Ancient Prophecy (27 page)

The fairies jumped for joy and hugged each other and swung partners around and around in circles. Little buckets dipped into the flowing stream and were carried back to the center of the orchard.

When all the commotion subsided Egam was approached by Queen Mita and a troop of fairies. Midge stood at the head of the column of little armored warriors, each resplendent in shiny chain mail and small shiny helmets covering their green heads. Half of the fairy army carried sharpened spears and the other half carried tiny bows with little quivers slung over their backs between their wings.

Queen Mita hovered before Egam’s face, her blue body shimmering in the morning light. “Great Mage,” she began, “my warriors stand ready to accompany you on your long journey to conquer the evil demon, Alutar. My son, Midge, shall lead our warriors and is at your command.”

Egam smiled at the Queen and nodded his head. “Your Highness,” thanked Egam, “your warriors are, indeed, very brave and noble to undertake such a journey. My task, however, requires only a guide as my battle with the demon will not be solved by simple warfare. For you to risk your son on my behalf speaks very highly of the fairies and none may say that Queen Mita shirks any responsibility. If you would offer only your son to guide and accompany me, your contribution to the imprisonment of Alutar would be great and wondrous.”

The Queen of the Fairies smiled at the Mage. “You are a wise and wondrous man. Many would have spurned my offer because my warriors are tiny, others because their egos would not allow them to require help, but you seek that which will aid your cause and yet not more than is needed to perform your task. My son, Midge, is yours to command. May you both be victorious and return to us unharmed. The gods go with you, Mage.”

Egam smiled and bowed to the Queen. He tapped his shoulder and Midge flew to alight on his chosen spot. With cheers and jubilation the two warriors moved out of camp to track down the demon, Alutar.

“Thank you for allowing me to accompany you, Mage,” beamed Midge.

“No, thank you Prince Midge, for allowing me your company,” replied Egam. “Which way do we go?”

Sarac stood in his new study readying himself for the incantation, the Book of the Beginning laid open to the proper page. Sarac’s castle had been hurriedly built atop Mount Kalas, the tallest peak in the world. At the very top of his castle was a tall tower with a barren, round floor. It was from this tower that he wished to incant the spell and view the transformation of the Universes. At this very moment Lattimer was calling on the Inner Circle to assemble on the tower to bear witness to the beginning of the Dark One’s reign.

Sarac walked to the closet and withdrew his new outfit, a long, flowing, black velvet robe edged with wide, golden brocade and gold fringe. He jubilantly donned the robe and reached for his specially made gold crown inset with an amethyst, onyx, emerald, ruby, diamond, opal and a sapphire to represent his reign over the seven Universes. A long, gold scepter, also inset with the seven jewels, completed the wardrobe of the Dark One.

Sarac returned to his desk to reread the spell one last time and ascended to the top of the tower. The Black Devils of the Inner Circle were ringed around a pulpit set in the center of the floor of the tower.

Sarac rotated himself, gazing once on each member of his chosen followers, pausing only slightly at the empty spots in the rank, which signified the lost members of his troop of magicians.

“Welcome to my tower, which shall hereafter be referred to as the Tower of Destruction,” the Dark One began. “We have waited long for this moment and you have all earned the right to be here and witness the destruction of the Universes and the birth of the Dark One. Each of you, the chosen of my Inner Circle, shall kneel and swear fealty to the one true Lord of the Universes, Sarac, the Dark One.”

Lattimer started the ritual and each member of the Inner Circle kneeled in turn and swore fealty to Sarac, the Dark One, Lord of the Universes. Sarac turned and nodded to each devotee as his or her pledge was made, savoring the headiness of true power. When the rituals were completed Sarac gazed out over the Boulder Mountains and viewed his future domain. After a long prolonged silence Sarac bade his Black Devils to rise and pay witness to the birth of a new age.

“Devotees, observe the power of the Dark One!” commanded Sarac.

Seven Universes were created

A home for every race

Seven Stones it was stated

To signify each place

Separated they remain

Since the start of time

Until they’re called asunder

By reciting this short rhyme

By the Light of the HEAVENS

I hereby command

The end of the Universes

By my own hand.

At the last of the verse, Sarac raised his scepter high and lightning flashed from it to the far corners of the world. The ground shook with a gigantic rumbling that seemed to shake the very foundations of life itself. The sky flashed from black to blue to green to red and, finally, to a searing white. The clouds rushed by at an ever-increasing speed until they appeared as a ring around the globe, stretching from horizon to horizon. The world seemed to shiver and tilt and right itself again, like a top leaning into a spin and coming upright again.

When the world began to stabilize and the Black Devils’ vision cleared, Sarac again raised his scepter and incanted another spell. This time the ring of clouds darkened through the shades of the rainbow until it was a dark, murky black. The ring expanded on each side and the black cloud spread to encompass the world, blotting out all but the brightest sun.

“Behold!” shouted Sarac, “The Dark One joins with the Lord of the Universes and becomes one.”

“May his reign last forever!” Lattimer shouted.

“What is it that you are looking for, Mage?” asked Midge, the fairy Prince.

“Alutar’s hiding place,” answered Egam. “There are places where the Universes combine called Junctions. I am seeking for these Junctions as you trace the path the demon took. Alutar entered Sagina somehow. It is possible that he returned along the same path and passed back into his own prison.”

“If he is back in his own prison, will you still have to battle him?” queried the tiny warrior.

“As long as he has a Junction to get out, I must fight to banish him,” Egam replied.

“The trail turns here, Mage,” warned the fairy. “Watch your step. This is where I lost him.”

Egam turned the bend and cast the Path Finder spell again. Directly ahead of him, a shimmering of the air indicated a Junction. “This is as far as you go, Midge,” ordered the Mage.

“But I wish to go all of the way with you,” Midge protested.

Egam stopped and took the fairy in his hand. “If I remember correctly, Queen Mita left you in my command and it is my order that you proceed no further.”

The fairy warrior was about to protest again, but he knew that arguing with the Mage would not accomplish anything.

“Look, Midge,” Egam explained, “Alutar is a demon of great power. The last time I battled him it took me a thousand years to recover. I am willing to take that risk again because it is necessary, but it is not necessary to squander your life. Your people have much to do to rebuild your civilization and Queen Mita will need every fairy she can find. I do not doubt your abilities or your devotion and courage; however, life is sacred and it should not be wasted by foolish displays of bravado. Wait one day for me here. If I do not return by then, I will not be coming and the task of containing Alutar will fall to someone else. You must be available to guide that person to this place.”

“How will I know this other person when he arrives?” inquired Midge.

“You will know,” declared Egam. “The person will be seeking Alutar.”

Egam placed the fairy Prince on a rock and turned to pass through the Junction. Egam started through the Junction and faced Alutar waiting for him. He did not expect Alutar to be standing at the very Junction to his old prison and jumped back to prepare his wards. As Egam jumped back through the Junction, the ground began to tremble and rocks began to slide. The path in front of him broke away and shattered into a newborn crevice. Egam felt the funny sensation of falling through the air, but his feet never left the path.

The sky began to twirl and Egam felt dizzy. He placed his hand on the large rocks next to the path and watched the brilliant display of colors that danced across the sky. The clouds began to race across the sky combining together like a wide river reducing for passage through a narrow chasm. The clouds turned black and began to refill the sky. Within moments the sky was black and the rumbling ceased.

“What was that?” shouted Midge.

“That,” explained Egam, “was the sealing of Alutar’s prison, but it is not a cause for celebration.” Egam cast the Path Finder spell and found no Junctions visible. He sat down on the path and drank a bit of water.

“Someone,” the Mage continued, “just destroyed your Universe and I believe it was Sarac, the Dark One.”

“Then my Queen and her colony are...“ began Midge.

“No,” clarified Egam. “your people are as safe as any others. There will be great damage around the world because of conflicts between Universes, but destroying a Universe by itself does not necessarily mean death for its inhabitants. The inhabitants of a destroyed Universe will merge with the inhabitants of the Universe in which the spell was cast. The problems that arise are because no two things may occupy the same space at the same time. If there was a rock where you are standing in the other Universe, you and the rock would merge. I presume that I do not have to explain that it would not fare very well for you in that example.”

Egam picked up the little fairy and placed him on his shoulder. “The different Universes have pretty much the same geological features, but there are differences. The crevice that opened up before us is an example. I believe that some other Universe had that crevice and this one did not. See, the bottom of the crevice is flat as if it was the beginning of a dwarf tunnel. The rocks that now fill it were part of this Universe, but they no longer had anything to rest upon, so they fell. If the spell was cast from this Universe, the tunnel would probably no longer have an opening.”

“Why would someone want to destroy a Universe?” asked Midge.

“Power and greed, Midge,” answered Egam. “The ancient prophecy foretold of this destruction and it is not limited to your Universe. Your people must be very cautious from now on. More than magicians and ogres will inhabit your world. Peoples and creatures of all sorts will now live together under the cloud of the Dark One.”

“Then Alutar is still alive and can come back?” worried Midge.

“No,” answered the Mage. “Originally there were seven Universes and in their place there is now one. The Universe that I created for Alutar’s prison was not one of those seven, nor was the Universe that the magicians were in. Those two Universes will still exist separately. What this means is that Alutar is stuck back in his prison again, but a new evil is upon the land and must be dealt with.”

“Can I help fight that evil?” inquired the fairy Prince.

“We must all fight it, Midge,” sighed Egam, “but I cannot rid the world of the evil’s source. There are others who will be called on to perform that task and all you and I can do is to try to help.”

Egam began walking back to the orchard where Queen Mita and her colony of fairies would be.

King Solva and Queen Alysa were sitting on a bench overlooking one of the many decorative pools that dotted the City of Sorelderal when the ground began to rumble. He looked curiously as the surface of the pool began to ripple like a bowl of water that had just been set down on a table. The trees started swaying as the rumbling intensified and the sky began to dance with colors like a thousand intersecting rainbows competing for their position in the heavens. Dazzled by the display of colorful brilliance in the sky, he almost missed the tremors that shook the Tower of Peace. Leaping to his feet, he gazed at the great tower and shook his head as if to clear his vision. Everywhere he looked around Sorelderal, the scenery was changing. Trees were disappearing or appearing in odd places. One tree materialized in the pool that he and Queen Alysa had been sitting by. The lengthy tree bridges that connected structures in the trees above were crumbling down onto the paths below.

The most shocking sight of all, however, was that large trees had materialized in the base of the Tower of Peace. Three large trees became part of the base of the tower, replacing the blocks of stone that had been laid to support the huge stone structure. He reached back and grabbed his Queen’s hands and hoisted her to her feet. The base of the great tower started to crumble and the newly materialized trees shattered with the sound of an explosion.

The Tower of Peace, symbol of harmony between dwarves and elves, started tilting towards Sorelderal’s monarch and he quickly lead the Queen to safety. With a peal of thunder, the mighty tower crashed to the ground sending massive blocks of stone hurtling off in all directions. King Solva hurried Queen Alysa to the ground and covered her body with his own.

When the shaking subsided, King Solva surveyed the damage. Sorelderal was clearly destroyed. The Tower of Peace was nothing more than a fallen column of rubble. Bodies lay crushed under its massive stone blocks. The stream that ran through the city now ran through in an entirely different path, leaving a dry gully were it used to flow and flooding the area that it now ran through. King Solva could not see a single tree structure still standing in the stately trees. Most of the ground buildings were either completely destroyed or, at least, heavily damaged.

Even as he stood surveying the damage, the sky began to turn black and King Solva had an enormous foreboding of evil times ahead.

General Fernandez was running along the main street of Kantor with six of his officers getting his daily dose of exercise when the rumbling began. He abruptly stopped and spun in a complete circle seeking the origin of the disturbance. The rumbling increased and horses along the street started bolting, throwing their riders or taking their carriages on a wild path through the city. One of the General’s companions pointed towards the sky and the General looked up to see a dazzling display of fireworks on a scale so massive that it dwarfed anything he had ever seen.