Chapter 22
There is no way that people who at a minimum, were 12 feet tall, should live as long as these people seemed to. I mean, on that Earth I had grown up on, people who got too large, died early in life. Even basketball players who were over 7 feet seemed to die earlier than people who were shorter.
I lay on the ground, bound by some sort of spell, which I just knew shouldn't have taken hold with all my protections! Damn, but this was frustrating! I heard a chuckle.
"You leave a glaring hole in your protection by opening your mind. I don't have to do much to hold you. I just affect a small portion of your brain," the big fellow who had carried me replied to my silent thoughts.
I did? Well, 'live and learn', was my motto. But I was not to sure how long I was going to live. I had been captured and was a prisoner. My body felt numb, and I had no control of anything.
My captive knelt beside me, and I was soon stripped of my cloak, and all but one of my rings. I was angry that the ring Vostich gave me had not protected my mind from being overcome. I had thought it was proof against demons?
"Your ring IS proof against demons. We are not demons, though. We are The First," the giant told me.
First? As in first born? First in the race run last week?
"Your questions will be answered. But now we have to ensure your stay," my captor told me.
While I could not move, I tried some of the techniques I had learned to center myself. Hopefully, I could close the hole, or leak, in my mind. It was hard, but I soon found myself with a small shield in place. My captor looked surprised when I had done this.
"You definitely are an amazing young man," my captor said as I closed my mind to his probing.
The woman who had looked at me returned. She looked at me intently. She then looked at her companion, and shook her head in a negative manor. While this was going on, I felt a tingling returning to my hands and feet. Apparently blocking their access to my mind also blocked whatever spell they were using to hold me.
I finally had enough freedom in my mind to reach a spell and cast it! A shield snapped into being around me. I sighed, feeling much safer now. With the returning of feelings to my arms and legs, I soon found I could roll over and sit up, which I did.
My captors, while seemingly surprised at my fighting off their spell, did nothing but watch me. I still had a few spells hung and ready, previously powered in preparation for the war. So I had weapons... of a sort.
I also noticed that all my connections to Morwan were gone. I did have that strange connection to chaos. But I was still unsure what I could do with it. While it was a power source that I could draw upon; I was just not comfortable with it, yet.
"Since you have freed yourself from the binding I placed upon you, you might as well stand up and walk. Do not even think of heading to the gate. While we have not closed it, it is sealed from this side, until we are ready to resume our battle," the giant told me.
I looked up at him, and slowly got to my feet. He was still twice as tall as I was. Damn! I felt like a child among adults. It was very disconcerting, to say the least. Both the male and female giant pointed in a direction. One gave me a gentle shove in same said direction.
Damn it! I had a shield up! How the hell was she able to touch me? These were some very peculiar and dangerous people. I had noticed a glowing wrist bracelet on her left wrist. Was that how she was able to get through my shield?
We all walked for some time in the direction that they had indicated I was to go. While I tried to set a normal pace, it must have seemed slow to my erstwhile captors.
"You may drop your shield if you wish. We are not going to hurt you at this time. Plus, you can re-establish it when you wish, at anytime," the male told me.
"Thank you, but I will keep it going for now, if you don't mind," I responded politely.
They just looked at me, and shrugged. I took in the scenery as we walked. It was a manicured path. Someone had taken the trouble to keep the shrubs and bushes trimmed. Flowers were in bloom everywhere, and seemed to have been planted with some sort of plan in mind.
We finally emerged from the trail, and came to a very large building. It sat in the middle of an expansive lawn, which was freshly cut. A few other giants were about. As soon as we were noticed, they would stop and stare at me.
The building was built to scale of course. The door was fifteen feet high, easily. The first window was located in the front of this building, where we would have a second floor. It seemed to reach almost to where the third floor would be, really. I shuddered at the scale.
We entered it and made our way through several hallways, to some stairs at the back of the building. They, too, were engineered for people with greater height and a longer stride. It was an interesting climb.
We finally got to the top of the stairs, and moved down the hallway. We entered the first room to the right. They left me there, and told me not to wander. I looked around. For a prison cell, it wasn't too bad.
It had a bed scaled for someone my size. Or was it a child's bed? There was a table and chair that were only slightly out of proportion for me. A large upright wardrobe stood open and empty.
The walls were a peach color. I wondered if this had been a female child's room. There was a window. I went to it, and looked out. For as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but plains.
People... err... giants, were in evidence. Some were working the fields, some were strolling hand in hand. I shook my head, and turned away.
Where were the primates the demons had been fighting? There were absolutely none to be seen, here.
I didn't have long to wait. Shortly, my door opened and two giants came in. One had a tray of food and the other was a new giant I had never seen before.
"Please, sit and eat. We have brought a stew which I am sure you will find good. It is made from a fish. There is also water, bread, and fruit. Nothing will harm you, and I assure you we have not poisoned it," the woman told me with a smile.
I nodded, and they waited for me to eat. It was delicious! I was not familiar with the fruit, but with the first bite my mouth watered and I finished it quickly. It was a cross between a pomegranate and a peach. It was also larger than most fruits I had ever eaten before. The bread was also good, with a faint nutty flavor to it.
Finished, I sat back and sighed.
"I take it the meal met with your approval?" The female asked me.
"Yes, it was very good. Thank you," I responded.
"Good. I am, Ewen. This is our leader, Kroalder. He is here to speak with you. I will leave you with him," Ewen said, taking the remains of my meal and leaving me alone with Kroalder.
After the door closed, Kroalder looked at me, and gestured for me to retake my seat. I did so.
"It is hard to know where to begin. I have decided to give you a little background on my people. After the Creator created the universes, he created guardians for it. He then started to create peoples. We were the very first people he created.
"We were set upon this world, and told to study the natural and magical nature of the universe. We loved the Creator, and we were loved in turn. He granted us great powers so we could affect the world around us.
"He also created other beings, but we were The First, so we ignored them. It was interesting to watch as other children were born, and started living their lives. He did upset us when He created the Gods you know. We felt that their abilities and powers should be ours by right," here, Kroalder paused, lost in thought.
My mind was reeling at what he said. Shit! These people were or had been close to the Creator when it all first came together!
"That was the start of our downfall. We bickered with the other races. We insulted and ignored the Gods that He had placed over everything. They, in turn, ignored us. We became angry at this, and struck at them! We have great power now, but it was even greater at that time.
"We wanted the powers of the Gods, and we cared not how we got them. We were powerful, and we used it to trap a few of the Gods, and started to drain them of their power!
"Just as we were about to realize our victory, the Creator intervened, and cast us out. One moment we were gathering power, the next we were here. Oh, we still had power, but he had stripped all the power from us we had taken from our captured Gods.
"The Creator was wroth with us. He took our ability to create gates from us. He took our higher powers from us. We are a fallen people, and we are tired. When we felt the gate opening from the demon's world to ours, we rejoiced!
"Here was our chance to return to the universe; to break out from our imposed separation from other races and worlds. When the Creator turned away from us, he told us that one day, we might earn our way back," Kroalder said and paused.
My mind was still whirling with the implications! The Creator told them they would have a chance? Was this battle that was taking place, their bid for freedom? Or was it the beginning of a war of control, with all the other races and beings, to be conquered?
"The war was not what we wanted. The demons over-reacted to our presence. However, we could not let this opening slip from our grasp. The demons, being what they are, had conquest in mind. They discovered quickly that we were still powerful.
"This is where you come in. We can keep the gate to the demons land open indefinitely, now that it is open. None can wrest it from us. We would like you to go back, and explain to the demons that we would have a truce.
"I will leave you now to think upon what we say. You will be taken back to the gate tomorrow and sent back through. All we ask is that you carry our message to the demons, and your Gods. Will you do this for me, for us?" Kroalder asked me, with a slight hint of desperation in his voice.
I thought for a moment. "I can give them your message. But I can say that the Gods are not likely to be too happy with you. The Creator has told them not to interact with you at all. The demons are not happy with your incursion into their land," I shook my head.
"I will take your message. I can't guarantee the answers, though," I told him.
"It is all we can ask. I apologize for the way you were brought here. But we needed someone that everyone respected to voice our request. The demons respect and fear you. The Gods seem to favor you. Our seers tell us you are strong, and fair. It is all we can do at this point," Kroalder said heavily.
So it was that I continued to relax in this room, a guest, albeit an involuntary one. I thought long and hard on what was said to me. By his own admission, his race had tried to steal the power of the Gods. The Creator had had to intervene and save the Gods and banish these ancient ones.
This was not a very good endorsement for a get together. Trust would not be forthcoming easily, if at all. The ancients had been contained for a reason. I shrugged. I would give the message both to the demons, and to the Gods. It would be interesting to see what would be said!
The demons were a humorless lot, who were fighting a war of desperation. The Gods had already been hurt by these ancient people. It would take a silver tongue indeed, to talk their way back into the universe. I already saw problems.
What if the demons and the ancients allied together? It was possible that not even the Gods would be able to win if those two groups were attacking simultaneously. I shuddered at the thought. If I had thought of this scenario, I just knew the Gods would see it; as would the demons, and the giants.
The day passed pleasantly enough. I was fed twice more, and then it started getting dark. My room lit itself automatically. I tried to find the source. It seemed as though it was coming from the very air itself! It was a gentle light, and not too bright. Yet if I had wanted to read, was good enough for it.
When I sat on the bed, the light dimmed. When I lay down, it faded to nothingness. When I sat up, the light was back, but dimly. Interesting. It was a reactive spell of some sort, and I still was unable to find it, let alone figure it out.
I awoke to a knocking on the door. I sat up.
"Come!" I said loudly.
The door opened. Ewen entered with a tray laden with food. Behind her was another giant I had never met before. He was carrying my cloak! He set the cloak on the bed and I opened it. All my equipment was there in my cloak! My staff, sword, rings, everything! I had wondered if I was going to get them back.
"As soon as you are ready, we will escort you to the gate, and send you through. I am happy that you will carry our message!" Ewen told me, beaming at me.
Edited by TeNderLoin