094 - The Witching Road

Kujata faced up, her voice echoing through the shrine, carrying down through the forests and valleys. A profound silence followed - it seemed that not even the wind dared to whistle, the crickets and birds in the many miles of forest around the shrine did not make so much as a peep in response.

"Isn't it enough?" Tears streamed down Kujata's face, her words mournful and full of a desperate plea. She closed her eyes and fell back down to the dirt, sitting in silence.

Silence. Nothing but silence filled the world, from the lowliest earthworm to the mightiest of thunderstorms brewing above the oceans - nothing dared to make a single sound in response to Kujata's cries.

Finally, when the echoes of her voice died the world returned to life, filling once more with all the natural sounds. Magnus sat, his eyes half closed, half in a state of thought and profound confusion - the shapes of the universe revealed to him in the memories of Pontius and the others were fundamentally overthrown; this war, this story of humans from Earth and the Celestials as Gods - it directly contradicted everything they had learnt.

There had been an Earth, there had been a war - the many memories all confirmed that - as mythology! As legend! As being something so far in the past as to have no impact in the modern world! But . . they were things very much alive. It was fact that the Celestials were held prisoner in the Alchemists five planet formation - Pontius had been inside the formation, he had seen the Celestials himself - monsters! Beasts, demons - foul creatures that once threatened to destroy humanity! That is how the Celestials were known . . not as Gods . .

Magnus got to his feet, walking out of the shrine courtyard and around the whole hilltop. Every five feet or so he stopped, imprinting a Animus glyph and a strand of his Vigour into the dirt, making a whole new formation where the woods-for-trees had been.

Returning to the courtyard and to the slumped figure beside the bell and telescope, Magnus spoke softly, sitting before her.

"Kujata, I have laid a new formation. One that ought to keep you safe from the Alchemists, and safe from any marking teams in the Ether."

"You . . you're not going to . . Magnus?" Kujata looked up.

"No. You ain't said it, have you? The real reason you're so scared of my red-gold Vigour. Say it."

"I . . I . . " Kujata looked to the ground. "It's the same as the Twelve . . they all have the same gold threads . ."

She's lying.

Magnus shook his head. "Say it, Kujata, the truth. What is my red-gold thread. Why are you so damn afraid."

"Its . . I'm afraid Magnus. Afraid that you'll devour me . ." Kujata mumbled. "Ascension . . the dreamers, the above and below . . you are one of them now, Magnus, one of the . . the Above."

"One of the above . . of the dreamers . ." Magnus repeated Kujata's words. "What the hell's does that mean?"

Kujata shook her head. "I don't know. I really don't, but . . don't bring 'em out again. Please, whatever you do . . " Her voice trailed off.

*Prrrrrt!*

Magnus turned beet red, a cloud dust billowing up from where he sat mixed with noxious fumes. He rapidly got to his feet, half bent over in agony.

"I'm off!"

"Magnus . ." Kujata stood. "Where are you going? What are you going to do now?"

"I'm off to get that bloody earth lizard thing, Elemental, right? Gotta cure my gut first . . won't be getting into no Alchemists tower farting like this."

Without waiting for a response Magnus leapt down the hill, down into the forest, and without looking back started to the west.

In the shrine remained the downcast Kujata, her face wet from crying, her eyes sunk, her shoulders slumped.

Ring! Ring!

Beside her the silver bell sounded like a clarion call - dissolving her stupor and bringing her back into the real world. She went to the telescope, opened her notebook, and started scribbling.

***

Magnus ran and farted, stopping when his stomach hurt too much and farting some more.

He had a much clearer vision of the layout of the world now - a clear understanding, roughly, of where the continents lay, of where the major cities were. Aquilonem, being one of the Alchemist's garden worlds, was quite well documented and strictly governed, even if the particulars of every nation; Jute, the land in the north, was only one small part of the entire world of Aquilonem. To the east, over the Horn and the massive mountain range where the Wild Lands - an expansive plain stretching thousands of miles, many more cities and nations lay to the east of them. To the south there was Baron, boarding on the Jute, and further south of that were the island nations.

There were many more nations and peoples living on Aquilonem then Magnus had ever imagined . . he let his mind wander to the other planets, the other stars that the Alchemists considered garden worlds - they too were full of life, full of peoples and cities, of all kinds of fantastic creatures.

Magnus ran on for half a day, his mind in the lives and times of Pontius and Domitia and Valerius - experiencing their days and weeks, seeing their lives spool out before him, the places and peoples, trying to reach a better understanding of his world and of the foe.

The enemy. Thats right, my enemy. The Alchemists . . mixed in with the visions of nations and people were countless experiments conducted on countless peoples - the garden worlds were not just a storage of marvelous resources, but a place where the Alchemists could experiment freely on all the peoples, try out every demented concoction, strip the inhabitants of every form of humanity.

They maintained a certain level of society and technology - stamping out progress and innovation, keeping the humans as a small part of the worlds in order to leave most of the land free for natural resources and creatures to grow. Humans were seen as . . as any other animal. To be nurtured, cultivated, the ones with potential plucked and taken to the tower for training - the rest to be used as materials or left to their own devices.

Beyond that . . in the memories of the Alchemists . . . Magnus stopped dead in his tracks, his mind almost blanking. He felt dizzy, overwhelmed - in the Alchemists memories, now rose a brilliant golden world - Domum! The Alchemists home planet! The centre of the five star prison formation!

Around a bright yellow sun, intertwined with countless segments of the Revolving Tower, was the Alchemists home world - home to towering spires of glass, home to flying machines of every size and description - and amongst the glass and white and gold magnificence were the Alchemists, dressed in colourful robes and living in their marble halls.

It was beyond anything Magnus had ever imagined - the sheer opulence present in Pontius' memories . . it was as if the wealth of all the worlds was gathered in Domum - The Alchemists held nothing back, their cities shone in the sun - covered in marble and gold.

And . . and . . *prrrrt!*

Magnus crashed to a halt almost doubled up in agony. Within his belly his small white core rotated furiously, heating up and expelling violent gas with incredible force - his belly ballooned up, foul air forcing its way through his insides and out both ends at once.

Magnus picked himself up, no stranger to suffering - as bad as the farting was, it couldn't compare to the agony of the black skin and yellow pus - and now he knew, he had the strength and the ability to do something about it!

For half a day he ran to the west, finally coming down out of the hills and out into the lowlands. From horizon to horizon stretched a flat expanse of green, occasionally broken by clumps of trees and a slight hillock. Magnus followed the dirt tracks, running at a steady rate through the afternoon until he came to the edge of a vast mud flats - cracked earth and black lines and black stained rocks.

Somewhat different from his memories - the Empire Swamp. No water, just dry cracked earth . . there were stones sticking out every now and again - stepping onto the dried mud Magnus found it provided no sure footing. Somewhere out there had to be the ruins of the city, and somewhere beneath . . . *prrrt!* . . there had to be that bloody lizard!