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Chapter LXXV : The Tower
Midday of Quartus, Twenty-Sixth Day of Autumnmoon
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Géorg felt optimistic after his latest conference with Samir. It was their fourth meeting, and Samir had good news. His men had recovered a half dozen airships from the warehouses. All needed retooling and requalification, as well as training for the pilots, but all was expected to be completed within a few days. Combined with Kitezh’s own stash, the fleet would total fourteen. Enough for an effective attack on Angkor’s capital.
Even so, negotiations were far from simple. Samir demanded generous compensation for taking on the risk of exposing himself as an enemy to Angkor. Hans provided the funding, and Géorg witnessed more money exchanging hands than he had seen in a lifetime.
Lady Azul supervised the sessions and provided a second source of manna, but Géorg cast the spell himself. He had seen Lady Azul do it numerous times and felt he was ready. He practiced the meditation routines she taught him for countless hours, aiming to bolster his manna supply, but he was not yet strong enough to hold the spell on his own. Still, he felt proud to perform any kind of sorcery, much less a spell as complex as long distance communication. He felt a bit like Lady Azul’s apprentice and hoped she would continue to tutor him after his role with Samir ended.
He would have liked Konrad to see it, too, but his friend was busy preparing for the heir’s return. Géorg understood and appreciated Konrad’s loyalty to the Brandt family, but he wondered if the Primary Minister was taking on too much of the burden himself. Konrad wanted everything to be perfect upon Józef’s return, including all the ceremonies that came with a regal ascension.
During peacetime, the entire kingdom would have contributed to the event, but currently Rungholt prioritized their resources toward the war effort. All Konrad could muster was help from the Brandt family’s closest allies—and even then he needed King Unruh’s permission to release them from their other duties. It was less than a dozen men and women, who took on the burden of hundreds. They would obviously need to scale back the pomp and pageantry if they wanted something ready in the next day or two, when Józef was expected to arrive.
Géorg sighed. He had grown quite close to Konrad over the last couple of weeks, and it would have been nice to have his friend present to witness his achievement. Nevertheless, it was time to pack his things and leave for the day.
As he gathered his components, he felt a light touch on his shoulder.
“Before you depart, Mister Töller, there’s a matter I’d like to discuss with you.”
Judging from the tingling in his spine, Géorg knew what Lady Azul wanted to discuss. “You mean, eh … Lady Rouge’s visions?”
Lady Azul scattered some green flakes from a pouch around her waist, and a chair materialized. Herbal scents lingered in the air. She smiled and motioned toward it.
“Please sit.”
Géorg accepted, and Lady Azul repeated the process for herself. She took a deep breath before she began.
“First, I must reiterate the need for confidentiality. Should either of the visions leak into the public discourse, Lady Rouge and I believe it would lead to widespread distress, and we can’t have it distract attention from the counterattack.”
Géorg nodded, fully understanding the risks. Lady Azul continued.
“Second, when it comes to the first vision, I’ll leave it to you to interpret. Although it’s common for Lady Rouge to share her visions with the acting king, I’ll disclose that we decided against it in this case. After all, the vision can be interpreted multiple ways, and we believe it’s best to keep it between you and Mister Rommel. We wouldn’t want anyone jumping to the wrong conclusions.”
She wrinkled her nose, making it clear how she thought Hans would react. “The last thing we need is a nation divided over whether or not we will become a divided nation.”
Géorg shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Agreed, my Lady.”
He knew he had no power to change the future, but he felt that his relationship with Konrad was strong enough that their friendship would prevail, and their two opposing factions would never reach a violent end.
Nevertheless, his stomach clenched as Lady Azul broached the next subject. Her lips tightened and her chin descended, casting a dark and foreboding shadow upon her face.
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“Now … let us address the final vision.”
Eager yet fearful, Géorg clenched his teeth and balled his left fist. Though merely an old muscle memory, he almost felt his missing right hand doing the same.
Lady Azul spoke. “Primarily, Lady Rouge and I researched the object resembling the distant tower. As far as we know, no such structure exists on Gaia. However, we did find something similar mentioned in some old texts. Mister Töller … are you familiar with the Omega War?”
Géorg blinked, remembering the debrief given by Bram and Rosa. “Believe so. Um … was war in which mankind stood against Ahrimen, no?”
“Correct.” Lady Azul regarded him curiously, but she didn’t ask how he knew. “In one such tale, there was a citadel whose height defied all notions of physical form or scale. It is said that this ‘tower’ reached up to the Heavens, acting as a pathway to the Divine.”
Géorg leaned back against his chair. “You mean the Goddess?”
Lady Azul nodded. “The tower’s name is Axismundi. It is said to provide ‘life-sustaining properties’ to the planet. Humankind defended this tower from the four Ahrimen, because if the demons ever succeeded in corrupting it, those life-sustaining properties would end, and there would be life-threatening consequences.”
She leaned close, her voice laced with dread. “The text predicts plagues running rampant, rivers and oceans drying up and turning into sand-beds, even the air itself becoming toxic and unbreathable. Any of this sound familiar, Mister Töller?”
Géorg felt as if the air had suddenly left the room. The description was horrifyingly similar to Lady Rouge’s vision.
He felt out of breath. “What you are saying? Lady Rouge predicted … return of Ahrimen? And demise of tower?”
He wasn’t ready to tell Lady Azul about Rosa’s discoveries. He needed to consult with Konrad, first. But with all the new context, it seemed consistent.
“Is future … set?”
“Not so fast.” Lady Azul set a very different tone. “We can’t take these legends at face value, Mister Töller. Certainly, there are truths littered among the old tales, but in all my decades of study, I’ve never seen evidence of either the Ahrimen or Axismundi. If they ever existed at all, we would have seen this evidence.”
She smirked. “After all, the texts described the tower as being located at ‘the center of the world’. Clearly, an archaic view, likely from a time when even scholars believed the planet was flat.”
Géorg wasn’t ready to give up. “But, eh … if tower is real?”
Lady Azul sighed. “As much as I remain skeptical, I simply can’t write off one of Lady Rouge’s visions. Especially, not one as powerful as what you witnessed a couple of weeks ago. Therefore, she I and developed a few hypotheses to explain why the evidence eludes us.”
He leaned close, eager to hear more.
“The first is the possibility that the vision takes place on another planet.”
Géorg was stunned. “There are other planets?”
Lady Azul chuckled. “As many as there are stars, Mister Töller. Probably more.”
He closed his eyes to stop his head from spinning. “What else?”
“The second possibility is that the structure does not exist in our time.”
Géorg tried to understand. “You mean, appears in future, but not now? How, then, is it mentioned in texts from distant past?”
“That’s precisely the point.” Lady Azul paused, as if searching for a way to explain. “There are issues to resolve with this theory, but when it comes to magic, some scholars believe in enchantments capable of transcending time or even space itself.”
The explanation went completely over Géorg’s head. Lady Azul seemed to notice, so she elaborated.
“I don’t blame you for finding the material difficult to grasp. Lady Rouge and I aren’t experts in this field, either, but some scholars spend a lifetime searching for undiscovered aspects of magic. As human beings, we’ve only scratched the surface of what’s possible, and mysteries like Axismundi might simply be beyond our current understanding. If the tower does exist, it may very well travel through time, or perhaps disappear and reappear at will. All we know, from records that are dubious at best, is that it existed at one time, and the world’s most renowned diviner caught a glimpse that foretold its reappearance. But, if we’re to learn more, we’ll need more research.”
Géorg closed his eyes to stop the spinning. Being a scholar was more than he imagined. But if he ever wanted to be a sorcerer, he couldn’t let his ignorance hold him back.
“Can I help?”
Lady Azul shook her head and sighed. “I’m afraid not, Mister Töller. The research requires those with more experience. In the meantime, don’t despair. There is one more possibility left.”
Géorg felt a headache coming. “What is it?”
Lady Azul shrugged. “That Lady Rouge’s vision was an anomaly. It could have been a nightmare, or a daydream, or anything other than a premonition. In other words, it might be nothing at all.”
Géorg wanted to scream. “But, we can’t just ignore!”
“I agree, Mister Töller. Nevertheless, it’s not our top priority. At least, not at the moment. Lady Rouge and I have been asked to aid with the war effort. To that end, we’ll be postponing our investigation, at least until such time when our lives are not in immediate danger.”
Géorg sighed. “Suppose you are right. No time for research, when enemy is at our door. Even so, should still keep eyes and ears open.”
Lady Azul nodded. “Time permitting, I’ll continue my work with Lady Rouge to reconstruct the details of her vision. Unlocking the mind of a diviner is never easy, even when the subject is willing. She may very well hold some undiscovered secrets, but these will take time to uncover. If we learn anything new, I’ll send for you. Is that acceptable?”
“Yes, of course, my Lady. Have you, eh … talked with Konrad, yet?”
Lady Azul nodded. “Yes. Mister Rommel and I already spoke, and he very nearly had the same reaction.”
Géorg felt better knowing that his friend felt the same way. With nothing left to say, he bowed and bid the eminent sorceress farewell.
As he left the room, the air felt heavy, and thoughts of towers and demons circled his mind. Lady Azul was right about focusing on the counterattack. The Kitezhian people had to succeed.
Géorg headed for Konrad’s apartments, hoping to find his friend there, working. Even if there was no time for anything else, he would appreciate the company.