Mark of the Fool

Alexander Roth’s soul abruptly returned to his body like a comet plunging into the sea.

His soul swelled with Hannah’s power, great amounts of her energy flowing in by the instant. It flooded in, radiating through every fibre, pore and cell, sparking his mind, his thoughts. When he opened his eyes, it wasn’t just to the confinement of the area between the two divine wards in the Fae lord’s throne room…it was to the universe itself.

For a moment, he was nowhere, yet everywhere.

Witnessing endless vistas.

Hearing endless sounds.

Smelling endless scents.

Feeling and tasting everything.

And as he finally awoke, truly awoke, the power settled in, deep within the centre of his soul.

“Alex! Can you hear me? Are you alright?” Merzhin was standing over him. “You just dropped like a puppet with cut strings. I thought something awful had happened to you!”

The priest looked panicked. “The potion-mist, it’s fading. Aenflynn’s distracted by Baelin again, but who knows for how long! And…and I’m sorry, but I’m still having trouble getting through this damnable barrier! The ward is too strong.” frёewebηovel.cѳm

Alex smiled. “I wouldn’t worry about that.”

The General of Thameland teleported from flat on his back to being up on his feet without having to think about it.

“Yessssss,” he whispered as Merzhin kept watching him.

That act of teleporting had been as easy as breathing for Alex, as easy as instinct.

What he’d done when he was near death had been unusual, but now that Hannah was back in the material world with her full power…there were new limits to what he’d be able to do.

Limits he was eager to test.

But, there were more pressing things to do first.

“Merzhin,” Alex looked at the Saint slyly. “You might want to look through the potion-mist. That area looks clear enough. I think she’s going to be pretty annoyed if you don’t greet her.”

The young priest looked at Alex as if he’d lost his mind. “What are you talking about? Who’s she? I don’t—”

His words fell away as a holy light grew outside the outer divine ward.

“What?” Aenflynn’s voice suddenly cried. “Who are you?”

The potion mist continued dissipating.

Merzhin gasped.

“I-is that?” the Saint stammered. “I-it can’t be!”

White robes were revealed slowly, followed by wings burning with chaos-tinged flame. A glowing halo appeared soon after, shining above a head of dirty blonde hair.

And finally, that face.

That kind face.

That familiar face.

“Hello Merzhin,” Carey said. “Been ever so long, hasn’t it?”

“Ca-carey!” Tears immediately sprang to Merzhin’s eyes. “It’s you! You’re here!”

“What in the name of Och-Fir-Nog is a Carey?” Aenflynn’s effigy snarled. “And why does it smell of divine energy? Get out! Guards, destroy her!”

Fae guards beyond the divine barrier turned, lunging for Carey.

She fixed them with a chilly glare. “Away with you.”

Flame shimmered in her wings, flaring up.

Guards flinched from the radiance…but, too late.

Like ice on a frozen pond, cracks appeared along the fae knights’ flesh, running through it as though they were being split apart, and within each crack, was neither flesh nor bone.

Replaced instead by the blazing light of chaos explosions.

“N-no!” a fae knight screamed. “Mercy, m-make it stop! Make it—”

Her body exploded in a perfect cylinder of chaos-tinged flame, leaving a black stain marring the castle floor.

The rest followed in a chain, exploding into nothingness, not leaving even a trace of dust behind.

In heartbeats, the chamber was empty of Aenflynn’s guards.

Silence followed.

Aenflynn’s effigy quickly turned away from where his mighty knights once stood, and faced the transformed young woman.

“Nevermind, I’ll do it myself!” he snarled. “You’re gone! This situatio—Oooarrfg!”

The effigy suddenly spun around, holding its side as though protecting it from a heavy blow.

Outside, thunder shook the sky.

“You know, I do believe this was a very poor tactical decision on your part,” the archwizard said from behind his mask.

Aenflynn spun through the sky, desperately healing his broken rib with a pained whistle.

“Away, you old goat!” the Fae lord snapped. “Something has happened, and I have no more time for you!”

“Hah! You are immortal, and so am I!” the archwizard laughed darkly. “We have all the time in the universe!”

He teleported, appearing in front of the Fae lord, who was hissing at him, whistling harshly.

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Divine power blasted from his body, striking the ancient beastman in a wave. He raised his sword, driving the divinity washed blade straight…

…only for both sword and wave of power to be blocked by the wizard’s armour.

The goatman’s hammer struck first, directly into the fae’s gut.

Aenflynn doubled over.

“Pay attention, child,” the archwizard warned. “You are acting as though you haven’t held a sword in a thousand years. Stop being distracted, or I will kill you.”

“Begone!” Aenflynn shouted, his voice bordering on hysteria.

“That’s the way,” the ancient beastman replied. “Fight me with everything you have.”

The heavens shook at their clashing.

Inside Aenflynn’s castle, the Fae lord’s effigy fell silent once again.

Alex smiled. “That’s right, Baelin, mess him up.”

Carey looked at Merzhin closely. “Merzhin, we don’t have much time: these barriers must be shattered. You are the only one who can do it; your divinity and connection to Uldar makes you uniquely suited to this.”

“I…” the Saint looked completely overwhelmed. He shook himself, standing to his full height. “I don’t know if I can.”

“We can.” Carey’s voice was like steel. “I am going to channel the Traveller’s divine energy into you, and together, with our divine might combined, I know you can do it.”

“No, I don’t know if I can—” Merzhin repeated.

Carey fixed him with a stern look. “It is not about can or cannot. We simply must.”

Alex placed a hand on Merzhin’s shoulder. “This is it. The Traveller’s back, and you have access to her divinity. Just like I have access to her power.”

The young archwizard looked at the outer barrier. “There’s new limits to what we can do. And I want to test those limits. Like so.”

Alex closed his eyes, channelling the Traveller’s power.

It flowed through him with full force, filling him in body and soul.

Power sparked through every fibre of his being…and he felt his very being spreading out over space.

He called on the Mark of the General, focusing on the task of breaking through the barrier.

Every stream of consciousness focused, calling up memories of every act of teleportation he’d ever done.

Memories unfolded in a stream, flowing through his mind, streams of consciousness examining everything he’d done right and wrong. The world slowed around him, and his mind sorted through each mistake he made teleporting in the past.

Hannah’s power soared inside him as he reached greater understanding.

The Mark of the General focused attention on two specific memories.

The first was when he’d teleported to Merzhin when he was near death.

The second was when he and the Traveller reached each other across the veil of life and death. Images of his parents rose in his thoughts, crystal clear among the hazy memories of the after-world.

He had seen them.

He had seen them in the after-world.

And if he could travel—in that moment—across the veil of life and death—

‘Then how can the stolen power of a dead god trap me?’ he thought.

Hannah’s power surged.

Every fibre of his being reverberated.

His soul felt as though the universe was calling to him.

Then he was gone, teleporting away, travelling through time and space, and appearing outside the divine ward.

“How?” Aenflynn’s effigy barked. Another roll of thunder crashed outside, stunning the stone statue into silence.

Through the window, Alex could hear Baelin’s voice echoing through skies outside: “Focus!” the archwizard said to his opponent.

Merzhin looked at Alex, stunned.

“See? It’s like I said, new limits, and if I could get past the outer barrier, you can break through the inner one.” Alex told him.

“I–but, the inner barrier is much stronger than the outer one and…” the Saint stopped. “Nevermind. You are both right. It is not a matter of can.”

The Saint turned toward the inner barrier, raising both hands.

“It is a matter of must.”

He began praying, his voice echoing through the chamber.

Power gathered around him like a coming storm.

Carey glanced at Alex. “You look rather…steely...”

“Huh?” he looked down at himself, realising he was still under Steel Body’s effects. “Oh yeah. It’s a new spell,” he explained, looking up at her.

There were so many things he wanted to say…but there wasn’t time now.

“Carey…I’m glad you’re with us, and what about Hannah, how’s she doing?” Alex asked.

“She is defending Thameland right now, and fighting with all of her might,” Carey said. “However, she just broke through the veil between life and death. Or, rather, she travelled between it, which took a lot of strength, and I don’t know how long she can defend all of Thameland because of that.”

“What are you babbling about?” Aenflynn’s effigy glared at them. “You—”

Alex turned to the effigy, fixing it with a glare. “Focus,” was all he said.

“Wha—” Aenflynn’s effigy started to say.

The young archwizard called on the Traveller’s power and the Mark of the General.

Streams of consciousness brought images to him of when he’d used teleportation for the purpose of attacking:

Of when he teleported Kaz-Mowang into the path of Claygon and Kyembe’s fire beams. Of when he’d teleported Gabrian’s arm off his body. Of when he teleported the First Apostle’s head off.

Back then, he needed to touch an object to teleport it.

But now…now there was no veil of life and death between him and the source of his teleportation power.

Hannah’s power surged within him.

He didn’t move.

He didn’t have to touch Aenflynn’s effigy.

“What is this—” The effigy’s movements went rigid, even its power of speech failed.

Alex felt an ancient will push back on his mind.

The General of Thameland called on both the Traveller’s power and his Mark, flowing through different images of past teleportations. Gabrian and Yantrahpretaye…they’d resisted him too.

Aenflynn was stronger than they were, but this was only an effigy.

And Alex wasn’t about to let a stone puppet stand against him.

The power flowed from his soul, finding the shard of the Fae lord’s will and power within the effigy, strangling it, seizing control of the stone likeness and teleporting the figure across Och Fir Nog in ten thousand pieces, spreading them throughout the realm.

From outside, Alex could hear Aenflynn’s scream.

Carey looked shocked. “My goodness. You’ve…gotten quite good with that, and so quickly.”

“It felt good too,” Alex smiled at that, then looked at Merzhin. “But if Aenflynn gets a chance, he’ll make another effigy.”

“I can stay with Merzhin,” Carey said. “You should go. This won’t end unless the Ravener’s destroyed.”

“I know that you’re right,” Alex said, clenching his metal fists. “But…there’s so much to do. I don’t want to leave you two alone, Hannah could use some help in Thameland, and the Ravener needs to be stopped. That’s a lot.”

“I know, but you cannot be in more than one place at a time,” Carey said regretfully. “Even Hannah cannot do that.”

Being in more than one place at a time.

This wasn’t the first time that thought had occurred to him.

But it was silly.

Nothing could be in more than one place at once.

If Hannah couldn’t and Kelda couldn’t, then how could—

That thought cut off.

His mind returned to when he was in the Irtyshenan Empire searching for Kelda’s sanctum with Bjorgrund and Birger:

“Kelda’s sanctum is supposed to be in one of four places, right?” he’d asked. “Yet we—and who knows how many other people over the centuries have been looking for it—have never found it.”

“So, are you thinking it's not in any of those four places?” Bjorgrund had asked him.

“No! Quite the opposite, I think it's in all of those places!” Alex had told him, excitedly. “What if the sanctum moves? What if it moves like we move? What if it moves by teleporting from place to place? One time it's in the forest—” He’d pointed to the first indentation. His finger had shifted to another. “—the next, it's in the mountains, then on the tundra, and then it's on the island! It could move to another place every time someone's getting too close to it, or maybe it just moves constantly!”

Alex had continued.

“...maybe it's moving so constantly, that I just couldn't feel it… It's harder to see something that’s moving really fast, right? And with the Traveller’s power, you can be gone in an instant. In a heartbeat, it could be in a different place in any one of those locations.”

And what had happened next?

He’d found Kelda’s sanctum, and it had felt like it was in four places at once…while being in none at the same time.

He remembered something Baelin had once told him:

“Distance is a manacle, my young friend, just as much as time or mortality. But—thankfully—wizardry has had far more successes when it comes to defeating distance.”

And what was the Traveller’s power if it wasn’t a mastery of distance? Of space itself.

Kelda had shown him that through what she’d done with her sanctum.

‘But can I do it?’ he wondered.

He paused, suddenly beginning to laugh.

“Carey, you know what, you were right,” he said.

“About what?” she asked.

“It’s not about can,” he nodded, as if confirming his thought. “It’s about must.”