by Jeremy Dwyer
Gisella became frightened momentarily, but felt a comforting presence around her, and somehow knew that she was safe.
~~~
Unseen was Ondothel – the Guardian Angel of Chroniclers of the Oath – and the spirits did not come near to Gisella because of him.
~~~
King Xander drank anew of the waters of the Zovvin Ocean from his vial and was energized. He looked at the haunts and laughed.
“I answer to no spirits, not even demons,” King Xander said. He then unleashed his powers: a wave of energy that only spirits – including the Guardian Angel Ondothel – could see or feel emanated from the king and the entire swarm of haunts was expelled from the room and sent far away. Ondothel, being a Guardian Angel, was unaffected.
Aura looked on in amazement – she wondered why the king needed Rivka if he could manipulate spirits by himself. The answer came to her immediately, however: the king was using everyone around him, to expend their efforts and save his energy for himself. Another answer also occurred to her: the king was not revealing the true extent of his powers so as to catch his enemies off guard.
“I am truly king, Aura. Let there be no doubt of that. And let there be no doubt of the unified waters – they flow in this world, and they give all powers. Now, instruct the people in my kingdom to seek them with their greatest efforts,” King Xander said.
Gisella recorded all that she saw and heard into her book. Although she could not see the powers of the king, it became clear that the king had some power over the apparitions. Since they were visible, but translucent, she considered that it was possible that they were made of light, rather than spirit. That would, if true, mean that they were being manipulated by an illusionist who used the powers of the waters of the Lujladia Ocean to control the light. The king’s power was believed to be of spirit, because the vial from which he drank was carved with the classical symbol indicating that it contained the waters of the Zovvin Ocean. Although, even that could be a ruse: it was not terribly uncommon for water to be placed in an improperly marked vial, either to conceal the powers a person truly wielded, or to trick someone into drinking the wrong water and die of crixalethicis.
Aura walked down the steps from the throne and left the throne room. She walked through the receiving room and then left the palace. She drank anew of the waters of the Pirovalen Ocean from her own vial along the way, so that she was energized.
Gisella, however, remained with King Xander.
“Do not doubt my words, Chronicler. The spirits have no power over me, and they waste their efforts by denying that the unified waters exist. I will have them,” King Xander said.
Gisella wrote the king’s words into her book, hoping that the king was lying, or just incorrect. The thought of a single water with all powers – however enticing – was too terrible, given that this tyrant intended to have them for himself.
~~~
Aura went out into the courtyard and stood among the many people working around her. She saw that they were still captivated by the enchantment of the songs and the telepathy and the spirits. She considered a new tactic, so that the king would not become all powerful. She walked among these laborers, speaking in a sing-song voice, saying: “Rest. Do not labor in vain. Tell all others, that they should not die for this king. Rest, do not live in chains. Seek not the water that gives power over everything.”
The musical qualities of her voice enchanted the people yet again, so that this new message spread slowly, but surely, through different parts of Ihalik.
~~~
As a frigate in the Jenaldej Empire navy, the Ever Watchful was a three hundred seventy (370) foot long vessel with four (4) pairs of double-masted sails, each sixty-two (62) feet in height. In a group of thirty (30) other ships, it sailed the Kazofen Ocean, along the southern coast of Revod, guarding against further incursions by King Xander.
At the wheel was Captain Arrigo – a fifty-one (51) year old drinker of the waters of the Medathero Ocean. He was previously a resource coordinator from age twenty-three (23) – when he received his waterbinding – until the age of thirty-nine (39). Although successful in his assignments, he found that he was specifically better suited to navigating the oceans and hand picking his senior officers, rather than having other, more general purpose, resource coordinators assign them. Arrigo knew which navigators were most proficient, as well as which were the best crystal benders – since they would be responsible for making and repairing the sailing crystals – and he sought out their services, and even adjusted their pay to encourage them to join his crew.
His current senior officers included additional crew members: a singer, a telepath and a controller of spirits.
One of these new crew members was Maura, a thirty-six (36) year old drinker of the waters of the Pirovalen Ocean. She used the powers of these waters to sing various melodies which carried far and wide, both to those on shore and those in the naval group, to protect against enchantment by song. Maura could also detect the distant sound of anyone else singing what sounded to be a musical enchantment so that she could warn of their approach and prepare a countermanding song of enchantment.
Another crew member was Romolo, a forty-six (46) year old drinker of the waters of the Elanatin Ocean. He used the telepathic powers these waters gave him to protect those on board the ship and other vessels against attacks upon their minds or emotions, and to detect and warn about the beginnings of such attacks.
The other additional member was Lothario, a twenty-nine (29) year old drinker of the waters of the Zovvin Ocean. He used the spiritual powers of these waters to detect and warn about attacks by spirits.
Captain Arrigo looked at these officers – whom he had personally chosen for his crew – and awaited their report, but none was forthcoming. He did not interrupt them, but had instructed them to only report when something was amiss, rather than assail him with useless negative information. The same orders were given to the singers, telepaths and spirit controllers of the other ships in the fleet. The only difference was that Maura – and the other singers – could be heard from afar, so as to create an initial shield against musical enchantments.
~~~
Gadamalto sensed what King Xander had done to the first spirit swarm and became furious. He began calling to more and more spirits, promising comforts rather than suffering in their spirit life if they came to serve him by striking at King Xander. These, too, were sent away by King Xander, because his powers against spirits were far greater than what the demon had anticipated. The king drank the purest Zovvin Ocean waters from his vial, and had great potential for their use, so he withstood every spiritual assault that the demon launched, dispelling the successive swarms of spirits that intended to haunt him.
~~~
Lothario suddenly detected a swarm of spirits and spoke up, saying: “Captain, spirits of evil intent are approaching the ships.”
Captain Arrigo looked to Maura and Romolo to see if they could detect any other sort of attack.
Maura said: “I sense no adversarial music, Captain.”
Romolo said: “I detect no attacks upon thought or emotion, Captain.”
“Romolo, warn the other ships to guard against the spirits,” Captain Arrigo said.
Romolo reached out to the other telepaths on the ships in the naval group and gave the warning to them, and they relayed the messages to their captains and the spirit controllers, to be prepared for spiritual warfare.
“I have alerted the other ships, Captain,” Romolo said.
“The hostile spirits are closer, and they are vast in number,” Lothario said.
“How many are there?” Captain Arrigo asked.
“Enough to haunt every crewmember of every ship here dozens of times over,” Lothario said.
“What do they want of us?” Captain Arrigo asked.
Lothario drank anew of the waters of the Zovvin Ocean from his vial and was energized. He then reached out to the spirits and asked of them what they wanted, and got hi
s answer quickly enough.
“They want us to die in place of King Xander, that our blood may atone for their own sins, and thus pay the demon, who will end their spiritual suffering as a reward,” Lothario said.
“We have no debt to them!” Captain Arrigo said.
“They don’t care. They are here to make you pay,” Lothario said.
“Defend against the spirits! Control them and send them away!” Captain Arrigo said.
Lothario did all that he could while the swarm of evil spirits attacked him fiercely, and he was able to repel them for a while.
Neither Maura nor Romolo could repel the hostile spirits, however, and Lothario could not protect them directly while he was fully occupied in the spiritual battle.
A spirit entered Maura and she began singing a different song, so that the members of the crew of the Ever Watchful fell under her enchantment. She no longer had control of her body; rather, a hostile spirit possessed her and her musical powers.
A spirit entered Romolo and he began using his telepathic powers to influence the members of the crew. Like Maura, he was under the control of a hostile spirit, and his full range of powers was at the spirit’s disposal.
Under both musical enchantment and telepathic control, the sailors and soldiers on board the Ever Watchful turned their swords and arrows against Captain Arrigo, killing him before he could formulate a strategy. They also struck down Lothario so that he could no longer use his spiritual powers to fend off the hostile spirits. The other ships in the naval group suffered the same fate, killing over sixteen thousand seven hundred (16700) sailors, soldiers and officers.
The hostile spirits then abandoned the corpses and the ships to drift at sea. They did the same to other ships in the Jenaldej Empire fleet, until their deaths numbered over three hundred thirty-four thousand (334000) soldiers, sailors and officers.
The swarm of hostile spirits then moved toward the northeast, headed for a target of even greater value, whose hands were covered in lakes of blood, whose heart was dead while it still beat, and whose mind was filled with a love that was truly hate.
~~~
Along the southern coast of Revod, the Jenaldej Empire had companies of solders, singers, spirit controllers and scouts – both Lujladia-drinking light scouts and Ikkith Tar-drinking dark scouts – who watched for signs of invasion that might have escaped the notice or reach of their navy.
The light scouts witnessed this massacre of the naval fleet in various places and sent other scouts with airships to report it to their regional military generals and resource coordinators and imperial princes.
In the northeast region, the message was delivered to the office of Prince Trahaearn in the large military academy in which his headquarters was located. With him were General Joshua and the Resource Coordinator Nathan.
“The light scouts said that they saw the crew members turn against one another, but not why. An overwhelming attack, unseen, would have been necessary. A singer, concealed by darkness, could have done this. So, too, could a telepath,” Nathan said.
“Or malevolent spirits, in great number. This king used spirit powers in his earlier attacks, and may now be acting at a distance because of his earlier failure,” General Joshua said.
“That is correct,” Nathan said.
“Yet, this latest attack may not be the work of King Xander at all. Consider that they are not advancing against Revod to take us yet again, and the crew members were killed rather than subjugated into service looking for that so-called ‘unified water’. I believe that this is the work of another power, serving its own cause,” Prince Trahaearn said.
“How can you be sure these are not different tactics by the king? You don’t drink the Zovvin waters to let you sense the presence or absence of spirits, or the intentions of the power who controlled them,” General Joshua asked.
“No. I drink the Gradaken waters. I was a regional agricultural coordinator, managing wheat and rice fields, before accepting this position. However, I do understand enough to realize that this king – despite his cruelty – is not actually destructive. Not yet, anyway. Right now, he needs our services, albeit involuntarily. If the attack were by him, then those ships would have been used to retake control of our land, not to destroy the fleet. The king’s motivation has to be considered – this was almost certainly an attack by someone else, having a different purpose,” Prince Trahaearn said.
“Even if that is the case, this other attacker has still made us more vulnerable to King Xander. We need to attack the king before he attacks us – that is the enemy we know. We will have to surprise him, rather than being surprised again,” General Joshua said.
“I would agree that neutralizing a known enemy is the priority. But we have to expect considerable resistance, and to dispatch adequate forces, without making us more vulnerable here. Our initial defenses were partially successful – they protected the eastern regions – and we don’t want to weaken ourselves should this king decide to return,” Prince Trahaearn said.
“The song that freed the captured regions – and whoever the woman was who sang it – had immense power. We may need more music to confront our enemies, who seem to be growing in number,” General Joshua said.
“Then we should assign, at the very least, an even greater number of musicians as well as spirit controllers to each region, should we not? Telepathic powers may also be of use,” Prince Trahaearn asked.
“Not quite. If the powers of spirit are in use, then telepaths have no defense against them, and are more likely to be subdued and used against us – that is possibly what happened in this recent attack on our navy, even though we cannot be sure. I do agree that this is a conflict primarily fought in music and in spirit,” Nathan said.
“If that is true, can the Spirit Sword be used against them?” Prince Trahaearn asked.
“I believe that it may be of use; the assistance of personnel who drink the appropriate waters would likely be at least as important, however,” General Joshua said.
“For our mission against King Xander, the crew should be entirely made of Zovvin and Pirovalen Ocean water drinkers, to provide the only proven offensive ability against spiritual attacks. Trerada drinkers could be used for defense, but they offer little else, so I don’t recommend them,” Nathan said.
“The king first took Ihalik and moved out from there. That is where we should go – where his forces are centered,” General Joshua said.
“I agree. Take the Persistent with adequate personnel and move against him at once,” Prince Trahaearn said.
“We will provide predetermined star charts for your travels, so that you do not need to take an Atrejan drinking navigator, who would be vulnerable to attack by spirits,” Nathan said.
CHAPTER 52: Promises of Love in the Kingdom of Hate
Everything about the mansion was opulent and grand, including the guest bedroom, with brilliant diamonds embedded into the walls and the platinum metal of the bed frame. This was Sebastian’s primary residence, in northern Baradaxa, and he was not alone. A beautiful, young woman was with him, and they stared into each other’s eyes.
Sebastian drank anew of the waters of the Elanatin Ocean from his vial and was energized. He used the powers given by the waters to project the most intense emotions and desires into the woman’s mind.
“I love you, you’re my everything!” the young woman, Liora, then said to him, forgetting who she loved before.
Sebastian put his arms around Liora, kissed her passionately from her lips down to her neck and everywhere else, undressing her as he did.
“I will love you always. Always, in every way,” Sebastian said, his voice filled with intensity from his anticipation of their intimacy.
“Be with me, touch me,” Liora said.
Sebastian took her as his lover, and she embraced him in passion, until they both achieved ecstatic pleasures.
Liora believed it to be a far greater ecstasy than she had ever experienced, crying out in pleasure an
d passion. She forgot everything she ever knew while Sebastian was joined with her, and she did not want to release him, but to keep him close forever.
Sebastian looked upon the woman and found her to be more than adequate – she pleased his eyes greatly, even though she had clearly been with another man and bore his child. He remembered destroying both of them with his telepathic power, by filling the mind of the father with hate for the child, and then with hate for self. That way, Liora would belong to him.
Liora kissed Sebastian and longed to carry his child and to spend endless days and nights with him. She remembered nothing of her former life – not of her love, Ryan, or their child. She forgot more than their deaths – she forgot they ever lived. Such was Sebastian’s power over her thoughts.
When Sebastian was quite satisfied with their lovemaking, he took her in his arms and lay down with her on the bed, gently coaxing her to sleep by kissing her neck and her head. “Dream, dream of us,” Sebastian said. He exerted his influence by the powers of the Elanatin waters to be sure that Liora would not wake for hours. He then stood up and left the bedroom, and then entered another bedroom, equally opulent, having another woman, whom he had likewise deceived.
The estate was vast, with twenty (20) such bedrooms, each occupied with another of Sebastian’s concubines, having had their emotions and memories entirely erased, and their former lovers and children murdered.
~~~
Outside the brilliantly shining and towering crystal wall that surrounded all of Baradaxa, legions of angry spirits lingered, filled with rage.
Dozens of ships waited at the shores with crews and passengers still on board, but no one was being admitted any longer, as the wall had been permanently sealed. The vessels were filled with people who had heard the promise of better lives, and even though the skies were bright again, they sought prosperity within the walled city-continent of Baradaxa.