Witch Hunter

[Solivagus]

Heinrich drew the black cloak tightly about his tall frame, holding it against the wind as he looked out across the deep, dark waters of the lake. The amulet of his order, the amulet of Witch Hunters, shone in the pale moonlight. At one time that name had meant something. At one time Witch Hunters were both honoured and respected, held in awe and fear, but not anymore.

 

Except for him of course. Heinrich smiled grimly. They all feared him, even though they tried to hide it behind strained laughter and nervous jokes. Everyone through out the lands that knew his name feared him. It wasn't just his size, although his seven feet and way of carrying himself always caused discomfort amongst others. It was what the rumours said about him that scared them

 

It was rumoured he had control over dark magic, that he could give life and take it away, that he could summon shades to help him and bring the dead to life to serve him. Heinrich smiled grimly, some of those rumours were true.

 

Slowly he raised his arms to the sky. Clouds began to form, dark and forbidding, blocking out the light of the moon. A mist began to form, seeming to rise from the very ground itself. It rose over and above him, encompassing only himself and the lake, shutting away the rest of the world from what he intended to do this night.

 

His head tipped slightly and he slowly began to chant in his slow, deep voice the incantation that would call forth the shades of the dead. The black lake began gently lapping against its rim, moving without the aid of the wind; slowly forming a pool of darkness in its centre. It twisted and writhed like a live thing, as if trying to break free of the prison that the words of magic Heinrich chanted built around it.

 

Sweat began to break out on Heinrich's forehead as the wails of the dead clawed at the walls he had built around his mind, trying to drive him insane. The amulet he wore began to glow softly, the words "Es nil hesrl", pulsating in the light it produced. In the language of the old world they meant, "I'm not worthy", and they had been the motto of his order since it was founded.

 

Heinrich roughly pushed those thoughts away from him; he could not afford their distractions now. In one great sweep of his arms he brought his fists down, and as he did so a beam of light shot from his amulet into the centre of the pool. A shade began to appear in the cage he had formed and despite his resolve a shiver of fear ran down his spine. The whirlpool was a portal to the world of the dead, "Goroth" in the ancient tongue. And the shade was that of his ancestor, founder of the Order, Mordan Kemmler. He had answered his descendant’s summons...

Edited April 27, 2003 by Solivagus

[Solivagus]

The shade stretched out an ethereal hand. It's hollow voice rolled out across the water. As it spoke the voices clawing at Heinrich's mind ceased their screaming, and seemed to retreat towards the shade.

 

"WHY HAVE YOU SUMMONED ME?"

 

Heinrich made sure he kept his eyes focused on where the face of the shade would have been when it was alive. He knew that showing any sign of weakness now could be fatal.

 

"Everywhere among the lands demons and dark creatures roam. The rivers turn black and the ground begins to shrivel. The order of the Witch Hunters, which you formed, is not what it was. It sits there and squabbles, forgetting its purpose in life. They discuss, talk and..."

 

The shriek that came from the hood of the shade made Heinrich falter. It reverberated inside his head, and for the first time he wondered if he had been mistaken to perform this act.

 

"MY ORDER HAS TURNED TO THIS? MY ORDER TALKS AND DOES NOT ACT? AND YOU, MY ANCESTOR, YOU HAVE ALLOWED THIS TO HAPPEN?"

 

Even though the voice remained hollow and emotionless, Heinrich could feel the waves of anger emanating from the spectre before him.

 

"Shade of my ancestor, there is nothing I can do. Those who taught me the magic, to preserve the balance, have been destroyed. There remains only me! One man, however strong, to take up the fight! I do as much as I can against the creatures of darkness, but still it is not enough. Shade, I ask for your help. How may I serve the lands?"

 

Heinrich suppressed a wave of relief as he felt the shades anger reduce into something akin to what could only be described as understanding.

 

"OPEN YOUR MIND TO ME. LET ME VIEW THE TRUTH."

 

Heinrich didn't hesitate. He knew this was needed, knew that his mere words could not persuade the shade of the true horror the land faced. He dropped the barriers he had formed in his mind and felt a cold shiver pass through him as tendrils of the shades essence passed into it, searching and hunting for the information it needed. As the shade probed, not only the present was brought back to Heinrich's mind, but his past as well.

Edited April 27, 2003 by Solivagus

[Brute]

Brute settles in with a good bottle of booze and enjoys this good read. He finishes it eagerly, well before the bottle of booze and licks his lips, awaiting more. nice work! I do hope there's more to come!

[Ayshela]

whoah...

cold, eerie, and gripping. Very descriptive. i like this. i can see and hear it.

Very cool. i hope there is more.

[Solivagus]

Heinrich’s head reeled as the other boy's fist made contact with the side of his face. Around him he could hear the boy's friends laughing and jeering, urging their friend to greater lengths. Suddenly something in Heinrich snapped. He felt a deep stirring inside him, something dark and mysterious. Slowly he straightened and turned to face the boy who had hit him. The boy sneered at the look of determination that had come across Heinrich’s face.

 

"Look boys," he called to his friends. "This pathetic wimp's got some spirit still in him after all!"

 

The other boys laughed foolishly with their leader.

 

Giving himself over to the power he felt building in him, Heinrich screamed forth his rage. Blue fire burst suddenly from the boy's skin. Screaming in agony the boy desperately tried to beat out the flames but Heinrich knew he could not. The boy’s friends began to quickly back away from him, but it was too late for them as well. Heinrich felt his hands rise of their own accord, curving into claws. Blue fire shot from them, arcing from one boy to the next, setting them all aflame and slamming them to the ground with the full force of his anger.

 

Suddenly Heinrich regained control of himself. What had he done? He looked around at the screaming boys and saw the fire surrounding them die as his own guilt and fear drowned out his anger. The boys quickly ran from him, fearing him now, but Heinrich paid them no attention. The use of magic, for he could not deny what he had just used had been magic, was strictly forbidden against the use of another human being. He had to get out of the town. He had to run before more people arrived. He had to escape. Now!

 

His eyes wide with silent horror Heinrich relived his first use of magic as the shade burrowed into his mind. Slowly the image faded, and another appeared in its place. He recognised the time, and he recognised the place. The shade drew him onward.

 

The grandmaster smiled kindly down at Heinrich, although doubts still formed inside his breast. This boy, for to someone who had lived as long as he had could count twenty-five as being the age of a boy, had the use of magic after all. Although Heinrich had mastered it, had gained his control over the magic through sheer strength of will, there was still the possibility of it escaping.

 

Pushing his doubts aside the Grandmaster placed the amulet of the Order of Witch Hunters around Heinrich’s neck.

 

"You are sealed to us now. Sealed to us in mind and heart and soul for all eternity. May your strength protect the innocent."

 

Heinrich’s reply was solemn

 

"I will work to destroy evil, until it destroys me."

 

With that all the Witch Hunters solemnly repeated the oath that had been created and sustained since the Order had been founded. The grandmaster asked the question to each witch hunter gathered in the room, and they answered immediately, the oath burned into their very souls and their voices seeming to make the room's walls tremble.

 

"What is it to be a witch hunter?"

"To toil endlessly against the dark."

 

"What is it we cannot forget?"

"We are all one step away from the Pit."

 

"Who then are we to judge and condemn?"

"The death of innocents is far better than the survival of the damned."

 

"Do we bear our burden lightly?"

"Fate is a force we dare not ignore."

 

"What then will be our reward?"

"We ask for none, and none is received."

 

"When can we ever stop?"

"When the cold grave eternal calls us to rest."

 

Heinrich's eyes began to stream with tears as he felt the sheer joy it had brought him to finally be accepted into the Order, despite his magical abilities. He remembered the pride he had felt on receiving the amulet, and felt the shade reflect his emotions, proud that his ancestor had overcome his difficulties. But still the magic delved, and yet another image appeared.

 

"Heinrich Kemmler, you have been accused of the practice, research and teaching of magic. This heinous crime is punishable only by death. Have you anything to say in your defence?"

 

The grandmaster said this all this in a calm and stern voice, but his eyes reflected the revulsion he felt towards the creature that stood before him. He had known it. Despite Heinrich's claims and supposed proof that he had mastered the magic he was still obsessed with it, still willing to practice the very force that had caused the ruining of the world in the last age of humankind.

 

Heinrich answered angrily.

 

"You have all seen the plague covering this land! I am one of the few of you supposed "keepers of the trust" to have left this castle and gone in search of the evil that pollutes the land!"

 

There were angry mutters from the assembled witch hunters but this only served to fuel Heinrich’s hatred at their cowardice. His face turned red with anger as he continued.

 

"You sit here talking about the plague, discussing and arguing while I am the only one to do anything to try and stop it! I will use whatever powers I posses, whatever skills I must use in order to cleanse this land!"

 

"You believe you know more than us?" Bellowed the grandmaster, losing his calm that he began the trial with. "You have been with us just two years and you are arrogant enough to suppose you know more? Magic is an aberration, a curse!"

 

Heinrich turned away from the muttering witch hunters to face the grandmaster once more.

 

"I have looked deep into our records, reading books that have not been read for years." His voice was calm and steady as he forced himself to keep his emotions in check. "I have read how my ancestor Mordan Kemmler, the founder of this order had control of magic himself, and of how he used it to keep the balance of the world."

 

"And look where it took him!" Roared the grandmaster. “Eternal damnation in Goroth! Suffering to the end of his days in the deepest pits of hell!"

 

The yells of the witch hunters rose again, agreeing fervently with the grandmaster, all of them against Heinrich.

 

"If that is what you truly believe then I must leave you,” replied Heinrich. "You are no longer the men that my ancestor intended." Heinrich turned to go, but the grandmaster yelled at him to stay and the witch hunters began to close around him.

 

"You cannot escape us! You are to be imprisoned for life! You will be left there to rot until death takes you, and then you will rot in the pit of Goroth!"

 

Heinrich, seeing no other way out, drew upon his magic, cloaking himself in blue fire and stalking from the room.

 

"Stop him!" yelled the grandmaster, but those who dared to come to close were burned alive by the magic that Heinrich had formed to shield himself. Those who saw Heinrich pass, but were not brave enough to attempt to prevent his exit, saw the amulet placed around his neck on his entry to the Order begin to glow white, growing so bright that any who looked for too long were blinded. Chaos reigned in the hall but Heinrich ignored it, leaving the chamber with his head bowed and his face reflecting a mixture of anger and sadness. He had failed in his duty, and there was now only one place for him to go. He would have to go to the Lake of the Dead, confess his failure to the shade of his ancestor and hope that the shade could help him in his task to preserve the balance of life.

 

Heinrich’s tears of joy had turned to those of self-remorse, the pain of his failure almost more than he could bear.

 

"HEAR ME ANCESTOR"

 

Heinrich looked up as the shade drew nearer to him.

 

"YOU HAVE NOT FAILED. I SEE YOUR MIND AND KNOW YOU HAVE TRIED. THE FAULT IS THAT OF THE ORDER I FOUNDED. HEAR ME THEN, HEINRICH HEMMLER. HEAR ME AND KNOW WHAT YOU MUST DO."

 

Heinrich listened to the shades words and his face whitened. How was he supposed to do what the shade asked? It was impossible! And yet he knew he must find a way.

 

"DO NOT DESPAIR DESCENDANT OF MINE, OTHERS WILL HELP YOU IN YOUR JOURNEY. YOU WILL KNOW THEM WHEN YOU SEE THEM. I CAN HELP YOU NO MORE IN THIS WORLD. I HAVE PASSED INTO THE WORLD OF THE DEAD, AND CAN SEE ONLY GLIMPSES OF THE FUTURE. FAREWELL, AND REMEMBER YOU ARE THE ONLY HELP FOR THE RACES AND THE LAND"

 

The water began to bubble and hiss as the shade sank slowly into the water and the mist around Heinrich began to dissipate.

 

"Wait! I still have questions to ask!"

 

But Heinrich’s cries went unanswered; the shade had vanished back into the lake. Weary in heart and mind, Heinrich left the lake behind him and started on his journey.

Edited April 30, 2003 by Solivagus