Izikiel (18 page)

Standing up from the table, Izikiel followed the Baron up the stairs. Ascending
through the centre of the
Ecclesia
, they reached the second level. It was only then that Izikiel realised that the staircase continued upwards. He was surprised that he hadn’t noticed it before. Climbing the final set of stairs, they entered a much smaller room. The square walls were made of pure gold while the roof was open to the cavern allowing the blue light of the stalagmites to illuminate the chamber. The light bounced off the highly reflective golden walls and created an incredible visual effect. It was almost as if the entire room were floating. But that was not what caused Izikiel’s eyes to widen.

‘Is that...?’
he asked.

‘Yes, Izikiel,’ the Baron replied. ‘That is the heart of the
Ecclesia
.’

Located in the centre of the chamber was a flaming ball of liquid plasma. It writhed and pulsed with pure energy as it hung suspended above the ground. Izikiel felt the power of the Eternal Flame permeate his body. It was as if he had a continuous connection to the interstellar deity.

‘It’s incredible. I can
feel
the power coursing through this chamber, through me,’ Izikiel said as he held his arms up in front of him. Turning them over, he marvelled at the power pent up within them.

‘The
Ecclesia
is unique in that it holds a part of the Eternal Flame.’

‘
Where did this come from?’

‘It was created by the second disciple, Sofija. It was through her wisdom that the knowledge of the Eternal Flame was spread across three worlds; the Great City on
Vesta
, the
Ecclesia
on
Aurora
and the Interstellar Library on
Tellus
.’

‘Why across three worlds? Surely
Vesta
would have been the most suitable place.’

‘You mean because of the second sun?’

That surprised Izikiel as he recalled his vision showing him the creation of the second sun on
Vesta
.

‘When you have lived for as long as I have, there isn’t much you don’t know. But yes,
Vesta
would have been the logical choice,’ the Baron said.

‘Then why?’
Izikiel asked.

‘You forget one crucial thing.
Sofija had the ability to foresee the future. She knew that the Great City would be destroyed in the meteor storm. She also knew that
Aurora
would be deserted and that -’

‘
- that what?’

‘Well, let’s just say that you will find
Tellus
a very interesting place.’

‘What do you mean?’

The Baron looked at him for a moment. It seemed as if he wanted to say something but was unable to. Izikiel remembered watching Da’Amo do the same thing.
What were they not telling me?

‘You’ll find out soon enough,’ the Baron said. ‘Now, let’s see if we can help you remember more about yourself.’

Izikiel nodded. This was the moment he’d been waiting for. He realised that he was filled with a sense of expectation but also trepidation. Some part of him feared that he may not like what he discovered about himself.

‘What I am about to do is extremely dangerous
,’ the Baron explained. ‘I am going to tap into the heart of the
Ecclesia
and channel its energy to uncover the lost parts of your memory. This could be rather painful.’

‘I can handle the pain,’
Izikiel replied, while at the same time wondering if this was the confrontation that he had been dreading.

Smiling, the Baron said,
‘No, Izikiel. The pain I speak of will be felt by me as I attempt to bend the Eternal Flame’s power to my will.’

‘Oh,’ Izikiel said, feeling slightly sheepish. ‘
Have you ever done this before?’

The Baron shook his head.

‘No. I have never heard of anyone attempting something like this. I suspect that no one has had the time to study the ancient language or the Eternal Flame’s power long enough to uncover the possibility of such a feat.’

‘I appreciate what you are trying to do,’ Izikiel sa
id and meant it.

‘I know, disciple. But your thanks are not necessary. We are all here to help you fulfil your destiny of restoring balance between light and dark in the Universe. Now, let us begin.’

The Baron moved to stand on the opposite side of the flaming ball of energy. Partially obscured by the heart of the
Ecclesia
, Izikiel realised that he could still sense the Baron. He began to think about the other disciples before him. They had each managed to achieve incredible feats during their time.
Can I really be expected to defeat the Void Lords and restore balance to the Universe?

‘Open your mind to the Eternal Flame,
disciple,’ the Baron said, interrupting his thoughts.

Izikiel heard the faintest hint of strain in his voice as
if he were holding back a great weight. Focusing inwards, Izikiel felt his connection to the Eternal Flame expanding. His mind filled with images of the burning deity stretching out across the Universe. He saw planets, stars and entire solar systems floating in the darkness of space. He watched as flaming pieces of worlds hurtled at incredible velocity through deep space. He experienced the sensation of travelling at the speed of light. His entire body radiated with the ecstasy of the sheer power he was experiencing.

‘Focus, Izikiel,’ the Baron said. Each word seemed to be drawn out as if the air were being forced out of his lungs. ‘Find
...the...centre.’

Izikiel continued to accelerate around the Universe. Solar bodies flew past him at such incredible speed that he could barely make them out.
The sensation was becoming overwhelming.

‘Concentrate!’

Everything stopped. Izikiel gasped and opened his eyes.

‘I remember!’

An incredible array of sights and sounds flashed through Izikiel’s mind. He relived his first day at school; making new friends, learning to read and to write. His first feelings of love, jealousy, hate, surprise, anger. Memories of growing up with his family followed; his older sister teaching him to ride a bike; looking after him when he was sick. Playing sport and spending time with his friends. On and on the memories came, a seemingly endless collection depicting his life on Earth. His mind began to reel from the sheer volume of sensory perceptions that he was experiencing. All of a sudden, the images began to slow as the Baron cried out in pain.

‘I...can’t hold on...any longer!’

The images began to fade. He saw himself applying for his first job, meeting and falling in love with a beautiful brunette girl. The Baron lurched forward. The images stopped.

‘No! I
need more,’ Izikiel cried out.

Expanding his will
, he delved into the Eternal Flame’s power. He felt himself moving along invisible currents of energy through space and time. Focusing, he drew that power into the chamber he was in. He could clearly make out the heart of the
Ecclesia
, as well as, the figure of the Baron. His entire body was encased in an intense orange flame. Something drew him forward and Izikiel experienced the Baron’s thoughts for a brief instant.

‘Get away from me!’ the Baron
cried out.

Izikiel dropped to his knees. He had never experienced the power in such a way. It felt as if he had become pure energy
itself. Breathing heavily, he looked up. The Baron had recovered and was moving towards him. Izikiel could sense the power rising within him. The confrontation he had feared was finally here.

‘That was a mistake, disciple.’

Getting to his feet, Izikiel faced the Baron. He had to trust in the Eternal Flame. He knew that it would not allow them to use its power against each other.

‘
What are you?’ he asked.

‘I am a true believer and Guardian of the Eternal Flame,’ the Baron replied without a moment’s
hesitation. He continued to advance towards Izikiel.

‘But you’re not human, are you?’

The Baron stopped. Looking at him for a moment, he finally answered.

‘
No, I am not.’

Izikiel repeated his question.

‘You already know what I am,
disciple
,’ the Baron replied. He placed a distinct emphasis on the word disciple.

‘You’re an Elemental.’

‘Yes,’ the true believer known as the Baron conceded. ‘But you already knew that, didn’t you? When did you first suspect?’

‘When you attacked us outside, near the lake. A human true believer would have sensed what I was. Then you kept referring to
humans
as a species and you seemed to know just a little too much about how the Elementals
felt
,’ Izikiel explained. ‘The inverted power concept was the final give away. Something about it just felt wrong, unnatural. I realised that it would have required thousands of years to attain that kind of knowledge.’

The Baron smiled.

‘You truly are impressive. Sofija told me you would be worth waiting for when she asked me to guard the
Ecclesia
.’

‘She
asked
you to?’

‘Of course. The disciples forged an alliance with the Elementals to help fight the
Void Lords,’ the Baron said. ‘You don’t honestly think that humans alone could have waged a successful battle against the Void Lords?’

Izikiel’s mind filled with images of flaming beings fighting alongside humans in terrifying battles with a host of dark
, shadowy creatures. He watched as the Elementals unleashed the raw power of the Eternal Flame.

‘What happened?’
Izikiel asked.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Why did the Great City fall? What happened to humanity?’

The Baron took a deep breath.
He expelled it slowly.

‘Like the humans, we underestimated the power of the
Void Lords. Many of our own kind perished that day on
Vesta
defending the Great City. We fell back to defend our home worlds from the renewed Void Lord assault. A few of use remained to keep an eye on humanity and to await the return of a disciple.’

Izikiel realised that he had not fully appreciated the
severity of the situation that he had found himself in. The creatures of the Void had managed to wipe out the true believer stronghold and with it, most of humanity. That in turn had led to the Elementals falling back to their own worlds, leaving humanity without hope.
Until I arrived on Vesta
, he realised.

A sudden tremor shook the
Ecclesia
throwing Izikiel off balance. Lifting himself up, he looked at the alien being he knew only as the Baron.

‘What was that?’
he asked.

‘I was afraid of this,’ the Baron replied
as he surveyed the chamber they were in. ‘The power we unleashed to unravel your memories was too great. I fear that we have damaged the heart of the
Ecclesia
irrevocably.’

Another tremor passed through the ancient temple
that housed a fragment of the Eternal Flame. It shook for several seconds and then subsided. Half a dozen paintings were dislodged from their hooks on the walls. The frames splintered into pieces as they hit the solid gold floor. Izikiel barely managed to hold onto the gold railing as he followed the Baron to the lowest level. His companions had risen to their feet and were staring at him expectantly. He knew that he had gotten them into this situation. It was up to him to get them out.

‘Xavier, Jonas the
Ecclesia
is collapsing. Grab our packs and meet us outside,’ Izikiel said.

Without hesitation, the two former security officers darted up the stairs. Izikiel felt a momentary pang of guilt over sending the two of them deeper into the
Ecclesia
. But he knew that without the snow suits they wouldn’t stand a chance.

‘What happened?’ Te’Anne asked.

‘I’m not exactly sure,’ Izikiel replied.

‘We delved into the heart of the
Ecclesia
to unravel young Izikiel’s memories,’ the Baron explained. ‘Unfortunately, the extent of his memory loss was so complete that it required an inordinate amount of energy for the memories to resurface. In short, we put too great a strain on the
Ecclesia
. I fear that it is collapsing around us.’

Xavier and Jonas arrived
carrying four packs.

‘We’d better get outside,’ Izikiel said. ‘How far do we have to go to be safe?’

When the Baron didn’t answer, Izikiel repeated his question.

‘
I fear that you may not be able to get far enough.’

‘What do you mean? The tunnel to the surface isn’t that long
. We can easily make it in a few minutes.’

The Baron shook his head. Izikiel felt another tremor pass through
the ancient temple. For some reason he didn’t even feel it as the Baron spoke.

‘The
Ecclesia
is as much a part of
Aurora
as the planet is a part of it. Its roots run directly into the core of the planet. By straining the heart we have destabilised the core of the planet. A chain reaction has already begun which will lead to cataclysmic surface activity.’

‘Damn it! Alright everyone, we need to get outside and call for help,’ Izikiel
said as another tremor shook the
Ecclesia
. This one was longer and more savage than the previous ones. Izikiel had to brace himself against the walls as they ran outside. Reaching the stone bridge, they paused.

‘Watch your step,’ Xavier calle
d out as he started across.

A few steps in, a tremor passed through the cavern dislodging a stalactite. The gigantic glowing piece of rock came hurtling down. Striking the bridge, it broke apart and fell into the depths of the cavern, taking a piece of the bridge with it.

‘Keep your eyes open,’ Jonas called out as he sprinted behind Xavier.

All of them had increased their pace and were running at full speed. Izikiel managed to crane his head around. T
he Baron was right next to him. Despite his elderly appearance and true age, he did not show the slightest hint of strain. Izikiel wondered what he really looked like.

‘Jonas, look out!’ Te’Anne yelled as she pushed him out of the way of a falling rock. Hitting the ground, Jonas
rolled to a standing position.

‘Thanks,’ he managed to shout as he took off again. Several more tremors rocked the cavern and they had to dodge a barrage of falling rocks. But somehow they made it to the other side. Izikiel silently thanked the Eternal Flame as they moved up the corridor. This time he could clearly feel the slope as they continued their frantic pace. Izikiel’s breathing came in short, quick bursts as he felt t
he sweat pouring down his back.

‘Are we getting close?’ Jonas asked.

‘Not far now, we’re about half way there,’ Xavier replied.

Izikiel could feel the temperature in the cavern dropping rapidly as they neared the surface. The sweat on his body began to cool, making him shiver. He realised
that they would need to stop soon to put on their snow suits. Another vicious tremor rocked the tunnel knocking them all of balance.

‘
C’mon, get to your feet!’ Xavier shouted.

‘Wait! We need to get the snow suits on otherwise we’ll freeze outside,’ Izikiel said.

‘Alright, but hurry. If we get trapped inside this narrow passage then we won’t stand a chance.’

Dropping the packs, Jonas and Xavier distributed the snow suits.
Putting his on, Izikiel turned to the Baron.

‘Will you be alright?’

The Baron nodded.

‘Do not concern yourself with my wellbeing
, disciple. I will be fine. But you must hurry, all of you.’

As one
, they set off again. While relatively light weight and very flexible, the snow suits still slowed them down. As the tremors continued to increase in frequency, Izikiel began to wonder if putting the suits on had been a good idea. The temperature outside would have frozen them within minutes but at least they would have been out of the tunnel. Just as he was beginning to think that they had made a grave mistake, they sprinted into daylight.

‘
We made it!’ Jonas exclaimed.

‘
Xavier, can you get in touch with the
Valiant Crusader
?’ Izikiel asked.

Xavier dropped his pack and pulled out a small webbed device. Unfurling it into a perfectly round communications dish, he activated his com channel.

‘
Valiant Crusader
this is Xavier, do you read me. Over. Come in. Over.’

Folding the dish back up, Xavier shook his head.

‘It’s no good. We’re at the bottom of a deep valley. The mountains are interfering with the signal. We’ll need to get to the top of that hill on the other side of the lake.’

Izikiel nodded. He watched the others set off across the snow towards the ice. Only the Baron remained.

‘Come on,’ he said.

‘I cannot go with you, disciple.’

Stopping, Izikiel turned around. He looked at the true believer clad in his white robe, silhouetted against the dark tunnel. Despite the truth, he still found it hard to believe that this man was really an alien being.

‘What do you mean? You’ll die if you stay here.’

As if to underscore his words, a powerful tremor shook the ground, causing small rocks to dislodge from the mountain. They cascaded down to embed themselves in the thick, white snow.

‘I cannot leave the
Ecclesia
. It is the source of my longevity.’

‘But you’ll die if you stay!’ Izikiel shouted.

‘I have lived an incredibly long time, even for someone of my kind. During that time I have learned much and seen the destructive force of the Void Lords overtake this Galaxy,’ the Baron said. ‘I do not regret for one instant what I did to help you to regain your memories, Izikiel. If it makes you that little bit stronger, if it helps you to defeat them once and for all then it was worth it.’

Izikiel felt a sudden pang of loss as he recalled his farewell to Da’Amo. This was the second time
that he was forced to part with a powerful true believer who had risked everything to help him. He felt his eyes filling with tears.

‘Farewell,
Guardian of the Eternal Flame. May the Flame burn within you.’

The Baron bowed his head.

‘And within you, disciple.’