Revelation (Seeds of Humanity: The Cobalt Heresy) (53 page)

A Sneak Peek of
The Price of Enlightenment

The following is an excerpt from
The Price of Enlightenment
, a Cobalt Heresy novella which will soon be available for free at the
Seeds of Humanity Facebook Group
page

Compliance

The two men sat inside the middle-aged sorcerer’s dining hall. His home had been built into the granite cliff face hundreds of years before by his ancestors. Those ancestors had passed their knowledge of the arcane down through their family, along with the many ancient objects, relics and artifacts which they had collected over the centuries.

Yav’el was the sorcerer’s name, and he had taken sole possession of the secluded location and its many secrets five years earlier when both his father and brother had died at the hands of an unspeakably powerful wizard the likes of which even legends rarely described. Until today, Yav’el had hoped he would never again come face to face with that wizard’s ilk during his life.

Yet despite Yav’el’s attempts to keep all that was precious to his line concealed, someone had seen through his family’s carefully constructed shroud of concealment and found him. And now the man who had done so now sat across the table from him in the very same chair Yav’el’s brother, Gan’el, had used for every meal the two brothers had shared with their father growing up.

It was impossible for any normal human, even a sorcerer as powerful as Yav’el’s father, Tor’el, to pierce the veil of obfuscation which had been laboriously erected around his family home at great expense. But the man seated opposite Yav’el was no ordinary practitioner of the arcane arts.

“I cannot do as you ask,” replied Yav’el. “Not only would it be a betrayal of those we have sworn to protect, but I am obligated with even greater priority to defend the legacy of my forebears. While I draw breath I cannot allow any portion of that legacy to fall into the hands of those who might pollute and defile it.”

“I assure you,” replied the man in a voice as hard as iron, “I have no intention of desecrating any product of your ancestors’ illustrious line. However, you must realize that your days are numbered. If I managed to penetrate your defenses, then how long can you expect to remain hidden from the Great Enemy?”

Yav’el shook his head gravely. “As I said,” he insisted solemnly, “I cannot do as you ask. It would be a betrayal of the highest order to all which I, and those who went before me, hold dear.”

The other man slumped back in his chair with unreadable features. His head was devoid of hair, and the skin of his scalp had a waxy appearance which reflected the dim candlelight flickering from the chandelier above the table.

“You know I cannot allow your legacy fall into the hands of the people who slew your kin,” said the smooth-headed man softly, “for I have made a vow of my own to those of your line who came before you. Too much of their work would lead the agents who have nearly reached your doorstep back to me, and I cannot,” he slammed his fist down on the table suddenly, “allow all that I and
my
line have worked toward to be destroyed!”

Yav’el had expected this, knowing full well the bargain his line had entered into with this man over a century before. He stood slowly from the table. “Then I would ask a favor after I am gone,” he said respectfully.

The bald man stood slowly from the table, his eyes piercing Yav’el as he did so. “As I said,” he reiterated pointedly, “I will not desecrate, or allow to be desecrated, any product of your ancestors tireless efforts. That which bears your legacy shall be protected to the best of my ability; of that you have my word.”

Yav’el trusted the wizard standing across from him, just as his father, grandfather and great grandfather before him had trusted him. He knew that the man would honor his word no matter the cost. Yav’el’s only regret was that he would not be the one to see his brother’s most sacred responsibility seen through personally. “Then you must do that which you came to do,” Yav’el replied, feeling a measure of serenity as he did so. Certainty had a virtue all its own…even when it carried darkness.

The smooth-headed man nodded. “It must be public, and I fear it must be absolute,” he said with more than a hint of regret in his voice. “It is the only way to protect your family’s legacy, as well as the people who have depended on your kin through the years.”

“It is as it should be,” replied Yav’el, “and yet, I would ask a favor of you.”

The bald man nodded, “If it is within my power.”

Yav’el fought to keep tears from welling in his eyes at the thought of what he was about to do. “I would like to leave a message…for when the time is right.”

The other man considered the request silently before nodding curtly. “Agreed. I will see it delivered personally, if necessary.”

After Yav’el had composed the message in his chosen manner, he turned and walked to the door followed at a respectful distance by the bald wizard. The walk to the village took them two hours, and they made the journey in absolute silence.

The crowd which had assembled in the village center was the largest ever seen. They had known that the stranger from distant lands had arrived and that Yav’el was to do battle with him, as he and his ancestors had done battle with all who would threaten the safety of the village.

But even the people gathered around the large square could sense that this was somehow different. There was a look to Yav’el’s face which hushed the once-exuberant crowd that had shown up to see their protector defeat yet another would-be invader, just as he had at least once per year when the various threats to the safety of the village would rear their heads.

“Good people!” began Yav’el as he took his place opposite his grey robe-clad adversary in the village square. “I take up arms in defense of your fair village, in accordance with the agreement struck between my ancestors and your own.”

The crowd erupted into applause and cheering, and Yav’el could hear a tone of defiance in their voices which broke his heart. He knew that this was the end of the freedom they had enjoyed under his line’s protection, but even in the face of certain doom he would not set aside the integrity of his line. He would play his part as he had dozens of times before, even with the certain knowledge that this would be the final act of his life.

Yav’el turned to face his foe, who nodded solemnly as he stood relaxed opposite the black-haired Yav’el. “This man has challenged me for the right to all which belonged to my ancestors, as well as that which I now protect, and I have accepted that challenge. Should I fail in this contest, you must honor my agreement with him!”

A hush came over the crowd as everyone assembled knew what that meant. There was a chorus of whispers which were quickly silenced as the black-haired sorcerer turned to face the bald man.

“
Kor devalis unt fira kel,”
chanted Yav’el as he cleared his mind and he summoned the power of his first attack. His hands gestured in the air before him, weaving an impossibly complex, invisible pattern which even he could not see. He relied on his memory and years of intense practice sessions to duplicate the gestures required to conjure his line’s mightiest magics.

“
Fira devalis jon kel!”
he finished as his hands came together at the wrists, with his palms facing forward as they thrust into the air before Yav’el. A massive ball of flame burst into existence in the air in front of him, seemingly driven through the walls of into reality by his bare hands.

The roaring fireball soared across the nearly two hundred feet separating the men in the village square, but the bald wizard stood serenely as the raging inferno approached. He didn’t even flinch when the ball of fire exploded all around him, causing the crowd to once again erupt into a victorious roar.

The fires burned in a fan-shaped area extending past where they had exploded on the grey-robed man, even leaping to a nearby building as a good portion of the fireball carried on past where the bald man had stood.

Yav’el felt a twinge of regret as he looked into the crowd and found a small, innocent face with long, raven-colored hair looking hopefully at him. He knew that he would miss watching her grow into a woman, but he had no choice—the choice had been made for him two centuries earlier by his forebears.

The crowd’s cheering came to a sudden end with a collective gasp as the fires died down, revealing the bald-headed man as he stood in the exact same posture as before the impact of the fireball.

There was a shimmering, dome-shaped field surrounding him which glowed an angry orange color, and it soon became clear to all assembled that the flames had never even penetrated that field.

“
Co ti vel, Zar ti vel, I ti vel, Us ti vel, shiza stil,”
Yav’el immediately recited, moving his feet in unison with his hands as he swept his entire body sideways in the practiced movements his father had taught him. The sky above began to rumble, and the faces of the assembled crowd turned up to see a thundercloud forming overhead.

“
Us’I’Zar’Co, vel ti krakto!”
he finished, reaching his hands to the sky before pointing them in unison toward the bald wizard as he finished the incantation.

There was a blinding flash of light, accompanied by the deafening peal of thunder as a lightning bolt crashed down from the sky and erupted against the orange shield surrounding the grey-robed man. The defensive field flared, becoming enveloped by crackling electricity in the seconds following the impact. Despite their collective temporary blindness, again the crowd cheered—this time somewhat more reservedly than their previous outburst.

But once again, when the residual electrical charge had dissipated and their vision returned, the wizard was standing in the same posture as before the spell had struck his defenses. Yav’el knew it was time to safeguard one of the last pieces of his line’s legacy, so he closed his eyes and prepared his next casting.

Yav’el concentrated, recalling another complex series of gestures to his mind. “
Fae vendo, Ral vendo, El vendo kel,”
he chanted evenly as his hands snaked through the air even faster than the last time, the movements of his arms coinciding precisely with the tempo of his voice. “
Vendo rikto, vendo kina, Fae’Ral kel!”
he finished, causing a patch of ground between them to split open suddenly with enough force to knock everyone present from their feet, including Yav’el.

Everyone, that is, except the bald man. His features were an unreadable mask as he stood calmly in the same position he had at the outset.

From the crack in the earth came an alien creature in the shape of a tall, naked woman. However, this particular creature had wings sprouting from its back like a butterfly’s, with every color of the rainbow glittering in beautiful patterns across their surface. The creature’s eyes were huge, green and multifaceted like an insect’s, and each three-fingered hand ended in needle-sharp, curved, silver talons nearly two feet long.

It was the last of its kind, and it called its race ‘Fae’Ral.’ It was the most powerful creature with which Yav’el’s ancestors had entered into compact, and this was only the second time Yav’el had ever summoned the terrible creature. Long ago, this particular Fae’Ral had agreed to serve his family’s line for all time after receiving a payment agreed to by his great, great grandfather. Yav’el actually held a sliver of hope that the creature might defeat the grey-robed man…and in so doing prevent Yav’el from delving into the darkest, foulest magics his family had learned over the last two centuries.

The Fae’Ral’s eyes turned toward the bald man, flicked its talons in anticipation as her wings beat too quickly for the human eye to see, and then flew straight toward the bald man’s position in a blur of motion. The creature began to rain blows down on the surface of the orange shield surrounding him with its long, silver talons. The shield flashed with each impact, and after a few short seconds it appeared to be having some success as the dome-shaped field’s shape began to distort and deflect.

But before the field had failed, the bald man produced a grey staff with a huge gemstone affixed to its tip, and from that tip sprang a grey tendril of energy. He had not held the staff even a moment earlier, and Yav’el’s stomach began to twist at the unflappable look on his adversary’s face.

The Fae’Ral flew into the air to escape the beam, and the flying creature’s movements were only perceptible by the faint trail of glittering particles which followed it. For a moment it appeared that it might outrun the slow, smoky tendril of grey energy.

But that tendril surged upward with a sudden burst of speed and encircled the Fae’Ral’s naked body, obscuring it from view as the winged creature was slowly brought back toward the ground between the two spellcasters.

The bald man held his staff easily in one hand, directing the movement of the Fae’Ral’s trapped body with a sharp flick of the eldritch device. When the Fae’Ral was suspended a few feet above the ground, the grey-robed man snapped his staff back and the imprisoned creature was pulled into the staff’s tip, disappearing entirely along with the grey tendril of energy almost instantly.

The bald man struck the butt of his staff against the ground emphatically, causing the crack in the ground from which the Fae’Ral had sprung to slowly close. When it had done so, he gestured beckoningly, clearly inviting Yav’el’s next move.

Yav’el only had one remaining option, and it was one he was loathe to attempt. He knew the terrible price he would pay, but he had an obligation to his ancestors and to the people of the village.

“
Nec dizel, nec silon—“
he began as he gestured with his fingers in the air before him, but was interrupted when he felt his body lift from the ground and hurtle forward with incredible speed.

Yav’el smashed into a hard surface with enough force to break a dozen ribs, and he lost his breath immediately. His legs were numb, and his eyes opened reflexively when his chest erupted in pure agony. He looked down to see that he had struck against the bald man’s defense fields.