Kapitel 55: Ch 55: Below the Capital
King Dukhan stood at the balcony of the royal chamber over the grand hall. A fake smile was on his face as he watched the oracle's attendants escort the young man out of the celebration.
From the moment he had heard about the foreigner with three Sources, he knew his kingdom's hard future had begun. His family had ruled over the longest lasting kingdom in the world of Axendra. And it had all been thanks to the long line of oracles and the holy spell under their capital.
Now, according to the prophecies from the first oracle, they were about to be left on their own. Like any other king, he'd have to deal with future problems without the aid from prophecy.
"I don't understand why we have to give up our greatest asset. Mirta is still young and we can just hire someone from that supposed great city to fix the spell if something is wrong." His daughter Paola said.
He only sighed internally as his heir corrected her.
"It doesn't work like that. The first oracle said if the spell isn't ended with that man's help, there would be dire consequences." Crown Prince Fillipe said.
"Humph, why should we trust someone from so long ago? We should make our own decisions." She replied.
Fillipe gave her an odd look. "What do you think prophecy is? It is trusting people from the past. And now that the spell is ending, we will have to make our own decisions."
Paola went silent after that and went back to sipping on her wine.
Dukhan touched the small book that he had in his breast pocket. In it were prophecies and guidance that were only known to the current monarch and the oracle.
Two of the last to be fulfilled were from the first oracle.
One told of Veneris' heritage and how she needed to be left alone until the demon lord had been killed. His spies had found out this information on their own.
Without the guidance of the first oracle he would have had her killed, saintess or not.
He had planned to have her killed after her father had been taken care of. But then he saw her application to immigrate to the City of Gates.
In the last piece of prophecy that the first oracle gave, she told her descendants the best way to survive without the aid of prophecy was to ally with the man who would help complete the spell they were relying on.
Since Veneris listed Baldeur as her sponsor, he allowed her to live. His nephew, who was her co conspirator, was another matter. He was already making the necessary moves to remove him from the church and from the kingdom.
He just hoped that it wouldn't be too late, as he had no guidance on what troubles Sansone would cause in the future.
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The stairwell the attendants led him to was guarded by heavily armed women. It was a long stairwell that traveled deep underground before leading to a long tunnel roughly carved from stone.
The further along they went, the closer they came to the source of the Divinus energy that Baldeur had sensed under the cathedral when he arrived on this world.
After the tunnel joined up with another staircase, they went down a few steps before coming to a large opening. Several thick pillars supported the cavern roof. Detailed geometric patterns were carved into the pillars. Divinus energy flowed through the patterns letting off a pleasing sound.
Along the walls were text in celestion. It was information about each of the nine choirs of Divinus. He knew most of the knowledge the walls held from his life as an angel on Celestion.
What he didn't already know was how Divinus could interact with Mana and Anodular. It was eye opening of how the walls told how the different Sources could interact with each other.
In the center of the cavern was a large pool surrounded by a waist high wall, also carved with patterns. The water glowed with a yellow light as a fine mist wafted off the surface.
Sitting on the far side of the pool with her legs in the water was a woman with pale skin and light blonde hair. She wore a light robe that was loosely tied shut near her waist, leaving a good view of her cleavage.
What really surprised Baldeur, and caused him to gasp slightly, was realizing what spell was permeating this entire chamber. He had suspected it, but hadn't really believed it to be possible.
"You may leave us." She said.
The two attendants gave her a brief bow before leaving.
Baldeur slowly walked to the edge of the pool opposite the woman and ran his hand over the surface of the water.
"The first oracle said you'd be able to figure out what this spell is." She said.
"Sariel's Sonata. A very powerful and very dangerous ninth choir spell. It begs the question how a world without Divinus could have such a spell." He said.
"I asked the first oracle the same question but she wouldn't give me a good answer." She said.
On Celestion knowledge was freely given but you weren't allowed to use magic past your assigned choir. In Baldeur's case it was the fourth choir.
The only knowledge that was kept secret were the grand spells of the archangels. He could only read about their effects without any clue on how they were constructed.
There was enough of the spell flowing through the patterns on the pillars and the fact this world had prophecy for him to guess at the spell.
Raphael's Requiem was considered the most destructive spell, as it could destroy on a level greater than a few nuclear bombs. Micheal's Motet was considered the most powerful as its protective field could negate the damage of the previous spell on those it was cast on.
But the most dangerous and feared spell was Sariel's Sonata. After it was cast, those who floated in the pool could converse with those in the future and the past who had done the same. Whoever was able to control this spell could theoretically control the flow of time.
What made it really dangerous was what happened when the spell failed. A blast would move both forward and backwards through time leaving the area uninhabitable for centuries.
And since time was messy, the chance of the spell failing was high. It was all too easy to create a paradox with the conversations that took place across time.
If a warning from the future caused the past to change so that the warning wasn't necessary at all, a paradox would be created and destroy everything.
Even when it was cast on Celestion the spell would only be kept active for a few years at a time to minimize the potential fallout of a failed spell. But this one had been active for centuries if not a few millennia.
The fact that this kingdom still existed was a miracle. The first oracle would be able to control what was and wasn't shared across time, but the level of wisdom needed to figure out what would and what wouldn't cause paradoxes was amazing.
"Unfortunately the power behind the spell is failing. If it isn't sealed everything will end for us. The destruction might even be enough to destroy your Gate and even affect your city." Mirta said.
One of the minor mysteries of the City of Gates suddenly made sense to Baldeur. There were a few Gate plazas with demolished gates that were found as the mist retreated. Since the Gates on both sides were considered indestructible, the leading theory was that the world on the other end no longer existed.
But Baldeur now theorized that they could be world's that had failed to control this powerful spell.
"How exactly do you need my help? I'm only in the second choir. While I understand what this spell does, I have absolutely no way to control it." He said.
"The sealing only requires two elements from our end of the timeline. The first oracle will be able to reach through time to finish what she created." She paused for a moment as her pale skin started to turn pink in embarrassment.
Mirta had been told about this moment since she first entered the pool as a young girl. She had spent most of her life in this cave listening and speaking with her ancestors, who were all women. Now that the moment had come, her blood was becoming hot at the idea of what they were about to do.
"And what are those elements?" Baldeur asked.
She tried to look him in the eyes again but looked away. He was more handsome than she thought he would be and her mind was starting to run wild with all the advice her ancestors had given her for this moment.
"Viruis and Minais." Mirta said just loud enough for his enhanced hearing to pick up.
"Oh." Baldeur understood why she suddenly turned bashful.
There were two forces that existed across the different Sources, just like gravity exists across planets. They were both opposites and complementary forces of life. Qi users called them Yin and Yang, Laksulm users called them Kir'ul and Amr'un, and Divinus users called them Viruis and Minais.
Everyone had both forces within them but it was rare for them to be in equal amounts. Usually one overpowered the other by a significant amount. In species with a primarily binary way of procreation, males tended to have more of one and females tended to have the other with a few exceptions.
Dwarves mostly had the male force dominate in their bodies, while elves were the opposite with more of the female force. Demons were a mixed bag with which force they could be born with being a toss up. Djinn were the only species that could change which force they had over time. Humans, beastkin, gnomes, and most other species had one prominent force per gender with a few outliers.
"So does that mean we have to…" Baldeur said.
"Yes. We need to exchange our Viruis and Minais forces to allow the first oracle to seal this spell. If you are okay with that?" She sputtered the last part out.
"How could I say no to such a beautiful maiden?"
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein