Chapter 7

“He who does not trust enough, will not be trusted.”

—Lao Tzu

“Jason, you have unique casting talents, it is as if you have a feel and intrinsic understanding of what can be done. I wanted to discuss with you what might be possible. The other area I hope we can address is the area of runes and the teaching thereof,” said Prof. Ajenix Omulix after Jason settled into his comfortable seat facing her over a small coffee table.

“Pleb and I discussed the rune education problem this week and she told me you were considering the options. She wanted me to explain how I see the issue and put the problem into perspective for you. May I proceed?”

“Please go ahead Prof. Omulix, you don’t need to be formal with me unless we are involved in a ceremony together!” Jason replied.

“The Gromelix were created by the Uzliumbax. They were developed from the Tyrannosauruses for a singular purpose. That purpose was a surgical strike on the Ghouls to assassinate the Queen. The Ghouls moved to hide in Bekta Delta and the Uzliumbax changed their priorities. A group of people who we believed were the Uzliumbax returned to the Gromelix to help us further our development. Our original small group of Gromelix had grown to several thousand by the time they returned.

“The teachers gave us a repository of knowledge and spent time with us supervising our development. They told us the Emperor would return and we must prepare ourselves for his return. We were told you would return when we were in crisis and you would help us. An ancient enemy would appear, and we would have a critical role to play to help defeat this enemy. They told us the runes were the ancient language and it would open the doorway for us to gain a grasp of the next step of our evolution. They taught us to cast using the runes and to cast directly using the powers.

“We speak the ancient language as we were taught, and it is the basis for all we know. We were not permitted to change the runes or modify them in any way, but they showed us how to create new words. They visited us until we counted ourselves in the hundreds of millions and our society was thriving and advancing quickly,” said Prof. Omulix.

“The Azloc tell a similar story, and shared the same prophecy. They were told the runes they were learning were critical for the sciences and would draw on old learnings and accelerate their progress and knowledge.

“The Dinnion had a language template much like ours but modified and amended the runes as they pleased. We were told the runes must not change as they resonated with the multiverse and that gave the language its power. The Dinnion decided to modify and simplify the runes. One person has directed the so called modernizing of the runes. The Dinnion Professor has dedicated her life to the study of the evolution of the Dinnion variant of the language and loves her work passionately. The Uzliumbax language is also a symbolic language and was similarly modified but much less so than the Dinnion. The Destroyers evolved the runes much as did the Uzliumbax. The Destroyers, Dinnion and Uzliumbax do not recall being told any reason to continue to use the original rune set.

“The Dinnion professor believes the Dinnion are more advanced, and better than everyone else therefore the Dinnion language should be the model. That is her argument. We cannot break the logjam without offending the Dinnion civilization as the professor is a public hero.”

“Thank you, for your explanation, professor. I have been considering the problem and I intend to explore possible solutions. I need to see if I can get the most credible players to provide persuasive arguments. I will get back to you within a week,” Jason responded.

“Thank you, Jason, I was getting to the stage where I was having dark thoughts of getting rid of the idiot woman. Now let us get off that miserable topic and move to casting.”

“As you know, we have commenced a more intense program with the Gromelix who were ahead of the rest of the students. My suspicions were confirmed; we have made much faster progress than any Gromelix teachers expected. You have shown evidence you can access unique knowledge and abilities, but these abilities of yours are highly undeveloped and can be dangerous to you as you discovered. The Gazronnaas are attempting to target you. I can feel malice directed towards you. I had a brief but intense glimpse of the evil and envious thoughts, close to the time the bomb exploded and then it receded behind the clouded veil, behind which the Gazronnaas hide.”

“Aren’t you already accelerating the development of the students as fast as we can?” Jason asked.

Prof. Omulix sighed. “Yes, and no is the best answer. Yes, I am accelerating the process for all the students. No, I am not doing it as fast as one can possibly do it. For all of them, I am doing it using the safest fast method. It is not the fastest method.

“You are looking perplexed? During our training twenty of us were removed from the general class and were offered an opportunity. I will offer you the same. There is a faster but very much more dangerous path to gaining power. So far, I am only offering it to you and Annjus. I expect you will be joined by several others in the not-too-distant future as they reach the same stage as the two of you. Do you have any questions?”

“Prof. Omulix what is the nature of the danger I will face?” asked Jason.

“I will teach you a particular style of meditation which enable you to create a portal that shifts you into another realm. We do not know if it is a universe, some form of construct, or a different kind of world.

“Each of us who went across was uniquely talented but faced a long slow path to the next step. We were further ahead than you are when we learned the meditation. In retrospect, none of us felt prepared for what we faced. Porquenta created similar but more structured training experiences for you. The opportunity I offer you will not be the last unique opportunity you will face in the next year,” Prof. Omulix replied.

“Professor what do you mean about further opportunities?” asked Jason.

“I have times when I can see the future. I can see you entering different realms to learn what you need. This realm will provide you with the skills you need to deal with the Gazronnaas faster than I can teach you.

“The first time I will offer my strength and my support to open the portal. After the first time, you will be able to open a portal more easily. You will return here using the same method and you will be able to go back at will. The first time you cast and go through is the most difficult. You do not face such barriers again.

“You will continue with your classes here but intermittently travel through the portal. The different types of meditation fulfill different purposes and each creates unique opportunities. You have found your power and you can locate it in different places. You can apply it. The class will teach you several useful skills which will complement what you learn in the other realm. If you accept this challenge, you accept you are risking your life to move your personal development rapidly ahead.

“Do you need to think about it?” The professor asked.

“I am in a situation where my life is at risk and I may diminish that risk by taking another risk. Casting has already saved my life. I believe, it is my duty, to make myself into the most effective person I can be. As Emperor, I play a vital role in the lives of the civilizations which are part of the Empire. Time is of the essence. Please let us begin,” said Jason decisively. “If you risked it and survived so can I!”

“Very well, let us begin. Follow the sound and make sure you have it for reference on your crystal. Listen to it and then make the sound yourself to create the entry point to the realm. You create your unique door and path. Now close your eyes and make yourself comfortable on your seat. When you are in your room, you will find it more comfortable to meditate in the position I suggested to the class, seated on your bed with your legs crossed and a pillow behind you to provide support.”

The professor began to hum, waited for Jason to follow her and then created a sustained note which the two of them held together. Within seconds Jason saw flames erupt in two places on the floor in front of him, then rising to form a tall oval. Jason could not see a floor between him and the oval, but he knew he could walk on the surface. Behind the oval was utter blackness. Jason began to feel utter wretchedness and misery. He smiled to himself and pushed it out of his mind. Behind the oval, the blackness began to swirl. Slowly a door appeared behind the oval but moving closer. The door was ancient and unused for a very long time. It was covered with decaying twisted vegetation. The vegetation began to smoke and crumble. The door joined with the oval and opened a crack. Jason was drawn to the door. He felt the professor behind him, but when he turned, he could not see her. The floor was firm and his footfalls echoed until he reached the door.

Jason pushed open the heavy wooden door. It groaned as if it had not been opened for an eternity. The light beyond the door was dim, but with his insect senses, he could see perfectly. He felt a cold wind blowing and heard the rustling of leaves. Something moving quickly entered his peripheral vision. Without thinking he lifted his left arm to block it. There was a muffled thud, then a high-pitched screech as the bat bounced off his forearm struck a tree and crumpled to fall into the foliage of the forest. The door groaned shut behind him.

Jason reached into his transdim storage and found his ghoul sword. He felt reassured by its familiar feel. The runes on the upper part of its blade pulsed a green color with a central fiery core. He looked up and saw the twisted limbs of an ancient forest. He smelt rotten vegetation and a pervasive sense of decay all around him. He looked down and saw a well-trodden path. He walked in the direction he was facing.

Jason, paused every so often to listen. He was wearing comfortable boots, not the shoes he had worn to the professor’s office. He felt down his leg using his left arm. The boots extended almost to his knee. He was wearing leather trousers and a comfortable jerkin of suede and a long leather cloak. He felt a bow over his left shoulder with a quiver over his right shoulder. He carried a small pack on his back.

Once again, he looked up. A luminescent reddish moon hung like a lantern in the sky. The feeling was eerie and the sudden silence threatening. He felt the wind again, paused, looked behind and on both sides before looking ahead. Twenty-five yards ahead of him he saw a buck the size of a buffalo, with magnificent antlers silhouetted as it stood frozen ahead of him its ears twitching. He carefully looked around once more before returning his sword to transdim space. He carefully slid his bow from his shoulder and nocked an arrow. He pulled back, aimed carefully, managing his breathing as he had learnt and released the arrow. He heard a muffled thunk. He nocked a second arrow.

There was a flash from the right as a sleek feline ran towards the stag. Feelings of doom and misery struck him like a wave. He pushed it out of his mind. Intense rage smote against his defenses like a physical blow. He pushed the onslaught aside while maintaining his acute awareness of the forest around him.

He slowly walked forward and loosed an arrow as he saw the shoulder of the predator. It turned to charge him and began a short run then leapt. He fired his third arrow as it came directly towards him. At the last second, he dived to the side as the big cat landed where he had been standing. He left the bow on the ground and grabbed his sword. The cat turned sharply paws clawing at the ground to change direction, Jason advanced swiftly and drove the sword into its eye as its scrabbling paws finally gained purchase and it pushed its way towards and past him as he moved aside pulling out his sword. It sighed as it collapsed.

He stabbed it again through the chest, then carefully looked around. He picked up his bow and put it over his left shoulder. He removed his arrows from the buck and the tiger sized feline, then wiped his arrows and sword on the fur of the feline.

He felt around him. There was nothing big near him. He could concentrate on his mental attacker. He probed to feel from which direction the attack was coming. As he turned slowly, his senses told him it was from the direction he had been traveling. He sent his mind searching ahead as he had done while hunting the Grork when on the ships using the psychic amplifier. He brushed past many more minds than he expected and the very different minds of the beasts of the forest.

Ahead he sensed a barrier. His mind brushed past it as if it was a gentle breeze, past the village in front of a moat and passed the deformed guards at the gate of the bleak castle, built into a cliff that was part of an imposing mountain beyond.

He flashed over the moat and through the raised drawbridge into the castle courtyard beyond. Carts laden with cages filled with miserable beings were assembled in the courtyard with patient oxen hitched to the yokes.

Jason sensed the minds within.

The runes above the door flashed as he moved through the door. He paused in the passage. They were ahead of him. He passed through another door into a large room.

A stream of misery emanated like a contagion from a group of black robed beings. They hid themselves deep in their cowls. They slowly walked around a cauldron suspended by gnarled green rusted hands of brass on a tripod. In the hearth in the wall an animal turned above the fire. It was still alive, the eyes were tortured and it moved its head and eyes as it turned. It looked at him. A shrunken deformed being with empty eyes turned a handle to rotate the animal above the foul black flames. Grey scaled animals with the faces of crocodiles and the bodies of hairless dogs, with short leathery wings lay warming themselves near the hearth. The room was filled with chanting. One member of the group rhythmically beat a hide covered drum. Jason’s face distorted by scum and bubbles looked up from the cauldron. The witches, shuffled and chanted. Jason searched for the leader. He patiently waited and watched.

A large woman strode to the cauldron and began to mutter. She looked at the image and banged her staff resoundingly against the metal of the cauldron. Jason felt agony in every part of his body. He was shaken and lost his concentration and found himself back in the forest.

He forced himself to concentrate and return to the task before she acted again. He raced back to the room along the familiar route. Once more he entered the castle and the room. He forced his way into her mind. He felt her shock and fear, then she counterattacked. She banged her staff on the cauldron. He was braced and the ready for the agony. His mind was clear and he had the power and even felt the power of the professor behind him. She supported him without knowing what he did.

Around him, he felt the power everywhere. He drew it through him and through his strengthening link to form a furnace beneath the witches and the foul beasts. There was so much power! The flames cracked and rustled and then roared. He heard the witches scream as the fire began to consume them. The crocodile bat dogs ran frantically to the walls to escape. Jason watched until every figure in the room was ashes.

He returned to the forest and back to his body. The forest sounds intruded into his consciousness. He heard scurrying animals and the rustling of insects. He felt the trees breathe in relief. A light misty rain began to fall, but the air had lost its chill and the wind felt balmy. Jason felt a weight lift from his body and mind.

The stag and feline lay in front of him. For reasons he did not understand he blessed the animals and thanked the Gods of this world for providing him with sustenance. He felt a caress on his skin as he did so.

He pulled his knife from his pack. He drained the blood of the buck and removed the entrails before he cut the animal into large pieces which he pulled high into the trees with strips of hide that he cut from the animal. He placed several large chunks of meat in his transdim space. There was plenty of space so he decided to take the rest of the meat with him. He skinned the big cat, and folded the skin into the transdim space. He pulled out several teeth and claws and saved them.

Jason strode along the path to the barrier. It was open. The guards had disappeared. The village was dark and somber but it was waking as he passed hut after hut. Villagers were lighting fires. People emerged from the huts and began chattering with each other. They paid Jason scant attention as he made his way to the castle dominating the village.

The drawbridge was closed. The castle was silent. Jason looked around him. Thick trunks of energy were everywhere. He no longer needed to meditate to see it. The vibrant energy was all around him. He drew some into himself and formed a thin flame to cut the ropes holding drawbridge.

The heavy door slowly began to fall and sank into the soft mud on his side splashing his boots.

There was no response from within the castle. Jason drew his sword. The runes shone brightly and a green flame dribbled from the blade as he walked into the castle brandishing his sword. The open area beyond the gate was awash with fresh blood from the hacked open oxen carcasses. The prisoners had escaped from the cages and killed the guards. There were hastily lighted fires with fresh ox meat roasting above them. Several bodies lay next to the open cages on the burning carts. Several carts had been deconstructed to provide firewood.

No one paid Jason any attention as he opened the door to enter the building. The runes above the door flashed but did not impede his entry. There was no sign of life within. The passageway was paved with smooth stones and lighted by torches flickering on the side. The walls were of heavy blocks of stone. The doors to the rooms were all open. The kitchen and storage areas were clean and well scrubbed but empty.

The door to the room at the end was heavy and hot to the touch.

Jason turned the handle gingerly and pushed the door open. Flames from the hearth lighted the room. The creature he saw turning the skewer lay burned on the floor as was the animal on the skewer. The group he had seen chanting were smoldering ash as were their animals.

Jason walked to the entrance and barred the front door. Runes glowed red in stark relief above the door. He chose not to interfere with the revelers outside.

He found several unused torches, moved them to the great room and lighted them from the fire. He lighted the prepared fire in the kitchen and returned to the great room. Several doors opened to other rooms, and passageways, inviting him to explore. One of the rooms had a large bed, the others had four beds each. He was surprised to see a toilet much like those on earth adjacent to a black tiled bathroom with an old bath on legs and an attached shower enclosed in glass. It did not fit with the medieval village and the rest of the castle, but he enjoyed the facilities.

One of the doors led to a passageway which took him into the mountain. He could not see the end of the passageway and decided not to explore further.

He yawned and decided to go back to prepare a meal. He heard tapping at the front door. He looked out of the peep hole and saw a woman with a white bonnet and an associate with a somewhat less ornate bonnet.

Jason carefully opened the door. They didn’t seem surprised to see him.

“My Lord, I am pleased to see you are back. We will have your meal ready within the hour. Will you be expecting any guests?”

They walked past him into the kitchen.

The cook pushed on the wall and opened the door of a large stainless steel stasis unit. It was as advanced as any he had seen in Cassius’s empire.

“I will prepare your small dining room for you. Your staff will be in tomorrow morning and we will make sure the mess created by the crones will be removed.”

She opened the door and pointed before ushering Jason into a comfortable room with a small hearth and a fire still smoking. A large hound slowly rose, sniffed the air and arthritically walked towards Jason with its tail wagging furiously. Jason patted the elderly dog and rubbed its face. It laboriously stood on its hind legs and put its paws on his shoulders and nuzzled his cheek. It dropped back on all fours then licked his hand and rubbed up against him.

The room had a table and a dozen chairs and an area with comfortable leather sofa chairs flanked by side tables. Jason made himself comfortable. The top of the armchair opened at his touch to reveal a set of controls. Jason pressed the ‘on’ button.

A holovid projector emerged from the wall and displayed an orchestra. The music was unfamiliar and jarring. He flipped through several channels and found the news.

He watched for five minutes, then switched it off; there was nothing that interested him or seemed relevant. The assistant to the cook walked in with a silver tray and a tumbler of whisky with ice in a bucket and a small jug of water.

“I am sorry for the delay, my Lord. We went down to the second level of the dungeons to retrieve your hidden goods. Morgan returned with several of the men. He removed the riff-raff from the yard after making sure they took their mess with them.

“Sometimes, I don’t know what this place is coming to.”

Jason thanked her and she left. He fell asleep, then woke again after hearing a knock on the door.

“Sire, I am sorry to disturb you. I am back with two of your men. I assume the king didn’t kill you. I am relieved you are back and disposed of the witches. They did considerable damage while you were away,” said a man he presumed was Morgan.

“Morgan, can you please tell me what happened in my absence?” Jason asked.

“Six months after you left for the capital two years ago, we heard the king imprisoned you. The media branded you a known renegade who had been incarcerated and was to be hung, drawn and quartered.

“We heard from several travelers the witches left the coven and were on the path heading our way. Your guardsmen went into the forest to attempt to intercept them but we never saw them again. We packed up everything valuable and hid it behind the wall in the second dungeon and left the castle before they arrived. We returned to our homes in the village and have lived on the coin you left us in case of emergency.

Two days later, the witches reached the village along with their attendants and abominations. They took over the castle. The village suffered. Children disappeared, babies were born malformed and the abominations took from the farms whatever the witches desired. Sire, your lands have suffered grievously during the time you were away.

“I ensured you have good men running your businesses in the city. Not a soul knows what you own,” said Morgan emotionally. “Sire, may I be presumptuous and ask if you can tell me how you managed to survive?”

Jason felt a flood of memories enter his mind. He paused while he sorted his recollections into a meaningful sequence took several breaths as he decided what to say, then began.

“The treacherous king called me to do my duty in court. As you know I declined twice. Two years ago he sent his lackeys to fetch me. He told me I had a role to play to help him rule the kingdom and I was not assuming my responsibilities. He returned me here and gave me a month to settle my estates. I did my best to do as much as I could to prepare for a long absence. His soldiers escorted me to the capital. I had no choice but to go with them. I left with them in a shuttle while you were in the city doing something for me.

“The court of the king houses a nest of vipers. I tried to maintain a distance from the gossip and the backbiting. I did whatever the King required of me to the best of my ability.

“The King was never pleased. As I reached the statutorily required term of six months and was looking forward to my return, the King arrested me and confined me to his dungeons. There I was beaten and tortured for several months before I was presented with my alleged confession and beaten into unconsciousness when I refused to sign. My thumbprint is clear upon the document.

“There was a show trial at which I was not allowed to speak, and my representative was not allowed to spend time with me. Much was made of my alleged confession and I was shown in the media on several occasions in chains. I was sentenced to death.

“I was returned to the dungeon to await my hanging which was scheduled to occur six months after sentencing. The king wanted to make the most of my shame. Visitors paid a shekel to see me in my cell on the weekends. This venture was so popular the King extended the visiting days and hours by an additional three weekdays and four hours per day and more recently I was viewable on dungeon tours every day of the week. The king used to come down to see me monthly to gloat and called me his favorite, profitable circus act.

“The prisoners in adjacent cells changed often. A man in the adjacent cell whispered that the king’s sister had always wanted my lands and my castle. A day later he told me she was a witch and a dangerous woman. The next day he told me she was the infamous mad witch of the King-rah Coven. Four days later the jailers beat him to death in his cell.

“A week ago, an unknown group assassinated the king, and most of his court. They killed his wives, children and their families. The rampage continued. The shadowy group killed every known relative of the king, then every remaining member of his court along with their families. Each day that week, the last visitor on the tour, gave me the news of the day. It was always a different person.

“The dreaded militia of the king disappeared never to be heard of again. That same group place the military in control and told them to establish a new ruler of the kingdom. A man, dressed in white, who I have never seen before or since, released me that day and told me I was free to go. He gently helped me upstairs. I could barely walk. It took all my residual will to climb the three flights of stairs, even with assistance. The elegant distinguished man then gave me some food and drink and wished me the best of luck.

“Before I could ask any questions, he turned on his heels and disappeared. I sat down on a nearby bench and wept with relief.

“I have several old friends in the city. I made my way agonizingly slowly to the home of the nearest and collapsed at his gate unconscious.

“When I awoke, I was in a large soft white bed with frilly feather pillows. I wept. It was the first bed since my incarceration. I lost thirteen months and a third of my body weight in that dungeon. I slept on straw on the hard ground and ate unidentifiable slop at lunch time. I first thought I had died and was in paradise, but soon overwhelming pain returned, and I groaned.

“A wizened old crone moved to my bedside and told me she was a healer and she would do her best to relieve my suffering. She mumbled and chanted without any demonstrable effect. I began to have serious doubts, not only about her skills, but also about her sanity. The mumbling and chanting continued and I fell into a restless uneasy sleep.

“I suddenly woke, I felt as if I was being inflated and would explode. I looked around me and I was suspended a foot above the bed. The infernal mumbling grew in intensity and the pressure in my body grew and I fully expected to burst. I could not move my legs or my arms, nor could I utter the simplest sound.

It became worse. The pressure was beyond my imagination. I screamed inwardly. My bowels involuntarily released and I lost control of my bladder. I was mortified but paralyzed and helpless. The wizened hag moved her hands over me without touching my body, yet I could feel her hands on my heart, then my lungs and then fiddling in my bowels. She laughed and cackled cooed and clucked. I formed the opinion I had fallen into the hands of a demon. I screamed, but I couldn’t whisper, I tried to protest her foul machinations and intrusions upon my decency but I could only sigh. I wanted to cry but my eyes were dry. I have never felt so frightened.

“Her chanting once again grew louder. She lifted her hands. I realized I could feel the bed beneath me. She lifted her hands again. I felt my body become lighter with each repeated movement. Soon I was as light as a feather and lifted off the bed following her hands. Once again I felt her hands in my chest holding my heart and squeezing it. My mood passed from abject fear to supreme terror. My heart labored to beat. She began to hum. I felt her mind enter mine and she began to rummage in my head. I was naked exposed and helpless as she examined me, my behavior, my thoughts and my actions. She ran roughshod through my life and sat in judgement. I did not know to what standard I was judged, but I felt the weight of the sentence. Was I the choking chicken held around the throat by the cheerful cook with her other hand brandishing a cleaver.