Sara Douglass – The Axis Trilogy 2 – Enchanter

Azhure whistled softly and the fifteen Alaunt stepped forward from the shadows to encircle Nevelon and his men.

“They will stand guard while we move away,” said Magariz. “If you make one move they will kill you. Azhure?”

She nodded and murmured to Sicarius who stood with his golden eyes fixed on Nevelon’s face. He could smell the man’s blood.

Magariz stepped back and put his hand on Azhure’s shoulder. An instant later they were gone in the shadows.

Nevelon stood and stared at the hounds.

“I would believe what he said, Lieutenant Nevelon,” one of the Ravensbundmen said softly. “They are the legendary Alaunt.”

Nevelon looked at the Ravensbundman, startled. He swallowed and stood perfectly still, clutching his crippled hand against his chest, until the ghost hounds eventually melted back into the night.

Even then, no-one moved for almost an hour.

Star GateThey sat in the flat-bottomed boat in the centre of the violet lake underneath the light of the crystals. The Star Dance drifted about them. Sometimes they talked, mostly they sat in silence.

“Explain about the Star Gods,” Axis asked, “for StarDrifter and MorningStar’s teaching confused me.”

“In what manner?” Orr prompted.

“There are nine Star Gods,” Axis said, and Orr inclined his head. “Yet I know only seven names: Adamon and Xanon, the two senior Gods of the Firmament; Silton, God of Fire; Pors, God of Air; Zest, Goddess of Earth; Flulia, Goddess of Water; and Narcis, God of the Sun. Yet the gods of Moon and Song have no names. Why is that?”

“Over many thousands of years seven of the Nine of the Star Gods have revealed themselves,” Orr replied. “Only Moon and Song are yet to grace us with their names. In time, perhaps in thousands of years, we will be enlightened of all.”

Axis frowned slightly. “But these Gods seem very distant, Orr. When I lived as BatdeAxe, and followed Artor, I could often feel his presence in prayer or moments of contemplation. Yet I cannot sense that when I pray to the Star Gods.”

“They live, StarMan, but they have been trapped.”

“Trapped?”

Orr shook his head sorrowfully. “There is nothing you or I can do, StarMan. Nothing. The battle between Artor and the Star Gods concerns neither of us.”

“Battle?”

But to that Orr would say no more, and they sat in silence for hours (days?) more as the Star Dance drifted about them.

Later Axis asked Orr about the Sacred Lakes. “Where did they come from? What makes them so sacred? So magical?”

Orr shifted a little uncomfortably. “Many thousands of years ago, Axis, before my time, the Ancient Gods — those who came before even the Star Gods – wrapped Tencendor in a fire-storm which lasted many days and almost blasted all life from the face of this earth. Only those who could find shelter in deep caves survived.

“The fire-storm and the Lakes the storm bequeathed us were a gift to remind us of the power of the Ancient Gods and of the paucity of our own being. Some say that the Ancient Gods never returned to the Sky but lay down to sleep under the waters of the Sacred Lakes.” Orr smiled. “But that I do not believe. I have never seen or heard them, and I have been here, silent, watching, some considerable time.”

Axis rested his chin in his hand thoughtfully. Orr had given him vivid imagery but not much else. He opened his mouth to ask further about the fire-storm, but Orr deflected his question.

“The time has come for you to show me how well you have learned, Axis. Take us to the Star Gate.”

The Star Gate! Axis looked down at his ring. He thought of the purpose, and the purpose was to glide the boat to the legendary Star Gate, most sacred site of the Icarii people.

The stars on his ring re-formed themselves and Axis noted the pattern they created. He reached for the power of the Star Dance and hummed the melody softly.

They glided down tunnels, under strange bridges, and through strange caverns. Some caverns yawned empty, some had the skeletons of entire cities huddled about the water, some contained forests frozen in stone, some were so encased in grey mist that Axis could not see an arm’s length beyond the boat.

“Note,” the Ferryman said, “that the pattern of the waterway we travel reflects the pattern of the melody you sing.”

“And if I were in the OverWorld,” Axis asked, keeping the melody running through his head, “how would I travel?” ” do not know, Axis SunSoar. That will be your adventure to discover.”

Eventually they reached a small cavern and the boat glided to a halt in front of a set of stone steps which rose from the water. Axis moored the boat to a small stone pillar.

“Come,” the Ferryman said, and stepped out of the boat, gathering his cloak about him.

Orr led Axis along a narrow passage which sloped gently upwards. As they walked Axis became aware of the sound of rushing wind and of a blue light that pulsed through the air.

“What is that sound, that light?” Axis asked, breathing hard in his attempt to keep up with the Ferryman.

“It is the sound and the light of the Star Gate,” Orr replied. “Come.”

The next moment they stepped through into the Chamber of the Star Gate.

Axis was as awe-struck as Faraday had been. The Chamber was exquisitely beautiful. And whereas Faraday had thought it resembled the Chamber of the Moons in the palace at Carlon, Axis knew instantly that the Icarii Assembly Chamber had been modelled on the Chamber of the Star Gate. Perfectly circular, it was surrounded by pillars and archways. Each pillar was carved from translucent white stone in the shape of a naked winged man. Most of the winged men stood with their heads bowed and arms folded across their chests, their wings outstretched to touch those of their neighbours, thus forming the apex of the archways. But Axis noticed that an entire section of pillars across the far side of the chamber were different. These winged men had their heads up and their eyes wide open, their golden orbs staring towards the centre of the chamber, their arms uplifted in joy with their wings.

“They represent the twenty-six Enchanter-Talons who were buried above in the Barrows,” the Ferryman said, and Axis abruptly realised they were directly below the Ancient Barrows where Gorgrael’s storm had killed so many of his men. And where he had lost Faraday.

Orr moved forwards, gesturing for Axis to follow. What appeared to be a circular pool, surrounded by a low rim, occupied the centre of the Chamber, above it blue shadows chased each other across the domed ceiling. Both the pulsing blue light and the sound of the gale emanated from that pool. As he peered into the Star Gate Axis observed, as had Faraday, that it was the gateway into the universe. The real universe, not the poor imitation that lit the night skies. The sound of the Star Dance was strong here, and Axis could see why. Stars reeled and danced, suns chased each other across entire galaxies, moons dipped and swayed through planetary systems, luminous comets threaded through the cosmos.

Its beauty was unimaginable, its allure almost irresistible. The Star Dance called to Axis, pleaded with him, begged him. It wanted a lover, and it had chosen Axis. Come! it pleaded, Come! Step through the Gate. Come to me! “Resist the call,” Orr whispered. “Resist.” Hardening himself against the lure of the Star Dance, Axis let the beauty of the universe wash through him. The colours amazed him; when he looked into the night sky from the OverWorld all he could see were the silvery stars, sometimes touched with a hint of gold or red. But as he gazed into the Star Gate Axis could see entire galaxies of emerald or gold or lilac, solar systems of cornflower and crimson, while the colours of individual stars were every imaginable shade of the rainbow.

“When you stand in the outer world and look at the night sky,” Orr explained, “you look at the universe through a veil of air and wind and indistinct cloud and sound. To see the true universe you must either die, or stand at the lip of the Star Gate.”

They stared into the Star Gate for an indeterminate length of time, until finally Axis shuddered and turned away. The call of the Star Dance was becoming too much to bear. If he did not step back now he might well be unable to resist.

Axis stared about the Chamber, then he wandered past the first of the twenty-six Enchanter-Talon statues, all obviously the work of master craftsmen. Axis could not resist the urge to reach out and gently touch the fourth statue he passed. The stone felt cold and unforgiving beneath his fingers.