Chapter 7- Circles of Magic
By high noon they once again were soaring over a forest, alarmingly close to the Blight field. The storm inside seemed more clear than ever, revealing every little twisting whip of wind and all the little drops of rain slowly falling from the clouds trapped inside. Compared to the field, the ship was practically a small house fly buzzing its way around.
Eventually the Goshawk and its crew made their way to a large ravine, a village on the forest's northern edge sat across from gigantic clusters of crystals. Crystals a cloudy mixture of white and brown, jutting out from the ground like flowers with petals unable to bend. A bridge constructed from rope and wooden planks stretched across the ravine, connecting loosely made dirt paths.
Circling around, Flight Gear managed to find a spot to land the ship just on the edge of the village. Debarking from the ship, Abner was first, followed by Cuffs, Charger, Tiva, and then Lark. Marina and Wrecker choose to stay behind to stand guard. As they began to enter the rundown village, they realized that the place was practically abandoned long ago. There were still remnants of those who lived here, plate-ware and rusty hunting equipment sat against the sides of partially collapsed houses. Several stables meant for farm animals had their boards eaten and rotted. A beaten gravel road easily made its way from one side to another and surprisingly, the grass and weeds hadn't overtaken the small houses.
Abner recognized a good portion of the buildings from the vision he had of Malakai. Despite a good portion of the buildings not having their original shape or form, they've withstood the test of time- well over a thousand years. As for any civilization, signs of life, it seems as though they had all fled away from the field of magic.
Making their way to the bridge and proceeding to cross one by one with Abner being the last, they began to move up to the walkway. Charger lead the way, following tracks recently made by a rather heavy wagon. Scraps of clothes and inedible food sat on the edge of the road as they made their way further up the road. It appeared that there were still some people living at the village, but why had it been so worn down. A thought that was each one of their minds whether they knew it or not. Passing under the massive crystals and further progression up the winding road, they could see a tall tower that resembled a defensive turret for a castle; eerily similar to the rook in chess.
Eventually, they caught up to the convoy of villagers who had left the village, but something wasn't right. They all seemed ghostly in their shape and bodies translucent. As Abner's party approached ever closer, the ghosts paid no heed to their presence and continued on to the turret. Abner saw that a good portion of the ghosts consisted of tribe members that Malakai used to live with. The crystals themselves appeared to let off a bit of ghostly glow themselves as they passed by. The urge to say something about the ghosts and this strange environment was a thing that deserved some sort of comment, but all of their words escaped them.
Continuing forward, they found themselves at the foot of the turret, where the convoy of ghostly villagers began to unpack their things from the wagon they dragged along. The turret itself seemed to have a couple of attachments added on to it, from the outside it appeared that they were meant for a bedroom, a fireplace, and a circular shaped that connected at the edge in the back of the turret. Theses add-ons to the turret appeared to be relatively recent, unless the owner kept everything well in its upkeep but the turret itself was incredibly worn and aged. Abner remembered that the turret had been here long before the village ever was.
Without hesitation, Charger lightly smacked the aged copper door knocker against the dark oak wood door three times and waited for a response. Almost immediately, the door was opened by a pony who had not aged very well. He peeked his head out the door and without a word closed it up again. Charger was a bit confused and after waiting for a moment, he knocked on the door three times with his hoof and waited again. Growing impatient, Charger went to knock on the door again but as soon as he raised his hoof, the door opened with no one behind it.
They each entered one by one until the door shut behind them. The door was large enough on the outside but the inside made it seem even larger. Everything a small research department was there. Almost an entire library of books were there to sift through, a small alchemic area in which to mix chemicals together, and a small kitchen with a table and chairs to boot. It was all rather nicely furnished. A spiral staircase climbed the up the wall, leading to what would probably be the bedroom that the owner slept in. Abner wasn't sure if this was the same place of residence that the Howlite from his vision or the old stallion just found too much time on his hooves.
Descending the stairway was an alicorn whose body almost consisted of the same type of crystals they saw outside. This ancient being was still moving around quite easily it appears. Abner was curious if Howlite had remembered his ancestor. Then he spoke up, “You've any idea how long I've waited for you folk to show up at my door? Rhetorical, don't answer that.” His voice was light, but it was clear that he had trouble speaking, as the right words always seemed to make him fumble his speaking. “Abner, you've come here to learn more about those runestones and more. Lark and Tiva, I have something for you two to learn as well. Cuffs, as per your talent of medical knowledge, I've prepared several spells for your use in the field. However, they're not the answer to everything.” He paused for a moment, “Charger, you're the one I couldn't quite figure out something for, as all you have are intelligence, flight, and speed. I thought about crafting a set of goggles for you, but Flight Gear could make a pair just as easily. Instead and perhaps, I can show you a better way to fight.”
Charger spoke up after a bit of a pause, “Well, that's great and all but prepping something for each of us without at least introducing yourself is rather rude, which I'm sure you know, is a rather bad way make a first impression.”
“Right. Of course, of course. I apologize, I was getting ahead of myself. Perhaps I was anxious in my want to see some form of civilized creature again. My name is Howlite, the crystal forest outside is named after me and with good reason, one that is both regretful and my reason I'm still alive.” Abner felt a similarity between Howlite's way of speaking and Drystan's. He wondered, momentarily, if they may have been brothers.
As the day moved forward and into high noon, the air around the turret seemed to make the sky appear a light purple color instead of the vivid sky blue they were used to seeing. Howlite told the party not to concern themselves with it, as it was caused by the magic of the crystals leaking into the air. After a little instructional brief about the stones to both Abner and Cuffs, Howlite began showed Lark and Tiva a spell that required both a song and a dance performed by two ponies. He did, however, state that the spell could only be used once and that its result would be devastating. Lark and Tiva both agreed with each other that the spell would be a last resort method. Moving on to Charger, Howlite showed him a book that had been forged with ancient methods of fighting with all sorts of different weapons, from spears, staffs, scepters, and broadswords to more exotic and unusual weapons like chakrams and guan daos.
By the time they were done, having several failures and successes, night had began to come about. Howlite invited them all to stay for the night, as he had prepared to keep them there for as long as it took to train the party properly. Charger agreed to, assuring the rest of the group that it would be better to take their time with their new found knowledge. Each of them began to go to bed, one by one, all except Abner. Choosing to stay awake and study the he had last looked at them, six of them, each having their own inscription. He had learned enough now that he could properly identify each one, as confusing as they appeared.
There existed seven circles of magic, each under a higher order. The first circle of magic was essentially raw energy gathered from the very essence of existence, making it the most the dangerous and destructive. Ann odd feature of this circle however, was that it was a four sided diamond shape that contained the lower order circles. The second circle of magic consisted of light and dark magic placed at opposite ends of the diamond. Each one had their own subsection of magic, order and spirit for light and necromancy and blood for dark. Arcane magic was the third circle, with its edge intersecting the midpoints of the smaller circles of light and dark. Four small circles lied in quarters on the arcane circle with their own properties of time, renewal, space, and illusion. Following the third was the most complex, as it made up the primary elements that require life; fire, earth, water, and air. Each element was positioned much like the four orders under arcane under a larger circle and instead of bisecting, it met their circumference. Four lines connected the four circles together, forming another diamond. Another smaller set of the elemental circles surrounded the sixth circle of magic and created another smaller diamond with another set of lines creating a center lines for the entire fourth circle of magic. These inner most ones also switched around the element positions to create different para-elemental effects. The fifth circle of magic were para-elemental, spells that required the fourth circle of magic in order for them to work. These spells were also to be placed in a circle but placed along the lines that connected the different elemental circles. Included under this fifth circle was steam, lightning, metal, smoke, ice, sand, crystal, and clay. The sixth circle of magic was a touchy one as it required the presence of all of the other magic orders in order to function. This particular circle pertained the subjects of immortality and transmutation, both magics that were well regarded as forbidden and costly. There was a seventh circle that was mentioned in the texts, but these did not require magic circles as they pertained to simple manipulation spells that were natural to perform. Telekinesis magics fell under this jurisdiction, as well as emotionally based magics. The elements mentioned were the most prominent in the people's mind, the Elements of Harmony.
It appeared that the book that Howlite had given to Abner that the functions and use of each circle were used amongst those that had no direct way of interacting with it except through the runes. It appeared that the use of magic runes had faded out long ago as the population of avid and natural magic using species began to propagate further. However, as technology advanced further in its use and design, a good portion of magic runes became practically useless but there was still a small niche market for them.
Howlite spoke up quietly, standing by Abner's side, “You know, you remind me of a wolf a met once, long ago. I recall sending an elemental golem to aid him in a journey not unlike your own.” His crystalline mouth moved easily with his complicated speech. “I only wish that I would've met the wolf on better terms as I personally enjoyed his company. Heart of a warrior he had.” He paused in revelation, “Ah, that's right, he was your ancestor.” Abner continued to read through the different rune layouts as the old crystal bodied stallion talked. “Succeed he did, but it was the seal on those guardians that failed. A good portion of seals collapse throughout their aging. It is unavoidable.” The air around him suddenly changed to a dreadful tone. “Come outside with me for a moment, after you're done of course.”
Howlite seemed to sulk in his thought as he exited through the aged door reinforced a number of times by small metal bars. Drystan spoke up, silently whispering into Abner's ear, “I can't quite put my hoof on it, but something about that fella feels, familiar. I feel like he's silently calling me.” Abner, ever curious decided to proceed after Howlite just after he had finished looking over the last rune configuration.
Stepping outside, there were more ghosts now than ever. “Abner recall for a moment, the sixth circle of magic and its jurisdictions.” Howlite sighed depressingly and continued, “Now imagine a mage at the top of the hierarchy in a vast kingdom and at the time I went by a different name. The name of Falu Red.” The tale he began to tell was like something he had heard from a legend he read at Rosamond's. “I was a fool, a damned fool. I tried my hoof at an immortality spell as my superiors demanded. At the time, we knew not of what improper magic wrought. I painstakingly crafted all the orders, something that required more than a year of study. In a spare lab of the castle I drew out the orders upon the stone brick floor with the help of two assistants whom you've already met.” This perked Abner's interest in Howlite's story. “After constructing the circle, I needed some howlite, crystals named for their soft howling sound when under the proper conditions. The same crystals you see out here.” He gave Abner a moment to listen, he was right. A faint howling sound could be heard from the incredibly large crystals formations. Perhaps it was caused by the light of the moon. “With the proper procedure completed, howlite was acting as a catalyst for each circle of magic. It was the catalyst for a good portion of runes at the time. We used a recently passed child as a subject, I was uncomfortable with it at first. With a couple of words the spell was complete and then what happened next was unfathomable, even for me. I was a fool for not realizing the consequences sooner.” Howlite yawned and continued, “Once the torrential wind calmed down, the entire top half of the tower was destroyed and my assistants had been casted out of sight. A ravaging beast of black tar raged throughout the town, having no discrimination between good and evil. The child had vanished, I presumed that that beast is what he became. That's also when I noticed I had this new form, pure howlite crystals encased my body. I ignored the beast and came around to finding my assistants, Celestia and Luna.” Howlite sat down and stared into the sky. “By the time the havoc was brought to a stop, the entire castle and its outlying districts had almost been entirely wiped out. I did what I could to stop it, but it proved futile. When I came upon the child again, he had become an odd Chimera of all that he had slaughtered- ponies, zebras, dogs, cats, and so forth. At that time I recalled the child's name, Drystan.” His started to choke on his words. “He was my son, they used me to resurrect my own son they murdered. I never sensed the illusion magic they casted on him. I was furious, but out of my own foolish loyalty I refused to continue the destruction. The king banished me here, these crystals rose from my rage. Judgment passed on Celestia and Luna, banished to the Frozen Desert and my son chained to an altar in the forests far south of these mountains.”
A long moment of silence lasted between the two before Drystan's voice came to be as began to take form as a black tar pony branching away from Abner's shadow, “Father, it seems like you succeeded at the spell then.”
“I know I did, son. The cost was too great, all those precious lives lost was ultimately my doing. I was just excuse for your wrath caused by my neglect. I never meant to neglect you, you know.” Howlite cursed himself.
“Father, I was a child then. My mind was never clear. I tricked others in harmless pranks. I wanted to visited you that day, a guard caught me; I can still feel the wound.” Drystan tried to assure him that it wasn't his fault.
Howlite seemed to imagine the event play out in his mind. “You're right, you always were a bit of a prankster. Those kingdom days are long gone now.” Howlite chuckled quietly and wiped his eye as if he was crying. “I've forgotten that I can't cry anymore. It's good to see you at long last, my son. I'm sure you can't stay here so I ask of you, to aid Abner and his companions. Consider it an old stallion's dying wish.”
“Father, why are you speaking like death is becoming you?” Drystan replied.
“It's not, but sometimes I wish it would. You know as well as I do how much a curse immortality is.” He paused for a moment, changing the subject. “That also reminds me, the Elements of Harmony and the Blight were essentially the result of this spell. The four heroes who possessed them after my banishment only held four out of the six. They weren't even heroes, they were pets to the king. Malakai held the remaining to before entering the tower. Which means...” Howlite began connecting the dots in his head and started laughing in a lighter tone. “Why hadn't I noticed it sooner.”
Drystan asked confused, “What are you on about?”
“My assistants hadn't forgotten about me, Celestia sent Prudence to me one day, she told me about our meeting. I assume the field of magic on the horizon is caused by Celestia?”
“In a way, yes. She's been infected by the Blight. Luckily the Elements of Harmony are in good hooves. Six individuals whom I'm afraid may not have much longer as they're practically dead center of that thing.” Drystan answered. “Have you ever tried leaving here?”
“At first, but I restricted by these ghosts, these ghosts are from all those lives I stole, they've refused my leaving.” Howlite replied. “Perhaps I can convince them to fight alongside you guys, it would take some time unfortunately.” Howlite pondered as he brought a hoof to his chin. “Yes, that just might work, I'll have to brush up on my persuasion skills again, it's been such a long time.” Howlite changed the subject again, “Abner, I feel another presence with you, other than Drystan's- a familiar one that I've met before.”
“It's Prudence, Father. I remember her saying something about transference magic to save Abner's life.” Drystan said, filling in the blanks.
“That's unfortunate, I assume it had to be done?” Howlite questioned. Abner and Drystan both confirmed his assumption with a nod. “Very well. She was a prodigy, I think. It appears her conscious has locked itself away in your mind or she locked herself away.” Howlite began to mutter some words to himself and a white gleam of magic emitted from his crystalline horn. Finishing his muttering, he lowered his head to Abner a fired a small shot of magic which threw him back into a sudden lucid mindset. Everything flash to white, the entirety of his own memories flashed pass him like a filmstrip until he had met Prudence, her memories began to pass him by, starting from her presence in Abner's village to the point where she had buried her own parents. Then everything thrust forward in time again until Abner regained his sight of the real world. “You'll be disoriented for a little bit, it'll pass. The festering Blight within you that she had passed on has sent her into a perpetual nightmare. The same happened to your companion, Charger.” Pausing for what seemed like the longest break in conversation in awhile and muttered two words under his breath, “Libero Umbra.” Another shot of white magic fired off and pierced through Abner's head. He could feel an immense shadow lift from his mind, revealing Prudence's presence once more. He could feel her aching mind and exhaustion begin to flow into his own. Drystan seemed to be affected a little bit as well. They both endured the spell until Howlite released his grip of power. “The release spell is something Prudence never learned I believe. You see, she had received some training from me when Celestia sent her here as a messenger. She learned well.”
The entire conversation came to a close with that last sentence. Drystan faded back into Abner's shadow, saying goodbye for what was probably the last time. Abner wondered for a moment, how Howlite received his new name. He came to his own conclusion that he had been given it by local legend that had passed away long ago. Abner went back inside to get some much needed rest while Howlite stayed outside, scheming his next move.
Morning came around, the party stretched their limbs and practiced their new skills once more before heading back to the Goshawk in the late afternoon. Howlite left Abner some final words for his journey, “Never forget yourself.” The words at first had no meaning to Abner but as he dwelled on the thought, he came to realize that they words to live by in times of hardship.