Nikulo and Mara nodded. “Be careful up there,” she said.
With that Talis flew up, following Master Jai, soaring high above the temple. A line of blue light laced the horizon in the twilight. To the right a wall of necromancers dotted the sky like a plague of locusts. They sent a storm of flying undead at the soldiers inside Naru. A cloud of sorcerers on the left cast elemental and shadow magic at the temple.
“What spells have you learned on your journey?”
Talis thought of all the times he’d used magic and smiled. “I’ve discovered the power of Light Magic,” he said, gripping the black crystal.
Master Jai raised an eyebrow. “Not that I don’t believe you it’s just...”
Talis raised his hand and aimed at the group sorcerers off in the distance. He closed his eyes, picturing the sky turning white as snow. When the power of light had built up to a feverish pitch in his heart, he released it at the sorcerers. His hand burned as the air blazed with hundreds of flashes of white and yellow and orange.
“Gods,” Master Jai said, his face pale. “How did you gain such power?”
Where the sorcerers once hovered burned with golden particles.
They were gone. Every single sorcerer in the group was gone. The black crystal. A wave of dizziness made him grab his forehead with one hand and try to steady himself with the other. Except he was hundreds of feet in the air. He made the mistake of looking down.
“Careful.” Master Jai steadied him. “That kind of outburst of magic is seriously dangerous. I’ve no idea how you even managed to contain it.”
At once the necromancers turned and faced Talis. Shifting their attacks, they sent the flying undead towards him. The wizards of Naru countered, shooting down giant undead bats and wyverns and manticores.
Then the aerial attacks ceased. The skies calmed. Talis only heard the fury of battle in the streets below. Half of the city was on fire. The fighting was most ferocious in the arena square and the marketplace, but the army held out well against their numbers. Outside the city walls, a vast hoard of undead soldiers clambered up the surrounding hill. They bottled up the narrow entrance of the broken gates. The army had barricaded every street leading into the populous areas.
Naru was losing the ground battle. The battering rams had been positioned against the western walls. Their enemies were trying to open up additional ways into the city. Beyond, more necromancers hovered over the battlefield, and commanded the undead from afar.
“Where should we attack next?” Talis glanced at Master Jai.
He considered the question. “If our citizens die…a terrible loss. Yet if we lose the source of our power, how can we fight anymore?”
“I hold in my hand another source of power.” Talis showed Master Jai the black crystal.
Master Jai grimaced and his face drained of color. “Why do you hold such an evil stone? Are you a practitioner of Black Magic?”
“This was given to me by the Goddess Nacrea—”
A deafening rumble sounded as a large portion of Naru’s outer wall crumbled. Archers plummeted to their death. Stones fell, mashing soldiers underneath. A wave of undead raised their weapons and cheered, then clambered over the rubble into the city.
“We must stop them,” Talis shouted.
“I was commanded by Master Viridian to protect the temple.”
A low, droning sound filled the air, as if hundreds of meteors were crashing upon the earth. The once clear, starry sky turned black. Putrid shadows rippled over the city, plummeting them into darkness. Talis coughed and tried to wave away the smoke. The air smelled of rotten eggs and burned flesh.
Talis could hear the sorcerers blending their voices together in a deep chant. Hundreds of evil voices united with one, dark purpose. Their thoughts invaded his mind. He fought desperately to stay awake, to keep from passing out.
“Hail, Zagros, Lord of the Underworld,” shouted a shrill voice that echoed across the sky.
“A summoning,” whispered Talis.
Another voice rang out, a clear voice singing a high note, as if heralding the destruction of the world. “Once there was only darkness…now vanquish the light.”
A war horn sounded. Aahhooo, aahhooo.
“Unleash your terror on this place, consume, consume, consume, until your hunger satiate.”
There was a vast tearing sound, as if the air was a curtain being rent. Laughter rang out, filling the whole sky. A hideous voice delivering terror upon the city. And in the darkness shone terrible blood-red eyes as large as twin suns. The eyes moved, making their way towards the temple. He could feel the fire from those eyes ripple under his skin. An invisible hand stretched out and laid ahold of his heart.
A demon had been called.
Those eyes. Talis recognized those eyes. His eyes. A roar like a wall of thunder rang out as the demon grew, towering over the temple. Talis felt his hands go cold and clammy. The necromancers had fused together into a core of blackness. Tendrils of shadow magic and electricity flowed into the demon from that void, filling it with power.
The demon wielded a hundred foot sword and raised it to strike down on the temple dome.
20. LIGHT MAGIC
“Protect the temple,” Master Jai shouted. The wizards flew at the demon, but lightning bolts and bursts of shadow energy disintegrated every wizard that came close. Those remaining fled to where Master Jai and Talis hovered.
“What should we do?” said a wizard.
If Talis focused his attacks on the necromancers, the city and its citizens would be safe. But the temple and the crystal beneath would be destroyed. Master Jai shouted something, but Talis couldn’t hear a sound. It was like the world had curdled and gone slow. The sky was a blur of slow movement, painting long streaks of gold and black. The other wizards of the Order shouted at him in terror. Talis knew they were commanding him to attack the demon. He couldn’t risk it. The citizens were what made Naru. If he failed to protect them then he’d lost the very reason for saving his city.
So Talis faced the necromancers. He summoned the power of Light Magic inside his heart. As he released a brilliant flash, he heard the demon’s sword crash into the temple. The wizards cried out. Shards of the enormous crystal from underneath the temple exploded all around, causing the wizards to turn their eyes in fear.
But Talis held another crystal. And as he watched its power unleash, the necromancers and the entire undead army were obliterated in a single stroke. A mass of bones and rotting flesh fell everywhere.
An enormous cheer rippled over the city as the soldiers raised their weapons in a sign of victory. Talis felt proud at having saved his people, but his heart sank as he saw the dark expression on Master Jai’s face.
“Look what you’ve done,” yelled Master Jai. He grabbed Talis by the shoulder, and flung him around until he faced the broken temple. Master Jai seemed like a ruined man: his face was ashen and he grasped at his stomach as if in great pain.
Then the wizards faltered and plummeted towards the ground. They fought to slow their fall. Now that the temple’s power was gone, their magic was failing them. Several wizards screamed, their bodies dashed against rooftops and cobblestone streets. Master Jai and Talis struggled on the descent, and landed roughly.
“You’ve ruined us,” Master Jai shouted. “The demon destroyed the crystal. How will we fight against them now? Idiot, don’t you realize how easy it is for other necromancers to raise the fallen undead back to life? There are more out there hiding!”
“Then we need to stop them.”
“We?” Master Jai scoffed. He lifted his eyes and winced at the demon. “We’re nothing against that power. Without the ancient crystal…tonight we fall under this tide of darkness.”
Talis reached out and gripped his hand. “I need your help.”
Master Jai’s eyes widened in surprise at his touch. “Where does the power come from?”
“The stone from the Goddess Nacrea,” Talis said. “Use the power, lift us up to the
heights. Together, we can stop them. But I can’t do it alone.”
“A stone of Black Magic.” Master Jai yanked his hand back.
“I don’t know what it is, but I know we’ll be destroyed without it. Will you help me or not?”
Talis noticed the demon shrinking in size, as if the power that sustained it was being removed. They had to act. Soon the remaining necromancers would shift their focus to summoning the dead back to life. He stared at Master Jai.
“I’ll help you.” Master Jai huffed. “I don’t like it, but we don’t really have a choice.” He grabbed Talis’s hand and cast the spell of flying. They soared into the air. It was dark now, and Talis could see that only the fires and the moons provided any illumination.
“We can’t see them.”
“Illuminate the darkness.” Master Jai studied Talis. “You don’t know how, do you? Picture the sun. Use the power of Light Magic to bring the sun to life in the sky.”
“But the sun has set below the horizon, how can I?”
“Trust in yourself. Without light the necromancers will own the night. It’s their strongest time.”
Talis closed his eyes and pictured the blazing sun. A frenzy of light burned in his chest. He squeezed the crystal for fear of losing it. Although he knew the laws governing nature, he also knew the power of magic bent those rules to its will. But commanding the sun to rise in the night sky? He pushed aside his doubts and let the power to grow inside until the sun engulfed his inner view.
“Release it,” shouted Master Jai.
Talis flung his eyes open. A tide of rising light rushed from the horizon up to the highest point in the sky. As if pieces of the sun were being called forth to rain down over the darkness. The light coalesced into a blazing sphere, banishing the night. Screams and wails came from the direction of the necromancers. Talis spotted hundreds of black splotches set against the golden sky. There were still too many of them.
The necromancers had moved to position themselves over the fallen undead. If he didn’t act now, they would quickly summon them back to life. They were spread out everywhere. But his ability to control magic was waning. He couldn’t contain another immense outburst of Light Magic.
“Where should I focus my attack?” Talis glanced across the horizon.
“That’s been our challenge,” Master Jai said. “When we attack one location, two more enemies appear—”
A chorus of battle cries leapt out below from the soldiers. Talis could see hundreds of the undead springing back to a hideous state of animation. “Stop them,” shouted a soldier, and Talis heard shouts and grunting, and the sound of axes and swords against bones and rotten flesh. He craned his head around, searching for the necromancer that controlled them.
“There!” Master Jai pointed at an enemy hiding behind a clock tower.
Talis shot an orb of light at the invader and blasted the tower into a cloud of debris. The undead withered and collapsed to the ground. A cheer went out from the soldiers.
“Whatever kind of magic you’re holding in your hand is fine by me.” Master Jai grinned.
“It’s not black magic, I can tell you that.”
“Well, use it to start sending those necromancers to the Underworld.”
The wind picked up and suddenly the air smelled of rotting corpses. Talis fought to keep his stomach down. As he released tens of orbs at the necromancers, the sky rocked with explosions. The cheers and shouts from the soldiers cascaded across the city. The bolder citizens peered from behind barricaded doors to see what the excitement was about. The few remaining wizards who still had power joined in the fight.
The battle was turning in their favor.
“How are you holding up?” Master Jai said, studying Talis.
“I’m exhausted. The stone holds great power, but I can’t channel it much longer.” Talis wiped sweat from his brow. The power was tearing him up inside. “Where are the Jiserian soldiers, the regular army?”
Master Jai shook his head. “It’s a gory tale. They say the Jiserian overlords pushed those siege machines so hard across the desert that most of the slaves and soldiers died of exhaustion. By the time they reached our walls, they had amassed an enormous army of undead. Most of them are still in a rotting state, like the corpses below.”
Talis grimaced, trying hard not to imagine such a torture. Instead, he searched for enemies. But after awhile, he realized the black splotches were fading.
“Look.” He pointed at the horizon. “The necromancers are retreating.”
“Doubtful that they’ll leave for good. Reassembling for another attack. But for now, it seemed we’ve won the battle.”
“If they ever return, they’ll meet a power unlike any other.” Talis raised the crystal to Master Jai. “I have my instructions from the Goddess Nacrea herself. We must rebuild the Temple of the Sun.”
21. THE BLACK CRYSTAL
Under the soft light of the four moon sisters, Talis stared at the scorched walls of his house. He was finally home.
His mother and father raced towards him. Flecks of grey hair had grown along his father’s temples. His skin seemed pale and his cheeks sallow. But when father saw Talis, it was as if a great burden fell from his shoulders.
His mother’s eye shone with warmth and pride. “We thought you’d never return.” She hugged him so tight he could barely breathe.
“I thought I was too late.” The air was thick with putrid smoke from bodies burning on the pyres. He wished it was a different homecoming, one greeted by the feast of the fall festival, not of news of this person’s death or another.
“When this is all over,” his father said, “we’ll rebuild Naru as an even greater city.” And what a city she’ll be. With the black crystal to seed the earth underneath a new temple, the city would reap blessings only the Goddess Nacrea herself could bestow.
“To protect us all, we must do one thing first.” Talis displayed the crystal.
“What’s that?” His father eyed the stone curiously.
As Talis told them the story, his mother led them inside. A fire burned in the hearth. The smell of hot cider sent his mouth watering. He was starving. So in between his account of the Goddess Nacrea and the foes along the way, he ate a hearty portion of spit-roasted pork and baked sweet potatoes. Nothing had ever tasted so good in his entire life.
Charna lay by the fire, rescued from the herbalist stores. She rested her head on the bearskin rug, purring heartily. His cat Tobias snuck in, staring wide-eyed at her. It would take some time for them to get used to each other.
Soon Master Viridian entered the room, his face worn and haggard. The war had taken its hold. Everyone looked older. He held up the broken remains of a crystal. “The stone has stood unharmed for fourteen hundred years. Planted by great wizards from the south.” He sighed. “Now it’s ruined.”
“We’ll build a new temple. On suitable ground.” Talis opened his hand, displaying the black crystal. “One where the sun casts her eyes with joy. Do you know of such a place?”
“I just...” Master Viridian dug his fingers into his temples, gazing at the crystal. “I just don’t understand. Why would the Goddess Nacrea give you a black crystal? When I see it I feel the power of Black Magic.”
“You should touch the—”
“I will not!” The Master’s eyes blazed with fire. He gave a slight cough and placed a palm on his leg. “We know not the ways of the gods. Yet from what I’ve heard from Master Jai it would seem the world is free of Aurellia. But the taint of darkness still remains. Although we’ve won the battle for now, I fear the Jiserians will return, perhaps in greater force. Or our enemies will knife the heart...” He eyed the black crystal. ”Where we least suspect.”
“The Goddess asked me to plant this crystal and erect a new Temple of the Sun. I must obey.”
“Knowing Aurellia, some greater mischief exists. And I believe it involves you as well. With that stone we invite chaos into our midst…and, I’m afraid, it has already tain
ted you.”
“But what about the balance between light and darkness?”
“Nonsense. We battle against the darkness. For thousands of years the dark tide has risen, and all around us kingdoms have fallen. Naru stands alone. Can a snake resist biting a horse? And the horse, once seeing the snake, will it not trample the snake to death? So the darkness fights the light, and we of the light, resist the night. For good cause, because light is illumination on our journey. This chaos clouds and obscures and twists the way.”
Master Viridian spread his hands wide in a gesture of surrender. “You’ve experienced much sadness. You’ve lost friends and family along the way. Darkness has tricked and taken Rikar, taken one of us. Now you must let all that go.”
Talis disagreed with his master, but held his tongue. What he saw when Aurellia and his Elders cast the World Portal spell, that was not merely dark magic. That was a powerful combination of light and dark magic. The balance of twin powers. Although Aurellia’s intentions were twisted, the magic he commanded was real.
“What of the Goddess Nacrea and her instructions?”
“You must obey and build a temple…but one facing north. Sink the crystal into the sun-drenched sands north of Naru. Death lies to the north. When we die, we’ll be buried facing north. When the sun rains down on the temple, we’ll see what is born of this.”
With those words Master Viridian stood and left.
On the day that Talis planted the crystal in the sands of the Nalgoran Desert, there were dark portents in the sky. The clouds pressed in so close the sun was unable to break through. The air was still. Only a few bore witness to the ceremony: Talis, Mara, Nikulo, and Master Jai. Since Master Jai had touched the energy flowing from the crystal, he bore a responsibility to its planting.
They dug a deep hole until finding moisture at the bottom. Talis held the crystal one last time, and inspected it. He noticed a shadow flicker within. A ghost image. Perhaps the Goddess. Perhaps he glimpsed the future. Whatever it was passed from the stone and possessed his soul.
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