Spirit of Mages (Rift of Chaos Book 2)

by A. J. Martinez

  After the long ride through the avenues of Ironside, Rey and Akielas arrived. The four-wheel hayunsuh stopped by the sidewalk, next to the stairs of the clock tower. They jumped off the vehicle and Rey gazed up, counting the floors of the tower until he staggered back.

  "Watch yourself," Akielas said and lightly pushed him.

  "Sorry."

  "I hope you find what you are searching for my friends," Seseal said.

  "Thank you and farewell." Akielas and Rey bowed their heads then watched the owl knights driving away down the long avenue.

  Rey turned and looked up at the tower again but then saw four men in strange clothes exiting the building and going down the stairs. Rey jabbed Akielas to get his attention, pointed at the four men and asked, "Who are they?"

  The four men were much older than him, about Akielas's age, their hair grey. One of them wore a pointy black hat that cast shade on his face, a black cloak like Akielas and carried a staff with six different large gemstones. Next to the pointy-hat elder was a man with a tall hat wearing a jacket with a ruffled shirt underneath, spectacles on his nose, a cane in his right hand, and a large tome in his left arm. Rey guessed that this man was a scholar. The scholar's jacket was bedecked with badges and Rey also realized that the tome this man carried had an emerald embedded on the thick cover. Behind the scholar was a bulky man with a heavy beard wearing a long leather jacket, four pouches hung from his waist, attached to his pants, and he carried a star shaped wrench. Rey recognized that tool, it was a tool he used for parts of his hayunsuhs, except his had a four point star. Rey assumed that this man was an engineer just like him. Next to the engineer was another man carrying a staff much like the owl knights but a thick broadsword hung on his back. This elder was definitely a warrior and was clad in iron armor.

  "Those four men are the council of Ironside," Akielas answered. "Much like the council of Kazenolumos, these men are in charge of Ironside. You see the one with the pointy hat," Akielas pointed at the elder mage, "he is a friend of mine. Come on, let's go see him real quick."

  They approached the council of Ironside as the four elders went down the stairs. The elder mage stopped, raised his staff, waving it with a smile and showed his golden teeth.

  "Well, if it isn't Master Akielas," the old mage said. "Haven't seen you in a while."

  "Sacrivus, old friend," Akielas replied and hugged the old man with a grunt.

  It is true what they say, Rey thought, Akielas has friends wherever he goes. Akielas then turned to Rey and gestured at the council.

  "Rey, this here is Master Sacrivus. He is a powerful mage, but not yet better than me," Akielas teased and Sacrivus tapped him on the head with his staff. "This man over here with the grand book is Lord Seilog, he is a scholar and is in charge of the knowledge and information of Ironside." The elder with the heavy beard stepped forward and bowed his head. "This here is Sir Greynolf. He is in charge of the factories, mechanics and machines of Ironside."

  The last elder with the thick broadsword on his back stepped forward and bowed as well. "This here is Sir Haynesnerr," Akielas explained gesturing at the elder. "He is in charge of the military and guards of Ironside."

  "What brings you gentlemen to Ironside?" Sacrivus asked, placed a pipe in his mouth and puffed smoke.

  "Knowledge, of course," Akielas said bringing his arms out. "We must solve a mystery of a group of masked fiends that threaten to rid our world of magic.

  "Is it your apprentices again, Akielas," Sacrivus guessed.

  "You know too much about me, Sacrivus," Akielas replied. "They have become a great threat and, if they succeed, they will dare to invade Ironside."

  "I will keep my mind open to this threat you speak of but remember, no one in history has ever penetrated the walls of Ironside or successfully invaded our home. Our ancestors made sure of that," Sacrivus said confidently and puffed smoke in perfect circles.

  "A group of masked villains threatening to rid the world of magic," Lord Seilog said. "Definitely worth researching. I recommend reading book sixteen of the dragon bible, Master Akielas."

  "Thank you for the recommendation, Lord Seilog," Akielas said and bowed. "I will definitely browse through the dragon bible today."

  "Well then, we must go now," Sacrivus said. "We have an important meeting to attend to. Farewell now Akielas, I hope you find the answers to your prayers."

  The elders walked down the stairs and by the sidewalk a large hayunsuh waited for them. It takes four men to rule a country, Rey thought. Tong Doran Cho would be a better nation if more than one person made decisions such as these men. The world has much to learn from the people of Ironside, but it seems that the leaders of Ironside refuse to give away their knowledge to other countries. I can understand why.

  "Rey, the library is on the third floor, follow me," Akielas beckoned.

  They entered through the arched doorway. The room within the first floor was spacious enough to fit thirty thousand people. The ceiling had to be twenty feet high and there were statues of avian creatures as well as winged people. Most outstanding was the ten-foot-tall owl statue in the middle of the large room. People gathered around the owl. There were artists drawing and painting the owl with acrylics and oil paints on canvases. There was a man polishing the owl statue, standing on a ladder that leaned on the bird's right wing. A man with a fine button-up red tunic approached Rey and Akielas.

  "Hello there gentlemen, may I guide you to your destination today," he queried.

  "Yes, where is the elevator?" Akielas asked. "I have forgotten."

  "All the way at the end of the hall," the man answered and pointed in the right direction.

  Rey followed Akielas while looking at the people in the room. Some civilians looked similar to Xaianian with narrow eyes and jet black hair. Some people had bright blue eyes with shining blonde hair wearing rich jeweled clothing. The place was so opulent and the architecture so mesmerizing that Rey even walked backwards, refusing to take his eyes off the beauty.

  "Rey! Over here," Akielas called.

  Rey Ling walked through a hallway and at the end he saw Akielas standing next to what appeared to be a caged cell. "Is that an elevator?"

  "Yes it is. You already know how these work," Akielas said.

  They entered and Akielas closed the cell sliding the grilled caged door. Next to Akielas was a lever, similar to the ones in Rey's factory to work machines that pounded steel. There was writing on the wall in a language that Rey did not understand. Akielas pulled the lever slightly then suddenly the caged room started moving up and the door of the first floor shrunk as they ascended.

  "This elevator goes all the way to the top?" Rey asked.

  "This elevator has access to every floor in this tower," Akielas answered.

  "Buildings in my country don’t go higher than five floors," Rey said. “This is amazing.”

  "See it as inspiration for future projects," Akielas said and laughed with Rey.

  "By the way, if the council of Ironside knows about the Specters, how come they did not offer to help?" Rey asked.

  "The leaders of Ironside don't want to get involved in something that could put their city at risk," Akielas answered. "You also have to remember that this city is isolated. Ironside won't get involved unless the Specters attack them. The Specters are not known to the entire world yet and the leaders of Ironside fear no one. Our goal is to stop the Specters before they truly bring their plan to life."

  "I am sure we will find something in the library," Rey said. "There has to be information about the jewels that they are using and what they intend to use kaminyte for."

  The elevator reached the third floor. Akielas opened the cage door and Rey followed him through a hall that had paintings on the walls of machinery and bird's-eye views of the city buildings. Soon they stopped at a double door with the emblem of an owl. Akielas pushed the doors open and strolled into a world filled with knowledge. Rey turned his head looking all around. The halls were covered with two floors w
orth of book shelves, scrolls and maps of the world. "Oh father, I wish you were here to see this," Rey whispered with joy and a tear left his eyes.

  "I don't remember if I had shown you the library last time we came," Akielas said as he paced to the globe that stood larger than a dragon egg in the center of the library.

  "No, I don't recall being in this knowledge rich library," Rey responded in awe. "I have never seen a library this big. If only I could read in your language. Hopefully there are some books in Xaianese."

  Rey Ling wandered around, gazing up at the shelves on the second floor. He looked up at the ceiling and saw an illustration of owls flying with scrolls in their beaks under a starlit night. There were statues on top of shelves and pedestals of owls, hawks and crows. Rey approached the globe in the center of the library and on it was the map of the world. He saw his country, Tong Doran Cho, on the southern hemisphere of the globe. He touched it and realized that it spun. Before his eyes he saw Odealeous and all its countries spinning like night and day.

  "Akielas," he called. He saw his friend by a counter, speaking to a librarian dressed in black. A short man with messy white hair and a monocle on his left eye. Akielas came to him and Rey gestured at the globe. "Is this what I think it is?"

  "Yes my friend, the world is indeed round," Akielas answered with a smile.

  "But how?" Rey asked, perplexed by such a theory.

  "It was difficult to believe at first but it is true," Akielas explained. "Take a look." He pointed at Tong Doran Cho on the globe. "Imagine if you were on a ship and traveled the oceans from your country to Maer Weeyar in the south-west. Then you continue on past Maer Weeyar. I once thought that men could fall off the edge of the ocean, however, long ago when after the time of Prodigus Kollos, a sailor named Walneag Kollos sailed across from one side of the world to the other to find out if the world was indeed flat. At the end of his voyage he found himself on the eastern shores of his homeland in El Nido. These are the kind of things you will discover in Ironside. Truth and knowledge."

  "This is truly fascinating," Rey whispered, staring at the globe and spinning it, seeing every single country and island in the world. "We are living in an orb. How am I going to explain to everyone back home?"

  "They don't have to know," an elderly voice said from behind him. Rey turned around and saw the short man with the messy hair again. He was only five feet six inches tall. "My name is Audrey and I am in charge of this library. Is there anything that I can help you with today?"

  "Yes Audrey, we would like to know the day of the tri-eclipse," Akielas replied.

  "The tri-eclipse, oh, that will be in the astrology section on the second floor," Audrey directed. "Follow me."

  They followed the librarian up a set of stairs that coiled between the counters on the first floor. They turned left and walked down a hall with paintings of the stars, the sun and the two moons. There was the statue of a scholar on this floor and, over a handrail, they could see the first floor of the library below. They came to a dead end in the astrology section. Audrey climbed a ladder with wheels at the bottom that was designed to move left and right along the bookshelves. He reached for a scroll sitting at the top of the shelf, climbed back down and placed it on a table. He rolled the scroll open and placed a hematite gemstone on each edge to hold it down.

  "Here it is," Audrey said, pointing at the codex of the scroll. "Everything you need to know about the tri-eclipse. Lucky for you, we had finished researching this topic about a year ago. The meaning and day of the tri-eclipse. It is all here."

  Akielas sat down and read through the codex of the scroll. Rey stood next to him looking at the letters of the common tongue. The letters were so different from his own language.

  "What does it say?" Rey asked, looking over Akielas's head and the master began to read.

  The Millennium Tri-eclipse

  Once every two thousand years we have found that the two moons of Odealeous align with the sun. We have developed a machine using large spectacles that allows us to see much farther, beyond any telescope can. Not only have we been able to study the stars with this new invention, but we have been able to study the movement of the two moons and its cycles. We are still not yet sure if the sun revolves around Odealeous or if Odealeous revolves around the sun. However, according to our mathematics and after counting the cycles of the two moons, we have discovered that every two thousand years the two moons do align with the sun and cause some kind of shift in the world's maju.

  The last time that this happened was during the time of Prodigus Kollos. In fact, we have discovered that the eclipse happened on the same day that Kollos died. Mages throughout history have called this "the age of light." During this age of light, Kollos introduced the world to the mystic arts which we now believe that he was not the pioneer, but rather the one who rediscovered it after humanity had lost the mystic arts centuries before. This tri-eclipse causes the maju of the world to change and commence a new revolution. It helps the world evolve and enter a new cycle. It affects the maju of all life on Odealeous. During the age of light, not only did humanity begin to use magic, but many things gradually changed, such as slavery. More and more slaves began to set themselves free with the gift of magic. Learning magic and becoming a mage was a new-found power for the individual. It was also the start of nomadic life and discovering new lands which led people to settle and create homes in different lands. Many monarchs fell and war had reduced life dramatically. With this new peace humanity prospered greatly.

  This shift of maju in the world happens every two thousand years. To make sure that our theory was true, we used our mathematics to count and go back in time to before Prodigus Kollos was born. We found that before the age of light there was an age of great darkness. A time of war, blood and gore that overshadowed the world. A time when even fiends walked throughout Odealeous like dogs without a leash. Our research had led us to find fossils containing dark maju on both the western and eastern continents.

  The next tri-eclipse will happen once more on the same day that Prodigus Kollos met his end: during the year 2010 A.P.K. (After Prodigus Kollos) in the last day of autumn, entering the winter solstice.

  We are moving out of the age of light and into the age of twilight. With this eclipse the question remains, what changes should we expect? What will come with the age of twilight?

  "The last day of autumn?" Akielas wondered. "On which side of the world?"

  "What do you mean?" Rey asked.

  "Well, if the next eclipse is on the day that Kollos died, which is autumn, then on what part of the world did he vanish?" Akielas replied. "While it's winter in the north, it could be summer in the south. Take a look at the globe again. The seasons move differently depending on which part of the world you live in. If it is historically recorded that Kollos died during the autumn of his time, it has to be somewhere specific."

  "Where did he originally live?" Rey asked, pulling up another chair.

  "According to history, Kollos came from the north in Alexandria then moved to El Nido," Audrey answered unexpectedly. "According to the dragon bible, after a war in El Nido, he traveled south-east to what we call today the Yama country. So he must have died in the south-east. I believe that is where you are from Sir...umm...Rey Ling was your name, am I right?"

  "Actually, I am from Tong Doran Cho," Rey corrected. "But I believe you call it, United Pathways."

  "What is the current season of the United Pathways?" Akielas asked.

  Rey hesitated to answer but then he whispered, "The last month of autumn."

  Akielas took a deep breath, leaned back in his chair and asked, "How many days till winter?"

  "Seven days till the winter solstice," Rey answered. "I think."

  "Are you sure?" Akielas clutched his shoulder.

  "Before we left I looked at the Xaianian calendar and that is what I remember," he recalled and began to pace around amongst the bookshelves. "It has only been a day since we left so therefore we have seven days t
ill the winter solstice. That means seven days till the tri-eclipse."

  "We don't have much time," Akeilas whispered. He continued reading and, although Rey could not read the language, he listened to Akielas.

  During our searches on the islands of El Nido, where Prodigus Kollos trained his thirteen apprentices, we found a document that we believed was linked to the event of the tri-eclipse two thousand years ago. The people of El Nido have been living there for thousands of years and many of their traditions have remained the same. Although they live in isolation from the world, much like us here in Ironside, their sages have recorded in scrolls and tomes many events that have happened throughout history on their islands. A sage of Danteh Island, where the relic of Odiamus is kept, showed us a painting of the tri-eclipse that an artist had made during the time of Kollos. In this scroll you will see a colored illustration towards the right side.

  Akielas unrolled the scroll, moving the dowel to the right. There were three illustrations of the moon beaming light through the clouds. They were drawn in a small square. One was colored utterly black, the second one was colored fully white and in the last illustration the moon shone multiple colors upon the land. It was not a rainbow, but rather it illuminated the world with countless colors.

  We have come to the conclusion that perhaps, during the eclipse, the moon will penetrate the world three times with maju and a different type of energy that we have yet to understand. Our team will continue this research but we will also wait until the next eclipse, which should happen a year after writing this log.