Luminaries & Lies

by Jeremy Dwyer

  Kepheus then held out his arm and a hawk landed on it and he put his hands on the animal’s head. As with the wolf, he took control of the hawk and directed it to leave the area, taking others with it.

  He returned to the campsite and found one of the spiders – a venomous black widow – and held its legs. He took control of the animal and it did not bite him. Instead, he directed the spider to spin a web around the Chronicler as he slept. Kepheus knew that the spider could not bite Alonso, but wondered if it would slow the pest and allow them to move about without being watched. He did this to dozens of other spiders, such that they built so many webs that, despite being quite small individually, they covered a wide area. Their webs were strong and not easily broken.

  In the morning, Pandaros, Abrax and Kepheus awoke and looked to see that Alonso had already awakened before them and was waiting.

  Kepheus did not know how Alonso had worked his way out of the maze of spider webs, but he was clearly annoyed that his delay tactic had failed. Pandaros and Abrax did not know why Kepheus was annoyed, however.

  Alonso did know why Kepheus was visibly annoyed, and he merely recorded the experience into his book. Not only was he protected from harm, but, as a Chronicler of the Oath, Alonso was protected from captivity. The same Guardian Angel who set aside snakes also set aside spiders and their webs.

  Pandaros looked at his map once again and began walking toward the area that was marked with the flame. Abrax and Kepheus followed him, and they were followed by Alonso.

  They soon arrived at a vast estate, on whose grounds were enormous cannons that would have been too large for most ships.

  Pandaros drank anew of the waters of the Zovvin Ocean, so as to be as ready as he could.

  “With such grand cannons as these, is this place a fortress?” Abrax asked.

  “Indeed, it is,” Pandaros said, suspecting that he knew the one to whom it belonged.

  A spirit appeared before all of them – that of a woman dressed as a corsair.

  “Go no further, or I’ll kill you and sink the ship you came here on,” the spirit said.

  “Who are you, spirit, to threaten the living? You are dead, and have no claim to this land,” Pandaros said.

  “These are my grounds, for always,” the spirit said.

  “The land you took while in the flesh cannot be yours in the spirit world,” Pandaros said.

  “You dare to challenge my title to the land? It was bought by me, and that cannot be denied,” the spirit said.

  “With money that you stole, Baroness Irina, queen of pirates. A thief and a murderer you were. These lands are not yours,” Pandaros said.

  When Pandaros said ‘murderer’, Abrax, Kepheus and Alonso all looked at him, finding his hypocrisy remarkable.

  “You know my name, living man. What of it?” the spirit of Baroness Irina asked.

  “Your stolen lands are of no interest to me,” Pandaros said.

  “Then why are you here?” the spirit of Baroness Irina asked.

  “For the one small thing that is mine,” Pandaros said.

  “There is nothing here that is yours,” the spirit of Baroness Irina said.

  “You are mistaken. There is something here that is mine. The onyx, which you have,” Pandaros said. He described it this way knowing that she would recognize the crystal of which the luminary was made.

  “You claim one of my crystals as yours. How bold!” the spirit of Baroness Irina said.

  “I assure you, it is not yours. Bring it to me,” Pandaros said.

  “Why should I give without receiving? What will you pay?” the spirit of Baroness Irina asked.

  “I will not banish you,” Pandaros said. At this, he pulled out a blue crystal from his backpack and placed it onto the walking stick that he carried. He approached the spirit of Baroness Irina and waved the stick around.

  The spirit of Baroness Irina screamed.

  Alonso had recorded all of this into his book and then turned to Pandaros, asking: “What is that crystal?”

  “Yeah! What is that thing?” Abrax asked.

  “Fascinating. A crystal that troubles spirits!” Kepheus said.

  “These are called ‘unhaunting’ stones. They send spirits away, suffering,” Pandaros said.

  The spirit of Baroness Irina avoided Pandaros.

  “I can possess one of these and turn them against you,” the spirit of Baroness Irina said.

  At this, she moved into Abrax and took him over. She forced him to draw a dagger and throw it, but it missed Pandaros and hit Kepheus in the jugular vein, killing him.

  ~~~

  Unseen by the living, Kepheus’ spirit appeared in a dark and twisted place, filled with haze and fire and screams. He was confronted by a terrible spirit in the darkness.

  “You are condemned! Let there be no hope within you!” a deep voice said, and Kepheus’ spirit trembled.

  “Where am I? Who are you?” Kepheus’ spirit asked.

  “This is the Maelstrom of Vengeance. Confusion and pain shall be your eternal destiny, and you shall be my ever-suffering servant,” the deep voice said.

  “Why?” Kepheus’ spirit asked.

  “You lived by your own laws and bent the creatures of nature to your will. Now, you will live by my laws and be made to bend to my will!” the deep voice said.

  “Who are you? I don’t know you! How can I belong to you?” Kepheus’ spirit asked, terrified at what was being said and where he was. He felt no hope of escape.

  “I am Gadamalto, the Master of Spirits in the Maelstrom. I know you, because you gave yourself to me. And I will give you over to the horror!” the deep voice said.

  Kepheus found himself lost in pain, darkness and confusion that went on without end.

  ~~~

  Alonso recorded the words and deeds – including Kepheus’ death – partially understanding what was occurring, based on the words and context. However, he could not say that he saw the possession – only that the spirit had said certain things and that Abrax had suddenly killed Kepheus with a dagger.

  Pandaros put the unhaunting stone against Abrax and the spirit of Baroness Irina then left him, screaming.

  “Bring me the onyx and I will leave, and your pain will end,” Pandaros then commanded.

  The front door to the large mansion on the estate opened and the spirit of Baroness Irina said to them: “the door is open. Take it yourself, from the bouquet on the table.”

  Pandaros, followed by Abrax and Alonso, walked into the mansion and made their way down a long hall.

  Pandaros noted the interior of the mansion. The ceilings were over ten (10) feet high, and there was gold trim along the walls. The floors were marble with elaborate maze designs that were fascinating to the eye. Four (4) pillars – each extending from floor to ceiling, with three (3) foot diameters – went down the center of the hall, which was twenty-two (22) feet wide. These pillars were all coated in pearl. Thirty five (35) paintings covered the walls – each was framed in gold, and most of the paintings were of beautiful women, architecture, and nature.

  Alonso noted these details into his book, making quick but accurate sketches. The Ursegan Ocean waters he drank allowed him to move quickly, slowing the flow of time around him so that he could have time to record the information while still keeping pace with Pandaros and Abrax.

  “It is remarkable what wealth that she acquired. Her piracy was far more successful than I had ever known. Tychon had the most ruthless reputation as a pirate; yet, his efforts did not procure such treasure to afford opulence of this scale,” Pandaros said.

  “This would be a fine place to take as our own, would it not?” Abrax asked.

  “This is a place of comfort and luxury. We are explorers, and cannot revel in these things, lest we become comfortable and restful and weak. Without movement, we would die and be born into lesser creatures,” Pandaros said.

  They continued walking along the hall until it turned a corner and became another, wider but shorte
r hallway. This one had an enormous waterfall.

  “Magnificent!’” Pandaros said.

  Alonso was impressed and, from what he saw at a distance, he drew a sketch of it into his book.

  “There is something strange about the appearance of the water. The light reflects off of it in a most unusual way,” Abrax said. He had a fine sense of darkness and light, given by the waters of the Ikkith Tar Ocean he drank.

  “Look at it more closely, then,” Pandaros said.

  Abrax approached and looked closely at the waterfall and realized what it was. “This is not water, at all. Rather, it is finely cut blue sapphire. From a distance, it gives the appearance of flowing water,” Abrax said.

  Pandaros approached and put his hand into the sapphires of the waterfall sculpture. “The exquisite work of a fine imagination. Vast wealth affords opportunities to explore possibilities few would imagine, even transcending the boundaries of the water. An illusion was created by an artisan with a power that was not mastery over light,” Pandaros said.

  Alonso also placed his hand into the sapphires of the waterfall sculpture, and agreed that it was a finely cut blue crystal. However, he did not conclude that it was sapphire. It could have been blue diamond, or blue topaz, or a modified version of any of these. He wrote into his book that the sculpture was made of finely cut blue crystal, and recorded its dimensions, which were eight point five (8.5) feet tall with a nine point five (9.5) foot diameter circular base.

  “Do you still not wish to take this place for our purposes?” Abrax asked.

  “The temptation exists, and there may be value here for which we should one day return. Yet, we have a higher calling, which is to explore all things. Perhaps, an even greater place than this exists. We would not have discovered even this had we not continued in our explorations. Do not forget that, Abrax,” Pandaros said.

  Alonso recorded all of these conversations into his book, along with what he saw.

  They walked through this hall, past the sculpture, and entered a room with a long dining table. At the table were seated seven (7) skeletons, each holding utensils for eating, with empty plates and glasses in front of them. Behind each of the skeletons was a small barrel on the floor.

  Alonso had followed them and noted all of this into his book.

  “Their final meal shall never end,” Pandaros said.

  “Did she kill them?” Abrax asked.

  Pandaros walked around the room and said: “Perhaps. Yet, they came later, after Irina’s death. They lived here in luxury and dined on the spoils of her piracy. They were killed in revenge,” Pandaros said.

  “How do you know?” Abrax asked.

  “This one has a dagger in his back – and a most unusual one at that. The blade is spiral, designed to cause the greatest pain, and draw blood to fill these barrels,” Pandaros said after pulling out the dagger.

  Abrax looked into the barrels and saw that each of them contained a dark red liquid.

  “The blood is of no use to us – it is long dead. However, this spiral dagger is of use,” Pandaros said.

  Abrax looked at the spiral dagger that Pandaros held.

  “I shall use this in the next ceremony, that we may know if our sacrifice is made more satisfying,” Pandaros said.

  Alonso recorded all of this into his book. He could not test the liquid in the barrels, even though it had a smell like that of blood, so he wrote that it was a dark red.

  “This is not what we came for. That, however, is,” Pandaros said, pointing at the bouquet on the table in the center.

  Dozens of intricate crystals, arranged as a bouquet of flowers, were in a bowl on the table. Among them were rubies, diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, citrines and others, in various shades of red, blue, green and yellow. Mixed in with them was a black onyx that had a wick like that of a candle protruding from it.

  Pandaros took the onyx and looked at it closely. He felt that it was cold, which gave him confidence that it was the luminary he sought.

  Alonso drew a picture of the bouquet, both of those crystals that Pandaros left behind as well as the one that he took. Alonso reached out and put his hand onto the onyx and felt that it was cold, and recorded that fact with the picture he drew.

  After this, Pandaros left the mansion, and Abrax and Alonso followed him.

  “Never come back, or I’ll have ways to torment you, and even kill you if I choose, and none of your tricks will save you,” the spirit of Baroness Irina said as they left. Though she was dead, she regarded the mansion and its contents as her own.

  “I do look forward to seeing you again. I admire your opulent hospitality, Baroness,” Pandaros said.

  Pandaros then made his way through the hills, followed by Abrax and Alonso, who even recorded the final words that the spirit of Baroness Irina spoke.

  After making their way through the hills, they returned as they came, booking passage on three (3) ships to cross the Zovvin, Kazofen and Medathero oceans back to the port at the western coast of the Crypt Trail land bridge, just north of where it met with the Colossal March Warpath land bridge.

  “You have followed us long enough, have you not, Chronicler? Certainly, there are more interesting matters in the world,” Pandaros asked when they were in the port.

  “Under the authority of the Chronicler’s Oath, I follow and record the unfolding of history, mundane or grand,” Alonso said.

  “To follow now would be to learn too much, and then to interfere,” Pandaros said.

  “I am not allowed to interfere, but I may follow you in confidence,” Alonso said.

  Pandaros paused, knowing that confidence was something Chroniclers kept, and it would be a plausible, if not ideal, solution. He could not wait out Alonso, whose long life and remaining millennia of life due to the Ursegan Ocean waters afforded him the luxuries of time and patience that Pandaros did not have.

  “Very well. In confidence you will follow us,” Pandaros said.

  After that agreement, they walked into the interior of the Crypt Trail, through its swamp and back to the mausoleum.

  Once inside, Pandaros took an ordinary candle from a wall mount and held its flame to the wick that protruded from the onyx luminary. The luminary was thereby lit and Pandaros placed it into the candelabra with the other two (2), so that it now held three (3) luminaries.

  Alonso watched what was done and found it fascinating that a candle would be housed inside of an onyx. He recorded all that he heard and saw into his book.

  Pandaros then considered the situation and said: “The candle is lit, and thus we have honored our spiritual commitment. It is time for me to rest, and for you as well, Abrax. Rest your mind. All that was to be done, has been done. All that was to be said, has been said.”

  Abrax took this as an order to be quiet, and so he sat in a dark corner of the room, silently.

  Pandaros did the same.

  Alonso realized that this was, in fact, the silent treatment, but he could not read their minds. He waited until the following day, but neither Pandaros nor Abrax did or said anything.

  Alonso, of course, could wait for years or centuries, and far outlive them. Instead, however, he chose to leave and return to Emeth. He knew where he was, and made his way back through the swamp and back to the port on the western coast of the Crypt Trail. As a Chronicler, he traveled for free back to Emeth, prepared to submit his book to the Verifiers of the Oath.

  Along the way, Alonso overheard the navigators of the ship mention that the darkness had grown again. He wondered about what he had seen recently, but did not discern any connection among the events.

  ~~~

  On Ixilonotu Island in the Kazofen Ocean, Haltavna sensed the darkness, too. In fact, she heard the stars screaming in the skies, and felt fear.

  “It has grown darker, yet again,” Haltavna said.

  Pelathata looked to the sky and said: “I see it. It’s slight, but there’s no denying it.”

  “The stars have told me that they are in pain,�
�� Haltavna said.

  “That’s what I can’t believe. How could the stars be in pain?” Pelathata asked.

  “Something else is among the stars – something dark and dangerous,” Haltavna said.

  ~~~

  Across the world, others also sensed it, especially those who drank Atrejan Ocean waters and could thereby sense the stars. So, too, did those who could sense the decreasing levels of light and increasing levels of darkness, by drinking either the Lujladia Ocean waters or the Ikkith Tar Ocean waters.

  CHAPTER 16: Divide between Mother and Daughter

  Taesa and Caroline had returned to the small village in Meridianus where they had previously lived and found their small cottage – made partly of clay and partly of wood – still intact. All of their possessions had remained, which included Taesa’s father’s books.

  She picked up one of the books – titled ‘Instructing Children on Advanced Counting Methods’ – and thought back to when he had read it to her and other children in the village. She remembered struggling to understand as he patiently explained how to count the number of combinations of items taken from a set. She was only ten (10) when he read that to her, and her mind wasn’t entirely on it. She remembered how he was beginning to get sick and would lie in bed while she and some of the others would sit on either side of him and listen to him read.

  “He read that to you when you were ten (10),” Caroline said, remembering her husband’s gentleness and patience in instruction.

  “I still remember the lesson,” Taesa said.

  “So do I – like it was yesterday. He said that, if the order doesn’t matter, and you can only choose the items once or not at all, then you take the factorial of the number of items divided by the product of multiplying the factorial of how many you choose and the factorial of the difference. I even knew what it meant, and how to use it, but not why,” Caroline said.

  “He wanted us all to understand math. The geometry made more sense. The combinations were interesting. I wish I understood them more, but it was too abstract. At least, it was then. Later, it made a lot of sense, when I studied music,” Taesa said.