Mythborn: Rise of the Adepts (51 page)

Giridian waited, then urged, "What? They seek to possess us?"

"No, they seek
life,
Lore Father. They are formed for a purpose, given meaning by every life in this world, but what then? You cannot banish them for they are necessarily a part of you. Valarius Galadine was the greatest archmage to have ever lived, and we thought by giving him insight, he could find a peaceful way to unification. He did much worse."

Thoth sighed, then shook his head, now choosing to answer Giridian’s earlier question. "Themun did not fully know nor understand what was at stake, instead focusing single-mindedly on these rifts and gates. Now it falls to you and your brethren. Now we must be clearer."

Giridian swallowed, his mouth dry. "What did Valarius do?"

"Something was created, a creature that feeds on the Way. Wherever it goes, the Way dies. For now, the effect is small and contained. It can absorb those that exist as shades and the weaker Aeris. But if the creature is allowed to continue, beings whose nature exists on the Way, beings like
us,
will be eradicated. Soon, it will consume everything."

Giridian looked at the man, his analytical mind already skipping forward to the logical conclusion, and the implication stunned him. He took a deep breath then said, "Arek."

"Because of the decisions made long ago, we foresaw that something like this could occur. We have always stood vigil throughout the ages, watching for signs. We call them ‘nulls’ and have stopped them in the past, but each time one appears it grows stronger more quickly. We need to fix things at the source. We cannot continue to bandage these points of injury. There are too many."

"Me, the bull and hawk?"

"You are astute. The runestaff is more than just a badge of your office. It is an ancient artifact. With it you can see far places, create form and substance from nothing, locate things, even heal."

"Heal? I can do that now."

"Not people, Lore Father. The runestaff is designed to heal the Way, but it needs a wielder. Your will shapes the Way. This is why you are necessary. You are the Will of the Way. You must do what Valarius did not."

Giridian sat back, more than a little stunned. "How?"

For the first time, Thoth looked sheepish, as if he did not want to admit his next words, but they came out, haltingly, nonetheless. "We are not sure."

"What do you mean?"

The Keeper hesitated, then said, "As I said earlier, much information was lost when we came here, but we are searching for how the runestaff should be used. Until then, know the Way can be destroyed by one such as Arek, but it can also be saved, restored." Before Giridian could say anything, Thoth held up a hand. "You must destroy Arek, but he is immune to anything that comes from the Way. He absorbs its power and uses it. This means—"

"Spells, magic, even magical weapons?"

"Indeed. It is doubtful he can be killed by anything except unaltered steel, yet he can command the Way against you. Once he realizes what he is, he will do just that. Tell your adepts, all of them, for they are uniquely gifted to stop him. Explain things however you wish, but be judicious. You are part of the Conclave now."

"How can Arek use the Way if he destroys it?"

Thoth looked at the lore father with respect in his eyes. "Arek is a perversion, an outcome of both magic
and
flesh, but shaped by the desire for vengeance. He is neither wholly flesh, nor purely the Way. As such, he can command the Way even as he alters and destroys it. Think of it like a sponge that soaks in water and when squeezed, expels it. The danger lies with the Aeris Lords, who will safeguard Arek hoping he is a better answer than Unity."

"Unity? You've said this word before. What is it?"

Thoth looked at Giridian, then grabbed his hand and pressed his flesh, "Ascension is Unity. The Aeris think possession a way to ensure their survival, but it is an unsustainable end."

"Why?" Giridian pressed.

"Because, Lore Father, there are far more Aeris than living beings on Edyn. What happens when the last person this world can offer is possessed? Worse, in their folly they will harbor Arek hoping to unravel the secret of his creation. If they try and use him to try to breathe life into themselves."

Giridian sat back, thoughtful, "Can they do this?"

"No, for they do not have the madness nor the power of Valarius. They however insure their own destruction and the destruction of this world in their attempt."

"What of these archives, of seeing the lore fathers’ memories?"

"Even if the archives were not failing, would you sit watching lifetimes of unending daily routine and drama to find what you already know? It would be a sad existence." He looked at Giridian for a moment, his gaze measuring. Then he hesitantly added, "There is… one more thing."

"There usually is."

Thoth chuckled. "It was thought that things could be fixed within the boundaries of the laws of this world. However, another believes differently and has left the Conclave to pursue its solution independently. It is the Sovereign, and at one time it ruled us all."

"What does it want?" Giridian asked.

"It wants to eradicate this, all of it, and start over." He took a deep breath, then continued, "You have faced its assassins."

Giridian nodded, the shock difficult to hide from his face. "They killed children..."

"Sovereign will kill
everything,
if left to its own will."

"This seems to be a bigger problem than Arek," Giridian countered, angry, the deaths of those on the Isle still raw and near the surface.

"For now, your interests in stopping Arek are aligned. He endangers the Sovereign, too. However, do not hesitate to protect yourselves. Sovereign will not stop with Arek."

"That’s it? You said you would share information, but this tells me nothing."

Thoth smiled a small, sad smile. "The Conclave,
your
Conclave, is working on a solution to the runestaff. We have shared with you all that you can comprehend. Have patience and hope, for you are not our only herald in this world. Focus on Arek. He is a greater danger than you realize, even with the knowledge we have granted."

He looked around the room and added, "You have some of the ancient lore here, and now understand the Way better than any who came before you. Do something better with that knowledge. Forge something new, Lore Father."

Thoth stood. Looking down on Giridian, he said, "I will always be here to answer your questions, as will the Conclave. You may also continue to See any lore father’s memories provided you know where to look. Our ability to search them for you is now limited by the energy it consumes. Perhaps you wondered why your ability to search the memories is so linear?"

Giridian arched an eyebrow. "I had wondered, but let myself become content that it was plain cruelty."

"No," Thoth said with a smile, "true searching would consume us and leave you without aid. I warn you again that time is precious. You may trust the dragons, who were the Guardians and continue to be defenders of the Way, holding this world’s protection under their wings. However, maintaining this meshing also tasks us greatly. Use it sparingly."

Giridian paused, then asked carefully, "Why is your energy limited?"

Thoth smiled, but there was a sad inevitability in his gaze. "Sovereign. It draws our sustenance away and will eradicate us if we do not learn how to use the runestaff."

"How will I find the staff?" Giridian asked as he also stood. He sensed the guardian was about to leave and felt a sudden panic, his mind still trying to assimilate all of this.

"Come forward." Thoth raised a finger and from its tip a blue star appeared. It was blinding, so intense that Giridian thought he’d have to shield his eyes. Yet when he looked, its perfection unfolded before him in breathtaking beauty and complexity. It was as if he were falling into a geometric shape without end, a pattern repeating itself infinitely. He never seen edges so keen, color so pure, a shape so sublime.

Thoth extended that finger and touched Giridian on the forehead. A deluge of visions washed into the lore father’s mind faster than he could perceive. His vision became blurry and his head tingled, as if ants crawled across his scalp. "Ascend and become part of this Conclave," echoed Thoth’s voice with a reverberating boom.

Giridian’s body arched in shock, his eyes shut and his mouth opened in a silent scream. His form stood outlined in white power, blazing incarnate as the process of Ascension took hold. He could not feel, see, or hear anything, except the rush of energy and strength that suffused his body and washed through his soul. The Way infused him with power, remaking him from the inside out.

Another form appeared, superimposed on the lore father: a winged creature armored in black and green, and carrying a warhammer that blazed with green fire. Enormous wings stretched from its sides, black blades made of pure ebonite, one of the hardest substances known in the world. It stood above the lore father, but held him protectively within its form.

Thoth stepped forward and raised a hand. "Hail, Artorius. It has been too long."

The Aeris lord smiled and said, "It has, Keeper, and yet you look the same."

"As do you." Thoth’s attention turned to Giridian, held in stasis by the Ascension and oblivious to this conversation. "He was not what we expected or prepared for."

"Neither was I, if you recall. Yet I achieved the right to ascend, and have served him faithfully since." Artorius turned his massive head to look down on his bonded partner. "Do not judge one from their meager beginnings, for none can trump such scrutiny. He is true to the Way, and has more strength than you know."

Thoth stood deep in thought, weighing the Aeris lord’s words. "You stand with him then, through this life and the next?"

"I do, Keeper. He will need my strength to stand against Sovereign. Permit the Ascension to continue."

"And what of Azrael?"

Artorius paused, his armored form towering over both Giridian and Thoth. "After Valarius fell he chose another, but none know who. Mayhap it is a boon, for Sovereign would surely move against Azrael were his whereabouts known."

"I wish there were more of us, more like you," said Thoth.

"There are enough to do what must be done, and Azrael is not lost." Artorius bowed his armored head in thanks and settled his form over Giridian’s own, covering him protectively in his black-bladed wings.

A sphere of power exploded from within the two, brightening to an incandescent white as the raw energy of the Way consumed both the Aeris lord and Giridian. It poured through them and as it did so, Artorius grew larger.

His armor darkened and changed, becoming more splendid and dangerous. His wings grew longer, still bladed and sharp, but somehow more lethal and potent, a visible testament to the power that was now Giridian’s to command. Then a silent detonation and Artorius disappeared in an emerald flash of power and light.

"It is done," Thoth announced. "You have the knowledge necessary to forge a new runestaff, Archmage Giridian Alacar."

Giridian staggered back, his hand to his head. The scope of the Ascension flooding his senses beyond what he thought he could take. Just as he sank to one knee and could take no more, he found himself supported by strong arms, helping him up.

"Sit here."

He opened his eyes to the concerned look of Dragor, kneeling in front of him. He had no memory of anything after Thoth touched his forehead. He was in the Vault still and nothing had changed except instead of Thoth, it was now Dragor who sat next to him.

In a whisper that was almost to himself, he said, "By the Lady..."

Dragor looked confused. "What?"

Giridian looked at Dragor with a start, as if seeing him for the first time. Then he shook his head and said, "We were wrong."

"About what?" Dragor looked at the lore father, concern plainly written on his features.

Giridian’s face was ashen. "About everything." He looked around the room, seeing it now with eyes opened by his newfound powers, and took a deep breath. The Way flooded into him, healing and restoring him just as easily as breathing did. He held out his hand and could almost see the Way as it flowed. He concentrated, then clenched his fist, knowing what would happen next.

The air brightened at his grasp, a flash of green energy that elongated into a spear of blinding light. Within it, he could see an infinite sea of particles, all converging at his command. From his fist outward, the air itself solidified and turned dark, growing into a shiny black spear of metal. It shone with a green lightning flashing across black metal, the runestaff of the lore father, remade by the new Archmage of the Conclave. In a moment, it was done.

Giridian looked at Dragor, who watched him with an awed expression. He took another deep breath and could feel the Way enter him again, silent and strong, his to command. He thought about what Thoth had revealed, then in a voice that came out almost a whisper, he said, "We must kill Arek."

Journal Entry 14

My failure to protect myself from these strange raids, none of which are distinct or identifiable, is a critical piece of information. I understand it now, for these are the formless fears I have, that every man has, and they find life through the younger Aeris.