who you’ll be. A child of Aurum, spirit essence of acclaim, Memorix be your potentia, Auriel be your name. Child of these Afterlands, quarter to a binding cell; tend to your power, and learn to use it well.”
A thunderous silence was followed by a buzz of hushed conversation rising from the senior novices and high councillors. The Sooth had referred to their cell as a binding cell, and it was a name that had never been used before. They knew that the prophecy of Eldwyn had spoken of the power of one to unite and bind. Most scholars had interpreted this to mean ‘the ascension of one who will unite all of the casts of the Afterlands under one powerful leader’. Many worried that this could only be accomplished by way of another great war.
The room quietened again as Dux presented Auriel with her gold fyre hawk potens ring and inducted her into the Oratory. Though the questioning whispers began again as the young Mud boy entered the impluvium.
“Hey!” he shouted, slapping the golden liquid with his open palm and splashing about as its tendrils rose up around him, “This is so awesome!”
He flicked some of the liquid at the red haired boy, standing next in line at the top of the steps. The Blood’s only reaction was to brush the substance off his robe with his hand. Dux, however, gave the Mud a glare that could have withered a forest, causing the young Mud to flush and shuffle self-consciously as the Sooth began its exploration.
“Please Mister Sooth,” he said under his breath. “Give me a really awesome power, oh, and a really un-embarrassing name.”
“The Sooth am I,” said the Sooth sounding rather terse, “as Sooth I see, who you were and who you’ll be. A child of Ferrum, spirit essence of acclaim, Metamorph be your potentia, Ash be your name. Child of these Afterlands, quarter to a binding cell; tend to your power, and learn to use it well.”
As he stepped out of the impluvium, Ash turned to Auriel, who was standing next to Dux.
“Could be worse,” he said with a wink, “I could have been an Alchemist called Yu-An-Ass.”
Auriel snorted, trying with difficulty to subdue a laugh as Dux greeted Ash in the customary manner. After the Oath, he presented Ash with his native Ferrum bear claw ring. Fashioned out of Ferrum steel it was shaped into Ash leaves which were entwined around a curved bear’s claw. Within this was set a turquoise green nugget. A small piece of green coral tipped the head of the claw.
“Wow!” said Ash as Dux placed the ring on his finger “Now that is Awesome”
The Blood boy went next. The sooth pronounced him to be Lee-Con-Tu the Whyte cell’s Alchemist. The Blood reacted little to this revelation and left the impluvium swiftly without comment. He accepted Dux’s welcome and took the oath clearly and calmly with no display of emotion or even a change of expression. Lee’s ring was forged of pewter and set with a red Dragons eye stone which had a spindle-shaped sliver of black at its centre. Thanking Lord Dux, he took his seat back on the marble bench with the other three ascendants from his cell.
The level of excitement and anticipation in the Atrium built to an almost tangible level as the young Whyte girl descended the steps into the Sooth.
Gently the tendrils of amber liquid arched around her and slowly began to explore her face and limbs. As with the others, the liquid began to bubble, gently at first but then furiously. It leapt high, splashing out of the impluvium like the waves of a storm-driven sea. Thick tendrils danced around the Whyte, falling back into the pool and then rising again, ferociously repeating their exploration of the girl numerous times.
“What’s happening?” said Auriel turning to Ash. “Should it be doing that? It seems really angry.”
Ash shrugged “I think it’s more like frustration,” he said “like it can’t figure her out. I don’t think it will be boring being in this cell though that’s for sure.”
A look of alarm sparked in the Whyte girl’s eyes. She turned to Dux for reassurance. Though his smile was reassuring, she could sense his unease. ‘It’ll be alright’ she told herself. ‘I am here for a reason, it’ll be alright.’
This frenzied exploration went on for some time, then abruptly, the tendrils returned to the liquid with a loud splash and the pool became still. After what seemed an age, the face of the Sooth appeared reflected in the mirror.
“The Sooth am I, as Sooth I see, not who you were, but who you’ll be. A new child of Rhodium, fragmented spirits now reclaimed, Mage be your potentia, Rose be your name. New child of these Afterlands, from the four, take heed; tend to your powers, and harness them to lead.”
The looks of astonishment on the councillor’s faces and the heavy silence that followed caused Rose to hesitate. Unsure of what was expected of her, she stood in the impluvium and waited, her heart fluttering in her chest.
Baroque hurried to Dux’s side. “My Lord,” he said breathlessly “Did the Sooth just imply that we have ascended a new born immortal?”
Dux stared thoughtfully at Rose. “There have been no new immortal souls ascended since the genesis of our civilisation,” he said, “but you and I know Baroque, the Whyte cast have been extinct for over a thousand years. Yet today the Sooth speaks a new Rhodium name, one never before bestowed an ascendant. There can only be one explanation, a new immortal Whyte has ascended.”
Dux pulled Baroque to one side. “The Sooth has named her Rose,” he said, with a pensive frown. “Rose; the colour of Rhodium and a name fashioned from the initials of the four great wizards of Rhodium, Ruzha, Ogin, Sevti and Eldwyn. ‘Fragmented spirits being reclaimed’?”
Baroque and Dux exchanged knowing glances as the significance of the Sooth’s words came to them both, almost in the same breath.
Composing himself, Dux went to the steps of the impluvium and proffered a hand to the young girl who stood there with eyes as wide as the ocean and a troubled frown on her brow.
“Welcome Rose,” he said as she emerged from the impluvium. He smiled and nodded reassuringly as he led her forward.
“Your other hand, please Rose,” said Dux, taking her right hand in his.
The young native opened the box, there was only one Whyte ring; the ring of Eldwyn the Whyte. Cast from Rhodium silver, its five petal rose was set with one of the finest Rhodium crystals ever cut.
“Rose,” said Dux, his solemn voice trembling with a note of barely concealed excitement. “I induct you into the Oratory of Aurum, as a Novice of the Mage. Rose, do you swear to strive to be greater and better than before, to honour the Oratory and the Magister’s Law, to defend the Afterlands from all enemies without and within until your descent. Do you so swear?”
Rose’s beleaguered violet eyes scanned the faces that watched her so intently; faces so different from her own. She wondered if she really could be destined to lead all these people. The thought struck her as being so incredible that she almost laughed. Then as her eyes met Dux’s she realised that however ridiculous she believed this to be, his belief in her was apparent. Swallowing hard, she looked steadily into Dux’s reassuringly tranquil, amber eyes and with an air of resignation, replied “I so swear.”
Dux placed a hand upon her shoulder and smiled. “Then we welcome you Rose the Whyte, you are now novice mage of a Whyte cell like no other we have known. They are now your...” he hesitated, unable to recite the usual induction closure, “...they will now be bound to you as your kindred until your decent.”
Ash shuffled along the bench, making space for Rose as she re-joined them.
“Fascinating!” said Lee incredulously. “You do realise what this means of course?”
“That we’re all going to be famous,” said Ash, “and will, therefore, get the best of everything and everyone will have to do what we say?”
“No,” said Lee. “It means that if there really is a personification of evil out there and they hear anything about Rose and this prophecy nonsense, then they are going to be heading straight for us...”
TOLLEN’S GATE
It was dusk in the Afterla
nd of Hydrargyrum; the grey rocky landscape was draped in a soft, sulphurous mist. Standing at the foot of the Gate of Tollen; a gigantic circular stone set into the side of the mountain, was a female Blood ascendant. There was a chill in the air. El-on-ah raised the hood of her thick black cloak, though it barely covered her long scarlet red hair which streamed out from its sides in tight, unruly ringlets.
With her were two young native male Bloods. They were also dressed in the traditional black robes and dragon skin belts of the Bloods, though only El-on-ah’s robe was adorned with the pewter Ouroboros pin of an ascendant Alchemist.
The three of them were huddled around what appeared to be a scruffy, long-haired, grey rat. None of them seemed at all surprised when the rat abruptly vaporised and transformed into a strange four legged beast. Its new body was long and thin with silver grey scales and two tiny purple wings. The animal had a thin, barbed, tail and its head resembled that of a small goat, with two horns, long grey whiskers and a tufted beard.
It was a Pukis, a small dragon-like creature, known for its unshakable loyalty in serving its master. Usually within minutes of a Pukis hatching it will imprint on the first individual it sees and will serve that person and that person alone, for the rest of its days. Pukis, known to be amazingly artful, quick and dexterous, have the reputation of being excellent thieves.
“Puk, did you get it? Could you get far enough inside?” El-on-ah put out a black gloved hand and placed it beneath the dragon’s hairy chin. “Puk, drop it,” she said.
The animal responded with a series of hiccoughing belches, producing a stream of smoke filled bubbles, spurts of flame and fiery sparks. Finally, one enormous flaming belch propelled a small teardrop shaped glass bottle into the woman’s gloved hand. For a second, she regarded it with astonishment.
“Puk, you got it! Good Pukis... very, very, very good Pukis!” She ruffled the hair behind its ears as she held up the bottle to inspect its molten silvery contents.
“My Lady!” said a curly haired young Blood. “You have the silver mercurium! I can’t believe it, now we really can do this!”
Tu-nek-ta was small for a Blood; consequently he appeared younger than his years. The ease at which he became excited added to this impression.
“It is not as simple as that Tu-nek-ta,” said El-on-ah frowning, “there is a good deal more to this charm than the mercurium. I will need to use all of my skills as an Alchemist to the full, and I am not sure that I have the potentia.” She bit her lip. “Vaporisation is not challenging in itself, but controlling the process of solidification without an ascension cubicula…. Well, it has never been attempted before, except for my few experiments with rats, and most of those did not end well.”
“I refuse to listen to your doubts Lady El-on-ah,” said the other male Blood.
Che-vah-ra was a rakish young man with handsome angular features, his wavy hair tightly cropped and his eyes heavy lidded and thickly lashed. The sharpness of his words was somewhat ameliorated by his slanted smile and the look of admiration in his deep black eyes.
“You know you are our one hope,” he said. “The Ophites have no other Alchemists. If you do not do this El-on-ah, then Lord Ka will never be returned to us.”
Che’s tall frame bent close to her, his lips brushed her ear as his voice softened.
“He bequeathed you his charm because he knew you, he believed in you, and he knew that you would find a way to obtain the mercurium. Now you have everything you need to cast the charm. You will succeed El-on-ah, it is written, and it is time.”
He looked past her, his thoughtful eyes drawn to the mountainous horizon.
“Anyway,” he said with resignation, “now, you have no choice.”
“Why? What do you mean?” she asked, her eyes narrowing.
He placed a hand on her shoulder, looking into her eyes with a deep, unwavering gaze.
“I received word from our friends in Aurum; a female Whyte ascended this dawn.”
“You lie!” El-on-ah spat out the words, pushing his hand away. “The Whytes are extinct. They have no vapours to ascend, Lord Ka saw to that. The prophecy of Eldwyn is flawed….” She said scowling at him, “and what makes you think you have the right to address me by name?”
Ignoring her anger, he leant closer to her and with a sardonic smile he gently fondled one of the scarlet ringlets that had escaped the cover of her hood.
“I did not hear you complaining when I addressed you so last evening... my Lady,” He said, lifting one eyebrow, his eyes glinting impishly.
El-on-ah flushed. “You take liberties Che-vah-ra,” she glowered at him, her voice dropping to a soft purr. “I bid you to take care; the last native to forget his place, now has nothing but a scar where once were his lips.” She smiled as his expression fell, “Oh and now, I am told, he eats through a straw.”
Tu-nek-ta, who had been a reluctant witness of their exchange, interrupted.
“My Lady, Che-vah-ra, speaks the truth,” he said, nervously coming to the aid of his friend. “We received three separate apis messages this morning and all reported the same, the ascension of a female Whyte. The Sooth has named her Rose… after the Rhodium four. It appears that the Aurum scholars believe her to be ascended from the coalesced vapours of the four.”
“Impossible!” said El-on-ah, the colour draining from her face. “Fractionated vapours from separate ascendants cannot coalesce into a single immortal” She floundered, shaking her head, her eyes widening. “No, it cannot be possible; if this were to be true then…. ”
“That,” said Che-vah-ra nodding slowly and pointing at El-on-ah’s face and its developing expression of horror, “ is why we have to act now! If we wait, we may forever lose this opportunity and Lord Ka will merely remain a long-treasured fragment of our history.”
El-on-ah glanced pensively at the glass phial in her hand. She turned back to the others, her black eyes blazing with renewed determination.
“We leave for Rhodium tonight. Puk, you will bring my large occultus to me, now!”
The small creature bowed its head in acknowledgement, extended its two small wings and took effortlessly to the sky.
“Tu-nek-ta, I need you to go to my laboratorium, collect a spare robe, my vapour flask and a syphon. You will bring it to the Rhodium border cabin at the top of the Hydra Pass. I will meet you there at noon, one week from today. Do not be late.”
“And me, my Lady?” said Che-vah-ra “what do you bid of me?”
“For you Che-vah-ra?” she said with a faint smile, as she carefully placed the phial of mercurium into her small leather occultus. “For you I have an especially vital undertaking. You are to arrange for the elimination of this, this aberration, this... Rose of the Whyte, and preferably before her full potentia emerges. Then join us at the Hydra pass.”
Che-vah-ra’s brow creased into a deep frown. “But my lady, the security at the Oratory is extremely tight, and now…. well…. they will almost certainly have increased it. I don’t see how…”
El-on-ah held up her gloved hand, quieting his protest “You will find a way. Use the Aureus circle; they have assassins and spies close to the Oratory, do they not?”
“Yes my lady, but the Aureus Ophites, they are not to be trusted, did you, not only yesterday liken them to a nest of vipers?”
“I did, and they are, but we have little choice. Either the Whyte is returned to vapour immediately or everything we have worked for is lost. You have to find a way to succeed because if you do not, and I am successful. Then you could find yourself facing the wrath of Lord Ka himself.”
Che-vah-ra opened his mouth to reply but appearing to think better of it, he bowed his head curtly and turned to leave.
“Che, have you forgotten something?” said El-on-ah
“I’m sorry; by your leave, my Lady?”
“No, not that,” she said, motioning to the rat-sized hole at the base of the gate. “You’ve forgotten to seal the tunnel.”
The Pukis had burned out a small channel just below the Gate. It was through here that he was able to enter Erebus to obtain the precious mercurium, without opening the gate and, more importantly, without releasing the Djinn.
Che and Tu-nek-ta struggled to lift the small, dense, galena stone slab with which they intended to cover the hole. Eventually, with much huffing and puffing, they managed to manoeuvre it awkwardly into position.
“Good,” said El-on-ah, inspecting the stability of their work with a kick of her boot. “I would hate you two to be the Bloods responsible for releasing the Djinn. We are not quite ready for that yet.”
She removed her right glove and placed her palm down at the centre of the galena stone.
“Ferrumino!” she said, casting the sealing spell.
The dragon’s eye on her potens ring flared a fiery red, its hot pulsating light enveloping the stone and causing its veins of leaden ore to melt and bubble. The liquid metal flowed to the edges of the slab where it cooled and solidified, sealing the stone into place beneath the gate.
“Our work here is done,” she said, putting on her glove and pulling her cloak tightly around her slim form. “Go now. You know what you have to do.”
Che put his fingers into his mouth and whistled loudly. Three horses cantered out of the mist to join them. El-on-ah grabbed the reins of her black stallion, swinging herself up effortlessly into the saddle. When they were mounted, they nodded a silent farewell to each other and left, each of them taking a different path down the mountainside.
An eerie silence remained as they left the gate and soon the dark crept in and smothered the mist. A faint snapping sound broke the silence. Tiny fractures appeared in the galena stone. Quickly they multiplied, spreading to the edge of the rock until, with a deafening crack, it exploded with such force that it split the gate itself. A large fissure opened at the bottom of the gate and from its centre emerged a deep, ominous rumble which became increasingly louder, like the sound of an approaching storm. Then the stone gate began to shake. A small tremor rapidly grew into a violent quaking, which, with a thunderous crack, ruptured the stone gate into two. Each half rolled slowly apart to reveal a deep black hole below a billowing cloud of acrid yellow smoke. The entrance to Erebus was open.
As the smoke drifted out and began to thin, a dark form moved within it. The creature stepped out from the smoke and into the night air. Like a man, but not a man; the creature’s body was made of fyre, but was not fyre, as ice is made of water, but is not water. His face was a grotesque, lipless skull, thinly covered with scaly red skin. He opened his two nostrils, simple holes in the centre of his face, and he sniffed at the damp night air.
Phlegon stood with an air of majesty in front of the gate, his long black hair carried in the light