inside his mind shrieked in unison at the blade, shouting: “Destroy it, destroy it, banish the hideous weapon from the world before it destroys us all! Blind is its wrath and cruel is its fate. The girl who wields the dagger will die under its power unless she destroys it…”
“Mara…the dagger is poisoning your mind. Can’t you feel it?”
“Now you’re after my dagger? You’re trying to steal my dagger? I found it in the Underworld, it’s mine… You were the one who refused to take anything, you and Talis. Only Rikar and I were the smart ones, we both found items of power. Just go on, leave me alone, go and steal whatever you have to steal. Unless you want this blade stuck in your belly.”
“And how did that work out for Rikar? I just saw him a little bit ago, leading an army of necromancers and sorcerers. Did the ring he found lead him towards the light or towards darkness? I’m telling you, that dagger is tainted by some foul, ancient darkness of the Underworld. It’s going to kill you, Mara. I don’t want to see you ruined by whatever power is inside of that dagger.”
“What is this powerful dagger you speak of?” A man’s deep, melodic voice echoed in the stone chamber.
Nikulo wheeled around and saw Talis standing next to a luminous man radiating black-and-silver light, with shadow magic waves emanating all around him.
Starwalker.
21. THE FRAGMENT
Dragon Mage (Blacklight Chronicles) Page 15
