Examining the city of Landra and concentrating on the image he was startled when a small pie-shaped section in the area around Landra rose out of the globe, drifted out for a foot, then increased its scale a hundred times, so that individual buildings were now easily discernable. He concentrated again on this section. Again a segment rose out another foot, expanding out a hundredfold so that the finest details of Allic's still damaged palace hovered before him.
He withdrew his thoughts and the first segment retracted to the second and the second back into the main globe. He could have spent days examining the world thus, but the room was filling quickly and there had not been time. Now he wished that he had spent more time examining a couple of the other displays.
For a while the green globe of Haven occupied the center of the display. Around it, in varying sizes, were thirty other worlds, some only a foot in diameter, one--a gas giant up toward the ceiling and orbited by a dozen moons--several yards across.
Each of the other globes had at least one green dot upon it; several had a dozen or more. He noticed a couple that had flashing yellow spots on their surfaces. But there was one, off at the very edge of the display, nearly five feet across, with a single grey moon orbiting it, that had half a dozen dots upon the surface. One dot was still flashing yellow, one dot was a steady red, the other four were flashing red.
Without asking, Mark could sense this extraordinary meeting had been called because of whatever was occurring on that world. They had rushed here almost nonstop, spending one evening in Landra as Allic called in his remaining sorcerers, then winging northward. With only the most hurried of stops for food and a snatch of sleep they had flown through the day and far into the night. There had been no rest even then, just time to change uniforms, shave, shower, and then appear for this predawn meeting. Now they would finally get some answers.
"My friends, we face a most dangerous situation." Jartan began evenly, his voice edged with concern. "Many of you might know small parts of the story."
There was a stirring in the room as the assembled men and women looked at each other. There was going to be action, that was obvious.
"Gorgon has always been a threat to our realms. For those of you with memories before the Great War, you will recall that he has been met on more than one field of action."
At the mere mention of the demonlord's name, Mark felt the cold chill of the nightmare returning. The dream was always the same, the demon closing in, leering. The horror of it was that he was paralyzed like a fly in a web, unable to move as the demon tore open his body and pulled the still pulsing heart out of his chest.
"Some of you have personally fought Gorgon and his demons. Many of you have seen the spirits of your friends dragged off to torments undreamed."
Mark nervously slipped a sidelong glance at Allic and could see the slightest of tremors crease his features. Palms damp with sweat, Mark leaned back and tried to stare straight ahead.
"Working together, we Creators have been able to erect barriers to protect Haven. A fair part of our Essence has gone into the creation of these walls."
"Yet there are ways he could enter. Small openings can be created through which he and his most powerful demons may reach out and speak to those foolish enough to hear him. Always he has been probing in such ways, ready to seduce someone into becoming his confederate. His lesser demons can even slip through such narrow openings, to act as his messenger or his instrument of terror and spying. But the walls we have generated are too strong for anyone of great power to slip through."
"But there are the outer worlds."
As he spoke Jartan pointed to the green world in the far corner. The galaxy of planets hovering in the middle of the room started to shift and spin. Rotating in a vast circle, the green planet called Yuvin, with
He withdrew his thoughts and the first segment retracted to the second and the second back into the main globe. He could have spent days examining the world thus, but the room was filling quickly and there had not been time. Now he wished that he had spent more time examining a couple of the other displays.
For a while the green globe of Haven occupied the center of the display. Around it, in varying sizes, were thirty other worlds, some only a foot in diameter, one--a gas giant up toward the ceiling and orbited by a dozen moons--several yards across.
Each of the other globes had at least one green dot upon it; several had a dozen or more. He noticed a couple that had flashing yellow spots on their surfaces. But there was one, off at the very edge of the display, nearly five feet across, with a single grey moon orbiting it, that had half a dozen dots upon the surface. One dot was still flashing yellow, one dot was a steady red, the other four were flashing red.
Without asking, Mark could sense this extraordinary meeting had been called because of whatever was occurring on that world. They had rushed here almost nonstop, spending one evening in Landra as Allic called in his remaining sorcerers, then winging northward. With only the most hurried of stops for food and a snatch of sleep they had flown through the day and far into the night. There had been no rest even then, just time to change uniforms, shave, shower, and then appear for this predawn meeting. Now they would finally get some answers.
"My friends, we face a most dangerous situation." Jartan began evenly, his voice edged with concern. "Many of you might know small parts of the story."
There was a stirring in the room as the assembled men and women looked at each other. There was going to be action, that was obvious.
"Gorgon has always been a threat to our realms. For those of you with memories before the Great War, you will recall that he has been met on more than one field of action."
At the mere mention of the demonlord's name, Mark felt the cold chill of the nightmare returning. The dream was always the same, the demon closing in, leering. The horror of it was that he was paralyzed like a fly in a web, unable to move as the demon tore open his body and pulled the still pulsing heart out of his chest.
"Some of you have personally fought Gorgon and his demons. Many of you have seen the spirits of your friends dragged off to torments undreamed."
Mark nervously slipped a sidelong glance at Allic and could see the slightest of tremors crease his features. Palms damp with sweat, Mark leaned back and tried to stare straight ahead.
"Working together, we Creators have been able to erect barriers to protect Haven. A fair part of our Essence has gone into the creation of these walls."
"Yet there are ways he could enter. Small openings can be created through which he and his most powerful demons may reach out and speak to those foolish enough to hear him. Always he has been probing in such ways, ready to seduce someone into becoming his confederate. His lesser demons can even slip through such narrow openings, to act as his messenger or his instrument of terror and spying. But the walls we have generated are too strong for anyone of great power to slip through."
"But there are the outer worlds."
As he spoke Jartan pointed to the green world in the far corner. The galaxy of planets hovering in the middle of the room started to shift and spin. Rotating in a vast circle, the green planet called Yuvin, with
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