by Bob Blink
More than once Rigo had considered a return to the Ruins to see if something had been missed there that might shed light on her situation. In his heart he knew it was a useless hope. There was magic they hadn’t acquired, but he had checked carefully when he and Koess had been in the Void and found nothing that applied. Going back would have been foolish. It would be great to bring back the other magic contained in the crystals, but that would require weeks or months in the horrid place. If it were possible to bring the walls of crystal back, the pace of transfer could be accelerated, but realistically there was no way to do that. They couldn’t be moved intact, and breaking them could well destroy the very thing he hoped to acquire. It didn’t matter anyway. Koess had made it very clear he could see no reason that would motivate him to return, and without him it would be more than foolhardy for anyone to make such an attempt. Since all other avenues were mostly lost, the Repository destroyed with most of their ancient texts, Rigo was gradually coming to accept he had lost Mitty forever.
His friends felt far apart as well, which didn’t help his general outlook. The events of the past few years had certainly taken their toll. Daria and Kaler had returned to the Orphanage, and seldom left these days. Rigo had been dismayed when he had returned after defeating Hyndl to discover what had happened to his friend. Kaler had nearly died and it had taken the medical experts considerable effort to bring him back. He had lost so much blood that they hadn’t been certain he could be saved. A combination of superb skill and Kaler’s inherent stamina had saved the day. Unfortunately, there was nothing that could be done for his arm. Had it merely been severed, they could have rejoined the damaged parts and restored it, probably with virtually no loss of function. But it had been consumed by the magic that had taken it, and even the most skilled among them couldn’t re-grow it.
The loss of the arm had not stopped Kaler. He still practiced daily, perhaps even more seriously than ever before. Once perhaps the best bladesman to be found, he remained so skilled that few would want to go against him. An expert fighter, however, could take advantage of Kaler’s “blind” side, and might have been able to best him. The ability to switch a blade between hands in the middle of an exchange was no longer an option, nor was the use of one of the larger two-handed blades. Similarly, the use of any kind of bow was lost. In short, his fighting days were finished.
Kaler appeared to have accepted the future the fates had given him, but Rigo felt responsible and therefore somewhat uncomfortable whenever he visited. Daria and Kaler had saved him more times than he could count, and yet he had allowed them to go into a situation that he’d known was less than optimum. The outcome had caused some friction between himself and Nycoh. There had been words which had left a lingering anger which still existed between them. She had pushed allowing the Baldari to lead the attack against Kytra. Rigo knew, as did Daria and Kaler, that had his friends been the first through the Ghost Doorway, Kytra would have been incapacitated and Kaler wouldn’t have lost his arm. They might have even taken her alive, and the resulting questioning might have freed Mitty. This was another reason Rigo had been so unhappy with Nycoh’s decision.
Daria remained by Kaler’s side, and they focused primarily on expanding their Orphanage. The loss of so many wizards, and the disruption of the governments of the various kingdoms, had spawned a growth in crime that hadn’t been known in many years. As a result, Daria had quietly taken on a small group of carefully selected trainees. Those she selected, if they passed her private tutelage, were sent into the world to follow the path of the KalaBhoot. Stories were already starting to circulate of the return of the famed assassin, and those who might have committed crimes against others were given reason to consider carefully.
During the battle with Hyndl, Nycoh had been nearly killed when he punched through her shield with his frantic response to the release of the cloud that ripped apart his protective barrier. The burn had been repaired, but she had felt disoriented for many weeks afterwards. She and Lyes had relocated to Sedfair, and withdrawn from active participation in the wizard community so she could fully recover and pursue the relationship that had seen troubled times of its own the past year. Rigo knew she had regained her former strength, but their friendship had remained strained. Rigo hadn’t found a way to mend the break, perhaps because of his own losses.
Once again, the kingdoms sought to rebuild. The numbers lost were actually less than the periodic plagues had typically caused, and the recovery was moving along more quickly than Rigo would have thought possible. As time passed, the gifted who had gone into hiding to escape the wrath of the Brryn had started to return, and the powers of magic were brought to the task of rebuilding. King Rhory and Queen Mos’pera had just moved into the partially completed castle built across town from where the old one had once stood, that land having been set aside for the establishment of the new College of Magic. Jeen still worked with the royal family, and was kept remarkably busy as she provided an interface between the wizard community and the royalty of all three kingdoms as each sought to recover from the damage done by the Brryn.
Lopal had chosen a new Lamane once again, and Kellmore was raising its own castle, while the temporary leadership had called for the selection of a new royal family to assume leadership there. In far off Sedfair, the people had pressured former Queen Rosul to retake the reins of power. Under her leadership the country had enjoyed many decades of prosperity, and now the people wanted someone familiar to be guiding the way. She had agreed to a temporary term, but had made it clear she wanted to be allowed to retire once again once stability returned.
The Baldari had all returned to their home to the south. While limited contact had been pursued, Rigo knew they had friends in the Baldari now, and the small group who worked with them to learn a shared language so that more normal communication could be established, had reported certain successes. Rigo knew he needed to approach Nycoh again and urge her to participate. She was the only one among them who had the ability to communicate fully with the Baldari, and she could aid the process if she would consent to spending some time with them. S’erom had asked about her more than once.
Rigo stood and walked over to the window of his office and stared at the construction that continued outside. It wouldn’t be until the following spring that classes began at the College. The Guild was no more, and by mutual agreement of wizards and Casters, the College of Magic would be home to both disciplines. Some had wanted Rigo, who was clearly the most powerful wizard in the land, to take on the responsibility of leading the new organization, but he had declined. His powers had continued to mature over the past months, but he didn’t want the position, and more importantly, given his physical resemblance to the Brryn, he felt it unwise for the general populace to see him in charge of those with magic. He was not unaware of the stares, sometimes hostile, which he received when he traveled to villages outside of Sulen. For her own reasons, Nycoh had not wanted to resurrect her former leadership either, and had turned down any early requests. Instead, Suline had been elected to lead the college and the Counsel of Mages, which oversaw the magic community as a whole. She had become a national hero of Sedfair, and was known equally well throughout the Three Kingdoms. Her part in the elimination of the tyrannical Brryn was the subject of many tales, each of which grew in the telling.
The light rain that had darkened the skies for the last several days continued to fall. He watched as the drops fell, the puddles growing in size where the open earth had yet to be replanted following the construction. He had two windows, one that looked out of the side toward the dormitory which was still under construction, and another that looked out toward the entrance where the two large statues now stood. A lot of consideration had gone into the statues, and Rigo was surprised by what the community had wanted. He still felt uncomfortable walking by the stone resemblance of Ash’urn, feeling the loss of his friend each time. He hoped in time he would come to mark the statues as a reminder that he still carried much of the former
scholar around inside him. Ash’urn would have been honored to know that he, a non-wizard and late developing Caster, had been a unanimous choice to guard the entrance to the College. Ash’urn’s heritage was an inspiration to them all. The other statue was a rendering of Daim, at least as best Rigo had been able to provide to the artist. It wasn’t the Daim they all knew in recent years, but what Rigo could recall the ancient wizard had looked like in his own time. From the shared memories that still lingered, he had helped the artist sketch out the face that none living had ever seen in person.
It was getting late, and Rigo decided it was time to leave. He walked down the hall toward the workroom where Mitty was kept, planning to say goodbye as usual, before going to his far too silent room across town. As he stepped into the room, he saw that others were still busy. The room was huge, nearly a hundred paces from one end to the other, with a variety of projects underway. He could see Burke in the distance, moving slowly as he tended to do these days. He was back, but had never fully recovered. Rigo suspected the old Burke was still trapped in there somewhere, trying to reassert himself.
Rigo looked at the image of Mitty, so perfectly preserved inside the clear cylinder. It sat on the floor, so she was almost at eye level. He peered into her eyes as he did every evening, always hoping for some sign she knew he was there, but as always, there was nothing.
“She is unaware of her surroundings,” said someone behind him.
Rigo turned toward the unfamiliar voice, wondering who it might be. The man he saw was unknown to him. He was old, very old. He stood half a hand shorter than Rigo, with pale skin. His bald head was ringed with just a thin strip of short gray hair just above the ears that ran around the back of his head. He stood erect despite his age, and looked at the cage that held Mitty rather than at Rigo. Rigo was certain he had never seen the man before, and wondered how he had come to be in this part of the College workrooms. It wasn’t open to the public, yet the stranger acted as if he fully belonged.
“Have we met?” Rigo asked, as he tried to think of who this might be.
“Not until now,” the man said.
He turned and looked directly at Rigo. As the man’s eyes met his own, Rigo felt a sudden chill climb up his back. The hairs on Rigo’s arm stood up as if he’d encountered a ghost. The old man’s hair had gone white with age, which had hidden who he had to be, but the lavender eyes told Rigo he was dealing with a Brryn. The man smiled.
“I see you understand,” he said softly.
“Who?” Rigo asked, wondering how he should respond. He waited to see what would develop, but sensed that as strong as he had become, he would fall short of being a match for this quiet old man. Hyndl had been stronger than Rigo, and while Rigo now thought he would have been a match for the Brryn, neither would have been the equal of this old wizard.
“I’m Nyk,” the man said softly, and waited to watch Rigo’s reaction.
Nyk. Rigo knew immediately who he was. Jeen had learned the names of all of those who had been in the chamber when she had Linked with the Brryn in the valley. Nyk was the one who had been missing. But Nyk was supposed to have been the same age as the others in the chamber, not this old withered man. They had thought him dead. How could he have appeared so long after the removal of the others?
“I see you know of me. That is good. Then you must be aware that I am stronger than you. Stronger than any of you.”
“I don’t understand,” Rigo said. “Where . . ?”
“Where have I been?” Nyk finished for him. “That’s a very long story. I had my own plans, and made arrangements to exit the chamber you destroyed only a few hundred years after entering. I had centuries to rule and experiment. I found ways to greatly enhance my abilities.”
“You kept the others locked away?”
“I did. They would have contested my rule. I knew that when we entered the chamber, but I thought they could be useful, so I brought them along.”
Rigo had a sudden thought. “You created the Ruins. You are the one who made the Hoplani.”
Nyk nodded. “More of you survived the purge than planned. Like an infestation, you wizards were long a problem that have plagued me. The Hoplani were intended to finish what the war and the Ruins failed to do. I returned to my own chamber to allow the passing years to finish the matter, but there were problems. Something happened that corrupted the magic that controlled my chamber and that of the others you found.”
Rigo suspected instinctively that the Rift had affected the ancient Brryn in some way.
“So where have you been?”
“When you destroyed the chamber with my fellow Brryn, you triggered a link that released me from my own chamber located elsewhere, something that should have happened thousands of years ago. When I realized what had happened, I decided to see how matters progressed. You did a marvelous job of eliminating the others for me.”
“You have been around all this time?”
“Of course. Watching and waiting. Now that the others are gone, I wanted the rest of your kind to come out of hiding. It would have been too much trouble to try and chase you all down, and like before you would have grown in number while you hid and plotted had you known of my existence. Now it will be relatively straightforward to finally finish this.”
One of the wizard scholars that Rigo had come to know walked over. “Rigo, is something wrong?” He had obviously sensed the conversation was strained in some way. He looked at Nyk as if trying to place him.
Nyk didn’t even bother to glance in the other’s direction. He pushed out a hand and the bothersome wizard was flung across the room where he smacked into the wall and crumpled to the ground.
Rigo triggered his most powerful magic, only to find it struck the fuzzy shield around the ancient Brryn and faded away uselessly. Nyk laughed, obviously amused by Rigo’s failed attempt. With a wave of his hand, something that Rigo suspected wasn’t necessary but a habit all wizards seemed to fall into, he wrapped the building in a different kind of barrier. Rigo sensed he couldn’t have Transferred out if he wanted to. They were all trapped here until Nyk chose to allow them to go. Rigo knew that wasn’t his plan.
“Now it is time to clean up,” he said, his voice harsher and less conversational. “First here, starting with you. You are the most worrisome. Then I’ll find your fellow wizards. Nycoh and her consort Lyes, and after that Jeen.” He then named a half dozen others who were the most powerful among them. “Finally I’ll look into the lesser ones. Within a short time you will all be gone.”
Nyk looked at the cylinder that held Mitty.
“Her too,” he said. “She could be troublesome in a different way.”
Nyk did something that caused the cylinder to waiver and then disappear. Mitty dropped to the floor of the workroom, freed from the magic that had held her so long. She groaned and tried to sit up.
“Your reunion won’t last long,” Nyk said. “Go say your farewells.”
Rigo was badly conflicted. He wished to run to Mitty who was finally freed and appeared to be alive, but also wished to confront Nyk who he knew fully intended to kill everyone in the building. Momentarily paralyzed, he saw that Burke was silently sneaking up from behind, Nyk unaware of his presence. Nyk either wasn’t paying attention, or was unconcerned about a relatively weak wizard being nearby. If Rigo couldn’t harm him, what could the others hope to do?
Burke was carrying a pair of objects that Rigo recognized. They were shielded, which masked their presence. They had to be or they would have reacted being so close together. It was a pair of the Ruins rods. One of the wizards had proposed using the cracked rod that had allowed Rigo to visit the Void to try and locate the remaining rods that were buried in the desert and had triggered the Ruins. It was believed if all could be found and extracted, the Ruins would collapse and recede. Thus far over a hundred of the deadly rods had been located. A small number given the thousands that were believed still buried. Most of the recovered rods were shielded and stored in the Ruins u
ntil a proper means of disposal could be determined, but a pair had been kept here under careful control. Careful study of the devices was planned, and there were those who even wished to study the Void. The rods were the only known means of returning there.
Burke’s intention was obvious. There was nothing Rigo could do. If he tried to stop Burke, he would simply alert Nyk to his presence, which would get him killed. If he did nothing, Burke was going to trigger the rods which would create a release that would kill everyone nearby including, hopefully, Nyk. The power of the rods was well known after what they had done to the chamber. Clearly, Burke had realized who Nyk was and considered his elimination worth any cost.
Rigo glanced briefly at Nyk, and then ran hurriedly toward Mitty. That is what the ancient wizard would expect, and Rigo knew his and Mitty’s only chance was to get as far from Nyk as possible. As he knelt down beside Mitty, he raised his strongest shield and wrapped it around the two of them. Simultaneously, he Transferred across the room to the back wall more than eighty paces away, choosing the location of the Transfer exit so as to place one of the strong stone support pillars between themselves and Nyk. He might not be able to Transfer out of the building, but he could put some distance between himself and the Brryn.
His actions alerted Nyk that something was amiss, but it was too late. Burke was already within a half dozen paces, and as he realized the ancient wizard was about to act, Burke lobbed the two rods, one from each hand toward either side of the ancient wizard. As they passed him, Burke released the shielding around the two rods. Separated by less than two paces, the interaction between the two ancient devices was instantaneous and intense. One immediate result of the interaction of the rods was to freeze them in position. Burke’s timing had been excellent, and one was on either side of Nyk. The powerful orange flash momentarily hid the immense power that was released. Burke was vaporized instantly. Because he was so close to the explosion even Nyk, his shield more powerful than any ever seen, was no match for the magic released by the rods. For the briefest of moments he was revealed inside the shields, a grimace of intense agony on his face. His shield glowed orange with the energies they tried to combat. Then, the shield collapsed, and Nyk flashed and was vaporized as Burke had been. Finally, the rods themselves succumbed to the ball of magic they had created and vaporized as well
