“You’re welcome.” Anderfeld grinned then clasped his arms behind his back and resumed his pacing. “Gressmore was the oldest of the mage cities, and had the largest population. Most here can do magic, but not all. It isn’t a trait like hair color or the shape of someone’s nose. Your son, Angst, may look like you, but that doesn’t guarantee he can wield magic.”
“I don’t have a son,” Angst replied, more defensively than he had intended.
“Of course. What I meant to say was if you did have a son, he may or may not be able to wield magic,” Anderfeld clarified quickly, looking slightly concerned that he may have touched a sore spot. “Everyone is welcome...or should I say was welcome?” He sighed. “There had always been peace until the foci started to appear.” He dropped his hands to his sides in a gesture of helplessness.
Anderfeld stopped in front of Dulgirgraut and spun it like a top. He watched the sword turn as he continued his story. “There’s no record of their arrival; they merely started to appear. Weapons, armor, and jewelry, all greatly enhancing the wielder’s abilities, imbuing them with power no one had ever imagined. There were maybe thirty foci. Both the foci and the Al’eyrn who could wield them were coveted. It was the pride of a mage city to host multiple Al’eyrn, and it was that pride that started the war.
“Most foci seem to choose people of quality with good intent, but once bonded, the power corrupted some. They were all treated like royalty—or worshipped, if you were crazy enough to live among the Fulk’han.” Anderfeld shook his head at this notion and then stopped the sword from spinning.
“People who couldn’t wield magic were scared, and rightfully so. The war of Al’eyrn devastated Ehrde for decades, and only a handful of Al’eyrn bothered themselves with defending people that couldn’t wield magic. At one time, Vex’steppe was the richest country in all of Ehrde. The devastation wrought by the war killed tens of thousands that lived there, leaving nothing but desert behind.”
“Is that what happened? You were attacked by another mage city?” Hector asked as he mindlessly ran his finger along the scar on his jaw line.
“No, we were actually attacked by wyrms, beasts from yet another war. Wyrms belch a sort of liquid fire. Every mage city was suddenly defending themselves against forces beyond magic. To protect Gressmore, the Al’eyrn who lived here lifted the city on giant pillars, too high for crawling wyrms to attack. You may have noticed the blackened base of our obelisks? They were originally white until fire darkened them.”
“Do you mean dragons? I thought they were only myths,” Dallow said skeptically. “They also had wings in every story I’ve read.”
“Yes, we started calling them dragons once they grew wings. Only weeks after Gressmore found its new home amongst the clouds, the attacks began again. By then, the dragons could fly.” Anderfeld shuddered at the memory.
“All appeared lost, until father asked Dulgirgraut to protect us,” Aerella said sadly.
“That’s awful,” said Rose.
“Have you ever tried leaving?” asked Dallow.
“Of course,” Anderfeld replied with heaviness in his voice. “But walking outside the towers is the same as going to sleep at night. You still wake up the next morning in your bed to relive your day.”
“So how can we help? Maybe if Dallow can make his way through all these books, he can learn something you can use,” Angst offered.
“I’m going to see to lunch.” Aerella excused herself, once again avoiding this conversation.
“If Dallow could help, or if you have any suggestions, we would be grateful.” Then Anderfeld abruptly changed the subject. “I’d like to discuss what you’re dealing with, and Angst becoming Al’eyrn.”
“Can I go help with lunch instead?” Angst joked.
“I’ve never heard of someone not willing to bond with a foci. I’m surprised it hasn’t killed you yet,” Anderfeld said with concern.
“Actually, he’s died several times,” Tarness interjected. When Anderfeld’s eyes widened with disbelief, Tarness continued. “It’s happened twice that I know of, and always after long battles.”
“Chryslaenor must be keeping you alive. That would explain your uncanny ability to continue living when you do something you shouldn’t.” Anderfeld seemed amazed at this revelation.
“Why do I have to bond with it? I already have one wife. I don’t really care for another,” Angst said, attempting to cover his exasperation with humor.
“You could’ve fooled me,” Rose heckled under her breath.
“Bonding with Chryslaenor will imbue you with its power and its knowledge.” Anderfeld sat up, expanding his chest with pride. “You will become one, a unified team with almost unlimited resources.”
“But why do I feel if I let that happen, I have to give up part of myself?”
“Because you will. You have to sacrifice some of yourself.” Noticing Angst’s concern, Anderfeld continued, “But only to become more of who you truly are.”
“And what if he chooses not to become Al’eyrn?” Hector asked.
“I could tell during the duel that Angst had become upset, and that’s when he truly challenged me.” Anderfeld faced Angst. “Under the right circumstance, it would even be possible for you to beat me, but I’m not the toughest opponent you will face. You can’t rely on the timing of emotional outbursts to save you. There’s too great of a chance that you and your friends will face true danger. I also fear that the foci will burn you out, that you’ll die too many times for Chryslaenor to bring you back.”
“What do you mean you aren’t the toughest opponent we’ll face?” Angst asked, feeling his body tense. “Do you know something about what’s out there?”
Anderfeld shook his head and sighed. “Please remember what I’ve said about bonding. You won’t succeed without becoming Al’eyrn. That’s all I’ll say on the matter.”
“Good,” Angst said with a winning smile. “About the Vex’kvette...”
“Without more information, I don’t have any solid answers for you, but I may know how you can find the source of it.”
Aerella had returned with lunch. After sharing the light midday meal of bread and cheese, Anderfeld walked across the room to a wide wooden door and beckoned everyone to follow. It creaked loudly as he struggled to push it open. “This is an old project of mine started before the wars. I never finished, so it has some limitations, but I believe with practice it will help you find some direction.”
He ducked to keep Dulgirgraut from bumping the top of the door jamb then raised his hand. A small orb floating at his feet glowed, followed by another, and then a third until a winding path of stairs was illuminated before him. “Be careful, there’s no rail on the left side.”
“If you’re afraid of heights, don’t look down,” Aerella recommended as she followed her father. She lifted her blue robes to step carefully.
Hector was the first through the door, followed by Dallow and Tarness. They all gasped and Dallow called back, “Angst, you’ll want to stay close to the wall for this one.”
Angst walked through the doorway to find a long flight of stairs spiraling down around an enormous cylindrical room with a dark center. Stone stairs jutted from the walls, and a loud echoing click announced his first step down. After taking several more steps, Angst made the mistake of kneeling to inspect them. They appeared to be carved of shale, and should’ve been far too thin to hold much weight. Between each stair was empty space and below them, a very long drop into the dark.
Angst stood and tried to go back up the stairs only to find Rose standing behind him with a broad grin on her face. “Problem, Angst?” She moved closer to the open edge of the stairway and looked over at him. “Oh, wow, you really need to see this.” She leaned over further and wobbled slightly.
“Rose!” Angst yelled as he grabbed her waist and pulled her to the wall.
She laughed so hard she was forced to sit on a step and catch her breath. Angst was holding onto his chest, his heart racing.
Tarness had made his way back up the flight of stairs, quickly followed by Dallow and Hector.
“Oh, what now?” Hector asked as he eyed Rose.
“Angst isn’t afraid of heights, he’s afraid of other people falling,” she informed them after her chuckles became manageable. Rose fluttered her eyelashes at Angst. “My hero!” she proclaimed then collapsed into laughter again.
“That wasn’t funny!” Angst grunted and shoved his way past everyone to descend the stairs.
Hector was shaking his head. “You two never stop. Come on, we need to catch up before—”
The room was suddenly flooded with light, as though the roof had been removed and sunlight now poured in. Except it wasn’t pouring in, it was pouring up. A massive glass dome covered the entire floor, with a giant fiery orb at its center, as though the sun had been captured and placed inside.
Anderfeld was waving everyone down the stairs. “Come, you’ll want to see this,” he said, pride clear in his voice.
The stairs ended at a ten-foot square platform where Anderfeld and Aerella stood. Dulgirgraut rested on a short, glowing cylindrical pedestal in the center.
“This helps channel some of Dulgirgraut so I can operate the memndus,” Anderfeld said excitedly.
“I’m not completely sure I follow,” Dallow said, tilting his head in curiosity.
“What my father is trying to say is that this memndus,” Aerella pointed down at the dome, “can make a map, of sorts, but you need a foci to control it.”
“You’ll see, you’ll see.” Anderfeld waved Angst over to the platform. “Come. You’ll need to watch closely so you can learn how to use it.”
Angst carefully stepped onto the platform. Aerella took his arm and smiled. “It’s fine. You’ll like this.”
“I’d recommend everyone else back up against the wall,” Anderfeld said then waited for them to follow his instructions. Spread along the exterior, they all took a stair and pressed their backs to the cold stone wall. “Fine, and here we go.”
Anderfeld turned away from Dulgirgraut to face two white obelisks that stood on the edge of the platform. They were similar to those that had guided Angst during the journey, except that these bore carved hand imprints like the one at the entrance of Gressmore Towers. Anderfeld placed one hand on each obelisk and then, hunching his broad shoulders forward, leaned into them.
The platform gently lifted away from the wall, and Angst was grateful for Aerella’s arm. She continued to hold on as they floated around the dome. The small glowing orbs that had lit the stairs dimmed to nothing and an almost reverential hush filled the room.
Still pushing against the obelisks, Anderfeld gazed at the dome and focused with intent. The sun within the globe pulled away, shrinking to the size of a child’s ball. Darkness surrounded the ball and seemed to push it to the far end of the dome, until the sun was completely out of view. Now the entire room was dark and the dome filled with stars.
“Pretty, don’t you think?” Aerella asked.
“Very,” Angst whispered. Then he paused and added, “The dome is nice too,” making Aerella giggle.
A blue and green orb came into view, moving slowly until it reached the center. The orb quickly grew until half the hemisphere filled the dome.
“Is this Ehrde?” Dallow asked from the stairs, loud enough so everyone could hear.
“It is, but my Ehrde from two thousand years ago.” Anderfeld leaned his head forward and shut his eyes in concentration. Four lights appeared on the map like distant stars. “This is the last known location of the four mage cities. You can see Gressmore here,” he said as the northern-most light became brighter.
“Can we see the other cities? Can we look closer?” Dallow asked excitedly.
“As I said, I never finished the project. My hope is that if Angst can figure out how it works, you may be able to identify the source of what you call the Vex’kvette from this distance.”
He removed his hands from the obelisks, and the hovering platform returned to its original place near the stairs. Anderfeld took Dulgirgraut from the glowing pedestal, and the dome instantly darkened. The small orbs illuminated the stairs with their cool light once again. Everyone along the stairs let out a collective sigh as though they’d been holding their breath while watching a dangerous performance.
“That was simply incredible,” Angst said with admiration and wonder. “You made that?”
“I did.” Anderfeld seemed pleased with Angst’s appreciation. “Are you ready to guide the memndus?”
Angst looked at Aerella, who nodded at him encouragingly. “Sure. I’ll be amazed if I can figure it out, but it doesn’t hurt to try. Uh, does it?”
Anderfeld shook his head.
Angst set the tip of Chryslaenor in the center of the pedestal. After several anxious moments, a white glow appeared from the pedestal, the small orbs around the room dimmed, and the sun returned to its place inside the dome. His shoulders relaxed a bit.
“That’s a good sign,” Angst said under his breath.
Movement within the memndus was jerky as Angst attempted to navigate the view of Ehrde. After some time, an image of their planet once again appeared. It was spinning rapidly and seemed out of focus.
“This should be the Ehrde you know from your time, but you will need to concentrate,” Anderfeld urged Angst patiently.
The globe slowed until it stopped spinning completely, and a trickle of sweat dripped down Angst’s neck. Ehrde filled the dome as it had for Anderfeld.
“Excellent, Angst, you’re learning fast,” Anderfeld acknowledged. “I believe that is your Vex’kvette right there.” He pointed at an ugly orange scar that crisscrossed the landscape like a spider web.
A headache was forming, and the light from the dome hurt his eyes as he opened them.
“It would appear that the greatest concentration of the Vex’kvette can be found near the capital of Fulk’han,” Dallow said.
“If Fulk’han is in the same place I remember it, I would have to agree,” Anderfeld stated.
“Can we see closer?” Angst grunted, concentrating on keeping the image of the globe still.
“You could if I’d finished it,” Anderfeld said apologetically. “It has that potential, but...”
Angst’s body shook as he forced the dome to zero in on the image.
“Angst, it really isn’t supposed to do that. Please stop,” Anderfeld said, placing a firm hand on Angst’s shoulder.
Ehrde seemed closer though the image jerked about violently. A mountain appeared, and then a tree, and finally the base of Gressmore Towers.
Anderfeld was trying to pull Angst away from the obelisks. “What are you doing? You could break it!”
“It’ll be back tomorrow when you relive your day. Let me be!” Angst yelled.
Anderfeld let go of Angst’s shoulders, grunting in frustration at the abuse to his memndus. Rose, Dallow, and Hector knelt and held onto a stair as the entire room began to shake. The dome continued to flash random images of treetops as though looking through the eyes of a bird that occasionally blinked while in flight.
“Everyone hang on!” Anderfeld shouted.
“To what?” Tarness asked, gripping tighter to his stair and reaching for Rose to hold her in place.
The shaking suddenly stopped as the dome broke free of its base on the floor. It pulled away from the room, revealing an outline of the bright clouds and blue sky Gressmore towered over. Angst was gasping for breath, not only holding the giant dome in place, but guiding its internal map to a destination. After several very long minutes, an image of the castle in Unsel appeared. It flashed and then changed to show the inside of the castle and, finally, Princess Victoria pacing in her chambers.
“You have got to be kidding me! All this to catch a glimpse of the princess?” Rose said, her voice exhausted.
With a growl, Angst focused until the image adjusted to show the princess pacing in front of Heather.
“She’s safe. They’re both s
afe,” Angst said with relief, gasping deeply. He let go of the image and the dome. They watched as it pulled away and tumbled into the clouds below, leaving nothing but the view of open sky and supporting obelisks instead of a floor. “But why is Heather at the castle?”
“I was certain Anderfeld was going to kill you,” Hector said the next morning, his words muffled by a mouthful of breakfast.
“I sort of thought he was more surprised that his memndus could do all of that,” Dallow said in amazement. “Though, I think we would’ve been better served if you’d showed us more precise images of the Vex’kvette source.”
“I needed to know that Heather was okay,” Angst said matter-of-factly.
“That’s who you were checking on?” Rose asked.
“We’ll go back today and ask to use the dome one more time,” Angst said ignoring her. “Since they relive every day, I’m hoping its back in one piece and we can get a better view of the Vex’kvette.”
At the courtyard entrance, they were greeted by Aerella, Anderfeld, and a team of red-robed men. Anderfeld was once again dressed in full armor, but this time his expression was angry and a thick green aura surrounded Dulgirgraut.
“Good morning,” offered Angst. He held out his hand to Anderfeld, who replied curtly in the language they couldn’t understand, refusing to take Angst’s hand. He turned away, and Angst was surprised to see that the large man’s long braid was still missing. Had he cut it off again?
Angst shrugged and looked back at his friends. “Odd. I guess we start from scratch one more time. This is my favorite part anyway.” He offered his hand to Aerella.
She stepped away from Angst’s hand, seeming upset to the point of tears. The red-garbed men joined hands and muttered something under their breaths. Their eyes glowed ominously.
Angst Box Set 1 Page 26