Tides of Faith: Travail of The Dark Mage Book Two (42 page)

The swordsmen braced for the Aega’s’
attack. As the first came near, the power of Gyomias suffused their
swords. The air darkened before them as the Aega’s exuded a dark
miasma. The holy light radiating from the swords pushed back the
darkness. The swordsman on the right stepped forward. His sword
descended toward the attacking creature and light exploded. A shock
backlashed up his arm at the impact and caused him to stumble
backward. The Aega’s screamed, fell hissing and steaming to the
ground. Writhing but a moment, it soon grew still. Recovering
quickly, the swordsman moved back into position as he and his
partner awaited the attack of the next.

Behind them, the light coming from the
poles took on a golden hue. Leathers spoke a word of power and the
ground rumbled and heaved. The area encompassed by the glowing
boundary collapsed inward and light shot forth like a
geyser.

“The Way is open!”

Moments after the eruption shot forth,
nodules of light began coalescing. Each only half the size of the
human that had opened the

Way, they quickly solidified and
unfolded gossamer wings as they left the stream of light and took
flight. Though indistinct at first, they quickly transformed into
small, winged bear cubs with eyes of gold and fur of silver. They
were Gyomar, servants of the god Gyomias.

The second and third Aega’s were dealt
with quickly, yet more boiled forth from the dark recesses of the
valley. Their evil hit the swordsmen like a wave of filth. Beneath
such an onslaught, the holy light from their swords began to
dim.

Three of the fell minions came at them
in a rush. Four swords wove a wave of light that threw them back
and sent their dark souls to their god. Yet more rushed
forward.

Behind them, Leathers kept the stream
open and more Gyomar passed through. The first to enter this realm
saw the two swordsmen and the peril they faced. Soaring high into
the air, it opened its wings fully and caught the light of the
morning sun. It drew the rays into itself; its body glowed with the
combined power of the sun and the god Gyomias. For a second it
rivaled the brilliance of the sun, then a beam of light shot
downward from it and struck an Aega’s that had closed with the
swordsmen.

The light shattered the dark miasma
encompassing the fell creature and severed its connection to T’Lea.
When the beam ended, the creature was no more. As the Gyomar once
again gathered power to it, another of its brethren came full into
this world. It too glowed with power as its wings unfurled; a
stream of power later and another Aega’s fell.

With the aid of an ever increasing
circle of Gyomar in the sky, the two swordsmen were able to hold
their own. Beams of holy power from above eradicated the unholy
minions of T’Lea and soon, none were even able to close with the
swordsmen.

“Attend me.”

They turned at Leather’s command,
sheathed their swords and moved to stand to either side of
him.

“This cannot be held open much
longer,” he said.

Dozens of their god’s holy servants
held positions in the sky above. More still rode the light shining
through the Way. Beams of holy righteousness continued to rain upon
the enemy as they sought to reach Leathers. So quickly were they
being destroyed, that few made it more than a dozen yards from the
lip of the valley.

“Doesn’t look as if we’ll need many
more.”

Leathers shook his head. “We will need
all the Gyomar we can get.” He glanced across to the valley. “This
is far from over. Draw your swords gentlemen.”

Four blades flew from scabbards. Holy
light flickered along their lengths as they added their power to
that of Leathers. A score more Gyomar passed through before the Way
faltered.

Leathers felt the gate between worlds
imploding upon itself. Altering the outflow of magic, he created a
barrier that fully encompassed the four poles and the glowing area
within. No sooner had it formed, than the nearest pole shattered. A
backlash of power obliterated the remaining three and raw power
sought to smash through the barrier and consume those foolhardy
enough to be in the way.

But the barrier held. Commanding the
power of his god, Leathers contained the explosion, dissipated the
magic, and closed the Way. Once satisfied that all was as it should
be, he released the magic. He leaned against the swordsman to his
right and wiped his brow.

“Milord?”

Giving the swordsman a reassuring pat
on the shoulder, he smiled. “Such a feat is not easy.”

“Indeed,” replied the other
swordsman.

Beams of light grew infrequent as the
stream of Aega’s dwindled then dried up altogether.

“Come. Our work here is not
over.”

Leading the two swordsmen, Leathers
walked through the shattered remains of the poles and crossed to
the edge of the valley.

Malevolence radiated outward like heat
rising from a scalding desert. Somewhere within that Stygian
darkness lay T’Lea’s high priest and the last of his
followers.

A blast of pure hatred and evil
erupted from below. Holy light enveloped Leathers and the two
swordsmen. The attack struck and the power of Gyomias
prevailed.

In the sky above, Gyomar moved to form
a ring encompassing the valley. Leathers waited until the valley
had been fully encircled before raising his hands.

“Gyomias,” he intoned, “your servant
calls upon your aid to rid this world of a festering malignancy.
Lend us your power so that good may prevail over evil and the world
made a better place.”

Power suffused him and he reveled in
holy ecstasy.

“Now, my Gyomar.”

As a massive surge flowed from him
into the valley, beams of holy light descended from each Gyomar in
the sky to rain righteous might upon the darkness protecting those
below.

Roiling like a sea in a hurricane, the
darkness recoiled from the light of the Gyomar. Fell magic
reinforced the strength of the dark shroud. Dark magic rode waves
of malevolence on their way to the Gyomar in the sky
above,

One cried out as the evil god’s power
ended its place in this world. The rest of the Gyomar shifted
position to maintain a concentric circular presence surrounding the
valley.

While the Gyomar sought to destroy the
darkness, Leathers worked to penetrate the dark and seek out the
source far below; but the evil shroud of darkness barred his
way.

Another Gyomar fell to the fell magic.
Then another; but the dark shroud shielding the valley had
weakened. Ten more Gyomar fell before the darkness shattered. For
the first time since T’Lea came to this world, the valley knew the
warmth of sunlight. What was revealed caused Leathers great
sadness. For where the sunlight struck the valley floor, bones from
an untold number of victims were revealed.

Most laid ignobly upon the ground,
looking to have been just tossed without thought or care after the
priests had no more use for them. Some were displayed in horrific
caricatures; human bones set and fused together to form monstrous
shapes of hellish beasts. One such could be seen rising above the
others and constructed of nothing but skulls.

Leathers heard the swordsman to his
right say a prayer to Gyomias. “Indeed,” he whispered before adding
his own prayers for those whose lives were warped and destroyed by
such an evil.

The Gyomar remained in the sky above
as the trio made their way down from the valley’s lip. Far below at
the lowest point sat a temple made of darkest stone. Rising over a
hundred feet and spanning a full acre, the edifice had but one
window set in the middle of the front over the only entrance
visible. Wide enough to accommodate three men walking abreast, the
opening was rough-hewn and a faint dark glow pulsated from within.
Dark malevolence surged outward with each pulsation of the dark
light.

They remained silent as they worked
their way through a landscape born of hellish nightmares. Cracked
ground, stunted trees, indistinct shadows where no shadow had a
right to be, and permeating it all…fear.

It oozed from the ground. With every
step it sought to overthrow their courage but to no avail. The
power of Gyomias ran too strongly in them for the fear to take root
and flourish.

The bones filling the valley gave
testament from where the fear came. Torture and pain were the twin
pleasures of T’Lea’s priests. The suffering of their victims was
ambrosia to them. Untold millennia of torture had left its residue
within the very rocks. Instead of filling Leathers with dread,
however, each step stiffened his resolve to see that T’Lea hurts no
one ever again.

As they drew closer to the building,
dark light riding a wave of terror shot through the
opening.

Radiant aura met the dark tide as
Leathers called forth the power of Gyomias. His stride faltered
not. Righteous might overcame the evil and cast it back within the
temple.

Less than two-score feet from the
temple, Leathers paused to calm his mind and allow Gyomias to fill
his thoughts. Within was evil unspeakable and he would need all
Gyomias’ holy might to overthrow what lay within.

Shapes, darker than night, moved deep
within the opening.

“Torments.”

Leather’s sighed, then nodded sadly.
He had hoped not to encounter any, but known such was unlikely.
Each represented unspeakable acts upon so very many innocent lives;
lives that could have known love, joy and happiness.
Instead…this.

Torments came into being from a
combination of dark magics and the tortured death of a hundred
souls. The creation of one took the industry of vile priests
performing acts of fear and torture upon their victims. Each soul
had to be wrenched from its host, twisted and defiled, then torn
asunder to be incorporated into the newly forming Torment. Their
touch withered flesh; their cries drove men insane. Unable to
survive contact with the sun they skulked in the dark places of the
world.

Moving forward, Leathers summoned the
power of Gyomias.

Three Gyomar lit upon the ground
between the humans and the dark opening. Arraying themselves in an
arc before the entrance, they unfurled their wings so that the tip
of one touched that of its neighbor. Silver fur shone in the
morning sun.

Leathers let loose the magic while at
the same time, rays of brilliance shot down from dozens of Gyomar
circling overhead. Magic met brilliance and the three Gyomar let
loose a massive growl.

Light of magnificent holy might shot
forward and slammed into the dark maw of T’Lea’s temple. The
darkness within sought to bar the light from intruding into its
domain, but the power of Gyomias was not to be denied. Light won
out and penetrated the length of the tunnel. Torments were
shattered, their twisted essence could not withstand the power of
Gyomias.

Less than ten seconds had the light
lasted, yet that had been sufficient to see the end of every
Torment gathered to keep Leathers out. When the light vanished, the
passage was clear.

“Let us finish this.”

Stepping forward, Leathers moved to
enter the last bastion of T’Lea on this world.

The trio of Gyomar parted as he and
the swordsmen passed, then fell in behind and followed.

Skeletal remains had been incorporated
within the construction of the walls. Skulls watched as the humans
pressed forward into the dark, hellish domain.

Running straight for a short duration,
the passage came to a junction. Leathers paused as he considered
whether to continue straight, take the right-hand passage, or the
steps leading down to the left. Feeling the greatest concentration
of evil coming from below, he turned left and descended. A Gyomar
remained at the top of the steps.

The steps circled to the left and made
four full revolutions before ending at a small room. They were
greeted by a score of small, creatures. Diminutive and twisted
parodies of humans, they radiated pure malevolence as they
attacked.

Magic blasted half before they could
take their second steps. Leathers’ two swordsmen stepped forward
and their four blades wove a tapestry of destruction that readily
overcame the rest.

“Not as difficult as I expected,” one
swordsman stated.

Leathers shook his head. “Not yet, no.
The real test will be when we reach the High Priest.” Deep in the
bowels of this place, he could feel the Heart of Darkness beating.
Quenching its life would be no simple thing.

The room held two sacrificial tables,
each stained a red so deep, only the death of countless victims
could account for it. One end of each table tapered toward a funnel
that fed into a black urn. Thankfully, both urns proved to be
empty.

A single stone door barred their way
to the deeper reaches. Leathers gestured toward it with a nod of
his head and a swordsman crossed to it. Taking hold of the ring, he
pulled and the door opened on well-oiled hinges.

It swung open much quicker than
expected. Darkness rolled forth and taloned hands reached for the
swordsman.