Ampheus

by Jonathan Forth

  The guard lunged at her; she sidestepped, ducked and wrapped the cloak of invisibility around her. She vanished in a blink.

  He roared with frustration, whirling his arms around and trying to grab a piece of her. Fayette backed herself to the wall and stealthily made her way back to the entrance. As she left she placed the ring in the hollow once more.

  By the time the guard realised the door was closing it was too late. He threw himself towards it but it shut too quickly. He pulled his hand back just to avoid it being crushed and then the light blinked out. He retrieved the torch and searched for another lever or handle to open the door. Finding none he tried to find another exit but was faced by a growing sense of panic as the torch dimmed and went out.

  There was only one entrance and exit to the vault. The King’s ring was the only way to open it and that was heading away from the vault to the chapel and the catacombs underneath.

  The Princess took no chances on her way back and wore the cloak. In fact, it made moving harder as people did not try to avoid her as they passed her in the corridor. So she had to keep jumping out of the way as on-rushing bodies bore down on her.

  She ducked across the main corridors and cut through the council chambers. She could hear the sounds of battle down towards the castle gate, and if she was not mistaken the fighting was getting closer.

  She passed one of the anterooms and hesitated. She thought she had heard something but listened again, and it was quiet. She stepped away but she stopped again as she was sure she had heard a child’s whimper from the inside.

  Fayette paused and tried the handle but it was still locked. Then she made out a quiet whimper again. “I’m here to help,” she shouted, “but you must let me in!” Nothing happened. She put her weight against the door but it did not budge, and again the handle seemed tightly locked.

  She called to the child, “Open the door; don’t be scared, I’m here to help you.” But there was no answer.

  Instead, Fayette heard the crash of breaking glass from the window beyond the door in the room. She stiffened, stepped back and unsheathed Defiance, aimed at the bolt and in one swift blow brought Defiance down on the lock. The impact splintered the wooden door and left the lock hanging off its hinges. Fayette kicked the remnants of the door out of the way and stepped into the room.

  Standing by the window was one of the Horde, growling at her, its metal club with bloodied spikes swinging in its right hand. Its left hand gripped a small girl, her blonde hair held in its fist.

  The girl was petrified and tears streaked down her cheeks. Anger whelmed up inside Fayette as she focused her rage and strode towards the Gamuran.

  In close contact his strength would likely be overpowering, but the room had space to move. Fayette sidestepped the initial swing of his club, slashing the arm that held the child. The Gamuran threw his head back and roared with pain giving Fayette the second she needed to grab the girl and pull her behind her.

  The Princess stood herself between the child and the Gamuran, but the girl clung to her legs, impeding her balance and the Gamuran took advantage of this. Fayette steadied herself. He wielded the club from side to side powerfully as she backed away. Fayette only just managed to block the blows with Defiance held in one hand as she urged the child backwards behind her.

  As she was driven back her knees buckled under the force of the blows, sending jarring jolts down her arm. She was running out of space to manoeuvre and was almost backed up against the wall. The club’s blows still rained down. Fayette strained but with one arm she could not wield the sword with any power to fight back.

  She dropped to her knees, seemingly beaten, Defiance at her feet. The Gamuran roared with satisfaction and raised his club above for one final blow.

  The Princess reacted, tightening her two-handed grip on Defiance and forcing the blade upwards and into the belly of the Gamuran. He screamed in pain, dropped his club and fell forward on top of them. Fayette leveraged him off with her shoulder and pushed him to one side.

  She grabbed the girl, wrapped her arms around her neck and carried her under her cloak. They made their way to the alley that led to the chapel and ran towards it. At the end of the alley was a main thoroughfare.

  She could see Terramian soldiers retreating up to the second front but ignored them and headed to the chapel. She opened the door, stepped inside and bolted it behind her.

  Fayette put the girl down, unwrapped her cloak and led her to the alcove at the side of the altar. She grasped the torch handles either side and yanked on them but nothing happened. She tried again with her whole weight behind her but they did not budge. The sound of the fighting came closer and closer.

  She pulled the girl towards her, backed into the alcove for what little cover it offered and held her in her arms. There was nothing else for her to do.

  *

  Gorath strode with his generals to the top of the hill overlooking Ampheus. This would be his greatest triumph. Terramis would be at his mercy, he would obtain its totem and then he would turn his attention to the other realms. The wind swirled around him as he crested the hill and took in the enormity of what he surveyed below him.

  A fizzing torrent of blue and orange flame had erupted from the castle. Sucking in the storm above, they created a tornado of swirling clouds that were lit up by vivid lightning strikes.

  The Horde charged headlong to the main gate. They already had the upper hand within the castle. Flames licked from the inner walls and a crescendo of noise from the fighting rose from the ramparts.

  Blood-curdling shrieks, the clash of iron on iron. It was a wonder to behold. Gorath raised his hands into the air, drawing power from the essence of the storm. Then he wailed a carnal cry from his very soul.

  *

  Sumnar had been bent to his knees by Ladryn’s blow. It felt like all of his bones were being twisted at the same time. His blood was coming to the boil. His muscles tensed to hold himself together, the strain forcing them to shake and shudder. He knew he had got carried away and rushed in to counter Ladryn’s spell that was holding the drawbridge and gate open. But it had left him unprotected and defenceless.

  With all his effort he focused his mind and reeled off a protection spell just as Ladryn struck him again, sending him tumbling to the floor and bashing him up against the battlements. He managed to maintain his connection to the earth power and keep a stranglehold on Ladryn’s blue flame for the time being. His eyes teared from the effort, making it difficult to see. He clenched his jaw and bit down on his tongue, bringing the taste of blood in his mouth.

  Ladryn laughed and bore down on him. “Soldier, how can you be a match for me? You, your King, all is lost.”

  Sumnar’s mind spun out of focus; like a body tossed and turned in the tumult of a wave. He was surrounded by disorientating foam, unable to find his way to the surface, deprived of his breath. But sometimes in those moments when all appears lost, you find an inner calm. A calm when the body and mind accept their fate, give themselves to it. Disassociating a person from the futile effort for survival. A moment for reflection. A moment to consider.

  A lot of the time I guess the thought is It is a funny old thing. I never thought it would all end like this! Sumnar thought of the hermit, the time they had spent together. Hours, weeks, months, years! It all blurred.

  He considered, what the hermit would say? ‘All that time! I taught you everything I know, and this is how you use it. Add a bit of bite into your bark. You are rolling around like a particularly chubby puppy having its tummy tickled. Thirty seconds into this fight and it is all over already. Pathetic. He’s tickling your tummy. Who’s a good boy then, who’s a good boy?

  ‘Pull yourself together Sumnar; take a snap at his fingers. Dig your teeth into his leg. Stick your nose up his bottom. I don’t care, just do something!’

  Yes, well, Sumnar thought. I’m certainly not sticking my nose up
his bottom. Yet something stirred in his head, a recollection, a remnant of a memory.

  *

  He had wandered down to the meadows with the hermit. It was a beautiful day. The sky was blue. They strolled through the meadow and he allowed his hands to float alongside him and brush against the grasses. There was a blanket of flowers including buttercups, clovers, dandelions, nettles, thistles, daisies and cowslips. Birds skitted overhead and butterflies meandered through the flowers. Crickets chirped and bees would buzz in and out of earshot. It was as pleasant a day as he could imagine.

  The hermit was explaining, “Yes, magic is about talent and the ability to perform incantations. The more you practise the more finesse you gain to the point where your spells are just instinctive. You want it to be and it becomes so.

  “But it is more than that. The more grounded or connected you are to your earth source, the more presence or focus your emotional connection to the environment around you and the desire for the spell to succeed. All these will be crucial for the effectiveness and power of the spell.

  “Sumnar,” he turned and placed his hand on his shoulder. “You may struggle with the routines. But it is your bond to the earth and your surroundings, your focus, these are your strengths.

  “While you proved a natural wizard, never forget your innate skills as a leader and as a soldier. Those that fight you on a plane of sorcery will be limited to that medium. You can fight at many different levels.”

  The hermit smiled. “Let me give you an example,” and bade Sumnar to sit next to him. He picked two dandelion seed stems, kept one for himself and passed the other to Sumnar. “Right, concentrate and focus on the seeds and use your powers to waft them away.”

  Sumnar focused and considered a crude incantation. Took in his surroundings, tried to connect to the earth beneath him, meld with the wind and draw it to the flower. But today he could not coalesce the elements together and they felt beyond him. He shook his head. “I can’t do it.”

  The hermit shrugged. “You give up too easily. You know yourself, but don’t know yourself at the same time. You need to know and understand your whole self and contemplate its strengths in every situation.”

  The hermit faced the dandelion and blew at the seeds. They scattered and jigged away in the wind. “That’s cheating!” said Sumnar. “Why?” said the hermit. “It is the end that is important, less so the means by which you got there. Magic is not always the answer. Sometimes other skills are far more effective.”

  Sumnar all of a sudden understood. Ladryn stood over him, taunting him. Sumnar let go of his earth connection; the orange fire fizzed and blinked away. Ladryn’s blue flame illuminated brighter, unhindered by Sumnar’s resistance. The fighting was still intense around them.

  Ladryn threw back his head and cackled. “How could you ever have imagined you could defeat me!”

  *

  The veins pulsed on the High Commissioner’s head. “What were you thinking? Honestly, what were you thinking? All right, the Queen turning up was unexpected but we could have managed that. Now you’ve turned the whole of Lumines against me.

  A Gamuran killing a member of the High Council in the council chamber itself. Gamuran soldiers taking over the castle.” He buried his head in his hands.

  “I spent my life getting to where I am now, and you just pulled the rug from under me, just like that! The Aquamuran army will be massing at the causeway in no time. I have nowhere to go, I am ruined!”

  The Emissary tried to soothe him. “You need to think about the big picture; you are still on the winning side. Give me the totem, then we’ll find our way out of here and head to the Midlands and deliver it to Gorath.”

  “As soon as I tell you where the totem is you’ll cut my head off!” The High Commissioner was not quite as stupid as he looked; nearly, but not quite.

  “Well you have to take your chances. We’ll need a trusted governor here when the realms are under Gorath’s dominion. It will be just a matter of time. Anyway, if you don’t come with us then you’ll have to answer to the High Council. I don’t think they are going to be very merciful either.”

  Yip shook his head, still unsure. The Emissary gave up; sometimes people are just too stupid to get through to. He made his decision and clicked his fingers.

  A couple of guards came forward, grabbed the High Commissioner’s hand and held it to the table. One pulled out his dagger. “Last chance. Where is the totem? Tell me now or lose your fingers, one by one.”

  You had to hand it to the High Commissioner, he held out longer than expected. The knife was about six inches from his hand when he finally caved.

  “Right, where is it, Yip?”

  The High Commissioner sighed.

  “Under the High Commissioner’s chair, in a secret compartment.” He stepped up, released a lever on the side of the chair and pushed it forward. He then slid back a false floor and picked up the totem. It was a dark granite cylinder with ancient markings carved into its sides. Waves of light washed over its surface, giving it life. High Commissioner Yip handed it over to the Emissary.

  He smiled. “All right, let’s go.”

  As the High Commissioner turned to leave the council hall, the Emissary removed his sword from its sheath and lopped off Yip’s head. “I feel better already!” he said. “I’ve been wanting to do that for ages.”

  “Right,” said Emissary Gowan to his guard. “We have six hours before low tide. At which point if they have anything about them at all, the Aquamuran army will gather itself and be ready to charge across the causeway and run us through.

  “So back to ‘Plan A’. I like it when a plan comes together. Has everyone got his or her sea legs on?”

  Chapter 20

  Celestina

  On the third day, Gulden broke his fever, opened his eyes and attempted to sit up in bed. He was originally disorientated and tried to speak but was only able to croak. Mia, who was dozing next to him, woke up, raised her head and fed him some water, which he was thankful for.

  He haltingly drank as she said, “You are in Celestina and you are safe.”

  Gulden blinked at her, surprised. “How? I felt I was surely dead.”

  Mia smiled. “You should drink, bathe and eat.”

  “How long was I sleeping?”

  “Three days,” said Mia.

  Gulden appeared pained. “I need to speak to the Elders as soon as possible.”

  “I know you went through a lot but have you recovered sufficiently to meet them?” asked Mia.

  Gulden tensed and stretched his body. It was sore, but his cursory check did not reveal any broken bones, just the sting and throb of healing cuts and wounds. Over the three days he had been feverish, his body had already started mending itself.

  “I am ready,” said Gulden.

  “In which case I will inform them that you have woken. I will come back and bring you up to the present as you eat. We will meet with the Elders this afternoon. By the way I am Mia.”

  Gulden nodded. “Gulden,” he said in return. Mia left the room and a couple of servants entered to help him rise and prepare himself.

  Gulden was eating when Mia returned. “How am I not dead?” he asked her.

  “I spotted you from one of the watchtowers and we came to your aid. I was just in time and able to kill the dark angel before it struck. You are a very lucky man, Gulden from Terramis; a moment later and you would have been killed.”

  He nodded at her. “You… you saved me; thank you, I shall be for ever in your debt.”

  She laughed and waved it off. “No need for such dramatics. I am sky born, but life can be a little dull here at times. There is a distinct lack of action, I appreciated the… ” she paused, “… distraction!” She grinned.

  “Nonetheless, I owe you my life and one day I will repay that debt.” She laughed again and teased him.

>   “You Terramians are always so dramatic; it is all about life and death; oaths and loyalty; you need to lighten up a little bit. That said, if I ever find myself in a life-or-death situation, you’d better be there. I don’t want any of those empty promises. I’ll be mightily miffed if you are not galloping in on your fine steed to cast down the villain and whisk me to safety.” She chuckled again.

  Gulden normally would be quite self-conscious and defensive if somebody made fun of him, but with Mia he found he quite enjoyed it.

  Mia paused. “However the situation is a little more complicated than you would imagine and you should be forewarned. There is a unit of Janshai camped outside the city. They requested both you and the scroll be delivered to them and only then will they spare Celestina from Gorath’s retribution. We must respond to them within seven days.

  “That is why the Elders need to speak to you. They need to know what was so critical that you would risk your life to speak to us before they make a decision. It is good you recovered.”

  Gulden nodded and put down his food and wiped his mouth. “In which case there is no time like the present. Let’s go!”

  They entered the Elders’ Communion and were offered seats in the centre of the hall. There were ten Elders present. A central figure stood up. “I am Elder Rian, Gulden of Terramis; we welcome you to our communion. We understand you went to great lengths to reach Celestina, at significant cost to yourself. So first and foremost, let me give you the floor.”

  Gulden nodded. “Thank you, your …?” and paused.

  “Just call me Elder Rian, no worships, highnesses or majesties here. We are all equal in Windstrom,” he smiled.

  “Elder Rian,” began Gulden once more, “I have here a scroll from King Armanar himself. Ampheus is currently under siege as we speak from Gorath’s Horde. He has forty thousand men at his service. He aims to take the Earth Totem. In time he will no doubt turn his attentions to the south and east for the Water and Air Totems. He will seek to combine them and fulfil his desire for dominion over the Ancient World.