“So this actually works?” Aiden asked, trying to keep his excitement in check.
“Of course it works, what on earth are you talking about?” Desmond replied gruffly. “Usually Terinus would handle this sort of thing but I’m fairly confident I can accomplish what we need. Now just stand back and let a professional handle this, if you please.” Aiden took a few steps backward, his gaze locked on the device before him. It was in worse condition than the one back in Dale’s house, with numerous scratches, dents and the like, but otherwise it was identical in appearance.
Desmond fetched a small wand-like stick and placed it into a receptacle, and the similarities with its counterpart ended there. A small blue light appeared on the panel and a dull humming sound could be heard emanating from the central tube. A trail of blue sparks started to dance around inside it, growing with intensity every second.
Aiden took a few more steps back without even thinking as the device started to vibrate intensely, but Desmond seemed to take it in his stride. Withdrawing the small wand from the panel, he pointed it towards the centre of the room where he had placed a small metal disk. The wizard intoned a series of strange words Aiden didn’t recognise, and lightning shot forth from the wand, striking the metal disk and creating a blinding flash of light.
Shielding his eyes with one hand, the luminance gradually faded into a purple mist, allowing Aiden to see exactly what was happening. There was a tall, mirror-like ellipse with violet light swirling inside it in the middle of the room.
“Behold the powers of the ancient world,” Desmond intoned theatrically over the loud, unsteady hum from the cylinder behind him. “Before you stands a doorway, a portal into the aether that one may step - wait, where are you going?” His speech was cut off as Aiden stepped through the ellipse, which was as easy as walking through an archway. Once his head had crossed over, the sounds of the cylinder disappeared instantly, and were replaced by the soft echoing ambience of the Aether.
The sensation of standing here in the flesh was entirely different from his last visit, likely due to his being dead at the time. The purple mist surrounding the small island he stood upon seemed to be moving, something he didn’t recall noticing before.
Turning to his right he saw the bulk of the golden dragon, its immensity almost blocking the silhouette of the castle wall and gate standing behind it. The awe Aiden felt was tempered by a measure of pity, for the once magnificent creature was a shadow of its former self, bearing upon its withered hide the atrophy of years.
You are late, spoke a clear, deep voice in his mind. Despite the dragon’s appearance, its ‘voice’ had lost none of its potency.
“I didn’t know there was a schedule to keep,” Aiden replied, feeling small and insignificant. Desmond stepped into the realm behind him and looked around, momentarily taken aback by the scene.
Did you not receive my messages? The dragon asked.
“Those dreams?” Aiden wondered after a moment of thought. “I did suspect you were behind them, but if there was a message in that jumbled mess of nightmares and dragons I missed it.”
It appears my direct control over this device is not as complete as I had hoped, Salinder remarked, opening his claw to reveal the glowing sphere within. What information I attempted to convey was clearly mixed up with your own dreams.
“All I could fathom was a sense of urgency and fear,” Aiden explained. “Now that I’m here, just tell me directly what you were trying to say.” A faint tremor ran through the ground beneath his feet, accompanied by an ominous rumbling sound that echoed in the mist. Salinder raised his head and looked to the castle gate until the tremor subsided.
“Forgive my interruption,” Desmond spoke in the politest manner Aiden had ever heard from him. “I do not believe this reality is altogether stable, so perhaps you should expedite your conversation.”
It is stable enough, Salinder replied, resting his head once more on the ground before them. The means by which you came to be here however, is not, so your advice remains salient, wizard. Expedite.
“The two of you do indeed seem to be acquainted, which answers my questions regarding the veracity of Aiden’s statements,” Desmond continued. “I would ask, however, if you would be so kind as to tell me why exactly you have included this young man in such a delicate matter? Or not… as you deem fit,” the wizard blurted after a few moments of the dragon silently gazing at him with one huge golden eye.
“Before we go any further, I need to ask something,” Aiden stated. “My memory isn’t what it used to be. My entire childhood is unknown to me, and I want to know if you had anything to do with that.”
In a way, yes, the dragon replied, and Aiden immediately felt a wave of anger sweep through him. Your injuries at the time were restrictive, and I could not save all of you. Something had to be left behind, and I chose the least useful aspect of your being to sacrifice. You are otherwise intact, and able to function in the required manner.
“How could you,” Aiden breathed, forgetting who he was talking to. “You do not get to choose what aspects of -”
I do what I must! the dragon insisted with unforgiving words. You were dying, Aiden, and I stitched your soul together from what scattered remnants I could grasp from the Aether. You live, because I will it to be so and if what you are now is little more than a tool that I use to fulfil my task, then that is how it shall be. Aiden was momentarily speechless, hearing Sayana’s worst fears confirmed at last.
But there is no need for this animosity between us, Salinder continued in a more relaxed manner. We strive for the same goal – the protection of your Kingdom. Desmond looked on silently, content to watch the proceedings with a keen eye while Aiden paced around in an effort to cool down again, angry and afraid at the news he was indeed a puppet of the powerful creature. He took in the scene around him and realised the dragon was basically trapped here on this island of reality, withering away for their benefit.
Do you remember the battle of Fort Highmarch? Salinder asked.
“I felt like I lived through that fight hundreds of times over,” Aiden muttered in reply. “How could I ever forget it?”
Does the land beneath you seem familiar? Does the castle wall behind me?”
“Yes… yes this is all from the battle when you confronted that iron warrior,” Aiden continued, recalling the smaller details. He realised what else had been within the range of the dragon’s incantation at the time, and a cold shiver ran down Aiden’s spine. “You said you brought all this with you – wait, does that mean it is here as well?”
Salinder did not answer, though Aiden felt his eyes drawn towards the castle gate behind the dragon. There were slender chains drawn across the front that he hadn’t noticed with a casual glance, and it may have been his imagination, but he thought he could see the door flexing slightly, as if being pushed.
“What’s on the other side of that door?” Aiden asked quietly, not sure he wanted to know the answer.
Beyond that door lies a pocket of null-space, in which I have imprisoned the entity that King Alaric the second, the grandfather of your current monarch, referred to as the Ironlord, the dragon explained. There is a storied history behind the origin and destructive life of this construct, but for now I will only say that it is a threat to all life on Feydwiir.
“Then why not destroy it?”
“It cannot be destroyed,” Desmond explained grimly. “Entire armies have stood before its might and none have survived. On expeditions to neighbouring lands we have found remnants of their civilisations that bear the distinctive footprints of this infernal contraption. In his righteous desire to avoid the same fate for Aielund, King Alaric the second made a pact.”
“With you, I assume,” Aiden surmised, looking to Salinder.
Realising that it could not be destroyed, Alaric came to me and begged for another solution, the dragon said. If it could not be destroyed, then it must be imprisoned. But attempts to transport it through magical means to a holding p
lace deep within the earth failed, leaving one option – banishment to another plane of reality. But a prison without guards is quickly circumvented, even in this place, and so it was that I agreed to spend the rest of my days ensuring the Ironlord could not escape and return to plague the world.
“And what price did you exact from Alaric for this service?” Aiden asked warily.
Are you aware of the history of dragonkind? came the question.
“Of course, it is well documented,” Aiden replied curiously. “You used to dominate the entire island, but as man’s influence spread your kin were hunted down and slain, to protect cattle and innocent lives.”
What you so casually speak of is the wholesale genocide of my species, Salinder thundered in his mind, and the two men clutched at their heads from the volume. What few remain are bitter, angry, or insane from the perpetual war mankind has waged upon us. Before man there were others who toyed with our very existence, and I would have an end to it. The pact I made with Alaric was to stop the slaughter of my kin within the realm. It is for this reason that I keep my vigil, and because the Ironlord would eliminate my cousins from the world just as surely as Man.
Aiden silently pondered this for a long moment, glancing at Desmond to see an ashamed look upon the old wizard’s weathered features and feeling some of that himself.
“What is it you want from me?” Aiden asked, curious as to what role he was supposed to play in all this.
My time grows short, Aiden, Salinder replied tiredly. I have kept my word, and remained at my post these long years, but even I am not immortal. I was ancient and weary even before Alaric came to me, a century ago, and now the weight of years grows heavier by the day. Soon I will not be able to keep it locked away any longer and this reality will collapse, releasing the Ironlord back into the world.
“So it would just fall back to Feydwiir?” Aiden asked, puzzled.
In a fashion, though it is more akin to swimming than falling, as you may recall.
“Then would it appear again where you first left the world?” Aiden inquired. “Would it not simply be stuck here floating around forever?”
It would float for only a brief time, for there are other forces at work in this place.
“The Aether is ever-shifting,” Desmond explained. “Much like the sea there are tides, eddies and currents that constantly move about. To continue the metaphor, there are places where the Aether becomes shallow, almost touching our world. There is only one such place that has been documented on the island of Feydwiir, and it is to this place that the land we now stand upon has drifted. When this reality is no more, the Ironlord will be deposited at this location almost instantaneously, free to continue its rampage unchecked.”
You cannot count upon the aid of my kin any further, Salinder added. You asked what I wanted from you? I need you to find a way to destroy it once and for all.
“But… you said it couldn’t be destroyed,” Aiden replied quietly, thunderstruck by this revelation.
We were not able to find a weakness before it became imperative to act, the dragon continued. Research has been ongoing, but those who carry on this process are old and tired. You have an aptitude for knowledge, Aiden, and I need you to carry on this task.
“Much has been learned and uncovered this past century,” Desmond explained solemnly, “but our numbers are growing fewer every year and young blood is needed to replace those who have passed on. We have to be careful who we talk to however, for there are those in the world who would actively welcome the return of this unstoppable monstrosity. Discretion is called for, which is why we must ask that you mention this to no-one.”
“They wouldn’t believe me if I told them,” Aiden muttered dryly, recalling the reactions he had received when he’d mentioned the dream he’d had over and over again. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to help you, but I’ll do my best. Is this what you were trying to tell me in those dreams?”
No, that was another matter concerning my cousins and the device which you… The dragon’s eye suddenly opened wide and stared at Aiden. A scream echoed from behind him, and whirling around he saw Sayana standing there, having just stepped through the portal to the tower.
She was gaping at the dragon before them, and Aiden could see light visible from under her clothes as she summoned power to protect herself. A challenging roar blasted from Salinder’s gigantic maw as the ancient dragon’s head rose up, and suddenly Sayana was encased in a shimmering bubble of energy, her arms pinned against her sides.
HOW DARE YOU ENTER MY PRESENCE, Salinder thundered as the ground beneath their feet began to shake once more. The dragon’s head whirled around to look at the gate behind them and saw the chains straining to hold it shut. A loud, rhythmic thumping sound came from beyond, and Aiden looked on in terror as he realized the Ironlord was trying to free itself.
“The portal is collapsing,” Desmond cried over the rumbling sound. “We need to get back to the tower immediately!”
It is taking advantage of the distraction, BEGONE! Salinder told them, his telepathic voice strong and clear over the rumbling around them. Sayana was thrown back through the portal with a squeal while Salinder shifted his bulk to concentrate on holding the gate in place. Desmond took Aiden by the shoulder and thrust him through the flickering portal to the tower beyond.
Instead of the easy step through, this time the journey felt like agony as the rippling doorway tore at him and although it only lasted a brief moment, it was so sharp and intense that darkness descended over him just after he felt the cold stone of the tower floor beneath his cheek.
Chapter Seventeen
Aiden slowly opened his eyes and tried to recall what had happened. He looked around the room and saw the mundane furniture, assorted devices and artefacts of Desmond’s laboratory. There was a piercing rattle echoing through the air and the old wizard was unconscious, lying on the stone just next to him. The portal itself had vanished, leaving only a blackened scorch mark on the metal floor plate.
Aiden slowly got back on his feet and walked over to Sayana, also unconscious but evidently free of the dragon’s binding incantation. Satisfied that both of them were going to survive, Aiden turned his attention to the metallic rattling noise coming from the cylinder nearby.
The blue glow was flickering in the tube, and the noise emitted from the device was slowly turning into a screeching sound and smoke was pouring from the tube. Scanning the panel, Aiden saw a flashing red light with a strange rune above it. His curiosity outstripping his caution, he pressed the worn metal plate and the red light vanished, along with the horrid screeching sound which faded into a sort of whimpering noise and was soon gone completely.
He studied the contraption for a few moments, noticing that the blue light was still glowing within the tube, though it was no longer swirling around. A thought occurred to him as he looked down at the panel again and saw a familiar switch and pressed it, flipping open a small hatch only inches across. Rummaging around in his belt pouch, he pulled out the small cube whose secrets had continued to elude him for weeks.
His hands shaking with trepidation, he fitted the cube into the square slot and gently pushed it in. When he had done this back at Dale’s place in Bracksford, nothing further had happened. This time he was rewarded with a curious display of coloured lights next to the hatch. A faint humming sound could be heard from the contraption and the blue glow began to fade from the tube.
“Don’t touch that, it is an incredibly delicate artefact,” Desmond croaked, picking himself up off the floor and dusting off his robe. Aiden quickly attempted to pull the cube out of the slot, but it refused to budge and he was reluctant to try and force it lest he damage either device. He spun around and stood between the wizard and the device, hoping Desmond wasn’t going to come over for a closer look.
“It’s okay, I managed to make it stop,” Aiden assured him, trying to appear casual. “Are you okay? Perhaps you should sit down for a moment.”
“Nonsens
e, I’m not some doddering old fool,” Desmond muttered, leaning heavily on his staff and doddering over to a wall to lean against it for a few moments. Aiden moved his right hand to the panel behind him and felt his way around to the cube, and then to the small switch next to it that should pop it back out again. It wouldn’t budge, however, no matter how hard he pressed down upon it.
“We were lucky to make it out of there,” Desmond said, looking at Sayana’s unmoving form lying on the flagstones. “From Salinder’s reaction, I can assume that your friend is more dangerous than I had accounted for.”
“She hasn’t done anything to deserve that sort of treatment,” Aiden protested, feeling the switch move under his hand at last and grasping the cube before it could fall onto the floor. It was quite warm, but not uncomfortably so. With a minor feat of dexterity he managed to close the small hatch on the panel without looking, although it did make a tiny ‘click’ sound as it closed, prompting Desmond to glare at him.
“Stand away from the device, Aiden,” he ordered, “I cannot take the chance that you might inadvertently damage it.”
“Of course,” Aiden responded, slipping the cube into his pouch as he moved over to Sayana. “That whole experience was quite overwhelming,” he continued, speaking honestly. “I can scarcely believe I’ve been asked to help destroy that whatever it is. I’m not even a proper wizard.”
“A fact of which I am keenly aware,” Desmond grumbled. “Nevertheless, I am not one to ignore the will of a dragon, much less my King and so I shall make it my task to assist you wherever possible. You needn’t be too concerned though, as you’ll be more of a research assistant than anything else. It’s not like you were being asked to slay the damned thing single-handedly.”
“I still have to finish up this assassin business as well,” Aiden mused quietly, feeling overwhelmed from every direction.
“I’m sure Salinder is keenly aware of your capabilities,” Desmond assured him. “Continue your work protecting the princess, and once that is resolved I shall help you to understand more of what is at stake here.”
In Defence of the Crown (The Aielund Saga Book 2) Page 29