He and his army had conquered all of the Old World. He knew of the New World, for he had sent spies around the boundary that he could not pass. Some had made it back some had not, but that mattered little to him. He had the men to spare. From what he had gathered about the New World, it was a land full of heathens who believed in and used magic.
He had been hoping to get his hands on the sorceresses known as the sisters of the light, but as far as he could tell, the palace, their home, was abandoned. The people of the city had reported that the sisters had fled in a hurry sometime back, leaving the palace unguarded and unprotected for him to take for his own.
Meanwhile….
They were on a mission. They had given up their home, given up everything they had. The prelate had made the decision one night that had taken all of them, scared, terrified from their beds and rushing to leave. She had made contact with the people of the Wilds, the people known as the Baka Ban Mana. They had no choice. They had to team up with them. They knew from prophesy that these people were the key to bringing down the Towers of Perdition in the Valley of the Lost. She did not know how they were to accomplish this deed, just that it had to be done, someway.
The Baka Ban Mana were reluctant to help them. So would she be if she was in their place. The Sisters and the people of the Wilds had never had a good relationship, more like cordiality. With the Imperial Order ravaging the cities and towns of the Old World, this was their only chance. It would take far too long to get all of the Sisters and their young wizard charges in boats and to sail around the towers. And not all of the Sisters could pass through the line of towers for they had already been through and back. No, they had to find a way to bring them down altogether so that all of them could escape together into the New World.
She had spoken to the spirit woman of the Baka Ban Mana, and was awaiting her answer on whether they would help or not. She had pleaded her case as best she could, as had the five Sisters accompanying her. It was up to the Creator now as to what would be done, or in her case, The Keeper, the Nameless One. She was a Sister of the Dark and through gaining a male Han, had been granted use of Subtractive magic as well as her additive that she had been born with. The Towers had been created in the Old War, by use of both additive and subtractive magic and she knew that it would take a combination of both to bring them down.
She saw the Spirit woman coming towards her and stood to her feet to meet her. The spirit woman bowed her head in front of the sisters. “I will help you,” she said. “The spirits have always said a man would come and return our homeland to us, but it is as you say. If we stay here, we will die. We have to try.” The Sister grasped her hand in thanks. “We will do everything we can to help you, but we need your help as well. Please, we need you to accompany us back to the rest of our sisters. The sooner we get moving, the sooner we can attempt to free us all.”
******
The Sisters stood in a line, looking down at the valley, its spells tumbling and flowing around. The Spirit Woman as well as several others of the Baka Ban Mana stood with them, looking down at the valley as if in a trance. The Baka Ban Mana had the ability to absorb magic, and that’s what they were being counted on to do, absorb the magic that would surround the sisters, and keep them safe. All of the Sisters who had volunteered had been her Sisters of the Dark, not wanting to reveal themselves to any of the Sisters of the Light. They had the ability to use both additive and subtractive magic, therefore being the best suited for the job.
She started forward, pulling the Spirit Woman and the rest with her. They all stayed in a tight bunch, surrounded by the people of the Baka Ban Mana tribe. It seemed to be working. They could see the spells, the magic all around them, but because of the Baka Ban Mana’s presence, the spell were not attracted to them. She saw the first tower rise up ominously in front of her. She pulled the group towards it. This first tower was one of the black ones, complete with the black sorcerer’s sand that covered the floor.
The Baka Ban Mana were still in their trance like state, concentrating on absorbing and keeping the storms of magic at bay. She and her sisters stood in the middle of the black tower, freeing themselves, allowing the magic to sweep through them. All of them raised their arms towards the top of the tower, lightning shooting forth from their raised fingers in all directions up through the tower. The heat, light and noise were overpowering, but they were concentrating so hard, they barely felt and heard them. The lightning flooded down through the tower, changing the walls to white in the intense heat. The wave of white continued its rush all the way down to the floor of the tower, changing the sparkling black sand at their feet to white, engulfing them in a warm white glow. She looked around. The tower seemed to have changed, the magic seeming different now. She did not want them to get too proud of themselves. They still had to find the white tower and see if their stolen subtractive magic could do the job instead of one being born with it. She grabbed the hand of the Baka Ban Mana closest to her and pulled the entire group back out into the storms of magic flying furiously around.
She pulled onward, finally seeing another tower looming in front of her. This tower was white, the one she needed. This would be the real test. They had managed to change one, but could they change this one with only their acquired subtractive? She said a quick prayer to the Keeper for strength and courage, then quickly pulled the group through the archway, into the white tower filled with glistening white sand. She took a deep breath, and looked at her fellow sisters. She saw the same fear and doubt on their faces that she felt on her own. She closed her eyes, releasing herself to the magic, to the keeper. She raised her hands in the air, and opened her eyes to see thick webs of black lightning shooting into the air like a void in the light of the tower. She was expecting the heat and light that they had experienced in the last tower, but received the opposite. A concussion of air and darkness slammed into them as the lightning voided the tower of all light. What seemed like an eternity passed, the sisters concentrating everything they had on the magic in the tower. Abruptly, she felt the lightning cut off. She could not see, but could hear the ragged breathing of everyone in the tower. She turned, found the archway, and saw a shred of light cutting into the tower. She took a hesitant step forward, pulling the rest of the group behind her. The Baka Ban Mana people seemed to slowly be coming out of their trance. She stepped through the archway, now covered by glossy black stones. The air was clear, the grass at their feet was green where desolate sand had stood just moments before. She breathed a sigh of relief. They were more powerful than even they themselves had imagined. They had done it. They had saved themselves, gave themselves an option to escape.
The people scattered on the hillside all came surging forward, wizards, sisters, Baka Ban Mana alike. It was time to leave. It would not take Jagang long to figure out the valley was now passable. He would follow them. They had to take what they could and get as much of a head start on the army as they could.
They had to go now…
