Four – The Black Archmage
Julian couldn't believe it, and neither could Noel. This Julian was identical in detail – the hair, the 70s moustache and, shockingly, even the small eyes. Instead of Julian's warmth and kindness, this Julian had a ruthless, shadowy, fiery kind of gaze, like a black fire which will never burn out dwelled in it.
Just by looking at his clothes was enough to tell what sort of person this Julian was. He wore a magnificent set of blood red robes with long sleeves. On top was a black coat which was an exact copy of the robes, except the sleeves and hem were slightly shorter than the robe. Under the coat, around his waist was a crimson piece of cloth. The bottom half was hidden with a black and red military belt like belt. Tied around his waist, over his coat, was a piece of gold string. A sword was attached to it. The sheath was black and red, the handle pure black with onyx encrusted on the hilt.
"I look like a demon," muttered Julian to himself. Fortunately everyone was too fixed on the other Julian to notice him.
"At last," he said. His voice was like Julian's, but with any good gone. Darkness, bitterness, and a strong sense of mercilessness filled the good, making his voice sound darker and slightly deeper. "The Black Archmage is defeated at last. Should have never left your home without a staff, should you?"
"What are you talking about? You've got the wrong person," stammered Noel. Julian could tell his fear was growing stronger and stronger.
"No one else looks like you," snapped the other Julian. "Let's go boys. King Velgrand will be pleased." They left with Noel screaming protest and wriggling about so much it seemed he would be breaking several of his limbs before he could get away.
Julian looked up at the cliff and saw Michael standing there with someone dressed like a mage standing beside him. The moment Julian saw his mass of black hair, he realised this was the parallel Noel.
The parallel Noel was a contrast to both parallel Michael and parallel Julian. The pattern of his robes reminded Julian of stone slabs stuck together with concrete to form a garden path. His robes were patches of green and black separated by silver lines. Around his waist was a thread of thick gold string. On his shoulders was a general's cloak. The shoulder guards had the same pattern as the robes. His cloak was a rich shade of forest green which fell to his ankles. Attached to his back was a crosier. The hook was embedded with emeralds. Unlike his clothes, the crosier was a forest-green at the hook, getting darker and darker in colour until it was black at the tip of the staff. On the parallel Noel's head was a very un-mage-like hat. It looked like a wizard's hat without the brim and instead a visor stuck to the front. The hat also followed the robe pattern.
"Come up," said Michael. He indicated the very steep slope next to the cliff. For a moment Julian hesitated, wondering if this was a trap. He suddenly became aware of the beggars watching him, confused at the double appearance of the same person.
Not wanting to attract attention, Julian went up to the slope. He blinked as he saw the slope become a set of stairs. Realising the slope was an illusion, he went up.
He arrived at a flat plain. There was hardly any grass, which formed a path to a decent cottage like home. Unlike the buildings in Goliath, the walls were built from brick. The roof, however, was made from thatch. Julian went over to the cliff, where Michael and Noel stood.
"I see you must be the Earth Julian," said Noel. He sounded like Noel, but with a tone of leadership and, strangely, wisdom.
"It was you they wanted to take!" said Julian as they went back to the cottage.
"Indeed. But misfortune has played a trick, and a terrible one. Indeed, they have taken my Earth form."
"How come they couldn't see me?"
"I casted an invisibility spell upon you. If they saw you, you would be dead by now, or perhaps be on the wanted list."
"Why? Why does everyone fear me, and what has my parallel self done?"
"I will explain more when you go inside. The air is full of unwanted ears."
They were nearly at the cottage when a loud roar erupted. Suddenly Julian was knocked to the ground as the world became a blur of black and grey.
"Bollo, no!" shouted Michael from somewhere. There came another loud cry as Bollo went flying off Julian. He looked around and saw Noel sending the gorilla through the air. His cloak had flapped backwards, his palms outstretched. It was only then did Julian notice Noel wore a pair of forest green bracers with silver stripes going all the way round the bracers.
Bollo landed with a thud several feet away from Julian. He got to his feet, plain fury in his eyes. They never left Julian.
"It's alright Bollo," said Michael. "This is the Earth Julian."
Bollo's anger soon faded, and instead welcomed Julian openly. Together they went into the cottage. The moment they stepped in, Julian couldn't believe his eyes. The inside of the house had been enchanted so it resembled something similar to a palace. As Julian went through the house in awe, he had never realised just how brilliant magic could be.
They went into a private drawing room. Several long sofas were placed in the middle of this unusually small room. A gold chandelier hung from the ceiling. Little balls of light floated around the room, providing light. The room was very plain. There was only one thing hanging on the walls, which was an aged map.
They sat down on the sofas, each person occupying one. Noel rested on his crosier, looking at Julian with full interest.
"I believe you have many questions," he said.
"Yes. Why am I feared? What has my parallel self done? And how did you manage to get onto Earth?"
"I myself am not too sure," answered Noel. "I believe the storm broke the Gap – the border that separates our world from your world and other worlds. Once the Gap between two worlds, anything can go in and out between them."
"It was you that made the storm!" cried Julian.
"Indeed."
"And I guess you made that power cut."
"No. What power cut?"asked Noel curiously. Julian explained what had happened up to when Michael had jumped out from behind the bush. "Interesting. Very interesting."
"Anyway, back to my questions."
"Ah, the long ones," said Noel. "Before I can answer, you must know of our land."
So he taught Julian about the land Alalae. To the west were a big cluster of high mountains, home to the North and South Demon Clans. A separate mount which was not too far from the mountains was considered part of the Demon Clans due to its crimson colour and to the many bloodstains found there.
To the south, stretching from the mountains to the Empty Point – a hostile place off the desert and shaped like a point was unkind to all those who set foot in them – were ponds and lakes. The ponds on the outside were filled with clear blue water. The ones nearer to the sea were great lava lakes. The biggest lake was known as the Bloodfire Lava Pond due to the number of deaths it had caused.
Goliath was one of the five cities which lived in the sand region, better known as the Beggar Province due to the sheer number of beggars. What was more important was the Beggar Province was home to the Poor Man Clan, a group of beggars especially trained to fight using Martial Arts or Chi Kung.
Then there was the Great Desert, a desert so great not many could successfully cross. The Desert lead to a vast amount of jungle on the other side, where the Jungle Clans resided. Also within the forest was the city Tandumm, which no one knew about for all who went there were never seen again.
There were several islands also part of Alalae. To the west were a cluster of very tiny islands, making them the Cluster Isles. Near them were the Shaman Lands – Moon Port, Robin Mount, and Gateux. At the very east was an island that looked like a teardrop, thus earning its name Teardrop Island. However some people insisted it should be called Nose Island, since it looked a bit like a nose. Julian agreed with them.
"Now that you know the land a little better, it will be easier for me to tell my tale," said Noel. Both his hands were placed on top of his crosier, and he leaned forwards, his chin resting on his hand.
"You look like Noel when you do that," commented Julian. Just looking at him reminded him badly of Noel. He looked down and saw a pair of black boots pointing out from under his robes. "You've got the Vince boots as well!" He couldn't believe it – an Archmage wearing a pair of fancy boots?
"I thought you would recognise them," smiled Noel a very Noel like smile forming. In ways Julian thought he was almost a perfect double of Noel, only with more wisdom, more sense, and more power.
Noel cleared his throat and began the tale.
"Five years ago, King Velmaede died. He only had one heir, Velgrand, who became King. Before he became King, mages were plentiful. They helped scare away the demons, sending them into the mountains. There weren't as many beggars, and all was well.
"Ever since Velgrand was a little boy, he feared mages. He hated magic, because he feared one night mages would secretly come to his palace and kill him. It was perhaps one of his darkest fears.
"So, for three years, he hatched plans on how to rid the mages. He was a very careful thinker. He was aware of many things about the plans, and always thought ahead. He had a small group of people who knew of his plans, and helped him. You were one of them.
"At last he found the perfect plan. He held a trial to find the best swordsman who was both working under him and knew of his plans. You exceeded with no doubt. Your swordsmanship was powerful – too powerful. Velgrand soon placed you in a very very high position, as well as being in charge of finding mages.
"The dark times soon came. Mages fell under your sword, and more and more beggars were appearing. It was now unclear who was really a beggar, or part of the Poor Man Clan. The clan itself seemed to have gone into hiding.
"For the last two years, the Archmages have been forced to go into hiding. They tried to save the mages from the Yaka Daema, the Sword Demon, but all mages fell … apart from one who was arrested and never seen again." Noel sniffed at the end. Julian suspected he was hiding something.
"Who was the one that disappeared?" asked Julian. Noel looked at him. At once his grip tightened on his crosier. Michael looked around and quickly said, "Should I get Rich's room read for Julian?"
"No … no … I want to keep it empty," answered Noel. "Use the guest room next yours. It'll make communication easier."
"OK. Want to come with me, see if you like it?" asked Michael. Julian nodded and together they left the room.
"Why is Noel so uptight about my question?" asked Julian. "And where is Rich?"
"It was Rich who got captured. He was one of the last mages to have been captured, and one of Noel's favourite apprentices. He willingly carried out tasks for Noel," explained Michael. "When Rich got captured, Noel tried to save him – and nearly got killed while trying to do so. Since then he did not dare to attempt it again."
"But he's an Archmage! They must have more powers than anyone else!"
"Wrong. His spells are the same as everyone else, except he castes them with more strength," corrected Michael as they went up a set of golden stairs. They arrived at a long corridor. Along the walls were doors, doors, and more doors.
They went into the room next to Michael. After a quick look round, Julian settled with it. Noel soon came up, along with Bollo. As he turned to his room, Julian suddenly thought of something.
"Why are you called the Black Archmage? Why the colour black for someone wearing green?" he asked. Noel turned round to face him.
"All Archmages are referred to by colour," he explained. "I have a fondness of green. And as for the black … you gave me that name, didn't you?"
As he went into his room, he left Julian to ponder about his answer.
