Chapter 5: Liokh Balreah, Magus of Eyes

The going was far easier with the dragon waycharm leading his path and so did Leshac find himself before his objective. Before Leshac was a rather unassuming cliff. It was like most cliffs, craggy and made of rock. The rock in this case was durcan, black rock as it is commonly known. A kind of rock that is stronger than iron, though more brittle. Leshac knew of an old acquaintance who lived here – a powerful mage and oracle.

Looking about, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, Leshac knew better than to trust appearances however. Leshac slipped through the shadow of the cliff, and into the red and black maelstrom skied world of Awarth. Leshac almost fell backwards onto the rising black snow at the sight of what greeted him. Staring at Leshac, embedded in the carved chalk white cliff was a humongous unblinking eye with a patterned purple iris. The cliff had all kinds of knotted carvings on it, the magic and meaning of them was beyond Leshac’s ken. Leshac slowly got up, brushing the black snow off as he did, the eye watching all the while.

Leshac stared at the eye for a time, even as it stared at him, he was at a bit of a loss for what to do.

“It’s rude to stare you know” The eye said, startling Leshac, though he did his best not to show it.

Leshac responded that the eye was one to talk, seeing as its’ existence was staring.

“Ah, but if I’m just an eye, it doesn’t really count, I actually can’t help but stare, seeing as how I’m an eye”

Leshac shook his head, and asked the eye if this nonsense was really what it should be doing.

“Look mister, if you were stuck here all day you’d take what amusement you can, anyway as you are now, you don’t seem a bad sort, So, I reckon you are welcome to enter if you can figure out how.”

Leshac examined the pattern on the eye’s iris, but he did not find out how to enter.

Leshac stared deep into the eye’s black pupil and it complained, but he did not find how to enter.

Leshac felt the carved rock around the eye, but he did not find how to enter.

Leshac spoke seven magic words each in seven languages, but he did not find how to enter.

Leshac questioned the shadows for they knew many things, but he did not find how to enter.

Leshac tried to trick the eye into telling him, but he did not find how to enter.

Leshac listened to the quiet whisper of the wind, but he did not find how to enter.

Leshac watched the swirling nether of Awarth’s sky, but he did not find how to enter.

Leshac dug away the black snow around the eye, but he did not find how to enter.

Leshac ranted and raved and the eye laughed at him, but he did not find how to enter.

“You know, maybe you should just give up” the eye taunted Leshac.

Leshac, for his part was completely stumped. He had no idea how to enter such a big eye… such a big eye. It was then that Leshac was struck by a strange urge. What would it be like to poke such a big eye? It doesn’t blink, but does it have eyelids? Would it scrunch up? This hounded Leshac, the harder he tried to resist the impulse to poke the eye the greater the impulse became. This continued until Leshac was right up close to the eye. The eye didn’t like the look in Leshac’s eye.

“H-hey, what you thinking of doing? Y-you are thinking of p-poking me are you, c-cause that’d be mean you know!”

Then Leshac poked the eye, or at least he tried to, but his hand went right through the eye, it was extremely cold and clammy, even for Leshac, half-transformed into a tinuach.

“Well, congratulations” the eye said in a bored unhappy tone “You’ve found out how to enter this place, well done, now scoot along now, and leave me alone.”

Leshac inquired as to how exactly this was supposed to stop people getting in.

“Took you long enough” The eye chuckled.

Leshac said nothing.

“Ok, ok, if the master doesn’t want someone in I blast them with my magic eye-beams of course”

Leshac nodded and passed through the eye completely.

He found himself in a dead end. Momentarily he was disorientated, then he hissed as he took in his surroundings. The entirety of the room was one massive and elaborate radiance rune. The element of radiance was often very dangerous to many beings, nevermind a child of phantasm like Leshac was. Where phantasm was the element of shadow, illusion, enchantment and general trickery, radiance was the element of light, dispelling, banishment and general revealing. Thus Leshac was greatly afraid that he’d be consumed by cascading pure light.

Leshac tried to leap out the entrance as the radiance runes glowed with the colour of the twin suns, Ollan and Vlaharos and light filled the room.

…

Then Leshac, instead of dying or escaping, smacked right into a cave wall. Leshac was pleased that he hadn’t died due to horrifically extreme overexposure, but he was a bit confused. Then it hit him, though not fatally, he had been banished from Awarth, he was back in Kigan proper. That was quite a clever setup really, the owner of the radiance rune room could choose whether to allow an entity into his lair by banishing them from Awarth to the way forward, or instead of banishing, the room could just purge the intruder with light. All very clever, but Leshac could have done without the mind numbing terror.

Now that his face wasn’t smushed up against it, Leshac could see that the wall before him had all kinds of protections against being breached, and of course a small radiance rune corresponding to the one in Awarth. Turning around Leshac ascended the stairs that were behind him, a fairly tight spiralling staircase. As he ascended, he was aware of the wards that littered the steps and walls, and the sheer amount of eyes that watched him climb. Even the lights illuminating the stairs were eyes.

Just when Leshac was feeling exhausted, he reached the top, or perhaps the top only appeared when he was exhausted, in any case Leshac didn’t want to think about space warping stairs, he stepped out of the dim stairway and into the presence of Liohk Balreah, Magus of Eyes.

Liohk looked curiously at Leshac with his many eyes.

“Well then, what brings you before me today?” he inquired.

Liokh was a ceobhai, a mystic elf. Being one of the mystic elves, he had upon his green wavy hair a large white flower, with big petals and a blue centre. This flower is what gives the mystic elves their name, for the flower processes the magical pollen that falls all over Kigan from the Anchor tree Yaibggael, this pollen is converted into motes of magic that suffuse a ceobhai’s body. Magical prowess comes easy to the ceobhai. Apart from this flower, a ceobhai’s other traits are purple skin, a tall height and strange goat-like eyes.

Though in Liokh’s case, you wouldn’t see his eyes, for you see, not only was Liokh blind, he was born without any eyes at all. Only through the use of magic did he become able to see, and before that, he only saw other things, which many never see. It was perhaps this that led to his interest in eyes, but as it turned out, Liokh Balreah was just really good at anything related to eyes. There was nobody as good at scrying as Liokh Balreah, nothing escaped his eyes. Some even believed he could see the future. Regardless he was a brilliant oracle, and could often tell someone where they needed to go, or what they needed to find and where to find it.

Liokh’s appearance and his lab showed the extent of his eye mania. He wore a brown furred silken robe covered in glittering emerald eye-patterns and lounged in a humming floating sapphire throne, which had inside of it a burning turquoise eye. Above his White head-flower there was a blue crystal orb, that moved with his head when he turned, etched on it was some kind of eye sigil. Floating and spinning this way and that around Liokh’s head were small all white ethereal eyes, looking this way and that, though most were staring at Leshac.

Liohk himself had a gaunt look, though his face seemed set in an eternal smirk. He sported a short curly green bread too, that he would absent-mindedly stroke with a free hand. The room Leshac was in seemed to be a mere extension of Liohk and his eyes. Tables and bookcases and shelves extended far into the distance, Leshac could not even see the ceiling. The tables and shelves were filled with all kinds of strange arcane experiments and every now and then Leshac thought he could see creatures darting back and forth. Most of the experiments were of course eye related, and jars of eyes and various eyes generally looked at Leshac even as he gazed over them.

Diagrams of all sorts of spells, runes, sigils, wards and more mundane things hung all over, most were again related to eyes. Leshac could also feel the magic bound within many of the tomes and grimoires in Liohk’s study. Leshac only then realised that he had sat down, Liohk having made a chair rise from the tiles of his floor and a strange cushion appear from apparently nowhere for the seat.

Leshac excused his rudeness and announced himself, then explained how he was cursed.

Liohk smiled, his eyes swivelling about and stroking his beard.

“Well, a Dark Wizard eh Leshac? I shall have to keep my eyes open, could be right under my nose. As for your curse, I believe I may be able to help you. Tell me are you aware of what a bluetear rose is?”

Leshac replied, that though he knew much of shadow and shapes, he did not.

Liohk smiled a second time, eyes spinning.

“A bluetear rose is a powerful magical reagent, they only grow high on the coldest mountains, and even then, there must either be something forgotten by many people or many people must forget something on the spot on which it is to grow, finally it needs the tears of a lost traveller. So, as you can imagine, they are quite rare, yes a bluetear rose would work well.”

Leshac, knowing full well, that Liohk would well enough know, asked where he might find one of these roses.

Liohk smiled a third time, and clapped his hands together.

“Worry not dear Leshac, One of my apprentices shall guide you. She will be well able to spot a bluetear rose for you, your dragon waycharm should aid you too.”

With that, some of Liohk’s white eyes floated and spun around his closed hands, then back to around his head. Liohk then slowly opened his hand, and there standing confused was a small butterfly winged figure.

A pixie, a tiny person. This one wore a black robe with white eye patterns all over it, and a hole in the back for her wings. A small brown belt secured her waist and the back of her robe. She had short blue hair and green eyes. Her wings, of course were patterned in such a way that they looked like strange blue eyes. She seemed confused, then she looked up into Liokh’s grinning face.

“Bwuh?! BALREAH!” She shouted with surprising force, while angrily stamping a tiny bluey-black chitinous foot down. Pixies with insect-like limbs were generally rare.

“I told you not to summon me like that ever again! You don’t summon the other apprentices that way!” She protested, shaking her little limbs in minuscule fury.

Liokh chuckled.

“Yes, true enough Quil, but then none of them have your adorably amusing reaction.”

“URGH” Quil objected “You are hopeless! Why did I ever become your Apprentice?” She questioned as she fluttered off Liokh’s hands, swatting ethereal white eyes as she went.

“Because…”

“Nope, don’t say it, I don’t want to hear you praise yourself one more time! I’ve had quite enough of that thank you very much” She snapped.

Liokh put his hand up in mock dismay to Leshac.

“Well Quil, you may not get to hear my dulcet tones for some time, I’m sending you on an errand!”

Quil practically fluttered with joy clasping her chitinous hands together.

“An errand, me? Not having to be near you? OH JOY!” She exclaimed, giving Liokh, a bop on the nose.

“Yes, well” Liohk began, rubbing his nosetip “You will have to help this gentleman here find a bluetear rose, and accompany him”

“Gentleman?” Quil puzzled, intrigued.

Then, she turned about and saw Leshac. She turned back to Liohk, a little bit of fear and worry on her face.

“You’re joking right”

“I do not jest”

“Liar, besides, that is…” Looking nervously at Leshac from the corner of her eye.

“I am well aware, aid him.”

“No”

“But thou must”

“Nuh uh”

“Trust me”

“Fiiiiine” Quil whined.

Leshac asked if there was a problem of some sort.

“Not at all, my apprentice is just nervous about the cut of your jib I surmise, she will aid you, If you could go to the entrance, my apprentice will let you and herself out, I must have a few words with her, master to apprentice.”

Leshac bowed deeply and thanked Liokh. He spun around and just as he was at the start of the stair, Liokh Balreah spoke again.

“Oh, You do not mind, if I expect your aid once in the future do you Leshac?”

Leshac answered that a favour was worth a favour, and walked down the stairs carefully.

Then when he had receded far enough, Quil practically pounced on Liokh’s face.

“Master!” Quil began.

Liokh pushed her off with his magic, and the held a finger up.

“Not a word Quil, not one are you to say of it, now will you do as I ask? Or must I command?”

Quil fluttered sadly to the stairs.

“No, I’ll go and say nothing, but I hope you know what you are doing Master.”

“I do, Quil, I do” Liokh Balreah, Magus of Eyes responded to his apprentice as she flitted away after Leshac of Many Faces.