Chapter 51
I screwed up! Maxwell exclaimed, bursting through the front door of my cabin.
Wed been back from our trip to the enclave for almost a week. Father Mathis had grumbled about someone misreading their spells and accepted our explanation of there being no sign of civilization in the area.
What happened? I asked as I watched Maxwell pace around my living room.
Im so sorry, Zeke, Maxwell said. IYou need to run.
I closed the book I was reading and got up. Id found it on my bed when I returned from our trip. It wasnt very thick, and was bound in rich dark leather. There was no title. The front depicted a balanced, silver scale. On one side, was a bright gold star burst. On the other, was a pitch-black starburst, and instead of beams radiating out, tendrils of black seemed to pull toward it.
Max, what happened? I said sternly.
Raven, disturbed from her sleep by Maxwell, stretched before walking over to him and rubbing between his legs.
Max took a deep breath. I was in the tavern drinking with Thomas. I dont remember how it came up, but I told him about Uriel. Evidently someone from the temple heard me talking about her and knew wed been sent out to find some hidden enclave They told Mathis, and he put together the pieces and knows we lied.
Oh. I take it hes pissed?
You could say that, Maxwell said. He spent an hour yelling at me before demanding I bring you to him. Hes already sent word to organize an inquisition as he is calling it. Hes demanding you help.
I stared at the mysterious book for a long moment. Well, I guess wed better go to meet with him then.
You cant be serious! Maxwell glared at me. Are you planning on helping him?
I dont know what I am planning. But if I stay here, I give up the ability to affect anything.
Maxwell shook his head in disagreement. Even if you go with them, theres no way you can change what theyre going to do. The people Mathis is bringing to help him sound powerful.
Do we have any time? No doubt he called in help from outside the village, and that could take some days to arrive.
Yes. But I think the good father wants to yell at you and tell you how bad of a person you are.
If only he knew, I chuckled, heading for the door and slipping the book into a pocket inside my robe.
Maxwell, a concerned look on his face, followed me out. Anything interesting in that thing?
Very interesting. It is rather strange you cant read it. Maxwell had tried, several times, but what to me was plain English, all he saw was gibberish.
Any indication who its from? Maxwell asked.
I havent seen yet. I wish I could tell you about it. It talks a lot about the Order of Equinox. Seems like theyre some kind of organization for preserving the balance.
Are they trying to recruit you? Maxwell asked.
I think so, I said, heading for the dock. Though it sounds like there arent very many members.
You sure you dont want to run? Maxwell asked. We could be a long way away before Father Mathis realizes we arent coming.
Could you live with yourself if you left without trying? I asked.
It would be hard, but I could. If I stayed, Im in no real threat of dying. Maxwells shoulders sank. But you are. If you die, theres a very real chance you dont come back.
You arent wrong. But I refuse to live a life here in fear because of death. I could run, but I dont think Id like what that would say about me.
We crossed the lake in silence. Maxwell was feeling guilty for having started this whole thing. I didnt blame him. It was inevitably going to happen; we both had known that. If I was going to avoid this situation, I would never have returned to Omark. I would have only come through here long enough to pick up Raven.
I dont know what Rhea was thinking when she gave you such a glowing recommendation, Father Mathis seethed. You have been nothing but a pain. First you dont deal with those ranchers like you should have, and now you lie to me.
Mathis had spent the last hour berating me and Maxwell outside the temple. Many of the villagers had stopped and watched, wondering what was happening. A glare from Mathis normally sent them running. No one wanted to be the next focus of his wrath.
You are so full of shit, I snapped.
Mathis guffawed in surprise and I continued, not slowing down to think about what I was saying.
Weve followed your orders and done some truly awful things on your behalf. In some ways the things Mathis had been forcing us to do to the locals were more cruel than what had happened to the demonling village. I felt immense shame.
At the time, Id assumed we had no choice. How stupid and nave of me. You always have a choice. Some things are just wrong and doing them because you were ordered to will never absolve you of committing the act. Youre worse than the demonlings you had us kill.
Mathis was at a loss for words, then something behind me caught his attention. You have gone too far! We leave tomorrow morning to purge the wicked enclave.
I turned and saw a column of heavily armored soldiers. Their shields bore the symbol of white treesthe Knights of Olattee.
How are they here already? I asked Maxwell.
A bound soul leads this company, Mathis sneered. He brought them via the Shrine of Creation. You should be thankful for their quick arrival.
Mathis grabbed my shoulder, and I was thankful for how powerful my illusion spell had becomethe spell strained. If they had taken longer, than that would have meant youd spend that much more time in penance.
I was surprised by Mathiss strength, and as he dragged me toward the temple, I began to struggle.
Maybe Olattee will strike you dead, maybe he wont. I guess we shall find out, Mathis snarled. Either way, you shall spend the night in a cell paying for your sins!
Please dont do this! Maxwell said.
I tried with all my might to fight against Mathiss unexpected strength. Using my magic would break me free of his grasp, but that would doom me more certainly than being dragged into the temple. Especially with Knights of Olattee present.
You must atone as well, Father Mathis snapped. Tyler, grab this sinner. These two will spend the night in our penance cells.
I heard a struggle and angry shouts, but quit paying attention as I turned my focus inward. Time seemed to slow, desperately thinking about what to do. The holy magic of Olattee was as close to a perfect counter to me as could exist. If they discovered I was a Lich, I was deadthey would kill me and hunt down my phylactery. Then something Id read in the strange book came to me.
I muttered to myself, the noise around me masking the sound. The soul is not bound by the form. Repeating the phrase over and over again, I remembered something as I felt the steps of the temple under my feet. Lichs were supposed to be one of the few creatures that innately manipulated souls. If my soul wasnt a reflection of my form, could it mask me?
Id never tried to manipulate my soul before, but it was my only chance. I braced my foot on the step and halted my progress. Mathis pulled harder and he yelled something, but I ignored it, focusing on my task.
To this day, I am certain I was assisted by a force beyond me, because Ive never been able to repeat what happened next. Somehow, I formed a temporary merging of my soul and my illusion spell. The spell quite literally became who I was.
I was exhausted beyond belief and my strength faded. Father Mathis yanked me forward. I was no longer as worried about the temple, and for a brief moment, I was certain I would be fine. Then, Mathis pulled me into the temple and it was like Id been suddenly set on fire.
I was already exhausted by whatever Id just done to my spell, and the burning sensation spreading over my body became too much for me.
As I blacked out, the last thing I heard was Mathis. He was smiling like he was enjoying my suffering. Its okay, you will be fine, my son.
My last thoughts as the world faded were of vile hatred for this horrible man.
***
When I came to, either the burning pain had faded or Id become used to it. Focusing on the pain, I realized two things at once. The pain was physical and only felt that way because of my spell. My soul had been spread across the spell to hide me from Olattee, and while it worked, my soul wasnt something that would be considered pure, so Olattees magic still hurt me. The reason the pain was less, was that my soul had adapted, hiding the parts of itself that were harmed by the power of Olattee.
In that small, two-meter square cell with no windows and a tiny door, the power of Olattee was massively amplified. I felt so exposed. My soul was essentially on the outside of me, protecting me from the magic. Souls, from what Vito had taught me, were part of the body and always protected by it. Vampires fed on soul energy by drinking blood, but the energy was only a by-product of the soul itself, it wasnt actually the soul. The only known time a soul was pulled out of the body was during the creation of a Lich, and even that was only a mere fragment.
My mana was flashing, near-empty, and slowly decreasing. I drank the single mana potion I kept on me for emergencies and my mana pool refilled. I hoped I could last until I was let out.
I took stock of the chamber. There was a small altar to Olattee, and on it sat a book. I was clearly meant to be reading. There was a small grate in the ceiling, no doubt someone would be coming to check that I was reading at some point.
I opened the book and scanned over it. Occasionally the pain would flair up and Id wince. The literature was about as cringe-worthy as the nutcase religious fanatics from back on Earth. Deciding to take a risk, I leaned forward, blocking sight of the book and laid the book with the scale overtop, opening it to where Id stopped reading. It didnt fully cover the book under it, but I hoped it would be enough to fool whoever checked.
Upon reaching the end of the book, a name appearedgod of balance, Ekwin. After I read it, more text appeared.
Ezekiel, you have a long path ahead of you, but you are making progress. I am glad I was able to help you hide from Olattee. They arent all bad, just a little overzealous.
I leaned back from the book, wondering how anything could see me here, even a god. I was in the depths of another gods domain, after all.
The Order of Equinox serves me keeping the balance in the world. I look for people like you to join the ranks of my Order.
This is a path you can follow on your journey, but not the only one. I will not hide that this path will be harder than most, but it will be a path that leads to great things and necessary truths the world isnt always ready for.
Now that you are ready, I leave the Oath for you to take. If you choose to take it, dont do it now. Not a great idea when in the temple of a god while your soul is on display.
An Oath appeared at the bottom of the page in beautiful scrolling text. I didnt know much about oaths. A few of my former guild members had taken an oath. They were essentially a form of progression only martial archetypes followed. Everyone got the ability to take a level 1 oath at level 50. To unlock more, certain requirements had to be met every fifty levels. They were normally detrimental to caster and holy type players, and many chose to never even take the one free oath they got.
I read over the oath at the bottom of the page several times and closed my eyes to think. This god of balance, Ekwin, had made it clear it was my choice as to what I did from here. Though I did like the sound of the oath, and so far, everything Id read about the Order of Equinox seemed like a group I would fit right in with.
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