Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
Aglanthol 3 - The Castle of Saelethiel (The Law Cannot Be Shaken) - 18. Chapter 18
Qildor and Neldor awoke. The sun had already risen and shed a warm light. They soon found out that Magath was missing. They called out for him and searched outside the camp. But they didn’t find a trace of the man.
"I must go and find him. He cannot have disappeared," Qildor said in utter concern He felt a knot in his stomach. His gut feeling warned him.
They hurried up the path, calling out Magath’s name.
"I’ll kill the man if he has a hand in it," Qildor hissed while they hastened along.
Qildor stopped short. He did not believe his eyes. His heart almost stopped at the sight in front of him. He saw a mirage, a Fata Morgana. Qildor gaped at it in utter confusion.
Neldor looked at the sight that unfolded before him. He had expected it, yet not so soon.
"The Palace without Entrance," he said in a low voice. "The brethren have materialized it at night. So be it. The time has come." The wizard’s voice sounded serious. It was almost solemn. Neldor stood in awe.
"What? What do you mean?" Qildor uttered in total confusion.
The canyon had disappeared and a building had replaced it. A majestic palace with high walls and towers. The palace was splendid and beautiful. The walls were painted in blue and the roofs were golden and reflected the light of the sun. The palace was big and the towers stretched to the sky. A warm and golden light emanated from the building. But there was something disturbing about it.
"No windows, no doors, no entrance at all," Qildor said. "Is Magath inside? How did he get into the building? I must instantly find him."
Qildor hastened farther. He did not wait for Neldor’s response. The wizard followed Qildor. His eyes were fixed on the palace. The palace looked splendid. But Neldor knew all too well that appearances were deceiving.
Qildor had meanwhile reached the building. He touched the wall with his hand. He ran along it, looking for a way to get into the palace. Neldor watched him calmly. The man would not find an entrance. His efforts would be in vain. Qildor finally stopped. He was breathing heavily and his face showed fear and concern. The wizard approached Qildor slowly. Qildor ran up to him.
"What is it?" he uttered. "I need to get into it. Please, Neldor, I beg you, do try some magic."
Neldor shook his head. He gave Qildor a meaningful look and placed his hand on the man’s shoulder.
"I cannot do anything, Qildor. Ogol and Magath, both men, were summoned to meet their destiny here," he said.
Qildor shook off Neldor’s hand. He frowned at the wizard.
"Your wise words are of no help, Neldor. And your magic doesn’t work either. I don’t know why the brethren do this. It doesn’t make sense to me at all. Anyway, with your help or without it, I will free Magath. I have no doubt that he is trapped in there," he hissed.
He ran back to the building and started to surround it again.
Neldor watched him. He let the man do what he thought he had to do. But Neldor knew that Qildor’s efforts would be in vain. The wizard sat down on the trunk of a tree. He looked up. A crow and a dove flew up in the air and together they crossed the sky. Neldor nodded in understanding. The time had come, no doubt.
Qildor finally joined the wizard again. He was desperate and totally exhausted. It had taken him an hour to surround the building. He had tried to climb a wall where he had thought he had seen a window. But it had just been the shadow of something.
"What is it about this palace?" Qildor asked desperately.
Neldor rose to his feet and placed his hand on the man’s shoulder. This time Qildor did not shake it off.
"Come, Qildor, let’s go back to our camp. There I will tell you all about the Palace without Entrance," he said.
~~**~~
"The Palace without Entrance is not real. The term is just symbolic. The palace doesn’t exist in the real world," Neldor started.
"It’s real," Qildor said impatiently. "We’ve just returned from it. We saw it up there just a couple of minutes ago."
"It is not real," Neldor said calmly. "This world is not the real world, is it?"
Qildor gazed at Neldor for a second, and then he gave a brief nod.
"Is Magath inside of the palace? Will he get harmed?" he asked.
Neldor gave him a serious look.
"He must undergo a trial that might be tormenting and painful. However, whatever the outcome will be, he will be released in the end," he said.
"A trial? Tormenting and painful?" Qildor asked. He rose to his feet.
Neldor raised his hand.
"Sit down. You cannot do anything, Qildor. Let me explain. You can only help Magath when you do understand what he is going through right now," the wizard said.
Qildor sat down again. He gazed into the distance. He felt like an idiot. Or perhaps he had gone insane. Finally, he turned his eyes back to the wizard.
"Continue," he said brusquely.
Neldor nodded.
"We all are destined to meet our destiny. Every man and every woman. There is no exception to this rule," he said.
They exchanged a look. Qildor nodded. Neldor carried on.
"Whatever you believe – that a higher power destines your fate or you make it yourself; there are many beliefs – it does not really matter. No man can avoid his destiny. This is all that matters in the end," the wizard said.
"What are you aiming at?" Qildor asked impatiently.
"Fate summoned the two men to undergo a trial. This is part of their destiny," Neldor replied.
"I thought Ogol was a black magician. Aren’t we aiming at stopping him?" Qildor asked in confusion.
"This is what we thought in the beginning. I changed my mind, however, when I observed what was going on here. Just stopping the man...this could have been done easier," Neldor said.
Qildor gazed at him. Magath’s words came to his mind. ‘This is getting far too complicated.’ Qildor gave a nod.
"Too many odd things are going on here. No target, no goal. I do not see a reasonable plan," he admitted.
"The way is dangerous when you go astray," Neldor said. "In other words, we sometimes do not see the forest for the trees. This can lead us to false conclusions."
"What are the right ones then?" Qildor asked desperately.
"The Castle of Saelethiel is the centre of magic. It is hidden from our eyes. Even I cannot find the way to it now. The energy field does not allow it. We wanted to travel to the castle. I suspect that Ogol wanted to go there, too. However, the castle was never our destination," Neldor said.
"What’s it all about then?" Qildor asked. He shifted his position impatiently.
"Magath and Ogol were summoned here. The Palace without Entrance was their destination. We just accompanied Magath. Ogol travelled on his own," Neldor said.
Qildor did not reply. The wizard carried on.
"We led Magath here. Magath would have never left Tanmil alone. He would have seen no reason to do so. The castle once revealed to you. Thus you could tell Magath of it. I would have never spoken to the man about the castle. But somehow fate found a way to speak to Magath. The castle intrigued him," Neldor said.
"That’s what he said, yes," Qildor admitted. He started to trust the wizard.
Neldor nodded.
"Ogol was driven by vengeance. This was the motive that led him here," he said.
"And what are they looking for?" Qildor asked, gazing at the wizard.
"The door to their fate," Neldor replied with a serious look.
"I saw no door," Qildor said simply.
"Not on the outside," Neldor replied. "The palace doesn’t exist in the real world. Bear in mind that we are not in the real world."
"Where exactly are we then?" Qildor asked.
"The energy field is a highly magical field. We’re in a magical world, not the outside world you know, an inside world you could say," Neldor replied.
Qildor gaped at him. This was definitely beyond his understanding. The wizard smiled faintly.
"Magath and Ogol are facing their inner world. They are confronted with their own thoughts and emotions. Thoughts and emotions form images in our mind. They can become very realistic. The inside of the palace stirs emotions like fear, rage, falsehood, arrogance, pride, cowardice, shame and more. These emotions form images. You can take them for real. The magical energy field, which the brethren hold up, is condensing these energies. The brethren will hold it up until the trial is over," Neldor explained.
"And why do they have to face this trial? Why do the brethren torment them?" Qildor asked. He still did not understand.
"The brethren do not torment them. They just help Ogol and Magath to undergo the trial fast and in a short time," Neldor replied.
Qildor leaned forward and looked at the wizard. Neldor continued.
"The rapid change of thoughts and emotions makes them understand their own mind. They’ll understand the power of their mind. They’ll realize that they themselves produce the effects. At the end of the trial, they will have experienced the whole range of emotions. But only then the trial will end," Neldor said.
"What if they don’t come to this realization? Will they be trapped forever then?" Qildor asked with new concern.
Neldor shook his head.
"A man is only summoned to undergo the trial when he is ready for it and when he is bound to realize," he replied. "However, they will have to make a decision."
"What kind of a decision?" Qildor asked. He felt confused and impatient again.
"They will decide on their future path. They will make their own destiny," Neldor replied.
A shiver ran through Qildor’s body. He had an idea of what Neldor was talking about, yet he hesitated to ask the old wizard.
Silence fell for a while. Neldor’s eyes rested on Qildor. He watched the man patiently.
"I thought Ogol finished his training in the castle," Qildor said finally.
"You’re on the right track," Neldor replied. "The Castle of Saelethiel offers a path."
The wizard straightened.
"I suspect that Ogol did not undergo the trial. The trial usually is the end of the training. But there are always men who leave the castle earlier. Some of their own accord and some have to leave," he said. "Anyway, Ogol and Magath are ready to face the trial."
"Magath has never undergone a magical training," Qildor said. "Why is he summoned? He won’t stand a chance."
"Some people never undergo a magical training. Nonetheless, they are destined for the trial," Neldor replied.
"Like some of the soldiers," Qildor mused. "There are men who never had a military training and nonetheless they join the army. They are accepted because they are good warriors. They are volunteers, in a sense."
Neldor nodded slowly.
Silence fell again.
"Did you undergo this trial as well?" Qildor asked.
Neldor gave a nod.
"At the end of my training, yes. But we did not use the term ‘Palace without Entrance’. In fact, I only learned of the term when I reread the book that I had been given as a farewell gift. The description was vague. It was a poem. I did not connect it to the trial. It only dawned on me when we had arrived here," Neldor said.
"Back then, at the end of your trial, you took a decision?" Qildor asked.
Neldor nodded almost absent-mindedly.
"I made my own destiny, yes. I followed a solitary path. I did not know that in the end it would lead me back to its beginning," he said.
Neldor smiled. He almost chuckled. Then he looked at Qildor again seriously.
"I cannot say what decision Magath will take. Just be there for him when the palace opens its door. The trial can be disturbing," he said.
They exchanged a long look. Qildor nodded seriously.
"What do you think? How long will it take?" he asked in a stifled voice.
Neldor shrugged.
"Time inside and time outside the palace is not the same. Two days might pass there, while only an hour goes by here," he said.
Qildor rose to his feet.
"I’m going up the path then. I will be waiting there," he said.
Neldor nodded. He rose to his feet as well. He saw to their horses and packed supplies. And then he followed Qildor.
~~**~~
- 3
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
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