by Casey Eanes
The man’s eyes sunk from red to pools of black as he stared at Wael, his frame growing within the mirror, becoming more and more agitated with each mention of Aleph’s name.
“That insect is already dead, Wael, Mastermonk of Preost.” The being’s voice filled with the sound of a rushing river. “I HAVE CRUSHED HIM BENEATH MY MIGHT. Nothing in the entire universe will ever compare with the feeling of destroying that failure.”
Grift stepped forward and stood beside Wael, placing a hand on his friend’s shoulder.
“Save your lies, Serub! Aleph is not the one trapped behind a pane of glass. If you are so mighty then step out and face us now. Aleph bound you to your prison, and we will die before you step back out again.”
The Serub’s eyes widened with ecstasy at Grift’s challenge. His smile grew to reveal a clean row of white daggers hidden within. He spoke, “If you wish to die, Grift Shepherd of Lotte, that can be arranged.”
The walls of the room exploded into a hot inferno of red flames. Tendrils of heat wrapped around the three where they stood, and the mirror went black as midnight. The heat came in an instant, excruciating and inexplicable. The room’s walls of solid stone began to melt around them in a bright orange glow.
Willyn managed to pull Grift through the fiery wall and back into the empty grotto. She turned, ready to plunge herself back in to get Wael, but she stopped as the Monk screamed at the Fallen in the mirror.
“Save your lies and illusions Serub! This ends now!”
Wael was standing in the furnace, unchecked by the flames. He lifted his ironwood staff and smashed it through the mirror. The glass exploded in a shower of crystal, and the flames immediately extinguished. The room returned to normal, dark and cool. Grift and Willyn stood blinking in disbelief outside the room, staring at the sea of glass scattered on the floor. Wael was hunched over his staff, weary but elated, with long white tendrils of smoke still flowing off him.
Grift stepped back into the room and let out a laugh, “We should have done that sooner, Wael.” Wael nodded but there was no smile on his face. Willyn stood, her face hesitant, gazing at the shattered glass scattered on the floor. So that is how we defeat them. Break their mirrors. The thought fell hollow in her mind. How could the Serubs be so fragile? Why keep the mirrors, if they could be so easily destroyed?
Willyn’s mind found the dreadful answers to her questions as the ground beneath her began to pulse with energy. The shards of glass vibrated with an electric intensity, and they hovered in the air, carefully joining together piece by piece. Large sections of the mirror floated above the ground and slid back into place at the center of the room. As the final pieces of the portal joined, the maniacal face of the Serub was waiting for them on the other side.
The Serub’s eyes set onto Willyn and he smiled, “I can feel your fear, and it is quite…intoxicating.” He rubbed his hands across his chest, and a voice clattered in the recesses of her mind. Willyn Kara, the true Sar of the Groganlands. Oh, how beautiful and mighty you are. The Serub’s form continued to change, and his worn, decrepit features fell away, leaving only a striking and handsome young man. She was bewitched by his beauty, and Willyn felt the odd foreign sensation of her heart pounding with desire.
Willyn looked for Wael and Grift, but they were gone. She was alone with the handsome man in the mirror. He spoke, his voice no longer cruel, but sounding like a thousand bells chiming on a wedding day. “I could feast on your fears,” he said with a calm smile, “or on your rage for an eternity.” All of this inexplicably sounded wonderful to Willyn, and in that moment she wanted nothing more than for that to be true.
The Serub smiled, his eyes greeting hers, consuming her mind. “Yet we could do much more, Willyn Kara of the Groganlands.” She could hear his voice, but his lips did not move. “I know who you are. I know what you want. You, you want to free your people? I can make that happen...and so much more.”
Willyn’s mind filled with rapture, and she saw herself donning the Helm of Rodnim the First. She was the Sar, and all of Rhuddenhall praised her as she sat on the Sar’s throne. You could have your revenge.
Willyn found herself standing in a high place. She knew it instantly, the large crop of reaching red rock. Hangman’s Pass. The wind blew through her shimmering red hair, and she looked down. Below, Hosp’s lifeless body swung from a chain. She cranked her head and laughed, every care on Candor diminishing before her might.
Willyn found herself again facing the beautiful eyes of the young man, and his lips moved. “I can give you everything your heart desires, Willyn, if only you free me from this prison.”
Willyn spoke, her mind petrified by the starlight in his eyes. “What of Seam? What of the others?”
The Serub laughed, and Willyn stared longingly at the mouth that once bore the razor sharp fangs of a monster. That was a bad dream. That was not real. She felt herself longing to feel those lips against her face as he crooned in her ears. “Seam Panderean is a worm, and my kin...they hold no sway over me. I am their true master, and they fear me. Arakiel would wish me to be imprisoned forever because he knows what I can do. I am ISPHET, the Lord of Chaos.”
Willyn’s whole body shook under the power of the Serub’s name. “What would you have me do, Isphet?”
Behind her, Willyn could hear whispers that felt familiar. She turned, only to see an empty room.
“Pay no attention to them, Willyn. Find Seam Panderean, and cut him down. You can be the Keeper and the Sar of all Candor!”
The whispers behind her grew. She distinctly heard Wael’s voice, but it was almost impossible to distinguish his words.
“Ha...Hag…”
Hagan.
Willyn’s mind spun and she stared at the beautiful man in front of her. “What of Hagan? Can you bring him back?”
Isphet said nothing and looked away from her.
“Well, can you?” Willyn’s mind snapped back into a cold, dispassionate reality. “You can’t, can you?” She screamed at the apparition. “YOU CAN’T, CAN YOU?”
“LIAR!”
Grift and Wael stood over Willyn as she thrashed violently, slamming her head against the stone floor. Grift looked back in the mirror. The Serub had disappeared.
“What’s happening, Wael?” The monk’s face was frozen with fear as he stammered out a whisper.
“I should have never brought us down here.” Wael lay on the floor next to Willyn and put his hand on her forehead.
“Release her, Isphet, Fallen of Aether! By the name of Aleph, Lord of your kin, release her!”
Grift jumped back as Willyn’s eyes rolled open to reveal the red eyes of the beast within the mirror. Willyn opened her mouth, and the monster spoke through her, laughing maniacally, “SHE IS MINE, MONK!”
Grift’s mouth went dry with fear, and he stared at Wael who began reciting the prayers of Aleph in the old tongue. The monk worked with a panicked fury. Grift rushed to help him hold her down on the ground, but he did not know what to do. Like a spark on a fuse, the answer came burning within his mind.
“Hagan, Wael! Remind her of Hagan!” Grift did not know if it would work, but everything in his bones told him that it was the only answer that made sense.
Wael nodded and screamed into Willyn’s ear as she thrashed on the floor.
Wael sat up, his forehead covered in a cold sweat. “In the name of Aleph, release her! Willyn think of Hagan! Do not believe whatever lies he is telling you.”
Willyn’s eyes rolled open, and the beast growled, “SHUT UP, MONK. SHE IS MINE.”
Without thinking, Grift slammed his fist into Willyn’s face and screamed the name of his fallen friend.
“Hagan, Willyn! Come on! Fight for Hagan!”
An eternity seemed to pass, but suddenly the thrashing stopped. Wael glanced back to see the apparition reappear in the mirror. He grabbed Grift’s arm.
“Get her up! We have to get out of here.”
Willyn woke in her lush, clean bed, her head throbbing with
untold pain. The light streaming outside the window was enough to make her scream, and she groaned aloud as she rolled over in clean white linens.
She felt hands fall on her, and she began to throw her fists. “GET OFF OF ME! GET OFF OF ME!”
A familiar voice called out to her. “Willyn! It’s me!”
Willyn forced her eyes to open and tried to focus on the two blurred figures standing before her.
Grift spoke, “Are you okay, Willyn?”
Willyn was not okay. Her head felt like it had been run over by a truck. Nausea washed over her as she spoke. “Ughh...my head.” It felt like everything behind her eyes was on fire.
A deeper voice spoke. “Willyn, what did he say to you?” Willyn’s mind heard the words, but she could not understand them. Who was ‘he?’
The question came again, the deep voice penetrating her mind with terrible clarity. “What did he say to you, Willyn?”
The recollection came quicker than lightning. The Serub. The beautiful, terrible Serub.
Willyn shuttered as she spoke, “He offered me everything I ever wanted. If only I would release him.”
She looked back at the sound of Wael’s voice, her eyes focusing on both he and Grift. “Am I going to be okay? What happened to me?”
Wael glanced at Grift and spoke, “I believe you will be fine. I should have never taken the two of you down there. In all the times I have visited the chamber, and they have been few, the Serub has never displayed himself, but it is obvious that Isphet is...less predictable than I supposed.”
Grift shuddered, “Aleph above, how could Seam align himself with those things? What in all of Candor would make him want to do this?”
Wael’s firm hand fell on Grift’s shoulder. “The Serubs are very powerful, even in their captivity. Seam Panderean, no matter his motives, is completely under their sway, believing he can control them.”
Willyn looked at Wael and spoke, her mind rushing with the sight of the man she saw in the mirror. “Does Seam control them?
Grift looked at Wael gravely. “The Order always taught that he who holds the keys controls the Serubs.”
Wael nodded but measured his words. “The Keeper of the Keys, according to the prophecies and scriptures, can control the Fallen, but as we’ve seen today, that does not mean that we have a full understanding of these subjects. Take our encounter with Isphet. He has restorative powers that I did not realize, powers that are never mentioned in our sacred texts.”
“What do you mean?” Willyn asked.
Wael’s eyes were grave. “We have known that the Serubs gain strength through blood, but Isphet’s power surged without a single drop of blood coming near his mirror. Isn’t that interesting?” Wael furrowed his brow as he pondered the encounter. He blinked, “I am sorry to you both. It was foolish to have taken you below, but you needed to know the truth of what we hide here in Preost.”
Grift shook his head, dismissing the apology. “What exactly is our plan now? It’s obvious that the Serubs are stronger than we thought. We can’t even destroy the mirrors. And Seam’s filling the datalines with propaganda about his alliance between Lotte and the Groganlands.”
“What is he calling it?” Willyn knew there was some name for this alliance, but she could not place it with her foggy mind.
Grift turned and spoke. “His New Dominion. Men and women across Candor are lining up to support him and his cursed regime. We know he is seeking the remaining mirrors. What do we do? We have already wasted almost two months hiding trying to figure out how to even get back out of Preost, much less take down Seam’s new kingdom.”
Wael paced the floor, his face ignoring Grift’s critique. “This time has not been as wasteful as you think, Grift. Since our escape from the Spire, I have been very busy, searching for answers. Wael’s hands trembled by his side as he leaned on his staff. “The portals cannot be destroyed. They never could be.”
Willyn chirped, “Then why did you break the mirror, Wael?”
Wael smiled, his face knowing, “For confirmation, dear Willyn. I trust the records of the previous Mastermonks up to a point, but I needed confirmation.” The Monk’s face turned grave as he looked at her, “I just wish they had told me about Isphet’s strengths as well.”
Willyn’s face flushed at the sound of Isphet’s name. “So what now? How are we going to fight something we can’t destroy?”
Wael stood and silently stared at the two.
Grift broke the silence. “Wael, there has to be something else! Something hidden in your scriptures on what we must do!”
Willyn slammed her fists down on her bed and forced her aching body to stand. “We don’t have time to read more old manuscripts! Sure, we might be safe here, but I am watching my people get slaughtered every day at the hands of the men trying to free those things.” She steadied herself by the window, allowing her eyes to focus in the dimming daylight.
Willyn came to her answer. “I have to leave. You said the scouts finally found a couple ways out. I have to defend my people. My place is with them, not hiding here in Taluum searching for answers. I have to get back what is mine.”
The ghostly whisper of the Serub flickered in her mind. I can make that happen. Her face went pale, and she shook the voice away.
Grift stepped next to Willyn and put his hand on her shoulder. “I agree.” He stared at Wael. “We have to take action now, Wael. We might be weak and outnumbered, but hiding here won’t do us any good. The Realms are already backing Seam and his New Dominion. Soon his influence will control the entire continent. You’ve seen the same datalink feeds.”
Wael nodded. “I have seen the same reports. Candor is being swayed. I agree with you both. It is time to take action.” On his face a secret answer burned within and a wide smile grew. “I believe I know how to strike.”
Willyn leaned forward excited “What’s your idea? How do we fight back?”
A look of determination swept over Wael’s face. “We cannot destroy the portals, but there is nothing preventing us from taking them and hiding them again. We can accomplish that. Even if we die, their hiding places will die with us.”
Willyn shook her head. “I don’t know, Wael. The Serubs are not defenseless, even in their mirrors. We’ve seen that today.”
“What choice do we have, Willyn?” said Grift.
Willyn snapped, “We make the only logical choice we have. We make for the Groganlands. I will rally the Reds to take back my Realm. We need an army to fight Seam’s Dominion.” She stared at their stoic faces. She continued, her voice passionate, “Seam only has two of the five mirrors. How quickly can he find the rest?”
Wael shook his head. “With Arakiel in his possession and control Seam will soon have the knowledge of all of the other Serubs’ locations. Arakiel was the last to be hidden away by the Sixth.”
Grift’s mouth fell open. “Whoa. Wait a minute, Wael. The Order has always held that the Keeper imprisoned the Serubs in the mirrors. What is this talk about a sixth?”
Willyn rolled her eyes. “What are you two talking about?”
Wael stared at Grift, his face tense and his brow creased with worry. The monk shook his head. “The time has come to share a truth known only by the Mastermonks. The Sixth, the Exile, was indeed the first Keeper of the Keys. The Sixth was the only one of the Celestials to regret his decision to abandon Aleph. As penance to Aleph, the Sixth locked his kin away, deceiving them with illusions that they could control and destroy Aleph himself. That was all a lie. So with a lie he locked them away in the mirrors of his own making and hid the keys with the Order of Keepers so they could never be unlocked again.”
Grift stood silent, his eyes wide.
“So there is a Sixth Serub? Is it locked in a mirror, too?”
“No, and he is not what you should call a Serub. He is the Exile. The Sixth, completely unlike his kin. Due to his work, Candor remained safe for hundreds of years as he lived in hiding.”
Willyn asked the obvious, “Well
, where is he?”
Wael nodded. “He still walks the continent disguised as a man. He has gone under many names, but has always secretly aided our Order and Aleph’s work on Candor.”
“How does that help us now, Wael?” Grift said. “It doesn’t change the fact that we need to do something now. Whoever the Exile is, he isn’t here, and we don’t have the luxury to wait on him.”
Wael weighed the words and finally nodded his head. “You are correct; we cannot sit and wait any longer.” The monk turned first to Willyn. He wrote on a small scroll of paper and handed it to her. “These are the coordinates to an encrypted datalink channel. I’ll be running coms to you as you approach the Groganlands.” Wael stared at her, his penetrating eyes making her nervous. “Head for Legion’s Teeth. There have been rumors of another mirror held there for many years, rumors that must be investigated. Go and see what you can find.”
“You are sending me to the Teeth? What good is it for me to go to the mountains? What about the Reds? I have to seek them out and rally what forces are left!”
Wael nodded. “I will search the archives to validate the exact location, but you must go to Legion’s Teeth first. Find the mirror, then rally the Reds. The Reds are no good if the Serubs are unlocked. I will arrange that you are escorted in secret to the city.”
“Escorted?” Willyn scoffed at the idea. “That’s ridiculous. Who are you going to get to escort me, monk?”
“Someone I would trust with my own life. Make for the railcar to the Teeth. He will be waiting for you. Contact me as soon as you get to the Groganlands.”
Willyn’s face scowled at the monk’s command, but she nodded and tucked the coordinates in her pocket. “What about Grift?”
Grift coughed and spoke up. “I need to get back to Lotte and bring back Rose. She’s not well, and I need to be with her now. She doesn’t even know about...” his sentence trailed off. Grift rallied and continued, “While I’m there I’ll touch base with Ewing. He’s been working on an underground trade network of resistance. He’ll have contacts we can leverage, so we can expand our reach into Lotte and Elum.” Grift swallowed hard and glanced at them both. “I won’t be long, but I have to go. Once I get Rose safely into Preost, I’ll make for Elum. If there’s a mirror there, I’ll find it. I’ll move as fast I can.”