Death
It was late and Skeksys knew that he should already be getting ready to sleep but for some reason he felt that he had to keep walking. His goal seemed nearer than ever yet he knew that there was still a long way to go. He also knew that something big was going to happen soon and that it could possibly slow him down a lot. For that reason, he was trying to push himself harder while that burden had not arrived yet. There were lights in the distance and Skeksys wondered whether it was a settlement or whether it was just a camp, something thrown up by travellers like himself. He doubted the latter but he knew of no settlements around this area. Then again all the maps and accounts were sketchy. It was as if every person who came here had a different experience, and almost all of them that he had heard were bad. While he was reflecting on a couple of those stories, a light flashed out in the cluster before turning the red of flame. Skeksys started to run, his instincts telling him to just leave it and set up camp but his mind telling him he had to hurry and try and help these people. In this instance his mind won even though it was divided and confused. Within five minutes, the fire was visible, both thanks to the distance covered and by the growth of the flames. There wasn’t much further to the go to get into the village and Skeksys started to remove the straps of his pack, ready to join whatever was being done. There was a crowd gathered outside the burning building and there seemed to be a chain of water going but the blaze did not seem to be shrinking. Stopping just behind the end of the chain closest to the building, Skeksys removed his pack and let it fall to the floor with a heavy thud.
“Is there anyone inside?” He asked, breathing heavily.
“Yes, we think so, although she hasn’t screamed or anything. We suspect she is dead.” The man said quickly. He did not seem to know why Skeksys was asking, and that should have been his cue to wonder what was really going on.
“Where would she have been?” He asked, already drawing his scimitars.
“She would have been upstairs in one of the rooms.” The man replied, a malignant smile on his lips. Skeksys did not seem to notice it as he ran towards the building, also missing the wet area just away from the fire. The villagers were not stopping the fire; they were protecting the other buildings. Skeksys shouldered his way through the closed door, hoping that there was no chance of an explosion although he knew that logically there couldn’t be. He stopped just inside, looking for the stairs and spotting them at the end of what was a corridor before the fire started. Skeksys ran along it, keeping as close to the centre as possible to avoid the flames that had engulfed the walls. Strangely the ceiling was not burning and Skeksys thanked his luck for that. It meant the second floor would be safe to walk on.
When he reached the stairs, he jumped the first few, avoiding the flames and the chance of falling through them before continuing up them in leaps and bounds. At the top he noticed an area where the flames seemed to have touched nothing. He wondered about how that could be for a few seconds before the heat brought him back to reality and he ran towards the area, having a feeling that the girl was there.
She spun towards him, her hand back in a sort of cup and a look of anger and danger in her eyes. There was no fear at all.
“Who are you?” She asked, her eyes seaming to blaze on their own with a growing look of hatred.
“I had come to see if I could help but obviously you have this under control.” Skeksys replied, sheathing his scimitars. There had been no doors that he would have had to break through. She lowered her hand and sat down.
“Come sit with me.” She said simply, hanging her head.
“If you haven’t noticed, this building is burning.” Skeksys pointed out. She looked up at him, her eyes different. There was now nothing but peace in them.
“I had to notice to put up this barrier, we will be safe.”
“What about the townsfolk, they are working hard to save you.” Skeksys blurted out. She smiled sadly.
“They are not trying to save me. They were the ones that started this fire.” She explained serenely. Skeksys stood in shock, staring at her.
“Why?” He asked, not noticing that the fire was moving inwards towards them.
“Do you no see the magic?” She asked.
“Yes, I do. But that doesn’t explain anything.” Skeksys answered.
“These people fear anything unexplainable. Or more accurately, anything that they cannot understand.” Skeksys shook his head. It was unthinkable to him, coming from a land where magic was revered above almost all else. He slowly walked towards her and sat in front of her.
“That’s really sad. Why do you live here then?” He inquired.
“They’ve never shown any hostility before.” She replied, her sad smile still in place.
“Would you leave with me?” He asked, looking up at her, knowing that a mage would be a very good travel companion.
“I would, but if those people see me, they will try to kill me.” She obviously did not want to hurt them and Skeksys suspected that she didn’t want them hurt either.
“We will run as soon as we get out of here, no one will get hurt.” He said, a hint of a promise coming into his voice although he knew that he would not be able to keep it if he did make the promise. She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling slightly and her smile changing.
“You wouldn’t mind?” She asked, obviously sceptical.
“No, of course not. I've been walking for several days now with no companionship whatsoever. To have you with me would no doubt be a pleasure.” Skeksys assured her. She nodded and he stood, holding out his hand. She took it and stood, mimicking his method of getting up by crossing her legs and extending with no need for her arms.
“How are we going to do this?” She asked.
“My plan was jump through the wall. When we land, we roll to absorb the impact and once we’re up, you start running while I get my pack and follow.” He explained. She looked at him and laughed slightly before covering her mouth with both hands.
“Sorry, it just sounded so simple it seemed funny.” She apologised. He laughed at her.
“Don’t worry; some of the best plans are things like that. You ready?” Skeksys asked. She nodded. Skeksys drew his scimitars before pausing and turning back to her. “Can you fireball the wall, creating an explosion that we could ‘hide’ behind?” He asked. Again she nodded and now she held her hand back, what she had been planning to do to him becoming obvious. A small flame formed and grew to fit in her hand. It then started to suck at the flames surrounding them, adding to its intensity before she flung it at the wall. They started to run as it hit, the impact causing a bright flash before sucking them towards the explosion. It was obvious that the explosion had been controlled by her magic and that meant the only the outside experienced the blast while the inside was sucked towards it. Skeksys stumbled and rolled out the hole at high speed, seeing her jump perfectly. As he was coming down, he drew his scimitars and landed on his feet, his weapons ready. She landed next to him.
“You said no one gets hurt.” She reminded him.
“I know, it’s just to scare them. Run past the house. I’ll meet you on the road.” He reassured her. She nodded and started to run. Skeksys ran towards his pack, his right scimitar forward and the left one above his head, ready to swing. The little group around his pack dispersed quickly and he sheathed the left scimitar before grabbing his pack and starting to run. Once he was a short distance away, he sheathed the other scimitar as well and put the pack on properly, doing up every strap before continuing as normal. He could see the girl up ahead and picked up the pace slightly to catch up to her. When he was within a short distance of her, a man came out from the side, his intention as obvious as the knife in his right hand. Skeksys drew one of the katanas that were strapped to the front of my pack, ready to slice through the arm, not killing him but not allowing him to hurt her either. Skeksys caught up to them as the man started to bring the knife down and he realised that he could not slice without the risk of hurting her anyway. Skeksys stabbed out, his blade sideways so that the cutting edge was facing towards the man’s torso. The man’s wrist struck the blade and Skeksys pushed up with all his might, throwing the man’s arm back as he brought the hilt towards the man’s nose. It connected with a loud crack as his nose broke before he collapsed to the ground. The girl turned, sending a small white ball towards the man and Skeksys knew what it was. There was another loud crack behind them as the man’s nose healed itself. Skeksys shook his head.
“We agreed not to hurt anyone.” She complained, still running.
“He would have killed you. Besides, he won’t be disfigured or anything now will he?” Skeksys retorted. She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. By dawn they were far away from the village not to worry about being followed. Even so, Skeksys insisted on moving far away from the path and finding a place where they would be hidden from it to set up a place to sleep. They found a small bush which had a little depression behind it that was totally hidden from the path by a slight hill that was also between them and the path. He took off his pack and took off the primitive sleeping bag, laying it down before lying next to it.
“What’s that for?” She asked.
“You sleep in it. It may not be much, but it is slightly more comfortable than the ground.” He said. She sat on the part closest to him and pulled the other side over her, threading the rope through the holes that closed it.
“This is pretty ingenious. Did you invent it?” She asked. Skeksys shook his head, smiling.
“I'm a warrior, not a thinker, although I am not as dumb as most warriors.” He explained. It was her time to smile.
“Thank you.” She said, her smile changing back to the sad one he had seen earlier.
“For what? You saved yourself from the fire and this is common courtesy. I have nothing worthy of praise.” He said, smiling.
“You have given time to me and looked through what most people think of me.” Skeksys opened his mouth to argue but decided it was not worth it.
“It was a pleasure, mi’lady.” He replied.
“I'm Alexa.” She introduced herself.
“I'm known as Skeksys.” He replied.
“What’s your real name?” She asked.
“It was lost a while ago. I woke up one day with no past and no memory.” He said.
“Wow, that must suck.” She said with feeling. Skeksys looked at her with his head tilted slightly. “It means that it must really feel bad. There isn’t really a way to explain suck. It’s a multipurpose word.”
“I've never heard it used before. Oh well, we need to sleep. When the sun hits its high, we need to be moving again.” Skeksys said, taking a device out of his pack. It was a clock although there were thirteen hours. That thirteenth hour in the day and at night was a period of magical power and any spell cast in that time was easier and more powerful. He set the fourth hand, the alarm hand’ to 12:00. “Sleep well.” He said, lying down before putting the clock on his pack.
“You too.” She replied, also lying down. Within a few minutes, they were both fast asleep, 6 hours to go before they would be woken up by the sound of Skeksys’ alarm.
Skeksys opened his eyes slowly, the sun of the magic hour shining directly on him. He reached out to kill the alarm before looking over at Alexa. She was still asleep as he stood and stretched.
“Alexa?” He said quietly. She did not respond at all so he tapped her shoulder lightly. This brought her out of her sleep and she looked at him sleepily. “Morning.” He said, smiling.
“Hi.” She replied, a smile creeping onto her lips too.
“We need to get moving again.” Skeksys told her, holding his hand out so that she could use it to get up. She stood in the same manner as before and looked him in the eyes.
“Where are we actually going?” She asked him, studying his eyes intently.
“I don’t know.” He said, looking into the distance. “All I know is that I was going that way.” He continued, pointing along the path away from the village.
“Have you ever gone journeying before?” She asked. Skeksys nodded. He had been on several journeys but none of them had ever been like this, no maps with which to work with, hardly any accounts of what was out here and any accounts that there were conflicted with each other. On top of that, he had for the first time met someone else who seemed like they would be accompanying him on his journey.
“You’re one of the major reasons this one is going to be far more exciting.” He said, looking into the distance, wondering what was out there.
“You want to get going as soon as possible, don’t you?” She asked. Skeksys once again nodded. “Well then, let’s go.” She said, starting to walk towards the path in the direction that he wanted to go. He followed her and soon was leading again, his pack on his back and her slightly behind him and to his left.
“Is there anything this way that you know of?” He asked, peering into the distance but still not actually seeing anything.
“Yes, there is an ancient city there, although it is far in the distance, it is definitely there. Many traders used to come from there for a long time but in recent times their numbers have begun to drop and we have long suspected that the city is not doing well. The last one that was there said that there was a new religious order that had taken over the city itself.” Alexa told him. He was worried by her last statement. If they were that religious then it was likely that they too would try and destroy her for her powers, although he was sure that they would be able to hide them well enough for no one to notice. Skeksys’ hand crept down to his scimitar, the hilt comforting him slightly but his feeling of danger did not leave him.
“Are you not worried?” He asked. She laughed behind him.
“There is no way that they could know I have power, and what they don’t know can’t hurt me.” Alexa reassured him. Skeksys put it aside at that. People that were about to die generally knew in some way or another and they normally started to feel nervous at least. Although not all nervous feelings meant death, most death was preceded by nervous feelings. As a pessimist, this did not bode well for Skeksys.
“How long till you think we will arrive there?” Skeksys asked.
“Not too long, maybe two days at your pace, it would have taken three if I were on my own.” She said.
“I can slow down.” Skeksys offered.
“No, don’t. It is probably better if we get there quicker.” She rejected. Skeksys nodded to himself and kept walking at the same pace. He knew he was quick, he had been told that before several times before but no matter how hard he tried, he was always faster if he was comfortable.
Half way through the day, they saw a rider approaching from the front, coming away from the city that they were on their way to. He stopped when he got to them and greeted them cheerfully.
“Hile.” Skeksys said, using an old greeting from his land. It was more respectful than hello to him.
“Hi.” Alexa followed. “What business do you have this far out of the city?” She asked.
“I'm delivering a message to the village. There is a war brewing and the men are required to fight. I'm a dispatch for the so-called rebels, although we are the ones defending the peace, not those arrogant posers who call themselves religious leaders.” He explained.
“You’re wasting your time if you are looking for people to fight the leader.” Skeksys muttered loud enough for the messenger to hear.
“Why is that, sir?” He asked.
“What’s your view on magic? I mean as a group.” Skeksys answered.
“It’s acceptable. Some people are gifted that way, same way as other are really gifted with religious insight.” He replied firmly.
“Those people back there believe that any and all magic is evil and the work of some greater demonic being.” Skeksys replied. The rider bit his lip.
“I guess you’re right about me wasting my time then. Although how you would know, I have no idea. You don’t look or sound like you are from there. Your words are too fine and your greeting is unfamiliar.”
“He saved me from then.” Alexa piped up. The rider looked at her.
“White or Black magic, although know that the terms mean different types, not good or evil.” The rider asked.
“Mostly White but some Black as well.” She replied.
“How is the definition different?” Skeksys asked.
“White…” They both started. Alexa pointed to the rider.
“White magic is healing and anything to do with it. General Defensive magic could possibly be a better term for it. Black magic is attack magic; anything that can harm a person is considered black magic. There is another type, summoning but that is getting more and more rare now. Those who do attempt it often end up losing sight of what they were trying to summon and end up summoning demons that obliterate them.” The rider seemed very serious about this last point, and his tone had changed from the jovial one of knowing more than someone else to the solemn one of someone who has lost something to the subject of discussion. Skeksys bowed his head before looking up.
“I am a summoner in my own right.” Skeksys started. The rider and Alexa both looked at him sceptically.
“You look more like a warrior to me.” He said. Skeksys looked up and for the tiniest of moments his pupil was blood red. The rider’s horse backed away slightly under his direction.
“What is it?” Alexa asked. She had been behind Skeksys at the time.
“His eyes.” The rider muttered.
“Get behind him on the horse. And cast a protection spell around you just in case.” Skeksys ordered. Alexa did so without question. His voice had been almost threatening at the same time as being concerned. She closed her eyes and an orb formed around them. Skeksys walked towards the orb and punched it with all his strength. It didn’t budge. He nodded, then closed his eyes, letting his body go piece by piece, first one leg, then the other before progressing upwards. He could feel Caloustrance seeping through his system and the smile that crept onto his lips was involuntary. He stopped it at his neck, opening his eyes. “If I attack you, ride hard.” He warned, before letting go completely. Caloustrance took over his mind easily, pushing him into the background so that he was nothing more than an observer. “Let yourself out” Skeksys ordered, knowing that Caloustrance would be much obliged. The hard part was getting him back in.
“As you wish” Caloustrance muttered, a smile clear in his mental voice. Skeksys’ physical eyes closed and his body started to expand, although it was not the flesh that was expanding. Rather a red aura was expanding out of his body, forming the body of Caloustrance, as lesser demon that had possessed him at an early age. Skeksys was only now starting to be able to control him properly. Once his form was complete, the aura solidified and Caloustrance in his true form was standing before the two others.
“This is my summon.” Skeksys said through Caloustrance’s mouth.
“You know that feels disgusting Skeksys.” Caloustrance replied, his voice much deeper than Skeksys’.
“Sorry about that.” Skeksys said to Caloustrance, their link mental.
“No problem, just remember it next time. She’s pretty.” He replied. Skeksys had to laugh.
“She’s scared.” He said, chuckling still. Caloustrance nodded.
“I guess you better get back out there.” Caloustrance sighed.
“You’re being unusually agreeable today.” Skeksys noted.
“Don’t get used to it.’ Caloustrance warned, pulling back. Skeksys was flung out into the full demon body as it was shrinking. The pain was extraordinary and he knew then why Caloustrance had pulled back so easily. He wanted to show Skeksys what it felt like. Once the retreat was done, Skeksys straightened out and looked at the other two.
“Most of the time, I can control him, but there are times when I think that maybe he is just messing with me and one day he will take over completely. One thing is that he can not actually take over my position in the world, it is against his own laws and if he does that, he will be withdrawn from this world completely.” Skeksys explained.
“That would probably be for the best.” The rider stuttered.
“As long as he can’t come out on his own, then I won’t worry about him.” Alexa interjected.
“That’s another thing that’s against his laws. He is not allowed to come forward without my permission, although he can sense subconscious requests as well as conscious ones and he uses them every now and then.” Skeksys warned. He could see that the rider saw him as little more than a demon himself.
“What’s your name?” The rider asked Skeksys.
“Skeksys.” He replied.
“And the demon?”
“Caloustrance. Yours?” Skeksys replied.
“Chris. And you?” He asked Alexa, his voice changing.
“I’m Alexa.” She replied, her voice almost cold. Skeksys tilted his head minutely in a curious gesture that he had picked up somewhere in his life. He wondered whether it was maybe the fact that he seemed to be trying to hit on her. Skeksys dismissed it as that and nothing more.
“How far are we from the city?” Skeksys asked Chris, meaning in terms of walking.
“Well considering you could probably keep up with this horse in your demon form, probably only a day away. If you plan on walking normally then 2 days at least, although it will be you alone. I will take Alexa with me.” Chris said.
“It’s her choice.” Skeksys replied, a sly smile on his lips.
“Would you be able to keep up with us?” Alexa started. “Quite frankly I am not sure whether I would trust this guy if I were alone.” She added.
“I would be able to keep up easily, although we would have to stop outside the city so that no one saw me in that form. If it is a religious group, the last thing we want to show them is a demon.” Skeksys said.
“You know, you should have asked me first.” Caloustrance protested.
“I was getting to that.” Skeksys retorted. “You should really work on your patience. You can do it right?”
“Now there’s a stupid question for you.” Caloustrance replied.
“You seem unusually chirpy lately.”
“It’s nothing for you to worry about; I won’t be killing anyone around us for a while still.”
“I doubt you would ever tell me the future if it was a good thing. Well, you’d better get ready.”
“I don’t even need to come through fully. You just keep control for the moment.” Caloustrance said, his strength starting to move into Skeksys’ limbs.
“I'm almost ready to go.” Skeksys told the other two. They looked at him, probably expecting him to change at any moment but that did not happen.
“Well?” Chris asked.
“If you’re in such a hurry, get going.” Skeksys said, starting to walk, letting the strength get used to the physical limitations. Chris shrugged and turned his horse before prompting it to a gallop. Skeksys started to run; slowly speeding up until soon he was equal to the pace of the horse.
“What, are you scared of my power?” Caloustrance jeered.
“No, just making sure that my body does not overload.”
“It will take a lot more for that to happen.” He assured Skeksys. Skeksys nodded to himself and sped up further, catching up to the horse before slowing down again to the same pace.
“I would have expected you to change.” Chris shouted.
“It wasn’t necessary.” Skeksys said, knowing that Chris heard it perfectly. His voice as it was, although it sounded the same, it travelled much better than if he was normal. Alexa laughed slightly, her hands around Chris’ waist so that she would not fall back. She was obviously enjoying Chris’ screw ups.
A few hours later, they could see the city in the distance. They slowed to normal walking pace before taking a good look at its profile. It looked like little more than an expansive town but Chris told them that most of the city was underground to keep the temperatures pleasant and to conserve space. When asked by Skeksys why they didn’t build upwards he replied that there were no materials strong enough to do so. Skeksys wondered whether they had dug out the building positions by hand or whether they had blasted although he did not ask that question. It made no sense that they would have materials strong enough to go underground but not those that could support a few floors above ground.
“Is the city divided?” Skeksys asked.
“Mostly. There are certain areas where there are no laws enforcing who lives where. Those tend to be the source of most of the crime but also the areas with the lowest crime rate.” Chris explained. To Skeksys it seemed that the people in those zones were probably the rebels, hence their disregard for the authorities.
“Where’s the area with the highest… authoritarian presence?” Skeksys asked. He liked to know these things in case he was ever on the run. That way he could steer clear of any extra troubles.
“That would be the east district. Most of the religious authorities live there as they believe that the morning sun signifies great power and so if they live in that part of the city they get the most influence as they cast shadows onto everyone else.”
“Sounds like they’re in for a nasty surprise soon.” Skeksys joked. Chris nodded, solemnly, taking Skeksys seriously. Alexa looked at Skeksys and shrugged. Skeksys responded the same way.
“Our headquarters is in the west district. Most of those areas I mentioned before are in the west district since those religious nuts won’t even venture there for fear of catching something unholy.” Chris added. Skeksys noted that carefully. It could be possible that he could possibly scare off anyone who did come and try and attack him just by transforming.
“Are there any absolute fanatics, people who would do the dirty work just because their religion needs it?” Skeksys asked.
“They’re called the white legion. Ironically they use magic to fight their enemies.” Chris answered. Skeksys bit his lip, wondering whether he would be able to take out one of them if they actually did use magic. It was likely that they were not low level magic users but people that could easily incinerate an entire battlefield if need be. To Skeksys that was not a problem but he could see how they would have problems if there were a group of them. He reminded himself that he did not know this for sure yet and started to hope that possibly he was wrong and they were just wannabes. There had been an uprising once in his own country where there had been a similar ‘unit’. Most of them were just low level mages who thought that they would be able to gain power and luck through throwing their lives into jeopardy for their god. Then there were their Lieutenants and Captain. These two categories knew that faith in their god was not going to save them unless they worked hard to save themselves. They had no one to really fall back on and if they did fail then it meant doom for their entire squad, them included. Skeksys hoped that this group were the same.
“What’s your story to get into the city?” Chris asked. Alexa raised her eyebrow at the back of his head before saying anything.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” She asked.
“Every person needs to justify their visit to the city. They are also logged so that if something does go wrong with this damned cult then they can blame someone else.”
“How about we have come to observe the splendour of the city to see whether it is really worth spreading the word of God to other* places.” Skeksys suggested, chuckling slightly afterwards.
“That’s brilliant, just not the chuckle.” Chris said, for once seeming to show something other than gloom. When they arrived there was a guard in standard armour, obviously he was nothing more than a grunt.
“Please write your names and business on the paper.” The guard stated. Chris dismounted and stepped towards the podium before the guard stopped him. “You, don’t even bother. I know you and that you left yesterday evening. I expected you to be gone for longer Chris.” The guard said conversationally. Chris looked at him for a moment, then laughed.
“I didn’t realise that you were on duty today Bryan. How’s your mistress doing?” Chris asked jovially.
“Still angry at me for not resigning my position so that we can marry, but I'm doing what I enjoy. It’s just a pity that there are such stringent standards that we have to stick to. Who’re your friends?” He asked.
“They’re here to join us.” Chris said simply. Bryan looked over his shoulder.
“That all?”
“She’s a mage, he’s a summoner.” Chris defended.
“A summoner? Are you insane?” Bryan asked, obviously nervous now.
“Don’t worry; he seems to be able to control what he summons, although controlling that thing is another question.”
“What does he summon?”
“A Demon.” Chris stated as if there was nothing weird about that fact. Bryan started to shake. It was obvious that he had seen a friend ripped apart by one. Skeksys walked over.
“Are you two done reminiscing yet or are we going to stand here all day?” He asked, allowing a bit of impatience into his voice. He had heard the conversation and was taking advantage of the fear.
“If I had a choice, I wouldn’t let you into this city but currently the leader is looking for someone to prosecute. Please write your name here, only you, not her or Chris.” Skeksys did not argue. This wasn’t exactly what he wanted but it was inevitable that he would find trouble anyway.
“Thanks Bryan, I owe you one.” Chris hugged Bryan as a friend would.
“You’ll never owe me anything ever again. You know that.” He replied. “Just keep him under control.” He warned. Chris nodded.
“Don’t worry old friend. Have a good day.” He started to walk back to the horse while Skeksys finished signing in.
“I'm not the one that should be watched.” Skeksys said, not looking up yet. He was allowing Caloustrance’s eyes to come through slightly. “I would rather watch those that you receive your orders from.” Now he looked up, his eyes rolled upwards so that they made contact as soon as possible before moving down as his head tilted up. There was no doubt that Bryan could see the effect.
“Come, let’s go Skeksys, stop messing with him.” Alexa scolded as they rode past on the horse. His eyes faded back to normal and he smiled genuinely.
“I meant what I said; they’re going to die sometime soon. Everyone does eventually. And don’t worry; I'm not meaning from the rebel side either.” Bryan smiled at that, his trust obviously growing ever so slightly. Skeksys then started to follow the other two, his muscles already starting to ache but he knew that it would not get too bad. Caloustrance had not lied to him yet, even though Skeksys had expected every word to be a lie, Caloustrance seemed very honourable for a demon.
“Is there anyone inside?” He asked, breathing heavily.
“Yes, we think so, although she hasn’t screamed or anything. We suspect she is dead.” The man said quickly. He did not seem to know why Skeksys was asking, and that should have been his cue to wonder what was really going on.
“Where would she have been?” He asked, already drawing his scimitars.
“She would have been upstairs in one of the rooms.” The man replied, a malignant smile on his lips. Skeksys did not seem to notice it as he ran towards the building, also missing the wet area just away from the fire. The villagers were not stopping the fire; they were protecting the other buildings. Skeksys shouldered his way through the closed door, hoping that there was no chance of an explosion although he knew that logically there couldn’t be. He stopped just inside, looking for the stairs and spotting them at the end of what was a corridor before the fire started. Skeksys ran along it, keeping as close to the centre as possible to avoid the flames that had engulfed the walls. Strangely the ceiling was not burning and Skeksys thanked his luck for that. It meant the second floor would be safe to walk on.
When he reached the stairs, he jumped the first few, avoiding the flames and the chance of falling through them before continuing up them in leaps and bounds. At the top he noticed an area where the flames seemed to have touched nothing. He wondered about how that could be for a few seconds before the heat brought him back to reality and he ran towards the area, having a feeling that the girl was there.
She spun towards him, her hand back in a sort of cup and a look of anger and danger in her eyes. There was no fear at all.
“Who are you?” She asked, her eyes seaming to blaze on their own with a growing look of hatred.
“I had come to see if I could help but obviously you have this under control.” Skeksys replied, sheathing his scimitars. There had been no doors that he would have had to break through. She lowered her hand and sat down.
“Come sit with me.” She said simply, hanging her head.
“If you haven’t noticed, this building is burning.” Skeksys pointed out. She looked up at him, her eyes different. There was now nothing but peace in them.
“I had to notice to put up this barrier, we will be safe.”
“What about the townsfolk, they are working hard to save you.” Skeksys blurted out. She smiled sadly.
“They are not trying to save me. They were the ones that started this fire.” She explained serenely. Skeksys stood in shock, staring at her.
“Why?” He asked, not noticing that the fire was moving inwards towards them.
“Do you no see the magic?” She asked.
“Yes, I do. But that doesn’t explain anything.” Skeksys answered.
“These people fear anything unexplainable. Or more accurately, anything that they cannot understand.” Skeksys shook his head. It was unthinkable to him, coming from a land where magic was revered above almost all else. He slowly walked towards her and sat in front of her.
“That’s really sad. Why do you live here then?” He inquired.
“They’ve never shown any hostility before.” She replied, her sad smile still in place.
“Would you leave with me?” He asked, looking up at her, knowing that a mage would be a very good travel companion.
“I would, but if those people see me, they will try to kill me.” She obviously did not want to hurt them and Skeksys suspected that she didn’t want them hurt either.
“We will run as soon as we get out of here, no one will get hurt.” He said, a hint of a promise coming into his voice although he knew that he would not be able to keep it if he did make the promise. She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling slightly and her smile changing.
“You wouldn’t mind?” She asked, obviously sceptical.
“No, of course not. I've been walking for several days now with no companionship whatsoever. To have you with me would no doubt be a pleasure.” Skeksys assured her. She nodded and he stood, holding out his hand. She took it and stood, mimicking his method of getting up by crossing her legs and extending with no need for her arms.
“How are we going to do this?” She asked.
“My plan was jump through the wall. When we land, we roll to absorb the impact and once we’re up, you start running while I get my pack and follow.” He explained. She looked at him and laughed slightly before covering her mouth with both hands.
“Sorry, it just sounded so simple it seemed funny.” She apologised. He laughed at her.
“Don’t worry; some of the best plans are things like that. You ready?” Skeksys asked. She nodded. Skeksys drew his scimitars before pausing and turning back to her. “Can you fireball the wall, creating an explosion that we could ‘hide’ behind?” He asked. Again she nodded and now she held her hand back, what she had been planning to do to him becoming obvious. A small flame formed and grew to fit in her hand. It then started to suck at the flames surrounding them, adding to its intensity before she flung it at the wall. They started to run as it hit, the impact causing a bright flash before sucking them towards the explosion. It was obvious that the explosion had been controlled by her magic and that meant the only the outside experienced the blast while the inside was sucked towards it. Skeksys stumbled and rolled out the hole at high speed, seeing her jump perfectly. As he was coming down, he drew his scimitars and landed on his feet, his weapons ready. She landed next to him.
“You said no one gets hurt.” She reminded him.
“I know, it’s just to scare them. Run past the house. I’ll meet you on the road.” He reassured her. She nodded and started to run. Skeksys ran towards his pack, his right scimitar forward and the left one above his head, ready to swing. The little group around his pack dispersed quickly and he sheathed the left scimitar before grabbing his pack and starting to run. Once he was a short distance away, he sheathed the other scimitar as well and put the pack on properly, doing up every strap before continuing as normal. He could see the girl up ahead and picked up the pace slightly to catch up to her. When he was within a short distance of her, a man came out from the side, his intention as obvious as the knife in his right hand. Skeksys drew one of the katanas that were strapped to the front of my pack, ready to slice through the arm, not killing him but not allowing him to hurt her either. Skeksys caught up to them as the man started to bring the knife down and he realised that he could not slice without the risk of hurting her anyway. Skeksys stabbed out, his blade sideways so that the cutting edge was facing towards the man’s torso. The man’s wrist struck the blade and Skeksys pushed up with all his might, throwing the man’s arm back as he brought the hilt towards the man’s nose. It connected with a loud crack as his nose broke before he collapsed to the ground. The girl turned, sending a small white ball towards the man and Skeksys knew what it was. There was another loud crack behind them as the man’s nose healed itself. Skeksys shook his head.
“We agreed not to hurt anyone.” She complained, still running.
“He would have killed you. Besides, he won’t be disfigured or anything now will he?” Skeksys retorted. She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. By dawn they were far away from the village not to worry about being followed. Even so, Skeksys insisted on moving far away from the path and finding a place where they would be hidden from it to set up a place to sleep. They found a small bush which had a little depression behind it that was totally hidden from the path by a slight hill that was also between them and the path. He took off his pack and took off the primitive sleeping bag, laying it down before lying next to it.
“What’s that for?” She asked.
“You sleep in it. It may not be much, but it is slightly more comfortable than the ground.” He said. She sat on the part closest to him and pulled the other side over her, threading the rope through the holes that closed it.
“This is pretty ingenious. Did you invent it?” She asked. Skeksys shook his head, smiling.
“I'm a warrior, not a thinker, although I am not as dumb as most warriors.” He explained. It was her time to smile.
“Thank you.” She said, her smile changing back to the sad one he had seen earlier.
“For what? You saved yourself from the fire and this is common courtesy. I have nothing worthy of praise.” He said, smiling.
“You have given time to me and looked through what most people think of me.” Skeksys opened his mouth to argue but decided it was not worth it.
“It was a pleasure, mi’lady.” He replied.
“I'm Alexa.” She introduced herself.
“I'm known as Skeksys.” He replied.
“What’s your real name?” She asked.
“It was lost a while ago. I woke up one day with no past and no memory.” He said.
“Wow, that must suck.” She said with feeling. Skeksys looked at her with his head tilted slightly. “It means that it must really feel bad. There isn’t really a way to explain suck. It’s a multipurpose word.”
“I've never heard it used before. Oh well, we need to sleep. When the sun hits its high, we need to be moving again.” Skeksys said, taking a device out of his pack. It was a clock although there were thirteen hours. That thirteenth hour in the day and at night was a period of magical power and any spell cast in that time was easier and more powerful. He set the fourth hand, the alarm hand’ to 12:00. “Sleep well.” He said, lying down before putting the clock on his pack.
“You too.” She replied, also lying down. Within a few minutes, they were both fast asleep, 6 hours to go before they would be woken up by the sound of Skeksys’ alarm.
Skeksys opened his eyes slowly, the sun of the magic hour shining directly on him. He reached out to kill the alarm before looking over at Alexa. She was still asleep as he stood and stretched.
“Alexa?” He said quietly. She did not respond at all so he tapped her shoulder lightly. This brought her out of her sleep and she looked at him sleepily. “Morning.” He said, smiling.
“Hi.” She replied, a smile creeping onto her lips too.
“We need to get moving again.” Skeksys told her, holding his hand out so that she could use it to get up. She stood in the same manner as before and looked him in the eyes.
“Where are we actually going?” She asked him, studying his eyes intently.
“I don’t know.” He said, looking into the distance. “All I know is that I was going that way.” He continued, pointing along the path away from the village.
“Have you ever gone journeying before?” She asked. Skeksys nodded. He had been on several journeys but none of them had ever been like this, no maps with which to work with, hardly any accounts of what was out here and any accounts that there were conflicted with each other. On top of that, he had for the first time met someone else who seemed like they would be accompanying him on his journey.
“You’re one of the major reasons this one is going to be far more exciting.” He said, looking into the distance, wondering what was out there.
“You want to get going as soon as possible, don’t you?” She asked. Skeksys once again nodded. “Well then, let’s go.” She said, starting to walk towards the path in the direction that he wanted to go. He followed her and soon was leading again, his pack on his back and her slightly behind him and to his left.
“Is there anything this way that you know of?” He asked, peering into the distance but still not actually seeing anything.
“Yes, there is an ancient city there, although it is far in the distance, it is definitely there. Many traders used to come from there for a long time but in recent times their numbers have begun to drop and we have long suspected that the city is not doing well. The last one that was there said that there was a new religious order that had taken over the city itself.” Alexa told him. He was worried by her last statement. If they were that religious then it was likely that they too would try and destroy her for her powers, although he was sure that they would be able to hide them well enough for no one to notice. Skeksys’ hand crept down to his scimitar, the hilt comforting him slightly but his feeling of danger did not leave him.
“Are you not worried?” He asked. She laughed behind him.
“There is no way that they could know I have power, and what they don’t know can’t hurt me.” Alexa reassured him. Skeksys put it aside at that. People that were about to die generally knew in some way or another and they normally started to feel nervous at least. Although not all nervous feelings meant death, most death was preceded by nervous feelings. As a pessimist, this did not bode well for Skeksys.
“How long till you think we will arrive there?” Skeksys asked.
“Not too long, maybe two days at your pace, it would have taken three if I were on my own.” She said.
“I can slow down.” Skeksys offered.
“No, don’t. It is probably better if we get there quicker.” She rejected. Skeksys nodded to himself and kept walking at the same pace. He knew he was quick, he had been told that before several times before but no matter how hard he tried, he was always faster if he was comfortable.
Half way through the day, they saw a rider approaching from the front, coming away from the city that they were on their way to. He stopped when he got to them and greeted them cheerfully.
“Hile.” Skeksys said, using an old greeting from his land. It was more respectful than hello to him.
“Hi.” Alexa followed. “What business do you have this far out of the city?” She asked.
“I'm delivering a message to the village. There is a war brewing and the men are required to fight. I'm a dispatch for the so-called rebels, although we are the ones defending the peace, not those arrogant posers who call themselves religious leaders.” He explained.
“You’re wasting your time if you are looking for people to fight the leader.” Skeksys muttered loud enough for the messenger to hear.
“Why is that, sir?” He asked.
“What’s your view on magic? I mean as a group.” Skeksys answered.
“It’s acceptable. Some people are gifted that way, same way as other are really gifted with religious insight.” He replied firmly.
“Those people back there believe that any and all magic is evil and the work of some greater demonic being.” Skeksys replied. The rider bit his lip.
“I guess you’re right about me wasting my time then. Although how you would know, I have no idea. You don’t look or sound like you are from there. Your words are too fine and your greeting is unfamiliar.”
“He saved me from then.” Alexa piped up. The rider looked at her.
“White or Black magic, although know that the terms mean different types, not good or evil.” The rider asked.
“Mostly White but some Black as well.” She replied.
“How is the definition different?” Skeksys asked.
“White…” They both started. Alexa pointed to the rider.
“White magic is healing and anything to do with it. General Defensive magic could possibly be a better term for it. Black magic is attack magic; anything that can harm a person is considered black magic. There is another type, summoning but that is getting more and more rare now. Those who do attempt it often end up losing sight of what they were trying to summon and end up summoning demons that obliterate them.” The rider seemed very serious about this last point, and his tone had changed from the jovial one of knowing more than someone else to the solemn one of someone who has lost something to the subject of discussion. Skeksys bowed his head before looking up.
“I am a summoner in my own right.” Skeksys started. The rider and Alexa both looked at him sceptically.
“You look more like a warrior to me.” He said. Skeksys looked up and for the tiniest of moments his pupil was blood red. The rider’s horse backed away slightly under his direction.
“What is it?” Alexa asked. She had been behind Skeksys at the time.
“His eyes.” The rider muttered.
“Get behind him on the horse. And cast a protection spell around you just in case.” Skeksys ordered. Alexa did so without question. His voice had been almost threatening at the same time as being concerned. She closed her eyes and an orb formed around them. Skeksys walked towards the orb and punched it with all his strength. It didn’t budge. He nodded, then closed his eyes, letting his body go piece by piece, first one leg, then the other before progressing upwards. He could feel Caloustrance seeping through his system and the smile that crept onto his lips was involuntary. He stopped it at his neck, opening his eyes. “If I attack you, ride hard.” He warned, before letting go completely. Caloustrance took over his mind easily, pushing him into the background so that he was nothing more than an observer. “Let yourself out” Skeksys ordered, knowing that Caloustrance would be much obliged. The hard part was getting him back in.
“As you wish” Caloustrance muttered, a smile clear in his mental voice. Skeksys’ physical eyes closed and his body started to expand, although it was not the flesh that was expanding. Rather a red aura was expanding out of his body, forming the body of Caloustrance, as lesser demon that had possessed him at an early age. Skeksys was only now starting to be able to control him properly. Once his form was complete, the aura solidified and Caloustrance in his true form was standing before the two others.
“This is my summon.” Skeksys said through Caloustrance’s mouth.
“You know that feels disgusting Skeksys.” Caloustrance replied, his voice much deeper than Skeksys’.
“Sorry about that.” Skeksys said to Caloustrance, their link mental.
“No problem, just remember it next time. She’s pretty.” He replied. Skeksys had to laugh.
“She’s scared.” He said, chuckling still. Caloustrance nodded.
“I guess you better get back out there.” Caloustrance sighed.
“You’re being unusually agreeable today.” Skeksys noted.
“Don’t get used to it.’ Caloustrance warned, pulling back. Skeksys was flung out into the full demon body as it was shrinking. The pain was extraordinary and he knew then why Caloustrance had pulled back so easily. He wanted to show Skeksys what it felt like. Once the retreat was done, Skeksys straightened out and looked at the other two.
“Most of the time, I can control him, but there are times when I think that maybe he is just messing with me and one day he will take over completely. One thing is that he can not actually take over my position in the world, it is against his own laws and if he does that, he will be withdrawn from this world completely.” Skeksys explained.
“That would probably be for the best.” The rider stuttered.
“As long as he can’t come out on his own, then I won’t worry about him.” Alexa interjected.
“That’s another thing that’s against his laws. He is not allowed to come forward without my permission, although he can sense subconscious requests as well as conscious ones and he uses them every now and then.” Skeksys warned. He could see that the rider saw him as little more than a demon himself.
“What’s your name?” The rider asked Skeksys.
“Skeksys.” He replied.
“And the demon?”
“Caloustrance. Yours?” Skeksys replied.
“Chris. And you?” He asked Alexa, his voice changing.
“I’m Alexa.” She replied, her voice almost cold. Skeksys tilted his head minutely in a curious gesture that he had picked up somewhere in his life. He wondered whether it was maybe the fact that he seemed to be trying to hit on her. Skeksys dismissed it as that and nothing more.
“How far are we from the city?” Skeksys asked Chris, meaning in terms of walking.
“Well considering you could probably keep up with this horse in your demon form, probably only a day away. If you plan on walking normally then 2 days at least, although it will be you alone. I will take Alexa with me.” Chris said.
“It’s her choice.” Skeksys replied, a sly smile on his lips.
“Would you be able to keep up with us?” Alexa started. “Quite frankly I am not sure whether I would trust this guy if I were alone.” She added.
“I would be able to keep up easily, although we would have to stop outside the city so that no one saw me in that form. If it is a religious group, the last thing we want to show them is a demon.” Skeksys said.
“You know, you should have asked me first.” Caloustrance protested.
“I was getting to that.” Skeksys retorted. “You should really work on your patience. You can do it right?”
“Now there’s a stupid question for you.” Caloustrance replied.
“You seem unusually chirpy lately.”
“It’s nothing for you to worry about; I won’t be killing anyone around us for a while still.”
“I doubt you would ever tell me the future if it was a good thing. Well, you’d better get ready.”
“I don’t even need to come through fully. You just keep control for the moment.” Caloustrance said, his strength starting to move into Skeksys’ limbs.
“I'm almost ready to go.” Skeksys told the other two. They looked at him, probably expecting him to change at any moment but that did not happen.
“Well?” Chris asked.
“If you’re in such a hurry, get going.” Skeksys said, starting to walk, letting the strength get used to the physical limitations. Chris shrugged and turned his horse before prompting it to a gallop. Skeksys started to run; slowly speeding up until soon he was equal to the pace of the horse.
“What, are you scared of my power?” Caloustrance jeered.
“No, just making sure that my body does not overload.”
“It will take a lot more for that to happen.” He assured Skeksys. Skeksys nodded to himself and sped up further, catching up to the horse before slowing down again to the same pace.
“I would have expected you to change.” Chris shouted.
“It wasn’t necessary.” Skeksys said, knowing that Chris heard it perfectly. His voice as it was, although it sounded the same, it travelled much better than if he was normal. Alexa laughed slightly, her hands around Chris’ waist so that she would not fall back. She was obviously enjoying Chris’ screw ups.
A few hours later, they could see the city in the distance. They slowed to normal walking pace before taking a good look at its profile. It looked like little more than an expansive town but Chris told them that most of the city was underground to keep the temperatures pleasant and to conserve space. When asked by Skeksys why they didn’t build upwards he replied that there were no materials strong enough to do so. Skeksys wondered whether they had dug out the building positions by hand or whether they had blasted although he did not ask that question. It made no sense that they would have materials strong enough to go underground but not those that could support a few floors above ground.
“Is the city divided?” Skeksys asked.
“Mostly. There are certain areas where there are no laws enforcing who lives where. Those tend to be the source of most of the crime but also the areas with the lowest crime rate.” Chris explained. To Skeksys it seemed that the people in those zones were probably the rebels, hence their disregard for the authorities.
“Where’s the area with the highest… authoritarian presence?” Skeksys asked. He liked to know these things in case he was ever on the run. That way he could steer clear of any extra troubles.
“That would be the east district. Most of the religious authorities live there as they believe that the morning sun signifies great power and so if they live in that part of the city they get the most influence as they cast shadows onto everyone else.”
“Sounds like they’re in for a nasty surprise soon.” Skeksys joked. Chris nodded, solemnly, taking Skeksys seriously. Alexa looked at Skeksys and shrugged. Skeksys responded the same way.
“Our headquarters is in the west district. Most of those areas I mentioned before are in the west district since those religious nuts won’t even venture there for fear of catching something unholy.” Chris added. Skeksys noted that carefully. It could be possible that he could possibly scare off anyone who did come and try and attack him just by transforming.
“Are there any absolute fanatics, people who would do the dirty work just because their religion needs it?” Skeksys asked.
“They’re called the white legion. Ironically they use magic to fight their enemies.” Chris answered. Skeksys bit his lip, wondering whether he would be able to take out one of them if they actually did use magic. It was likely that they were not low level magic users but people that could easily incinerate an entire battlefield if need be. To Skeksys that was not a problem but he could see how they would have problems if there were a group of them. He reminded himself that he did not know this for sure yet and started to hope that possibly he was wrong and they were just wannabes. There had been an uprising once in his own country where there had been a similar ‘unit’. Most of them were just low level mages who thought that they would be able to gain power and luck through throwing their lives into jeopardy for their god. Then there were their Lieutenants and Captain. These two categories knew that faith in their god was not going to save them unless they worked hard to save themselves. They had no one to really fall back on and if they did fail then it meant doom for their entire squad, them included. Skeksys hoped that this group were the same.
“What’s your story to get into the city?” Chris asked. Alexa raised her eyebrow at the back of his head before saying anything.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” She asked.
“Every person needs to justify their visit to the city. They are also logged so that if something does go wrong with this damned cult then they can blame someone else.”
“How about we have come to observe the splendour of the city to see whether it is really worth spreading the word of God to other* places.” Skeksys suggested, chuckling slightly afterwards.
“That’s brilliant, just not the chuckle.” Chris said, for once seeming to show something other than gloom. When they arrived there was a guard in standard armour, obviously he was nothing more than a grunt.
“Please write your names and business on the paper.” The guard stated. Chris dismounted and stepped towards the podium before the guard stopped him. “You, don’t even bother. I know you and that you left yesterday evening. I expected you to be gone for longer Chris.” The guard said conversationally. Chris looked at him for a moment, then laughed.
“I didn’t realise that you were on duty today Bryan. How’s your mistress doing?” Chris asked jovially.
“Still angry at me for not resigning my position so that we can marry, but I'm doing what I enjoy. It’s just a pity that there are such stringent standards that we have to stick to. Who’re your friends?” He asked.
“They’re here to join us.” Chris said simply. Bryan looked over his shoulder.
“That all?”
“She’s a mage, he’s a summoner.” Chris defended.
“A summoner? Are you insane?” Bryan asked, obviously nervous now.
“Don’t worry; he seems to be able to control what he summons, although controlling that thing is another question.”
“What does he summon?”
“A Demon.” Chris stated as if there was nothing weird about that fact. Bryan started to shake. It was obvious that he had seen a friend ripped apart by one. Skeksys walked over.
“Are you two done reminiscing yet or are we going to stand here all day?” He asked, allowing a bit of impatience into his voice. He had heard the conversation and was taking advantage of the fear.
“If I had a choice, I wouldn’t let you into this city but currently the leader is looking for someone to prosecute. Please write your name here, only you, not her or Chris.” Skeksys did not argue. This wasn’t exactly what he wanted but it was inevitable that he would find trouble anyway.
“Thanks Bryan, I owe you one.” Chris hugged Bryan as a friend would.
“You’ll never owe me anything ever again. You know that.” He replied. “Just keep him under control.” He warned. Chris nodded.
“Don’t worry old friend. Have a good day.” He started to walk back to the horse while Skeksys finished signing in.
“I'm not the one that should be watched.” Skeksys said, not looking up yet. He was allowing Caloustrance’s eyes to come through slightly. “I would rather watch those that you receive your orders from.” Now he looked up, his eyes rolled upwards so that they made contact as soon as possible before moving down as his head tilted up. There was no doubt that Bryan could see the effect.
“Come, let’s go Skeksys, stop messing with him.” Alexa scolded as they rode past on the horse. His eyes faded back to normal and he smiled genuinely.
“I meant what I said; they’re going to die sometime soon. Everyone does eventually. And don’t worry; I'm not meaning from the rebel side either.” Bryan smiled at that, his trust obviously growing ever so slightly. Skeksys then started to follow the other two, his muscles already starting to ache but he knew that it would not get too bad. Caloustrance had not lied to him yet, even though Skeksys had expected every word to be a lie, Caloustrance seemed very honourable for a demon.
End Part 1
