The Accidental Archmage - Book Five: Loki's Gambit

by Edmund A. M. Batara

  He looked closely at the massed forces; more hosts were joining each massive army. Forces of the two groups merely faced each other along an irregular line dividing the two regions. The border, suspected the mage. The bulk of the creatures—giants, drakes, and a host of unfamiliar kinds—were being arrayed in great formations, all facing southward. Numerous sizeable encampments pockmarked the vast plain.

  Is that what I think it is? thought the shaken Tyler.

  “Come, there are more places to visit.”

  “Does this mean what I suspect it is? Does Odin know?” exclaimed the mage.

  “It’s not my place to say. As for the Norse deity, Asgard itself is now feeling probing attacks from both fire and ice jotnar, in addition to creatures from the southern lands. Kemet itself has marched against some black kingdoms and empires. It has allies in that region, but those friendly and allied realms are also facing war from the enemies of Kemet. I am not telling you something new, knowledge about these events will come to you in a few days.”

  “But what the hell is happening? It appears everything is unraveling across Adar!”

  “Indeed, it is. That is why I risk my sister’s wrath.”

  “The anger of Fate? We’re talking about a being?” remarked the astounded mage. “I thought we were talking about her in an allegorical sense.”

  “You’re talking to me now. Things like that shouldn’t have surprised you.”

  “Not much surprises me anymore. But Fate?”

  “Why not?” remonstrated the being gently. “Mortals have deities who are but personifications of their basic fears and aspirations.”

  “Yes, but Fate with a capital F is a totally different matter altogether! Does she also watch over the First World?” asked the intrigued Tyler.

  “She does have many embodiments, watching over worlds where sentient life has arisen. It appears your education still sorely lacks much instruction.”

  “Don’t blame me. You don’t see any teachers around me, do you?” he testily replied. Tyler had been hearing so much about his lack of formal training and education that it was irritating him. I survived, didn’t I? I’m still here.

  “Then who, do you think, am I?” The voice of his companion now betrayed a touch of amusement.

  “You are this world,” said Tyler emphatically. Duh, it’s obvious.

  “This form is but a simple avatar, a wisp of my might. At your level, anything stronger would burn you to a crisp where you stand, instantly freeze you solid, slice your body with a cruel and biting wind, or transform you to solid earth. All those will happen at the same time. Luck, or more appropriately, misfortune, will determine which will get you first, an event resulting in your immediate demise, of course.”

  The mage was unnerved for a second. “Well, remind me not to meet you in person then.”

  Oh God! I now sound like Tyndur! A petty and snarky version.

  “Let’s see the human realms, before we delve into esoteric yet crucial struggles,” said the figure.

  Tyler promptly found himself drifting at a steady pace above Skaney. He could see chaotic and desperate fighting below. Settlements were defending themselves. Towns and cities were being assaulted by hordes of undead, and substantial numbers of the revenants from within settlements. Here and there, he could see the glowing forms of einherjar and deities battling with drakes, ogres, trolls, and other monsters.

  Even the live versions of the creatures were in deadly conflict with their undead brethren. Magical explosions dotted the nauseating and bloody battlefields. Suddenly, he remembered something at the edge of his mind back in the lands of fire and ice.

  “There are no undead in the realms of Sutr and Ymir,” he softly said.

  “Now, he finally remembers noticing it!” came the response, though the tone didn't carry any implied insult or unvoiced exasperation.

  Hellas was worse off than Skaney. In the Norse homeland, settlements were designed and built with defense in mind. Not so in the Greek homeland. Abandoned, burning, or wrecked villages and small towns marked the landscape of the land of the Greeks. Only the bigger towns and cities were holding out. Long lines of terrified and miserable evacuees were fleeing toward the cities, guarded sometimes by hoplites or cavalry troops.

  Some refugee columns were unfortunately unprotected, and Tyler had to bear the terrible and heartbreaking sight of men fighting for their families in a forlorn and lost struggle. Roads were full of mangled and bloody bodies. The revenants made no distinction in their hatred of living things – men, women, children, and animals were indiscriminately slaughtered. Many were in unrecognizable pieces scattered among their belongings.

  The mage observed that the undead didn’t feed on the dead, nor did the newly deceased revive as revenants. What was obvious was the unnaturally high level of hate and malice characterizing the vicious actions of the creatures. It was nauseatingly and horribly displayed on a road below them.

  What the strange energy field or fields, if the spell-casting was made in sequence, animated were what it first touched, he promptly realized.

  “I can’t bear seeing this,” he desperately told his companion. Merciful God. At least she didn’t bring me closer to that part of this senseless and outrageous atrocity.

  The scene changed to a lush valley with several small rivers running through it. But it was empty of human life. There were villages, small military outposts, trading centers, but they were also in the same shape as those in Hellas. Surprisingly, he saw no bodies.

  “It’s not as bad here?” he hopefully asked.

  “It wasn’t. The inhabitants had ample warning, and the governor of the border region was quick to act. It’s but a temporary reprieve. Once done with Skaney and Hellas, the plague will sweep down ahead of the jotnar.”

  The view again shifted. A large army of men came into view. From the gear, similar to those worn by the mercenaries at the temple of Viracocha, Tyler assumed he was watching the army of Kemet on its way to the southeastern lands. But he expected a desert region. Instead, a land with cultivated farms and settlements came into view.

  “I thought they would attempt to cross the desert,” he commented in a puzzled manner.

  “Only fools would make such an attempt, even with the assistance of their deities. That force is in the Cahokia Dependency and near the border of the Bastjan Lands. But they still have a long way to go. The Forsaken Edge awaits them. Now, to the far south.”

  Thick jungle canopy greeted the mage. But below the tree cover, he could see men engaged in battle. The pair was too far up to hear the sounds of combat, but the mage could see masses of men in armor maneuvering in formation and attacking each other.

  “There’s a war of major proportions here too?” He was astounded. The mage had heard something about a war in the south but didn’t expect the conflict to be of such magnitude. There were easily thousands down in the undergrowth intent on killing each other or otherwise dying of their wounds.

  “This region, even in the absence of the undead plague, is already in chaotic upheaval. Below us are the armies of the Kushite Empire invading the Kingdom of Djenne-Djenno, a realm friendly with Kemet. Other lands allied with the Kushites are also attacking Kemet’s friends. And other kingdoms subject to their envy or hatred.”

  “And their gods?”

  “You wish to see them? It’s pantheon against pantheon now. Deities are dead or dying, and the ether waits for them.”

  “No. It’s just the same as watching humans die. Less bloody and no gore, but painful to witness just the same. A death is a death,” said Tyler heavily. “Can’t you do anything to help?”

  “Ah, again, Fate. With this little jaunt, I am already treading on dangerous ground. Imagine the repercussions if I did directly interfere. But mortals and deities are not strangers to war. Your people and its gods were outsiders to this world. Yet, I have withheld my fury and power as conflict between the beings of this world and that of yours arose. Fate.”

  “A
nd yet, here you are,” said Tyler.

  “Yes. I knew the newcomers to Adar would eventually settle down and adopt the world as their own. I was asked to let matters take their course. I did. Many of the original creatures and beings of this world still survive. The land below us is vast enough to swallow two more such intrusions effortlessly. And I have seen the benefits mortals have brought to the races of Adar. Some have cities now, and their development has been rapid.”

  “So, why the concern about what’s happening up north? The fighting below us is between humans – with land, power, and wealth as the reasons for the conflict. Unfortunately, a common and moronic trait among my kind,” inquired the mage.

  Races of Adar? Cities? There are non-First World civilizations here?

  “In the end, we’ll have a vast land, half of which is covered in ice, while the other half, a barren wasteland of volcanoes and craters. That is not what I envisioned Adar to be. Even though I consider those elementals my adopted children, they cannot be allowed to lay waste to this world.”

  “Your adopted children?” said the stunned Tyler. The entity’s revelations were continuing to baffle him.

  “They exemplify primordial elements. My children of the same form are more… straightforward in temperament and physical adaptation. Those two visitors are larger and more powerful than any of Adar’s denizens in the physical world. Ymir and Sutr also do nicely in reminding inhabitants and visitors alike of the dangers of Adar. Though strangely, similar counterparts for earth and wind are absent,” answered the companion.

  Damn these powerful entities. Bad, yet not bad. Good, yet bad. My head is spinning from the way they think. Especially this one.

  “Where to now?” Tyler wanted to know.

  “Wouldn’t you like to see the situation in the other great human empires? The Dual Monarchy, for one.”

  “Is the situation like in Hellas?”

  “More like Kemet.”

  “Then no. There's only so much suffering one can witness and bear. It threatens to break the soul. Especially when the watcher is unable to do anything about it.” Abject dejection colored Tyler's words.

  “There will be more if you fail,” warned the entity.

  “Right. No pressure then,” the mage answered sarcastically.

  What if she considers that disrespectful, Tyler? She’s the representation of a world! I really don't care at this point, he forcefully answered that inner worry as the mage set the frame of his mind in dealing with the mighty being. Yet, the clash of emotions and thoughts still waged their own conflict within. Despite the distance, his magically enhanced eyesight had betrayed him.

  The sight of the pitiful remains of butchered humans was horribly seared in his memory. The small bloodied and severed arm lying across the road from the long lines of deserted wagons had been especially horrific.

  “If what I greatly fear comes to pass, then I’ll be the one who’d be unhappy with my sister. Extremely displeased. I’ll be forced to wipe clean the main continent and start all over again. Oh, the Void Lands and the Barrens will remain, their energies being beyond me, but the rest…” the being said, leaving the last part unspoken.

  “Wait. You saved me before, isn’t that tampering with Fate's desires?” he asked.

  “I was meant to save you and tell what you heard from me in that cave. Fate is not averse to nudging the currents of time and the decisions of mortals or deities in the direction she wants,” came the reply.

  Tyler could say nothing. He had never felt so worn down, physically and emotionally. He wanted to break down and cry, but the tears wouldn’t come. Even his ability to weep had been shocked senseless.

  Words are so pathetically inadequate to convey the horrors I have seen so far, he thought despondently.

  Then he was surrounded by immense darkness and the mage felt he was traveling at great speed. Gone were the instantaneous changes of scenery. Then Tyler felt the two of them smoothly pass through an invisible barrier. Muted lighting came to the fore, and the mage saw they were on top of a cliff inside an enormous cavern, miles in diameter and height.

  He looked back and saw a rough open entrance hewn in the wall. Far below them, in the middle of the space, was a small black lake, with swirling and turbulent currents. Examining what he thought was a body of water revealed to him his mistake. It was energy, not a dark liquid.

  “The darkness in the heart of Adar,” said his companion simply.

  “Huh?” Bewildered, the mage was again at a loss for words. It was another spectacle he didn't expect.

  “Darkness lies hidden in all sentient beings, and so it is with worlds.”

  “Forgive me, but I am having some difficulty wrapping my brain around the concept,” replied the mage who was rubbing his temples as he closed his eyes. Tyler had been seeking information on everything he thought was needed. But the things he had seen and heard were a massive information dump, giving rise to more questions.

  “Metaphysical considerations regrettably elude you, mage. But be warned, such matters play a bigger and even decisive role in your line of work,’ observed the being.

  “And yet you don’t interfere in matters which might significantly affect you in a bad way.”

  “Fate. And her inscrutable reasons. Unless self-preservation is involved. Even my sister knows the invocation of such an elementary rule cannot be contained or stopped.”

  “I am trying on the metaphysical front. Believe me, I am. It’s just so difficult to accept seeing such concepts in the flesh. Right now, for me, it’s unreal. Give me time, I’ll learn.”

  “You always do. The mage gets lost at times, but miraculously always finds his way back. I pray your luck holds, and Fate continues to favor you. There’s a lot on those shoulders of yours.”

  “Please don’t remind me anymore of that burden thing. Not helping,” replied Tyler in a weary voice. “Shouldn’t we leave?”

  “Not yet. I want to show you something, but we have to wait until they get impatient.”

  THEY?

  The mage looked around. The place was as quiet as a lonely cave could be. But Tyler noticed their voices didn’t echo as they should. A barrier must be preventing any sound from escaping their immediate surroundings, he concluded, though he was sorely tempted to shout and try the quality of echoes in the gigantic space. He doubted if he’d ever get to find a place as massive as the cavern.

  “You do know I have an undead invasion on my doorstep. And if Odin fails, I’ll have Ymir again to worry about since Sutr would be focused on the other side of the Barrens. That is if what I assume happens. Makes one wonder what that trickster of a gaud had been up to?” said Tyler, steering the discussion back to his immediate concerns.

  “Don’t you mean god? As in deity?”

  “No, I meant what I said. He’s a… troublesome gnat of a trinket!” He was going to say a vulgar term, but thankfully caught himself. As far as Tyler could tell, the entity was as serious as flat tire. No telling what the reaction would be if he started talking like his normal self, complete with rude and irreverent expressions, or even like Tyndur on his best behavior.

  “Loki. A walking tragedy. Mind colored by pointless rage, extreme sadness, feelings of unwarranted betrayal, and surprisingly, pain and sorrow brought about by his love for one Sigyn. It appeared that the suffering of the goddess had torn him apart.”

  “You know all of those things?” asked the yet-again surprised mage.

  “As I said. Precious few secrets are hidden from me. Even from those who came before the present crop of newcomers. This is me, as I said,” answered the luminous entity, spreading her arms wide, indicating their surroundings.

  “I am Adar, Elder Prime-to-be. I go where I wish and listen where I want. Loki tends to rant when he thinks he’s alone,” continued the being.

  “And you called me Elder Prime-to-be,” said Tyler.

  “I am Adar, as I said.” The phrase was patiently repeated by the entity, though in a tone strangel
y reminiscent of an old-school teacher.

  “I could use more knowledge and power, you know. There’s too much on my list. And I doubt if you have time for mentoring left on your schedule,” commented Tyler, trying to present the idea in a light-hearted manner.

  "Therein lies the paradox, First Mage. With deities, beings of might, and mortals, such an overwhelming gift should be a humbling one, and yet in each and every instance, the mind or soul were corrupted. I fear your minds and natures are not suited to gifts of power meant to deal with burdens of appropriate magnitude."

  I ask for some help and I get a lecture. Why does she remind me of my mom?

  His companion evidently noticed his disappointment as she continued her explanation.

  “Granting you more power, that of this world itself, is too much. You have more than enough. You need only to find the knowledge, not only in shrines and temples, but also within yourself.

  "Couldn't I do with more?" spouted the mage, disbelief again tainting his tone.

  “No.” An emphatic tone accompanied the reply.

  "I understand. Sometimes, I wish the quest were as simple as throwing a ring into a massive volcano in the middle of the realm of my enemies," remarked Tyler wishfully. Well, I tried.

  "Then this tale would have been long over and matters happily settled. Sadly, in a battered world full of greedy or impulsive men and scheming, short-sighted gods, and formidable dark beings with ambitions of their own, things are never that simple. You might have been engaging in wishful thinking or speaking of a fantasy when you spoke those words. This is reality."

  Freyr spake:

  41. "By the mouth of the river | the wolf remains

  Till the gods to destruction go;

  Thou too shalt soon, | if thy tongue is not stilled,

  Be fettered, thou forger of ill."

  Loki spake:

  42. "The daughter of Gymir | with gold didst thou buy,

  And sold thy sword to boot;

  But when Muspell's sons | through Myrkwood ride,