The Portal

Draxler looked at the wax candle clock that burned in the corner of the room, It’s dusk. He got up from his bed and washed himself clean with a warm water and dressed himself in grey robes of his order. Draxler looked himself in the silver mirror and found a wiry man with dark brown hair staring back at him. He smiled to himself.  He walked towards the wax candle clock and burned another candle to replace the old dying one. Time.

By the time he left his room the sun had set and the sky turned into a dark shade of purple. Lamps and candles illuminated the houses that lined the city road. Young couples laughed and giggled as they took their regular evening stroll. Draxler eyed a young boy following him as he took a turn.

“What do you want?” Draxler asked with commanding eyes.

“Food.” The young boy said in rasping voice. Draxler smiled at the boy and muttered something in a language that had disappeared a long time ago and a dough of bread appeared out of thin air. The grey eyes of the young boy popped out of his eye socket, “How did you do that?”

“You eat this and let this be our little secret, okay?” Draxler offered the dough of bread to the boy who snatched it and disappeared in the darkness of the alley. Draxler followed on his path, muttering to himself, till he reached a stone and wood edifice. The windows were covered in thick, black, velvety curtains which allowed neither light nor sound to escape. Draxler smiled and walked pass the guards in shining armor, through the heavy wooden door.

The main hall was brightly lit with chandeliers and lamps and smelled of incense sticks and flowers. Draxler climbed the stairs at the end of the hall and stood at another wooden door. Sighing, he pushed the door open and walked into a huge library filled with books and scrolls and papyrus. Gas lamps sealed in horn glass hung from the high ceiling spewed yellow light. A group sat on a wooden desk and discussed ideas in hushed voice smiled at Draxler as he passed them.

Walking through the maze of stacks of books, Draxler finally reached a shelf and stopped. He smiled and pulled an old book from behind the shelf and pocketed it in his robes. Sighing and smiling again he walked out of the library, down the stairs to the main hall. He walked and sank on a high chair and rolled a cigarette.

“Draxler.” A soft voice called from behind as Draxler smashed the butt of his cigarette in a nearby ash tray.

“Lord Bachman.” Draxler said nonchalantly.

“We found the girl, Draxler.” Draxler got to his feet and faced Lord Bachman, his eyes glowing malevolently and a smug smile curving his lips.

“Let’s go.” Draxler said with an excited voice. Lord Bachman led the way and Draxler fell in line behind him.

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The dungeon stank of urine, and human shit and Draxler wrapped a cloth on his nose to avoid the unbearable stink. The flame of the torch, which Lord Bachman held, crackled and threw a dancing light. The shadows shifted and gave the Dungeon a haunted feel.

At the end of the dungeon—near the far wall—Draxler saw the shape of a girl in shackles. Her hair was a mess of dust and strands of white hair. Draxler smiled and walked towards her with a confident gait. He pulled the book that he stole from the library from his robes and opened a page. Draxler summoned Lord Bachman closer so that the light from the torch fell brightly on the book

In a tongue foreign and extinct Draxler began muttering words. The girl looked up at him with shock and fear. She pulled the chains and tried to break free, Draxler laughed mockingly at girl’s feeble attempts to break free. He kept muttering the words from the book for a long moment. When he was done he closed the book with a gentle thud and placed the book back in his pocket.

Draxler took the torch from Bachman’s heavy hands and held it very close to the girl’s face. Her eyes had turned milky white, “How to open the portal?” Draxler asked in a commanding voice. The girl broke into a fitful laughter. She sputtered blood and choked.

“How to open the portal?”Draxler asked, his voice more forceful. His eyes burned with passion.

The girl whispered something in Draxler’s ear and Draxler face lit up like a Christmas tree. He handed the torch to Bachman and left the dungeon and returned to the library; out of breath. He climbed a ladder to reach one of the top shelfs and pulled a dusty old book, centuries old, and opened it. His expression grew more excited after each page that he turned. By the end of the book Draxler was practically dancing.

Collecting the notes that he made while reading, he left the library. Dawn was still an hour away and Draxler knew he had enough time. He stood at a cross road and began drawing a symbol on the road with a charcoal piece. Draxler stood in the middle of the circle that he had finished drawing and began reciting a spell in a language that he didn’t understand well.

When the spell was done the circle illuminated itself blue, and the ground liquefied itself. Making overlapping waves and patterns that were brilliantly lit by the light from itself. Draxler smiled. The portal of singularity.