Friday, January 10, 2014

The Wraithmaster's Chronicles III : Channeling Darkness



Chapter 3: Channeling Darkness.

There were several mansions and houses all across the tropical island. Bobby sat on a small golf cart as the vehicle was driven by one of Esckezi’s employees. Bobby studied the surroundings very carefully. His host looked like a man of great affluence.

“Hope you are enjoying the view, Mr. Mehra?” said Esckezi interrupting Bobby’s thoughts.

“An entire island in the Southern Indian Ocean, big mansions, an army of servants and private planes, you seem to be quite a rich man Mr. Esckezi!” 

“Indeed. I made all of it with hard work and my curse.”

Bobby raised an eyebrow. “Curse?” he asked.

Esckezi started laughing. “We will discuss it over in a more comfortable place. The weather gets quite hot around these parts at this time of the year”

The cart stopped in front of a smaller mansion. Esckezi got off and talked with a burly looking man. The man nodded and approached Bobby.

“Greetings Sir, I am Javier. I will be your personal assistant for your time at my master’s abode. For now, please allow me to direct you to your room.”

Neil looked up at Javier. The man was a walking mountain and must have been at least six and half feet tall. “I don’t plan to stay long here. I don’t even have all of my things…”

“Oh! Do not worry, Sir, give me a list of whatever you feel is missing and I will have it brought to you.”

Bobby looked at the man with surprise. The man took Bobby’s bags and guided him through the mansion towards his room. The mansion was perfect in every way imaginable and had the most beautiful interiors Bobby had ever seen. It even made the Scottish castle appear pale in comparison. Bobby wondered if all the mansions on the island were this beautiful. The man stopped at a door and opened it.

“This will be your room, Sir. You will find everything that you need over here. Mr. Esckezi has some business to attend to and he will meet you at dinner time. We hope you will make yourself comfortable meanwhile.”

Bobby looked around the place. It wasn’t just a room. It was a luxurious studio apartment with several rooms. Bobby explored the apartment and it had everything an average person would ever need. The room outclassed any premium hotel room Bobby had ever seen. There was peace over here for some reason. Bobby was no longer seeing his delusions and ghostly figures. Bobby sat and immediately fell asleep on the bed. 

A few hours later, he suddenly woke up and looked at his watch. It was ten in the night. He had been asleep for seven hours. He got up and washed his face. He wondered if Mr. Esckezi was waiting for him. He ran to the front door and opened it. He was shocked to see Javier standing there.

Javier smiled. “Ah, you are up Sir! Should I contact Mr. Esckezi and let him know that you are free to meet him now?”

“I am sorry. How long did I make you wait here?” said Bobby apologetically.

“I have been here the entire time. It is Mr. Esckezi’s request that I be at your side at all times.”

“Don’t you have a phone or something? This was such a waste of time for you.”

Javier smiled. “Don’t worry Sir. I am compensated quite handsomely for my time. This is the best job I have ever had.”

Javier spoke into a small microphone that was on his collar. “Yes Sir! We are on our way now.” He then turned to Bobby. “Please follow me. Mr. Esckezi awaits you in the dining room.”

Bobby followed the man to a large Dining room and Esckezi was seated there in front of a beautiful dining table. He was now dressed in formal attire and Bobby quickly brushed his own clothes since they looked untidy. 
Esckezi looked up as Bobby approached the table.“Please feel free to tell Javier whatever you would like to eat. My chefs will prepare it.”

Bobby requested fried rice and some fruit punch. Javier walked away. The room was now completely deserted and only Bobby and Esckezi were present in it.

Esckezi put down a book he had in his hand and said, “Oh good, we can talk at last.”

Bobby had a large number of questions that he wished he could ask all at once but he started with one. “Why am I here?”

“Dr. McGraw is one of the people I pay to find special people. To be honest, you are the only other marked human I have found after thirty five years.”

“Other? You mean you know more people like me.”

Esckezi laughed and rolled up the sleeve on his right hand and showed Bobby a scar. Bobby froze for a moment. It resembled his scar but had a different shape. He stammered, “What…does this…mean?”

“I got this after burning a wraith. Remind you of something?”

“You are like me.”

“Exactly, however this happened thirty five years ago.”

“You have had that thing for thirty five whole years?” Bobby sounded alarmed.

“Be Calm, Mr. Mehra. There is no need to panic. I understand exactly what you are going through. After our little conversation you may probably feel a bit better about yourself.”

“But if you could not find the cure for thirty five years with all your resources, what can you offer me?”

“Could you do a better job at finding the cure, if say, you had all of my resources behind you?”

“What do you mean?”

Esckezi smiled and then his face changed into a grim expression as he leaned back into his chair. “I no longer have the vigor and the strength I had as a young man, Mr. Mehra. I wish to die in peace without becoming a mindless apparition. “He paused briefly. “When I was young, I was perhaps like you- A simple person working as an accountant in Europe. Then one day, I was camping with my friends in a forest and we were attacked by an apparition. Two of my friends were killed in that encounter and in panic I picked up a burning log and threw it at the Wraith. The wraith was reduced to ashes but not before it marked me. Like you, I started seeing ghosts and spirits all around me…”

Bobby intervened, “I didn’t see any ghosts on your island though.”

“That is because I have cleansed the island and guided all the spirits over here to the other side.”

“By other side do you mean after life?”

“Most of them went into the afterlife but some remain in our world. There is a small spirit village on the other side of this island. The ghosts usually stay there and don’t venture far into the island.”

“All of this sounds…weird. I frankly find it hard to believe any of it.”

“Mr. Mehra, this island used to be a burial ground for the soldiers of World War two. There were some hundred and eighty ghosts over here. Now only forty remain. They reside in the spirit village I create and don't roam around the island.”

“How did you manage to do all of that?”

Esckezi smiled and leaned forward, “This curse comes with a blessing. You have a massive amount of dark energy within you. If you learn how to use that energy, you could be a powerful being with a lot supernatural abilities Mr. Mehra.”

Bobby stared in shock as he saw what Esckezi was doing in front of him. The book that Esckezi was reading was floating in the air and apparently it was Esckezi’s doing.

“Does telekinesis interest you Mr. Mehra?” asked Esckezi as the book dropped back on the table.

“How did you do that? That has to be a magician’s trick.”

“Oh I assure you. It was no trick.” Esckezi got up from his chair and looked at Bobby with a menacing smile. Bobby felt lighter and he suddenly rose into the air like a balloon. This frightened him even more.

“What is happening? Put me down.”

Bobby then gently descended back to his chair.

Esckezi looked composed and completely in control. “You see Mr. Mehra, thirty five years is a long time. I travelled the world, made a massive fortune and learnt a lot of things in that time. The only thing I couldn’t find is a way to remove this curse and that is why you are here.”

“Huh?”

“I offer you all my knowledge and all my resources if you can find a cure to this condition. It is a good offer Mr. Mehra, you will have more wealth than you can dream of and you would never have to worry about making ends meet. You would also get to visit certain places around the world which you could not have otherwise visited as a freelance photographer. ”

“What is the catch? It sounds too generous to be true?”

Esckezi looked at Bobby and said, “All I want from you is the cure and that you heal me of this condition.”

Javier and a few other men brought in food and it was served to the two men.

Esckezi signaled the men to leave them alone. He then looked at Bobby. “Now let us eat, take your time and think over my deal, Mr. Mehra.”

Bobby wondered whether a cure truly existed and what if it was good enough to cure only one person. He could see that despite being a billionaire, Esckezi had sadness and desperation within him. “If I find a cure buddy, I am dispelling myself of this curse first.” He thought.

After finishing his meal he looked at Esckezi directly and said, “I don’t have much of a choice here Mr. Esckezi. With your knowledge and resources I would probably do better than what I would have done on my own.”

Esckezi smiled gently. “You are a wise man, Mr. Mehra. Now please go and get yourself a good night’s sleep. From tomorrow I shall teach you everything I know about dark energy. You are lucky to have me as your benefactor. I gathered all my skills learning from different masters around the world. It took me many years - From the sages on the Himalayas to the monks in China, from the Pagan scholars in Scotland to the shamans of Native America, from the witch Doctors of Africa to the last Mayan mages. It has been a long journey but hopefully I can teach all of it to you in a shorter time.”

Bobby gulped as he drank water. He still hoped that all of this was a bad dream but it wasn’t.

As Bobby was preparing to return to his room, he felt uneasy and felt a cold chill in the dining room. He saw a pale man wearing a helmet floating in the air towards him. He immediately realized that it was another ghost. 

The apparition came close to Bobby and said, “Who would you be? There is so much darkness around you.” The apparition then floated toward Esckezi who was calmly sipping his wine. “What is this Esckezi? You found another one like yourself?”

Esckezi wiped his mouth and replied, “Indeed, Captain Riker and what brings you here?”

Bobby noted that the ghost had a hole on his chest and had some sort of a military uniform on him.“Probably a dead soldier,” He thought.

“That old fool Captain Kelly is playing politics at the base. He wants to be the only commanding officer around. We are both Captains and he cannot pretend to be my superior.”

Esckezi shrugged his head in disappointment. “You men have been dead for almost three quarters of a century. Haven’t you even tried to be a little friendly with each other in all that time?”

The ghost did not find Esckezi’s answer satisfying. “I hate Kelly’s attitude. He was full of himself even when we were alive. I demand you arbitrate and resolve this issue once and for all.”

“All right Riker, I will try to be there next Sunday. Till then I expect you hundred year old gentlemen to behave.”

“Who are you calling hundred years old? I was twenty five when I died. I am still the same.”

The ghost vanished and the chills vanished.

Bobby found his voice and said, “You said the spirits from the village don’t come here.”

“They do drop in without invites sometimes. They usually prefer to avoid me. Dark energy is so unpleasant for those poor souls.”

“That ghost soldier man didn’t look like a hundred year old man. He looked twenty five as he claimed.”

“Ghosts don’t age Bobby. Their visage remains the same as the time they died. Captain Riker will always look like the fine young man that he was when he died on the battlefield.”

“Why is he still in this realm? Shouldn’t he be in after life?”

Esckezi laughed and walked up to Bobby. “Some spirits themselves don’t know what they want and tend to stay in our realm for decades or even centuries. Hopefully, I can help these soldiers find their way to the other side before I die.”

Bobby returned to his room and lied on his bed looking at the Ceiling. The room was dark but he could see things clearly. He wondered whether the ability to see in the dark came with the curse too. It would make sense.

 He thought about the incidents he had faced so far. He remembered the ghosts he saw at the airport, his house, in the sea and the ghost of the soldier in the dining room. He felt very cold and drew a blanket over him. He thought it was funny feeling cold on a tropical island in summer. 

Bobby realized that life will no longer be normal. He cannot go back to his old life. He must find a cure to his condition in order to prevent being transformed into a wraith after his death.

The next morning was a warm one as Esckezi appeared wearing beach clothes again.  

“We are going to the beach Bobby. It is the best place to start your training.”

Bobby nodded with a hum as they slowly walked their way to the beach. There were many rocks near the small beach.  Esckezi sat over one and signaled Bobby to sit down on one too.
“Now Bobby, depending on your aptitude, this could take a few months or even a few years. Once we start there is no going back. Are you absolutely sure you want to start?”

“You aren’t having second thoughts about your offer, are you Mr. Esckezi?” Bobby smiled.

“Very well then, for starters I just want you to close your eyes and think of nothing. Whatever may happen, please do not open your eyes till I tell you to. Just hear the ocean’s beautiful symphony.”

Bobby closed his eyes and tried to think of nothing. It was difficult. He would get strange thoughts, hear voices and felt as if he was not doing justice towards his task. He tried to focus on the waves of the ocean. As his focus slowly improved he could hear the waves getting louder and louder. His mind felt a sense of clarity and peace.

 Just about then he heard Esckezi. “Wake up Bobby. That is good enough for day one.”

Bobby opened his eyes and the light hurt him. He noticed that it was afternoon already and wondered how long had he been meditating. He didn’t feel the time pass by that fast.

 Esckezi smiled and then said, “Now with your eyes open, try and make the conditions as they were when you had closed your eyes. When you can hear the waves as clearly, then we will proceed to the next exercise."

Bobby tried hard but he could not get himself to be on the same level of clarity as he was with his eyes closed.

 At the end of the day Esckezi told him, “This training had nothing to do with your state. It is a simple exercise to help you clear your mind. It is essential that you do not let unnecessary thoughts cloud your mind. We cannot proceed further unless your mind is completely calm and clear. “

A few days passed but Bobby finally managed to complete this exercise. It was not easy but Bobby  managed to clear his mind even with his eyes open. His health seemed a bit better and he had slowly started to accept the changes he was experiencing.

Esckezi stopped Bobby when he was heading to the beach on his ninth day at the island.

“We are visiting a very special place today. I must ask you to remain calm whatever happens. Panic ruins things very fast. Today, I will introduce you to your own dark energy.”

The two men sat on a golf cart but it was driven by Esckezi this time. Bobby wondered why Esckezi had chosen to drive himself. As the cart moved through the trails in the forest, Bobby sensed strange energies around him. The visibility was getting poorer by the minute and soon they were surrounded by tropical forest and dense fog. Esckezi seemed to have no trouble driving in the mist as he whistled a tune and continue to drive.
 
Bobby could see faces in and out of the fog. Some of them curious and some of them scared. Suddenly, it hit him where the cart was heading. The vehicle passed a strange board that read “Fort Newfront”. Bobby realized that it was the spirit village that Esckezi had discussed on his first day on the island.”

A familiar apparition emerged from the mists and came towards the cart. Bobby recognized him as Captain Riker. The ghost said in an assertive tone. “You finally made it Esckezi. You are four days late.”

Esckezi opened his eyes wide and stared at the apparition."Are you ordering me around, Captain?"

The apparition looked frightened and backed a bit. “I am sorry, I am sorry. I will let you handle things as you see fit.” Then the Captain disappeared into one of the trees.

Bobby felt a sudden surge of dark energy around Esckezi. 

“What did you do to scare the Captain?”

Esckezi grinned “You felt that, didn’t you? I increased the amount of dark energy around me and it scared the good Captain away. Most spirits are easily intimidated by dark energy. It has the potential to rob them of their energy and leave them in stasis for days, weeks or even years.”

“You said that this was a ghost village but this looks more like a haunted forest.”

“My dear boy, ghosts can’t make houses. The specters in this village live inside different trees. This is a village of trees.”

Esckezi drove the cart towards a strange twisted tree and Bobby again felt a surge in the darkness around Esckezi.

Esckezi turned to him and said, “This is quite easy when your mind is calm. All that you need to do is have a strong desire to see beyond the normal and commune with what you see. This causes you to emit dark energy which in turn allows you see into a hidden dimension. This is how you see and speak with ghosts.”

“But I already see ghosts.”

 Since you are untrained, your dark energy surges when you are asleep or if your anxiety level goes up. This is why you are seeing spirits.  However, to control the situation around you, you must learn to control your darkness.”

Esckezi then looked at the twisted tree and shouted angrily, “Kelly, come out here. I know you are in there.”

A bulky looking ghost slowly emerged from the tree and said, “What brings you to my humble backyard, Esckezi?”

Bobby sat quietly and observed the ghost interact with Esckezi.

Esckezi roared, “Why are you bullying your unit, Soldier?”

The ghost laughed, “Did that Riker come to you again crying like the little baby that he is?”

“It is hard to believe that you two were part of the same unit. As captains, can’t you men share responsibility of your undead unit?”

“Listen Esckezi, Riker was never a soldier, he made his way up the ranks cause he was one of them fancy talkers with an education. He died in his first five minutes of actual combat. He could not even take down one man before he hit the ground. That weakling cannot expect any respect from me.”

“Regardless, you two have the same ranks and this unit was made to follow joint command. You are expected to respect your fellow officers.”

“Riker has to earn his respect.” The ghost paused and then noticed Bobby. “Whoa! What do you have there? Another one of your kind?”

Esckezi whispered to Bobby, “Isn’t he annoying, he bullies everyone in this camp and wants to be the boss? And he also appears to be a bit condescending. Doesn’t his kind make you angry?”

As Bobby thought about what Esckezi had told him, he did feel angry and immediately Captain Kelly backed in fear. “Hey hey, what are you doing kid? I mean no harm. Please stop releasing your darkness… Esckezi, please stop him. He will destroy me with that kind of dark energy.”

Esckezi laughed and said, “Listen Kelly, treat Riker like your little brother and don’t make a mess out of your base. This boy here doesn’t have much control over his darkness. If you cause chaos again I will send this boy to have a field day in Camp Newfront.”

The ghost appeared alarmed, “Hey, Hey let us not get down to threats, Esckezi. I will try to share responsibility with that wimp provided he doesn’t talk fancy with the unit. We really don’t need a man here who thinks he is better than the rest of us.”

As Esckezi drove back towards his mansion he noticed Bobby was quiet. “Not a good first experience?”

Bobby seemed to be in deep thoughts. “I cannot say that our current experience was normal, Mr. Esckezi. This will take time adjusting to.”

“Your life is no longer the normal life you want it to be. Try and accept that kiddo and things will be more comfortable.”

Bobby was silent for a few minutes as the cart moved through the misty forest. “If I don’t have control over my dark energy yet – wasn’t it dangerous for me to walk among spirits?”

“Why do you think I taught you to pacify your mind first?” Esckezi smiled as he got off the cart and walked away.He then turned back and said, “You are probably the strongest being on this island right now. I know it, the spirits know it but you probably don’t. Try not to feeble and sickly. Don’t let the darkness control you, learn how to control it instead.”

Bobby looked at the trees around him as Esckezi walked away. He wondered if they were looking back at him. “This seems like a rather strange journey. But let’s see where it leads me.” He thought.

Bobby continued to train under Esckezi day after day. He learnt of things he never thought would exist.  From spiritual to the arcane, Esckezi taught Bobby everything he knew. Esckezi also put Bobby under a tough physical regimen and taught him how to use a sword.

Eight months passed in this manner. Bobby had now become a permanent inhabitant of Esckezi’s Island. He had seen strange things and learnt of methods which were beyond imagination. He had made friends with all of the apparitions in Camp Newfront. He had tested his training on them several times and had even knocked out Captain Kelly for a couple of weeks.

There was a lot more for Bobby to learn and understand but Esckezi had given him a good start and strengthened him for the things that lied ahead.Esckezi finally wanted to put his teaching skills to a test. He walked towards Bobby on the island’s air strip. Bobby appeared bored. It was a pleasant winter morning on the tropical island. There was some wind as well.

Esckezi had a mild smile on his face, “Consider this your graduation, kid. You have managed to endure whatever I threw at you for these past eight months but I want you to test you in a real life situation.”
Bobby looked confident. “I think I can practically do anything after spending two months in Camp Newfront.”

Esckezi laughed, “It is difficult to imagine you as the depressed kid that you were before. You have learned how to channel your dark energy but now mastering it is a long journey ahead. ”

Javier approached the two men with a lot of suitcases packed with equipment. “Do you mind me accompanying you, Bobby?”

“Won’t be fun without you Javier. I could use some muscle.” Bobby turned to Esckezi and asked, “So what exactly is my assignment?”

 “I will make it easy on your first assignment. I have been contacted by a millionaire from your own country of India. This man owns a mansion in the city of Udaipur. However, he can’t bring himself to live in it due to paranormal occurrences.”

“Ghosts in the mansion?”

“I suspect. Our client got local priests and holy men to try and exorcise the ghost but the ghost refuses to leave the premises. Your first assignment is to successfully guide the ghost to the other side by using all means necessary.”

“What if our ghost is a wraith?”                                                                                                     

“Wraiths are very rare but they unfortunately can hurt you. Since you are already cursed by a wraith, you can’t be cursed further if you defeat them. Use that special ritual I taught you for defeating wraiths. Good luck and don’t wind up dead.” Esckezi laughed.

Bobby frowned. “Don’t worry. I won’t die on my very first assignment.” 

Esckezi turned to Javier and said, “Are the clearances with the Indian authorities in order? We wouldn’t want any glitches flying over Indian air space.”

Javier responded, “That has been taken care of. Their aviation authority has approved our flight plan and granted us a local call sign. We will fly straight to Udaipur and Mr. Singh will meet us personally.”

“Excellent. Do well everyone.”

Bobby nodded as he walked towards the plane. The past few months had been weird and unpleasant. Bobby couldn’t say that this was the best time of his life but at least he had a direction now. He had to put his abilities to test.  “I will do whatever it takes to find a way to dispel the curse.” He thought as he boarded the plane.

Javier closed the door as the plane took off for Udaipur in India.

Esckezi stood alone on the air strip watching the plane till it vanished from his sight. He smiled and said, “You have been a good student, kid. I hope you don’t let me down.”

1 comment:

Unknown said...

This was quite good. ^_^ Many people don't know how to or rather, think their formatting is the correct way, but it's not. You did a great job putting paragraphs on their own, separated speech and proper line breaks.

So does that mean this blog won't be updated anymore because of your food blog?