Izikiel (15 page)

A sudden gust of wind blew a thin layer of snow into the air. It fell slowly back down, spiralling on invisible currents of air as it did. The ice floes continued their relentless assault on one another as the dark waters of the frozen lake splashed around them. None of it registered on Izikiel as he considered what the white robed stranger had just told him.
He was clearly a true believer and a powerful one at that. But he seemed somehow different. Izikiel couldn’t figure out what it was.

His thoughts were interrupted by Te’Anne.

‘What have you done to my brother!’ she demanded.

Stepping forward
, she raised her weapon. The man calling himself the Baron looked over at the two entombed figures. Furrowing his brow, he said, ‘Please accept my sincerest apologies, dear lady. I judged you to be an enemy and reacted accordingly.’

‘
Do something then!’ Te’Anne exclaimed.

The Baron turned his hooded head towards Izikiel
.

‘
If Izikiel would care to invoke the power of the Flame?’

‘
What do you need me to do?’ Izikiel asked.

‘
Judging from what I saw earlier you have the power to command the element of fire. If you would be so kind as to melt the ice around your companions then I will do the rest,’ the Baron said. ‘Unless of course you’d rather wait for the ice to melt?’

‘
How long will that take?’

‘
Forever, I imagine. It never climbs above minus twenty.’

‘
Alright, give me a moment.’

Izikiel centred his thoughts
and called forth the power once more.

‘
Ignis
’

A small ball of fire sprang to life in front of
him. He willed it towards where Xavier and Jonas were entombed in the ice. The fire obeyed his thoughts and hovered just above the two figures. Slowly, the ice began to melt. At first only small drops of water formed on the surface of the ice. Then, as Izikiel increased the heat, the ice began to dissolve. Soon, it was gone. Xavier and Jonas slumped forward. They hit the ground with a soft thump as their faces sank into the snow.

‘
Xavier!’ Te’Anne cried out.

S
he ran towards her brother. The white robed figure of the Baron held up his hand as he said, ‘Please, stand back. Your companions are suffering from extreme hypothermia after being encased in the ice.’

‘
You’ve killed them! I’ll...’

Te’Anne
aimed her weapon at the Baron and prepared to fire. Izikiel managed to move in front of her just in time. Holding up his hands, he pleaded with her to put her weapon down.

‘
Te’Anne, give him a chance.’

‘
No, we have to -’

‘
Please Te’Anne. Trust me.’

She
reluctantly lowered her weapon. Izikiel turned to the Baron.

‘Help them, please.’

The true believer knelt next to the immobile form of Xavier. Turning him over, the Baron placed the palm of his hand on Xavier’s chest. Izikiel realised that the Baron seemed unaffected by the cold. Before he had time to consider this further, the Baron spoke another unfamiliar word in the ancient language.

‘
Curatio
’

The face shield on Izikiel’s snow suit darkened automatically as the Baron’s hand lit up with the intensity of a distant star. Just as quickly
, the light subsided and Xavier stirred. At first the large scavenger appeared to be confused. Looking around, he seemed to regain his bearings as he slowly rolled to a standing position and aimed his weapon at the white robed figure kneeling next to Jonas.

‘
Wait!’ Izikiel called out. ‘He’s trying to help us.’

Xavier lowered his weapon
. The Baron healed Jonas. Moments after the second blinding flash of light, Jonas stood up. Looking around, he turned towards Izikiel.

‘
So I take it that we’ve found what we were looking for?’

‘
I believe so,’ Izikiel replied. ‘This is Baron Stefan, a true believer.’

The white robed man bowed as he was introduced to the two former security officers.
Then his face broke out in a smile.

‘
No hard feelings I trust, gentlemen?’

‘
Well, I don’t know what you did to us but I’ve never felt better,’ Jonas replied. Lifting his leg up, he flexed it back and forth. ‘Even the pain from an old training accident seems to have gone.’

‘
The power of the Eternal Flame can not only destroy but it can heal also.’

‘
Well I’m just glad that the two of you are alright,’ Te’Anne said.

‘
So what do we do now?’ Xavier asked as he holstered his weapon.

‘
Now, I invite you all to my home. Young Izikiel and I have much to discuss and I fear that there are some harsh truths which won’t be easy for him to hear. Now, if you’ll follow me.’

The Baro
n moved towards the frozen lake. The others followed him. Standing on the edge of the lake, they watched as two particularly sizeable ice floes collided. The impact sent a tremor through the ground. Unphased, the Baron raised his arms up and spoke a single word in the ancient language.

‘
Algor
’

She
ets of dense ice erupted from the Baron’s hands. Pulsing outwards in waves across the lake, they quickly reached the other side. Moving from side to side, the Baron lowered his hands after a few moments. Izikiel marvelled at the true believer’s power. The ice floes stood locked in place as the lake beneath them had been completely frozen over. Even the water which had sprayed upwards from the various impacts had been frozen in place. The Baron turned his hooded head back towards them.

‘
Watch your step.’

The trip across the frozen lake only
took them about half an hour. Their progress had been slow at first as the ice creaked underneath their feet in an alarming fashion. But when nothing happened after a few steps, they picked up their pace considerably. The weather changed abruptly as the sky clouded over to a dark grey. Then it started snowing. Thick flakes of white snow spiralled down from the sky to add to the blanket already on the ground. Their feet sank in almost up to their knees as they left the icy surface of the lake behind and reached the base of the mountain. Here, they waited as the Baron stopped in front of an overhanging rock. Raising his right hand, the true believer spoke a familiar word in the ancient language.

‘
Repulso
’

A section of the rock face slid upwards with a deep rumbling sound. Without waiting for them
, the Baron walked through and disappeared into the darkened tunnel within. Motioning to the others, Izikiel stepped through the opening. For a moment, he couldn’t see anything as his eyes adjusted to the sparse light. He contemplated using the power of the Eternal Flame, as Da’Amo had, to light their way. Then he realised that he had called upon the Eternal Flame twice in the past hour. One more time and he would most likely pass out from the effort.

‘
Anyone have a light?’ he asked.

‘
Sure,’ Xavier replied.

A
faint metallic click echoed in the darkness and then the tunnel was bathed in a synthetic white light. Xavier moved the light emitting device in his hand from side to side.

‘
This tunnel is not natural,’ he said.

‘
I suspect that we are entering another stronghold of the Eternal Flame. Come on, we’d better hurry,’ Izikiel said.

T
hey set off down the tunnel. There was no sign of the Baron. As they walked down the tunnel, Izikiel began to feel the now familiar warmth of the Eternal Flame building within him. Unlike before, this time it was only a mild heat. He began to sweat within his snow suit. After a few more steps, he removed his face shield and hood.

‘
You feel it too?’ Te’Anne’s voice asked over the com.

‘
Yes. It’s the power of the Eternal Flame,’ Izikiel replied. ‘I think it’s safe to remove the snow suits.’

They all stopped and
climbed out of their bulky snow suits. Folding them up, they stowed them away in their packs.

‘
Xavier, your eyes!’ Te’Anne exclaimed.

Izikiel turned to look at
the ex-security officer. Xavier’s dark pupils stared back at him with a look of surprise.
Both
his eyes were black. Te’Anne ran over and hugged her brother.

‘Beloved Serafine you’re back to normal
!’

‘I guess so
but how?’ Xavier asked.

Izikiel s
miled.

‘The power of the Eternal Flame. When the Baron healed you he must have repaired the damage from the desert wolf attack, just like he healed an old injury of Jonas’.’

‘Well, however it happened, I’m grateful,’ Te’Anne said, letting go of her brother.

Clad only
in their dark grey polyformic clothing, they continued down the tunnel. The ground beneath them sloped down at a moderate angle. After a while it levelled out. Izikiel realised that he could hear the sound of running water. Looking ahead, he saw a cavern opening up before them. Stepping through an archway, he stared in wonder at the incredible sight before him.

They were on a stone bridge which ran through the
centre of a gigantic cavern. Water cascaded down with thunderous noise on either side from twin waterfalls high in the walls. Far above, Izikiel could see glowing stalactites pointing down at them. The entire cavern was bathed in a soft, blue light. His gaze was drawn to the structure in the centre of the bridge. About three storeys high, it was constructed of large, square blocks of stone. Essentially round, it had a recessed entrance and a squared off top storey with regular openings along its sides to allow light in. Izikiel guessed that the inside had to be made of a highly reflective material as the structure glowed with an inner light. The overall effect was awe inspiring.

T
he touch of the Eternal Flame washed over him. But unlike the searing heat and pain that he had experienced every other time, here it was a soothing warmth. Feeling instantly at ease, Izikiel felt his doubts fading away as he basked in the glow of the Eternal Flame. Its power flowed through him. It imbued him with a sense of strength and purpose. He surrendered to its power completely, allowing his mind to float around the cavern on invisible currents of solar energy.

‘
Welcome, Izikiel,’ a distant voice said.

His attention slowly returned to his body
. He blinked and found the Baron standing before him. The true believer’s eyes shone with an inner fire as his white hair glowed with the reflected light of the cavern.

‘
What is this place?’ Izikiel asked.

‘
This is the last remaining
Ecclesia
, a temple of the Eternal Flame.’

‘
I feel...different here.’

The Baron smiled.

‘The power of the Eternal Flame flows through the
Ecclesia
. It is like a direct conduit to the deity itself. Unlike when you make contact in the outside world where you have to reach across the physical cosmos, here the Eternal Flame’s light shines directly onto you.’

‘
Incredible,’ Izikiel replied.

‘
Yes. But it was even more impressive when it was full of true believers. Now, alas, I fear that I am the only one left. I am the final Guardian of the Eternal Flame on this frozen relic of a world.’

‘
How is it that the Void Lords have not sensed this place?’

The Baron stopped walking. Turning towards Izikiel
, he replied, ‘They have sensed it but the
Ecclesia
prevents them from getting close. It is like a burning fire which they cannot touch. It would be the same if a true believer were to approach the Void.’

Izikiel nodded his understanding. His brief contact with the
darkness of the Void through the void spawn was enough to convince him of the truth of what the Baron had said. They resumed walking and approached the archway to the illuminated structure. Pausing on the threshold, Izikiel felt the presence of the Eternal Flame rise to a palpable level. He half expected a flaming tendril of molten plasma to rise up out of the floor. Casting the thought aside, he looked around. The interior of the structure was as he had suspected, made of a highly reflective material. His eyes widened slightly as he turned to the true believer standing next to him.

‘
Is that...?’

The Baron nodded his head.

‘Yes. The entire
Ecclesia
is made of solid gold.’