Crystal Throne (Book 1) (3 page)

CHAPTER III

It took Humanius six days to get his children to help with the effort to bring the glass in from the Deadlands. Getting in contact with them was the easy part; getting them to work with mages without trying to kill them was the hard part. Even with their god telling them, it was hard for many of them to set aside their swords and many of the mages, who had been trapped in the void, didn’t make it easier as they held grudges for the action of the Brotherhood as most of them were from the time of the Fae war.

Thad spent much of the time while he waited talking to the mages from the long past. At least the ones of them that still lived. Within the first three days, a good number of the mages tried to use magic causing them to either go insane or burn out. They knew the risks, but the call of the magic after being cut off for so long was just too much for them.

What he learned after talking to the remaining mages was that there was much more to the Fae Wars than he had believed. He also learned that mages back then were not as strong as the ones that are around now. The same was to be said of the other magical races. The longer the bloodlines stretched the more magic seeped into them. It was almost like a gradual progression, and made Thad think of the things Humanius had said about the weakening of the vale and how mages had first been born in their world. If Thad was right, then even without Belaroan’s help, a new god would have been born eventually though most likely not before the vail had completely fallen and the door to the other world had been completely open. That also meant something else to Thad other than the obvious dangers. If they shut off both doors, then the flow of magic would greatly decrease, and mages might disappear completely given enough time.

Are you just now figuring this out?

“Don’t act like you already figured it out,” Thad said almost laughing to himself. “You always do that. Whenever I figure something out, you act as if you had already know about it. I wonder how many times in the past you have done that and I just went along with it.”

You just now figured that out. I thought it would be good for you to think I was always a little ahead of you. Kept you from getting too full of yourself. No reason to worry about it now, I think you have enough to care about. What are you going to do about this current one that has caught your attention?

“Nothing much I can do at the moment,” Thad admitted. “I will just have to think, and hope to find a solution. The wall has to be built, but I would hate to see mages fade from the world.  If that must happen then so be it. The world lasted over a thousand years thinking that magic was nothing but a fairytale, it can do so again.”

You are thinking too small again. It wouldn’t just be the mages that would disappear. What about the elves, dwarves, and the other magical races? Without magic they wouldn’t be able to survive in this world.

“Not to mention that anything born of magic such as a certain staff would die along with them,” Thad added with a sneer. “We can’t fight the scions. If there are things that must be sacrificed then that will be the cost.”

You have changed. There was a time that you worried about every cost, every loss, as if it were your own.

“That may be true, but there was also a time that you never cared about losses,” Thad replied. “I can tell that you are worried about more than yourself. You have grown a heart since I have last seen you.”

For the first time since Thuraman had first spoken, Thad found that it was the staff that chose to remain silent. Thad found it slightly vexing. The staff could almost always see into his thoughts yet the connection never went both way. True, Thad could get some sense of the staff when they were talking, but it was nothing as strong as what the staff could do. It made Thad think, that if he spent more time maybe he could strengthen that bond and allow himself more insight into the staff, but that would take a lot of time and that was not something he had readily available at the moment.

“Thad,” a voice said from behind him, drawing Thad’s attention. “It is time.”

Turning around, Thad found Belaroan standing in the doorway. She was very unlike the picture that her brother had planted in his mind. He expected her to look like some half crazed devil but in the end, she looked much the same as any other woman, though her skin was a light silver and her eyes were a deep golden color that seemed to shine in the faint light streaming into the room from the window. “I would have expected that Humanius would be the one who came to get me.”

“My brother is busy trying to explain to his children that they are no longer allowed to hunt mages,” Belaroan said happily. “That, and that they are not allowed to go with him. I was having fun watching, but it quickly grew tedious so I thought I would fetch you since you have been preoccupied with your own thoughts.”

“You seem different than I expected,” Thad said as he buckled on a sword that the dwarven god had acquired for him. It wasn’t his but given that that one was in the Farlan palace it would have to do.

“That is true,” Belaroan said, her eyes somewhat sad. “For years, I dreamed of my return to my home, but it was at the front of a conquering army to take vengeance on those that had wronged my family. It would seem that they have already suffered their fate. Even so, I do wish my brother had not held up my designs for so long. I really wished to see the faces of pain the other gods would have shown me.”

Thad walked past the god and kept his head down. “I think that’s enough of that talk,” he said as he walked down the hall leading to the door outside.

As soon as he walked through the vine made door that the elven god had made, Thad found most of the gods and Bren waiting on him. Once everyone was gathered, Humanius led the way to the door to the tunnel on the outskirts of the town.

Just as the trip back through, it didn’t take too long to reach the center of the valley. As soon as they walked through the large double doors they didn’t find the serene valley they had left a handful of days before. There was no noticeable grass as now the entire floor of the valley was covered in piles of glass that had been moved from the desert.

Thad had heard of the glass desert, but had not made the trip himself. Bending down, Bren scooped up a pile of glass and ran his fingers through it. The glass was fine, almost powder yet the tiny shards still dug into his skin. Turning his hand Thad let the glass fall back to where it had been.

As soon as they were all gathered in front of the shimmering doorway, Thad found himself staring at the scion on the other side. “I will open the doorway,” Humanius said looking around. “Let the scion enter first. While there is strong magical energy gathered here, it will not be enough to sustain it for long. Once it has fallen I will reopen the doorway so that we may enter through it.”

Everyone moved back from the doorway as Humanius and Belaroan working together pulled it apart. It looked almost as if they were parting a waterfall. The shimmering stopped in the center and moved outward until it looked as if they were looking through a slightly misty window.

The second the doorway was completely clear the scion stormed through. The scion’s eyes focused on Bren and it took a step forward, then a second. With each step the scion started to move slower.  By the seventh step, it looked more like a statue then suddenly it crumbled to the ground.

Thad had watched the odd creature, not though his normal sight, but through his magic. It pulled in vast amounts of magical energy, more than he could ever believe possible. It was not the first time he had seen something draw in magical energy; Avalanche lived the same way, but the amount she pulled in was like a pebble compared to a mountain.

Walking over, Thad picked up one of the shards of the creatures body. Once it was between his fingers he could feel the immense power that it held. It was like a heartstone, yet more refined. Without even trying, Thad began to think of the things he could do with such gems. He could make enchanted items that were immensely powerful that could work forever without worrying about them losing their charge.

Slipping a piece of the scion into a pocket inside his cloak Thad moved to stand with the rest of the group.

With the scion dead, Humanius and his sister once again opened the doorway. It didn’t take as long for the door to open this time, and within moments it was completely open. Humanius was the first to step through quickly followed by the godlings and Bren, then Thad. Belaroan was the last, and as her foot crossed the threshold, the doorway behind her slammed shut.

Thad turned and looked through the door. He could see the piles of glass on the other side, but it was like looking through a dirty piece of cheap glass. Turning back, Thad took a long look around. It looked like a place straight out of a dream.

Walking over, Thad bent down and ran his fingers over the grass. It bent and swayed in the wind, but glittered in the sunlight and felt like stone beneath his fingers. Everything was made of gems, from the grass to the very stones beneath his feet.

There was so much magical energy in the air, Thad could feel it entering his body even without him trying to call it. At first Thad paid it little heed as he walked behind the gods, but before half the day had passed, Thad was finding it hard to breath. It was as if something was pressing down on his chest. It didn’t take him long to figure out what was happening. The magical energy was building up in his body at an alarming rate so he released it. Unlike back home releasing the magical energy wasn’t as easy as simply letting it go, but he had to force it out, which was painful in its own right. Thad looked at Bren and the others who didn’t seem to be affected at all.

I have spent a lot of time with your son. The amount of magical energy that you just expelled wouldn’t be enough to fill his little finger. Still given enough time I am sure that it would cause trouble for him and the other gods as well.

At least we know what killed the other humans who had entered the center. Unless you were a mage the magical energy would literally eat you alive. Even if you were a mage, it did a fare job of trying to eat you alive.

As the night began to fall they picked a place on the side of the road to camp. At first Thad thought that they would simply be sleeping on the ground, which made him regret not bring a pack; then again his travel gear was years old and still in Farlan. Before Thad could find a place to sleep, Humanius bent down and placed his hand on the ground and a large wooden stricter popped into being. At the same time the building began to build itself, the gemlike grass began to break apart and turn into dust.

“Not even we can directly draw magic,” Humanius explained. “It is too strong. We would be consumed by it. The only way we can work magic is to pull it from the gems that have collected it. I would suggest you do the same though I would still take care. Compared to us or your son you are like a blade of grass to a tree. Take care, I have grown… fond of you during our time together and I would hate to see you as a burnt out husk laying in the dirt.”

“I will take that under advisement,” Thad said as he looked at the building. It was small yet detailed, far more detailed than was needed for one night.

It would seem that your friend has a flair for the dramatic.

“That it would,” Thad replied.

The inside of the building was as elegant as the outside and even came with large beds, though they looked good they were not very comfortable. After more than an hour of trying to sleep Thad gave it up and went outside for some fresh air. Shortly after he left the building he heard the door and turned to find his son standing there.

“Having trouble sleeping as well?” Thad asked looking toward Bren.

“It’s the magic,” Bren replied. “Doesn’t it bother you as well? It’s like a gentle tugging at my mind.”

“I can feel the magic though I bet it is not the same,” Thad said looking at his son. “I can feel it, though it does not call to me.”

“You have never felt the call of the magic?” Bren asked his eyes brimming with curiosity.

“I have felt the call of many things over the years the foremost of those was that of your mother,” Thad said with a smile. “Maybe it has to do with the fact that I am enchanter, and not a regular mage.”

“How do you see magic?” Bren asked.

“I see magic like threads,” Thad answered. “Most the time the threads are thin and easy to pull and manipulate into the shapes I want. Here it is a bit different; the strands are too thick for me to hold, but they are still nothing more than strands of energy. What about you?”

“I see them more like rivers of mist. I bend them to my will and shape them. I can feel them as well. They are alive,” Bren replied hesitantly. “I find myself getting lost in them sometimes.”

Thad laughed and Bren quickly gave him an annoyed look. “I used to view them like rivers as well, though not of mist. I could bend them to my will, but it wasn’t easy. I will agree they are alive, but I learned long ago that it was much easier to move them by giving them the idea that I wanted then forcing it upon them. As long as you know how something works you can make it. Why do you think mages spend so much time pouring over books? Thuraman told me that you are far stronger than I am and honestly I could tell that with one look, but you must learn. The more you know…The more you understand the easier magic will come to you.”

“I remember Thuraman saying the same thing,” Bren said with a faint smile. “He always said that while I have more power than you ever dreamed of, I was still weaker than you because I lacked knowledge and even worse, I lacked the desire for knowledge.”