Balten sighed and bent, and pickeduphis relic from the sand. It had no more feeling of power to it than before.
‘By the gods!’ Samuel declared.
‘Almost,’ Balten replied, wiping his brow and tucking the cylinder back into his shirt. ‘Now I just have to be careful not to release this thing unexpectedly. The most I have ever put into it was the odd mage-light and Lifting spell. This falls firmly into the category of the unknown.’
‘How does such a relic possibly work?’ Samuel asked.
‘I have no idea. It being a relic of the Ancients, I know almost nothing about it. Let’s hope it can hold your spell indefinitely. It could be a nasty surprise if anyone stumbled upon it. I will have to dispose of it safely when the chance arises. Now, let’s goandfind the others. We will need to keep moving.’
Samuel followed as Balten marched off into the haze and he slipped the ring from his finger as he went and dropped it into his pocket. He noticed the blisters on his hands had healed and the fatigue he should have felt after struggling with so much power was absent. He could only come to the conclusion that Balten had saved him just in time, supplanting him with energy and healing his body before the damage had become irreversible. The man was quite incredible and Samuel wondered how many other surprises Balten had hidden up his sleeves.
They carried on for several more days without incident orany furthersign of the Paatin. Travelling on foot was cruel and slowgoing, but they had little choice, given that their horses had been lost in the battle. Walking became even more difficult when the hard stones of the desert gave way to expanses of soft,white sand. Trudging up and down the great slipping hillsof sandwas exhausting, and they clambered over them for several more days, until some hard earth appeared under their feet once more. Finally, they saw some rock formations in the distance and Balten steered them towards the features, across the shimmering heat haze of the arid waste.
It was only when they nearedthe formationsthat they could see these were enormous pillars of pale stone, jutting from the ground. There was first one here and there, then more, then many-pressing in together-until the party was walking amongst a forest of towering,stone columns. It almost seemed as if a path led between them and some of the stones had markings or engravings on their sides, although they had been weathered away so as to be indiscernible.
They met an even greater surprise when the dense pillars abruptly ceased and the party found themselves in a vast,walled canyon, hidden away from the outside world.
‘What is this place?’ Eric asked, looking around with awe.
Balten replied without emotion, eyeing the high,natural walls around them, all formed of pale,weathered stone. ‘This is not our destination, but I wanted to stop here and show you something. I think you will find it very enlightening.’
They sauntered across the open bowlof the canyon, keeping close to the northern-most edge. Mounds of squared stone blocks were littered about here and there, but most of them had been weathered to the point of crumbling. It seemed that although the valley was natural, it had also been highly quarried, with sporadic cuttings marking the walls all over.
They continued on, following the walls of stone and they soon passed another mound of broken stones. Although this one was only about waist high, it was more than fifty paces wide at the base, as if a platform had been constructed in the middle of nowhere. And,in the distance,was another such construction.
It took them ten minutes to reach the next site but,when they did, they found it had been a building at one time, several storeys high in places, but now weathered away to almost nothing. Following that, they found another such ruin-little more than a mass of fallen pillars and dirt that had been blown in by the wind. These constructions seemed evenlyspaced and each one seemed slightly grander-or perhaps merely more intact-than the last. Some were vast, still standing five or six storeys high, but all were broken in some way; worn down by the Ages.
‘What are these buildings?’ Samuel asked their guide.
‘This is the Valley of the Ancients,’ Balten replied, but he would say no more and led them on in eerie silence.
It took them nearly an hour before they reached a point where the buildings looked less decrepit. They rose up like a series of towers that looked out over the canyon walls and into the desert. Samuel imagined that from the desert these constructions would appear to be only small piles of rock.
A number of black-skinned desert-men were ahead and seemed to be working on one of the structures. It was taller even than the rest and built up in layers, each layer smaller than the other and tapered together so that the top ended in a narrow point. Its design certainly seemed sturdier than the others, forming a square pyramid, with eachleveltaller than a man.
The top of the building bore a great carving of an eye, open and staring, looking to the centre of the valley and surrounding the building witha sphere of shimmering magic. Inside was something or someone immensely powerful,powerful enough to encase the entire structure in magic.
‘They are putting the finishing touches to this temple,’ Balten explained. ‘It has beenunderconstruction for over a hundred years. At times,there were tens of thousands of workerslabouringon it, and towns built all around to house and support them. Now, only these last few artisans are left, finishing their carvings, making the final adjustments.’
‘But why would anyone build such a thing out here?’ Eric asked, but again Balten was silent.
Some dark-skinned boys ran to the tall magician’s side, wearing sandals and short skirts,and they jabbered to Balten excitedly, and he replied to them in their own tongue. Thepartystopped under a canvas at the base of the temple and they all drank from gourds of water that were brought by the Paatin women.
‘Follow me,’ Balten said, after they had each drunk their fill, and he started up the stairs that had been cut directly into the side of the great stone slabs.
The othersfiledafter him, following him into a shadowed opening and into the side of the temple.
Their footsteps echoed in the stone halls. Every inch of wall space was carved with figures: gods and demons battling,people cowering from wild beasts,crops and rivers and symbols of harvest. Passages were written in Old Tongue, with letters hewn large and deep into the stone, but Samuel couldnotread more than a handful of words before Balten’s voice sounded back, hurrying him along.
‘Why do you think they call this the Valley of the Ancients?’ Eric whispered to Samuel.
‘I’m not sure,’ Samuel replied, somewhat louder, for he was trying to resist the strange temptation to whisper. ‘I think we are about to find out.’
They climbed a further set of square stairs that led up into the heart of the temple, passing the odd craftsmansittinghere and there in the dim light, chiselling or hammering at their work. Statues lined the chambers they passed, but the figures they represented were unknownto them. They passed several enormous rooms, several of which were filled with shelves of books and papers. They caught a glimpse of figures standing in the aisles: not the local desert-men, but fair-skinned westerners. Some of them were common folk, but others had the unmistakable aura of magicians.
Balten waited ahead at an open doorway and motioned for them to go in. ‘Please go in and everything will be explained.’
Samuel did as he was told and passed the man by. ‘Who is in there?’ he asked, for the magic that surrounded the pyramid seemed to emanate from within that room, flowing out the door in regular, rhythmical pulses that were immense and stifling.
‘Go in,’ said Balten, ‘and meet my teacher. Don’t worry. He will speak with you and then you will be free to leave.’
Samuel stepped wide-eyed into the room, for not only was it dense with magic, butalsowith precious artefacts: vases, jewels, paintings and sculptures of gold, piled and stacked against the walls and to the ceiling. A small space had been left bare at the centre of the room.Itconsistedof only acircleof padded chairs, crammed amongst the teetering treasures and each facin
g inwards.
The others had already sat themselves before their host, who had been waiting quietly in his seat. Samuel had to subdue his magician’ssight, for the aura around the man was blinding, as if the blazing sun had fallen across his shoulders andwasfused around his body. Whoever he was, their host had access to unspeakable power and Samuel was eager to see what such a man had to say.
He made his way to the last vacant chair and sat beside Sir Ferse. It was only at this point that he realised Master Celios was now missing, but looking to the rest of the group,he realisedthey had either not noticed or were unworried by the fact.
Their host waited patiently, smiling as they settled themselves. He wore robes of brown, tied with a simple white cord at his waist.Hisbarefeetwereflat on the floor and his hands restedlightly upon his thighs. He was a bald and bony man, brown of skin,although it looked like he had gained his colour from wandering under the sun, rather than from birth. His age was undefinable, for he was smooth and without wrinkles, but his nose was bulbous and his earlobes drooped almost to his shoulders. His bones were knobbly beneath his flesh, yet the knots of his musclesstood outlike clumps of iron.
Samuel knew he should feel worried, but there seemed to be an air of calm in the room that had everyone enthralled. Samuel, too, felt compelled to sit quietly and await the address from their host, although he could not explain the feeling. Only Horse looked unsettled; he had a bead of sweat on his brow and was holding onto his armrests tightly.
After a moment, the old man sitting before them spoke and his voice was composed and welcoming. He oozed compassion, but it was also an uncomfortable feeling, as if it was being impressed upon them without their consent.
‘Welcome to the Valley of the Ancients,’ said the host. ‘This is my home and you now find yourselves in the heart of my Temple of Shadows. I know your journey has been long and you all have much yet to do, but I am glad to see you finally here. I had instructed my student, Balten, to assist in this as required and,once again,he has not disappointed me. You may notice that Master Celios is not present. I have arranged for him to be taken to his room to rest. I will be requiring his unique skills almost immediately, so he will not be continuing with you on your quest.
‘I see before me two young magicians of great fame: Master Pot and Lord Samuel-the Saviour of Cintar, no less.’ Then he looked at the Koians sitting on his left. ‘And here we have some guests from the distant Koian Empire,a very mixed and intriguing group. I am pleased to finally meet one of the fabled Koian warriors. In all the Ages, few cultures have reached such a high order of physical and mental discipline. I am honoured.’ And he gave a small, yet humble,bow of his head, closing his eyes solemnly as he did so. ‘The denizens of Amandia call this language the Old Tongue, for lack of a better name, and it is only practised by magicians and those who wish to cultivate its power, but you have kept this language alive and in everyday use. You should be applauded, for your culture excels in preserving its traditions, while other people have perished altogether or given up their old ways many times over. The Old Tongue, as many of you are aware, is a language of great importance. It is the language of our history and of our forefathers and it has been inscribedupon the walls of this temple to preserve the fruits of our knowledge for future generations.’
Then he turned to the Koian god-woman and gave her a smile that looked truly disturbing. It seemed he was making an attempt to be welcoming, but it did not suit him. His teeth seemed sharpened and feral,and his cordial air was rapidly evaporating. ‘It’s not often that I can welcome a god into my temple, so I am very honoured to be in your presence,ONamelessOne. You will not be staying long, but I hope my hospitality is befitting of one such as you, who has lived a host of remarkable lives.’
‘How do you know of us?’ It was the Emperor who spoke, and he addressed their mysterious host with suspicion.
‘I know many things,’ the gnarled,old man replied. ‘I have many reliable people under my command,a network of the most trusted and powerful men and women that spansevery continent of this world. I have been on this earth for longer than all your natural years combined and, by any measure, I am perhaps the most powerful man in the world. I build empires,then devour them; I raise kings,then destroy them. I control everything of importance that has, and will be-to a point. There is not much upon this world left to interest me, but I must say that such a collection of individuals comes close,’ and he moved his eyes across them all. ‘I doubt that such a feat has been accomplished since the New Ages began. I have been watching and following the progress of each of you for most of your lives. I am Cang, and I am the leader of the Circle of Eyes. Welcome to my humble home.’
Everyone was quiet and Samuel and Eric looked at each other, unsure of their predicament. Nobody seemed willing to break the silence and Cang continued looking at them with his strangely bared teeth, like a cat about to devour a mouse.
‘So what does this have to do with the current state of affairs?’ the Emperor asked, seemingly oblivious to the tension in the room. ‘Why are we wasting our time here when we could be on our way?’
Cang clasped his hands before him,and he had great,gnarled clumps of hands. He looked like he could tear knots out of tree trunks. ‘This has everything to do with the current state of affairs, especially with your Empress. Patience, Edmond.’ The Emperor however was not worried and did not flinch in the slightest at the sound of his name. ‘I organised for the Empress and her boy to be taken. I even arranged for the Paatin to invade your lands although,admittedly, it would have happened soon enough anyway. I have engineered almost all of the events of all your lives for one ultimate goal. I did all this because I had to, for we have reached a point in time that can no longer be avoided.’
‘What you say is ridiculous,’ the Emperor responded. ‘Such machinations are beyond any one man. How do you expect us to take you seriously?’
It was then that Samuel went to shift his legs and found that he was locked stiff in his seat. The room was so saturated with magic and he had subdued his senses almost to nothing. As such, he had not noticed any Holding spell take effect. They were all stuck fast, until such time as their host decided otherwise. He could not even wriggle his hand into his pocket.
‘Always so self-assured. Then please allow me to illustrate. It was a trivial matter to bring you, in particular, here. You would never have come willingly, being the stubborn goat that youare.So Master Celios, long your faithful friend, planted the notion of an assassination amongst the Order-in the form of a prophecy. This false hope-of a dead emperor and a pliableEmpire-started the self-assured fools out to achieve what they otherwise would never have dared. Finally, through luck and perhaps determination, they succeeded and the Emperor was indeed slain. You certainly proved yourself useful, good Sir Ferse, in those days following the assassination. Master Celios strung you along with his advice and his visions and you never seemed to realise that, most of the time, his wordsveiledmine. From there, I only had to lay some bait to bring you to my door.Stealing away the heir of the Empire was a simple matter. I had the feeling you would come running after him-and I was right.’
The Emperor sat stiffly, as if too angry to even move. It seemed incredible that Cang knew everything about the man. It seemed strange, too, that he curled his words to preserve the Emperor’s true identify, but Samuel was far too enraged to dwell on that. ‘How could you do such a thing?’ he spat out.
With that, Cang’s beady attention shifted over towards him. ‘You, Samuel, were not so simple to procure, but some patience and perseverance haveseen the job done well. From the time my witch hunters found you and had you sent to Cintar, you have been under my control. Did you think you had anything akin to free will? Quite the contrary. Bringing you here was as trivial as asking that it be so, and my servants set to work until the task was complete. I have special plans for you, Samuel. Do not despair. I will need your power in the coming days.’
‘What are you saying?’ Samuel said angri
ly, ‘-that you have somehow fooled or manipulated us into coming here? That’s nonsense!’
‘It is rare to find a magician with such unique abilities as you, Samuel. One of my closest assistants found you when you were just a child and my witch hunters did the rest. Each step of your path has been carefully crafted-from your uncle to Mr Joshua and Master Kelvin and even your kindly Master Glim. Everyone has served me in one way or another, whether they knew it or not. I know all about Master Ash, of course. He was the catalyst I needed to develop your power beyond anything those Order fools could manage-but even the Order played its role well. Their task was not to make you powerful-they could never manage that-but to make you pliable, and they did achieve that with remarkable success. The result was much better than if I had attempted to force you under my wing. Here you are, exactly as planned.
‘Directing your fate was no more difficult than influencing those around you, and there youwere, dancing at the end of your strings.’ Cang seemed to be revelling in the telling of his tale and he gestured with his handstomimic a dancing puppet, bobbing with his shoulders left and right. It was truly disturbing to witness the jolly look on his face as heenactedhis pantomime. ‘Ash killed your family, didn’t he? He was quite a nasty piece of work. He drove quite a splinter under your nails and I must say I applauded his efforts at the time. How youspurredyourself on just to catch him! It was wonderful how you killed him in the end, and he deserved it, every bit. I thought that was a splendid effort on your part. He was never one for following instructions and he had gotten quite out of hand by that stage. I was glad to be rid of the upstart and you saved me the effort of sending in my agents. You have become exactly the kind of magician that I require: wonderfully powerful and superbly naive-a perfect tool.’
Samuel writhed in his chair furiously. ‘Let me free so I can tear your head off!’
‘Come now. I am only being honest with you, Samuel. No secrets from this point on. This is the promised moment when you willeither join me or die, so please take the moment to consider the decision. You can’t say I have not given you due warning and I’m sure you didn’t think I was only joking. I have a very limited sense of humour, as you may have perceived.’
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