The Ancients

by Adam-Clay Webb

  Oga sighed. “Since you know so much, I might as well not try to hide anything.”

  “Yet you still will, but speak nonetheless.”

  “Very well.” Oga hated the feeling of being figured out. “I had planned to discover or create a spell that could resurrect. I figured that it would be an immense advantage to have the leeway to bring you all back at will, should it be necessary.”

  “But you had to master two things first,” Kizer said, “Perfect hypnosis, so that you could control us after resurrecting us, and that spell to give us life energy.”

  “Correct,” Oga said. “I realized that even with my degree of magic, I could never control you, who have transcended the seventh grade yourself.”

  “And as for the resurrection spell?”

  “Well…” Oga was hesitant, wondering if he should lie. “There is a way for me to bring them back.” Kizer’s face changed slightly. “Theoretically anyway… but based on my calculations, I would have to unlock a ninth grade of magic – which is impossible – to perform such a spell and keep my sorcery.”

  “Ah, so that technique would destroy your sorcery, then, based on the amount of mana it requires?”

  “Yes,” Oga said, “It would be like a sixth grade sorcerer somehow using an Ogal spell. The odds of it working are one in a thousand, and if it does work, the spell would be so straining that it would cost that sorcerer’s ability to produce mana.”

  “So you would live through such a spell, but would no longer a magician.”

  “That’s right. Seeing a way to kill two birds with one stone now, are you?” Oga said, slightly rousing his white mana.

  “Don’t worry, Oga. As weak as you are, I still need you. I wouldn’t trade you for my children with the plans I now have to fulfil.”

  Oga stood a little easier.

  “What if I could find you an item that contains as much mana as your spirit?” Kizer asked with a slight smirk.

  Oga looked quite interested.

  “Such an item cannot exist,” Oga said, “My mana is as a thousand arcanines’.”

  “A few scrolls I have read hint at the existence of such an item… Let us solve this puzzle together, Oga. Maybe it is impossible to create new life, but if restoring the life of our children is possible, what we can accomplish becomes even more unlimited. We will now find every bit of knowledge there is about this item. We will bring forth the children of gods, and set up our kingdom with our children to rule beneath us… By the way, hand me that darkness you collected from the prince – there is a theory I must test.”

  ***

  In time, the five victors stood still in a rubble of bodies and a pond of blood. Kizer, in all his business, kept an eye on them from his study. Though knowing of their unusual skill, he was still a bit impressed with their survival. Laika snickered. Kyle kept his face straight, though he knew he must have shown his new rival that his strength too was significant.

  “Well, Blade, we’ll leave you to clean this mess up,” Azar said. “We should get back to Hercule where Viknor and the others are fighting.”

  “In debt, I will follow you and see what help I can offer,” Blade replied. Giovanni glanced over at Azar with a heavy leer, seeing how much he was already speaking like a Herculean commander.

  In a moment, the five appeared where the midst of the Herculean battle should have been. Giovanni and Kyle looked around in shock. All about, Herculean men were cheering in loud shouts.

  “The battle is won!” Giovanni realized. The casualty count on Hercule’s side was far less than Giovanni and Ki had anticipated.

  Azar snickered. He noticed a purplish mist rising from the bodies of most of the enemies, rising to create a thin fog. “That Viknor,” he muttered.

  “The war isn’t over yet,” Giovanni said, like he was just remembering. “The Magmalians are all over Libson by now, launching a number of attacks.”

  “Let your men rest and celebrate, and mourn their losses,” Azar said. “I and my team will defeat the few thousand Magmalians scattered about.”

  “Your team?!” Laika asked in a corrective tone.

  Chapter 6: Land of Magic

  “Attention, everyone! The Notherlandian shores are in sight!” an alarm rang out on the massive vessel. Clover gasped and jumped down from the high bunk above Star. She was just drifting off into sleep, not knowing that she was so close to the magical continent.

  “Star! Star! Wake up!” She shook the woman excitedly. The ship became loud with jittery exclamation and anticipation. Star quickly got up, and before Clover told her what was happening, she dragged her out of the bed and pulled her – almost falling – out to the deck where already hundreds were gathering. With gleaming eyes and fluttering hearts, children and adults alike stared out at the blessed shores like it was the Promised Land. There were gasps of awe and wonder as most of them were seeing the strange beauty for the first time. There was a faint yellowish glow that outlined the shore and reflected on the sea like a rare twilight. The light spanned right across the perimeter of the continent. It was a barrier many foreigners didn’t know existed that prevented non-citizens from entering Notherland. Of course, the right levels of shifting could go around that defence, but a mere handful had access to such techniques.

  “It’s so… beautiful…” Clover drooled, holding shakily to Star’s hand. As the ship moved toward the shores, the light of the barrier became less apparent. But even beyond the yellow glow was an impeccable sea of wondrous lights. Street lamps and glowing plants made the cities on Notherland some of the prettiest places in the world. There was no more whining about the heavy fare to get to Notherland. Not after seeing this beauty.

  The noise on the ship calmed a little as it came to a halt about a hundred meters from shore. The noise was rebooted until the captain spoke again.

  “Alright, listen up, people!” he began, and everyone was attentive. The aged man sighed and fixed his blue and white uniform, looking a bit anxious, standing where everyone could see and hear him. Only a few of who were before him knew of what he would next say.

  “This is how things will proceed!” he started loudly. “The Notherlandian Coast Guards have detected this vessel and will send ambassadors of the country to select those of you who will be entitled citizenship!”

  Suddenly, there was an uproar. Some persons wondered if the captain was joking or reaching an early senility.

  “Select citizens?! But I already paid my house’s worth in gold to get here!”

  “So you mean they might send me back home?!”

  “Why are we just hearing of this?!”

  “Are you insane, Captain?!”

  “After so many months of travelling, you mean to tell me…”

  There were shouts and curses and the ship fell into chaos and pandemonium.

  “Star, what does this mean?” the shaking Clover asked. She saw all her dreams, even her destiny, flashing before her eyes. She nearly collapsed. “Can’t we just shift in anyway?” she asked. Star kept her cool – somewhat at least.

  “N—no, we can’t. That light you see I believe is a barrier that prevents us from shifting in.”

  “Kill him! Get the captain!” one woman cried out, rushing up at the man through the crowd with some long, sharp-looking object in her hands. Clover appeared before the frightened captain in a smoke of blue mana, holding her hands out toward the crowd.

  “A witch!”

  “A Notherlandian!”

  “Listen, all of you, let’s not--” She looked back out toward the shore as a bright yellow light caught the corner of her eye. She gasped as a stunning yellow bridge of what appeared to be solid light extended from the shore until it reached the ship. It was a few meters wide.

  Before anyone aboard could suggest or even think of going on the bridge, there was an explosion of green mana and men and women in neat green and purple uniforms appeared. They each wore on their right shoulder and on their dark-purple gloves the emblem of Notherland – it was a s
imple design that marked the genesis of the great nation – a circle, which six equally spaced lines running from it. There was a small circle at the end of each of the lines.

  “Greetings, prospective citizens of the Land of Magic,” one of the women greeted. She had a military air about her. “Firstly, any suspicious or unauthorized movement will result in instant death, by order of the Ogal Council,” she made clear. “Silence!” she shouted as chatter resumed.

  “Nice,” she said with a straight face when the talking from the ship seized. She looked up. “Ascend,” she commanded, and the part of the yellow bridge she and her team were standing on rose a few meters and put them on the level of the captain. “Captain, I assess there are 13,680 passengers here on board,” she said. Almost everyone except the captain was amazed at this quick calculation.

  “Y-yes, Ma’am.”

  “That is 27% more than the recommended passenger limit, isn’t it?”

  “W-well, that sounds about right, miss,” the captain said, sounding more nervous.

  “Nonetheless, before we can process, our 75% of the--”

  “Oh, right away, Ma’am!” The captain took from his clothes a very heavy bag of gold that he somehow managed to hide discreetly. He had already set apart this portion of the fares.

  “I trust I need not check, Captain Jackal,” the woman said, grabbing the sack from him and landing it to a nearby man, whose hands nearly caved under the weight.

  “Now we can afford to begin,” she said, then sighed lightly, as if the whole process was just too much of a bother for her. “Your captain might not have told you this, as then only a fraction of you would have boarded his ship, but no more than a tenth of you will be allowed access into Notherland.” The woman allowed noise to rage on for a few seconds. “That’s enough!” she finally said. “Now I am Ambassador Grimstone. These persons behind me are all trained sorcerers with military skill, and I have the authority to order them to do anything I please, so let us be on the same page here. Good. We proceed. Each person will individually be assessed by members of my team. If you are seen fit to join our society, we will assign you a seal that will allow you into our borders. There are four categories of entry seals. Class D seals grant you permission to stay a year in Notherland, Class C, five years, Class B, 10 years, and Class A, which hardly anyone is privileged enough to receive, grants you a lifetime citizenship. If you are granted a seal below Class A, you must seek a renewal before it expires, or you will be tracked, found and deported with no hope of returning, and the government will take hold of your possessions. Whatever children you have here will also be possessed by the government in such a case.”

  “What about those who will not be granted citizenship?” a young woman braved.

  “Getting right there,” Grimstone said. “You will be transported to an invisible cay a few hundred miles from here, where you will be given the chance to board one of ten vessels that each go up to fifty miles in a particular direction, and you make your way home from there. You will not be allowed unto our ports. Or of course, providing your captain allows it, you can--” The man shook his head rapidly, not entertaining such an idea. “Well there’s your answer,” Grimstone said bluntly.

  “But this isn’t fair!” Clover blasted, still shaking a little. She got everyone’s attention and a nasty glare from Grimstone.

  “Clover, calm yourself!” Star snapped in a whisper.

  “You can’t do this to us! Some of these people sold their land and house and cattle for a ticket to Notherland so they could find a better life! How can you--”

  “Little girl,” Grimstone came in, “this rotten ship is not a ticket to get to Notherland, but a ticket for the slim possibility of such. And your chance has gotten ever so slimmer since you have opened your filthy little mouth,” Grimstone said with a slight smirk beneath her grimace. Clover’s eyes widened, then they narrowed as she tightened her fists.

  “Clover, please, relax – they have the handle there.”

  “Have you forgotten what I have?” Clover whispered to Star.

  “If you rouse your mana here against them, you’re getting us kicked from Notherland before we have a chance to go in,” Star said strictly.

  “What was that now?” Grimstone asked in a daring tone.

  “N--nothing, Ma’am,” Star said, trying not to sound as nervous as she was.

  “Ah, as I thought,” Grimstone said. Clover hissed almost loudly enough for Grimstone to hear.

  ***

  “Pathetic!” Lex mocked, ducking to avoid the sword of one of the ten or so fighters. After a bit of close combat, Lex finally made the fatal stab – he was fighting with knives this time. He ran off toward another of the men, making an agile jump and a perfectly placed kick.

  “Impressive!” another of them said, attacking from the side with a massive axe. With rehearsed movements, Lex dodged the swing easily, then rushed up to the man, landing a slice on him that spilled his guts as Lex moved in a dash. His eyes followed the movements of all his enemies almost simultaneously.

  “Again with that?!” he asked like he was bored of it, as one of them held his hands in position and a bow materialized in his hands. With quick eye movement, Lex realized that he was surrounded by archers. He made a slight snicker. “Well then.” And the firing began. Without end, the men loaded and fired swift metal arrows at the encircled Lex. Lex spun about seven hundred degrees per second as he skilfully deflected with his knives every single dart that came toward him.

  Now that Lex had Trium within him, his training took on a whole new dimension. With the presence of Maximo and his brothers, the world in Lex’s soul could now exist as a stable construction capable of simulating anything. All four brothers were shaping the warrior they knew would fight their enemy. Lex now had the invaluable advantage of training for a minute per second. The Zagans made him fight them for hours on end, most times using only his close combat and weapon skills. Even Lex had to admit that he was too dependent on his ice, and on the Zagans’ darkness. The world where he trained was no longer a plain white floor. Due to the Zagans’ powerful mental strength, every thinkable scene could easily be replicated.

  The world within the boy, forged by the minds of him and his demons was so real that whatever he experienced there affected not just his mind, but also his body. As he spent more time connecting with Trium and Maximo, the need for food and sleep became more farfetched, until such things were almost completely unnecessary. As the spirits of darkness flooded him with their near infinite knowledge and wisdom, he slowly transcended the state of humanhood.

  Quicker than a wink, the firing men disappeared with their bows, and a single man, looking like a soldier, appeared in his place. Two swords appeared in the man’s hands and he threw them at Lex, creating two more for himself. Before Lex could catch the swords, the soldier was already upon him. Lex jumped back, making quick swings in defence. He jumped back again as he nearly lost his head.

  “Attack, Lex!” the man blasted, pressuring him with more attacks the average swordsman couldn’t fend off.

  “Dammit!” Lex made a strong but careless swing, slightly losing his balance. As one of the enemy’s swords were about to clean his head off, he released his left sword and blocked the attack with an icy hand. Ice quickly covered the swords and slithered down to the swordsman, freezing him.

  The boy’s eyes widened as he realized he had angered Trium.

  “Damn you, weakling! You retreat to using ice again?! You will die horribly!” The ground quaked violently.

  “Shit,” the boy muttered. He knew he could not summon the power of darkness in this world, and he knew just as well that his ice could not possibly defeat what he would now face. In rapid black flashes, three demons jetted down from the skies, spirits made of the purest darkness. The dimension went wild with shaking as they landed, surrounding Lex, splitting the iron-hard rock that made the earth. They were each in dangerous forms, the forms Lex had seen them in in that vision he had had quit
e some time ago. They looked like three-dimensional shadows, and each bore six wings that stretched out behind them to the length of their bodies.

  At will, Lex changed into his spirit battle form as well, embodying his icemaking ability itself. In the blink of an eye, he had become a man of pure ice energy. He turned, looking at the three demons with shadowballs readied. Lex smirked. “Maximo!!” he called. The skies burst open, and a fourth demon appeared. The six-winged Maximo landed by Lex’s side; the two stood back to back to face their competitors.

  “So you have betrayed us and joined up with the human, Maximo?!” Juventus said, his voice making the air ripple.

  “You are Trium, who trampled upon the feeble humans! You shall pay for you evils!” With that, a brawl that could almost destroy the dimension was begun.

  ***

  “Next!” Grimstone called coarsely. Each candidate was taken down the yellow bridge a few meters and dealt with by the team singularly and quietly. With all their efforts, the only thing those on the ship could hear from the examinations were pitiful, crying pleas, begging to be re-examined or pitied or reimbursed or at least taken back home, except for three persons, whose joyous shouts made the others more anxious and more hopeful at the same time. They were three men, and were all well-dressed and looked like scholars. The examiners even laughed a little and seemed impressed by them while they were being processed.

  A thin, shaky lad as tall as Blade nervously stepped down from the deck onto the yellow bridge.

  “Come, come, young son!” the woman called. The boy hurried down.

  “Star, do you really think we will be chosen?” Clover asked nervously. “We’ve been here two hours now and only three have been selected. The odds seem even worse than they had predicted!”

  “Don’t worry, Clover, things will work out. I bet we’ll get preferential selection based on our sorcery.”