“I was able to restore her through a very potent potion. The ingredients are quite rare and difficult to obtain, and the risk is great because the nature of the darkness within Isabel is undoubtedly different, as is her nature.”
“Ultimately, the decision will be hers, but I want to give her every possible option,” Alexander said.
“Very well, you will need a quantity of Wizard’s Dust equal to the amount necessary for a single mana fast,” Balthazar began. “You will need a generous pinch of fairy dust and the powder from one pouch-like blossom of a deathwalker flower. You will need three drops of nectar from the flower of the vitalwood tree and you will need a single drop of blood of the earth. The remaining ingredients are commonly available.”
Alexander blinked and then frowned.
“I have the Wizard’s Dust, deathwalker powder, and the fairy dust, but I don’t even know what a vitalwood tree is and I’ve never heard of blood of the earth.”
“That’s understandable,” Balthazar said. “Both are closely guarded secrets of the Reishi Sovereigns. We’ve only revealed the existence of each to the next sovereign through the Stone, and then only at great need. We never told Malachi, and he didn’t suspect enough to ask.”
Malachi scowled. “I discovered the vitalwood tree without you.”
Demetrius smiled and cocked his head. “Did you meet the guardian I placed there for you?”
“You did that?” Malachi said incredulously.
“Of course, my wayward son,” Demetrius said. “I saw the darkness growing within you even then. My greatest failure was not killing you before I died. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
“That’s too much to ask of any man,” Balthazar said, “even a sovereign.”
“Where is this vitalwood tree?” Alexander asked. “And what is the guardian?”
Balthazar deferred to Demetrius.
“The vitalwood tree is located in the northwest mountains of the Reishi Isle,” Demetrius said. “It grows on a small island in the center of a deep mountain lake surrounded on all sides by sheer cliffs. It’s only accessible by flight or through a maze of caverns that pass beneath the mountains.
“As for the guardian, I summoned a Lord from the realm of light named Selaphiel and beseeched him to guard the vitalwood tree. He was charged with preventing anyone from entering the grotto where the tree grows. I revealed my fears of Malachi to him and he agreed to protect the tree.”
“Do you think he’ll still be there after all these years?” Alexander asked.
“Of course. He is a being outside of time,” Demetrius said. “He does not need to remain at the location of the tree in order to be aware of its surroundings and prevent any from approaching.”
“How will I get past him?”
“That may be difficult,” Demetrius said. “He is a kind and gentle soul but surpassingly powerful. If he is not moved by reason, then I fear you will have little chance to reach the tree.”
“Why is this tree so important?” Alexander asked.
“It’s the last of its kind,” Balthazar said. “The fairies tell tales of the forest that used to blanket the Reishi Isle. It was alive and sentient, not in the same way as people are but self-aware nonetheless. The vitalwood forest was said to be the birthplace of many magical species that inhabit the Seven Isles. It was under the shelter of these great trees that the first dragons were spawned. It’s said that the fairies chose to leave the realm of light itself and take mortal form so they could frolic under the magical beauty of these trees.
“The vitalwood tree naturally draws Wizard’s Dust to it and concentrates it within its trunk, limbs, and bark. But more than that, it’s a natural conduit to the realm of light. It’s been speculated that the vitalwood are the means through which creatures native to the realm of light can exist indefinitely within the world of time and substance. The vitalwood trees live forever unless killed and are a potent source of magic.
“I’ve included vitalwood nectar in the list of ingredients because it will cleanse Isabel’s link to the light while stabilizing her connection to the firmament.”
“If these trees can’t die, then where did they go?” Alexander asked with a touch of dismay. He remembered the beauty of the Great Forest and could only imagine a truly magical forest blanketing the world.
“They were killed in a war that raged across all of the Seven Isles long before humanity came into preeminence,” Balthazar said. “Little record exists of that time, only that the forest was destroyed save for a single tree preserved by those loyal to the light. They secreted it away from the rest of the world.”
“Why didn’t you plant more?” Alexander asked. “Doesn’t it produce fruit or nuts?”
Balthazar sighed. “No, it is forever in flower but doesn’t produce any type of seed. I spent years trying to reproduce the tree but failed. The fairy legends say it has chosen to lay dormant until it feels it’s safe to spread forth into the world again.”
“I’ll have to ask Chloe about it,” Alexander said. “What can you tell me about the blood of the earth?”
“Much less I’m afraid,” Balthazar said. “I discovered it in my later years and studied it quite extensively, finally deciding that it was simply too potent. It is a thing of permanence. I’m speculating, but I believe it to be the thing that informs the firmament as to how to create the stone and earth of the world itself from one moment to the next.
“As you know, the firmament underlies reality and creates each moment anew according to how the previous moment existed. I believe the blood of the earth is the place where the world remembers what it is supposed to be.
“It exists in a dual state, both within the firmament and the world of time and substance, but it does not tolerate the light or the darkness. I have included it in the list of ingredients to banish the taint of darkness within Isabel left by the wraithkin’s magic.”
Alexander frowned. “If it’s so powerful, why not just use it alone to get rid of the taint?”
“Precisely because it’s so powerful,” Balthazar said. “Everyone who has consumed the blood of the earth by itself has died. I believe it is naturally connected with the firmament at all times so that it can impart its deep, timeless, and silent understanding of how the structure of stone and earth must be created in the next moment. This unrestrained connection is imparted to any who consume it.”
Alexander started to wonder if this was such a good idea after all.
“So what’s to stop it from killing Isabel?”
“The other ingredients,” Balthazar said. “The vitalwood nectar will stabilize and regulate her connection to the firmament while shielding her link with the light from the effects of the blood of the earth. The fairy dust will protect her body and soul from harm while the potency of the blood of the earth washes away the taint. The deathwalker root will render her deeply unconscious so that she doesn’t inadvertently project a thought into the firmament while she has an unrestrained connection. The Wizard’s Dust will allow the alchemist who concocts the potion to impart an intention upon the mixture to perform the desired task. All ingredients will work in concert to produce a favorable result—provided I’m right. If I’m wrong, Isabel will die.”
Alexander sat silently, trying to absorb the magnitude of what he’d just learned. His love was at risk and the only options for saving her were bad and worse. For a moment he lost focus and allowed his anger at Phane to seep into his psyche. All of this fear and danger could be placed squarely at his feet. Before it could boil over into rage, he reined it in and refocused his mind on the task at hand.
“Where do I find the blood of the earth?”
“I discovered it in a chamber deep under the central volcanic island of Tyr,” Balthazar said. “It was collecting in a small crystal bowl in a room cut from a vein of gold and quartz.
“I must caution you, Alexander. Take only a very small quantity and do not allow it to touch your skin. Tell no one of this place and be extr
emely cautious with the sample you remove. Above all, do not allow it to fall into Phane’s hands. There’s no telling what he may be able to do with it. I know that I could have easily unmade the world if I had so desired using the thimbleful that I took to study.”
If Alexander was worried before, now he was alarmed.
“How can that be?”
“Even one drop seems to be as potent as the whole. It’s as if every drop of the blood of the earth is part of the same entity, all sharing one quasi-sentient consciousness. Where a wizard’s link with the firmament is capable of affecting the world of time and substance in their general vicinity, the link with the firmament created by the blood of the earth exists everywhere there is stone and earth. A clearly visualized outcome injected into the firmament through such a link could affect the whole of the Seven Isles. Of course, anyone who was a party to such a link would most certainly be drawn into the firmament and scattered into oblivion.
“Do not attempt such a thing. I cannot stress this enough. There is no way to know all of the ramifications of such an action. Such power is better left unused.”
Alexander nodded as the terrifying possibilities swirled around in his mind. He took a deep breath and centered himself, bringing his awareness back to the present moment. He had a plan to help Isabel but there were still other concerns to address.
“Can you offer any suggestions for dealing with Shivini?”
Balthazar shook his head slowly and shrugged helplessly.
“The shades are creatures of the netherworld that were never summoned during the centuries of Reishi Sovereignty prior to Malachi’s reign. I’m afraid he’s the only one at this table with the necessary experience to answer your question.”
Alexander turned to face Malachi. He wanted to slap the smirk off his face but it would do no good—the Sixth Sovereign was already dead.
“How do I banish the shade?”
“I don’t know,” Malachi said. “I never tried.”
“How do I contain it?”
“Again, I never tried.”
“How did you control it?”
Malachi hesitated for a moment, as if he was trying to figure out how to answer the question without providing any useful information.
“I made a bargain with each shade I summoned to perform a specific task and then return to the netherworld,” Malachi said. “In exchange, I offered them the souls of one hundred children.”
Alexander was aghast. He had no idea the price of such a summoning. Malachi sat back with a self-satisfied smile.
“The shades have a preference for innocent souls,” Malachi said. “Rankosi once told me that they taste better.”
Alexander struggled to regain his composure. The magnitude of the depravity that Malachi Reishi had embraced was staggering—simply beyond Alexander’s capacity to imagine.
“How would Phane bind a shade to his will once it was already free in the world?” Alexander asked with a somewhat unsteady voice.
“How should I know?” Malachi said. “I never tried such a thing.”
“If a shade were loose in the world, how would you go about binding it to your will?” Alexander pressed.
“I’d take precautions to ensure that it didn’t possess me, then call it to me and offer it a bargain,” Malachi said. “Of course, since they’re already free in the world, I doubt they would make any bargain that would include returning to the netherworld.”
“This isn’t getting me anywhere,” Alexander said as he turned back to Balthazar.
“How can I contain Shivini?”
“That is a complicated question,” Balthazar said. “I believe it’s possible, but it would take an arch mage to construct the necessary device. A variation of a Wizard’s-Den spell could create a pocket of space that exists outside of the world of time and substance. Getting a shade inside such a place would be another matter.”
“It seems that the solution to every problem I face is just beyond my reach,” Alexander said. “What about trapping a shade within a person? Mage Gamaliel created a collar that acts as a magic circle. When placed around the neck of a possessed person, it contains the shade within the person for as long as they’re alive. How can I keep the host alive when the shade is trying to kill the host to escape?”
“I suppose rendering the host unconscious might keep the shade confined for a time,” Balthazar said.
“The spell that Phane used to escape retribution at the end of the Reishi War would keep the host alive indefinitely,” Demetrius said. “Of course, it too requires an arch mage to cast.”
A smile slowly spread across Alexander’s face as an idea came to him.
“Is there any way to close the door to a Wizard’s Den that was left open after the caster died?”
Balthazar nodded in thought for a moment before responding.
“I believe there is, provided you have some remnant of the casting wizard’s body. A transference potion would give you brief access to limited pieces of his knowledge and allow you to act as his proxy with regard to spells he cast.”
“So I could command the door to the Wizard’s Den to close and anything inside would effectively be removed from reality.”
“Not technically, but for all intents and purposes, yes,” Balthazar said.
“How complicated is the potion? Do I need any exotic ingredients?”
“Not really,” Balthazar said. “A pinch of Wizard’s Dust and a piece of the dead wizard’s flesh or bone are the most difficult to obtain. The rest are commonly stocked ingredients within most alchemical laboratories.”
“Outstanding!” Alexander said. “Finally, a solution I can put into action. How do I make the potion?”
Balthazar explained the recipe for the transference potion. It was fairly complex but Alexander listened carefully, paying close attention to the details. He knew he could always come back and ask questions if necessary, but he wanted to have enough information to get Lucky started working on the potion right away.
Once he’d committed the ingredients and preparation for the potion to memory, he sat back and went through his mental list of concerns. He had answers to most of his pressing questions—not the answers he wanted, but answers nonetheless.
“I have another enemy that I haven’t mentioned yet,” Alexander said. “A tyrant named Zuhl. He’s a powerful necromancer and he commands the largest standing army in all of the Seven Isles. When I took possession of the Sovereign Stone and the Reishi Gates became active, he used the Gate on Zuhl to move ten legions into Fellenden. He’s pillaging the island as we speak and has begun construction of a giant shipyard on the western coast at the southern edge of the Iron Oak Forest. He’s building a fleet.”
“The ambitious, self-important, and narcissistic are always the ones to gravitate to power,” Balthazar said with disgust. “It would seem little has changed in the hearts of man over the past four millennia.”
“It’s a shame,” Darius said. “The House of Zuhl was noble and honorable during my reign. They upheld the Old Law with diligence and wisdom.”
Several of the other sovereigns nodded agreement.
“Do you know anything of the relationship between Zuhl and Phane?” Balthazar asked. “Have they formed an alliance against you?”
“I can’t be certain, but I doubt it,” Alexander said. “Zuhl is probably the oldest man alive. He created a spell that keeps him young by sacrificing an innocent life every year. For over seven hundred years, he’s been spreading the story that all of the hardship and suffering experienced by the people of Zuhl is the fault of the Reishi. Commander P’Tal tells me that Zuhl hates the Reishi and wants to establish a tyranny over all of the Seven Isles in his name.”
“Good,” Balthazar said. “Play one against the other.”
“That was my thought as well,” Alexander said. “I was wondering if there’s a way to open one Gate to another from the master Gate Room in the Reishi Keep.”
Balthazar shook his head with resignatio
n. “I’m afraid not. Once the Gates were built and functioning, I realized how useful such a capability might be. I consider the lack of that feature to be the greatest design flaw in the entire Gate system. The only way to open one Gate to another is to physically go to one and touch the symbol of the island you wish to travel to.”
“That complicates things,” Alexander said. “I was really hoping I could open the Karth and Zuhl Gates from the Reishi Keep and let them fight it out while I build my strength.”
“That would be ideal, but I’m afraid it’s simply not possible,” Balthazar said. “If you wish to open those Gates you will have to travel to one island or another yourself. The good news is that once open, the Gates will remain open until you close them from either Gate or from the Reishi Keep.”
“I’m going to have to think about that a bit before I make a decision,” Alexander said. “For now, I have more than enough to worry about. One other thing. I found a crystal chamber under Benesh’s keep in Grafton and a similar chamber deep inside Blackstone Keep. Do you have any idea what they do?”
Balthazar frowned but Constantine sat forward.
“I believe I do,” he said. “Benesh often spoke of the power of crystal as a focusing agent for magic. He may have used the crystal chamber you spoke of to project his illusions much farther than would have been possible on his own.
“His keep was rumored to be enchanted. Some reported seeing it fly, others said they saw it disappear altogether. I discounted these stories because I knew my brother, but I suspect he was using the crystal chamber you found to extend the range and scope of his illusions.”
“I would suggest you experiment with this chamber,” Balthazar said. “Attempt your clairvoyance while in the chamber and note any differences. Also, have another wizard cast a spell or two within the chamber and see if there are any increased effects. Such a capability could prove useful, especially if you find yourself besieged.”
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