He finished his second glass of wine as he stood up to leave to take in some fresh air. He rounded the table when a thought occurred to him to go over his maps one more time, but he thought better of it. He suddenly heard the all too familiar hum of a portal opening behind him. He figured it would be the Elf, Eldrin, returning from his scouting mission in Shakiel. He whirled around, about to offer him a glass of wine when he spotted the figure walking toward him; his red eyes grew wide and fear filled the porcelain white features of his face. The figure had smooth ageless skin as white as snow and large, milky, gray eyes. He had a nose like a falcon protruding farther than most Human noses. His hair, a combination of white streaked with gray hung down well below his shoulders. His fingernails were like long, black daggers—not painted black, but black because no life remained in this creature; at least not life one would expect. He wore a black cloak, no better than a rag, tattered and torn around the edges with many threads hanging from it; his white chest visible beneath—a white matching the skin of his face—and his sudden appearance sent icy chills down Lutheras’ spine. He had a thin body—no surprise since he hadn’t eaten anything in the past few centuries—and he wore a pair of worn out leather breeches, held up by an old rope he tied into a knot at his midsection.
The creature walking through the door was a Grahada. He went by the name Dhava, and could usually be found assisting Martul. Dhava eyed Lutheras from across the room before he walked over to confront him with a smirk. At first glance, his walk appeared to be more like a glide, much faster than one might expect.
Because Dhava now walked in his tent, it meant he had to be here to escort Lutheras to Martul. The question was why? His plan had come together, albeit with a few bumps in the road. I don’t like any of this, he said to himself. He didn’t look forward to a confrontation with his master. Dhava noticed when Lutheras appeared a bit nervous and it brought a wider grin to his face.
“Lutheras, you have been summoned to Martul,” Dhava said in his serpent-like voice. He flicked his tongue when not speaking, offering the impression of a reptile. “You are to accompany me now.” He reached his fingers over and grasped Lutheras' arm.
Lutheras shied away from his cold hands at first, but the Grahada wouldn’t relent his grip. Dhava's long fingernails dug into his arm and he realized he had no choice, so he allowed the creature to pull him to the portal. Dhava shoved him through, forcing him to stumble, while he felt the usual, but odd, sensation before reappearing on the other side.
He now stood in the realm of Kumla, which meant he had left the planet Nithor. It gave him an eerie feeling that grew when he gazed around at the empty blackness surrounding him. He looked up at what should’ve been the sky, but no stars, moons, or sun filled the emptiness. He felt confined, as if the world was closing in on him. He didn’t enjoy coming here, nor did he like the few times he had confronted Martul.
He turned around as Dhava walked through the portal. When he joined Lutheras, a gruesome smile crossed his face. “I hate leaving my own home, even for brief periods of time. There is nothing like the feeling when I return.” They walked in the near darkness for a while, which Lutheras didn’t care for. Portals didn’t function the same way here and you couldn’t just show up where you wanted. You had to go to assigned points well away from any signs of life.
Lutheras spotted a set of torches in the distance. At least I can get out of this ever-growing doom of blackness surrounding me, he thought. When they reached the torches, he could see a set of stairs plunging deep into the earth. The pair began their descent, climbing down the white stone stairs that appeared to be marble, but he wasn’t sure if marble even existed here. So many unknowns in this dank and desolate place.
They continued their trek deep into the bowels of the planet. With nothing else to do, Lutheras counted the sconces lining the wall about every six steps as they climbed down, but he lost count somewhere after one hundred. It seemed an engineering marvel, that a staircase this long and traveling so deep, could even exist. They had to have traveled well over a mile. His feet began to pain him, the stairs being so steep and close together. The stone walls surrounding the stairwell had cracked in various spots and vegetation poked through. How, he couldn’t ascertain, but they did. They reached the bottom, which led to a large platform opening into an endless cavern. He didn’t remember this from his last trip, but water lay before him as far as he could see.
He had worked up quite a sweat from their descent, and somehow it felt even hotter below the surface. Lutheras walked over to the edge of the platform and bent down to his knees. He plunged his hands into the water, which felt ice cold.
He wanted to pull some out to splash on his face, but Dhava spoke up in his snake-like voice. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. They don’t like intruders.”
Lutheras had no idea what the Grahada meant. He pulled some of the water out and jumped when he spotted something swimming in it. He stared for a moment, as the water flooded from his cupped hands. He saw it again, and again, and again. Now there were many of them swimming beneath the surface, but he couldn’t tell what they were. He started to lower his hands, almost reaching the water, when a decrepit gray hand reached up from below. The hand was bony and the skin clung to it. It startled Lutheras who tried to slap it away, but his own hand passed right through, as if it were a ghost. In shock, he hesitated for a moment too long and more hands plunged up from beneath the water. A couple of them grabbed a hold of his body. They pulled him forward and he fell from his knees to his stomach. Inch by inch they dragged him toward the lake as he tried to pull away. He wanted to harness his spark, but he couldn’t reach it because of the presence of Dhava. He tried attacking them with his free hand, but as he did, his hand passed right through again.
Dhava stood back and watched. He laughed, which sounded more like a hiss combined with the gurgling of water, making Lutheras' stomach turn. As he inched forward, Dhava said. “Lisslith bis coos!” The hands fell away and retreated back into the water. He lay there for a moment when he spotted one of their faces for the first time. The skin sagged from an almost human and fish-like face. He could see gills on the side of the creature’s neck. It lunged toward the surface with its head and bared its teeth, which were razor sharp in multiple rows, as it screeched beneath the surface. Lutheras jumped back and fell on his knees as Dhava continued his gurgling laughter.
Lutheras stood up and stammered over to Dhava. They stood for a moment, and he began to wonder how they were going to get across the lake, when he spotted a small boat with a single lantern working its way closer. A single person sat in the boat and rowed it casually. He brought it over to the platform and stood up to let them on. Lutheras got his first good look at the man, if you could call him that. He had gray skin, with large black eyes with a gleam of yellow in the center. He had no hair, and no nose, just a small hole in his face where his nose should have been. He had large pointy ears, reminiscent of an Elf, and had a large build, similar to a Minotaur. He had one foot in the boat and one foot on the ledge.
Dhava glided forward and climbed in, casually moving to a bench in the rear. Lutheras walked forward and sat down on the bench in the front. The one problem, now he would have to stare at the creature while they traveled across the lake.
Lutheras decided he would rather look around at what little he could see in the cave, than stare at this ugly thing’s face the whole time. After all, he had no idea how long this journey would be. He tried to see anything at all, but couldn’t considering the lack of light—just the lantern on the boat, which didn’t help because of the enormity of the cavern.
He turned his attention to the water and almost jumped when he saw there were many of the fish-human creatures. They glared at him, as they swam alongside the boat. They noticed his gaze and snarled, baring their razor-like teeth. Lutheras felt if he were to fall in the lake, they would ravage and devour his body in a matter of seconds, similar to piranha. He shivered for a moment, as his companions sm
irked at one another. One good thing had come from this though; he had new visions to use as torture. He didn’t think anyone could deal with this for very long. They were terrifying.
He tried to shift his attention to anywhere other than the fish-men in the water and the creature rowing the boat. He spotted a few glowing lights off in the distance and became excited, hoping they would soon be back on land.
Finally, he could see the large dock laying empty ahead. The creature stood up with one foot on the boat and the other on the wooden planks of the dock. Lutheras scrambled away from the water's edge and the creatures lurking beneath. Dhava glided to the edge of the boat and climbed off, graceful as ever.
Dhava nodded to the man in the boat, who sat back down, rowing away to the other side. Before it even left the dock, Dhava spun around and led them farther down into the depths of the planet. The path stretched ahead of them. The walls lining the pathway appeared carved. If any Dwarf were here to lay eyes upon the hasty craftsmanship they would cringe. The wall had water leaking out of it from multiple sources, as if it wept. Lutheras reached up to touch it, and after feeling the icy chill of the water in the lake, the boiling hot water trickling over his hand alarmed him. It didn’t make any sense, but he noticed how the air had grown warm too.
The walk into the core of the planet ended and the passageway no longer curved down. It opened into a large, lit hall and Lutheras squinted at the sudden appearance of so much light. When his eyes readjusted, he marveled at the craftsmanship of the room. They continued to walk and Lutheras saw an archway carved into the ceiling of the hall traveling the length of the passageway. About every fifteen feet, large wooden columns and pillars supported the archways. It looked very reminiscent of a cathedral, and seemed a bit out of place after the crude way other areas had been crafted. He continued his walk, which ended upon a pair of grand arched wooden doors. Dhava pushed them open and stood to the side. He motioned for Lutheras to walk through.
Lutheras proceeded with his heart pounding as though it would burst through his chest at any moment. His mouth dropped open at the regality of it all. Large stone pillars lined both sides of the hall and surrounded the walkway. Colorful tapestries flowed from the high ceilings of the room to the floor. Gold thread rimmed the edges providing for an expensive look. No pictures adorned them, just vibrant colors.
He spotted a large iron throne at the end of the hall, and a man sat atop it. “I have been waiting for you, Lutheras; my star pupil.” He had an ageless appearance about him, other than the bald head. He had a full, dark, thick goatee surrounding his blood red lips. Like Lutheras, his eyes were red, and even from this distance Lutheras could see them. Martul stood and his flowing robes of blue silk fell to the floor. They shimmered from the light filling the room making them appear enchanted. He motioned for Lutheras to come before him.
Lutheras walked, and reached the base of the stairs leading up to the iron made throne. He dropped down to his right knee and bowed his head, noticing Martul's mouth turn into a smile revealing four large, sharp, pointy teeth reminiscent of fangs.
With his head lowered, his body filled with pain. He wanted to scream in agony, but knew to do so would show weakness, and Martul didn’t accept weakness. In pain, he couldn’t move while his head continued to fill with images. They were gruesome and depicted the deaths of the brothers who had died at Raythum’s hands.
“You have failed me thus far Lutheras. I wish for you to see your failures. I wish for you to feel your failures. Lutheras watched as a fireball struck Ryths during his fight with his brother. He could feel the pain the Elf felt. He felt him dying. He felt his last breath. He watched as Raythum walked over and looked down upon him. He wanted to shut his eyes to get rid of the visions, but didn’t think the tactic would work because the visions were in his head. He watched and felt what Ryths felt and saw, while Eldrin sent an incantation from a distance, and his body turned to dust and flew away in the wind.
Martul delighted in watching the inner anguish Lutheras demonstrated, trying to keep his feelings of pain, and fear, hidden, but he couldn’t wipe them from his face. Martul chuckled to himself while he sent more images into Lutheras' head. He noticed blood trickling from the corner of Lutheras' mouth. He saw the grief build on Lutheras’ face, as he fought against his bindings and attempted to free himself. Martul reveled in the pain he inflicted upon his pupil. The young man needed to see the results of his failures.
Martul released Lutheras who slumped over on the tile floor of the audience chamber. Blood flowed not only from the corners of his mouth, but a trace flowed from his nose as well, and pooled below his head.
Martul let him lay there, while he regained some of his energy. He walked down the stairs leading to his thrown. Lutheras struggled to regain himself and tried to rise, but failed.
He approached Lutheras, who remained slumped on the ground, and kicked his chest. “Get up and show some respect.” His face changed into a sneer. “If I thought I could expect this kind of behavior from you, I never would’ve made contact with you and taught you my secrets.” He waited until Lutheras pushed himself up off the floor, but stopped in a crouch, still in pain. “Look at me, Lutheras.” He cocked his head to gaze upon his master’s face when Martul reached down and grabbed his chin with his hand. “I taught you everything you needed to know to release me from this prison. It was fool proof, but somehow you have failed in even the simplest of tasks.” Holding Lutheras' chin with his left hand, he slapped him across the face with his right. The momentum carried Lutheras back to the hard stone floor where he hit it with a resounding thump and rolled over, shooting his master a hateful glare. “You don’t even deserve the name I have given you. Luther was a brave, yet sinister man. Maybe we should go back to using the name you were born into, Tirell.” Lutheras cringed as he heard his real name uttered.
Lutheras waited to respond; trying to find the correct words to use, but useless dribble trickled from his tongue. “I can correct the mistakes I have made if given another chance. Let me prove you made the correct choice,” he said. He was more powerful than this and didn’t feel the need to cower, but even his heightened abilities weren’t a match for his master.
Martul noticed the sneer, and using an invisible force, hurled Lutheras across the room where he hit the stone wall hard, before falling to the ground. “Never forget I created you.” He stalked across the room toward his pupil. “I showed you long forgotten methods to harness your spark. I have given you more power than any mage could ever dream of managing.” He reached Lutheras and glared at him from his towering position, while he stood over him. “I can take it all away too, and send you back to the place where you came from!”
This thought stuck hard with Lutheras. He brought his right hand up and clung it to his chest. The small act sent shocks of pain through his body. He thought he might have broken a rib, or many ribs judging by the pain he felt. He forced himself, biting back all of the pain, to one knee and bowed before Martul. “Forgive me.” Through clenched teeth, he continued. “I forget you are the one who blessed me with my abilities. I forget there is one who is more powerful than my own self.” He raised his head. “I’m yours to command.” He bowed his head again.
“It is very good of you to remember your place.” He ran his fingers through his goatee. “You need to remember time has no meaning here. I can gaze upon any and all, and could easily find someone to replace you.” Lutheras didn’t think it could be true. Before deciding to serve Martul, he had been a very powerful wizard in his own right. Many in the conclave told him, they hadn’t documented anyone as powerful as him in centuries. While he could find another, Lutheras thought he would be looking for some time. “I can pluck anyone, from anytime, at my own desire. You aren’t as special as you may think, and you will do well to remember that.”
Lutheras eyed him long and hard. “If you can see into any time, to witness all of the events transpiring, why don’t you take care of this problem yourself?” He gave a s
idelong grin. “Especially because I keep failing you.” Martul sealed Lutheras’ mouth and he could no longer talk. He had to breathe through his nose to take in any breath.
Anger flashed through Martul's eyes. “You think I wouldn’t have taken care of this problem already if I wasn’t imprisoned in this place?” He looked around. “If I weren’t here I would have no need of your assistance. You wouldn’t even be here, and the world would be a very different place with me at the helm. My abilities allow me to focus in and see what my loyal followers are doing, and that is all.” He looked around the room. “All of this is fictitious. None of it exists, and I created it for your benefit. This…” he spread his arms and forced them around the room, “all of this is in your head.”
Lutheras tried to laugh, which sounded more like a muffled cackle, because his throat constricted. His eyes grew large as the entire elegant hall vanished before his eyes. So too did Martul. He stood upon a large, round, rock ledge. From where Lutheras stood, the edge fell off in all directions to large pits of lava. Large fountains burst up through the air and Lutheras felt sweat pouring down his face. He reached up and wiped it away with the back of his hand when he spotted a few drops of molten lava falling in his direction. He dropped and rolled out of the way while pain racked his body once again from his sudden movements. Five drops of lava fell where he crouched just a moment before. It hissed as it burned into the already charred and pitted, black, rock platform they stood on. He stood up fighting back the pain, and looked around passed the platform he stood upon. He spotted several other platforms stretching in all directions when a loud and booming voice filled his ears. “I’m over here, Lutheras.”
He spun around and faced the center of the cavern. He stepped back at the sight that befell him, where a large humanoid beast stood chained by seven electrical bindings. He stood at least ten feet tall, with four horns protruding from his thick, bald, red skull. His eyes burned red as if lit by flame and he wore rags for clothing covering his blood-red limbs. When he noticed Lutheras' frightful stare, he started to laugh and it rumbled through the large expanse of nothingness.
The Rising Past: Book 2 in The Keepers of the Orbs Series Page 2
