Chapter 1 Part 5

Tyson walked down the streets of Aspberg. Normally this was a dangerous pastime, but the left breast of his satin tunic supported the embroidered image of a cobra with the world in it's mouth, the House Blackheart Coat of Arms. He was certain that he was marked as protected by his master's wardship. So long as he stayed in Blackheart's good graces he was as good as gold.

Still, tyrants had a tendency of changing their minds, and Tyson was presently trying to puzzle out how to cover himself from any accidental fall from grace. He knew that the answer to his gaining any real power depended on how powerful his magic was in this world. Experience had shown that even artificially weakened, Armegon and Ultrecht both had proven more than Morteous, a widely proclaimed master at one of the magic using classes of this realm.

Perhaps, he reasoned, if their magic was that powerful here, his might be as well. But how to test it. He could not safely challenge the warlock to a contest. If he won, Blackheart would likely have him killed as a potential threat. And if he lost his employers might question his motive for the contest to begin with. If he faked a loss? Tyson considered it. But no, Morteous would likely sense that Tyson had held back.

Tyson walked by a shop and looked through the barred and glass window. The place was full of books and scrolls. Tyson read the name of the shop. The Tome Shoppe it said.

"The Tome," Tyson smiled to himself. The Tome of Creation, he thought. That was it. It outlined the crossing and procedure for the summoning. It had even revealed some of the side affects. But Morteous had told him that the Tome Ultrecht had read had been an edited copy of the original. Perhaps the unedited original had more. Perhaps it had the answer he sought. He had to get a look at that book. Then maybe, just maybe, the master would become the servant and the servant would become the master.

But how to get to the text? Surely if he simply asked to see the Tome his motive would be questioned. He knew that Miguel had the book kept in a secure place, but he did not know where that was.

Tyson watched a beggar scurry out of his path. Maybe he was going about it in the wrong way. Might he receive access to the book if he had a legitimate reason? And the fact that he had been summoned by the power of the Tome undeniably tied his present status to that as the spell outlined.

Tyson turned a corner and headed back to the palace. He had to get his logic straight. He may only get one attempt to gain access to the book and he intended to present his request in a way that no intelligent refusal might be made. By the time he approached the gate, he knew what he needed to do. He was unhindered as he walked past the guards and made his way into the dark halls of the pyramid. He was searching for Serpent Blackheart. Morteous would be too cautious to allow just anyone access to the book unsupervised, and Miguel was wise enough to seek advice from his uncle and father before doing the same. Only Serpent, in his arrogance, would believe that Tyson was harmless to him and therefore grant him unobserved access.

Tyson found the tyrant in the courtyard that Serpent had ordered constructed recently. The big warrior was speaking to a sapling holly tree. Serpent had gained an appreciation for nature as a result of absorbing Seymore's druidic powers. Tyson waited until his master saw fit to grant him audience.

The wait was not long. Without ever looking in Tyson's direction, Serpent raised his voice. "Well faithful Tyson, how will you serve me today?"

Tyson approached and stood respectfully at Serpents side. "My lord," he said, "I have a very unusual request to make."

"And what is this request?"

"Master, since my comrades fled this world for home, I’ve wondered how my alienation will affect my own abilities. In order to serve you to the best of my ability, it’s imperative that I know what those abilities are. When we first arrived, we had access to an edited copy of the Tome of Creation in which we learned of certain limitations we’d inherited. But I’m concerned that there may be things in the original Tome that we were never aware of." Tyson paused to take a breath. "Master, I wish to read the Tome of Creation."

Serpent turned and addressed Tyson directly. "Perhaps Morteous can fill you in on what you seek."

"With all respect for your brother," Tyson said quickly, "who’s better qualified to determine how my powers are affected better than I?"

Serpent thought on this matter for a moment. "Quite right," he said. "But access to that book is strictly controlled."

"Perhaps a guard, or even your brother's presence," Tyson suggested.

"A guard will do," Serpent decided. "There’s no need to involve my brother or my son in such a menial task." He stood and walked back to the garden entrance. He summoned a guard.

The soldier came to attention instantly. "Escort this man to the inner archives and instruct the librarian to do as he says." Serpent took a token from a pocket in his mantle and passed it to Tyson. "This token will gain you passage into the secure vault of my libraries."

He then turned back to the guard. "Tyson is to read a text there. He may make notes, but neither the text nor his notes are to leave the vault."

"Understood my lord," the guard replied.

Serpent fixed Tyson with a stern look. "Find out what you need. But do not loiter. I’ll expect that token to be returned to my hand in one day. After which you’ll have to be content with reviewing what notes you take. Do I make myself clear?"

"Absolutely, master," Tyson replied. He held his smile in check until he and the guard had turned and started down the corridor. In his hand he held the key to viewing the very spells that invoked creation itself. Within the hour he would see some of the greatest magic in existence.

The librarian of the House Blackheart Archives was a sage of no small ability. She had been in the service of her lord for almost forty small moons. She was a trusted servant and had access to some of the innermost secrets of the Blackheart Dynasty.

Yet one thing she had not been granted access to was the mysterious Tome of Creation. And so she was somewhat disturbed when Tyson, a relatively new servant, had been granted permission to view the forbidden book. Even when he had displayed the token seal of Lord Blackheart himself, she had offered less than enthusiastic assistance.

Tyson paid little heed to the librarian's behavior. He had more important things on his mind than the lower bickering in the pecking order of servants. He and his guard entered the inner vault where the Tome had been placed on a granite reading stand. He gazed at it's cover reverently. It appeared just as the copy they had received in the temple where they had first materialized in this world. The muscovite pages with the silver inlaid lettering hinted at the power within those pages.

Tyson opened the book to its index and found exactly what he had expected. "Madam," he called over his shoulder. He wanted the guard to hear him clearly.

The librarian appeared at the doorway. "Yes?"

"This text is in an unfamiliar language," he said. "I’ll need to cast a simple spell so that I can understand the words. Will that be acceptable?"

The librarian wanted to refuse his request, but the token he had carried clearly indicated her lord's favor in this venture and she dared not hinder Tyson for risk of angering her lord. And Serpent was not known for his leniency. "Yes that spell is permissible," she said at last.

Tyson bowed slightly and nodded to his guard. "Then I’ll start immediately," he said as he pulled some blank paper and writing quills from a shoulder bag. He made every effort to allow the guard to see him writing and reading.

Tyson had worked for well over seven hours when he had finished with his first assessment of the spell that had summoned him over and had skimmed the summaries of the other spells in the book. He gathered up his stack of notes and closed the book. "Well that should do it," he said at last.

"It sure did take long enough," the guard remarked from where he sat across the room. "Did you get what you needed?" Tyson assured him that he got everything he needed.

"Well then let’s turn in your notes and go home," the soldier said wearily. "My shift ended three hours ago."

Tyson folded up his notes and placed them on the table. Then he took the rest of the paper and began to stuff them into his bag. "Excuse me," the guard said as he approached. "I don't mean to be rude, but may I see those pages you hiding there?"

Tyson displayed the blank pages for the guard to review. When satisfied the soldier folded the blank pages and returned them to their owner. That done, mage and guard exited the vault leaving the old librarian to her own devices.

Tyson immediately returned to the garden, but Serpent was nowhere to be found. So he headed for the family chambers. There he found Miguel speaking to a servant. From the looks of her there was no doubt as to what the subject of conversation was.

Tyson interrupted the young priest long enough to discover the whereabouts of his sire. Then he moved on to the Apex Room at the top of the pyramid where the tyrant was meditating. When he reached the door to the room he notified the guard at the door as to the reason of his visit. Then he waited as one of the guards disappeared inside.

About a quarter of an hour later, the door opened and Serpent exited the room. "Well, Tyson, did you find what you needed?"

"Yes, my lord," Tyson replied. "It would appear that there is something that may or may not affect my powers here in this world. But to be certain I need to research the mechanics of ether displacement in this multiverse, and there was no text on that subject in the library."

"Then you may wish to travel to Allentown," the tyrant deduced.

"Or Keron," Tyson added.

"Allentown, I think," Serpent insisted. "I can’t have so faithful a servant entering my enemies' territories and we are not yet at war with Allentown."

"As you wish sire," Tyson bowed.

"Did you leave your notes behind as I requested?"

Tyson's guard stepped forward. "I’ve witnessed that he has, my liege."

Serpent nodded. "I’ll notify Morteous of your trip," he said after a moment. "May Set watch over you."

Not if I can help it, Tyson thought. But what he said was: "I’ll depart in the morning." With that he returned the token to Blackheart and returned to his own chamber.

When he arrived he pulled forth a small magicked gemstone from a jeweled chest that would prevent any magical snooping into his affairs. Alone in his study he pulled out the blank pages that he had left the vault with and lit a candle. With the candle flame, he warmed the page until the invisible ink reacted chemically to become a letter perfect copy of his notes. Sometimes science could outwit even the strongest magic.