A visit to an Asmodean Temple

[Alais d Nitesong]

Work was going well on Matlal, and I had been to I' Taurn because I had been told that Rab had been there, but I had not been able to meet with the carpenter. I could only hope he was progressing with the crafting of the timbers needed to continue reconstruction.

I had met Rhaine several times in RhyDin, and she appeared well. I am not precisely enthusiastic about her blossoming relationship with Sylus' brother, and yet, I cannot find it in myself to say anything. It is her life.

I had promised to go to the Temple, and today was a good day to head over toward the black structure that rises high into the sky, but is set away from the bustle of RhyDin. I stood looking at the great black pillars that seemed to be the entry I had once before passed through during construction. It was difficult to tell, and without a doubt, I was already being closely watched by the denizens of the Asmodean Temple.

Rhaine had invited me, but would the others permit my passage now?

[Alais d Nitesong]

I had the uncanny sense of being watched or scanned, but nowhere could the observer be seen. Three tall spires, crowned with claw-like emitters surrounded several gem like domes that sparkled in the mountain sunlight. A very tall gate was open, as if an invitation, but in counterpoint stood two tall skeletal guards who stood with the unmoving nature only the dead can manage. A vampire soon appeared and walked directly toward me. The creature was armed and armored, but that did not hinder the fluid movement that vampires are well known for executing. He bore a medallion upon his chest with a garnet sigil of a Fist with Snake coiled about it, and this too glimmered in the mountain sunlight. The fact that this creature walked so brazenly in the sun brought a bit of a wry smile to my lips.

Here in this place, a necromancer would be the last form of sorcerer they would wish to have at their gates. But it would be foolish to endeavor to hide what I am, and so I did not. While they would not be happy about it, to seek to bury it would only arouse suspicion, and I was at their gates by invitation. The vampire stopped about 5 steps away from me before throwing a heavy blade as a formal salute. “Dread and Dominion, Lady. Will I have the honor of bringing your name and purpose of your visit to the High Priestess?”

I suspected that the wrong answer would bring that blade sailing at my head and buried the smile that threatened to flicker upon my features. I regarded the vampire long moments, and let the power that flowed from the Temple wash through my own sources of power. There came a distinct answering thrum from the Temple Grounds. Interesting. Then I spoke softly to the vampire in the common tongue of RhyDin, for I neither expected him to speak Elven, and certainly not Annaran. “I am Alais Graham ‘d Nitesong Sidhe and Riverbend. The High Priestess is expecting me, although mayhap not precisely this day.”

The vampire bowed at that, “Adremalech aep Varadhil, Captain of Temple Guard, at your service. High Priestess is in her quarters. I shall let her know you have arrived.”

I had waited with both hands visible so as to put the skeletons and the vampire more at ease, but now with myself having been identified and declared, I folded my hands into the long sleeves of my robes. It was probably wise to leave my staff in RhyDin. The power here would have influenced the staff and brought more suspicion I am certain. For the moment, I was being regarded as invited. “Thank ye Captain,” I said, and prepared to wait.

The vampire touched the medallion upon his chest and muttered a few very quick words into it. It sounded more like code than language and then the medallion flared brightly. The skeletons changed their positions to more formal salute, and a dark rift rose from the ground as Rhaine appeared. She was in her usual manner, despising standing on formality when unnecessary, and today she wore soft blackness cloaked about herself as she emerged and beamed her trademark smile, “what a nice surprise to see you here! Welcome to the Temple, Alais!” She then turned slightly toward the vampire, who bowed briefly.

I found myself answering Rhaine’s smile with a quicksilver return, it was good to see her away from RhyDin. “Good day to you my friend. I do hope it is not an inconvenient time for my visit?” I noted the skeletons and the fluid bow of the vampire. What ever she had communicated was received with more formality than my visit alone engendered.

[Alais d Nitesong]

She issued then a quick order in what I presume must be the Baatorian language that I have heard only seldomly spoken in RhyDin. Adremalech grinned before disappearing, and that left Rhaine and I alone at the entrance. Somehow, the skeletons have never struck me as countable when speaking of living entities. Perhaps that is a bias I should re-evaluate. She motioned me through the gates, “There’s absolutely no inconvenience. Time management is one of the first things you learn when you go crazy every day with assignments.” She moved easily across the ground toward the temple structure, “wish to take a walk around the place? I’ve granted you maximum access.”

She nodded briefly to the skeletons as we passed them, “our standard servants, quite within your field of interests, right?”

“I would very much like to see your home Rhaine, and to hear what you are free to tell me about your map maker.” I gave a soft laugh as she observed my “field of interest”. “I would be willing ot wager even your vampire had a wee tinge of misgivings letting me in.” But I give Adremalech credit, he did not allow his thoughts or feelings to show despite my specialty.

Rhaine’s smile broadened into a childlike proud beaming. “At least he follows orders when I say someone has high access privileges. He knows I’ve weighed it.” She motioned for me to follow, “we can take a long trip from basement up, and end it with a cup of tea, or whatever you prefer in my study up there.” She gave a pointed glance in the direction of one of the spires.

I fell into step beside her, slightly surprised that she had granted me high access, but I could tell that she was very proud of the vampire’s responses, and I suspect that Rhaine is responsible for training him. I glanced at the spire and back at my friend, “I felt it was better not to cloak what I am, better they know from the start.” While it would have been rude to attempt anything with them, there was little point in hiding the facts from them. They would have sensed it sooner or later. “The basement houses what?” I asked as we crossed the grounds.

“Tactics and training rooms mainly. And a few labs, Jase, the map maker you mentioned, did an awesome project for our tactics room.” We passed into the large entrance hall, which was clearly designed to impress visitors. The ceiling was lost in mist that was pierced by rays of ruby light. Tall columns grew from stone flames, and the black gabbro floor held a complex pattern of runes in silver, ruby and mithril. There were a few stained-glass windows several meters up from the floor. It had a dark beauty to it that spoke to my sorcery and the Annaran part of my soul.

My gaze swept around the grand entrance, and then focused on the black gabbro floor with its inlaid runes. I could feel the power in those runes, but the runes were in a language I could not read. The power flow however was unmistakable. “Training rooms for arms or magic or science?” Knowing Rhaine, it would be all of the above, though I could not imagine why there would be training rooms in the basement for arms.

“Any,” she replied, “there is a one-on-one training room for example, for mainly physical training, and a few dueling rooms, classes, almost anything. We have about 200 men from other worlds – those drafted by Vitus and myself.”

[Alais d Nitesong]

I remembered Vitus stating that he was recruiting, so this is where they had ended up. “And if you please, how does your brother fare these days?” I had not seen Vitus in a long time, and I wondered what he was pursuing these days. We crossed the black floor together as ruby light shafts danced upon the runes beneath our feet. I followed Rhaine as she turned left and a corridor that had not been previously visible materialized within the macabre beauty of the entry hall. Tall columns had concealed the entry of the corridor. This hall was of dark charcoal floor, and lit with magical orbed lights I had never seen before.

Rhaine kept moving, “I have not seen him lately. Vit is hellishly busy, on a seafaring mission. With his initiation, he was given most responsible and difficult assignment.”

I nodded and turned left with her into the corridor, “I shall hope that he does well and returns to you in time then.” I studied the orbed lights a moment, “Your orbed lights are fascinating lass, from where do they come?”

She paused briefly as though seeing them for the first time, “gloworbs from Clandestine. Minimal energy intake, and quite decent output.” The corridor led us toward a circling spiral of stairs with about 2-meter well without any visible support in it. Rhaine looked at the well as if pondering some option before heading down the stairs, “We are heading to level zero, the most isolated training rooms, and prison as well. Some things are insecure enough to be isolated.”

I paused, my hand lifting before me as I thought I had felt a barrier that I could not see. The impression vanished quickly and I glanced at Rhaine, “Your gloworbs would be most useful in Riverbend.” My smile was somewhat wry as I followed her down the stairs. “I am most curious about your training rooms.” The prison area I did not wish to see. Part of me would feel empathy for whatever was imprisoned there, and in this place, it would be a weakness.

We walked down two more levels before reaching the bottom of the stairs. The well appeared to end at this level and go no deeper into the rock heart of the mountain. There was a soft, reddish glow here, and it appeared to be the least decorated area I had seen so far. Glowing only and the very first door led to an octagonal room, with an odd looking control panel near the doors. “Variable gravity training room. We use it for enhanced physical trainings, and test of certain combat enhancement spells.”

So this explained why weapons training was held inside and underground! I quirked a sable brow, “May I see it work?”

Rhaine nodded and typed in a code on the control panel. The door closed automatically behind us as she crossed the room before turning to face me with an impish smile on her face, “come on, just be careful.”

I canted my head slightly and watched her movement in the altered gravity before following her into the space. It was about 1/10th of the expected gravity of RhyDin, and my light elven steps quickly turned into leaps as excess muscle activity propelled me with more response than expected. My laughter rang out as I chased Rhaine in the barely there gravity conditions, “this would make traveling much easier!”

She smiled knowingly, “that’s the minimum possible here. Maximum is over ten times normal grav.” She paused a moment, “though minimum gravity has its own dangers… your mass remains the same, so you have to calculate the moves with more precision.”

“And that would make it very difficult to travel.” I took a running leap to reach for a hold on the far wall as I compensated from my brief experiences, but it proved to be harder than I had expected. I gave her a wry smile, “Aye, more precision.”

[Alais d Nitesong]

Somehow Rhaine manipulated the control panel from across the room, and the gravity returned to normal. Only then did the door open again and she smiled, “I spend lots of time here. Triple gravity is same for me as having no magic around.”

I pondered what she was saying, “How does magic work in such extreme gravity?” We had not tried anything involving magic, so I did not have the opportunity to study it first hand.

“Pretty much normal, only you have to adjust coefficients for spells, a fireball would need a tad more energy to it, for example. And biomagical spells are hardly distorted.” She sounded as though this were something she had long ago become accustomed to accounting for as she worked. I knew I could enjoy this room immensely and lose myself for hours in it’s intriguing variability.

“You have not seen the tactics room yet!” She gave me a radiant smile, “It’s really something I’d be proud of.” She headed out of the training room and down the corridor, opening another door into a dimly lit room, “Ever played with toy soldiers with your children?”

“Aye, when I was learning tactics and such in preparation for ruling Nitesong.” I had spent years studying warfare and defense as a much younger elf. This room held a huge 3 dimensional map of the area around the temple, and about 12 – 15 miles beyond in all directions. There were several arm chairs with some kind of sensor helms attached to them, and as I gave them a puzzled look, she spoke up, “holographic simulated soldiers, on a 3d map, and you have fun playing huge chess games. Some see it as fun, some see it as training. This map was done by Jase.” I moved slowly around the edges of the map, studying it intently before asking her if she has the ability to make the soldiers what ever race or species she desired, and would the soldiers fight according to their standard tactics.

She nodded, “this is a simulation… symbiosis of technology and magic. The neuro helms take your orders and send them to simulation processor, which processes them into actions of your soldiers, with all natural delay in following orders, possible resistance, and even revolt on occasion.”

I considered how useful that would have been on Matlal before asking her, “even daemons?”

She shrugged, “anything can be simulated. Although the module for demons is still a bit buggy.”

“How many make use of this tool?” I did not see very many armchairs, and wondered how many of the Temple inhabitants reached this level of training.

“Officers mainly. It requires too much of discipline of mind, most low-ranked warriors are far from it.”

I nodded, “high tech chess indeed.”

She gave me an assessing look, “You can try if you wish, though if we play chess, we’d get lost in time easily.” She chuckled then, “Nae’Bris sat for two days here once until I dragged him out.”