Pulling himself together, Vand raced through the temple and out onto the roof. He ran to the northern edge of the roof and gazed down at the magnificent city of Vandegar. Over half a million people had gathered in the city to begin the rites to bring about the fall of Kaltara. Vand watched with pride as his people scurried about, but his smile faded quickly as he remembered Dobuk’s words. He turned and waved for a soldier to come to him. The man ran towards the disciple and bowed before him before falling to his knees.
“Go down to the city,” ordered Vand. “The rites are to be halted immediately. Spread the word to every quarter. If the rites continue past the hour, I will have you sacrificed. Go.”
The soldier swallowed hard and rose erect. He bowed once more and then ran into the temple. Minutes later Vand saw the soldier far below running towards the city. He dismissed the messenger from his mind, and Vand’s smile reappeared. His eyes focused on the four tall towers rising up out of the distant city. Each of those towers was the object of a select group of priests conducting the coordinated rites. Vand shook his head in sadness that Dobuk had called off the rites. He still did not understand the need for crushing Angragar before the rites, but he knew better than to defy the Great Demon. Disappointment raged through his body at the thought of his great day being postponed.
Unexpectedly, lightning flashed in the clear blue sky. Vand gazed up at the sky in search of the storm front, but there was not a cloud to be seen. His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he refocused his attention on the distant city. He wondered if the rites were ahead of schedule.
Again the sky flashed brilliantly, and thunder filled the air. Vand looked on in awe as lightning danced in the sky and began to circle over the city. The sky darkened almost instantaneously, and the sun disappeared from view. The bright circle of lightning grew more brilliant and lit the city below it. A tremor of fear raced up Vand’s spine as he worried about what was happening. The show in the sky had nothing to do with the rites, but it was obviously a show of power, if not from Dobuk, then it had to be from Kaltara.
In answer to Vand’s unspoken question, the circle of lightning suddenly split in quarters, each quarter striking one of the four tall towers. The stone towers exploded in a frenzy of rocks, showering the citizens of Vandegar. The lightning continued downward past the bases of the towers and pierced the ground that the city was built upon. Great geysers of water spouted from the ground where the towers had stood just moments before.
The people of Vandegar panicked, their screams vying with the thunder rolling through the air. Hundreds of thousands of people screamed and started running away from the towers. The ground shook with tremendous cracks snapping through the air. Buildings crumbled and fell to the streets crushing the citizens trying to flee.
Since Vandegar was a coastal city, the panicked hordes ran in every direction except the sea. Their only thought was to get away from the crumbling buildings. Some raced towards the temple, which sat well inland from the city, while others merely ran along the shortest path out of the city. None of them survived.
Vand watched as earthquakes ripped along the city’s three edges. Huge cracks widened, and columns of seawater shot thousands of paces into the sky. The fleeing citizens turned from the edges of the city and raced inward, dodging the still crumbling buildings. The entire floor of the city buckled and crumbled as monstrous, towering waves rose up from the sea and crashed down on the city. Within minutes the city was gone. The angry waves of the sea tore at the new shoreline, now much closer to the temple of Vandegar than it had been before. As large chunks of land crumbled into the advancing sea, Vand turned and ran. He shouted orders for his remaining people to gather to him, but the masses that had not been in the city were already running southward, heading as far away from Vandegar as they could get.
Vand snarled in disgust and walked towards the special room in the temple that hosted Dobuk, the Great Demon. He entered the room and found Dobuk in the foulest of moods.
“You have failed me, disciple,” snapped Dobuk. “It will be a long time before we can threaten Kaltara again.”
“I tried to stop it,” explained Vand. “I will gather the remnants of my people and set out for Angragar. We will crush the city and return here.”
“No,” Dobuk shook his head. “Your people are too few. For now you have failed me. Vandegar is no longer safe to dwell in. Gather your people and take them southward to the coast. There you will build a great fleet of ships to take you into exile. You will not be allowed to return here until the time is right. This will be your punishment.”
“Where will we go?” asked Vand.
“Where I tell you to go,” snapped Dobuk. “No longer can you be trusted to act without my orders. Go and do as I have commanded.”
Chapter 1
Clarvoy’s Return
The spymaster entered the throne room of the temple on the Island of Darkness. Emperor Vand stopped in mid-sentence as he saw Clarvoy enter. He noticed the haggard look on the spy’s face and saw his left arm hanging limply.
“Everyone out,” ordered the Emperor as he waved Clarvoy towards him.
Xavo joined the others in the throne room as they headed out of the chamber. He halted near the doors when he heard the Emperor’s voice speak softly in his ear.
“Stay, Xavo,” the Emperor whispered through an air tunnel. “Clarvoy may need your healing.”
Xavo nodded subconsciously and turned around. He saw the Emperor drop the air tunnel as he approached the throne.
“What happened Clarvoy?” asked the Emperor as the doors at the far end of the throne room closed.
“I was attacked in Meliban,” answered the spymaster. “It is only a knife wound and not very serious, but I cannot focus on it myself. I need a healer to look at it.”
“See to his needs, Xavo,” instructed the Emperor. “Heal him well. Clarvoy is most vital to my plans.”
Xavo nodded and approached the spymaster. He cut away the fabric of Clarvoy’s tunic and examined the wound. It was a fairly deep cut, but Xavo had seen much worse. He probed the wound, causing Clarvoy’s arm to twitch.
“Sorry,” apologized Xavo.
“Just heal it,” frowned the spymaster. “It has become infected. I will not faint from your efforts.”
“It is unlike you to be noticed on the mainland,” frowned the Emperor, ignoring Xavo completely. “How did this happen?”
“Perhaps I grow careless,” Clarvoy shrugged, causing Xavo to halt his ministrations for a moment. “It is truly nothing serious. I pay no mind to it, and it should not trouble you. There is troublesome news, though.”
“Oh?” prompted the Emperor.
“The Jiadin are moving into the Astor’s fold,” reported the spymaster. “Wyant has agreed to release the Jiadin from the cities in return for their loyalty.”
“That will not last long,” laughed Vand. “Do not let it trouble you. The Jiadin are like children. Within days they will be seeking to raid Angragar once more. It is an alliance that cannot possibly hold together.”
“Wyant has agreed to take six of the leaders of the Jiadin to Angragar,” Clarvoy shook his head. “I fear that this time the Jiadin may actually remain loyal to your enemies.”
“He will actually take Jiadin to Angragar?” balked the Emperor. “You must follow them and find out where the lost city is.”
“I would have been one of the six,” frowned Clarvoy, “had it not been for this wound. I would have been discovered if I tried to impersonate one of the six with my arm bleeding as it was.”
“How fortuitous for the Astor?” seethed the Emperor as his eyes narrowed. “Tell me how you became wounded.”