by Skyler Grant
There were likely reasons for the lack of records. If they really had resurrected Urania Vox, it could be why the histories would have been purged of so much that had happened here.
Their path took them through a set of doors and into a vast garden. Even beneath the ice it was beautiful. Once, brilliant colors would have shown here with walkways meandering through lines of flowers.
There was life here too, but like everywhere else in this place it was faint. Obscured.
Banok heard the sound of chattering teeth coming from Jia and he looked over, concerned. His apprentice’s arms were wrapped tightly around her chest and her flesh had gone pale.
“We need to get you off this planet,” Banok said.
Banok tried to send more lifeforce in her direction, helping Jia to maintain her suit systems, and while a faint flush returned to her cheeks it was minimal. There was resistance to his efforts, and only a part of the power he was sending made it through.
“There isn’t a way to do that. Not with the shuttles not working. I knew as soon as we were down I couldn’t maintain the suit, but I wanted to at least get you where you were going,” Jia said, her words jittering as she moved over to a bench to take a seat.
“Well I’m not going to just leave you here. Astra? Is there anything you can do to help her?” Banok asked.
“You don’t feel it, but I’m burning as bright as I can just to keep you going. Just by being as close to you as she is, Jia got a bit of that, but it wasn’t going to last,” Astra said.
“Master, nothing around us is dead. You can feel that. I’m not going to die, I’m just going to … freeze. The only way out is to keep going forward,” Jia said.
Ice was starting to appear on her body. Frost spreading along the atmospheric suit.
“And you both say nothing about this?” Banok asked.
“You knew,” Astra said, with no hint of condemnation.
Perhaps he did, and that was why he didn’t want anybody accompanying him down to this place. Even from a distance he’d been able to feel what it was, what was going on here.
The Void laid claim to this place, and while he still didn’t fully understand what the Void was, it wasn’t friendly to life. Or at least, not life as they lived it.
Banok rested a hand on Jia’s shoulder, “I’ll figure out something, apprentice. I promise.”
“Know you will,” Jia said.
Whatever struggle Jia had been putting up against the environment ceased and in an instant it overcame her. Her skin going pale as frost, then a veneer of ice fully enveloped her.
Banok pulled back and took a deep breath with another look over to Astra. “Is it reversible?”
“I don’t know,” Astra said with a faint shrug. “I know you think I’m an expert on everything, but I’ve never seen anything like this either. It wasn’t like this back then.”
Banok studied his elemental. She couldn’t really lie to him. This wasn’t what she’d expected, because those parts of her tied to Urania had separated long ago. Before the war was lost, before she’d died and come back to life. Of course things had changed, and that meant that there was only one person who could really answer his questions and do anything about this.
Banok pushed on.
The deeper into the palace he went, the less luxurious things became. It was still beautiful, but the overabundant art and ornamentation of the outer wings was being replaced by more and more research labs.
There were rooms filled with scientific equipment Banok didn’t recognize. Medical suites filled with massive ice-filled tubes and rows of bunks. Yet others filled with crystals and magical diagrams.
This was the home of Urania. Most catered to her interests and those of whatever cadre she surrounded herself with.
A last set of double doors loomed ahead. Behind them he could feel the presence he’d been sensing. These were carved of some sort of black steel. They looked similar to the Orc ships, and on closer inspection cast into them were scenes that seemed to depict Orcs amongst other beasts Banok didn’t recognize.
Unlike everything else in the palace they were clear of ice. Banok pulled them outward and light spilled from the chamber beyond.
30
The entire palace was designed to inspire minds, and the nearby rooms meant for dedicated research. The chamber beyond the doors had one clear purpose.
To strike awe and fear.
Stained glass was lit from the other side, filling the room with light, and massive statues of dragons flanked a throne made of crystal. Upon it sat a familiar figure. Banok had last seen her in a coffin.
Arya of Delore, who had claimed the medallion once owned by Urania Vox and helped put an end to Urania’s reign. And now, if Astra was right, the new body for Urania herself. A pretty woman in robes of purple and black, a sharp contrast from what she’d been wearing the last time Banok had seen her.
Banok stepped in with Astra beside him, the doors ponderously closing behind them. No one spoke for a long time, studying each other silently.
“Uh. Hi,” Astra finally said with a nervous smile.
The woman’s eyes shifted to study the elemental.
She said, “Well, best not stand there gaping. I’m Urania Vox, Lady of the Void, and you’ve come a long ways to find me.” She lounged back on the throne. “And survived, which is both surprising and hopeful. I recognize the medallion, is it bound to an elemental?”
Astra said brightly, “Some Orcs shoved it along with an asteroid into a star. Then Banok here decided to bond that star and here I am. There is another immortal floating around in my head too. It’s all a bit of a mess. But! So are you!”
“I’m well aware,” Urania said, her gaze turning to Banok.
“Banok, Grandmaster of the Druids,” Banok said.
“Ah. A powerful source of life energy and bound to a powerful source for fire,” Urania said, tilting her head. “Excellent. Well, this is my home. Excuse all the ice.”
Banok hadn’t been sure quite what he was expecting, but this wasn’t it. While he hadn’t exactly pictured Urania to be overdramatic and evil like so many of the stories now painted her, he also hadn’t anticipated her to be this laid-back.
“My apprentice is … frozen. So are a lot of Orcs I brought with me. Can you help?” Banok asked.
“If I could help would I be sitting here on a frozen world?” Urania asked and then made a dismissive gesture with one hand, “Don’t answer that. You don’t know me, you could very well think that I like this. I don’t. The most powerful practitioner of Void magic in human history dies and gets thrown into the Void, and then returned to life. Behold the consequences.”
“So you aren’t doing this,” Astra said, obviously relieved. “I was so worried that maybe you’d changed. My memories cut off in the middle of the war.”
“Be grateful for that. The end was a terrible thing and dying is something I don’t intend to repeat,” Urania said. “But no, this isn’t willing. I’m doing my best to hold it in and despite my efforts the Fade is still expanding, and my home has turned into this.”
Banok approached the throne. There was a distinct lack of any other seating so he took a seat on the raised dais. Urania slipped out of her throne to join him.
The cold radiating off her was immense. Even Banok could feel it now. Were it not for Astra there was no way he’d be able to stay here in her presence, even with the power of the druids behind him. With their abilities combined he was holding on, not comfortable, but not slowly dying.
Urania said, “Lack of seating. I know. I probably should have arranged this meeting somewhere else, but I wasn’t sure who was coming or what you’d be like. Thought the old mighty splendor thing was a good idea.”
“Place is good for that. Did you actually know any dragons?” Banok asked.
“I did. They couldn’t be part of the institute, but they were interested in a lot of what I was doing. You’re the one that woke me up? Aren’t you?” Urania asked Banok.
>
“Yes, without knowing that’s what I was doing. Someone sent me. I don’t suppose you know who?”
“Friends, probably. Maybe even those dragons, they like to meddle. They shouldn’t have. I dragged too much of the Void back with me and can no longer control it,” Urania said.
“We have ships in orbit. Their power will be running low.”
“Don’t worry about them. I mean, you can worry ... just. Time is a little jumbled right now. Another of my attempts to keep my influence from spreading. The moment you entered the atmosphere time started to dilate for you. The outside world is moving very slow compared to here,” Urania said.
Banok didn’t want to even think about the power required to do something like that. Unfortunately, nothing that Urania was saying really improved any situation he’d come here to fix.
It was also strangely awkward seeing Urania. As part of his agreement with Astra, he loved this woman and he found it true. With utter, complete, devotion. Looking at her was like looking at Cleo.
“So, all we have to do is fix things,” Astra said.
“Do you think I’ve not been trying?” Urania asked.
“There has been one of you. Now there are two, and don’t we change the equation quite a bit? A powerful source of life? A powerful source of fire? There has to be a way to counterbalance what is happening with you,” Astra said, pacing back and forth.
Urania looked at the elemental and for the first time a faint smile touched her lips.
“Well, hope. There isn’t much of that left in me, but perhaps it is worth trying. And … I have missed having company.”
Well, if time really was almost frozen outside, it hurt nothing to take some time to think. Perhaps they would figure out something.
31
Three months passed.
“Any luck?” Urania asked as she slipped up behind Banok, her frozen lips brushing a kiss against the back of his neck.
Astra wasn’t the sort to keep secrets, Urania really was lonely, and Banok wasn’t the type to say no. It had taken all of a month for him and her to become lovers. It was always a strange pairing, every part of her really was as cold as ice to him no matter how intense things got. Yet for all that, she was soft, and pliable, in all the right ways.
Banok’s nights alternated between the fire of Astra and the ice of Urania.
When not sharing his bed those two were often in the lab and leaving Banok to his own devices, and he’d devoted himself to trying to get the gardens growing again. Banok’s theory was that if he could return life to at least one part of this world, perhaps it would spread, and it would be a sign that hope wasn’t misplaced.
“None,” Banok said.
Despite having all the power of the druids behind him there was nothing that Banok could get to grow in the soil. Nothing he had done that unfroze the flowers. This place was a barrier between him and them.
“No luck in the lab either,” Urania said, taking a seat on one of the benches. Dressed in slacks and a blouse now, it was a lot more casual than when he’d first seen her.
“It’s been months. I know there is a time differential, but how long do we really have?” Banok asked.
“I think for every month here something around seven seconds are passing out there. Your shuttle lost contact half a minute ago and they are probably mildly concerned just about now,” Urania said.
Banok sat beside her. “I wish I were more help. I wish I could do something.”
“Let me teach you,” Urania said.
“I don’t think me learning Void magic is going to help anything.”
“I do more than just Void magic, although a basic understanding would serve you well. There is more to the Void than just sucking life away.”
Whatever concerns Banok might have about Urania, they hadn’t so much vanished over time, but rather become accepted. In a way she’d proved to be like Cleo. Parts of Urania had been cut out by the magic she’d so fully embraced. Banok loved her, deeply and completely, but he didn’t think she was capable of loving him back. Urania wasn’t capable of love, or compassion, or so many other things people considered to be positives.
Yet, she wasn’t malicious. For all that Urania lacked some positives, she was also free of hatred, greed, rage. Given how much those things still burned within Banok, he envied her that, a bit. And it did make him wary of learning from her.
The woman he saw before him was at the end of the road she’d walked, and as much as Banok loved her he could see how she could be a terrifying force.
Above all else Banok hated feeling useless, and he very much felt useless.
“Then let’s do it. It isn’t like we don’t have the time,” Banok said. “Unless you’ve figured out a way for me to get off this world.”
“Not without me coming with you. I’m could open a portal for us both, but not for you alone, and you know what would happen if I left this world,” Urania said.
Even with her here the Fade was growing stronger. If Urania left, if she went out into the universe at large, the Fade might grow to consume all the galaxy.
With Urania’s lack of empathy Banok was truly surprised she seemed to care enough to seek to avoid that, a residual perhaps of the woman she had once been. It wasn’t something he was going to push.
“Where did you learn magic?” Banok asked.
“My first lessons were in illusion, believe it or not. The entitled daughter of wealthy parents who simply wanted to learn from one of the house entertainers.”
“I’m guessing you were good at it.”
“I’ve been good at everything I ever put my mind to. That isn’t boasting, it is simple fact. What came hard to others always came so easy to me,” Urania said, her gaze shifting to look over the flowers.
Banok had no trouble believing it. Some people didn’t like those more intelligent than themselves. Banok had always found it kind of comforting to have people around him who saw things more clearly than he did. Cleo was brilliant, Nyx was genius at what she did. Neither compared to the sheer, raw competence that Urania displayed. From magic, to architecture, to the plants in her garden, he’d yet to find a subject she couldn’t talk about at length and with insight.
“But it didn’t stop there?” Banok asked.
“Ran away at fifteen to see the universe. Studied under Elves, Dwarves, even a dragon for a time. Yet it was the Void that called to me. The great magic of nothing that none of them had ever truly mastered. It seemed to me that if anyone was going to do it, then it would be me.”
“You succeeded,” Banok said.
“Too well,” Urania said, shaking her head. “No, that isn’t so. It wasn’t the Void that caused what happened—and what is happening now. I just haven’t figured it out, yet.”
“Do you truly think you will?” Banok asked.
“Three months is nothing, Banok. I know that it must be maddening for you to be trapped here. But three months is nothing.”
“How long do you think it will take?” Banok asked, his eyes searching Urania’s features.
“When you are immortal and so am I? The world out there will wait as long as it takes. More time for your studies” Urania said.
More time, and perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad as she thought.
32
Thirty-three years later.
“There,” Urania said. “You’ve almost got it.”
Banok wasn’t so sure. The complex flows of earth, fire, lightning, and life, and air that he was weaving together kept trying to untangle themselves. Getting any sort of magical weave to maintain itself was difficult given all the Void energy, and while it was a difficulty he was used to managing, he’d never tried to hold this much complexity for this long.
The generator almost seemed to give a snort, the lights briefly appearing on the main panel before flickering off.
They were attempting to restore electrical power to the palace. It was Banok’s idea to include life in the weaving, and he thought that properly t
ied off the magical flows might create a closed system proofed against the Void. If so not only would the generator work again, and anything it was connected to, but the applications of the basic working were broad in countering Urania’s condition.
Theory-crafting magic was far more Urania’s strength than Banok’s, but she was not the Grandmaster of the Druids, and the understanding of life magic was something he’d found had come intuitively to him, expanding to immense levels as his knowledge of other magic grew.
“I’m losing it,” Banok said.
Urania focused and tendrils of Void energy manifested near his magical creation.
It almost seemed an act of sabotage, but Banok realized after a moment what she was doing. The weavings naturally wanted to diffuse into the Void, but they would be most pulled towards where the Void was most concentrated. Urania was attempting to provide a known focus for that force so he could reinforce his own weavings.
Banok slid a bit more life magic into the weave. It was the key to refreshing the construct and keeping it going over time. The structure still seemed tenuous, too tenuous, and yet it was holding together.
The generator sputtered again, but this time instead of fading, after an instant the power sphere began to rotate. Banok carefully tied off the weave. It took perhaps twenty minutes before he could finally release it from his direct control.
As power sources went, it was weak. The generator was only reading about seven percent of maximum capacity, and it would be enough to turn on a few lights but not anything more. Still, in thirty-three years of trying to counter Urania’s power, this was the best they’d accomplished.
Urania moved over the check the gauges. “Congratulations. Perhaps we should have had you in the lab helping out all this time.”
“You know I would have been useless for most of it. It wasn’t until lately I’ve had the understanding to help at all. Do you think it will last?”