Apprentice

by Nicholas Hale

  Brie let out a chuckle and beamed a smile at Azrael. She seemed to find it funny, but Olaf was red-faced with embarrassment at having been caught in his lie. With that, Azrael continued walking towards Marduk.

  Chapter 40

  Lorian was hurled into the pillar as soon the bolt of golden energy struck him. The pillar, made out of what appeared to be ancient and weathered stone, stood unmoving and defiant as he felt the shock of the impact radiate through his body. The pain was unbearable. It was worse than the last time. The energy that held him against the pillar dissipated and he fell down to the floor.

  "Have you had enough, young one?" said the armored figure standing in the center of the room.

  Its armor appeared to be constructed of gold. If the figure was an avatar of a god, then it wasn't any avatar or god that he recognized.

  Lorian's magic barely made a dent in its armor. Lorian pulled up his hand to wipe the blood from his mouth. Lorian still had to get used to being trapped in his own head. There were no universal laws that governed this place in his mind. All he needed was to think and it would happen. At least it had been happening with ease...till now.

  "You are only human. It is harder for you to comprehend using your will to...forge."

  Great. It was able read his mind now. It was pure nothingness at first through which Lorian was traveling when he first trapped this shard of Lumen in his body.

  After much searching he happened upon these...ruins. At the center of which was standing the golden-armored creature. It didn't take much time for him to realize that the larger the ruins got, the less control he had of his own mind. This creature, whatever it was, was slowly taking over his body and his mind.

  At first he was able to strip off large sections of the ruins by the sheer power of his mind. His spells destroyed large sections of it into nothingness. But the ruins kept reappearing. That's when he attacked the armored creature. But he found that his mind wasn't as effective against the creature. And now his spells were barely damaging the ruins. Somehow he understood that the shard of Lumen that he had trapped in his mind was the golden-armored figure. And he was now engaged in a battle of wills with it.

  "You're the god that lies dead in the void?" asked Lorian, getting up.

  He needed to find a way out of this mess. He had seen that blindly attacking the creature was of little use. His spells weren't helping so he needed a new plan of action. He needed more knowledge of his enemy.

  "I am no god," replied the creature.

  "What are you then? An avatar?"

  "I am the shard that you have trapped within yourself. An insignificant piece of the whole. Merely a fragment of the one you call a god."

  That much he knew. It was a shard of the dead god's essence, but what he didn't understand was how it was growing. Life, by its nature exerted power on its surroundings. This creature was supposed to be dead. It wasn't supposed to have a will.

  "I did not have a will," said the creature, reading his mind again, "I did not even exist until you pulled me inside yourself, and separated me from my whole within the void. Even when you called me, I was but pure energy made out of the essence of a much greater creature than I. You gave me life when you fed me your own essence."

  That had to be it. There was no way Lorian could retain the god's essence inside himself without giving it a small portion of his own living essence—essence bound to his flesh. The necromantic spell he used sharded his own essence and fed it to the Lumen. By doing so he created a bridge between the two. It worked to trap a piece of the god's essence within himself. The only problem was, the shard was feeding off of his own essence and gaining power.

  No. It wasn't gaining power, thought Lorian as he recollected his initial assault on it. It was just as powerful now as it was when he first saw it. It was simply transforming to another expression of power. Life. It was gaining Life. Life from pure energy of the essence.

  "So what is to become of my body? Will you control it once you...finish feeding off my essence?"

  The creature spoke before he completed his sentence.

  "The body is as much a part of the whole as is the essence. Your body was never made to hold me."

  "Then what happens once you finish...feeding?"

  The creature gave a shrug with its shoulders. The armored plates made no sound.

  "It is not my place to know that or to care. I grow because I must."

  Brilliant. If Lorian understood correctly, it would simply dissipate into the world as a release of energy, the same way he or any user of the Lumen released the energy contained in the godly essence. The only difference being, it would do so after it consumed his living essence entirely. A stupid way to die. And all for nothing, unless he found a way out of this. He thought for a short while, and spoke.

  "So...you bear no hatred towards me?"

  "I do not feel such things, young one."

  "And you're only growing and feeding on my essence because—"

  "That is all I can do. That is all I must do."

  "Perhaps you wouldn't mind answering a few questions then?"

  "You may ask."

  That was easy. After all, the only reason he did what he did was to learn more about the Lumen.

  "How long before you completely drain my essence?"

  "That is entirely up to you."

  That made sense. The more Lorian resisted, the longer it would take. Judging by how much weaker he had gotten in the past few minutes while speaking to this creature, he estimated he would die within a day if he offered no resistance.

  "All the essences in the void. They carry impressions left over from their lives. Memories that I can see when I connect with them. Why don't I feel the same thing when I connect with...the god's essence?"

  "It is as I have said. Your body was not meant to hold the essence of a god. Neither was your mind meant to hold its thoughts."

  Lorian was thoughtful. All the essences he had called before and practiced on were human essences. So he could feel their thoughts and emotions when he connected with them. This meant that the godly essence did have memories. Just that Lorian was not able to read them because of the limitations of his own human mind.

  "Can you willingly show me any of these memories?"

  "That is not possible. I cannot will anything in this place."

  "Why?"

  "Because I am but a shard of essence, young one. The essence of a god or any other creature holds no sway here, because this body is still yours. I simply feed on your offering and I will cease to exist once your essence is drained. But for all intents and purposes, this body is still yours."

  "I don't understand. What does this have to do with you sharing your memories with me?"

  The creature shook its head. For something that did not feel hatred or any other emotions, Lorian thought it was able to express its condescension pretty well.

  "I cannot show you the memories because I do not have the power to do so. Your body and mind are still your own. Search them for what you seek."

  "You already told me I cannot hold the essence of a god or see its memories," said Lorian, betraying some frustration.

  "And I already told you I am not a god. You gave me life. I was born from the sacrifice of your essence. That you can even see me now, and see these ruins growing around you should have already told you as much."

  Lorian looked around. The creature was right. The ruins were much larger, but they were like nothing he had ever seen before. These were not his memories. They were moving into his brain forcibly as the creature continued feeding off his essence.

  This meant two things. One was that the memories were manifesting themselves visually around him as structures such as these ruins. The second was that the creature had no control over what was happening. It appears he had been mistaken in thinking that he needed to tear down the ruins to preserve his essence.

  If there was anything he could learn about the Lumen that was within his understanding, it would have to be by
examining these ruins. They were a product of the armored creature's memories made human by Lorian's essence. This was as close as he would be able to get to comprehending something born of a god. He gave the creature one last look as it stood at the center of the ruins, motionless. He turned around and walked in a random direction. He hoped he would find something before his time ran out.

  *

  "Carefully now," said Gawain as the mages placed Lorian's naked body in the simulacrum room.

  "The position has to be precise," interjected Rhaen. She went over and helped two of the mages position his body aligning it with some of the glowing runes underneath.

  "How is he?" asked Gawain. He didn't have the courage to check for himself. Rhaen closed her eyes and placed both her hands on his chest and meditated.

  "Much weaker," said Rhaen and continued her work.

  Lorian had been stuck in his own prison for a whole day. Early in the morning, while Gawain and Rhaen were still researching the spells that Lorian cast and were discussing the best way to free him, one of the mages watching Lorian had stumbled into the library, claiming that the boy was losing his essence.

  They had rushed to the bed where Lorian's body had been laid to rest. True enough, he was losing his living essence. Gawain observed that it varied at times. But for the last one hour, it had been dropping drastically. Gawain did not know exactly what was happening but he could guess. The essence of the god from the void was somehow doing this.

  "Begin inscribing the runes," said Gawain gathering his resolve.

  Led by Rhaen, the mages began inscribing runes on his exposed flesh. There was a large chart floating next to them magically and held taut that displayed the pattern and the runes. As the mages cast their spells and wards, some of the runes of the simulacrum began to glow as well. In a few moments, several runes on the walls and floor began pulsing.

  The old explorers of Norvind knew the perils of the void. It had taken them ages to develop the runes and the magic that powered it. There were runes etched upon runes, and layers of magic from the ages encrusted on the floor tiles, the domed ceiling and the walls of the room.

  The simulacrum had grown so much since its creation that it was hard to tell which of the thousands of runes were helpful and which ones weren't. But the simulacrum served its purpose. It opened a gate into the void that protected the entrants from the essences.

  If there was any way to prevent the trapped essence from destroying Lorian's body, then it was to use the magic contained in the simulacrum to protect him. What they were doing now was making Lorian's body a part of the simulacrum. Gawain himself had designed the runes that would accomplish this. It wasn't an answer, but for now it would stop Lorian from dying. It would give them both time.

  Rhaen finished inscribing the last of the runes on the limp body. All that was left now were the final touches. The mages stepped away from the body as Gawain walked to the center of the room. He closed his eyes and began chanting the activation spell. As the chants grew louder, several of the runes in the simulacrum began glowing and thrumming. The runes on Lorian's body glowed the brightest.

  Gawain spread his arms to finish the spell. A massive burst of energy left his body, splashing the entire room. For a few seconds, the entire room was bathed in light. Gawain opened his eyes to see the flash of light subsiding. Most of the runes had stopped glowing, but the critical few were glowing in tandem with Lorian's body.

  Rhaen walked to Lorian's body to check if the spell was working. A few seconds later, she gave a smile.

  "It seems to be working. He isn't losing any of his essence."

  A small murmur of relief passed around the room.

  Lorian's body was now fueled by several of the same runes that made the simulacrum so potent. His body was now partially tied to the simulacrum, enabling any essence inside to be protected in the same way.

  All the mages looked relieved except Rhaen. Gawain's eyes met hers.

  There was a very real risk in what they had done that they hadn't discussed with the others. The spell worked both ways. Just as the simulacrum protected void travelers from the essences, it was also a gateway into the void, albeit a safe one. His body was now essentially a cage inside the void. Gawain hoped that the cage wouldn't break. If it did, then Lorian's body would be nothing more than a lifeless block that served as a piece of the simulacrum.

  The mages slowly retired from the room. Gawain had assigned tasks to several of them. To more deeply research the spells that Lorian had cast. They were simple enough, and easy enough that they could emulate it. The main problem was finding out how to break through them. The spells Lorian cast were like a circle that fit together neatly. Weakening one component would strengthen the other.

  "What are we going to do now?" asked Rhaen.

  "We brought him some time. Now we need to go back to the library. You need to research the runes that we have inscribed on him. I rushed through most of them, and I would like to know if there are any adverse effects arising from what we have done. In the meantime, I shall see if there is any other way in which we can help him."

  Chapter 41

  He felt it. It started as a deep pounding inside his chest. He fell to his knees and started gasping for breath. He thought it was the last remnants of his essence being drained from his body, which meant that he had failed and would die.

  But through the haze of pain, he felt something snap inside his body and he somehow knew that the link between him and the creature had been severed. He got back to his feet and closed his eyes trying to gauge his own essence. It was steady. Either the creature was dead or something had happened to sever the connection between them. Although he did not know the reasons or the effects that this would have, he knew it meant one thing for certain. He wasn't going to die. Not in the immediate future.

  When the pounding subsided he looked up and saw what could only be termed as amazing. Just before he fell, he was still exploring the ruins that the creature had built. Unhindered by Lorian's assaults, the ruins had grown to massive proportions, yet it was nothing compared to the sight in front of him now.

  Right where there was nothing but plain emptiness moments ago, stood a massive castle. Nothing he had seen before even compared in the slightest to this structure. The whole castle of Norvind would have been one of its numerous spires.

  "What have you done young one?"

  Lorian turned and saw the creature standing next to him. It looked the same, fully armored in gold plate. Although the armor appeared more ornate now. It appeared to have several glowing runes scrawled into it. At least it wasn't hostile now. It too appeared to be observing the castle through the slits in its golden helm.

  "I have no idea," replied Lorian, craning his neck to judge the height of the castle. He tried to will himself to fly up, but it wasn't working. This was still his own body, but this castle and the ground beneath it were not of his mind. Neither was it the creature's doing.

  He felt a loss of control overcome him. It felt as if his world was being invaded. Although he wasn't effective at shaping the world earlier, he could tell that a large portion of it was tied to his mind.

  But now…something was different. It felt as if he was in the world outside once again, constrained by the laws of nature.

  "Defend yourself," said the creature in a smooth voice. It leapt back four feet into the air and landed a short distance away, spreading its arms. A golden trident materialized in its hands and crackled with energy. The creature swung it forward, pointing it towards the castle.

  "What?" asked Lorian, startled by the creature's sudden movement.

  He heard a clattering noise that started to grow louder. Something was coming towards them from the castle. Lorian could see small figures rushing toward him. He strained his eyes and noted they were humanoid.

  And they were armed. He quietly hoped they would be vulnerable to spells and conjured up defenses on his body. Standing at the ready, he waited. In a few seconds the figures becam
e clear enough. Skeletons. And there were more of them than had appeared initially.

  The first one to reach him pulled back its axe for a horizontal swing. It never came. Lorian unleashed an arrow of flame that struck it in the chest shattering it into a pile of bones.

  He had no time to relax.

  There were now four more skeletons within striking range. This was the first time he had actually been in a real battle in his entire life, but he read a vast number of books about it back at the Shadow Spire. Thaugmir might not know the Lumen, and he might never be as great a mage as Gawain was, but he definitely prepared his apprentices for battle.

  There was a room in the Shadow Spire where creatures of all kinds were summoned to test ones magical prowess. Thaugmir had insisted that all his apprentices spend at least an hour every day in the room. The summoned creatures were tenacious enough to give the feel of a real battle. Lorian spent days at a stretch battling against the summoned creatures and testing himself.

  Barely in time, Lorian managed to cast his next spell. He was enclosed in a transparent sphere of electrical energy. All four skeletons rushed into him just as his spell was completed. Lorian triggered the spell causing the sphere to expand outward in a jolt of electricity. All four skeletons exploded into a pile of bones and fell to the ground.

  Pity there weren't more in the range of that spell, thought Lorian. The spell worked just as effectively regardless of the number.

  He barely had time to think before he was set upon again. This time, there were more. A dozen. He launched a barrage of spells, shattering them all.

  It felt strangely satisfying to him. Since his visit to Norvind, all he had done was practice calling upon the Lumen. He knew of its fabled power, yet he had never experienced it. All he had gotten was pain. And more pain. Even when he created the trap to capture a piece of the godly essence, all he got was this strange creature that he barely understood and could barely harm. A month of not casting elemental magic had left his body starved. He missed the power of the elements flowing through his body. And now he fell upon his new foes with abandon.