224 The Sealing Array IV : Breaking The First Enchantmen

"Are you sure about this lord Kael? We have a threat this dangerous right next to us?"

"It has not been confirmed yet, but the fact the array could be hidden within that tunnel, means there could be just as much danger as the documents have said. We need to be prepared, and launch a war expedition into that tunnel." I said to them.

"This could be a trick! You have no proof so how can we just blindly trust the fact that what you say is true." The young master of the Inferno coven said(I really should learn his name.)

I looked at him with a raised eyebrow and then cocked my head to the side as I answered him.

"You have nothing that I want, and I already have you on a short leash. Why in God's name would I trick you, it earns me nothing. Not when there are enemies soon to come knocking on our doors. Do you think I expect to fight the entire council alone? You're an adult, for once in your stupid life, think like one!"

I was not in the mood for politics, not with what I just found out. If the guards were still here, then there would have been no reason to be so worried about that tunnel and the horrors that lay within it. Because I knew they would have had a contingency, or a solid lock and observation on the enchantment that kept those things from invading the rest of the dancing caves, but without them here, we might all be living on borrowed time.

"Whether there's proof or not, such an update warrants our attention. Kael you do what you have to do, I'll send some of my elders down there to provide support. As for the bloodline elders, I guess how they react to this would determine how we treat them in the future." Baeki said as she got up from the table and left.

I also got up and gave a simple look to the remaining elders.

"See you at the tunnel."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Preparing soldiers and equipment within such a short span of time was not easy. So instead I had to move on ahead with a small contingent of vampires, while the rest would make their way to us with Asare and Malek leading them.Kuyait would be staying behind with the soldiers still in training, and most of the vampires that are a part of the police force. The rest of them would be coming with me.

We made our way through the green district, drawing looks from everyone as we marched towards the hub. Bien and Sousa met me on the way with soldiers of their own, and it's size was massive. News had already spread that we were going after the array that controlled the seals, and that we might have to fight for it.

Many vampires had prepared themselves, and geared up, fully prepared to fight with us, even at the cost of their lives. This was the last thing that showed that we were still slaves. It was a stigma of sorts, and ignoring the very real danger it poses, it was a stain on all our lives, a shame that every vampire wanted to be completely rid of.

And so we marched on, breaths labored and blood pumping even to the silent beat of a still heart. When we got to the intersection that branched to the Nephilim, Serpentis and Dragon prisons, I felt that same incredible pull that I've always felt, a voice beckoning me, telling me that even now, he was still waiting for me.

It took all of my concentration for me to completely ignore that call and move on, and to be honest it was really hard, I felt every cell in my body telling me to go down that tunnel and find him, my dragon.

"Are you okay Lord Kael? I notice you always seem off whenever we go past this intersection." Kodak asked as he moved his gaze towards the branching paths to the other prison.

"Something, or someone is calling to me Kodak, and he's down there, waiting......lonely." I answered him as I moved my eyes towards the path to the Den.

"Do you know what or who it is? Is it dangerous?" Kodak asked as his gaze sharpened to search for danger.

"No little brother it's nothing of the sort, he's not dangerous, at least not to me or my allies...….. He's my destiny.....come on! Let's get going." I said to him as we continued the march to our destination.

It didn't take us long before we started hearing the deep rumbles that was synonymous with the hub. Even as we arrived, the mouth of the tunnel was shifting, moving up, down, left and right, just like every other entrance within the hub. This was the reason why it was called the 'Dancing Caves Of Noxis Nyx': I hated this place.

As I stepped out, I moved my eye straight to the entrance of the tunnel that led to the mines. I chose to ignore the caved in tunnel that led up to the mountains above, to open air and freedom. I moved closer to the mine tunnel, observing the area around when I saw it, a soft shimmer on the wall with a massive red circle painted on it.

"Gus! Come over here, tell me what you see." I called out to Gus.

The young vampire was our resident enchanter, and based on what I've heard, he was rather good at it. What I knew about enchantment was mainly from weapons and technology. Completed weapons, ships, even buildings after they've been completed would be enchanted to give them a certain property or effect.

Wards could be made to protect against various threats, also to attack, or make a city float. Unlike weaving that completely changed the flow of nature and reshaped the world, enchanting was only capable of strengthening or augmenting objects or persons. And they were powered by mana or the ether, and have to be recharged regularly, and maintained, if they're to last longer.

Gus came closer and placed his hands on the wall. There was a faint ripple, and if we weren't vampires with advanced senses, I doubt we would have been able to see it. He closed his eyes, and seemed to humming, well not humming in the normal sense, it was more like he was vibrating. Gus was mute, so making sounds was out of the question.

[The wards powering the enchantment are strong and very advanced. Unless Bob himself comes down here, I don't think I can break it. However it should not be a problem for your runes to tear it down, but the danger remains in not being able to see what lies beyond. If we break it and open a proverbial floodgate of undead, this close to the tunnels! Then we're screwed.]

"First of all Gus, mind your language. And step aside a bit, let me try something out."

"Soul Sight!"

My eyes dimmed, and then blazed as they became completely blue, and then the scope and form of my entire vision changed as I became capable of seeing beyond the material plane and all of it's constraints. Though to be honest, seeing things like this gave me a headache, so it was not something I was willing to use all that much.

I could see the enchantment, it was an amalgamation of a significant amount of wards and wardstones. Those stones were what powered the enchantment, and to be honest based on how dim they looked, they were rapidly running out of juice. The wards of the enchantment formed a sort of door, made by a helix of intricate symbols, with an empty hole in the center that looked a missing piece in a cog of gears.

I realized that was probably a key hole! Which means there was a key of sorts out there that controlled the enchantment, being responsible for opening and closing it, but we didn't find anything like that during the fight and the burning down of the guard tower, and even if there probably was one, it was all ash by now.

I looked ahead, and my vision pierced the veil of light that was the enchantment. What I saw beyond it was a hallway that opened up and increased in size, length and scope like a funnel, before ending at another enchantment, much bigger than the one I was looking at. Seems like the council did have multiple contingencies in place to keep the undead and demons from spilling out of this place.

But with that out of the way, I had to figure out how to tear this enchantment apart. Doing it in a brute force manner, might have serious consequences, however that might be the only choice, since wards and enchantments weren't my forte, but Gus's: and currently the young vampire was not yet strong enough to break through this one.

"I have a suggestion my lord." Gus spoke up from behind me.

"Yes Gus what is it?" I asked him as I knelt on the ground, trying to figure out another angle to this problem.

"Why not destroy the power source of the enchantment, rather than attacking the enchantment itself. From my limited knowledge, I know almost half of those enchantments as defensive and repelling wards, and some of them are light wards, as in, sunlight in a very concentrated burst, released the moment any sort of aggressive movement was made against the enchantments. Destroying the enchantments power source would have it dissipate naturally, and we can avoid any sort of danger, the only problem is that I can't see or trace the power source."

Gus's suggestion was insightful and quite smart. But I trusted his judgment, if not for any thing, but the fact that he was more knowledgeable than I was about enchantments. So I was probably safer listening to him than fumbling around like a fool.

"Don't worry Gus, I think I can see and trace the power source."

The wardstones, were connected to the enchantment by a thin line of light that stretched from the edge of the enchantment. Since the enchantment was like a helix, it had quite a lot of edges, and a lot of wardstones.

Around the enchantment alone I could count seventeen, and the rest were actually placed, hidden in the walls above the entrances to all the caves in the hub.

This was quite ingenious really. With the power lines connected to wardstones; that were placed over caves that moved around and danced, whoever could see or trace the lines would get them entangled, and wouldn't be able to trace the proper line to the right wardstone.

Of course to some it wouldn't matter, but if you couldn't see the wardstones and only just the power line, then you could be in big trouble as more than 97% of the 327 power lines I just counted were decoys and triggers for the enchantment. It was this bad, now imagine if there was a sequence to shutting off the wardstones, or they all had to go off at once. It would be disaster for anybody who didn't know what he or she was doing.

But sequence or not, there was only one way for me to get rid of the wards. And that's by destroying them all at once. I released my soul energy, and let it fill and stretch across the entire hub.

I've gotten stronger through everything I've been through, and I've had to face, to say my soul energy was a lot more potent and lethal was an understatement. And my weaving had reached a level that when I first started, I could never have imagined I could achieve.It was...…..nice.

I let all of my soul energy cover the spots on the wall where the wardstones were hidden. And then I let them seep into the wall, wrapping around the wardstones like a cocoon. And then I weaved, on all of them!And at the same time!

[BREAK]

There was a sharp release of air, the kind you would hear when a person passes gas, and I had to be honest it made for quite an embarrassing moment for everyone here. It was anticlimactic to be honest; since I expected more boom! And explosions. But with my soul sight, I could see the power lines flickering, and with it the camouflaged enchantment that was over the wall.

At first we all saw stone, then an ornate metal door, then stone again. And then visible lines of light: the enchantment itself revealed to the eyes of everyone began to fade away into nothingness until all that was left was a door with the emblazoned figure of a sun on it: the symbol of the council of light. Then I turned and asked.

"Well then! Who wants to go first?"