The Accidental Archmage: Book Eight (Where Titans Walk)

by Edmund A. M. Batara

  “Your point?” asked Tyler.

  “Merely that knowledge grants a different perspective—a more holistic guide to understanding the world of humans and how it works. Simply put, a whole is more than the sum of its parts. But in my instance, the concept is and could be filtered through manipulative lenses,” replied Cassius. It was one of the vaguest replies Tyler had ever heard.

  The young man sat down. The discussion was clearly going to take time. At this point, Tyler couldn’t even understand what the Romanii mage was trying to say.

  “That’s clear as mud, as we say back on the First World,” he remarked as he settled down.

  “Let me explain. We have the empire. A human kingdom, with all its complexities and dynamics. Yet that’s but the surface. At its core, civilization is but a façade,” continued Cassius.

  “Huh?” The sudden assertion startled Tyler. It was a statement which he didn’t expect.

  “A facade,” repeated the Romanii. “A construct built on what human beings – and some other races, I might add – believe to be in their best interests. And what is that? Begin at the elemental level – not to go hungry or thirsty. Then not to die at the hands of beasts and human predators. Raise it another level, and one arrives at the idea of not dying because of sickness brought about by the environment. The list goes on and expands as one delves into the matter.”

  “Isn’t that too simplistic a perspective?” argued Tyler.

  “The simplest explanation is usually the best one. A war for imperial power is going to be intense, brutal, and vicious. By the time the matter is settled, everyone would like nothing more than go back to living their normal daily lives. Though with the Romanii, that includes the perennial threat of the barbarians from the south breaking through the border cities and settlements. But I do intend to deal with that problem. Man is inherently stupid and cruel. All its advances had been made by men and women who had unusual intellect and will. Well above the rest. In their ambitions, they’ve dragged the rest of the moronic masses into the future,” narrated Cassius.

  Tyler didn’t know whether he would be shocked, offended, or outraged by what he just heard. He decided to humor the man. Cassius might just be of the violent kind of crazy.

  “I gather that’s what you’ve learned from your studies,” Tyler ventured in a non-committal manner.

  “Oh, more than that, Archmage. In my younger years, new to my exile, I lived in a small village on the fringes of the empire, far and away from family, false friends, and the authorities. People were simple and weapons were ever at hand. It was that close to the border. I never did want for anything; the purse I had brought with me was actually two large chests of gold. I treated the poor and helped in what way I could. Resident mages who thrived on the coins of the region naturally became incensed. People were easily swayed, manipulated, and heard what they wanted to hear. Envy and greed sped things along. Anger and prejudices were successfully created. The speed of transmission and unbelievable variations coming from a single dainty yet dirty rumor still amazes me,” said Cassius.

  “A mob of pitchforks and torches?” said Tyler, though he was consciously injecting some levity on the subject. He could sense that a dark and disturbing twist was coming.

  “If it were only that simple. It started with rotten eggs and vegetables thrown on my person as I walked the streets. Snide glances. The titter of whispered chitchat. Then nobody wanted to have anything to do with me anymore. Which was fine with me as it actually gave me time to study. Food and other essentials were handled by a trusted fellow I had brought with me,” continued Cassius.

  “And?”

  “Everything tragically exploded in a day and a night. It was all planned. First, my servant failed to return. I learned later they waylaid him that afternoon and slit his throat. Then as night approached, a large mob appeared just outside my home. Torches, swords, spears. No pitchforks. They were led by the notables of three villages, a bevy of town and village guards, all well-armed of course, and five mages of the fifth and fourth levels. Self-assured, even if misplaced, bravery wasn’t in short supply that night. Apparently, they left nothing to chance. If I were but an adept, I doubt if you’d find my bones after that evening. Fortunately for me and unfortunately for them, I wasn’t an adept,” said the Romanii, his voice now changing to a stern and pitiless one.

  Tyler’s incredulous face must have made an impression since Cassius merely sighed and then created an opaque orb between his hands. It was the result of a casual movement. Yet, the deftness of Romanii’s hands and the swiftness of the conjuration spoke volumes of the man’s skill.

  “Here, master mage. My memory of that night. Better this way. My mind refuses to go back to recall its details. Feel free to test my construct for traps and the like. It’s but a memory bubble, a spell I learned on my own.”

  Tyler was surprised. It was the first time he’d heard of such magic, and the Romanii mentioned that it was a spell he discovered all by himself. The Archmage was impressed. He also had his own conjurations, but his experiments, dangerous and unguided, were heavily skewed in his favor by inherent and unique magical advantages. The man appeared to be a magical savant. Somehow, his towering and seemingly ridiculous ambition suddenly appeared not too impossible after all.

  “It’s safe,” reiterated Cassius casually. “But I warn you. What you will see might be traumatizing. Open the memory at your own risk.”

  The young man gave in to the temptation, but not before asking his guides to check and recheck the magical sphere. Traps were everywhere, especially for one such as Tyler. He wouldn’t put it past Cassius to hide a vampiric leaching spell in the offering.

  ***

  As soon as he touched the nebulous orb, Tyler’s world immediately faded. He found himself as a young man looking at the opened pages of an enormous tome. Tyler assumed he was in the body of Cassius. He was wearing a linen robe though the attire merely complemented his shendyt, a Kemetian wrap-around skirt. The Romanii apparently eschewed the usual style of his people when at home. The Archmage could observe and even sense the emotions of the man, but he couldn’t intervene.

  Right now, deep sadness flooded the Romanii mage’s mind. Outside, an incredibly raucous din was reverberating through the night air. A rain of stones could be heard clattering against the house’s roof and walls. A constant barrage of magical spells also kept beating at the shield protecting it. It wasn’t the strongest barrier he was capable of, but anything more powerful would attract attention. Yet the weak magical wall easily held out against the efforts of the hostile mages.

  Cassius sat down. Everything he had done for the villages within a fifty-mile radius came to mind. The illnesses he had cured, dangerous creatures deposed of, brigands eliminated—all at the pleas of villagers or their elders. The ordinary didn’t escape requests for his help. Magical skill was utilized to build roads, repair walls, and create irrigation ditches. He had willingly agreed to everything, fully believing that the area’s progress and upliftment were necessary. The goodwill was, of course, appreciated. To everyone, he was Marcellus the Scholar.

  What he didn’t anticipate was the effect of such work on the inflated fees and charges of magical practitioners in the region. With officials losing their usual hefty cut of such compensation from clients and the empire, the malice-filled undercurrents of resentment quickly found each other. Cassius didn’t know that the rumors spread by his envious rivals were abetted aggressively by officialdom. Now, everything had come to this event. The young man had no doubt about their intentions. They didn’t intend to let him see another sunrise. From what his magical senses could determine, a long and painful night awaited him.

  But he wasn’t worried. What tore at his heart was the effect of the resolution of night’s madness on his studies. Cassius looked around. He would have to leave everything behind and turn them all to ashes, except for what books a horse could carry. Another mount was available, but that was reserved for his gold chests. Decimus,
his dead servant, would be avenged, yet the mage knew something inside him broke.

  Never again would Cassius have the expectation that humans could transcend mere material wealth or exercise common sense in the worst of situations. As a whole, the empire was generally bereft of sensible thought, except when it comes to making money. He expected that the border settlements would have more rational and level-headed minds. He was wrong. It was all money and fear.

  They’ll know fear tonight as they had never experienced before, decided the mage calmly. Time to work. There’s a lot of things to do before dawn, and I must be off before the sun rises.

  Tyler had to cut off the connection a few minutes after witnessing what Cassius did. The mage didn’t leave anybody alive. He went out of his house and didn’t say anything, but instead started casting spells. The opposing mages were suddenly encased inside statues of stone, wood, and dirt, though it took them a long time to die. He left them alive as immobile effigies even as magical fire burned their physical bodies from inside out. The brash nobles were flayed alive by their followers, forced by a dark magical spell. What made it so horrible was that the ones effecting the grisly deed were aware of what they were doing and yet unable to restrain themselves.

  The town guards were reduced to kneeling on the ground as their captains decapitated them one by one. When they were done, the leaders did the same bloody deed to themselves, with the survivor finally falling on his sword. The rest were simply turned to ashes by shimmering streams of magical fire that danced their blazing, homicidal routes through the crowd. In the background, houses burned, together with whoever took shelter in such structures. Tyler could see that escape from the area was impossible. A magical dome prevented egress and murderously electrified everyone who touched its walls.

  Cassius was deaf to the incredible screams of pain and death. Where noisy, arrogant shouts for his head previously rang through the neighborhood, cries for pity and mercy now dominated. To no avail. The mind of the mage was already on where he should go. Mercy was far from his mind.

  ***

  “That was… that was…,” Tyler started to say, trying to find the words to express his shock.

  “Murderous? Brutal? Savage? I could go on, but they had the same idea. The notion of a cruel and painful night for their victim started with them. I just used it as their fitting punishment,” said Cassius calmly. “Consequences, Archmage. When one marches off to harm another, such a person better make sure he or she doesn’t end up suffering the intended death or injury. In sum, do unto others what they plan to do unto you.”

  “By all that’s merciful, Cassius. Why wage such a war? Upending everything, with all the destruction and mayhem such an attempt would entail,” exclaimed Tyler, shifting the discussion to Cassius’s empire-building dream. Hopefully, he’ll forget the awful images he witnessed in the man’s memory sphere.

  “I have a better vision of tomorrow, Archmage. Sacrifices have to be made. The next level awaiting the empire won’t be attained by a mercantile kingdom,” the Romanii said calmly.

  “World domination again? I doubt if that would apply to Adar. Too many magic users and entities, all capable of using the same energy. Some more powerful than you,” countered Tyler. “There’s always a bigger fish, as the adage goes.”

  “I know that, and I have no plans of leading the Romanii on such an endeavor. Unless you decide to take that path, then I will follow you, with a unified empire at your service. But I have to admit purple looks good on me,” Cassius concluded his offer with a grin.

  “Unified?” asked the perplexed Archmage.

  “By that time I assume full imperial power, the lands known as Terras Barbara will be no more,” smiled Cassius but with a serious look in his eyes.

  Now I know how Eve felt when offered the fucking apple by that blasted serpent, thought Tyler. Then an unbidden idea wormed itself from the darkest and deepest recesses of his mind.

  Hey, it’s not only the Romanii. You’ve got friends. Powerful ones. Even dragons and giants. The great dwarven houses would be delighted to render assistance. A lot of human lords and kingdoms would come at your call, and you could look for and make allies of what remained of Adar’s sentients on the continent. Even Adar itself would welcome the imposition of some degree of order on the chaos the troublesome visitors from the First World had inflicted on it. No mortal empire or alliance of such lands would be able to stand against you.

  Shut up, Tyler told himself.

  ***

  “So, what has that egoistic Romanii been up to?” came a voice at his side. Tyler turned and saw Se-Osiris already sitting beside him.

  “Telling me his life story, or at least part of it,” replied the Archmage.

  “I could see the man’s life was hard. Even incredibly difficult. Only such a life could twist a person’s soul,” remarked the apparition.

  “You could see that?” blurted the surprised Tyler.

  “Dealing with mortals of all races through the long years of my stay on this physical plane did teach me a few things. The ability to sense a person’s magical aura does come in handy. Don’t worry, your emanation is bright enough. But Cassius is marked with darkness born out of tragedy and ambition. I could sense the pain which constantly hounds him. Unfortunately for some humans, some forms of suffering couldn’t really be healed. They’re embedded in the soul of a person and eat away their humanity,” remarked Se-Osiris. “But enough of Cassius, I came here to ask whether you have prepared your means of transport. A safe one, I must insist.”

  This blasted ghost checked me out? thought the insulted Archmage. Not enough to make him angry, but what Se-Osiris admitted doing wasn’t acceptable. Tyler felt violated on some psychic level.

  “Well, I was thinking of finding a ship in Maljen and a crazy enough crew. We’ll hug the coast and then cross over to Banna. I believe the deities are too busy to help us out as this quest is personal and doesn’t fit with their agenda. I haven’t had a problem yet with any sea deities. Poseidon probably because of his ex-wife, but considering how they broke up, I believe any idea of his adverse intervention could safely be dismissed,” answered Tyler. “Which reminds me, has any deity of the First World been on Banna?”

  Se-Osiris laughed. Long and hard. Once he got his breath back, the specter confirmed that a few deities, heads of pantheons, in fact, had indeed been to the forbidden isle. That is if the word isle could be given to such a vast region. It was larger than the island where the Romanii lived.

  “I’ll try to be brief, Archmage. In the early years of their arrival, the pantheons were naturally curious about this world. Minor gods who visited Banna were never heard from again. It led to the likes of Zeus and Odin going there to find out what happened. From what I know, they were not even able to go deeper into that land. Nobody wanted to discuss what happened. But the result was clear. Banna became a forbidden isle in the lore of almost all pantheons. The deities of the First World even ringed that cursed isle with the fiercest sea monsters they could scrounge. No, traveling by sea is not an option,” explained Se-Osiris, though he was smirking. The reaction raised Tyler’s suspicions. It was as if the dead mage wanted him to continue the discussion and was waiting for the right question. Or request.

  Another blasted rule, Tyler concluded and being short of patience at that point, looked at the specter and directly asked Se-Osiris if he could bring them to Banna.

  “Why, yes! It just so happened that I was mad enough to flout the rules when I was an arrogant, brash young mage full of himself. And guess what? It just so happened that we also have Thaut’s power, a minuscule portion of it, of course, but enough for travels of adventure and fame,” laughed the ghost. “Don’t worry about any nautical matters from Banna’s denizens. Given the constant in-fighting and the sea monsters, even a moronic sentient would think twice before setting out to sea.”

  Another fucking Pindar. That guy might be the laughing philosopher, but Se-Osiris could be the laughing ghost, thoug
ht Tyler. But he had to admit it was an extremely welcome and fortunate development.

  “Thaut won’t be mad?” asked Tyler as the thought arose in his mind. They’d be breaking an unspoken yet ancient rule laid down by the First World’s pantheons while using a deity’s power.

  “My lord of knowledge? He’d be delighted if I do come along, provided detailed reports are made on what I discover about that land. The prohibition involving Banna was an agreement among the pantheons. Yet no explicit rule was laid down for mortals. They probably figured any mortal stupid enough to try to visit that land would die in the attempt. But they didn’t count on one stupid mage from Kemet. Come to think to it, I begin to suspect his grant of divine power and the seeming lack of limitations wasn’t providential after all. He knew I had been to that place. Dammit, he got me there again. The best Senet player there is, and his skill clearly extends to actual situations,” said the ghost appreciatively.

  “What can we expect?” asked Tyler anxiously.