Alutar: The Great Demon (81 page)

“He is alive,” she announced softly as she began to cast a healing spell.

“He won’t be alive for long if we remain here,” warned Zynor. “That creature’s howling will announce our location to every demon in the area. We will not be able to stand against them.”

“I will carry Atule,” offered the dwarven mage. “Find us a new spot to hide, Eulena.”

The elf nodded and rose. The dwarf bent down and picked up Atule’s body, and the group moved stealthily away from the wailing demon. Before they had gone very far, the canopy came alive as demons broke through the leaves in search of their wounded brother. Eulena picked up the pace as the demons were making so much noise that she did not fear them hearing the group fleeing. After a few minutes, the pillar came into view. Eulena moved just past it and signaled for Dorforun to put down Atule’s body in the bushes.

“Are the pillars active?” asked the dwarf

“I do not know,” replied Eulena, “but this is where we will make our stand. The demons are outside the enclosure now, and we are inside it. We can only pray that Valera was successful, or soon will be. It will not take the demons long to find us. Hide Atule’s body in those bushes. I will try to heal him there before the demons get here, but I don’t want him visible once they arrive. He cannot defend himself, and we will be too busy to keep watch over him.”

Dorforun nodded and gently placed Atule’s body in the bushes.

“The pillars are not active yet,” declared Zynor.

“How do you know?” asked Eulena.

“There is a certain feel to the air when you are within a protected enclosure,” answered the Zaroccan mage. “It feels as if you are high atop a mountain. Have you never felt it?”

Eulena shook her head and knelt next to Atule. Moments later, the first demon arrived. Zynor detected it before the others, and he whispered a warning. Eulena silently withdrew from Atule’s side and slid behind a tree. Dorforun and Zynor had already chosen spots. The demon halted and stared puzzling at the stone pillar. Dorforun did not want to give the demon time to ponder the pillar’s purpose because the destruction of it would doom them all. He stepped out of hiding and sent a magical projectile at the demon’s face. The projectile missed the demon’s eyes and caused no major damage, but the demon howled from the sting of the missile. The demon cast a tongue of flame at the dwarf, but Dorforun had already erected his shields. The fire flared when it hit the invisible barrier, and the demon charged the dwarf before the flames petered out. Eulena and Zynor both attacked the charging demon with stone-splitting missiles, and they did not miss. The blinded demon screamed in agony and its wings flared to life as it halted its charge. It struck out with its wings, seeking to kill the dwarf that stood somewhere before it. Dorforun raised both arms and sent a missile into each of the wings. The demon retreated, but its howling had already alerted the other demons.

The mages slid back into their hiding spots just as three more demons arrived. The demons spoke softly to their wounded brother and then advanced cautiously. The demons spread out and halted, their eyes searching the trees for any sign of their enemy. Suddenly, a tree exploded not far from Dorforun. Moments later, another tree exploded, this one closer than the last. The dwarf knew that his tree would be next. He inhaled deeply and stepped into the open, both arms rising to attack the demons. The dwarf released two projectiles, but he never saw them hit. A powerful blast picked up the dwarf and flung him through the air. His body only stopped flying when it impaled itself on a tree branch. Unexpectedly, another tree exploded, and Eulena knew that the demons came prepared to win the battle. They would methodically explode every tree in the area until they had destroyed everyone. She gathered her courage and was about to step out and attack the demons when the Mage suddenly appeared out of thin air. The demons chattered nervously, and Eulena heard the rapid beating of several pairs of wings. She poked her head around the tree and saw no demons in sight. She sighed with relief.

“Thank goodness that you arrived,” Eulena said to the Mage. “I thought we were all about to die.”

Fakir Aziz did not answer. Eulena frowned and walked up to the Mage. She stared at him for a moment and then passed her hand through the illusion. She whirled to face Zynor.

“You were not supposed to do that,” she scowled. “You scared them away. Our purpose is to provide a distraction.”

“We are no distraction if we are all dead,” retorted Zynor. “Be thankful for your life and quickly tend to the dwarf.” Zynor turned and gazed at Dorforun. The corners of his mouth turned down and his brow creased with concern. “If he still lives,” Zynor added.

Eulena nodded, her anger dissipated at the thought of the dwarf dying. She strode to where Dorforun was hanging from a limb. She grimaced as she examined the dwarf. She turned to call for Zynor’s help getting the dwarf down to the ground and found him standing beside her.

“The pillars are active,” Zynor stated softly. “Shall I help you get him down?”

Eulena paused and her brow creased as she sniffed the air. “I can sense the difference,” she said with a tone of wonder in her voice. “Did you already know this when you cast the illusion of Fakir Aziz?”

“Yes,” smiled Zynor, “but I would have done so in any event. While I would willingly die in the service of the Mage, our deaths back there would have served no purpose. Alive, we could have created another distraction, but dead, we offer nothing to the Mage or anyone else.”

* * * *

Valera sighed anxiously as she cast the spell on the small capstone in her hands. She glanced over at Kalmar and called softly, “This is the last one. The pillars will be active as soon as I place it. Get ready to flee back to the others.”

“Wait,” Kalmar called back as he glanced across the lava lake from his place of concealment. “There are too many demons still within the enclosure. Fakir Aziz wanted them outside the pillars.”

“What can we do about it?” frowned Valera. “If I don’t cap the pillar, there will be no protection at all.”

“I understand,” replied Kalmar as he watched the Great Demon attacking illusions of the Mage, “but I have an idea that might work. We have to be coordinated well for this to work. I am going to cast an illusion between Alutar and Fakir Aziz. My illusion will hide the illusions that the Mage is using to distract Alutar. When I do that, you need to cast an illusion of Fakir Aziz on the opposite shore behind Alutar’s back. Cast it so that the Mage is facing the demons and not Alutar.”

Valera gazed at the shoreline behind Alutar’s back. A score of demons gathered around the bloodstained altar a few paces back from the edge of the lava lake. Slowly, she nodded in understanding.

“You hope that the illusion will cause the demons to flee?” she asked to confirm her thoughts.

“Exactly,” affirmed Kalmar. “The illusion only needs to last long enough to force them from the enclosure. As soon as they move, cap the pillar and activate it.”

“Alright,” agreed Valera. “I am ready.”

Kalmar cast his illusion, presenting a northern shoreline devoid of the Mage. Valera swiftly created her illusion placing it within a dozen paces of the demons. The effect was immediate. The demon’s screeched in surprise and fled from the altar, causing Alutar to turn his head to find the cause of the disturbance. Valera quickly dropped her illusion and capped the pillar. She activated it and swiftly moved into the trees alongside Kalmar.

“It is done,” Valera said with a sigh of relief. “Let’s rejoin the others.”

“We missed one,” frowned Kalmar as he pointed at Alutar. “There is a demon on his back. I did not see it until the Great Demon turned.”

“The Mage will have to deal with it,” replied Valera. “Let’s go.”

* * * *

In the center of the northern shore, Fakir Aziz stood looking at the Great Demon. Alutar cast a spell at the Mage, and Fakir Aziz disappeared, only to reappear several paces to the left. Alutar growled and sent another spell at the Mage. Again the vision disappeared and reappeared in another place. After several more attempts at hitting the moving Mage, Alutar grew frustrated. He spread his arms wide and sent forth a spell of enormous destruction. Along hundreds of paces of shoreline, the spell hit the land with devastating power. Thousands of trees exploded, their pieces flying northward and destroying everything in their path. Far to the east, the real Fakir Aziz stood and watched. Feeling a tingle in the air that signified the completion of the final pillar, the Mage wasted no more effort on illusions. With a wave of his hand, Fakir Aziz called forth a spell detailed in the Origin Scroll. In the blink of an eye, Alutar vanished along with the lava lake and bloodstained altar on the southern shore. Left in place of the lava lake was a huge depression in the ground with magma bubbling up to the surface. The Mage stared over the depression and cast another spell. Nothing appeared to happen, but the Mage smiled in satisfaction. With the casting of a third spell, the magma withdrew from the depression to sink deep into the center of the planet. Nearly done with the lava lake, the Mage turned and started walking eastward. After a while, he came upon the mages who had traveled with him. He knelt next to Eulena and examined the dwarf.

“Your healing is impressive,” he said to Eulena. “May I help?”

“Please do,” smiled the elf.

Fakir Aziz placed his hands on the wounded dwarf. Eulena watched as the gaping hole in the dwarf’s chest disappeared. After a moment, Dorforun’s eyes opened, and he gazed up at Fakir Aziz.

“Have I died?” the dwarf asked.

“Not yet,” smiled Fakir Aziz as he rose to his feet. “I will leave you in the capable hands of an elf while I check on Atule.”

Zynor led the Mage to the bushes where Atule’s body was hidden. Fakir Aziz knelt next to Atule and smiled.

“He has no serious ailment,” announced the Mage as he woke Atule. “His shields protected him from injury.”

“The demon’s blast knocked him out then,” Zynor said distractedly as he watched Valera and Kalmar arrive. “I guess we only lost Crystil.”

Atule glared at Zynor. “Only?” he scowled. “People are not animals, Zynor. The loss of Crystil will be felt by many.”

“He meant no harm,” Fakir Aziz said as he stood up and helped Atule to his feet. “And while the loss of Crystil may be felt by many, they will treasure their memories of her forever. I know that you will, too, Atule.”

Fakir Aziz turned and walked to the edge of the depression. He cast a spell, and a spring bubbled to life. The water gushed out of the ground and began to form a lake where the lava had existed since the Collapse of the Universes. He stood there watching the basin fill, and the others gathered around him.

“What happened to Alutar?” asked Dorforun.

“I banished him to a new Universe,” answered the Mage. “It will be a long time before he bothers anyone again.”

“Are you sure?” asked Atule.

“The Great Demon cannot sense Junctions,” replied Zynor. “He is trapped.”

“Not true,” frowned Kalmar. “We saw him disappear on the way back. He may not be able to see Junctions, but I am sure that the demons can. There was a demon on Alutar’s back when he vanished.”

“D’Artim,” sighed the Mage. “I only saw him clinging to his master’s back at the moment that Alutar was banished, but his ability to sense Junctions will not help Alutar.”

“Why is that?” questioned Valera.

“Because I removed the Junction after I created the Universe,” answered the Mage. “There is no Junction for the demon to see.”

“Is our service to you done then?” asked Eulena.

“For now,” smiled Fakir Aziz, “but there is still much that needs to be done. It is now time for this world to heal, and you can start that healing right here, Eulena. Gather your people from Despair and lead them to this Forest of Death. Have the Dielderal accept this land as their own. They are to nurture it and rejuvenate it. For the rest of you,” the Mage continued as he turned away from the new lake and glanced at the mages, “Each of you has a new path to travel that is unlike your previous life. May each of you walk that path with wisdom and understanding. Retrieve the unicorns.”

The group of mages turned and started walking towards the place where they had left the unicorns. After a few steps, Zynor halted and turned around. The others sensed Zynor halting, and they, too, stopped and turned. They all gazed in wonder at the empty shoreline. Fakir Aziz was gone.

The coronation of Emperor Taerin was a grand affair, celebrating not only the start of a new reign in the Empire of Barouk, but also a new beginning for all the countries of Zara. The most important people of the continent were invited and attended, although many wondered how some of them could have possibly made it all the way to Despair on such short notice. The rulers from the countries west of the Barrier refused to discuss their travel arrangements. The attendees from the countries bordering the Sea of Tears traveled by ship, the mysterious patches of kelp having suddenly disappeared from the harbor of Despair. To set the mood for the occasion, Taerin had adjusted the coronation ceremonies to reflect the times. He demanded that the ceremony be bereft of the usual pomp and circumstance and instead focus on the healing of the Empire of Barouk and of all the other nations of Zara.

There was still a reception dinner after the ceremony, but that too was altered. According to tradition, the emperor’s table was usually shared with the elite nobles of Barouk, but on this occasion, the new emperor shared his table with the kings and queens of the other nations. While the modification caused a bit of a stir, it was the seating of King Elengal and King Drakarik that truly brought gasps from the nobles. Emperor Taerin had specifically requested that the elven king and the dwarven king occupy the seats on either side of him. If anyone had doubted the sincerity of Taerin’s statement that things would never again be allowed to return to how they were in the days of the Federation, the reception certainly was evidence that his words were genuine. He treated all of the other monarchs as one would treat a brother or sister. When the meal was finished, Emperor Taerin gave a short speech that stressed cooperation among all nations to ensure a peaceful world. Entertainment usually followed the meal in a coronation, but Taerin had dispensed with it. Instead, he ended his speech with a call for everyone to become better acquainted with one other. After a few awkward moments of silence, the attendees began to mingle.