Atticus & The Blade King

by M K Drake

  “Loki!” screams Olof. “You dare to interfere here again?” He readies his hammer and spins it quickly, moving it faster and faster. He is about to launch it towards the Norse deity, when his hand suddenly freezes.

  Mage Callan sees this and attempts to launch his own attack but is also made to halt in his spot.

  Loki laughs again, and with a swift wave of one of his hands he forces the Majjai to the ground. “Come with me beast. I will protect you, keep you safe. All you need to do is stay loyal to me, and you will be free.”

  The Minotaur grunts and snorts again. “Freedom? You can give me this?”

  “Monty no!” Ju Long tries to plead to the Minotaur. “Do not listen to him! He can’t be truste…”

  Before he can complete his sentence, Loki conjures a large plaster, sealing the Majjai’s mouth.

  Loki laughs as he surveys his work. “Ah, much better. I think your friends may even thank me for stopping your voice for a while.” Loki giggles again before returning his attention to the Minotaur. “Yes, you beautiful creature, you. I can give you freedom, if you help me with one or two little things.”

  The Minotaur looks towards Ju Long, before glancing towards the pit where Hel is trapped. He returns his gaze to Loki before making his decision.

  “Very well… Master.”

  Chapter 9

  Helheim’s Gate

  Loki clasps his palms together, smiling wildly. “Oooh, wonderful! What does this one call you? Monty? Well, welcome to my gang Monty.”

  The Minotaur stomps its hooves hard to the ground before running towards the tunnel that exits the chamber to the outside world.

  Loki steps over to Olof and kneels menacingly to the floor, whispering into the Norse Majjai’s ear. “You are pathetic; and to think, they thought you worthy. You are a weak human, playing a god’s game. You will soon learn what real gods can do.”

  Olof tenses, trying to force any muscle to move, to retaliate, to fight back, but it’s useless, the hold on him and the other Majjai is too great. Loki is very powerful, but he continues to try. The strain soon becomes too much, and Olof’s vision becomes blurred. His eyes soon close, exhausted from trying to escape, and too weak to fight off the darkness of sleep that overcomes him.

  # # #

  It is not clear how many minutes have passed. Olof’s eyes slowly blink open, the only noises in the chamber now are the other members of the group trying to break free. There is no longer any evidence of Loki’s presence, and slowly but surely the Majjai are able to ease themselves out of the grasp that held them.

  One by one they stand, wearily checking themselves for damage.

  Ju Long is moving a hand upwards to remove the plaster covering his mouth when he is stopped by Safaya.

  “You know, you could keep that on for a little bit longer!”

  Olof smiles, looking appreciatively towards Safaya, thanking her in his thoughts for bringing a semblance of brevity to the moment. He sees Ju Long scowl, and before his friend can remove the seal from his mouth, Olof blasts a jet of cold air, freezing it to Ju Long’s jaw for a few moments more.

  The Majjai chuckle, almost overlooking the purpose for their visit, but that forgetfulness does not last for long.

  “Majjai!”

  Hel’s angry voice resonates through the chamber, shaking the very floor where the Majjai stand.

  Olof runs to the blocked Hell gate, draws back Mjolnir and smashes it hard into the rock and mud that is blocking the passage. The impact causes a massive cloud of dust and smoke to fill the area, causing the Majjai to cough and splutter.

  Olof claps his hands together hard, forcing the air in front of him to blow away, clearing the lingering particles of dirt. They begin to hear it then, the screams, faint at first, then louder, as if the whole of Helheim is attempting to break free, their tormented souls sensing freedom. One ghostly apparition flies upwards – Olof recognises it as one of the dead soldiers he saw earlier, being sucked through the portals from the dead bodies on the battlefields. But the attempt does not last long as Hel appears below it, grabbing the being’s essence and throwing it back down the pit.

  She climbs out, exhausted, but still with enough strength to tear a large chunk of rock from the wall and using it to close the gate to Helheim. She raises an arm, sparking out a jet of purple light, igniting the edges of the pit, bonding it with the new seal. She sighs before turning to the Majjai. “This is temporary. Your meddling has caused this!”

  Olof looks towards the others, slowly shaking his head, signalling them not to react, he knows the power this Norse goddess holds, and knows to be fearful of it.

  Hel looks sternly at Ju Long. “Get that ridiculous thing off your face!” She waves a hand, forcing the plaster seal to disintegrate from the Majjai’s mouth. “What did you do to my guardian? You were only supposed to use the healing ointment I gave you – and you gave him your dragon blood?”

  Ju Long nods sheepishly. “I thought…”

  “Don’t think!” screams Hel forcefully, sending an invisible shockwave through the chamber; her voice echoes, bouncing against the walls. “You have no idea what you have done. My fool of a father would welcome a war between the Greek and the Norse for his own gains. The Minotaur leaving could risk everything. Loki has joined forces with Razakel; he is now a traitor to us all.”

  Olof is confused, wondering what could possibly be gained from such an alliance. “He must want something very badly to partner himself with such a being?”

  Hel smirks, her piercing blue eyes glare at Olof. “Of course he wants something, he always does. And because of you fools, he may well get it! He now has my guardian; he knows I cannot chase him as I have to ensure this Hell gate remains protected, or the dead will walk this realm and every other with nothing but vengeance as their motivation. It would be the end of all things!”

  Mage Callan steps forward, cautiously. “There must be a way to re-seal the gate?”

  Hel turns her back to the Majjai and walks over to check that the pit is still secure. “There is, but as I have already said, I cannot leave here. This is your doing, so the task is yours.”

  Safaya, slightly angered at the accusation darts towards Hel. “We do not take orders from you. We came here to help you, why shouldn’t we just leave you locked here forever protecting this space?”

  Hel scowls, turns swiftly and grabs Safaya by the neck, lifting her high. She spots the Majjai reacting, about to launch a retaliation, and stops it with barely an effort, waving them to the ground with her free hand.

  “You dare?” she says, looking in to Safaya’s eyes. She looks deeply, as if peering into the Majjai’s very soul. “Ah, so you are the truth that needs to be realised? Interesting... Well, you will either do as I say, or I will reap your souls and throw them into the pit. Is that what you would prefer?”

  Safaya shakes her head, realising that Hel should not be trifled with, at least not without a plan.

  The Norse goddess lowers her slowly. “Good,” she says as she releases the other Majjai from her control. “Helheim has but one gate. And one seal, but Tartarus has many. And one in particular can be taken without any effect on their dead, that route was blocked a long time ago.”

  Ju Long, raising a curious eyebrow, looks to Olof for any indication of knowledge as to Hel’s comment, but sees nothing, so he turns back to Hel. “Why?”

  “I told you not to speak!” Hel says sternly, and regenerates the plaster seal on Ju Longs mouth. “It needed to be blocked because no souls could venture that way anymore. Something else lives there.”

  “What?” asks Joyce, as she tries to remove the seal from her Majjai friend’s jaw.

  Hel takes a moment to check the sealed pit again. “The Kraken, reborn,” she says with a nonchalant arrogance, but one that can, perhaps purposefully, be seen through.

  Olof looks with concern towards the other Majjai before they all return their attention to Hel, waiting for her to continue. He knows all too well that there
is more to this than the Norse deity is letting on.

  She senses their concern immediately. “You are right to be troubled. But it is the only way. And only you Majjai here can retrieve it – apart from your own pet jester there,” she says looking directly at Ju Long. “I cannot trust him not to come up with any more great ideas.”

  “What about Atticus?” asks Mage Callan. “We would certainly need him for such a task?”

  “No!” replies Hel. “He cannot be involved. No other Majjai assistance apart from those of you who are here. Do this, and I will show you something in “The Sparks of Hel” that will aid you greatly in your war with the Demon King. A way to weaken him enough to destroy him utterly with the combined Swords of Power.”

  Mage Callan places a hand onto Olof’s shoulder, and nods his approval. “Very well. We should leave now, we will bring back your seal.” He throws a communications crystal towards Hel. “Keep this close, we will contact you when we have it.”

  Hel nods. “You may rest in the tavern north of the river. I will send you the location when you commence your journey.” She then waves her hand once more, teleporting all of the Majjai out of the chamber and back outside, close to the banks of the river Gjöll.

  # # #

  “We can’t do this alone,” says Olof, as he prepares a communication crystal to contact Alvaar. He spies Ju Long from the corner of his eye, rubbing his arms furiously, trying to keep warm, while Joyce is still trying to remove the plaster from his mouth.

  Mage Callan smiles. “Indeed. She said we couldn’t use any more Majjai help. Human help on the other hand…”

  Olof smiles, and waves a hand over the crystal, changing its colour and cutting away from the shadowy image of Alvaar’s face that is just beginning to appear before abruptly disappearing. As Olof’s friend’s confused face fades away; the crystal is redirected to contact someone else.

  “General Crawford here, how can I help?”

  A Majjai History: Vol 3 Chapter 5: Angels

  Angels are wonderful creatures. But they never interfere. There are rules that they need to follow, and that is why they do not aid the Majjai against the demon realm.

  They are bound to only intervene when the natural order of things is threatened. Demons are not unnatural, they are a creation, they are alive, soulless, but alive.

  There are factions within their ranks, just as there are within Majjai, Demons, Old Gods, and the Eternals.

  There are those that are called Fravashi, and these are they who are commonly known as Guardian Angels. Contact with the Fravashi was mostly between Seers, Watchers, and certain Majjai who used totems with elements similar in construct to the Creation Hearthstone at the molecular level.

  Alas, contact with any Angels is now unheard of. They have become recluse, mostly due to the strict enforcement of their laws by the leading faction of Archangels.

  We know of three Archangels who rule with an iron fist, Gabriel, Michael and Raphael. They have taken the rule of non-interference as an absolute, and have forbidden direct contact of any form. There are few that can overrule them, but it is thought that the Horsemen of the Apocalypse have even more weight and are able to act outside of – and indeed veto – certain declarations made by the Archangels.

  The other two factions we are aware of are Angels of Eternal Lineage. These are thought to be as powerful as Archangels, but are freer. However, they still obey the rules set out by their brothers. They are also the foot soldiers for the general like Archangels.

  The final faction is that of the common Angel; many of these are human souls that have risen to this rank based on their worthiness. But there is a sacrifice, and it is their choice to make.

  There is only one rule that would ever allow the Angels to help either side in this war, and that is the breaking of free will.

  Every living thing is given the power of choice. They can choose their path, be it for good, or evil. It is their balance; it is the balance of the universe. Choice cannot be broken, will cannot be broken.

  If a being’s will is broken, be they demon, human, old god, or Eternal, only then will the Angels intervene to return the balance and fix the damage accrued to a will being forced.

  There is only one being that is forbidden to have free will, and that is the one we are discussing here... angels. They guard it without question, but cannot have it; it is a duty they choose to protect this gift for all others.

  Chapter 10

  Pain of Truth

  Atticus looks at the large gate to Wysardian Manor, its imposing height towering above himself and Pali. Things have been moving so quickly these past few days, he wonders what he has missed in his short time away. He reaches inside his coat, thankful for its warmth; the weather at this time of the evening is much colder here than in the humid climes of India. He clasps the vial that was given to him by Mage Avipaul, the one containing the potion to help Elric with rapid aging which he has been experiencing since the destruction of the Orb of Time. The delicacy of the concoction required them to travel by more mundane ways; no Majjai portals or teleportation, for that would risk unbalancing the properties of it. He is determined to hand the potion directly to Elric as soon as possible.

  Atticus sighs, the day has been long and he knows there are still tasks to be done. This night is not going to be any respite by being short. He reaches out to the gate and flinches as the cold metal, made slightly damp by the moisture in the air, startles him. They pass through, and he starts to close it behind himself and Pali when he hears a familiar voice.

  “Hey guys! Hold up!”

  Atticus turns to see Ju Long running up to them.

  “Glad I caught you two, that Hel can be a right moany…”

  Before Ju Long can finish his sentence, Pali gives him a huge hug.

  Ju Long smiles. “Thank you! You have no idea how much I needed that right now. Traipsing for two days to get here. Loki put some sort of temporary anti-teleportation curse on us, and I still feel pain in my left butt cheek where that Minotaur kicked me!”

  Atticus is relieved to see Ju Long– worry for his friend was slowly eating away at him, and to see their friend well and jovial pleases him greatly. “Come on, we need to get inside,” he says. “You can tell us all about it on the way.”

  Atticus listens attentively while Ju Long explains the events, almost even smiling when Pali blurted out. “You named it Monty?” but all the while his mind is on other things. Even with so much going on, there is another thing keeping him from focusing: The Professors’ continual distancing. There is an undercurrent of mistrust there that he does not understand, and it eats at him constantly.

  Ju Long and Pali’s chatter blurs into the background of his thoughts as he leads them upwards towards the Majjai portion of the school. The Runes of Zaman, and their ability to slow time to an almost infinite point has allowed the team to be able to rest without losing much real time in the world, but Atticus often uses this time to ponder on his troubled thoughts. He trains and focuses, often spending weeks within the sphere of slowed time, and losing mere seconds of time outside them. He is glad for this, as it allows him to put a pause to the constant avoidance from those that he once saw as invaluable guides.

  “Ah, you have returned!”

  Atticus looks ahead to see Professor Morgan rushing towards them, a broad smile on his face. “Yes, the others are still…” Atticus is ignored again as the Professor bundles past him, purposefully not making any form of eye contact.

  The Professor barges right up to Ju Long and Pali, huffing and puffing, as if he has just completed a mini marathon. “I need to find Elric immediately, have you seen him?”

  Ju Long shakes his head. “We have only just returned, you’re the first person we’ve seen. Maybe Attic…”

  “Never mind! I will find him myself!” replies Professor Morgan abruptly, as he marches away from the young Majjai.

  Atticus sighs as he catches a glimpse of Ju Long staring at him.

  “Yes, I k
now what you want to do now,” he says, looking at Atticus, waiting for the Professor to be out of earshot.

  “What?” asks Pali. “You’re going to follow him, aren’t you?”

  Atticus throws a wry smile towards Pali, nodding. “You know us too well.” He looks towards Ju Long, still smirking. “Shall we?”

  “Wait!” Pali says. “You’re not going alone. I’ve been working on something, a personal cloaking device using my Mecha Knight components.” Pali opens a panel on her forearm.

  Mecha Knights are Majjai that have created a symbiotic relationship with technology, and use it to their advantage. In Pali’s case, she has a bio-mechanical arm that can be manipulated in many ways, providing weaponry, shielding, tools. But this is the first time the others have seen it being used in this fashion. “I’ve analysed your method of magical invisibility and replicated it within a field by manipulating the tachyon pulse from my core’s quantum field generator…”

  Atticus raises a hand. “Uhm, great, I have no idea what you just said, but hey, if it works, you’re more than welcome to join us.”

  Ju Long grins widely. “I love it when you talk smart!” he says before holding out his palm expecting a high five in return from Pali.

  She looks at him, scowls slightly, and ignores the high five request, instead pushing a sequence of buttons on the newly revealed panel on her arm. After a few sounds bleeping at different frequencies, she is showered in a bubble of light, which quickly fades and blends into the background, making her completely invisible.

  Atticus and Ju Long phase themselves out of the visible light spectrum as well, synchronising their frequency with Pali’s so the three can see each other, but no-one outside of their range of existence can view them. This method of invisibility allows them to be able to pass through objects as they see fit, without bringing attention to themselves, it turns their bodies out of phase of their current reality, so although the matter around them still exists, they are not hindered by it, and they can flow through it as if it is merely a viscous liquid.