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Secrets of the Crafters

Kai Glyn Llewellyn

Dedicated to Eda and Gogledd, perhaps the two best friends one could ever have, and who have always offered their support and kindness, in good times and bad.

Chapter 1

It was a chilly night in K'hanattee, a biting breeze blew through the forests which caused the leaves and branches in the forest to stir, and the trees to creak. The sky was dark blue, intriguing however that in the sky, one could see galaxies and nebulas, some of which were bright enough to provide some light into the clearings of the forest. On the horizon there was a jagged ridge of mountains, capped with a layers of snow.

In the undergrowth there was a creature rustling through, trying to make his way through the forest. It finally emerged into the clearing, a gray wolf, that was standing on two legs wearing a light brown fabric jerkin and dark brown trench-coat on top. His trousers were a darker shade of brown, covering the top regions of his hardy walking boots. The wolf himself had a fairly average build, however a little rugged from being in the formidable environment. He had a gray fringe of headfur that spiked up naturally, despite numerous attempts to flatten it, he had given up.

The wolf had a look of relief on his aged muzzle, he decided to sit down on a nearby log to regain his breath, he however remained alert to ensure that no creature would jump out from the darkness and have him as their prey. He opened his pocket watch to check the time, the watch was unusual however that it did not have hours and minutes on its face, but it instead had six hands pointing to different measures of time. He looked up and snapped shut his watch and pocketed it. In the darkness he could see a silhouette of another creature approaching him. He stood up, staying firm and waited to see what would emerge from the darkness. To his relief however a familiar face emerged, it was another wolf like himself, however this wolf had red and white areas of fur on his body, and was more built than the smaller wolf. The red wolf shouted

'Aquila!! Where have you been? It's still after us.'

'I know, I know! I thought I had lost it... Aratus, we must go.'

Aratus, quickly nodded, and gestured to Aquila to lead the way out of the forest. Aquila, took a deep breath of the night air through his nose, in an effort to gain knowledge as to where the creature was. The scent was stronger than he had hoped, indicating that it was close, he grabbed a journal out of his pocket, and quickly examined a page, and then promptly shut it. He indicated to Aratus that they needed to go in an easterly direction.

'Quickly now Aratus, we must make haste if we are to survive'

The two quickly made their way out of the clearing, both of them ran together, running as fast as they could, darting between trees, and fallen debris. They both heard a booming roaring sound behind them, as the creature called out in frustration as it tried to follow their scent. Aquila jumped over a stream, bolted a log, and ducked under branches as he tried to get as far away as he could from the creature that was hunting them down. Aquila could see Aratus a few meters to the side, an occasional flash of red reassured Aquila that he was still running... still alive. They could see the light on the forest's edge, getting closer and closer.

'Not far now Aratus!' Aquila called out.

They finally broke through the outskirts of the forest, entering a flat plain stretching all the way to the base of the mountains on the horizon. Aquila looked back and saw Aratus emerging from the forest.

'I think it'll take it a while for it to get through that undergrowth, we should be safe for now.'

'What was that creature?'

Aquila looked away and up at the sky breathing in.

'It's the most dangerous beast of this world. It fears nothing and everything fears it. If you get too close, prepare for the inevitable. It is called a Marwolaeth. If you ever hear its roar, or you think you have smelt its scent. Don't stop and think what it is, just run, run as fast as you can.'

Aratus had a look of utmost fear upon his face, his ears were flat across his head and his tail held low. He had just realized the gravity of the danger they had just escaped. Aquila, seeing how fearful Aratus had become, decided to make him feel better. He slowly walked up to Aratus, and kissed him on the muzzle, caressing his body while running his paws down Aratus's back. Aquila Breathed deeply while rubbing his tongue against Aratus's. Aratus felt happier, indicated by his now wagging tail and his perked up ears, he closed his eyes as he kissed Aquila back. Aquila broke the kiss, looking lovingly into Aratus's eyes.

'I do not mean to scare you, but this world is not safe. It is beautiful yes, but it is also very dangerous. You must be aware of the dangers of this and every world. But I think for now, we should leave. That creature will catch up to us, and we don't want to be here when it does. Come... follow me'

Aquila continued across the plain, his cloak, flowing behind him through the grass, while Aratus followed close behind. They kept walking for several miles, the forest becoming further and further away in the distance. Suddenly Aquila stopped.

'Here it is' Aquila pointed to a metal hatch into the ground. It looked alien in the grassy plain, as if it did not belong in the environment. He smiled widely and went down on one knee, and opened his small book. He looked at a diagram in his book, and then pressed a paw pad in specific places on the surface of the hatch. After the fifth press, Aquila snapped his book shut, and pocketed it. There was a loud click, and then the hatch mechanically opened, reveling a ladder down a passage under the plain. Aquila smiled widely, and gestured for Aratus to go down first. Aquila climbed down into the passage after Aratus, and pressed a button on his way down which closed and secured the hatch, guaranteeing they were now safe.

Both of the wolves continued down the ladder, until they reached a room. The silent room was dry and had an earthy smell to it. It was also completely dark, except for a blue glowing button on one of the room's walls. Aquila walked up to it and pressed it, the room slowly illuminated. The room now completely revealed was fairly small, and it was completely empty except for a pedestal at the opposite end of the room. On the pedestal, there was, what appeared to be, a very old blue leather book. It appeared as if it had sat on that pedestal for decades. Aquila looked at Aratus and gestured to the book, and said;

'This is one of K'hanattee's linking books. The linking books that are held in secure rooms under the surface of this world, are here to ensure that they are protected from the dangers of the surface, as we both experienced. If these books were all to be destroyed, say for example, weathered by the elements. There would be no way out of this world, we both know, we do not have the ability to write new books, but that's why we came here. Anyway, this book here will take us back to Jaslin. We have got what we came for; let us make our leave.'

Aratus nodded and asked 'What we came for, what are they used for? Why did we risk our lives getting these crystals?'

Aquila smiled, 'All in good time Aratus, I'll explain when we get back to Jaslin, you go first, and I'll follow after you'

Aratus approached the book and carefully opened it, slowly turning the pages until he saw the animated linking panel that depicted the Library in Jaslin. He looked back at Aquila, and Aquila nodded in response. Aratus hesitated briefly, and then pressed his paw over the image. Aratus's body then dissolved into particles and then disappeared into the image. Aquila walked up to the pedestal and the open book, and pressed his own paw on the image, and he felt his body lurch, and then all went black.

* * *

On Jaslin the two wolves materialized out of thin air into the same Library that was portrayed in the linking panel. The old library was dimly lit by a number of amber stones that were glowing softly. In front of the two wolves there was the stand that held the book that took them to K'hanattee. Aquila walked up to the pedestal and closed the book, and placed it back on the bookshelf.

'So what are these crystals for?' Aratus asked.

Aquila looked back from the shelf and turned to Aratus and smiled widely.

'These crystals allow us to see into the past of any world in existence. They are one of the keys to rediscovering the ability to create books that can take us to new worlds.'

'That's all well and good Aquila, but we have no idea where or even if the craft was preserved.'

Aquila folded his ears back, his smile now weakening slightly. 'Yes, that is a problem... while we have the ability now to look into the past. The question of where and when, does remain. Some of the preserved journals may help us look in the right direction. The evidence does show that the ability was lost after the Council of Crafters went into exile into trap books ... they have, unfortunately, not provided us any idea why they did this.'

'So how do you plan to find out what happened to the Council, and the craft?' Aratus said.

'We are going to use these stones to see what was happening in the Council, why they went into exile and whether or not they preserved their ability in journals in places of protection. Anyway, we should be heading back home.'

With that, Aquila and Aratus made their way to the door to the path outside the library. However as they left, another fur emerged from the shadows of the bookshelves. He was a fairly middle sized husky with black headfur which spiked out at the front with blue tips. He smiled to himself and skulked over towards the door outside of the library, his cloak billowing behind him.

Outside, he kept to the shadows, keeping his distance from Aquila and Aratus but he remained within earshot of them.

'So how exactly do these stones work' Aratus asked

'There's a variety of methods, but the best one by far is using a Temporal Imager. This device...wait.' Aquila whispered, 'There's someone behind us, keep walking, don't look back'

Realizing that he had been discovered, the husky called out from the dark, his eyes now glowing a deep blue. The husky stepped into the light and gave a toothy smile to the two wolves.

'Greetings, My name is T'bias, I am Lord Emperor of the Worlds of R'sandwrn and Theanani, I hear that you are looking to find the Secrets of the Crafters. I must congratulate you, few have been so bold as to attempt finding the secrets, and none have succeeded...yet.'

'What's it to you, creepy' Aratus taunted.

'To me?' T'bias shot a scowl at Aratus. 'Well, I must say I do have an interest in this, we all have an interest in this. Crafting is one of the greatest powers of the universe and to those who achieve such an ability, must sure be gods. May I ask the question, what is it to you?'

Aquila made a motion to Aratus to keep quiet, 'We only wish to discover our civilization's history. Our ability to write links to new worlds was vital to affecting how we live today, how each and every one of us are now spread across hundreds of ages. We wish not to have the power of gods, but only to know and document.'

'Well I do wish you support on your plight, and while success is unlikely, do not be discouraged. You may find help and hindrance on this search, the Council would have put significant protection into hiding the knowledge of the Craft, for sure. But speak to those that live on the worlds, they may have knowledge that may not be archived in journals. Now I must bid you farewell, I must get back to my world, for I have much work that needs to be done.'

T'Bias then took a linking book out of the inside of his cloak, and opened it. He placed his paw on the page, and the linking book, and the husky, was gone.

'Who was that?' Aratus questioned.

'I don't know, but he seems to know a lot about the Craft, and perhaps more than he's letting on'

Aratus gave a puzzled look back. 'Come, let us get some rest. Our thoughts cannot remain clear and rational while we are tired.'