Necromancer’s Sorrow: (Series Finale)

by Pablo Andrés Wunderlich Padilla

  “I know,” the shaman answered. “I’ll go on with the utmost care. Every day that passes, things turn more somber and the enemy grows more numerous without any opposition. By the way,” he added, looking worried. “It was the Black Queen of the Morelia Abyss who betrayed Alac before she fell before Mortis Depthos.”

  “By Holy Nimyaya! Is that true? Can it be? The Oracle?”

  “So it was. And now Mórgomiel has taken her over. Not long ago, he murdered the Goddess of Night and consumed her essence.”

  “These words go deep. What does he plan to do with the Oracle?”

  “The same thing he tried to do when he tortured her during the Times of Chaos. He’s trying to predict the future, to be one step ahead of his enemies.”

  “At last it all makes sense. For a moment, we believed that someone among us had betrayed Alac. I’ll have to tell Hiz, who is sure to be interested in all this. Part of me is glad it was her and not us. On the other hand, it terrifies me to think that Mórgomiel’s taken the Oracle into his power. We’d managed to hide her. It was Ramancia who kept her safe for so long in her bewitched house. Truly, we’re facing very turbulent times. Travel safely, Balthazar. I fear for you.”

  “I will. I’ll journey with as much care as possible.”

  “You’re powerful. But there are demons which could destroy you if you’re not careful.”

  Chapter XXIII — Crallys

  When the Committee emerged on the other side, it was like passing through a door. They felt nothing in particular except for the obvious change in temperature and pressure. Passing through the portal was not the kind of experience Turi had expected. In his mind, he had been hoping for at least a sudden burst of acceleration during the process.

  Turi was the only one to go back through the portal, thinking how easy it was to return to his world. None of the others, except Ushka and Chirllp, had ever traveled to another planet.

  “The temperature’s very mild,” Elgahar said as he savored the wind. “A lot of minerals in the air. Can you feel it?”

  “How can we breathe the air of this world?” Merkas asked aggressively. “What’ll happen if we go to a world where we can’t breathe? Has that occurred to you, mage?” He was terrified and reluctant to acknowledge the fact. He was tapping nervously on the pommel of his sword as he took a good look at their surroundings. Everything was foreign, as he had expected.

  “Balthazar has visited many worlds,” Elgahar said. “He’s chosen only the ones where the air is breathable for us.”

  “That makes a lot of sense to me,” Funia commented.

  Several of them put out their tongues to taste the air. It was true—it tasted salty and metallic, like licking a stone that has been exposed to the stresses of the sea.

  Funia pointed upwards. “The sky’s red,” she said. “Look.”

  The clouds were certainly that color. They were not blood-red but more like a creamy brown, easy on the eyes. The clouds were dense and puffy and did not seem to be moving. They covered the entire sky and yet there was plenty of light of the same reddish shade. The light was not intense like that of noon on the Meridian but filtered as though through a veil. Presumably, it was the effect of the clouds.

  Elgahar led the Committee along a well-defined path. It was obvious that they were expected and that preparations had been made for their arrival. This was a good sign.

  The differences from the Meridian were obvious at once. Here, there were no plants or animals. The land was the color of coffee with rocky hills and brittle faults. There were many crystals of different shapes. Some were tall, some short, and most were stretching out filaments to capture the sun’s energy.

  Another detail that did not go unnoticed was stretches of something that looked like the tiny veins of a plant, except that these veins or rivulets ran along what seemed leagues of distance and were no wider than a thumb. The color of whatever flowed inside them was a very pale blue.

  Turi was fully alert to the environment. “What’s that noise?”

  “It’s like a deep background noise as if a crowd were whispering,” Funia said. “Can you feel the ground vibrating?”

  Elgahar reached down to touch the ground and found he could feel the vibrations. It was as if the earth itself were emitting them and changing frequency rapidly.

  “Let’s go on,” Khad’Un said nervously. “We can’t hang around here for long.”

  Bordering the path, the travelers noticed, were monoliths at least three strides high and half a stride wide with several filaments holding the large crystal in its place and supporting it. Some of the monoliths were vibrating, others not. These structures were made of what seemed to be very clear crystal which, although it appeared transparent, allowed nothing to be seen through its surface. The most impressive thing was the sound these structures emitted. The sound and tone changed from moment to moment. Even the air seemed to be vibrating.

  Amon Ras went closer to the monolith and touched it to verify that it was vibrating. Merkas acted as if he was not impressed by anything when the truth was that he was so overwhelmed he did not know how to express the fact.

  The path led them to an enclosed capsule created by a web of filaments—thousands of them—woven harmoniously in such a way that it did not look disorganized. Under that dense web of filaments, the light seemed to shine more brightly and they realized that there were a number of those monoliths apparently without movement.

  We’ve arrived, Tenchi thought in Elgahar’s mind.

  The mage was not sure if this was true as he could not see either any living creature, or the elegance he would have expected of a king in his kingdom, but then of course he was on an unknown planet where anything might happen.

  The ground vibrated more intensely and in different tones. Out of nothing, the monoliths generated a hundred tiny filaments from the part of them that was connected to the earth. Using them, they began to move with alarming speed. They seemed to have a hundred feet and no arms. The monoliths prostrated themselves before the travelers and began to vibrate and produce sounds that were more or less like humming.

  The travelers were terrified. Elgahar, Turi, and Funia were the most awestruck. Only Chirllp and Ushka knelt and touched the ground with their foreheads in their culture’s symbol of submissiveness. Unna the Wild Woman was praying to Mother, thanking her for allowing her to experience something like this.

  Elgahar had the feeling that he could almost catch the meaning of the vibrations since the sounds they produced were as individual as the voices of men and women expressing their thoughts. These beings seemed to communicate through a humming that so far he had not been able to decipher. He had to trust Tenchi to understand the message.

  The Cristalur of the planet Crallys offer a cordial welcome to the emissaries of the Meridian, the world of the powerful and eternal friend Balthazar. They say: we have prepared the most numerous army we have ever united. We are ready to cross the portal to your world and begin the creation of our army with the elements of your planet. The sooner we begin the better since in this way, the assembling of our numbers will be able to start before the God of Chaos turns your land to dust.

  Elgahar’s mouth dropped. He noticed that the others had understood the message as well. Transmitting this to the whole Committee must have taken a great deal of energy from the Naevas Aedán. Tenchi was shining rose-pink, almost white. He felt honored in the presence of these wonderful beings that had neither face nor features. Their arms and legs must be those tiny filaments on which they moved. Obviously. they were intelligent and their way of life was very different.

  “Thank you,” Elgahar replied, his voice now another sound added to the vibrations. “We are grateful that you have decided to take part in this fight against the God of Chaos.”

  Say nothing more. It is unnecessary. Balthazar has explained everything. The God of Light is suffering. He is our only deity. For you, his name is Alac Arc Ángelo, Tenchi translated. For us he is Luzamalabam. We will leave
our world and occupy yours, the land you have promised to us, in the hope that the God of Light will one day come back to us.

  “You will leave your world?” Funia whispered. “Why?”

  One of the monoliths turned to her. Tenchi translated the vibrations it emitted. Mórgomiel has come to this world more than once. On several occasions, we have rebelled but because of that, many of the species that lived here have died. Our world is a graveyard. This planet has been doomed to die ever since Górgometh cast one of his spells on it. We will flee from it before it breaks into pieces. A new home will be welcome to us. The elements will soon cease to exist here.

  The travelers realized there was the pressure of time on the mission they had undertaken. This was no game and it was clear that Mórgomiel was wreaking havoc everywhere.

  As was requested, we have prepared one soldier who will join the Committee.

  The vibrations could be felt all around them and for Elgahar, it was hard to distinguish who was saying what. Since he did not understand the vibrations, he had to rely on Tenchi for their translation. As a result, he did not know who was “saying” those thoughts. He was sure those vibrations were the equivalent of a voice. Perhaps each crystal gave out its own frequency and, therefore, had its own identity.

  From the monoliths, there flowed a rivulet of a blue and red substance just like the veins they had seen when they had first entered this world. The rivulet began to form a small mound, then rapidly began to form a crystal.

  At first, the crystal was small. But after a few seconds, a long structure began to rise, acquiring the thickness of the monoliths and reaching a height of almost three strides. From its lower part issued several filaments and from its body, many protuberances. This crystal, unlike others, had a red light shining in its exact center that appeared to be the source of its energy or perhaps was something completely different. Its soul, perhaps?

  Tagulumich, they say, is the name of this soldier who will join you. He is an experienced warrior who has taken part in many battles against evil.

  The monolith moved with alarming speed towards them and prostrated itself beside Merkas, Khad’Un, and Amon Ras. The three skeptics paled at finding themselves beside a structure like this. It looked threatening and they could hardly begin to guess the damage a soldier like it could cause.

  Go then, Committee of brave warriors. Chaos waits for no one.

  “Wait,” Elgahar said. He took a copper coin from the satchel at his waist. “Take this with you when you cross the Portal. It’s so that the guards allow you to pass. Without it, there might be violence because they wouldn’t be able to verify that you were sent by us.”

  We thank you, powerful mage. We are withdrawing. One of the crystals reached out one of its filaments to Elgahar and took the coin. The filament looked like a very thin branch except that it seemed hard and extremely flexible. The coin vanished inside the monolith as though it had been swallowed.

  After this, the great crystals crumbled into a mound of those red and blue particles that formed the rivulets. The capsule where they had all united vanished completely. The monoliths that had stood in front of them a moment before had disappeared reduced to tiny particles only to reappear in the distance. The monoliths took shape again after their components had come together once more.

  Elgahar felt he needed to study this in-depth. What he had just seen had left him breathless. It occurred to him that the crystals were not beings of medium size like humans or the Dakatak. Instead, they seemed to be small crystals with the ability to join to form large monoliths. Perhaps becoming a monolith was how the small crystals participated to create soldiers. If his guess was correct, Tagulumich was made up of thousands of small crystals joined one to another.

  I am Tagulumich, a veteran of many battles to repel the shadows. Sadly, many of my comrades have died in the face of the advance of evil. Tenchi finished translating the vibrations which had been emitted.

  “Is that all?” Turi said. “Is it as easy as that?” He had expected something more unusual or difficult.

  “I admit it looks too easy and convenient for us. But I think we’ve come across a very special species. I suspect Tagulumich is made up of thousands of small crystals, each one with its own will.”

  You are right, the Naevas Aedán translated. I, Tagulumich, am indeed made up of thousands of individual crystals. But once I become a monolith, I become a single, unique entity. The union of thousands of wills creates a single mind. I know it is difficult for beings like you to understand this. Maybe someday we will have more time for a detailed explanation. Tenchi has been good enough to include me in your conversation.

  “I’m glad to know you understand us,” said Elgahar. “Thank you, Tenchi. Ushka, Chirllp, I think you can raise your foreheads from the ground now and stand up.”

  “Thank you, powerful mage,” Chirllp said. “My knees were beginning to hurt, though I didn’t want to show it.” Then he added something in his guttural language which nobody understood.

  “Ushka says thank you.”

  “Chirllp, Ushka,” Elgahar reassured them. “From now on there’s no need for you to touch your foreheads to the ground ever again. We’re visiting other worlds to form alliances, not to submit to anybody’s power. If the leaders of any world we visit don’t wish to take part—well, that’s it.”

  “The people of Mandrake are very different,” Chirllp said. “I learn much from you. You behave as individuals, each for himself. In Gardak, we were subjected to the power of the boss. In Mandrake, even though there is a king, people have a voice of their own.”

  Ushka nodded in agreement with her comrade.

  “All right, then. That’s enough talking. We must go on to the next planet. We’ll take advantage of the fact that we’ve gained time with a culture that had already been prepared because we might not be so lucky in the next worlds.”

  The master of magic stretched his hands into the air and began to cast a spell in silence. Turi supposed they would use the same Portal of the Worlds to go from one to another. But now that he came to think about it, it did not make sense if that same portal was the one the Cristalur would use to transfer their population to the Meridian.

  “Wait a moment. How on earth do you know how to get back to the Meridian, if you’re creating a new portal to go to another world? And how on earth do you know how to get to another world?” The ease with which the mage created the portal, and how precisely they went from world to world, made no sense to him.

  “All this is thanks to Balthazar. Every world he’s visited has been marked with a portal. All I have to do is open a temporary portal and identify the next one to transfer to it.”

  “That doesn’t make sense,” Funia objected.

  “I know it doesn’t but you have to trust me. Balthazar has even marked the next worlds for me in a very specific order and he wants us to go from world to world in the order he chose. It’s not as if I can go to another world just from nowhere. I can only go in the order he prepared for us.” The mage shrugged. It was obvious that it was confusing for him as well.

  “It’s crazy,” Turi said. “This portal thing makes me dizzy and a little uneasy.”

  “Finally you‘re acting like normal people,” Khad’Un said. “At last someone’s prepared to be impressed. Is it so unlikely that it should turn out to be frightening?”

  “I suppose you’re right,” Elgahar said. “But whether you feel fear or not is irrelevant, there’s just one way to get from world to world and we have to take it, however mystical it might be. So on we go.”

  Elgahar turned pale and he broke into a cold sweat. His legs trembled, then he fell to his knees. Before them, though, was a purple vortex. This seemed to be distorting reality as if it existed because they had pushed the tangible dimension to one side to allow room for themselves, and it was threatening to collapse at any moment. The spacetime distortion was wonderful. A blue emanation flowed endlessly from Elgahar’s hands, keeping the portal open.


  “We’d better make a move,” Elgahar said as he entered the portal. “These don’t last more than a minute and they’re very unstable.” Turi followed him without thinking, followed by the Naevas Aedán.

  “And he’s gone just like that!” howled Khad’Un.

  Funia, Unna, Chirllp, and Ushka crossed the portal followed by the crystal. Khad’Un, Merkas, and Amon Ras turned to look and one by one, they entered the vortex which then collapsed seconds later with a clangor.

  Chapter XXIV — Counter-Strategy

  Mórgomiel came out of the River of Time on his way back to the planet he had chosen as his base. He liked Eorta because of the trustworthiness of its subjects and the way they worshipped him. Other worlds with more advanced inhabitants had a grudge against him. And it was not that he was unable to deal with a grudge on the part of his inferiors; it was simply that he did not wish to kill them for being corrupt because deep down inside himself, he knew there were a number of his followers who, in reality, had no desire to take part in the war. If he killed many of them, he would be left without the hundred thousand million he needed to conquer the universe.

  He had visited the place where he had defeated Alac and Róganok, and where his planet Mortis Depthos had been reduced to dust. There was only a trace of the bodily remains of Róganok, which delighted Górgometh, but there was no clue as to Alac’s whereabouts. The neighboring giant star should have consumed his demigod’s body.

  He did not know how, but he knew Alac was still alive. Someone or something had rescued him. But how? Who?

  Back on Eorta, he had passed by a planet of infidels where Paladin had tried to create order through the execution of a group of rebels, causing the whole planet to rise against evil. Maybe the rebels felt the light that Alac Arc Ángelo continued to emit since he was still alive. Maybe that had raised the hopes of the rebels so that they did not mind dying. The planet had been destroyed on the spot from the inside out and every living creature on it turned to dust. Then and there, Mórgomiel lost more than a million soldiers.