“Nothing,” he replied plainly, his expression unwavering.
“Then what the hell do you call the mage that was residing within those bloody spires?”
That statement caught the Archmage off guard, his expression was starting to sour.
“What proof do you have, angel?” the mage replied coolly, the impersonal remark was almost enough to send him into an attempt to strangle the man. Uriel was hardly unremarkable for an angel, even one who had never seen him before quickly picked up on who he was.
“A little thing called phase walking,” Sebastian spoke up from behind, drawing a sharp look from the mage. Of course, the demon had ties to Solomon, the child of the accursed mage that was Raz’iel, the mage knew. He sat at his desk, stumped for a response. It would be hard to deny such a claim now.
“Not so cocky now are you?” Uriel mocked. He was starting to calm down after seeing the mage defeated by the statement. It hung in the air as the mage considered his response, fiddling with his lumpy accessories.
“The Council have wondered for a while, if these events are more than random coincidences.”
“Coincidences that you appear to have a hand in,” Sebastian remarked. The mage continued looking away, to his surprise.
“We may have had a hand in this, indirectly, some time ago.”
“A bit more than indirectly,” Uriel replied snidely, “the whole thing reeks of unruly magic.”
The mage exhaled. It was a page of history that would never have occurred if the cleansing had worked as intended.
“A few years ago, we learnt of a mage who could wield chaos magic,” he began, absently scratching the arm of his chair, avoiding the glares of those in the room. “We initiated the process of cleansing, where we removed the threat that he posed.”
“You set out to murder him, basically,” Sebastian interjected. He knew a little of the process after Solomon had received information that a similar thing was being planned against him.
“Not very pleasantly I’d imagine either,” Uriel added. He had since relaxed and been released from Sebastian’s grasp.
“We assumed him dead,” the mage responded, dodging the remarks that were being thrown at him.
“Why did you not check for a body?” Sebastian enquired.
“Because they obliterated the place so thoroughly there wouldn’t have been a body remaining,” Uriel stated before the mage could reply. He resorted to a meek nod as he could not deny the truth. Sebastian thought for a moment, their target must have only barely escaped for their attacks rarely bore warning.
“He must have drawn himself into the Nether Plane,” the Archmage replied, watching Sebastian try to piece the events together. “Such creatures were documented living there by ancestors long since passed. We’ve since lost the tomes that detailed it, however.”
“How do we deal with it then?” Uriel demanded, receiving a glance from Sebastian at the use of we.
“All things have a weakness, even the best mage still lacks at close distance,” he mused, “stand and unite before his tactics weaken and divide you.” Uriel turned back and looked at Sebastian, who was thinking about the words.
“Attack before he whittles us down too much, in other words,” Sebastian commented, the Archmage nodding his head at the statement.
“Use your racial traits to your advantage, and you’ll find yourself in a favourable position.”
Humans lacked the strength and size of the demons and angels, and it was the increased size that allowed them to better attack the weak spots of the creatures.
The green barrier dropped, and he waved them out of the room. He had said all he was going to for now. They left without a word and re-joined the young mage waiting outside and returned back to the entrance, bidding farewell to him as they departed.
* * *
Solomon was sat beside Arariel’s bedside, watching Dumon tend to the herbs located within the hall, harvesting those that were mature enough. He could use his magic to heal up the gaping wound left by the magical assault, but due to the inherently negative view of blood magic, he wished to ask Arariel’s approval first. It had been well over a day, and the angel was still unconscious. Such a thing was not unusual considering he was attacked mid phase walk, though. Solomon was still worried, however. He felt responsible for the young angel’s injuries. The feeling was unusual, the two races discontent for each other dictated he should despise the angel, but he felt the opposite if anything. He tried to tell himself it was just a one-off, Arariel was not an example of the whole race; he did wonder, though.
Drumming his fingers on the bedside table, he silently observed Arariel. Sebastian walked into the room, causing Solomon to direct his attention towards him. He just not long returned from his trip to Aelburn and it was the first time Solomon had seen him since then.
“How’d it go?” Dumon asked nonchalantly, still tending to the various herbs that were scattered around.
“Well, they admitted fault, in a sense,” Sebastian responded. Solomon was astounded, he had expected them to deny it thoroughly. “You were correct in what you found out, Solomon,” the King smiled, the fact that they had not been injured in vain was a relief to hear.
“That’s good, now if only Arariel would wake up,” Solomon sighed once more, turning his gaze back towards the sleeping angel.
“Still nothing?”
“He’s been out for over a day now.”
“Nothing I would have cause for concern about yet,” Dumon spoke up, finishing up with his activities and heading over to join them. “The kid suffered quite the injury, the shock of it alone could keep him out for a day.” The explanation was enough for Sebastian, he did not doubt for a second that the aged healer would be neglectful in his duties, regardless of the race he was tending.
Dumon stood in front of Sebastian, turning his gaze up in order to make eye contact with the taller King. For a new blood demon, Dumon was strange. He was short, wingless, with no horns and no notable physical strength to his body to make up for the lost features. Despite this, everyone wisely respected the demon as he was possibly the oldest still alive on the eastern side of the Central Isles at over two hundred years old. Sebastian himself was only in his fifties, which was still young for a demon.
“Did they recommend any course of action?” Dumon enquired. He knew that it had been discussed. Sebastian wouldn’t have left without a decent set of answers.
“A direct assault, as soon as possible. I have discussed it some with Uriel, but we need to contact Thardosean as well.”
“The location is vulnerable from attacks on both sides,” Solomon spoke up, “it would be wise to try and get in contact with Ciel.” Sebastian took a sharp breath over the suggestion. Knowing Ciel was trapped on the other side was painful for him, he could only assume the situation was as bad as they were experiencing. He somehow doubted that contacting them would be that simple, but he had to hope that Solomon could pull through.
“What if there’s a barrier blocking us from them?” Sebastian remarked, watching as Solomon initiated and then twisted a spell between his fingers.
“Any barrier can be broken, or circumvented.”
He clenched his hand shut and broke the spell to demonstrate. Without another word from Sebastian, Solomon stood up and bowed before the two of them and left, his wispy robes trailing behind him.
“Seems you inspired him,” Dumon chuckled, watching him leave.
“Appears so, I hope he’ll have success,” Sebastian sighed, giving a weak flap of his wings as the demon left.
* * *
Solomon sat down at his desk and pulled out a book from a nearby pile and began reading through its pages. The book was thick and full of scribbled writing. Some of it was his, but other sections were his father’s, written before Solomon stole it and took it with him. He did not wish to use some of the spells his father had conjured, but at the moment he couldn’t get one certain spell off his mind. It was another level of plane walking, g
oing deeper than he had ever before, into the realm of the dead. Surface spells such as a barrier would be unable to affect him from within that plane, while he could travel from one side to the other unhindered. Putting himself in so far would take a lot out on his body, he would need to be swift in his mission.
Grabbing a spare scrap of paper, Solomon quickly penned a note and left it in full view to anyone who entered his room, before prying free a small phial that lay hidden by a few books. It was filled with blood, which had been given to him by Dumon. Blood magic was far less exhausting when not using your own blood, after all.
He poured it into the deeply carved channels of his desk, watching as it filled out the magic circle that lay etched into its surface. Once the liquid had settled, he took a deep breath and placed his hands on the required runes, taking a moment to clear his mind. He began the chant, immediately being hit with an intense pain which made him wince. Solomon pushed on; he knew the pain that was associated with the process, even if this did come over excessive. One final push later, he collapsed onto the desk, fading into the unknown depths below.
He soon awoke and found himself on an ethereal field covered in brilliant purple flowers, with the sky around him was being a soft red, and the sound of flowing water filled the air. As he inspected closer, everything appeared ghostly. The plants disintegrated at his touch only to form again afterwards. From his surroundings, he guessed he had succeeded, or he had died, but that was less likely than the first option. The vastly different landscape would make it difficult to navigate, the only redeeming factor was that Solomon knew the soul planes mirrored the basic land shapes of the overworld. Taking to the air, he soon spotted the sea over to his left and flew towards it, noting the island chain that ran in between the two interconnected isles.
Misty forms watched as he travelled. They were the spirits of the dead that had passed on to reside within this tranquil plane, keeping an eye on him to see his intentions. None of them wanted trouble, not now they had moved on from a war-torn land. Seeing him pass without incident relaxed them, but for one to have to travel through this plane, they wondered what was occurring on the surface.
Solomon had noticed the eyes watching him, sometimes examining their owners as they passed. Here the races could live in peace, he even noticed the distinct shapes of the ancestors of both kin.
“What are you doing here, Necromancer?” a voice echoed behind him, causing him to stop abruptly and turn around. The form in front of him was that of a demon, one that had long since passed judging by the bestial appearance of it.
“The Isles have been divided by a barrier,” Solomon responded, “I need to bypass it.”
“What was the cause?” the ghost enquired. Solomon guessed that he was interested in the current state of the world.
“A rogue human mage, a chaos element user.”
What he said appeared to surprise the demon; he likely expected the answer to be angels, given Solomon’s race. He thought on it for a minute while Solomon continued to study him: his body was stocky, covered by what looked to be thick fur in places, although he had less use for the skin covering within this plane.
“Have there been sightings of strange creatures?”
“Strange being dark in colour, potent in their use of magic and possessing crystallised mana protrusions?” From the fact this ancestral demon knew about them, he knew that was not the first time they had been seen.
“That last one is new, but likely a side effect of existing within the overworld. It’s a shame I’m no longer able to study them.”
“You wrote a book?” Solomon interjected, obtaining a nod from the ghost in front of him.
“I did. It was bound in leathers, and it might still exist today if you looked,” he responded with a smile, it was warming to see one so interested in his work. “What you’re looking for is information on the Nether Plane, that’s where those creatures originate from.”
He digested this for a second, he would have to try and locate the book once this was all over.
“Come, let us continue to wherever you were heading,” the ghost offered, beckoning over towards the West.
“Linlake somewhere, in the swamplands,” he replied to his offer, unsure if the name was familiar to the elder demon.
“I believe I know where you mean. Linlake was the name of one of the many villages that settled by the northernmost lake.” The young mage was confused for a moment. Back when he lived the swamplands must have been filled with more villages than there were now. Linlake was the only remaining village in that location now. The demon turned and flew off in the lead. Solomon found it surprisingly difficult to keep up.
As they went, they discussed the situation as well as the current state of affairs around the Isles. The ghost was disheartened by the continued resentment towards their kind. It appeared that the circumstances had changed little from when he lived. Solomon also received some useful information regarding the creatures and their senses, as well as the story of how he first found the strange beings.
They reached the destination swiftly. The northernmost lake was a reoccurring feature in both planes, locating it was not difficult. Now their destination lay below them, they descended down and came to rest just offshore above the lake. Solomon did not wish to startle anyone by suddenly appearing on top of them. The ghostly demon was fiddling with something before offering out a closed palm to Solomon, who was curious at the gesture.
“Take this, I think you’ll appreciate it,” he remarked, opening his hand and dropping the object into Solomon’s waiting palms. He looked at it. It was a smooth crystalline sphere which pulsed with energy as he held onto it. “You seem to have a pure heart young one. I trust you will not abuse it.”
He offered Solomon a bow before taking back to the sky.
“Thank you!” Solomon shouted after him, “I’ll return once everything settles down again.”
The ghost paused for a second and glanced back towards him, giving him a wide grin.
“I’ll be looking forward to it, we have much to discuss!”
Solomon was alone now, prepared for the next stage of his journey. Using the sphere as a boost, he phased himself up to the plane above, the one he had used before with Arariel.
Chapter 10: Tidings from the East
Sakura marched on through the icy winds, determined to find her quarry. She had taken a furred jacket from one of the other houses after rushing out of Crono’s lodge. They would have stopped her from leaving again if she had returned. It was doing its job and keeping her warm, although it was rather heavy for her liking. By her estimate, she had been gone for over an hour now, and her body was starting to numb in the prevailing cold. She wasn’t going to last too much longer. Trees surrounded her location with the odd few showing damage or scratches, the best place to possibly find one of the required creatures was where she first encountered one.
Eventually, she came across the building she knew to be her house and went inside. It was chilled, but at least she could try to warm up. Grabbing the blankets on her bed, she wrapped them her body and sat there shivering, her breath forming a notable mist in the air. Noise from above roused her attention, the object that created it fell from the ceiling onto the floor in front of her.
Soon she found herself looking at the same long bodied creature that had wounded her before. It quickly shot up and placed its face less than an inch from hers, tilting its head from side to side as it regarded her. She grasped at her blades, but it reached out and held her arms tight, enough to stop her fetching her blades but not strong enough to hurt her. Its tail coiled around her legs in a loose loop as it continued to silently regard her. For a creature that was blind and detected mana, this one was capable of seeing her well enough.
Sakura just sat there, unsure of how to respond further. It did not appear to be actively trying to injure her, but she did not appreciate the proximity to it either.
Opening its mouth wide, it licked her face with a thick tong
ue, leaving a trail of slobber up her face before emitting a crackly purring sound. She was in disbelief, this one was friendly and not aggressive in any way.
They sat in silence for a while before the creature broke off and drifted out of sight, leaving her speechless on the bed. She used the blankets to clean her face off, cursing at the sticky saliva as she wiped it off. Unsheathing her blades, Sakura stood up and carefully exited the room, checking all angles as she went. Everything looked normal, and the main door was shut which made her think the creature had not yet departed. Slowly, the demon examined every room in the house, but everything was empty. There were no obvious signs the creature had left or had ever even been there in the first place.
Her mind started to wander, wondering if what she had just experienced had really occurred at all. The slobber on her face felt so real, though, as well as its grip on her arms. Sakura shook her head and left the house, it was best not to dwell on what had happened for too long. She still had the other creature to find.
Heading north from the house, the demon picked her through the thick, snowy trees towards the lake. Her approach was noisy, though most of her intentionally made sound was being drowned on the howling winds as she went. The attempt wasn’t baiting anything, though, nothing made itself known in the time it took her to reach the lakeside.
The water had already begun to freeze around the edges, slowly cutting Linlake off from its fresh water supply. Something caught her eye offshore, but she couldn’t see what. She dare not try to walk on the ice to investigate closer, though.
* * *
Solomon opened his eyes and examined the scene around him. The blizzards present in the West were much worse than what the East had been experiencing. Such reduced visibility would make it difficult to locate Linlake and his time was limited, there was only so long he could safely maintain the spell. He saw something stood at the shoreline ahead of him, staring in his direction. Floating over to it, he could see that it was a demon, who appeared to be becoming increasingly wary of him.
Skies of Fyir Box Set Page 31