***
Gabriel once more stood watch over the battlements; his usual lonely vigil had rarely interrupted. In the time that they had been there, they had at least found out whose bodies they were in possession of. The Watcher went by the name of Callinicus, amongst other things he was a mathematician and an alchemist. Uziel and Gabriel were high ranking officers of some elite guard while Michael was a commander of some considerable rank, and prestige.
Gabriel began pacing; his frustration for their lack of action had begun to show, below was an army that stretched as far as the eye could see. It was an uncompromising force that waited like the rumblings of a volcano just before it erupts. Gabriel stopped once more to gaze deep into its bowels, his heavy breath breaking the air. As he stood there in quiet contemplation a hand reached out and touched his shoulder, which startled him back to the moment.
“Jumpy,” said Uziel.
“How can I not be, we’ve been here, what two months and still we haven’t seen hide or hair of Michael and the Watcher since they locked themselves away in the palace with the Emperor: and we haven’t had word yet of Raphael. And as for this siege it’s been on-going for years as I understand it, the stench of fear that surrounds this city is like a disease that contaminates its every fibre.”
“Yes, this siege needs to be broken and soon, but that stench, that’s not fear you can smell.”
Gabriel nodded, the people were worn out, tired and though their belief in a final victory did not waver, there was still a harsh uncertainty that gripped them. Their city had lasted for hundreds of years and had yet to be assailed, so they had some reason for the confident belief that they would overcome, and the Byzantine empire: descended from Rome, had lasted since antiquity; food however was getting short, and people were slowly but surely going hungry, hope, that necessary part of all struggles was sadly beginning to fade.
There was a foul and terrible reek in the air. It appeared they were once more burning the dead.
“What do you think Constantine will do?” asked Germanicus.
“What can he do? The man seems beleaguered.”
“Okay then, what do we do?”
“We have to find the Codex and Raphael, and to do that we must leave this place,” replied Gabriel, his eyes becoming distant. “The longer we wait to leave the more likely Azazel and Moloch will get to it first.”
“I don’t think Michael wishes to leave, not while Byzantium stands so close to the abyss, I don’t believe the Saracens are meant to be here at this time, and that in itself is a worry.”
“Could it be Malachi?” queried Gabriel, “If it is him does that mean he believes that the Codex is here, or perhaps there is another reason for all this carnage.”
“Do you think there's more to this war than the altercation of two belief systems? And if so, then what could that be?” Uziel’s face lit by shadowed torchlight had an intense fire to it.
“It’s difficult to speculate but I don't need to remind you of what the Dragon did to destroy Will Oxley in the middle age of man: he unleashed the Codex of Pestilence.”
Uziel’s eyes glistened as he remembered, “yes, but fortunately we managed to limit the damage done to the Equilibrium.”
The two stood on the ramparts staring at the fires below that angrily lit up the plain. How many times had the Dragon tried to influence time for his own ends, and since time itself was inordinate, how many times had the Angelos had to alter things themselves, to maintain the Equilibrium?
“These people have had too many savage winters, and at their gates a foe that would devour the very heart of them.”
They both quickly turned to meet the heavy step of a Stratiotai, a soldier from the garrison of Constantinople.
“Arzealous seeks your council in his private chambers. I shall be your relief.”
Gabriel nodded with satisfaction; at long last the waiting was over. They could finally leave the city walls behind them.
They strode down cold steps that echoed in the dark, there was a strange chill to the night as though the stars above shone without fire. Stone silhouettes stood guard along turreted walls, they too held to their long eternal vigil. No enemy since the years of its making had yet to scale the heights of the walls of Constantinople. As the two marched along cobbled streets Gabriel suddenly came to a halt, he felt something unusual, that feeling most people get when they perceive they are being watched, the hairs on the back of his neck bristled, and quickly he turned to see what could be the cause of such a sensation, but there was nothing there, just silence, his eyes pierced the gloom.
“What’s wrong?” queried Uziel.
“I could have sworn, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a shadow that moved.”
Uziel laughed, “So we’re afraid of our own shadows are we, they move when we move, it’s only natural, and since there’s a shortage of oil for the lamps, what else could you possibly expect. I think it is because you sense how unnerved the people are, and nothing more. That’s why the populace stay at home more than usual, and that’s why the streets are so quiet.”
“I am not afraid of my own shadow or yours, and you should know me better than to question such a thing, I am not so confused by my senses, that I cannot tell the difference between the real and the imagined.”
Uziel nodded seriously, “What then? If there was something; there certainly isn’t anything now.”
“Come let us…”
Gabriel was interrupted by a cry emanating from a side alley, a short distance away. Quickly the two dashed along the path to meet the sound. Running along the roadway as swiftly as they could, shutters were quickly closed as they past dread stricken houses. Shortly they turned into a narrow side walk where they assumed the scream had come from, and there on the floor was a splayed out figure, whose arms and legs were contorted in an agonising manner, at the sight of the poor wretch Uziel uncontrollably heaved. The body was emaciated, as though all life had been sucked out of it, at first they could not tell whether it was a man or woman. And even for the Angelos it was terrible to look upon. The smell also was pungent and there was a distinctive sweet sickly odour hovering in the air. They instinctively knew nothing earthly could have done such a thing.
Other Stratiotai were soon on the scene.
“What is it Adamous, plague?” growled an old leather faced centurion, who stared in horror at the lifeless figure; he was still brandishing his sword, a short man who had obviously come straight from the barracks, which stood at the rear of the alley, he must have rushed to the scene, as his dress was unkempt and his helm untied.
“No, it’s not plague,” replied Gabriel, “neither is it murder, it looks like the poor beggar starved to death.”
Uziel shot Gabriel a glance, “anyway since you and the others are up, you can clear up the mess it looks like more kindling for the fire.”
Gabriel gestured to Uziel for them to be on their way, and without another word the two quickly left, with the unhappy murmurings of the soldiery behind them.
“You know that was not starvation,” said Uziel, as they moved beyond the earshot of the others.
“I’m afraid there was no time to properly examine the body and since orders are that all corpses be burnt it might have raised suspicion if we had not followed the Emperors protocol; but I saw enough to realise that that was the work of a Rageon, or some similar creature.”
“Ah, that is a problem, what are those dark energy feeders doing here?” asked Uziel, disgusted at the thought of such an entity.
“Isn’t it obvious the entire city is in a state of fear, and fear gives off the darkest energy, so I would have been surprised if such a being wasn’t here; the question is that it’s a big Universe, in which case how did it know to come here at this time? We had better report this to Michael and we’ll let the Watcher deal with the creature, he is after all the most powerful Alchemist in the city.”
The two strode up the avenue past row upon row of terraced house or st
ore, all were strangely silent. If the Rageon was there, then what other malevolence was also getting rich on the despair of the people. The city at least was still, on the outside there was a seeming calm but who knew what dark thoughts people held behind closed doors. As they finally turned into Middle Street a long boulevard leading up to the Hippodrome, soldiers jostled passed, stopped to respectfully salute them before hurrying away, no doubt on some imperial errand. Soon the Hippodrome came into view, built as a vast stadium that could seat tens of thousands of spectators, the bronze horses above the main gate proudly watched their passage; and behind that a lavish building built by the first Constantine and renovated by Justinian, it was the main administrative centre of Byzantium, the Great Palace with its many lavish banqueting halls and beautiful frescos, mosaics and marble columns, such a monument would have graced the city of Edun at its height. They made their way across well-trod paving’s to arrive at large heavy bronze gilded gates, that opened before them; they were then taken to an atrium where a courtier in silk robes greeted them, holding a lantern to their faces, the glare of which almost blinded Uziel. Apologizing, the man quickly took a step back; and introduced himself as Alexios; he quickly led them to the private chamber of Arzealous in the Palace. He told them how he had been in the employ of the emperor for thirty years as his butler, and confidant, and had never known days such as the ones they were facing. The frescos on the walls flickered strangely in the half light, as they passed through darkened corridors to the imperial apartments; both old and new deities, ancient myths and heroes shimmered in remembrance to both ancient and contemporary Rome. They turned down a corridor that led out into a garden area, where a large columned building stood. The grass beneath their leather bound shoes had been freshly cut and the aroma of herbs filled the air. They entered the Palatine School, walking beneath a large crest that was raised above the doorway, a two headed eagle that looked both east and west. This was where the elite guard were housed, they were then taken to an antechamber; as the door opened they were greeted by a large comforting glow, a fire was burning in the hearth, sending a flow of warm air throughout.
As the doors closed behind them Arzealous gestured for them to join him, he was seated at a large ornate table, its sturdy stone legs held a thick marble slab aloft; Callinicus was at his side, the two were staring down at maps and open scrolls whilst also appearing to leaf through some leather bound manuscripts, two large tall candelabra stands gave off a shallow light. There was a shadowed icon on the wall, the eyes of which seemed to penetrate the room. The window was covered by a heavy worn curtain. As they stepped close to the table, Arzealous looked up from the papers he was scrutinising in his hands.
“We have been…,” began Arzealous.
“Before you go on, you should know that there is a Rageon loose in the City,” said Adamous.
“A Rageon are you sure, such beings live mostly in the Deepest Darkest Dimensions, even the Ananaki as powerful as they are, do not contend with them; how did it find itself here?” asked Arzealous, his eyes widening at the thought of such a creature.
“Well the signs are quite clear,” said Germanicus. “We found a body drained of its life force and that distinct aroma, unmistakeably the mark of a Rageon; perhaps the Dragon has made new friends and we have new enemies to vie with; or with the chaos of the war, maybe the Rageon have found a way to cross into this realm, without our realising it.”
“From what we know of them they have no allies, they prefer the splendid isolation of their universe, where they are lords of all. Not even the Mages have been able to deal with them, unless of course things have changed. Who knows, maybe the Rageon have their price after all, but even so they would still have no master but themselves. They are certainly the Devil you know, not to have anything to do with. It could be that Azazel in his pride has tried to tame them or make a pact with them, but I would suggest that they would, given half a chance betray him, in fact they would betray him whether they had half a chance or not.”
Callinicus quietly stood by, as he listened he sighed deeply, “I know of them, I can certainly if one is here, prevent such a creature coming through to this world, but only if we know of its access point. The thing is, and this is more important, we need to find it before it does more damage; now that will be a problem. They can take many forms, unless it has somehow bound itself to this reality. Could you tell whether it had physically manifested itself, if not, I would suggest that it would probably hide in the shadows, and after it’s fed lurk in dungeons deep.”
“True, but let us get back to the task in hand, which is finding a way to vanquish the Saracens,” said Arzealous, “Uziel, you and Gabriel are going on a journey, you are to make your way to the Frankish Kingdom of the Merovingian’s, there is on the throne, a Watcher by the name of Dagobert II. Callinicus has already tried to contact him through the Vision Realm but has found his way barred, I think maybe that hints that there are forces at work here that are more powerful than the Rageon you encountered; or it means that he does not realise that he is a Watcher.”
“The Franks are quite violent, if we go to them they’re more likely to take us hostage than receive us as emissaries, especially since we’re coming from the eastern empire,” replied Gabriel.
“Still, he and his people may be able to help defeat the Saracens. There is just one problem the Kingdom of the Franks is far from here.”
“That’s of little concern, we’ll use the Seal to open a portal and step across,” said Adamous.
“I can’t let you do that, we don’t know yet what we are dealing with here, if you use the Seal and its energy output is picked up, it could draw the attention of our enemies and let them know we are here, and that’s the last thing we want to do. The Rageon isn't exactly our friend and if such a being is being used by The Dragon, who knows who else is, or what we truly face here.”
"And what if it's nothing more than that it's found a ripe environment for its insidious salacious activities?" said Germanicus.
“We do not have any indication as to what is going on here and until we have something more substantive, there's to be no unauthorised use of anything that can alert our enemy to our presence, unless of course such an action is absolutely necessary.”
Germanicus slowly nodded, “So a long journey through dangerous and treacherous lands it is then, nothing new there then. What do you suggest; we take a boat and go for a cruise round the med: unless we design the boat, such a voyage may take a month or two.”
“Sorry, although we can sneak a few men past the blockade, and probably pay off the pirates, so that they can pass freely, such an expedition would still take too long,” replied Arzealous. “And you can’t go north either, that would be bad.”
“And why would that be bad?” asked Adamous.
“The Avars are that way, and they are not friends of Byzantium either.”
Adamous smiled, “These people have more enemies than we do, and so who is our friend?”
Arzealous returned his smile as he placed the plan of the Mediterranean back on the table, “Well there’s me and Uziel, Callinicus of course and maybe one or two others.”
“Okay, so our friends are limited, it looks like it's not going to be long before we encounter someone that wants us dead,” replied Adamous with raised eyebrows. “And how do we sneak past that army, and are you really suggesting we walk.”
“No, and Byzantium still has a lot of influence in outlying areas, where, yes there are friends. From what we understand Thessaloniki is also under siege, that's why it would be too dangerous to go that way, but here’s the plan you’re not walking, in fact you’re flying by glider no less, as far as it will take you.”
“That’s an interesting idea, and that’s all that is, right, an idea?” asked Germanicus his eyes narrowing as they always did when someone mentioned something that had more than a hint of the bizarre about it. “And what of The Equilibrium, are you sure this is the right place, and the right time for suc
h a thing.”
“It’s fine, in the archives there are many scrolls dating back to the time of the Pharaohs of Egypt; one of these tells the story of a flying machine that the King would use to visit the many parts of his empire and further a field,” replied Arzealous, “The hieroglyphs were easy to follow even down to the detail of how the glider was propelled into the air. By using the Sacred Seal he got from Leif Erikson Callinicus managed to decipher much of what was needed to make such a vehicle, which before you ask, did not give off enough energy to give our whereabouts away.” Arzealous knelt down, and from beneath the table pulled out a small scaled model of the type of craft they were to use. “As for how long to build it; what do you think has been happening over the past weeks, it should be finished. So from the highest tower of Constantinople we’re going to catapult you into the air, you should be able to fly over the enemy and past their encampment, after that, anything else will be a bonus, there is just one thing, you will be leaving when the weather is more favourable for you to do so, and you will be heading out over the sea of Marmora, so that you will not be spied. We do not expect the Saracens to be watching the skies, but then you never know. Any sign of danger whilst making your escape means you return immediately while you still can, if you still can.”
Adamous roughly took the small replica craft in his hand, as he did so, one of the small figures sitting in the cockpit fell out, he smiled wryly, "Are you sure it's safe."