Post by Solana on Apr 15, 2014 11:59:30 GMT -5
Chapter Three- Into The Depths
Watchfulness is the only guard against cunning. Be intent on his intentions. Many succeed in making others do their own affairs, and unless you possess the key to their motives you may at any moment be forced to take their chestnuts out of the fire to the damage of your own fingers.
Baltasar Gracian
Joshua was relieved at Bachlan's agreement to state the stipulations of becoming a Guardian. The boy wasn't stupid by a long shot, and had shown his caution under a veneer of politeness and the solid mask of a diplomat. Joshua's appearance was that of a simple working mage- long linen robe tied with a plain sash, golden hair that was slightly too long, and no gems or embroidery to be seen. Their meeting room was a small, utilitarian dining room that served all the boarders of this small house, and their fare was peasant bread and a good homemade stew.
But Joshua's demeanor and etiquette, even his accent- oh, yes, those told quite a different tale.
"Our task is all-consuming, Joshua. This is far from just 'a job', and requires constant vigilance. You would reside in the Crystal Citadel and be ready to assist in halting anything that threatens to disrupt our world's forces at any time. You will answer to me, and I am not a man who tolerates failure or incompetence," Bachlan began.
Joshua nodded, leaning forward intently. His fingers were laced together and supported his chin, with his index fingers resting on his jawbone. Bachlan continued, "You would be supplied with the light essence to carry out your duties. In addition to vast power in the light element and potential in the other seven elements, it will also greatly extend your lifespan. I myself am thousands of years old already. You would outlive any friends or family not in possession of equaled longevity, of course."
"I quite understand a life of duty overcoming that of a personal one, and having it serve as the identity of one. I am also ready to make that level of dedication to a proper cause," Joshua answered. His level of seriousness didn't fit a youth barely in his twenties, but rather someone who had lived eons already.
Bachlan looked pleased at his answer. "I am interested in you for an additional reason, Joshua. That level of duty that you mentioned, and the manner in which you learned it."
The mask cracked for only a moment before Joshua's features were once again schooled to a perfect calm. "Do not take me for anything but what you see before you, my lord."
"As you like," Bachlan said with an indifferent shrug. "Wherever you learned it, someone like you would be very useful as my liaison. I am quite busy enough dealing with natural disasters without getting entangled in the politics of tribute payments." He made a disgusted face. "I do not engage with politicians of any kind any more than is strictly necessary."
Joshua gave a small, very cynical smile. "Indeed, and naturally every culture on Merna has a different set of rules for what constitutes proper behavior and an ideal society. Their punishments for breaking them vary as well."
Bachlan was grateful to be understood. "Precisely. As I'm sure you know, light is a vital element to life itself, but most of your work would be shifting and small corrections, as it mainly comes from celestial bodies instead of our own world. Therefore, I do not consider it to be a great hindrance to ask for a dual role in your case."
"No doubt," Joshua murmured to himself. He leaned back slightly and crossed his arms, obviously deep in thought. Bachlan watched, impressed that only flickers in his blue eyes gave any evidence to the bits of doubt and possibility going through his mind.
Finally, he came back to himself. "This is a great honor, Lord Bachlan, although one that will be a radical life change. Therefore, I do not believe that you would object to giving me a period of time in which to fully consider it."
"I do not, though I will come back in a week to hear your answer," Bachlan answered, getting to his feet.
Joshua did the same, gave a respectful bow, and began to escort him to the door. Suddenly, Bachlan had an inspiration. "I will ask you to think on this- a man in your station would bow down to no leader, no king, no emperor on the face of this world. Rather, they would come to you. You need not give obeisance to any man but me."
Joshua didn't reply, but the his shoulders stiffened slightly in a way that proved he had heard those words. Bachlan laughed to himself as Joshua bid him a polite good-bye. A week would make no difference- he knew what the boy's answer would be.
Joshua was awake late, working at his desk in the Light Chambers. A small egg-shaped light crystal, composed of the same type as his work crystal and sitting in a finely carved holder, was bright enough to read by. It also illuminated a fair-toned and slender form in soft white robes, a froth of pale gold hair, and brilliant sapphire eyes glittering in a finely-chiseled and serious face.
Bookcases stuffed with texts and scrolls of law, philosophy, and magic lined his walls. Under one window sat an ancient chest, its lock rusted nearly past the point of recognition. Tiny, carefully planned terrariums could be found throughout the room, with one of Eziban's empty glass bottles holding a miniature garden on his desk.
In addition to tending Merna with his light essence, Joshua had served well as Bachlan's liaison with their people. Many of Merna's leaders knew him personally and respected his ideas and words, even if they didn't always agree with him. He had been trained well in diplomacy and negotiation, though his role was different than he had originally intended.
Joshua frowned and opened the first letter on the stack, determined to shift his thoughts away from that direction, and scanned its contents. The lord and lady of the city of Ridley wished to send their yearly tribute owed the Guardians for their protection a few weeks later, with some extra. Some of their boats had been destroyed in a recent storm, but the ones still out there claimed that they could bring in a record harvest with the extra time.
He drummed his fingers, considering. Ridley was a staunch supporter of Bachlan, especially being at the complete mercy of the water element with Solana on her journey. Bachlan despised lateness in their tributes, yet was it not the Guardians' own fault that boats had been destroyed? Certainly there were plenty of funds in their treasury, and the bonus would sweeten Bachlan's mood. Joshua wrote a favorable reply and picked up the next envelope.
The next letter was not so welcome. The monarchs of the Monsee empire stated that they would not be able to meet the year's quota and wished to meet them in person in order to negotiate a compromise amount instead. Joshua read the letter over twice, his fingers involuntarily clenching the paper, and placed it on a pile for Oriana to handle instead. Monsee had had a roller coaster of monarchs over the millennia, from the benevolent to the beastly. The previous monarchs had set up many schools and hoped to begin an age of enlightenment, but this particular generation had reversed that course and was migraine-inducing.
The rest of the letters were sobering, mostly responses to Raoul's close call with the fishing village. Most of them wanted reassurances that no more accidents would occur like that again. Many brought up Solana's accidental mudslide over four decades ago. Bachlan, or rather Joshua, was going to have to smooth a lot of ruffled feathers.
Joshua sighed and took out a fat account book to update it. For a man who had no official political power in their world, many of the leaders in their world came to Bachlan as supplicants rather than equals. It was kind of sad, really. "Of course, if all eight essences were combined, any country who protested would be instantly vaporized," he muttered, studying the pages.
Joshua tapped his pen against his chin in thought, noting that many of the coastal regions had been easily meeting their tributes versus more of the inland areas. Strange indeed, for those areas had been away from the touch of expert Guardians these past few decades. Even more strange, there had been complaints from cities such as Ridley in having to deal with storms and other natural disasters again, yet the books suggested they were prospering.
He flipped back through more pages, skimming the lines, his eyes huge. Not just prospering, but growing in leaps and bounds...
...for the past forty years.
Was it truly possible that Solana's suggestion had merit?
Joshua froze at that thought. It was treacherous. Yet, the numbers did not lie. Checking over the amounts for cities near forests or plains, areas that had had to deal with large-scale fire again, he noted the same trend.
No. It could simply be a coincidence. It had to be. Are you considering another betrayal, Joshua? Are there no beliefs you hold sacred?
Never! Joshua slammed the book closed. Bachlan's actions in the past were still enough to revere him as a hero after twenty-five millennia. If he had difficulties in dealing with people, it was quite understandable with the apparitions that came to him through his essence. Serving as a liaison was his job, and as long as he held it, their people would be treated fairly and with honor at the end of the day.
As for the numbers... perhaps he had just been more lenient on their tributes out of pity. Like he had today. That was the only logical explanation.
Joshua took up the bundle of letters to bring to Bachlan. It was his last task of the day, and no doubt things would be clearer after a good night's rest.
Bachlan threw the last of the treacherous letters that Joshua had delivered into his fireplace with a curse. His cheeks were still crimson with anger and humiliation as their impudent words played themselves in his head over and over again.
"You are certain, Lord Bachlan, that this will never happen again?"
"I guess there are just some things in nature bigger than all of us, even Guardians...."
"Well, it might not hurt to keep the fishing boats in for one more day, just in case...."
Just in case?! Just in case of what? Another failure?
The Memory Guardian collapsed in a chair, rubbing his aching temples wearily and trying not to think of Trista's magic fingers. The real trouble was that this situation wasn't unique. He was lucky that most of Aryn's fire duties revolved around forest fires, volcanic eruptions, and the occasional meteorite hit, all of which were tied into or could be greatly aided by earth power. Still, Eziban had seemed a lot quieter and on edge lately. As for Raoul- that one was just a bundle of sparking nerves.
How had their people lost so much faith in him? In the beginning, they had begged him to take the role of Memory Guardian, and continue the freedom that his skills had brought them all. Had they forgotten what they owed him?
Gray fire flashed in front of his eyes, as his magic kicked in. Twenty-five thousand years ago, their world had been under a cruel caste system. The highest caste consisted of the Golden ones, who were exploiting Merna and its riches to live off the profits. The others survived as best they could under them, given the conditions. It had been a very dark time in its history.
Although Bachlan himself had been born a Golden one, he spurned their way of life and manner of butchering their world for greedy profit. Freeing the slaves and lower classes had brought him strength in numbers. Shaping the hot iron of their thirst for freedom with the hammer of promises and military instruction, he had forged an army the likes of which the world had never seen. One by one, those Golden ones who would not surrender were assassinated, and their armies put down. Many of the conquered soldiers joined him, until the very last group of Golden ones held one last stand in their palace. And every last one had fallen to his might.
In their gratitude, the new council of world leaders in a majority rule declared him their Guardian of Memory and built him the Crystal Citadel from the remains of the Golden Palace. Bachlan could see it now in his magic, the freed classes of people that cheered with approval, knowing they would be looked after now. Children, all of them, in need of the guidance only he could give...
With a wave, Bachlan banished the memory and returned his mind to his present problems. As much as he hated to admit it, change had been decaying their beautiful Merna faster and faster these past few decades, just as the Golden ones had so long ago. Their people were lazy, unwilling to pay back what they owed to this marvelous world that gave them all life. He could no longer pretend that things would just turn around, particularily with the water and fire essences gone.
As in the past, he would have to fix it himself.
Rising, he entered the common room and glanced at the various chambers. The Water and Fire Chambers were empty and dark as they had been for decades, and the rest were all quiet and dark at this hour. When fully staffed, they had always had one Guardian on overnight duty, but the increased workload allowed no such luxury now.
He went down the stairs and turned into a certain hallway, then made a strange sign in the air. Crystal dissolved, revealing a set of hidden steps. Calling a ball of light over his head, Bachlan crept down the steps and reformed the crystal behind him. At the very bottom of the staircase lay an odd arcane workroom.
This had been his private sanctuary for millennia, and was known only to Trista and Joshua. Bachlan was conducting some very important magical experiments, many to help turn back some of the neglect that Merna had been suffering at the hands of her children for all of this time. Crystals of all types hung all over, sparking with various colors of magical power. Specialized tools lay on distinct worktables, along with the books that they went along with. Straight-backed wooden chairs, purposely without cushions, sat near the tables he had been working on most recently.
Near the back of the room was the biggest table, stacked with all of his magical journals. The oldest ones on the bottom were yellowed, cracked, and giving off the distinct scent of old leather and aged parchment, while the newest ones on top boasted crisp paper and spines that still cracked when opened. In an ironic twist, every one contained notes that were all carefully written in Atlantean. Although the only one who could read it was long gone, Bachlan had also infused his notes with a spell that would make a person forget anything that they had read. He saw no sense in taking any stupid chances with such important work.
Opening his latest workbook to a certain page, he removed a sparkling quartz crystal that held a wind spell within it from his robe pocket. Trista had asked no questions at all when he had made the request, having the complete trust in him owed a leader. Bachlan delicately placed the crystal on the table about four feet away from him. He double-checked the notes from yesterday's work, making sure every detail was covered, then concentrated deeply.
A faint gray mist rose from one raised hand. The mist first drifted up to the crystalline ceiling and vanished through it towards its target. Soon enough, his power returned and was then sent to the bit of quartz. Slowly, a bit at a time, the faint gray passed into the crystal and began swirling around the silvery white glow of air power inside. Bachlan tightened his control, sending every bit of gray power into the white. Once the mist had been completely absorbed by the air power, he sent out a mental call to it.
The white light continued swirling inside the quartz, completely unaffected by his actions. Bachlan's eyes narrowed as he gripped his power tighter, turning the call into a mental demand. The white light flashed out once and spun around itself a little crazily. He was about to count tonight's work as another failure when the white light suddenly froze, and he held his breath. One plume of white pulled out from the rest in his direction. The remainder slowly followed, and the white light suddenly blazed out from the crystal and obediently collected in his hand.
Bachlan began to laugh in sheer delight. It had worked! After all of this time, all of these rejected trials, he had finally discovered the key! Picking up a pen, he quickly jotted down a few more notes with a hand that shook in his excitement.
There was still one more test to be done, to truly see if he had succeeded. Raising the hand with the collected air power, Bachlan tapped into it. A faint breeze arose, gently swirling through his hair and journals. He eagerly released more of the power and the gusts picked up, whipping around his robes in a kind of frenzy. Finally he banished it, and smiled to himself.
He was ready to test the real thing.
The lights may have been out, but Eziban and Oriana were still wide awake. Finally, finally, Bachlan retired in his chambers for the night. Half an hour later, just to make sure that Trista and Joshua were also asleep and all was quiet for the night, the pair acted.
Oriana's life abilities meant that she could monitor the other Guardians easily, making her an ideal lookout. She took up a post beside the stairs to the common room. Eziban strode down some of the lower hallways, pouring his earth essence into the crystal walls to search for anything unusual. With the public areas in the enormous Citadel, the library, and the Memory Chambers crossed off the list of places to investigate, it was time to explore the possibility of a hidden area tucked away in some of the unused portions of their enormous floating home. He had the best nightvision of any Guardian save for Joshua, thanks to all of his work underground and in caves, and could concentrate on his work.
Sweat began to glisten on his dark skin as he scanned yet another hallway of the immese Citadel, keeping his fingertips lightly pressed against the smooth glassy surface of the beautiful crystal to aid his concentration. The earth magic that he poured into the crystal made it 'sing' in a way that would tell him if there was anything unusual behind its lattice structure. The spell was a technique not unlike the echolocation that Solana's dolphin friends used to navigate through dark waters, and had actually been the inspiration.
Thinking of his friend brought back the last time that he had seen the missing two of his 'pack'. Eziban remembered the strange globe spell Bachlan had tried to throw at Aryn and had hit Solana with instead when the Water Guardian had foolishly jumped in front and tried to block it. He remembered how Aryn had desperately glanced at him to back her up, and how he had remained indecisive about what to do. It was the memory of that look, that disappointment, that had galvanized him into action only later and kept him going when he was tired and ready to give up.
Eziban shook the image off grimly. Better to act late than never.
He turned another corner, finding the hallway that ran directly under the main room that was the heart of the entire Citadel as his thoughts shifted to his boss Bachlan. The Memory Guardian had sunk from being a classless jerk into a tyrant, and trying to execute one of their own was unforgivable. He would discover what secrets Bachlan had been keeping from them. He had to, to make up for not defending his firebird that day. Quiet, pacifistic Raoul had been the first one to speak up in protest, and all he had done was nod in agreement.
It hadn't been enough then, but hopefully he would be able to find something that would explain the seeming miasma surrounding the man who was still, unfortunately, the one he took orders from.
For now.
Suddenly, the Earth Guardian paused at a certain spot in the hallway. One piece of the crystalline wall seemed a bit off to his magical senses, but he couldn't determine exactly what was wrong with it. It looked normal to his eyes, and it felt nearly so to his power, and yet...
He frowned, trusting his instincts, and probed harder with his magic. Dark emerald power flashed around his hand as he directed it into the crystal. Nothing funny was uncovered, so he sent his power into the very atoms and bonds of the crystal matrix, searching as deeply as he could.
There, a passage of some kind beyond the wall!
Joshua's illusion spells were top-notch, but crystal still came from the earth. After marking the spot with a dab of magic, Eziban went back to Oriana's post and touched her shoulder, his signal that he had found something. Oriana followed him down the steps and into the proper hallway. She stood guard just around the corner as Eziban returned to the wall.
He poured his power into the crystal, and managed to break its bonds to its surroundings to make the crystal turn into dust. Carefully stepping past the glittering pile, he reformed the smooth wall by reattaching the crystal bonds.
Eziban followed the passage down a set of steps, squinting a little in the utter blackness and nearly falling when he almost missed a step. Snapping his fingers, an ember sparked to life, and a small fireball appeared in his hand to be directed to float safely above his head.
Aryn had taught him this spell so long ago.
The Earth Guardian growled at himself, trying to keep his mind on his mission as he made it to the bottom.
The flame over his head threw dancing shadows over a huge variety of crystals and magical instruments. Large worktables were stacked with exotic arcane tools he had never seen in his life, some of which he was certain he didn't want to know the uses of. Crystals sparkled with various colors, while others seemed to draw in any speck of light nearby. Eziban frowned, noting the utter sense of wrongness emanating from a few, then noticed something at the corner of his eye.
Stacks and stacks of books were piled on a table towards the back. They were likely magical texts or journals of some kind.
Jackpot.
Eziban took down the top book and examined it, wondering at the strange language in a flowing script on the cover. Still, he'd come too far to give up now. He cracked it open to start flipping through the pages, raising his eyebrows at what seemed like gibberish. Everything was written in obscure words that held no meaning for him. What the blazes was all this?
Suddenly, the book pulsed, and gray mist swamped from it to shroud the Earth Guardian. Eziban yelled and reeled back, dropping the book to clutch his temples which had begun to ache fiercely. He bit his lip, willing it away for what seemed an eternity, until the pain finally subsided to leave a feeling of confusion in its wake.
Eziban looked around, puzzled at his strange surroundings at this late hour. He should've been in bed sawing cordwood at this point.
How had he gotten here?
What had happened?
He didn't know, and he didn't want to find out. This unknown room was pretty spooky, especially at this time of night. Noticing a book on the floor, he returned it to a pile on a table and began hunting for an exit. The only doorway that he could find led to a staircase heading up a floor.
But why was there a wall of crystal blocking his path at the top? Still confused, he used his magic and dissolved it, then stepped through.
"Eziban?" Oriana whispered, staring at him worriedly. "I felt something..."
Eziban glanced up at her in shock. "Oriana? Why aren't you in bed?" he asked.
Oriana looked startled, then her expression turned stern. Iridescent fire flashed at her fingers, and she laid them on Eziban's forehead and concentrated. "A memory block," she announced in disgust. "Set for a few hours before you went in there to throw you off. What did you do, my dear?"
"I...I don't know," he confessed. Why would he have wanted to go in there?
"It's not your fault," Oriana replied softly. "Bachlan has taken precautions to hide his work. You must have found something very important. Just follow me to the infirmary."
Eziban was still confused, but shrugged and obeyed. He hopped up on the observation table while Oriana lit some lamps.
She came to stand by his head, thinking fast. A complete memory block with all of Bachlan's power behind it would be nearly impossible to break in so short a time, but if she could nullify a part of it, something interesting might slip through.
"Close your eyes and relax, child. I'll be working with you," she instructed softly. Carefully, she placed her fingers on his temples, her magic ready. "Now, what do you remember?"
"I went to bed, but not to sleep yet," Eziban began, his voice soft as he thought hard. "We were going to...to...."
Oriana poured in her magic, shaping the life essence to fight the memory invasion in there. Iridescent power flowed in, seeking any way past the smoky gray shield wrapped around the short-term memory part of his mind. "Tell me if anything feels odd, child. I will not risk harming you for only this."
"Nah, it's all right. Books...he had lots of books in there," Eziban continued, his face screwed up in concentration. "There was one written in a weird language. I don't know what it was."
Oriana's heart began to pound. "What did it say?" she asked in an excited whisper.
A bead of sweat appeared on his brow. "Damn, it won't let me. All I can see is gray fire."
Oriana slowly let more power trickle in, a drop at a time. Eziban was fighting as well, as green joined the iridescent power to add strength to her spell. Under the sheer weight of the two essences, a crack suddenly appeared in the gray shield, and their combined fire suddenly swamped in.
"'Genu Magnia''!" Eziban hissed quickly, afraid to forget again. "That's what it said on the first page!" He groaned a little as the gray reformed itself, slamming their power out again.
"Eziban, child!" Oriana gasped, throwing her own shield around the gray to keep it from lashing out or hurting him in any way. It quieted down immediately, and while Eziban tried, he couldn't summon that memory up again.
"That's it. That's all I can see," he mumbled.
"Eziban, thank you. I'll help you back to your chambers, and I'll keep an eye on you to make sure there was nothing else in there," Oriana offered.
"No, we can't give Bachlan any indication that something funky's going on. I'll be fine now." Eziban sat up slowly, one hand clutching his head. He felt a little dizzy after the magical confrontation in his mind, and nothing looked better in his mind's eye than the image of his own bed.
Oriana hesitated, but noted that the gray shield did seem stable. "Come to me if anything else occurs."
"I promise," he replied, sliding off the table to get back on his feet. "By the way, what the hell does 'Genu Magnia' mean? Is it an old Mernan language or something?"
"No, it sounds similar to ancient Atlantean," Oriana answered slowly, thinking back almost twenty thousand years. "I'm afraid I've forgotten most of it from that visit Bachlan and I made there so long ago, but he apparently took pains to remember it. But I've never heard either of those words before."
"Atlantean, huh?" Eziban asked with a smile spreading across his face.
Oriana nodded and shooed him towards her infirmary's door. "Go to bed, dear. You've done well, and I have a letter to write for our friend to pass on."
Watchfulness is the only guard against cunning. Be intent on his intentions. Many succeed in making others do their own affairs, and unless you possess the key to their motives you may at any moment be forced to take their chestnuts out of the fire to the damage of your own fingers.
Baltasar Gracian
Joshua was relieved at Bachlan's agreement to state the stipulations of becoming a Guardian. The boy wasn't stupid by a long shot, and had shown his caution under a veneer of politeness and the solid mask of a diplomat. Joshua's appearance was that of a simple working mage- long linen robe tied with a plain sash, golden hair that was slightly too long, and no gems or embroidery to be seen. Their meeting room was a small, utilitarian dining room that served all the boarders of this small house, and their fare was peasant bread and a good homemade stew.
But Joshua's demeanor and etiquette, even his accent- oh, yes, those told quite a different tale.
"Our task is all-consuming, Joshua. This is far from just 'a job', and requires constant vigilance. You would reside in the Crystal Citadel and be ready to assist in halting anything that threatens to disrupt our world's forces at any time. You will answer to me, and I am not a man who tolerates failure or incompetence," Bachlan began.
Joshua nodded, leaning forward intently. His fingers were laced together and supported his chin, with his index fingers resting on his jawbone. Bachlan continued, "You would be supplied with the light essence to carry out your duties. In addition to vast power in the light element and potential in the other seven elements, it will also greatly extend your lifespan. I myself am thousands of years old already. You would outlive any friends or family not in possession of equaled longevity, of course."
"I quite understand a life of duty overcoming that of a personal one, and having it serve as the identity of one. I am also ready to make that level of dedication to a proper cause," Joshua answered. His level of seriousness didn't fit a youth barely in his twenties, but rather someone who had lived eons already.
Bachlan looked pleased at his answer. "I am interested in you for an additional reason, Joshua. That level of duty that you mentioned, and the manner in which you learned it."
The mask cracked for only a moment before Joshua's features were once again schooled to a perfect calm. "Do not take me for anything but what you see before you, my lord."
"As you like," Bachlan said with an indifferent shrug. "Wherever you learned it, someone like you would be very useful as my liaison. I am quite busy enough dealing with natural disasters without getting entangled in the politics of tribute payments." He made a disgusted face. "I do not engage with politicians of any kind any more than is strictly necessary."
Joshua gave a small, very cynical smile. "Indeed, and naturally every culture on Merna has a different set of rules for what constitutes proper behavior and an ideal society. Their punishments for breaking them vary as well."
Bachlan was grateful to be understood. "Precisely. As I'm sure you know, light is a vital element to life itself, but most of your work would be shifting and small corrections, as it mainly comes from celestial bodies instead of our own world. Therefore, I do not consider it to be a great hindrance to ask for a dual role in your case."
"No doubt," Joshua murmured to himself. He leaned back slightly and crossed his arms, obviously deep in thought. Bachlan watched, impressed that only flickers in his blue eyes gave any evidence to the bits of doubt and possibility going through his mind.
Finally, he came back to himself. "This is a great honor, Lord Bachlan, although one that will be a radical life change. Therefore, I do not believe that you would object to giving me a period of time in which to fully consider it."
"I do not, though I will come back in a week to hear your answer," Bachlan answered, getting to his feet.
Joshua did the same, gave a respectful bow, and began to escort him to the door. Suddenly, Bachlan had an inspiration. "I will ask you to think on this- a man in your station would bow down to no leader, no king, no emperor on the face of this world. Rather, they would come to you. You need not give obeisance to any man but me."
Joshua didn't reply, but the his shoulders stiffened slightly in a way that proved he had heard those words. Bachlan laughed to himself as Joshua bid him a polite good-bye. A week would make no difference- he knew what the boy's answer would be.
Joshua was awake late, working at his desk in the Light Chambers. A small egg-shaped light crystal, composed of the same type as his work crystal and sitting in a finely carved holder, was bright enough to read by. It also illuminated a fair-toned and slender form in soft white robes, a froth of pale gold hair, and brilliant sapphire eyes glittering in a finely-chiseled and serious face.
Bookcases stuffed with texts and scrolls of law, philosophy, and magic lined his walls. Under one window sat an ancient chest, its lock rusted nearly past the point of recognition. Tiny, carefully planned terrariums could be found throughout the room, with one of Eziban's empty glass bottles holding a miniature garden on his desk.
In addition to tending Merna with his light essence, Joshua had served well as Bachlan's liaison with their people. Many of Merna's leaders knew him personally and respected his ideas and words, even if they didn't always agree with him. He had been trained well in diplomacy and negotiation, though his role was different than he had originally intended.
Joshua frowned and opened the first letter on the stack, determined to shift his thoughts away from that direction, and scanned its contents. The lord and lady of the city of Ridley wished to send their yearly tribute owed the Guardians for their protection a few weeks later, with some extra. Some of their boats had been destroyed in a recent storm, but the ones still out there claimed that they could bring in a record harvest with the extra time.
He drummed his fingers, considering. Ridley was a staunch supporter of Bachlan, especially being at the complete mercy of the water element with Solana on her journey. Bachlan despised lateness in their tributes, yet was it not the Guardians' own fault that boats had been destroyed? Certainly there were plenty of funds in their treasury, and the bonus would sweeten Bachlan's mood. Joshua wrote a favorable reply and picked up the next envelope.
The next letter was not so welcome. The monarchs of the Monsee empire stated that they would not be able to meet the year's quota and wished to meet them in person in order to negotiate a compromise amount instead. Joshua read the letter over twice, his fingers involuntarily clenching the paper, and placed it on a pile for Oriana to handle instead. Monsee had had a roller coaster of monarchs over the millennia, from the benevolent to the beastly. The previous monarchs had set up many schools and hoped to begin an age of enlightenment, but this particular generation had reversed that course and was migraine-inducing.
The rest of the letters were sobering, mostly responses to Raoul's close call with the fishing village. Most of them wanted reassurances that no more accidents would occur like that again. Many brought up Solana's accidental mudslide over four decades ago. Bachlan, or rather Joshua, was going to have to smooth a lot of ruffled feathers.
Joshua sighed and took out a fat account book to update it. For a man who had no official political power in their world, many of the leaders in their world came to Bachlan as supplicants rather than equals. It was kind of sad, really. "Of course, if all eight essences were combined, any country who protested would be instantly vaporized," he muttered, studying the pages.
Joshua tapped his pen against his chin in thought, noting that many of the coastal regions had been easily meeting their tributes versus more of the inland areas. Strange indeed, for those areas had been away from the touch of expert Guardians these past few decades. Even more strange, there had been complaints from cities such as Ridley in having to deal with storms and other natural disasters again, yet the books suggested they were prospering.
He flipped back through more pages, skimming the lines, his eyes huge. Not just prospering, but growing in leaps and bounds...
...for the past forty years.
Was it truly possible that Solana's suggestion had merit?
Joshua froze at that thought. It was treacherous. Yet, the numbers did not lie. Checking over the amounts for cities near forests or plains, areas that had had to deal with large-scale fire again, he noted the same trend.
No. It could simply be a coincidence. It had to be. Are you considering another betrayal, Joshua? Are there no beliefs you hold sacred?
Never! Joshua slammed the book closed. Bachlan's actions in the past were still enough to revere him as a hero after twenty-five millennia. If he had difficulties in dealing with people, it was quite understandable with the apparitions that came to him through his essence. Serving as a liaison was his job, and as long as he held it, their people would be treated fairly and with honor at the end of the day.
As for the numbers... perhaps he had just been more lenient on their tributes out of pity. Like he had today. That was the only logical explanation.
Joshua took up the bundle of letters to bring to Bachlan. It was his last task of the day, and no doubt things would be clearer after a good night's rest.
Bachlan threw the last of the treacherous letters that Joshua had delivered into his fireplace with a curse. His cheeks were still crimson with anger and humiliation as their impudent words played themselves in his head over and over again.
"You are certain, Lord Bachlan, that this will never happen again?"
"I guess there are just some things in nature bigger than all of us, even Guardians...."
"Well, it might not hurt to keep the fishing boats in for one more day, just in case...."
Just in case?! Just in case of what? Another failure?
The Memory Guardian collapsed in a chair, rubbing his aching temples wearily and trying not to think of Trista's magic fingers. The real trouble was that this situation wasn't unique. He was lucky that most of Aryn's fire duties revolved around forest fires, volcanic eruptions, and the occasional meteorite hit, all of which were tied into or could be greatly aided by earth power. Still, Eziban had seemed a lot quieter and on edge lately. As for Raoul- that one was just a bundle of sparking nerves.
How had their people lost so much faith in him? In the beginning, they had begged him to take the role of Memory Guardian, and continue the freedom that his skills had brought them all. Had they forgotten what they owed him?
Gray fire flashed in front of his eyes, as his magic kicked in. Twenty-five thousand years ago, their world had been under a cruel caste system. The highest caste consisted of the Golden ones, who were exploiting Merna and its riches to live off the profits. The others survived as best they could under them, given the conditions. It had been a very dark time in its history.
Although Bachlan himself had been born a Golden one, he spurned their way of life and manner of butchering their world for greedy profit. Freeing the slaves and lower classes had brought him strength in numbers. Shaping the hot iron of their thirst for freedom with the hammer of promises and military instruction, he had forged an army the likes of which the world had never seen. One by one, those Golden ones who would not surrender were assassinated, and their armies put down. Many of the conquered soldiers joined him, until the very last group of Golden ones held one last stand in their palace. And every last one had fallen to his might.
In their gratitude, the new council of world leaders in a majority rule declared him their Guardian of Memory and built him the Crystal Citadel from the remains of the Golden Palace. Bachlan could see it now in his magic, the freed classes of people that cheered with approval, knowing they would be looked after now. Children, all of them, in need of the guidance only he could give...
With a wave, Bachlan banished the memory and returned his mind to his present problems. As much as he hated to admit it, change had been decaying their beautiful Merna faster and faster these past few decades, just as the Golden ones had so long ago. Their people were lazy, unwilling to pay back what they owed to this marvelous world that gave them all life. He could no longer pretend that things would just turn around, particularily with the water and fire essences gone.
As in the past, he would have to fix it himself.
Rising, he entered the common room and glanced at the various chambers. The Water and Fire Chambers were empty and dark as they had been for decades, and the rest were all quiet and dark at this hour. When fully staffed, they had always had one Guardian on overnight duty, but the increased workload allowed no such luxury now.
He went down the stairs and turned into a certain hallway, then made a strange sign in the air. Crystal dissolved, revealing a set of hidden steps. Calling a ball of light over his head, Bachlan crept down the steps and reformed the crystal behind him. At the very bottom of the staircase lay an odd arcane workroom.
This had been his private sanctuary for millennia, and was known only to Trista and Joshua. Bachlan was conducting some very important magical experiments, many to help turn back some of the neglect that Merna had been suffering at the hands of her children for all of this time. Crystals of all types hung all over, sparking with various colors of magical power. Specialized tools lay on distinct worktables, along with the books that they went along with. Straight-backed wooden chairs, purposely without cushions, sat near the tables he had been working on most recently.
Near the back of the room was the biggest table, stacked with all of his magical journals. The oldest ones on the bottom were yellowed, cracked, and giving off the distinct scent of old leather and aged parchment, while the newest ones on top boasted crisp paper and spines that still cracked when opened. In an ironic twist, every one contained notes that were all carefully written in Atlantean. Although the only one who could read it was long gone, Bachlan had also infused his notes with a spell that would make a person forget anything that they had read. He saw no sense in taking any stupid chances with such important work.
Opening his latest workbook to a certain page, he removed a sparkling quartz crystal that held a wind spell within it from his robe pocket. Trista had asked no questions at all when he had made the request, having the complete trust in him owed a leader. Bachlan delicately placed the crystal on the table about four feet away from him. He double-checked the notes from yesterday's work, making sure every detail was covered, then concentrated deeply.
A faint gray mist rose from one raised hand. The mist first drifted up to the crystalline ceiling and vanished through it towards its target. Soon enough, his power returned and was then sent to the bit of quartz. Slowly, a bit at a time, the faint gray passed into the crystal and began swirling around the silvery white glow of air power inside. Bachlan tightened his control, sending every bit of gray power into the white. Once the mist had been completely absorbed by the air power, he sent out a mental call to it.
The white light continued swirling inside the quartz, completely unaffected by his actions. Bachlan's eyes narrowed as he gripped his power tighter, turning the call into a mental demand. The white light flashed out once and spun around itself a little crazily. He was about to count tonight's work as another failure when the white light suddenly froze, and he held his breath. One plume of white pulled out from the rest in his direction. The remainder slowly followed, and the white light suddenly blazed out from the crystal and obediently collected in his hand.
Bachlan began to laugh in sheer delight. It had worked! After all of this time, all of these rejected trials, he had finally discovered the key! Picking up a pen, he quickly jotted down a few more notes with a hand that shook in his excitement.
There was still one more test to be done, to truly see if he had succeeded. Raising the hand with the collected air power, Bachlan tapped into it. A faint breeze arose, gently swirling through his hair and journals. He eagerly released more of the power and the gusts picked up, whipping around his robes in a kind of frenzy. Finally he banished it, and smiled to himself.
He was ready to test the real thing.
The lights may have been out, but Eziban and Oriana were still wide awake. Finally, finally, Bachlan retired in his chambers for the night. Half an hour later, just to make sure that Trista and Joshua were also asleep and all was quiet for the night, the pair acted.
Oriana's life abilities meant that she could monitor the other Guardians easily, making her an ideal lookout. She took up a post beside the stairs to the common room. Eziban strode down some of the lower hallways, pouring his earth essence into the crystal walls to search for anything unusual. With the public areas in the enormous Citadel, the library, and the Memory Chambers crossed off the list of places to investigate, it was time to explore the possibility of a hidden area tucked away in some of the unused portions of their enormous floating home. He had the best nightvision of any Guardian save for Joshua, thanks to all of his work underground and in caves, and could concentrate on his work.
Sweat began to glisten on his dark skin as he scanned yet another hallway of the immese Citadel, keeping his fingertips lightly pressed against the smooth glassy surface of the beautiful crystal to aid his concentration. The earth magic that he poured into the crystal made it 'sing' in a way that would tell him if there was anything unusual behind its lattice structure. The spell was a technique not unlike the echolocation that Solana's dolphin friends used to navigate through dark waters, and had actually been the inspiration.
Thinking of his friend brought back the last time that he had seen the missing two of his 'pack'. Eziban remembered the strange globe spell Bachlan had tried to throw at Aryn and had hit Solana with instead when the Water Guardian had foolishly jumped in front and tried to block it. He remembered how Aryn had desperately glanced at him to back her up, and how he had remained indecisive about what to do. It was the memory of that look, that disappointment, that had galvanized him into action only later and kept him going when he was tired and ready to give up.
Eziban shook the image off grimly. Better to act late than never.
He turned another corner, finding the hallway that ran directly under the main room that was the heart of the entire Citadel as his thoughts shifted to his boss Bachlan. The Memory Guardian had sunk from being a classless jerk into a tyrant, and trying to execute one of their own was unforgivable. He would discover what secrets Bachlan had been keeping from them. He had to, to make up for not defending his firebird that day. Quiet, pacifistic Raoul had been the first one to speak up in protest, and all he had done was nod in agreement.
It hadn't been enough then, but hopefully he would be able to find something that would explain the seeming miasma surrounding the man who was still, unfortunately, the one he took orders from.
For now.
Suddenly, the Earth Guardian paused at a certain spot in the hallway. One piece of the crystalline wall seemed a bit off to his magical senses, but he couldn't determine exactly what was wrong with it. It looked normal to his eyes, and it felt nearly so to his power, and yet...
He frowned, trusting his instincts, and probed harder with his magic. Dark emerald power flashed around his hand as he directed it into the crystal. Nothing funny was uncovered, so he sent his power into the very atoms and bonds of the crystal matrix, searching as deeply as he could.
There, a passage of some kind beyond the wall!
Joshua's illusion spells were top-notch, but crystal still came from the earth. After marking the spot with a dab of magic, Eziban went back to Oriana's post and touched her shoulder, his signal that he had found something. Oriana followed him down the steps and into the proper hallway. She stood guard just around the corner as Eziban returned to the wall.
He poured his power into the crystal, and managed to break its bonds to its surroundings to make the crystal turn into dust. Carefully stepping past the glittering pile, he reformed the smooth wall by reattaching the crystal bonds.
Eziban followed the passage down a set of steps, squinting a little in the utter blackness and nearly falling when he almost missed a step. Snapping his fingers, an ember sparked to life, and a small fireball appeared in his hand to be directed to float safely above his head.
Aryn had taught him this spell so long ago.
The Earth Guardian growled at himself, trying to keep his mind on his mission as he made it to the bottom.
The flame over his head threw dancing shadows over a huge variety of crystals and magical instruments. Large worktables were stacked with exotic arcane tools he had never seen in his life, some of which he was certain he didn't want to know the uses of. Crystals sparkled with various colors, while others seemed to draw in any speck of light nearby. Eziban frowned, noting the utter sense of wrongness emanating from a few, then noticed something at the corner of his eye.
Stacks and stacks of books were piled on a table towards the back. They were likely magical texts or journals of some kind.
Jackpot.
Eziban took down the top book and examined it, wondering at the strange language in a flowing script on the cover. Still, he'd come too far to give up now. He cracked it open to start flipping through the pages, raising his eyebrows at what seemed like gibberish. Everything was written in obscure words that held no meaning for him. What the blazes was all this?
Suddenly, the book pulsed, and gray mist swamped from it to shroud the Earth Guardian. Eziban yelled and reeled back, dropping the book to clutch his temples which had begun to ache fiercely. He bit his lip, willing it away for what seemed an eternity, until the pain finally subsided to leave a feeling of confusion in its wake.
Eziban looked around, puzzled at his strange surroundings at this late hour. He should've been in bed sawing cordwood at this point.
How had he gotten here?
What had happened?
He didn't know, and he didn't want to find out. This unknown room was pretty spooky, especially at this time of night. Noticing a book on the floor, he returned it to a pile on a table and began hunting for an exit. The only doorway that he could find led to a staircase heading up a floor.
But why was there a wall of crystal blocking his path at the top? Still confused, he used his magic and dissolved it, then stepped through.
"Eziban?" Oriana whispered, staring at him worriedly. "I felt something..."
Eziban glanced up at her in shock. "Oriana? Why aren't you in bed?" he asked.
Oriana looked startled, then her expression turned stern. Iridescent fire flashed at her fingers, and she laid them on Eziban's forehead and concentrated. "A memory block," she announced in disgust. "Set for a few hours before you went in there to throw you off. What did you do, my dear?"
"I...I don't know," he confessed. Why would he have wanted to go in there?
"It's not your fault," Oriana replied softly. "Bachlan has taken precautions to hide his work. You must have found something very important. Just follow me to the infirmary."
Eziban was still confused, but shrugged and obeyed. He hopped up on the observation table while Oriana lit some lamps.
She came to stand by his head, thinking fast. A complete memory block with all of Bachlan's power behind it would be nearly impossible to break in so short a time, but if she could nullify a part of it, something interesting might slip through.
"Close your eyes and relax, child. I'll be working with you," she instructed softly. Carefully, she placed her fingers on his temples, her magic ready. "Now, what do you remember?"
"I went to bed, but not to sleep yet," Eziban began, his voice soft as he thought hard. "We were going to...to...."
Oriana poured in her magic, shaping the life essence to fight the memory invasion in there. Iridescent power flowed in, seeking any way past the smoky gray shield wrapped around the short-term memory part of his mind. "Tell me if anything feels odd, child. I will not risk harming you for only this."
"Nah, it's all right. Books...he had lots of books in there," Eziban continued, his face screwed up in concentration. "There was one written in a weird language. I don't know what it was."
Oriana's heart began to pound. "What did it say?" she asked in an excited whisper.
A bead of sweat appeared on his brow. "Damn, it won't let me. All I can see is gray fire."
Oriana slowly let more power trickle in, a drop at a time. Eziban was fighting as well, as green joined the iridescent power to add strength to her spell. Under the sheer weight of the two essences, a crack suddenly appeared in the gray shield, and their combined fire suddenly swamped in.
"'Genu Magnia''!" Eziban hissed quickly, afraid to forget again. "That's what it said on the first page!" He groaned a little as the gray reformed itself, slamming their power out again.
"Eziban, child!" Oriana gasped, throwing her own shield around the gray to keep it from lashing out or hurting him in any way. It quieted down immediately, and while Eziban tried, he couldn't summon that memory up again.
"That's it. That's all I can see," he mumbled.
"Eziban, thank you. I'll help you back to your chambers, and I'll keep an eye on you to make sure there was nothing else in there," Oriana offered.
"No, we can't give Bachlan any indication that something funky's going on. I'll be fine now." Eziban sat up slowly, one hand clutching his head. He felt a little dizzy after the magical confrontation in his mind, and nothing looked better in his mind's eye than the image of his own bed.
Oriana hesitated, but noted that the gray shield did seem stable. "Come to me if anything else occurs."
"I promise," he replied, sliding off the table to get back on his feet. "By the way, what the hell does 'Genu Magnia' mean? Is it an old Mernan language or something?"
"No, it sounds similar to ancient Atlantean," Oriana answered slowly, thinking back almost twenty thousand years. "I'm afraid I've forgotten most of it from that visit Bachlan and I made there so long ago, but he apparently took pains to remember it. But I've never heard either of those words before."
"Atlantean, huh?" Eziban asked with a smile spreading across his face.
Oriana nodded and shooed him towards her infirmary's door. "Go to bed, dear. You've done well, and I have a letter to write for our friend to pass on."