Atticus And The Orb Of Time

by M K Drake

  Atticus can feel his heartbeat quicken. He begins flashing the torch around the darkness to try and find some way out of where he is. He follows the wall until it reaches a stony stairwell that appears to spiral upwards along the face of the wall. Atticus lifts his right foot up onto the first step.

  Out of the blackness he suddenly hears a snort followed by heavy, deep breathing. He stops in his tracks and flashes the torch around again, trying desperately to peer into the dark. The light from the torch is just able to touch something in the distance, something that is moving. Another snort and the entire chamber lights up revealing to Atticus that he is in some sort of enormous dungeon, fire bellows from the nostrils of a giant creature, from the flash of light it appears to Atticus’ eyes to be what is only myth: a dragon.

  Atticus remains frozen with fear, it seems the creature is asleep, but Atticus takes no chances. Quietly, step-by-step, he slowly moves up the staircase.

  After what seems like ages, he finally reaches the top. Light is still in short supply and the torch is limited in its reach, but the staircase seems to open up to a chamber. It looks like a lab, but not like one Atticus has ever seen. There are bottles and vials, some bubbling over, some with steam pouring out from their containers, all are standing on stone-like furniture. The next thing to hit Atticus is the smell; it’s putrid, stinking of rotting flesh, almost forcing him to vomit right there and then. He flicks the torch, shining it across the room, lighting shelf upon shelf filled with these vials and bottles. Atticus spots a ladder and he walks towards it, peering upwards into the room it leads to. Cautiously, Atticus climbs the ladder. He shines the torch as his head pops up through the hatch. The room is cluttered, but quite well-lit in comparison to the dungeon chamber and the vial room. The light appears to be coming from a window. Atticus slowly navigates around a clutter of stone tables and chairs towards the window; he looks outside. It takes him a few moments to absorb the landscape. The room he is in is attached to a massive castle, not quite as large as Wysardian Manor, but still very large.

  Atticus studies the landscape further from the building within which he is standing. The horizon is filled with giant mountains and erupting volcanoes, the ground either charred black and glowing bright red with rivers of lava. There are other buildings dotted along the land, some larger than others, many are tiny, some resemble villages and others castles, but all are twisted in their design, with demonic creatures littering their architectures like gargoyles on a church, but unlike gargoyles, these appear to be moving. Towers are not straight, but bend in several directions as they reach towards the blackened flame ridden sky.

  Atticus knows not where he is, but knows he does not belong there. He steps away from the window and starts to make his way towards a door he notices on the wall parallel to the window. As he walks towards it, he spots what appears to be candlelight getting closer, then footsteps and voices. He quickly runs behind some shelves in the room, his heart beats faster as the footsteps get closer.

  “Masssster, Lord Alvarez has returned empty-handed; speaksss of an ambush,” the voice hisses and rasps. Atticus switches off his torch and tries to squeeze deep into the shadows.

  “It seems Echo Foressst has made itsss decision, the treessss, they side with the Majjai,” continues the voice. He recognises the voice as the same one he heard on the rugby field.

  “It matters not,” says a second voice. This one is much deeper, it issues authority and Atticus could sense the one who spoke first cowering, “They will not have a choice. Soon, I will have control of both realms, and they will bow or burn.”

  “And what of Alvarezzz, masssster? Hisss Ssscreamer contingent did not return with him. All perissshed by the hands of the Majjai, defeated easily. He isss requessssting more demons,” says the first voice.

  “The Majjai have become more than an irritation. I have respected their rules for far too long. Now that my strength has returned, they will pay for their insolence,” the deeper voice sounds hateful; Atticus hears something smash into the wall, the entire room shakes and dust falls from the ceiling and lands on Atticus’ head, “Too long have I been imprisoned here, Herensugue, my powers faded after the intervention of the Majjai Six. Now only Elric remains, and he is a weak old man.”

  Atticus desperately tries to remember the name he just heard, “Herensugue, Herensugue,” he repeats it in his head.

  “And what of the prophessssy, Masssster?” asks Herensugue, “Do you ssssusspect this boy Atticussss to be the one? He did resssspond to the calling.”

  “I cannot be certain, he is protected from all planes of existence by a power I have not seen before, we can only wait and see. If he is this chosen one, he will be no match for me − there is no longer a Majjai Six, and on his own, he is nothing. He could not even fight off the chaos spell we projected to him for the calling.”

  Atticus, shocked at hearing his name, tries to edge closer to the door, feeling the need to try to soak in every word of this conversation. He creeps out from behind the stone shelf, and feels his way around the room. It is much darker now without the torch, and the light from the window is limited. Atticus suddenly feels a sharp pain on the outside of his left arm, he looks down and sees a dagger like shard of stone has pierced his skin. The trickle of a warm liquid tells Atticus that his arm is bleeding, he tries not to make any noise and attempts to wipe away the blood, but before he can do so, he hears the voices go silent, followed by the sound of something sniffing the air.

  “What is it Herensugue?” asks the being with the deep voice.

  “The air masssster, I taste blood in it,” hisses Herensugue, “Human blood.”

  Atticus hears what sounds like several snake tongues flicking in the air, and a rasping noise that he can only associate with that of a rattlesnake.

  “I sense a presence… there!” shouts the being with the deep voice.

  Atticus turns, he tries to find the hatch he came through as the footsteps storm towards the room. One of them is massive, causing the room to shake with each step, the other footsteps are preceded by a strange sucking sound, but no less terrifying. Atticus scrambles to the hatch, slides down the ladder, switches on his torch and runs towards the staircase. As he runs down, Atticus hears his two pursuers crash through the lab room, the being with the deep voice shouts again.

  “Draconus! AWAKEN!” screams the deeper voice.

  Atticus turns white; he suddenly remembers why he tried to escape this chamber in the first place. In that moment, the deep rumble of giant wings flapping engulfs the dungeon, a bellowing roar follows, and the chamber is alight; flame fills the area with scorching heat. Atticus dares not look behind him or to the side of the staircase, all he can think is to run. The footsteps behind him become louder and louder, then he hears one of them speak.

  “Die boy!” bellows the deeper voice.

  Atticus looks behind him to witness a fireball being thrown by one of the beings, he can’t make out their faces only their silhouettes, one extremely tall, the other appears to have several heads, but is much smaller. The fireball is blinding and bears down on Atticus, his only reaction is to jump. The fireball explodes on the steps; he is flung into the air with the force of the explosion and thrown over the side of the staircase.

  He falls. Scared, cold, and confused, Atticus scrambles in the dark to try and grab something, anything to stop his fall. He thinks, “This is it, this is the end!” but then he feels something else, an overwhelming surge of confidence, of power. Defiantly, he screams “No!” immediately Atticus’ fall slows, blue light begins to surround him, strands wrapping around his body, and he stops mid air. Instincts tell him to move his arm, and a ball of electrical light forms in his palm; compelled to throw it, he sends it aimlessly at the staircase he was thrown from. The staircase explodes again, but this time with a blue flash. The two pursuers stop, and the larger one screams again.

  “Draconus, seize him!”

  The dragon flies up behind Atticus and attempts to grab
him with one of its claws, Atticus flies out of the way and swoops behind the dragon, above its wings. He brings his hands together to fire a massive electrical bolt into the creature’s back, and succeeds in dazing it, but only for a moment. The dragon turns to face Atticus, and with an almighty roar shoots a violent jet of fire at him. Atticus shields himself with his arms crossed, and out of nowhere a giant shield of blue light protects him dispersing the flames around the blue light. Atticus has no idea how he is doing any of this, it’s as if his body is acting on instinct, he feels this power coursing through him, but is it him controlling this or something else? The dragon flies towards Atticus, drives itself hard into him, but just bounces off the shield of light, the force of the blow pushing Atticus back and the shield disappears.

  The chase continues around the chamber, the dragon following Atticus as he dives and swoops through the air, dodging the uneven cave wall undulations and plinths, up, around, to the left − no matter which path Atticus takes, the dragon is able to follow, and it is gaining. He fires another electrical ball towards it, the dragon merely shrugs it off and flies to the top of the chamber to begin a swoop towards the now shieldless Atticus. Atticus flies to the ground, as fast as he can, the dragon is catching up. Atticus can see his torch, lying on the ground; he uses it to measure the distance to the cave floor and at the last instant pulls away. Draconus smashes into the cave floor with such force that the walls of the chamber begin to shake with rocks from the ceiling falling to the ground.

  Exhausted, Atticus drops to his knees on the cave floor, breathing heavily, sweating profusely, and still bleeding. The sound of the heavy footsteps approaching him are drowned- out by his exhaustion; it is too late for Atticus to react before the imposing figure of the larger being is in front of him.

  “Herensugue, attend to Draconus; I will deal with this imp,” says the large figure in front of Atticus. Who gazes down towards his prize, this intruder who he seems to recognise, “Your resemblance to Kazmagus is uncanny.”

  ‘Kazmagus,’ whispers Atticus under his breath, ‘who is Kazmagus?’

  The cave is littered with tiny fires after the fight with Draconus, providing enough light for Atticus to look around and see a very strange creature walking towards the fallen dragon. A serpent like beast, with seven heads and four arms. Herensugue. Its legs did not look normal, they moved as if it has no bones, squelching with each step, yet there are claws on its feet scraping the floor as it walks.

  Atticus returns his gaze to the larger being, standing in front of him. Atticus’ eyes scan its massive frame: its legs are red, and incredibly muscular, each calf is larger than Atticus’ entire body, its thighs and above are covered in some form of hair, soft and smooth like horsehair. Halfway up the stomach, the red skin takes over again, revealing a muscular torso. Atticus’ gaze continues upwards; the head is large, the eyes yellow, its chin is almost square, devilish, the bone of its skull can be seen to protrude the skin along the jaw line. The demon’s forehead is smooth, but with large veins protruding from it and jet-black hair growing from the top. The creature’s hair is long and falls behind the being to the level of its waist. The strands of hair are grouped together and bound by hundreds of sharp metallic spikes, which seem to have grown from the hair itself.

  Atticus speaks, “What are you?”

  “You mean you do not know? Your very presence here confirms to me that you are indeed the one that has been chosen, and yet this fact is hidden from you?” the being stands at least 6 meters tall, it bends to get a closer look at Atticus, “Impressive. You are not really here, are you? Your powers of projection surpass those of Elric himself, a Master Majjai could not hope to conjure such a realistic apparition, and even fight from it, you are indeed… curious; still, these tricks are not enough to harm me,” The creature picks Atticus up in his giant hands, its massive knife-edge nails forming a prison around him, “My name, is Razakel, remember it well, Atticus, for when we next meet, I will crush you like this,” Razakel squeezes his hand, and Atticus cries in agony, he can feel his bones crushing, each rib grinding against the other.

  A growl to the right of him tells Atticus that the dragon has regained consciousness. Razakel throws Atticus towards the beast with great force, and Draconus opens its mouth in anticipation of a tasty morsel. Atticus covers his eyes, waiting for the bite, he sees the jaws in his mind, a flash of blue light, and then nothing.

  Atticus squints, his eyes are brought to life by the sunlight forcing its way through the gap in his room’s curtain, the PC is still humming away, and all seems normal. He checks his rib cage, no breaks; but for some reason, he can still feel pain. He next checks his arm, it isn’t bleeding, but there is a scar in the very place where he cut it. He quickly reaches into the bedside drawer to get to his glasses, and the birthmark on his arm begins to tingle. Hurriedly, Atticus rolls up his left sleeve to above his forearm, exposing the mark, which is glowing a faint blue.

  Atticus is frustrated. What is happening to him? Why does he feel pain in his dreams − and are they dreams or something else? What are these creatures, and how do they know who he is? So many questions rush through his mind, and no one answers them, or no one can answer them.

  “Perhaps Professor Sprocking can throw some light on things; surely he knows who Elric is, and the creature calling himself Razakel mentioned Elric directly several times,” Atticus thinks out loud, “I need answers!” in frustration Atticus slams his fist onto his desk.

  “Atticus! Breakfast’s almost ready!” Sophia calls from the kitchen.

  Atticus opens his door to the fresh smell of warm pancakes, much more comforting than his experiences from moments ago. He rushes to get ready, brushing his teeth at the same time as taking a shower, gets dressed, and darts downstairs to tuck into the pancakes. They are wonderful as always, folded over with banana fillings with maple syrup and powdered sugar on top. Pancakes are the one thing Sophia knows how to make well, her sandwich-making skills however, have never improved; but nothing will distract Atticus from the joy of these pancakes, not even the sight of Sophia forgetting to butter the slices of bread on his roast chicken sandwiches.

  “Your dad had the first batch of pancakes; he had to rush off this morning, so I’m taking you to school today,” Atticus acknowledges Sophia with a grunt around a mouthful of pancake as he relishes every last piece. There is a knock at the door and Sophia goes to answer.

  Atticus finishes his pancake and looks around the kitchen for another, he knows Sophia always makes a few spare and spots one next to the cooker, he quickly grabs the plate and starts to eat the pancake with his hands, trying to hurry so that Sophia doesn’t find him eating extra.

  Sophia opens the door to the kitchen, “Atticus, shame on you! I gave you three pancakes already.”

  Atticus tries to say ‘sorry,’ but just splurts as the words are unable to cohere due to the amount of pancake in his mouth.

  “By the way, you have a visitor,” Sophia says, still staring angrily at Atticus.

  Horrified, Atticus spies Joyce peeking around the kitchen door, giggling at the sight of Atticus with pancakes stuffed in his mouth and maple syrup dribbling down his chin.

  Sophia’s frown turns to a smile, “Looks like you are walking to school this morning then; you need the exercise after eating so much this morning. Look after him, won’t you Joyce?”

  “Of course Mrs Jones,” she replies, “Come on pancake man, hurry up or we’ll be late.”

  Atticus swallows the mouthful of pancake, quickly washes his chin and grabs his school bags before walking out with Joyce, trying to avoid eye contact and keep his cheeks from glowing a bright red.

  A Majjai History, Vol 1 Chapter 3: The Legend of Kazmagus

  The legend of Kazmagus is one that is steeped in contradiction. Some say he was the first Majjai, others declare him as a tyrant, more dangerous than the entire demon realm with his experiments. His very existence has been debated for millennia. Yet all those that believe are sure of on
e thing: he was indeed powerful. Not much is known of his demise, some say he was banished to the Void by Asmodei. Some stories state he died in a climatic battle with the Demon Lord, thus beginning the reign of Razakel. Some demons even revere Kazmagus and regarded him as their king, although it is believed that most of these were slain by Razakel soon after he took the throne.

  It is known that Kazmagus was able to manipulate both dark and light Magic; there are stories of battles where Majjai saw both red and blue being conjured by their leader. Some feared him for this, wondering how he could perform both evil and good, others admired him; but none were ever able to replicate his abilities.

  The tomb of Kazmagus has been sought through the ages; it is believed Myrddin came closest to finding it. Scriptures have been found stating that great wonders have been left there. Many followers of Kazmagus believed he was powerful enough to return from the dead and so built his shrine to enable a comfortable return. The world missed his presence; though only Majjai and Demon knew of him, the mortal world suffered the most.

  With Kazmagus’ disappearance, the demon world grew in number, influencing many wars in mortal society in the hope that humankind would sink into oblivion. Those that doubted Kazmagus’ allegiance to good soon turned and renounced their views. A rally of the remaining Majjai managed to thwart many demonic intrusions, but such were the numbers that until the emergence of the Majjai Six, led by Elric Griffin, the Majjai were fighting a losing battle.