Chapter 11: The Guide
When Kelden regained consciousness, he was utterly confused. Unlike the first time Credesar had come forth, this time he had no recollection of what had taken place. He'd been completely out of it--which meant Credesar had seized control of him more thoroughly this time without the seers to interfere with the process. But it was obvious things had worked out favorably, since he and his friends were now untied and Dameon was conversing with the shaman in a relaxed, friendly manner.
Kelden felt much better--light on his feet and fully healed. One moment he was hanging from a post getting tortured, and now he stood free and uninjured, ready to flee from the village and never return. It was an amazing turn of fortune. But his apprehension remained, for they were still amongst the Galds and anything could happen.
Theodus and Thayan were on their feet. In spite of his head wound, Theodus stood with his usual dignified and confident look. But Thayan still appeared shaken, and whenever his eyes met Kelden, his horror and amazement were evident. Clearly, he now thought of Kelden as a monster, and Kelden wasn't sure that was far from the truth. But he was puzzled as to why Credesar had not destroyed the entire village and killed everyone.
Dameon approached Kelden and smiled. "We're in luck, my friend--thanks entirely to Credesar. The shaman believes their god favors us, and plans to let us go. He wants you to partake in a brief ritual, and then we are free to leave."
"What happened?" said Kelden. "I can't remember anything. I was on that post, and then...things went dark."
As Dameon explained, Kelden listened in open-mouthed amazement. "Are you saying that Credesar struck a deal with you?"
Dameon grinned. "Indeed. He agreed to spare our lives and help us escape, as long as we would help him separate himself from the Arnwolf. The fiend was perfectly rational and willing to bargain. Extraordinary!"
Kelden took to pacing. "How could this happen? The Arnwolf? That's impossible. I'm no seer. Last I knew, I was tied up and getting poked with knives. Then..." He struggled in frustration to remember. He still felt exhilarated over their turn of fortune, but was overcome with confusion and anxiety that made his stomach feel sick and weak. For the Arnwolf to emerge, something terrible and strange was happening to him. Credesar was growing stronger, causing a bizarre evolution of magic. He desperately needed to get to Frindagan Tower and complete his quest before he transformed completely and was lost forever.
Kelden grabbed Dameon's arm. "We need to leave!" he said, panic surging. He glanced about. A full yellow moon had risen, next to a smaller, crimson moon, beneath which lay a savage scene. The warriors were dipping their fingers in red ink, rubbing it around their eyes and mouths to symbolize blood. They looked like flesh-eating zombies in the shadowy torchlight. Meanwhile, their chanting was repulsive, the vibrations making Kelden's stomach want to heave. Raw fear churned within him.
Theodus and Thayan nodded in agreement. "This village is beyond repugnant," Theodus said. "Let us leave at once and never look back."
"Not yet," said Dameon, motioning toward the shaman and his priests. The shaman had pulled a long, shimmering cable from the giant metal egg. Balls of white light shot continuously through the cable, and the end of it came to a shiny point as fine as a needle. "We cannot leave until Kelden partakes in the ritual."
As Kelden gazed at the fiery cable hanging out of the monstrous piece of machinery, he shuddered. "I don't want any part of this ritual. I just want to get away from here now. I've had enough of this place! They were going to torture me to death...and...and..." He couldn't finish, thinking that a short time ago his body had been taken over by a demon. It was almost too much to bear.
Dameon placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know you are quite distraught and confused, but try to stay calm. I guarantee you the Galds will no longer harm us. The shaman simply wants you to communicate with his god, in order to gain wisdom. Perhaps nothing will happen. At the worst, you may have a few dream-like visions that will probably be meaningless."
"You don't really know what will happen," said Kelden. "Admit it. That's some terrible piece of old world technology, not a god. Anything might happen to me. This is crazy, Dameon."
"I know you won't be harmed," said Dameon. "The shaman himself undergoes this ritual from time to time, and has--so he claims--been instructed with survival techniques and magical secrets. He has not been harmed, and neither will you be. Just get it done with, and then we can get away from here and figure this all out."
Theodus stepped forward angrily. "I must protest this! I nearly had my brains bashed out, and my master was about to be tortured to death. We owe these devils nothing. And old world relics are forbidden."
Dameon sneered. "You're not in Valganleer anymore, Dar fiend. We're on a quest for survival. We make our own rules out here."
"But Theodus is right," Thayan spoke up. "We owe these savages nothing. We should leave at once. I can't bear it here any longer!" Thayan appeared on the verge of falling apart completely, his body shaking and his eyes wild.
"I'm not fond of this village of horrors either," said Dameon. "But I for one am not going to go against the Galds' wishes and make them angry. Will you shun their sacred ritual, Kelden? It may cause the Galds to become enraged, and put us all in danger once again. If we are to survive, we must cooperate with them."
Kelden sighed, feeling thoroughly disheartened by terror and helplessness. "I'll do it. Don't worry about it, Theodus. Obviously, they're not interested in killing us, since we're not tied up. Everyone just stay calm!" He practically shouted the last statement in an effort to reassure himself.
The shaman motioned for Kelden to come to him. Kelden wasn't sure he could force his legs to carry him to that destination. The energy cable seemed like a deadly serpent in the shaman's hand, something venomous and alive. The lights on the metal god glowed a hypnotic white, and pulsed in time with Kelden's heartbeat. The fleshy pockets within the machine were cast in a greenish glow. The entire object seemed like a living creature, and had Kelden not been taught about old world devices at Valganleer, he might have believed he was indeed in the presence of a god.
"Go to him," Dameon commanded. "Go now!"
When Kelden still didn't respond, Dameon seized him and shook him furiously. "You better move it along, boy, or they're going to crack down on us hard. We won't be walking out of here alive!"
The former seer's words penetrated Kelden's fear and drove him into motion. He trudged over to the shaman.
The shaman pushed Kelden to his knees and rubbed some ointment on the back of his neck. The priests held his arms. Kelden closed his eyes, trying to steady himself. But his insides were like boiling acid. His mind was overwhelmed with unexplained images and confusion, wrapped in a web of terror. But there was a new strength in there as well-- a force of will he hadn't possessed before, something that had just begun to grow. He was aware that he'd changed somehow on a deeper level.
Kelden felt a pinch on the back of his neck, and then warmth flooded through him. Colors flashed in front of his vision, and he suddenly experienced a deep, engulfing sense of peace and purpose. Suddenly, everything was right with the world, and all things seemed to lead to a good end. A tunnel of light opened before him, a path that led to the source of the peacefulness and the answer to everything.
Kelden left his body and floated along the tunnel, certain he would never return. He'd found his place in the universe and no longer needed to be part of the ugly and simplistic world he was leaving behind. Images of his life drifted past, shedding away. All his sins were forgiven through understanding. He'd been a simple man who'd done his best, and he could no longer be imprisoned by mortal burdens. Piece by piece, the chains of his life broke away, and his sense of lightness and freedom grew stronger as he moved deeper into the tunnel.
A guide awaited him at the tunnel's end, a cloaked and hooded figure that stood before a pulsating orb of light. As Kelden drew close, he knelt down, certain he was in the presence of the all
-knowing creator.
But the guide motioned for him to rise. Kelden obeyed, because one did not refuse the command of a vastly superior entity.
The two faced each other in silence for a time, as Kelden basked in the peace and warmth. And then the guide spoke.
"Welcome," it said.
"I'm glad to be here," Kelden answered. His voice seemed spoken from all around him.
"Good," the guide said. "Do you like my home?"
"Yes," said Kelden. "I want to remain here forever."
"Of course," said the guide. "And why wouldn't you? You want to feel good, don't you? You want to be at peace. Is this true?"
"Very true," said Kelden.
"You are drunk," said the guide. "Drunk on energy. Drunk on vibrations and the number three. The three great forces of everything, like three strings on an instrument. It is playing your tune, Kelden Delure."
"I feel it," said Kelden. "I will never leave here again."
"You can stay if you choose," the guide said. "But know this--you would be lost forever in an endless dream."
"I would die, then?" said Kelden. "Is that what you're saying?"
"Not exactly," said the guide. "Death is not a single, simple thing. There are many paths to many strange destinations. There is no core to the universe, but many cores. Diversity creates contradictions, so that no single answer is correct. Would you die if you remained here? Not in the way you are familiar with. You would be consumed by an endless illusion, a lone candle burning in the highest window of a darkened keep, untouchable even by the wind. You would slumber and dream, never to be awakened even after the cycle of the void has ended and begun again."
Kelden shuddered, and his peace was shattered. He now understood that even the brightest room could be a dark dungeon in disguise, that lack of awareness was a terrible limitation and the only true prison one could ever be snared in.
"I cannot remain here," Kelden said.
"Indeed," said the guide. "You are a human--a seeker of knowledge. Your mind was built to expand, not to be shut away in dull comfort. You must go forth and learn, expand your consciousness, and evolve into a greater entity."
"Show me the way back," said Kelden.
"Not yet," said the guide. "First, there is something I must tell you. The Galds are my children. They came from beyond your world, nestled within their shiny metal eggs. They watched humans and studied them, learning how a race evolves from savagery to science. But eventually, my children were driven to war!"
Kelden gasped. There was agony in the guide's voice.
"Humans would not allow for peace," the guide continued. "They harvested our technology and made it their own. They created the worms that destroyed the world. Their own horrible weapon turned against them, so that Gald and human alike fell into ruin. Eventually, only a few Galds remained, and they became savage and forgot the ways of science. My children were corrupted and lost their awareness. Humans did all that--and more. They created the worms through their abuse of technology, and now no one is safe in your world."
"We must stop the worms!" Kelden said, inspiration gripping him. "We must save your children from this terrible fate. How can I help?"
"There is a device," the guide went on, "called a mind soothe. There is only one, and it is being held in a Legaran fortress called Iragantheos--the lonely tower. The false god Jarvin has entered your world, and now sits upon the throne of this keep. He is amassing technology to use to his advantage, and is building an army. The mind soothe has fallen into his possession. However, it is unlikely that he knows what the device is used for, since it did not come from your world and is very complex. But Jarvin is crafty and has access to forbidden energies. He will, in time, unlock its secrets."
"I can't go there," said Kelden, as memories of his life resurfaced. "I have a demon inside of me. I must go to Frindagan and have it removed."
"You'll do as I command!" the guide hissed, and for an instant its presence became dark and terrible. Kelden shrank back.
Then the guide's tone softened, and peace flooded through Kelden again. "Do not be afraid. Your path now lies in a new direction. You can live in harmony with the demon, for the time being. It will not destroy you. It is not the malevolent presence you were led to believe. And gaining possession of the mind soothe is more important than the quest to free yourself of Credesar. The mind soothe can restore awareness to my children, which is the key to defeating the worms."
"Then I will find it," said Kelden. "For the worms must be defeated, or there is no hope for my world."
"No hope at all," the guide agreed. "The worms will never allow humanity to rest. And even worse, they may evolve and become even stronger. They are a virus and have the ability to change and adapt. They are a species that should not exist, for they can destroy all life. The minds that created them were short-sighted and corrupt, and their ignorance is responsible for the deaths of millions."
"Who are you?" said Kelden. "How do you know these things? Are you truly a god?"
"I am ancient," the guide answered. "I am just a conscious being like you, seeking awareness and knowledge. I am linked with certain bits of technology. The mind soothe is a part of me. I know where it is, but I cannot retrieve it. And my children are too simple-minded to help. You, however, have potential. You are just beginning to tap into your abilities, and with a bit of help, you might be able to penetrate Iragantheos and gain possession of the mind soothe."
"I will try my best," said Kelden.
"You must take ten Gald warriors with you," said the guide. "And these ten must be protected at all costs. Once the mind soothe is in your possession, you must bring it to me. And then my children can at last be freed from the curse that makes them so primitive and repulsive. Do not fail me, Kelden Delure!"
Kelden started to say something more, to try to reassure the guide that everything would turn out okay, but he felt a pinch on the back of his neck and then he was falling swiftly through the void into darkness.