Part 23 (1/2)

”I have another idea I'm going to test now,” Gerin said. ”Don't fret, First Siege. This one entails no risk. At least no risk that I can foresee. But the reward if I'm right...”

”Gerin, what are you planning?” asked Hollin with some trepidation.

”Nothing dangerous, so stop worrying. It's just an idea. I'm going to open the door to the Varsae Estrikavis now.” He glanced at the Archmage as he spoke.

He opened himself to magic, let amber power fill him, then directed it into the scepter.

The defensive spells within the scepter had not reset themselves after he'd first unlocked them. If Naragenth had a method for doing so, he had not found it, and would not reset them even if he could. There was no need.

The magic fed the spell at the heart of the scepter, an utterly strange power that drank his magic and unfolded like the edge of a knife, only sharper than the sharpest physical blade. This was a power intended to cut its way between worlds, slicing through the barriers that separated one plane of existence from another.

In a moment a door of dark wood with a gold handle appeared in the air before him, floating above the tiled floor. The sigil of Naragenth, an upright staff bisecting a rayed sun, was imprinted upon it. Below the sigil was a silver crescent. Several of the wizards gasped at the sight.

”This is the entrance to the Chamber of the Moon, which contains the Varsae Estrikavis,” said Hollin.

Rahmdil ran his trembling fingers lightly across the wood. ”It's almost a miracle that you found this.”

Gerin was not looking at the door. He kept his gaze on the Archmage and wondered if his idea was correct.

A moment later his heart fluttered when the diamond in the Ammon Ekril began to s.h.i.+ne with a warm, golden glow.

I was right, he thought.

”By the G.o.ds, what have you done?” said the First Siege.

”I've figured out how to activate the kalaya mithran,” he said. He turned to the Archmage. ”Has it ever done that before?”

”No. Never.” She removed the circlet and placed it on the table.

”Gerin, please,” said Hollin. ”Enough with your secrecy. Tell us how you knew this would happen.”

He quelled his excitement. ”The dreams showed us that the kalaya mithran originated in another world. The Varsae Estrikavis exists in another world. I thought perhaps it needed the energy of another world to awaken.”

”Remarkable,” said Rahmdil.

Rahmdil started to create a complex incantation. Gerin could only follow a fraction of what he was doing, and was amazed at the old wizard's prowess. Rahmdil was doing something far more subtle than anything he himself could accomplish. Strength alone was no subst.i.tute for years-decades, lifetimes-of practice with magic.

Even though he could not understand all of what the Warden was doing, Gerin realized he was attempting to determine if there was a link of some kind between the door to the Chamber of the Moon and the Ammon Ekril. It was an astoundingly complex spell, the likes of which he had never seen before. Like a Seeing in some respects, only an order of magnitude more complicated. Gerin watched as dozens of threads of magic wove about the room, seeking fractures or holes in the very fabric of reality.

The other wizards remained still and silent, watching the Warden work his spell. The threads snaked about the room for several minutes, probing, searching. He wondered how Rahmdil was able to maintain control for so long. It was not a question of strength, but of concentration and will. Amber magic would not necessarily be any more suited to the task at hand than less powerful magic. He found himself admiring the old man immensely.

One of the threads brightened and formed a straight, rigid line between the door and the circlet.

”Ah!” said Rahmdil. ”There you are.” He made a gesture, and the other threads vanished. ”This is what brought the Ammon Ekril to life.”

”Is it a particular kind of magic?” asked Gerin.

”It's not magic at all. There is energy flowing from the Chamber of the Moon into the circlet.” The Warden of the Archives made another gesture, and a line of pulses along the thread began to move from the door toward the diamond. ”There. You can see the direction of the flow.”

”What is that energy?” asked Kirin.

”I'm not sure,” said Rahmdil. ”It has no direct source that I can detect, but maybe we'll discover more once we enter the Varsae Estrikavis. It is a diffuse kind of power.”

Kirin created an intricate Seeing spell that he peered at for a long moment. ”I think it's simply the fabric of the other world where the library is hidden. It's like”-he waved his hand, grasping for the right words-”the air of that place. It's not coming from a specific thing. I'm not explaining this very well.”

”I understand,” said Gerin. ”This power is a property of the difference between the two worlds.”

”Yes, exactly.”

”So the world where Naragenth hid the Varsae Estrikavis just happens to be the very world where the kalaya mithran came from?” asked Kirin. ”That seems a rather large coincidence.”

”Not necessarily,” said Gerin. ”Maybe that was an easy world for Naragenth to reach. Maybe there's something about it that makes it more accessible than others. We have no idea how he found it or how he created the Chamber of the Moon. But if it is a more accessible realm, perhaps the Atalari found the same path.”

”Or all other worlds might create the same kind of energy when doors are opened between them,” said Abaru.

”How would the Atalari have used the kalaya mithran if they needed to access another world first?” asked the Archmage. ”That is certainly not an ability they were known to have.”

”There's no way to know, Archmage,” said Rahmdil. ”What we did here may have no relation to how the Atalari used this.”

They worked at least a dozen spells on the Ammon Ekril itself, attempting to determine the nature of the power causing the diamond to glow. Maddeningly, they could garner no clear insight into its properties. Even the source of the light proved elusive.

”This is absurd,” said Marandra. ”Is there nothing we can discover?”

”This power is so alien to our magic that I fear there may be little else we can know,” said Rahmdil with a sigh.

”Perhaps it's time to be direct,” she said. ”Let's see if what we've awakened is in the mood to talk.”

Rahmdil dispelled the thread of light extending from the door to the Ammon Ekril. The Archmage placed the circlet on her brow. ”Did any of you see exactly how the kalaya mithran was used in your dreams?”

”No, Archmage,” said Gerin. ”We saw it in use, but not how it was used. Our viewpoint was always outside of the wearer.”

She closed her eyes. ”I sense nothing out of the ordinary. If the kalaya mithran is in here, it remains hidden from me.”

”Try calling out to it with your mind,” said Hollin.

A scowl of irritation flashed across her face. ”I've already done that. And I've used magic as well. But it might as well be a lump of lead for all of the reaction I've provoked.”

They decided to leave the Ammon Ekril for a while and explore the Varsae Estrikavis. Gerin, Hollin, and Abaru led the other wizards through Naragenth's library, pointing out unique volumes of lore or devices of magic. Gerin feared that Rahmdil might actually die of joy.

Later, Gerin returned to his rooms and stretched out on his bed, elated that his idea had proved to be right, but also frustrated because they'd made no further progress toward understanding how to use the power within the circlet.

He was almost asleep when someone pounded on his door. In the hallway stood one of his own Khedes.h.i.+an soldiers, his face animated.

”Your Majesty, please, come quickly!” said the man. ”Captain Vaules just arrived!”

26.