Haunt & Havoc

by Jeremy Dwyer

  “The palace of King Xander is nearby,” Matoskah said.

  “And the greatest of all the waters is now with us,” Garland said, holding a vial in her hand. She drank anew from it. She then began to sing, as if she had the power given by drinking the Pirovalen Ocean waters. Her words and voice were powerful, and attracted much attention.

  Aura heard this singing and approached the bank of the river. Once there, she saw that another woman was giving a musical performance while standing near a riverboat.

  Garland then held out her hands and numerous animals – including birds of prey, oxen, snakes, doves and various beasts of burden – gathered around her, as if she had the power given by drinking the Gradaken Ocean waters.

  Next, Garland gestured with her hands and the animals seemed to disappear in the darkness.

  Aura observed all of this and became frightened, even as the people in the crowed began to believe and they talked about it. They gathered around Garland and the man – Matoskah – who was standing beside her.

  “Drink of these waters and many powers shall be yours. Pay us and we will combine the waters you would drink so that you never again have to choose only one (1),” Matoskah said.

  “These are the powers that the king told us to seek,” a man in the crowd said.

  “We will drink of these waters and be truly free, as the king has promised,” a woman in the crowd said.

  “No! These are lies! This cannot be! There is no such water!” Aura shouted, and her voice carried far, having a musical quality to it.

  ~~~

  King Xander and Gisella both heard a woman shout in an almost musical voice: “No! These are lies! This cannot be! There is no such water!” They then walked quickly in the direction from which they heard the voice.

  Gisella kept pace with the king, having recorded all that she saw and heard, and she was observant of the crowd around her through which she walked to find the source of the shouting.

  After a brisk walk for several minutes, King Xander and Gisella arrived at the inside edge of the crowd of people, and they were centered around a woman who stood near the bank of a river. The woman seemed to demonstrate the powers of many different waters. Near her was a man calling out to the crowd, saying: “We have the knowledge – the secret to unifying the waters. Pay us, and then you will have the powers you seek, and no longer have to choose only one (1).”

  “If this power is real, then I will have it for myself,” King Xander said. Aura looked up and was startled, because she realized that the king now knew of the claims and she was hoping to keep him unaware.

  King Xander turned to the man and the woman who claimed to be able to combine the powers of the waters. He spoke to them, saying: “If you have such powers, then give to me the combined water that you drink. I, King Xander the Unfailing, will reward you greatly if you can prove its multiple powers to me.”

  “Give to him a vial of the waters, that has powers over both darkness and light,” Matoskah said.

  One (1) of Matoskah’s followers took a vial of the mysterious water and approached King Xander with it, saying: “These waters give powers over both darkness and light.” Secretly, he had been shadowed by other followers of Matoskah, and they had the powers of darkness from the Ikkith Tar waters, the power of light from the Lujladia waters, and the power of telepathy from the Elanatin waters.

  King Xander took the vial and handed it to a man – one (1) his many subjects – in the crowd and said: “I command you to drink of this, and then show to me powers of both darkness and light. If you die of poisoning, or if you do not demonstrate both powers, I will know that this is not a greater water but a ruse.”

  The man who had been given the vial drank of it, and then he felt a sudden power enter his mind, taking over his will. He then began to generate light, as if he had the powers of the Lujladia waters. After that, he began to fade into the darkness, as if he had the powers of the Ikkith Tar waters. In fact, it was the actions of the hidden persons around him that produced these powers.

  “Is this true? Have you done these things, or are there illusions about you?” King Xander asked, still skeptical.

  “It is true. I now have both powers, Your Majesty,” the man said, not being under his own control, but under that of the telepath, compelling him to answer in that way.

  “We truly can have all powers. A unified water does exist, as the king had promised,” another man in the crowd said.

  “Does this end our search? Can we now have rest from our labors?” another woman in the crowd asked.

  Aura became afraid that the king would now grow in power – assuming this demonstration was not an illusion. She hoped to discourage the people in either case, so she began speaking out in a musical voice: “Don’t be deceived by their illusions and your wishful thinking – no one has ever succeeded in combining these waters. Even if this power is real, the king will only use it to destroy all of you. Better to destroy it now before he takes it – or you will die by the king’s tyranny when he has all powers and no further need of you.”

  “You have betrayed me, Aura, by directing my people to disobey my commands, and by telling them that I planned to betray them. Worst of all, you are trying to deprive me of my greatest goal. For that, I will absolutely deprive you of your very life,” King Xander said. He was still under assault by spirits whom Gadamalto sent his way, but his powers over spirits were sufficient to repel them. That he might continue to be so powerful, he drank anew of the waters of the Zovvin Ocean from his vial and was energized. He then directed some of those attacking spirits toward Aura.

  However, Aura drank anew of the waters of the Pirovalen Ocean from her vial and was energized. Words came to her which could influence those around her – both the living and the spirits. Then, she sang so as to convince the people not to believe in, or seek, the powers of more than one (1) water – and not to believe in, or serve, the king:

  You have each made your final decision.

  By law you can choose only one ocean great.

  Yet this king holds the ocean’s laws in derision.

  Accept that one water’s power determines your fate.

  Your thirst is now quenched by your water enchanted.

  You can’t partake of the others, though many have tried.

  Yet, in your minds, a deadly seed has been planted,

  That now you seek all oceans unified.

  (Refrain)

  Go far away from this vile deceiver.

  Build not his kingdom. Be not a believer.

  Live not in false hope. Abandon this quest.

  The way of the waters is more steadfast than stone.

  You have been searching, at a tyrant’s behest,

  To gain for him power that he plans to wield alone.

  Your spirits are divided. You are under cruel magic spells.

  Cast by powers from beyond that you cannot see.

  Your minds are confused. In you the enemy dwells.

  Reject this covetous king and his tyranny.

  (Refrain)

  This land once belonged to a wealthy empire.

  Imperfect it was, yet far better before.

  Then this king returned and thought himself higher.

  He stole your freedom and still wants to steal more.

  You each have potential. Your future is still bright.

  Reject this false king, this very hour and day.

  Awaken your souls. Be dazzled by no false sight.

  All that this king does is promise then betray.

  (Refrain)

  Even the attacking spirits were repelled by this song, because Aura’s power was great and music can influence the spirit world, and the song’s words commanded them to go far away. The crowd of living people also began to disperse, as the song made them no longer interested in this promise of the powers of many waters. King Xander now knew that they would no longer serve him. When he saw that the spirits did not haunt Aura, he said to her: “The sound of your treac
herous voice I no longer need. You are the betrayer and the deceiver. Be gone from my sight, and may I never hear of you again.”

  Gisella recorded Aura’s song into her book, along with the fact that the crowd was dispersed, and the King’s condemnation of her.

  King Xander then returned his attention to the people making the claims of being able to combine the powers of the waters. “You have combined the powers of two (2) waters. Yet, having all twelve (12) waters unified is the true prize, the ultimate goal. How could you combine the powers of all other waters? I must know your methods. I command you to tell me, so that I may have it, and then reward you fittingly,” King Xander said.

  “We will reveal the secret at the proper time, and in the proper place,” Matoskah said.

  “Follow us,” Garland said.

  Matoskah and Garland, along with the followers who assisted them, then returned to the riverboat and began traveling downstream yet again.

  King Xander became furious and sought to pursue them. He quickly returned to the courtyard, followed closely by Gisella, and boarded the small airship he had previously used.

  The king took the ship into the air and traveled toward the river, and then he traveled above it, along its course, so as to follow the riverboat.

  ~~~

  On board the Persistent, the crew sensed that angry spirits were nearby, and they found the epicenter of the activity.

  They looked out and saw a small airship traveling above a river, and it was following a boat that was traveling upon the river.

  “The man in the airship has malevolent spirits near him; yet, by his strength, he repels them,” one (1) of the Zovvin water drinking crew members said.

  “Follow him,” General Joshua said.

  “They’re heading back east,” one (1) of the other crew members said.

  “Then follow him back east,” General Joshua said.

  ~~~

  The Frigid Cornucopia arrived at the eastern coast of Ihalik. Captain Linette looked out through the wheelhouse window, onto the shore, scanning for any sign of danger.

  “Tell them we’re here. I don’t want to wait around. We’ll take them to shore and leave immediately,” Captain Linette said.

  Melony left the wheelhouse and went to the quarters where Lady Onora and Desmond were waiting.

  “We’re at the coast of eastern Ihalik. Let’s get you to shore. We can’t wait around,” Melony said.

  Lady Onora and Desmond followed Melony as she went out on deck.

  With some cautious steering, Captain Linette worked inside the wheelhouse to move the Frigid Cornucopia close enough to the shore and the boarding ramp was lowered.

  Melony was escorting Lady Onora and Desmond down the boarding ramp onto the eastern shore of Ihalik when she saw the sudden arrival of a pair of airships – a smaller ship and a much larger vessel – and the ships appeared to be performing a maneuver.

  Captain Linette looked up through the window of the wheelhouse and saw the maneuver as well, and realized what it was – the larger vessel rammed into the smaller ship, and brought it down to the ground. It was then that she regretted taking passengers to Ihalik, at any price.

  ~~~

  As the Persistent touched down on the ground, General Joshua held up the Spirit Sword, jumped onto the damaged ship where King Xander was and swung it at the king.

  King Xander exerted his powers over the spirits swarming around him – those whom had been sent to attack him, yet he had been repelling – and sent them at General Joshua in great numbers.

  In General Joshua’s hands, the Spirit Sword repelled the spirits that King Xander sent at him, so that they went far away; yet the sword never struck the king, despite the slashes and parries made with it. Joshua could not personally see the spirit movements, but the motions of the Spirit Sword created an aura of protection around him, pushing the attacking spirits back. Furthermore, those members of the crew on board the Persistent who drank the waters of the Zovvin Ocean used the powers they received from those waters to sense and to drive away the assaulting spirits. Whether by the strikes from the Spirit Sword or by the actions of the crew of the Persistent, the angry spirits were repelled, and no small number of them headed toward the northeast, to haunt a different enemy and to exact revenge upon him for their murder. Though the many spirits had originally been invited by the demon to give trouble to the king, they each had their own motivations as well.

  Gisella stood on the deck of the small, damaged airship and recorded the arrival and the attack by the larger ship into her book, in considerable detail, despite the speed of the movements. However, she could not see what was truly happening, as she was unable to see spirits. She noted that the sword – which glowed blue – never drew blood from the king.

  All along the ground, the crowds – still under enchantment of song and telepathic control, as well as having the invading spirits still dwelling within them – watched the physical movements of the struggle. They no longer labored to dig into the ground in search of the unified waters, however.

  Nearby, the riverboat on which Matoskah, Garland and the other followers traveled had come to a stop. They left the riverboat and planned to continue their ruse with the waters until they saw that there was a great battle.

  “There are powerful spirits at war here,” one (1) of Matoskah’s followers said. He was a drinker of the Zovvin Ocean waters, so he could sense this.

  “That sword is no blade to cut flesh. It fights against the spirits themselves, and sends them away,” another of Matoskah’s followers said. He was also a drinker of the Zovvin Ocean waters, so he could detect what was happening.

  ~~~

  “Looks like we arrived just in time for a war!” Desmond said.

  “And we brought you here! What were we thinking?” Melony said.

  Lady Onora saw that the king was distracted and she could also see the crowd that had gathered to watch this battle. Now was her time to act, so she drank anew of the waters of the Pirovalen Ocean from her vial and she was energized. She had previously prepared the words and music to confront this king, and was ready to sing them immediately. Her voice was enhanced many times by the powers of the waters, and infinitely many more times by her faith in the One True God. She sang:

  Now the spirits haunt and frighten,

  Imperiling the living.

  Now the webs of evil tighten,

  Bewildering and unforgiving.

  Fear is not our destiny,

  His Love will set and keep us free,

  By the power of His Majesty.

  (Refrain)

  Against spirits of evil...He will be our shield.

  Absolute and Eternal...He will never yield.

  Now the spirits bring a scourge,

  Tormenting body and mind.

  Now the enemies converge,

  Peace we cannot find.

  War is not our destiny,

  His Love will set and keep us free,

  By the power of His Majesty.

  (Refrain)

  Now the spirits speak their lies,

  Misleading those who hear.

  Now the deceivers arise,

  Truth is no longer clear.

  Darkness is not our destiny.

  His Love will set and keep us free,

  By the power of His Majesty.

  (Refrain)

  Now the spirits bring the chains,

  Binding all their slaves.

  Now taskmasters cause great pains,

  Working servants into graves.

  Slavery is not our destiny.

  His Love will set and keep us free,

  By the power of His Majesty.

  (Refrain)

  The true spirits within the subjugated people around her were awakened by the song, and the invading spirits were banished. Thousands of them were freed immediately, and they suddenly became aware of the enchantment they had been living under.

  Gisella recorded the song into her book, but she still could not s
ee the spiritual activity to record it.

  The active spirit within King Xander was powerful, but Lady Onora’s faith was far too powerful, and the song was made of words that reflected her faith. The powers of the false king were no match for the One True God who enabled her, and who had created the Pirovalen Ocean waters which gave her the power of music.

  The spirit of King Xander was banished from the body and the previous spirit was awakened.

  “I called to him, and he was within me. I am the host for the king, and he must return,” the body which previously held the spirit of King Xander said, giving voice to its awakened spirit.

  General Joshua then drew an ordinary sword and struck that body dead, ridding even the spirit that was still in it.

  Gisella recorded this into her book, as it was a visible and ordinary action against the visible flesh, drawing visible blood.

  ~~~

  In the Maelstrom of Vengeance, that spirit was met with a horrific power speaking in a deep and terrifying voice, which said: “As the greatest ally of my enemy, your suffering shall exceed that of most others, and it shall be eternal.”

  That spirit which had allowed itself to be subjugated to the spirit of King Xander was subjected to an eternity of fiendish torments by the demon Gadamalto, who delighted in it.

  ~~~

  “That he would want King Xander to return is proof of evil intent,” General Joshua said.

  “But not proof that the king is dead. Is not the Tomb of the Ten (10) Kings still to be destroyed?” Desmond asked.

  “What do you mean? The king’s not dead?” Melony asked.

  “The tomb can supposedly be used to help him return – and it already has several times before – according to the writings we discovered, but the tomb’s location was not precise,” Desmond said.