PROLOGUE

 

"They'll catch us, Cyber!" Soraya said panic-stricken, "They'll catch us!"

"No they won't." the young paladin said in a calm voice, carrying the elven woman on his back. In the dark of the night she looked like a dove on the back of a giant raven. Half a mile behind them was a patrol of dark elves, following on horseback.

Soraya looked back as best as she could, clinging fiercely to her companion's back who kept running as fast as he could.

She could easily spot the auras of their pursuers and wished that she hadn't been born with elvensight.

"They're closing in, Cyber. Oh, why did our horse die?" she moaned in despair.

Unwillingly, Cyber had to think about the events that had preceded his precarious situation. A couple of days back he had gone to the Teutonic city of Warwin, along with his re-found companion Soraya. They were staying there to rest and find fresh horses when suddenly he met his lifetime arch-enemy Gegner, the dark elven anti-paladin. A battle follow­ed, in which Cyber saw he could not fight this man, not in a city that sympathized so much with evil.

They had to catch a horse quickly and escape this city at once.

However,Gegner had somehow managed to track them down and to recruit some elves to follow him and started to pursue Cyber and Soraya.

All went well, their horse was fast enough to outrun them and to bring both to a safe town near when they could recover and start planning new strategies, for Cyber would not relinquish Gegner, just as Gegner would not relinquish Cyber.

Their luck soon ran out as their horse died of exhaustion the other day. Cyber had to grab Soraya and get away as quickly as possible.

Now he'd been running for over six hours, desperately trying every trick learned from his tracker friends to get rid of his pursuers but nothing worked.

Finally he put Soraya on the ground and stopped dead.

"Is there anything we can do but fight them, my dear Soraya?" the young human paladin asked. The elfwoman shook her head in a pitiful bow and looked up, then started an elven ritual, asking forgiveness for the

lives she would have to take in order to survive.

"This is where we take our last stand." Cyber said in a deep voice.

He grabbed his dwarvensword, a beautiful bastard sword which he had named Tilarids, and a parrying dagger.

"But I have only a few spells memorized." Soraya protested. Much against her will she grabbed hold of the hilt of her shortsword. Her other hand rested on the lid of her pouch filled with darts which she always kept near her. Cyber was staring at the party of dark elves nearing.

"Use them only as a last resort." he said, pointing at the poisoned darts. He hated poison.

"You still know how to fight?"

"I knew how to fight before you were even born, dear Cyber."

Cyber looked at her, then slowly turned his head to see six horses trot quickly towards them.

On the first horse they saw the one responsible for all this: Gegner Thunderfist, the fastest and most powerful anti-paladin in Vascaria. Of this there was no doubt - any who had doubted had died by his hands. Now he was smiling, liking the position he was in.

"And why haven't you introduced me properly to your friend?" Gegner spoke in a mocking voice.

"Spare me your jokes, cast-out, and attack us." Soraya replied, pointing the tip of her sword at Gegner.

Gegner responded with a shocked gesture and stroked his left cheek.

Despite his elven features, his resemblance to Cyber was startling, though Gegner's hair was a trifle grey, giving his locks an ashen tone.

"My my, the rose has a thorn." he said, pointing at her, sud­denly angrier.

"I will feast upon you, lady. Yes, I will."

"I'd rather die than getting feasted upon by a dark elf." she answered through clenched teeth, "True elves have their pride."

Gegner snorted and looked at her as if she was something he had just scraped off his boot.

"Why you..." she screamed and lunged with her sword. He was faster and dodged, only to make a haughty 'move away' motion with his hand. Suddenly Cyber moved in with his dagger and though Gegner could dodge, he received a slight nick on his cheek. He jumped outside their reach and checked his wound. He saw the blood on his heavy gauntlet and licked it.

"You drew first blood, human. Now your blood and your blood alone will be drawn." And with that, the other elves attacked, still on their horses. Immediately Soraya waved her arms reciting ancient and long-forgotten words in the language of magic for a spell known only to elves. As she finished her spell just in time before the horses trampled her, they started to stagger and threw their riders off. They then really turned against them and stomped them into the ground.

Gegner ran to Cyber, his own sword drawn. It was a black blade, forged by dark magic, with a ruby encased in the lower part of the blade. Now the ruby glowed clearly as Gegner swung. Cyber parried the blow automatically and countered to start a good fight. But the blow was a fake and before Cyber knew it Gegner was on him. Both exchanged blows and clashed swords with all the power and hatred they had for each other.

Gegner was the more experienced fighter and the fastest, Cyber the more cunning one, the more serious one and the smartest. Neither of them lacked determination to kill each other, for they had been after each other's throats for long years. Suddenly Gegner grabbed a knife and lunged for Cyber's throat. While Cyber was still fast enough to jerk his head backward he got a severe cut nonetheless. Deep was his wound, dark red the blood that washed freely over his tired body and the white snow. He tried to hold the wound with one hand, handling the bastard sword with his right hand.

Cyber was dying and Gegner was still tantalizing him.

"No barter, pretty-eyes?" he asked while hitting Cyber's sword as if to try to break the hopeless defense, "No flashy footsteps, no glib comments? No matter, in mere minutes the woods will be bursting with your screams."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Cyber moaned. He had been waiting for Gegner to lower his defense, something the dark elf had just done.

With a swift arc of his sword he tore through the armour and gutted him with the precision of a surgeon. Not even Gegner's speed could save him this time as he fell down on his back, dropping the black sword.

Soraya, who had been busy helping the horses and sending them back in freedom, turned around when she heard Gegner moan. She saw him falling and saw Cyber drop to his knees a few feet from him, holding his throat.

"By the gods you're hurt!" she screamed and helped her com­panion with the last of their healing potion, which mended the wound partially.

Suddenly Gegner was up again, still bleeding from his stomach.

He had two daggers in his hands. "Let's finish this now, weakling." he whispered, due to his wound.

"Yeah, let's do it." Cyber nodded and rose. "No, you're still wounded. Let me finish him for you." Soraya offered. "No way, it's me and him, do or die."

"Yesss." Gegner hissed with a foul grin. "This honour is what I like about you, human. I'm almost going to feel sorry to kill you. Almost."

"Yeah, I love you too." Cyber replied.

"Use your powers only when you are threatened yourself." he said to Soraya and suddenly charged with newfound strength. Soraya said nothing and turned her head to concentrate.

"I understand." she uttered. Cyber darted away from Gegner and walked into an open place where he challenged him.

"Come and get me, son of an ogre's hind." he sneered. Gegner snorted and slowly approached him. With ferocity he attacked and got a good hit in the side for his efforts. But in the heat of the fight, Gegner didn't seem to notice and started wearing down Cyber with chops to the chest, the shoulders, the legs and the stomach while part of the chain hood hung useless to the side of his head.

Blow by blow, cut by cut, Cyber began to lower his defense and finally dropped his blade. Soraya screamed and ran to them but Gegner kept her at bay with his dagger. "Get thee away, bitch. This is between the two of us." he grunted. Then he grabbed Cyber by his tattered hood as if he were only a rag doll. His eyes were half-closed and gore drooled from his mouth and nose. The sight of this made Soraya cry. Meanwhile she kept her cool and started preparing for a spell.

"Alas, poor Cyber." Gegner said, laughing again. "You were a fellow of infinite jest, of almost excellent fancy. We have fought a hundred times until now. And now what an abhorrence you are! My gorge rises at it. Where are your gibes now? Your symbols, your songs, your flashes of merriment that we were wont to set the table on a roar?" He twisted Cyber so that his face was turned towards him now. "Not one now to smile huh? Quite chop-fallen? Now get you to my..." Gegner's words were interrupted by a weird click at his side. He turned his face down and saw two thin razor blades coming from two rings on Cyber's index fingers. With a tired movement Cyber slashed open Gegner's throat and face and Gegner let loose of him. At the same moment Soraya released her spell and a beam of red light shot at Gegner and struck him full on, setting him ablaze.

He fell to the ground and stayed down.

When Soraya was sure Gegner didn't move anymore, she walked towards her fallen comrade.

He was getting up slowly, still on his knees, spitting a mouthful of blood and saliva.

"My goddess, Cyber! You are in the worst condition I've ever seen you in!"

Cyber passed out and Soraya checked the vial of healing potion, but it was drained to the last drip. There was still one horse and she was grateful for that as she hauled Cyber onto it and sat down behind him. "We've got to get you to a healer. But where can we find one if we don't know where we are?"

They started to ride and in the meantime Soraya decided to bandage Cyber's numerous wounds as best she could. She took off his chain mail and examined the wounds. But they were too deep and there was no material to bandage those wounds with. With a sigh she stripped off her tunic and started to tear it apart. "We will both feel very cold, beloved Cyber." she said, looking at the unconscious paladin.

Then she stroked his cheek with a loving gesture.

It felt good to touch a man again, be it a severely wounded and half dead one.

 

Far, but not too far away, and old woman had registered the battle between Cyber and Gegner with undivided interest.

Although she was too far away to see it all, she saw the outcome with a smile.

"Good, the human paladin is still alive, everything has hap­pened as it was foretold."

She came out of her deep trance which had allowed her to watch and hesitated before calling out.

Immediately, an old priestess dressed in white and light green, answered the summoning and opened the double door to the private residence of the old woman. Softly she came in, approached the old woman and made a deep bow in reverence. "Is everything readied for The Coming, Saya?" she asked, hands folded in her lap and looking outside at the snow-covered mountains.

"Yes Matre, everything is as you have ordered." the pries­tess answered with another bow.

"Excellent. Post two guards at the gates and instruct them to let nobody in but an elfwoman and a human man. Understood?"

"Yes, Matre."

"The man needs healing very badly, so help him as best you can and let them have everything they need."

"Yes, Matre." The priestess bowed a final time and went on to pass on the instructions, closing the door behind her soundlessly.

The old woman was left alone with her thoughts.

"Finally, old friend. After so many years of waiting, he is coming. Thank you for thinking of me. Now is the time to fulfil my destiny so that others can fulfil theirs."

For the first time in a great many years a warm smile passed her old lips as she saw a horse riding slowly, ever so slowly, up a mountain, heading straight towards the buil­ding.

 

 

        Chapter One

 

Cyber was fully back in action.

This time however he fought a horde of horrible monsters. Skeletal warriors, other undead creatures, spiders and creatures summoned from the pit. But he wasn't fighting alone, no. He was fighting with his best friends and com­rades at arms.

Bulldozer was there with his scale mail and his diamond sword, a shining being amidst the pale sunlight that entered the ruins of the castle they were fighting in. Fair Inge was there too, fighting and casting spells on her lifemate's side. Half-elven warrior-cleric Kimbo and Imm the dwarf were fighting back to back to hold off the inhuman cabal. There was also the powerful cleric Mistress, with whom he shared the quest behind the magic wall. Cyber noticed he was sweating profusely. He cut an undead warrior and noticed something peculiar about his sword. He held it close and saw it was grey.

"If I could only recall its true colour." he thought.

He stepped and his metal-covered boot came down onto something. Automatically he looked down and saw with shock, he had just stepped on the body of Mistress. She was dead. Looking around he saw that there were still many to fight as suddenly Kimbo was killed by two skeletal warriors. When Imm tried to help him he also got himself killed. "NO!" Cyber screamed and crashed into the skeletal warriors, destroying them so that he could reach the dwarf, who was still groaning.

"This is it, old friend, I'm kicking the bucket." he said. "I wish there's something I can do for you,Imm." Cyber said but the dwarf couldn't hear him anymore.

Slowly Cyber advanced to Bulldozer, parrying attacks from an undead orc. "They're dead, Bulldozer." he screamed.

"I know Cyberdude, I know."

"But I can't seem to remember... where are we and why are we fighting?"

Before Bulldozer could answer a fireball came from somewhere and when they looked they saw flames licking at a dying figure.

"Why, Bulldozer? Why, Cyber?" was all Inge could say. She held up her hands, palms up, then her hands fell down again, out of strength permanently.

"No, this can't be. This can't be!" yelled Bulldozer.

"Yes it can, scaled warrior." whined a high-pitched voice.

"Welcome here, gentlemen. I am Raika, the dreadlord." Now they saw a figure in black, small, skinny and covered in robes.

"The reason of my existence is your utter destruction, something about to happen."

Then all monsters disappeared. They were alone with the dreadlord.

"Get behind me Cyber, he's... " Bulldozer jumped in front of Cyber to take the full bolt of invisible energy and dispel it with his mail.

This time his mail didn't help him: he took the full force of the blow and staggered down.

"This is impos­sible. It's just you, my pal. I'll see you on the other side." Then The Mighty Bull­dozer was dead.

"It is impossible! The mail... I must be dreaming!"

"Then find your dream become reality, Cyber. Die by my hand."

Suddenly the dreadlord cast his hood back to reveal Gegner's face.

"Let's finish this now, weakling."

"Noooooooo!"

 

He found himself sat up in a simple but comfortable bed.

Soraya and a priestess were sitting by his side and lay him down again.

"Calm down Cyber, it was only a nightmare." Soraya said with a soothing voice. He closed his eyes for a while and when he opened them Soraya was still sitting there, her hand on his forehead.

"Soraya, where are we?" he asked immediately, looking around.

The elf smiled weakly. "We are in a place called the Temple of Wajo. It's some kind of eastern nunnery." "Eastern?" Cyber sat up straight but regretted it at once as half his body was bandaged and everything still hurt. Soraya lay him down gently.

"Hush, calm down. We are indeed in the Eastern Realm, a couple of miles from Kosmojava."

"What happened after I defeated Gegner?" "I dragged you with me on a horse to find you a healer when suddenly a snowstorm overtook us. I went on for quite some miles until I en­countered two women who guided me here and did a good job patching you up."

Cyber grabbed his head and closed his eyes.

"Ma Tyf, I'm back in the Eastern Realm once again. What was the name of this temple?"

"The temple of Wajo." Soraya repeated, her hands now around Cyber's right hand, "It is quite some time ago, isn't it?"

"Aye, a long time ago." he answered absently.

 

A month passed and Cyber had been able to heal his last wounds himself.

The priestesses gave back some of his weapons and gave him ample room to practise in a special training hall. Cyber was surprised to see a training hall in a temple but he gave no more thought and started working out. He had been weakened severely and had to work hard to get back into shape.

Day after day he trained in the hall, wearing only some loose-fitting white leggings that were obviously built for the female body.

He was contented with his sword training and started with the mace.

Cyber knew Soraya was watching him all the time, obviously to see if he wasn't exerting himself. Sometimes however a couple of priestesses passed by to watch the paladin, gig­gling and snickering.

Soraya said nothing and did nothing.

One day a priestess approached Cyber while he was training.

She looked some forty-odd years old but had a young face. Cyber noticed her and paused his training.

"Greetings, honourable Cyber. We have heard from your partner that you are recovering from a recent battle and we have seen your skills with weapons. Now we wonder if you are equally good at unarmed combat."

Cyber glanced towards Soraya, who still stood passively at the far end of the hall. Cyber sat down with crossed legs and shook his head.

"Greetings, priestess... uh... "

"Miyuki, priestess Miyuki." she interjected.

"Priestess Miyuki, to tell you the truth I know only the essentials of unarmed combat, but that's because I always have weapons within reach. I have never had a situation where I had to fight without them."

Miyuki smiled.

"Weapons, Cyber, are the extension of your will."

She placed her right fist over her chest.

"But everything you can do with a weapon you can do with this, too." she patted her heart.

Cyber nodded.

"So, what you're saying is that my weapons are useless."

"No, I am saying that you can strengthen body, mind and soul by practising unarmed combat."

"And I suppose you want to teach me."

"Indeed." she said seriously.

"There is a problem however. If you touch me, my skin will burn..."

"Yes." the priestess interrupted him again, "Your partner has also told me that. That's why I wear these."

She let her hands drop out of her oversized sleeves and Cyber saw that they were gloved. He glanced at Soraya who just nodded approvingly. Finally he nodded and rose, Miyuki followed suit.

"Well then, teach me everything you can teach me." he said with a shrug.

 

When he had been thrown to the mat again for the fiftieth time or so in just two hours, Cyber saw that many of the young priestesses were laughing behind their hands, even Soraya had to suppress a smile. Then he got up again.

"Seems I am worse than I thought." he said with a slight smile.

"On the contrary, you are learning fast." Miyuki said, walking around him with her hands up. She seemed to be the only one serious about it. Quickly Cyber used a foot sweep but with the utmost precision Miyuki caught his foot with her own, stepped on it and made a pushing kick to his chest, causing him to fall once again.

Cyber started to wonder what kind of temple this was.

"The temple of Wajo is a place where anybody can enhance his or her own physical and psychic powers." Miyuki explained when Cyber asked her.

"It looks like a regular monastery to me." Cyber said.

"True enough, but what religious order do you know which payed so much attention to improving the physical well-being of a person?"

Cyber was about to mention the Blue Temple but changed his mind.

"You are right, Miyuki. But why are there only temples for women?"

"Oh no, you've got that all wrong. There are male monas­teries as well. But you happened to enter the female monastery of Wajo."

"Then who or what is this Wajo? It's no god I ever heard of."

"Wajo is no god. He is a man, who centuries ago found the true path to the Gateless Barrier..." she told as Cyber lis­tened, intrigued.

"Mumonham, the Gateless Barrier is the one way to feel nothing, to be one with the universe... " Then she looked at Cyber. He was listening closely, looking concentrated. "...but I'm drifting off. Do not worry, Cyber, all will be told to you in time. But for now, we must practise."

Cyber sighed and stood up.

 

That night, Soraya lay in her own bed, looking at the poorly plastered ceiling. She was thinking about Cyber. How much had he changed!

He used to be such a happy-go-lucky kind of youth, now he was so moody he had almost managed to depress Soraya. She had asked him what was on his mind but all she could get out of him was that he'd had many ill experiences over the years that he hadn't seen her.

Sure, Soraya had heard about the time in the war shortly after she left, the battles against the undead, the blasts of dragon magic by Black Akira, the fights with the Blue Temple and even the death of his father, which made Elriq the new king of Catilae.The stories he had told his friends about not wanting the throne and giving up his rights to it voluntarily were not true. A long and tenuous discussion had followed the death of the old king in which Cyber found out that he was no legal son of King Hektor, and that thus he had no rights to the throne at all; he wasn't even in his will.

Soraya wished she had been there to set things straight. At any rate, it had been Soraya who had raised the child Cyber, who had educated him in both the art of music and warfare. Beside her, only Queen Darcelle had known the true origin of Cyber, and now she was no more,so Soraya had a secret to keep until it was the right time to tell him.

It was a secret too painful and hard to tell still.

Yes, Soraya had thoughts about the reason for his depres­sions. She thought about the curse that made his skin burn whenever a woman touched it, causing excruciating pain. Somehow his curse had a relation with the secret, she knew. She couldn't stand it anymore, she stood up, put on a simple pink tunic and a pair of leather slippers and walked outside through the corridors of the huge monastery as quiet as a thief. The darkness was so intense that nobody could have walked without some kind of illumination or the ability to see in the dark, something all elves are blessed with. Thus she found the door to Cyber's room without a problem and hesitated, standing in front of the door.Was it right to enter now? After all, it was late and Cyber had had a tiring day of practice. He would probably be asleep. But then again, Cyber didn't sleep much lately.

Against better judgment, she softly knocked. "Cyber, are you awake?"

She waited for a reply but heard just some faint noises instead. She decided that he was awake and entered.

Inside, light came from several torches, illuminating the whole room.

She saw Cyber's clothes on his bed, thrown there in a nonchalant way.

But Cyber himself was nowhere to be seen. Then she heard splashing noises in the adjacent room, apparently used as a bathroom.

Soraya smiled. The monastery had a central bathroom she had used herself, but it was logical to assume that Cyber, a male and a cursed one at that, had been given a bathroom for himself. Soraya imagined Cyber entering the central bathroom naked with all the priestesses bathing inside. She chuckled at the thought and wondered who would be more shocked: Cyber or the priestesses.

She straightened her face and entered the small bathroom. Cyber was lying in a wooden tub, his head leaned back, probably in thought.

The room was filled with the smell of lavender. The water itself was troubled white with refreshing herbs and soap.

Soraya leaned back against the wall, her arms behind her back and kept quiet. A minute passed before Cyber suddenly said: "Why are you standing there so quietly, Soraya?" without opening his eyes.

"How do you know it was me?"

"I heard a voice at the door and then I didn't hear anything anymore while I caught a scent. So it had to be you, I would have heard anyone else."

"Clever of you, recognising me by the lack of noise."

Cyber was now looking at her, his hands on the side of the tub.

"What are you doing here at this hour?" he asked patiently.

"I thought you needed someone to talk to." she answered.

"I have been talking too much of late." he replied smugly.

"Really?" Soraya said sarcastically while planting her hands firmly on her hips - a stance Cyber knew so well - and looking straight in his grey eyes, "That may be the case, but you haven't been talking too much to me."

"So what it comes down to is that you want to talk." Cyber said while rubbing his eyes with both hands. For a moment, Soraya had nothing to say.

That boy was so keen and smart for his age! She forgot that twenty-seven is an age of adulthood for humans. Cyber wasn't that young anymore, he was a full-grown man.

"Maybe I do want to talk." she said after a pause, looking at the only ornamentation of the room: a painting of a landscape.

"But if I start talking, maybe you'll want to talk as well." She put her gaze on him again.

"What is it, Soraya?" Cyber said while rubbing his arms with cleansing herbs. Her presence didn't seem to bother him at all, only displease him a little.

"How are your wounds, Cyber?"

"All healed. After two days I regained the ability to heal myself after I used all up to heal you back in the woods. Look, Soraya, you have something on your mind, something to say to me. Now please tell me what you want to tell me and then leave me to my rest. I've had a long, tiring day and I want to go to bed."

Soraya frowned and folded her arms.

"Look, Cyber, after being separated for so many years we have been back together again for a couple of months, and we still haven't had one good conversation."

"But... " Cyber tried against better knowledge.

"We've now been going around for a couple of months and all you have told me is how many people you've saved, how many brigands and rogues you have killed and brought to justice."

"But I... "

"I may be a warrior and I may have magic powers, but I am a woman, too. And I need more than a bloody story. Gods damn it! Why don't you tell me something about yourself, about other things than wars, killings and battles?"

"Soraya, I... "

"I know you used to be such a sweet, lovely boy who wanted to be a sculptor, a painter, even a bard." She looked from the floor straight to his eyes. "Cyber, what has become of you?"

"That's what I'm..."

"Oh sure, now you are going to give me that crap about it all being childish dreams and that reality outside is in total contrast with your inner fantasies and... " She noticed how Cyber was looking at her intensely. She flushed and looked down again.

"I guess I wanted to talk a bit to you after all, didn't I?" "It certainly looks that way." Cyber said seriously.

"And you are right, we certainly haven't talked for ages. But I haven't changed that much." Cyber tried to explain something but couldn't find the proper words. Finally he rose from the tub and covered his huge body with a towel while still dripping.

"Come, I have something to show you." he said, motioning her to follow him. They both stepped back into the sleeping quarters. Expectantly, Soraya saw Cyber go to the only closet in the room and saw him take out a fair-sized leather sack. He sat down on the bed and gestured her to come and sit next to him. Intrigued, the elf sat down and watched him open the sack and take some scrolls from it. He handed them to her and she rolled the first one open eagerly. Then came a small cry of astonishment. Great was her surprise when she saw a charcoal drawing of herself.

At first, she didn't know what to say. She opened the other scrolls and saw other drawings of her, in different stances, different kinds of pictures. It was simple, yet beautiful and very recognizable.

"I have been making these ever since we were separated, Soraya" Cyber said in a melancholic voice. She was still admiring the pictures.

"I have never forgotten my dreams, not have I ever forsaken them."

A tear rolled down Soraya's face.

Cyber stood up and walked once again. Now he produced a very old lute, its strings had been replaced dozens of times. Soraya was again surprised at the sight of the old instrument.

"You still have that old thing?" she asked, clutching the scrolls.

"Yes, and I still play it sometimes." He now stood in front of her, toying thoughtlessly with the strings "You see, I have never changed, nor will I, ever." Soraya put the scrolls gently on the bed and walked over to him.

"Don't you want to change, Cyber?" she asked while grabbing him arms tenderly, "And what about your curse?"

"Soraya, I am on a years long quest to get rid of this damned curse."

Cyber turned abruptly and heaved his fists in a blaze of helpless fury.

"Oh, that this too solid flesh would melt

Thaw and resolve itself into a dew

Or that the everlasting Ones had not fixed

Their canon 'gainst self-slaughter

Oh gods, gods!

How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable

Seem to me all the uses of this world!

Fie on't, ah, fie, 'tis an unweeded garden

That grows to seed

Thing rank and grow in nature

Possess it merle

That it should come to this..."

Soraya could do nothing but let Cyber vent his spleen by rambling in verse, quoting old bards. Seeing him like that hurt her. She drew her clenched fists to her breasts and held her tears. If there had ever been a being with a body and soul tortured, it was Cyber, and she was guilty.

Slowly she walked over to him when he stopped rambling, his fists balled at his side. He was still mumbling something unintelligible, more to himself than to Soraya or anyone else. Softly she put her hand on his shoulder.

"Cyber, I am cursed, too. Cursed by knowing it is I who cursed you, though it was an accident. It's a heavy burden to wear on my own conscience. I wish I..."

"Go!" Cyber suddenly turned away from her, his eyes blazing with an inner fire. "Leave my quarters, woman, ere I do something that would soil my reputation as a paladin."

Soraya stepped back, shocked as she was. She had never seen Cyber this way before.

"But Cyber, my beloved, I just..."

"Go, woman. I will not tolerate you any longer here!"Cyber yelled, pointing at the door. He was too embittered to reason. Saddened, Soraya lowered her head and went for the door. Just as she grabbed the handle, she heard Cyber's hoarse voice rambling again.

"Oh gods, woe me, to be the only man

To be cursed by the woman he loved

Yes indeed there is a fate worse than death

When death is something that cannot be achieved."

Soraya closed the door behind her and stood outside, lis­tening to Cyber inside. He was rambling still, but his bit­terness was reaching a crescendo for she heard the splintering of wood after dull thuds and the piercing clan­ging of metal against rock. Hearing him go like an enraged beast tore her heart apart. Then she heard the tapping of several feet approaching. Some priestesses must have heard Cyber's temper tantrum, too.

Quickly she entered a hall and went back to her room. When she closed the door behind her she leaned against it, as if to keep everything and everybody out. Then she closed her eyes, hugged herself, and cried. It was then that she knew why Cyber would not talk about himself.

Sooner or later the curse would come up and she was the last person who should be talking about the curse.

 

It took priestess Miyuki all of her might to calm down the crazed paladin, along with the help of three of the strongest priestesses. They tried not to hurt him but this was impossible to do, for he wore only a towel around his waist. Finally, the priestesses had him pinned on the bed, his arms and chest burned. The foul stench of charred flesh nauseated the women in the room. Cyber did not complain: he had succumbed to the rage and had fallen into unconsciousness. They left him lying on his bed, face-down, and Miyuki ordered one of the priestesses to go and bring the medicaster, another one was ordered to fetch water. Miyuki and the last priestess were left alone with the unconscious Cyber. They checked him and were relieved to see he was breathing regularly, though the burns were horrible to behold. The priestesses backed into a corner of the room, whispering nervously, afraid to wake him up.

"Sister Miyuki, what do you think has caused his rage? He seemed able to manage his curse."

"Nobody can manage a curse as horrible as his, sister Akane." Miyuki said after a pause. Both looked at the sleeping figure, still with his fists clenched as if he were still willing to fight.

"All he said was 'the curse, the curse, a plague on her and her kin'." priestess Akane said, "What do you think he meant by that?"

"I do not think anything, I know what he meant." Miyuki said, more to herself than to Akane. The latter was just about to ask what Miyuki knew when the other priestesses entered, along with the medicaster, an old woman with black hair, many buckets of water and a few volunteers.

Immediately gloves of fine silk were put on and everybody tried to help as much as she could.

 

As the day passed, Cyber's physical condition improved and when he regained consciousness, his mood changed from gruff to plain stoic.

He had regained his former emotional condition, too. When Miyuki asked what had maddened him, he avoided the issue. 

"I just had to blow off some steam, forgive me for my er­ratic behaviour."

Miyuki left his sleeping quarters and following her instruc­tions, everybody left him alone. Since Miyuki could not talk to Cyber, she decided to talk with the obvious source of his ill-being.

 

Soraya was walking around the monastery to take her mind off the man she loved. Absently she toyed with the ancient neck­lace around her elegant neck, a present from Cyber when he was a lad, young, happy and not yet cursed.

She hadn't walked in this part of the monastery before and saw it was much bigger than she had thought at first. She walked through some kind of garden where plants, trees and vegetables grew, despite the harsh climate of the Silver Season. As a being of the forests, she felt a natural at­traction to the gardens. She walked around looking at the various plants and flowers, inhaling the sweet scents deeply. Being amidst the plants she finally felt some solace, some relief from the deep sense of guilt she had felt ever since her talk with Cyber, the man she could not live with yet couldn't live without, either.

Soraya sighed deeply and smiled. She already felt better. Nothing mattered anymore. She knew Cyber would come around, too, someday.

"I see you like our gardens, Soraya." she heard a voice behind her say.

She did not bother to turn around but merely bowed to study on orchid.

"Aye, sister Miyuki, I do like them a lot; they remind me a lot of my homeland Greentown."

Miyuki came closer in a way that barely allowed Soraya to hear her steps.

"Tell me about Greentown, pray tell." she said smiling.

Soraya turned around to face Miyuki. Despite her smile she could not hide her weariness.

"What do you want to know about Greentown?"

"Everything you can tell me. To be honest, I have never heard of it, though I take it it is a part of Numavost."

"Thank the gods it isn't." Soraya's smile was genuine. She walked on and Miyuki followed her.

"Some miles from the coasts of the Western Realm lies an isle of unknown dimen­sions called Greentown, or Wahtlòhrien in elvish. It is solely inhabited by elves and other forest beings, the animals. Many elven cities are situated there, among them my hometown Brunmitthl.

"Greentown is governed by Lady Arwen Mithralla and her husband Thigveld. Their government is young, wise and just. To the rest of the world, the existence of Greentown is vaguely known, its location not."

Miyuki listened closely, trying to keep up with Soraya's swift pace.

"Why must Greentown then be a secret land?" she asked.

Soraya looked up again, then at Miyuki. She stopped walking and sat down on a bench. The priestess sat down next to her, obviously tired.

"Because, my dear Miyuki, Vascaria has become a corrupt world where humans, dwarves, orcs and other enemies of the elves are getting a stronger position every day. Where pureness of being is getting rare. Long ago our elder Spellweavers foresaw the downfall of Vascaria, the coming of the Crusades, of the Blue Temple and the rise of a yet unknown Empire of the Wheel, and advised the lord of that moment, Lord Natilaerc, to allow them to separate Greentown from the rest of Vascaria by means of magic." Soraya looked at Miyuki, almost guessing the unspoken question.

"Between Greentown and Vascaria lie the Barriers of Mist which make it impossible to find except for us native el­ves."

"And what about the Numavost elves then?"

"You mean King Klarenyrius Aken and his ilk?" Soraya grinned sarcastically.

"They are a sorry lot, traitors to elven nature. To live among the humans! A plague on their houses!"

Miyuki was about to ask why she was here then, with a human no less, while she hated Vascaria and its inhabitants that much. She decided to withdraw the question however and didn't know what to say.

"But tell me something about this monastery, Miyuki: I did not know it was a building this big."

"Very well, I shall talk now. This monastery is built by the honourable Wajo himself. It is oval-shaped and on one end it has a tower with rooms for living." As if attracted by it, Soraya looked up at the tower where her elvensight indeed showed her that somebody lived there.

"Who lives there, then, so far from the rest?"

"The tower is the habitat of the Matre Transcentral." Miyuki said, as if the elf had said something silly.

"When the honourable Wajo built the temple and the tower, some of his first followers were already there to stay. He told them that nobody was allowed to live in or even thread the tower until a woman would come for which the tower was reserved. She would be recog­nized by a huge amount of knowledge and an almost unlimited lifespan.

The honourable Wajo left this temple many centuries ago. Years passed and then came a woman who claimed she was the expected one.

She impressed everybody with her knowledge and her wit and nearly convinced everybody that she was indeed the expected one until one smart priestess said she had to prove she would live long. So she was given a guest room - the same one in which Cyber now resides - and she lived there for a full century, with no clear signs of aging though she was already old when she entered. Then everybody was convinced that she was indeed who she claimed to be and she was given the tower.

It was only then that she gave us her name: Matre Trans­central. All the time the priestesses had been calling her Expected One."

"Ever since she has guided our bodies and souls. Centuries have passed and she is still there, giving us wise lessons and good advise, teaching us how to face the gods when we have shed these bodies."

Now it was Soraya's turn to listen closely to Miyuki's words but did not take her eyes off the tower. It seemed incon­ceivable that the woman with the ultimate knowledge lived there. Then an idea dawned in the mind of the elfwoman.

"Miyuki, I think Cyber should meet her. She might be able to lift the curse or at least know how to lift it, with all her knowledge."

Miyuki saw the elf's slanted eyes glistening with delight but she turned away.

"Alas, Soraya, it is not up to us to let you or Cyber visit the Matre Transcentral. She knows you are here and she knows who you are, especially Cyber, who seems to be a famous hero in the west. But grieve not, friend, for soon will come the day that the Matre Transcentral will call for Cyber to talk to him for that is her wish."

"So we have to wait until she feels like talking to Cyber?" Soraya asked, barely covering her bitterness.

"In a manner of ways, yes." Miyuki intoned gravely. "Therefore I ask you to stay with us for a while, though Cyber's wounds are cured."

"You'll have to ask Cyber himself if he wants to stay here." Soraya said half-absently. She was still looking at the tower but could not catch a glimpse of the woman who seemed to be so important that she decided when to talk to the one she wanted to talk to.

"I already have asked him." Miyuki replied, "And he knows of the existence of the Matre Transcentral, too. He has decided to stay here as long as he wishes."

"Well, well." Soraya smiled, "You decided to talk to me after Cyber's decision."

"To tell you the truth, I've come to talk to you about something quite different." Miyuki said in a lower voice.

"And what might that be?"the elfwoman asked.

"Cyber's curse." the eastern priestess said. Soraya fell silent and looked at the tower again while Miyuki continued.

"I know it's not something to meddle with for me, but since Cyber is amidst these walls and we might have a solution of sorts for his curse... "

"You want me to tell you how he got his curse, don't you?" Soraya asked in an even tone.

"Why yes, Soraya. I just... "

"You're right, it's nothing to meddle with."

"Though still the curse has not intensified, it is battering his mind, nearly driving him crazy. Soraya, we might have a way to cure him of his curse, probably with the help of the Matre Transcentral; but in order to do that I need to know the origins of this curse, else he maddens like yester­night."

"Yes, I have heard him, too." Soraya whispered.

"He was cursing a woman, Soraya, and I have reason to believe it was you he was cursing. Might it be you who cursed him?"

Soraya stood up in a rush. Miyuki was not only astute, but straight to the heart of the matter, too. She defied her with a fierce glance, prepared to say or do anything, but the priestess sat still on the bench, calmly waiting for a reply. Then Soraya dropped her defense.

"You are right, it was me who cursed Cyber. But it was an accident, mind you." she said, pointing a finger at Miyuki who merely nodded, understanding.

"Please, tell me how it happened." she said patiently.

"I will tell you everything if you promise not to tell anyone." Soraya said in a demanding voice.

"It will be between us." Miyuki said calmly.

"All right then." Soraya sighed and started pacing.

        Chapter Two

 

Cyber was sleeping in his bed.

The past days had been tiring and after his sudden outburst of rage he felt he needed a lot of rest. He was sleeping, but everything but relaxing.

He was having a nightmare again.

Nightmares have the tendency to start like a normal dream and so did this one, though this one would become far too realistic and intense, even by its own standards.

The paladin was in Pezar, hometown of his long-time friend Bulldozer and his family. They were all in an inn that looked vaguely familiar but still totally strange. Cyber was sitting in a cornerbooth, apart from his friends. Though a sense of nauseating déjà-vu was overwhelming him, he was smiling, because it was not common that he could spend a full night with his friends in peace.

He was sitting, leaning against the stone wall, drinking some beer and watching the crowd.Adler the half-elven harper and Ingrid the dwarven bard were playing some light dancing tunes and the crowd was cheering and dancing. With a smile he saw Soraya dance with one of Bulldozer's massively built brothers, Hawkeye, who could not match the grace of the elf by far but nobody seemed to mind. He whispered flat­tering nothings into her ear that made her giggle wholehear­tedly.

Drinking more beer he kept observing the rest of his friends. Strange enough, nobody seemed to mind that the paladin was sitting all alone. Nobody ever gave even a glance his way. But Cyber didn't mind, he felt totally relaxed if it wasn't for that strange green light that seemed to be everywhere and come from nowhere.

At that point the nightmare started.

Cyber's glance ended at Inge, Bulldozer's lifemate. A cold stab went through Cyber. Seeing the blonde elf reminded him that she and Bulldozer loved each other. Somehow this mad­dened Cyber, though from the outside he looked as calm as ever. He decided to rise and walk over to the party and now they saw him and greeted him.

"Hey Cyber, come and have a dance will ya?" a drunk Imm yelled, swinging a mug of ale. Cyber pressed his lips in such a way that it almost wasn't a smile. Then he pushed Kiki aside and stepped in front of Inge. He realized he was doing things he would never have done, being a paladin.

He was sweating heavily and clutching his tankard so hard that the wood creaked.

"Hello, Cyber." Inge said cheerfully with the sweetest of smiled upon her face, "You like the feast?"

She was moving her hips in a way that melted Cyber's heart.

"Yes, I like the feast,and some people that partake in it, too." Cyber heard himself say. He was looking straight into those blue slanted eyes in which many men had lost themsel­ves.

"That so?" she asked in a girlish, innocent manner, "And who might that be, pray tell?"

She moved closer and Cyber could feel her hot breath in his face.

"You, for instance." and Cyber closed his eyes mental­ly when he saw himself grab her and kiss her passionately. He couldn't let go of her and felt ashamed, knowing everybody looked. Strangely enough, Inge didn't resist, either. On the contrary, she even hugged him and wrapped one leg around his. This went on for a full minute when hell broke loose.

Somebody grabbed Cyber by his right shoulder and rudely interrupted the shameful scene. Cyber was turned around, glad that he was separated from Inge, and looked straight in the stern eyes of Bulldozer.

"What in the Abyss do you think you're doing, Cyber?" Bulldozer said with the stern voice all knew too well.

"Nothing special, Bulldozer, your lifemate and I just get to know each other some better."

Cyber couldn't believe what he was actually saying.

Bulldozer was controlling himself with all of his might.

"Isn't that true, Inge?" Cyber asked, defiant. But he was shocked to see her crying, her head on Tormentor's shoulder. She looked up, her face wet with tears, making it look a little strange.

"It's a lie, Bulldozer, my love. He forced me, pressing his lips against mine. I tried to resist but... "

"Now that is a sneaking lie!" Cyber yelled frantically, "I could feel your tongue so deep I almost choked."

Everybody gasped at that remark. Then Cyber noticed Inge's face was a little strange, different. Her eyes weren't that slanted anymore and the face was much younger. A face he had seen before, but where and when?

Cyber's thoughts were interrupted by Bulldozer's booming voice.

"Listen Cyber, normally I'd kill the man who did this to my lifemate. But you're acting a little strange and you're my friend after all, so I'll only beat the living daylights out of you."

Following these words he delivered a fast uppercut that sent Cyber flying. The impact sent him crashing on some tables, splintering them.

Bulldozer didn't wait for Cyber to recover but walked towards him.

Cyber stroked his hurt chin. It seemed to hurt too much.

When he looked up, he saw Bulldozer's figure towering over him.

"Did that hurt? Good. I'll teach you to manhandle my woman." Bulldozer said, sure of his situation.

"Gods damn it, Bulldozer, I'm not going to sit idle while you render me unconscious. If you want to fight, I'm your man." he screamed, his fists in a defending position. This was wrong, totally wrong, he realised.

This isn't supposed to be.

"This is the only time I'll do requests." Bulldozer smiled and gave a hard right. Cyber dodged and encountered with a huge jab, right on the warrior's nose, but when he thought he had downed his friend, he saw to his utter amazement that Bulldozer was still standing, unscathed.

"Impossible." Cyber said, looking at Bulldozer's face which was still fully intact, "That punch was enough to down a mule."

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, I am not a mule." Bulldozer said nonchalantly and delivered a fast front kick to Cyber's chest, sending him flying again, knocking the wind out of him. When Bulldozer followed up, cheered on by the crowd, Cyber felt he had regained control over his body and mind again. He held up his palms to Bulldozer while he rose, staggering.

"Look Bulldozer, I'm sorry, I wasn't myself when... "

"You won't be yourself anymore when I'm finished with you!" Bulldozer bellowed, not willing to listen.

Something was wrong, very wrong. The pain was too intense, Cyber thought.

One eye was closed, dripping with blood. With his other eye, he saw Bulldozer approach. He stood up sluggishly and threw a punch. Bulldozer saw it coming and grabbed the wrist, then followed up with a huge throw over his shoulder. Cyber was slammed down and this time Bulldozer pinned his hands with his heavy boots and sat on his stomach.

"So, mister high and mighty, how does it feel to be on the ground?" Bulldozer said in a sarcastic voice. With his free hands he started beating up Cyber's already battered face.

If there was one thing Cyber hated, it was being pinned. That was when Cyber lost all control and felt a berzerker rage come up. Automatically he pulled his legs up to under Bulldozer's armpit and grabbed the boots. With a flashing manoeuvre he reserved the situation and started beating up Bulldozer with a rain of fists of his own.

Then he saw it: the face. Inge's strange face on Bulldo­zer's.

"Remember me, Cyber?" the face said to the now frightened paladin.

With a flick of his wrist he freed himself and dusted off his scale mail. "Tsk, tsk. Such a forgetful lad." the voice, suddenly childish, said.

"Don't you remember? I killed you in your last nightmare."

At that moment it dawned on Cyber. A primal fear rose in him and made him scream. Calmly the young man walked to him and started squeezing his throat. "Next time you'll remember that Raika killed you." were the last he heard before he woke up screaming.

 

"It happened some ten years ago." Soraya said to Miyuki, "It was just before the Second Crusade. During these days Cyber was nurturing deep feelings for me and strangely enough, I returned those.

"We were celebrating Midsummer Festival in Numavost and were sitting with more elves around the huge bonfire, chanting and dancing. In those days,we used to drink a lot during feasts, and so it came that Cyber and I were a trifle... happy because of the drinking.

"I remember vaguely that Cyber whispered something in my ear about getting more intimate, then he toyed with his tongue in my ear. I started giggling but ended in hysterical laughter of nymphomaniacal intensity."

Miyuki observed that Soraya flushed all of a sudden while talking.

"Interesting choice of words, Soraya." she just said.

Soraya looked at her briefly but saw no trace of irony across the priestess's face. "We abandoned the bonfire and entered our hut quietly. Once we had some privacy, Cyber quickly grabbed me and started kissing. While I deeply en­joyed his kisses I thought of what some other elves had told me. These were corrupt Numavost elfwomen who preferred humans over their own race because, as they said a human loves more briefly but all the more intensely. I never believed them until I had Cyber.

"To my surprise he grabbed me wildly. Softly I removed his hands, turned around and took off my tunic. He did the same and we were both surprised to see we wore nothing underneath it. He took off his boots and before I could take off mine he grabbed me and carried me to our bed, which was nothing but a few furry hides on a wooden rack. There we started kissing and touching each other passionately."

She saw Miyuki flush.

"Tell me, Miyuki, have you ever made love to a man?"

"I'm not sorry to tell you no. Like all of us here in the temple, I am a virgin."

"Somehow this doesn't surprise me. Is that why all the younger priestesses look that weird and Cyber and giggle all the way when they see his body?"

"Aye, they are still young. When they grow older, they will see wisdom will come to them and the lust of the body will pass by. But please, save my ears the sexual details and tell me about the origin of the curse."

"You are right, Miyuki. Well, the morning after we were still sweating and gasping for breath. Finally Cyber rolled over, exhausted.

"Soraya, I love you so deep. I have never loved one as much as I love you and I wish I could love only you forever."

"That can be... arranged." I managed to whisper. While Cyber was still dazed by the drink and tired as well, I was gay and in a playful mood.

"I happen to know a spell that will bind us."

I was so delighted that I didn't know what I was doing at the moment. I spooned some blood and semen from my... ah, body and smeared it on his forehead in a pattern of what were no more than some silly lines to me.

"By the powers invested in me, I hereby command you to love nobody else but me." I yelled half-seriously. Then I drew the same lines on my left wrist. We both laughed but sudden­ly Cyber started screa­ming and smoke came from his forehead.

He jumped up and ran outside, jumped in the river Mahnl, which ran nearby.

People saw him jump in but not come out and so they jumped after him to save him from drowning. Meanwhile, I had reached the bank and dipped my wrist in the water because it was also smoking. Then I saw how an elflord and elflady dragged Cyber from the water. He was coughing up a lot of water but he still lived.

Then we noticed how his skin was burning on the side the woman held him. She quickly let loose of him and fetched some more water.

Two men took him to the shaman, an ancient elflord who had celebrated the festival in soberness. I waited in an ad­jacent room, clinging to my tunic, which I had put on quick­ly after Cyber had run away.

The sweat had not dried yet when the shaman came. He had a worried look on his face.

"How is he, Lord Leythoval?" I asked, worried.

"He will be fine. The burns are healed and won't leave scars."

"Thank the benevolent gods." I sighed in relief.

"But what worries me the most is the scar-like sign on his forehead. You happen to know hoe he got that one?"

I told him I had drawn it on his forehead. Then he asked for details, which I, of course, was not very eager to give.

"You great foolish girl!" the shaman started yelling, heaving his arms in the air as to beg the gods for mercy.

"Do you know what you have done? You've cursed the human!"

"I did what?" I couldn't believe what he was saying.

"Crazy youthling! You have cast the worst kind of curse on this poor lad: a personalized curse! Now there is no way to cure him lest one of you dies."

At first I did not know what he was talking about, but later I found some information of value.

"First of all, I used body fluids from both of us. They were still fresh so they had extreme magical value. Secondly, I performed the curse precisely during Midsummer, the moment when magical powers are the very strongest on Vascaria. The Summer Solstice, to be exact. Thirdly, the drawings I had made weren't that random at all." Soraya removed her silver bracelet to reveal the curse on her left wrist. The sign of united man and woman was clearly determinable.

"The arabesques that emblazon it appeared afterwards." she added.

Miyuki studied the wrist.

"These are not simple and inoffen­sive lines. How did it come up to you to draw these?"

"I wish I knew. They just kind off came off my finger when I drew them."

Miyuki looked up at Soraya. "Don't you have any negative effects of the curse?"

"No; only when Cyber touches a woman his skin burns and my wrist grows hot and glows a bit. Then I have an idea of where he is and who he might be touching."

"Soraya, this curse is far too complicated and secret to just throw on Cyber. You must have known something... "

"As the gods be my witnesses, I swear to you I didn't know anything about a curse like this, I didn't even know it existed!" she interrupted Miyuki.

"Nor was it my intention to put something this awful on Cyber!"

"So you claim it was just bizarre coincidence?"

"I claim nothing, only that I'm innocent."

For a long while they looked at each other. Finally Miyuki looked up at the sky.

"It's getting late, we'd better get inside and have dinner."

"Aye, you're right." Soraya said and followed the priestess.

For a final time Soraya looked at the tower and she saw a bright rectangle on the peak.

She could swear she saw somebody standing there behind the curtains.

 

Days went by and it was almost Midwinter. Cyber picked up his training again and his skills improved almost daily. Training with him were two of Miyuki's pupils who attacked him mercilessly with gloved hands and covered feet. He understood that Miyuki had picked these two because they were two of the few priestesses who felt nothing for the paladin. Their short hair and rough manners only proved this.

Cyber was trying hard to keep dodging the two attacking woman. Miyuki, sitting quietly in a corner beside Soraya, smiled.

Her lessons were paying off. Even Soraya with her trained eyes could see nothing but a blur of fists, feet and bodies but the priestess could see every move they made.

Cyber's face was locked in a grin of concentration. The woman looked concentrated as well but one could see they were also getting mad for not being able to get him.

Suddenly the women crashed into each other: Cyber had rolled out of the way of a double charge just in time. But suddenly one of them, a brown-haired Westerner, grabbed his robes and threw him backward.

Shortly afterwards, Cyber bowed to his sparring part­ners, who returned the gesture, bowed to Miyuki and left the hall.

"You are getting better, Cyber. But remember: you are not the best. Things like that could kill you outside."

"I know, I know." Cyber mumbled.

"But if I'd had a sword in my hands it would have been them who would be killed instead."

"You are still relying on your sword too much, Cyber, while your body can be your most powerful weapon of all."

"I still can't see how I could split a man in two with my hands." Cyber protested, rubbing his neck.

"Which is why you won't be a perfect fighter for a long time. If you forget about your silly sword and things like that, you'll believe you can do everything with your hands." "I'll try."

"Which is exactly what I expect of you." she said and left the hall. Cyber gave her an estranged look.

"What do you mean by that?"

 

Half an hour later, Cyber was dodging hard iron balls the size of an egg, throw by Miyuki and another priestess, Sayaka.

The balls Cyber could not dodge, he brushed aside. Though he wore heavy gauntlets, he winced every time he had to so.

Unfortunately, not all the balls came at his hands: many hit his legs, shoulder and body with enormous speed. Despite the pain, he didn't even blink until he got a ball straight in his crotch. He doubled over and gasped for breath.

"What is the matter, Cyber?" Miyuki inquired in a severe voice.

"One of your fragging balls hit mine." he managed to answer, barely audible because of the lack of breath.

Miyuki sighed and looked at something at the far end of the hall.

"Have you forgotten your lessons that soon? You only feel pain because you want to feel it."

"That's easy for you to say, you don't have balls at all."

"Cyber, your remarks are both ill-timed and not appreciated. Now get up and into position for we have still many balls to throw."

To underline that statement Sayaka was juggling with some balls in a speed a professional juggler at the Pezar marketplace couldn't beat.

"Oh boy." was all Cyber could say.

 

Hours later, Cyber's lessons had finally finished. He saluted both priestesses and retreated to his quarters for a well-deserved bath.

When he entered, he found Soraya sitting on his bed.

"Hello Cyber." she whispered, almost hopefully. Cyber froze for a second but then closed the door behind him. Carelessly he stripped off his clothes and discovered the bath tub was already filled with hot water.

"I saw you while I was training." he said hoarsely.

"Aye, I wanted to see if you were making progress."

"Certainly."

Cyber grabbed a towel.

"I am going to take a bath now. You can stay here if you want but do not disturb me once I am inside the tub."

Soraya kept quiet and Cyber went into the small bathroom and slid into the tub. The water, though heavily scented with pharmaceutic potions, increased his pain even more but he let out a low moan and relaxed. It had been a long time since he had the peace to meditate well, but that was before he met Soraya again.

Soraya.

Everything that had happened the past few days came back in his memory with double intensity. Cyber felt a sharp pain going through his heart.

He had caused grief to the only woman in Vascaria that loved him and was still alive to tell. He rubbed his eyes in dis­dain, sighed twice and opened his eyes again.

"Soraya?" He could not hear her but he was positively con­vinced that she was still there.

"Yes, Cyber?"

"I want to make apologies for my behaviour the other day. I... I shouldn't have acted like that, you didn't deserve it."

He dropped his head in his hands, said nothing for a while, then looked up again. "I wish I could blame my curse for everything but that would not be fair. Therefore I ask you to forgive me."

Soraya kept quiet but smiled.Slowly she approached him, kneeled by him and put her hand on his cheek.

"You are forgiven, dear Cyber. As the gods are my witnes­ses."

Abruptly, she held Cyber's jaw, pinching him with her long fingernails

"But don't you ever do that again!" she shouted. Cyber shook his head sheepishly, then her face changed from hard to smiling.

"Oh, my dear Cyber, why don't we just forget all this and start over again?" she asked and hugged him tightly. Cyber was surprised by Soraya's strange shifts of behaviour but he could surely live with it.

After all, how long had it been since he had last been hugged?

 

In the still of the night, while everybody was asleep in the Temple, Cyber and Soraya were lying in the bed, looking at the reflections of the big mirror next to it. Cyber was looking at Soraya's body, remembering the years without her. Then he found her looking at him.

"Soon I will be granted an interview with the woman that calls herself the Matre Transcentral." Cyber told.

"So you are going to talk to that mysterious woman after all?"

"Why not? I have no choice, since she has the means to lift my curse."

Slowly Soraya's finger traced the lines on his forehead.

"To tell you the truth, Cyber, that woman gives me the creeps. The tower in which she resides give me eerie feelings alone. Must you go to her? I mean, there must be some other, more friendly being who can help you."

"That may be the case, but nobody is as near as she is."

Suddenly Soraya rose.

"I see. So now you don't listen to the advice of somebody who has given you this all your life?"

She put on her tunic and sandals.

"Well then dream about your would-be saviour while I go to sleep. Alone!" she yelled and slammed the door behind her. To say Cyber was surprised by her sudden change of attitude would be an understatement. He was totally confused and started thinking about the reasons for this. He decided to let it rest, he was tired and there would be another day of training by dawn.

 

Chapter Three

 

Outside it was snowing. It was noon but nobody in the temple would be able to confirm that. In the biggest hall of training Cyber was doing his final test against the three best fighters: a short-haired eastern woman with the deceiving name Petal, a blond elf called Sitra and Miyuki herself.

They had been going at it for three hours and neither showed any sign of fatigue. So far he had been doing just fine in trying to avoid being touched. In the end he could even dodge all he punches and kicks Miyuki could throw at him. Petal and Sitra noticed that he wasn't rolling, sliding

or jumping anymore, so they assumed he was getting tired. They were glad because they were getting tired as well. But Miyuki saw the truth: Cyber had discovered the Path, the most perfect way to dodge by instinctively computing where the opponent will be. Miyuki was full of joy: Cyber had become her best student. She could not suppress a smile.

Cyber only saw the three women: the rest of the hall was merely a blur, a complicated row of colours.

He knew he could go on for three more hours but as this was a boring option he decided to put an end to it. As Petal approached and tried to kick him, he quickly grabbed her covered ankle and as Sitra charged at him from the other side she caught Petal right in her stomach and both women fell down.

"I am really proud of you, Cyber." Miyuki said smiling.

"I have never had a quicker learning student like you."

"I figure I have to take you down as well to finish this lesson."

"You can try. But be warned, nobody has ever succeeded in taking me down." Miyuki said in a warning voice, her eyes glistening, "Nobody."

Then, unsuspectedly, Cyber walked casually to her as if he were taking a mid-evening stroll. Soraya stood up, it was the first time that she could actually see something for even for her elven eyes could not make out anything of the blur of fighters in white robes.

In a most tranquil way he slowly raised his right fist in front of the priestess, who took a defensive stance, lifting her own right fist like the paladin's. The next moment the priestess lay on the mat.

Cyber lowered his left fist, then his right fist.

He had hit her so fast that his left fist showed no burn. Soraya stood in awe at her beloved's feat. He had knocked Miyuki down, his own teacher.

Rubbing her chin, Miyuki slowly rose and faced him. The other two sparring partners had enough power to rise, too. They held their breath, waiting for Miyuki's reaction. The student and his teacher were facing each other, neither was moving. Finally they both bowed, a sign of mutual respect.

"This has been your last lesson, Cyber. I have nothing more to teach you."

"I thank you deeply for all your valuable lessons, honourable Miyuki. You have changed my life forever."

"I hope you will take my lessons at heart, for you know much now but it is still a long road to Mumonham."

Cyber was about to ask what Mumonham was but decided against it.

"The rest of the day you may take off to rest, Cyber. You earned it."

Joyfully smiling, Soraya walked over to them, hugged Cyber and squeezed his cheeks. The paladin smiled, now he had become a competent paladin.

 

It was dusk. With mixed emotions priestess Miyuki went up the stairs of the tower. Then she came to the antechamber, where normally one or two priestesses stood at the great door, waiting to obey the commands from the Matre Transcentral. Now they were gone, probably dismissed by Matre.

Miyuki was about to knock of the giant door of oak when a voice from inside, old as time itself, rasped.

"You may enter, Miyuki."

Confused by the Matre's knowledge, Miyuki pushed and the doors opened.

She had been there many times, too many to count. Yet every time she entered the great room, illuminated by many candles, all broad and white, and saw the woman levitate four feet above the ground, she felt as if she entered some higher plane of existence. Whether it was because of the presence of the Matre Transcentral or the eternal scent of incense, she could not tell.

"You know you don't need to knock on the door, child. Why not just enter? You know you will never come unexpected." 

"I know, Matre. It's just the force of habit." Miyuki mut­tered.

It were the eyes that inspired awe, she decided.

"Heh heh. Who ever said good habits die quickly?" the Matre laughed. Then she looked down.

"But let us get straight to the point, my dear. Your coming here at this hour announces the fulfilment of the paladin's lessons, right?"

"Aye, Matre." Miyuki said, bowing automatically, "This afternoon his last lesson was finished."

"Things are going as predicted. Did he beat you, too?"

Miyuki inclined her head forwards, as if admitting failure.

"He did."

"Please, tell me."

Miyuki's face turned red. "Well, he lifted his right fist, and I did so, too in defence. Then he hit me with his left fist, it went so fast not even I could see it coming."

The Matre Transcentral started to laugh. It sounded as if she were gasping for air, though.

"Don't worry, my dear, I am not laughing at you. It is the fact that the man has used a fighting technique that has not been used for centuries."

Miyuki looked estranged hearing this.

"This man does indeed have the potential to learn the Higher Arts. A way of fighting that is reserved for a very few people indeed and that dates back to the time of the giants and centaurs."

"I am confused, Matre. What does that mean?"

"It means you can send him, my child, to have a chat with me."

"Your choice of words puzzles me, Matre."

"Never mind, little one. Just tell the paladin that he is expected here at dawn the coming day." She turned around again, facing the window.

This was the silent sign that Miyuki was dismissed. She uttered a polite good bye, left the room and closed the door behind her.

The promised day would come soon, she knew. The circle was about to be completed. Though she was very excited, she showed no sign of it.

Outside the sun disappeared behind the white peaks.

 

It was late at night when Soraya was studying the samples of various plants she had plucked from the garden when suddenly Cyber burst into the room with a happy smile on his face.

"Soraya! I just talked to Miyuki, she says the Matre Transcentral wishes to have a talk with me tomorrow at dawn! Finally, after all these weeks I will have a chance to talk to the high priestess herself. Finally I will... "

Cyber's words faded away into silence when he saw the elf's face.

"What is it, Soraya? Are you not happy for me? After all these years I will have this curse removed!"

Inadvertently, Soraya looked at the sigils on his forehead, then saw that the arabesques that ringed the sign had grown, reaching Cyber's eyelids, nose and temples.

"Cyber! The glyphs!"

"Aye, I know. These lines and twists are becoming too appalling to look at. I'm beginning to look like the nomadic hunters of the south. All the more reason to find a solution to this curse."

"I wish I could share your enthusiasm, beloved." Soraya said, absently touching the bracelet under which her own curse was positioned.

"Well, don't get overexcited." Cyber said sarcastically.

"But know this, I'm the one who's cursed, not you, and though Miyuki's training has heightened my immunity, I still get burned and I still am in a world of pain whenever my naked skin touches a woman's, other than yours."

Soraya didn't want to hear Cyber talk about this sensitive subject; it had got them in a fight before. Instead she looked at him, giving the impression she was listening, holding a small branch in her right hand, rolling it between her fingers. Contrary to what Cyber had said earlier she found the expanded tattoo on his face rather attractive. His long hair had grown even longer, would reach the back of his legs but was woven into a complicated ponytail. All in all, he had never looked better.

Nevertheless she decided not to tell him. He would only think she was trying to persuade him not to visit that Matre.

"All I ask of you is that you come with me tomorrow morning to the Matre Transcentral." he said pleading. Those words shocked her a bit. The branch fell out of her hand, then she regained her calm.

"I will follow you to the Matre, but under one condition." She looked him in the eyes.

"Which is?" he said, genuinely ignorant of her innuendoes, arms crossed. One thing he had always been was as cold as a fish.

"Well," she walked slowly towards him, putting one hand on his neck softly, "I am a lonely woman and it has been rather long since I have felt you."

Suggestively she swung her legs around his hips.

Cyber grabbed her but suddenly loud trumpets sounded.

"Two riders have arrived! What excitement! More visitors!" somebody yelled outside. People were running everywhere.

Cyber sighed and let his head fall on Soraya's shoulder.When he lifted his head, his face was a mask of calm again.

"Let's see who has arrived to stir up this peaceful com­munity." he said and walked off. Soraya followed him but once in the corridor she realized her robes were open, revealing the biggest part of her body.

She turned red and went into the room again to retrieve her sash.

 

Chapter Four

 

Everybody stood in the great plaza behind the gates. The guards had just closed the gigantic doors. Two humans on horses stood amidst the semicircle of priestesses, Cyber and Soraya in the middle. They wore plenty of furred and ar­moured clothing,covering them completely. Then they stepped down and Miyuki approached them.

"Greetings, honourable strangers. Who may you be and what are your intentions, I ask you." she said with open arms.

One of them took off his dark helmet. It was a half-elf, his hair white as snow, his ears ornamented with rings on which a chunk of jade hung.

"Greetings, priestesses. I am Derek Proudhart. My companion and I are warriors who wish to stay here to await the coming winter blizzards."

Though his voice was soft and velvety, still everybody could hear him.

His fluidness of speaking somehow made Cyber nauseous.

"We have heard of the existence of this splendid temple and decided to come here, for your reputation of accepting travellers is known throughout Vascaria. We are willing to pay for our expenses if that is your wish."

"That will not be necessary, Derek. You are welcome." answered Miyuki in royal politeness, "And who may your com­panion be?"

But the other figure had already dismounted and was walking straight to Cyber, who was standing as calm and as casually as possible.

Soraya, behind him, whispered: "Why is he looking at you that way, my love? Do you know him? Does he know you?"

From the inside of the helm came a soft snort. Everybody, including Miyuki and Derek, looked at the twosome tensely. Then the stranger took off the helmet and a wave of red came out of it.

"It's a woman." some priestess whispered. It was indeed a woman, with long red curly hair.

She straightened herself to five and a half feet tall, looked at Cyber, her helm under her armpit, and smiled.

"Hello Cyber." she said in a warm voice, "Long time no see.I see you are looking better than ever."

Soraya gasped, not believing what she had just heard. Who was this woman to talk to Cyber like that? Derek just stood there, but he knew that trouble would come soon. Cyber was the calmest of them all, still relaxed.

"Hello Sarah. A long time indeed."

 

It was still night when Cyber was woken up by a priestess, telling him that Miyuki was waiting for him in the hall. He stood up, rubbed his eyes and splashed some water into his face. Unwillingly he remembered the events of a few hours earlier while dressing up.

It had been years since he had seen Red Sarah, the most notorious swordfighter of the realms of Vascaria. The woman he had been in love with. Which proved his taste in women. Sarah was a beautiful woman, but beautiful like a volcanic eruption or a tornado.

She was beautiful to behold from afar, not from up close, and a great number of men had died by her sword or at the hands of another man fighting for her.

Sarah had loved her share of men, one of whom was Cyber.

"You mean you and that slime have been an item?" Soraya had yelled enraged.

Everybody else was silent.

"Yeah." Sarah had answered with a crooked grin. "It's as if he has never met a real woman, besides me. I can see it in his eyes."

Wisely, he had kept quiet.

"Say," Sarah looked at the elf with feigned ignorance, "is that elven chick your new squeeze? Tsk, your taste has really gone to the dogs."

"I'll rip your heart out!" Soraya screamed. The two women fought ferociously, kicking, punching, scratching, biting and pulling hair.

When they were about to draw steel, Miyuki and Derek separated them.

By that time, Cyber had closed his eyes in despair. Derek apologized for his companion's behaviour and followed Miyuki to their appointed rooms.

Other priestesses tended to their horses. When they were gone Soraya, her clothes ripped up and her hair a mess, faced the ever so silent Cyber.

"I cannot believe I have just fought for you, Cyber Uiostac. You don't deserve this, ever!" She slapped him hard in the face and walked off.

"You can forget me coming with you tomorrow!" she said before entering the temple. Helplessly he watched as she walked away.

 

He was going down the stairs and entered the central hall where Miyuki was waiting for him. Naturally, Soraya was not there. Cyber sighed, straightened his back and followed Miyuki and another priestess.

The three reached the foot of the enormous tower. Miyuki opened a small ebony door and went up the stairs. The darkhaired pries­tess followed, then Cyber walked up as well. The stairs spiralled up in a discouraging way, but Cyber did not look up, he simply walked on, his gaze fixed on the feet of the priestesses in front of him.

It looked like an eternity but finally the stairs came to an end.

The priestess waited outside, Miyuki opened the great door and shut it directly behind her.

They were in a deceivingly great room, illuminated by thousands of white candles. Cyber snorted when he smelled the strong scent of incense.

Already he felt much calmer.

Then he saw her.

It was an old woman, incredibly old. Her hair was silvery grey, her skin wrinkled and yellow. She wore a dark green tunic, which turned out to be made of small, glittering scales.

She was levitating some four feet above the ground.

"Greetings, paladin prince." she finally spoke with a voice like tearing parchment, "I am honoured to finally meet you in per­son. Great is my joy.".

She lowered herself and put her feet on the ground. Leaning heavily on a wooden cane, she walked to him and studied him closely.

Another woman sizing me up, Cyber thought nervously.

"You may go now, Miyuki." the woman said. For a moment, the priestess hesitated but then she left quietly.

"You are the Matre Transcentral." Cyber said, looking down at the old woman.

Something in her features looked familiar but he could not place it.

"And so you are Cyber Uiostac, exiled prince of Catilae." she replied, both hands on the cane and her left eye closed partly.

"How do you know that?" he asked, utterly surprised.

"Patience, young man, patience. All will be told in due time. But let us seat ourselves over there to watch the sun rise." the woman said and pointed at some pillows on the balcony. They did so and watched as the sun rose behind the mighty snow-covered mountains. Then Cyber looked tensed at the old woman.

Slowly she turned her head towards him. Early rays of sun­shine entered the room and lightened her face, making it look even older and wiser.

"You have come here with Soraya, an elf of Greentown. You are by now a famous paladin and among your friends are included Sir Adam, knight of Drachlich, the recently arrived Red Sarah, Imm the thief and Bulldozer Rockscale of Pezar." "Yes, at some extent they are my friends." Cyber answered softly.

"Never doubt your friendship, Cyber, it may save your life... once."

Cyber did not reply to that one. Instead he changed the subject.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to know how you know so much about me."

"Aye, a quite reasonable question, I shall answer it that reasonable as well." Matre said, lifting a finger.

"In the history of Vascaria there have been many prophets predict the future. Many of those prophets, as it turned out, were char­latans. But a few were the best that the world has known. Their names say nothing to you, but their prophecies remain, written down in clay tablets, hewn in rock, some collected in books.

"I happen to have all those materials upon which they immor­talized their words, for many wrote them in code or using some obscure language. The best of them, a man called Ostrahem, even used a combination of mysterious allusions and a self-designed language. All of them however - after many long centuries of translating - had one thing in com­mon: they all told about you."

Cyber was shocked to hear this and made no effort to hide it.

"Why foretell things about me? I do not understand."

"These are hard and cruel times, but ones of crucial impor­tance, too. Many things have happened these last years that changed everything: the Crusades, the downfall of that ridiculous Black Akira, and most of all the destruction of the Clan of the Twenty Six Walls by you and Red Sarah."

"Why was that such an important feat?"

"Because, young paladin, the Clan had the power to alter reality, to travel in time, changing time."

"I do not remember such things."

"That is because of laws of nature, you and Red Sarah forgot most of what you have accomplished. Nevertheless it is a feat of great importance. But we are drifting off. I must tell you that you have grown and are growing in power and importance in the world. But all the things you have done, the experiences you have had, they are only the beginning. I could tell you everything you are going to do from tomorrow until your death, but that would make you a mere slave of destiny and of my words. I can tell you however that in the near future a war will start of such great intensity that it will be the great hidden war that is bigger than all the previous human wars. Hidden war indeed, as this will only be known first by the ones involved. It is the battle of the south I talk about."

"Where in the south? The Southern Realm? The Prison Realm?"

"I cannot tell you that, child. This shall overshadow all the other wars in the Age of Chaos. Your friends will par­take in it, and here is where I must tell you the prophecy of the Three Dragons by Ostrahem:

'The three dragons will go beyond the golden sea

To battle in the bloodiest of wars

Their success is doubted by many

As the opponents are formidable

Of the Evil that came

Should they succeed, however,

The Golden dragon will step into glory

The Silver dragon will go to the stars

The Brass dragon nobody will see again"

Cyber immediately knew the meaning of the prophecy. It meant that three powerful beings would fight a perilous battle and no matter what happened one of them was to die at least. He also knew that the three powerful beings were Bulldozer, Adam and himself. He could not tell what was going to happen to whom but he would find out the hard way. Then he recalled something.

"Could it be that this prophecy has not been fulfilled already? I mean, in the Second Crusade the three of us fought Black Akira with success. After that Bulldozer became a hero, Adam retreated into the knighthood and nobody knew my part of the play."

"You are sure a clever lad to come up with this. Alas, this cannot be true. Remember that it was not only the three of you who fought Black Akira's troops. You were even let out of the main party, as you led the inspecting party together with Ignastasias Aken and Tormentor Rutsend. And then you were in and the three of you were together, but you would not reach the castle of Black Akira without Ustonias, track­er Sako Takayana, the cleric Seventh, ranger Sunskinner, dwarven potionmaker Vlak Ore, elven magewarrior Kandin,

soldiers Slinger and Swift and the halfling Long Fingers Nuthor. While the prophecy tells about three dragons only."

Cyber was stunned that the Matre could name all the par­ticipants just like that, Cyber always had trouble remem­bering names.

"So that is our fate, isn't it Matre?" he asked smugly.

The Matre laughed coughing.

"Dear Cyber, fate guides us all our lives. Fate brought you together again with your companion Soraya. Fate made you meet Adam and Bulldozer. Fate brought you here."

Cyber grunted and pulled a screwed face.

"Did you really believe it was mere coincidence that a monastery is here in the middle of the Pillars of the Sky?"

"I have never thought about that."

"It does not matter, you are still young. Wait patiently and you will learn all that is necessary."

"The solution to my curse, too?"

"Aye, the solution, too."

 

Soraya was nurturing a deep sense of fury. To let off some steam she was working out in one of the many halls of training there were in the strange monastery, kicking at leather sacks filled with sand.

She could not believe Cyber, her very own Cyber, had never told her about a love affair - if love was the proper word- with a she-devil like Red Sarah.

Sure, she had heard about his small romance with the prin­cess of Akrilonia but she could understand that somehow, princess Catherine was royal, an honourable princess. But Red Sarah? What had happened that Cyber could not tell?

These questions were torturing her mind when she heard somebody enter the hall. She turned around briskly and found the tall, red-haired woman looking at her. Speak of the devil, Soraya thought and stopped training.

"What in the name of the Abyss are you doing here?" she asked abruptly.

"I'm looking around, or is that forbidden?" Sarah asked, planting her hands on her hips defiantly, a humourless smile lingering upon her face.

"When in my vicinity, it is." Soraya replied coldly.

"You seem to be real angry that I was once in the possession of Cyber. Do not hate me for that, it is only the law of nature speaking."

"Pah! I cannot even believe you, Cyber's curse allows no woman other than me to touch him."

"Heh heh. You are an ignorant elf. There were extraordinary circumstances when I met Cyber, circumstances that allowed us to... "

"Don't say it!" Soraya said, pointing a warning finger at Red Sarah.

"Don't even think about it! You are lying! Cyber would never do such a thing to a foul woman like you."

"Suit yourself, I only know that he shouted my name and not yours when he... " Again Sarah's words were interrupted when Soraya made a jump for the red-haired woman. The elf was a good fighter but Sarah was better. She flinched and dodged the attack effortlessly. They started fighting again and

contrary to last night's fight there was nobody to stop them now.

Sarah proved to be an excellent fighter. With three fast kicks, she downed Soraya. Towering above the fallen elf, she spoke: "Now listen carefully, elf. I had no intention upon coming here to get Cyber back. I did not even know the two of you were here. But now that I see with whom the man I once loved is with, I will do every­thing I can to get him back and get a wonderful night in the process. So if you're smart, you're out of here!"

With these words she left the hall.

Soraya sat down on the mat and wiped the blood off her face with the back of her hand.

That woman is not only dangerous to Cyber but also to me, she thought bitterly.

 

"So that bastard has also studied here?" Cyber asked,amused.

"Yes, the mandrake that is now known as Sir Adam of Dragon Peak came here centuries ago. He knew I was here - I had just arrived - and he came to me, pleading for enlighten­ment."

"I have always wondered about him. Like his age. He was always very elusive about it, saying he was 500 or 800 years old."

"I can safely tell you he is near nine hundred years young."

"You call that young?" Cyber asked, amazed, "I call that an eternity!"

"Let me tell you something then, young Cyber." Matre began explaining.

"There are two humanoid races who count time different as do ordinary mortals. They are demigods - not those of birth, mind you - and mandrakes, such as Adam, as you know. They live different, become very old or even immortal. There are not many of either mongrel races. Very few, in fact. There are about half a dozen demi-gods not of birth, also called godbreeds. And there are only three mandrakes. Of which you know Adam and his brother who recently came back to Vascaria in your company."

"How do you know all this?".

"Because, my child, I am the third mandrake."

 

"My real name is Gaeiga and I am 6128 years old." Matre said after Cyber had pulled himself together again.

"My father was Gilgorath, a green dragon of the East, and my mother was Kaskhumi, princess heir to an empire long diminished now. My mother was to be a sacrifice to Gil­gorath, during the harsh times of earthquakes and floods. Instead of feed­ing on her, the dragon fell in love with her. Some months later I was spawned."

"Spawned?"

"Aye, the process of birth for one of my kind is somewhat unusual. There are two ways of birth, which depends on which side the parents are. But it is safe to tell that practical­ly all the time the male is the dragon. This was my case as well as the other mandrakes and only few others have lived during the long ages as the human race is still young by all standards."

"The dragon male transforms to human shape and sleeps with the human woman. What happens is the natural way. But the woman gets pregnant not of a foetus but of an egg. As you might know, dragons are normally hatched. The egg comes out of the human woman's womb. This requires surgery else the womb breaks and the woman dies. So did my mother. The scene must be quite horrifying. After only four days, the mandrake comes out of the egg and must be magicked to a sleep of ten years. This is because the hatchling can not be fed due to the fact that the shape of the hatchling does not allow this. My father the dragon projected the shape to me once but I fear I cannot show you. It is quite revolting. Anyway, after those ten years the mandrake hatchling has developed a shape ready to accept being fed."

"That is quite a fascinating story, Matre. As fascinating as hearing you are over six millennia of age."

"Well, after some time a woman loses concern about telling her age." the Matre said with a warm smile.

"What do you know about Adam?"

"He told me that his origins were a bit less romantic. After his spawning his mother survived through the excellent protecting magic from his father, the great neutral red. But then she was brutally killed by a black dragon as she dis­solved in the acid. Lately his father died at the hands of Bulldozer Rockscale, as all know. And now Adam joined the knighthood, knowing that the dragon responsible for his mother's death is still alive and he is out for revenge."

"But he keeps this secret, as if this would ever come out he would be cast out of the knighthood for joining under false means. And so I must ask of you, too, to never talk about this."

Cyber nodded understanding.

"You are clever lad, a better paladin than you deemed your­self worthy, Cyber."

Cyber forced a weak smile.

 

The sun was low and about to set. The waning moon had al­ready appeared in the clear sky and still Cyber and the Matre were talking.

"Soon you will go to sleep. There is one more thing I need to tell you before you do so."

Cyber just nodded to let her go ahead.

"You may or may not know there are different types of magic: dragon magic, also known as wild magic, so powerful it can only be controlled by the most powerful beings: dragons. Then elvenmagic, or half-wild magic, which flows naturally through all of the elven race but needs not be manipulated for spell results and human magic, calm magic. This is the magic used most. All other types of magic are derived from either of these kinds."

"What about New Magic?" Cyber asked.

"That, my child, is no more than a bastard type, brought forth by the followers of the Blue Temple, third rate magelings and dark alchemists." Matre exclaimed in a dis­gusted tone.

"But let me continue. Human magic, the one that should concern you most, is divided into magic of the Lesser and

the Higher path. Both are used for many different purpo­ses. There is, however, one other type of magic: battlemagic. This one is very specific and rarely used in Vascaria. There may be a dozen battlemages or so, Cyber. And I am pleased to tell you that you have the potential to become one of them."

 

 

Chapter Five

 

Cyber walked towards his room. It had been a long night and the Matre had told him so much, he knew he would have trouble sleeping because he would be thinking about the things she had told him.

What did she say again? He had potential to become a bat­tlemage. He had no idea what that might be. He did not know a thing about that particular lore. So he decided to ask Soraya about it. Then he realized she wouldn't want to talk to him. He decided to go anyway and explain everything about Red Sarah.

He entered her room after a short knock. "Soraya, I need to talk to... "

His words were stopped as he saw Soraya packing her stuff in a white leather backpack, her back turned towards him.

"Soraya, are you leaving? Why?"

The darkhaired elf turned around, facing him and looking him in the eyes.

"It seems I am no longer wanted here, Cyber. Sarah spoke to me and told me the two of you have been closer together than we ever were."

At that moment Cyber noticed her left eye was swollen.

"She hit you? The bitch! I will tell her to leave at once! She can't do this, she has no right to hurt you!" Cyber shouted, unable to restrain himself and using language the elf had never even heard him use.

But Soraya shook her head.

"No Cyber, tell me one thing. Have you ever made love with her?"

Cyber lowered his face in shame, unable to reply.

Finally he spoke: "One night my curse was released, under bizarre circumstances. That night we made love but I swear you by all that is holy that I have never loved anybody like I do love you now, Soraya."

Soraya resumed packing until she was finished, closing the backpack with a leather thong.

"Cyber, my heart tells me that I have to leave this place of burden. Not only are you involved with dangerous persons but also with some dark mysteries. And I have had too many bad experiences here. You can follow me, and find a solution to your curse elsewhere. Or you can stay. I will be leaving in the morning."

Cyber shook his head in anger.

"You can not do this to me! I can't leave now! The Matre Transcentral is going to train me as a battlemage! And she is going to do something about my curse right now! She has so much knowledge, Soraya, I must learn!"

"Then this is the end, Cyber. I see you made up your mind, and I made up mine. I shan't forget you, Cyber."

His head hanging, he left the room and Soraya closed the door behind him.

As he walked away he heard a faint chant, and with a shock he recognized the ancient elven chant of forgiveness.

Troubled, he walked off.

 

The next day when Cyber looked into the mirror he discovered that his curse had grown again. It was now covering the whole of his head, his shoulders, parts of his chest and his back down to his spine with green and red sigils and arabesques. It was spreading like a cancer over his body.

"I see your curse has intensified, Cyber. It is growing very strong in you." Matre also mentioned in an even tone.

"Aye. Which is why I want to talk to you." Cyber responded.

The old mandrake started to laugh, this time warmly.

"My child, I cannot cure you here even if I wished it."

Cyber's shock was clearly visible on his face.

"But do not worry." Matre said suddenly raising her hand, touching him with one of her long, talon-like fingernails, tracing a line over his curse, "The solution of your curse lies within thyself, youngster."

Abruptly Cyber jerked his head away. "Are you jesting, Gaeiga? How am I to lift a curse this strong and intense on my own?"

"Watch your manners, youthling." Matre said, suddenly in a slightly angered tone of voice. The room seemed to darken at her words.

"Ill becomes it you to talk like that."

"I... I apologize... " Cyber uttered, awed by the sudden change in attitude and something else, something he couldn't quite place.

"I fear I am not like myself the past months. First I cross the planes, meet the woman who cursed me, fought off my worst enemy, found another women whom I have loved, lost my first love... "

"Accepted, my son. I saw Soraya leave this morning. She is heading for Pezar now."

"How do you know?" Cyber asked, amazed. But the Matre just smiled.

"I just know, that's all you need to know."

A bed of perspiration ran down Cyber's forehead. This woman was not only very old, but also seemed to be omniscient.

"You have come here today for your first lesson, Cyber. The first step on your way to Mumonham, the Gateless Barrier."

"The what?"

Those words shook Cyber awake. He remembered he had heard this name before, somewhere in the temple

"I heard that before, Matre. Please explain."

"Mumonham is to become one with absolute nothingness, to forget the self, where subject and object are one, to become a leaf of the tree of life. To feel nothing is to have no barriers, no ties to the material world. When you meet the gods, kill the gods. When you meet your parents, kill your parents. You will learn to accept nothing in the world, yet be one with the universe."

Cyber gasped as he heard those words.

"Matre... this almost sounds like blasphemy! I cannot achieve such a state!"

Matre only snickered.

"Death moves on the wind, child, and we are but leaves. Your body may tread the six paths... heaven, human, murder, beast, demon, hell... or it may pass through the four lives: the spawn, the egg, the womb and the reincarnation.

But to unite the opposites in Mumonham, ah, there lies the rub."

Cyber listened breathlessly, not understanding a thing she said but memorizing all her words to recite them later, trying to understand then.

"You, for instance, cannot kill me for I am a leaf of the tree of life. Forget the self and unite with Mumonham, nothingness. To kill a man, you must first project the aura of death, then cast the aura at that man. Perhaps an aura of fear. Thus united can you wield a sword or lift your hand. This is Mumonham."

The words still sounded extremely vague in Cyber's ears but at least he understood why Matre was a woman to be feared and respected beyond all.

"But if no aura opposes yours, that which you project rebounds upon you. It is impossible to make such a cut, such a blow. If you force yourself, you will be cut yourself. If you cannot achieve Mumonham you cannot proceed. You cannot kill."

Cyber understood less and less of the speech.

As the Matre spoke, her voice seemed to gain in volume, the candles which were lit even as it was day seemed to dwindle because of her voice.

"Enter the great road without gates. A thousand paths to choose, you shall forever tread the road to the abyss alone."

Then there was silence.

Cyber was sweating profusely, trying to forget all the Matre had said but the harder he tried the deeper the words cut into his mind, rooting in his memory. Finally he gave up. That was when she continued talking.

"And now you have memorized my words, we shall continue. You know by now because of your training in the art of fighting that weapons are only the extensions of the will, tools for the weak of mind, soul and body. Only a sword is a weapon worthy to be held, for it is much more than just a weapon. But you will know that as you have travelled with various clerics in your past adventures.

"The sword is more than an extension of your will, the sword stands for the certainty to kill. The sword drives itself, going for the kill. Driven by the sword a true killer will go on. As the clerics do not want to be mastered by the sword, they forbid all use of pointed and sharp weapons. Great fighters the Dasian warrior clerics are, with their maces, their hammers of war, their balls and chains. But they will never reach the higher paths of killing that can be achieved by wielding a sword."

"Therefore, my child, I must ask of you to abandon all your weapons but the sword you hold dearest."

"I can cope with that, Matre. I will keep my dwarvensword Tilarids."

In truth he knew he would miss all his weapons. He was known throughout Vascaria as a man who used a wide arsenal of weapons. And now he had to live with only one, he knew it would be difficult.

"You have a dwarvensword?" Matre asked, for the first time showing real interest, "May I see it once?"

"Sure. I will take it with me tomorrow so that you can see it." Cyber responded, proud of his extraordinary weapon.

"If you like magic swords so much, you really should see Bulldozer's sword. It is a two-handed sword of diamond."

Matre laughed again, her hands hidden in her wide cuffs.

"My child, I know about your friend's sword, and it's anything but a sword in real."

This woman will never cease to amaze me, Cyber thought.

"You see, I know how he got it from Black Akira's apprentice Samat. But that dim-witted fool knew not that it was not a sword, like his master would have known. He recognised however that it was a magical object and seeing the shape he mistook it for a two-handed sword."

"Then what is it, Matre? Where did he find it?"

"Samat found it during one of his raids in the Hillman mountains. He and some of his troops found a deserted city, once inhibited by the giants of old."

"Have you known the giants yourself?"

"No, my child. The giants lived even before me and are as much legends to me as they are to you. Though many confuse them with the elemental giants that live know, they are a different race. However, I do know a lot about the lost race. The city Samat and his troops raided was an important town in the time of the giants, one of the central cities of power. It was called Howinak-Monach, one of the many twin cities in the time of the giants that had grown in size so much that they grew into each other and after many bloody wars they merged."

"Much like what happened in Kranak-Prisha."

"Exactly. Now there, imbedded in an altar, they found a key, made of diamond, in the shape of a large sword. Akira's pupil managed to get it loose by means of magic, turning the altar itself to dust and getting hold of what he believed to be a strong sword of diamond. He would not have the time to exploit its powers, however, as Bulldozer Rockscale killed him only months later and took possession of the key."

"So Bulldozer is in possession of one of the oldest magical objects around and he uses it to fire magic with. Wait till I tell him that."

Matre said nothing, her face expressionless.

"There is one more thing I must ask of you, Cyber. The poison blade has to be removed."

"What? How could that be done?" Cyber asked, "I thought that was absolutely impossible, else it would have been removed a long time ago." Cyber said.

Painful memories of the battle with the razorwarrior came back. That one blade that stuck in his body, creeping deeper and deeper into his flesh, had caused him pain for almost five years now.

"You are a clever lad, Cyber. A couple of years back a women came to this monastery, and she is a psyorg. She will execute the operation."

"Psyorg? One of those humans who can melt metal?" Cyber asked unbelieving.

Matre nodded slowly.

 

Red Sarah stood outside the room where Cyber was being operated, swaying impatiently with her arms. Behind her stood Derek in sharp contrast in a still position, his hands crossed and his eyes hidden behind his white hair.

"I want to see Cyber now, by the gods!" Sarah shouted.

"You can't visit him now. He is being operated." one of the priestesses who stood guard told her with an emotionless voice.

But Sarah wouldn't be defeated that easily and she continued to shout.

The priestesses took a defensive stance and prepared for the worst.

But just before Sarah could challenge them in a fight Derek stepped in between them. "Stop it, Sarah. All you would ever reach by entering that room now is seeing Cyber all cut up. That would be of no use."

For a moment Sarah resisted Derek's iron grip but then she relaxed and fell back. "You are right Derek. As always." She turned to the guards.

"I apologize for my outburst, ladies." she said to them.

The two strongly built women stood still, emotionless, staring straight ahead. Then Sarah and Derek walked off.

"We shall see Cyber when he's able to meet us." Sarah said, walking through the corridor, licking her lips.

When Sarah and Derek had disappeared from sight, the first guard looked at the other one. These were the same women who had functioned as Cyber's sparring partners.

"That half-elf can control the redheaded wench quite well."

"Yeah. Only a pity that he’s more a women than you are."

"That's not funny, Ari."

 

When Cyber woke up from a dreamless sleep, he sat up con­fused.

So finally he must be out of pain from the small poisonous blade that had stuck in his shoulder for so long. He knew now he could perform every move he had to without wincing in pain. He looked around and saw he was in his sleeping quarters. A half-dozed priestess was sitting on a small stool by his bed.

"I must talk to Matre." Cyber whispered softly. Still not much breath could come through, his breathing was still irregular due to the anaesthesia.

The priestess seemed to wake up with a shock. Then she lay Cyber back on his bed. He found himself too weak to resist, she was surprisingly strong as well. Ah, he should have ex­pected that.

"The Matre Transcentral has told us through Miyuki that you should rest for two days and two nights. On the third day you will be fully rested and then you can meet the Matre Transcentral again." Then with a slightly more concerned voice: "How are you feeling now?"

Cyber balled his fists. He reached out and stretched his left arm, then rolled his shoulder. Where he had learned to ignore the pain coming from that shoulder he felt nothing now. At least he was freed of one burden.

"I feel fine." he grinned, "I feel all-right."

 

Cyber lay in bed restlessly for a whole day and a whole night.

Every two hours a priestess came to relieve the other one. He was given every refreshment he asked for, he got food five times a day. On the second day his bandages were renewed by Miyuki and an uninterested priestess.

With quick motions they bandaged his shoulder again. He fell ashamed when he noticed that his curse had grown again, running down his chest onto his stomach. During the second day Cyber tried to meditate, but the sight of his spreading curse and his rather tight bandages did not allow him to do such a thing. All he could do was accidentally read the appointed priestess's mind. Both flushed; Cyber saw that was she thought was about him, and in a manner one should not expect from a priestess.

Shortly after this Cyber decided to lay down again but just then Sarah entered the room. Cyber sighed and looked up. He saw the half-elf was a few steps behind her, staying just outside the room.

"Could I talk to Cyber?" she asked the priestess politely, something that Cyber would not have expected from the swordswoman. Seems she had learned something at last, he thought by himself.

"But of course." the priestess said, bowing shortly to Sarah.

"Alone?" Now Cyber could feel some tension.

The priestess, obviously afraid of Sarah, hurried out of the room and closed the door. Derek still waited outside.

"How are you doing, Cyber?" Sarah asked with concern in her voice.

Real or fake, Cyber couldn't make out.

"I've felt better, that's for sure." he answered ironically. "Why in the name of the Abyss have you been operated?"

"The metal has been removed from my body, a blade of poison."

"What? After all this time you were a fragging metal man and you never told me?" Obviously she thought that Cyber had been a razorwarrior.

And Cyber had no time to explain, he saw at once.

"This is not funny Cyber." Sarah continued, her voice now slightly trembling.

"So you tell me I made lust to a fraggin' metal man."

Now Cyber didn't feel like explaining anymore.

"So that was all there was, lust." he said dryly.

"Yeah, and a weird one at that."

"I have heard you have driven Soraya away from me." Cyber's voice was getting colder and colder.

"Soraya? Oh, you must mean that silly elf."

Suddenly Sarah was choking as a strong hand, covered by a thin glove, grabbed her by the throat.

"As a paladin I have sworn not a take a life other than in self-defense. But remember, with you I may have no such compunctions." Cyber stated in a chilly voice, so chilling.

Then he let go of her. At first Sarah was startled, gasping for breath.

At last she could speak again, still coughing.

"Well I can see you have more spunk than ever. All the more reason for me to win your heart again, this time forever."

"You will never, ever win my heart, for it is already in possession of a certain elfwoman."

"My Cyber, my dear Cyber... " Sarah spoke with a sudden sweet and warm voice.

"You are so gorgeous, so handsome, you should not belong to an arrogant elf, to one woman only, whoever she may be."

With these words she stretched out her hand to touch him but he roughly shoved her away.

"Leave this room now, Sarah, we have nothing more to say."

Slowly, almost obediently, she stood up, a grin across her face. Without making any noise, she opened the door.

When she had closed the door behind him she could first compose herself again.

Cyber, meanwhile, could only shake his head.

"This is creepy." Sarah mumbled under her breath, a bit frightened.

"Cyber was a razor-warrior. That's why he was operated,to remove the metal from his body. He told me."

Derek took this with a start, though Sarah did not see his eyes widen in the darkness. "And I did it with him."

"Must I listen to that story again?" Derek asked, tired.

"You have told me time and time again with all details how you made love with the most famous paladin on the face of the world, and with a certain degree of pride, too."

"Yes, but this adds a whole new dimension to the matter, Derek." she spat.

"How is he now?"

"He hates my guts. But despite the fact that he now dwells in a monastery swarming with virgin priestesses, I believe I have no more competition. Gods, does he have a grip!"

Derek saw her eyes gleaming with delight. She may have plans with him, he thought, but I have plans of my own.

"And now he is a razor-warrior no longer."

"That's right."

"But still cursed."

"I have reason to believe he won't be that for long, either. That's when I will get him."

Derek Proudhart, the enigmatic half-elf, let Sarah walk a few paces ahead of him, her head filled with joyous thoughts about the paladin. He was thinking about him as well but in a way as different as the colour of his hair to Sarah's.

Tomorrow, he thought.

 

A sleepless night had passed and when Cyber was finally allowed to get up and had his bandages removed, he rose and looked in the mirror.

He decided to work out again and went for the training hall.

Just as he started to warm up a voice rang out.

"I wish to have words with you, Cyber."

Curious as to who that could be at that hour, he realised it could be only one because the voice was male, though not very male.

He turned around and saw the half-elf standing in the door­way. His face bode no good, his eyes were severe and ner­vous.

On top of that he had a long bo staff in his hand.

"You want to talk to me?" Cyber asked.

"Aye. I have heard you were a razor-warrior."

Cyber looked up. "That talk again? That is not... "

But he noticed that Derek beyond reason and had gripped his staff tighter.

"I want you to know that a platoon of razor-warriors killed my father, one of the best elven assassins in the world, and his wife. My mother."

"I wasn't one of them!" "I know, for I have killed all the bastards who were in that dreaded platoon. But my quest goes farther than that. I will kill all you scum, all of them."

With this he hurled himself at Cyber, but Cyber sidestepped at the last split second and the half-elf passed him harmlessly.

Then Derek started attacking with his staff but Cyber had no trouble dodging every blow.

"Listen, I have had a metal plate in my body, but that does not make me a razor-warrior!" he shouted. But Derek wouldn't listen to him.

Every time Cyber kept dodging but that only angered the half-elf more.

Cyber also realized this and knew he had to finish it somehow.

On the next attack he suddenly countered with a blow to the staff. Derek was surprised to see his staff cut in two neat pieces.

"Maybe you will listen to me now, stubborn half-elf." Cyber said calmly.

"Never have I killed without true and just purpose. I am a paladin in good name and honour. Nor have I ever been a razor warrior. I am not one you are looking for to chal­lenge."

He slowly turned around.

"And now I must talk to the Matre Transcentral so you will have to excuse me." he said and started walking out, leaving the half-elf crazed. Suddenly he ran after Cyber, one half of the staff in his hands. Cyber turned around quickly and took the half-elf out with a head butt. As he fell to the ground, Cyber left the room without deeming him worthy a look.

 

"You are freed of the pain in your body caused by metal." the Matre stated.

"So I have felt, Matre."

"And you have forsaken all your weapons but your bastard sword."

"Which I have here, Matre." Cyber passed the sheathed blade on to the woman who was looking in anticipation.

"How could I not know this was in your possession?" she wondered.

"Ah, I guess nobody's perfect."

Matre grunted silently, examined the sword and spoke only a few minutes later. "This sword is truly one of a kind. Do you happen to know who forged this wonderful weapon?"

"Why yes, it was crafted by Eitri the Blacksmith."

"Ah, Eitri. I should have known. He has outdone himself this time."

She continued to study the blade silently.

"Have you ever looked intensely at the edge of a weapon, Cyber?" she asked looking at the edge herself.

"Of course, Matre."

"Do you know what it looks like from real close?"

"Aye. At a certain point it has a dullness, but that is hardly visible."

"So if it were visible you would see that an edge, no matter how sharp, is really dull."

"Sure. Everybody who owns a blade of any kind knows this."

"This one is different, however. It is infinitely sharp." She now looked at the young paladin. "You have never needed to sharpen this sword, have you?"

"I haven't. It has indeed always been sharp."

"Eitri knows how to make swords like that. You know it is not made of any metal, but of what the dwarves call frozen moonlight."

"Eitri says the frozen moonlight is also called 'the fang of a millennium dragon'."

"No doubt metaphors for other materials." Matre said grin­ning.

"Not even I can tell what the frozen moonlight really is as that is a secret to the dwarves. But it is indeed made of materials, one hard and one flexible. Together they melt for an unbreakable sword, for if somebody would be able to bend it, which I doubt very much, it would never break, just bend and stretch."

How the Matre could see this in a couple of minutes while Cyber hadn't even known it in all the years he had carried it was a total mystery to him, as it would be for the rest of his life.

"And how about its magical value, Matre?" he asked, curious.

"This sword, as magnificent as it is, has no other magical power than to glow whenever your life is in danger. A simple spell, really."

Cyber let this sink in for a while. Now he understood why he had seen it glow during some fights, like his fights with Gegner,and not in other, much easier fights. He would remem­ber that he could see the danger a future opponent would be by his sword.

"And here I thought I had a magical sword equal in might with Bulldozer's diamond sword." Cyber said, disappointed.

The Matre Transcentral laughed her unmistakable laugh.

 

It was evening outside. After many days of snowfall, the sun shone brightly again. "You know that our goal is the Gateless Barrier. To achieve that, you will have to train both body and mind."

"More physical training? I thought I had that behind me!" Cyber said, rather surprised at the statement.

"So you think you are a perfect warrior?"

"Well, maybe... "

"Get up." Matre's voice didn't imply any command, yet Cyber felt he was rising at once. She did the same and approached him.

"Try to hit me, Cyber, and be a good boy."

At first he hesitated but one look into those eerie eyes and he forced a mighty blow to her chin. Where he expected to connect at full force he found his wrist held in her hand while she was merely smiling.

"Now try to pin me to the ground, Cyber. Give me all you've got."

Cyber didn't really want to pin an old woman to the ground but he knew he had to, it was probably just another test. So he gave her his best shot.

To no avail.

The old woman jumped over his sliding, dodged all his at­tempts to grab her, blocked or dodged all his blows, slapped him on the knees with her cane when he tried to use them and that all with the minimum of effort.

"How in the Abyss is this possible?" he finally asked, out of breath.

"My child, you have just learned the basics of becoming a battlemage. Now you will learn to become one and to achieve the Gateless Barrier."

"And you happen to be a battlemage?" he asked carefully.

"Dear Cyber, I am a mage of every kind."

Cyber considered this to be impossible but he reminded himself that the word impossible would have to be forgotten when talking about a woman like the Matre Transcentral.

 

The rest of the day, Cyber received his first physical lessons to become a battlemage. The training was not much different from Miyuki's lessons, they were only a bit har­der.

"A battlemage," Matre told, "sees the world in a different way, much like a high wizard does."

"And how is that, Matre?" Cyber said, wiping the sweat off his forehead, glad he could relax and listen for a while.

"You will soon see - just like I do now - the aura of every single living being. That way you will sense his weak spots. Energy lines will be visible to you, for obvious reasons." Cyber couldn't think of them.

"How can I learn things like those?" he asked, highly interested.

"All this time you have trained your body almost to the point of perfection. Soon you will train your mind, too. A trans­formed mind will form a transformed body."

"You mean I have to meditate and things like that? I already  did that for my studies as a paladin."

"Your question comes close to the truth." Matre started to levitate again. "You will have to stay in the Siege Perilous for three days and three nights." She saw the look in Cyber's eyes and answered the unspoken question.

"The Siege Perilous is a pit of sorts where you shall spend the three days and three nights in order to become a full-fledged battlemage. Completely isolated you will begin to purge your soul and unlock your hidden powers."

"But Matre... three days and three nights completely isolated... it may kill me." His voice could not hide the fear he felt creeping in his mind.

"Or it may harden you. But do not worry about that now. The Siege Perilous lies far away still. Concentrate on things to come in the near future instead, like the coming physical exercises. They are going to be tiring, too."

"How could it be any worse than this?"

"That you shall see the next time." A grin crossed her face, making it look even more enigmatically.

 

Days passed and turned into weeks. Slowly but steady the Golden Season came upon Vascaria. In the north the monastery was still surrounded by snow, but the days became longer and the blizzards disappeared.

The local flora blossomed brightly and animals awoke from their hibernation times in the valleys, where the snow finally melted away.

Cyber had learned again how to meditate, but in a manner more intense and transcendental than he had ever known. His inner voyages taught him as much as Matre's lessons did. Still, the solution to his curse was not found and he started despairing again.

The smallest training hall was reserved for him only and nobody was allowed to enter there.

And nobody did for the priestesses obeyed Miyuki's order and Derek did not choose to confront Cyber again. Sarah wasn't bothered by anything and her lust for Cyber turned into an obsession. So one day she entered the hall where Cyber was meditating. What she saw there surpassed her every fantasy. Cyber, dressed in a black shirt and black leggings, was levitating some feet above the ground. He was surrounded by wisps of blue, glowing mist. Despite the spectacle, Cyber had his eyes closed, his face serene, as if he were soundly asleep. Sarah, awed, wondered if she hadn't liked him more when he was a razor warrior still. However, her obsession was stronger than her fear and she decided to stay there and wait for Cyber to get out of his trance.

 

Thought outward Cyber looked calm, his thoughts were far from that.

This session had made him see again all the people he had killed in his short but violent life. Thugs, soldiers, mercenaries appeared before him, their bodies maimed by his many weapons. Goblins, orcs and ogres, their heads cleaved, their bodies squirting blood like fountains. Warlord Mael, bleeding from over a dozen wounds. Mayor Roland, thrown out of his own tower.

Head Acolyte Brosman of Catilae, slaughtered severely. Hundreds of victims he had made and the more he remembered them, the more he realized he could not be at peace with the gods nor with himself until he paid penitentiary.

“I have never been a true paladin, nor will I ever be one until I finish my training of body and mind and the purging of my soul” he thought by himself.

Somehow he became aware he was being surrounded by some energy and while surfacing to consciousness, he lowered himself inadvertently to the floor.

The wisps of blue light disappeared. Finally he stood on his feet and opened his eyes. Five yards away he saw Sarah looking at him with wide eyes.

"You know you are not allowed to enter this room, Sarah." he grunted, obviously annoyed with the presence of the red-haired mercenary.

"Nobody stopped me." she replied, though still awed.

"Your meddling with my life is becoming tiresome."

"I cannot take leave of you, Cyber. You should know that by now. Besides, there is still a matter that needs to be resolved. You beat my companion, Derek Proudhart, earlier. Honour demands that I draw your blood to... "

"To get even? Do you mean you actually became a blood sister to that dumb, incompetent half-elf?"

"Do I hear a trace of hate in your voice, Cyber?" she asked sarcastically, cupping her right ear with her hand.

"I hate half-elves from the bottom of my heart, My oaths as a paladin keeps me from slaying them all."

This had been because of an event that had come out to be not like what it had seemed, and his utter hatred of this

mongrel race had vanished from the surface of his mind, but the encounter with this one had brought them all back.

"You are an original paladin." Suddenly Sarah unsheathed a dagger.

"I shall perform a tiny cut, then make love to you."

She approached him slowly, raising the dagger, and sud­denly lunged with tremendous speed so that Cyber could barely dodge it.

The dagger slipped off the hem of his shirt and Cyber was surprised by Sarah's speed. Sarah now swept the dagger so fast that her arm became a blur but Cyber could dodge all the stabs with little effort and when he thought the time was right he pinched her in the back of her hand with two fingers.

With a painful shriek she dropped the dagger, which flew in the air and landed behind Cyber, and grabbed her painful hand.

"You bastard!" she yelled. "I can't feel my hand anymore!"

"In a couple of minutes you will feel it again. Now, please leave." Cyber said, gesturing at the door.

"Like heck I will!" she yelled and jumped at him again.

Cyber was surprised by her courage and decided to let her have it the hard way.

When she aimed a roundhouse kick at him, he ducked and stepped on her other foot. This way, she could not regain her balance and she dropped to the ground. But even before she hit the ground Cyber grabbed her by the surcoat and slung her through the room. In mid-air she could regain her balance and prepared to land on her feet but then suddenly she was smashed to the wall.

While fading into unconsciousness, she heard Cyber's voice say: "Now be a good girl and leave with Derek."

When she woke up, she was in her sleeping quarters. Out­side it was dark.

 

"I have brought you here today to talk about your past, Cyber."

Cyber, sitting in front of the Matre Transcentral, looked surprised at her.

What about his past?

"What do you know about your parents, about your place of birth?"

Her eyes burned deeply into his.

"Well, I know that I am an orphan, adopted by King Hektor Uiostac of Catilae and Queen Darcelle Meneii of Sefun. I do not know where I was born nor do I know anything about the circumstances of my birth."

The Matre smiled no more. Her face was serious, her hands in the cuffs of her gown-like dress.

"Near-omniscience can be a blessing or a curse at times. Today I must tell you with a heavy heart your past so you may have peace with your present and maybe your future."

She sighed, closed her eyes for a while and opened them again to meet Cyber's questioning gaze.

"Some twenty-seven years ago, Catilae was at war with the town of Romgrot. King Hektor was to lead an enormous fleet down the river to Romgrot, which is situated, as you probably know, near Lake Su. The night before he left King Hektor slept with his wife to give her a child and thus a heir to the throne in case he would die in the battle. The young queen was ready to have a child, too and thus the king left for battle happy with the thought he had left his wife with child. He could not know a spy had put a potion is his drink to render his seed barren."

"Two days later a man arrived at the court, saying he was a sorcerer of renown. His name was Taliesin. Nobody seemed to notice how he seduced the queen and spent the nights with her. Months passed and the queen's pregnancy was clear for all to see. Nobody doubted it was Hektor's son for nobody knew that Taliesin and Darcelle had spent the nights together. Taliesin told Darcelle that the child would be a man who would change the shape of the world and that it would be his son, not Hektor's. Darcelle accepted her part of destiny and when Hektor returned from the battle the sorcerer was gone. Some time later she gave birth to a son who remained nameless. Darcelle convinced her husband to bring the child to the famous sorcerer. The child was brought to Taliesin who saw his son for the first time. He performed a series of blessings in front of the knights and the king and gave the child his name: Cyber, the man of steel. Nobody else knew that Cyber, in an old forgotten lan­guage, also meant the man of a thousand names."

Tears were rolling from Cyber's eyes. So he had parents after all, but why the most powerful wizard in the world? And what was his destiny exactly?

He noticed that the old mandrake was embracing him motherly.

"My mother is dead, Matre, and so is King Hektor. I feel so alone... and so confused."

"I know exactly how you feel, Cyber." Matre said in a warm voice, "Exactly how you feel."

 

"Taliesin performed more enigmatic tasks the last fifteen years." Matre told, "He once gave a young child known as Timlar a magical dagger that was to save him in the future. The child now known as Bulldozer used it well as he still does. He was the one who convinced Admiruytrior to listen to the young Bulldozer later. He told his youngest son Ad­miruytrior III, which we know as Adam Warlock, that Bulldozer wore the scale mail and interested the young mandrake to meet the warrior, and you of course. Finally, after some more deeds to help the three of you he came to me and gave me two volumes in the elven script. He said they were for you when I would deem you worthy of reading them."

Cyber looked up. "And, am I worthy?"

"No, my dear. But you are worthy of knowing about them. This is a thing that at least has to be told."

Then came a long silence.

"Cyber, you now know your past, your present and partially your future. The only thing to do is to await your destiny as the gods have written it, like they did for all of us." Cyber wiped tears from his eyes and silently left the tower. "You are a fast learner, Cyber." Matre said when he was gone. "But time is not on our side. The last lessons will start tomorrow, if possible."

Matre's monologue was interrupted by a furious coughing fit that made her double up. Then she fell down in unconscious­ness.

 

Chapter Six

 

The nightmares came back.

Cyber was back in Catilae, the town he hated so much.

He was a child again, playing in the gorgeous gardens, the only place he liked in the court. Far away, sitting on a bench, sat a group of women and girls. They were supposed to keep an eye on Cyber and his friends but they seemed to listen to a recently arrived elflady who was explaining things about her realm and the elven men.

The young Cyber stood in awe, looking at the dark-haired elf. Her beauty surpassed everyone's and even impressed the child.

A wooden sword was hanging loosely on his belt. Then somebody tapped him on his shoulder.

"Hey Cyber, are we going to play Crusades or what?" It was Adler, the half-elf, as a boy. He was a bit shorter than the others but he made up for his size with his courage.

Cyber turned around and ran towards his 'allies': Adler, Ford the halfling, Bolrick, a fat young elf, and Sarah,a red-haired girl who attacked so furiously that Cyber preferred her with him instead of against him. His opponents were his brother Elriq and his friends, who played the sol­diers of the east while he was Maximilian the Winged, and his friends were the armies of the west. They were supposed to attack Elriq and his friends and Cyber ordered his friends to take a direction each, the divide and rule strategy.

He himself went straight through the brushes, hoping to sneak up on Elriq or one of his snotty friends. Every time he turned around to make sure the women were in sight, especially the elf. He kept on crawling until he suddenly noticed it was getting dark. He rose and saw the women, but they were talking as if nothing weird had happened. Cyber felt a creepy sensation creeping over him and decided to walk back to the women, but his moves became sluggish, as if he were walking through mud to his waist.

Then something tackled him and he fell on the ground, slow but hard.

He heard himself moan in a low voice. Ever so slowly he turned around and saw a grown man, tall and muscled, completely dressed in black. Only his face was visible and Cyber knew that face all too well. It was a child's face.

"Long time no see, Cyber." said the young-faced man. With these words he lifted Cyber effortlessly with one hand.

To Cyber it seemed like he was being lifted a hundred feet. Terrorized, he turned to see where his friends were, and the women.

The women were still talking, so close and yet so far away, as deaf as a brick wall to his shouts, and his friends were nowhere to be seen.

"The last few times you escaped me by sheer luck, Cyber. This time, however, you shall not be so lucky." The eyes grew wider, uglier, darker, turning a deep grey. Cyber felt a burning pain in his head that began to spread through his entire body. Cyber screamed even louder is despair.

His eyes covered with tears, he outstretched his arm in the direction of the women. Why didn't they hear him? Why didn't they react? Where are his friends? Why is everything becoming crimson in his eyes? He was beginning to lose consciousness and even feeling life fading away from him when the colours all bled into one and suddenly became normal again. Then a burst of light hit his attacker who dropped the youth to the ground. Cyber looked up to see his saviour. It was one of the ladies.

She was tall, as tall as the dark creature that had stalked him, but her hair was so white and long that it glowed in waves of light.

Her hand was outstretched and smoke protruded from it.

"Are you all-right, lad?" she asked with a voice so raspy it surprised him.

Nevertheless he scurried quickly behind her skirt.

"Identify yourself, villain." the woman now said to the man-monster that had attacked Cyber in a menacing tone that inspired immediate respect.

"My name is Raika, old one." the man spoke, getting up now in the shape and size of a small child, one in which his face fitted much better.

"And I will kill you like I will kill the paladin."

With this, the black little creature exploded, forming a giant and intricate black cobweb. When Cyber saw the sticky black webs come to them he started to scream again. But the white lady just put her hands together and spoke a single word. The webs exploded again but now only to melt away like dew. Now it was Raika's turn to scream, howling in pain as he began to shrink away into nothingness. Cyber watched fascinated the whole spectacle.

Then it was over. The white lady said something but her voice was fading away. Everything was turning white.

Cyber woke up and found himself still in his bed. He started to feel a slightly familiar nagging headache and slowly got up. He knew the headache would be gone in an hour or so and decided to have an early breakfast.

As always he took a glance in the mirror and this time he saw the curse had spread throughout his entire body. Somehow this didn't discomfort him.

 

"You were in my nightmare last night." Cyber told the Matre. He was somehow surprised to see her consume some herbal potion from a porcelain cup.

It had always seemed to him that she lived on the air she breathed.

"Aye, the experience has been a great revelation to both of us." she replied, slowly putting the cup on its fragile saucer.

"You look different... younger in my dreams, Matre."

"Aye, that is how I see myself in dreams, though of late I also start to appear in my elder shape. This shape was what I looked like some two thousand years ago."

She raised her eyes to meet Cyber's gaze.

"The battle we fought was one in a series of nightmares, wasn't it?"

"Aye, I have had many nightmares ever since I came to this place. Mere coincidence, I think."

"Coincidence, maybe. But there is nothing mere about the nightmares."

"What do you mean?" "Do you remember what that man-beast called himself?"

"Raika. Just like in the other nightmares, with the same face."

"Aye, Raika it was. And Raika is by no means a figment of your imagination or your dreams. He is real."

"Eh... what do you mean with this, Matre?" Cyber asked, puzzled.

"Somewhere in this world a powerful psionic being is trying to kill you in your dreams. Last night he was about to do so had I not appeared on the scene. I was able to intrude in your dreams and abort the mission of the malevolent creature."

"And for that I thank you, Matre. I am forever indebted to you." Cyber smiled.

"However, I keep having the feeling I know that Raika creature from somewhere."

"I must confess that this is again a case not told in any prophecy. So if you happen to meet this Raika once in real life, it will be without my notice. However... " Suddenly Matre raised herself and rose.

"Today you will learn the secret and sacred lessons to become a battlemage."

Inadvertently Cyber rose, too, and followed the Matre through the candle-lit room to a hitherto unnoticed door. Behind the door was another room, similar to the first one but obviously designed to be some kind of training hall. Matre positioned herself in the middle of the mat and Cyber halted six feet away from her.

"There are 108 tsurbos in battlemagic. You may call them spells but they are far different as they are not purely formed by words and mere moves of the limbs but come from the inner body. They can be executed only by your very life energy and by somebody who has learned to control his or her body, mind and soul completely. That is why you received all the physical training, to make you stronger and faster than you had ever been before."

Cyber nodded.

"Well, every one of the tsurbos is a powerful and devas­tating move. Some of them are strong enough to shatter mountains, others throw enough energy to down an entire army. Today you will learn the first one, the least powerful one as well as the easiest one. When you have learned it to perfection you are ready to learn the second one, and so forth. Are you ready, Cyber, for the first tsurbo?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

Matre nodded.

"Look closely. This is called the invisible hand."

Cyber watched how Matre walked over to a column that did not touch the ceiling. It was made of marble. Then Matre stood in front of it, concentrating quietly. Then her right fist was on her other side and the column broke in two neat pieces, as if she had cut it with the sharpest of swords. Cyber gulped heavily, awed by the power of the invisible hand.

"Now it's your turn, Cyber."

After four hours Cyber was able to split the column in two and even four neat pieces, calculating, sensing where the weakest part was. At sunset he could do it so fast that no strike was visible. Only a column, seemingly intact, stood in front of him. Matre walked up to the column and touched it with one finger and it fell in eight neat pieces.

With a spell the column would be made whole again.

"I am proud of you, Cyber, for you have learned and mastered the first tsurbo." she said happily.

Cyber himself could not hide a broad satisfactory smile.

"Now take a well-deserved rest. Tomorrow you shall learn the next tsurbos"

And for the first time in many years, Cyber was happy and proud of himself, for he had taken the first step to become a true b­attlemage, a warrior of legend.

 

"Why haven't we gone, Sarah?" asked an irritated Derek. The half-elf and the woman were walking through the corridors of the monastery. Sarah, in contrast with Derek, was as calm as the half-elf used to be.

"Can't you see that Cyber is too powerful, too strong? By now he is beyond revenge, honour and love."

"Derek, we are bound together by blood but not by an iron chain. You may leave whenever you want." Sarah said and gazed at him fiercely.

Her gaze quieted him at once.

Meanwhile they had arrived at the library. They entered and quickly found Miyuki, for that was the person Sarah had been looking for.

"Good evening, Sarah and Derek." Miyuki said, looking up from the heavy volume she was studying.

"Good evening, honourable priestess." Sarah returned, "As you have noticed, my companion and I have been staying some longer than we intended."

"Aye." interrupted Miyuki, "And it seems it has something to do with our most important guest Cyber."

"Maybe so." Sarah said with a shrug, "But that's because I knew not that one of my former flames was residing here."

"Is this the reason you came here? To talk about Cyber?" Miyuki now closed the book.

"Well, first I would like to stay a little longer, with your permission."

Sarah's voice was sweet as honey but Miyuki was calm and cool.

"To tell you the truth, we have not been pleased with your presence at all. It seems you both have provoked the honourable Cyber in a fight, something that has never hap­pened before within the walls of a temple of Wajo." Miyuki said, glowering over the twosome.

Sarah and Derek exchanged glances.

"We apologise for our violent behaviour, honourable pries­tess." Derek said, looking down, "To be honest, this is the first time my temper struck me within the confines of a sacred building. I will accept any punishment you implement" 

"I will, too." Sarah added hastily.

"That will not be necessary. After all, we are clement people. However, I am glad you apologized. You may stay here as long as you wish as long as you both behave well."

"You speak to us as if we were children." Derek commented.

"Until now you have acted worse than children. Maybe you will show us now you are honourable adults."

"We will." Derek promised.

"Second, I would like to know why Cyber is here at the present." Sarah said.

"Alas, I cannot tell you that. Someone who could have told you is the elflady Soraya, whom you have... persuaded to leave this monastery."

Sarah flushed in anger, giving her face the colour of her hair.

"Well anyway, thank you for this talk, priestess Miyuki." Sarah said and quickly left the library with Derek, leaving the priestess in thoughts.

 

Cyber was not very happy to hear Sarah and Derek would be staying.

"I am sorry Cyber, but following the rules of hospitality we must accept them as much as we accept you." Miyuki explained.

Cyber looked around the empty room, as if he were expecting to find Sarah snooping around the corner.

"Does their presence trouble you?" the priestess asked.

"Of course, but it is a matter I can cope with. My training is all that really matters now."

"In that case, I shall leave things the way they are now." Miyuki said. She bowed and left the room. Cyber stayed there to finish his meal and watch the stars outside.

 

"Today you will learn the second tsurbo, called the net of a thousand fingers." Matre told.

Cyber observed how a priestess threw small metal balls at Matre with amazing speed. With her eyes closed, she caught them all and held them between her fingers. She demonstrated it a few more times and then it was Cyber's turn again.

"As you have seen it looks a bit like the training Miyuki gave you. Only this time the balls are much smaller and you will not dodge them but catch and hold them." Matre told, showing a ball. They were as small as the nail of his small finger.

"Now you will start concentrating and when I shout you will catch them all."

"Aye." Cyber answered, not entirely sure of himself.

Nevertheless he started concentrating in the middle of the room. When he was fully prepared Matre shouted and her yell was followed by a hail of metal marbles, thrown by Matre herself. Instinctively, Cyber ticked them all away and the last one he caught.

"Impressive." Matre said, "Not one has touched you. But that was not the object of this tsurbo, Cyber! We will try again."

The second time, Cyber managed to catch more of them but Matre would not be satisfied easily. It took Cyber a few hours to catch all the balls but then he finally had them all. A broad grin appeared on his face, a grin that seemed to return ever so often.

"Finally. We shall now try it again, but then blindfolded." Cyber's grin disappeared.

As was expected, Cyber managed to catch a few of them but most dropped to the ground or hit his unprotected chest. Thanks to all his lessons he did not feel the pain. As his concentration deepened, he was able to catch more and more balls that were thrown at him at great speed.

Somehow he could feel them coming at him. He knew how much there were (108, of course) and the distance each one had at any given moment.

And finally he had them all in his hands.

"I did it Matre! I mastered the net!"

"Do not remove your blindfold yet, Cyber. I want to see if it wasn't sheer luck that was on your side."

Cyber sighed and prepared again. He could sense Matre stan­ding just a few feet away from him, just standing there. Why had she not given the signal yet? Suddenly he felt a ball approached him on his right and in a reflex he caught it. He had barely done so or he could sense the balls coming from everywhere.He breathed quickly,deepening his concentration, and moved his arms with tremendous speed.

He did not think about what he was doing, he just let his body do it all without a thought. All he could feel was a tiny tick every time he added another ball to the collection in his hands. Then it was over.

"Now I am sure you have mastered the net." he heard Matre say while she was clapping in her hands. He dropped the balls and removed his blindfold.

"You didn't warn me this time."

"Did I need a warning when the balls were thrown at me?"

"You are right. But how did you manage to throw all those balls from all kinds of directions?"

"That is a little secret I would like to keep for myself." Matre said with a snicker. Cyber decided to leave it at that.

 

Night had come and Cyber was supposed to be asleep. Instead he was meditating in his room. Ever since Matre had told him he was the son of Taliesin, he was trying desperately to get in contact with his father.

Since the ancient sorcerer, who was said to have lived other lives in other worlds, had vanished from the known world -probably to study in solitude - it had been impossible to contact him.

So Cyber chose to look for him on the astral plane, a place he had learnt to enter not long ago.

His concentration was deep enough to make him sense everything within the monastery. Slowly but steady he managed to transcend from his body and go look for his father, wherever he might be. But to no result.

He was about to return to his body when he suddenly saw something and observed it closely.

Astral bodies could not only see light but also the entire line of electro-magnetic impulses. Therefore he could see the aura of living creatures, too, something he was begin­ning to learn. And he did not like what he saw.

Enigmatic energy lines passed across the surface of his body, no doubt caused by his curse. That was a sight he was more or less accustomed to.

But this time he took his time to study the lines of energy. He was not one to know the arcane arts of magic but somebody had once told him that the signatures of magic were unmis­takably recognizable. No wizard could imitate another wizard's emanation, not even when he used the same com­ponents or the same spellbook.

Cyber had seen Inge's signature and especially Soraya's. And these lines were not Soraya's. But if those weren't Soraya's energy lines, then Soraya was not the one who had cursed him! But then who did? Whose was the mystic energy that was running through his body? Before he entered his physical body he memorized the lines, in case he would see them again.

His life had been one big lie, he thought by himself.

He had no certainties about his past. Taliesin the sorcerer was his father. Soraya, the woman he loved most, had left him. Now Soraya was not the one who had cursed him, even though she thought so herself. Before he could cry out in despair, he entered his body.

Cyber was conscious again. He blinked his eyes for a couple of times and tried to remember what he had seen in his astral body. For somebody who was not accustomed to voyages to the astral plane memories would come like if it had been a dream.

Nevertheless, some dreams are more clear than others.

 

"I do not know if you are incredibly brave or incredibly stupid." Derek said to his companion. She was dressing up in the middle of the night to meet Cyber in his quarters, without him knowing it.

"I guess I am both and neither, Derek. Remember, I happen to be in love with this man."

While talking to Derek, she checked her long hair in the room's mirror.

"I think that lust is a more appropriate word for it." Derek said, his arms crossed.

"How about you, Derek? Do you still have a grudge against him and do you want to kill him?"

"I don't. I realise he spoke the truth and I believe him. He is a paladin and paladins don't lie."

"You believed him after he beat the living daylights out of you." Sarah said with mock in her voice.

"Harumpf, it seems you took quite a beating from him your­self."

"Aye." she replied thinking, grabbing a lock of hair and stroking it.

"That handsome devil is becoming a better fighter every day. Someday he will learn me his techniques."

"You sound very sure of yourself, Sarah; just as you are very sure Cyber will not slap you out of his room again."

"It matters not if he will try to slap me again, as you call it. What matters is that I want him tonight, just like I wanted him back then."

"Are you crazy? Have you already forgotten he is cursed? You cannot have the same circumstances here. He cannot even touch you!"

"I know, Derek. And I have found a remedy for that incon­venience."

With that she turned around to show a body fully covered with thin clothes.

"See? With this I can touch Cyber - and Cyber can touch me without burning to his death. Oh, I am so clever!"

"I wish you luck." was all Derek could say.

 

Sarah was standing at the door to Cyber's quarters. Before she entered she checked her thin suit she had bought off a merchant in Rices.

Silently she thought about the fun she would have this night with Cyber, whether he liked it or not.

She opened the door quietly and entered on her toes, shut­ting the door behind her at once. She found Cyber meditating, glowing a pale blue.

At least that's something I am growing accustomed to, she thought by herself but she still stood in awe as she ap­proached him slowly.

"The living lightning is within him." she said reverently. She didn't know how to approach him while he was glowing but just as she was about to leave the glow dimmed and vanished. "My lucky night." she whispered to herself. More restive she sat in front of him, her eyes blinking. She knew a technique to wake someone from deep meditation and considered using it. She was about to lay her hand on his naked shoulder when Cyber suddenly opened his eyes.

"They're here. They're here to kill us all!" he shouted in elvish.

Then he stood up and jumped out of the window without ever noticing the red-haired woman. Sarah didn't speak elvish very well but she understood that somebody was coming. So she rose and followed Cyber, jumping out of the window without hesitation.

She looked around and saw Cyber had crossed the courtyard and was climbing the wall, nimble as a monkey. She climbed the wall as well and saw Cyber was running through the dark meadows and the partially molten snow. Something was driving him away, running barefoot and dressed only in his training gear. Red Sarah ran after him as fast as she could and wondered how Cyber could become as mad as he was now. Sud­denly she lost sight of him.

He was nowhere to be seen. She looked closely to her left and right but to no avail.

Sighing, she decided to climb the rocks to her left to get a good view in the dark. She was almost on top of the rocks when she saw some light down below, hidden between the folds of the ground.

Then a strong hand covered her mouth while a second hand grabbed her by the waist.

"Don't make a sound." Cyber whispered, then he freed her from his iron grip.

With a thumb he pointed down.

"Down there are some sixty orcs, armed to the tusks. They are about to assault the monastery."

Sarah laughed at Cyber, who was studying the orcs below.

"How did you know they were here?"

"I was making an astral voyage. When I came back I saw them there. I heard them talking about attacking the monastery. And what were you doing in my private quarters?"

"What do you think?" Sarah asked with a grin.

"Well, at least I am glad you are here to help me."

"Wait. Why must we attack them now, alone? Why not get back to the temple and wake up the priestesses? They are all trained in combat and well, too, if I must believe the stories."

"Too late. They will march in ten minutes, we must attack them now."

He looked at the woman.

"Besides, I have never known you unarmed."

"You're right." she said and showed two shimmering daggers. Then she looked down with Cyber. She saw five bonfires, smoke hindered her sight.

Around the fires indeed some orcs sat down, heavily armed, looking very aggressive. One was walking around, talking to the orcs in a guttural tongue.

He was a bit bigger than the rest and had horns on his helmet like a bull.

"I think that is the chieftain." she pointed.

"Right. I finish him off with this rock here and after that we attack. You attack them from the south while I will attack them from the north."

"Aye. Like the old times eh?" "It is. Now go."

Sarah positioned herself to the south, creeping away.

Cyber watched her until she was in position, then checked his hand.

The wound from grabbing Sarah still hurt but he could fight with it.

He checked the weight of the stone he was holding in his right hand and took a careful aim.

Then he threw the stone.

 

Chief orc Drok Mullmir was in a foul mood. Orcs are always in a foul mood, but Drok's mood was unusually foul.

Two days ago his superior, General Burbarr, had come to him along with a human mage Drok knew as Soldan, second in com­mand of the Guild of Assassins in Drenon. Those two wanted him to attack a monastery in the north with sixty orcs. They wanted everybody dead, especially a red-haired swords­woman, a white-haired half-elven male and a tattooed human male. Drok accepted the mission after a long discussion with Slodan.

He could not discuss it with the general as he was obliged to obey his orders at all costs. Drok wanted to know why he had been sent on a mission to kill some virgin priestesses and three others. He did not mind killing but preferred killing for a reason. But Slodan had just that for him.

"Vengeance, my dear friend. Vengeance is the reason for slaughtering and ransacking. We did not come to you just to find some orc. No, we came especially for you. You have to know that the tattooed man you have to kill is the same man who killed your half-brother Grarnon, which we knew as Arnold. Now we know that you were quite attached to Arnold, even though he wasn't a full-blooded orc but a mere ex­periment of your father to... ah, see if human females were better than orc ones."

"Aye, aye, I get the picture." Drok interrupted the wizard.

"You should have told me this before. I shall personally pick sixty of my best warriors and march to the north. Give me the location of the monastery and we will leave as soon as possible."

Soldan gave the orc a map with the location and a blessing, the latter which Drok considered unnecessary.

 

That night Drok went to see his father. He was a very old orc, almost in the hands of the Goddess of Death, but the light in his eyes still burned fiercely. A sign he still held on to life.

"Father? Tomorrow I shall go to avenge the death of Grarnon, your son."

His father looked up, his eyes trying to focus.

"Drok, how nice to see you again. I just had a dream. I saw Grarnon and he told me you were going to join him soon. Isn't it wonderful?"

"No, father! Didn't you hear me? I'm going to avenge him, not die! Not die! Soon I will be back with the head of that accursed murderer, father. Our honour shall be unscathed."

"Oh, my son, how dreadful it is to see my sons die before I do." His father was weeping bitterly.

 

The sight of tears rolling down his father's face remained burned in Drok's mind throughout the whole march to the monastery. His mood flipped from melancholic to sad, but one thought remained in his mind: he could not die, he would avenge his half-brother's death and restore his family's honour.

At last, after two days and two nights of marching, they were only a few miles from the monastery. Drok ordered his men to encamp in the mountains, close to the monastery, and await the night. They had six hours to eat and rest before the battle.

Despite his fierce emotions, Drok slept a while. It was a dreamless sleep and when he was woken up it was in the middle of the night. He buckled on his armour, prepared him­self and went around for an inspection of his unit.

Everything was perfect. He grinned contently at the thought of cutting off the head of the human bastard.

Revenge was a stone's throw away, he thought by himself.He did not suspect the saying could be as literate as it would be.

He suddenly spotted movement uphill and looked up, thinking it was just an insect.

He never saw the stone coming.

All he felt was a hard thump on his forehead, right between his eyes.

Blood started to run down his face, running in his eyes.

To his horror he saw a man, dark as the night and tattooed from head to toes, jump from out of nowhere. Unarmed, the man started to kill the unsuspecting troops. That was the last he ever saw as everything went dark.

He stumbled and fell on the ground, thinking: oh father, you were so right!

 

The stone had not even hit the chief orc or Cyber jumped down in the middle of a group of orcs. With the speed of lightning he hit them in the throats; they fell down head­less. He took a split second to check on Sarah.

She had jumped down at the same time Cyber had jumped and she was slicing and stabbing with tremendous speed. Cyber's trained eyes allowed him to follow her moves but he quickly turned his eyes back on the orcs.

They had not been prepared for this but as they had already been standing in line for inspection they were all already armed.

Cyber grabbed several burning twigs and threw them among the soldiers.

Blinded by the fire, they could do nothing but run around helplessly, colliding with fellow orcs and creation nothing but chaos in the encampment.

Some of the orcs who did not get the first blows were able to get into a battle position and prepare for a counter attack. They were, after all, general Burbarr's elite troops. The best orcwarriors of both realms, the toughest fighters the short race had.

They died as quickly as any other orc. With their limited thinking abilities they found out quickly enough that the humans were tough, or worse, impossible to beat.

Especially the man in black with his tattoos.

Every time they tried to hit him with their weapons, he blurred away from them and shatter their helmeted heads with his flat hand.

So it happened that after ten minutes of fighting, almost every orc was dead. Red Sarah and Cyber were standing above the massa­cre.

"Is this all? I expected more resistance." Sarah said.

"There are more. I counted sixty-one when I jumped down.Here I can see only fifty-eight bodies."

He looked up and saw the remaining three orcs, who were about to dump a large rock on Sarah from way above.

"Look out!" Cyber yelled. Sarah looked up and saw the rock, almost on her.

She would have been dead if Cyber had not used his speed to jump and shatter the rock to pebbles with one big kick.

Instead of landing, Cyber put his feet to the mountainside and used the leverage to reach the orcs. The orcs drew their swords and attacked but three seconds later they were all dead, their necks broken.

When Cyber went down, he saw Sarah was all-right, even unscratched.

"Thank you for saving my life, Cyber." she stammered, still surprised by his quick and powerful action.

"That is what a paladin is for, Sarah." Cyber replied flat­ly. He looked around at the carnage they had created.

"Oh gods, must I kill everywhere I go? Will I never have peace until I am the perfect killer?" he said so softly Sarah couldn't hear it. Then he looked at the woman.

"I see you are still a good fighter, even with two daggers."

"Especially with two daggers." Sarah corrected while wiping the gore off her blades on a cloak worn by a dead orc.

"Though I still don't like you intruding my private quarters, I appreciate your being there at the right time to aid me."

"Forget it Cyber. After all, you saved my life in return."

"So now we're even eh?" Cyber said, stroking his chin.

"Maybe."Sarah said, putting her gloved hand on his chest. "There is still a matter I'd like to have resolved between the two of us... "

"Forget it Sarah." Cyber grabbed her hand and took her back to the monastery.

"This isn't fair." Sarah protested, "I was so close!"

 

        Chapter Eight

 

"A large band of orcs?" Matre asked, surprised, "And they wanted to kill us all? Why didn't I know... why was I not aware of this?"

"That is not important, Matre. Important is that I saw them and that I killed them. They were almost on top of us but fortunately Red Sarah and I were at the right place in time."

Matre closed her eyes and Cyber sensed she was meditating.

"The outside world is catching up on what is happening here." she said after a long silence, "There is naught we can do but continue your lessons as soon as possible, and hope you are prepared before something dreadful happens."

She rose and went to her private training hall, followed by Cyber.

"Today's tsurbo is the spider attack." Matre said when the door was closed.

"With this, you will learn to move your arms so fast you will seem to have four, six or even eight arms."

Matre concentrated and started to wave her hands slowly. Then, to Cyber's utmost surprise, he saw Matre add two extra arms. With her four hands, Matre had doubled the attack. Fortunately, that was still not enough to connect as Cyber could still dodge and block all the arms. He had to move his

arms two times as fast to hold up his defense. In the middle of the furious fight Cyber felt Matre's concentration deepen even more and now she had six arms. This Cyber could not block anymore and a rain of fists descended on him. He fell down dazed and when he opened his eyes again he saw Matre now had eight arms.

"Now stand up and learn this tsurbo yourself, Cyber."

The spider attack required a deep concentrating as well as a feeling for rhythm as he moved his arms in a steady pace. He thought he couldn't do both concentrating and fighting but soon he passed that barrier and was able to fight with eight arms.

His deep concentration during fights proved to be useful to Cyber.

That way he could sense his antagonist's strength at any time during the fight.

"You are learning faster and faster, Cyber." Matre said proud­ly, "I know your meditating has improved, too. Soon you will be able to see the aura of people, but that can only be achieved when you change your eating habits."

Cyber answered with a surprised look.

"You are not allowed to eat meat anymore, nor consume any alcoholic drinks." she told him.

"What? No beer anymore? No meat?"

"No. Furthermore, you will have to consume from time to time some herbs known as Herbis Mandragorae. They release your spirit and relax your body. Make some tea of them and you will see how good it works."

"How can I find that weed?"

"It is not weed." Matre replied a bit offended, "They can be found at any drugstore. If you want to become a real good battlemage you will act thus."

Birds were whistling and the rustle of the wind between the trees was clearly audible.

"Time is catching up on me. Did you know that, Cyber?"

Then she looked down, not really expecting an answer.

"You are my last pupil, Cyber. Not the best but certainly not the worst one. I hope to live long enough to finish your training and make you a full-fledged battlemage."

"You will, Matre. I am sure you will."

"Ah, the youth! Ever so sure of itself!" Matre said with a weak smile as if she were tired of her long life.

Suddenly, without apparent reason, Cyber had to think about the prophecy.

"The Brass dragon nobody will see again."

Was he the brass? Would he disappear... or die? Those thoughts crossed his mind, even at night when he was lying in bed.

 

One morning, some days later, Cyber saw Red Sarah and Derek packing their horses. Quickly he ran to the courtyard to ask then what they were doing.

"We are leaving, Cyber." Sarah asked calmly, "I guess you were right when you said you would never be mine. With the curse and all. Besides, I think we are not exactly one for the other. It's best for both of us if we leave this monastery and let you train in peace."

Sarah wanted to turn around but she walked to Cyber and kissed his gauntleted hand. Then, without a single word, she mounted her horse. He wanted to say something when somebody behind him stopped him.

"Cyber." It was Derek, "We have had a bad encounter not long ago. I mistook you from something you are not. It has taken me a long time to accept you are a paladin."

"I'm sorry I had to beat you down." Cyber apologized.

"That is a thing of the past. I came here as your foe, I wish to leave as your friend."

With that he outstretched his hand which Cyber shook gladly.

"Farewell Cyber. Oh, one more thing. Is it true you made love to Sarah so passionately that she was happy for over a year?"

Cyber could only blush at that question.

"Come on, we're men among each other. You can tell me."

"Well, I guess that is partly true."

"What exactly did you do to her? Please tell me."

Cyber whispered something in Derek's ear.

"Wow! Incredible!"

 

Cyber watched Derek and Sarah as they rode towards the horizon.

Finally they disappeared behind a hill and he was glad to be rid of those two jokers. Better yet, they had left as friends.

Then he remembered he had to go to Matre for another lesson. She would already be angry because he was late. He ran to the tower as fast as he could.

 

It was full moon. Soraya used that night to perform some rituals.

Most of them were dedicated to the moon, others to the earth, the wind, the fire and the water; the elementals she took energy from for her magic.

She kneeled in front of a makeshift altar and started to chant a complex mantra-like spell as old as time itself.

She kept on chanting until she felt the flow of words turning into a flow of energy, emanating from the earth, the sky, the forest.

Along with the breathtaking experience of absorbing the very energy that is called magic, Soraya felt the utter sense of bliss she felt every time she performed this particular ritual; and every time she was happy she was still a part of this world.

 

"At last you have come back." Inge said to Soraya when she entered the house she lived in together with Bulldozer and their children.

From the moment Soraya had entered Pezar, Bulldozer had offered her a guest room. There she told them Cyber was training in an eastern monastery, training to become a rare kind of fighter, and she choose not to hinder him in becoming a better man, while she felt she had to change, too. It was the truth, though not all of it.

Inge and Bulldozer, however doubtful, accepted the story and left it at that. If she wanted to tell them more they would hear it when the time was right.

"Aye, it has been a tiresome night." she now answered Inge, dropping her leather backpack in a corner.

"Nights of full moon are always... interesting, invigorating." Inge said, more to herself than to Soraya. Then she realised Soraya was looking at her and she blushed.

"I see you have had your share of full moons, too." Soraya said.

"Be it in a different manner than I."

Both elves laughed. Then they fell silent and looked outside. It was dawning.

"Bulldozer is still in bed, I suppose?"

"Aye, now a new season has started and he has a new batch of pupils. This year there are more than ever, and even with the help of his brothers it is an immense job."

"Well, now he has another pupil to take care of, because I would like to follow his lessons, too."

"You? I thought you were already a great fighter, even when Bulldozer wasn't even born yet. What can he possibly teach you?"

"I am not a great fighter like The Mighty Bulldozer. He can teach me a few tricks yet."

"Maybe... we shall see when he wakes up."

"If he ever wakes up." Soraya said sarcastically.

"Oh, he'll wake up, don't worry."

 

The tower in the temple of Wajo.

"Matre, if I concentrate, I can see the aura of a person clearly, but yours is... blurry. How is that possible?"

"Cyber, you shall see that the aura of a superior being is more difficult to see for a human, no matter how experienced he is. But you are different. Maybe once you will be able to see the aura of a dragon. The key word is practice. And now... "

Matre's speech was interrupted by a harsh coughing spell. She could levitate no longer, fell on her knees and kept on coughing.

Immediately Cyber shot to her side to help her bust just as sudden as the coughing had begun, it was over.

"I am fine now, child. Now let me get up, we must go on with your lessons."

"What happened, Matre?" Cyber asked, concern in his eyes.

"Cyber, I am getting older as you know and with old age come some diseases. Do not worry... too much anyway."

She walked up reassuringly and led Cyber to the training hall.

Cyber was not reassured and felt a strange sensation in his stomach.

Lost in concentration for a moment, he expected to enter the hall, but instead he found himself with Matre in the woods. Confused, he looked around and saw, many miles away, the monastery.

"What? Where are we?"

Matre smiled.

"I have teleported us away. The lessons I have to teach you from now on are involved with the projection of large quan­tities of energy, and I would rather have us project them at these rocks then at the walls of my training hall. I think you will understand."

Cyber had overcome his surprise.

"Aye Matre, I am prepared."

"This tsurbo is called the Dragon's Maw. And this is why it's called thus."

Matre turned around, looking at a great boulder twenty feet from her.

She concentrated, put her hands and wrists together and slowly separated the palms of her hands, simulating a maw. Then she pointed the maw at the boulder.

Cyber was almost blinded when he saw a bright beam of light coming from the maw. It shot straight at the boulder and a large explosion followed.

When Cyber opened his eyes again he saw that the boulder was shattered to smithereens.

"The secret is to concentrate all your energy in your hands and throw it at your target. As your experience will grow, along with your strength, you will be able to cast bigger and more beams of energy from the tsurbo. But for now, let's stick to one small dragon's maw. Throw it at the other boulder over there."

Cyber stepped forward and once again started concentrating. Slowly he formed the dragon's maw. As his concentration deepened he felt the palms of his hands itch and he heard the air crackle around his hands.

Then he felt the moment was right and forth shot a beam of light, just like Matre had done. It wasn't as big or blin­ding as Matre's tsurbo but it blew up a man-sized rock as if it were nothing.

"Impressive." Matre said when everything was quiet again.

"You have mastered the dragon's maw in one time. You have truly impressed me."

Cyber lowered his hands and looked at the small amount of destruction he had just created. It wasn't as big as Matre's but effective enough.

"Can I try another time?"

"No. You have concentrated all your energy in that tsurbo and to use it again could be dangerous. It takes some prac­tice to elevate your powers in this particular tsurbo. Later you can repeat it on the same day, now you must restore the energy you used first."

"In that case, can I try to master another tsurbo today?"

"Aye." Matre answered after a brief moment of hesitation.

And so they went on.

 

"So you want to take my lessons?" Bulldozer asked, rubbing his chin. In his other hand he had a big wooden tankard.

"Would you do me a favour and teach me some good stuff, please?" Soraya said, her hands together and one of her most effective expressions on her face: that of a virgin in need of help.

"Hmm, as you may know, this season I am busier than ever..." He saw the pleading look on her face, "...but I guess I can take some extra time to teach you a trick or two."

"Oh, thank you, Bulldozer." Soraya yelled and hugged him.

"Whoa, don't make such a fuss over it, lady." he said, breaking himself free of the strong embrace. "Besides, it's Cyber who should really teach you now that he is a high and mighty battlemage."

"I guess you are right. After your lessons I will return to the monastery and see how he fares."

"That's a good girl." Bulldozer said and put his hand on the elf's head.

Soraya had to laugh about this gesture.

 

Cyber saw all this, though his body was still in the monastery. His astral body could go to every part of Vas­caria with the speed of light.

After he had seen everything, his attention was attracted by a black hole where the north pole of Vascaria should have been. He went to the place but found out from up close that there was nothing special except for a strange source of light. It seemed to attract him and after a short moment of hesitation he entered.

And found himself in a quite different Vascaria than he was used to see.

It was different because no living being inhabited it. Only vegetation covered the earth above and beneath the seas.

Something forced him to stay there, so he flew over every part of the strange world.

The quietness overwhelmed him, just like the magnificence of that creation, whose origin and purpose was as enigmatic as all creations of the gods.

The longer he stayed there, the better he felt as a wave of calm fell over him.

Gone was the anxiety the curse produced inside him, gone the sadness he had felt ever since Soraya had left him.

Below him he saw a figure waving at him. It was a man in a brown tunic and Cyber decided to land and talk to the man since he was the only living being around.

"Greetings, young man." the old man said with a voice that reminded Cyber of the Matre Transcentral, "It has been a long time since anybody came here.".

"Greetings, sir. What exactly is 'here'?" Cyber asked, spreading his arms to emphasize his question.

"This is Vascaria, my son, but to people who come from the other Vascaria this place is also called Mumonham, the Gateless Barrier."

"Do you mean that the Gateless Barrier is a place beyond the known dimensions?"

"No, my son." the old man snickered, "What I mean is that the Gateless Barrier is a place within everyone, a place that can only be reached when a person had a certain state of mind. And you, young man, have just reached that."

Cyber tried to digest all this.

"So if this is just a place within myself, what are you doing here? I am sure I don't know you."

Something like a dark cloud passed over the world, followed by a rumble far away that shook the world.

The man shook his head slowly.

"Oh my, and you were so close! Well, better luck next time."

"Wait!" Cyber screamed. Then he felt a strange tug at his mind and before he knew it he was back in his body again.

Confused as he was, he could do nothing but sleep until sunrise.

 

"I am proud of you, Cyber." Matre said to him the next day.

"Though you have not passed the Gateless Barrier, you have come as close as anyone could get. There will be a next time."

"Aye, Matre. But who was that old man? I have never seen him before, I am sure of that. And why was I in a Vascaria without animals or other living beings except for that old man?"

"Alas, lad! I cannot tell you this for this is something you will have to figure out by yourself. It forms a path to the Gateless Barrier itself. Once you posses it, you will have passed that final obstacle. But for now, you still have some tsurbos to master, so let us go to the mountains to prac­tise."

 

Mid-summer had come. All over the Western Realm people were preparing for the great festivities to come. In Pezar, Soraya was about to leave, too, for Greentown to celebrate the festivities in her homeland.

"Well, it was a pleasure to have you here." Bulldozer said.

"A pity Cyber couldn't come with you."

"Aye, a real pity." Soraya replied, "It would have been real nice for you two to see that stubborn paladin again." she added, forcing a weak smile.

"Well, it is time for me to partake in the festivities of my village. I hope to see you soon."

"Will you go to Cyber, too? You haven't seen him in months!" Inge remarked.

At first Soraya didn't know what to say, something that didn't escape Inge's and Bulldozer's attention.

"I will tell you something. After the festivities I will go back to him and you will see him again in three months." she said to the warrior.

"Whoa, a promise from a full-blooded elf is quite heavy." Bulldozer spoke with his all too well-known sarcastic tone of voice which both Inge and Soraya had grown to love in him.

"Okay, we'll see you back soon together with that paladin." Soraya went to Inge and hugged her, then she also hugged the big man.

"Thanks for all your lessons, Bulldozer. I appreciate it that you spent so much time on me."

"Don't speak so loud, girl, or else my woman might get some funny ideas about it."

He said it in such a way that even Inge had to laugh.

"And you, little devil... " Soraya said to Kimbo, kneeling down, "...here's a hug and a farewell gift." She hugged the young half-elf and gave him a medallion. It showed a spiral, the elven symbol of eternity and arcane energy.

"Wow! Thanks, aunt Soraya!" the child said enthusiastically, examining the medallion closely.

Soraya rose and grabbed her luggage.

"It is time for me to go, friends. I shall see you soon."

With these words she left her house and headed for the stables.

"I hope she'll make up with Cyber soon." Inge whispered.

"Right, I hope so, too. Those two don't deserve to fight each other."

"In fact, they were born for each other." Inge said, putting her arm around Bulldozer's hip.

"Heh, elven philosophy."

"What do you mean by that?" Inge replied, a little bit of­fended.

 

"Now only one tsurbo remains." Matre said to Cyber, "The most devastating and feared of them all. It is called the inner dragon. With it, you can multiply your battle power a hundredfold to a thousandfold."

"However, there are some risks that go with it. The energy you unleash may be too much for you to handle or that selfsame energy may transform you into a hideous reflection of yourself. Whatever may happen, you must master this tsurbo. That is why we are here."

Matre pointed around to show they were far north in the Pillars of the Sky, levitating some hundred feet above the tallest mountain summit.

"I have mastered this tsurbo a very long time ago, so I shall not be in any peril invoking my inner dragon. Watch closely."

Cyber, who could see Matre now as a confusing blur of kaleidoscopic colours, observed how Matre's pattern of energy lines of blues and whites suddenly changed to yellows and oranges. The air around her vibrated, caused by the huge amount of energy concentrated no longer in her body but around her small shape. Then the shape suddenly started to grow enor­mously and when Cyber could see clear again he could see Matre like a man-sized eastern dragon.

He could not do but perspire cold sweat.

"Do not be alarmed by my horrendous shape shift." Matre spoke with her own, raspy voice, "As I said, I can control my inner dragon and the force that comes with it."

Cyber could still not be tranquillized. All his senses told him he was levitating in front of a creature with the strength of an army. Far below him, all the living beings could sense Matre, too, and they were fleeing the area as fast as they could.

"The energy you are irradiating... " Cyber could not finish his sentence.

Matre's dragon shape was burning with orange fire.

"Aye, my son, it is pure magical power. Now you will invoke your inner dragon, too. Do not be afraid; I will be here to guide you and to protect you from yourself."

Her calm voiced calmed Cyber down again. He closed his eyes and repeated Matre's moves.

Before he knew it, he felt as if he were thrown in ice cold water. He could not breathe deeply and full of anxiety he opened his eyes. He saw Matre looking at him.

"You have not transformed!" she said, estranged by the situation.

"That may be the case, but I am ablaze!" Cyber screamed.

Paralysed, Cyber saw flames, blue as the sky, dance around his body without harming him.

"Calm down, Cyber. Calm down!" Matre screamed. As that didn't prove to have any effect on Cyber, she spoke to him telepathically.

"I... I can't!" he screamed, "The energy... it's so much... so powerful... it's engulfing me!"

Matre realized Cyber could not hold on to this situation, so she had to intervene. Quickly she reduced herself to her normal self and penetrated his energy field.

"Cyber, listen to me! Gather all your energy and hurl it into the sky!".

Cyber found enough strength to concentrate and use the dragon's maw.

Finally he projected all the energy to the heavens. A fireball as big as a house flew upwards. It would take minutes before it finally disappeared in space.

"That was quite a lot of energy you had there, my lad." Matre said, looking up to the diminishing fireball. Then she turned around to see Cyber, unconscious, fall down, his mind no longer able to support the levitation.

She was just fast enough to catch him before he could be splattered against the mountainside.

 

Minutes later he woke up in Matre's candle-lit room, con­fused and tired.

He got up in a rush.

"Congratulations, son. You have mastered all 108 tsurbos." Matre said while drinking some tea, "Care for some tea?"

Gladly, Cyber accepted the mug. He drank some and felt better soon. The anxiety he had felt before was totally gone.

"That is a tsurbo I hope to never use again." he spoke softly, still awed by the tremendous powers.

"As experience comes, you will grow accustomed to that tsur­bo, too. Maybe you will have to use it once to save your life."

"I will only use it as a very last resort. I will really have to be in tremendous danger to use a power great enough to shatter a mountain."

"In times to come, you will realize that to shatter a moun­tain you will only have to use a minimum of your true powers."

"Matre, I cannot believe that." Cyber said, awed.

"Live and learn."

Cyber could do nothing more than to look down and finish his tea.

"Another thing, Cyber." Matre interrupted this thoughts. "Prepare yourself. Tomorrow you will be taken to the Siege Perilous, the final part of your training in order to become a battlemage. You have the remaining hours to eat, drink and sleep all you want. At sunrise, two priestesses will take you to the Siege Perilous and you will no longer be allowed to eat or drink anymore for the next three days and three nights. I wish you a good night."

Confused, Cyber greeted the Matre Transcentral, left the room and went straight for the dining room where he decided to eat as much as he could, skipping the meat offered, and drink as much water as he could. After all, the thought of three days without food or drink was not one he liked but one he had to live with.

 

In the monastery's eating room were only a dozen or so priestesses who respectfully greeted him.

"So, tomorrow is the big day." a familiar voice behind him spoke.

"I have just received orders from Matre to take you to the Siege Perilous. Are you ready for it?" Miyuki asked.

"I am, Miyuki. Take a seat." Miyuki sat down next to him.

"Tell me something, what exactly is the Siege Perilous?"

"The Siege Perilous is a cave hidden in the mountains. There you must stay for three days and three nights, to await the purging of your soul. You see, the cave is full of mystical and magical petroglyphs carved down to concentrate certain magical elements to help you finish your training as a battlemage."

"Do you know what exactly happens once I am in the cave?"

"Alas, that I do not know. All I can tell you is that the cave has existed for many centuries and it is said that more and more wisdom is stored there through the years. Only battlemage trainees are allowed inside and so I can safely tell you that nobody in this monastery, except for the Matre Transcentral of course, has ever entered the cave."

"Know that many battlemages in training have come out like different persons or have died in the process. This is ab­solutely not without risk as the Siege is made to complete the tests you have been through. One who has withstood the other tests but isn't ready to be a full-fledged battlemage will not survive. Some died of starvation, those did not know how to suppress the basics of concentration. Some died of thirst, those could not withstand the extraordinary con­ditions of not drinking for so long. Then they couldn't concentrate well enough to withstand the thirst and they dried out to death. Others died under mysterious circumstan­ces."

"How mysterious?"

"Well, once the three days and three nights had passed, we have found some trainees... simply dead. When examining their corpses we could not find any wound or anything else that could have caused their deaths. Matre always said that those men and women have died because they could not beat their own monsters that lived deep within them."

"Illusions? Or do you mean their own fear?" he asked.

Miyuki could only shrug.

"So I have no choice: either I change or I die."

"Something like that, aye."

At that moment, Cyber's next course arrived.

"I see you were wise enough to prepare yourself first by eating as much as you can."

"Aye. After this I will take a well-deserved rest."

"I suppose you are one of the priestesses who will guide me to the cave."

"Aye, that is true. I have been guiding trainees for twenty years. The other priestess is priestess Hitami, I don't know if you know her since she is very exclusive about herself."

"What happens if I come out alive?"

"Then you will be brought back to the monastery where you will be taken care of very well as you will be starved and dehydrated."

"And then I will finally be a true battlemage."

"Aye. Remember that you now posses the instrument to be a battlemage, but not the mind. For all your powers, you are still not strong enough mentally to control your powers. This is why the trainees who would skip the Siege Perilous are drained of their powers automatically."

"Er... I'm not sure I can understand that, Miyuki. If I would not go to the cave, then I would lose all the powers I have learned to use?"

"Aye. Once the training of a battlemage has begun, there is a point of no return. Without the stay in the Siege Perilous, a training is not completed. And when a training is not completed the battlemage-to-be will fail in the first try to call upon his newly found powers. Don't forget that the number of persons who are able to learn how to become a battlemage is very low. When such a person would skip the Siege he shows he is not such a trained and calm person as he pretended to be. In other words, he is a coward for fear for the Siege Perilous is the only thing that can pursue a trainee not to endure his final test. All the long lessons will be wasted when the final lesson is not taken."

"A good thing I chose to take the last test after all." Cyber said.

"Indeed, for all our work would be lost should you refuse to go to the Siege Perilous." Cyber noted she spoke the name with a certain degree of fear and respect.

"I wish you a good rest now, Cyber. Remember not to eat too much and don't drink too much as you will be feeling hunger and thirst sooner if you eat and drink more."

With these words the priestess left, leaving Cyber with a lost appetite.

 

 

        Chapter Eight

 

The next day, just before sunrise, Cyber woke up. Instead of his usual training gear he was given white clothes and a white surcoat. He was given time to drink a little, wash his face and say a prayer to the One who protects the paladins.

Miyuki and Hitami waited for him outside his room and when he left his room they led him outside. In silence they walked in front of him and he looked into nothingness, wondering how far the cave would be.

In the courtyard, all priestesses had been gathered to sing an elegy for him, something Cyber took with his usual calm. He did not look up, not even to see if Matre was looking at him from the window of her tower; he knew she was. He could almost sense her presence.

The door was opened and they left the monastery. The elegy reached a crescendo as the huge gates were being closed behind him and a few minutes later he could still hear the priestesses chanting.

"How many times have they chanted that? How many have gone here before me?" Cyber thought by himself. He thought about Matre's words. He had not been the worst pupil she had had, but certainly not the best. He found it incon­ceivable to think that somebody would have been even stronger and faster than he was.

 

When he looked up from his thoughts he saw they were clim­bing a mountain.

It was getting cold and he could feel the snow under his feet. Somehow Cyber thought it was unnecessary to ask some things so he kept quiet all the way.

Then, unexpected, the priestesses left the path and walked through the rocks of the mountainside. Cyber had difficul­ties to follow them but he finally caught up with them again. They had reached a plain, impossible to reach in any other way than the one they had taken. At the far end of the plain the entrance of the cave was visible and deep inside Cyber felt this was the dreaded Siege Perilous. He didn't wait for the priestesses to lead him and entered the cave, where he sat down.

"I see you are getting comfortable already." Miyuki spoke.

"You must stay here for three days and three nights, without food or water. You may enter the cave as deep as you like, though you may not like it in there. It is entirely your own problem if you get lost, since there is no help for you at hand, we cannot follow you in there. You cannot use the snow outside to drink, for we will know if you do." Miyuki's tone implied that Cyber should really not do that.

"On the last day we expect to find you on the same spot you are now. Then we will take you back to the monastery. Understood?"

Cyber nodded firmly. The two priestesses left the cave and then Miyuki turned around.

"You know, in all the years I have guided battlemage trainees, you are the only one who has not spoken to us on the way."

Both women laughed and jumped away.

"So I was allowed to speak after all." Cyber thought by himself.

Then again, he realized it was best not to speak for that would only dry him out and he had to save his breath and forget about food or water.

 

Against better judgment, Cyber started to study the petroglyphs he found on the walls. Most of them were indeed of magical origin, probably written and drawn to intensify the stay of the battlemages there. He found it difficult to believe that Matre had drawn all these on the walls but if she hadn't, then who had? It was even more difficult to imagine priestesses entering this cave to draw the lines on the walls. After moments of considerations, Cyber left the petroglyphs for what they were.

He walked on and found more glyphs, but these were of no magical origin.

These were carved down or written by the battlemages who had stayed here.

It was logical to assume that the deeper he entered, the newer the glyphs were. The oldest were carved down, Cyber could not imagine with what.

To make it even more mysterious, the languages used were totally unknown to him. Looking at the height where they started, some four yards above ground level, Cyber assumed they were drawn by the centaurs or the giants of old, creatures who were not much more than legends now as they had disappeared long ago.

"That long ago." Cyber whispered, remembering Matre was six thousand years old and the giants of old were only legends even to her. The whisper rang through the cave.

"Just how long is this cave?"

It couldn't be just a tunnel, else one could not get lost here, as Miyuki had suggested. Somewhere this cave had to fork.

As he didn't have anything else to do he followed the glyphs, hoping to find something readable on the wall.

 

In a part still visible by daylight, Cyber found the first drawing. It had been drawn by a giant, no doubt, for it represented a big man who was being attacked by a creature that looked like a giant spider or like an octopus with one big eye in the middle of its body. One of the legs of the monster went down all the way to the ground, indicating the artist had fallen to the ground after finishing the drawing. At the place where the line ended Cyber could see a big dark stain on the ground. It was a rusty brown, just like the drawing. With a start Cyber realized what that was.

The artist had used his own blood to make the drawing.

What madness could overtake someone to make one use his or her own blood?

Had the giant made this while he was dying under one of those mysterious circumstances Miyuki had told him about? How long had he stayed there, two, three days? The giant octopus or spider was certainly imaginary, that was for sure, but why had the giant drawn it? Madness, illusions? Could it be the lack of food or the lack of water?

One thing was sure, it had scared Cyber deeply. He decided to leave that place behind.

As he went down further, the sunlight grew dimmer, for it could not enter the cave that deep. Cyber decided to use a small part of his newfound powers to glow dimly himself. That way he could see the other writings and drawings. As he entered, he realized that probably all bat­tlemages who had preceded him must have used the very same trick, for these writings were still written clearly, without any fault due to lack of light.

Finally he found something he could read more or less. The text was not carved but burned down in the rock and it was in ancient elven tongue.

It had been a long time since Cyber had seen the ancient tongue but as he spoke elven he could understand most of it. He had some trouble translating it but finally he could read:

"...my second day here. I am hungry, but that is a feeling I can control/ steer [illegible part]. What I cannot control/ steer is the anxiety/ fear I feel/ sense/ hear every time She comes back. I should not feel anxiety/ fear for her. She is beautiful/ worthy yet my soul/ butterfly tells me to keep her at a distance. [illegible sentences, burned in nervous­ly] I have beaten/ killed her. Soon the fourth sunrise/ day will arrive. I hope/desire the priestesses/ virgins/ ser­vants will come for I am so weak I cannot even get up. In case I do not live/ survive, I hope/desire someone will remember/ revere me by reading this."

More mysteries, Cyber thought by himself. Who was She? Surely she seemed to be a pretty woman, else the male elf would not have said it. But why did he fear her? He was sure the right translation was fear, looking at the rest of the text. What Cyber had read so far had not been comfor­ting. It seemed like his stay here would be a hard trial. But he decided he would not let anything frighten him so quickly. He straightened his shoulders and walked on, glowing a bit brighter nonetheless.

 

The rest of the writings were either illegible or just as mysterious as the first one he had read. During the last thousands of years battlemages had come to that place to forge a stronger mind and soul but to gain that, every one of them had been confronted with a frightening creature or creatures. Someone told about a fight with an undead cyclops, a woman was confronted with an army of giant cock­roaches that threatened to enter her every body cavity. Some battlemages met known people who acted strangely, especially because they didn't belong here and were certainly not supposed to be here. There was one man however who seemed to be the wisest and calmest of them all. He wrote in an old southern dialect that the magical glyphs at the opening of the cave were designed to amplify a certain memory or feeling of anyone who entered. So he or she who was in the cave had to fight himself or herself, and the monsters that came with this, and survive in order to become a battlemage freed of deepest fears and thus a stronger and better one.

Cyber considered it to be a good, logical explanation, but could a ghost of the mind kill a person? He had to look at the only other drawing in the cave. It was a fair drawing of a sphinx. The person who had drawn it had been a very good artist, but every time Cyber looked at the drawing he saw the infinite cruelty in the eyes of the creature who had a friendly reputation, as if it could come out of the wall any time and attack the battlemage.

He looked at the text on the wall next to the picture. It was written with a blue paint-like substance and to his surprise Cyber found a pot with the paint at his feet. Through the years it had solidified.

Cyber paid no more attention to the pot and started to read the text, written down in the trade-language of the west.

"Outside, the armies of the west are on a crusade to battle the armies of the east and of the teutonic realm, trying to free the elves. Meanwhile, I am writing down my last rational thoughts. I am the latest trainee and I thought I would become the best, but it is so hard, so difficult to... "

Here the text ended, but on the other side of the wall it continued.

"Yesternight I could not finish writing for a heart-piercing scream ran through the cave and then I passed out. Strangely enough I still haven't seen who screamed last night."

"This is my final night here. All this time I have not met any of the horrors all the others wrote about and I still have my wits. Heh, I did not know it would be so easy."

"Just an hour ago a man appeared from within the cave. He walked at me so casually, as if it were normal for a man to appear from out of nowhere, that it made my skin crawl. He did not fight me, nor I fight him. He was dressed in black, like a dark cleric or wizard, but he was not one, I am sure. He told me I would find a way to stretch my lifespan and that I would use my powers for egocentric purposes. Then he told me he would come to this world and end my violent actions. His words frightened me and before I could do a thing, he disappeared. Now I am more tranquil and within an hour, the sun will rise and the priestesses will take me back to the monastery. There I will talk with Gaeiga."

Because the first writings were about the first crusade Cyber knew it was over thirty years old. The other trainees who had come here after this man had not written anything for obvious reasons: the walls had ended. Behind the walls were some narrow passages with stalagmites. Somewhere he could hear water dripping. He chose not to investigate where the water was. Maybe Miyuki would sense him drinking water and if she wouldn't, Matre certainly would.

He turned around and looked at the cave entrance, far away. Outside the sun was setting and he decided to sleep, as if it were only to let time pass by unnoticed. He lay down and leaning against a stalagmite he fell asleep.

 

A low rumble woke him up. Immediately he got up and looked around. He could neither see nor sense anyone of anything, yet someone was producing a low moaning. Without fear, Cyber entered one of the many tunnels, the biggest one, where the sound seemed to come from. Without making noise or light he walked down in utter darkness.

Then two yellow balls suddenly became visible some thirty feet from him.

Cyber hurried to make some magical light and saw the most horrible creature he had ever seen.

A sixteen foot albino minotaur.

Foam came from its mouth, the eyes burned like fire. It was looking at Cyber with primal intelligence and Cyber froze in place, terrorized as he was.

He had seen many minotaurs before, and all had inspired awe in him. Yet none had  been as big or as savage-looking as this one.

Then it ran to him, stomping so hard Cyber could see sparks on the stone ground. It made such a terrible roar that the whole cave seemed to tremble.

Before Cyber knew it, the minotaur had hit him viciously with its shoulder and Cyber flew through the air. As he fell down hard he knew the beast would not disappeared just like that though he never understood where it had come from. Dazed, he saw how the furious minotaur ran to him again, fast enough to pulverize him under its massive feet.

 

When Cyber woke up, he could still hear the echo of his own scream.

"It was a dream, only a dream." he said to himself with a gasp.

He wiped away the cold sweat from his forehead and looked at the entrance.

Outside the sun was shining, the next day had begun.

"I have survived a day and a night." he mumbled, trying not to think of his thirst, "A nice breakfast and a lot of water would do nicely now. But I'll try not to think of it for the rest of the time."

Soon he had to dismiss that dream, it still bothered him.

Then he heard a low moo, like that of a cow.

Or a minotaur.

Sweat broke out again and soon covered his whole body.

"It wasn't a dream. Damn, it wasn't a dream!" he screamed, half furious, half frightened.

He got up and stretched his legs, then he concentrated to see if he could sense a living being around. After a while, he found nothing except for some white worms that dwelled a couple of feet away. That was strange, too.

Normally a cave was inhabited by the creatures of the night who used the cave to sleep in at day. Sometimes a big mammal used it as its home. But this cave was empty, almost too empty.

Then the mooing came back, louder this time.

Was Cyber all imagining this? Hardly, he thought. He was not that much underfed to start hallucinating and he knew he was not mad.

Then what caused that noise?

Could it be that somewhere in this cave lived a mutated kind of minotaur, an albino kind, that could hide itself from every kind of perception?

"Impossible." Cyber whispered, "It can't even be a ghost because ghosts can be sensed, too." Inadvertently he balled his fists and then remembered the words written on the wall, about the deepest fears of a battlemage.

But why a minotaur? Why did it cause so much panic? Cyber knew a lot about minotaurs, he had fought with and against them and he had fought creatures much more horrifying or dangerous than minotaurs.

Then he remembered something that had happened in Catilae a long time ago.

Cyber was just a child when one day an easterner came to the court with two wagonloads of chained people. He was a slave driver. Though Higarth, the chamberlain, told the easterner that slaves were forbidden in these parts, he and his cronies took the slaves out. They were chained all over and could hardly move. Cyber was outside with his friends and his brother Elriq, and curious as they were, they came closer to look at the chained men and women. They all looked sad and Cyber noticed they were not only underfed but also beaten up. There was only one slave not looking sad.

It was a minotaur, black as the night and with melon-like muscles.

To the little Cyber, that monster towered far above him and though he was still bleeding from several wounds it still looked strong enough to lift the wagon it had been transported in.

The combination of fear and the minotaur's strong smell made none of the children approach the giant beast, except Cyber and Elriq.

The two boys approached the minotaur carefully and were about to touch its furry arm when the beast turned around and looked down at the boys.

Only its eyes glowed a pale yellow and it snorted disap­provingly.

"Careful boys, don't touch the merchandise." one of the easterner's cronies told them, "You don't want to lose an arm or something."

Cyber and Elriq nodded. At that moment, the king himself entered, accompanied by a dozen guards. He had been informed about the slaves and was about to buy them all to set them free. The slave driver didn't care much, as long as he had his money. The king started discussing over the total price he had to pay when it all happened.

"Enough!" the minotaur bellowed and with a mighty tug at the chains he was free. Foam started to come from its mouth and involved in a frenzy, he started to hit anyone around him. Soon it was a carnage of maimed and killed people, but the guards protected their king and used their crossbows on the minotaur. Elriq found safety soon enough behind the guards but Cyber was too late, dragged away by the scared crowd that had gathered around the easterner and his slaves. He fell on the ground and was left there.

Meanwhile, the minotaur had taken hold of the slave driver. Wounded as the beast was by a dozen crossbow bolts, Cyber could see how the beast started to break the slave driver's limbs and then broke his neck.

Unfortunately, he was between Cyber and the king's guards.

While the guards advanced, they kept shooting. The minotaur seemed to feel nothing as he dropped the heavily mutilated slave driver. He was dead for sure.

Suddenly the minotaur turned around and saw Cyber lying their, helpless and unprotected. He ignored the guards and went straight to him. Horrified, Cyber got up and ran away.

"Save my son!" the king yelled, "That monster may not get my son!" A platoon of soldiers and a couple of mounted paladins chose that moment to arrive.

The paladins, anxious for glory, immediately spurred their horses to the monster, their lances pointed at its enormous body.

Cyber however thought he would die there. With three mighty strides the minotaur approached him. Cyber fell down just then and rolled over in a paralysing anxiety. The minotaur stood over him, eyes glowing, teeth grinding.

He stretched his arms to grab Cyber.

Then everything went dark for the young prince.

Later Cyber found himself in the palace again. He had fainted and therefore had not seen how one of the paladins had killed the black monster by piercing his lance straight through its heart. The monster had died instantly.

That was the only time in his life that he had been scared by a minotaur, and now Cyber found himself looking for a minotaur, this time a white one, that was lurking somewhere in the dark cave. Why must it be a minotaur?

There was nothing, absolutely nothing Cyber feared. No dragon, no undead warrior, no gargoyle did he fear, he had fought all of those. Like he had fought minotaurs. Yet the minotaur had given him the fear of his life.

Minotaurs were so big, almost as big as the legendary giants of old, and their muscles were bigger than any other biped on Vascaria. Minotaurs were known to have killed ogres with their bare hands, and their horns.

He also remembered how Bulldozer had wrestled some good-natured minotaurs in sports contests. Bulldozer wasn't afraid of minotaurs. Would he be afraid of this one? Cyber didn't know.

"But if Bulldozer isn't afraid of minotaurs I am also not afraid of them. I'm a battlemage, and no matter how big and strong those minotaurs are, I am faster and stronger, I have powers they will never posses."

At that moment he saw the minotaur again, standing right in front of him, and before he knew it he was kicked to a wall. Stunned, Cyber lay dazed against the rock wall for a moment but dived away just in time to avoid a blow by the monster's giant fists, which buried themselves in the wall.

While rolling away, Cyber remembered another fight with a minotaur. It was Bel-Maran, one of the guardians of the parts of the Azure Gem. That time Bolrick the elf had cast a strength spell on him and because the spell had taken all his fears away he had been able to defeat the monster.

But this time he was alone,there was no magic help, and he was afraid.

Horrified, he saw how the minotaur pulled its fists from the rocks as if they were made from butter and turned again to Cyber, now walking slowly.

Cyber concentrated, not paying attention to his senses that told him no minotaur could ever be standing in front of him. He jumped, ripped a stalactite from the ceiling and used it as a mace. The makeshift club broke in pieces and though the hit would have killed an elephant, the minotaur only stood dazed, rubbing its eyes. For a moment, Cyber could not believe his eyes but then he took control of his mind and swept the beast off its feet.

The minotaur fell with a helpless scream of fury and fell on its back hard.

Though Cyber felt his skin crawl every time he was near it, he jumped and wanted to land on the minotaur's throat with a stomp. To his surprise there was suddenly nothing where the minotaur had been and Cyber landed on solid rock. He didn't need to worry about the minotaur's whereabouts as it was standing right behind him. Cyber could do nothing as the beast grabbed him from behind and put on a reversed bear hug. Slowly, Cyber felt his strength disappear with his breath. He could only move his legs.

He nodded and kicked hard against a wall, using the wall for leverage to send him and the minotaur flying against the opposite wall. The minotaur took the whole impact and let go of Cyber. Quickly he rolled away and waited for the monster to recover, instead of attacking himself.

The minotaur regained its breath and was standing in front of Cyber. It was still breathing heavily, its eyes were still glowing a bright yellow and foam still came from the bestial mouth. The sight of the furious creature frightened Cyber again. With superhuman effort he concentrated, closed his eyes and waited for the attack. The great beast came with his horns to impale Cyber, who could barely jump over them. In mid-air he could hit it in the neck and it fell down hard, making the entire cave tremble.

Victoriously, Cyber smiled and followed up. The minotaur was getting up and when he saw Cyber attacking again he disap­peared again. Cyber, however, was prepared this time and delivered a back kick at once, knowing full well where the beast would re-appear. The monster, hit fully in the stomach, fell down on its knees and Cyber could kick it in the face. Rather to his surprise, the albino monster did not fall. Instead it got up and lunged at Cyber with its right fist but now Cyber had overcome his fear he could dodge it effortlessly to counterattack with a spinning fist of his own.

This time the monster did fall.

It was hurt.

Lying on the ground, its breath harsh, the minotaur seemed to plead for its life. Cyber knew that, as a paladin, he should grant the minotaur its life for begging for mercy but he also realized he was a battlemage now, and he was supposed to deal with his greatest fear.

"I am sorry minotaur, but I cannot let you live for you are not a living being. Now I understand why you were sent to me. You, minotaur, are the embodiment of my deepest fear and therefore you must disappear."

The monster seemed to understand. His eyes glowed anew and with a last effort he grabbed Cyber's ankle. Cyber however bowed and broke the bestial neck.

Slowly the dead minotaur slumped to the ground and then it vanished, this time for good.

With this victory, Cyber fell on the ground, too. Now he felt all the pain the battle had caused him. Now he remembered his hunger and thirst again.

He could feel how his stomach churned, how dry his throat was.

He looked at the cave entrance, so far away. It was evening, he saw.

With his last remaining strength he crawled to a wall and leaned his back against it.

"I have survived another day." he moaned softly, "Halfway." he added and then closed his eyes. If he could not satisfy his hunger and thirst, at least he could rest enough to kill time and to give his body the rest it needed so badly.

 

Chapter Nine

 

One day, a woman on horseback came to the Temple of Wajo. She looked tired and the guards let her in soon enough. In the courtyard she descended from her horse and looked at the priestess who approached her. It was Miyuki, and a smile was on her face. The woman smiled back.

"Greetings, priestess Miyuki. As you can see, I am back."

"Greetings, Soraya, and I am glad to see you again. Tell me why you have returned."

While a priestess took Soraya's horse away, Miyuki led her to a small dining room, where the elf could rest and drink some tea.

"Of course, I have returned to see how Cyber fares. Has his training ended yet?"

"Almost. As a matter of fact, he is now in a cave to end his psychic training."

"What?" Soraya almost screamed, "In a cave, to end his training?"

After all, elves loathed caves, a part of their nature.

"Aye, but do not worry. In two days time, he will be picked up and then it will be all over." Miyuki decided not to tell Soraya there was a chance Cyber would die in the Siege Perilous, that would only worry her more.

"I don't like any of this, Miyuki. I think this training has gone too far, I must... " Soraya was about to stand up when Miyuki grabbed her softly by the arm.

"Soraya... Cyber wanted to go to the cave himself. Besides, the whole situation is well in our hands, we have everything under control."

She made the elfwoman sit again and looked her in the eyes.

"Look, I can understand you are worried about your friend, but Cyber must go through this. Besides, it is only three days and three nights that he must spend in the cave and the second day has just passed. As I am told, Cyber is doing very well, even better than the average battlemage."

Those words calmed Soraya down a bit. For a while she said nothing and took a sip of her tea. Then she looked up again.

"Are Red Sarah and Derek still around? I'd hate to see those two rogues still wandering around here."

"Oh no, they left a long time ago." Miyuki laughed, "Those two wanted to harass Cyber but after they both took quite a beating they both left, only Sarah dared to come close to him, and for dubious reasons."

"Aye, I should have known. And do you know if Cyber and she... "

"I am quite sure he did not even touch her. As it seems, Sarah got a bit frightened by Cyber's new powers and decided to stay healthy."

Both women laughed wholeheartedly.

 

As Cyber woke from uneasy dreams, he realized he was not hungry; he was famished! The fight yesterday, if there ever had been a real fight, had taken a lot of energy from him. He raised himself a bit and looked around. He saw everything double and foggy, but the remains of the furious battle were still visible.

A fleeting thought lingered deep within Cyber. He crept to the entrance, very slowly. It was still some hundred yards away. Come on, he thought by himself, you're such a tough paladin, show 'em what you're made of.

It seemed to last an eternity but then he saw the small bowl with the blue paint on the ground, just where he'd left it. He looked up and far above he saw the writings about the dark man who foretold the future.

"I have gone far enough. It must be in the afternoon of the third day. I deserve a rest." With this he let his head fall and he was asleep at once, even though he had been up for just an hour or so.

 

Miyuki brought Soraya to the same room she had stayed in the last time she had been there. Unwillingly, Soraya thought about the discussions she had had with Cyber there. Aye, she missed him, she realized.

"Well, you have your room back." Miyuki said a bit awkwardly. She knew something had happened here between the elfwoman and the paladin and she suspected Soraya wanted to make it up.

"I see it is the same as how I left it." Soraya said and dropped her bag of belongings on her bed. Carefully she began to unpack and put her clothes in the small closet.

"Soraya, I know you care for Cyber and I know you will try to contact him. However I must warn you that this is impossible. Cyber must remain isolated by all means."

Soraya turned around and looked surprised at Miyuki.

"Contact Cyber? Me? I wish I could, Miyuki, but if you tell me he is in a secret cave, how in the god's name can I go to him?"

Her voice could not hide a certain degree of sarcasm which didn't escape the priestess.

"I am sorry I had to tell you this, Soraya. But I am forced to do so."

With these words, she left the room.

 

Cyber knew he was hallucinating when he heard voices that seemed to come from outside. He tried to concentrate to hear what the voices were saying but his attempts failed, the voices were too low and too far away.

Creeping sensations came from behind his back, as if a cold shadow was passing over him. Instinctively he turned around but he saw nothing.

He was now ten feet away from the entrance, and although he was sure he had enough strength to go out, he would not leave the cave.

Something made him stay there.

Suddenly he realized he was sitting right under the magical runes.

He looked up and saw they were glowing dimly, like fire flies at night.

But this was different. The runes were glowing red, a menacing kind of red.

Cyber now knew what the runes were for: the prevent someone from leaving the cave before the time had come. He decided to look at them with his astral body.

He breathed a couple of times in a way to deepen his concentration, closed his eyes and left his physical body.

 

To find out he was not in the cave at all but far above it. Immediately he went down to where his other body should have been.

But it was not there. Even worse, where the cave used to be he found an immense black hole, black as a moonless night. Cyber smiled.

"Now I know where I am." he spoke, and entered the hole without hesitation.

Just as he expected he came in a Vascaria without animals or people.

He flew around for a while and where the eastern city of Beyong should have been he saw an old man, dressed in an orange tunic, a cane in his hand, looking at the endless sea.

Cyber descended and walked up to the old man, also looking at the waves.

"I see you are back." the man said without turning around.

"And I know who you are now." Cyber spoke, "You are the honourable Wajo, founder of the temple where I reside."

The old man smiled and looked at the ground between his feet. "Finally you have figured it out, lad. But tell me, how do you know I am not a fake?"

"Shall we continue and leave this charade, Wajo? I just know you are the real Wajo, you emanate too much aural energy to be a fake."

"Good, good. You are a very clever lad." the old man finally turned around and faced the young paladin.

"However, I must ask you a final question: what is this world? Surely this is not Vascaria nor a parallel dimension."

Cyber looked around. The big sun hung frozen in the air, partially eaten by the huge ocean. The sky was blue and yellow, and the whole landscape gave a peaceful feeling.

"This world is a fantastic creation in the astral plane, so fantastic as to be an exact copy of Vascaria, undoubtedly created by you. My congratulations."

"Thank you, lad." Wajo spoke gratefully, "It has taken my whole afterlife to make it look remotely like the world we know and love."

"I can guess why you haven't created people or cities, but wouldn't it be a lot nicer if it had... birds?"

Wajo looked surprised at Cyber.

"My word, you are right!"

One thought and hundreds of birds filled the air, flying away to the horizons on all sides.

"Now, this world seems to live." Wajo spoke, satisfied.

"Aye." Cyber replied, looking at a flight of pigeons flying to the west.

For a moment, he forgot everything around him.

"The last time I was here you told me I was near the Mumonham."

"Aye, the Gateless Barrier." Wajo looked up thoughtfully.

"Ah, forget the self, unite with Mu, nothingness. Do you really wish to go there, where there is no redemption, no love, where there is truly nothing?"

"It is not a matter of wishing, but one of performing your karma, honourable Wajo." Cyber answered, "I have a destiny to fulfil. A destiny I may not like but one I will follow till the end."

"Your words have convinced me, young man." Wajo spoke after a silence.

"I know who you are and I know your future. And I am sure you are not going to like it, but nevertheless you will go on with it until the bitter end. You are truly a man and a paladin. Which is why you will never lose your paladin abilities. Let me tell you that only a handful of trainees have entered the Gateless Barrier, the place in everyone's soul and mind where no one has come out unchanged. Please sit down."

Both Wajo and Cyber sat down on the ground. The old man told Cyber to close his eyes.

"Soon I will start to intone a mantra that will take you There, deep within you." Wajo's voice now sounded different.

"Farewell Cyber, we may never meet again."

Wajo started to chant in a voice that was so deep, so vibrating, that the whole plain rumbled. All birds fell silent and a light breeze caressed the whole coast.

 

It was child's play for Soraya to look for Cyber with her astral body.

Soon enough she found a cave with the physical remains of the paladin.

Strangely enough she could not enter the cave, for the entrance was sealed with a glowing force field. No matter what Soraya tried, the field would not disappear.

"Looking for something?" a strange, raspy voice asked. Soraya turned around quickly and found herself face to face with a jade and opal dragon. Its eyes were two red rubies.

"I thought you were warned not to try to approach Cyber." it continued.

Soraya screamed and the next moment she was back in her body and her breath was heavy.

"Who was that dragon?" she asked herself. Soraya knew the answer all too well, but dared not think about it.

 

Imagine that you find yourself bathing in white, warm, liquid light.

You can see nothing else, you feel nothing else. Complete and utter peace.

Warmth everywhere, white fluorescent light everywhere. You have no notion of time or physical suffering.

Soon enough you might like it there, though you do not know how that place is called. That is all-right, because you do not know if you have ever been any place else. Everything is the same and everything is in peace.

That is why you might get rather upset if you see and feel how the warm liquid light extinguishes and everything you have seen and felt turns dark and cold.

To your surprise, you realize those feelings are not new to you, you have felt cold before, you have dwelt in darkness before.

Then, at last, your whole past comes back to you. You remember everything and you will look back at everything you have done in the past, and say 'I will never do this again' or 'that was good, I will remember to do it that good'. And when you have finished passing through your memories you turn back to yourself, discovering you are a different person than you used to be.

This is what happened to Cyber.

He found himself back in the astral plane, sitting in front of the old man Wajo. He looked around. The sun was still frozen in the horizon, the birds were flying and singing again.

"Who are you?" the old man asked suddenly, "What is your name?"

"My name is Cyber Castlestone, son of queen Darcelle and Taliesin the sorcerer." Cyber answered without hesitation.

"Your voyage has been a successful one, son. You are now a battlemage, the rarest kind of magic users in Vascaria." the old man said, standing up.

Cyber also rose and the man put a hand on his shoulder.

"You have the skill and you have the power. What you still lack, however, is experience. So you must train on and on."

"You speak as if I still have years to live."

"Oh, but you have, my son. You have."

"Now it's time for you to return to your own world. Already three days and three nights have passed and you will be picked up by the priestesses soon enough."

"One more thing." Cyber said, now also with a smile, "After all those years, centuries, millennia, battlemages have entered the Siege Perilous, looking for the Gateless Barrier. Have you been here all the time, receiving them, or have I been one of few to speak to you after your demise?"

"To tell you the truth, Cyber, I have awaited only a handful of battlemages here." Wajo answered, leaning heavily on his cane.

"You are not the only one I have met here but you are one of the few privileged ones to see me here."

"Fair enough. Now I must go." He wanted to turn around but he took a last look at the sage.

"I hope to see you once again." he said, and with these words he disappeared from the astral plain.

"I hope so, too, Cyber." Wajo replied, looking at the yellow and blue sky.

The change from the heavenly bliss of the Gateless Barrier and the astral plane to the harsh reality of the Siege Perilous made Cyber almost double up. While his mind and soul were stronger than ever, his body was in a deplorable state. Famished and thirsty, he lacked the strength to look outside or up. Therefore he didn't notice the red runes had stopped glowing.

He strained his body to look at the entrance.

Instead he saw two entrances dancing before his eyes, but both showed it was dark outside. Soon dawn would come and the priestesses would get him out of here. But how soon? Two hours? Seven hours? Oh, it was so easy to surrender, to let unconsciousness take over! But no, now he had a strong mind and therefore an indomitable will that told him to resist to show everybody he was waiting for his retrieval with dignity. He would hold on, despite the agonizing pain in his stomach and his incredibly dry and painful throat.

It would turn out to very difficult to remain conscious. Cyber was seeing flickering starts everywhere he looked around and he felt like his throat and tongue were swollen up.

In his mind he counted till thousand and then he looked at the entrance to see if the priestesses were coming, but every time he saw only darkness and heard only the silence outside.

"Damn it all." he managed to yell, "Why hasn't it dawned yet? Why haven't you come yet, Miyuki? Why?"

Minutes passed slowly and Cyber decided to think about what he would do after this hard trial. He would talk to Matre, of course, and ask her to give him the books his father, Taliesin the sorcerer, had given her so many years ago. Then he would finally be free to go and roam the lands again, free as a bird. Maybe he would search for Soraya, maybe he would visit Inge and Bulldozer in Pezar, as he hadn't seen them since New Iris after they had returned from the other world.

So concentrated he was that he did not notice it was finally dawning outside and not much later Miyuki and Hitami were approaching the cave.

They were just about to enter when they heard Cyber's voice, talking to himself. At last he finally noticed them, too. Energetically he rose and walked over to them.

"Boy, am I glad to see the two of you!" he spoke with a quavering voice.

Then he fell in their arms. Now that everything was over it would be all-right to pass out, he thought.

 

Darkness, sweet oblivion, abruptly changing into hazy shades of grey.

Finally Cyber could identify two of the grey figures as priestess Miyuki and Soraya.

"Soraya, what are you doing here?" Cyber mumbled, his words barely audible.

"Calm down Cyber." Miyuki spoke in a soothing voice.

"You are still too weak to move, let alone get up."

"Hello Cyber." Soraya said with a smile, "I hear your training as a battlemage has ended successfully. You are now a true battlemage in body and mind."

"So it seems." Cyber mumbled.

"And not only that!" Miyuki interrupted, "Not only have you rinsed your soul of deeds past, but you have also finally sound a solution to your curse, as it's gone."

"Yes!" Soraya hollered, ecstatic, "Isn't it wonderful, Cyber?"

The battlemage could not believe what he heard. Slowly he lifted one hand, then the other one and looked at them both. There was no tattoo. His arms had their original colour, too. Then he touched his forehead.

"That is gone, too." Soraya said, "Can you believe it? It's all gone!"

"At last." Cyber whispered, "At last the bane of my existence has gone for good. How...?"

"It seems that somehow you found the solution for your curse once you were looking for yourself in the Siege Perilous." Miyuki tried to explain.

"But for now, the most important is that you recover to your full powers, which can be achieved by resting and eating properly."

"Oh, don't worry. I happen to be very good at that." Cyber said with a weak smile.

Miyuki and Soraya laughed and then left the room to let him rest. Cyber was alone now, looking at his body. The toll of his stay in the cave was clearly visible, but showed no marks of where his curse had once been.

Then, dizzy, he closed his eyes again and for the first time in many years he slept well, with a smile on his face.

 

Days passed and Cyber was allowed to get out of bed. The first thing he did was to go to the mountains. He walked to one in particular, and though there were many horrendous creatures stalking in his path they all looked through him as if he didn't exist. During the whole walk, Cyber did not even notice the monsters and animals around him. He had lowered his aura so as to have become an almost non-existing entity.

When finally on the top of a fair-sized mountain, he restored his aura to full strength and was at last able to look around. Around him, the Pillars of the Sky stretched to the horizons on all sides, covered by a thick carpet of snow. Around Cyber, however, the snow was melting. He lifted his fists, unaware of the cold and the dazzling height at which he found himself, he let out a mighty roar.

"I am a battlemage! Finally I have the power! Thank you Wajo!" he yelled.

With these words he fired a blazing energy ball that exploded in the sky, colouring it orange and red. He jumped and then threw himself down, only to levitate in mid-air. Laughing in joy, he flew from one mountain top to the other, performing acrobatic tricks and lighting the sky with many fireballs.

When after many hours he was tired of flying around, he decided to rest in a valley, green with vegetation and free of snow and monsters.

There he stayed until sunset, enjoying the landscape.

"I am free of my curse." he spoke to himself, his eyes full of tears.

"After so many years, free!"

He still found it inconceivable he had no longer a scar-like tattoo on his forehead, let alone on the rest of his body. This was different from the situation near Kranak-Prisha, this time he was really freed of the curse that had eclipsed all the joy in his life ever since that night.

Then Cyber noticed it had become night and he rose, concentrated and flew back to the temple that had been his home for months.

 

        Chapter Ten

 

From her bedroom window Soraya saw Cyber leave the temple for a stroll through the deep green forest. When she finally lost sight of him in the vegetation, she sighed and turned around. The elf closed her eyes and concentrated. Suddenly the room seemed to darken and mist appeared from out of nowhere.

The secondary effects from a cloaking spell.

Where once was empty space in front of Soraya now stood a tall white-bearded man. His eyes shone in the unnatural darkness. Only his pale face was visible, the rest of his body was covered by a dark blue tunic with interwoven threads of platinum.

Slowly the man lowered his arms just as his eyes stopped glowing and revealed two deep grey irises.

"Report, my child." he spoke in a commanding tone, so sure that his cloaking spell could muffle his thundering voice as well, a voice Soraya knew all too well.

"Cyber, oh dreaded one, has finally become a battlemage. Somehow he also managed to get rid of his curse as well."

The last words were spoken as a sigh, then she looked down at her feet.

"Yet another move completed." the man said satisfied.

"Things are at last in motion. Soon radical changes will come and turn this world upside down, but you already know this, don't you, child?"

"Aye, you have told me this a great many times, dreaded one. How Cyber would be one of your Chosen Warriors and how he would lead Vascaria and other continents known to a golden era. And you have explained to me why Cyber had to pass through many hardships to become what he is now."

Absently Soraya walked to the window to see if she could find her beloved outside, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Why do you insist on calling me dreaded one? I am not so dreadful as you seem to think me to be." the bearded man asked, cocking his head to one side while stroking his silvery beard.

"You know darn well why I call you thus." Soraya snapped, turning her head.

"You could have told me from the beginning it was you who coaxed me to curse Cyber, forcing a complex spell in my memory to put the only one I love in pain and misery. My goddess, I do not even comprehend why you have done something so horrible to a kind man like Cyber."

The man was slowly shaking his head, as if denying every word Soraya was saying. Then he lifted a finger.

"My dear, favoured Soraya, I wish you could understand your luxurious situation. From all the Chosen Warriors I have spoken only to you about my plans, for you were the one to guide Cyber. Beside you, no mortal knows about the machinations to alter this world for the better. You should... "

"But why curse him?" Soraya interrupted him, on the verge of tears, her hands shaping into trembling fists, "Why curse the man I love?"

"You still don't understand, do you child? And to think I found you such an intelligent being I could share my plans with you!" The man suddenly changed his tone of voice.

"Dear Soraya, Cyber used to be a romantic, art-loving excuse for a man who was prone to faint every time he saw a pretty damsel."

"That was exactly the man I used to love... "

With a move of his finger, the ancient man silenced the elf. "Let me finish this, woman. Were he to be free of his destiny, he would still have been this way. But he is part of destiny, not only of himself but of the entire world. He should have been a fierce warrior but you know just as well that he failed there, as he was too soft and kind for this duty. So I was forced to intervene with a curse that would free his mind of the women in his life. For that I needed a virgin mageling, and you happened to be on the right spot at the right time, so that mistake was quickly corrected."

With these words he smiled in satisfaction.

"So Cyber was never to know the love of a woman? Is that it?"

"But of course!" the man quickly answered, "As it turned out, he became a fierce warrior. No knight, but still a good paladin and he got his great powers from the god for that. He was even so good that the god let him keep his powers even though he is now a battlemage!"

"My goddess, a bitter life he has led. Were it not for me..."

"Pah! To me it seems inconceivable to love and in your case I find it double as bad for a mere love of flesh, to love a man after a one night stand... "

He didn't finish his sentence, though.

"But I have come here to receive good news, not to discuss the moral aspects of the plans. How fares Cyber now that he is free of the curse and a full-fledged battlemage?"

It was silent for a long time, but finally Soraya answered, still looking outside.

"His mood has changed for the better, just like his fighting skills. I judge him strong enough to partake in your battle."

"It is not my battle, but those of the gods. And I am to judge if he is strong enough. Do you know something more of his companions?"

"Bulldozer is as mighty as ever, since he has learned the ways of the magic to combine with his fighting skills. Adam is still in Dragon Peak, training his physique still so that he will be fit." Then Soraya looked up.

"You may think the world will change for the better, but I am not sure if I even want to live in this world of yours."

"Do I hear a tone of cynicism in your words, Soraya?" the old man said in a faint attempt of a joke, "Know then that I am not one to rule this world, it is merely my job to guide the ones who will shape it. The rules of the world are given by the gods, and though I may look like one, I am not a god.

“You call me dreaded one, yet I am only the messenger. People who see me merely refer to me as the Ancient One, yet I am the one who takes more interest in Cyber than anybody else in this world, even you."

Then suddenly the man was gone, leaving Soraya confused and with a lot of questions.

In the first years, before she had gone to the other world to help her parallel, she had raised the young prince, then led him to a small number of adventures. After he had been cursed things had changed, the ancient man had started to appear a few times, asking her about the young human.

She had told him what he had done, who he had met, and about the foes he had made. The ancient man had explained that Cyber was to be one of the Chosen Warriors who would fight the world. Therefore he had to be strong and according to the man Cyber was never strong enough. Now at last he seemed to be satisfied.

And then this. When Soraya had thought all the time that the old man was a god or a demi-god, the man was merely a messenger, as he said.

Which would mean he was no evil person but rather a neutral one.

And then suddenly Soraya realized who the one she had called dreaded one had to be.

When she looked outside she suddenly saw the colour of the sky change to a kaleidoscope of orange, yellow and red.

Immediately she knew who had been responsible for that.

"Cyber, my beloved, even from afar you manage to lift my spirits."

Her desperate feelings were over as soon as she thought about Cyber, the man she had been born to love.

 

He came late at night to her. He looked peaceful, his face a mask of calm.

Nevertheless his grey eyes glowed with happiness. He flung the door open in a rush, but without making a single sound.

"Cyber?" Soraya sat up in bed and looked at him, "Is that you?"

"Hush." Cyber hissed and put a finger to his lips, "Who else would it be?"

"Why have you come here at this hour? This is not a good moment to talk... "

"I have not come to talk, dark-haired lady."

Then, for the briefest moment, he kept quiet to observe her.

"Soraya, the moon turns your face in the purest mithl."

"Oh, my goddess." Soraya gasped. Now she knew what he had come for. For the first time in ages, a warm glow had returned in Cyber's voice, making her glow inside in turn. Softly he caressed her black hair for a long time.

Soraya let him, all the while staring at him, almost in disbelief.

Then he put his hand on her neck and kissed her.

That kiss had more magic in it than Soraya could ever summon, she thought by herself, and those were her final thoughts for a long time.

 

Naturally, Cyber had left Soraya's room before dawn to go back to his own sleeping quarters he gave himself some time to rest. He dressed up quickly and silently and was about to leave the room when he looked at the body of the sleeping woman on the bed.

"Aye Soraya, I love you." he said and left the room, his boots in his hands.

The marble tiles of the floor were hard and cold, making him move faster than normal but he managed to travel unnoticed. When he finally reached his own room he undressed and went to bed after he had taken a look outside.

It would be dawn within an hour, but Cyber considered that to be enough for some rest.

What a night it had been, he thought by himself. It had been a long time indeed since he had felt love from a woman.

He thought automatically of the princess Catherine.

Once a blind introvert princess who had been willing to give up her city to join him in his adventures.

She wanted him to take her with him, so that she could live to see some fantastic adventures and fabulous things.

Cyber had almost smiled at the question but he knew he had to turn her down on this, saying that she had her responsibilities in Akrilonia.

However, he had not wanted her to join him because he knew all too well she would soon be horrified by the truth about this 'adventures' as the paladin's history was written in blood, the blood of a thousand evil men and horrendous creatures. If ever he had been through a real adventure, it had been with his friends Adam and Bulldozer. They were always there to stop his blood-thirsty sense of justice.

Still he missed his friends, and Catherine as well. Catherine, the mother of his son.

Cyber had always thought that if he would ever have children it would be with Soraya. Which brought up another idea: if he talked to Soraya...

"No." Cyber said aloud, "It's a weird plan to begin with. If she would have offspring it would be in the future."

He put his hands behind his head, thinking about his son. He would have to be some five years old. Maybe six, Cyber had lost track of time. What was the colour of his hair, his eyes? What would he look like?

Cyber decided to go to Akrilonia as soon as he had finished his business here.

"I must go." he had said to Catherine before leaving, "But once I'll return. Farewell, princess Catherine."

Or maybe queen Catherine, were his last thoughts as he dozed off.

 

Warwin, one of the oldest and the second most violent city in the world, with Kranak-Prisha as the most violent one. Here in this city Cyber and Soraya had met Gegner again. This time Red Sarah and Derek Proudhart were here, working for an obscure figure who claimed to be a merchant.

He had not said what he sold but the twosome didn't care: he payed well and this was a job they liked as all they did was intimidating people and almost no fighting. Sarah needed only flash one of her daggers and soon every malevolent person would disappear.

But sometimes one would come who was not afraid of daggers.

Sarah and Derek were riding on each side of the obscure merchant when suddenly the chariot the merchant was in exploded a blaze of purple fire.

"Magic attack!" Sarah yelled and jumped off her horse. Then the explosion faded away and was replaced by a dense smoke screen.

Sarah rose and checked herself. When she was sure that she was unharmed, she yelled for her companion.

"Derek, are you all-right?"

"Aye." A lot of coughing, "Just a couple of bruises, that's all."

"How's Sabillion?" Sarah asked.

"Have you ever seen an overroasted boar over a campfire?" was his reply through the smoke. Sarah made an effort not to retch.

"Curses! We lost our employer. That's not good for our reputation! We've got to find the one who did this and finish him off to get even!"

"One need not look far. Here I am, damsel." came a familiar voice.

The smoke dissolved in faint wisps and revealed a tall, black-haired man with eyes as grey as steel. His hands were glowing a faint purple.

Sarah and Derek were shocked when they saw who he was.

"Cyber?" she asked, "What in the name of the Abyss are you doing here?"

The dark man looked surprised for a moment. His long black hair hung loose around his shoulders, waving along with the wind.

"I have been called many things, but never 'Cyber'." he said in a baritone voice.

"Do not play with us, Cyber." Derek said, unsheathing two short swords.

"First you beat us up, then you kill our employer."

He hadn't finished his sentence before he jumped at the man, his swords in an attacking move. The man dodged him nonchalantly and broke one of the half-elf's swords with a prick of his index finger. Surprised by this move, Derek attacked again with the remaining sword.

Meanwhile, Sarah observed the fight from afar. While people were screaming and running away from the scene, the female fighter studied the dark man, her own blades drawn instinctively but kept low.

"He even moves like Cyber." Sarah spoke to herself, "There is no doubt it's him, though he looks a bit different. For some reason he denies he's Cyber, and that he knows us, and then he kills our boss. Where is the logic in this?"

Her thoughts focused again on the battle when the man spoke.

"Enough. I had plans only to see if this man, who swindled me some weeks ago, was dead. I wish you no harm but if you will continue to harass me, you will pay for it with your lives."

With these words the dark fighter kicked the sword out of Derek's hand and chopped him lightly in the neck. The snap that came from the half-elven neck was unmistakable, though.

"No!" Sarah yelled and jumped at the man, "You may have gone mad and killed our boss but now you have gone too far!"

The fighter suddenly disappeared out of sight. Nervously, Sarah looked around "The gods damn you Cyber! Keep your battlemage tricks to yourself and fight like a real man!"

"I would never think of such a folly." came a voice from behind her and before she knew it she felt how she was hit in the back of her head, snapping her spine. Unconsciousness came swift and she fell on the ground.

"Idiots, to think they could beat me. At least they have learned the hardest lesson of them all." the fighter spoke.

Someone clapped in his hands behind the battlemage. Quickly he turned around and faced an old man, taller than himself, dressed in dark blue robes, with a dark brown skin and a silvery beard.

"Who are you, old man?" the battlemage asked, his senses disturbed by the radiance this man shone and the fact that he had not sensed him approaching.

"I am a man interested in your powers, Hokol." said the old man.

"I see you know my name, too." Hokol replied, prepared for any kind of attack. This old man was far more dangerous than he looked.

"Lower your defense, Hokol. I have not come here to fight you, but to offer you something you can't refuse."

Hokol lowered his glowing fists. "And what might that be?"

"I offer you the world in exchange for a little cooperation."

"You have my full attention, old man. Go on."

"Aye, and I will offer you more. But would you mind if we talked somewhere else, with a little more privacy?"

With these words, the man erected a portal from out of nowhere, glowing a pale yellow in the middle of the

street. The man waved Hokol to step through. Quite sure of himself, the battlemage stepped through the portal, followed by the old man. Then the portal vanished and all that remained were three corpses and a smouldering heap of wood and flesh in the street.

 

A few hours before dawn, while Cyber was making love to Soraya, tears were spilled in another room.

"Matre, somehow I have always thought you were immortal." Miyuki spoke, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"My child, even beings such as I have to die sometime." Matre spoke softly, her voice ragged, "It is foretold I must die within the next sunset."

She closed her eyes, holding tears of her own.

"Already I have prolonged my bitter life using the arcane arts to help people fulfil their part of destiny."

"You mean Cyber?" Miyuki asked timidly, her hands folded in each other.

"You needn't even ask, child. Of course it's Cyber. He is to become the most tragical and therefore the greatest of heroes. His is a destiny not to be envied. Many a beloved friend he will lose, yet he will have to persevere, to forsake his own fate in order to save the one of Vascaria as well as to save himself from a dreadful and bitter end."

"But Matre, I have known you for all my life, ever since I was brought here as an infant orphan. You have given meaning to my life."

"It is bad to cling to somebody as desperately as you do, Miyuki. You are my pride, the best pupil I have ever had, but I must let you go,just like you must let go of me."

More tears rolled down the priestess's face.

"I don't know if I can live without you, Matre."

She looked down fiercely, avoiding the mandrake's gaze.

"Somehow you are going to learn just that." Matre's voice sounded some less raspy now, as if she were gathering her strength. "However, I won't die leaving you with naught but memories."

With this, Miyuki look up surprised, not understanding what the old woman was talking about.

"Come here, child." she said softly.

Her voice was sweet now, almost young. Slowly and hesitantly, the priestess approached the Matre and kneeled in front of her. Matre smiled and produced a golden object from her left wrist, which she gave to Miyuki.

"This is my only golden bracelet, once, long ago, created by the dwarven smith Atreias. It has great value since this bracelet contains most of my knowledge and wisdom. It is special because of this and because of the great craftsmanship of that dwarf."

Miyuki did not know what to say. She was about to say she could not possibly accept this gift when Matre interrupted her thoughts.

"Of course you can accept this, Miyuki. For if you won't, it will be without owner after I die. Take it."

"Thank you." was all the priestess managed to say. Timidly she put it on her own wrist, and it felt as if she had always worn it. She suddenly knew a lot more and she knew she would use her newfound wisdom for the sake of the temple.

"See it more as an inheritance than a gift, Miyuki. Maybe it will fulfil a purpose in your own life or even somebody else's."

"Thank you Matre, I am sure it will." Miyuki cried out and hugged Matre fiercely. The old woman, who had never touched one of her pupils, felt surprised by the closeness, the warmth, the very presence of her best pupil.

And for a while, both women forgot one of them was soon going to die.

 

Cyber woke up from uneasy dreams by a soft but nagging sound that tugged at his unconsciousness. With a jump he woke up, disoriented, to find Miyuki kneeling at his side.

"Wake up, honourable Cyber. Matre Transcentral wishes to have words with you." she said softly, touching his bare right shoulder.

"Aye, I heard you." the battlemage muttered half asleep. After rubbing his eyes he looked at the priestess and outside the window. The sun had just risen, climbing coyly into the sky.

"Please give me some time to wash, dress and pray." he managed to say.

"I will be waiting outside." Miyuki replied and retreated. Before she closed the door Cyber spotted two more priestesses standing outside. One of them was Hitami, the other superior priestess in the monastery. Cyber noticed she was looking tensely at him, then the door closed.

While putting on his clothes, Cyber couldn't help thinking about Miyuki and Hitami. Both were so tensed that he could sense their uneasiness through the door. And Miyuki had sounded so strange, her eyes had been red as if she had been crying not so long ago.

"Something is going on, something terrible." Cyber said to the reflection of his face in the mirror while he washed himself, "I can sense it."

He put all those thoughts aside and prayed to his gods, knelt and grabbed his sword. Finally he rose and buckled on his sword.

When he opened the door he found three priestesses waiting, seemingly patient but Cyber could sense otherwise.

"I am ready, take me to Matre."

Miyuki nodded and the priestesses turned their heels and walked to the tower. Silently Cyber followed, but when they were at the bottom of the stairs he could no longer hold his anxiety.

"Miyuki, what is going on? Why are you so tensed?" Hopefully he looked at her back, but that gave no sign of any reaction.

"The Matre Transcentral will explain everything to you, Cyber." was her only reply, the other two kept quiet.

"So it has to do with Matre, right?" he continued, but this time he got no answer.

Finally upstairs, Cyber saw Saya and Akane, the priestesses whose duty it was to guard the giant oak doors that led to Matre's chambers.

Despite their stoic appearance, Cyber had grown to like them.

After all, they had never been unkind to him. They had never been kind to him, either, but he didn't care. Now they were standing their like ghosts, in white gowns, guarding each side of the door, barely illuminated by the scarce torches. Cyber turned to Miyuki, who gestured that he should enter alone. Slowly the two guardian priestesses opened the doors and Cyber entered without wasting any more time. Saya and Akane closed the doors behind him and took their positions again. Miyuki turned around, followed by Hitami and the other priestess.

"Now I must do what I never thought I would do." she whispered.

The words reached the others, too, and all bowed their heads.

 

Cyber heard a faint sound behind him. The doors were closed now. He did not look around though, but walked straight to the levitating figure of the Matre Transcentral. She was looking at the sun outside, creeping up the sky.

He knew she was the source of the uneasiness in the monastery and instinctively he tried to look at her aura. He could see it better now, but it was still too blurry to make quick conjectures. He looked at her with normal vision. She was wearing a green dress she usually wore.

"Welcome, paladin prince." she finally spoke, her voice so similar to tearing parchment. She looked down, turned around and face him and looked at him.

"I am now talking to a full-fledged battlemage, am I not?" she asked, her eyes burning brightly.

Cyber rasped his throat.

"Aye... you are, Matre. I am indeed a battlemage now."

"You have reached the Gateless Barrier."

A statement, not a question.

"Aye." Cyber stammered, "An unforgettable experience. I never hope to go through that again though."

Matre snickered "Afraid to be born again?"

Cyber wanted to stop this, to ask what was the matter with her, but somehow he kept answering her every question.

"I have never looked at it this way before. It could be that."

"How was Mumonham?"

Now Cyber smiled "I met the honourable Wajo there."

"You did? Incredible! You are only the fifth battlemage who has met him. How does he fare?"

"He looks great, like he could go on for thousands of years there."

"That is good to hear." Matre said. She lowered herself to the ground and walked over to the pillows on the ground, leaning heavily on her cane.

There she seated herself and gestured Cyber to do the same.

Once he was seated before her, he noticed a cold rush coming from an open window. Then they said nothing for a while.

"Dear Cyber, I cannot hold this from you any longer. I am going to die before the sun sets."

Those words shocked Cyber "Matre... I never thought you..."   He could not finish his sentence, he merely looked at her. She looked older today and she seemed to have a paler face.

"Before you say any more, child, let me tell you a few things." Matre said, holding up a hand. Her face was as calm as ever though, her eyes bright.

"Even though I am by nature a being with a long lifespan, I suspected since the moment I gained knowledge of my fate that I would not, could not, live to fulfil my final destiny. I had to turn you into a battlemage, you had to be reconciled with Soraya, for reasons I cannot even grasp at. Be sufficed to know that we were destined to meet each other."

"Matre, for the past time you have been many things to me. I was growing to love you like an orphan loves its adoptive parents, for that is what you have been to me, and a teacher, and a very good friend."

"I know, child. You have been a son to me, and a pupil... and a good friend, too. Now you know why we had to meet. So it became that some thousand years ago I was getting old, too old, and still you were not even born.

Quickly I started to initiate myself in the arcane arts of black magic and after a few decades I was able to prolong my life. It was during those years that the Great Summer Storms had just washed away most of the living creatures in the world and the multiversum was a young discovery that I met Ostrahem, the famous prophet. After a slight persuasion he told me part of my future and the future of some important people I was destined to meet. He also taught me the art of prophecy, something I am desperate clinging to today. I cannot, will not, tell you the future of some people in this world as that is in the hands of the gods. But I can tell you your future, if that is of any consolation to you."

"Little consolation it is to me, but if you want to tell me anyway, proceed by any means." Cyber said with a heavy heart.

"I knew you were going to say that." Matre said with a sad smile.

"Listen then. Ostrahem told me that someday all the magic energy I had stored in me would someday backfire at me and kill me in the process. That day is today. I need not tell you how we figured it out but today I shall die. He also told me that my future, just like my past, was hopelessly intertwined with the person I was fated to meet: you."

"That much I knew, Matre. But you just can't die today. There are so many things we must do. You must tell me more about my father Taliesin, about the books he gave you. I need to know if I am now worthy of reading them." Cyber said, raising his voice in desperation, his fists clenched, trembling.

Matre's old face wrinkled more with despair and sadly shook her head.

"I also wish we could have had more time to do things together, my son. Alas, first things come first, and above all I had to train you as a battlemage, to make you a perfect warrior or at least as close to perfect as one can get before I could talk to you about more trivial things. Now we have but a few hours, and we must use them to full extent."

Matre rose, despite everything very erect and dropped her cane on the pillows.

"Now we have come to the final day, Cyber. Ever since I was forced to take the path of magic, since I knew I was to die in a holocaust of magic fire, I decided to choose my own way of dying instead. I shall not die burning. Instead I decided you will kill me in a fight."

The silence that followed was intriguing. Incredulous, Cyber rose, never letting his eyes go of the stare of the woman standing in front of him.

"Say what?"

 

In the courtyard of the monastery, Miyuki had gathered all the priestesses.

Most of them were half asleep, some of them were still rubbing their eyes, some were yawning, but all felt the cold. Miyuki, standing with Hitami on a raised platform, waited until everybody was silent, all the while looking at the women gathered below her. How sorrowful my life, she thought, to be the one to herald news this bad. Why me? But she knew why. She had to be the one because she was the highest priestess. There was no way out from this one. Slowly but steady it became silent, and Miyuki opened her mouth.

"Sisters, it is with a heavy heart that I must tell you such bad news on a lovely day like this."

With these words she had gained their attention.

"I must tell you that the Matre Transcentral, Gaeiga the Expected One, after so many years and centuries among us, will die."

Gasps, screams of disbelief, low murmur. The news seemed too shocking to be true, yet Miyuki knew better.

"You all knew that despite everything, Matre was mortal, too, like all of us." she said, raising her voice.

"Sadly enough, today is when her bell tolls. An hour ago I talked to her and she told me she was going to die before sunset today."

"Before sunset?" someone screamed, "But doesn't that mean she still has time to come down and talk to us all before she dies?"

Everybody murmured in agreement.

"Alas, sisters. Matre has told me she would die in a magical firestorm. All the more reason to die in a place far from us. Besides, she has chosen our guest Cyber to end her life before a disaster like that could happen. May the gods be with him now."

"But what can we do?" a priestess who turned out to be Petal asked, raising her high-pitched voice.

"There is naught we can do but pray for Matre and Cyber." Miyuki said almost whispering.

The courtyard became very silent.

 

"Cyber is up in the tower with Matre?" Soraya asked herself while looking down at the courtyard. She had been woken by the rumours in the halls and now saw how all the priestesses were gathered. She saw Miyuki next to a brown-haired priestess she knew as Hitami standing on a platform, talking to the other priestesses. She was probably announcing something and it could not be good news since everybody suddenly looked shocked and surprised.

Suddenly Miyuki had said something that got Soraya's attention.

"...besides, she has chosen our guest Cyber to end her life before a disaster like that could happen."

"It can't be, Cyber is here with me!" Shocked, the elf turned around and saw to her dismay that Cyber was not in her bed.

"My goddess, he must have left a few minutes ago!" she mumbled to herself.

Quickly she dressed up to go to the tower herself, where she figured Cyber must be. "Damn you Matre, if you're going to die, have it your way, but leave my Cyber alone, especially since I finally have him back."

With these words she put on her leather boots and ran out of the room.

She was not surprised to see the corridors empty and the only sound she heard when going upstairs was the sound of her booted feet hitting the steps. Once in the anteroom she found two priestesses she had never seen before. They stood in front of the doors like wax statues, standing in the ill-lit space.

"Move aside you two." she said in a calm, commanding voice.

"I have to enter here."

"We cannot let you in." the priestess on the left answered calmly.

"And even if I let you, you could not enter. Our Matre is having final words with the honourable Cyber."

"I see." Soraya replied and chopped the priestess in the neck swiftly.

But before she knew it, the priestess had blocked her hands and thrown her away. "Oh, I forgot these are all highly trained ones." Soraya whispered to herself and a sleep spell later the priestess both fell down.

Soraya pushed them out of her way and pushed against the door.

It didn't budge an inch and Soraya felt a prickle in her muscles.

"Damn, these are magically locked." She took a few steps back, chanted and a blue bolt soared at the lock, but it still wouldn't open.

"Damn, damn, damn!" Soraya cursed and quickly she drew bolt after bolt of magical energy. She retreated a bit more when she saw this had no effect and then she suddenly heard the sound of breaking glass inside.

 

"This is no time for levity, Cyber, especially not the day I will die."

"I was not joking Matre. I cannot kill you, you know that. I'm a paladin, not an executioner." He started to notice the sweat trickling down his face and forehead.

"But you are a battlemage. You should be able to kill without thought."

"I am not educated in the arts of battle to kill you."

"Oh, but you were, my dear Cyber. You see, my training has been a double-edged gift. You will not only need your newfound skills and trained powers to aid you in the future, but you will also need the powers of experience in a time too short to gain by the natural way. Therefore you need powers of one like me to aid you, so you must end my life."

"I am truly sorry, Matre, but this is entirely out of the question."

Cyber's voice was sure. He looked calm and composed and put his hands on his hips to emphasize his statement.

"Look, there must be another solution. If you will die today I shall not have your blood on my fists.".

"There is no other solution, no other option, believe me."

Just as she was talking a sword materialized in her hand, one Cyber recognized immediately: Tilarids, his own bastard sword. Cyber opened his eyes widely.

"This is simply the best way for me to die, Cyber." she said and threw the sword at him. Cyber caught it instinctively and slowly sheathed it.

"I would not want it any other way. Just grab Tilarids and cut my head off. Now, quick and painless."

"And what if I simply refuse?" Cyber asked, slightly in doubt.

"I knew you were going to say that." Matre whispered.

She had not finished talking or she started to grow. Her skin turned jade and opal. She started to glow orange and yellow, surrounded by flames. Her eyes were glowing a ruby red. Big leathery wings sprouted from her back.

"Oh my... the inner dragon!" Cyber exclaimed.

"What if you simply refuse?" spoke the dragon. "Then I shall defy destiny and kill you, Cyber! That's what I'll do! We shall see if you will die today with me or that you will survive the morrow."

"Wait, Matre! How come you're suddenly so aggressive?" Cyber asked, his shaking hands in front of him in a vain effort to protect himself.

The dragon twitched her lips in something that may be called a smile.

"Dear Cyber, have you forgotten so soon I am half a dragon? For centuries I have let my human side take control, but today I shall die like the wyrm I am, if you refuse to kill me you will join me in death. Show me how good you are!"

"No, wait! What about the books? I need to read my father's books!" Cyber said, raising his voice in a desperate attempt to gain time.

"They are behind the wall that is not covered by torches. Snap and they will show themselves. You now know where they are. Get them once you have killed me, if you have killed me I should say."

Cyber looked around nervously from the wall to the dragon, who was suddenly on him. In the blink of an eye she grabbed Cyber and lifted him by the head. Cyber started to scream in panic while the Matre dug her talons into his skin. She merely laughed.

"What a fight we're going to have, Cyber." she said, "But my tower is not big enough for such a fight, so we're going to a place where there is some more space, like... outside!" With that she threw him out of the nearest window and followed him. While Cyber screamed he saw pieces of crystal fly with him.

Chapter Eleven

 

All priestesses were now gathered in the dining hall, with their eyes closed. Miyuki was praying the hardest of them all. She knew there was nothing humanly possible that could be done, not by her at least.

Instead she looked for some contact with the gods, hoping one of them would be willing to prolong Matre's already long life. Suddenly she thought about Matre not willing to live any longer. Six thousand years was a very long time, maybe too long for one to live. And once she would be dead, she would maybe be able to get into another body or roam free on another plane of existence, far better than this one. Everybody must die sooner or later, and Matre would die so much later than anybody else. She had been almost immortal, but is eternal life a blessing for one with an old and wrinkled body such as Matre's? Miyuki shook her head, remembering that even though her body was old, she had still been able to kill anybody at will if need be.

Miyuki's thoughts were interrupted by an inhuman, piercing scream and the sound of splintering glass. They all opened their eyes now, unable to continue praying and they looked out of the high, multi-coloured windows.

"Look!" Mikeda the former psyorg said, pointing at the sky, "It's Cyber! He is thrown out of the tower and a green dragon is after him, it's going to kill him!"

"That dragon is our honourable Matre Transcentral, you dolt." Ari grunted.

"It seems they are fighting for their lives."

"Let's go outside and watch from there." priestess Sayaka proposed.

Everybody ran outside before Miyuki had a chance to say anything and they all ran to the courtyard, everybody except Miyuki, Petal and Ari.

Miyuki was still sitting in her chair, looking at something far away.

"Miyuki, are you coming? This may be important. This is our last chance to see Matre alive, she may have something to say to us." Petal said, leaning on the doorpost.

Miyuki looked up at this remark.

"I will come later, Petal, just go."

"But... "

"Come, Petal." Ari said, putting a large hand on the priestess's small shoulder. Together they left, Miyuki stayed behind.

At once she started sweating. The golden bracelet of knowledge on her left wrist started to glow but Miyuki never noticed as images of the battle between Matre and Cyber were filling her mind.

 

Falling from the tower, Cyber kept on screaming until he concentrated enough to be able to perform 'the Skydance', the ability to fly and levitate. Above him he saw Matre diving for him, her large wings beating the air. Immediately Cyber flew higher to level with the dragon.

Already he had put his mind to think as a battlemage. Through his body flew light bolts of white energy. Matre seemed poised to attack but unexpectedly she straightened her back and folded her paws.

"Ah, finally you have seen the logic of it all. That's a smart lad. Will you kill me now or be killed instead?"

Cyber grinned. "I realise why you want to die, and what better way to die than to be killed by a good friend? No Matre, you don't seem to realize what it would mean to me when I would kill a person special to me. Today you will die, and I would rather die with you than to be the one to kill you."

Matre bared her fangs in a sign of discontent as she saw Cyber lower his defence. Deep within her, however, she felt very proud of him. Even though she had turned him into a good battlemage there was a bit of paladin in him that would never disappear, this way pleasing the god who would not

withdraw the powers he had invested in Cyber as a paladin.

"No, this wasn't meant to be!" Matre howled and furiously struck Cyber in the face with her mighty talons. The force of it threw him back in a somersault, spilling dark red blood in all directions. As he regained his composure, he saw she had cut open the left part of his face, gore oozing down from the large wounds. He looked furious now, driven almost to the point of attacking her. Then he lowered his gaze and started to grin again.

"It seems we have an audience down there." he said, cocking his head down.

Matre looked back and saw the priestesses standing outside, looking up.

She shuddered, realizing something terrible.

"If you kill me now, their belief in you will be shaken to the point of breaking." Cyber reinforced her thoughts.

"I think that is worse than death, isn't it Matre? Will you give me a chance to look for another option?"

"No other options!" Matre shouted and clicked her talons together.

Cyber found himself in a high plain, somewhere in the Pillars of the Sky.

Some yards away from him he found Matre, still in her dragon shape.

"I told you before that I know your future, Cyber. The prophet Ostrahem told me you were to become one of two dragon slayers who befriended a dragon nonetheless. You are now one of these two, Cyber. You are a dragon slayer, little one, and a good one at that."

Those words shocked Cyber. Somehow Matre always managed to shock him.

She was right, he and Bulldozer had killed many dragons, and different ones as well, but the fact that a mandrake was calling him a dragon slayer, with the desire to be slain by him, too, was almost too much for him.

"Don't you get it, dragon slayer? You will kill me. Else it would be too selfish for you to get yourself killed by me only to let me die in the greatest of pain and agony. All I desire is a painless, worthy death."

Cyber looked up, his mind lost in thoughts.

"You are right Matre, I have been too selfish. I owe you enough to give you a quick death."

He balled his fists, which started to glow a faint blue.

"Finally!" Matre hissed. Her own taloned claws began to glow orange and she smiled.

With a mighty roar Cyber charged. She charged as well and they clashed with so much power that the echo of it thundered through the valleys. Every animal in the vicinity scurried or flew swiftly. Soon the Pillars of the Sky were filled with the sounds of battle.

"I will give you a quick and worthy death, Matre." Cyber said, trying to penetrate the dragon's impregnable defence. She moved her arms so fast that Cyber had to use 'the Spider Attack' to hold her off, but with six arms Matre was still too fast. Suddenly Cyber felt a horrible pain in his stomach; Matre had punched him away. With a faint numbness he skidded across hundreds of yards, leaving a deep groove in the ground. As fast as he could he used his momentum to stop and rise. Quickly he looked around but Matre was nowhere to be seen. Then he looked up and saw the dragon diving at him like a hawk. Before he knew it he was down again, drilled in the ground to his knees by the impact.

It was quiet again. Matre looked at Cyber, unmoving in the hole.

With her long tail she got him out and held him in front of her face.

His eyes hung half open, but he seemed to be unconscious. Blood dripped from his nostrils and ears and his limbs were hanging loose.

Though she tried, Matre could not find one thought in him.

"You are not going to tell me you are dead so soon, dragon slayer. You may be inexperienced but you are certainly strong enough to survive a simple attack like that."

With her tail she shook Cyber's body.

"Dead I may not be, but I can certainly play possum!" Cyber suddenly hollered and pinched her eye. While she was distracted by his unexpected move Cyber grabbed her tail and swung her around so fast they turned into a blur of

black and green. Then he let go of the tail and the dragon flew through the air. Before she could recover, Cyber was underneath her and punched her in the soft belly. The extra impulse sent her flying even higher. Before he could lose sight of her he formed a blue ball of energy and threw a massive 'dragon's maw'. Cyber had never thrown such a great ball of blue fire before and he was surprised by the destructive effect. The explosion was so bright it almost blotted the sunlight in his eyes.

Then came the shockwave.

A tremendous rush of wind as strong as a hurricane chastised the region, throwing everybody and everything in the air. A deafening howl swept the area. Cyber held on to the ground and used the 'Rock Gravity' tsurbo to avoid being swept away. Trees were sucked out of the ground under the power of the wave. Elsewhere, where the effect was not that hard, the priestesses held on to each other to protect themselves and each other from the sudden gush of wind. Before that they had been blinded by the explosion. They all believed Matre was dead.

"Farewell Matre." Cyber said in salute, "You have been a good friend to me and much more."

At the same time he was saying that a small figure was falling from the sky. Intrigued, Cyber watched it fall on top of the biggest mountain of them all. The collision was so great it split the mountain in two, leaving a huge pile of rubble. Saddened, Cyber flew to the remains of the mountain and landed on a secure clunk of rock. Smoke still came from fissures between the rocks. No other sound was audible.

"A fitting tomb for such grand a woman." Cyber said,bowing.

He was about to turn around, head down, when an explosion came from the west side of the mountain. Cyber looked up and saw Matre, severely wounded, battered and bleeding all over, emerging from between the rocks.

Slowly she got up and saw Cyber.

"Very impressive, youngster. I didn't know you had it in you. Now it's my turn!"

 

She jumped up and quickly flew to the surprised Cyber. He was about to prepare an attack when Matre anticipated his move. She used a tsurbo called 'the White Sky' to blind him. Cyber couldn't see anything as the dragon emitted the white light towards him. She hit Cyber with claws no longer visible and before Cyber knew it, he was unconscious. Before he could fall, however, Matre used another tsurbo called 'the Demolishing Wave'.

Without so much as touching Cyber she swung her claw at him. A great invisible blow finished the work, throwing the battlemage against the mountainside with great speed. The boom threw Matre back as well but she managed to stop in mid-air, while Cyber had been encrusted into the mountain. That did not even seem to be enough. With a shriek Matre sent hundreds of 'Light Sparrows' against the mountainside Cyber was in. The small darts of energy demolished everything in sight. Finally, minutes later, it was silent again. Matre, breathing heavily, tried to rest while looking at the ravage she had created.

"By the Immortals, I have killed my benefactor and I already feel I am dying! What have I done?"

After a short rest she started digging, trying desperately to find the young battlemage. After a few minutes she found him, hardly breathing and barely alive.

"You are going to survive, Cyber. Do you hear me?"

But Cyber could not hear her. That did not worry her, though. She held him in her scaly arms and raised her head to the sky.

"Harken, oh mighty gods!" she intoned, "In mine arms I am holding the bravest of men, who is willing to die in my stead. You owe me a favour still, and that is to revive this valiant battlemage! Obey me but for this moment, Mighty

Ones."

The sky was blue and silent for a while, but gradually it darkened, packed with grey clouds.

They gods were witnessing Matre's battle and heard her pleas.

It started to rain, and as the first lightning bolt cleaved the sky Cyber opened his eyes again.

"The gods are watching us, Cyber. They are... interested."

"Let's give them a battle then." Cyber said, forcing a weak smile.

With a harsh roar he went for Matre and she went for him. Cyber jumped, Matre jumped higher. Cyber flew to her and they collided when they were just underneath the clouds.

The shockwave ripped up the clouds themselves and made a hole in the sky. From miles and miles away, people were watching the ominous sounds and listening to the explosions coming from afar. Even the most simple peasant gasped at the mighty forces at work. Everybody stopped with what they were doing to see what was happening. Mighty and powerful as they were, Matre and Cyber were still small but nobody dared to move closer, frightened as they were.

But Matre and Cyber did not notice this as their only focus was each other, and despite Matre's diminishing strength she was still too strong and too experienced for Cyber. Cyber knew this and flew away wisely. He stopped a few miles away and thought about his last resort: the inner dragon.

The last time he had used it he hadn't known how to deal with so much power but he realised he had no other choice, even if it meant his death.

He saw Matre coming at him, a green, jade and red messenger of Death, haggard but menacing, and tapped his inner strength. Soon enough he felt the cold blue fire engulf him. In mere seconds he was radiating energy so powerful he felt anxiety take over his rational thoughts. However he saw Matre approach him, a trifle slower but advancing still. Suddenly she started to glow, too, but her fire was a bright orange. Around them, the sky had darkened even more, until it seemed to be night. It rained no more but the wind was blowing harder and harder. Although he was scared, Cyber saw that Matre was only two hundred yards away, burning brighter and brighter, and he did not think of anything anymore. From his hands came a 'dragon's maw' so big, so bright, so fast that Matre could not possibly dodge it.

Before she knew it she was hit by the fiery ray and the two of them hit a frozen lake amidst the mountains.

The explosion was of such dimensions that people in Centro could hear a low, ominous rumble, in Beyong and in Kosmojawa people stopped to see a glowing mushroom of vapour, dust and energy pierce the sky. It was a spectacle never seen before.

Meanwhile Cyber tried desperately to keep away from the immediate reach of the explosion, while around him dust and rubble flew in a cloud of death.

He couldn't hear anything anymore, deafened as he was by the ear-splitting pandemonium around him. At the same time he felt how he got pushed from behind and unwillingly he rode the shockwave.

Half numb from the roar and the slam of the shockwave, Cyber forced himself to steer himself in mid-air to avoid another collision with the mountainside. As he managed to fly up he was able to turn around and create some more distance between himself and the site of the explosion.

It took a lot of concentration for Cyber to recover and to recharge himself with the few energy he had left. In the meantime the vapour, dust and rubble had been dispersed a bit by the harsh wind. No magic energy remained in the air around the mountains.

Cyber waited patiently until he felt stronger. He hoped he had given Matre a quick death now though he wasn't sure as she had recovered before and therefore he dared not go down immediately to see if she was really dead, even after he had used the full power of the 'inner dragon'.

"I didn't know I was so powerful." he said to himself, "Surely that big an explosion can't have been produced just by me."

He did not glow anymore and though he had used the chief part of the 'inner dragon' to blow Matre from the sky, he was still charged with enough energy to ward off the next attack, if there was going to be one. But Matre was nowhere to be seen and Cyber looked down at the scene. He could see a black void where the lake had been. Smoke still came out of it, but in quantities too small to notice for the normal eye. Clearly he had not grasped the magnitude of the destruction he and Matre had created because it took him two full hours to get to the place where he had last seen Matre, all the while walking through the devastated landscape. Cyber, who had always been fond of nature, felt depressed. This was his doing, his fault. With tears in his eyes he kept on walking, searching for his teacher.

 

Finally Soraya was able to break down the magical lock of the door. With a loud bang the door flew to pieces and she ran into the sanctum sanctorum of Matre. No one was there and one window was shattered. Nervously, she walked to the window and looked down. There she saw all the priestesses of the monastery, except for the two who were sleeping peacefully outside, but no signs of Matre and Cyber. Suddenly the elf noticed that the priestesses were all looking to the sky. Miyuki was among them and with her elvensight Soraya saw she was crying. While wondering what Miyuki could be crying about she looked at the sky, too. At that very moment the big explosion sounded and the sky was filled with a blinding flash.

Seconds later the wind came back, so strong that it put the fear of the gods into every living being.

"By the gods, Cyber is dead." Soraya moaned, "Not only has he killed that Matre but he killed himself in the process."

Now she understood why Miyuki was crying.

After five horrible minutes, the worst of the nightmarish storm had passed and they could all open their eyes again. Soraya didn't know better than to think Cyber had indeed perished in that explosion, along with that infernal mandrake.

"I have found you, beloved, only to lose you again." the elf said to the skies, tears in her eyes. Below her, all the priestesses started to weep, mourning the death of their beloved mentor and Mother of All. And slow but steady the sky started to turn blue again.

 

It was late in the evening and still Cyber had not reached the centre of what had once been a lake, which had turned into a black, smoking void.

Cyber grew desperate and decided to levitate. He knew she couldn't have disintegrated, it took a lot to disintegrate a dragon. But then again, what had happened had been quite a lot.

He knew he had to find her to make sure she was dead, for if she wasn't she would die a horrible death after all, and sunset was approaching fast.

Still he found it horrible to comprehend she was dead.

Minutes passed and every minute he was growing more desperate. He was thinking about the possibility she was still alive, almost dead but alive nonetheless. She would be going through a lot of pain and maybe he would not find her in time to end her misery, even though his own misery would begin with her death. That would mean she would explode in a blaze of fire, a most horrible way to die.

"I have to find her." he kept on saying to himself, flying around, forgetting about his own wounds and lacerations. He was indeed in a bad shape and bleeding from several wounds, but he couldn't afford to pay attention to that now when there was something of the utmost importance to do.

"Come on Matre, where are you?" he started shouting, "You must be somewhere around here!"

Finally he noticed how he was descending a slope. The ground here looked charred and it was still hot in these parts. This didn't keep Cyber from hurrying, for he still didn't see Matre and he was too tired to levitate now. He took a minute to rest, leaning on a boulder that had once lain on the bottom of the lake. The green moss had all been burned away and now all there could be seen was soot. Suddenly Cyber heard a low moan, coming from afar. He immediately reared his head, listened closely and jumped up.

Then he ran to the spot where he thought he had heard the sound. He didn't utter a single word when he saw a shrunken, burned shape behind a rock.

He stopped running and advanced slowly, very slowly. It was her, the Matre Transcentral. Once so powerful, now a beaten creature. And worst of all, still alive.

"Matre?" Cyber asked hesitantly. He didn't dare ask a question.

Matre, still in her dragon shape, bleeding, coughing, burned, was lying in a shallow hole, the earth around her still hot and black. Vapour rose from all over her. She turned her head, moaning, and fixed her eyes upon his.

They seemed to grow a bit bigger.

"You have become a mighty warrior... Cyber." she finally spoke, blood dripping from her mouth and sizzling as it hit the ground. She raised her right hand and pointed at him. The sight of her made Cyber weep, for he knew what was coming. He looked down and let his tears run free.

"You... almost killed... me... you... " Matre spoke. Cyber noticed her voice was sounding weaker than he had ever heard and it felt like a cold stab in his chest. To his surprise he heard her laugh: a warm, human laugh, but yet so much like tearing parchment.

"There is no hurry, Cyber... you need only... grab your dwarvensword and finish my life... not only my death will be quick... but painless, too."

Cyber looked up and saw Matre was grinning and bending her index finger.

He found it hard to believe that Matre was still able to laugh despite everything.

"Why do you wish to die by this sword, Matre?" Cyber asked, wiping his tears away and swallowing.

"It is such a beautiful sword, so pure... "

Then she looked at him.

"No matter how many creatures you kill with this sword, it will always be shining and pure, a reflection of your own purged soul."

"You sound as if you know more about this sword than you said." he said.

"I do not know... I only feel that, my son." Matre replied. Then, with a last effort, she got to her knees and bent over, leaning on her hands and slowly shifting her shape back to the human shape. Cyber bowed reverently.

"Why are you doing this, Matre? You..."

"I am making things easier for you, dear child."

She looked him in the eyes again.

"Now take your sword and finish me, before it is too late."

With these words she closed her eyes and tilted her head backwards, expecting the finishing blow. Cyber stepped closer, unsheathed his sword and gripped it with both hands. The ringing sound of the sword being unsheathed was still in the air, like the sound of an ethereal songbird.

Holding it in his hands, Cyber thought that there was truth in Matre's voice, as there had always been. Tilarids felt like an extension of his soul, if not from his body. Matre understood what the battlemage felt.

"This is something that you, of all people, should never have had to do. To kill an innocent person. You are someone who... respects the lives of good and neutral people. I beg your pardon for what I urge you to do but I beg you, gather your courage and end my suffering."

"There are so many things I would like to have discussed with you, Matre. There are so many things left to talk about." Cyber whispered. But he knew there was no time, the sun was setting already.

"Forgive me Matre Transcentral, Gaeiga the Ancient."

With a swift move of his sword Cyber chopped of Matre's head, just as she started to glow ominously. Her death was as painless as possible and Cyber fell down, covering his eyes but peeking carefully when he felt a wave of heat coming over him. The energy that had been in Matre's body when she still lived now all came out in a blinding fountain of many colours.

Cyber ran back, afraid the effects it might have on him. But he couldn't possibly avoid the rays of light and soon he was engulfed in the energy.

Then it was suddenly quiet, the faint sound of some chirping birds was all that could be heard.

"Gee, I wish Bulldozer would be here." Cyber spoke finally, wiping more tears from his eyes, "He would have loved this."

 

Slowly he walked back to Matre's remains and wrapped them in his tunic.

With no more powers left in him, he had to walk with the body of the ancient mandrake, back to the monastery. It was already getting dark, he had just been in time. It was going to be a long walk. Silence was reigning supreme when Cyber was walking, as if the gods and nature itself were paying the final respects to the deceased woman.

He walked back all night long, automatically, his mind recalling all the events since he entered the monastery. With a callousness of the soul previously unknown to him he relived every moment he had spent with Matre. She had prolonged her life to finally meet him, she had said. This woman, a creature of legends, had taught him valuable lessons, had fought him and had even resurrected him. And for what? To make him kill her. Now he was carrying her dead body, so light he hardly noticed it. The gods were playing cruel tricks on him. It was night when he looked up at the mountains, partially covered by great trees that had partially survived the explosions. Silence was omnipresent as he halted.

"Who do I have a feeling you are having more in store for me?" he screamed.

"Oh gods, why do these things have to happen to me, a paladin? Is my kind not supposed to be the favoured of the gods? Aren't I entitled to a little bit of happiness in my life? Why must I always see people die around me? Oh gods!"

It was dawning when he saw the monastery, standing on top of a hill in the horizon. Most of his wounds he had healed himself, others had been cured in the natural process. But the lack of sleep and the torment on his soul had made him look like a ghastly apparition. When he neared the monastery he saw the gates opening. They had seen him from afar, he concluded. Everybody, even Soraya, was running at him. Miyuki was first to reach him. Without saying a word, she took Matre's body and walked back. All the priestesses touched Cyber as a sign of compassion and walked behind Miyuki. Only Soraya and Hitami stayed with him in the meadows. A faint breeze was blowing, ruffling through their hair. Soraya hugged him tightly and he leaned on her heavily, exhausted as he was.

"Oh Cyber, I thought you had died, too." she whispered in his ear.

"You are hurt but alive nonetheless."

"I know, I know." was all Cyber managed to say. He was still grieved but the smell of Soraya's hair, her very scent, made him feel a little better.

He looked at Hitami, who was watching everybody enter the monastery, following Miyuki.

"We all know what has happened." she finally spoke and turned to face him.

"Miyuki has told us everything. Somehow she has become a visionary of sorts and she has been able to see the battle. Excuse her for being so rude to you but I guess you understand how she feels right now."

"I do, and so does everybody else." he spoke calmly.

"Speaking for all, I thank you for... what you have done. You have given Matre an honourable death. We are forever in your debt."

Stupid easterners, Cyber thought. Always thinking about honour.

"How come you are not mourning with the others?" he asked.

"Like you, I mourn her in my own way." she spoke after a long silence, then she turned her head back to the monastery. The sun had risen and no clouds were to be seen anywhere.

 

Unbeknownst to all, the astral projection of an old man had watched the whole battle between Cyber and Matre from the very start. He knew this was a pivoting point in the game he would be about to play and he knew he would have to see it all. Things got interesting when they both started to use battlemagic, the dreaded and ancient Art of Destruction, something he, Ralbustan the Dark, demi-god of destruction, always loved to see.

Even for a powerful being such as himself it was difficult to watch the battle, as things moved too fast. But it was truly a battle to remember.

"I see this battle has gained your attention, too, Ralbustan." came a voice behind the deity, "I take it you do not want to miss this, either."

Ralbustan stood with his arms folded, looking calmly at the fight.

"Of course, Taliesin. It is as she had predicted. No, much better."

Half irritated, Taliesin tried to concentrate on the deadly match. He knew it took all of his and Ralbustan's concentration to follow the battle, yet Ralbustan kept on talking. Just what was he rambling about?

Even though the demi-god was one high above the ancient wizard, Taliesin had learned to step in between when Ralbustan and Tyf were discussing hot matters and he was not too shy not to be annoyed by the demi-god's ill taste of entertainment.

"You are not listening to me, Taliesin. Are you getting deaf or something? I should have known a human of your age would get problems with it. You... "

But now Taliesin didn't hear him anymore. Matre and Cyber were dancing the dance of death and Taliesin would not miss the decisive strike because of Ralbustan, he had to see how his son fared.

Suddenly he noticed a faint glow behind him.

"My eminence! Greetings." He heard Ralbustan say something alike, almost echoing his own words. "You must have come here for the same reason we have."

"Aye, I have come to see Matre die... and pay her the last respects." spoke a booming, yet soft voice. After that, everybody remained silent, even Ralbustan.

 

Just outside the monastery, on a nearby hill, the corpse of the Matre Transcentral, the Expected One, the Mother of All, lay on a wooden bier.

Miyuki was standing in front of it and behind her all the priestesses of the Temple of Wajo, Soraya and Cyber were standing. All were mourning the loss of the great woman. Miyuki turned to face the crowd and after a long pause of reverence she spoke.

"All of us have gathered here to pay the final respects to our beloved Matre. No words could encompass the feelings we all had for her, therefore let us not waste anytime and execute her last will: to be buried in fire before sunset."

Soraya looked at the sky and saw it was already dusk, but then she felt ashamed she was the only one looking at the sky. From somewhere Miyuki produced a torch and lit the bier, starting a melancholic song. The other priestesses joined her in the chanting as the bier caught fire. Soraya resisted the urge to chant as well as well as her attraction by the fire, a natural elven sense. She looked sideways to Cyber, who was standing quietly. His sombre face showed no expression, only a teardrop in his right eye showed he was mourning, too. As Soraya had never had any positive feelings about this woman she could not force an emotion on her face. Yet she could understand very well what this woman had meant to the priestesses.

"Come on." Cyber suddenly whispered to her. "Let's start packing, we will be leaving in the morning."

Soraya nodded and silently they departed from the lines, heading for the monastery. Inside Soraya found an unnatural silence, as if the building was mourning, too.

 

She entered a dark tunnel, saw a bright flash, brighter than a thousand suns, and suddenly she was back in Vascaria.

Or so she thought.

This world looked like Vascaria, smelled like Vascaria, felt like the world she had known for millennia. It took her a while to notice that the sun, a deep orange, was partially sunken into the sea and did not move.

She walked along the coastline and occasionally she saw some birds.

Suddenly she heard a voice, "Welcome,Gaeiga." the voice said, a voice she had not heard for thousands of long years.

She turned around and saw an old man dressed in orange, sitting on a boulder shaped perfectly to serve as a stool.

Strangely enough, he was sitting some thirty feet from her and his voice had sounded closer. Yet all Matre could feel was joy to see this man again.

"Wajo!" she yelled and hurried over to the man.

"In person." answered the man after taking the sweet smelling pipe from his mouth, "I have been waiting for you for a long time."

"Have you?" Matre said sarcastically, "And why would that be?"

"I could explain it all to you, dear one, but He can explain it far better."

Wajo said, absently pointing at the grey and pink sky.

Intrigued, Matre turned around and saw the face of the god. Quickly the few clouds parted and a majestic, disembodied voice sounded.

"Greetings, Gaeiga. I have come here to tell you a few things. As you know very well, you are now dead. But since you have fulfilled your mission, we could not let you go in the afterlife like any other mortal. For doing your part, in the world as well as above, you have earned the privilege not to go to the Hall of the Dead, but to start a life here, in this copy of Vascaria. You may populate this how, when and if you like it, though I have a feeling you wouldn't, with and without the help of Wajo."

"Aye, my eminence." Matre said after a moment of awed silence, "I accept this new mission."

"This is not a mission, Gaeiga." the warm voice of the god sounded.

"See it more as a gift."

"So be it." continued Matre, "I thank you for this gift, and I really wish to make this world a wonderful place if it isn't already, if possible not only for me and Wajo but for others as well. However, I have some questions. May I ask them?"

The god confirmed this.

"The monastery. How is it going? Will it go on without me?"

"Do not worry about the monastery, dear Gaeiga. Miyuki is now Mother Superior there, and she will rule the monastery and the temple, much like the Mothers Superiors after Wajo left. She cannot possibly be as good as you were but she will do whatever she can. That much I can tell you."

"It's good to hear my temple still stands, after all those years." Wajo uttered with his pipe in his mouth.

"And how will Cyber fare?"

"You are proud of your last pupil, aren't you?" asked the deity.

"You know what powers he has now, and you know how and where he will use them. Soon his experience will grow and he will be powerful enough to face the future. Everything is set for the game that begun almost nine years ago and Cyber is ready to play his part. I have retracted my hands there, and it is the three dragons against Ralbustan and his forces."

"Thank you very much, my eminence, for everything." Matre said finally as the face disappeared and the voice faded away.

"Well, fair damsel, are you prepared to finish what I started here?"

Matre turned around and was surprised to find out Wajo had turned into a young easterner with long, rippling hair. He extended his hand as if he were daring her to start.

"Why do you call me fair, Wajo? I am... "

Matre did not finish her sentence, as she felt how her hands had turned young, agile, not the gnarled, wrinkled claws she used to have. Then she felt her hair. It was golden, as fine as silk.

"Wajo, we are..!" she cried, surprised.

"Aye, we are. We live in a young world, then why would we not be young, too?"

They both started to laugh. She put her arm in his and walked around seemingly aimless.

"Gaeiga, I think that after I created this world, alone with the help of some deities, and after Cyber created the birds, you have the honour to add something else to this place."

Matre was surprised to find out Cyber had come up with the idea to create birds. They were beautiful, in all the colours of the rainbow.

"What do you call this world anyway?"

"It doesn't have a name yet." Wajo said with a smile.

"It needs a name. Something like... Yulvara."

"Yulvara it is, then." Wajo said, satisfied, "I like the name."

At that moment, the sun began to set.

 

Somewhere else, Gegner found himself in a trance. The last he had seen was that he was in a room where other people were sitting quietly.

Then he also sat quietly, in his new grey tunic and his hood cast low over his face. He suddenly felt like he was frozen in his position and understood that the others were also frozen, until Ralbustan would allow them to move, probably when all the seats were filled.

"Know then that he is alive as one could be." Ralbustan had said.

"He can't be, I slaughtered him so severely he couldn't have survived with no healing at hand!"

"You know I have little reason to lie to you, Gegner Thunderfist. Cyber is still alive though he is always in danger. Join my group and you will be able to deal with him for once and for all."

"You bet I will. Just know that I want this man dead."

"There are more who want this, and there are more who want his friends dead."

"His friends? You mean..?"

"Aye, Adam and Bulldozer."

"I will fight Cyber any day, but not Adam, and not Bulldozer."

"Don't forget that you are not alone here. It is true that no single mortal could ever fight the force of three we are talking about. This is why I am gathering powerful forces from everywhere. And in the end, this dreaded threesome will be dead."

"All-right, you can use me to kill Cyber. If anybody knows everything about this paladin, it's me."

With that, Ralbustan had created a small portal. Gegner stepped through and found some people sitting around a table, in grey tunics and their hoods cast over their faces.

"You will all be introduced when the time is due. Now choose a chair and a tunic and sit down."

Naturally, Gegner chose the seat at the head of the table, like everyone who had gone before him.

"Not there, that is my chair." sounded the voice of Ralbustan. Gegner shrugged, as he had expected it, and picked a chair at random as they were all the same. He pulled the tunic over his armour and sat down. Then he cast the hood over his face.

"Another member of the Shadow Cabinet has taken his seat. The others will follow soon, and the game can begin." were the last words Gegner heard.

 

 

 

Epilogue

 

The bier was still burning outside the monastery, but everybody had already entered. Night had come softly, like only the night could come.

Miyuki, now Mother Superior, was looking outside her room. She could see the flames of the bier, dancing a strange dance. Tears were running down her face. Somebody suddenly knocked on the door and shook her out of her reverie. Quickly she wiped her face with a handkerchief and said: "Enter."

almost automatically. She knew who it was, and so she was not surprised when Cyber, dressed in dark robes, opened the door, his face a mask of calm.

Yet Miyuki knew Cyber was doing everything he could to prevent crying out loud. In the few months that he had known the Matre Transcentral she had become the mother he had wished to have.

"I request permission to go to Matre's tower."

Miyuki should have been shocked to hear that, for this was almost sacrilege. Yet she knew why he wished to go there, and she had already consented.

"Why now, Cyber? Why not wait till the morrow?"

"I will leave this monastery tomorrow, Miyuki. My time here has ended."

Cyber's eyes spoke more than his words. She thought she saw exasperation, weariness and something else in his eyes, a feeling as if Cyber wished he could change destiny itself. Then she realized she saw her own reflection in his eyes.

"Very well Cyber, nobody will be up there anyway." She sighed softly.

"Thank you Miyuki." Cyber said and bowed, leaving the Mother  Superior alone with her thoughts.

 

Cyber slowly ascended the stairs to Matre's tower, a place that would remind him of everything that had transpired here forever. When he stood in front of the no longer guarded door he saw it was open and he entered.

He felt a cold emptiness as there was no longer the levitating figure in green to meet, nobody who could fill him with the wisdom of millennia of knowledge, nobody who could teach him even more about his rare art of fighting.

Yet he had one more thing to do. He had to find his father's books and read them. He had to know what he himself had lived through, this time written down by somebody else who had seen it all through neutral eyes, and perhaps his future.

"Snap and they will show themselves."

These words came back to his mind and he concentrated and snapped his fingers. Suddenly part of the wall gave way to lit a small room where two books were lying. He picked them up and left the room at once, afraid the wall might close again.

In his room he studied the books. "The life of Cyber" the cover said in the common trade language.

Intrigued, Cyber opened the book and started to read. It began nine months before his birth and much he already knew.

Then, after long hours, he came in the middle of the second volume.

"From a wounded paladin in the service of Tyf, the god of destiny, Cyber entered the monastery. He would come out as a full-fledged battlemage, ready to meet his destiny. Now he has found the books and he is reading them, so I should give him the words one needs from his father."

"Beware, my son.

Beware for the powerful forces that corrupt this world.

Leave Vascaria, and find your child.

See things as they really are!

See the horrors you have created

And be one with them.

Your soul purged, you are at the peak of your powers.

You have the full support of your friends

The support of the one you call beloved.

Now it is time for the Deed.

The Deed that will be recorded in history.

Now it is time to search for truth and happiness.

Now it is time to defeat the misery you have suffered.

Now it is time to let the real Cyber stand up.

So walk into life

And do what you have to do.

You know you are facing destiny

As we are all a mere pawn of the gods

Nobody lives forever

Not even myself.

Go into life

And make the best of it."

 

At that moment somebody knocked at his door. Instinctively he knew it was Soraya, who was packed and all set to go.

He rose and carefully tucked the books in his pack. All that was left in his room were the things that belonged to the monastery, his silver chain mail and a pile of weapons.

"Don't you need your weapons anymore, Cyber? Well, I can imagine that, seeing what you have done."

"It is the duty of a battlemage to drop all weapons except for one sword. And I have chosen by bastard sword Tilarids to take with me, of course. We will go now, and we will go to Akrilonia."

"What about Gegner? Were we not supposed to finish him off first? He has to pay the price for what he did to us."

Cyber looked at her confidently.

"You know, Soraya, Matre has told me a lot about destiny. She has done a lot of things to prolong her life, only to meet me. She was destined to meet me, she told me, and I believe that Gegner is also destined to meet me one more time. Aye, we have a score to settle, and we will settle it. With my new powers, he should be doomed now."

"I believe that." Soraya said, remembering in awe the explosions and the beams of light and the gusts of wind he had created in his battle against the female mandrake.

"But do you seriously think Gegner will leave the Teutonic Realm for Akrilonia, just to meet you?"

"You never know, Soraya. You never know."

 

"It is a pure waste, Hokol. Waste in death."

The figure in the grey tunic could not move, like the other figures in the hall. But he found himself transported to a place he has never seen before. Unwillingly he completed his astral voyage and found himself suddenly in the Pillars of the Sky.

And he found himself, at least that was what he thought first. But when he looked closer, he saw it was somebody else, a person looking a bit like him but a bit younger.

"So this must be that Cyber that bothersome twosome was talking about. Who is this youngster?"

With a shock he saw the young man levitating, surrounded by bright blue light.

"A battlemage. And he indeed looks a bit like me. But he is so young! He must be a fledgling. Why do I see him?"

Suddenly he saw the Matre Transcentral, his former teacher.

With a shock he recognized her, as it had been fifty years since he had last seen her.

He could not hear a thing but then he suddenly saw that Matre had started battle with the young man.

"Impossible. Why would she battle him? Why would the peaceful Matre ever battle a young fledgling? I don't understand any of this. Is this real?"

He was shocked to see the old mandrake had kept the young fledgling alive when she could have finished him with ease.

"Come on, finish him! He had the guts to attack you, you have every right to kill him!"

But then the youngster could rise again and they started to fight again.

Anger filled the battlemage when he saw that the youngster could even invoke his inner dragon. And he closed his eyes in agony when he saw his former teacher fall. Then he suddenly followed everything through the eyes of the one who looked so much like him.

All the time that Cyber had spent looking for his teacher, Hokol looked with him. And both seemed to feel the same shock when they found her.

And Hokol wanted to cry out loud when he saw Cyber behead her.

He took one final look at the body and then his sight was moved to a burning pyre. He knew who was burning there, and as hard and cold-blooded as he was, he had to fight his tears this time.

"Who is this man? Is this that Cyber? Why did he kill her? What right does he have to kill my teacher? Where is he now? I want revenge!" he cried out in his mind. Then he saw the image of Ralbustan.

"Revenge you will have, Hokol. Together with the rest of the Shadow Cabinet you will defeat this man, who is indeed called Cyber, and two other mortals to conquer the world."

"You mean they rule the world?" Hokol asked, disbelieving.

"No, but when they are dead there is nobody to stop you from taking over control of this world."

"Then disposing of them is what I will do. This Cyber is hereby doomed, killing the one who taught me all is the ultimate insult, and killing your own teacher after she has taught him everything is the ultimate insult to my class. If he wishes to keep battlemagic for his own, he should know that I am here, his superior by far. Matre let him, I will not do such a thing. He will die by my hand, and that's a promise."

 

Gegner was feeling a similar experience.

Back to his mind came the countless unfinished battles with the paladin.

Suddenly he saw his own body and Cyber was standing near him, sword drawn. Slowly Cyber started cutting up the anti-paladin.

With each cut Gegner remember where and when Cyber had cut him there.

The bitterness he had felt for years when Cyber had unwillingly made the elf a eunuch returned in full force. He remember the fight where Cyber had cut him in his private parts. Gegner also remembered the limp he had suffered for years after Cyber had cut his hamstrings.

He saw the paladin cut open his cheeks, his arms, his legs, his chest, his neck. From the deepest thrust to the slightest nick, all the wounds the paladin had caused returned to Gegner's mind.

He could not think about the damage he had done to Cyber in turn, how many times he had brought him to the point of death, all the wounds Cyber had been suffering from. He could only think of the pain he had suffered, an amount of pain no other being had ever brought him, an amount of pain he would remember till his death.

But his death was not something he was thinking about. It was the death of the paladin who had caused him so much pain for over a decade.

Suddenly he thought about the reason for all this.

He had always wondered what had brought the paladin to chasing one as dangerous as Gegner with a determination rarely seen. But now he knew. Now he remembered the young man who had witnessed how he had raped an elfwoman.

And then Gegner gritted his teeth. That elfwoman, ten years older, so barely changed, he had encountered again.

It had been the woman who had accompanied Cyber when he had last encountered him.

This same woman, of whom he had heard she was killed by a half-elf in Samat's service, was alive and she had now held him from finally disposing of one of the biggest pests in his life.

If he find the paladin again, he would also find the woman again.

And he would kill the paladin, and he would kill the woman.

 

 

Ralbustan overlooked the room with satisfaction.