Blood of Mages (Rift of Chaos Book 3)

by A. J. Martinez

  “I had no choice,” Akielas answered. “She would not stop. She wanted to die. She could not bear to live anymore and wanted me to end her life. Death was her only escape. She dreaded this life.”

  “If death was her only escape then she knew her destiny from the start and yet she was being led astray by Arkana. Poor girl. We should honor her and her friends with a proper burial,” Caim suggested. “Come, let’s go back home. From the outside this realm is shrinking.”

  “You are going to have to carry me because I have no maju left in me,” Akielas said.

  So Caim carried Akielas and Ember. The demigod used his cosmo to control the three jewels. Caim had also picked up the Omnistar and used it to open a portal. Just before they jumped back home, Caim noticed the sword in which Arkana was trapped.

  “What were you planning on doing with that sword?” the demigod asked.

  “Leave it here. No one will be able to enter this realm,” Akielas answered.

  Caim flew through the portal and behind him the three remaining cosmo jewels followed. Akielas could already hear the Effeelions shouting below. He looked back and saw the colossal sphere shrink until it vanished. The tiny island was now covered in the debris of the dark tower. Large chunks of kaminyte steel were scattered all over. Part of the tower was floating on the water. Most amazing of all, the curse that the Specters had cast on this island had been broken. No more dark clouds and rolling thunder. No more endless heavy rain and wild winds. The sun blazed above and the ocean gleamed below. Akielas could not believe that it was really over. It felt like a nightmare and it seemed as though he had woke to something so beautiful.

  “By the way, I thought you were too weak to use magic,” Akielas recalled.

  “Yes, but your friend Zarviack helped me recover my cosmo much quicker,” Caim explained.

  When they reached the shore of the island the three jewels returned to their original possessors. The sapphire cosmo jewel streamed into the hands of Zarviack. The Aero Cosmo Jewel streamed to Nehushine and the Effeelions gathered around him. Finally, the Crimson Cosmo Jewel floated towards Auron.

  Akielas friends gathered around him but they cringed when they saw Ember in his arms.

  “What are you going to do with her?” Eckxio asked.

  “I want to give her a proper burial in El Nido along with my other three apprentices,” he said. “Ember had confessed and had great remorse for what she did. I want to take my apprentices back home to the islands in which they were raised.”

  “So it’s really over?” Serena asked with great joy.

  “Everyone, let’s go back home,” Akielas said then everyone came to embrace him.

  Serena

  A day after the Specters were defeated, Serena returned home with her mother, Zarviack. She walked through the halls of her castle with the Sapphire Cosmo Jewel hovering over her hands. Her maidens and Narb Thales bowed down as she walked to the throne room. Everyone gasped and their eyes swelled with wonder seeing the sapphire jewel return to the castle after three decades. Behind her walked the king of the Laguans with his knights. As she walked through her hallways, the fish tanks shook and the water was purified. Midway to the throne a pedestal rose from the center pond. Serena placed the sapphire jewel on the pedestal and the waters in the canals of the floor began to glow. She sat on the throne and her mother stood next to her. The Laguans gathered around the sapphire jewel marveling at it.

  Everyone looked at her, waiting for her to speak. She was somewhat nervous now that she was the queen of Maer Weeyar. Thankfully, Zarviack decided to stay in the city and be by her side. She looked at her mother to her left, a woman identical, her twin, her spirit image. She looked back at the servants of the castle, the maidens, the warriors, the Laguans, aristocrats of the city. She took a deep breath and spoke.

  “Thank you for being here. We have gone through many difficult times. Three decades without the magic of our sapphire jewel. When I had finally found the jewel it fell into the wrong hands and it took a group of friends from other countries to return it. Without these foreigners we would not have the jewel today. Meeting these strangers from other lands has cleansed me of my ignorance. It has shown me that no matter what our differences we can still come together and help one another. I returned from a great battle against masked villains who wanted to cause harm to the world and when I arrived home I found my father dead. I had lost someone very dear to me but I had gained so much. The return of my mother, the sapphire jewel back in our hands, I have made allies overseas and I have learned so much. So, I decided that we must go through some changes. I have decided that the sapphire jewel will be shared by the Laguans and the people of Maer Weeyar.”

  Chatter filled the throne room. People whispered to each other. Serena heard words of skepticism and words of gratitude in the noise.

  “And has the new queen of Maer Weeyar found out a way for both humans and Laguans to share the blessings of the jewel?” The Laguan king asked.

  “We will build an underwater way that will connect our city to yours,” Serena answered. “From Sar Thale through the Theemas river and into the city of Laguans. This way the magic of the jewel will run from two long canals and we will all receive the blessings of the water dragon god. Our water mages will build this waterway and your people can help too, King Krobpiok.”

  “Why didn’t I think of this before? You are confident that this will work, Queen Sarbock?” the Laguan king asked.

  “We will make it work,” she replied.

  “Oh hail Queen Sarbock!” everyone in the room shouted. “Oh hail Queen Sarbock!”

  The room shouted her name again and again. Her heart filled with warmth and joy as she saw a new future ahead.

  Eckxio

  He flew over the Levita forest where the Elves had built their new home. The Emerald Cosmo Jewel shone in his hands and Willow’s soul echoed within. He was eager to release her, to once again hold her in his arms. He flapped his wings of his Angel Valiarmos. When he saw the glade where the Elves camped, he closed his wings and dove, falling like an eagle to its prey. Wind lashed at him and whistled as he fell. When he reached the canopy he opened his wings and glided over the pink lake, spraying the Elves around the bank with water. He orbited the campsite and then finally landed in front of his father’s pavilion.

  Eckxio raised the emerald jewel skyward and all the Elves gathered around him.

  “He did it!” they yelled. “He returned the emerald jewel!”

  “This is a blessing from Terramus.”

  “With this jewel we will rebuild our home,” Eckxio said, gloriously. “Let’s go back to Evee Iris and raise the fallen trees. The magic of the jewel will make the forest like new.”

  “I love you, Eckxio!” The girls in the village shouted.

  Suddenly, his father came out of the tent digging his knuckles into his eyes and yawned.

  “What is all this shouting and yelling?” Sherwood asked but when he saw the green light of the jewel his jaw dropped. “That’s…that’s… the emerald jewel.” The old Elf fell to his knees and gazed at the remnant of Terramus in awe.

  “Father, bring me Willow’s body,” Eckxio requested.

  “Of course my boy,” Sherwood said without taking his eyes off the emerald jewel. He looked around at the Elves that had gathered around Eckxio and gestured at them to follow. “You three over there, help bring my daughter-in-law outside.”

  The three Elves ran into the tent and a moment later they carried Willow on a wooden stretcher. Her body was so pale, her lips dry and her hair was falling out.

  “Place her down right here,” Eckxio instructed.

  The three village Elves set Willow down right next to Eckxio. He knelt, let go of the emerald jewel and it floated over her body. A mob of Elves watched, eyes wide and whispering. Eckxio used his extromancy to pull Willow’s soul out of the jewel and inserted it back into her body.

  “Return to us,” Eckxio prayed.

  The crowd around him pr
ayed as well with hands together, eyes closed and whispering their mantra. The emerald jewel shone painting everyone and everything around it in green. The jewel’s power forced the plants to grow. Flowers bloomed beneath their feet and the grass grew taller and taller. Eckxio successfully transferred her soul into her body. Now they all waited to see her rise. It had been almost two weeks since the Specters had stolen her soul. Eckxio’s only hope was that her body was well enough for her to live again. Although her soul was taken her body was still alive and Eckxio’s mother had been using dead salt to prevent her body from withering.

  “Father, how was her body while I was gone?” he asked.

  “We did all we could and according to your mother, Willow’s body was doing well with the dead salt,” Sherwood answered. “Your mother said that the girl wouldn’t last another week without her soul, so let us pray that this works.”

  Eckxio and his father waited what felt like forever. People started to lose hope. Their prayers ended and they began to walk away in tears but Eckxio remained. He held her hand and kept praying until…

  Willow gasped. Her heart pounded in her chest. She breathed heavily. Her eyes blinked and she clutched Eckxio’s hand.

  “My love,” Eckxio whispered.

  Caim

  A day after the tri-eclipse, Caim returned the Aero Cosmo Jewel to its rightful place in Kazenolumos. The sky city no longer had to rely on the mandarak that the Lumnos had cast to keep their city from falling. The city ascended and remained steady in the sky again thanks to the magic of the cosmo jewel. Caim and Nehushine stood in the chamber filled with shards and gemstones on the floor, wall and ceiling. On a pedestal the aero jewel floated. Two naked spirits forever danced around the jewel, singing a hymn. It felt good to have the cosmo jewel back in its place but Caim wondered how much longer till someone else tried to steal it again.

  “I just love staring at it,” Nehushine said, dreamingly.

  “How long do you think this will last?” Caim asked solemnly.

  “How long will what?” Nehushine replied.

  “This peace. I am sure that after the tri-eclipse many others have learned about the cosmo jewels,” Caim explained. “Without a doubt, someone will try to steal it from us again. Then again, it is not really our property.”

  Nehushine laughed and Caim wondered what was so humorous.

  “Why do my words make you laugh?” he asked.

  “You worry too much,” the old Effeelion answered and continued laughing. “Is it not enough that we have come this far? We retrieved the jewel when all hope seemed lost.”

  “We need to strengthen our defenses,” Caim stated. “This cannot happen again. I was taken down by omnithium. I am sure more mages out there will begin to use this weapon.”

  “Don’t tell me you are afraid,” Nehushine teased.

  “I do not fear for myself. I fear for my fellow Effeelions. We lost too many of them fighting against the Specters,” he explained. “I sense more enemies soon to rise in this age of twilight.”

  “Really,” Nehushine responded and brushed his pointy beard. “I sense a much better future in Odealeous. Sure, bad things will happen, but the good will outweigh the bad. Follow me above, I have something I want to share with you and everyone else.”

  Caim and Nehushine exited out of the chamber. They flew up the tube that led to what once was a dome. In the debris of the dome of the council of seven, many Effeelions gathered. Nehushine jumped up to a fallen pillar and stood higher than the others. Caim was eager to hear what the leader wanted to share with everyone. He was sure that something huge was about to change for all.

  “Hear me my dear Effeelions,” Nehushine commenced his speech. “We have lost so many of our loved ones due to our ignorance and I dare say religious arrogance. It is time for a change and what I am about to say will shock you but I am sure after what we have experienced you will agree to it. The purpose that our ancestors had left for us was to find the realm of Cosmus through meditation, astral projection and research of other possible realms. During the tri-eclipse I saw the purple moon, the third moon that appeared in front of the white and blue moons. After seeing something so incredible, something that only appears once every two millennia, I realized that perhaps Cosmus was something much different than what we thought it was. Perhaps what we have been looking for was closer than we thought. We can find enlightenment here in Odealeous. We need not leave this realm. And so, my dear Effeelions, I have decided that we will end our search for the realm of Cosmus, the god of cosmo. Let’s make Kazenolumos the center of spirituality in Odealeous for all races and species.”

  Caim could not believe what he heard. His whole life was dedicated to helping the Effeelions find the realm of Cosmus. Suddenly, he felt as if he had no purpose. Then again, during the tri-eclipse, Caim felt it too. That power that penetrated the world with the third moon, it was something so godly that not even he could fully comprehend it. Nehushine was right, perhaps the existence of Cosmus was much different than they thought.

  “So what will we do now?” he asked.

  “Well, we can start by bringing your family up to Kazenolumos,” Nehushine said. “The rules have changed. From now on, everyone will be able to visit our city. We will expand and embrace the world as it is.”

  At that moment Caim’s heart was filled with happiness. He no longer had to distance himself from his loved ones.

  Rey Ling

  Two days after the tri-eclipse, Rey Ling had returned home but could not sleep. He stayed up all night in his office designing his flying machine. He was so inspired by all the places he had traveled with his new friends. Rey wanted more. He wanted to travel the world and explore strange new places. After the city of Ironside, Kazenolumos, El Nido and the people of the eastern continent and the western continent, there was so much more to see.

  He had done countless sketches and ripped up dozens of papers. He became obsessed with creating the flying machine and flipped through countless books on flight. He pondered how he could maintain a ship in the air and cruise through the sky.

  “I have to run many tests,” he talked to himself. “I have to study how birds fly and perhaps I can use aeromancy to make the ship fly. Maybe I can use gemstones enchanted with air magic to make it fly. So many tests to run but no matter what, I will find a way to fly from country to country.”

  The flying machine he had in his factory had not been finished. He had attached a giant balloon to it but it was still not working. His father and grandfather had invented the train. His dream was to invent the first flying machine and forever be remembered in the pages of history.

  The door of his office burst open. His sister stormed in and tripped over his books that were stacked on the floor.

  “What are you doing?” Rey asked.

  “Excuse me,” she said and stood up kicking his books away. “What have you been doing locked in here for the past two days? First you disappear without telling us where you were going. Then you return with your clothes all tattered and lock yourself in this room. Are you not hungry? You are going to die in here.”

  “Why did you wait two days to come to my office?” Rey asked.

  “I have been knocking for two days and you didn’t respond,” she answered in an angry tone. “I was going to have some of your employees knock the door down.”

  “Oh, well, umm,” Rey Ling was speechless.

  “Are you going to tell me?” Sixiam asked. She crossed her arms and glared at him.

  “It’s the flying machine,” Rey told her. “I want to put all other projects aside and focus on the flying machine. We have to make it work, one way or another.” He paced to the window and stared at the sky. “I saw some incredible places. I know it is hard to understand but we didn’t believe that fiends were real until we saw them just more than a week ago.”

  “Put all projects aside?” Sixiam questioned. “I wish it were that simple but we have to replace two trains that were destroyed on the tracks recently. I
think that foreigner had something to do with it.”

  “Foreigner? You mean Akielas? It was not his fault,” Rey said. “We have three trains built and ready to be put on the tracks with many carriages. Let the workers put those tracks and we will focus on the flying machine. We can build a train faster than in my grandfather’s era. We will have no problem with that. Now we will move on to the sky. We will fly to other lands. That is our next mission.”

  “Do you think people will want a flying machine?” Sixiam asked.

  “Many people told my grandfather that no one would want a metal vessel that ran on tracks and yet the entire country uses the train today. One day we won’t have to rely on boats to travel to other lands.”

  Auron

  Two days after the tri-eclipse, he returned to Amaranth island, his home. He walked on a path that stretched through a field of red flowers. Walking had become so difficult but he was grateful he could stand up again. With a prosthetic right leg he slowly made his way back to his village. He could see the log wall of the village up ahead. Above his left hand floated the Crimson Cosmo Jewel and his right hand had been replaced with a prosthetic one.

  “Now I must learn how to use a sword with my left hand,” he grumbled. “It’s like learning to fight again. At least my leg keeps me balanced and I can walk without much difficulty. Almost feels like the real thing.”

  When he had returned to Burnahdujf his friends immediately began to craft a metal arm and leg. They had finished it in such a short amount time, Auron was surprised. Without hesitation he used the teleport crystal and went to Amaranth Island. The crimson jewel was already beginning to react. Perhaps it already knew that it was home. It lightly vibrated above his hand.

  “Don’t worry, we are almost there,” he said looking at the jewel. “It has been five years since Ember took this jewel from me but it does not feel like it had happened so long ago. It is amazing how time flies.”