On the exact spot where Jenukai City now sits, they all gathered and bowed down to him and swore to obey him utterly. Dara the Healer, Architect of Jenukai City. Erantis the Prophet, Architect of Axion. Mosair the Adimus Aura wielder, Architect of Kriallis. Jaras the Kallian, Architect of Mayora. Owenisis, the Caster, Architect of Rukari. Kadyn the Elemantic, Architect of Athenry. And lastly, Naska the Duncar Shadow Priestess, Architect of Qudai. They all agreed to become the conduit that would keep Dantron in check, and The Circle of Seven became a power that could match what Rathe had become.
The Duncar Moon had granted awesome strength to all those that wielded its savage and vile magic, Duncar, but Rathe wielded more than all of them combined. That day Jenukai wove the spell that bound them, mind and Calling, to one another, and from there the Circle of Seven and The Seven Cities were born.
A year later, caught up in the excitement and a compulsory longing for adventure, Kania had left the confines of the guild hall’s library to study abroad. Her first stop on her journey was to be the fabled Jenukai City, the new capital of Gaelaria. The city had just been christened with the rest of the Seven Cities, and Kania wanted nothing more than to see the marvels that these strongholds possessed. More than that, she secretly wanted to be apart of the history that was being made.
Never before had anything like the Seven Cities been fathomed. The massive metropolises were constructed to be the strongholds of the Gaelarian Alliance and would house the country’s entire population. Millions of people would be sheltered and protected against an army of powerful Duncar mages, who had a dragon armada that could literally set the world itself aflame. Millions of people would be fed and watered for generations if need be because of the Circle of Seven. The Architects, with their new and awesome powers, took less than a year to build the seven greatest cities ever imagined, and it was still a wonder to Kania that she called one of them home.
She remembered clearly that first day after passing through the mighty gates of Jenukai City and all the gaping she had done. She’d been too young to remember much of Petra, so it was like she had never before had she seen marvels such as skyscrapers, grandiose palaces, or the Garden Parks. Her eyes could barely comprehend the enormity of the metropolis. It stretched on for miles, farther than the eye could see.
After hours of just looking at all the marvelous architecture and the different cultures of the pilgrims who had moved there, Kania had presented herself at the Baehadahn. She had no way of knowing what to expect, but she felt like she should devote herself to public service, and that was the place to start. Of course, all the representatives had been too busy to see her right away, so feeling a tad home sick being away from the Guild, she went where she knew she would feel comfortable: the library.
If she thought she had gawked before at the sights of the city, but it was nothing in comparison to how her eyes had bulged then. The libraries of the guild had been immense, but this library dwarfed those considerably. With a giddy laugh, she dove into the sea of books at her disposal.
She spent two days at the Baehadahn library, immersing herself in all the wonderful volumes she had never had a chance to study. She could laugh about it now, but at the time she had been too immersed in her reading to notice a shy, handsome lad that began to frequent the table across from hers. She had been oblivious to him shooting nervous glances at her from over the book he was pretending to read.
It was late into the second night she had taken up residence amongst the shelves, and she noticed that she was parched. Rubbing her throat and smacking her lips, he suddenly appeared with a pitcher of water.
“I thought you might be thirsty,” Landran had said in a rush.
Before she knew it, the countless books that she had strewn about her lay forgotten, and she spent the following hours getting to know her future husband. That had been eight years ago.
Landran had taken her promotion to Second Voice rather hard, and she couldn’t blame him. How was one to act when they found out that their wife’s life expectancy had just decreased by a few centuries? He had become so narcissistic since she had accepted the position, pushing her away to a point that it was breaking her heart. He barely spoke more than a few words to her in the course of a day, and she felt more and more like they were becoming strangers. What was more alarming was that he had taken to muttering at his sword that his half-brother Arius had given him while all the time pretending he was doing no such thing.
“Would you like to return to the here and the now please, Kania? The spell is complete,” Dara said in a dry voice.
Kania flinched and blinked, bringing herself out of her reverie. She realized for the first time that Dara was no longer Chanting. She felt heat rising to her face.
How could I be so silly? Day dreaming like a simpleton!
“My most profound apologies, Architect! I was merely…”
“Brace yourself, young one. This will be most unpleasant.”
That was all the warning she received before a blinding light tore across Kania’s vision, and an excruciating coldness surged into her every pore like an avalanche cascading down a mountain. She tried to scream out but found that she couldn’t make a sound. Realizing she had her eyes closed tight, she forced them open and tried to cry out all over again at what she saw. It appeared that she was falling rapidly through pitch blackness from a window that showed her and Dara’s bodies back in the study being watched over by Akaris.
Instinctively, she tried to reach out and grab a hold of anything she could to slow her descent, but her body wouldn’t respond to her. Looking down, a third shriek tried to rip its way from her lungs when she discovered that she no longer had a body. By all appearances, she had turned into some kind of luminous orb that was speeding toward an immense dome of light, which emitted an array of beaconed rays in every hue. Another orb sped past her, and she watched on in shock as it exploded into the dome. The cacophony of colors flared blindingly, and once they settled after a moment, there was no sign of the other orb. Taking one last look at her body through the window she squeezed her eyes closed, bracing for the ensuing impact into the dome.
“It’s alright, you can open your eyes. You’ll be fine once the shock wears off, I think,” said the most soothing voice she had ever heard. It sounded sisterly and slightly amused.
Trusting that voice, Kania slowly opened her eyes and gasped at what she saw. She was in an all-white chamber, which had a soft, tranquil glow to it. A long white table with high-backed white chairs held twelve people, all wearing identical white. Two chairs sat empty. It was the only furniture in the otherwise empty room. Seven windows surrounded the table, but it must have been night out, because no light shone through them.
Kania tried to focus on the people at the table, who were deeply engrossed in conversation. She tried to see if she recognized anyone when she uttered another gasp. Upon closer inspection, the people all appeared to be transparent like vapor. Confounded, she stared about trying to recall what she had been doing, but concentrating seemed beyond her at the moment. She frowned and bit her lip as she so often did when she couldn’t quite grasp what she was studying. Everything she looked at had a way of blurring around the edges, as if everything were just slightly out of focus, like the way your eyes readjusted after you had them open under water for a long time.
Kania also had that groggy sensation like after being woken abruptly after too little rest when your body and mind were exhausted and badly needed to go back to sleep. Blinking rapidly, she tried to focus on the young woman who stood over her, but her mind wouldn’t let her examine her features. Her eyes kept trying to slide past her.
“How did I get here?” Kania heard herself ask.
“Your memory will return in short order. It‘s a mild side effect of the spell. The more that you come here, the more used to it you ultimately become. It took me three trips before my memory wasn’t affected at all. Come, join us and you will see.”
The woman with the kind voice extende
d a hand, and before she knew it, Kania was literally floating toward one of the empty seats. She looked down and breathed a sigh of relief noting that she had a body again, even if her toes were skimming the floor.
“Here, sit next to me and I’ll do my best to fill you in on what you have missed. My name is Cira, and I am Second Voice to Erantis. Welcome, Kania, to the Magiverse.”
The Magiverse, that’s right! The meeting of the Circle of Seven! How could I possibly have forgotten?
As those thoughts formed in her head, the grogginess faded completely, and her mind cleared considerably. The people sitting around the table lost their transparency and seemed to solidify before her eyes. The only change that did not occur was that everyone and everything remained stark white. From their hair, down to their clothing, it looked as though all the color in the world simply ceased to exist. The glow that permeated this place had magnified considerably, and it was all Kania could do not to squint because of it.
Staring pop-eyed, Kania realized that Cira was giggling slightly at the look on her face. Cira nudged her gently with her elbow and pointed at one of the windows. Kania’s jaw fell nearly to her bosom. It was the strangest and most surreal moment in all her life. She was looking at herself back in the real world through that window. There she was, fast asleep in Dara’s study, sitting in her chair where she had been watching the Architect Chant the spell that brought them here. Through the window she could see Akaris carefully lifting and then laying Dara onto a sofa across from her desk. Looking at the other windows she saw six very different views; another study there, a blazing hearth in that window and so on.
“There’s our Portal,” Cira said, nodding to the window that stood near the head of the table across from where they sat. Through it Kania could see a bed chamber. Cira and Erantis lay together in bed, holding each other tightly. Both were sound asleep.
Kania felt heat rising in her face and she dropped her voice to a whisper, “You two are lovers?”
The other Second smiled gorgeously at her, nodding. Now that the effects of the spell had worn off, Kania could finally concentrate on Cira’s appearance, and a small bubble of jealousy rose inside of her that she quickly quelled. Cira was easily the most astonishingly beautiful woman she had seen. Even here in the Magiverse with no chroma in her face whatsoever, it was obvious. Turning to study Cira through the Portal, Kania could see that she had stunning lilac hair and skin like polished ivory.
“What color are your eyes?” Kania asked her breathlessly.
“My eyes?” Cira laughed and Kania couldn’t help laughing with her. Her laugh was good-natured and quite contagious.
“If you two are quite finished?” A strong, deep voice cut in.
“Yes, Erantis, we are,” Cira replied, laughter still in her voice. “Kania seems to have shaken off the worst of the backlash from the spell, and I think she’s quite ready to participate in the meeting.”
Next to her Kania could see that Dara was watching her with her lips pursed, and her brows drawn down in calculated consternation. Mortification welled up inside her. She simply wasn’t used to being looked at in open disapproval like that. Keeping her shame hidden deep inside, she met Dara’s gaze and nodded, signaling that she was in fact ready and able to contribute.
“Very well,” Erantis the Prophet said with a nod.
He was a jovial looking fellow. His square faced matched well with his short neatly trimmed beard. Even sitting, she could see that he was moderately tall and broad of chest. He spared a wink and a grin for Cira.
“Now, where were we?”
“Tryss,” Mosair stated gravely.
Kania recognized all the members of the Circle of Seven through the copious amounts of paintings and tapestries of them that decorated the Baehadahn back home in Jenukai City.
Mosair was muscled and outlandishly tall; Kania knew that he stood well over seven feet. He wore the most severe look. His bald head and thick eyebrows were creased in worry. Dara’s second husband was maybe the most powerful Adimus Aura wielder in all the world. His power took a backseat to only Adimus himself and perhaps Arius Jadestar, her brother-in-law. This was the first time she had ever seen her father-in-law in person.
Though he’s not really here, is he?
“Now that Tryss has fallen, it is certain that Dantron will begin the invasion right away. We have had ten years to prepare for this moment, and we are as ready as we'll ever be.”
Naska the Shadow Priestess practically hissed at them as she spoke. “Be warned, I have felt astronomical surges in power from Rathe. He has somehow found a way to draw even more strength from the Duncar Core. I’m afraid he is more powerful than we are now.”
A hood hid most of her features, but Kania could tell from the woman’s tone that she wore a reverent expression as she spoke of the Duncar Core.
“Where will they strike first, do you think?” Kadyn the Elemantic asked, sounding tired.
He was a slight man of smaller than average height. His long hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and his face was clean shaven. His eyes were a bit too close together, and worry lines were etched permanently at their corners. He might have been handsome, but that frown he wore diminished his good looks and seemed like it was as permanent as those worry lines.
“The obvious points of attack will be Mayora, Kriallis, and Axion,” Jaras the Kallian replied in a matter-of-fact tone. “They are closest to the ocean and are the most susceptible. With Dantron’s armada, though, they may strike inland as well. We have to expect that all of the Seven Cities could be attacked any day now.”
His rotund belly jiggled through his robes slightly as he lounged in his chair. As he talked, his many chins bounced. His plump face looked like it was used to smiling, but he was very serious now.
As the meeting progressed, the Circle of Seven discussed everything from food rations for the army, to new weaponry that had been invented by Landran. Kania swelled with pride as they spoke about how groundbreaking the Genai Forms were and how they would be an invaluable tool to winning the war.
Next, they confabulated over Dantron spies that had been discovered in the Seven Cities and how more were being hunted at that very moment by the small army of Lurks they had at their disposal. The hours stretched as they discussed the most minute and arduous details.
As time dragged on, Kania found herself studying the other Second Voices. They were all very young like she was. The boy sitting next to Vaneres, the Caster who had replaced Owenisis, was rather mousy looking. He couldn’t have been any older than twelve or thirteen. Cira was clearly the oldest of the Voices. She was perhaps twenty-five. Despite how nice Cira had been to her, Kania still felt a small pang of jealousy over how pretty she was.
The others were all within a year of Kania, no older. A slender and timid looking girl with beautifully tilted eyes and a tendency to bite her fingernails sat next to the Shadow Priestess. At first glance she looked to have a boyish trim, but as Kania studied her further, it was obvious she had a lithely woman’s physique under her clothes. Elyse, she thought her name was. It seemed she had eyes only for her Architect Naska, though. A lazy-eyed teenage boy with thick shoulders sat next to Mosair, lounging back like he owned the place. He was very good-looking with his oiled hair and defined cheekbones. By the audacious smirks he cast at all the women in the room, Kania could tell he knew it. Kadyn and Jaras had a set of twins between them. Both teenage girls with big teeth that looked shy and were both as skinny as rails.
This assemblage of younglings would be the future of the Circle of Seven, the leaders of a world ravaged by war. Shivering slightly at the thought, Kania was brought out of her musings by Dara standing and drawing a close to the meeting.
“The next time we meet will surely be a war council, so until then, may Jenukai bless us beneath his wings.”
Dara bowed and the rest of the Circle and their Second Voices stood and followed suit, repeating the prayer back.
Chapter 16
Xav
ian ghosted along the rooftop crouched low, panting heavily from exertion. His aching muscles protested his every movement, and the sweat drenching his clothing stung the half-healed cuts and gashes that covered the majority of his body. A few of the scars along his chest and thighs had broken open during his flight to safety, and he was bleeding badly from a few fresh wounds as well. Checking that his knives were still safely tucked away in his sleeves, he checked the tautness of his bow string and readied an arrow, just in case he needed it.
The night was hot and dry, and Xavian smacked his lips in thirst. Somewhere in the chaos of the last exchange he had dropped his canteen. Muttering to himself and cursing under his breath, he braved a peek over the edge of the rooftop so he could try and get a visual on his quarry.
Nothing moved in the night; not even a breeze stirred the trees that stood over the rooflines. Two hunters stalked him in the surrounding blackness, and they were far more adept at this kind of fighting than Xavian was. He had encountered them just once so far a few minutes before, and he had come away the worse for wear.
Gazing up, he saw only two of the three moons were visible in the clear night sky, while a blanket of stars blinked lazily down at him. Typically, the dusk would be an advantage for Xavian because of all the black that he wore, but his pursuers had a distinct upper hand in that department. The masks they wore made sure of that.
From below, Xavian could hear the soft crunch of gravel being stepped upon. Ducking lower as not to be seen, he pressed his back beneath the peak of the roof and evened out his breathing. Judging the noise to be roughly about thirty feet to the southwest, he knocked the arrow in his hand and drew his bow string tightly to his chin. In one smooth motion, he stood and spun, releasing the arrow while catching a very brief glimpse at his target.
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