The Mad God (On hold)

Chapter Three - Part Four

“Cekoti, join the circle,” Luvesi said, her exhausted voice almost pleading.

“Why? I don’t want to be part of this; if you destroy this world, you’ll have to kill me along side everyone else.” Cekoti crossed his arms, his eyes oozing with contempt. What was wrong with the boy? Why couldn’t he see that this was their only option; that they’d never leave him behind?

 “We only want to be ready if we can’t save them, if they don’t listen to us. We want to be able to cast the spell, but we’ll only do so if we must,” Luvesi said, her voice growing softer. “We need you Cekoti, and I’ll be dammed if I ever leave you behind. I brought you up; you’re like a son to me.”

“But you won’t actually try; you want to destroy this world.”

“No, we don’t,” Lasinn said, getting angry. “We are only going to create our own world, leave everyone else to their fate; if they stop using magic once we’re gone I’m sure they’ll all live.”

“Can you promise me that this spell won’t kill everyone on this planet?” he asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“I cannot promise anything, precognition has always been the weakest of all my traits, yet the shards are too distant; no future is more prominent than any other, and some leave everyone living. But, the future is murkier than a tribesman’s morals.

“What do you want me to do? I will help you prepare, but unless there is a good chance of everyone living after, I will not cast the spell with you.” Cekoti glowered at Lasinn, his contempt flashing briefly in his eyes.

“We don’t expect anything else; it is what we want after all. I don’t want my hands stained with blood, especially if that’s the cost to start anew,” Luvesi said, “all we need you to do is to create maybe six meshes consisting of equal fire and earth elements; hold on to these until Lasinn gives you the signal, and then we’ll merge them into the spell.”

Lasinn reached out to his aura, immediately relishing the power flooding through him; he always missed it every time he let it go. Being able to actually see the world’s colours, to feel the air… It was power, like none other. He shook his head, clearing the thoughts, the dangerous thoughts. Giving in to the desires could lead in death, and not just his.  

He looked up, feeling himself draw the thinnest strands that he could – then thinner the starting strands, the less power he drained – and weaved one of each element together rapidly, drawing more and more into his weave. He made more and more in rapid succession, weaving each set of secondary strands together, then each set or tertiarys. He continued; sweat dripping freely from his face, his enhanced ears barely even picking up the sound anymore as they struck the ground.

Luvesi too was starting to show signs of weariness, yet she was holding much more power; she had constructed the base of the spell already, a simple soul base as they had decided. The magic flowed into the spell form her aura, the soft simple lines forming a haze of light as it spun round faster and faster.

Lasinn smiled, and started to concentrate more on his own work; he was almost at the eleventh strand now, at which point he would hand it over to Luvesi and start constructing the rest of the spell. He stood back, marvelling at what they had achieved in so little time.

He looked out of the window, the soft glow of the sun disappearing behind the clouds. Shit, had it really been that long? They started at noon, had the argument with Cekoti really taken that long? Lasinn expelled the ideas from his head, it didn’t really matter that much, they were almost finished. Now that the strands were done it would mean making a circle to complete the spell.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead, and looked Cekoti in the eye. “Ready,” he said, as he surrendered himself to the others. In turn each of their auras dimmed as they too surrendered their magical abilities to those around them. He could see the magic flowing from each of them, the strands each of them had made, but felt empty. He was drained, the magic flowing through him, like a vessel, discarded. He hated not being in control of the circle, the feeling of power left completely once you surrendered it to someone else. But controlling a circle, that was a different story entirely… He shivered with pleasure as he remembered being in control of that much power, being able to draw off the circle. Was that what Ranak had felt when he discovered the well? Was that how they’d feel once they had set themselves up as Gods in their new world? He shivered again, this time with anticipation of the sweet power…

No! He tore himself away from the thoughts. To give in to magic was to loose himself, he would become an empty shell of what he once was before he wasted away, before it consumed him utterly and he’d be lucky not to kill anyone. Magic was a tool, a dangerous tool, but a tool nonetheless; it could never gain control of you.

He looked up to startled faces, concern evident on Luvesi’s ashen face. He’s spoken out loud… “Sorry, thought I’d made a mistake there for a second.” He smiled; they’d stop him using magic if they thought him weak. But he wasn’t weak, he was strong, he resisted the thoughts.

Luvesi’s features softened. “Don’t worry, it’s all right. The last thing we want is a mistake; it could very well mean the end of us all.”

Lasinn nodded at the grave words; any slip in a spell and it could have catastrophic affects. The more energy used, the worse the outcome – some spells could leave you Stagnated, doomed to never use magic again. Others to lose your life; Lasinn still wasn’t sure which was worse.

He reached out towards Cekoti, drawing a little of the energy for himself, and accepted the meshes off his siblings. He wove the meshes in alternatively, each time the shimmering sheets of magic would fuse in a soft glow, bathing them all. Gradually the shimmering haze curved into a ball, a wave of light cascading through the pure energy.

Lasinn released his hold on the circle’s power, immediately feeling his fatigue wash over him; they would have to be careful when dismantling the threads, any slip and they might not get another chance to save the world, to correct their mistakes. He waited for Luvesi to finish the base layer before passing her the shimmering ball, allowing her to finish the spell. Within moments she had woven it in masterfully, her aura dimming suddenly as she stood back. A single thread connected her to the glowing ball; Lasinn marvelled at her concentration, to be able to do that after hours of casting was a miracle. But one that was needed – they couldn’t afford for her to tire.

“It’s beautiful,” Dyndara said, her eyes soaking in the light.

“We have to dismantle it,” Luvesi said, her voice laden with weariness. “And fast; I’m not sure how long I can hold this.”

“What do you want me to do?” Lasinn asked, reaching into his aura, flooding himself with energy. But the weariness stayed, a distant memory; a constant nagging at the back of his head. How was Luvesi holding on?

“Just take it, please.”

Lasinn nodded gravely, he had never heard her beg. He reached out to take the spell, holding it in his mind. Immediately he started to feel the energy rush through him, the torrent tiring him quickly; the nagging grew stronger. How had she held it for so long?

He pulled on the weave, taking off the third layer, working as quickly as he could. He separated the strands, drawing them back into his aura.

“Can someone take the top layer?” he said, hearing his own voice croak. Did the words even come out?  

He surrendered the strands, allowing someone to take it off him. The energy was still draining fast, his concentration wavering. He tried to dismantle the second layer, removing it from the first, but his mind kept dropping the threads. He fumbled, his hold on the spell getting weaker.

“I’m going to drop it!” Lasinn said, his voice almost a scream. He had killed them; there was nothing left he could do… He felt the threads fall out of his hands, slowly drifting further. He tried to reel them back, tried to pass them on to someone else, but no-one could take them; he had failed. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, the words like poison on his mouth. He had failed.

He felt the strands slip completely, the spell releasing, discharging its energy in front of him. He was thrown backwards, crumpling as he hit the wall. His teneative hold on magic fled, his fatigue hitting him suddenly, as If a block had been placed in front of him. He gasped, feeling the pain suddenly, the pain that had been blocked out with the magic. His ears rang; he could hear screaming, distant booming. Loud noises like none he had heard before. He could feel himself falling; the building was falling. Held up by magic… The spell had drained its energy, or worse, disrupted the spell… His failure… He had killed them… Killed the city…

***

Hope you enjoyed it this week. As always, if you noticed any errors please point thhem out! If you have any questions feel free to either PM them to me or comment! :)

~Cekoti.