Jehenna entered the pentacle catacombs as calmly as she could manage, given the circumstances. She noted approvingly that Masters Elrose and Hortwell were already there and ensuring that the senior students took their positions as they arrived. Master Trisfelt along with Rex and three other senior students arrived right behind her.
The catacombs were a series of linked chambers below the keep. The center of the catacombs was the dome room; the heart of Lenamare’s famous wards. The floor of the dome was inscribed with pentacles that upon first glance appeared similar to those used for demon summoning. However, they were quite different. Rather than being pentacles of containment, these were pentacles of warding.
In particular, they were far more complex and permanently engraved in stone and the engravings lined with rare elements. These pentacles when activated would surround the keep in a sphere of power. From the outside, it would appear to be a dome; but the wards actually surrounded the entire keep in every direction.
A key feature of these pentacles which was different from every similar prior work was that they could block both magical and physical attacks and were adjustable, allowing the controlling wizards to alter the amount of energy dedicated to either physical or magical energies as required. Of course, this caused problems for the people inside firing out, as well as for those outside firing in.
The big trick was that one could quickly cycle between magical and physical energy block in a manner that was hard to detect from outside; except by either trial and error or a very good wizard. The advantage being that the defenders could prepare an all magical or all physical attack; adjust the pentacles quickly to let the defenders strike those outside and then have the equilibrium resealed before the outsiders realized that the balance of power had tilted one way or the other.
In complete magic mode, only the most extremely powerful spells had any chance of penetrating, which were unlikely to be used by Exador, but almost any physical attack against those inside would succeed. In complete physical mode, nothing physical could penetrate the barrier, but only the most trivial of magics would be stopped. Normally the wizards would keep the levels equal, so that only moderate to fairly powerful magical, or large scale physical attacks could succeed.
The center pentacles in the dome room connected to sympathetic pentacles in outer rings via five evenly spaced tunnels extending from each of the five points of the principle pentagram to the rest of the catacombs via radial tunnels that led to a ring tunnel just outside the walls of the keep
Together with the pentacles in the catacombs they formed the most formidable, versatile, long lasting and stable wards in the world. The only other place to come close was Freehold. Those were arguably larger, covering an entire city and very similar, but they required a much larger circle of wizards to maintain and control.
Lenamare had designed and implemented those as well based on his original design. After constructing those formidable yet power hungry wards, Lenamare came back and redesigned his own, incorporating numerous improvements. Therefore his improved wards provided a far better ratio of protection to power input than those in Freehold. Meaning he needed fewer high-powered wizards to maintain them.
Of course, there was one slight problem. For maximum performance and stability, the wards had to go through a couple levels of priming. Exador had beaten them to the punch and arrived too soon, before they had completed the final priming of the wards. They would just have to do their best.
Jehenna glanced around the dome room and down each corridor making sure everyone was in place. She gestured to let everyone know she was about to begin. She met the eyes of each member the team in the dome and had them confirm their readiness.
There were five braziers in the dome room, one for each point of the pentacle. Master Trisfelt and the students: Rex, Bromagni, Howard and Levi stood at each of the inner braziers, ready to add their ingredients at the right time. The outer pentacles along with their braziers in the outer ring were manned by senior students: Cleo, Ygreddin, Willis, Warren and Alvea.
Master Hortwell, tall and thin, joined her and the dignified Elrose at a large central brazier, the heart of the pentacles. She reached out with her mind to confirm the students in the outer ring were also ready.
Jehenna reached over the unlit central brazier to touch hands with Hortwell and Elrose and form the initial rapport for the wizard link. She brought up the link and the three wizards began to chant in unison: “Yri ep lestion, angels of light guard our work this day. Evil assails this our domicile and we seek to call upon the forces of nature to aid us. Alpheros son leptos, quant erat sed vitum, akselos per unem. Lords of Power come to our aid. Nec sid falcos, ton maltos sig fallum, netristem som exaltus. Provenderaum sid Merinos. Aid and guard us, Keeper of the North Wind. Grant us mercy oh Lord of Death, Master of Earth. Bringer of Light deliver us the power we seek, King of Fire bring thy purging flame, Guardian of the Tides wash the evil from our beings and our sight.
Within this room we conjure thee, we the Lords of Men seek to join you the Lords of the Spirit in the Five that are one. Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Man, five who are separate yet one. Let the strength of each aid the strength of all. Sec zistum sed nostrus sed falom.” As they chanted, the lines and runes of the pentacles began to glow with a soft yellow light. In each of the small rooms under the outer walls, the relay pentacles glowed in resonance.
“Strength of one is strength of all. Might of all is might of one. Eternal winds of fate bind and mold us. In recognition of the debts we owe, this offering we make to aid our strength and cause.” The wizards chanted in unison as each of the outer wizards joined the link.
The ten, now lit, braziers, burned higher as precious materials were added to their fires. Different braziers received materials precious to their respective realms. Each of the five inner elemental braziers was matched to the opposite elemental brazier at the end of the tunnel. The pentagram of Man was naturally in opposition to itself. Thus the circle of outer braziers went Man, Air, Fire, Earth, Water and the inner pentagrams were Man, Earth, Water, Air, Fire.
With one voice the wizards intoned: “Varkos sed nophial, the offering is given, we are taken together. Let space and time unite us as one. Sis Velkos, nor pleatrium nos becrum.” The lines and runes of the pentacles were all glowing brightly now. The central three wizards now concentrated on the material in their brazier, a spherical ball composed of dirt from all over the world and from different geological eras, sulfur, water, and blood surrounding a hollow cavity filled with oxygen. Slowly the ball began to smolder, small flames beginning to appear on it.
All but the three core wizards fell silent, “Now all is complete, we the Trinity of Power, Jehenna, Elrose and Trisfelt, have brought the Five Realms together as one, Man, Earth, Fire, Air and Water. We have bound them together with Space and Time so that the Seven Essentials of Spirit and World are joined.” Now, the inner circle joined in, “All is contained by the Eleven Pentagrams of Power, now and forevermore.” The voices and minds of the other wizards joined their brethren, “We are the Thirteen Who Control. Our hands are the guiding force, our wills the pillars of power.
“Thus it is Thirteen controlling Eleven, holding Seven, made of Five, based on Three. Three, Five, Seven, Eleven, Thirteen, the prime conditions now met, all power unite! Dominae provebem se fiat lux.” With these final words, all met as one. Bright white light of the entire spectrum radiated from the central brazier.