THE FARAWAY LANDS OF OZ - Book One

Part Six, Chapter Thirty-Four: Master Merlin of Oz

RUBY

"Travelers of Oz..."
I was standing there where a stone wall used to hide this space from sight, almost as rooted into the ground as an actual wall should be. Merlin had been missing for a century. Nobody had seen or heard from him since and nobody even knew what the reason for his disappearance was. At least not in detail. Just that he had a mission to fulfill. Now, he was standing before the three of us, flashing his yellowed teeth at us.
"You have caught me at a really bad time," He continued, and I saw Ambra begin to approach him from the corner of my eyes. I was unable to avert my gaze away from the Sorcerer himself. He did not look at Ambra when she approached but continued staring emptily ahead of him. Had he gone blind?
"You are here because you have found a deep interest in my literature on magic theory. And I have to praise you for your investigation skills. Not many would have been able to decode my encrypted pages." Something began to feel off, the longer he spoke. Ambra got closer and closer to him, and he did not even offer her a single glance.
"There is no life coming from him," The Vampire raised her voice over Merlin's which now stopped. Her words woke me from my trance. I felt my legs move before one another and before my head even noticed, I was standing next to Ambra. Katina observed everything from afar, focusing her attention on all the devices and drawings around us.
I stretched my hand out. I would have been able to sift my fingers through the sleeve of his robe, but it moved right through. I took my other hand and darted my fist in the direction of Merlin's face. My hand was right inside it.
"This is just a recording," I stated the now obvious and removed my limbs from the projection. As if he had waited only for us to stop talking and to notice that he was no person, the recording just now continued to talk.
"Yet as much as I name Quantum Theory as just some laws of nature in both the mortal and magic world, your decrypting skills have unveiled the map that you have followed in form of the ley line know."
By now, even I was captivated by the Sorcerer's recording's words. The secret of the Quantum Theory – a mystery that countless Magicks have tried to uncover since the book's release – was about to be revealed to us by the author himself. Or at least an echo of him but you take what you can get.
"And now you have found me. I am a memory of myself, recording what Merlin knows about the true reason for the Quantum Theory's existence. It all comes back to a handful of beings. Creatures with even more power than the Sovereign; creatures who are even rarer: Elder Demons."
My heart sank into my pants. It tried to escape from inside and I felt my head spin. I had to compose myself; the Sins inside me are rebelling whenever I lose concentration.
"This is where I am: Purgatorio. The last known location of the three Elders. Their mere existence is what keeps the fabrics of space and time together. That is where they are kept, being bound to the last of the Umbra Witches."
I released a breath that I had not realized I was holding. I relaxed and felt how my mind un-fogged, and sight cleared. He only knew of the three Madamas. My true identity was unknown to him. As it was supposed to be. Only Ev, Rodin and now my two companions knew about Madama Rubina.
They too felt the tension leave my body and offered me a reassuring glance. Their looks offered me more than any words. I knew that they would never even think about telling anyone else. But seeing what lies behind a person's eyes was my specialty. My true superpower.
"You may ask yourself what I am doing in Purgatorio now or actually not. The Elders are there. I must find them before he does. This mission is of uttermost importance. It is imperative that I find the Elders and bring them to Oz before the Morningstar does his worst." The second time that I hear this name now, but I have the feeling now that Lucifer Morgenstern is not the person in question. My thoughts are getting in the way, I have to focus on listening.
"The Phoenix rising from the ashes will see the morning sun today yet will next morrow's sunshine on the horizon show itself? This is what has kept me busy over the past few years. This prophecy. I have fought hard to get behind its meaning yet the only constant I have noticed, the more I moved it around, was this person named Morningstar. The importance of not letting this someone take over space and time by controlling the Elders is my life's meaning right now. And that is when I will return. When the Morningstar's goal is long impossible to achieve, and he is at his weakest."
This changes things. No, actually it changes everything. My head is boiling with all the things I want to know and all the secrets I need to uncover now. Who is he? Why does he want to control space and time? And what does he have to do with us? A quick glance around told me that Katina and Ambra were as intrigued and worried as I felt. The latter was even scribbling down the prophecy that the Sorcerer had just told us.
But he was not even finished, "Now that you have found my former laboratory and this recording was able to tell you what I know, the need for this space has become abundant. It was abandoned long ago when the western world invaded this place and killed the former chief of Paititi. I advise you to run now because everything in here – along with the knowledge about the Morningstar and the Quantum Theory – will be eradicated by the ley line knot, as soon as I stop talking. Everything living and breathing along with it."
My eyes grew. Merlin always goes to such lengths to succeed in his missions. The only reason for the Monastery's – now Vampire Academy's – existence was Morgana being locked up in Witches Castle.
"Good luck and be careful of this morning sun." The recording stopped and Merlin disappeared. Immediately after this, the entire cave began to rumble. I did not waste any time watching what and how would be deleted from existence. I just grabbed Ambra and Katina by the arms and sprinted out of the lab and the entrance cave, heading right towards where one could leave the silver-crowned mountain.
We needed to get back to Oz with this information as fast as possible. We had to warn the royal family and all the other Lords and Ladies. We need to warn Evanora, once we finally get her out of the realm. But now that we will return, our help will surely lead to success. And who knows: Maybe Glinda and her helpers have been successful already.
I could see the slit in the mountainside that would lead us back to the rainforest. Yet what I should have expected was Egsli and a handful of men, standing guard at this very slit. I eased out of the run and walked the remaining bit up to him.
"Egsli, we need to leave."
He snorted out a laugh. Something that his mother would scold him for, I was sure. With a snip of his fingers, the spear-wielding men were at the ready to attack us. "You will not leave Paititi ever again, god butcher."
That was the cue for the men to slowly move forward, their spears pointed at us. I heard a twinkle beside me, and a fine pink spray of glitter draped itself over the soldiers. Their eyes became visibly heavy and one after the other, they were put to sleep. Egsli tried to keep his composure, but I could see the panic in his eyes.
"You stand no chance against us."
This was enough to spark a fire of courage within him. I would not harm him. I don't need this to end in feud. With huffing nose, he tapped his necklace twice and released a blinding flash of light. A bit of Mayan magic, I – once again – should have expected.
I had just enough time for my eight to clear, to see the young man charge me with a sword of his own. Now for the next three-and-a-half minutes, I am at a complete loss for what had happened. Was it the suddenness of the attack or not wanting to hurt me that made something within me snap? I had no idea, but I lost it.
It felt like falling through my eyes and into the darkness of my mortal shell. I was just a passenger now and watched as my body did things that I never wanted. The silent whispers in my mind turned into conversations before they were only screams.
I saw my own hand get impaled by Egsli's blade, all the way through to the hilt. It melted down my skin as soon the fire erupted out of the wound before it closed just seconds after. My own hands charged forward and against the young man's head.
We crashed to the ground, and I saw Egsli passing out for a split second. I did not want to do any of this, but they had taken control of my body. Egsli swiftly recovered from the concussion and my hands moved to his throat. It felt like tens of minutes passed but I knew that it was just a couple at the most.
The screams grew louder, muffling the shouts of my companions from my subconscious. I felt a strong pair of hands grab me around my waist, lifting me in the air in a high arch. I hit the ground with my back.
Ambra was standing above me, her chest raising and flattening again, having me at blade point. I could feel my limbs again, the pain that spread over my back. She had snapped me out of it.
"Thank you," I breathed and fought myself in an upright position. I was panting harder than I realized at first and I was more out of breath than ever before. I shifted my attention back to Egsli, stretching out my hand for him to take.
Hesitantly he grabbed my hand, letting himself get pulled up by me. I had just the perfect thing in mind for him. As both our fingers touched, I allowed the memories of Unuratu to flow into his brain.
The first time that I met her – still having been an eager witch myself – being trained by her hand in advanced magic. How we faced K'uk'ulkan together and stripped him of his power among the Mayan deities. How we laughed and spent our free time together and how I was present when Egsli himself was born. The latter had his eyes closed during the entire experience and when he opened them, a single tear managed to roll down his cheek.
"Leave before I change my mind." Was the last thing that he said to us. Ambra and Katina made for the exit, but I took another moment.
"Your mother would be proud of you. Of the man that you have become. No matter the stupidities you have and likely will continue to commit in your life. I know she is watching you from Omeyocan."
He nodded his thanks, and I too now turned my back to him. He would make sure to lead his people wisely. I was certain. I joined Katina and Ambra behind the mountain slit and the three of us crossed the little passage before finally exiting the silver-crowned mountain. After another day's journey and the trip back with Malphas, we will have succeeded in our mission. Yet for now, we had to camp here. Nightfall had begun and we now knew what dangers lay behind the trees...