Castle & Conceit

by Jeremy Dwyer

  ~~~

  Caroline and Taesa returned to their cabin to wait out the voyage at sea level. Judith saw this and followed them.

  Once there, Taesa said: “I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but I hope I can return to Emeth, like they were saying.”

  “I hope he lets you. I don’t believe what this Imperial Prince says. He’s obsessed with himself, and has a dangerous temper. You need to keep singing for him, Taesa, when he asks you, and he will ask,” Caroline said.

  “You’re afraid,” Taesa said.

  “You’re not?” Caroline asked.

  “A little, but I’m not going to stop making plans for my future,” Taesa said.

  “If we say anything that makes Octavian angry – or don’t do what he says – he may kill both of us,” Caroline said.

  “Look. She isn’t afraid. She left and came back,” Taesa said, looking to Judith.

  Judith was surprised at this reference, because it was so personal…and so false. She was afraid, but she was also curious, and hopeful of better things to come.

  “She’s different. She has a job to record history, and Octavian isn’t allowed to do anything to stop her, because of the laws. I don’t know if she’s afraid, but you’re not a Chronicler, so you should be,” Caroline said.

  “Maybe I should be a Chronicler one day. That way, I can go wherever I want, read whatever I want, and see whatever I want,” Taesa said.

  “You’ll have to take the Oath first…and live by it. And you cannot say whatever you want, because some things are learned in confidence and must be kept secret until decades or centuries later, long after those involved have passed away. I have lived by the tenets of the Chronicler’s Oath for twelve (12) centuries, and recorded some events that were only allowed to be made known more than four (4) centuries later,” Judith said.

  “You only live one lifetime, Taesa. You can’t wait out history. She can,” Caroline said.

  “Sometimes I wish I didn’t drink the Pirovalen waters. If I drank the Ursegan waters, I could live for ages, and do what she does,” Taesa said.

  Judith was actually pleased to hear that someone envied her career – and her choice of waters.

  “There is no right water, is there, Taesa? The choice is difficult,” Caroline said.

  “Is that why you still haven’t made your own choice?” Taesa asked.

  “It’s not that simple for me, Taesa. I still have some things to work through,” Caroline said.

  Judith recorded all of this into her book, and was curious to see how much more the mother and daughter would reveal. However, it was not the most pressing concern, and she would have to follow more significant events as they occurred.

  ~~~

  After one (1) day travel northeast over the Ursegan Ocean, the Crystal Visage and the three (3) other ships reached the Bazavadoran Isthmus land bridge. Once again, the crew donned their protective cloaks and crystal eyewear to shield them from the suns, and they informed the passengers to do the same. When word of this reached their cabin, Judith went out on deck to record the remainder of the voyage into her book, while taking the same measures to protect herself. Octavian and his advisors protected themselves as before, under the cloak of darkness provided by the shadow guard.

  The four (4) ships converted to airship formation once again, then rose to one hundred twenty (120) feet of altitude and sailed northeast over the land bridge, in between its mountains. The ships returned to sea level in the Nabavodel Ocean on the other side. There, the masts and sails of the ships were returned to the upright position.

  After another day of travel northeast – this time sailing over the Nabavodel Ocean – the ships reached the southwestern coast of the continent of Volaraden, in the Citrine Desert.

  When the four (4) ships were anchored near the shore, three (3) of the military commanders of the troops departed from the ships. They were led by Cassius, Gregory and Nikolai, who began to carefully measure out different points on the desert sands.

  Judith followed Cassius, Gregory and Nikolai, observing where they instructed the trio of military commanders to begin taking note of twenty-four (24) specific positions.

  “Here, commander, is one of the positions for placement of the structures,” Gregory said, referring to his own detailed calculations from earlier.

  “Nikolai: mark this location by manipulating the sand crystals. Create a turning groove so that the pillars can stand upright,” Cassius said.

  Nikolai drank anew of the waters of the Kazofen Ocean from his vial and was energized. He touched the sands of the desert and began to mold their crystal structure as if it were clay. He formed them into a depression that would serve as a turning groove.

  After this was carried out for each of the twenty-four (24) specific positions, Cassius directed the trio of military commanders, saying: “Bring out the oxiphants – and the animal controllers – to put the structures into position,” Cassius said.

  Judith recorded all of these actions and discussions into her book.

  ~~~

  The trio of military commanders from among the troops went back to their respective ships and called upon a group of twenty-four (24) men and women – eight (8) per ship, not including the Crystal Visage – and gave them orders, saying: “The services of the oxiphants are needed to place the structures into position. Drink of your Gradaken waters to give you the control you need over the creatures.”

  These twenty-four (24) men and women then drank anew of the waters of the Gradaken Ocean from the vials they wore on the chains around their necks and were thereby energized. They then led twenty-four (24) large animals – each the size of an elephant, but much stronger, pound for pound – by placing their hands on the animals, directly influencing their behavior and calming the beasts into utter submission.

  Each of the commanders then ordered their respective charges, saying: “Harness the oxiphants to the structures.”

  Troops on board the ships then began tying large ropes – already affixed to twenty-four (24) large stone pillars – and harnessing one (1) such stone pillar to each the oxiphants. Each of the pillars was tipped by a large diamond.

  “Move the structures into place,” each of the commanders said.

  The men and women who controlled the animals then led them off of the ships, so that eight (8) groups came off of each ship other than the Crystal Visage, with each group consisting of a man or woman guiding an oxiphant – which was towing a stone pillar – followed by a squad of four (4) troops behind them.

  A commander moved to the front of each of his eight (8) groups and led them according to the instructions from Cassius and Gregory.

  ~~~

  Judith observed this procession of people, animals and stone pillars go by, noting that the pillars came in two (2) different sizes: twelve (12) of the pillars were sixty (60) feet in length, and twelve (12) were only thirty (30) feet in length.

  Judith noticed the desert sands appear to move, in a place away from the animals, and suspected that she knew what it was. Almost blindingly quickly, she learned how right she had been.

  A large tail with a stinger sprang up from the desert sands and lunged toward one of the oxiphants. Claws reached up and grabbed at it, revealing the enormous scorpion’s presence. The animal was struck and poisoned, falling down.

  The woman who was controlling that oxiphant calmly put out her hand and touched the scorpion’s tail and the scorpion retreated, but that oxiphant was already fatally stung and died within minutes.

  “Remain calm. We will simply have to move that pillar into position after the others. Be watchful, however, that we do not lose more of the animals, or it will cost us additional time,” Cassius said.

  Judith was relieved that the giant scorpion had been sent away, and she captured all of this into her book. The speed of the attack was not too much for her to see, because the flow of time slowed throughout her, so that the events proceeded at a pace she could readily observe. That did not m
ake her less afraid of the scorpions, however, because their venom was extraordinarily powerful and fast-acting.

  The woman who controlled the oxiphant which had fallen walked about the desert sands, watching for signs of more giant scorpions, and she drank anew of the waters of the Gradaken Ocean from her vial to be energized and ready to control them.

  The twenty-three (23) remaining oxiphants dragged their stone pillars across desert sands, and their controllers led them to pull the pillars into the turning grooves, with the heavy lifting left to the beasts. The last pillar – which was tied to the dead oxiphants – was then tied to the first oxiphant which had completed its task. That creature was then led to pull its stone pillar into place.

  The pillars were curved and capped with diamonds. Cassius stood in a point at the center of them, and placed a seven (7) foot tall staff into the sands. At the top of the staff were twelve (12) protruding cylinders, each with a lens like a surveyor’s transit. Below them was a single lens into which he looked, and he judged when the pillars were level and properly aligned. Cassius turned to Judith and warned her: “I advise that you return to the ship and observe from a distance, unless you wish the power of the suns to make you into a well-cooked feast for the desert snakes and scorpions. There are more out here, you know.” Cassius then took up his staff and returned to the Crystal Visage, along with Gregory, Nikolai, the troops, the commanders, the animal controllers and the oxiphants.

  Under the authority of the Chronicler’s Oath, Judith wasn’t bound to obey any orders, but warnings of danger were to be at least considered, if they were likely true and not indicative of an attempt to deceive her and thereby conceal historical events. She considered the circumstances: she was standing in the center of a machine that was built by murderers – a machine which was about to be activated to build a new castle, that being a castle from which those same people would likely send forth their troops to commit even more murder – so this probably was a genuinely dangerous place to be standing. She also considered that an enormous scorpion had already attacked and proved its lethality, so she didn’t care to suffer that outcome, either.

  Judith then returned to the Crystal Visage, where she hoped to achieve a better vantage point from which she could continue to record the events into her book. She drew a telescope from a satchel she wore over her shoulder, and held up the telescope to watch more closely the details of the unfolding evil.

  While standing nearby, Cassius held up his staff.

  “Gregory: Produce the signaling light to activate the constructor,” Cassius then said.

  Gregory then drank anew of the waters of the Lujladia Ocean from his own vial and was energized. He generated beams of carefully angled light from his hands and projected them through the lenses atop the staff that Cassius held. Briefly, beams of light shone from the lenses, and made connections with the crystals atop each of the twenty-four (24) pillars.

  “Now, they will receive the energy of the suns,” Cassius said.

  The light from the stars overhead – four (4) medium, warm yellow suns; six (6) small, cool red suns and one (1) large, hot blue sun – shone through the crystals atop the curved pillars, which were now reactive and receptive to the light of the suns.

  As with the construction of the ice castle, there were beams emanating from the crystals. Unlike the configuration of the constructor that was used to build the ice castle, there were now twenty-four (24) pillars, arranged in two concentric dodecagons, as this castle was larger and needed to have more crystals harnessing more power from even more and brighter and hotter suns. The light beams emanating from the twelve (12) crystals at the tips of the outer, sixty (60) foot tall pillars formed each of the fifty-four (54) diagonals of that dodecagon. The light beams emanating from the twelve (12) crystals at the tips of the inner, thirty (30) foot tall pillars formed each of the fifty-four (54) diagonals of that dodecagon. The crystals were all white hot, as were the beams emanating from them. The air currents were stirred and then began to swirl in a circular fashion, faster and faster. The sand of the desert was uplifted by the air currents into a circular column, rotating rapidly and violently and generating a powerful cloud which could be seen for several miles, and the roar of the wind could be heard just as far.

  Judith saw all of this through her telescope while standing on deck of the Crystal Visage. Standing nearby, Taesa and Caroline were also able to see a faint image of this in the distance, with their unaided eyes.

  “What is that sound?” Caroline asked.

  “It’s the wind. Swirling around quickly,” Taesa said.

  ~~~

  Many miles further inland to the east was a large mining town in the Citrine Desert, and the numerous workers there, along with their families, could also hear the roar of the wind, and the town lookout could see a rotating column of air, in the distance, through his telescope. He cried out to the people: “To the west, a desert twister! Seek shelter immediately!”

  In truth, the twister was too far away to be an immediate threat; yet, he could not be sure of its speed of approach. People ran into their homes, some of which were made of wood, some of which were just tents, and some of which were made of stone. Fortunately for them, this storm would be brief and remain distant, and bring no harm to their town.

  ~~~

  The rotating column of sand began to reveal a structure in increasing detail. It was a castle of orange-yellowish glass, as that is what the sand had become. It was a dodecagon in shape, and positively enormous, at thirty-six thousand (36000) feet in diameter and two hundred (200) feet in height. This was a mammoth structure, rivaling even the libraries of Emeth, and most castles of legend.

  From the deck of the Crystal Visage, Judith could see the scale of the castle being formed even without the aid of her telescope, and she could see the danger that it implied. However, the telescope was useful for seeing the finer details, which she recorded as the castle took shape, and she drew additional sketches to show its progressive formation.

  ~~~

  The residents of the mining town could not see the castle, which was not as tall as the unnatural desert twister that produced it, due to the height of the sand dunes in the desert.

  ~~~

  After several minutes, the crystals at the tips of the pillars dimmed, and the beams ceased to shine through them. Then, the column of air slowed its rotation, and then stopped, and the castle was completely formed, at least from the outside.

  Cassius, Gregory and Nikolai all observed the process. Gregory drank anew of the waters of the Lujladia Ocean and energized his powers of light, by which he could also see the castle formation at a distance; whereas Cassius and Nikolai watched through telescopes of their own. Each of the advisors had no small measure of anxiety, as they were awaiting confirmation that their earlier calculations were correct.

  Gregory believed that there was enough energy from the suns to power the construction of this far larger castle: at six (6) times the diameter, it covered thirty-six (36) times the area of the ice castle. However, Cassius had insisted that they used double the number of constructor pillars to better harness the solar energy and thereby reduce the risk. They were greatly relieved that the castle appeared outwardly to be fully formed, and did not immediately collapse under its own size and weight.

  Cassius knew in advance that there were risks at this larger scale. He planned to have a careful inspection of the interior. He realized that it was far too large to fully inspect, so they would have to strategically select locations within it, partly by randomly selecting them to be surveyed more closely, and then using mathematical methods of estimation. The troops would be dispatched throughout the castle for much of this survey.

  Octavian watched through his own telescope and was greatly pleased by the glass castle’s outward appearance. He then turned to Cassius, and ordered him, saying: “Lead the way, trusted Cassius, and present to me my new castle, and guide me to my throne!”

  Cassius, Gregory and Nikolai proceed
ed to disembark from the ship, followed by Octavian, surrounded by a guard of two hundred ten (210) troops.

  Judith followed one hundred (100) feet behind them, seeking a clearer picture, but with caution as the castle had not yet been proven safe: it appeared to be a large mass of delicate material that could fall and shatter if not properly balanced and supported. She had seen such a tragedy eight hundred thirty-five (835) years before – at the Temple of Mev’Kna – which was made of glass with minimal additional supporting structures. From what she had read after the fact, the engineers miscalculated the stresses on the supports, which was the reason that the glass ceiling fell and shattered, lacerating the throats and eyes of the thousands of sun worshippers inside. Many of those who survived wished that they didn’t, having lost their sight and been driven to begging for food, unable to work. Judith was one of the fortunate ones that day, having escaped the temple without any injury. She did not wish to be so close to personal tragedy again.

  More troops followed, escorting Caroline and Taesa. For a while, they walked alongside Judith, but then sped up to walk ahead of her and arrived at the castle of glass to give their service to Imperial Prince Octavian.

  Judith lagged behind and took the time to record more up-close observations of the outward appearance of the newly constructed castle. She also kept her eyes on the sand, looking for any signs of scorpions.

  Octavian and his troops soon entered the castle of glass, with Cassius, Gregory and Nikolai arriving first. The advisors immediately began walking the main hall, turning their eyes to the ceilings, walls and corners, looking for even the slightest signs of cracking or weakness. Nikolai drank anew of the waters of the Kazofen Ocean from his vial, so as to be energized. He was thus able to peer closely into the crystal structure of the castle, examining it for any weaknesses that could not be seen otherwise.

  Cassius signaled to several of the troops to begin walking the halls and searching for any obvious signs of breaking or deformation in the glass walls and ceilings. Octavian, as self-obsessed as ever, also looked for imperfections, considering a perfect reflection of his own beauty to be the standard of excellence, and seeking any flaw that might reflect less than perfectly his majestic appearance. He found nothing unworthy about the castle’s interior; fortunately, for him, neither did Cassius, the other advisors or the troops that were dispatched.