Chasing Sparks

Chapter 14.1

Marsh listened carefully for any noise but there was only silence. True silence. He was in the Tunnels, hundreds of paces below ground, and any noise had trouble reaching this deep.

The Tunnels was the name given to the expanse of underground passageways and caverns that permeated the depths of Faria. How deep and far they actually went wasn't known but Marsh knew the paths around these parts like the back of his hand. They were directly under his palace, after all.

The Tunnels were also home to a range of creatures and races, many of which were dangerous, but Marsh was confident he wouldn't see any around here. He was the only person who knew about this place and the wards he had carefully arranged throughout the area attested to the fact no-one had been here since his last visit.

The room where he stood now was actually more of a cavern than a room. It did have a door at the only entry point and it was clear the rock walls had been shaped by more than water in the past but, despite this, the place had a natural spacious feel to it.

Eight large torches blazed away at even intervals around the chamber, throwing bright light out onto the floor. Marsh could have seen without the torches but he preferred seeing true colours here, not shades of nightvision.

The ceiling, or more precisely the roof, was high above his head, right at the edge of the torchlight. As Marsh looked up, things seemed to be dancing in and out of the shadows but he knew there was nothing there. His wards would have told him if there was.

Turning his attention back to ground level, Marsh's eyes were automatically drawn towards the far end of the cavern. Against the far wall stool an ornately carved table in the shape of some great mythical beast. The table top was styled as the back of the beast, with a big open mouth rising up from one end and a powerful tail reaching for the sky at the other. But it was not the tail or head that caught the eye, as impressive as they were, it was the glowing circular disc of raw Celestial energy that spanned the gap that did that.

The surface of the disc was perfectly smooth and glowed with a strange multi-coloured hue. If Marsh was asked what colour it was, he would have said something like every colour and no colour. Just when he thought it might be slightly blue, he would see a hint of red, then green, then yellow and so on, but he couldn't say for sure, it had been any colour at all. But what he could say with certainty, was that the disc thrummed with incredible power.

It made no noise and didn't noticeably vibrate but as Marsh crossed the cavern towards it, he could feel the hairs on his body beginning to stand up as the waves of energy pulsing out from the disc brushed against his skin. His skin then started to tingle and a sensation akin to numbness began to surround his body. And as he got closer, it actually became difficult to walk. The sensations, caused by the emanating energy, drowned out all other feelings in his body, to the point where he could hardly feel his own legs.

Marsh shivered as he looked at the disc, so much energy in one place was unnerving. He was in no doubt that if he touched it directly he would be consumed utterly.

He had discovered the disc, a very long time ago, about six months after bonding with his spark. He suspected his spark had led him to the disc, it seemed too much of a coincidence to have found it so soon after becoming a sparked affine, but maybe it was. Either way, the disc had changed his life. In fact, if he had to choose one thing that had defined his life in the last two centuries, it could only be the disc.

Marsh peered carefully at the centre of the disc, concentrating hard and trying not to get distracted by the swirling patterns. Then he spotted it. The small dark crimson dot, floating in the middle of the spiraling madness. Like a tiny drop of blood, suspended in some kind of magical liquid.

Two hundred years ago, Marsh had been unable to see the crimson dot. It was far too small to see with the naked eye back then. However, his studies of the disc at the time had told him it was there. It was only recently, about thirty years ago, that he had first been able to see it. At that time, it had taken him a long time to actually spot it and even then he wasn't sure whether he'd just imagined it. But these days, he could see it easily. It was still tiny in comparison to the disc, but there was no doubt it was growing bigger.

Marsh ran his fingers down the edge of the table, feeling the strange metal, used to manufacture artifacts beneath his fingers. As he slowly traced his fingers over the ornate tabletop he could feel the fourteen handles recessed into the top at various intervals around the table. He paused briefly at the handle etched with the symbol for sound. He gripped the handle, as he had done a million times before but nothing. He knew he was meant to hold this, his spark told him so, but doing so by himself did nothing.

Letting go of the handle, Marsh then set his mind to the reason he had come down here in the first place. He went around the cavern, checking and resetting the wards, designed to keep the disc from prying eyes.

Setting wards involved leaving a trace of Celestial energy on an object or surface. If that object or surface was disturbed the ward would trigger. Some wards simply involved the trace of energy returning to the affine, informing them the ward had been broken. Others involved the trace of energy being used as a catalyst for something far more unpleasant. However, wards didn't last forever and even someone as powerful as Marsh needed to check and reset his wards now and again.

Happy everything was in order, Marsh took a final look at the Celestial disc. Few things frightened Marsh, but the disc with its awesome power was one. Only a fool wouldn't feel wary around the pulsating disc. But Marsh also knew, despite its strength, the disc could be controlled and could be used.

Satisfied he had done all he could for now, Marsh put out the torches and closed the huge iron door guarding the cavern. He sealed it completely so nothing could enter, before setting a few final wards on the door. He then strode purposefully back up to the palace proper to prepare for the afternoon. A slight pulse of energy erasing his tracks as he walked, so there was no trace anyone had ever been down to this cold deserted part of the Tunnels. The day would come when he would share what was down here with the world. But not yet. It wasn't time yet.