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The Chronicles of the Elders Malefisterium. Volume 1. The Ordeal of Freya
Andrew Ognev
The confrontation of two primal elements, Light and Darkness, is a traditional narrative motif. But what if it is no longer possible to fight against the Darkness? What if everything that exists in the world was created from it by the Demiurges? The Darkness wants the world to embrace both life and death. The world is doomed; and however hard we try to prevent its end, it only draws nearer. A Luminary arrives on Earth to keep the balance of the two forces and to prevent both sides from destroying this world. Embodied in a child’s body, he must accomplish his mission.
The Chronicles of the Elders Malefisterium
Volume 1. The Ordeal of Freya
Andrew Ognev
© Andrew Ognev, 2021
ISBN 978-5-0053-3045-1 (т. 1)
ISBN 978-5-0053-3046-8
Created with Ridero smart publishing system
Vkontakte: https://vk.com/andrewognev
Email: gabrielsylargray@yandex.ru
Pen name: Andrew Ognev.
Kazikin, Andrey Vladimirovich was born in Magnitogorsk on June 1, 1992. He started writing fantasy at the age of 13. After finishing Magnitogorsk State Technical University in 2014, he took up and completed postgraduate study. He defended his dissertation in 2018 and, in the same year, he was admitted to the International Union of Writers.
The Chronicles of the Elders book series includes:
Book 1. Malefisterium
Volume 1. The Ordeal of Freya
Volume 2. The Samhain Games
Volume 3. The Prisoner of Psychameron
Volume 4. The Price of Sorrow
Coming soon:
Book 2. Thanatos’s Hand
Volume 1. Magekillers
Prologue
Revelation 1
Creation of the Universe
At the dawn of time, there lived omnipotent beings in the dark cosmos. They were called Enuma Elish, or the Elders. There were lots of them, in innumerable multitudes. And they settled down in the Great Darkness of Origin. There were the Six who stood out among them and who were endowed with a special power. They were called Demiurges.
Once an argument arose among those nebula-wrapped Six as to which of them was the most skillful. There was no end to this argument. Finally, they found the solution: Each of them should create something miraculous.
The first Demiurge, named Riakas, took the surrounding darkness, turned it into a flaming ball composed of myriads of bright particles, and blew it up. And the fire pieces scattered around, the bright stars lit up, glittering and sparkling, all around the black void.
The second Demiurge, named Garod, created ten different planets around the nearest star, which was called the Sun, and they began to orbit it.
The next Demiurge, named Tiron, created life-giving air on the third planet from the Sun, and it was named the Earth.
And then the fourth Demiurge, named Aramun, created water. Rivers flowed all over the giant globe, filling the hollows big and small. Seas and oceans covered Planet Earth, heralding its special mission. Bright sunlight heated the water, and the clouds poured down life-giving rain.
The fifth Demiurge, named Naakan, created animals and plants. And he filled the land, water and air with them. The planet woke up, full of sounds, motion and voices.
The sixth Demiurge, named Oradir, thought long and hard, and finally, created Man in his own image and after his own likeness. Oradir said, “This planet was created for you! Be fruitful, and multiply!”
Revelation 2
Epiphany of the Seventh
And so the Elders were puffed up with pride, for Man was the apex of Creation. Warmed by the merciful Sun, Planet Earth became an oasis in the endless Universe. And they rejoiced and praised the Great Six for the miracle that was made possible by their mastery and gave the meaning to the existence of the infinite cosmos. And then the other Elders, called the Luminaries, forged crowns from stellar cores and brought them with the full honors to the Great. One by one, the supernovas flared up, celebrating the authors of life.
And there was great joy.
The Laurels of the Great clouded the Elders’ judgement, and they began to wonder whose creation was the best. Each of them said that the work of his hands was the greatest. And they started arguing and quarrelling. No one noticed when the Seventh appeared among them. He was old and wise, his face hidden in the shadow of the drooping hood. He himself seemed to be made of primordial Darkness.
And he spoke to the Great, “O you who created whole worlds with nothing but your will! Are you, who gave the Universe the reason for being, now arguing about who is the best?”
“We are!” the Elders replied proudly.
“To settle your dispute, come to the One, who made you, and listen to Her, for you would not exist without Her mercy and Her love.”
The Great paid no heed to his words.
“Keep out! Go your way, old man!”
“You were made of the Darkness,” the Seventh persisted. “You took the Darkness and created everything around. But what you created is only a form of matter.”
“Are you teaching us?” Oradir frowned. “How about you? What are you good at? Show it to us!”
“And if it measures up to our work,” Naakan said, “we will acknowledge your contribution and appreciate it!”
“What I create is invisible to the eye.”
“Since it is invisible, then you create nothing!” Riakas laughed.
“You have forgotten everything long ago, being this old.”
“You don’t belong among us!”
“Don’t I?” the Seventh smiled ironically. “Behold the power of the invisible!”
He turned to the planet created by the Elders, and with one hand he sent Darkness upon it, and with the other he sent Cold. Darkness and Cold spread over, fiercely and pervasively.
And hatred flared up among the living creatures.
Animals and fish started killing and eating each other, people became imbued with hatred for their own kind.
“Why did you do this? What prompted you to do this?” the Great asked the Seventh.
“It is the Darkness that gave birth to all of us.”
“What does it need it for?”
“That is the way of the world…”
“But it is we who created it!” the Six cried out, almost in the same breath.
The Seventh raised his arms high above his head and spoke in a voice of thunder:
“No matter what we say or do, the Sun will rise and set…”
“I rule all the stars around!” Riakas said.
“…Mighty as you are, you cannot change it,” the Seventh continued, paying no heed to the objections.
“We are the most skillful Elders, no one possesses a greater power than we do!” the Elders tried to reason with the old man.
“…Of course, one might tempt fortune and intrude into the natural course of events…”
“We are the ones who create the events, we are the beginning of all beginnings!”
“The beginning of all beginnings is the beginning of the end. Your world will very soon find itself on the verge of death. To avoid this, you have to get to know it in all its diversity, both material and spiritual, to explore it to its core,” the Seventh said and vanished into the interstellar space.
Revelation 3
Dawn of the Demiurges
“What we created was created by our design and was meant to obey us,” the Six concluded and attempted to cleanse the world of evil.
They encountered volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and earthquakes. And the people rebelled, for, having been created in the image of the Elders, they possessed the same will.
“Why do our creations go against us?” the Six pondered. “Everything we do is for their good.”
Then, the Elders remembered the words of the Seventh, and Riakas, first among equals, said, “What we create shall no longer be ruled by the Darkness!”
“Aren’t we its lords?” the other asked.
“What was begotten by us shall not vanquish us!”
And a war started between the Demiurges and the humans who were led by the Darkness.
Their minds were full of the Darkness. It was the origin of all. Everyone, who ceased it and beheld its might, inherited its power and followed the path unknown to the others. Once intact and integral, the Darkness, which was the soul of the Universe, broke into many pieces and hid in the things of existence.
And the Demiurges reeled, but held the ground.
Revelation 4
Birth of Dragons
And there came the Luminaries who could not let the Six wreck and destroy everything they had created. They comprehended the intentions of the Seventh and took on the burden of the Primordial Darkness. There were skilled craftsmen among them. They made weapons for the dreadful war and took the side of humans.
Loki the Sorcerer taught magic to people and elves. Thanatos brought the dead back to life and haunted their souls. Samael, Prince of the Blood, summoned an army of the human race, turning them into the first vampires. Vanadis created valkyries. And Heliel, the most powerful Luminary, created dragons.
And the Demiurges were banished from the Earth, which they had created. But the desired peace did not come. A war broke out between the vanquishers.
Revelation 5
Feud
And a new battle began. And the Earth was shaking, besprent with spilled blood.
The Darkness brought people power and ability to make choices. They did not wish to be under the sway of the Elders, and they rose against the dragons and against all the Luminaries.
For the sake of salvation, people kept the gods in elaborate traps, which offered no escape.
And the magic passed into oblivion, for the sons of men renounced it. Only the chosen ones kept the memory of it.
Revelation 6
The Age of Man
As the ancient arts sank into obscurity, the protection weakened. The Luminaries returned from captivity, but not for long, since they were taken captive again, now by the Four Founders.
And the age of the Elders ended.
But nothing disappears forever.
Staying unnoticeable, the Demiurges watched the goings-on. They saw that the Earth was free again: The darkness moved into people and was no longer a threat to the Elders.
They chose to return to the Earth to bring it back under their control. For this purpose, they created an Avatar, an emissary who could make the Earth suitable for them.
And yet there was the invisible mind of the Seventh in their new creation; the mind that turned the emissary into a servant of Darkness rather than a servant of the Demiurges. And the Avatar saved the Earth from misery and agony, as was prophesied by the Seventh.
Revelation 7
The End
The age of Man was over, the Elders fell, and the power, accumulated over many years and now neglected, burst into the world. And the world, time, and space were collapsing, everything was turning into cold and emptiness.
