In the middle of the mountains, the wind was blowing hard. For several days now, the landscape had been draped in white. The jagged mountains pointed their snowy peaks at the sky as if they were trying to make a hole in it. Each gust of wind blew the snow away, blurring visibility ever so slightly.
Lou progressed slowly, planting his feet confidently in the fresh powder. Her deerskin-draped legs were impervious to the biting cold that sought to penetrate her body. She had hired an Ecarieux, a species of large, rough-coated gazelle, but had to let it go as soon as she reached the cold heights of the Tobilier Mountains. These animals lived in a dry, arid climate, and it was unthinkable that she would accept a ride on snow-covered rocks.
Tirelessly, the master of blades made his way through this hostile environment. No living thing, no plant, could survive on this snow-covered mountain, where the wind blows most of the time. That was why she had come here. She needed an isolated, inaccessible spot. And this mountain range was the only place on the planet where water accumulated in such abundance.
She continued to climb, when she felt the slope softening. The angel looked around, then up a few more meters before stopping. She had arrived at the place she was looking for. Three rocky peaks loomed up, threatening to close in on her at any moment like witches' claws. The ground was a little flatter, and more importantly, one of the peaks was hollow. Lou stepped forward and entered the cavity, which was barely her height. She inspected the wall, then placed a gloved hand on it. It was perfect. This place did the trick. The ground was flat enough and the rock provided sufficient protection from the elements to ensure the stability of the portal she intended to open.
Without waiting, she plunged her hand into her pouch and pulled out a very dark red vial. She examined it, then dipped her hand again to bring out a small, full purse, the contents of which she checked in turn. Satisfied, she placed herself in the center of the cavity and poured the contents of the vial in a circle around herself. Once the circle was closed, she began an incantation in ancient angelic. More slowly, she began to draw arcs of circles inside the red circle, so that she stood at the point where they all crossed.
Once the vial had been emptied, she grabbed the small purse and poured its contents into her palm. Small dried seeds gathered in her hand. She rubbed them between her fingers, letting them fall slowly to the ground.
-Ein amer' railen kaferrn, Verino meint agher eist," she recited articulately (Gate of infinite knowledge, take hold of my fear and lead me to your keeper).
Just then, the circle at her feet began to glow. Lou closed his eyes. The light intensified until it was blinding, then nothing. The light had suddenly faded, and the master of blades had disappeared.
Lou reopened her eyes when the unpleasant sensation of dizziness that had gripped her stopped. She looked around and sighed with relief. She was in the right place. The angel was standing on a bridge beneath which flowed a river as dark as the liquid she'd used to open the portal. In front of her stood a pavilion of red and black wood, as intimidating as it was magnificent. She took a deep breath, then strode purposefully to the door. Once in front of the huge wooden structure that towered above her. With infinite caution, she placed her hand on it and closed her eyes, her forehead just a few centimetres from the back of her hand.
The master couldn't say how much time passed. In this timeless dimension, it was impossible to have any notion of time, as it flowed differently. Some said it stopped, others that it went back and forth, stopping, starting again and even going backwards. But no one could confirm their theories with certainty. The Master of Blades was a stranger to such concerns, because she was familiar with the impossible graspability of time as it passed, which made all ordinary mortals anxious. The spirits of masters were themselves timeless, and masters had a totally different notion of the passage of time.
So she let herself be embraced by the stupor of this place, and let her mind drift away to the infinity of the world around her. Just then, the door opened. Lou opened her eyes and waited until it was fully open to enter. Inwardly appeased, she stepped forward, then bowed deferentially to the dais that stood at the end of a long avenue of wooden colonnades in the same style as the palace's exterior. A red carpet adorned the floor, guiding the visitor directly to the mistress of the premises: the guardian of knowledge and time, Veyinne Omak arner. The intermediary of the gods. The only one able to intercede with the master spirits now that the link between them and the masters had been severed by Lou's sacrifice.
-I offer you my most respectful homage, guardian of immemorial knowledge," said Lou in a clear, deep voice.
In front of her, seated on a silky carpet as dark as it was precious, was an old woman with grey hair pinned up. Her drawn features betrayed an age that was impossible to pin down. Her piercing blue eyes pierced the air as if they were cutting through time and space. In her left hand, she held an opium pipe adorned with designs engraved in silver into the metal.
Her gaze fell on the angel still bent over her, holding her position as she waited for the command to rise. With a perfectly controlled gesture, she drew her pipe from her lips and turned it over to empty the ashes into the small ashtray at her feet. The clattering sound echoed through the great room like a death sentence.
-Raise your head, Master of Blades, and tell me why you've come to me," she said in a sharp voice.
Lou complied. Without batting an eyelid, she held her interlocutor's crystal gaze. Her eyes seemed to be warning her about the relevance of her words. Otherwise, her life would surely be in danger. But the angel knew better. One did not solicit the guardian of time immemorial with impunity and without risk, even when one was the master of blades. All the more so as she had not responded to an invitation but had invited herself to this place. Her survival was not assured in a space-time so imperceptible to a being as physical as she.
-Guardian of time and knowledge, I come before you, humbly imploring your clemency and majestic solicitude," Lou began with the same respect as when she first arrived.
-Spare me the politeness, I don't remember you being the kind of person to appreciate that sort of thing," cut in the old woman. Just get to the point and don't waste my time.
Lou smiled. The old janitor hadn't changed. She continued confidently.
-As you wish. As you know, serious events are taking place in the physical dimension, I suppose.
The guardian didn't reply. Lou resumed without delay. Her silence was an invitation to continue, as was the fact that she hadn't kicked him out after introducing herself so pompously. The old guardian was interested.
-The fate of the world rests on very little, and the slightest imbalance could tip it into chaos. Dark hours lie ahead for all mankind if nothing is done. And I intend to do something about it.
A thin wisp of smoke escaped the lips of the old woman, who continued to stare at her with her icy gaze.
-I'm going to fight this war and restore the balance to give the living a chance to live some semblance of a decent life. But for that I need your help. Or rather, the help of the master spirits.
The clatter of the pipe against the ashtray resounded once again in the immense silent hall, like a knell announcing a doom.
-The master spirits are no more," Veyinne replied without appeal.
-I know they haven't disappeared, they've simply withdrawn to their astral plane," insisted the angel, who would not submit to her interlocutor's sharp gaze.
-Why do you want to wake them up? Do you regret what you did over a hundred years ago? continued the guardian in the same monotone.
Lou didn't bat an eyelid.
I don't wish to awaken them, simply to re-establish contact with Shoyonan, my spirit...the spirit of the Master of Blades. Nothing more.
Veyinne lowered the hand in which she held her pipe and her gaze changed. At last, she was getting to the heart of the matter.
-Lou, you have been named the last Master of Blades. Yours disappeared with your sacrificial act, ending an era under the reign of the master spirits and their incarnations, the masters. You caused their demise and now you want to bring them back to life? Are you sure you're sane?
The angel didn't yield to provocation. During her journey from the training camp to one of the peaks of the Tobilière mountain, she had plenty of time to think about her argument and anticipate the conversation. She was ready, and she wouldn't give in, no matter what the pressure.
-I know that the other masters of my generation are still alive," she replied confidently. Just as my body and consciousness have been preserved by the organization, I'm sure they've all been preserved by governments, or other entities with an interest in keeping them alive. And it's not a question of bringing the masters back, but simply of soliciting their intervention in a small way, without asking them to change their plan.
-And may I ask what prompted our wise Master of the Blades to defy all the laws she so ardently defended, including that of the neutrality of the Masters? Their non-intervention in temporal affairs?
Lou didn't flinch. She knew his approach was more than audacious. Counter-intuitive. She herself had had to come to terms with the inevitable. The choice wasn't hers. It was obvious. Only the power of the masters could counter the disaster that awaited them.
-I understand your questions, especially about my last decision before...going to sleep. I don't think I was wrong to act for the demise of the masters and the end of their era. It was something inevitable given that the masters wanted to retire anyway. All I'm asking for is a one-off intervention, a simple authorization to use their power for a given time and for a given purpose. Then I'll give it back to them.
This time, Veyinne placed her pipe on the floor beside the ashtray. Without moving another hair on her body, she crossed her arms and hid them in her long black silk sleeves edged in red.
-Lou D'envilya Sarelli, last master of blades, slayer of chaos and destroyer of eras," the guardian called to her in a voice that demanded obedience.
The angel couldn't help but shudder when she heard her name. In front of her, Veyinne shifted into her spiritual form, a sign that she was no longer holding back her power or responding to anything that might happen. Her eyes began to glow and her clothes to flutter. Her lips curled up, giving way to sharp teeth that gave her that wild look Lou knew so well.
-You dare to defy time and spirits," she continued, her voice now echoing throughout the room. I know you've officially accepted an apprentice, thereby recreating a link with Shoyonan, your master spirit. So, even if I refuse your request, you can still force his awakening by performing the apprenticeship ceremony. You think I don't know you, you cheeky little minx. This isn't the first time you've defied divine forces.
-I don't wish to oppose your will, which is why I've come to ask for your help in this way! replied Lou, forcing her tone so as not to be impressed by the guardian's spiritual appearance.
-Ah, this is the negotiation you want! I remind you that masters have no right to interfere in secular affairs, so why should we? Do you regret your past decision?
-I can't let the world go to the dogs while it's defenseless! retorted the angel without losing his calm.
But it was you who decided to put an end to the reign of the masters and their spirits, why seek to re-establish it after sacrificing your life to do so?
-Because I didn't anticipate that such a thing would happen! When I made my decision, it was inevitable that...
-Nonsense! Nonsense! I warned you of this peril, so why are you acting as if nothing had happened, you cheeky girl!
Lou stopped dead in her tracks and looked at the guard with bewildered eyes.
-Don't pretend you don't know, it was you who sent me a request by missive to find out what consequences the breaking of the link between master spirits and their masters might have on the intergalactic world!
-But... you never replied! I took your silence as tacit validation of my decision!" objected Lou, who really didn't understand!
-Enough lies! I answered your missive! I sent you the invocation of destiny as I saw it! I told you that your decision would put an end to an imminent danger, but would cause an even greater one in a few centuries' time! Var en mesenres, Var mesit, The love of the present causes the destruction of the past! But you didn't take this into account and acted as you pleased, disgracing yourself of your title of wise man!
-What? Never...I..." stammered the angel.
She was completely lost. Before taking her own life decades earlier, she had requested an official consultation of the invocation of destiny from the guardian of time and knowledge, who was the only one who could consult this artifact that belonged to her lineage. But she had never received a reply, and had therefore considered that she was in agreement with her considerations. So she went ahead with her plan, believing that fate had given her its blessing.
-Don't play innocent, I returned your missive as per procedure, you're the only one who could have received it," resumed Veyinne, who had calmed down a little upon seeing the master's dismay.
Lou closed his eyes and swallowed. A bad feeling had seized her.
-I swear to you, on my life and honor, my title of sage if you will, never, never! I have received no reply to the missive I sent you.
Her jaw tensed.
-And how is that possible? I've been notified that it's been received, so I don't understand how it's possible that you weren't the addressee," the guard accused her.
-It's possible that it was intercepted, by someone... with a power equivalent to yours. Someone who could have falsified the reception. It's very difficult to do because it would mean duping you, but it's the only possible explanation.
-Dare to say I've been duped by a mortal!" snapped Veyinne, who had raised her hand to create a bolt of lightning that she was about to hurl at the angel when the latter interrupted her before she could do anything.
-So how do you explain the fact that I sacrificed my life only to go back years later? That I left behind the life I was building, that I decided to follow the master's path of sacrifice by interfering in temporal affairs when I had strictly forbidden myself to do so for all those years? When others had no qualms about using their power for political ends and flouting the masters' rules? Why would I abandon the man I love to sacrifice myself for the common good, and try to restore the order of the masters, even temporarily, to save the world again? I was convinced that the masters had to disappear to bring peace back to the intergalaxy, that was my deepest conviction! Although today I see that their power is necessary to restore that same peace, nothing has changed my deep-seated conviction. But I would never have put my convictions before the invocation of destiny! Shoyonan taught me to respect the guardian's voice no matter what; it was a principle I held dear and applied, which is why I sent you a missive. If I'd known you were warning me about such chaos in the future, I would never, ever have carried out my plan. It makes absolutely no sense!
Lou stopped, breathless. Her tirade had swept her off her feet, and she'd let her heart do the talking. A ball of anguish had formed in her stomach, fearing reprisals, but Veyinne remained motionless, towering over her, beating the air with her lizard tail that had appeared in anger.
-Veyinne Omak Arner, guardian of time and space, divine spirit of the immemorial plane, with all due respect, someone has played us. Someone from your astral plane. A divine spirit interfered in world affairs and caused the situation we're in today by intercepting your missive reply. Someone...someone wants the destruction of the intergalactic physical plane.
This time, she saw a change in the sitter's attitude. Her stature was no longer so sure. She saw her waver. Weakly, but wavering nonetheless.
-You...know who it could be, don't you?" she tried boldly, playing the odds.
-Enough!" replied the guard, clenching her fist in frustration.
Finally, she made the lightning bolt disappear with a twitch.
-What you're saying is true, your behavior doesn't make sense. That's why I let you into my palace, to find out what was wrong. No one who ignored a warning from the invocation of destiny would ever dare set foot in the immemorial plane again. It would be like walking to your own death. And you're a lot of things, but you're not stupid.
She paused for a moment and then continued in a serious tone.
-There is indeed something disturbing in all this. And your story has just given me the missing piece. My return missive was intercepted and you didn't receive it, thus directly realizing the invocation of destiny that was transmitted in it. And as you say... no one but a spirit of my plan could have done it.
Again she crossed her arms. The tension immediately eased. The guardian remained silent for a moment, and Lou caught his breath. Her heart was pounding in her chest. It was as if she had once again experienced staring death in the face.
-Many would be capable of doing such a thing, but only two would have a vested interest in intervening on the intergalactic physical plane: Salo'ar de Nersle and Ginice amard. These two are power-hungry and wouldn't hesitate for a second to destroy a plan to get what they want.
Lou thought about what she had just heard. Salo'ar de Nersle was the guardian of the infernal plane, known for his cruelty towards physical beings whom he regarded as things, but Ginice amard... This was the first she'd heard of this entity other than in an ancient book. She was known as the River of Life. It seemed absurd to her that she could wish harm on physical beings...
-You can't stay here any longer or your life will be in danger. I'll send you back to your plan," Veyinne cut her off.
-But..." exclaimed Lou.
-Listen to me, we've got to find out who's behind all this and put an end to their exactions. I'm going to give you the Orb of Time and Knowledge, which will enable you to re-establish the link between the masters and their spirits. Take your apprentice and make him your official successor. He will be the first master of his generation to re-establish contact with Shoyonan, your master spirit. As for the rest, you should know that contact will be re-established with all masters, so those who have been preserved in some way will awaken. That's how it is, the masters are a whole, they must all exist together to restore the balance they represent.
As she spoke, a black cushion with a perfectly smooth, round ball floated towards the angel. She grasped the ball, which contained a kind of black smoke that moved within it.
-The orb must be placed in the place of knowledge and time, in the temple of Samanos the Great," explained the guardian. For my part, I'm in charge of finding out who intercepted my missive.
-Do you really think it's a spirit from a divine plan?" asked Lou, who found it hard to believe that spirits who served as points of balance in the world could attack a plan so relentlessly.
-Master spirits are the most powerful and mysterious creatures in our universe. All creatures on all planes fear them, idealize them or covet their power. But no one has ever been able to hold sway over these elusive beings. Yet masters are their direct vectors, the conveyors of their power and will. You are the perfect means of waiting for master spirits. Whoever intercepted my missive wanted the masters to fall and their spirits to be confined. There was a vengeful or destructive purpose behind this act. And by destroying the intergalactic physical plane, they were giving themselves enormous power by completely changing the balance of the world. It's possible that our entire world is in danger.
Lou didn't answer immediately. After recovering her wits and pulling her head out of the avalanche of announcements she was having trouble digesting, she nodded.
-Very well, I'll do as you say.
-Take this, it'll allow you to communicate with me directly," she said as another cushion floated towards Lou.
On it, a small origami rooster lay motionless. Lou picked it up and watched. Then the rooster came to life and went to hide in her hair, getting stuck in her pin. Origami was the secret technique of the Omark Arner clan, and this was the first time she'd seen it in action.
-Now listen carefully. I consulted the Fate Invocation before you came here, and there are several important things you need to do. In addition to your mission to place the orb where it belongs, you must also find the shadow master and his spirit Shimin'erh. Azamaël lies in the Crypt of the Filiantes, on the planet Souern ares. If you don't awaken him and link him to his spirit, the balance will be broken and chaos will return.
-But Shimin'erh is nowhere to be found! Even when I was alive, Féréanor, Azamaël's master had no idea where to find him or how to contact him!
-It's imperative! Your apprentice will help you in your task, let him guide you to the master of the shadows, he is the guide to the ways.
-The guide of... But I thought this prophecy was a lie to confuse the masters!
-We don't have time, we'll talk about it later! For now, just listen. I haven't finished. The most important thing you need to know is that fate has cursed you. By destroying the link between the masters and their spirits before killing yourself, you've invoked misfortune on your lineage. You'll have to make an even greater sacrifice than the one you've already made if you want to stay on the path you've chosen, the master path as you understand and define it. If you want to live according to your principles and wisdom, you'll have to suffer even more than you already have.
The angel wanted to say something, but the Veyinne wouldn't let him. She summoned a portal from beneath her feet, which lit up as it activated.
-Now go and prepare to fight. Where I send you, you'll have to face your destiny for the first time. Be strong, Lou D'envilya Sarelli, and never stop believing in what you are.
Then the angel disappeared.