Chapter 4

Forgotten Citadel

How could everything have gone so wrong? Han wondered as he stood over the beaten body of the Cloud Treading Black Jaguar, as he faced off against the surprising guest before him. The creature mewled pitifully as it tried to crawl towards its master once more, but a tap with his sword put a stop to that.

“I truly am sorry Dewei, I did not know that anyone was conducting a rite of passage in the area. Let alone the legendary Liu Dewei Han. Everyone’s been looking for you, you know? To think this is where you’d been hiding. Had I known I would have pleaded to the young masters to visit the range another day. No need to endanger their lives by bringing them close to you after all.” The Vampyr said, a sneer seemingly perpetually plastered on his face.

Han grit his teeth, what the hell were Vampyrs doing in Belize, let alone somewhere this far out in the wilderness. What made things worse was that these were not just any vampyrs, but members of one of the 8 Custodian households. Specifically house Susurro if the black robes bordered with coffee brown lines flowing throughout it forming the sigil for “Dominate” and the skull of some great predatory beast marking his left breast and the shoulders of his flowing sleeves. Known for their ability to tame creatures, whether they be alive or spirits, house Susurro tended to travel throughout the Divide looking for creatures to add to their ranks and to wean their progeny. Like most vampyrs, the man before him was pale as snow with nigh a single strand of hair visible. Some sort of rule to differentiate the servants from the masters in the great houses. He had an air of self-importance that all vampyrs seem to be born with, as if the knowledge that they were better than humans was ingrained in their very being as a species. Truly an arrogance to match dragons.

“Dewei greets Custodian of Chaos, this humble one asks that you pardon our transgression. Had he known that venerable Custodian would’ve seen fit to bring his charges out for a walk today, he would have arranged to come out another day” Han hastily announced as he did a perfect 90 degree bow from the waste. Regardless of how he felt about the man before him, he could not afford to offend a vampyr, not now, not again.

“No need to be so stiff, Dewei. Can I call you Dewei? I’ll just call you Dewei. You and your companion held off our beasts just fine while your little welp did his ritual. Speaking of, here he is now, not a second too soon.”

At that moment a massive bird slammed into the ground a few feet away from them, and a few seconds after George followed suit.

“Are you not going to check if your friend’s okay? It’s good to see that time has had little effect on that cold demeanor of yours.” The vampyr held a hand to his mouth in exaggerated shock, yet his efforts to conceal the mockery in his voice were paltry at best.

Han scoffed” If that was enough to kill George, he would’ve died by my hand a long time ago. He’ll be up on his feet in a few seconds. By the by, I did not get your honorable name the first time you mentioned it”. Sheathing his blade, Han got off the jaguar, allowing it to crawl back to its master. It’s attempts to hide behind him however, were comically poor.

“Ah, that’s because I did not say it. A custodian shall only give his name to those he considers equals or betters. Such a shame it is that I see neither in sight. But oh what a shame. I suppose that since today has been such a good day and the young masters have been oh so kind to me as of late, I could be magnanimous and grace you with my most glorious name. You are standing in the magnificence of he who goes by Lucius.” Lucius puffed his chest out and held his head high, and waited. And waited. And waited some more. When he realized that whatever it was he was waiting for was not forthcoming, his eyebrow hitched as he glared at Han and then over at George who was just starting to get up on his feet. Seeing that neither his announcement nor his display of ire was having any effect on the men, he grumpily started straightening his robes and fussing over non-existent wrinkles.

“Okay…Lucius. It was nice meeting you, but we must really be going now. We have to find our charge. Isn’t that right Han?” George said as he dusted himself off, the fall from thousands of feet not having done a thing except for getting him dirty. Hefting his axe, he stored it back into his personal dimensional space and walked over to join Han in his face off.

“That is correct George. If your Excellency would pardon us, we need to go find my son. This one wishes you and your charges well on their expedition.” Bowing once again, Han tried to be upset at George for his blatant disrespect to Lucius, but could not find it in him, rather he found himself engaged in a losing battle holding in a smile when he saw Lucius’ red face of fury.

“I must apologize gentlemen, but I cannot let you go. Not when you are in my charge’s way.” With a flourish, Lucius took out a gem of some sort and crushed it to dust in his fists. Behind him the air rippled and a humanoid creature began fading into view. It had two hooved feet, fur covered legs the size of tree trunks and the body of a man, a very, very muscular man. It had a bulls head to complete the image.

“Woah, there. What are you talking about buddy? Our Ray should be just over that ridge over there as we instructed him to. We just want to complete our rite of passage into the Divide and get out of here. No need to take out a Minotaur to chase us off.” George dropped down into a ready stance, taking out his axe once more, the enchantments carved into the handle blazing to life.

“You mean you truly don’t know?” Lucius asked incredulously as he alternated his gaze between the men before him.

“Know what? What games are you playing Lucius?” Han himself drew forth his sword as well, the black and red blade glistening in the sunlight. The smell of blood filled the air, and an incredibly humid heat began to radiate out from him.

“Hmm, it seems that I was mistaken and may have over extended myself. Chaos works in mysterious ways it seems. I regret to inform you that you won’t find your charge over yonder ridge as you think you would. He’s been taken.”

“TAKEN?!” Both Han and George exclaimed at once. They exchanged glances with one another, an understanding passing between them as they locked eyes.

“Now, now, before you go getting any funny ideas, I’ll have you know that it wasn’t our doing. Some important graves have their methods of choosing successors. That’s all.” Lucius said with a shrug, a nasty grin forming on his lips.

“What do you mean grave? Who’s grave?” Han asked, a sinking feeling at the bottom of his stomach as an inkling of an answer began tugging at the edge of his consciousness. ‘No, it can’t be. We should have found them all already.’

“Come now Han, you’re intelligent. I sure you’ve already figured it out just based off of what I’ve already said.” Lucius cackled.

“Han, what is he talking about? Whose grave is this? Is Ray in danger?” George asked from the side, worry evident in his voice.

“I think I’ve made a mistake George. I should have done the rite here.” Han said, his hands gripping the sword tighter, barely being able to keep the shaking down.

“Speak clearer Han. What is this place? Where did Ray go?!” George shouted.

“This place…..this place is a Heritage site George. But I don’t know who grave this is. Ray’s likely trapped with the young vampyrs, taking the tests of worth. I… I don’t know whose grave this is.” Han responded, anguish creeping into his voice. He’d seen just how cruel and terrifying some Heritages could be. He offered a silent prayer to the Progenitor that whatever the trials Ray would face, he’d come back to him alive.

“Oh, you don’t know? Well I’d expect as much since this particular God was one of the first to fade into obscurity, even before the Mayan glory diminished.” Lucius’ smile widened, as George’s and Han’s faces grew serious.

Silence descended over the surroundings as Ray’s guardians digested the bombshell that was just dropped. All the worries over dangerous heritages were wiped away from both men’s minds. Heritages left behind by the gods of old were not innately dangerous. No, what worried both men now was what type of Heritage was left behind, as a god’s legacy could not be rejected and the recipient could not divert from the powers that were provided.

“Which god?” Han’s voice was barely a whisper, but to all parties hearing it, the sound was deafening.

Lucius’ smile faded and was replaced by a stern expression as he realized where Han’s thought process had taken him, “Don’t worry, we don’t think it’s anything like Ixtab. Truth be told, our investigation has led us to believe that this grave belongs to none other than….”

*****

Sunlight pierced through the canopy of leaves overhead, lancing past the protection offered by Ray’s closed eyelids. With a groan, Ray lifted his arms and did his best to shield his smarting irises from the bright light. ‘Just a few more minutes of sleep’ he thought to himself as he tossed and turned on the ground. It was only until he felt something crawling up his leg that he jolted up with a start and began to furiously pat himself down, trying to shake off whatever it was that was climbing on his leg.

Once he had shaken himself to his satisfaction. He looked around and realized he wasn’t in his room. It was then he remembered what happened before he woke up.

“Han! George! Are any of you out there?” Ray shouted. But no matter how much he called out nor for how long, no one answered him. He scanned his surroundings and noticed that he was in a glade of sorts, with dense brush enclosing on him from all sides save for the singular path way leading off into the distance.

Seeing that he had no real other option, he cautiously began to follow the path. He wasn’t sure for how long he walked, but the entire time he couldn’t help but feel as if something was wrong. It felt like hours before he was slammed with the realization that what was bothering him was the noise, or rather, the lack of it. When in a forest, you’d hear the sounds of life all around, but here it was so silent, if he paid attention, he could hear his heart beat. Sufficiently unnerved, Ray quickened his pace as he followed the path. Han had assured him that he’d find him where ever he was, but at this point he was convinced that he was nowhere near where they were supposed to rendezvous. He did not know how long he was out, and checking his watch was useless as it had stopped working when it had marked 11:59 pm, but it couldn’t have been too long as it was still day. However, he wasn’t sure how long he had left as he could not see the sun, and he would rather find a safe place to hunker down for the night close to a source of water if he could help it.

After what seemed like hours, he finally reached the edge of the dense foliage, the path leading upwards towards a hill. Filled with exultation at finding some high ground to take stock of his surroundings, he quickened his pace to reach the hill as fast as possible without wasting too much energy. As he crested over the hill, he was greeted by the sight of what could only be called an abandoned Mayan city. While he had only ever seen complete cities in paintings and read descriptions of them, the scene below him matched almost perfectly to what historians had said.

The outer regions were lined with several straw huts, grouped together in 4s or 8s, forming a square, the entrances that he could see facing the inside of the square. They were evenly spaced from one another so a courtyard of sorts was formed in between all the squares. As he surveyed further, he saw massive pyramids in the distance, in various states of disrepair. The largest being a 4 tiered monstrosity, with the steep stairs common amongst such structures reaching only up to the half way point. From there, he could see a massive entrance, its gaping maw black with shadows. That was where the similarities to the descriptions he had seen ended, because there was a massive…… tentacle? Strewn across the temples and buildings he could see from his position. Black as midnight with vivid streaks of red, blue and yellow adorning its body, it was draped over a pyramid relatively close to him, disappearing over the other side away from him while the other end seemed stuck through the top of the super structure that stood above its peers. It was twisted in on itself halfway between both temples it was resting against. He decided to leave well enough alone and just camp on the opposite side of the hill, out of sight from the city, maybe try to push through the foliage to look for water in there. Whatever it was that had happened here, he was not going to go get himself killed by messing with forces beyond his ken. He was already having a hard enough time not freaking out over what he had seen and heard in the skies above the mountain before he found himself here.

As if to admonish him for his caution, a loud booming voice rang out over valley, “Step forward child. I do not have much longer.” This was accompanied by a feeling of being drawn toward the temple. Ray sighed, just what was this place?

*****

It took him another couple hours of walking before he reached the base of the first pyramid. All the huts that he had encountered along the way had been empty of life. The only signs of them having been inhabited at all being things like pots, pans and plates being left mid use. Some plates still had bones on them, picked clean by some animal or other, the only signs of any life at all being present in this city he was now wandering through. Now, as he stood before the temple over which the tentacle was first draped over, he could see that it was covered with several plate like constructs, overlapping each other in beautiful patterns. The red, blue and yellow streaks that he had seen from afar turned out to actually be a tapestry of sorts when seen up close. Depictions of sunrises and sunsets dotted the surface of the tentacle that he could see, images of warriors locked in combat, what looked like mages and priests engaged in a battle of words, whatever they were debating about of utmost importance. There were farmers, tanners, hunters, and all other manner of common folk. Always ruling over them were the kings and queens.

The warriors were crowned with helmets adorned with plumage, beautiful yet not overbearing so as to not get in the way of their duty. Hefting shields made of wood and jaguar skin, they raised their wooden swords of obsidian, eager to test their might in battle against the foes of their people, a loin cloth being the only thing guarding their modesty. Bracelets and jade awarded to the warriors who stood out amongst their comrades in arms and tattoos and scars on their body spoke of their careers. The wizards and priests traded sword and shield for robes dyed the colors of the birds of the jungle. Where the priests chose to remain unarmed, the wizards chose to wield staffs, carved of wood and studded with jade and obsidian. The headdresses they wore were even more opulent than their warrior counterparts. There were several depictions of the peasantry, going about their daily lives, not rich in any manner of speaking, but they were happy. The children running around the fields and just being children. The kings and queens always wore garb similar to both warrior and mage castes. A symbol to show that they were of both, all powerful. He tentatively reached out to feel the surface and was surprised when it felt smooth to the touch, there was no evidence that the scene before him had any edges where the constructs met each other.

Seeing as to how following the tentacle would lead him to the centermost temple anyways, he decided to follow it, just to see as much of the tapestry as possible.

He wasn’t sure when it began, but gradually the scenes of peace that were intermingled with the scenes of war and bloodshed began to recede, leaving behind nothing but a monument to some great tragedy. Stopping with a frown, he turned and looked back the way he came. Would he see only images of peace and prosperity if he went back far enough? Although he was sorely tempted return and see if he was right, he quickly shot down the idea. Whatever it was that had called him forward did not seem to be someone who had any sort of patience, and he would rather not test their patience. Shaking his head he pushed onward, doing his best to commit the new depictions to memory.

Where there were images of peace before, there were now human sacrifices of all ages. Mass murders and just all around genocide was the recurring theme. He wasn’t sure how to feel about the fact that despite the only colors present being red, blue and yellow, they were cleverly used to contrast one another to bring about other colors like green, orange, purple and so on. If he didn’t know any better, he’d almost say it was magical in its application. The pictures seemed to almost pop out at him the more he moved forward. He took a break, looking ahead to see just how much farther he had to go before he got to his destination. To his immense relief, he saw that he was coming up to the half way point where the tentacle, or root as he was starting to suspect it was, was coiled upon itself. Taking a contemplative look back to the pictures of slaughter and bloodshed, he decided to just skip the rest of the sightseeing tour after passing the coil and just head straight to the temple. He was beginning to see a pattern and he was never fond of gore and bloodshed.

His stomach rumbled, reminding him that he had missed at least 1 meal already. Rubbing his stomach to try and appease it , he promised to feed it later and made his way over to the knot that was now not too far from him. Walking up to it, he noticed that on the ground not far from him, was an incision in the root. Seeing the brilliant gold hue of the thick substance coming out of the gash further affirmed his believe that this was not a tentacle but a root of some giant tree. Stabbed into the opening was a beautiful staff, reminding him of the staves he saw the mages use on the root wield. He was no historian, but he was sure that the Mayans having mages was not something the rest of the world knew yet. Priests yes, but wizards no. If so, he needed to take this back with him and remember the way to this place when he got out. He’d be famous.

His hunger forgotten, he rushed over, eager to get his hands on this artifact. Sure the Belizean government would likely confiscate it when he left from here, but he until then, he’d be the proud owner of a genuine ancient Mayan mage staff. Grasping the butt of the weapon and angling his foot against the side of the root, he pulled with all his might. At first he thought it was no good, but ever so slowly he felt the root relinquish its hold, the staff sliding out and finally with a pop breaking free from the root’s hold.

“YES!” he cried, holding the staff aloft. He danced a little jig in happiness before his stomach decided that was enough and made its presence known. A bit embarrassed that he just did that, he looked around to make sure the abandoned city was still abandoned, then turned his attention back to the staff in his hands. The base of the staff was carved out of wood, wide enough to comfortably be gripped, yet thin enough to not be encumbering when carried. What looked like Mayan glyphs were carved into the wood from the midpoint down, liquid gold having been melted and poured into the hollow space left behind by the carvings. From the midpoint upward, jade and obsidian in equal measure were intertwined into the staff itself, the jade forming a feathered dragon gripping the wood of the staff while the obsidian was carved in the form of a draconic snake, its coils hugging the wood tightly so as to not fall off. At the tip of the staff both creatures appeared to be locked in an eternal struggle, both of their mouths clamping on a crystal, fangs digging into the surface of the rock, forever frozen in an epic tug of war.

Ray felt his breath hitch in his throat as he stared at the masterpiece in his hands. He felt an immense sorrow at the thought of having to part with this staff after having taken a better look at it. His minds voice screamed at him to guard it and never let it go. Maybe he could convince his father and uncle to help him sneak it out with him when he left for China. That way he’d never part with it. Yes, that would work. No one but them knew this existed, and surely there was someone they could bribe to look the other way? All it would take would be a-

“No.” Ray admonished himself. How could he rob his country of this undoubtedly important artifact? If they let him keep it, fine, but if they demanded he hand it over, then he would so. Such was the law, and such was the necessity of things. There was so much they did not know about the Mayan civilization, and him robbing his people the opportunity to learn about the mage caste that the Mayans apparently had might as well be high treason. With a sigh, he tore his gaze away from the staff and looked around to see if there was anything else he could take with him. Other than the staff, there didn’t seem to be much, that is, until he saw handle sticking out of some rubble a few feet away from him. Scrunching his brow, he walked over, leaned the staff off to the side and repeated his earlier actions. With a groan, the debris holding the handle is place slid over, letting Ray come free with a Mayan sword in hand. Much like the staff, it was carved out of wood, with sharpened obsidian pieces lining the edges to form a blade. Jade was embedded along the flat of the blade, surrounding more Mayan glyphs carved and filled with gold much like the staff. Despite the garishly ornate appearance of the sword, a few practice swings showed that it was deadly, as the surrounding air screamed as it was slashed repeatedly. Looking back into the hole that the hole had occupied, he saw another thing that got his fancy. Just what was it with these people using such fancy weapons on a tree root?

Reaching in, he tugged once more and came up with a shield much like the depictions on the root showed. Although there was a noticeable lack of jade compared to the staff and sword, the edges of the wooden frame had small chunks of obsidian embedded along the side, deep enough that if one were to run their hand along the wood, they would not be cut. The Mayan glyphs this time ran all alongside the inner most frame and even on the back of the Jaguar skin, having apparently taken advantage of the taught skin to carve them. Thankfully, the shield came with a strap of leather of sorts on both ends, that way he could tie it to his back while carrying the staff and shield in hand. Further investigation proved fruitless as the items in hand seemed to be the only thing of value. Sure he found other swords and shields, but they were nowhere near as eye catching as the ones he had. Deciding to himself that he should not get too greedy and leave some discoveries for future archeologists, he once more headed for the temple. This time, he ignored the root and instead made a beeline for the stairs.

On his way, his mind kept going back to that gash in the root. Why did he find these wondrous items near there? Why was there so much debris and other weapons, both broken and whole? But the most important question that kept bothering him most of all, why hasn’t my family found me yet?

Overhead, the temple loomed closer and closer, until he was at the base of the structure. Taking on last look behind him in the direction he’d come, he took a deep breath and began the long ascent. The feeling that was beckoning him ever forward came back in force. When before he had been able to push it to the back of his mind and largely ignore it, now it howled at him, demanding he answer the call. Each step began getting more arduous than the last, his breath coming out more and more ragged as he trudged upward. At first he was convinced that it was simply his hunger and fatigue hindering him assisted by the steep stairs so common place amongst Mayan temples, but soon felt there was more to it when the desire to move forward slammed once more into his consciousness the first time he wanted to take a break. Something was at work here. He wasn’t sure how he could’ve not realized it from the moment he had first saw that jaguar assault them in the middle of the sky.

He had chosen to ignore it, to trust his father. Answers would come, but as he neared the entrance of the temple up above, the soul crushing fatigue assaulting him forced him to confront all of these thoughts in order to not succumb to both the call and the weariness. ‘What was happening here? What happened earlier? Who are my father and uncle? I just want answers. My birthday was not supposed to go like this. I just wanted to spend time with those close to me. I just want to go home. Someone… please, answer m-‘Ray had to catch himself as he lifted his foot to climb stairs that were no longer there. He had made it to the top. He took a shuddering breath and to his surprise and immense relief, the earlier fatigue and the relentless calling had both faded away into nothingness. He stared into the darkness of the doorway before him, then turned around and surveyed the city from his current vantage point. Nothing had changed. He wasn’t sure what he had expected, but he guessed it was just his attempt at putting off the inevitable. Sure he could choose to go back down and back the way he came, but he would not back down after having made it this far. Steadying himself once more, he tightened his grip on the sword and staff in hand and plunged into the entrance.

For the second time that day, the darkness rose up to claim him.