The Guardians of Celesk

Chapter 27: Eternal Promises

The Sorceress finally opened her eyes and recognised a familiar cavern. It was the hearth of her own familiar sanctum. The rocks pulsed with energy and included a warm hearth which was roaring in its centre. It was surrounded by various crystals; enchanted weapon displays and housed an inner garden which was illuminated by a lone shaft of sunlight spearing through the hole in the ceiling. She concentrated on her favourite paintings, allowing her eyes to focus. She turned her head to the side and spied her newest foes staring blankly at her. She felt her hands, but they were pressed firmly together, still bound. She despised the old man most of all and closed her eyes, concentrating on his face. She was focusing her varasz, feeling her pulse quicken and a rush of heat churning in her inner core before the inevitable rush of energy, along with the energy flow along her limbs to complement the boiling rage washing over her. She would set the caverns ablaze if it gave her freedom. Just as she felt the varasz start to glow, it stopped immediately. She sighed and rolled her eyes at them, "Let me predict, a binding spell?"

"Yes exactly, but well beyond your level of skill." She laughed mockingly. As soon as she started to feel the pulsing rhythm, it ceased immediately. "We did warn you." Yordu looked over at this woman writhing on the top of her round ebony table, still clad in the vestigial robes. The contrast to her at the peak of her powers was quite amusing. The more she struggled, the more he smiled. Each time she tried to meditate, the power evaporated, but even more quickly the more times she tried. "It does not have to be this way. Perhaps if we can come to some type of mutual understanding, there may not be any need for binding you. But first we have to establish some sort of trust."

"I could say the same for your people."

"Not really, you have either been asleep or otherwise helpless, and yet we haven't killed, maimed or caused you anything more than a mild discomfort. This level of mistrust is but a short passage in one direction. I can trust the rest of us, and hopefully you can too, in a timely manner."

"Can I at least have some water?"

"Of course." He gestured over to Skyene, who brought a mug to her lips. "Now you may choose to believe this information, or completely ignore it. The choice is yours. We are not here to kill or harm you in any way. Instead, we need your help."

She finished her mouthful of water. "And let me guess, you need some enchantments or some special magic spells."

"No! We would not ever bother you for that. You think we need you for all these trivial wants." He was starting to get annoyed at this exchange. "Relax, who would have thought that you Guardians were so twitchy? I know that you're here for the orb."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"Think of what they call me, and how I earned such a moniker. Besides it's not that difficult to imagine, with Valezk on the rise again and causing chaos and destruction in his wake. He would have to be planning long term and trifling with fate. If I was in his position, I would have done the same."

"So if you're the clairvoyant of destiny, what do you suppose will happen next?"

"It's clear he wants to change the world, and what better way to change it, than to completely change the system of existence." Yordu raised an eyebrow, as did Skyene. They gave each other a conspiratorial look, which the Sorceress noticed so overtly. "Yes, I know you're here, looking for the orb, as is Valezk." Their faces prolapsed along with the secret they thought they had kept. "Why wouldn't he? It would change the way of things. Everyone else restricted by the order dictated by the great revelation, now free to live life without shackles. People may eventually come to see him as the great liberator of Celezk." Skyene was astonished by these remarks. "You cannot be real about this? Why, reversing the order would bring nothing but chaos and destruction, ultimately everyone's demise."

"Not necessarily Guardian. Sure, many would suffer, but many would also thrive beyond measure. This is just all a matter of perspective." Yordu's face had resigned. "You shouldn't look so perplexed master Guardian. I will tell you where it is, but I will want something in return." The whole group finally looked relieved. She took a moment to investigate their faces before she chose the next words. "The point is, there's even a chance you all might win, and on the odd chance of that happening, I want you to remember that I helped."

"You seem to err on the side of neutrality. Such a passive way to make decisions."

"Don't we all? Surely you cannot see that this is a no loss scenario?" Skyene's face fell in horror at this question. "How can you say that? You know that the great revelation showed you the way of Varasz, that you will come back as, who knows, a cell, a kuraha or a speck of dirt."

"And I will become an extraordinary piece of dirt in the next life. The truth is... I'm bored, unlike many, I remember my past lives and I know I've grown in power. I'm happy to start again or take the gamble and live a less restricted way. Either way, I need this limbo to end."

Yordu felt compelled to interrupt, "If you knew all this, and you're as neutral as they say, why did you attack us?"

"You seem to forget that it was you came into my home. How else was I supposed to respond?"

"You know who we are, and what we stand for. Why would we ever attack first?"

"These are different times. If we thought all Guardians were beacons of virtue, we would not be in this chaos today."

They finally felt compelled, even elated enough to release her bonds. The moment they did, they were met with a much calmer person. She immediately went to her bookshelf and eyed a particularly nefarious item, thumbing through a few dog-eared pages, before calmly turning back to Yordu, "you've finally made a wise decision."