Haunt & Havoc

by Jeremy Dwyer

  “At least we can see,” Desmond said.

  “The spirit will expect repayment,” Jaguar said.

  “Let’s hear the price,” Celio said.

  The voice again spoke to Lady Ismene in a voice that only she could hear, and it said: “Enter the chamber now revealed. To the waters of light one must now be bound. Your purpose shall be set and your destiny sealed. The luminaries must be unlit when found.”

  A door opened on the other side of the great hall and Lady Ismene said: “We must enter that chamber.”

  “Why?” Anan asked.

  “The spirit said to drink of waters of light,” Ismene said.

  “I drink of the ‘tiger’ waters, so I can drink of no other. That is the law of the oceans,” Jaguar said, referring to the Nabavodel Ocean waters.

  “And I drink of the Zovvin waters,” Lady Ismene said.

  “I’m already waterbound to Medathero,” Anan said.

  “As am I,” Desmond said.

  “Those waters are supposed to enhance logical thought, aren’t they? I would think you would be better at mathematics by drinking them,” Celio said.

  “It only multiplies what you’re already good at. Historical mysteries, deciphering clues about ancient civilizations, languages, traditions, some old star charts – I have strong intuition about them. But I don’t really have any talent for calculus or combinatorics. That’s why I have you,” Desmond said.

  “So what do you drink?” Lady Ismene asked.

  “I’m not waterbound to anything. I don’t trust the waters – they’re toxic: if you drink of one, every other one is poison. That makes them all dangerous…and dubious,” Celio said.

  “That’s not a sound reason to reject them all. You might as well have the advantage of one of the waters,” Anan said.

  “I never had a strong enough argument to decide which one was most suitable – or least wrong. It’s a significant decision, and has consequences, and side-effects,” Celio said.

  “The spirits wants us to enter that chamber, and for you to choose light – the Lujladia waters. Follow me,” Ismene said and she began walking to the indicated room. Anan, Celio, Desmond and Jaguar followed her, not knowing what to expect.

  They entered the other chamber, which was shaped like a dodecagon, twenty-one (21) feet in height and thirty (30) feet across. There were fountains of water at each of the twelve (12) corners. Each fountain was on a cylindrical white stone pedestal, which elevated it four (4) feet off of the ground, and the fountains themselves were square slabs five (5) feet on a side and one (1) foot thick. The water of each fountain jetted out of a corner of the slab, then went up eight (8) feet and arced back down into the diagonally opposite corner where it fell into an aperture. Each fountain pedestal had a classical symbol etched into it, symbolizing the water’s identity.

  In the center of the room was a dodecagonal white marble table, eight (8) feet in diameter and four (4) feet in height. Upon the table were many tubes and vials, all of which were empty.

  “Now, you will be able to take the Lujladia waterbinding. Everything you need is here, in this room,” Lady Ismene said.

  “What will those waters even do when I drink them? The ocean itself gives off light, and creates havoc for navigation, but that’s just a standing body of water,” Celio asked.

  “It depends on the person who drinks it. Lujladia generally gives the power to create light, as well as for doing various things with it,” Desmond said.

  “Various things?” Celio asked.

  “That’s where it depends on the person – their innate potential. It also depends on water purity,” Anan said.

  “You need to drink of them. We need to find our way out of here, and this is what the spirit directed us to do, beginning with your waterbinding,” Lady Ismene said.

  “We must repay the spirit’s favor,” Jaguar said.

  “It’s that one,” Desmond said, pointing to the fountain atop the pillar that had the symbol for light.

  “First, take one of those vials,” Anan said.

  “Take a few,” Lady Ismene said.

  Celio went to the table in the center of the room and took three (3) vials, each being five (5) inches long and one (1) inch wide, and made of metal that appeared to be brass, but he wasn’t sure. Celio took the vials over to the indicated fountain that gave Lujladia waters and filled the vials up. Then he said: “I’ve avoided making this mistake for fifty-one (51) years. Now, I’m going to be limited to just this one water…are we sure it’s the right one?” he asked.

  “It’s not a mistake. Those are the waters of light,” Lady Ismene said.

  “This is a world powered by the waters. Everyone and everything in it is influenced to a great degree by those oceans. There’s no getting around it,” Desmond said.

  “Cultures rise and fall by the great waters. They have significance in every industry, ever domain of knowledge, and even in religions and philosophies. There are even mathematical models of the waters, and more is being discovered by those willing to experiment. Perhaps you can do that, as well,” Anan said.

  “The spirits speak clearly to those who drink of the ‘spirit waters’ and come to their side as allies and advisors. And the spirits are guiding you to take the ‘light waters’,” Jaguar said.

  “Is this really the water that’s going to help us get out of here? I don’t get a chance to change my mind – I know that much,” Celio said.

  “I have no doubt. The spirit directed us to these waters, and insisted that we find the luminaries to extinguish their dark flames. Be confident and drink of those waters,” Lady Ismene said.

  Celio drank from one of the vials he filled and was energized – and waterbound – as a result.

  “Drink again. Waterbinding is instant, but adjusting your body to the water takes time before you can become proficient with the powers given,” Anan said.

  Celio drank from the second vial, and then the third vial, each one energizing him further.

  “I see a light around you – as if the spirits have blessed you,” Jaguar said. The room itself was lit by from a chandelier overhead, and from the light that poured in from a chandelier and other candles in the great room, as well. However, a slight glow around Celio’s body was noticeable.

  “No. It’s the power of light, not spirits. Their blessings can only be seen by those who drink the Zovvin waters,” Lady Ismene said.

  “You should be good now. I’ve seen this several times before…although most cultures would have you drink much sooner. Some even force the choice on their children, for one reason or another,” Desmond said.

  “There are good reasons for that compulsory choice, in some cases. The Jenaldej Empire has a selection process based on the affinity testing technique. Other cultures are driven only by a need for diamond miners, and demand a Kazofen waterbinding. Some do it for farming and insist on a Gradaken waterbinding. There’s usually a practical reason, although sometimes it is superstition,” Anan said.

  “In the jungle, only the ‘tiger waters’ give the strength to win,” Jaguar said.

  “Brighten the room. Prove that you’ve got what it takes,” Desmond said.

  “So now it’s a question of me?” Celio asked.

  “The room is already lit. Concentrate the light over there, to make one side brighter,” Anan said, pointing to the far side of the room.

  Celio concentrated and the light in the room began to shimmer, swirl and move. The light around them faded, but the light on the far side of the room became more intense, almost as if a tree were bent by a breeze such that it shaded those standing on one side and allowed the suns to shine down upon those on the other side. However, the movement of light was unsteady, as if a child or a drunk was running around a dark room with a torch.

  “Not bad for a first try, but you need to control the movement of light and keep it steady,” Anan said.

  “It’s light in some parts of the room and dark in others, like the power of the wat
ers of darkness,” Jaguar said.

  “No: this darkness is just the absence of light, but deep darkness is the presence of a different power, gained from drinking the Ikkith Tar waters. This darkness is a question of measure and degree: some – but not all – of the light was taken from one side of the room and moved to the other. The power Celio just demonstrated was the reallocation of light, but it is never entire,” Anan said.

  “I’ve studied it in the past, but to feel it, and to have the water in me, is different,” Celio said.

  “To experience a thing as part of your person is to understand it on an entirely different level. Apply your mathematical training and aptitude to it, and I have little doubt that you will master the light,” Anan said.

  “And use the light so that we can escape,” Jaguar said.

  “Yes, we have a task to accomplish. We must find those luminaries, and end their darkness,” Lady Ismene said.

  “Lead the way, Celio, bender of light,” Desmond said.

  “Refill your vials, first,” Anan said.

  Celio refilled his three (3) vials with the Lujladia waters from the fountain and then they left the room, with Celio leading the way.

  The door at the main entrance to the castle was closed. Celio opened it from the inside and they left. It was dark outside the castle, because there was no light entering the cavernous mountain that contained it. However, the dim glow around Celio was brighter now, and they could all see the rocky formation upon which they stood and the colossal statues around them.

  “We can see by your light. The spirit’s guidance was correct,” Jaguar said.

  “Those colossal statues have been here for millennia, no doubt, but why?” Desmond said.

  “A good question for another day,” Lady Ismene said.

  “We can see, but the blocked passageway will still prevent us from passing,” Jaguar said.

  “Correct. Therefore, Celio must find another way,” Anan said.

  Celio concentrated and generated a beam of light – jagged and uncontrolled at first – and used it to look around the cavern, which extended upwards for at least three hundred fifty (350) feet above the top of the mesa on which they and the castle and the colossal statues stood. Everyone’s eyes followed the beam of light, looking for a means of escape.

  “Scan around corners. You can reallocate light, so you can likely bend it, in every direction,” Anan said.

  Celio concentrated and bent the light down and around the other side of the mesa behind the castle and found a different path. He continued to scan it and saw that there was a stone walkway on the far side, leading to a maze of caverns.

  “There is another pathway down this mesa on the far side of the castle. It leads to a stone walkway, and then to a maze of caverns,” Celio said.

  “It may be a way out, unlike the previous passage,” Anan said.

  “Lead the way,” Jaguar said.

  “Yes. Quickly,” Lady Ismene said.

  Celio led them around the castle, giving off light from his recently acquired power.

  He easily led them down the pathway on the far side of the castle, and then to a walkway and into the maze of caverns.

  “Which way?” Lady Ismene asked.

  Celio looked ahead, bending light around corners, trying to solve the maze that lay before him.

  “The purity of the water will affect your power, as will innate potential,” Anan said.

  “Light moves quickly – almost instantly – but I have to backtrack when I reach a dead end in the maze, and mentally keep track of which paths I scanned,” Celio said.

  After several minutes, Celio said: “I see a way out, but it’s too dangerous.”

  “What peril do you see ahead?” Anan asked.

  “A nest of sea serpents in the waters at the cave opening. It leads out to the ocean, but we’ll have to get past them,” Celio said.

  “I’ve killed many sea serpents by my speed with a blade,” Jaguar said.

  “How many at once?” Anan asked.

  “One at a time,” Jaguar said.

  “That may not be sufficient. But there is a different way,” Anan said.

  “What are you thinking?” Desmond asked.

  “Let’s get closer and evaluate the situation by eye,” Anan said.

  “I can speak with the dead, but I cannot bring them back. Sea serpents are venomous, and no one here drinks of the Gradaken waters to control them,” Lady Ismene said.

  “Animal spirits can be controlled, can they not?” Anan asked.

  “With care, yes they can, and I have done just that. But we must not get too close and startle them. Speed is not a power that I possess,” Lady Ismene said.

  “Good to hear that we have a secondary plan,” Anan said.

  “And your primary plan is?” Desmond asked.

  “Light makes for heat, and they are drawn to it,” Anan said.

  “Just don’t get too close,” Lady Ismene said.

  “I know. Lead the way,” Anan said to Celio.

  Jaguar drank anew of the waters of the Nabavodel Ocean and was energized. He kept a two (2) foot long blade in his hand, ready to strike. He could kill a sea serpent, or two (2) or maybe even more, and relished the challenge.

  “Wise move, jungle warrior, just in case we need it,” Anan said.

  Celio then led the way through the caverns, walking for over two (2) hours down several miles of caverns, turning this way and that, until they came to a cavern with a deep pool of water and an opening out to the Trerada Ocean on the far side. The dim light of a twilight sky poured in.

  A treacherously narrow stone walkway – leading to the cavern exit – surrounded the deep pool, in which several sea serpents – each twenty (20) feet long – were seen visibly feeding on a dense school of fish trapped in seaweed.

  “At least they have something to eat,” Desmond said.

  “For the moment. They are devouring the fish, but they will soon turn to feed on us,” Jaguar said.

  “We could try to walk around, if we’re quiet,” Desmond said, slowly approaching the walkway.

  A sea serpent raised its head out of the water and lunged toward them at blazing speed, but Jaguar thrust his blade into its eye at similar blazing speed and the animal reeled backwards and plunged into the waters, writhing around. The blade had pierced its brain, and it bled profusely. The water turned red, and the other serpents began to cannibalize it.

  “Can’t say I’m unimpressed,” Anan said.

  “Or surprised,” Desmond said.

  “You cannot walk around them. You are no match for the sea serpents,” Jaguar said.

  Lady Ismene drank anew of the waters of the Zovvin Ocean and was energized. She called to the spirits of the sea serpents in the deep pool and ordered them to move away. Two (2) heeded her call, but fifteen (15) more did not.

  “Remember: light is heat,” Anan said.

  Celio concentrated the light within him and tried to form a beam of heated light and focused it onto the waters near the sea serpents. They began moving toward the center of the deep pool.

  “Focus the heat toward the outside the cavern so that they leave,” Anan said.

  Celio then concentrated more and gradually redirected the heated light beam outside the cavern, and the sea serpents began to follow it.

  Lady Ismene called out to the spirits of the sea serpents again, and this time, all of them followed her direction, being more motivated because of the heated light beam.

  “Can we go now? I sure don’t want to make any hasty movements,” Desmond asked.

  Celio looked out and said: “They are close to the entrance, but they don’t seem to be exiting.”

  “We can go, but you need to continue to focus the hot light farther and farther away,” Anan said.

  Celio proceeded slowly along the walkway around the deep pool, ever watching the sea serpents and projecting the heated beam of light at them, so that they continued to move out farther, exiting the cavern.

/>   They reached the edge of the walkway at the mouth of the cavern, and looked out onto the Trerada Ocean under a twilight sky.

  “The luminaries did this. It is darker than it was before, and the sky was already losing much of its light,” Lady Ismene said.

  “Here we are, staring out over the ocean,” Desmond said.

  “The Trerada Ocean. I know because I know where this castle is,” Lady Ismene said.

  “Project a distant light and signal a ship,” Anan said.

  Celio concentrated and sent a light out for a few miles.

  “You may want to drink again. The powers fade as you use them,” Lady Ismene said.

  “And keep watching the sea serpents. They’re not gone yet,” Anan said.

  Celio drank anew of the waters from one of his vials and was energized. He then concentrated more and projected a light for hundreds of miles, at various angles, so as to signal a distant ship. All the while, he diverted some of his attention to the sea serpents nearby, projecting a heated beam of light to drive them farther away.

  ~~~

  Captain Linette, a forty-nine (49) year old woman who drank the Atrejan Ocean waters, co-owned and operated a one hundred seventy-three (173) foot long fishing trawler known as the Frigid Cornucopia. The ship had three (3) sails, each fifty-two (52) feet high, but they were single-masted and non-pivoting, so it was not convertible to an airship. Linette had forty-five (45) regular crew on board – some to operate the sails and others to manage the nets – which were currently full. She had two (2) additional crew on board, as of late, who were Lujladia drinkers and they worked as light benders for navigation.

  Linette was also the navigator, and her younger sister – Melony – who drank the same Atrejan waters, was her co-navigator. Linette’s twin brother was the co-owner, but he was a silent partner and rarely set foot on the ship. Neither Linette nor Melony, however, could navigate well anymore because listening to the stars brought pain or death. Instead, they relied on light generated by the light benders, and who charged a premium for their services, which were now in great demand. She couldn’t rely on just one (1) of the light benders, however, because people needed rest, so they were usually hired in pairs. This cut into her profits, requiring harder work to bring in a bigger catch each time they went out.