Apprentice

by Nicholas Hale

  But death never came. There was only more pain. And more pain.

  He was still aware of the events around him. He had even noticed that Gawain had appeared with Rhaen beside him. Why weren't they destroying the devices? Surely they could see that the devices were causing much pain to Lorian.

  Through a haze, he could see flashes of gold as the Lumen was unleashed. He felt the ground shaking as more of Amadeus's minions rose from within the bowels of the castle to aid their master.

  And then he felt the roar.

  It was strong enough for a moment to make Lorian forget about his pain, and to wonder what it was. It only took one small nudge from the diamond device and the loss of a thimble of essence to forget completely about the roar. He had figured out early on how the spherical constructs worked. But the resistance he felt against the godling was indescribable.

  He could feel it present, but it was like banging your head against a wall when you tried to divert its flow. He had lost far more of his essence than he could pull in from the godling. Lorian felt pain both when he strained himself to work the spherical device, and when his own essence was sucked out by the diamond device to be fed to the godling. He could think of no worse torture than this.

  And then the pain stopped. His vision suddenly became clear.

  "Easy. Don't try to move. Stay still and I'll try to heal you."

  He felt warm hands touch his body as he was laid onto the floor. Lorian turned his head and retched blood. His head was still hurting.

  "Rhaen..."

  "Don't try to talk. Stay still."

  As he lay on the floor, the sky became clear before him.

  Gawain and Amadeus.

  There were several skeletal mages surrounding Gawain, who had become a being of pure gold, much like the godling in appearance. There were long whips of gold protruding from his body that were lashing out in all directions, destroying anything they touched. The whips were also releasing arcs of energy in all directions. Lorian saw one arc cut a swathe through a dozen skeletal mages.

  Amadeus was standing right opposite him and released a globe of dark energy against Gawain. Although the whips were still working, Gawain himself staggered back as the globe struck his shoulder. The place where it struck had left a black patch on Gawain's body.

  And then he saw the dragon. It was larger than any creature Lorian had seen in his life. He had read about dragons before. They were a rare sight, but they had certainly existed as recently as thirty years ago. He had seen detailed pictures of them and had even dreamt of riding one when he was younger.

  But looking at the skeletal dragon flying above him now, Lorian felt not wonder but horror. The creature was terrifying. The skeletal wings, the talons and its black breath. The dragon roared and released a jet of black flame at Gawain. The golden whips came together to form a shield, but it was of little use. The corrupted breath burned through the whips and enveloped Gawain.

  No! Lorian tried to move but he couldn't feel his own body.

  "Stay still Lorian. We don't have much time. I need to heal you quickly."

  Lorian tried to yell at her, but he found himself unable to speak. He could think the words, but his mouth was not obeying him. Lorian did not know what Rhaen was attempting. He could feel her casting her spells, but it did nothing for him. The pain was still there.

  The black flame subsided and Lorian could see a figure enveloped in darkness falling to the ground. Gawain's body was covered in black corruption.

  The skeletal dragon followed the falling Gawain in a spiral and opened its large maw to swallow him whole. Lorian felt helpless. He wanted to yell at Rhaen to turn around and help Gawain.

  The black flame suddenly disappeared from Gawain's arm. He stopped falling and turned around to stand upright. He held out the arm free of corruption towards the maw of the dragon just before it closed around him.

  Lorian saw the dragon's long teeth come together and an instant later he saw sparks emanating from the head of the dragon. The sparks grew into a violent stream of electricity that wrapped the dragon's head. There was a flash and an explosion as the dragon's head exploded sending out a plume of smoke and shards of bone.

  Gawain emerged from the mouth of the dragon, which had lurched back and was falling to the ground.

  "Fool!" echoed Amadeus's voice above the din and clamor. "It will take far more than that to defeat Irith'arcana, the terror of skies!"

  The dragon roared in response. It stopped falling and pivoted in mid-air. The smoke cleared. The head was partially crushed, but the black flame from its mouth was flowing out from the wounds and healing them. The dragon lunged once again towards Gawain. Amadeus too readied another spell.

  A loud crash.

  This one wasn't from the battle in the sky—it was much closer to him. The terrace he was on. Lorian raised his head and saw the source. A large skeleton. It was much like one of his opponents from the arena. Except this one appeared much larger because of its armor. Its limbs were modified weapons. One arm formed a flail, while the other was a long spear. The flail had been the source of the sound, he realized as he saw the skeleton swing it once again. Its target was Rhaen.

  She stepped out of the way quickly, and the flail head struck the ground, shattering stone. Lorian looked around and saw that there were three more. This was not good. Rhaen started casting her spells. Lorian raised one hand and aimed for the closest skeleton.

  Nothing. There was no connection to the elemental planes.

  He felt a lump in his throat as he realized that the loss of so much essence had completely severed his connection to the elemental planes. Lorian rose and tried standing up. His legs were weak, but he was still up to the task. One of the skeletons had been destroyed by Rhaen. She was still battling the remaining ones.

  He looked up at the sky and saw that Gawain was once again locked in battle with Amadeus and his reanimated dragon. The godling, too, had joined in the fray. Without the devices poisoning it and siphoning its essence, it seemed to have recovered quite well. Although, having lost a good portion of its essence, it wasn't as destructive as it had been when it first stood with him against Amadeus's forces. It was still able to hold its own against the rest of Amadeus's minions. Between the four of them, there was complete chaos in the sky.

  Lorian picked up the spear of the fallen skeleton and started to move toward Rhaen. He wasn't going to sit here and die. He retched once again as he tried to move and vomited blood onto the floor. It was at that moment that he realized the truth.

  He was dying. The chains binding him to the runic circle had been severed and the devices were standing still. But he was still dying. He had lost far too much essence to continue living.

  Without saying a word, he started running. The skeletons were completely focused on Rhaen.

  Lorian ran until he reached one of the many doors on the terrace. He ran down a flight of steps. He wasn't completely sure where he was going, but he needed to get away from the terrace. He heard loud explosions as the tower shook and he was knocked off his feet. Losing his balance, he tumbled down the stairs. He felt his broken body hit the steps, but the pain did not seem to bother him.

  Rolling down the stairs was the last thing he remembered as he lost consciousness.

  *

  Lorian awoke to familiar sounds. Explosions, tremors and the loud roar of the dragon. Not much had changed, it seemed.

  He did not know how long he had been out, but he found that he was at the bottom of the stairs. He stood up and started walking.

  What was he doing down here?

  Lorian tried gathering his thoughts again. He knew he was dying, but he wasn't sure why he needed to get away from the terrace. He continued walking through a maze of corridors. The sounds, though milder, could still be heard.

  He could hear voices now. And the repeated cracking of a whip. He started walking toward the sound when he heard a noise from one of the doors.

  "Here! Human!"

  Lorian t
urned around and looked. He couldn't see anyone. Had he lost his sanity as well after losing his essence?

  "Here, you stupid oaf! What's wrong with you? Can't you hear me?"

  Lorian turned and saw that the voice was coming from one of the rooms with an open door that he had just passed. He walked toward it and peeked in. It appeared to be a small lab. There were many chairs and a large desk with many implements on it.

  "Show yourself," said Lorian weakly. This was the first time he had spoken since being released from the runic circle. He was amazed at how much his voice had changed.

  "Are you blind? I'm right here!"

  Lorian looked more closely and saw a small cage among the many items on the desk. Something appeared to move inside the cage. Lorian bent his head and saw a small rodent. It was...

  "A talking hamster?"

  "Yes! That foul Auros did this to me. As punishment for conspiring against the master. It's unbearable! He releases me and sends one of the reanimated cats—"

  "Hold on. Orcus?"

  "Yes, it's me! Who else did you think it was calling out your name in this castle?"

  Despite the seriousness of the situation, Lorian couldn't help but laugh. He was going to die, but that didn't change how ludicrous this was.

  "Stop laughing and get me out of here!"

  Lorian was still laughing as he tried opening the cage.

  "It appears locked," he said after trying to open the tiny door.

  "Use magic, you idiot!"

  "At this point, I think you have more magical ability than me. Speaking of which, why don't you try breaking this door open with your magic. You can release a lightning bolt or something, can't you?"

  "A fat lot of good that would do," said Orcus.

  Lorian watched as the tiniest spark of lightning he had ever seen in his life emanated from the nose of the hamster and struck the lock on the cage.

  This was too much for Lorian. He started laughing uncontrollably.

  "Have you gone insane? Do you even realize the situation we're in?" said Orcus.

  "What do you expect me to do? I can't cast magic. I can barely walk. And...I think I'm dying," he added as an afterthought.

  "The spear! Use it. You can break open the cage with it."

  Lorian turned and saw that he was still carrying the broken spear that he had picked up on the terrace. He might as well give it a try. He tried prying open the cage.

  "Careful!" yelled Orcus.

  There was a tiny snap as the bars of the cage bent, allowing Orcus to crawl out and climb along the spear onto Lorian's shoulder.

  "Quick now! We must leave. To the void entrance chamber."

  "The void entrance chamber?"

  "Don't tell me you've forgotten already! This was what we had planned right from the start. Granted, we're not in the position we expected to be, but we can still make it to the void area surrounding the castle. And then out into Norvind from there."

  "You're a hamster," said Lorian. "Are you really fine with that?"

  "I'm not, but I'd rather be a hamster than dead. Which is what we'll be if Auros returns. He's occupied right now, and the master is busy as well. This is the best chance we'll ever get to escape."

  "You're afraid of Auros?"

  "You said you can't use magic? Well, at this point, he's stronger than the both of us. So yes. I am afraid of him. Enough chatter. Let's go!"

  "What exactly is he up to?"

  "He's torturing the Azhurai."

  The Azhurai. Lorian had forgotten about it. He tried remembering what had happened to it. Lorian walked as he spoke.

  "Those green ropes Auros was wrapping it with..."

  "They are like the essence control devices that the master has invented. They siphon out and destroy essence," said Orcus.

  Lorian's throat went dry as he remembered the feeling. His knees went weak when he thought about the pain he had felt. He turned and retched blood again. This was getting annoying.

  "The Azhurai is still alive, then?"

  "It was never alive to begin with."

  "You know what I mean..."

  "It would appear to be. You can hear them, can you not?"

  Lorian certainly could hear one voice. Auros seemed to be taunting the Azhurai. He heard laughter, but this was not the strong and terrifying laughter he had first heard. It was more tortured and pained than it was taunting.

  "Are there any guards remaining?"

  "I'm not entirely sure, but some of the skeletons are bound to their positions. They do not abandon their posts even when there is a battle going on."

  "How are we going to get to the void entrance chamber then?"

  "You have your spear."

  "It's about as useful as your lightning spell. Which, by the way, is about as useful as you sneezing on them."

  "What do you propose we do, then?"

  "The place where the Azhurai is being held..."

  "You can't seriously mean to go through with that plan now."

  "What choice do we have? As we are right now, we can barely put up a fight against the weakest of his minions. If we were to go through with the infusion however, we would have a guardian that could ensure our safety until we make it to the void chamber. And even beyond that."

  "Can you even complete it without your magic?"

  "The spells are only needed for setting up the chamber, which I have already done. Once the chamber is ready, all that's needed is to pull some of the levers."

  "Still...I have seen the Azhurai. It has had most of its essence destroyed."

  Lorian had figured as much. He could still hear the tortured laugh. It had changed beyond recognition.

  "It's our only chance. And for it to work, you need to distract Auros."

  "No. Absolutely not!"

  "Orcus, listen to me. All you need to do is provoke him and run. The infusion itself doesn't take too long once it starts. With the Azhurai as broken as it is right now, it will take even lesser time. It should be more willing to go through with the infusion in its current state."

  Lorian saw the tiny hamster quiver.

  "This is Auros that we're talking about. Remember? The stupid one?" said Lorian, hoping it would encourage Orcus.

  "All right, but you need to finish the infusion as quickly as you can. I'm not sure how long I can keep him busy in this form."

  Lorian smiled weakly. He doubted the whole thing would work at all.

  Part of him simply wished to free the Azhurai from Auros' grasp. Having been through the process himself, Lorian was convinced that no creature, in any plane, deserved such a fate. Not even an Azhurai.

  He remembered now what the voice that drew him here was. It was the tortured anguish of an essence being ripped apart. He wasn't driven away from the terrace, but rather drawn to the tortured essence. Lorian stopped outside the door of the infusion laboratory and placed Orcus on the ground. He moved to hide in an adjoining chamber.

  He heard noises. An angry one expressing surprise. That one had to be Auros. He heard a tiny squeaking voice expressing mocking and a tiny squeal of laughter. He then heard the familiar crack of a lightning bolt spell. He continued hearing that sound for a short time until it faded away.

  Lorian dragged himself out of the chamber holding the wall for support. He really was dying. He felt his body continue to weaken. He hoped that Orcus would manage to stay alive for a short while at least. If Auros had done nothing to disturb the laboratory, everything should still be in place.

  When he walked into the laboratory, he saw a brown creature lying on the floor with green ropes attached to it.

  "So you came after all, human..."

  The voice was very different.

  "This is a sorry sight..." Lorian said in a mocking voice, remembering the demon's own words to him.

  "You've finally learnt to laugh in the face of death, I see. A marked improvement for your kind. Although it does sadden me. The frightened expression on a mortal's face is one of the best parts before devour
ing them. I've eaten intrepid beings before, and their lack of fear...I must say it ruins the taste."

  "Enough banter. I'm here to complete the infusion, as promised."

  The Azhurai laughed.

  "You still intend to keep your word!"

  "And that surprises you?"

  "You do realize that you're dying?"

  "Yes. But there's still a chance—"

  The Azhurai interrupted him.

  "No. Listen to me, human. If you manage to complete the infusion process, I would have a body, but I would be as you are now. The essence I have remaining is simply not sufficient to hold on to a physical body."

  The Azhurai was right. It was exactly what Lorian was feeling. He was unable to walk properly because he couldn't control his legs. He was retching blood because his internal organs were slowly failing. And it would be the same thing that would happen to the Azhurai once it was infused into the body. Looking at the both of them now, it was hard to tell which one was worse off.

  "How did this even happen? Why would Amadeus be willing to destroy something as"—Lorian searched for the right word—"valuable as you?"

  The Azhurai snorted.

  "My true death was assured the moment our captor laid his eyes on the godling. I have frustrated all his attempts to subdue me. Now he believes I am not worth the effort in breaking. All the tortures he inflicted on me, he took care to not destroy even the smallest amount of my essence. That does not seem to be the case now as you can see."

  "We still have to try," said Lorian. "We can't simply sit here and die."

  "I must say I underestimated the oracle. The creature possesses an uncanny inclination towards torture. Although it doesn't look that way, the captor has transformed it into something truly monstrous."

  "What are we going to do then?"

  "I believe I do have a solution to this predicament. But before I propose it, your stupid mortal brain needs to comprehend a basic fact. We are both dying. Once our essence fades away, we will cease to exist even in the void."

  "I do understand that," said Lorian, not hiding his frustration. It seemed even this close to death the Azhurai could be condescending.

  "Our only hope right now, before the depraved oracle returns, is to carry out the infusion using your body in place of the demonic construct you have prepared."