The Enixar_The Sorcerer Page 5

  Meriaus looked to the ground and bowed to this King, “Yes, my Lord. Thank you,” He knew he used up any goodwill he had in this scenario.

  * * *

  But an innocent was saved, for now.

  * * *

  Jessika was crying over the remains of her grandmother when a guard came and dragged her back to the entourage. She was promptly placed in chains to avoid any further surprises. It didn’t stop the tears from flowing as she sobbed uncontrollably.

  * * *

  Every person in the crowd felt an icy chill run down their spines. No one dared to even breathe the wrong way much less make a sound.

  “Now. Unless anyone else wants to tell me their story I would like to get back to my service as Supreme Lord of this kingdom. No one? Excellent. Men! Get in to position,” He gave his order. The ruler raised his hand and his sword hung in the air by itself about ten inches away from the Abbot’s neck. Each of the ten guards stood behind a monk and held their blades in the same position.

  “Ready... Now!”

  Ten extremely sharp swords cut through the distance between their starting position and the tender flesh of the monk’s necks. But only nine heads hit the ground with a thud slightly softened by the carpet of flowers. Abbot Finn had been spared- the Lord had stopped his blade just a few millimetres from the skin. Abbot Finn had not flinched which seemed to aggravate Lord Gudrunn a little.

  “I will leave you alive. That will be worse than death because you will carry the guilt for your colleagues’ demise.”

  The Abbot didn’t look up, he didn't say anything. He just stayed there with his head down and eyes closed.

  The Lord pointed at the lifeless bodies of the monks and they burst into green flames as had Jessika’s grandmother. He turned to look at the monastery's roof and it combusted as well. Soon the entire courtyard was engulfed in green flames. There was nothing to be done as those who witnessed it knew nothing could put them out.

  People were piling at the monastery courtyard exit to escape the magical flames.

  Voneg and his men used force to push everyone aside roughly and make room for Lord Gudrunn to exit the monastery grounds calmly without looking back. Everyone else followed him out of danger's way and started climbing down and away from the burning mountaintop spewing dark grey clouds of smoke into the crisp air.

  * * *

  Jessika was dragged away with the guards. She stared at the place she knew as comfort and love since childhood, now burning into oblivion. Her face reflected the sign of a person who lost all hope in the world.

  Meriaus may have saved her, but she knew she would never be the same again.

  * * *

  Meriaus turned his attention to the Monastery and used the confusion to stay behind. He sneaked over Abbot without being noticed by anyone from the Lord’s entourage.

  “Finn!” he pulled on the monk’s robe to get him to react. “Come on, we have to get out of here! Get up!”

  But Finn was not showing any signs of urgency or distress, he was kneeling and looking down. Meriaus had to physically hoist him up from the ground by the robe and drag him to safety.

  Meriaus threw cold water on his face and started scrubbing off the ashes. When he was done he looked up and stared at his reflexion in the eyes.

  “You should have done something,” he said to himself. “You should have done more!”

  He looked away unable to bear the sight of his own face and walked over to the dresser.

  “Meriaus,” The mirror said.

  He stopped in his tracks and slowly walked back to the sink. He looked up at the mirror and almost screamed at the sight of a face which was clearly not his.

  “What the…?” He stepped back and put his hand on his sword ready to take it out of the holster and… do what? Stab the mirror? “What are you?” he asked instead

  “Listen to me carefully, Meriaus. My name is Paldek Ras. I am a descendant of the Architects.”

  “I must be hallucinating…,” said Meriaus and grabbed his head in disbelief.

  “I assure you, you are not. Listen to me. I am here because the people of this kingdom are in danger from a tyrant- Gudrunn. He needs to be stopped before he hurts more innocent people or more importantly before he becomes too powerful. I need you to deal with him.”

  Meriaus looked at Paldek perplexed, “Clearly you are not familiar with the Lord, and he can't be defeated by someone like me, a mere mortal.”

  “I am more familiar with Gudrunn than you will ever be!” echoed Paldek’s voice in Meriaus’ head. The image in the mirror became brighter, with an eerie green tint and the room darkened.

  Meriaus looked around the room in wonder, “I..I understand.”

  "As I was saying, he has become a tyrant. Too powerful to control, too high on his own magic to be reasonable.”

  “Paldek, was it? How do you know this, who are you and how are you in my mirror?”

  “Meriaus, I am the person who granted Gudrunn his power in exchange for guarding a gateway to the place of origin of all life- Alpha Sinteres. But as you can tell for yourself he is not a protector, he is more preoccupied with being almighty. That should not be. Do you agree?”

  “Yes. He has crossed a line. Innocent people should never pay for a ruler’s ego. I want to do something. But he is too strong.”

  “I can help you defeat him. If you agree to be the one to stand up to him I will give you the power needed,” Paldek affirmed.

  Meriaus knew at this point there was no turning back. There was nothing positive to be gained staying loyal to Gudrunn, and he didn’t know his fate going forward defying the Lord. But he felt a sense of duty to his country folk, and those he gave his word and lost their lives.

  He answered with total clarity in his decision.

  “I will do it gladly.”

  Chapter 5

  Gudrunn went down the stairs slowly. His demeanor was tranquil but only on the surface. He felt furious that his wish had not been granted. On the inside, he was filled with rage. He had been humiliated by a lowly monk! A monk! An old useless fool who had spent his entire life listening to the world! Pathetic! And who was he? Lord Gudrunn, the supreme ruler of the kingdom, the only person alive on this planet capable of using the unlimited celestial power of Alpha Sinteres!

  Yet there still existed people in this world who defied his will. Well, that was about to change. He had been far too good. No one should ever get in his way or dare disobey his command. From now on, the people of the kingdom will live in a very different way.

  Upon his return home Gudrunn wasted no time in implementing his plans. He started off by banning all religion except the cult to his persona. He was deemed not only the supreme ruler but also their God. People were naturally upset as they were forcefully stripped of their various faiths. Temples of all different types were burned to the ground and all artifacts or religious symbols were banned. All regional leaders were replaced by Gudrunn’s family members. They were instructed to organize work camps in order to optimise the kingdom’s productivity and minimise insubordination.

  After the events in the mountain, Meriaus returned to the castle but he left shortly after. This time Gudrunn had crossed the line. First, Meriaus was going to take care of the Abbot and then- the rest of the kingdom. He needed to get to Gudrunn and his family members but their army was in the way. However, the lord had made Meriaus’ mission easier by stationing his own allies all over the kingdom where the disgruntled locals could take them out with a little coaxing from his supporters. He decided to ask for Paldek’s help.

  “I am going to take down his empire. But I need help from the people. But the more I grow my uprising, the more likely I am to get caught. Can you help me?” Meriaus asked Paldek when they met again in the mirror.

  “I can. Gudrunn can find anyone. I can’t take that away, but I can conceal you. Consider yourself impossible to be found. When the wrong people look at you they won't see anything,” Paldek told him.

  “
That is perfect,” Meriaus smiled.

  With that Meriaus became a phantom, a legend amongst people. He disappeared off the radar, stopped coming to meetings and answering orders and messages.

  People talked about him only in the most secret of places as anyone who withheld information about him was executed. He traveled in secret and organized coups in different parts of the kingdom where Gudrunn’s family members had been placed in charge. The people had enough and were ready to strike. One by one his relatives were being axed off and Gudrunn’s army was constantly having to put out fires.

  * * *

  “Call my Councilmen! Have them waiting for me in the palace immediately,” Gudrunn told Svenvard. He waited impatiently in the hall where the meetings were held. No one was showing up as fast as Gudrunn wanted so he took matters into his own hands. He transported the baffled members of his council in a blink of an eye using a teleportation spell on them.

  Once all of the councilmen regained their composure and some even vomited due to the strain teleportation put on a body the meeting could start. The twelve tasked with enforcing Gudrunn's will sat at a table to hear what their ruler had to say,

  “We are changing the way we do things in this kingdom. The attitude towards my power has clearly been too relaxed. I want total subordination.”

  "With all due respect my Lord, do you not have it?" asked one of the men.

  The Lord sighed and looked down. He was leaning on his fists on the table. A seconds past in silence and he looked up at the inquisitive councilman. Gudrunn’s eyes were a toxic green, his stare was fixed on the candid man. The councilman shifted in his seat uncomfortably and suddenly burst into green flames. The others around him jump away on instinct, not realizing the flames were cold to the touch to anyone but the unfortunate target. The burning man screamed and squirmed for a few brief seconds before the flames burned him to a pile of ash on the chair.

  Gudrunn’s eye returned to normal and the other men sat back down in an uncomfortable silence.

  “Where was I? Ah, yes, changes. Does anyone have information about Meriaus' whereabouts?” “We don’t know anything, my Lord.” “What about my egg?” “We haven’t found it yet.” “I am sick of this incompetence! I want the caverns in the Fris Mountain searched until the egg is found. Gather the thankful masses and organize a sweep of the region.”

  “Yes, my Lord,” everyone at the meeting replied in unison.

  “Which caverns exactly?” asked a brave councilman.

  “All of them.”

  No one knew the exact number of caverns in the mountain but it was common knowledge there were thousands.

  “We will need many many people. More than we employ in our service.”

  “Use the army,” another councilman generously suggested.

  “I still don’t think it would be enough people. The mountain is not welcoming. The teams would need to be very large for safety reasons and to carry all of the provisions and equipment. Unless we take decades upon decades to search, we would need a lot of extra help.”

  “Use the people of the kingdom. Every able man and woman. Like I said, changes,” Gudrunn chimed in.

  “Yes, my Lord. One more thing, I am afraid I have some bad news. One of your sons has been executed by the people of Harring city. They stormed his palace and he was killed,”

  Gudrunn sighed. Amadalia’s father.

  * * *

  Later that night, he broke the news to her but the girl didn’t even bat an eye. Her cold response surprised even Gudrunn. She didn’t care. She was perfect for his protege.

  * * *

  “Do you see Amadalia? We are the only two members of this family who are worthy of power. That is why it so important that your magic grows! And keep it a secret by all means.”

  Meriaus heard about the massive search operation and decided to get in touch with an old friend inside of the castle to help with his plan. Her name was Tenaria- the only councilwoman and the sister of Jessika. She shared Meriaus' moral and principles and was part of Gudrunn's inner circle. He was sure she could be trusted so she received a messenger bird with a time and place to meet. She had a blond pixie cut, almond-shaped eyes, and thin lips. She almost always wore black and high-heeled boots. When he arrived she was sitting on a stone bench smoking a wigar, a plant infused substance wrapped in heavy parchment for calming the nerves. She needed it for this encounter as Meriaus was a wanted man and being in his presence was a risk.

  “Thank you for coming. I know it’s dangerous.”

  “I was always on the fence with Gudrunn. I thought when he brought me in as a council there was going to be changes for the good,” the young woman reminisced, “Meriaus, what they did to her… my little sister… there is no forgiveness for that.”

  Meriaus heard rumours but only confirmed when Tenaria uttered it. After countless months of torture and abuse, Jessika had an accident while cleaning the upper towers of the castle.

  * * *

  The others servants working with her said she slipped and fell hundreds of feet to the surface below.

  * * *

  “She fought them off, even badly wounded a couple of them,” a smirk came to Tenaria’s face when she thought of her sister’s bravery, “But then they got her. Took her by the edge, slit her throat and released her as she was dying…,” she sobbed a bit.

  Meriaus remained silent, he knew there was a good reason Tenaria kept her family a secret. She never wanted them to be involved in all of this.

  And now, even with that, she lost two family members.

  * * *

  “They made it seem like an accident… but I know the truth,” her attitude changed to disgust as she utter the words, “if I only knew how to kill the bastard, I would have done it already.”

  “I may have a way to remedy that,” Meriaus answered reassuringly.

  “Let’s hope so. My brothers are working in Gudrunn’s entourage in the caverns. I don’t want them dying up a mountain. They wouldn’t know what to do up there.”

  “Perfect,” Meriaus grinned. The woman raised an eyebrow, not understanding to what he was referring.

  “I don’t know what you are talking about but I hope for your own good you are not asking my brothers to sacrifice themselves.”

  “It is going to be immensely risky for all of us. I can’t guarantee they will be safe, but I am giving you my word I will do everything in my power to subdue Gudrunn without casualties. I will bear the brunt, so to speak. And I am happy to do it. I have witnessed his cruelty for far too long. But I need help. I will do most of it myself but I can’t handle him all alone,” He explained.

  “Just tell me what you need. Jessika was brave enough in the face of evil, so I guess it’s my turn,” She sassed.

  Meriaus was impressed. But understood she had the proper motivation to end Gudrunn’s reign of terror as well.

  “I need a distraction. He’s looking for the egg, right? So a group of brothers will just so happen to find it.”

  “You want to draw him away from his guards? You know they are just for decoration right? He is extremely dangerous on his own.”

  “I know but it will still be better than having them around. And I am well aware of the scope of his magic. That’s why I have an ace up my sleeve. Something to match his power.”

  Meriaus knew he had to be very careful speaking of his connection to Paldek. If Gudrunn found out about it, there would be no telling the limits he would go to eliminate it.

  “Very well. You know how to reach me when you need me.”

  Tenaria got up and put out her wigar with the stiletto boot. She turned and sighed as she went back to the palace. Meriaus gave her hope, but she hoped for fruitful end.

  * * *

  Meriaus knew he would only have one chance at ending this conflict, so he would have to be fully prepared. With that, he disappeared into the shadows to work out the details of the plan.

  Chapter 6

  It was a sunny morning in the ca
pital city. In a modest but tidy house on one of the many cobbled streets, a young mother was preparing breakfast for her family.

  * * *

  “Good morning,” her husband, David, greeted and sat down at the kitchen table with a little girl sitting on his shoulders.

  “Good morning,” the woman answered and placed a bowl of oatmeal in front of him, kissed his forehead and took their two-year-old daughter off his shoulders.

  “Mom!” shouted a young boy as he ran into the kitchen, “Mom!”

  “What is it, Randor?”

  “I had that dream again!”

  “Alright, come on, have your breakfast, because you have to leave in a little bit,” she advised as she put a spoon into his hand.

  The boy was fidgeting in his chair and spitting oatmeal everywhere while he excitedly told his parent about his fascinating dream.

  Suddenly, there was a loud banging on the door.

  “Open up, by the Lord’s command!”

  David went to the door with a perplexed look on his face.

  Two royal guards were standing at his doorstep. The one in front announced, “By the Lord’s decree you are hereby required to leave immediately and join the search party leaving for the Fris mountains as soon as possible. You will be stationed in a camp with the rest of the volunteers,” the guard scanned the scene in the kitchen and then questioned,

  “How many children do you have? Is there anyone else who can take care of them instead of their mother?”

  “No, it’s just the two of us. We have two children. Wait a minute I can’t just leave my family…”