by Gerard Bond
All of a sudden the four guards started retreating without a word and Wollfen turned to watch them go. Now that was curious. Turning back he saw her. The Queen had taken her place on the throne at the end of the room while he had watched the retiring guard. He looked carefully, from this distance he was able to make out that she was indeed an elf, but at a distance of approximately 40 paces he couldn’t make out who she may be. The Queen gestured for him to approach.
“Come.”
He walked towards the throne studying her face intently, her features becoming clearer as he drew near. Wollfen came to within two paces of the bottom step and looked at her still not recognizing her face.
“Hello Wollfen, it has been a very long time.”
And then, it dawned on him.
“Drexus?” She smiled.
“Yes, has it been so long that you have forgotten? How long has it been?” He thought a bit and the realization came as a surprise too, had it been so long?
“It's been just over a hundred years since I saw you last. Gods Drexus we all thought you were dead! What happened?”
The Queen smiled again.
“Before we get into that, please, come closer.”
Wollfen mounted the steps and stopped before the throne, their eyes were level.
“My, my, you have not aged a day, how do you do it?”
He looked at her very carefully, searching, studying her as old memories came flooding back. She seemed so cold to him now. His emotions were in conflict, she was so distant and calm at seeing him.
“I have been doing Lord Vincent’s work for many a year. You know of all that, I guess I must continue to walk this earth until I pay for the sins of my past.”
Drexus nodded looking at him impassively.
“Yes, you have done much these past one hundred years that I have been watching. Until now I didn’t have much interest.” Wollfen was a bit confused by that last comment and it showed, “I see you are wondering how that could be yes?”
He nodded.
“As you would remember I was commissioned by you and the elf King to destroy all the crystals of power that had been forged in ancient times by the elven race. I cannot say I understood your reasoning at the time, but then, I was a loyal servant of the King and Queen, I did their bidding without question. You must remember, I never really argued the point with you even though I disagreed with it. I went about the task as instructed, cracking and releasing the bound forces within, one by one as instructed and it was a laborious process I can tell you. After a week or so of this I have to admit I was getting tired of it, so basically I decided to destroy the last remaining two dozen at once. You see I made the silly assumption that I could control the release of power.
The destruction process must have triggered one of the teleportation crystals because as I cracked them all, a portal was opened into which I fell. It dropped me in Isogorr in a field of wheat. Not the most grand of entrances but at least it wasn’t in mid air or high above rocky ground yes?” Wollfen nodded, she had his total attention, “It also turns out that not all of the crystals were cracked and I found a number around me, one of them being a seer crystal. It has allowed me over the years to watch the progress of not only the local population but others too across the seas, even you Wollfen.”
He understood now how they had managed to be ready when he showed up in Port Cholandra. He had always wondered how they managed to be prepared for their first contact with him after Madeira explained they had knowledge of his existence.
“Why did you not return home?”
The Queen looked at him as to one who was slack of mind.
“It was many years before I found out where I was, after all, elven folk do not travel amongst humans or their lands. This place was totally alien to me, even your Kingdom cities are alien to me and they occupy the same land I lived in.”
“And yet here you are Queen of all.”
She reacted angrily to his comment, her voice raised,
“Well of course! What did you think I was going to do? Sit around moaning about my lot in life?”
He looked at her a little exasperated and taken aback by her open display of emotions. Elves just didn't act this way.
“But Drexus, all of this! How could you pervert things like this?”
The Queen laughed.
“Come, come Wollfen, they are only human! I understand that you are of their ilk but surely you don’t have any romantic notions about them? They are a barbaric lot. You are vastly more enlightened than they will ever be. Why do you think the elven folk accept you?”
He glowered at her, it really was a typical elven response. They were an arrogant haughty lot, setting themselves above all other races and believing in their own natural superiority. But for this to come from Drexus, she had been so different back in the day, something was wrong.
“That does not give you the right to set up unrealistic social standards that set them even further back--exclusivity through virginity? The right of magic holders over all others? Magic is supposed to benefit all, not be used to set yourself above and apart from them. And what of Lord Vincent’s teachings? You have taken his name and abused it in setting yourself up as the highest power in the land even over the King. You simply cannot abuse your position like this, you have got it wrong Drexus.”
The Queen looked at Wollfen disparagingly,
“Do you really think I would sit back and allow myself to simply be equal with these mud dwelling insects?”
Wollfen had to calm himself down. This was going to get them nowhere he realized. She was elf and more set in her ways not only because of her elven inclinations but also her longevity. Yes it had been over a hundred years since he had last seen her that fateful day, but still she has changed so much from the person he had known. Oh Drexus why are you treating me almost like a stranger?
“Tell me Drexus, since I am here now and you have plans for me, what is it you think that I will do for you?”
“That’s simple my dear, you need to return to Kassandrea once I have provided you with enough power of a crystal here to crack open a static portal deep below the city.”
“And why would I want to do that? Where does it lead?”
The Queen watched him as she built it up, feeding little snippets of information. She didn’t get to have many interesting conversations with anyone she could consider an equal and while she didn’t think Wollfen was in the same class as her, he certainly was a damned sight better than the moronic masses that surrounded her in this forsaken land.
“It doesn’t lead anywhere at all to be perfectly honest. It is unfortunately blocked within.”
She really wasn’t giving him the full picture and Wollfen wasn’t liking it. It made him more suspicious.
“So are you going to tell me why I am to open it then or is this the quiz of thirty questions?”
She decided to come clean. He just didn’t seem to be terribly impressed by her attempts at intrigue. A hundred years ago he was a lot more playful.
“We have a mutual friend trapped in there. He has been stuck there since the dawn of this world. He is our Master and guide in all things.”
Wollfen stood there not quite able to accept what she was saying.
“But that cannot be, as a servant to the Gods he could not be trapped in this world. He helped make it. Lord Vincent is in there? How do you know this?”
“Another odd effect of the teleportation through to Isogorr I am afraid. I have one more crystal of teleportation. If you grip it long enough, you can feel his essence. The crystal is somehow connected to that portal. I have spent many years holding it and working out the spatial location of the portal itself.”
He could only stand there with wide eyes. This was all too much, it boggled his mind.
“You intend for me to release him? You want me to set him free?”
“If I had known a lot earlier of his whereabouts I would have set things in motion many decades ago. As it was it only came t
o me just over two years ago, everything that has happened is in service to that one goal, to get our mentor free of his prison.”
Wollfen’s mind was in a spin, he was still grasping the concept that Vincent could still be here after thousands upon thousands of years trapped below what was now Kassandrea.
Drexus made her final play. Slipping a hidden panel open on the arm of her throne she removed a turquoise crystal from within.
“Here Wollfen, take the crystal. I don’t need to convince you, Lord Vincent can do that himself.”
She held out to him, the crystal glinting in the open palm of her hand and he looked at it a little hesitantly. Then he reached up and lifted it from her hand, it was warm to the touch and even tingled a little.
He stood there looking at it and turning it over in his hand. There was nothing for it but to open his mind to the crystals properties and see what was within. He closed his eyes and relaxed. The crystal took a life of its own, glowing there in the dark of his imagination. Now he felt it, the warmth flowed through him. Calming and peaceful, its glow grew and he felt that familiar presence. It was him. Vincent was there. Wollfen focused and he was transported along an ethereal plane to a shining doorway set amongst the stars. There he felt him, there he resided, it was Vincent just as Drexus had said. Wollfen felt him now stronger than he ever had before and he felt good. It was like a wave of peace and pleasure that washed over him.
He tried to go in, but something invisible blocked his way, the doorway while seemingly open was blocked. He understood it would have been closed by Lord Vincent after leaving this world, but the fact that Vincent was trapped in there also meant that the next portal beyond was blocked too. He focused on Lord Vincent and tried to feel for his knowledge of what lay beyond. It was just a feeling. Wollfen was right, the next portal was blocked just as this one was. It was as simple as that. He searched more now, looking about to see exactly where this portal resided in relation to the physical world.
Drexus looked on and she too passively felt Wollfen’s journey, watching and pleased by his progress. Everything was going according to plan just as she had wanted it. It had taken her forty years to imbue that crystal with the ‘feel’ of Vincent to make it just right. She had spent almost five years making minor corrections until it felt perfect in every way.
She could tell Wollfen was totally fooled by this pseudo connection with Vincent and now everything was falling into place. He was the only one that would be able to release the entity trapped in that portal in a short space of time. For her to do it would take so many years and there was the possibility of years of excavation to get down there deep under Kassandrea on top of that, he could do it in a matter of minutes. Using him was the only sure way. Mind you Wollfen would get a rude shock when he opened the portal. Drexus wondered if he would survive? Probably not, he would be totally unprepared when the entity hit him.
Wollfen opened his eyes and looked at Drexus. She smiled at him and he responded in kind. Now he thought of something.
“Why haven’t you gone and done this yourself?”
Drexus was prepared for the question, she had taken years in preparation for any contingency.
“I may be able to do it, but then I have never stood in the presence of a demigod like you have. Nor have I ever teleported between worlds either, not like you coming to this world so long ago. Your skills are far beyond mine. I should think you would not find it hard at all to do this?”
Wollfen was caught by surprise.
“You know I am not of this world?”
Drexus nodded.
“Vincent made me aware.”
It had to be true, only Vincent knew of that fact, after all it had been Vincent who had put him here. But something niggled in the back of his mind, something small. He dismissed it.
“There is a problem, I have felt the portal itself and I am aware that the energy required to set it open is much more than I am capable of generating. Also it has to be of a unique source.”
“Yes I have been aware of that, I have prepared a special crystal for just this very thing. It contains the energy you will require to do that job. Now understand this, it is only capable of being used once, after it has expended its energies the crystal will be dead. You will only have one chance to do it right. If you get it wrong it will take me years to make another.”
“I understand perfectly. I would like to take a rest before I leave. I will use this same crystal to teleport back to the Kingdom then journey to Kassandrea.”
“I will supply you with whatever you need.”
“Thank you, there will be a few things.”
Wollfen paused,
“Drexus, I cannot stand here and forgive you what you have done here in this country, but I will do what is right by Lord Vincent. It will be up to him to decide on how you should be dealt with.”
Drexus laughed inwardly, this fool had no idea.
“I will accept whatever he decides.”
Drexus signaled to a servant in the wings.
“Please escort this man to quarters for him to take his rest.”
The servant moved forward and Wollfen followed him out of the room. Madeira was waiting outside as he left the throne room and she approached him.
“How did it go?”
He motioned for her to come along and she fell in beside him. They were led to a room in a wing off the corridor and the guide left. Wollfen pushed the door open and ushered Madeira in closing it again behind them. He had a quick look around the room, it was spartan and practical but not much more.
“Please you will need to sit down Madeira, there is much to discuss.”
Madeira seated herself at the table and Wollfen sat on the cot directly opposite, there was only one chair in here.
“Firstly, your Queen is an elf, I knew her awhile ago in the enchanted lands. We were all under the impression that she had died when a task she was entrusted with went wrong and the room in which she had been in was vaporized. It turns out that she was transported accidentally here to Isogorr in the blast of magical energy, she had triggered a teleportation crystal.”
Madeira looked at him with a questioning look.
“There used to be quite a number of crystals formed and imbued by the elven race to do particular tasks. You must learn of this because until today I had thought they were all destroyed. It turns out that Drexus didn’t finish the job and that a number of remaining crystals are now here in Isogorr.”
Madeira nodded in understanding.
“For now I know of three crystals, one of Seer, looking into the future, another a source of power made for the job I am to carry out and this one.” He produced the turquoise crystal from his pocket, “It is used for teleportation.”
He offered her to take it and she accepted. It felt warm and tingly in the hand and glinted like it had a source of light of its own, it was very peculiar.
Madeira hesitated as she realized an inconsistency in Wollfen’s story.
“Wait, you said you knew the Queen before she came here?” Wollfen nodded, he had hoped she wouldn’t catch on, “But the Queen has been here for like a hundred years that the Clique knows of, it is taught in our history lessons.”
Wollfen sighed,
“It is true yes, I am much older than I seem.”
He could see the concept was causing her confusion as she tried to rationalize this new information about him.
“Are you an elf too?”
He shook his head,
“No I am just as human as you are Madeira.”
Now she shook her head,
“No Wollfen, you are not, who are you?”
He couldn’t tell her, it would be too much at this time. He didn’t know how she would turn out in her life either to be able to trust her with such information.
“I am afraid I cannot say Madeira, but know that all I have shown you and all that I have taught you, it is what I truly believe in. Will you accept that?”
She thought on that f
or a while, it was a big revelation to her.
“Yes, I will accept your word. It occurs to me that you are unique and if you live such a long time you would protect your privacy from the general population. But will you tell me one day?”
Wollfen nodded without hesitation,
“Yes, I can promise you that.”
Madeira smiled, she felt like she was now part of some big secret and it was a little titillating. She handed back the crystal and continued on,
“So why do you have the crystal now?”
“I intend doing as the Queen has asked. I will travel to Kassandrea and descend into its depths to do what is needed. The task really hasn’t much to do with this world, but it has huge ramifications for the ethereal plane. I can tell you that it is a just and true cause. I will explain more to you later, but for now I hope you can simply accept my word on it.”
Madeira was a little worried. Wollfen was allying himself with the Queen.
“And what of the Queen? Do we continue on as normal? Simply accept all that you have spent so many months teaching me is wrong?”
“No Madeira, nothing else has changed. The task is an entirely separate issue to your society here. What I have told you before is just as valid now. I will explain. During my time with the Queen in chambers I knew that a lot of her ways are due to her ingrained beliefs and attitude of natural superiority to all other races. But I noticed she had a scar, a very faint one mind you but a scar nonetheless over her left temple. When I saw this I felt for her mental waves and searched them looking for the smoothness of their flow, I found there is an interruption.” Madeira was giving him another quizzical look, “It basically means she is brain damaged. It probably happened when she fell to the earth in Isogorr over a hundred years ago. How much damage and how it affects her thinking I cannot say, but it does. I am aware that her ways are divergent from the true elven path and that she is not herself. It is subtle, but enough that it has resulted in the creation of the society you now have. The end result is that she honestly believes in her ways and believes them to be true and correct.”
“And your task? Is it not influenced by that very same thing too?”
