P I and Magic Book II: The Gods Return
Copyright© 2005 by Volentrin
Chapter 20
I strolled through Morningstar's Palace. After meeting with him, he had transported himself, Shaitan, and me, to the palace. Oddly, I did not see the depictions of hell that I always had been told about. I'm not saying they weren't there; just that I didn't come across anything like what had been described.
It was definitely a harsh existence, though. Failure was dealt with swiftly and harshly. The few perks I had seen thus far, were in the form of power. This place was totally different from Earth, or Morwan.
I was invited to a feast that was starting shortly. I used a small spell to freshen my clothing, and shine my boots. I also used my time to build a spell to interfere, hopefully, with Morningstar's magnetic personality.
I shuddered again as I thought of how I first reacted when I saw him. I felt my face getting warm. Damn! I hadn't blushed like this, since I was very young. Admittedly, part of it was anger, but still...
I also renewed several spells, and added to the spells I had at the ready. I pondered what I had seen on the battlefield. Spells had been flying thickly and heavily, but I hadn't really paid to much conscious attention to them. Subconsciously, I must have remembered them. This was an aspect of memory I had not been able to perform, before.
I sat close to the middle of a long table, laden with food. Morningstar insisted I sit with him at his table. The hall was huge, and filled with demons of all types. Some I looked at only once, and wished I hadn't. How could people live like this? Well, the obvious answer was, they weren't people.
Even with my insulating spell, I still found myself fascinated with Morningstar. If he was this powerful, I wondered what the Creator was like. I wanted to ask, but was afraid I would piss him off. After all, in all the mythology I knew, he was not on good terms with the Creator.
Of course, I had discovered another purpose for demons, but that was what THEY told me. Right now, the main purpose of demons was to fight the Ancients. Come to think of it, was that their true purpose? Shit! You could drive yourself crazy with thoughts like this!
I filled my plate with bits of everything I recognized, and ate. I looked out over the hall, and was amazed at the number it held! Just the number of demons in this hall, was enough to start a small war.
If the number of soldiers I saw was just a part of the army of this hell, why hadn't they taken over Earth, or Morwan for that matter? There had to be another mechanism in place that I was not privy too.
Morningstar was seated at the exact center of the large table we were at. To his right was Shaitan, then myself, then there were two more demons. On Morningstar's left was a woman of remarkable beauty, whom he had introduced as his daughter, Eva. On her left were two more demons that I was introduced to, but could not remember their names. The meal was going strong. I was actually enjoying it. I looked out over the hall, and shook my head. There were thousands of demons, all eating. Every one of these demons was here as reward for something done in battle this day.
"So tell me, Paul, about this spell with the spiders and then with the webs. Where did you find this? I have not seen it done before," Shaitan asked me.
"Well, the spiders were a spell I learned from a demi-god from another, uh, reality. Vostich sent me to speak with this entity, and he took a liking to me. Taught me a lot, really. I liked him," I said with a sigh.
"I have not heard of this spider demi-god before. He sounds like someone to get to know. Do you know how to contact him?" Shaitan asked me.
I stared at him. Was he actually trying to broker a deal to be put into contact with Svedra?
"Actually, I only know how to reach him via a gate in Vostich's castle," I replied.
"Ah, well. I had to at least ask. Have you tried this wine, yet? It is imported from a land far from here, but is worth the transport," Shaitan said, extolling the virtue of the wine he was pouring for me.
So I drank a bit, and discovered he was right. The wine was probably one of the best I had ever tasted!
"You're right. This is good. I would love to take some back with me when I return to Morwan," I said musingly.
"Consider it done. I will have five casks delivered to the gate when you go. Now then, father wants to speak with you later this evening, if he gets the chance. He wants to put you in charge of the central section of the line," Shaitan said with a smile.
I found myself staring at him again. I could not bog myself down with commanding troops! It wasn't what I was here for. I said as much to Shaitan, and he was disappointed.
"I understand you. However, saying no to Father, may be a bit more difficult," he said.
I found myself standing before Morningstar almost as soon as Shaitan had finished talking. Morningstar had gotten up, and had motioned for me and a few others to join him.
"Good. We are all here now. I have an idea for tomorrow's battle I want to run by you four. This is what I see as happening..." Morningstar said, and went on at length. It was actually a good plan, but I regretted not being able to participate.
"Lord Morningstar, while I am willing to lend a hand, my primary job is to try to disable the gate. I'm afraid I can't get involved with being held down to a place in a line. Even if it's a command posting, I need to be free to move as I see fit," I said, and held my breath.
Morningstar frowned at me, and I felt my heart wrench at it. I so hated to let him down. Crap! I was doing it again. I added a little extra power into my insulating spell. I felt better after I did that, and watched Morningstar cautiously.
He sighed loudly. "Of course. Please forgive my assumption. You are dismissed," he told me, and turned to the others. Not good.
"My lord. I will be glad to help your army in anyway I can. But you have to let me do my..." that was as far as I got.
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