Aglanthol 3 - The Castle of Saelethiel (The Law Cannot Be Shaken) - 16. Chapter 16

Night fell and no sound was to be heard. Silence hung over the castle that was hidden from sight entirely. The mighty ward worked well and hid the castle. The powerful energy spread from its centre where in the main hall the guardians had gathered. The brethren formed a perfect circle. The centre of the circle was the centre of the gigantic energy field.

At midnight, the brethren stood like on a command and dissolved their circle. They stood in a line, and while they did, the energy stopped radiating in all directions. The spherical energy field dissolved. The energy now spread like a line and in only two directions.

After only a minute, the guardians resumed their former formation. They sat down in a circle again. Like before, the energy spread in all directions from the centre of the circle that the brethren had formed. A spherical energy field built up again.

The brief interruption, however, had sufficed to change the material world considerably. An abyss had formed that spread from north to south, a huge and long canyon, deep and with steep slopes. The walls and the bottom of the canyon were made of gray rocks. The abyss looked dangerous, cold, and menacing.

Neither Ogol nor Neldor and his companions had noticed the change of the world, for all of them had been fast asleep. Ogol spent the night in the place that was located in the west of the canyon. His follower’s place was east of it. The abyss had divided the world and had separated the opponents. But, so far, they were not aware of it.

The night was peaceful. No sound was to be heard. The full moon shed an opalescent light. The brethren sat in deep meditation and silence hung over the Castle of Saelethiel.

~~**~~

Ogol discovered the abyss when he looked down the path in the morning. His camp was high up in the mountains. Ogol looked in the direction of the other man’s camp when he caught sight of the canyon. The sight hit him deeply. Ogol was shaken. The abyss was vast and stretched from north to south as far as the eye could see. The canyon was huge, long, and deep and the slopes were steep. Another energy shift had occurred and had produced an abyss at night.

Ogol stood startled for a while. His eyes followed the line of the canyon. The camp of the man who had come to chase him was on the other side. If the man had not moved up farther the path, which Ogol doubted he had, the man now was on the other side of the abyss. Ogol was wondering why the brethren had produced the material shift. Was this another attempt to protect the castle? What had the brethren in mind? What was their plan? Why was he not able to see through it?

Ogol’s eyes followed the line of the canyon. His thoughts followed a new track. Was he mistaken? Had he climbed too high? Was the castle on his side or on the other side of the abyss? Another thought occurred to him. Ogol straightened. What if the canyon itself indicated the position of the castle? Could it be? Was it really that simple? Ogol looked at the abyss.

He moved down the path. He was still pondering. If the canyon indicated the castle’s location, where exactly was it? More to the north or more to the south? This question confounded Ogol. Were his reflections correct or was he mistaken? He finally reached the abyss. He stopped and then stood, pondering and gazing down into the canyon.

~~**~~

Neldor and his companions caught sight of the canyon a short time later. Qildor moved up the path in order to spy on their former camp. He detected the altered landscape. The surroundings had changed drastically. Qildor saw new formations of rocks as far as the eye could see. Startled, he climbed the path until he reached the edge of the abyss. The sight of it made him gasp with fear.

Qildor stood at the edge of the canyon. He looked down to the ground. The abyss was deep and the slopes were steep. The bottom and the canyon walls were made of dark gray rocks. Qildor looked left and right. The canyon stretched as far as the eye could see. Qildor looked on the other side of the abyss where Ogol was supposed to be. The abyss had divided the world and had separated them from the man they had followed.

Qildor hurried back and informed Neldor and Magath. They all hastened up the path. They stood at the edge of the canyon and gazed down in utter bewilderment.

"We’re standing at the edge of an abyss," Magath said.

"A remarkable insight," Neldor replied in a thoughtful voice. "The brethren are not without humour, I must say. Although I find their demonstration is a bit dramatic."

Qildor and Magath looked at the wizard.

"You mean this abyss is a symbolic message?" Qildor asked.

"It’s very drastic and distinct. The meaning is not hidden at all," Neldor replied. "Clear enough for all to see. I’m wondering what Ogol will read out of this message."

"The same that you read out of it?" Qildor asked. "I can’t read anything out of it. I just see a canyon. It separates us from Ogol. How, by all means, shall we now chase and stop the man?"

"We sometimes miss the forest for the trees," Neldor replied slowly. His words sounded entirely out of place.

Magath looked at the wizard for a second, and then turned his eyes away. He gazed down at the bottom of the canyon. The mere size of the abyss overwhelmed him. Neldor’s eyes rested on the young man for a while. The abyss had another meaning that Neldor had not revealed to the men. It contained a message for Magath and Neldor wondered if the man was able to read it.

Neldor turned away and followed Qildor who had walked along the side of the canyon. The wizard nodded his head as he moved on. They had all been summoned for a reason and stopping Ogol was not the primary one. Neldor stopped and looked on the other side of the canyon. The wizard felt reassured. All things would be at exactly the right place very soon.

"It’s vast," Qildor said when Neldor had approached him. "Do you think we need to cross it?"

"This depends on many things," Neldor said mysteriously.

Qildor gave him a questioning look, but Neldor did not respond. A vague smile showed on the wizard’s lips. He looked absent-mindedly on the other side of the canyon.

~~**~~

Magath stood looking out into the canyon. The abyss intrigued him, yet it also frightened him. Absent-mindedly, he fumbled the amulet that Gwyn had given to him. Magath looked at it. The amulet reminded him of the village of Tanmil. Magath felt a longing. He longed for his home. He could sit now with Gwyn and listen to her stories. He could ride over to Dran and talk with the man. He could see to his field or finally repair the roof of his house. Instead, he stood in some artificial world and looked out on a huge, cold, and menacing canyon.

Magath asked himself why he had accompanied the wizard. He felt helpless. What could he do to stop Ogol? Magath suddenly found that their mission was of no importance at all and bound to fail anyway. So far, they had not managed to track down the man. The abyss that had formed at night would make their task even more difficult, if not impossible at all. Magath wondered why the brethren did not stop the man. Their magical power was big. Magath felt involved in a game that was unfair and that he was not able to see through. Or did he just not understand the rules?

Neldor’s magic did not work well. So far, the wizard had not been able to do much. If Qildor had had a chance to track the man down, he would certainly have already found him. What game were the guardians of the castle playing? Magath had an evil thought. Perhaps the brethren were just feeling bored and were making fun of them.

Magath looked on the other side of the canyon. Somewhere over there was Ogol, the black magician. What had the man in mind? What were his plans? Had he really come here to seize a magical tool? Magath wondered what kind of magic the man was after. Was there really a tool that would make him invincible? What did he aim at? Aglanthol’s ruin?

Magath shrugged and shook his head slightly. He didn’t understand the man’s goal. All things passed and came to an end. The goal of the man’s journey was clear. Death would ultimately defeat the man and put an end to his power. All was null and naught in the end.

He turned his head and looked at Neldor who was talking to Qildor. The wizard was an old man. He had spent decades researching on symbols and a secret code. Yes, in the end, he had deciphered the code and this had allowed him to turn back time and change the course of events. Magath shrugged. If the wizard had acted properly and had come to Tanmil in time, then he would have not had to turn back time and correct his mistake. Then again, if had he not spent decades on his research, he would not have been able to correct his mistake once he had made it. Magath found himself in a vicious circle. And yet, he thought that all arguments were true in a sense.

"In every truth something false can be found," Magath said thoughtfully.

He seized the amulet again. His own thoughts were disturbing him.

‘All these wizards claim to have knowledge that is far above the understanding of an average man,’ Magath thought. He shrugged. So far, neither Neldor nor Ogol had had success and the powerful guardians had done nothing but establish a mighty energy field. ‘What good comes from magic?’ Magath thought. ‘I’ve seen imaginary spiders and I’m trapped in an unreal world.’

Magath found that magic was of no use in the real world. Yes, starting a fire with a snap would doubtlessly save time and thus would really be helpful. But creating images and have them hovering in the air? Sure, a huge spider could frighten people and maybe stop an army. But once people had seen through the use of images and their applications, these images would neither stop nor frighten them anymore.

Neldor had said that he was able to materialize things. But so far, he had not been able to do so. Perhaps he was not able to do it at all and had just found an excuse to deceive Magath. Yes, the brethren were able to change the material world. But the major thing that they had produced was the vast canyon in front of him. Magath found this abyss was of no use at all.

"Magic is of no use at all when there comes no good from it in the real world," he said aloud.

A white dove flew up and crossed the sky. Magath’s eyes followed it. He watched the bird cross the sky.

When he lowered his eyes again, he saw a golden light far in the distance on the other side of the abyss. The light condensed and formed an image. It was the image of a palace. Magath gazed at it. The energy condensed even more. The palace grew three-dimensional. It looked solid and realistic and it even cast a shadow. Magath gazed at the palace in bewilderment. But then he noticed a detail that made him suspicious. The palace had no entrance. Magath crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Just another perfectly formed hologram," he said. "I see through it. I won’t give in to temptation."

The image dissolved instantly. The surroundings looked unaltered.

Neldor watched the young man from the distance. He had seen the palace as well, but he had not mentioned it to Qildor. Qildor had not shown any sign that indicated he saw the image of the palace. The building was hidden from the man’s sight. The wizard studied Magath. He had underestimated the young man who had been summoned here for a reason. He had been summoned here to meet his destiny.

Magath finally joined Neldor and Qildor. He did not mention the palace and acted as if nothing had happened. Neldor kept the secret to himself as well. Inwardly, however, the wizard was shaken. Magath stood next to Qildor. He placed his hand on the man’s arm. Qildor turned his head and smiled at him. He placed his arm around Magath’s shoulders. Magath felt safe again. He meanwhile spoke to the image of a palace and it did not deem him insane. It was time to finally ride back to Tanmil.

~~**~~