The Spell of Binding (Part One) (6 page)

“Masssster wassss right, t hey are up to ssssomething,” the first figure stated. “Now is ss the time to prove oursssselve ss s.” Slis turned to see why Qwat was so quiet .

Qwat was busy shaking with excitement. So much so that Slis had to slither away from him, because Qwat had just wet himself.

Chapter Eight

NOTHING SACRED

S
imeon walk slowly and purposefully down the long corridor. He was in no rus h. Time merged together when you reached a certain age , with m ore years behind you than what’s ahead. His long white robes dragged along the flagstone floor. He made a mental note to order his robes taken up by a few inches. His old bones were closing in, making him stoop more each month. Within a couple of year s he would be bent almost double; if they all lived that long. He would have done it himself, but sowing wasn’t his forte, not with his bad eyesight and weak , shaking hands. Magic could be used to heighten the length, but the robe had runes sown a round its hem, to protect the garment from dirt, wear ‘n’ tear, and more importantly, magic. The best way to make them last was to sow the runes on individually by hand with strengthened thread.

Younger magi raced around him in a flurry of activity. His presence always made people jumpy ; made them work faster, trying to impress. But Simeon hadn’t been impressed with anything for as long as he could remember. The world was stagnant, like a room that had been closed to the fresh air for t o o many long years. A window needed to be thrown open, fresh air need ed to circulate this decayed world. He didn’t understand the creatures need to control all. They controlled everything outside the protective barriers. But he knew it was more complicated than that, it had nothing to do with space, belongings, food or water. It all came down to revenge.

Eons ago mankind’s ancestors had imprisoned them, and now they wanted revenge, even though not one of the original magi was alive, only distant , watered down relatives. Wasn’t it an ancient mythical book called the Bible that had said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth ? A book that billions had followed, to what end? A God that didn’t protect them during the worst calamity since the supposed flood of Noah’s day. A vast group of followers who screamed out for protection and forgiveness as the weapons of science obliterated them from off the planet. It seemed ironic that the demons would call for a biblical eye for an eye, and he was amazed that their vengeance still burn t strong af ter so many thousands of years.

Simeon was closing in on his destinat ion; a small room he studied in. It was nothing fancy, just a small stone space that rested on the very edge of the main citadel that overlooked the barren Aratta Plains below that he spent endless hours, studying and reminiscing; in the section of the city called Nimrods Tower. The room had stone shelves that encompassed t wo walls; all filled with ancient manuscripts and tattered books, leaving just two wall s, one for the window and one for the door. His old battered table faced out the window, pressed right up against it. A collection of writing implements and paper was all that sat on the desk; paperwork related to the running of the largest human city, and eleven others like it dotted around the inhabitable world, and the hundreds of towns and small villages –all were dotted about on the worlds Energy Grid.

An ancient writer called Plato first had the theory that the world had specific energy points that could be harnessed. The world was dissected by simple geometric shapes , then in to more complicated geometric shapes; these are known as Platonic Solids. There were five types, each representing one of the five known elements : Cube – Earth, Tetrahedron –Fire, Octahedron –A ir, I cosahedron –Water, and the last, little know element; Dodecahedron –Ether. Each one of these shapes , when slotted next to each other, created an all encompassing energy field that is the very basis of e arth, holding it all together.

Each city was sat on one of the worlds twelve major connecting points in the Platonic Solid grid. Altogether there are sixty-five major points; a few were being used by the demons. Some were under miles of solid ice or underwater. Others were on the tip s of mountains, thrust up by the changing world.

It had taken years of study to find the locations, because of the polar-shift and continental buckling. But with ancient methods, using Ley Lines, Curry Lines, Hartmann Lines and Black Lines, and finding a carving in an ancient temple of the Becker-Hagens Grid Map, along with powerful location spells, he had eventually narrowed the locations down, pinpointing them on today’s world, the same way the ancients Europeans did when they positioned Stonehenge, the Egyptians with their pyramids, the Rapa Nui’s monolith standing stones called Moai, on Easter Island, the South Americans with their Nazca Lines, and the Latin Americans and the city in Teotihuacán, and the Chaco culture. All used ancient arts to locate the worlds Energy Grid and to use it to their benefit. The same way that the main city used the earths own power, mixed with their powerful rune magic, to protect all inside its walls .

Simeon had been one of the first to study the ancient ideas, spending decades collecting information that had survived the Great War and ravishes of time and eventually indoctrinating it into their own understanding of the world. Luckily for them the ancients had been obsessed with writing everything down; tens of millions of books, all carrying the knowledge of their time. Much of their understanding of what happened had been pieced together by Simeon , this was one of the reasons he got on to the Council of Seven , and how he eventually be came the head of the c ouncil.

But nowadays being the head of the mag i was more bureaucracy than anything else. He had to k eep records of those governing the cities , and records of the food and water supplies, and census of civilians and magi.

It was much more interesting decades ago, but e verything that could be found out about the Great War and the reasons for it happening –and anything else they could learn and use –had all been accomplished. The world was at a dead end. Now it was simply a matter of survival; seeing how long mankind could survive against the creatures that hunted them.

The old sorcerer slowly lowered himself down in to the padded seat, and pulled the robe around his white knobberly knees for warmth. He could’v e made the sign of a basic rune and warmed the small room, but he wouldn’t be here for long, and he needed his magic for what he was about to accomplish.

Simeon stared unblinking out the window to the expanse of barre n wasteland that disappeared in to the distance. There was n o greenery –no trees or bush es, not even dry scrub, nothing, it was completely desolate. All that could be seen was a collection of marauding demons.

The magi didn’t really know where the city was located in the o ld w orld, before Armageddon. The world had completely changed , there had been polar-shift and titanic volcanic eruptions mixed with tectonic movement, all caused by the vast power released by the nuclear weapons of science. All these combined completely rearranged the continents. But the section the city rested on was believed to be the cradle of civilization, around the area of Iraq and Syria, possibly Egypt or Saudi Arabia.

They believed the city was positioned over the very first point recognized on the Power Grid by the ancient mystics: Babel in Babylon. It was hard to tell because oceans had changed, continents had realigned and rivers diverted. Also there has been thousands of years of erosion and more shifting. All they kne w was it was hot during the day and freezing at night , with l ittle water and even less shade. But this compared to everywhere else was paradise. Towards the northern hemisphere there were vast continent covering glaciers. The world was still trying to recover from what man had unleashed upon it thousands of years ago.

Simeon turned hi s attention back out the window to the demons prancing about below. There was always some out there, ranting and raving, screaming abuse and vengeance , while t hrowing stones or hurling magic. Nothing penetrated the barrier, it was simpl y mind games, reminding a ll inside that they were there.

H
ide all you like but we will always be waiting .

Decades ago sections of the barrier would be lowered and fireballs, lightning bolts and other magical weapons would be hurled at the beasts. But they were soon replaced by other creatures, the screaming would continue. Killing them accomplished nothing, except wasting energy, weapons and magic. Now they simply ignored them, or rather tried as best they could. Most of the rooms in the Nimrod Tower that overlooked the Main Gate were empty; people didn’t want to be able to hear the constant agitation from the creatures o utside.

It showed the population was declining, because they could so easily vacate large sections of the city. The birth rate of the humans had been dropping steadily for twenty years; it was now down to thirty percent. Whereas the dwarfs and el ve s had almost doubled in that time. Evolution, it seems, didn’t favor mankind. Once they ruled, overpopulat ing and totally consum ing every inch of th e world and its resources . Now they were simply a minority. The demons were the new world virus.

From his window Simeon watched the collection of demons tossing stones and screaming guttural taunts. The only time the demons outside were confronted was when a traveling caravan rolled towards the city, or a group wanted to leave. Then the Order of Sanctum would pour forth and battle the creatures while the caravan entered, or the group leaving was far enough away not to draw attention or be worth chasing.

The Order of Sanctum was the Brotherhood of the Mag i’s army. Those that didn’t have the gift to hear the Voice were trained in other occults – witchcraft mainly. The spells didn’t emanate from their bodies, like the sorcerers, but from potions and artifacts that had magical runes engraved upon them. No one remembered where the name originated, or even what it signified. They knew it was an ancient language called Latin, and it meant, ‘Holy of Holies,’ but why the guards were first appointed the name was a mystery.

Simeon watched as a group of twenty or so lumbe ring vehicles, pulled by camels, trundled towards the city. Forty or so men encircled the caravan, weapons glinting in the cruel heat of day. The entourage was nervous. They were close to the city and safety, but the outskirts of any city was the most dangerous area to be in.

The collection of creatures that were taunting the guards behind the barrier now noticed the group heading straight towards them. Their screams and cries amplified; now they had some flesh they could rip into. The beasts turned and at full pelt headed towards the convoy.

Shouts could be heard from the sword bearers, muffled by distance. They collected at the front, running forward to meet the creatures away from the transport , and their women and children.

Below, just coming into view was the black clad Order of Sanctum, racing from the rising barrier, heading out on horseback towards the fray, to administer needed help.

Simeon looked on with mild curiosity. No supplies or caravans were expected for another week. Possibly just d r ifting nomads. People who lived in the wilderness and traveled selling wares from one city to the next. Preferring the so -called freedom of open space. But not so free when you were being attacked constantly, with no barrier for protection.

The guards from the city reached the creatures before they reached the caravan. They were hacked down from behind. They turned and fought tooth and nail. But they were only a small collection of tormentors and lowly demons whos e job was to simply irritate. Had they known a caravan was coming more would have been sent to intercept it. A sign that something was brewing. Over the last couple of weeks the tormentors had dwindled to only a handful , and only low level creatures at most. They hadn’t seen a dragon or high level demon in months.

The guards circled the caravan and companied it the rest of the way. There was no other surprises; nothing charging from rocky outcrops, or swooping down from above. Something was defiantly brewing –it had been far too quite for far too long.

Simeon’s got tired of watching and returned his attention to the business at hand. He turned slightly in his chair and traced a rune in the air, which floated across the room and sea led the door in a locking spell. Metal sprung from where the spell hit, and like a metallic spiders web it encompassed the complete door, fixing it to the wall. He then lean ed back in to the large chair and with both hands drew a rune apiece, these c ame together and join ed , then spread over his head like a dome and came down to touch the rock floor. The runes multiplied and simmered with power. The chair he sat on started to lower through the solid flagstone flooring. It came to rest in a much larger chamber below his private library, down through five foot of solid, rune protected rock.

With a trace of a finger torches spluttered to life, revealing a large expansive chamber, with no windows or d oor s .

Simeon rose slowly and walked towards a small reliquary carved in a wall. Resting on a curved shelf was a simple round stone, carved with overlapping runes, covering its complete surface. With a simple touch of his hand the stone started to vibrate and levitate a few inches off the shelf. A mild breeze emanated from the reliquary, th is was the source of the rooms fresh air, it also remov ed the stale air .

A dais sat in the center of the chamber, with a flowing moat around its base. Small tongs of dancing blue flames whirled and danced from the moat, and was instantly dragged back to the shimmering liquid. On the dais was a foot high pillar, stood on top was a statue carved in the likeness of a young elegant woman. But she was slightly different from other females; this one had wings – an angel. She stood with her wings raised around her shoulders, dipping down over her head. Resting in her hands was a stone box, intricately carved. But the box wasn’t rectangular, instead it had many facets that twisted and turned in no apparent order, almost as if it was sitting in another dimension.

Simeon strode towards the statue, as he did so his robe brushed the moat, the shimmering liquid reacted to the runes inscribed around the hem of his clothing, and the three meter barrier parted. He now stood shoulder to should er with the carved stone statue. The churning moat refill ed behind him.