Ascension of the Warlock (Book 4 of the Death Incarnate Saga)

by Jr H. Lee Morgan

  Sunlight burned his sensitive eyes for less than a second as his mind supplied a simple spell thereby making sunglasses out of energy. They weren’t real, but they dimmed the light while the hot sun beat upon his lightly tan chest. It wouldn’t take long to tan back to golden bronze, but almost two months without the sun had lightened skin tone. Nothing mattered at the moment as he finally arrived in the outside world. It was pure and invigorating.

  The hot, but fresh air blew against him and he sighed, content.

  An idea suddenly popped into Cage’s head that put a smile on his face. He didn’t have to concentrate as he located the piece of his mind that held the most value. The saying that spoke of eternal and endless friendship.

  Cage moved and stood on desert sand while reciting the words that bonded lives. His voice turned otherworldly.

  “I beckon for the one who sits upon the ancient throne! Come forth and face any who try to usurp the forgotten kingdom you alone rule and destroy them into nothingness. Power and strength is forever at your call, but as long as you protect others you shall never fall. Alone you shall never be, so long as you are part of me. Darkness and light we are, to balance life both near and far. COME!!!”

  The cloudless sky grew troubled, the ground shook as the wind beat down. Moisture from near, underground springs began rising and evaporating and came from far away to then be condensed into clouds and in seconds a raging storm much like a hurricane swirled for miles around, blocking sunlight. Lightning struck the sands while rain pelted it for the first time in what looked like years, but Cage knew this time he was truly prepared to fulfill the ancient bond in the proper way.

  Twenty yards away a blob of blackness appeared and swirled like a vertical whirlpool, changing color along the way. The inky dark brightened and was revealing a white form standing with wide eyes and a parted beak. The words bound master and Summoner and the invocation allowed Cage to feel Daku’s surprise while Daku felt Cage’s immense new power. A bright smile spread as they looked to each other, but Cage saw many faces behind Daku, human and dragon alike. Meeka, Brooke and Tohka stood closest and all dropped to their knees as they saw him standing proudly in a dark backdrop. He could see their tears and smiles.

  Rex Gralla was the first to speak. “Seal the bond, White King! No one move!”

  Daku began to grow from a lion to a dragon’s size as he came though the portal and it grew on its own to pull him through. His beak passed the threshold and then the great head, followed by wide shoulders. His first step from beach sand to desert shook the swirling ground. His torso, wings and back legs were drawn across. As his tail passed through the portal, it sucked itself closed and the power of the summoning eased the raging storm slightly, but didn’t slow it down. The power that made it would take time to fix the atmospheric turmoil.

  Daku stood proud to throw his head back and scream to the world he now had a truly worthy master and brother. The shrill roar was filled with joy, hope and power now equaled. Those great blue eyes were joyous as he chirped “At last your power is my equal, Cage! I felt it the moment you spoke our bond aloud. You have ascended into a splendid warlock without rival. Show me your back so I may see what was hidden.”

  “Damn, Daku!” Cage whistled with wide eyes as the sunglasses disappeared.

  The griffin king cocked his head. “What?”

  “I can actually see your power! It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen. It swirls around and through you like a storm. It is white in color.”

  “It is my mana you can now see and understand. Your dark power in my eyes now swirls. Not seeping anymore. You actually look much like Rex Nattan, only much more compact. Now if any dragon looks, they will immediately know what you are without question. I know you wished to see what I spoke of often, about the colors and mates. Narrow your eyes like when you need to see far away.”

  Cage did so and watched as the white tempest of twisting white energy cloaking his partner began to alter and reveal brown and gray color transparently framing his griffin physique like a picture frame. The two colors were hard, unmoving, like granite. “Daku, what to the solid colors mean?”

  “My spirit mates will have as you say, solid colors. One will have brown and white while the other would have gray and white. If I had met them it would remain hard, but sparkle somewhat to show we were bound. The white would match my mana you saw my other mate’s. Unbreakables have solid, unmoving color, which you will learn. You cannot see yourself, but you have three colors with you. Before, Tohka came, you had only two… is this?” Daku suddenly looked at the gaping hole in the ground and began shrinking.

  Rain continued pouring and they didn’t mind. It felt good.

  Cage turned around and stood as far back as sand fell down in the spacious cavity allowed. “The nexus Stronghold.” He revealed. “I couldn’t make it out and was swarmed. I believe the danger forced my ascension and the power turned every ghost back into a spirit. Estimations were wrong about my release, it wasn’t ten miles, more like fifteen.”

  “Astonishing!” the Familiar meant it.

  “Oh and I met Celliq.”

  This stopped Daku and he asked “How do you know that name?”

  “I just met her… at least her spirit. Apparently the spirits manipulated everything so that I could do what I did at the right time. Everything I went through led me to heal every ghost here. Celliq spoke to me right after.”

  “Never has a dragon or griffin mention the first queen. Her memories are faintest of all, but she was the matriarch of my kind.”

  “And very beautiful.”

  “From what I know, yes she was.” Daku agreed and finally looked at Cage’s back, seeing the roses and knew what they meant without question. “Have you seen your mark?”

  “Now I do.” He said as he effortlessly maneuvered mirrors to see it.

  Before Cage could say the representations, Daku beat him to the punch. “I, the center rose, am white. Meeka is blue like her mana color, Brooke is the strong green and Tohka is the amber topaz color. Interesting, even if you couldn’t see their color of magic, your mark knew it all along. They are all beautiful, but dangerous as the twining stems show thorns. So it is the four of us who represent you completely. I am your center, but you love your mates equally.”

  “Less than two days and Tohka is part of me? Feels right. I do love her.”

  “All will be worried our return isn’t immediate, but I must ask to lay eyes on the Stronghold with my own eyes first.”

  “I knew you would say that. Let’s look for an hour and then find out where we are.”

  “Agreed.” Daku said as he launched himself in the air and down in the pit.

  Both landed in the center of the room together and Cage created hundreds of lights, sending them to every corner of the room so as to really make an impact on the mind. “This was the first and only time humans, griffin and dragons fought and lived together as equals.” Daku’s voice was filled with emotion, his eyes taking everything in. “Old memories weren’t clouded after all. My grandsire lived in that nest for forty years before a queen Tiaxm ended his life. Over in that one my mother hatched and fought the last ten years till the nexus closed.” Daku looked beside him. “Cage, climb up, there is somewhere I need to take you.”

  “What for?” he asked while jumping on his Familiar’s back, draping his legs around the thick neck.

  “Just wait.” Daku began a trot while seeing this place with his own eyes and not through memories of his ancestors. Daku flew slowly when there was no other way past the trenches and high walls that corralled the enemy of long ago. Daku made way for the ziggurat to the left and aimed for a landing place just above the halfway point. Cage still sat, recovering from the immense quantities of mana he expended to fix the new sunroof and bring his partner through Summoning, but he still found he had power to do it two more times without exhausting himself. Daku didn’t him want to dismount anyway as he laid a hand on a stone brick and pushed it in. There was a groan ma
king it sound like some inner mechanism was working, and was as the solid wall began opening inwards. It was total darkness inside so Cage ended all the other light spells and sent four circling above his head. The griffin walked inside without fear or explanation.

  “Will you answer a few questions for me? Like how I’m suddenly so strong? I knew I could do some pretty powerful stuff, but now it seems like they were petty tricks. Or how I’m thinking on hundreds of things at the same time or how I no longer need to focus to do magic. It’s as easy as breathing now. Too easy if you ask me.”

  Beneath, Daku purred while laughing. “Do not sound anxious or afraid. What you feel is natural… at least for a warlock. Your ascension has completely changed you and maximized your full potential. Your new mark is the proof. Without it your body, mind and power was limited so you didn’t kill yourself. Dragons believed it is a survival evolution. It would not be good for a warlock cub to have its full power now would it? Your mind alone has become a true force to be reckoned with. You know I can mind-link without being still, now so can you. And your new mind can do many more spells at the same time and think on a higher level than ever before.” Cage barely noticed the change as his partner changed from speaking with his voice to then, the mind.

  Like he said, it was easy, requiring almost no concentration to speak mind-to-mind. “Sweet! Now I don’t need to worry about leaving myself vulnerable to attack.”

  “It goes deeper than that.” Daku switched back to his natural voice. “In combat we can think and fight together more effectively than no other. Zikon thinks himself the second strongest human sorcerer, but not even he can match the power you hold. Yes, he is very powerful, but to mind-link with Theresa he must dedicate much of his mind to the task. He can do a few spells and move while do so, but you’ll have him beat if it is the two of you against each other.

  “But our bond is now deeper, you can feel me when we deepen the link, just as I do you.” He said while turning down a large corridor. “I feel your power and how your body is doing. It is now part of me and separate. Cage your new powers are complete. You will soon find your appetite greatly diminished, but do not be concerned. Like me and dragons, we can go weeks and months without any food.

  “Also you will tire less easily and sleep less.”

  “But…”

  “Let me finish.” Daku interrupted the interruption. “You wonder how it will affect your health? The answer is simple. It won’t. Your new properties have no ill effects, only benefits. If you need rest just tell your mind to do so and it will. You now have more control over yourself than ever before. You always wondered why I do not tire while this past winter I’d sleep most of the day away. I did so on purpose. There was almost nothing to do so I slept. You will find that you can go a week without sleep if you so desired, but still you must. I know you always needed much exercise to find rest because of too much energy. You can control that.

  “And no, your physical strength hasn’t increased. But your mind can process more. Later, you will see a massive difference when we really fight. I won’t hold back anymore.”

  “Looking forward to it. But why didn’t you tell me I would change so much?” Cage grinned.

  “Surprise! Just kidding. Actually your mind wouldn’t have comprehended half as easily as feeling it. It was also my prerogative to let you learn as much on your own as possible. I truthfully wanted you to experience thing as they happened. So, does it feel good to understand just how different everything is?” He heard his master chuckle and knew it was a solid yes. “We are almost there. I know you are impatient, stuck alone in the most inhospitable place in the world, but this is part of your heritage as well as mine. Everyone now knows you are alive and well with me. It won’t take too long.” Daku said and wasn’t lying.

  In five minutes, turning this way and that they arrived.

  An inconspicuous metal door caked in rust lay in front of them, ten feet tall and square. Daku put a hand on the center, after Cage slid off, and it squeaked, protesting the entire way. Elbow grease and effort opened a crack. Stale air rushed out, ruffling Daku’s fur and feathers, but a forceful shove knocked it all the way back.

  Cage lingered back as Daku said “Good, the room has remained intact… Hopefully so has the book.” He padded in, tail whipping like he just saw a rat as excitement burned up his insides. “Come on, Cage.”

  Light bloomed inside the spacious room. It was a little larger than his living room back on the island. There were many weapons lining the walls, all glistening as if newly polished. Each had a crystal imbedded hilt of the swords, the joint where wood met metal of the lances, directly in the center of round shields and the grip of metal bows without strings were completely made of crystal. A dozen cots made of stone lined near the wall of weapons, all within easy reach. The floor was colored a bright yellow with dark lines to show paths. But in the far back of the room was a stone pedestal holding up a thick wooden tome. Unlike books with paper pages, this one was firm and wooden like thin tiles. Daku said “Amazing, nothing is missing.” and then turned around to explain. “During the height of the war, this room was where human generals lived and protected their most valued weapon, battle magics. I was afraid the last copy had been destroyed by the sorcerers of Twilight or so buried in the First Council’s archives it would never see the light of day again. Cage, this is your heritage. You see these twenty nests, well these were the first to become warlock by being so near the nexus as it was being closed. It took about ten years, but they all became what you are. Very likely, one of them was your ancestor or all of them were. I do not know, but before we reveal this place to the world, this is yours. The weapons and book belong to you.”

  “But why, Daku? Why would Twilight destroy that book? And why hasn’t it decayed like everything else? I don’t see a gem protecting it.”

  “This book” Daku laid a reverent hand on the ancient faceless cover. “holds the magics warlocks developed to mix physical prowess with their immense magic. It was crafted by the lightest wood, but made so dense it cannot age or rot away for a few billion years. It is so strong only powerful spells can destroy it. You, unlike any other are the only one capable of completing its contents as it is proven by your skill with the conjured swords you make off the tips of your fingers when you spin around and hack your enemies to pieces. No other mage moves around when they fight because they must focus solely on what they must do to form magic. You never stay still like they do. It takes more than a century for most mages to learn to fly while simultaneously launching magic. Haven’t you wondered why you find it so easy, even before you ascended?” Daku received a nod as Cage’s eyes roamed the impressive weapons, a part of his mind sent magic to feel their makeup and what spells were in the imbedded gems to realize almost immediately his awakening ripped apart all the spells they once held. “Well it is because they cannot. Zikon, in all his power, cannot implement half the spells contained in this ancient book. And my genetic memories do not know all its secrets, only that this was the generals’ most protected nest. As the war with the Tiaxm progressed and more warlocks were made and bred, those skills they developed for combat effectiveness were imprinted in this. It is your heritage, your right. Many would try keeping you from this as it will only make you a greater threat to them. I want you to take this and learn.”

  “Alright, but do you mean to say that sorcerers destroyed the books because they were unable to master the skills locked in them?”

  “Yes and no. Yes they were jealous they could not do or come close to mastering its secrets, but it wasn’t made for normal humans. Some spells in it, if not done precisely, will backfire and destroy the user. Only the mind of a warlock can properly utilize it. Griffins cannot do magic and dragons are unable to move like humans and therefore have their own battle magics.”

  Cage approached the pedestal and ran his fingers over the smooth surface and when he looked down he noticed the symbol of infinity on it and not dust as he first thought. Carefull
y he opened the book closed to the right, just as he was accustomed. It was bound like a spiral notebook, only six inches thick with over a hundred wooden pages. He opened it completely and said with surprise “Just pictures?! Where are the words?” he said as he flipped page after page of drawings of naked, lifelike people doing poses and used color for different magic.

  “There are none. During the war there were several languages you humans had and to make a way for anyone to understand they did it this way. Most of the spells can be used by both sexes, but if you see a naked female doing a series of poses, do not try them. Female warlocks had their own skills only they could do. If you tried you would only hurt yourself, just as they would if they did a male specific attempt. I am not being sexist, simply truthful. Females were just as deadly as any male, but they manipulated their spells somewhat differently.” Daku said while looking over Cage’s shoulder. “For now I believe it would be best if you hid it. If the wrong person tried to follow along, it would be dangerous. The dragon’s won’t care, but if Twilight or an enemy got their hands on this, it could do a lot of damage.”

  “So I see.” Cage pointed to a faceless, naked individual, neither man or woman as it showed a five picture movement with lines representing how mana flowed to gather the spell while making a group of transitioning movements before firing a silver, droplet shaped weapon into a Tiaxm’s mouth that would drill its way through its chest, to the center and blow it from the inside out. “If the mana I can now see is focused by what this is showing, well it would certainly do some damage.”

  “Only to a scout or a weak warrior. If it was an average or powerful and well fed warrior, that technique would not be enough to burrow deeply enough to reach its hearts and cripple it. All it would do is piss it off even more.” Daku clarified.

  “I will treasure this gift. Thank you for binging be here to get this. I’m eager to try them out.”

  “Good, it will also serve as an aid to teach you how to take control of your new mental prowess and not accidently blow up a tree you find unsightly. You can do magic as easily as breathing now and one stray thought will land you in trouble. If I may make a suggestion?”