Pivot of the Sky

Chapter 28: Nietzsche's Challenge

Behind Golier was his student Warret and his youngest apprentice Raphael. The two young men didnt hear their teachers muttering, but they could tell that he was not in a good mood. It seemed that Duc was going to be destroyed by the flood. They chose to stand aside silently.

Golier stayed the whole day gazing in the direction of Duc on the ramparts, refusing to take a rest. The following noon, Governor Schmul came to him for the third time, not to persuade him to take a rest but to report an emergency.

Ive ordered the garrisons on the courier route to Duc to retreat. Two stations managed to evacuate, but the flood went so fast that the nearest station to Duc was already surrounded by water. We cant contact them. Youve sent Priest Cosman to fly there to pick them up and to check the situation in Duc. But Cosman turned back halfway. He said that he couldnt reach them.

Raphael frowned, How can he turn back like this? Is it responsible to leave our soldiers there and do nothing?

Golier finally spoke after a mute day. He sighed, Dont blame Cosman. The clouds were low and there was the lightning. Anything flying risks being a target for lightning. Its a fatal danger. I sent him to save people, not to commit suicide. It is not his fault for failing to get them back.

The thunder in the far sky roared louder. Thick, dark clouds paved the sky from the Syah Plateau in all directions, all the way to Syah City. Raindrops fell on the ramparts, from dots to lines. Schmul asked nervously, What if the rain continues? One-third of our territory is already flooded. The flood may surge over the Charcoal Forest and come to us. What should we do, my dear master?

Golier turned around to him, As the governor of Syah, you must do everything in your power to help the displaced. There will soon be many more arriving at the city Warret, go to the shrine and bring me two air magic scrolls. Oh, and also the Navisapphire.

The Navisapphire? Do you mean that item with an Aquaticore inlaid and consumes four parangons every use?

Thats it. It is in my private vault at the back of the shrine. Bring it quickly. Im going out.

My dear master! Schmul was surprised. He tried to interject, Are you taking the risk yourself? The city needs you!

Warret added, My dear teacher, please let me go in your stead.

Flying is now impossible, so Im travelling by boat. Im the only one here able to use the Navisapphire. I am going to check on an important friend of mine and rescue the soldiers in the station. This is an order. Do not try to change my mind.

The Navisapphire was a shuttle-like magic artefact. Layered with silver, it was over a foot long and more than two inches wide. An Aquaticore was inlaid at the front, and there were two sockets for parangons at each side. Warret brought it to him with the sockets charged.

Warret knew that it belonged to Goliers private collection, meaning it was extremely precious. But no one knew that it was a gift from Nietzsche twenty years ago, one of the best artificers on this continent.

Even a supreme mage avoided flying in thunder and lightning. Golier used an air magic scroll to float over the water, crossing the grotesque shrubs in the Charcoal Forest.

By principle, scrolls were not something that could save the users magic power, but they did store said power in a specific way such that the user could activate it when needed. The scrolls were hieroglyphs written in a particular way. Producing a scroll of a certain kind of magic cost much more magic power than performing one in real time, with an expectable possibility to fail. Hence, scrolls of supreme magic were one of the most precious magic items on the continent. Only a great mage like Golier could spend two scrolls like two gold parans.

The water was torrential with vortices and hard turbulence everywhere, flowing fast towards Syah City from the Charcoal Forest. Only the huge grotesque black rocks still exposed their tops in the current, acting as dangerous reefs. The water became broader when he came closer to Duc, with less visible reefs and shrubs. The water became even deeper and more rapid-flowing.

Golier went against the current. With a wide water surface, he couldnt hide among the rocks. He would be the tallest target. The lightning from the low clouds struck towards him several times but was drawn away by the protecting magic on his upraised staff. Only a supreme mage could advance this way.

As he flew through the path of the courier route, the torrents raged faster, the vortices became larger and the lightning became denser. Though he could no longer see the route, he could still determine the direction he had to travel in. He finally reached the nearest station which was ten miles from Duc and was already submerged in water.

In the wild rainstorm, amongst thunder and lightning, Golier tried to extend his visibility using Detection Eyes. He sensed someone weakly calling for help. A small team of the garrison had survived, climbing up to the highest rock nearby. But now the water was about to flow over the rock. Grabbing some branches, the twelve soldiers hoarsely screamed for help. If Golier had arrived a minute later, he would have only seen their corpses bobbing in the water.

Golier floated to the rock, took out the Navisapphire and threw it towards the water. The artefact dove into the water and an invisible boat floated up, displacing the water. The torrents and rain hit a transparent shell and was forced aside. Lightning whipped on its dome and was split asunder, sketching the outline of this extraordinary vessel a huge, long and narrow date nut, able to contain dozens of people.

Golier waved his staff and a blue flash went through its bulk, highlighting the boat. He shouted to the drowning soldiers, Get on the boat! Dont rush! Do you still have a leader? Tell your men to sit close together in the boat and not to move. Its a magic artefact. Jump on!

Helped by the leader, the exhausted soldiers struggled to climb onto the vessel. It was as if they were standing right on the water, but they could feel no rocking. The vessel was stable. Following the orders of their leader, the twelve shivering soldiers sat quietly in two rows.

Golier gave the leader an appreciative look and stood at the head of the boat. Pointing his staff ahead, the boat didnt turn around to Syah City, but went towards Duc, riding the waves. The leader was perplexed, but he kept his mouth shut. He just gestured to the other soldiers to take a rest and stay silent.

The torrents were fierce enough to shake the boat which was now three miles away from Duc. The Aquaticore was shining at the nose of the boat. Four clusters of white light appeared at both sides. The dense lightning was stabbing at the vessel from the sky, silver threads dancing around, but the people inside were well protected by the artefact.

The town of Duc was gone. All they could see was muddy and turbulent water. Even the dome of the shrine was below the torrents, if not already washed away. The flood surged from the Syah Plateau to Duc and the Charcoal Forest, then rushed southwards to the desert. Inky clouds with heavy rainstorms had turned Duc into a world of death.

Even a supreme mage couldnt fly in such a tempest. Even the strongest warrior couldnt swim in such torrents. There seemed to be no survivors! But Golier still stopped the Navisapphire at a distance and watched he didnt believe that Nietzsche would simply allow himself to be swallowed by the flood.

If Golier could make it here, Nietzsche must have had his own way to escape the flood. Had he already left? Or is he still here? Golier had a strong feeling that Nietzsche was still somewhere in Duc.

Before he could do anything to satiate his feeling, a series of loud thunder arose from the sky. Clusters of lightning fell and smashed the water, bursting out a spiralling burst of light. Golier suddenly sensed a powerful magic wave emanating from beneath the water. A roar exploded from far away, God! You finally come to this world! Ive been waiting too long!

A figure broke from the water and flew up to the sky. Huge waves whirled around him like shining wings. He projected himself straight up to the darkest clouds with the densest lightning, leaving a cyclone behind.

It was CrazyOle Nietzsche. He didnt die, nor had he left. He managed to stay under the water and appeared when Golier arrived. The soldiers in the Navisapphire couldnt help but cry, then they saw the boat covered by a curtain of blue light, blocking their senses from the outside. Golier performed a magic to cut them from seeing or hearing anything that was going to happen.

Golier himself could still observe CrazyOle clearly by using Detection Eyes. Nietzsches hair and beard shook recklessly in the wind. Golden light beamed out from his staff and shot towards the sky like javelins. Eyes widened with anger, he shouted in his loudest voice, Come out, Enlil! Show me your true face!

Hes seeking death! Golier was shocked by Nietzsches roar, it was as if his heart was squeezed by an invisible hand. Golier was the chief priest of the Enlil Shrine, the shrine of the major god worshipped by the people in Hittite and Assyr. Golier was also one of Enlils deepest believers. But Nietzsche was implying that it was Enlil who had caused this disaster, and that he was right above the clouds now!

Golier could neither believe what he heard nor what he saw. When CrazyOle flew to the sky, countless bolts of lightning were attracted and struck towards him, but he was shielded by a net of golden light woven by shining ribbons projected out from his staff.

Nietzsche was already over one-hundred-and-fifty years old. He had been practicing magic for over a hundred and twenty years. Though he couldnt ascend to the ninth level, his magic power and skills were remarkable. And now he was expending it desperately. The tempest and the lightning bolts couldnt leave a scratch on him. But when he entered the clouds, he faced an ocean of lightning.

Golier suddenly widened his eyes. He found something incredible: the wildest gale and lightning in the thick clouds all started to avoid Nietzsche, as if they were controlled by a greater power.

Nietzsche flew higher towards the Syah Plateau, waving his staff, giving out numerous light ribbons, tearing the clouds apart like the wildest vines. It seemed that he was trying to poke a hole in the dark sky, to break through the clouds and drag out the god above them!

Enlil! You filthy wuss! Why dont you dare to confront a man? Are you scared? The clouds are shivering! Are you trembling before me?! Nietzsche cursed furiously, after searching for a long time futilely with the light ribbons.

Golier shivered. He could hardly hold his staff straight. He had never heard of anyone scolding a god like this. But Nietzsche didnt mind. He was seeking death, but instead of suiciding, he was demanding that the god above the clouds to end his life.

A solemn voice finally came from on high, How dare you, old madman, challenge me! You think I darent kill you? Mortal, you dont know the gods secret!

Subconsciously, Golier wanted to kneel to this voice, which created an inexplicable pressure on his spirit. Although he had never heard this voice before, he knew from the first moment that it was Enlil, the god he had been worshipping throughout his life. It was a feeling he failed to describe.

CrazyOle, on the contrary, laughed out loud, Enlil! The great god worshipped by so many people! You respond to my curses, finally! Come and let me see if I can hurt you! Dont you cringe away from a mortal!

Shouting with laughter, CrazyOle dashed towards the place where the voice came from, throwing out his staff to send out his strongest strike. The staff blasted into a ball of dazzling golden light, nearly blew away all the clouds in the sky above Duc. In the flash, he caught sight of a vague and indistinct figure standing above the clouds, a god!

Launching the strongest blow of his life, destroying his own staff, Nietzsche finally saw the god. He didnt even care if he could keep his body floating. Golier also saw the vague figure for an instant. The next moment, the ocean of lightning closed up with deafening clap of thunder. Golier could hear and see nothing. Swallowed by the lightning sea, Nietzsche turned into a torch. For an instant, he was as bright as the sun, then dissipated into ash.

The sky soon turned dark again, the clouds merged. The flood and rainstorm continued. The Navisapphire suddenly shook terribly. Golier lost control of his power in the great shock. Fortunately, he remembered where he was in the next second, waved his staff, and took back control of the boat.

My dear god Enlil. Ive spent my life holding onto my belief in you. But the first time I saw you, it was in such a situation! Was it really you who has brought this disaster upon us? Are you out of your mind? Nietzsche! You just died like this? Nobody can save you from the gods rage. Golier sighed in his heart, turned the boat around and went back to Syah City.

Throwing one last glance at the endless water over the place where Duc used to be, he saw the most incredible scene in his life: a large cloud of shining crystals flew up from the bottom of the water. They were parangons. Not the ones in ores, but those already extracted by the Ducians. Some were the tax stored in the shrines, while others were the personal property of families. All the parangons in Duc were assimilated into the sky by a formidable force.

The gods high in the sky needed parangons too? Wealth shouldnt mean anything to them. But Golier knew perfectly well that the parangons were not only currency but also used as a medium for magic power. A strong magic could even destroy the parangons that were used to perform it. Was the god using them as replenishment for the magic power he had lost?

Golier kept at the highest level of alert all the way back to Syah City when navigating in the flood. The turbulence was far from being able to stop the Navisapphire, but he still gathered all his magic power together in reserve, as if he was about to fight against something more dangerous than the flood.

The Navisapphire smoothly covered the seventy miles between Duc and Syah City, which had now became an isolated island in the flood, merely protected by its high ramparts. The flood came from the east, inundating the fields and villages, reaching the root of the walls. The four gates were sealed, with huge bags of soil and sand piling up behind.

Golier lifted the staff, the boat floated from the water and flew up to the ramparts. The Navisapphire came back to his hand after the soldiers disembarked. The huge boat returned to one-foot-long. The Aquaticore was intact, but the four standard parangons on both sides were cracked, turning to dust when pulled out.

Schmul had been waiting anxiously in the eastern tower. He rushed down to Golier, My dear master, you finally come back! Youve been out for less than one day, yet the flood has devoured half of the countryside. Our city is also surrounded by water nowAnd the water level is rising all the time!

Schmul spoke as if he was about to cry. If Golier hadnt gone back in time, he might have already jumped off the tower. Golier didnt have time to talk much, he straightly ordered, Gather all the mages in the city!

All the mages? answered Warret, They were praying to Father Enlil with the citizens in the shrine.

Golier couldnt explain too much to him, he just continued ordering, No time for praying. Get them here as soon as possible. Were going to make a huge formation. Governor Schmul, bring me all the parangons in the shrine, and those in the State Treasury. Place them on the ramparts. Warret, establish a formation along the ramparts. Just the simplest one, the [Defense]. Just use all the parangons you can get. I need them in place so I can activate them at any time.

Schmul couldnt believe what he had heard, All the parangons in Syah City?

Warret was surprised too, Even if we could build up the Defense around the whole ramparts, we wont be able to activate it! Nor can we retreat from the flood with it!

I dont need you to run it at full power, just a small part of it Tell all the mages to save their power, just ensure all the parangons are activated and are involved into the formation Do it now! Its an order! Get Cosman to host it.

At the same moment, Raphael ran up to the ramparts, panting, My dear teacher, Cosmans gone. He took his family with him, using his supreme flying scroll and a flying artifact. He left a message saying that he had to go back to the capital to report the situation to the king and ask for rescue.

Schmul stamped angrily, Thats up to me to decide! How can he leave without my permission! He fled! I saw him yesterday performing the [Divination], trying to see Syah Citys future in the flood. What did he see? The flood destroying our city?

He can perform the Divination? snapped Warret, On such a big event? Shameless old

Golier had no time to listen to them. He gestured for silence and told Raphael, I now send you to the capital to report the situation here and seek rescue from other states. Take these three scrolls. Use the white one to catch up with Cosman. Dont ask anything and kill him with the golden one. After that, go to the nearest state, tell them the situation here and then go to the capital.

He took out two exquisite scrolls of about three inches long out of his sleeves, one white, one golden, handing them to Raphael along with the air magic scroll that he hadnt used in the previous journey. He spoke to Schmul solemnly, Priest Cosman deserted his post facing the crisis, and I sentence him with the death penalty. Tell it to the city.

He walked down the ramparts with his staff, leaving an exhausted shadow. Schmul cried behind him, Where are you going, dear master?

Warret asked as well, Dear teacher, now that Cosmans fled, whos going to host?

Warret, youre now the best mage I have. Youre going to host it. Just maintain it at a minimal level Governor, send all the mages up to the ramparts. Im going to pray to Enlil in the shrine, alone.

[List of Characters]

Warret: Goliers student, a sixth-level mage.Raphael: Goliers youngest apprentice, a fourth-level mage.