He hopped down and approached the two, who stood dumbstruck. Neither had known what to expect.
“Your letter,” said Mar’zal, “You said that you were…”
“The letter was correct,” interrupted the goblin. He wore only a simple loincloth and a purple fez hat. From a fine chain around his neck hung an unadorned metal bar and he spoke the common tongue exceedingly well.
The goblin's grin spread broadly as he confessed, “I am the king of this world.”
***
Absinthium sat heavily on a chair in his private quarters in Jand’s Capital City. He rubbed his eyes; they were stressed from both boredom and overuse. Political intrigue was a skill in his wheelhouse, but he much preferred real action over pomp and circumstance.
His ceremony had gone well and the local Jandish officials were pleased. Dyule was now the official leader of the kingdom and those minor changes necessary for restructuring as a Luciferian state were underway. The politician’s official title was now Minister of Jand. Continuing the monarchy would have only led to problems in the future; with an office of flexible leadership, the arch-mage could easily install whomever he chose should there arise the need.
The arch-mage stroked his creased forehead and rubbed the stress out of his face. He still had a long afternoon and evening. Absinthium needed to receive several reports yet before he contacted his lord and master, beh’-tsah.
Almost playfully, the reclining thirty-third degree Luciferian pointed his toqeph at the far side of the room. The wizard’s staff glowed faintly at the tip as he exercised a minor spell. The qâsam that lay on the table levitated and floated through the air to the theurgist’s open palm. It was only with the exercising of raw power that Absinthium found any sort of joy; the pursuit of more, and the maintenance of his power were all that he lived for.
He spat upon the face of the beveled jewel and rubbed the spittle firmly with his thumb. An arcane, glowing cloud seemed to pulse within the seeing stone as it called out for a link.
Krimko answered the call of his master and his shape took form in the inner light of the crystal. His shape appeared as if Absinthium looked at him through the bottom of a glass tumbler.
“I’m sure that I need not remind you, Krimko, that this is a general qâsam. There might be any number of other qâsamai capable of eavesdropping.” There had been a recent influx in the mystic stones’ availability—and that came hand in hand with certain suspicions. They were otherwise very rare and expensive.
“I am aware of that, Eldest,” Krimko replied formally.
“Then tell me what information you have gathered for me.”
Krimko explained the brief assassination attempt; Absinthium could have cared less, but he feigned interest as if he didn't suspect any such attempt would take place. Truly, the envoy was just a pawn in the grander game and Absinthium knew that even if Krimko had expired, the end result would be the same. Enough formalities had taken place that Ninda would fall under his control, too.
“The Parliament is at your full disposal. They also provided a report from their northwest border. It appears that their military company sent that way did encounter the krist-chins. They were successful at repelling them from the Nindan border.”
“Excellent,” the arch-mage stated. “Did they have an estimate on their numbers?”
“Yes, they did.” Krimko's information seemed to corroborate what had been already reported from the Jandish army. Both accounts confirmed that the group had not yet divided.
Their estimated headcount seemed to reflect the nondivision, but some of the key krist-chin members were conspicuously absent. Absinthium stroked his chin. Despite the heavy losses the enemy did suffer at the quarry, he was sure that Rashnir, the lycan clan leader, and other key warriors survived the attack.
“I also have word on their movements. It seems that most of them have migrated into the country of Lol and a smaller group of them have traveled into Gleend. Their revered leader, Kevin, is among the latter group.”
“Good, good,” Absinthium smiled genuinely this time. I have plans already for that country. He was careful not to broadcast that information over the qâsam. “Is there anything else to report?”
“No, sir. I am only waiting for your orders.”
“Remain there in Ninda. I may have further use for you in that region.”
He relinquished his link upon the magic stone. Its soft glow faded away as the mage wrote a few notes for his records. He looked up to see a goblin messenger darkening his doorway.
***
Long, purposeful strides steadily carried a lone, cloaked figure forwards as it crossed the highlands of Briganik and into the barrens of Lol. Not needing to stop for sleep, he drew nearer his goal with every step. Despite traveling on foot, he would arrive sooner than humanly possible.
***
“I bring an update from my master, grr’Shaalg,” the goblin servant rasped in the human tongue. He placed a tightly bound scroll into the Luciferian’s hands. He bowed low and made motions to leave.
“Why did your master not come himself,” Absinthium inquired.
“I know not. He merely stated that you would be pleased with his report.”
Absinthium nodded. There was no real reason that he would have informed his slave as to his comings and goings, but it irked the mage that grr’Shaalg did not elevate a meeting with the Order to his highest priority; it aroused his suspicions, in fact.
He unrolled the document and waved the servant away. His eyes scanned the communiqué and picked out the key points.
The goblin reported that his plans to unite the goblins were effective. Apparently, the subterranean ekthro liked grr’Shaalg’s plans for an underground trade federation. The kingdoms desired to join his new organizational structure rather than pay his kingdom duties and tariffs on use.
The mage raised an eyebrow at its claims. He knew firsthand the greed of the goblins; there was more to the situation than grr’Shaalg reported, of that he was sure. They would never band together and allow each other equal access to the subterranean tunnel network. Common goals and ideologies were beyond their ken. If the underground highway had any value at all, they would kill each other over it first. Absinthium knew he would have to keep a closer watch on his shifty goblin minion.
***
“I recognize no being as absolute king of this world,” Mar’zal huffed arrogantly.
“Ah, but what you say is the truth,” replied the goblin. “As of now, there is none recognized as the absolute king. Even the demons on all their thrones in the Babel Heavens do not wield total control.”
“But they will soon,” said Bwar, referring to the recent communication he and Mar’zal had both received from Absinthium, chief of the Luciferian Order.
The elf gave him a sharp look. The arch-mage had stressed the consequences of breaking his confidence.
Bwar shrugged. It all seemed like more of the same to him.
“You see, my brethren ekthro, I have a way to topple even the powers of the Gathering.”
Bwar gave the under-dweller his full attention, but Mar’zal rolled his eyes. “As if such a thing was even possible,” the elf scoffed.
“It is, and I will do it because I am destined to be king—ruler of more than just the under-realm. I will rule all and even the demons will bow before me. You will both aid me because I command you to do so; the rewards for allegiance will be great and the punishment for denial will be severe.”
The goblin had Bwar's attention. Mar'zal crossed his arms but wasn't leaving.
“We have a common enemy, you see, besides the demons who have sat at the apex of the power chain for too long. Even more than the elves hate the dwarves, we have all been bred with an ingrained hatred of mankind. It is a long-smoldering hatred glowing within every child of hay-lale’. We have tolerated them out of social grace and politics, but the time is coming to unite and destroy them all, every man and woman.”
“You give us only hollow promises and speak of things that cannot be done as if it was mere child’s play. You are either delusional or you’ve been sent by an enemy to trap or test us. I will not stay and tolerate your rantings.”
Mar’zal turned and walked away. Bwar remained; his eyes were fixated on the goblin and his thoughts consumed by the possibility of his words.
As the elf reached the edge of the false light, the creaking sounds of bowstrings resonated through the darkness all around. In unison, they snapped and the elf crumpled to the ground. Arrows pierced him from every angle.
Bwar growled at the dead elf. “Fool. I never liked him anyway.”
“Then you pledge your allegiance?” The goblin’s tenor had a threatening undertone.
“You needn’t intimidate me. You have my support freely… my King. It’s time we pushed all those filthy humans into the chasm.”
***
Dri'Bu walked alongside Kevin as the group caught sight of Sprazik in the distance. He and the minister had been deeply engrossed in conversation. Lately, the two, along with Kyrius, had been leafing through Luciferian texts and separating fact from lie as they pulled out what might be helpful or historical.
“So then,” Kevin asked Dri’Bu, “you have very little information regarding the Cyclops?”
“Right. In fact, I have very little trustworthy information regarding the Land of Nod. There has been so little worth note in that continent that traveling to it made little sense for me. I know many things about Nod, and yet most of the information is unreliable, unprovable, or just plain useless. That is, aside from common knowledge: the vampires live in Nod's mountains and they don't make much noise; they rarely leave their cold halls.
“There are those of my race and other ekthro who used to travel frequently to Nod for the nawchash. That was long ago; they are probably all dead by now. Those who lust for the nawchash seek a different sort of power than I did; I sought ultimate wisdom and knowledge.”
“How do you mean, what exactly is the nawchash? I have only seen it referenced in Luciferian manuals as a thing to be avoided, claiming that only through the demonic Gathering should one ever seek true power.”
“That's what they told mankind after they formed the Luciferian Religion; it's how they put a stranglehold on the magics of this world. That was in the aftermath of the great flood when wars ravaged the lands and the Gathering formed to preserve the strength of the demons… it was generations later that they finally forbade the nawchash and founded the Order—sometime after they trapped the Dragon Impervious.”
“But what is the stuff?”
“The nawchash is the source of magic and powers for all rogue mages and wizards that are not a part of the Luciferian Order, for whatever reasons might exist. Ever since the formation of the Order, they made it a point to prevent any other group from offering up any kind of belief, hope, or source of power.” Dri’Bu gestured around him to his Christian friends, “Case in point,” he said.
Dri'Bu continued, “All manner of rogue wizards and magicians exist, but they keep a low profile. The Temple of Light has its own division that researches reports and suspicious persons; they take care of their own affairs and hunt down and eliminate any kind of religious dissident or nonaligned mage. Their bounty program has always been active.”
“I still don’t exactly understand what the nawchash is,” Kevin admitted. “Like, I know what it does… but what is it?”
“It's a consumable substance, a kind of magic fuel, if that helps you understand it. It is harvested from moglobs.” The elf saw Kevin's confused look persist. The human was so utterly unfamiliar with his world “A moglob is a small animal that lives in the jungle. The ancient demon aladzoni'a discovered a way to create the nawchash and he vied with the other demon leaders. When they formed the Gathering, they rose up against aladzoni'a and any other threats that they perceived as a challenge to their authority.”
“Wow. I thought you said that you didn’t know much about Nod.”
“Well, there is much more, even, but ancient manuscripts are always of questionable authority. Many of them are full of false information and misleading guidance; it is strange how most unaligned sorcerers pull their primary information from these overtly misleading guides. It’s so ironic because they think that following some hidden, secretive texts, they are somehow more authoritative than Luciferian works. The irony is that they are both totally wrong. They all claim to hold the absolute truth but are full of obvious errors and outright lies.”
Kevin nodded at the elf’s statement. In his home realm, he’d encountered similar things, though, quite in reverse as pseudo authorities tried to dismantle the Truth that he served. Ancient Luciferians and the worshippers of aladzoni’a fought for power and sought to usurp or steal all that was available.
On Earth, opponents of the Logos picked out things that they perceived as errors because of a skewed understanding; what started with faulty reasoning spiraled to vindicate and validate their personal bias against the absolute truth and the love of their own wickedness.
“So then, Dri’Bu, what can you tell me about the Christians who remain in this realm? Do you know where they are?”
Dri’Bu looked sad. “I know how much you desire to know that, and it grieves me that I have no knowledge of their location. Only the Gathering, and I would guess a few high ranking Luciferians, might know. As far as I know, they are not on this continent, but there many places that they could be. They could be on Jeena, Nod, one of the countless islands that surround the main continents, or even in the Babel Heavens.
“I know only a little about their history, how the angel Karoz came and preached the Word to many men and women who followed him. Of course, the Luciferians rose up against them in force and destroyed most of them. I’ve heard little of them following that, except for rumors and hints that they still exist, living in exile and in fear. Every few decades, one or two of them surfaces somewhere; the Luciferians capture him or her quickly and nothing more is heard about it.”
“Yes, Rashnir said that one of them healed him in the prison beneath Harmarty’s castle.”
“He told me about it, too. The situation was odd because heretics are usually judged and punished by the church in such short order. I had the impression that Nhoj had been in the dungeon for many years before he prayed for Rashnir’s healing.”
“I thought the same thing, but I don’t see anything odd about it. I see it as a sign of God’s providence and love for his people. I think He foreordained Nhoj to be there, knowing that Rashnir would have some critical role to play in His plans for the redemption of His people here.”
Dri’Bu nodded. He had not thought of that.
***
The groups led by Rashnir and Zeh-Ahbe' had prepared for their first outreach with planning and prayer. A couple of days ago, they settled on a patch of grass only a short distance near a Nindan village on the borderlands between the districts of Himnp and Kantror.
The village was only a small community of freemen. It was the sort of place that serviced trade and business for local freeman farmers and families who worked by leasing the farm and its crops, even though the deed was actually owned by the district Lord. Villages like this dotted the Nindan countryside at convenient distances between farms.
Similar villages of were common, except for the zones near the Homesteads of the Lords. The Homesteads functioned much like the capital city of any political state. It lay at the historic location of the original Lord and was named accordingly, as was the district, after the founder. Homesteads in Ninda were usually the largest cities and had a great deal of commerce and trade with various offices for different district officials and aides for the district Lords. The Lord usually lived a short distance away from his estate and on his or her private farming lands.
Of course, Homesteads varied in size and style; the smaller and less wealthy districts generally had nondescript Homestead
s. Mallow had not placed much emphasis on the Nil-Ma zone and so it was little more than an outpost for paying tributes and rents, minor trade, and shipping. When the Narsh Barbarians razed the lands, they systematically burned everything and sent riders on ahead to notify any freemen who lived on leased lands. Some of those stayed and died in the flames, others fled to the neighboring lands and many became slaves or indentured themselves again unless they had enough hard currency that they could take with them to start a new life.
Today, Rashnir planned a foray into the village under their guise as an acting troupe. Their hopes were that they might spend a couple of days at each village as they passed through in the Nindan districts, giving a dramatic presentation and answering any questions that people might have. With any luck, they could avoid the notice of the Luciferians for quite some time. The Order's influence in Ninda was concrete, but it was never very thorough. Nearly all Nindans had some sort kind of Luciferian heritage, but temples remained sparse due to the layout of the country. Every Homestead had a temple, but only the larger villages and communities had any sort of building specifically designated for religious functions.
What they had planned, as an experiment, was to perform a small section of the play on the first day. They prayed that the Logos would spread and an even greater crowd might arrive on day two to hear the second half. An acting troupe was always sure to draw a crowd; if they could make the message relatable to the audience, they knew they would touch lives with the message of hope.
Thirty-five of them left their camp to go into the village. The party followed Rashnir and the werewolf Zeh-Ahbe’. Jibbin was also there, sitting on Rashnir’s shoulders. The little boy had a part in the first act of the drama; he had so diligently learned his lines and practiced the part of Isaac. The change in the child was amazing; only weeks ago he had been functionally mute and refused to speak a single word, now he was willing to perform a role in a public performance.
Jibbin excitedly buzzed to have an active part in the production and Rashnir was glad to see him so happy. As Isaac, the child had one of the most important parts of the story of Abraham; the production would hopefully reveal to the audience the necessity of a sacrifice to appease God.
The Kakos Realm Collection Page 61
