Chapter Four – Solstice sessions at the bottomless canyon
Civic duty complete, Andin returned to the Void Scar. If his companions were on schedule they would join him the next day. Two weeks of training justified something more lavish than a journeyman’s tent. Andin found a small thermal vent and lifted a large square slab from the ground to serve as foundation. Block by block Andin cut and placed tessellating stones into position.
The constantly shifting and elaborate architecture of Kato, Plane of Earth was a famous wonder among the elemental planes. Andin had become quite adept at creating stone structures from his studies there. With some time and effort the small building was finished. The thermal vent fed into a stone pool so the weary trio could relax in comfort.
Creating the building was tiring even for the prince. He napped inside its walls before using the remainder of the day to furnish what he could with the natural resources of Beldur. Content that Svoi and the baroness would be pleasantly surprised, Andin prepared to turn in. He braved the darkness and lit the beacon above the stone house.
Andin was lying on something sharp; he kept trying to shift his body to avoid the object. He snapped awake. “Good morning prince,” said the baroness holding her glaive at Andin’s side.
Andin smiled, “You got me Aura.”
She removed her weapon and laughed, “Wouldn’t be the first time.” The two had been rivals at the College.
“Let’s get to work,” Headmaster Svoi had also slipped in unnoticed. Andin and Aura looked in surprise.
“Always so businesslike headmaster,” teased Andin as he dressed himself.
“I still consider you my pupil – and my biggest headache,” answered Svoi.
“When did Aura get upgraded?” protested Andin. The baroness had already found a corner for her small bag of things. Svoi dropped his bags at the edge of the door.
The three headed outside, Svoi and Aura’s horses dug through the snow seeking rich tufts of moss. “One day you’ll learn to love steam power,” remarked Andin. They walked under the morning sun to the chasm. “I was attacked by a void nester here twelve weeks ago,” stated Andin dryly.
“Unusual,” remarked Svoi. Svoi dropped his winter overcoat, revealing his large frame. “As always I insist we start with the basics,” he said. The blade of his glaive became red hot. Aura lit her glaive as Andin conjured his sickles. Svoi walked alongside the scar until the width was a challenging distance. “We’ll start with just one,” said Svoi as a ball of flame materialized in his hands.
With a pop of flame Svoi launched himself across the gap. Midair he turned and sent the ball careening towards the baroness. She gracefully sidestepped the ball and smashed it with the tip of her glaive. It returned to Svoi who had landed on the opposite side. The baroness chased after Svoi as he redirected the ball towards Andin.
He connected with his right sickle smashing the orb towards Svoi. The headmaster twirled his glaive gracefully into the fireball midair. The flourish was a feint; Svoi hit the ball with the base of his pole-arm aiming behind him towards the baroness. She was caught off guard as the ball careened towards her. She dove to dodge it as the ball burst into the snow.
“Nice hit,” acknowledged Aura. “You’ll find in the coming days I still have much more fight in me than you’ve seen,” replied Svoi. Aura conjured the next ball and the sparring match went on. The trio continued to up the ante as more fireballs were added and the gap they used grew wider.
Walking back in the sunset the three couldn’t speak from their exhaustion. A Bottor Jelly momentarily eclipsed the sun. They reached the stone house in silence. They removed their sweaty, singed tunics and entered the warm pool. Andin brought the kettle next to the hot spring and began making tea.
Andin passed the cups of tea to his friends, “I’m glad you both could make it; Svoi how long will you be able to stay?”
Svoi took a sip of his tea before answering, “Ten days.”
Andin looked to Aura. “Eleven,” she said.
“You have improved Andin; tomorrow let’s work on just your earth magic,” said Svoi.
The trio drank their tea in silence. Svoi and Aura left the pool to prepare the meal. Andin continued sipping his tea. Svoi brought out a harmonic choir from his bag and energized its crystal. The soft music filled the stone house. Not much was said between the three; they had worked together like this many times at the College.
They trained as much as they could as the days passed by. Svoi and Aura were becoming increasingly exhausted from the endeavor and by the eighth day needed to rest. “Prince Andin you are a powerful spell caster,” complimented Svoi.
“Thank you headmaster, I’ve been continuing my training with my father,” noted Andin.
“A privilege only a few can claim,” said Svoi. He continued, “Lord Bellos is notoriously selective with whom he practices magic.”
“It’s not elitism though,” said Andin. “I think father prefers training alone, so when he does use a partner he opts for the most challenging partners to train with.”
Aura chimed in, “Or that the experimental magics he loves so much are notoriously dangerous…”
The two men looked at her. Svoi laughed, “Poignant and enlightening as always baroness.” Aura smiled, so did Andin. “Do you know what your father is working on now?” asked Svoi.
Andin shrugged, “I’ve been given a glimpse of a sliver of the bigger picture.”
This was Svoi’s chance; Andin’s guard was only down when he was preoccupied with his own lack of understanding. “So what did you get from the tower vault in Eida?” asked Svoi point blank.
“Well that was just secondary to…” Andin caught himself. He glared at Svoi, “Cunning devil.” Andin paused, “Headmaster you know I feel you should be made aware of such matters, but until my father deems it necessary I cannot tell you anymore.”
“I figured as much,” said Svoi, “I do rather enjoy deciphering the scraps I’m able to pick up along the way.” Svoi’s face was a half-smile; Bellos’ secretive nature had been a constant frustration for the headmaster. Svoi preferred openness and transparency in the leadership process. A method he used to great success at the College.
On the ninth day they set out early. They headed far east along the ridge of the Void Scar. It was past midday before they stopped. Today they would hunt near a corrupted piece of the scar. When the old gods sacrificed themselves to destroy Odium the world was sundered. In some places his vile influence yet remained.
The beasts there were ferocious and violent. Normally docile creatures became twisted savages who attacked the trio. They took turns slaying the monsters and made sure to burn their corpses after they were killed.
Nestled on the opposite cliff face was a pack of corrupted void nesters. “They don’t know we’re here yet,” stated Aura. Svoi nodded, “Even so, corrupted nesters will be a tremendous challenge – in packs they are particularly deadly.”
Andin cautioned his friends, “If they are like the one that attacked me we’ll need to work together.”
“If we wish to survive it will be paramount to do so,” said Svoi gravely. The corrupted region needed to be cleared as soon as possible. After ten minutes of planning they were ready. Andin would cross the chasm while Svoi and Aura pummeled the nest from the opposite side.
The goal was to draw the nesters as far from the canyon as possible. “We’re ready,” said Aura with hunger in her voice. This would be her first nester kill, an achievement for any Beldurian. Aura and Svoi conjured a massive wall of fire bolts in tandem. Andin leapt across the cliff. The nesters scattered and dove from the cliff side.
The wall of bolts slammed into the flighting beasts and one was killed immediately. Three remained as Andin launched himself back across the gap. The nesters split to pursue their foes from wider angles. The trio retreated from the cliff edge to fight in the open. “One at a time now!” commanded Svoi.
Blinding streams of black fluid belched from the nes
ters into the trio; Svoi was blinded. He stopped to clear his vision. Aura readied her glaive and hurled it towards the first diving nester. She struck it dead in the heart as it dropped limply to the ground. The second and third nester slammed into Andin and Aura.
Andin’s arm was cut deeply but he maintained his composure in the chaos of the collision. The nester flapped its wings hard to regain speed but Andin caught it before it could climb. He swung his sickles and severed two wings. Svoi was back in the fight and twirled his glaive in an arc sending a spinning crescent of fire into the second nester. It struck the monster’s legs burning them off.
“Good work! Andin leave yours alive, Aura let’s finish this devil!” shouted Svoi. Aura had anticipated Svoi and was already with him sprinting under the legless nester. They shot two final fireballs into the crippled beast and it crashed into the snow. Andin watched his friends skillfully dispatch the enemy and smiled at the assured victory.
Andin’s wounded nester lunged at him. He rolled back and instinctively raised a cage of stone around the bird. It was pinned to the ground. He pulled another arch of stone around its head to prevent more blinding fluid from being excreted. The nester struggled against the restraints, but the fight was over.
Svoi wiped what he could off his face. “Well done you two,” he complimented his friends.
“I’ll bring you some goggles next time,” smirked Aura. Andin laughed in agreement. They gathered around Andin’s pinned nester. “It’s hideous,” commented Aura.
“The corruption of hatred has no care for aesthetics,” stated Svoi.
Svoi knelt next to the beast’s head to examine it. He removed a small prismatic tool from his tunic. He energized it and scanned the beast. He spent some time inspecting its strangely patterned eye. Once satisfied, Svoi handed his glaive to Aura, “Baroness.”
She looked back to her glaive still embedded in the chest of the other nester; she suddenly felt exposed without a weapon. The last of the twisted creatures went limp as the blade of the glaive burned through the heart of the monster. “The one that attacked me must have come from this nest,” said Andin.
They harvested the claws and fluid sacs of the three nesters and burned them. “Amazing creatures,” commented Svoi as he examined the sacs closely. “Professor Bressil will be glad to have more samples of the void nester for his catalogue,” said Svoi. Aura took one of the claws as a keepsake and the three headed back to the stone cottage.
Aurora and stars lit the way back to camp. The soft purple glow of the void danced and played with the light display in the night sky. The walk was a long march of quiet reflection. The trio didn’t reach the campsite until past midnight. They changed out of their filthy clothing and fell fast asleep.
No one woke until late morning. Andin was the first up; he made coffee. The aroma slowly reeled Svoi awake. “She probably won’t be up till noon; she’s been pushing herself so hard,” whispered Svoi. “She’s always been a fighter,” replied Andin; the two headed outside. They said nothing as the coffee sent fingers of steam to explore the world above the cup.
Svoi broke the silence, “You feel it too don’t you?”
Andin understood, “Yes – I feel it at the portal site almost always, whether it’s open or not.”
Svoi’s tone turned sharp and precise, “Andin – this is something different, this isn’t a greedy planar god, or even a well-organized hostile plane.” Andin’s eyes narrowed. Svoi continued, “Be careful; and be careful who you trust, especially the other gods.”
Aura broke the somber mood. She poked her head outside the door, “I’m going to finish off the coffee, should I make another pot?” A bold party of snowflakes landed in her hair. Andin spoke cheerily, “The more the better.” Aura disappeared back into the stone cottage. Andin returned inside. Svoi lingered.
Svoi left at noon. He rode back to the College to resume his duties as headmaster. Andin was ready to train more but knew Aura needed the rest. They spent the rest of the day packing up and drinking tea. There wasn’t much to pack. They talked about the College and the district she was in charge of. Aura asked about the mission to the Plane of Light. Andin could say nothing; he was too loyal to his father.
Eleven days after the solstice Aura left. Andin was alone again but felt refreshed and recharged. He would spend the rest of the winter training and studying at the College and at the palace in Caldvik. He dismantled the stone house and rode south towards the capital.