The Summoning of the Order, pt. 2

[Author’s Note:  Much of the material drawn for this chapter is based on the intellectual property of Atlas Games, in their game Ars Magica, 4^th and 5^th editions.  All such property interests remain with Atlas Games.  They have a lawful claim to a fair share, based on industry standards, of any financial profits that arise from my use of their property with the exact details to be worked out in future licensing negotiations.]

Two hours later the Primi gathered again in a different room.  A large oaken simi-circle table with a chair for each of the houses, marked with their symbol, faced a plain chair.  The chair sat in the middle of a circle of arcane runes carved deeply into the floor.  On each of the four walls of the room were deeply incised arcane runes.  The Primi spoke softly among themselves for a few moments and then in turn began casting spells.  Different sets of runes glowed briefly with each spell.  A few of the spells caused new runes to appear and then fade as the caster completed the spell. 

After casting all the desired spells, the Primi each took their respective seats.  When each was seated Antonius snapped his fingers and a soft bell could be heard just outside the door.  Jonathon opened the door just enough to peek around the door.  “Please show our visitor in Jonathon,” Antonius commanded firmly.  Jonathon’s head disappeared and after a few moments a very tall and slender person entered the room. 

At first glance he appeared to be a finely dressed nobleman.  As he entered the room his shape shimmered and shifted.  He grew to be of unnatural height and far too lithe to be a normal man.  His hair was the color of raw gold.  His eyes were a feline yellow and they narrowed to mere cat-like slits when he realized that his disguise had vanished.  With very slight movements of his head he took in the room, and then he smiled warmly and bowed, “Greetings noble magi.  I am Tuar Tel-Quessir and my people seek your help.”

“Fey indeed.” Varia inhaled sharply as he rose from his bow.

“Not quite but close enough for now dear Merinita.”  His voice was almost an angelic song. 

Antonius nodded and Julius rose from his chair.  “If you would please take the Chair of Truth we can begin master elf,” Julius stated flatly and motioned to the plain chair in the center of the room. 

The elf walked up to the edge of the circle of wards, looked down and examined each of the runes with care.  With a very feline smile he crossed the circle and lounged in the chair. 

In a deep booming voice, Julius began chanting and gesturing a spell as several of the runes encircling the chair began to glow.  The elf’s eyes watched Julius’ every gesture with a mix of curiosity and indifference.  Upon completing his spell Julius sat down and Varia rose.  Her voice also boomed as she gestured, this time casting three small objects that disintegrated into dust as they flew towards the elf.  The elf’s eyes narrowed again to mere slits, tracking the objects as they flew.  Several more runes on the floor beneath the elf started to glow.  When she sat down, Marcus rose.  Likewise, his voice was deep and booming as he gestured and cast three small objects in the direction of the visitor.  The objects likewise disintegrated mid air and several more runes beneath the elf started to glow.  As he sat down, Rafael rose and cast a fourth spell, his voice was deep and booming and he also cast three small objects that disintegrated mid air. 

“Powerful magics of containment I gather and probably something to guarantee I am not lying.  Should I feel honored or is this the normal way you greet guests?”  The elf seemed amused.

“Only when they appear without warning in the middle of one of our sancta sanctorum,” Antonius’ smile had no warmth to it.

“Fair enough I suppose.  I would have thought that as magi you would expect visitors to enter in a grand fashion but I do not know your customs.”  The elf shrugged nonchalantly. 

“It is rare to find one who can appear as you did unless they are sent directly from the King or Queen of the fey.  Since we can detect no sign that you are from either court, we must assume the worst.”  Varia apologized. 

“As I said, your description of me as fey is close enough for now.  I come not from either court but from another,” the elf began.

“Which court?” Seneca interrupted.

The elf’s smile was almost predatory and his shape began to shimmer.  “Do you think I server this….”  His smile vanished and his eyes widened as his shape didn’t change.

“I guess you do not serve that force.” Seneca smirked.

The elf lounged back in his chair and smiled wickedly, “Deception is the essential nature of that force after all.”  Seneca’s smirk vanished as he tensed and reached into a pouch at his waist.  Several of the Primi also reached for pouches on their waist. 

“Instructive, unconstructive.”  Talibah mutted.

“You say that you seek our help and yet you do not seem the supplicant but rather a threat that we should deal with in a very harsh manner.” Drucilla scowled as she pulled out several small crystals from her pouch.

The elf’s smile softened and warmed, “Please forgive me dear Mercere but I do so enjoy teasing and playing games with humans.  I mean no harm but sometimes the jest is too hard to resist.”  He spread his arms, palms upward and bowed at the waist.

Marcus chuckled, “There are some here who deserves such jests.”  Seneca gritted his teeth and Julius frowned.

“Let us stick to business shall we?” Arnbjórn softly growled.

“Yes let us.” Claudia nodded rapidly as the tension in the room eased a bit as crystals and other small items were returned to pouches.

“Please tell us of your court.” Varia cooed softly.

“We have written songs to make Virgil weep, built buildings that would cause your greatest cathedrals to appear as mere peasant’s huts, and crafted art that the greatest of your artists would be hard to begin to replicate but we have no defenses against the dark forces that Tremere so rightly worries about.  We seek knowledge and, if a deal can be struck, allies in combating those forces.”

“Deals with fey often prove to be unwise.” Julia leaned to her right rolling two small metal orbs around each other in her left hand.

“Only if you don’t keep your end of the agreement,” Varia glanced at Julia before turning back to the elf.

“We avoid those forces as much as possible; they are a crafty and dangerous enemy, often promising us what we most deeply crave in trade for some small favor that eventually damns our immortal soul.”  Marcus relaxed deeper into his chair.

“My people have no interest in your souls Tytalus.  We seek a fair trade for your knowledge of these dark forces and most importantly how you have managed to prevent them from taking physical form.  We also seek your skills in battle magic for while ours is quite powerful, we fear that it may not be enough against a new dark enemy that has been foretold.  We know that we must seek the help of your people to face this new enemy.  And so, I have been sent beyond the vale that separates our world from yours to seek knowledge and allies.”

“I think some form of exchange of knowledge would be of benefit if we truly are speaking of the same force.” Rafael leaned back into his chair and stroked his goatee. 

“If we are talking about providing him access to our libraries on the subject we might be able to arrange a book for book trade.  We would have to examine the knowledge you are offering, or at least some sample of it first.”  Antonius agreed.

“Vale.  Enlighten.”  Talibah muttered softly.

“Easier to explain the Engima dear Criamon but I shall try.”  The elf sat strait up in his chair.  “Our magic allows us to see into many different realms.  Each of these worlds is separated by a force of magic that we have learned to pierce.  I do not know if it is akin to your theory of the spheres or if it is something completely different.  All I can say is that there are many realms with many different peoples.  We have charted many of the realms and have learned much from each realm.  Some of that knowledge could be what we share with you.”

“If you have knowledge of many realms as you describe them, why choose our people?” Aoife leaned forward in her chair.

“We have visited many of these realms seeking allies.  None are as promising as your people.  In most realms the peoples have some of the traits we need in a prospective ally but most often they can not survive in our realm for the length of time we need them.  Those that can survive often are either too barbaric or violent, or they are too passive.  Some of them reproduce at such a rate that to allow them to settle in our realm would be to invite disaster whereas some would be even slower than our people at replacing lost warriors in a prolonged war.  When the dark forces come, we will draw upon them but we will need more than a few that can come for one or two battles.  We need an ally that can live permanently in our realm and can grow into force that can fight the war we expect to face.  Your people have the ability to survive and prosper in our realm, as you have in this one.  You also have a curious blend of violence and civilization that we find intriguing.”

“You wish us to be mercenaries for your wars?”  Arnbjórn frowned with an arched eyebrow.

“Not precisely.  We need allies for a very specific war that has been foretold by our greatest seer and to enlist those allies we are willing to give up a lightly populated section of our lands, an area roughly equal to this land your call Europe, from the great ocean to the west to the deepest forests of Novgorod, from Thul to the northern edges of the great southern desert.  All that you do in those lands would be of your concern and of those other groups of humans we are able to recruit.  We only ask that in trade for such vast areas you be willing to share your scholarship and ability to fight when the foretold war does come.”

“What other humans?”  Rafael sat up strait in his chair.

“We are in the process of selecting them.  We will select groups that have the necessary numbers to build a viable nation.  The groups we select will be small at first but with time they will grow and build a nation with a strong military and strong magical defense, with your help.”

“We will have to consider this request carefully.  Our Code forbids us from getting overly involved with mundane peoples.  They can be difficult to predict and demanding of attention.  And when they do not get the attention they seek, they often become destructive to our interests.”  Julius looked over to Antonius.

“I would very much like to see some sample of the knowledge that he proposes sharing in trade for our knowledge about demons as well as have time to discuss with some in my House this idea.”  Claudia adjusted her glasses.

“We also have a Grand Tribunal to attend to and those matters need take precedence over some offer that may or may not be accepted.”  Julia put the two metal balls back into her pouch.

“Let us meet here after the Tribunal to discuss this further.  I would favor news of this offer not reach others as yet.  While it is wise to seek counsel of our peers, I worry that some will urge jumping and looking after the fact.  Others will instinctively reject such a vague offer and then become rather determined to undermine any decision to accept it.”  Antonius looked to each of the other Primi.  Arnbjórn, Talibah, Drucilla, Julia, Julius, and Seneca nodded.   Claudia, Varia, Aoife, Rafael, and Marcus looked glum but also nodded.

“With the permission of all of you, I shall leave this place and return in one week with a couple of books that will serve as a sample of what knowledges we seek to offer in trade for your knowledge of dark forces.”  The elf rose from his chair, took a step forward and bumped into a wall that was not there.  “Huh?” he stumbled backward.

“Forgive us master elf, we need a chance to lower the wards that confine you.”

The elf muttered very softly but returned to his seat.

Antonius nodded to Rafael who began softly chanting and several of the runs on the floor ceased to glow.

“Please only extend your arm and see if the wall is still present.” Antonius instructed as the elf stood up.  The elf extended his arm and his palm stopped at an invisible wall matching the circle of ward.  Antonius nodded to Varia who softly chanted a few words.  Several more runes stopped glowing and the elf’s hand was able to push beyond the circle of wards carved into the floor.

“Some form of test I presume?” the elf arched an eyebrow.

“Naturally,” Antonius stood up and eased his chair back, just enough to step away from the table. 

“Assuming you are not a specialist in deception, as some of us have cause to fear, the last set of wards would have constrained even a very powerful demon or devil.  This is not conclusive mind you but it will ease some concerns.”  Julius followed Antonius’ example as did the other Primi.

“These forces are certainly ones my people fear as well and we hope that we can, at the minimum, learn from you.  With luck, the lands we have to offer will entice you to come and settle far from your current concerns.”  The elf turned and walked towards the door.

“What current concerns do you mean?” Arnbjórn growled.

Looking over his shoulder, “Do you think we would pass through the vale without examining the realm from our side and consider carefully the many things we can see?”

“We will have to discuss what you can see when next we meet in one week visitor.”  Rafael put his hand on Arnbjórn’s chest as the bear-man stepped forward.

“Gladly,” the elf’s faint smile held the promise of answers to questions best not asked.