Blood Wars Page 3

  “Given that insightful conversation, how do I go about enchanting things?” wryly commented Tyler.

  “Knowledge and the appropriate material is needed, Elder. You don’t need runes. The spell will mark itself on the material. Any material will do except steel and iron. But the kind of material does determine the efficacy of the spell. Gold, silver, or copper, in that order, would be best. However, do note that in many enchanted items coursed through Elder knowledge, a defense is usually embedded in the item or items. The enchanted material may melt, explode, or turn to dust if handled by anybody except the enchanter.”

  “That does limit application. How do I know if a spell has that internal defense mechanism?” asked Tyler.

  “With your permission, Elder. Instruct us to inform you if such a protection is in place. We may also have the capability to remove it, depending on the spell. Like you, we are also constrained by our level,” explained X.

  “Please do so, X. But weren’t the two of you connected to the full bank of undamaged tablets at one time? You should have retained some knowledge or information from the tablets.”

  “Our access to the tablets was through the main temple unit, Elder. Once the knowledge is accessed and utilized by us, it is wiped from our memories.”

  “Your designers really took no chances, didn’t they?”

  “Far be it from us to judge them, Elder. But they were extremely intelligent, though they did retain some vestiges of humanity’s frailties.”

  “Meaning they were still human. Don’t know if that’s a relief or a worrisome thought,” observed Tyler. “Though going back to enchanting, I guess what you’re also telling me is I need to practice.”

  “Practice is always an excellent way to hone your skills, Elder.”

  “I know. Though remind me of it later, let’s explore a bit. Practice right now sounds like work.”

  “As you wish, Elder.”

  Tyler went out of the house. Right in front of him was the large pond, with the waterfall in the background. Framed in the afternoon sun, with verdant greenery all around him, it looked as peaceful as it can be. He noticed birds among the trees and small animals in the undergrowth. Surprisingly, they showed no fear of him. It was as if he was part of the forest. He walked to the pond’s edge and sat down on the grass. A cooling afternoon breeze completed the relaxing effect of the surroundings.

  So many things to think about. My quest for the tablets, Eira’s brother, Zeus’s leg, my abilities. Not to mention the Aztecah war, the feeling I have about Loki, the dream about those beings in that large monument which want to take a bath immediately, the Elders and whatever their game is, and that voice which talked to me back in X’s cave. I know I am missing other clues. Or have forgotten them in the troubles which have dogged me in these past few days. No time to reflect I guess. Even my bathroom time was interrupted by that stupid Greater Yahui.

  Then he remembered something. A matter which he wanted to ask the two but had forgotten in the nonstop deluge of life and death concerns.

  “Guys? Remember that being which appeared to be reviving Ares? Do have any idea of who or what that is?”

  “We remember, Elder. But the outfit he had on precluded any visual examination on our part. He did use the magical energy found in this world. But that being is very powerful. Almost as powerful as some of the heads of the pantheons. Which could explain why our other scans failed to penetrate his disguise during the short time he was visible.”

  “He looked strange. Didn’t appear to belong to any pantheon I remember. You’re sure he’s not an Elder Outcast? A Lost One? We already have the Aztecs to worry about. We have to know if there’s another human or blood sacrifice club in the equation.”

  “We cannot be certain, Elder. He didn’t use any knowledge or energy which would indicate Elder abilities. Our level also precluded more powerful and detailed scanning. He may be a Hidden One, one of the solitary and dark entities of Earth which escaped to this world. But for now, both Hal and I cannot rule out the possibility of an Elder Outcast, remote the possibility may be.”

  Hidden Ones? Shit. What did Dionysus say about Zeus’s attitude towards possibility? A possibility is just a fact waiting to emerge. Double shit.

  “Can you guys explain who these Hidden Ones are? The term appears to promise unpleasant surprises.”

  “They are not that common, Elder. Almost all arose from beliefs and practices of evil men who practiced magic. These mages believed in greater demons and similar malevolent beings. Where they failed to create portals to dimensions of such actual entities, their beliefs gave rise to these manifestations. And we know how deceitful these creatures are. They wouldn’t confess that the portal spells failed. The problem is that most are created by powerful magi using blood magic. These beings have become powerful through time, establishing their circle of worshippers and creating vast reserves of magical power. With such power, a few would have the capability of moving to Adar. The knowledge to make the portals was not a well-kept secret among the pantheons during that time. Some pantheons and deities even worked with such foul existences,” replied Hal.

  “Yet another concern for us. Though I doubt their objectives go beyond amassing power. Nor do I think they would work with other entities practicing blood sacrifices. Competition does not make compatible bedfellows,” Tyler observed.

  “Quite logical, Elder. It would be incorrect to conclude that Hidden Ones are working with the Aztecah Empire. Although they wouldn’t be averse to using Aztec magic and creatures. But the facts are too few to form a proper conclusion. Still, they are a danger, nonetheless,” said X.

  “Thanks, guys. Please try to prepare your observations on the matters we discussed. I came here to rest. Not to add stress. I really would like the rest of the day to be free from such thoughts.”

  “We understand, Elder. We can defer any practice and further discussion for tomorrow.”

  “Thanks. Please add the issue of Zeus’s incurable leg to your list of matters to solve. It wouldn’t do for that deity to be popping up now and then to ask me if I’ve made any progress.”

  “That we will do, Elder.”

  Tyler tried to stop thinking about his earlier reflections and just enjoy the afternoon. It was like attempting to stop an out of control train. No matter how he tried, numerous threads of concern passed through the back of his mind. Tangents of possibilities and questions rise and then go away.

  Shit. I can’t relax like this. It’s like opening a can of worms. They all come crawling out. Each with their own questions and level of craziness.

  With a deep breath, Tyler stood up and walked back to the house. He slept instead.

  He woke up to a knock on the door.

  Eira, he thought. Must be time for dinner.

  He went out of the room and saw he was right. The table was ready for dinner and Eira was there, waiting for him.

  “Hi,” he greeted.

  “Good evening, Tyler. You’re rested?”

  “I am. A bit. Hungry too. Thanks for waking me up,” he replied. Where did the kerasti go?

  The two took their seats and started eating.

  “Eira, where can I get small gold, silver, or copper plates? It’s for an experiment. I want to test new things. I never did have the luxury of exploring my abilities when I was in Hellas. Too much to do back there. Too many concerns and threats.”

  “Hellas was that bad? I’ll ask the landvaetters to get some. How many do you need?”

  “One gold and one silver. Each the size of a small runic plate. And as many copper plates as they can get.”

  “I’ll drop by their place tomorrow. It will take some time though.”

  “Thanks. Can you also ask the tree guardians to move the trees at the back of the house? I need space to practice and I wouldn’t want to hurt any of them.”

  “That’s thoughtful of you, Tyler. I will ask them to do it immediately. Just don’t be surprised if you hear loud noises tonight.”


  “My thanks again. I am not becoming too demanding, am I?

  “Oh, no. I should have thought of it first. I did see you practicing before with your spells.”

  “The cratered field?” laughed Tyler. “I was really ashamed of what happened.”

  “The ground was easy to fix. Living things are harder. The surviving tree guardians from your night visitation are doing fine now.”

  “That’s good. I owe them my life. If not for them, those creatures would have caught me sleeping.”

  “It’s just sad that the rest fell. But that’s part of the struggle of the forest to protect itself. About Hellas, was it really that bad? I often wondered how you got there.”

  “It was… a very difficult experience. Too many close calls. Ares abducted us. That’s how we found ourselves in Hellas.”

  “Ares? The Greek battle-god?”

  “Yes. I get to be called his bane now.”

  “Oh, my. Attracting the enmity of a major god of a pantheon? A god of war and battle? That’s dangerous.”

  “You have no idea. Fortunately, he got buried under a mountain of rock.”

  “What? Come on, tell me everything.”

  Tyler did, but in an abbreviated fashion. He found no sense in adding to the alarm he sensed in Eira’s voice. Even then, his summary was interrupted by numerous questions from the beautiful spirit. This near to her, her exquisite scent and delightful voice added to his distractions. Often, he had to ask Eira to repeat the question as her gorgeous emerald eyes enthralled him. A brief exposition turned to more than an hour of discussion and explanations.

  “I had no idea it was that difficult and dangerous,” Eira concluded after Tyler finished his tale. He did leave out the participation of X and Hal as well as his appearance before the heads of other pantheons. He didn’t want Eira to worry that matters were already complicated and had already expanded way beyond Skaney and Hellas.

  “Me neither. And to think it all started because of that arrogant and foolish son of the Greek goddess of discord.”

  “Discord he did sow. But you know what? What he did resulted in the defeat of the plans of the battle-god. Makes you wonder. Nobody could have known that you were exiting the forest during that time. People would say that you meeting those Greek gods was fortuitous.”

  “I’m just glad we got out of that mess alive and intact.”

  “So am I, Tyler. So am I. At least you got more tablets out of it too.”

  “I did have to tangle with that Incan death god,” remarked Tyler.

  “You were lucky,” replied Eira. “Death gods are quite notorious for being difficult to… dispose. Though I didn’t know things were going to be this perilous and chaotic when we discussed my brother.”

  “Don’t worry about it, Eira. I made the decision. To remain as I was before could have resulted in an early demise. I now realize that to walk Adar without any magical ability, alone among its inhabitants, would have been foolhardy and stupid. That is if one wants to survive.”

  “You have given me a lot of things to think about,” replied Eira in a quiet voice.

  With that, they finished their dinner. Eira waved away the remains of their meal and then said goodbye.

  “Oh, Eira, before I forget. When I go to sleep at night, there’s a spell I got from the Greek god of wine. Renders me invisible. If there’s an emergency, don’t be surprised if you can’t see me in my bed. I will know though if somebody is in the room,” mentioned Tyler, opting to lie about the dimensional space given to him by Dionysus.

  “That’s an excellent spell. Added protection,” observed Eira. “But I have to go. Goodnight, Tyler.”

  “Goodnight, Eira,” he replied as the forest spirit started to disappear. No goodnight kiss?

  Chapter II

  A Deadly Learning Curve

  Tyler woke up that morning quite early. He was up before his alarm even rang. If there were loud noises during the night, his haven made sure sleep was undisturbed. As he went out of the house, sunrise was just starting.

  I really should have slept some more. I’m still wound up, I guess. Anyway, I’ve nothing to do so I think I’ll try that cloaking spell, he thought as he started looking for a small piece of wood. He found a fallen two-foot branch under a tree and brought it back to the open ground in front of the house.

  Now let’s trying anchoring the spell. But I better make sure of my barriers.

  Finding everything in place, he alerted Hal and X so that they knew what he was going to try to do. He reviewed the cloaking and enchanting spells in his mind and started gathering energy. Tyler learned that he needed to first cast the cloaking spell in a directed manner. When it starts to affect the material, the enchanting is then used to secure the first spell to the object. An infusion of energy at the junction is needed to affix and charge the spell while the item contains it.

  Focusing on what he was going to do, a wave of energy engulfed the branch, hiding it from view. As long as he was still connected to the spell, Tyler could see the piece of wood. Then the enchanting ability was used at the junction where the cloaking wave met the object. Immediately after, he infused energy into the branch.

  It exploded.

  Fortunately, the only injury Tyler got was to his pride. Although, he now saw Brovi peering at him behind the cover of a tree. His early morning experiment disturbed the surrounding forest. He saw birds flying away in fear. Small animals scampered in an attempt to hide from him.

  Shit. That was unexpected.

  “Guys, what happened?”

  “Analyzing, Elder,” replied Hal.

  Tyler walked to the trees again, looking for more fallen branches. He decided to settle for shorter pieces of wood. The explosion had created a small, shallow crater. On top of that, the mage realized he had requested Eira to create a space at the back of the house as a practice area. His front yard was not supposed to be another crater field.

  Proceeding to the back of the house, he found that a wide area had been cleared. He started to break the branches into foot-long sections.

  “Elder? We have some findings.”

  “What went wrong?”

  “The error arose out of the assumption that the enchanter is from Adar. The first part, cloaking, was correctly done. The problem arose when the attempt to anchor the spell is made. We believe that if an inhabitant of Adar, human or deity, cast the spell, the innate magical energy of the individual stabilizes the enchanting process and actually provides the initial anchor for the first spell. The enchanting process merely latches on to this fact, and the subsequent energy infusion charges it. With you, the absence of such magical energy didn’t create the required anchor. With two spells active and the infusion of power, an explosive feedback resulted.”

  “Does that mean I can’t do it?”

  “You can, Elder. All that is needed is to find a way to stabilize the enchanting process first.”

  “Any suggestions?”

  “Try merging power with the anchoring spell. However, we have no basis for determining the amount of energy infusion required. There is no quantifiable basis for such a mixture, as the act is subjective on your part. Only experimentation will show the proper way to do it.”

  “It’s a good thing I didn’t start with fireballs then,” remarked Tyler. Aw, shit. Am I ready for this? Explosive tests?

  “Just strengthen the barriers, guys.”

  An hour later Tyler was found sitting on the ground. He was tired and frustrated. Either the mixture was too strong, resulting in another startling explosion, or too weak, giving him just a piece of wood. Evidently, with the distance involved, casting a spell at a different active one removes it. Unfortunately, the field in front of him was full of shallow craters.

  “Tyler?” A voice called out to him. It was Eira.

  He stood up and looked in her direction. She evidently materialized in the house and went searching for him.

  “Good morning, Eira. I am really sorry about this,” Tyler said,
his hand pointing out his attack on the helpless field.

  “Oh. Practice?” asked Eira as she came closer.

  “Experimentation. Trying to find a way to enchant things. Apparently, errors lead to an explosive result.”

  “You’re not hurt?”

  “Thankfully, no. Used small branches. And my shields protected me. It’s frustrating. I thought I had the configuration of the spells right.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about it. You’ll get it right. Let’s have the morning meal first. I’ll fix the field. Every practice you leave it full of holes,” laughed Eira.

  Sighing, Tyler shook his head and followed Eira back to the house. Breakfast was waiting. A mug and a small pitcher was beside his plate.

  “Eira, what’s this?” he asked, pointing to the mug and pitcher.

  “Oh, another surprise! Hope I did it right! Try it. It’s still hot so be careful.”

  As he took hold of the mug, he smiled. A very wide grin. He could smell a nutty and charred flavor. The aroma was like coffee, though not exactly there. He tasted it. Acorn coffee! It tasted somewhere between coffee and chocolate. A bit bitter, but he was already ecstatic.

  “I used white acorns,” clarified Eira, “the woodland animals told me the red ones are bitter.”

  “This is my best breakfast yet!” replied Tyler, grinning broadly.

  “There’s some honey in that pot if you would like some.” Eira pointed out a small covered jar.

  Tyler hurriedly used some honey in his drink. Closing his eyes, he savored the long-missed aroma and slowly took a sip out of the mug.

  Oh, my God. This is the best breakfast surprise ever! It may lack the kick of caffeine, but it still is coffee!

  “Is it good?” asked Eira.

  Tyler opened his eyes and looked at his breakfast angel.

  “Is it good? It’s better than good! It’s perfect!”

  “Glad to hear that. It was also an experiment,” Eira smiled. “But not the exploding kind.”