His arm had gone cold, and he was unable to move his hand. The bones of the forearm and upper arm were shattered, and attempting to move the connecting muscles only pulled the bones in awkward positions. He felt the splintered ends grind against each other whenever he made the slightest movement.
The rest of his skin on his body was cold and slick with sweat. He found it difficult to control his rapid, shallow breathing. His mind whirled around in dizzy confusion, but it did not help him to escape into slumber. He was constantly brought back to the cold reality of his condition by the pain he felt surging through his arm. The constant cleaning and prodding in his wounds did not help the matter.
"Battus!" he yelled. "Bring me the polyelderas!"
The polyelderas plant was one that grew in the harsher climates in the mountain regions of Vindyrion. It was rare because of how difficult it was to find, and worth its weight in gold because of what it could do. It was not an herb to create a poultice, but an extremely powerful plant that was an effective painkiller. Simply chewing the leaves of the plant was enough to work, but the more powerful form was when the oils of the plant were collected and aged. The aged oil was far more potent than chewing the leaves, but certainly more expensive and rare.
But the benefits came at a cost greater than the price of the plant. Hallucinations were common. Violent outbursts and loss of control were also possible. It was much like the effect of drinking too much wine, although far more intense. It was also likely that the user would develop a need for the plant over time, and eventually stop at nothing to get it. Even long after the person had healed, the desire to feel the effects of the plant were too strong to ignore. It was for this reason that only select medicinal experts were chosen to administer the plants or its oil. Women who were with child needed to take special care to avoid the plant as it would often injure or kill the child inside them. The plant was exceedingly dangerous, and outlawed in Medora except under special circumstances.
Uritus did not care at all about the dangers. He wanted the pain to go away, and he wanted it immediately. His mind didn't even bother to weigh the consequences. He was the Emperor and he would have this medicine at once.
Battus knelt by his side. "Red Master, we have none here, but I have already sent for it. I must advise you to consider using it carefully."
"I don't care," he said through gritted teeth. "I want this pain to stop."
"Red Master, you must use it with caution. I do not mean to say that you will fall prey to the ill effects of the plant. I mean to say that you are now the most powerful man in all these lands. I believe that if you are awake and lucid, you may find a way to heal yourself without the plant."
"Heal myself? I cannot even think clearly. I do not have the ability to heal."
"Red Master, we have all been training very hard. We all have studied the books of old and uncovered great secrets. We are becoming the men of magic that our legend professes. I know in my heart that we are capable of healing."
"Fool. Magic destroys, it does not create."
"We create light by calling for the destructive force of fire. We create order by instilling fear in the masses. We create safety by bringing down our enemies. You see, it is a matter of how we define creation and destruction. There really is no difference; there is only a difference in how we choose to perceive it."
Uritus groaned in agony. "This twisted logic does not help me! Your words fall to the floor with no meaning. I am not in the mood for these games. I want the polyelderas now!"
"It is coming, Red Master. I will make no attempt to keep it from you. But I ask that you bear with me until it arrives, and weigh my words. I think you will come to the conclusion, as I have, that we are capable of healing. The Mages who came before us were able to do it, and you are certainly more powerful than they ever were. Now, while we wait, let me tell you what I have learned already about using magic to heal."
——————
"I must apologize, great god of death, for not kneeling before you. I am injured very badly, and if I fall to the floor I fear I will not be able to stand again."
Inshae spoke directly into Uritus's mind. I can see the wound. I was watching when it happened. That shadow of a man has learned to use magic.
"Yes, he has. His name is Song, although he is also known as Erratus. He has been watching the Mages for some time now, and I fear we inadvertently taught him how to call upon magic. I severely underestimated his abilities."
His abilities should have been made clear to you when I was unable to sense him before he walked into the room with us. Even now I cannot sense him, nor can any of the other gods. He has somehow discovered how to hide from the eyes of the divine.
"He is able to hide from humans as well. If he does not wish to be seen, he cannot be detected even by the most alert guards. I am beginning to think he is a genuine threat to our plans."
He must be killed at once. I cannot know the level of his abilities and he must therefore be considered extremely dangerous. I cannot help you in this task. You must do so yourself.
Uritus winced as he jostled his arm slightly. "As you command, Inshae. He will die upon our next meeting. I will inform the other Mages who are capable of magic as well. We will be sure to destroy him."
The others lack the power. Only you can stop him.
"Then I will do so. But my injuries keep me from even standing. I fear I will have to give the order to amputate my arm in order to heal; and that is a difficult order to give. I am able to dull the pain with polyelderas oil, but it gives me hours of unwanted visions and only a short window of painless lucidity afterwards. It will only be a few moments more before the pain returns.
"One of my men has found writings in old books about the Mages of old being able to heal, but when I read what he had found, it seemed like nonsense to me."
It is not nonsense. Those Mages were simply far too clever to write down their secrets. For a long time, the Mages charged a fee to heal the injured. It was the main source of funds for the labyrinth under this city. Men came from all over, willing to pay their entire fortunes to save a loved one and keep them from my grasp. I allowed this practice because it furthered my agenda in the long run. With the piles of useless silver and gold, the Mages were able to cement themselves into society and become a powerful sect.
Uritus felt his spirits lift a little. "Then Battus is correct? I can be healed?"
Of course you can. Healing is a simple task, although for humans, it is especially draining. If you are not strong enough to take on the pain of the one you wish to heal, then death can result. There is also a great price to pay. When using magic for destruction, one pulls the negative energies from the void to destroy. The void is essentially infinite, and the powers are therefore infinite as well. But when healing, the power is not derived from the void; it is derived from the soul of the healer. In this realm, the power of the soul is hardly evident, and so it is not something you could be familiar with. But in other realms, the power of one's soul is just as powerful as any energy that can be pulled from the void.
Since the powers of the soul are so weak in this world, you must go to the world between worlds, where humans appear more like stars than humans. From that realm, you will be able to access the power of souls. Once the soul to be healed is found, it is a simple matter of replacing the failing energies of their soul with the stronger energies of your own.
"Does that mean I cannot heal myself?"
Correct, one cannot heal oneself. You must properly train one of your men if you wish to be healed.
"So, in order for me to heal, another Mage must suffer?"
He will suffer, yes, but it is temporary. His soul will be repaired in the realm in which it resides, much the same as your bodies in this world will heal on their own when they become injured. Your healer will be weakened greatly, and may even fall into a sleep from which he may not waken for days or even weeks. As I have said, if he is not strong enough to take on your pain, he will die
and cross over into my realm. If this happens, you may die as well, so choose your healer carefully.
You must also take note that even if your healer does not fall into a deep sleep, he will lose his powers for some time. He may also lose his voice or ability to control his bodily functions. He may lose the ability to see or hear, although all of these effects will be temporary. Some have lost feeling in areas where they have healed others, and those effects can be permanent.
Your healer must also be aware of the dangers of the world between worlds. While he is healing, other souls who have crossed over into the realms beyond life will take notice. If he is not mindful of these souls, they may enter his body while he is between worlds. If this happens, his soul will be lost forever in the void. He will be able to feel their presence before they become a real threat, but he must fend them off if they venture too close.
"You bring me great joy, great god of death. I am thrilled that I will not have to have my arm removed. I will train my best men to heal at once. Once I am healed, I will eliminate this shadow man named Song. I will send his soul over to your realm where you can deal with him as you see fit."
Excellent. But other issues must be dealt with as well. The book with information leading to the artifacts was destroyed. This Song destroyed it in his attempt to strike you. There is nothing left to salvage, so you will need to find other ways to discover the remaining artifacts of the gods. I would also advise that you not disclose any information about the destruction of the book to anyone. At the very least Rommus or his companions may come looking for it, at which time you can kill his companions or capture him.
"You no longer want me to kill Rommus Tirinius?"
I do not know if you are able. The nature of the new god of war is a mystery to all the other gods. He has been robbed of his power, and yet he still seems to exist as a god on some level. It was our hope that using the stone of Etheotis to remove his powers would be enough to allow the gods of darkness to overpower the gods of light, but it is simply not the case. There is still some thread of connection remaining, and I do not currently know how to sever it.
You also have a great army approaching. You will need to decide which side you are on.
Uritus lowered his eyebrows in confusion. "Decide which side I am on? I do not think it would be wise to side with my enemy and fight myself. The Bhoors and the Vindyri are coming here to destroy us."
Yes, they are. I have commanded the ruler of the Bhoors to march to Medora and attack. In addition to nearly endless hordes of men, he brings Thrahks with him. They will annihilate everything in their path.
His eyes went wide. "Why? Why would you have him come here with those beasts? It is difficult enough as it is to do your bidding without armies of men and beast marching to our walls."
Your wars mean very little to me. The machine of death is oiled by the blood of men, and I will be the one who decides who will feed that machine. The lives of the Medorans mean nothing to me. My agenda is to eliminate Rommus Tirinius so that the gods of light can be conquered. Then I will end the reign of that pompous Oderion. This is all that matters to me, and this is why I have sent the army and the Thrahks to Medora. The god of war cannot hide any longer. He will come out to the gates at Taburdum and face his destiny.
However you need not worry about the destruction of Medora. Once Rommus Tirinius has been killed, I will order the Zidaoz to halt his attack. But this attack must happen so that Rommus Tirinius can be drawn out to where they can find him.
"Where who can find him? The Mages?"
No, not the Mages. Maeris has unleashed his minions, the twins, and they have nearly reached the city of Taburdum. They have been sent by the gods of darkness to destroy Rommus Tirinius.
"Good. I need all the help I can get. Every time I get close to killing that man, he somehow avoids it. And he wears that armor often enough that any attack on him is futile."
The twins will destroy Rommus even if he is wearing the armor. It is important not to get in their way, for they will destroy anyone in their path, and their power will be much stronger once they arrive here. You must make them aware that you are on their side, or else they may destroy Taburdum, Brinn, and every other city in Medora once they arrive.
"They are that dangerous? Is there a way to stop them if necessary?"
They are some of the most dangerous beings from any of the realms. They are unaware of their full potential, but even with their capacities limited they are extraordinarily dangerous. They are, after all, the warriors of Maeris. If there is any way to stop them, I do not know it.
"They are immortals then?"
In a sense, yes. They have not been granted immortality like the Dirujen. The Dirujen are connected to my own bloodline in this world, and I made them immortal so that no one could ever use the robes of Inshae against them to kill them and therefore kill me.
But the twins are not offered the same sort of immortality. The jealous Maeris could not grant these minions eternal life, so he offered them lives that were so long that they were essentially immortal. Death can still come to them, but not easily. Any wound they suffer will heal far too quickly to ever kill them.
But they are far from the being they once were. The twins were once a single being with a single soul. The process to lengthen the life of that soul ended up severing the soul itself. This makes them simpler than humans in some ways—more like fierce beasts than men. But do not be fooled by their appearance or their mannerisms. They are cunning and treacherous. They are dangerous beyond description, and they bring a power with them that can bring nations to the ground.
Chapter 24
"Pay attention, young Tirinius, but do not wake."
Rommus blinked a few times in confusion. He had heard the gentle words, but no one was near him. His surroundings were unexpected, and he was unsure how he had arrived at the place at all. He searched his mind for answers, but it was clouded with a thick haze.
He found himself reclining in an unfamiliar grove. Birds chirped merrily on the trees as a calm breeze rustled the foliage around them. Pink and purple flowers bobbed up and down on the gentle wind. Bright rays of warm sunlight pierced the thick canopy overhead and luminous patches meandered across the forest floor. Tiny specks of dust or drifting seeds caught the sunlight where they hung in the air on their slow journey to the ground. The unmistakable smell of summer flooded his nostrils.
But something was wrong. As peaceful as the place was, there was a danger hiding there. It wasn't a direct threat; more like an unwanted consequence. His mind was not clear enough to understand what was happening, but he knew that something strange was happening to him. He began to worry.
Again the voice called out. "Be at ease, god of war. Do not allow your mind to be weighed down with confusion. Listen to the words, and do not wake."
Rommus searched the trees around him as he stood, but saw no hint of anyone who could be speaking to him. He calmly reached to his hip, but found no sword at his side. When he discovered his knife was also missing, he started to panic.
"No, god of war, ease your fears. No harm can come to you here. You need no weapon."
"Who are you? Show yourself."
A faint light began to shine between the trees off to the right. It moved slowly through the trees, growing in intensity as it came closer to him. When it finally reached the clearing, it appeared to be the figure of a man, although his identity was masked by the radiance. Even though the light was bright, it did not hurt his eyes. Suddenly Rommus remembered a time when that had happened before. It was at the golden temple in Morendiir, the great city of the dead in the Land of the Gods.
The light faded and the figure began to take form. It was indeed one of the gods who stood before him. He appeared no different than an ordinary man in fine robes, but the odd nature of the slow movement of those robes drew Rommus's attention.
"Terinopus," Rommus said.
"Yes, god of war. I have come to you because you require my help. You are
asleep at this time, and you must not wake, for this is the only way I can reach you, and I do not know if I will ever have this chance again. Oderion is watching and forbids me to communicate with you.
"There is a great danger among the gods. Tachion and I believe that the gods of darkness intend to destroy one of the gods of light in order to gain total control. If the gods of darkness manage to slay one of us, then the balance of light and darkness will be eliminated. With three gods of darkness overpowering the two remaining gods of light, it will be easy to eliminate us or at least nullify our influence over the worlds in which we reside.
"I am the balance, young Tirinius. I am the keeper of peace and life in all of the realms. Without my power, your world as you know it would almost certainly be destroyed. It is not my theory that Inshae, Maeris and Aedensor will attempt to strike me down or eliminate me. My existence is simply too important in their eyes. They may not desire to kill me, but they certainly desire to rule me.
"It is instead my belief that they will make an attempt on your life. You have already been weakened and had your powers removed by the stone of Etheotis. You are, regardless of your status as a living god, a mortal man and therefore susceptible to death. You are quite simply the easiest target of the three gods of light and therefore in the greatest danger."
Rommus could feel something in the waking world pulling on him, trying to wake him and return him to the cold winter world of the living. "It's not news to me that gods want me dead. Many humans want me dead as well. Why would you bother going to all this trouble to tell me something I already know?"
"I did not come here to tell you that you are in danger. I have come to help you renew your powers as a god. You should be afforded the protections you are entitled to, and those protections will serve to defend the gods of light as well. For if you should fall, god of war, we all shall fall. It would disrupt the balance in all the realms, and bring an end to existence as we are familiar with it."
Soul Under the Mountain (Legend of Reason Series) Page 14