Our Little Gods 2: GOLDRAC, Of the Old Gods.

Chapter 11.

Vast dark clouds were gathering in the sky with the promise of rain and maybe thunder. The warm season was starting in the plains and the forest of the low lands but they were going back to the mountain fortress of Belet Sêr, guardian of the long pass across the Goldrac that lead to the Steps-of-Heaven. The first snowflakes started falling as they left a dense wood of Fire Trees, the scintillating ice crystals danced in a wind that was too warm to allow them to gather on the ground and they melted into minuscule little droplets before vanishing in the grass.

"Higher in the mountains than the sprawling city of Lugalbanda," Gerrek was telling the boys, "the fortress of the Gatlin Lords of the Etana family is as much a city of its own as it is a fortified monster. Its walls and layout are a direct heritage from the ancient wars of the Altars, which took place incidentally when the Gesaldene, you just met, started his rise to power."

Terrey looked at Gerrek frowning: 

"I guess it is fairly recent then. It must be what 15, 20 years ago?"

Gerrek smiled: 

"It has celebrated its 800th anniversary only twelve years ago." That confusing piece of information got the boys staring but the old man went on explaining. 

"You see Gesaldene broke some ancient laws when he built his city by the mouth of the Magris River. Actually, he broke many laws in the process, but his intentions were honest and benevolent at first. Although he was kind of misguided and his dream was very much a utopia. It could have worked in the long term. Except for the fact that he had managed to anger the authority of Sardis in Humala. You see they have codified the use of power in this world. Basically a mage or a magus as we call them this side of the Goldrac cannot hold a position of power, ever. He cannot rule over land and people. Finally, he can certainly not become king. Basically, Gesaldene did all that, not to mention the use of forbidden powers and the murders of nine magaï and the one natural of the time." Gerrek's voice suddenly sounded immeasurably sad.

"What is a 'natural' Sir?" Oneg asked trying to put pieces together on his own.

"It is when a man doesn't need to learn magic from teachings or books when he doesn't need the use of a totem to channel Uithil."

"I'm sorry, I don't know what a totem or a Uithil are." Oneg felt frustrated, they knew nothing about this world and it seemed that understanding it fully could be the key to unlock the location of the Tetrahedron but people around them seem content to only give them fragments of intel as if they could piece stuff together despite that it was about the millions of years of history of a world that they were absolute strangers to, it was already a wonder that they could understand their language.

"Uithil, is to the initiated like a shining network of bright threads of energy high in the sky. It is invisible to laymen" Gerrek added looking at Farenn craning his neck to look at the sky. "It's from that network of energy that magaï get the power. When you are trained, and you have the talent, you soon learn to see it. There are some spots in the world where it is stronger and some where it is weaker and a couple of spots where it have been destroyed or is wounded and it bleeds. In order to channel the power of Uithil to use it a magus needs to craft a totem which is a magical object that serves as a catalyst calling to Uithil and slowing the flow so that the magus can bend it to his will."

"Naturals have no need for teachings or totems do they?"

"You are the one they call Farenn, the normally silent one? I'm glad to see that it doesn't mean you are slow" Gerrek's smile was wicked and Farenn blushed furiously. "You are right of course. But naturals are extremely rare. They live very long lives but their access to Uithil varies often greatly from one another. Take our friend here Fenelon," Gerrek was pointing at the pale black haired thin youth riding with the Galtin soldiers, "he is the natural of this age but he has almost no control over Uithil. Shame really. We could have done with some badass power yielder just about when your buddy from 'Tralala' arrives here."