by Vic Broquard
Pain! Sharp, excruciating pain shot along her lower left arm and hand. Such pain she had never felt before and she knew that she’d been hit with slime herself. Sliding under the water, Chan felt the intense pain of having led her three companions to their death with her insane desires to get revenge for the slain family. Now she knew that she was dying as well. You bastard, she though. If I am going to die, then so are you! With her right hand, she drew her magical dagger and focused her will power, attempting to drown out the searing pain in her left lower arm and hand. She did a short Shadow Walk and landed precisely on Ashford’s enormous head! With her legs wrapped around his long neck, she stabbed her dagger into his right eye!
Chan felt the dragon’s body wildly lurching, waves of involuntary muscle reactions surging through its seventy foot long, snake-like body, but she willed her legs to hold on, gripping hard as if they were around a horse. She pulled the dagger out and fought to hang on as Ashford’s body writhed in agony and began falling from the trunk of the tree. Again she stabbed her dagger down, this time into its left eye, thrusting it in with all of the force she could muster. Ashford’s body jerked hard to the right and her dagger snapped with a loud cracking sound. She was falling. So was the dragon. Cold water hit her followed by a massive weight landing on her body. Chan knew that this was the end. The force of the dragon’s weight shot the remaining air out of her lungs like a bursting balloon. Death would come quickly now.
Wen used her Duska skills to Mind Link to Chan and was momentarily overwhelmed with the searing pain coming from Chan’s body. She was able to see the dagger snapping like a twig and the two falling down into the waters not far from her own body. She felt the massive exhale of air from Chan’s body, just as Chan did. Wen acted. She Shadow Walked a few feet, grabbed a hold of her sister’s right hand, and Shadow Walked them both back inside their safe haven cavern. She cast her Light spell and looked at herself and sister. They were drenched in swamp muck. Foul smelling waters dripped off of them onto the stone floor. Leeches wigged over her exposed flesh and she knew more were probably beneath their clothes. However, what commanded her instant attention was Chan’s left lower arm and hand. The flesh was slowly dissolving right before her eyes! An awful rotting, foul-smelling vapor rose from the decaying flesh! She gagged. What could she do to stop it?
Chan’s body lurched and her lungs and chest gave a huge gasp for air, startling Wen for a moment. Then, she saw her unconscious sister’s body breathing again and she began wracking her mind for what she could do for the rotting arm.
Barons Jie and Li were with Baron Gang and his two Mages Hui and Ji, along with the assassin Li Shan. Both younger barons were using their special abilities that their new Circles of Ascension had given them. True, their eyes had also changed color to match the uniquely colored threads of their Circles, a swampy green and a pinkish green, respectively, much to their eternal annoyance. Yes, they’d cursed Brother Jiri for not having told them that their eyes would take on the color of their Circle’s threads, but it was too late for that. Still, their new Circles gave them an ability that their older brother Gang didn’t have. While Gang had inherited their father’s original Circle here on Jing, he did not inherit the many special abilities that an original owner of a new Circle had. Among these was one that the priestesses had: the ability to follow and monitor Shadow Walks.
“Hey, I got them!” Baron Jie called out.
“Right, me too. Now we got you, pesky sisters!” Baron Li added, not wanting to be left out in the eyes of his older brother, Gang.
“Brilliant, brothers. Let’s go capture them. Looks like Ashford failed in his ambush attempt. Well, never trust a dragon, I always say. Come on, Jie. Take us to them. Chan and Wen, your rebel days are finally over!” Baron Gang exclaimed excitedly, punching his fist high into the air. He was about to do something that even his father had been unable to do for nearly a dozen years now: capture his renegade daughters, ending their constant meddling in planet affairs. He felt certain of victory now. Always make contingency, backup plans was his motto. Today, it worked to perfection. He wagered that Ashford would botch his carefully laid trap for the Swamp Raiders, but his backup plan was working to perfection!
The six men double checked their many weapons and then they held hands with Barons Jie and Li. Jie then stepped them all into the Shadows, a swirling mass of blackness, but with their own planet still visible beneath their feet. A moment later, Baron Jie stepped them out onto the foul smelling swamp land just in front of the mouth of the cavern and safe haven of the Swamp Raiders. Baron Gang attempted to move into the entrance, but ran smack into their Force Screen. “Damn, Force Wall.”
Baron Li cast his Dispel Magic but it failed to bring the two walls down. Baron Jie attempted it a second time and also failed. “Let a man do it,” Baron Gang teased his brothers, knowing that had nothing to do with it. This particular spell just merely had a chance to bring it down. However, his was successful, and he gave a smirking look to his younger brothers. “Li Shan, guard the entrance. Mages prepare defensive spells. Let we Duska enter. Remember, we want them alive if possible,” Gang ordered. Then, he yelled loudly, “Okay, Chan, Wen, the game is up. Surrender peacefully and we won’t harm you.” He was a bit hesitant about just walking into this unknown cavern. After all, they had killed eighteen dragons.
Inside, Wen had begun to examine the rapidly dissolving lower arm of Chan, frantically trying to think of anything that she could do to arrest the corrosive action of the green slime that still covered the arm from just below the elbow on down. She tried to use a Create Water spell to wash it off, but that had no effect; the slime was somehow sticky. Just then, her Duska senses kicked in, warning her of an imminent attack! She cursed, “Damn! How did they find this place?” Suddenly, she realized that this whole thing had been a cleverly designed trap! Only another Duska could have possibly followed her Shadow Walk back here. That meant her brothers were coming after them and were likely right outside. Their protective Force Walls would delay them, but only briefly. She could not fight her brothers; they were far too strong for her. Besides, all of her weapons were back on the boat. She’d abandoned them while diving overboard.
Wen thought fast. If she Shadow Walked from here bringing the still unconscious Chan with her, her brothers would surely be able to follow her no matter where she went on Jing. Worse, she really didn’t know where she could possibly go on Jing where she and Chan would be safe! She had to do something to save her sister and herself. They had to get away from her brothers, but Chan desperately needed medical attention. She fought down the idea that perhaps it was already too late for Chan. The sneering voice of Gang entered her ears, ordering her to surrender. In desperation, she did the only thing that she could think of doing to get them to safety. She took her sister’s good arm in hers and again dragged Chan into another Shadow Walk. This time it was a long walk!
“Hey, they are Shadow Walking again!” Baron Jie yelled to Gang, as the older brother stepped cautiously into the dark cavern.
“Damn! Can you follow them or see where they are going this time?” Baron Gang yelled back, quickly rushing back outside to the others.
“Shit, they are going off-planet, deep into the Shadows!” Baron Li pronounced, growing more excited by the minute.
“Crap! We almost had them,” Baron Gang admitted. “Well, see if you can follow them. Where the devil are they going now?”
Both brothers didn’t answer; they were both off into the Shadows themselves, at least partially so, monitoring the route taken by their sisters. They followed a good deal behind the two fleeing sisters and before long saw that they were heading for Adapazan! Damn, Jie thought, they are fleeing to our archenemies! Both watched a little longer until their sisters finally left the Shadows, and then they returned to Jing.
“Well, they are on Adapazan now,” Baron Jie proclaimed as he and his younger brother stepped back onto the swamp land.
“Well, good riddance. While it would
have been best to have tried them for their crimes here, I guess this result is almost as good. At least they won’t be meddling in Jing affairs any longer. You two, keep a sharp eye on any possible return to Jing that they might make in the future. I expect to be informed the moment that they return here. Come on; let’s get out of this smelly swampland!” The six men quickly reappeared back in Gang’s private study.
Chapter 2 Surprise Visitors
Baron Zoran Vladislov, now thirty-nine, stared at his huge maps of Adapazan and the Planets of the Federation. As the senior baron for Adapazan and all Free Peoples, as he often described himself to others, he shouldered an enormous responsibility. With most all of the previous generation of ruling barons now either deceased or retired, their children had taken over the reins of running the sixteen Planets of the Federation. Many of these, Zoran knew well and considered good friends, especially those of his allied planets. On Valtr, the hilly planet, and Gladno, a forested planet, his older sisters were the baronesses, and their husbands, Baron Stefan Pavel and Baron Leo Matous, he considered extremely good friends.
Both an Archmage and a Duska, Baron Zoran was still unique among all the barons. While most had Mage status, he alone was also an Archmage. With it, he assumed more responsibility than other barons. He had to, he often told himself, for he had merged the world of magic with that of the Duska. Still, he was not totally alone. Oh no. His incredible wife, Archmage Zdenka had continued to produce more Archmages than any other Archmage in history. She had a knack of pulling out the very best in her students. Conservative by nature, she never forced others, but merely guided them along with unseen hands.
They had three children. Baron Tomas, twenty, had just been installed in the third Fortress and Circle here on Adapazan. Over the years, Zoran had rebuilt Mikolas’ fortress in the deserted Sholov Province, and just last year Brother Jiri Zar had built him a new Circle of Ascension there, installing Tomas as the new Baron.
Zoran’s dear friends and constant companions, Jarka and Bernard Dragan, also had three children. Their eldest, Verushka, twenty, had married Tomas and was now Baroness Verushka. She was also one of the newest Archmages. Zdenka lavished all manner of training on all of their close friends’ children. She and Zoran owed Jarka and Bernard much for their assistance over the years. Hence, Zdenka always gave their many children her all, and Verushka blossomed just as Zdenka had done so some twenty years ago herself.
However, Zoran took things one step beyond the ordinary or even the known territory. Until this point in time, only a Duska-born child between ten and twenty-one were given the Ceremony of Ascension, in which their special glands grew and became operational, giving them the vast abilities of a Duska and the ability to Shadow Walk. That is, only the children of a baron and baroness were given this ceremony. However, from the ancient writings of the first baron of Adapazan, he had learned that anyone could be given this Ceremony of Ascension, turning them into Duskas as well! Except for Zoran, no one in the Federation of the Sixteen Planets knew this detail. Originally, Zoran had wanted to give this precious gift to Zdenka, but he didn’t because she was a little over twenty-one and he did not want to risk her life.
Not so with their three children, Tomas, Nadia, and Jarmila. Each was given the Ceremony of Ascension on their tenth birthday. Compounding matters was the simple fact that Zoran had rescued many other of his half-brothers and sisters and even two Duska born women from Asami, Chika and Akira. With all of these living here either in his Brn Fortress and Circle or Archmage Zdenka’s tower, their many children were also given the Ceremony of Ascension, becoming Duskas themselves. Only Jarka and Bernard’s three children were not “legally” of Duska birth.
Zoran owed these two much, Jarka and Bernard — to say nothing of Brother Jiri Zar and his priestess wife Anezka, who also now had two children. Hence, in secret, he insisted that Anezka perform the Ceremony of Ascension on five who would never have received this incredibly special gift. Thus, Baroness Archmage Verushka was also a Duska now, as were Jarka and Bernard’s other two children, Dusan, nineteen, and Evsen, eighteen. Likewise, the two Zar children, Miroslav, eighteen, and Danika, sixteen, were Duska. Thus, Baroness Archmage Verushka alone joined Zoran, merging Duska with Archmage skills. She was an exceedingly powerful woman.
Compounding all else, many of their children had married their friends’ children! Indeed, the Vladislov dinner table was packed each evening, though Baron Tomas and Baroness Archmage Verushka were now usually off in the Sholov Fortress Circle. Zoran’s daughter Archmage Nadia had married Jarka’s son Dusan. His daughter, Jarmila, had been far more interested in the priestess aspect of the Circles of Ascension, and, though she had a good deal of training from her mother, Zdenka, and was considered a mage, Jarmila had married the Zar’s son, Miroslav. Just this past year, the Zars retired from making more Circles, passing the torch, as it were, to Miroslav and Jarmila. The Zar’s daughter, Danika, was also a priestess and a Duska.
Archmage Karel Ambrose, the falconer, had married one of the Duska born mermaids that Zoran had rescued from Asami, Chika. She was now officially the Business Trader for all of Adapazan, a super-trader, as Zoran always called her. Their oldest daughter, Katerina, eighteen, had married Jarka’s youngest son, Evsen. What of Akira, the other sister mermaid?
Zdenka’s Door Warden, Marek, had become an Archmage, thanks to the added push from Zdenka, when she took over for Archmage Oldrich. Archmage Marek married Akira and they had three children. Their oldest was Dana and he was now nineteen. Their daughter, Kate, was seventeen and now dating seriously Karel and Chicka’s son, Milan, who was also seventeen. Their youngest daughter, Milena, was sixteen.
All of these dined each evening at Zoran and Zdenka’s giant table. Everyone present was at least of mage status and all of the children were also Duska trained. Zdenka’s father, Janos Lavos was seventy-one, but he had long ago retired from being Zoran’s Security Chief. He, too, was always present. Though he was getting rather old, his advice was still highly sought.
At this time, Zoran had three fortresses and Circles evenly spaced across the major land mass of Adapazan. His here in Brn Province was near the western edge, while his half-brother Baron Jan Vavrin controlled the original Circle of Adapazan in Dorum. He’d installed the then ten year old bastard son of the despised Baron Kazimir as the new Baron when Kazimir was slain some twenty years ago. Now Jan was of age and had married a cousin from Gladno, Baroness Reina Matous. Already they had two children of their own, Lilia, ten, and Vilemn eight.
While he was growing up, their half-brother, General Damek Kamil ran the castle as his regent. He’d married Marika and had two children: Jarmila, ten, and Boris, eight. Zoran promised that in two days, Priestess Jarmila Zar would perform the Ceremony of Ascension for Jarmila. When Boris was ten, Zoran promised his brother that he would also get the ceremony, making both children Duskas.
Jan’s twin sister, Zusa, was thirty herself. She married Zdenk Pavel, one of the cousins of Viktor Pavel. He had become Baron Zdenk Pavel a few years back and now Zusa was his Baroness.
Kamila Lota, who had looked after Jan’s Circle of Ascension for eight years until he became of age, had also found love off-world, marrying another of the Pavel clan, Baron Dragan Pavel, becoming Baroness Kamila. Thanks to the education of Zdenka, she was prepared for this lofty position and was a mage in her own right. Slowly, Zoran’s political tendrils began expanding to other worlds.
As he studied the map, he acknowledged the second reason that he had gone ahead and had Priestess Anezka perform the five “illegal” Ceremony of Ascension: the dragons. While he really had no choice in bringing the Golden Dragons to Adapazan, his worst fears had materialized. Other barons had subsequently been bringing other species of dragons into the federation planets as well. Each of the sixteen worlds now had dragons on them. While the starvation of the dragon’s home world of Voss was probably a thing of the past, now dragons seemed to be everywhere. Worse, some Red Dragons and Black Drag
ons had been making raids on villages here on Adapazan. This had been his second reason for attempting to perform the five “illegal” Ceremony of Ascensions, to ensure all five were also Duskas and capable of lightning fast reactions and warnings of impending attacks, to say nothing of being able to Shadow Walk themselves. Here at Fortress Brn, he had more Duskas, mages, and Archmages present than at any other Circle or fortress on any of the sixteen planets.
Of course, the Archmages needed their own towers. Zdenka had inherited her old teacher’s tower, Archmage Oldrich. It rose five stores and was at the front western edge of his fortress. Archmage Nadia’s tower was under construction, due to be finished by the following spring. Lying at the front eastern corner, its lower four floors were already inhabitable and in use. Archmage Marek’s tower was located in the right rear corner of the fortress. Like Nadia’s, his was under construction, but only the bottom floor was serviceable at this time. At Fortress Miklos in Sholov Province, Archmage Verushka’s adjoining tower was finished only weeks ago. She was now getting everything there organized for her few students. She was just starting out teaching others magic.
It was late afternoon when Zoran’s intricate ties to his sky blue threaded Circle of Ascension suddenly alerted him. Someone was attempting to arrive at his Circle! For twenty years now, he always was alerted when anyone tried to Shadow Walk to within about a quarter mile of his Circle, located in the depths of his frugal fortress here in Brn. He did not recognize the person or persons who were attempting to come, and he instantly stepped down to his Circle and reached out with his Mind Link. Help! Help us, please. Zoran, help us!