Yūrei glances at the scroll to see it is written in his husbands Nordic language. The Masked Warrior remembers Einar’s father placed old spells that were written in books and on scroll, just like this one, inside the summerhouse in order to save them from being destroyed in the fire that ripped through his husband’s family home. It is not often the Westerner gets them out with them reminding him of his great loss.
“That looks interesting, my love,” he says in a soft voice.
Einar points his spoon at the scroll and informs them, “This is something from the Obscure Arts. In the vision I saw I was walking around that very barrier we have been talking about…” he easts some more his congee and continues, “This is going to sound silly.”
“My boy, we will be the judge of that,” states Dōngjì fēngbào with a smile.
The others agree and wait for the Soul Drinker to continue. None of them push him in to telling them. He has a drink and replies, “All right, I was walking around the barrier with my left hand upon it and muttering door. No, door there… Door? It got me thinking there is only one barrier I know of in which you have to write the correct symbols on the door before it opens. It is called Safe House. I can see from your blank expressions none of you have heard of it?” The others shake their heads and the Soul Drinker goes on to explain, “They must have been used in my country more in the old times. The thing was if they were corrupted you would need to find a Soul Drinker who was not only an Ink Heart Summoner but also had his owns a Describer in order to get the door open once more.”
“My goodness a Soul Drinker with unique abilities are not easy to find,” expresses Yūrei.
The Westerner emits a soft laugh and responds, “I agree, it is a miner inconvenience You are correct, my love, even back then there was probably one or two in each family. Another thing not every Soul Drinker can work a Describer.”
The Great Warrior gestures his hand towards the bottom of the scroll. “I remember you saying it is a rare ability. I am curious is that what has to be written on the door?”
“Yes, my sweet, those three symbols must be written for the door to be unlocked and open it once more.”
The Masked Warrior’s eyes fill with intrigue. “How interesting,” he says with a soft gasp, “so you can teach your Describer those symbols?”
Einar smiles and puts up his left hand. “Watch.”
Wiseong points his hand towards the slightly open doorway to get the others to look. They see in the gap is a floating crystal with a bright light emanating from within. It slowly floats over to the Soul Drinker who directs the same hand towards the scroll and commands in his own language, “Sköll, learn spell.” The point of the crystal turns away from its master towards the paper and slowly descends towards it. The Westerner’s hand also hovers over the crystal and his brow begins to crinkle.
Yūrei starts to wonder if there is something wrong and enquires, “Is she having trouble?”
Einar’s eyebrows rise and shakes his head. “No, it is because it is old Norse the symbols are slightly different to the Norse I use. It will just take her a moment to learn it… Watch she will flash in a moment to tell me she has understood it.”
Everyone watches the floating crystal, the bright light within grows dim for a moment then there is a bright flash and the crystal returns to its master’s hand as he turns it palm side facing up. “Good girl,” he says in Norse placing his fingers over the crystal to hold it for just a brief moment then releases it.
“That was amazing to watch,” says Dōngjì fēngbào gesturing his hand the floating crystal. “I think that is first time I have seen you teach her a spell.”
“Yes, it is for I do not have to do it very often for she already knows what to write to make a gate or door work or take down curtain barriers… Why is she returning to the scroll?”
The crystal is now floating once more over to the spell and this time when her master hovers his hand above her black sands starts to weave in and out of the gaps between his slender fingers. Yūrei and the Father of the Gods know all too well who that back sand belongs to Einar’s Shadow Heart. The small wisps of sand indicate it is also learning something that they are unable to see written upon the scroll. The only way they can tell is by the Soul Drinker’s eye moments and are pleased when his eyebrows begin to rise.
“Ah, I see, Sköll had to learn the spell first in order for Shadow Heart to know how to find the door. I must admit this is completely new to me. Even though this is an ancient technique I have never done this before, which goes to show by the time I was born Save Houses must have become another forgotten spell… ooh that tickles!” Einar shrugs as if something cold had just gone down his back. He emits a throaty chuckle and continues, “That was a weird sensation Sköll has just taught him what to do. They have never had to work together before. This is going to be really interesting, I have never done a combined spell before.”
The legend laughs when his husband looks to him and remarks, “Don’t ask me. You should know if you have or not.”
The Westerner smiles and replies, “I am right this is my first ever combined spell. Ooh I cannot wait to test it out. It also explains why in the vision I saw Sköll floating near my hand and just like now the sand is going around her.” Einar leans towards the floating crystal and questions in his own language, “What black stone?” He frowns and questions, “What are you both up to?”
Wiseong can sense the Soul Drinker’s heart rate is increasing which is causing his blood-presser to start to go dangerously high which will effect his breathing. He is also aware the sand has a life-force with it. Could it be that which is causing the problem? Or could it be down to the crystal if, in some way, she is also connected to her master. The Healer takes hold of the Westerner’s right wrist and informs him, “This is not good.”
Einar’s eyes turn to him and he declares, “I am well aware of that, yet there is nothing I can do until Sköll gives birth.”
The others all repeat, “Birth?”
The Soul Drinker nods. “That is what is happening. Sköll knows we do not have the right stone to perform the task, so she is making one with Shadow Heart's help. The reason Wiseong is concerned of my welfare is because my heart is pounding and my blood-presser is going through the roof. Trust me I will be fine, I have had her produce stones before on the conjuring table, never over a scroll. I have said this all new to me.”
Yūrei grips his husband’s thigh and questions, “How long will it take her to produce this new stone?”
“Not long. Look you can see it beginning to form within her.”
Near the back of the crystal a dark mass is beginning to form inside the crystal. On the surface a paten of Norse symbols start to glow blush green and slow change to dark blue. The sand that was weaving between the Soul Drinker’s fingers and around the crystal stops and begins to gather over the back of crystal near where the new stone is forming.
All of a sudden Einar is gripping the right shoulder near his neck and reales a groan of pain. “Ooh I hate this bit,” he grumbles with a sigh. Then he commands in Norse, “Sköll, push!”
The underside of the crystal begins to crack and Ryūjin quickly puts out his hand under the floating crystal to catch the steaming pebble and looks at it. “Congratulations, it's a boy,” he cheers holding it out towards the Westerner.
“Nice catch and you are right that is a lovely boy,” replies Einar taking hold of the still warm stone. “One black stone… interesting I have to go through shearing pain so you both could produce this? It better work after all that… oooh my neck is going to sting for some time.” When he pulls the collar of his Kimono and undergarment off his shoulder everyone sees the symbols that are normally black are now red around the edge and appear slightly raised.
The Sea God uses his abilities to place a bubble of water over the area. “Does that help?”
Einar nods. “Yes, thank you so much. The cold water is helping them to calm down. The symbols are what Sköll burned in to my skin once she was completely formed. They are what combine us together and is one of the reasons a lot of us Soul Drinkers do not want a Describer when you watch in horror as she carves each one in to your flesh and there is no way to stop it. I could have done with your lovely water back then when I gave her life the moment I called her Sköll.”
“It is a lovely name. I hope you will not mind me asking is she named after someone?” Ryūjin enquires as he makes some of the water turn to ice.
The Westerner begins to softly chuckle and nods. “She is named after the giant wolf who chases the sun until Ragnarök at which point he catches up and devours the celestial being,” he explains with a soft smile. “Sköll is also the son Fenrir the giant wolf who kills the Norse god Odin. It was my father who enjoyed these stories especially Ragnarök mainly because Odin is devoured by Fenrir. It is a shame though I do not know why my father was against Odin. He never explained his reasons for not liking the god. The thing was I also knew naming her Sköll would make my father happy even though I had gone against his rules and followed the corrections on the scroll and not the original spell. It was one of the reasons my mother called me, ‘my little rule breaker’, because I was not afraid to try something different.”
Dōngjì fēngbào leans slightly forward, he frowns and states, “I did not expect you to be a bit of a rebel when you were child.”
Einar emits another soft chuckle and shakes his head. “No, that was the twins,” he declares placing his hands together. “They would get up to all kinds of mischief and I would often here mother calling twins for she hardly ever called them by their names. I was nine when I took up the challenge to make a Describer. It was mainly because I was puzzled the twins had failed. Their crystal had exploded.”
Yūrei is surprised to hear this and quickly asks, “What? Why did that happen?”
“It was because they went with the original text which in itself was unusual, because they hardly ever stuck to rules. But because they did, they used the clear Quartz which father had provided them with. They were stunning pieces that were as pure as you could get. That was the problem they were too pure and that is why the piece they chose exploded. I should add, I had never been inside the Conjuring room before. Nor had I ever seen the scroll. The room was made of thick stone with no windows and two doors, one of which lead straight out in to the garden. Just like in this room, a large illumination stone hug from the beams over a stone table, the surface of which was covered with all kinds of incantations. The scroll for making a Describer had been left on the left side of the table and was covered with bits Quartz. As I was using the hand brush to sweep them in to the bin I noticed the alterations that father told me to ignore and stick to the original spell. This is the truth I am the twelfth son and I knew no one in my family had succeeded in making a Describer. So that is when I decided to break the rules and go with the alterations.”
Wiseong is nodding and agrees, “I cannot blame you when everyone had silpaehan.”
The Father of the Gods pats him on the arm. “Too right, he said failed. Please tell us what were the alterations which allowed you to be successful?”
Einar unrolls the scroll and replies, “When I did this opened the entire scroll I discovered below was a detailed descriptions including a beautiful illustration of a Phantom Quartz. The Soul Drinker had listed other crystals that were part of the Quartz family which can be used. The only downside was they did not grow very big and some of them did not give birth to the stones you need. He described green Phantom Quartz was the best and I knew there was some on our very coastline. The main reason I was determined to give it a go, was because my entire family had a stigma against any Phantom Quarts of any kind. All because it helps with spiritual growth, can build bridges with your spirit guide and help strengthen connection with your spiritual self. This is why my elders are like stay away from it, do not touch it, with no real explanation to why. Did someone have a bad experience or something happened to them whilst they were using the crystal? That is the key problem there is no rational reason behind it.”
The Masked Warrior takes hold of his husband’s hand, for he can see he is still experiencing pain despite the ice cold water and the Healer also trying to calm the markings. “My goodness at nine you were going against your elders. You are naughty.”
“I know I am such a bad boy,” responds the Westerner raising his eyebrows. “And I did not just get one either. I chiselled off a group of six that were all at different stages of growth and layers. Once back at the Conjuring room I picked one that, as you can all see smoky, blueish grey clouds with layers of reddish brown to black which went around in a spiral down the crystal. It is lovely.”
“It sure is, my love, please continue.”
Einar nods and smiles. “I was like that is the one and slapped it on the incantation. I placed my right hand on the incantation below and I am not kidding, I got down to the crystal’s level. The Soul Drinker said in his instructions treat it like your own child get down to its level before channeling your thoughts of grow in to it. That is exactly what I did, I place my chin on the edge of the table and saw with my own eyes the crystal grew about an inch and a half. And that is what I kept doing every morning for two years. Once she reached the size she is, is when I brought her to life.”
“You were brave to have that happen to you at eleven,” declares Dōngjì fēngbào patting the Soul Drinker’s knee. “You must have been prepared for it?”
“I was, mainly because I had already foreseen once she had given birth to the pale blue stone that lies within her side, I would be next. I knew also from the writing that I needed to remain with my right hand upon the incantation for it to remain a clean connection. Otherwise those two years of devotion would mean nothing.” The Westerner smiles and continues, “My parents were amazing, my father held my waist and mother poured ice cold water over each symbol. They both kept my mind, just like you are all doing, distracted from the pain. What I need though is about to arrive.”
Just at that moment there is a knock at the front door then comes the sound of footsteps making their way quickly up the steps.
Yūrei gets up and trots over to the door just as it begins to open. “Odin, Yǔmáo, come in,” he says opening it wide.
Both elders enter the room and quickly go to Einar. “I knew I was going to be late to help straight away,” confesses Odin pulling a cloth from his bag.
“It cannot be helped when the weather is just awful today,” responds the Westerner listening to his elder wheeze.
King Yǔmáo nods. “Poor man has been coughing his heart up. I too had to get him a Healer. The fog is so wet and cold it really effects you Soul Drinkers.”
“The joys of winter,” quotes Odin, using his fingers to spread a light green paste on to the cloth. Another bottle comes floating out his bag, the cork is removed and the tea coloured liquid is splashed over the paste. “Are you ready?”
Einar nods and the elder waits for the bubble of water to vanish then Odin places the cloth over the incantation upon the Westerner’s shoulder making grip his teeth and moan with pain.
“You know it will ease. Just take some deep breaths,” orders Odin keeping his left hand grip on the cloth to keep in place.
The Great Warrior takes hold of his husband’s hand. The pain in his expression begins to subside and his once screwed up eye start to relax and partly open. Then he puffs and looks right him. “I am all right,” Einar informs him with a soft smile. Yūrei can tell he is trying to put on a brave face despite being in a lot of pain. He gives him a kiss on the forehead and whispers, “I will always admire you, for you are never afraid to take on another spell.”
The Westerner kisses the back of his hand and replies, “I know it will come in handy. Go. You need to get to the Night Dragon, if you do not go today you may never get another chance.”
The Masked Warrior places his forehead to his husband’s for a moment. “You are right I need to get going.”
Einar groans and reassures him, “You know I am going to be fine for this is not the first time I have done this… nor will it be my last.”
Yūrei gives him a kiss before he rises tucking the key in to his belt.
“Mèngjiàn, come with me and use the gate at my place,” offers the Father of the Gods.
The Great Warrior gives a sharp nod, he strokes the top of his husband’s head as he follows Dōngjì fēngbào into a portal. Once back at his home the Father of the Gods leads the king in to a large walled garden that contains an old gate that has clearly been standing there for centuries. The stones are weatherbeaten with moss growing in between the gaps. The ground is covered in shallow dips for other kinds of keys and every wall is also covered in symbols and lines.
“Now you have a choice,” informs Dōngjì fēngbào pointing his hand to right side of the arch. “You can either use the bracelet or the key to open the gate.”
The legend looks at the bracelet upon his right wrist and decides to give it a try. He removes it and places it in the engraved crucial. Symbols, around the lock, as blue as the sea begin to flicker in to life and a line shoots up to light the next symbol.
After a few minutes the Father of the Gods points his hand towards the top of the arch. “It would appear the gate on the other side has a fault, for the stone next to the keystone should not be flickering. All we can do is hope Huīchén spots the problem.”
✫✫✫
At Guǒyuán Chéngbǎ the Night Dragon is inside the entrance of the ruined castle in front of a roaring fire cooking some fish he caught. He begins to see a faint blue glow is coming through the fog. Huīchén quickly goes to investigate and is pleased to discover it is the old gate.
The Night Dragon places his hand to the lit stone and thinks, Could it be the Eternal I gave the key to? Then he notices the fault and rises up to see if there is anything he can do to stop it from flickering. Huīchén discovers the stone is loose and it has slipped slightly backwards. Even when he puts it right the stone soon drops back to it incorrect portion. Ah, I need something to wedge it, he thinks looking around.
The only problem is the castle is in the middle of a wasteland known as the Open Plains, there is nothing for miles in any direction. The Night Dragon’s eyes are drawn to a small white pebble sticking out of the grass. He throws out his right hand and uses his abilities to pull it from the soil and shoot over to the gate. Huīchén again shifts the stone forward and shoves the small white stone in the gap. It works a treat and the veil starts to come down from the top of the arch.
The Night Dragon watches it for a moment and when he sees all is well he returns to his meal.
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Yūrei and Dōngjì fēngbào are pleased to see the gate is working, but because of the fog that is all they are able to see and once the veil reaches the bottom the fog comes drifting through.
The Great Warrior bows to the Father of the Gods and steps through. He soon becomes aware of the sound of a fire and the smell of roast fish is being carried on the breeze. Yūrei follows the sent and it is not long before the castle starts to come in to view. The sandy coloured walls are covered in cracks and he is unable to see the battle damage on the left due to the fog. Then he hears a loud crack come from inside the entrance and he hears a smoky voice, “Morning.”
“Good morning, Huīchén,” answers the Great Warrior performing a shallow bow.
“It would appear you have an advantage over me,” expresses the Night Dragon as he comes stepping outside. “I am yet to learn your name, Eternal.”
“Forgive me, I am King Mèngjiàn,” answers the legend watching the Dragon’s eyes narrow and he releases a deep moan.
Huīchén places his right hand behind his back and proceeds to walk around the Eternal, and seems to grunt, “What kingdom?”
“First kingdom,” answers the Great Warrior watching him. The Night Dragon stands a few feet taller than him. He is dressed in a light blue Hanfu which nicely complements his black mat scales. His eyes are the colour of a setting sun and the black around them gives the impression of two explosions have taken place within them. The Dragon’s long, dark red hair flows down his board back, which shimmers gold in the light.
“I am guessing you already know what took place here, so there is no need for me to repeat it. I will say this about it, the whole thing was very strange to witness. Eternal and Elemental turning against one another is highly unusual. The worst thing was for me witnessing brother turning against brother. I was in the middle of that fight, I had to rescue Prince Xuě huālián. I did not care I would be hurt by his brother’s lightning. I just knew if I did not save him things would have got worse. I was unaware this very castle was being attacked by a Whisper. It was Prince Léiyǔ, brother of the king who used to live in this castle, who summoned his own Whisper to defend his family home. It was not until later we realised King Dǎ shǎn was gone along with his husband and the lady who was carrying their child. The woman was found living with Healers near the Great Wall. King Dǎ shǎn and King Cǎihóng are still missing. I suppose you know nothing of what happened to them or where they could be?”
Yūrei Samurai places his left index finger near his lips and responds with hesitation, “I might.” This makes Huīchén stop and turn to face him and the Great Warrior continues, “My husband is a Soul Drinker. I should say, he is the famous Shadow Heart Summoner.”
The Night Dragon’s spiked scaled eyebrows rise. “I was not expecting you to say that. If it were not for him and his brothers we would still be in the Dark Time. Please continue.”
“My husband lives on Tower Island and you can see from the top of his tower on the mainland is some kind of barrier. At first Einar, that is my husband’s name, thought it was a Dreaming Forest. He has though since had a vision which told him it was a Safe House.”
Huīchén learns towards the Eternal and questions, “What is a Safe House?”
“I am not entity sure myself. It is something that has become part of the Forgotten Arts. He told me in the vision he was tying to locate the door and because it has been struck by lightning, we now need Einar, a Describer and Shadow Heart to open it.”
“Ah, that could be why they became forgotten for not many Soul Drinkers have both. He is a brave man to have a Describer for the incantation that is etched in to a Soul Drinker’s flesh never fully heals and the pain must be horrific.”
The Great Warrior sighs and places a hand to his chest. “Even though he has people helping him. I feel awful leaving his side whilst he is still in agony from his Describer learning a new spell in which she gave him a new stone.”
Huīchén clutches his right fist to his chest and emits a moan of pain. “Ow! When they do that, produce a baby, I have witnessed a Soul Drinker collapsing from the pain. I do not mean to be rude or nosy, how long has he had her?”
“I am happy to answer the question, he was eleven when he brought her to life. I never knew until now he was that young. The thing is he does not like talking about his past. Something happened to them and once the Dark Time was over, Einar and his brothers knew they had nothing to go home to.”
The Night Dragon gently takes hold of his shoulder and apologises, “I am sorry, I did not mean to upset you.”
“Bless you, I am all right… I guess I am just overwhelmed with what he has said and I could tell he misses his family.”
They both stand for a moment in silence, then Huīchén turns back to the castle and folds his arms. “If that Safe House has been on the mainland since this place fell it is worth investigating. Could you show me where it is?”
Yūrei Samurai gives a sharp nod. “I would be happy to guide you to it,” he responds with a smile. He watches black mist begin to surround the Night Dragon that slowly conceals him from view. A few minutes later a large paw comes emerging from the fog, each of the razor sharp claws ding in to the grass near his feet. It is closely followed by the left claw and tail, that is missing its tip, moves back and forth behind the thick, black cloud.175Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM0CEF9BxPr
