Shadow of the Otherverse (The Last Whisper of the Gods Saga Book 3) (55 page)

“Safeguard this portal,” said Once-Sorial. “It isn’t the last one, but the other is across the ocean in an inaccessible location. Although that could be used to make wizards if reached, it exists primarily to ensure that the Otherverse remains open. Kill both portals and magic will be gone from your world forever.”

“Could more be made?” asked Myselene.

“The gods created the portals to use the vast field of untapped energy generated in the Otherverse. I doubt mortals could replicate them.”

“Could you create one?”

“The portal is a material gateway. It’s not of the Otherverse. I can’t craft one, although I understand the technology by which they were made.”

“What of your mother and brother? Are they with you?”

“No. They came to the Otherverse without power or control so they couldn’t resist when The Lord of Chaos dispersed them. They no longer exist within the Otherverse as discrete beings.”

“How aware are you of events transpiring in this world.”

“I can observe, although it’s as if through a filmy curtain. But I have little desire to do so. The Otherverse is now my reality. Everything that matters is here. The part of The Lord of Chaos who was once Alicia is with me. The place you inhabit is a dream - hazy and unreal. I can appear to you like this at any time, but I can offer no more than conversation. As long as the balance is maintained - and it
must
be maintained - I am impotent in the universe of matter.”

“If I need your advice, how can I contact you?” Being able to claim that she maintained a direct link to Sorial, whose name was revered above all others, could provide a huge political advantage, especially within the restructuring Temple.

“Assign someone to camp by the portal. Eventually I’ll notice them, but it may take a while. I don’t check on your world with regularity and, as I said, time doesn’t flow the same within the Otherverse as outside of it.”

“I’ll be mindful of that and pass the information to my successor. It may be that your wisdom will be needed.” Myselene could envision a line of kings and queens consulting the “Otherverse Oracle” through the centuries.

The Lord of Order chuckled at that. “The Sorial part of me finds that funny - the wisdom of a stableboy being a prized thing. I can’t remember many customers asking for my advice when I took their horses.”

“You ceased being a stableboy long ago. You’re recognized as the greatest wizard ever to have lived. Songs about you are sung by every bard across the continent. Your love for Alicia is celebrated as part of every wedding.”

“I suppose we have little enough control over how we’re remembered once we’re gone. Stableboy and Lord of Earth. One and the same, but that person no longer exists. Now, I walk in eternity, but not alone.” He paused before continuing, as if assessing whether to reveal more. “Alicia makes this journey bearable. Even as changed as we both are, her presence is my salvation. Order needs Chaos not only to balance it but to define it. I won’t forget you or your world, Your Majesty, even though I am no longer of it.”

“Then farewell, Your Magus. May you find contentment in your new role.”

“Farewell, Your Majesty. May your life be fulfilling and fruitful. You have nothing to fear from the Otherverse. I’ll safeguard you and your people from within. And should I stray, Alicia will be there to remind me.”

So saying, the image of Sorial shimmered out of existence, leaving Myselene alone beside the portal. She couldn’t hear its call but was cognizant that one day her daughter might. As silent as it was to her, it was comforting to know that, beyond the impenetrable blackness, The Lord of Order waited. The gods might no longer watch over their creations, but Sorial did.

Her spirits lightened, Queen Myselene turned her back on the gateway to the Otherverse and began her trek home.

EPILOGUE: THE EMPIRE RISES

In the years immediately following The Great War, life returned to normal across the battle-torn continent. Families mourned the dead then went back to the business of living: rebuilding houses and places of commerce, farming the land, and making babies. The devastated cities of Vantok and Obis took years to regain a semblance of their pre-war vitality. A new habitation rose out of the ruins of smashed Earlford, which had been razed beyond the possibility of repair. Basingham and Syre, which had escaped significant damage as a result of their surrenders, gave generous aid to their less fortunate neighbors, providing manpower to help in construction and grain to stave off Winter famine in the first two years when harvests were sparse. Queen Myselene joined Vantok and Obis into an Empire and annexed considerable land in between, putting more than 100 small settlements and farms under her protection. A new, direct road was constructed linking the cities; this was under constant patrol by 500 soldiers who kept robbery and murder to a minimum. Recognizing the advantage of a close relationship with this new kingdom, the other cities, with the exception of Andel, sought out a confederation with Myselene. Thus was born the United Empire of Vantok-Obis.

The only confirmed wizard to survive the war and its immediate aftermath was a relative unknown: Lavella, Lady of Air. It was rumored that, after being confirmed in her position by none other than The Supreme Magus Sorial, she had killed all her potential rivals. Lavella lived in Vantok’s temple in the quarters once occupied by Prelate Ferguson and served Queen Myselene directly. A private and reclusive woman, she was rarely seen in public and, on those occasions when she emerged from the dimness of her domain, she wore priestly robes that hid all her features. There were rumors that her face had been horribly scarred in a magical experiment gone wrong, but no one outside her inner circle knew the truth. Lavella created a school within the temple for children of “exceptional talent” who might at some point be tested for candidacy as wizards. Finding those who could hear the portal’s call was a long, tedious, and often disappointing process.

The captain of Myselene’s guard, Rexall, suffered a tragic blow not long after his marriage to the peasant Shiree. Although he wasn’t the most faithful of husbands, he loved Shiree in his own way, but she died in childbirth, taking his newborn daughter with her. Shortly thereafter, Rexall found solace in the arms of the woman he served. For nearly three decades, until his death from influenza, he served as her consort. They never married but the relationship was solemnized by the temple to legitimatize the three sons born of the union. The two youngest boys were married to high ranking noble girls in Syre and Basingham, to strengthen bonds within the Empire. The eldest was wed to the Crown Princess of Andel, who brought with her the promise of the holdout city joining the Empire.

Once it was determined that Myselene’s daughter, Kara, possessed no latent magical aptitude, Lavella inaugurated members of her “school” for the three open wizard positions - two boys and one girl to keep the genders balanced. Their loyalty was never in question and their deference continued until the day of her death when her hand-picked successor was sent through the portal. Lavella lived to the age of sixty-five - old by normal standards but ancient when compared to the average lifespan of a wizard.

Myselene outlived by nearly thirty years the woman who had become her closest friend, reigning for six decades as the ruler of an Empire that grew larger and more powerful over time.  She made frequent trips to all the other cities, avoided numerous assassination attempts, and kept her viceroys under tight control. Those who demonstrated aptitude and dependability were allowed greater independence than those whose faithfulness extended little beyond publicly acknowledging her as their suzerain. In the absence of wars or overt hostilities, Myselene was able to focus on kingdom building. On the seventieth anniversary of her birth, the title of Empress was conferred upon her in a grand ceremony attended by every person of importance across the continent. A new city, named Soriala after The Supreme Magus, was erected near the southern mouth of Wizards’ Pass as her seat. She abdicated the joint thrones of Vantok and Obis and allowed Kara to assume the role of queen.

Myselene met twice more with The Lord of Order before she slipped her material bonds. The first time was on the occasion of Kara’s maturity. Publicly, she wanted to present Azarak’s heir to The Lord of Order for his blessing. Privately, she wanted to give Sorial an opportunity to take the measure of the girl he had sired. What occurred in the portal chamber that day was known only to Kara, Myselene, and The Lord of Order. The two women entered solemnly, were inside for the better part of nine hours, and emerged looking composed and not the least bit weary.

The queen returned to the portal once more, only weeks before her death. This time, the trip was made in secrecy. She waited the vigil herself and, once she had spoken with Sorial, she started the trip home. She made it only as far as Vantok, where she died quietly in her sleep in the very bed where she had first seduced Azarak. She lay in state for four weeks, her body preserved from decay by magic so dignitaries and ordinary peasants from all across the Empire could make pilgrimages and pay their respects. At the end of that period, she was buried at the crown of Mount Vantok.

Kara’s reign was short, as might be expected from a woman who didn’t gain the title of Empress until the age of sixty-five. She was succeeded by her eldest son after ruling for only seven years. The new emperor, named Azarak after his purported grandfather, developed a fascination for Ferguson’s writings about heredity and genealogy. He knew from secret papers left by his grandmother that Sorial’s blood ran through his veins. Although his wife didn’t have an exceptional bloodline where magic was concerned, royal mistresses were selected not on the basis of comeliness but on their viability to produce “gifted” offspring. One child of the various couplings possessed the aptitude necessary to hear the portal’s call. Azarak’s efforts to ensure that the boy was expedited into the federation of wizards sparked a civil war that pitted wizard against wizard and nearly destroyed the Empire. Yet it survived this struggle as it would survive others.

Through it all, the Otherverse remained quiescent. The Lord of Order made appearances when requested by members of the “line of Azarak” or by whoever filled the position of
Magus Prime
. After Myselene’s death, however, those interactions were ceremonial in nature. The Emperors and Empresses often approached the portal with great pomp, accompanied by a veritable army of important “observers” who could testify to the truth of their liege’s claims regarding a “connection” with The Supreme Magus.

Over time, a religious cult developed around the veneration of Sorial and Alicia. Its catechism decreed that, in the wake of the passing of the “old” gods, those two had been chosen to head the new order. Although no official places of worship were erected, the circle of belief grew until it was a broadly accepted sect. Eventually, the Temple formally adopted devotion to Sorial and Alicia as “acceptable and proper.” The Emperor at the time, who was the de facto Grand Prelate, made a public speech acknowledging his acceptance of “the two immortal wizards as the successors to the previous gods.” Although it was questionable whether he truly believed this statement, the popular sentiment was politically expedient.

The Lord of Order, displeased with this turn of events, resolved to withdraw from involvement with his descendants and cease making future manifestations. Since his continued appearances would legitimatize the fledgling religion whose existence he opposed, he ended communication with the material world. He withdrew entirely into the Otherverse and concentrated on working with The Lord of Chaos to maintain balance while Once-Alicia and Once-Altemiak, both fully entrenched, sparred with one another.

Thus, under the stewardship of men and wizards, the world moved into the future, transitioning from The Age of Wonders to The Age of Contention and proving the faith of the gods that their creations could thrive without their involvement. Although men created new deities to replace the old ones, they weathered the evolution and proved able to develop a culture of self-reliance. And while magic and wizards eventually disappeared, men continued as the gods had envisioned when they had uttered their Last Whisper and faded from existence. Through it all, The Lords of Chaos and Order continued to watch until they, like the Otherverse they inhabited, disappeared from memory with the birth of yet another age: The Age of Technology.

* * *

This concludes
Shadow of the Otherverse
and, with it,
The Last Whisper of the Gods Saga

If you’re interested in spending more time with the characters from this series, be on the lookout for
The Last Whisper of the Gods Saga: Stories from Ayberia
, which will be published later in 2016. A collection of related stories and “deleted scenes,” this volume will also feature a new sequel novella called “The Prelate’s Legacy.”

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Shadow of the Otherverse
. If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends or posting a short review. Word of mouth is an author’s best friend and much appreciated.