Hemlock And The Wizard Tower (Book 1) (31 page)

Above the lowest level, the
dark spirits
existed in an eternal struggle with one another, feeding off of the energies of those below them and being sapped in turn by those above them.  It was a brutal system
that was thought
to have produced the Witch
es
themselves
. 

The lower levels of the
ziggurat
were populated by the hungry ghosts who saw the
massive
energies of the Oberon that the
spirits
in the upper levels gorged upon
,
and were drawn
toward advancement
by desire for that power
,
or perhaps
by
fear of
a return to
their wayward and seemingly aimless existence in the ghostly realm of the Witch Crags. 

In these lower levels
,
the
spirits were non-
corporeal and closest in makeup (though far greater in evil intent) to the Ghosts that inhabited the Witch Crags outside of the Witch's vale.  It was said that
these non-corporeal spirits
were heard and felt more than seen by such mortals as ever managed to lay eyes upon the interior of the
ziggurat
and retain enough
of their
sanity to communicate with the living afterwards.

Some heroic souls told tales of reaching the second, third and even fourth levels.  It was sai
d that by the fourth level, the g
hosts and spirits took on a demonic quality and that their malice began to take shape in hideous mockeries of the human and animal forms
,
sometimes in horrid combination.  On these levels, despicable exploitation of the flesh was common, with beasts feeding upon one another in an orgy of
fornication,
consumption and excretion.

On
the fifth and sixth levels, souls
were said to manifest
in a dark beauty which could enchant mortal eyes.  Their comeliness was hard and cold
,
like steel poised for the strike
,
and in their eyes a bale fire could be seen
,
in
which burned jealousy for those more beautiful and powerful
than they,
and simmered in disdain for those lesser
than them
in their esteem.  Sometimes one of their lot would fall from power and
begin to
decay, and these would be cast back down to the lower levels where they would be glee
fully devoured by those below.  A
nd perhaps
their passing would enable
some from below
to
then have the power to ascend.

At the
seventh
level, which was the top level
, li
ved the Witch:  m
ore beautiful and terrible than any other in her realm.  All other souls were subordinate to her and
their power flowed up to her;
all of the cumulative power of the Oberon and the
spirits of the Pyramid
coursed through her body.

The
ziggurat
was her home and the center of her power.  She might leave it for some time but she knew that there were always those on the sixth level who thought themselves strong enough to ascend to challenge her.  These she always had to keep in check
,
and because of that, she would not leave
the ziggurat
except in times of dire need.  And in such times, she might order all within the
ziggurat
to sally forth and she might shut off the vast Oberon producing cisterns in order to force the lower spirits to follow.  But this action
was risky for her, for
outside of the
ziggurat,
all of the souls would be restless and hard to control.  If they mutinied,
there was a chance that
she would not have the power to control them.

Thus it was that the Witch and her kind, after warring with the Tanna
Varran
s for many years, sought a non
-
aggression pact with the
m
.  The Witch knew that in a few years
’
time, she and her horde would be so flush with Oberon that they would stream from the
ziggurat
in a rage
,
and overrun the pathetic Tanna
Varran
s, who
m
her agents informed her had lately turned toward pacifism.

"A Mathi has been killed by Tanna
Varran
magic
,
"
the Witch
declared angrily. 
Every dark spirit in that accursed ziggurat was called to attention by the power of the Witch’s voice. 
As she spoke, a hand motion beckoned her retinue to approach.

A few dozen robed attendants approached her, some tending to her gown
,
whilst others carried teapots and trays in a bi
zarre mockery of human ritual,
for the Witch and her kind took neither food nor drink any longer.

In her heart, the Witch's immediate desire was great and terrible vengeance
for the slaying of the Mathi
.  But as her advisors streamed into the throne room, her cunning
nature
took over and her mind began to explore
other
possibilities.

She wondered whether
the Tanna
Varran
s intend
ed
to provoke battle and war after all of the intervening
decades
since she and her
lesser
sister
Witches
had made the pact of peace with them?  Had they learned of her long term plans to exterminate them a
nd also deliver the Witch Crags from its
subjugation at the hands of the
City and the Wizard Guild? 

Are the wizards involved in this?

Her chief advisor strode boldly forward, his youthful and beautiful appearance making obvious his stature and power in that dark ziggurat.

"What will you do
,
my Queen?" he asked.

She had no intention of revealing her plans to this one, whom she knew entertained ambitions to unseat her, though his maneuvering was so poorly planned that its progression was almost an amusement to her.

"
I must speak to my sisters about it,
" she replied forcefully after some moments, her sweet but commanding voice causing all in the chamber to bow their heads in deference.

But the Witch had something different in mind.  Her sisters were also rivals, each jealous of her ultimate supremacy.  Her ziggurat was the largest, and she controlled the most hilltops.  Her agreement with the foul wizards, though distasteful, had allowed her to harvest many more souls then her sisters had been able to.  But she had to make certain to keep that advantage.  Soon the wizards were bound to approach her sisters to place their Obelisks with them as well.

If something new was going on with the Tanna Varrans, the Witch wanted to be the first to know about it.  And she didn’t trust anyone else with the task to find out.  She resolved to leave her dark pyramid in secret in order to find out for herself what the Tanna Varrans were planning.  Then, if she could, she hoped to use this information to her maximum benefit, involving others only where it suited her designs on total domination.

…

Hemlock noted that Taros Ranvok seemed to be getting more introspective as they approached the Tanna Varran town.  During the conversations among the Tanna Varrans, she had heard some references to his father, Pan Taros, the leader of the town, and it was clear to Hemlock that the young warrior was anticipating a confrontation with him upon their return.

Safreon spent a few hours in the litter resting and nursing his wound, but much to the surprise of the Tanna Varrans, elected to walk once he had awoken.  His burned arm had been lightly wrapped and placed in a sling.

"How is the arm?" asked a visibly relieved Hemlock.

"It is painful, but bearable.  Fortunately I carry with me some salves which I was able to administer to speed the healing," Safreon responded mutedly.

Hemlock felt the weight of their exchange on the hilltop bearing down on the conversation.  She chose to walk on in silence, leaving the older man alone with his thoughts.

Finally, after
a return to the caves for two days and then
an uneventful hike of some hours over the valley floor,
they reached the Tanna Varran t
own
, which was called Tor Varnos
.  As they had seen
from the hilltop several days prior, it consisted of a t
ower built with an angular sensibility which was foreign to the City dwellers.
  The tower itself was composed of several individual and interlocking buildings which were connected by walkways that ran both within the outer silhouette of the tower and also around its outer edges.

The angles of the many walkways
,
which crisscrossed the buildings as they rose along the outside of the tower
–and even the window sills,
which were placed at surprising heigh
ts and never quite rectangular–
seemed to have been formed according to an overarching design.

Hemlock sensed a weak aura of magic emanating from the entire vast
structure
, as if the construction
process
itself had imbued
it
with magical properties.  The magic she sensed was one of warding. 

The to
wer was built on a raised bluff which was
surrounded by a wide, shallow gulley which
served
as
a rainwater runoff from the upper part of the valley.
 
Ringing the exterior of the circular bluff were many tightly planted trees, the trunks of which formed a natural barrier around the tower.
 
Ramps
extended
down
from the side
s
of the tower above the trees, crossed the sunken gulley, and met the ground at the other side.

The group
approached one of these
ramps,
where a greeting procession was taking position.  Two score of brightly festooned men made up the procession, wearing bright red robes and flamboyant hats which seemed to burst forth in yellows and oranges.  Their demeanor, in contrast, was stoic.  Around them
,
children and young adults thronged jubilantly. 

The procession stopped and lined the upper part of the ramp as
Taros Ranvok
, Tored, Hemlock and the others reached the foot of the ramp and halted.

A short ceremony began, and the brightly
dressed
men blew crude horns and clashed small cymbals in their hands in unison.  Words of greeting and prayers of safety were spoken.

"Bradrun
has fallen and given his life for Tanna
Varra,
" proclaimed Tored loudly when there was a break in the restrained revelry.

At this, the horns and the cymbals resumed
,
though Hemlock saw no joy in the eyes of the Tanna
Varran
s at this news.

Hemlock noticed
Taros Ranvok
gazing up toward the top of the Tower.  She followed his gaze and saw, many stories above, a
lone
figure adorned in similar raiment to the colorfully dressed men lining the ramp.

Taros Ranvok
raised his arm in greeting and the figure above returned the gesture.

This seemed to be the final step in the unexpected ceremony and
Taros Ranvok
, Tored, Hemlock and the rest of the group began to ascend the ramp and enter the Tower.

After reaching the top of the ramp and exchanging a few pleasantries with the townsfolk, they climbed up a long, wide, winding stair and rose higher and higher over the valley floor.  Hemlock noted that the buildings were large and mounted centrally on the structure.  As she caught glimpses into them through open doors and windows, she saw open spaces within that were free of any walls or interior doorways.

The angles of the place still mystified her–and in a way, also thrilled her.  She felt as if she were walking within the trace lines of a giant three dimensional rune.  The power of the place was palpable.

She noticed that many of the Tanna Varran wing packs and spears were stored along the exterior stairs and walkways.  What this did to make the town appear battle ready was lessened in effect by the apparent state of disrepair of these items, which Hemlock found quite curious.