Visitors


The small group appeared by the entrance to Orebanga, Turbo Starr and the recruits looked about themselves, taking hold of the scenery. Circe Island was covered in vegetation and had the most white sandy beaches of all of the Talos Islands. It as also here that the secret entrance to the underground magic city, was located. Turbo hadn't come back here in almost a year, not since the final battle that had put an end to the Circle of Thorns activities. He felt sad and tired as he looked at the entrance to the cave system, felt as if he was fifty years older than he was. When the Riders had come here last, the fierce battle that had followed, the merciless enemy that had faced them, had made it a grim day for all who had met them. So many deaths took place here, so many ghosts.

"Sir?" Asked a pimply recruit to the famous leader.

"Yes, harrumph!, welcome class, to the forbidden city of Orebanga. We, as a supergroup, have been granted access to this place, for studying purposes, much like the palaeontology department of PCU, with no restrictions." Phrased Turbo Starr in his most official tone. "We come here to explain the dangers to our recruits, to study the mistakes of the past and learn from them. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them." He finished that last with an award wining smile. It felt awkward to be a teacher for a change, and not the administrator. These kids were selected to become Knights, and they fell under Cavalier's supervision.

"Now, if you will all form a line, we will proceed into the cave." That he felt like a first grade teacher, wasn't even a joke.

The group made their way down the corridors of quartz and rocks, stopping here and there, to take in the scenery, and talk about the events that happened here. There, a body imprint of Bloodrock left a permanent mark in the rock, here, the burnt marks of Voyager imps, and there, on the broken boards of a wooden bridge, dried blood from the fight. Everything in this place smelled dusty, undisturbed. Still heading down, the group came upon a sigh that was hanging over a wooden door:

"BEYOND THIS POINT YOU ARE ALONE"

The class read it in silence, looking over their shoulders, back the way they came from, which was about a mile up.

"Once we pass this door, no outside communications will be possible, if you get lost or injured, you won't teleport out either. We are now too deep for any rescue to reach us." Turbo had a twisted sense of humour, and everyone who knew him never knew if he was serious or joking.

The class walked a bit more, to what seemed to be a dead end in the cave system. Turbo, arriving there, pressed a nondescript rock, which emitted a click. The wall in front of them suddenly opened.

"Welcome, future Knights, to Orebanga." Said solemnly the famous scrapper.

They all stepped inside the entrance, to lay foot on a rocky ledge. The next step would send them falling down into an underground lake, which was disturbed by a waterfall to the far right of the huge cave. Ahead, the magical city of Orebanga waited, silently. It was ominous, lighted by torches on its walls. From afar, it looked like a huge, horrific statue of long forgotten demons. Everything they saw, spoke of evil times, dark deeds and forbidden knowledge. Only the sound of the falling water could be heard, as if everything was muffled, voices, noises and whispers.

"I'll call over the university lift, it will take us down to the wharf." Yelled Turbo to overcome the sound of the waterfall. He then pressed the green button on a control panel that was hung on the wooden ramp, and waited.

They then stepped onto the platform, secured the railing, and started their way down across the lake. The city was coming to meet them, and all of them had a dead serious look on their face. None of the recruits felt safe anymore, none of them could pinpoint why, but this place was unfriendly.

"What you are feeling now, kids, is the aura of the city. Everyone not belonging to this place is affected by it, even some of the mages were not immune to this effect. Orebanga was built by magic, most of its stones are from a different plane of existence, imported here by the mystics who embraced the dark ways." Turbo loved giving this speech, he had heard Cavalier tell it so often to others, while at the academy.

"Sir, I think I'm gonna throw up..." Said a young girl, who seemed to have turned a lighter shade of green, as soon as they started going down.

The lift arrived at its destination, on the city wharf, and stopped itself harshly on the rubber break. They all walked off it, and assembled themselves before the bottom stairs that lead up to the first tower.

"Those circles you are looking at on top of the towers, were actually dimensional portals that could summon demons and ghosts to the city. When me and the team got here, ten of them were active and had to be destroyed." Turbo thought back to that day, when all hell broke loose, and they had to break all the rules, in order to survive. What a dark day that had been for the Riders. The rules they had followed, as a unit, to behold the law, had taken the back seat to an all out battle that had killed almost everyone in their path.

"Oh my God!...Sir!" Screamed a student.

Turbo turned around and looked in the direction the student had pointed. There, coming down the stairs, walking in unison, were six Circle of Thorns guard, preceded by a soul mage. All of them had their hoods down, all of them had their hands crossed and folded inside their sleeves.

Turbo reacted immediately, taking a fighting stance and a sharp breath, concentrating all of his being. The Circle of Thorns group walked down the stairwell, and stopped itself at the bottom, blocking the path up. They all waited there, no one moving. Turbo was ready, any unfriendly move on their behalf would be met by sweet kick in the teeth. What the hell was going here, was the Circle, once more, active?

The soul mage stepped forward, while slowly removing the hood that was covering the face.

"Dr. Jenkins??!!" Said Turbo Starr

"Hello, Mr. Starr, we were not expecting you this morning, where is Cavalier?" Asked the university professor who was smiling at them.

"I had to replace him on a last minute emergency. You want to tell me what's going on here, doctor?" Said the famous leader.

"Oh, me and some colleagues were re-enacting a portal summoning, and when we heard the lift being called, we thought of playing a little joke on Cavalier and his group. Last time around, he scared the living daylights out of us, so we were simply returning the favour." Answered Jenkins.



Visitors part II


"Re-enacting a portal summoning, is not what I would consider fallingunder the palaeontology curriculum, doctor." Said Turbo with disdain in his voice. Something was fishy here.

"We study the ancient civilizations, their habits, their beliefs, Mr. Starr, and Orebanga provides an ample source of rediscovered knowledge. While me and my colleagues do not approve of the ways of the Circle of Thorns, we still have to study and understand the reasons that brought them to such pagan practices. The mere fact that they could channel such energies, imbue the city itself with a part of it, summon beasts and demons, requires us to better understand the myths behind the facts."

"Still, doctor, you have to admit that parading around Orebanga dressed as Circle fanatics, is a stretch." Turbo was not liking this at all. That the smartest people the city had to offer, were parading as evil magic users in the abandoned citadel, was not how he defined the "unlimited access for studying purposes" the Emergency Committee of Paragon City (ECPC) had in mind.

"Mr. Starr, are we gonna stand here and argue all day about this, or you gonna allow your class to witness the ceremony of the portal opening?" Jenkins was still smirking, part derision, part amusement, at Turbo Starr. He felt a bit foolish at being this bent on rules of conduct, after all, Dr. Jenkins was an honorary member of the Riders, providing the supergroup with valuable information and donating some of her time to the academy for special classes and projects.

"Fine, doctor, me and the recruits will accompany you." Well, this was certainly gonna be a different kind of field trip. When recruits came here for the tour, they usually saw university people dusting off some old books, or urns, bent down on the ground and cataloguing artefacts.

They all walked up the stairs, climbing up the middle, and highest tower, which was the location of the main portal. When they reached the top, jenkins started explaining to the recruits the purpose of the positioning of each portal in relation to the others. She also went on in length about the magic stones, which were not of this world, imported through the dimensional doors ages ago. They had tried many tests to date the rocks, but to no avail, the mystical energies flowing in them prevented any scientific analysis. Then, she lectured them on the stone rings themselves, doorways to the other dimensions. One incantation would open them to the Shadow Realm, while a nother could very well open it inside the city also. They had catalogued at least two hundred chants that permitted access to different parts of the known world and beyond.

"Now, if you would all stand outside the pentacle, we will demonstrate one of the rituals." Said Jenkins

Turbo and the future Knights positioned themselves outside the arcanering, silently watching. Five acolytes put themselves in a kneeling position, at each point of the star that was carved on the floor, while the sixth went to stand in the middle. Dr. Jenkins stood directly in front of the portal, with her back to it, looking back at the small crowd. She smiled gently, looking at the recruits.

"This is how the mages positioned themselves for the ritual." She then took out an old parchment from her sleeve, and unrolled it. "This scroll contains a chanting to channel enough energy into the door itself, which would open, if the correct spell were to be used. I will now recite the words, as it was done in ages gone, by the Circle of Thorns." She looked at them still, smiling. "Don't worry, it requires a full mage to open a portal, and my, shall we say, lack of magic expertise, makes this demonstration a safe thing."

The five kneeling acolytes began chanting, while bowing themselves.

"Insha-ala Kar'smattii Absalon"

The one in the middle removed his robe in one swift motion to let it fall on the ground. He stood there naked, body painted with cabalistic symbols.

"Prat-Seh" Said Dr. Jenkins

"Insha-ala Kar'smattii Absalon" Continues the five kneeling chanters.

"Sir, I can't move" Said the pimply recruit

"Neither can I, son." Answered Turbo, who had just realized that only his his head still had motion.

"Insha-ala Kar'smattii Absalon"

"Jenkins, what are you doing?" He asked her

"We were not expecting you this morning, Mr. Starr, we were expecting Cavalier. But you will do just as well, our master forged a sword which a champion can wield. He has been waiting a long time, and today, he waits no more." Answered Jenkins, smiling still.

"Insha-ala Kar'smattii Absalon" The chanting grew in strength

Jenkins then held the scroll in front of her, looked at the man in the center of the circle and noded.

"Brig Aamaleth boak Kan,
Parsheeh eth Absalon,
Brig Polomiek askii Kan,
Parsheeh eth Absalon."

Red glowing energy started to appear around the man, encircling him, moving up to cover his body. The magic symbols on his skin glowing a soft white. He stood there, eyes wide opened, afraid. The chanting went on for a few more minutes, rhythmic, unaltered. Turbo and the future Knights were still rooted in place, unable to take action, unable to flee.

"Stop this Jenkins, if it's me you want, then let the kids go." Said the famous leader.

"Brig Aamaleth boak Kan,
Parsheeh eth Absalon,
Brig Polomiek askii Kan,
Parsheeh eth Absalon."

Then, the man in the center of the circle started to scream, blood had began to ooze from his eyes, ears and any place it could flow from. The portal behind Dr. Jenkins started to glimmer blue, a faint blue. Turbo felt his heart skip a beat. The blood from the man was channeled from the circle to the portal, activating it.

"Insha-ala Kar'smattii Absalon."

"Brig Aamaleth boak Kan,
Parsheeh eth Absalon,
Brig Polomiek askii Kan,
Parsheeh eth Absalon."

"Insha-ala Kar'smattii Absalon"

Suddenly, all sound disappeared, Turbo could see the moving lips of Jenkins, could see the screaming man in the circle, but no sound. He looked to his left, and saw the recruits screaming silently also. Then, the portal opened, glimmered bright blue, and for a fraction of a second, the image of a another Orebanga flashed itself on the surface of the dimensional door. The man in the middle of the magic ring had collapsed to the ground, most likely dead. The acolytes stood up. they each grabbed a recruit, and started to carry them into the portal, to the other side. Jenkins walked up to Turbo Starr, looking him down defiantly.

"Before darkness falls to ground,
Before the spirits are found,
The death of a child for the traveller,
Brings forth the war monger."

"I envy you, Turbo Starr, for you are about to serve a purpose that only a few could claim. Sleep now, War Monger." Jenkins blew dust from her hand to his face, Turbo coughed, sneezed, tried to break free. He felt the dizziness overcome him. He couldn't pass out, mustn’t pass out...

Voyager
Rider of Apocalypse SG
Excerpt from the Chronicles of Apocalypse