The Reign of Magic. Wolf Awert

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СКАЧАТЬ so powerful that it took their vitality. He had just concluded that he never wanted to become a shaman when Urumir’s body suddenly became translucent. Nill could see inside him, where a strong heart was pushing the blood through the veins with a calm beat. The midriff, with all the organs and intestines Nill knew from freshly slaughtered rams, was surrounded by a golden aura and even the bony, leathery feet seemed somehow more dignified. Then, as suddenly as it had come, the vision passed.

      “What was that?” Nill choked, appalled. Seeing inside other people’s bodies seemed even more shameful than witnessing someone relieving themselves. The vicious intimacy of the moment took Nill’s breath away, and he would have liked to cover his eyes.

      “What did you see?” Urumir asked, and Dakh shot Nill a questioning glance.

      Nill began to stutter under their powerful gaze, swallowed and steeled himself. “I saw inside of you,” Nill said, “but it was…”

      “It would take the aid of a demon to look inside a shaman; magic alone won’t do the trick.”

      Urumir sounded detached, rather as though he were pointing out that rocks were hard and feathers soft. But Nill flinched. The encounter with Bucyngaphos had shaken him too deeply for him not to shiver at the mere mention of a demon. He quietly said: “I fear demons more than anything,” and suddenly fell silent. The men looked at each other.

      “So you’ve already met a demon,” Urumir stated. “Tell me what he looked like.”

      “I even know his name,” Nill whispered. “Esara told me.”

      But before Nill could speak the terrible name, the shaman leapt to his feet and stretched out his hand in a defensive gesture. His feathers wafted air in Nill’s face. “Is he with you?”

      Nill stared blankly, not understanding. Then he looked up. At the perimeter of the fire’s light two large, slanted, bright yellow eyes blinked.

      He laughed. “Yes, that is my ram. After a bit of a struggle at first we took care of the herd together. Now his herd is gone, the owner sold them. He must have followed us all this time.”

      “What is his name?”

      Nill shrugged. He had never bothered to give the animal a name.

      “Send him away,” the shaman said, agitated. “I don’t trust the beast, and I don’t want him anywhere near me when we’re talking about demons, and especially when we enter the Other World.”

      “Why not?” Nill asked in confusion.

      “That is no ordinary animal that followed you, and I don’t want to risk disorder in the worlds.” The shaman had suddenly become very serious.

      “The demons have helpers in this world, helpers we should avoid. And they are strong enough to control us humans. Arcanists can call upon them. Archmages can summon, but not control them. The strongest demons a mage can summon are the demons of pure emotion. There are six of them. Odioras is the Demon of Cold Hate, Irasemion is the name of the Demon of Wild Rage, and Avarangan is the Lord of Blind Greed. Despras is the Master of Desperate Fear, and Exmediant the Two-Faced stands over exuberant happiness and deepest sadness. I’m not completely sure whether he might really be a gemini-demon, though.”

      “That’s only five, though. Unless you counted Exmediant for two?”

      “The sixth and last demon is little-known. His name is Subturil and he is the Demon of Pride.”

      Nill was not certain whether he had heard correctly. “Pride?” he asked.

      “Yes, pride – or arrogance. The tales say that no mortal can escape these demons when confronted by them. They are described in our legends. Many of the old heroes fought against them, but all of them failed. Each in their way – some went out in great battle, some sad and pathetic.”

      “And you can talk to them?”

      “Yes, I can, although I never have. You must know that the six great demons are the demons of the ancient time, when emotions were still pure and powerful. These days people still battle their emotions, but their enemies are of a less threatening nature. No, the time of the great demons is over. And those six are not even the mightiest of all. Above them still stand the Archdemons. The Griffin-Legged, the Goat-Legged and Serp the Mighty, who takes the form of a snake. Whoever goes to the Other World should take great care that no birds of prey, no rams and no snakes are near. For demons are cunning, clever and capricious in the human world.”

      “Do not worry. I will make sure that the ram does not approach the fire,” the druid said.

      Urumir seemed to calm down at these words, for the ram had disappeared. “Now then. Name your demon, Nill,” he said.

      “Esara called him Bucyngaphos.”

      It looked as though all life had been drained from Urumir. He collapsed, held up by the bones and quills on his clothing, but then fell backwards off the trunk. Nill saw two filthy feet follow. Dakh’s face had lost all color. Nill could not tell what scared him more. How could simply giving a name make two such powerful men helpless, like a hedgehog flipped on its back? The thought of leaping up, running away and leaving behind everything that had to do with the Other World and its demons shot through his head. But it passed before he could act upon the impulse, and in spite of all his fear he could not tear himself away. He felt pulled towards the Other World like a moth to a light. Accessible, he thought.

      Dakh regained composure first and helped the shaman back up.

      “Is that possible?” he asked Urumir. “And if it is – what does it mean?”

      “If what Nill says is true, the Other World is looking for him. And if Bucyngaphos is after him, he will be found. In this world or in his world. And because Nill can’t escape him, he must meet him head on. Are you ready, Nill?”

      Nill was not, but he nodded all the same.

      “Then we shall go through the flame.”

      Nill did not understand what he meant, for the shaman was still sitting.

      “Look into the fire, I will help you.”

      Wild images flitted past. Nill saw the primal fire igniting, raging, shrinking to earthen fire and falling apart, the sparks growing ever smaller. Now there stood only a torch in the darkness. Nill saw things burned in the fire, he saw mages conjure flames from nothing, saw the calm, silent blaze of molten rock and bursting flames. He saw fire by the river and in the mountains, fire underneath ice and in his mother’s oven.

      He felt dizzy. He was standing in the fire, felt its heat and heard its roar, saw the heat waves in the air and heard the cracking of wood and stone. In the middle of the inferno he saw a black spot that slowly grew, taking on a human form.

      “Come,” the spot said, “follow me.”

      Nill stepped hesitantly forwards and passed through the flames. In front of him was naught but an enormous darkness.

      “It takes some time for the eyes to get used to the darkness when you enter the Other World through the fire.” The shaman’s calm voice was clearly audible. The blackness all around began to feel less absolute, the shadows started taking СКАЧАТЬ