Interlude 3: What is there in the Dark
Something is wrong in the dark tower. Cries of terror fill the darkness.
The sounds of ruined dreams.
The sounds of crushed hopes.
The sounds of fear and of failure and of despair.
The sounds of crawling, skittering horrors that materialize in the night.
The sounds that will teach them to fear the dark.
And they warm her in her restless slumber.
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"Help!" the call goes up and is soon joined by another and another, "Amena! Monster!"
She bolts out of bed and to the door.
Is it an attack?
With a snap of her fingers a spell jumps to life in her hands. A sphere of life and light in the darkness of the old city.
Shadows? Horrors? What could it be?
Round and round she races as she descends the stairs heading for the children's room.
Has Ithapi failed to guard them? Has the tower been breached?
The cries come as a chorus now, thirteen voices scream out in the dark.
She slams into the door, casting it open and her sphere of light fills the tower bedroom.
Thirteen children race to her. The babble, they weep, they point at the corners and closets, under their beds and outside their window as they crowd around her.
She sighs in relief and begins to soothe them.
Another false alarm but still she dutifully makes the rounds.
She fills every corner with light. She opens and empties every wardrobe. She checks and double checks under each bed. And once more she checks the runes on their window.
Satisfied but shaken the children return to their beds as Amena withdraws from the room.
Nightmares.
That is all it was, all it ever is.
Every night, every night since Derryth left the same call has gone up from the children and every night she has tried to soothe them. Every night she has been forced to make the rounds.
She has not had a good night's sleep in almost a month.
Something has to change.
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As she returns to her room to get dressed it comes winging out of the dark.
A bird, an eagle. Or at least that is what she thinks it is, having never actually seen one outside of her tomes.
It lands on her window sill and stares at her.
She stares back.
It smiles at her.
She stares at it.
It taps the glass with its talon.
She stares at it.
It shifts uncomfortably.
She stares at it.
It is seems to be getting annoyed as it slowly raises a leg to clearly display a note bound to it.
Could it be from Brigit and Gareth?
Carefully she opens the window.
Gratefully the bird enters and presents not one but two messages to her.
The first is from Brigit, she enquires after their health and she explains the presence of the eagle.
Amena smiles at the bird, "So you are a friend of Derryth's?"
The bird nods.
"And you are serving as a messenger?" she continues.
Again the bird nods.
"Well it is a pleasure to meet you then," she extends a hand which the bird graciously accepts.
Hmm, smart bird.
The second letter is from Derryth and Thaïs themselves and it is with great interest that she reads of their adventures in the world above.
She nods to herself as she finishes, reading their requests, "They want a update on our condition, they want me to teach Ithapi to read, and Thaïs suggests that I seek his advice should I run into any difficulties," she smiles slightly, "Alright, I should be able to do that."
It seems that something really is going to change.
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It is the middle of the night, or at least what passes for night in these dim caverns, and he sits staring out into the dark.
He is taking a break from his work, the reconstruction and expansion of the servants' quarters. He sits cross legged, leaning against the wall, looking out over the courtyard.
He does not sleep much anymore.
The children do not sleep.
So she does not sleep.
So he can not sleep.
It is three in the morning and she should arrive any minute now.
He counts in his head.
One.
He can hear the door below him creek open.
Two.
He hears footsteps on the stairs.
Three.
The door to his room opens. The only finished room on this floor.
"Ithapi?" she begins, "Are you awake?"
She knows he is of course. He sighs and calls to her, "In the adjoining room Amena!"
He can hear her cross his chamber and glances up just in time to see her enter the half finished room.
"Not in bed?" she begins.
"No," he answers with a shrug.
"Do you have a moment to talk?" she asks, she already knows what the answer will be.
"Yes," he replies as he draws himself back to his full height and picks up his tools, "But my break is over so we will have to talk while I work."
She smiles, "Alright."
It is not like she really wants to talk anyway. He has known her long enough to know that she just wants someone to listen. Maybe grunt here or there, offer sympathy, that sort of thing. By now he is quite good at it really.
"It is the children," she brushes sawdust off a nearby bench before hopping up on it, "They are having nightmares."
"Really," he replies dryly as he measures a new board, "You don't say."
As usual she fails to catch his tone, she nods, "Yes, horrible nightmares. Every night in fact. They dream of spiders, they dream of their goddess, she is furious at them and she unleashes her monsters on them. They run, they fall, they die and then they wake screaming. It is all I can do to calm them and convince them that they are safe."
"A shame," he begins to cut the board, the slow rhythm of his saw relaxes him.
"Very much so yes," she sighs, "I just don't know what to do. When Mistr-, when Derryth and the others were here they were fine. I just don't know what is causing these nightmares."
She pauses but he knows she is not really expecting a response from him so he merely nods and starts in on another board. For a second he thinks he can see disappointment in her eyes but he shrugs it off.
"If I could only figure out how to help them," she pushes on, resting her head in her hands, "If only Derryth or Thaïs where here, they could calm the children I just know it!" and then she says the words that completely shock him, "Ithapi, I would like your advice."
He just about cuts a finger off in surprise, "My advice?"
She nods, "Yes, I would like your advice."
Well there is a first time for everything he supposes.
He begins to cut a new board as he answers, "Well, the way I see it is that they feel weak and vulnerable. When our friends were here they were fine. Now that they are gone, the children worry. So if you want them to stop having nightmares then you need them to feel confident and safe."
She nods slowly, "Sounds plausible. How do we do that?"
He stops working and stares at her. She really wants to know what he thinks, "Ah, well, they are afraid of the dark, right? So why not teach them that Light spell of yours. Why not show them how to make the anti-shadow runes. Give them something they can use to protect themselves without hurting each other. Ah, that is how I'd do it."
She beams, "Splendid idea! We will start tomorrow, I will have to work out a lesson plan but- Oh thank you Ithapi! The letter was right!"
"Letter?" the maul responds, slightly confused.
"Oh right," she fishes around in her pocket and produces a pair of letters, "Brigit and Gareth found a way to get a message to us and Derryth and Thaïs wrote to us as well!"
He looks down at the letters, "Ah, that's great. But, well, I will have to take your word for it..."
Her grin grows wider at those words, "No you won't! Starting tomorrow, you are going to learn to read!"
Excitement ignites in his eyes but a current of caution dims the flames, "Really?"
"Derryth requested it herself," she replies with a wink.
The smile he gives her in response could light the entire city.
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The lessons go well all things considered and all of the children are excited to learn a little magic.
Only half of the children have any real gift for magic but that is fine, to teach them to create a light is a simple matter and only requires the most basic understanding of magical theory.
"Now I want you all to think of your happiest memory, someone you loved or a wonderful day, just something that brightens your mind and cheers your soul," she stands at the front of the room as her thirteen pupils sit in front of her concentrating.
"Does everyone have a memory?" she asks.
"Yes, Miss Amena," they reply in unison.
"Good," she moves to the next step, "Now I want you to take that happy thought and move it down your arm, down to your hands."
Instantly four lights appear to a collection of gasps and giggles. Two of them flare out immediately but two of the children manage to hold on, "Good work Maya! Excellent job Anansi!" the two children nod as their peers look on.
"I want the rest of you to really concentrate now," she urges the rest of the group on.
Slowly another four lights spring to life: Iktomi, Areop-Enap, Holda, Saulė, each manages to grasp the spell.
After another hour of work Amena even manages to coax to life three more lights from children with little skill for magic. Most of the children are learning but for some it is simply a hurdle they can not overcome.
But that was to be expected, thankfully she has a plan.
She calls to Ithapi, waiting in the hall, and he fills the doorframe, "Mind if I borrow a few of the children?" he asks.
"Not at all," she replies as he singles out the four children unable to form the spell.
Reluctantly they rise from their seats and with heads hung follow the maul from the room.
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Their plan was always likely to cause pain. Not everyone has talent for magic and though he is certain these children could learn the spell given time and perseverance it will do little to bolster their confidence in the short term.
"I know you kids wanted to learn that spell," he begins as he leads them out into the courtyard, "But not everyone is good at everything. So instead I am going to give you a more practical lesson."
Standing in the middle of the yard are six large dummies. Each takes a different form, some are fashioned after men, some after spiders, and some after the beasts and slaves of the dark. Each is marked and notched and covered in bright paint, red for vital points, yellow for weak points, and blue for strong points.
The children eye the 'creatures' warily.
The maul gestures to two racks of 'weapons'. Wooden swords, spears, axes and mallets hang from the first while a pair of old bows hang off the second paired with a generous supply of dulled arrows.
"Magic is not the only way to protect yourself," he begins, thinking back to the very first lessions Eris ever gave him, "Every single enemy you could ever encounter has a weakness. Every single enemy you could ever encounter can be beaten. That goes for men, for monsters, even for gods. Do you understand?"
"Ye- Yes" one of the children answers, "But how?"
The maul chuckles, "That is what I am going to teach you and any of your friends that want to learn. I will teach you how to fight and I will teach you how to win," he points to the largest of the dummies, a Cyclopean horror with a great wooden horn, "See that?"
They nod quietly, their full attention fixated on the dummy. Without another word the maul draws a scavenged axe from his belt and hurls it toward the wooden figure. It strikes the target and cleaves the 'creature's' head in half.
"Wow," the children respond in unison.
"Now have any of you ever handled a weapon before?" he folds his arms behind his back.
One of the older girls raises her hand, she could not be more than nine, "Father was going to teach me, he let me hold his sword even. Then he, he..."
The maul gently lays a great hand on her shoulder, "That's all right," she looks up at him and he smiles, "I will teach you. But before any of you pick up a weapon you are going to learn to use your most powerful weapon first."
"What's that?" the youngest asks.
The maul gives him a confident grin, "How do you think Mistress Derryth beat the Blues?"
"With magic? 'Cause she is a, ah, a 'Fell and Dark Mistress of the Ar- Arca- ah, Magic Arts'?" the child hazards.
The maul lets out a great booming laugh that causes the children to giggle, "No," he answers warmly, "That was only part of it and not the largest part by far. She won because she used her head. If you learn to use your heads kids then you will be almost unbeatable. So before you learn to swing a sword you will learn where you should swing it and why. You will learn how to win and then I will give you the tools to win."
The children look to one another and slowly begin to nod, "And we will be safe?" one asks.
"And you will be free," the maul replies, "Free to create your own safety. Now shall we begin?"
They nod enthusiastically.
He begins to walk toward the targets and motions for them to follow, "Now the first thing you need to know about fighting is..."
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Something is 'right' in the dark tower. Cries of joy and triumph fill the darkness.
The sounds of spells being mastered.
The sounds of weapons striking home.
The sounds of confidence, the sounds of victory and the end of despair.
The sounds of everyday life that shatter the darkness.
They are sounds that will teach them that there is nothing in the darkness that can not be forced into the light.
They are sounds made by voices and hands that annoy her in her restless sleep.
That infuriate her with their defiance.
That fill her with impotent rage at what might have been.
That should have been hers to mould but which have been stolen from her and turned against her.
And what is worst is that she can do nothing, she can not move, she can not see, she can not act, only hear.
But she is patient, she is ancient, she will find a way into the world and when she does, oh, when she does, she will remember this and she will make them pay.