Secrets of Arkana Fortress (19 page)

              Byde had adorned himself with his robes again – he was more comfortable wearing them than the oversized shirt and trousers he had been loaned. He had thanked Olen and Ilsa for their kindness and generosity in helping him, but had decided to part ways in order to do what he felt was necessary.

He shuffled along one aisle, his eyes perusing the spines of each and every book on the shelves… and that involved a lot of looking. He rubbed his eyes with his fists and continued on, tenaciously scanning for something about ancient dark arts among the rest of the texts on magic. There were a lot of pieces on the basics of magic wielding, some about the application of it all, and a fair number on the various magic elements and powers recorded over the years.

             
‘Now that one might be useful,’
Byde thought to himself as he picked one of them up, entitled “Elements & Powers: What Do We Know?”, and tucked it under his arm. He carried on, this time tracing his line of sight with his forefinger for better accuracy. It had been a very long time since he had done any form of major studying and, to be honest, he was unsure how he was going to go about the whole thing. Aimless flicking of pages?

              Another of many shelves had been scoured, and Byde hoped he was on the last one. It was more than just the dark arts of ancient magic he was after; there was the reference to mythical evil and forms of widespread magic that would be invaluable. As he made his way along the shelf, one problem dawned on him all of a sudden – the highest volume of the more complex and somewhat forbidden magic would no doubt be kept in the local Praanoc academy building. Before leaving he needed to find out where the building was.

              Another book stuck down on the bottom shelf caught his attention – “Lost Magic & the Ancient Forms”. From below the dust-covered appearance there ebbed a sense of intrigue and dangerous wonder. Byde could tell that not many people came into this section very often. The library itself was scarce of visitors, the occasional cough, or dropping of a book booming around the expanse like vicious thunder in a deep fjord.

A reading desk was his next port of call.

              He pulled up a chair at a rickety old table in the northern most corner of the ground floor opposite a quiet, but striking, young human female who was sifting through some aged parchments with the utmost intent and concentration. She didn’t even notice Byde when he sat across the tabletop from her and set his two books down as quietly as possible. He opened up the lost magic book and began to stumble his way through the text, page by page.

              A good portion of an hour passed before he came across some relevant information he sought. It was a chapter called “Millennia Ago” and had his interest from the very beginning:

“It is said that magic is the basis of both good and evil intent, but in this author’s opinion magic is the tool rather than the basis. There is magic for good purposes, such as healing, as well as for the evil purposes, such as torturing. This chapter will focus on one particular magic that was allegedly at the heart of the war thousands of years ago – Mental Degradation.

Also used for mind control and corruption, this power required the biggest source of energy ever known – spires. These objects were supposedly, as there is little known about them or whether or not they existed at all, huge stone structures ranging from 30 to 300 feet in height. Apparently they emitted an unstable, but incredible, amount of magical energy that, if harnessed correctly, would feed a single magical ability for thousands of years. The prospect of this kind of energy source existing had many civilisations pursuing its existence many years ago, always resulting in failure, as well as a waste of resources.

Another property of a spire is its use of amplification – the ability to spread the effects of any linked magic to a wider area. However, to utilise such a capacity would destabilise a spire and result in its destruction, therefore rendering it useless. No known case of sustained amplification has ever been recorded.”

Byde tapped his fingers on the page and took in the information as best he could, which more or less confirmed his fears. There was a distinct possibility that this Psyloss plague was not of natural origin, but was manufactured by one of these spires, and an incredibly rare and ancient power. As soon as this train of speculation came into his mind, he shivered, the hairs on the back of his neck standing to attention. What if this was true? Who would be able to stop it? Or better still… how would they be able to stop it?

              With this realisation in mind, he carried on until he came to the end of the book. Another half hour had gone by. The woman opposite was still at her work, having produced another pile of parchments without Byde noticing. This was a hell of a way to spend his morning.

              He turned his attentions to the other book about elements and powers. ‘Thank the gods,’ he muttered as he saw that this one wasn’t as lengthy as the first, which he had placed by his feet to keep out of the way. His long fingers smoothed over the cover and an embossed set of pictures depicting the five base elements – fire, wind, water, earth, and thunder. This simple design made him smile – sometimes he liked going back to basics; it was refreshing to reiterate the source of his magic into his own mind again. It reminded him of his childhood, a point in his life which was so far back in the ages past that even he could barely recall most of it. His age was as lost to him as to anyone else. He smiled softly as he went to the first page and began reading.

***

Only 45 minutes or so passed this time. He lingered on the last page then turned back about a hundred or so. He located the place in the tenth chapter where his fears had been given more justification:

“When it comes to the field of dark magic, there are numerous, if not infinite, possibilities in forming the right magic the user desires. Magic that is classed as ‘dark’ is almost always only of use in a negative and harmful manner, such as death, torture, manipulation, etc. Magic such as these always exhibit a heightened energy usage, generally because of the destructive nature of them, and can only be used effectively by a powerful mage.

              One working theory on dark magic is that the use of one certain power such as mind control can lead to other magical, or even medical, forms taking effect and dealing more harm to the victim/target over both a short and long period of time. In the case of mind control, past records have shown that a short term exposure renders the person confused and in a state of shock. A longer term of exposure could give rise to any number of speculated symptoms; for example, terminal memory loss, a lifelong case of bodily shakes, eccentric madness, etc. These effects are, according to the sketchy reports found in the oldest libraries, based on a one-on-one circumstance.

              A Yokitos high mage once theorised that if dark magic was used in a widespread fashion the results would be catastrophic due to the high volume of victims. She also added that the likelihood of such events occurring were nigh on impossible.”

This excerpt was what he needed to fuel his hypothesis, but it wasn’t quite enough to grab anyone’s attention. Even so, what the hell would he do about it? He was just one man. He shook his head free of these thoughts – he would worry about that bridge when he came to it.

              For the first time in two hours, the woman across the table acknowledged his presence, looking up as he got out of his chair and bent down to grab the first book from the floor. She had a rare, bright smile that made the magi lights in the room seem useless.

              ‘Going already? I was enjoying your company,’ she remarked with a sweet voice.

              Byde eased upwards with a baffled look on his face. ‘But you didn’t even take any notice when I sat down. Hardly a bit of company if you don’t notice.’

              She flicked her golden ponytail and frowned. ‘Did you not hear me in your mind? I didn’t do it right did I?’ She slapped her hand down on her book and cursed herself. She was starting to get an irate air about her.

              Byde sat back down, placing his book on top of the other one. ‘Do what right, may I ask?’

              She glanced up and fluttered, folding her hands over each other. ‘Oh, I…’ She paused for a moment and breathed rapidly. ‘I’m a student at the Praanoc Academy here, and I’m trying to practice my telepathy magic, but it obviously isn’t working.’ She hit her book again, this time with more force.

              Byde reached over and placed his hand on hers to stop the assault. ‘Now now,’ he cooed. ‘Hurting the book’s feelings won’t help you.’ He tapped her hand gently. ‘How long have you been studying?’

              Her glinting blue eyes looked up at him. ‘I’m 22 now, so about 16 or 17 years. You know what they’re like for taking us in young – easier to mould.’

              Byde smirked and removed his hand from hers. ‘They sure do, so I hear. Telepathy eh? Do many of your student friends have that magic?’ He sat back and crossed his arms, taking in this sudden encounter with amiable ears.

              ‘Not many… it’s a rare thing apparently.’ As she explained this she started, without looking down, to roll up the parchments she had gone through earlier, tossing them into a bag next to her chair. ‘They tell us that each person has individual quirks and ways when it comes to magic, but trying to find those slight differences is bloomin’ difficult.’ Once finished with the parchments, the woman leaned on the table and looked Byde in the eyes. ‘Are you a wielder of magic?’

              ‘I…’ Byde began before she lifted a hand up to silence him.

              She scanned the room and pointed at each visitor in turn. ‘He’s magical. She isn’t. She isn’t. She is. He is. He is. The clerk at the desk isn’t.’ After a moment’s pause she glanced back at him. ‘But you, you I can’t tell. Why is that?’

              This unnerved him all of a sudden. Her telepathy wasn’t just limited to thought projection or reading, it appeared that she could sense whether or not people had magical abilities. His mouth opened and he rolled his tongue over the roof of his mouth before standing up and collecting his books. ‘Sorry miss, but I’ve not got the time for conversation anymore. Been nice talking to you.’

              As he made his way towards the exit she called after him. ‘By the way, not many people wear robes like that anymore – they’re a touch old-hat by today’s standards.’ This comment was met by a resounding hush from the clerk at the desk, whose eyes were scolding and seemingly aflame.

             
‘Now was not the time to be flushed out by someone,’
he thought.

***

The Praanoc tower loomed overhead, its peak tinged by the collection of greying clouds in the sky above. Looking up at it made it seem like the very earth was piercing the blue veil with an almighty sword of natural dominance.

The academy buildings were only magically given the illusion that they reached up to the heavens; in actual fact they were nowhere near the clouds. This appearance was produced by illusion devices that were all a part of student training. As part of their education they would study sections about magically infused objects that could act like a battery for their own energy, and also be used for magical purposes so that the mage could be elsewhere doing other tasks. The simplest of devices were designed to warp light to alter appearances of anything they were required to alter. In the case of this Praanoc academy building it was to give the illusion of size and grandeur, but with the object chosen for illusion being so big there were many devices needed to create the effect.

              The door leading into the academy wasn’t as large and magnificent as Byde expected – it was a pokey little metal door with an observation slit on the front of it. It was all of about seven feet high and four feet wide, barely enough room for a Bullwark… not that they were very magical.

He looked around at the surroundings. The Praanoc buildings were known for being big cylindrical structures, but what lay inside had always been a mystery to the people of Salarias. The likelihood of Byde actually getting an audience was slim, but if he didn’t at least try he wouldn’t know whether or not he was going to get anywhere.

              He tapped on the door and waited patiently. After a few minutes there was still no answer. He went to knock a bit harder. The slit in the door shot open making him jump back with surprise.

              ‘What ya want?’ a gruff voice echoed from behind the door.

              Byde tried to get a glance of who was on the other side, but the slit was blackened out by some kind of illusion. Secrecy was a no doubt a high priority. ‘Greetings to the Praanoc Academy of Cryldis Island. My name is Byde and I have come to request an audience with a high mage.’

              ‘What for?’ the voice replied with a snarl.

              ‘I am after some insight on a theory I have come up with. I believe that an audience with a Praanoc high mage will help me justify it when I put it forward.’

              A deep laugh rumbled from behind the metal. ‘Good luck with that one then.’ The slit was slammed shut and, despite Byde’s numerous raps, it wouldn’t open again.