The Vitalis Chronicles: White Shores

by Jay Swanson

  “Don't you have answers?”

  “Not really. The Greater Beings, as they're most easily referred to, were created after the fall of the Titans. That whole story is rather boring in my opinion. When the world was first created, the Titans were granted its stewardship. When they failed in it and fell into infighting and murder, as creatures with moral compasses have an oddly inevitable tendency of doing, the world was remade and its path started over.”

  “But there are still Titans that live?” She asked, “Like the dragons that guard the coast?”

  “Heavens no,” he said. “I mean certainly, Titans still exist. The dragons you've seen are mere mockeries of Sea Titans, stupid and set on a single murderous purpose. Titans were intelligent, moral creatures, created to tend God's creation. They were made in physical likeness to their realm of stewardship, but with greater strength and powers of cultivation.”

  The old Mage paused for a moment. She wasn't sure why he sighed but it had a sad, pensive sound to it.

  “When the world was remade and the continents separated, the Greater Beings were made to help guide the Creator's new stewards: humans. There were two of them made. The one we know still as 'the' Greater Being. The other we know now as the Greater Demon, or simply the Demon. They were set on the two major continents to help mankind develop socially and culturally, advancing them at a more rapid pace than they would be able to on their own. But more importantly, they were to guide them spiritually and to help direct their worship towards their Creator. The Demon wasn't always known as such, indeed for the longest time he was as good as his brother. But he fell slowly over time. They day he took on the name 'Relequim,' everything changed.”

  He turned to Alisia gently and looked her in the eyes. His brow raised momentarily before settling back in its normal resting place.

  “I don't know if you were ever taught about the spiritual realm, my dear, but it is very real and though inherently a good thing, very dangerous. The Demon discovered that if he directed mankind's worship to himself, he would cultivate a sort of spiritual power. I doubt he knew what he was doing entirely, but he became enthralled with the idea that he could become like God. A perfectly nonsensical notion, but one he was infatuated with. His desire for godhood twisted him, perverted him even more than his greed. Though one might suppose they share the same root.”

  Remorse entered the old Mage's eyes. Turning away he continued as if talking to the walls.

  “Eventually, realizing he might never attain that which he most desired, he turned to spite, seeking only to hurt the One he blamed for limiting his power. He enslaved mankind, brutalizing them and forcing them to worship him all the more. Darkness overcame this continent, the truth lost long ago, the people subjugated by terror. He used his curative powers and knowledge of the world to twist its creatures into monsters from his grotesque imagination.”

  “He created new creatures?” she asked.

  “No,” the Mage responded. “The Creator gave both of the Greater Beings all knowledge concerning the inner workings of this world and the things found within it. They were the ones that first learned how to manipulate the Atmosphere and who taught men the methods of science. I imagine he used similar methods to engineer his own monsters from existing flesh.”

  “Is that how the Magi came into being?” she asked.

  “No, child. The Greater Beings cannot create, that is the limit of their power. He made the Magi but could only do so with the direct help of the Creator, God. The Magi were new beings, spiritual in nature, made to help in the governing of mankind as their population began to explode. To my knowledge, the Greater Demon never joined with the Creator in making anything truly new.”

  “Why didn't anyone step in to stop him? To change what was going on?”

  “That, my child, you would have to take up with the Greater Being. He must have known, but he didn't seem concerned with anything beyond the people he was given to protect. It wasn't until the Demon invaded our shores that we moved to put a stop to him.”

  “And God, the Creator... He didn't say or do anything?”

  “He hasn't spoken to us in quite a long time, dear child. Not even when the Demon mounted his assault against us.”

  “And that's when the cliffs were created?”

  “Yes, both a defense and a way of funneling their attacks to where we could best handle them,” he said. He sat a long while in thought again.

  “There are so many things that could have been done differently. So many lives that could have been saved. While we were on this continent, Grandia, fighting to subdue the Enemy, he had planted the seeds of doubt in our trustworthiness back home. We had only left a handful of Magi behind to watch over mankind who were relatively well self-governed by this point. His spies told them how we were holding them back, using them, and in their pride and foolish hearts, they believed the lies. At least enough of them did.”

  “I remember some of that,” she said. “We returned shortly after I was born.”

  “Then I'm sure you know it better than I,” he said. “I haven't been back in all these years.”

  “There was a long tension for two years or so before the first actions against the Magi were taken. They started capturing the Magi with their new technology, doing experiments on the ones they wanted and killing the rest.” She paused and looked down at her feet. “It was horrible.”

  “I fear the worst is yet to come,” the Mage said. “Evil things have been moving across Grandia, moving to enslave mankind again. We agreed to forbid passage here for as long as possible, to give the people living here a chance to rebuild without intrusion. Unfortunately many of them have succumbed to the Demon's will.”

  “But he's imprisoned in a mountain to the west!” she said. “How can he reach this far?”

  “His power is great, little one, and our prison imperfect. He has had enough time to seek out its weaknesses, and he has many who remain loyal to him in the world.”

  They were interrupted by a large block of stone that careened over the wall and stuck in the ground nearby with a thud.

  “Sorry!” Ardin's voice came softly over the wall.

  The Mage smiled for a moment. “The boy will play a great role in all of this. But I fear it may be too late. The Magi have been all but exterminated, the Shadow are no more, and without their power I worry that no one will stand in his way.”

  “What about the Greater Being? Why wouldn't he step in? Didn't he have to help last time?”

  “He did, in a strange way. He separated his spiritual presence from his physical and metaphysical being which, believe me, was both a shock and offense to many.” He sighed. “His physical and metaphysical presence were invested into the Triumvirate, the Brethren. Three beings who together comprise the whole of his strength. Without direct word from the Creator to do so, he refused to leave his people entirely. He sent only the Brethren at the last moment, in the moment of our greatest desperation. Without his whole being behind them, what little he reserved, they aren't strong enough to stand against the Demon.

  “The balance is too fine between the two Beings. It's the same reason we weren't allowed to destroy the Demon, I suppose. In the end his existence is too closely tied to this world. Perhaps that will change someday, but it is beyond my realm of experience or knowledge.”

  Another block made it half way over the wall before exploding into fine dust.

  “Woah!” They could hear Ardin from the other side. “That was awesome!”

  “So you think he's making his escape?” she asked.

  “He's working towards it,” Caspian said. “I've felt his tendrils growing longer these past months. He's gathering information as well as strength, and in the end, I fear he wants nothing more than to bring the world to its knees.”

  THE SHADOW KING stood at the top of a hill from which he could see White Shores. In its very center stood a castle, small in physical appearance but he knew it to be deceiving. A simple jump into the metaphysical realm r
evealed the layers of protection that surrounded the hill. Call them booby traps, call them enchantments, they were brutal and they were everywhere. He didn't think he'd ever seen anything so formidable placed around such a small and seemingly inconsequential residence.

  And that was how he knew he'd found what he was looking for.

  The Shade would never be able to breach it on his own, but thankfully the enemy had tipped his hand. Not only had the Titans approached him with an offer of aid in this very task, but he had spotted the makings of a small army headed this way. They had been sent long before his presence had been made known, and the offer to help had probably been of mere convenience. But still, it didn't mean he couldn't take them up on it in his own way.

  Providence had smiled on him as both of the targets he had set out to find were in the same place at the same time. Charsi's daughter and the First Mage, right here for the taking. And now an expendable army of his enemy's making would force the breach that would allow him to reach them.

  Just let them take the brunt of the defenses and die on the old man's doorstep. And when the gates were down and the magic users spent, he would walk in and take both of their lives with his own hand and owe nothing to anyone for it.

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  ARDIN MADE HIS way through the long hallways of the castle in search of his room. He got lost frequently among the tall white pillars. It was a small place, but it was a rare day that he wasn't distracted by his thoughts.

  “It's all in your imagination.”

  He turned to see Caspian inspecting the small flowers growing above his head in the wall. “What is?”

  “The magic, how we manipulate the Atmosphere.” The old Mage turned to look at Ardin with a smile. “When we first start out we have to learn simple incantations, methods for jarring our minds to work with what's around us. Unlike humans, we aren't oblivious to the presence of the Atmosphere. But like humans, we have a hard time focusing on the things we take for granted. Much like you don't think about air, or breathing, so I had difficulty focusing on the Atmosphere.”

  Ardin's breath grew short and choppy as he started to think about it. “So what's in the imagination?”

  “You see how you can't breathe properly when you think about it unless you focus on it? You have to spend an inordinate amount of energy to do so in a natural way when you stop doing it naturally.”

  “I wish you hadn't mentioned it now. It feels like I can't breathe...”

  The Mage laughed. “Of course, and such is the beginning stage of learning the ways of our arts. However I believe you can harness it much more easily. Use your imagination. Close your eyes if you have to, and imagine what you will. Focus on it, believe it's happening around you, and you'll be surprised what you can accomplish.”

  “Can I... I mean, can we do anything we can imagine?”

  “Well, no. I imagine if you should imagine yourself to be a dragon you should be sorely disappointed. But anything the metaphysical realm is capable of doing, you can do. And none of us truly knows where the limits are to it.” The Mage rested a long slender hand on Ardin's shoulder. “Give it time, Ardin. Tomorrow I'll show you some things like you've never seen before. But for the moment, look around you.

  “I built this entire place by simply thinking it into existence. Granted it was more involved than that, but every pillar, every stone in the foundation, every arch was carved from my mind. Even these flowers you see on the walls are kept alive by an intricate system of enchantments I've laid out. There's no dirt from which to draw nutrients or water, so I've had to create my own systems to feed them.

  “Ardin, Charsi was as powerful as she was beautiful. There wasn't a soul on this planet that took their office more seriously nor pursued it with greater passion than that woman. There are very few of us who ever attained the abilities I've described to you. To simply think things into being, but we can. You and I. There may be no others.”

  The Mage stood straight, looking deep into Ardin's eyes. “The world has need of you Ardin, though you have yet to see it. This is greater than you, greater than the death of your family, or Charsi's crimes. You have some terrible decisions ahead of you Ardin. Impossible decisions.”

  “Why are you telling me this?”

  “Because soon you may be the only one left who knows it. The seasons are changing, Ardin. Autumn is nearly upon us and winter is swift on its heels. Don't get distracted, Ardin. Rely on no one to carry you through what is to come. The burdens you have been given are yours alone to bear, and you must bear them, Ardin. You must.”

  Ardin stared through the flowery latticework that encapsulated the moon above his bed. The breeze was soft, ebbing and flowing with the ocean as the rhythm lulled him to sleep. The freedom that White Shores had brought him felt threatened as a brooding sense of the future crept over the horizon. But he couldn't help it as Caspian's foreboding words faded behind the soft sounds of rustling leaves.

  He drifted off to sleep, content and unwilling to believe anything so bad could ever touch this place.

  “YOU AREN'T SAFE here any longer,” the Mage's voice came to Alisia through her dreams. “Awake, child, awake and take flight!”

  She sat up in bed, Caspian's kindly face stricken by the potency of fear.

  “What's going on?”

  “You must rise. Ardin is already getting dressed. There's no time to explain, you must leave, now!”

  She obeyed, getting up to dress as the old man hurried from the room and disappeared. She looked at the chair near her bed. On it was a small pack that appeared to be filed with food and various necessities. What was going on?

  Alisia grabbed the bag and walked into the courtyard outside to discover Ardin waiting for her. Confusion mingled with the lines sleep had left on his face. He was wearing clothing that looked similar to her own. It was scarcely light outside. Her head was aching, working hard to remind her that she had been torn from a deep sleep.

  “What's going on?” Ardin asked.

  “I have no ide–”

  An explosion somewhere outside of the castle shook the ground so hard they almost fell to their knees.

  “Ok,” Ardin shouted over the din. “Now I'm awake.”

  “Hurry children!” The Mage reappeared carrying another sack and a pair of elegant sheathed swords.

  “These are for you in case you must defend yourselves. But we must hurry, there isn't any time and we may already be too late.”

  They rushed out of the house and towards the cliff as another explosion rocked the walls. They could see bright purple and blue lights flare with the explosion and die as suddenly.

  “What's happening?” Ardin demanded as they were ushered onto the stone balcony.

  “They're testing the perimeter,” he said. “Soon they will send the full force of their attack, and when they do I fear my defenses won't hold for long.”

  “Who are they?” Ardin turned. “What do they want?”

  “An army the Demon has managed to conjure up somehow, and I imagine they want the two of you.”

  The old man turned and waved a hand. As if in response, the far section of the balcony folded and began to descend to the water in a long staircase.

  “Below you will find my boat, its sails unfurled, ready to depart. Simply cut the rope that ties it to the cliff and it will take you through the enemy's defenses and to safety.”

  “Aren't you coming with us?” Alisia begged. “Please, there's so much I need to know! So many things don't make sense!”

  The explosions beyond the walls were coming in more steady intervals, the groans and screams of dying creatures audible from where they stood.

  “My place is here, child,” he said as he lay his hands on her shoulders. “Yours is to stem the coming tide. Find Tertian. He was among the Elders in the generation that was created after mine. You'll find him in the mountains you called home.”

  “But how?” she asked as he began to push them towards the stairs.

  “Ardin
will take you there,” he said. “He has been entrusted with your life and will see you safely to it. Tertian will protect you and give you the time you need to prepare yourselves for what must be done. Now go!”

  And with that, he turned and ran back towards the defenses with a speed that belied his age. Alisia hesitated, wishing she was strong enough to follow but knowing she could do little good. Not when the Mage was resigned to his fate.

  They ran down the stairs to where a beautiful boat awaited. Above its moorings a series of the smoking lights had started glowing, lighting their way down the steps and to the boat. It looked as though it had been hand carved from a single piece of wood. Intricate botanic designs were carved into its hull and woodworking, of a kind that Ardin had never seen before.

  As soon as they stepped on board, the staircase that had led them down lifted itself again and disappeared into the balcony that stretched above their heads. The boat floated steadily among the deep dark waves, almost as if unaffected by their violence. Somehow it managed to keep itself from the wall of the cliff on which any other ship would have been crushed over time.

  Ardin found the long thick rope that tied the boat to a loop of stone in the wall. There was a tunnel next to it but where it led he couldn't tell. He wondered why they hadn't been brought by that route. But the thought was drowned out by another round of explosions above. They had turned more violent, if that were possible, and soon created a steady rumble as one rolled on after another.

  He chopped at the rope with the sword he had been given. It was long and delicately crafted. It appeared unused to Ardin, who found it light but deadly sharp. No sooner had he cut the cord with it than the boat began to drift steadily away from the cliff. It began to pick up speed as the wind filled its sails, and soon the castle was in full view as they moved away from it.

  Caspian ran to the walls, focusing all of his energy on the enchantments he had laid in place during the previous weeks. He had known this day would come; he never expected it to be this soon.