There’s no path back, but we knew that would be the case.
There’s no longer a “Sorial” or “Alicia” to return to. We’re creatures of Order and Chaos. The Otherverse is our home. In a real sense, we’re gods here. Have you ever desired immortality? He hadn’t, but getting things he didn’t want had been the story of his life as Sorial, The Lord of Earth, and now The Lord of Order.
Once-Alicia chuckled. No sane entity ever desires immortality. Long life, perhaps, but not endless life. Who knows how long the Otherverse will endure? I don’t think it will be forever but, no matter how long it is, it will be bearable because we’re together. Some of my memories are muddy but not the one of the last night we spent in Vantok. That’s as clear as the billions of particles darting around us now. We’ll find a way to recreate it here. We don’t need bodies of matter for that.
I love you, My Lady of Chaos.
And I love you, stableboy. A day ago, as our old selves, we had only a few hours. Now as our new selves, we have a very long time. Perhaps even forever.
Once-Malbranche might have protested, but the weight of Once-Sorial’s feelings silenced him. And, at least in this matter, Once-Altemiak was pleased because there was nothing more conducive to Chaos than love.
* * *
It had been a long, hard climb for Queen Myselene, but she had done it alone, leaving behind her wizard and her guards. Rexall, overprotective as always, hadn’t wanted her to go alone. Lavella, concerned that her leader would trip and fall into the portal, had added her voice to Rexall’s. But what was the point of wearing a crown if one couldn’t overrule others even when they had one’s best interests at heart? This was something Myselene had to do, and she had to do it by herself without eyes watching her actions and ears hearing her words.
Help wasn’t far away, although she didn’t expect to need it. On the outside, the portal chamber was ringed with soldiers. After her forces had discovered this fortress two seasons ago, she had gone to great lengths to ensure that it was under constant guard. Twenty score of her most capable soldiers were permanently camped on the portal’s doorstep and Lavella had taken magical measures to ensure that no one unauthorized approached this location. Other than the palace in Vantok, this was the most carefully protected place on the continent.
This was only the second time Myselene had seen a portal; its appearance mirrored the one in Ibitsal. Sorial and Alicia’s attempts to enter the Otherverse had rendered the two portals closest to civilization dead. This one was situated in a sheltered valley in the southern portions of the Forbidden Lands’ Sitrap Mountains. It was the only portal still known to be active. For obvious reasons, its protection was a paramount concern.
Had the destruction of the Ibitsal and Havenham portals borne fruit? Almost a year later, Myselene didn’t know. Lavella believed Sorial had made it through but probably not Alicia. The queen hoped to learn the truth today. It was the one-year anniversary of Kara’s birth - the day she and Sorial had agreed to commune if possible.
She sat cross-legged on the apron and waited. She was prepared to be here all day if necessary. There was no guarantee the former wizard would contact her or, indeed, that it was possible for him to do so. Just because Sorial’s mother and brother had found a way to speak from the far side of the gateway was no guarantee that the deed could be replicated.
Sitting on the cold stone wasn’t the most comfortable of positions and the sweat from the extreme heat of the southern mountains was plastering her too-heavy clothing to her body but she dozed off anyway. As the monarch of a growing kingdom with an infant to care for, she had discovered sleep to be an often desired but rarely obtained commodity. She had learned to seize it whenever and wherever possible, even if that was while in the middle of the wilderness awaiting the appearance of a phantom.
When she awoke, he was there - not Sorial, the diminished Lord of Earth but Once-Sorial, the shining Lord of Order.
It was a gleaming, shimmering avatar - insubstantial but crackling with power. She could almost see through it; the far wall of the chamber teased her vision but the details of the ghost’s features were evident. This representation was of Sorial as he had been before her first meeting with him: unscarred, with his limbs intact. He wore the trace of a smile.
“Your Majesty,” he intoned. The words were spoken directly into the queen’s mind. She didn’t know whether they were also said aloud. It didn’t matter. Sorial’s voice sounded as she remembered it, albeit with more resonance.
“Your Magus. It’s good to see you, even if in unusual circumstances. The world has been a lonelier place since your… transition.”
“Has it been a year? Yes, I suppose so. Time in the Otherverse moves differently. It ebbs and flows rather than streaming at a constant rate. I’m still in the beginning stages here - there’s so much more to be done before a final, lasting state of equilibrium is reached.”
“Then you’ve succeeded?” She couldn’t keep the excitement from her voice. For weeks on end, she had lived in dread that each day might be the last, that unspeakable devastation would be visited on the world in a form that couldn’t be fought or countered.
“To the extent that my goal was to protect the universe of matter from an instability in the Otherverse, yes. The world is safe. At night, you can lay your head on your pillow with the assurance that nothing will pour out of the Otherverse in the darkness.”
“And you, are you well?”
“I am what I am. The Lord of Order. That’s not merely a title; it’s what I have become. Only a part of me is what you knew as Sorial. I have his memories, his feelings, and at least a fragment of his personality. But I am also another man and we are both changed. The Otherverse isn’t about seeing and hearing and feeling things as aggregates. It’s about dissecting energy to manipulate every particle. The Lord of Order brings organization to those particles. The Lord of Chaos controls their randomness and unpredictability. We work together as best we can. Our end goal - the continued survival of both realms - is the same. The forces we control are in constant contention but we are not.
“Balance is the key. Neither Order nor Chaos can be permitted to overwhelm the other. If Order was to triumph and eliminate Chaos, the result would be an absolute stasis throughout the Otherverse and into the universe of matter. You wouldn’t die but you would become frozen forever in a sliver of time, unable to move or even think. That’s the ultimate manifestation of Order: total paralysis. If Chaos was to consumer order, rampant entropy would eat away everything until nothing was left but death and dissolution.”
Myselene smiled a sad little smile. “I’m afraid I don’t understand most of what you say. As Sorial, you once told me how much you despised those who spoke in riddles. Now that’s how you talk.”
The Lord of Order laughed. “And I thought I was being unusually plain. No matter. You asked if I was well. It’s a question I can’t answer in terms that wouldn’t seem cryptic and evasive. Suffice it to say that I exist.”
“Exist? Are you alive?”
“Not in a way that would matter to you. My body is gone, burned away by the gateway as I entered the Otherverse. Pure matter can’t survive in here just as unfettered energy cannot survive in your world. But my essence made the transition into the Otherverse and merged with elements already there to become The Lord of Order.”
“And Alicia?”
“I’m here.” The disembodied voice sounded like Alicia but with a harsher quality. There was no physical manifestation.
“She’s in the Otherverse with me, wedded to Chaos,” said The Lord of Order. “Although only a portion of her survived the passage. Something went wrong in the transition.”
“Lavella told me she was betrayed by the other two wizards. I forget their names.”
“Excela and Dorthik.” There was contempt in Once-Alicia’s voice.
Myselene nodded. Names she hadn’t heard in some time and whose existence wouldn’t be recorded for posterity. “Whatever the resul
ts, their goal was anything but heroic. Lavella executed Excela and Dorthik on the spot for high treason. They tried to bring her down but she proved too strong for them. She has a streak of ruthlessness that none of us suspected. At the moment, she’s the only wizard. We’re grooming promising young candidates to fill the other three positions. Lavella rejected all of Ferguson’s choices, deeming them unsuitable for one reason or another. After what happened with Alicia at the Ibitsal portal, I don’t think she trusts any of them.
“Kara isn’t with me because we don’t know whether or not she has the capacity for magic. Although history tells us that a girl doesn’t hear the portal’s call until after the shedding of her first woman’s blood, we didn’t want to risk it. Lavella knows the truth of her parentage and has agreed to wait until she’s old enough before offering transformations to others. Kara, as the next leader of the Vantok-Obis Empire, must have the first opportunity to wield magic if it’s her birthright. So it will be fourteen years before the next generation of wizards takes their place alongside Lavella. Until then, she is both Magus Prime and Magus Sola.”
“Safeguard this portal,” said Once-Sorial. “It isn’t the last one, but the other is across the ocean in an inaccessible location. Although that could be used to make wizards if reached, it exists primarily to ensure that the Otherverse remains open. Kill both portals and magic will be gone from your world forever.”
“Could more be made?” asked Myselene.
“The gods created the portals to use the vast field of untapped energy generated in the Otherverse. I doubt mortals could replicate them.”
“Could you create one?”
“The portal is a material gateway. It’s not of the Otherverse. I can’t craft one, although I understand the technology by which they were made.”
“What of your mother and brother? Are they with you?”
“No. They came to the Otherverse without power or control so they couldn’t resist when The Lord of Chaos dispersed them. They no longer exist within the Otherverse as discrete beings.”
“How aware are you of events transpiring in this world.”
“I can observe, although it’s as if through a filmy curtain. But I have little desire to do so. The Otherverse is now my reality. Everything that matters is here. The part of The Lord of Chaos who was once Alicia is with me. The place you inhabit is a dream - hazy and unreal. I can appear to you like this at any time, but I can offer no more than conversation. As long as the balance is maintained - and it must be maintained - I am impotent in the universe of matter.”
“If I need your advice, how can I contact you?” Being able to claim that she maintained a direct link to Sorial, whose name was revered above all others, could provide a huge political advantage, especially within the restructuring Temple.
“Assign someone to camp by the portal. Eventually I’ll notice them, but it may take a while. I don’t check on your world with regularity and, as I said, time doesn’t flow the same within the Otherverse as outside of it.”
“I’ll be mindful of that and pass the information to my successor. It may be that your wisdom will be needed.” Myselene could envision a line of kings and queens consulting the “Otherverse Oracle” through the centuries.
The Lord of Order chuckled at that. “The Sorial part of me finds that funny - the wisdom of a stableboy being a prized thing. I can’t remember many customers asking for my advice when I took their horses.”
“You ceased being a stableboy long ago. You’re recognized as the greatest wizard ever to have lived. Songs about you are sung by every bard across the continent. Your love for Alicia is celebrated as part of every wedding.”
“I suppose we have little enough control over how we’re remembered once we’re gone. Stableboy and Lord of Earth. One and the same, but that person no longer exists. Now, I walk in eternity, but not alone.” He paused before continuing, as if assessing whether to reveal more. “Alicia makes this journey bearable. Even as changed as we both are, her presence is my salvation. Order needs Chaos not only to balance it but to define it. I won’t forget you or your world, Your Majesty, even though I am no longer of it.”
“Then farewell, Your Magus. May you find contentment in your new role.”
“Farewell, Your Majesty. May your life be fulfilling and fruitful. You have nothing to fear from the Otherverse. I’ll safeguard you and your people from within. And should I stray, Alicia will be there to remind me.”
So saying, the image of Sorial shimmered out of existence, leaving Myselene alone beside the portal. She couldn’t hear its call but was cognizant that one day her daughter might. As silent as it was to her, it was comforting to know that, beyond the impenetrable blackness, The Lord of Order waited. The gods might no longer watch over their creations, but Sorial did.
Her spirits lightened, Queen Myselene turned her back on the gateway to the Otherverse and began her trek home.
EPILOGUE: THE EMPIRE RISES
In the years immediately following The Great War, life returned to normal across the battle-torn continent. Families mourned the dead then went back to the business of living: rebuilding houses and places of commerce, farming the land, and making babies. The devastated cities of Vantok and Obis took years to regain a semblance of their pre-war vitality. A new habitation rose out of the ruins of smashed Earlford, which had been razed beyond the possibility of repair. Basingham and Syre, which had escaped significant damage as a result of their surrenders, gave generous aid to their less fortunate neighbors, providing manpower to help in construction and grain to stave off Winter famine in the first two years when harvests were sparse. Queen Myselene joined Vantok and Obis into an Empire and annexed considerable land in between, putting more than 100 small settlements and farms under her protection. A new, direct road was constructed linking the cities; this was under constant patrol by 500 soldiers who kept robbery and murder to a minimum. Recognizing the advantage of a close relationship with this new kingdom, the other cities, with the exception of Andel, sought out a confederation with Myselene. Thus was born the United Empire of Vantok-Obis.
The only confirmed wizard to survive the war and its immediate aftermath was a relative unknown: Lavella, Lady of Air. It was rumored that, after being confirmed in her position by none other than The Supreme Magus Sorial, she had killed all her potential rivals. Lavella lived in Vantok’s temple in the quarters once occupied by Prelate Ferguson and served Queen Myselene directly. A private and reclusive woman, she was rarely seen in public and, on those occasions when she emerged from the dimness of her domain, she wore priestly robes that hid all her features. There were rumors that her face had been horribly scarred in a magical experiment gone wrong, but no one outside her inner circle knew the truth. Lavella created a school within the temple for children of “exceptional talent” who might at some point be tested for candidacy as wizards. Finding those who could hear the portal’s call was a long, tedious, and often disappointing process.
The captain of Myselene’s guard, Rexall, suffered a tragic blow not long after his marriage to the peasant Shiree. Although he wasn’t the most faithful of husbands, he loved Shiree in his own way, but she died in childbirth, taking his newborn daughter with her. Shortly thereafter, Rexall found solace in the arms of the woman he served. For nearly three decades, until his death from influenza, he served as her consort. They never married but the relationship was solemnized by the temple to legitimatize the three sons born of the union. The two youngest boys were married to high ranking noble girls in Syre and Basingham, to strengthen bonds within the Empire. The eldest was wed to the Crown Princess of Andel, who brought with her the promise of the holdout city joining the Empire.
Once it was determined that Myselene’s daughter, Kara, possessed no latent magical aptitude, Lavella inaugurated members of her “school” for the three open wizard positions - two boys and one girl to keep the genders balanced. Their loyalty was never in question and their deference continued until the day of her death
when her hand-picked successor was sent through the portal. Lavella lived to the age of sixty-five - old by normal standards but ancient when compared to the average lifespan of a wizard.
Myselene outlived by nearly thirty years the woman who had become her closest friend, reigning for six decades as the ruler of an Empire that grew larger and more powerful over time. She made frequent trips to all the other cities, avoided numerous assassination attempts, and kept her viceroys under tight control. Those who demonstrated aptitude and dependability were allowed greater independence than those whose faithfulness extended little beyond publicly acknowledging her as their suzerain. In the absence of wars or overt hostilities, Myselene was able to focus on kingdom building. On the seventieth anniversary of her birth, the title of Empress was conferred upon her in a grand ceremony attended by every person of importance across the continent. A new city, named Soriala after The Supreme Magus, was erected near the southern mouth of Wizards’ Pass as her seat. She abdicated the joint thrones of Vantok and Obis and allowed Kara to assume the role of queen.
Myselene met twice more with The Lord of Order before she slipped her material bonds. The first time was on the occasion of Kara’s maturity. Publicly, she wanted to present Azarak’s heir to The Lord of Order for his blessing. Privately, she wanted to give Sorial an opportunity to take the measure of the girl he had sired. What occurred in the portal chamber that day was known only to Kara, Myselene, and The Lord of Order. The two women entered solemnly, were inside for the better part of nine hours, and emerged looking composed and not the least bit weary.
The queen returned to the portal once more, only weeks before her death. This time, the trip was made in secrecy. She waited the vigil herself and, once she had spoken with Sorial, she started the trip home. She made it only as far as Vantok, where she died quietly in her sleep in the very bed where she had first seduced Azarak. She lay in state for four weeks, her body preserved from decay by magic so dignitaries and ordinary peasants from all across the Empire could make pilgrimages and pay their respects. At the end of that period, she was buried at the crown of Mount Vantok.
Shadow of the Otherverse (The Last Whisper of the Gods Saga Book 3) Page 59
