All rights reserved. This story is property of Fritz Ilagan. No one must copy, reprint or repost this story without any consent to the author, whole or in part, except for permitted by this site or the laws. All characters and situations in this story is completely fictional except for those with historical and social tendencies (you'll see in chapter 13).
This story involves gay love but it might take awhile before you figure it's there. I didn't intend this to be a "jack off" story so no sex scene would be found in any part of this series. For comments, drop me a note in darkdraiodoir666@hotmail.com. I try my best to answer all emails.
Guys, here's another chapter of my story The Gatekeeper: Stigmatized. Hope you like it!
Chapter Five: The Mansion
"This is the Vestibule, the entrance hall of the Mansion."
Osiris continued his ogling. The hall was as large as a cathedral with a forest of pristine white columns supporting the golden ceiling. Hundreds of mysterious balls of light floated here and there illuminating the whole chamber. Also, at least two hundred robed men and women walked around carrying various objects like books, scrolls and weird things that Osiris had never seen before; he thought he saw a girl talking to a plant with purple flowers. Everyone appeared to be very busy, coming in and out of the doors that lined the octagonal walls of the huge room. There were also an array of animals among the crowd and some were beasts like lions and bears that Os only saw in zoos concluding that they were spirit guardians like Luna.
Caleb led Osiris, walking towards the three women in the center of the room. The lady in the middle was the most beautiful woman Os has ever seen in his life. She appeared to be in here mid-twenties, with a perfectly curved body dressed in shiny silver robe. The two girls in each of her side appeared to be much younger than Osiris. They were wearing turquoise robes that reached their ankles and looking pleased to see the two young lads. The lady smiled as Os and Caleb came nearer.
"Osiris Rites, son of Raphael, I welcome you," said the lady at the middle.
Caleb bowed to her then said, "Os, this is Verdandi Britestone, the High-priestess of the Mordigan Witches."
Osiris bowed to her then said, "Thank you for letting me stay and protecting me from the Hand, ma'am."
"It is our pleasure to help those who are in need and stopping the Hand is our main goal. These are Delphi Quartz and Ruby Berry," Verdandi pointed to the two girls in either side of her. They smiled and bowed to Osiris. "They will guide you to your room and explain to you anything that you want to inquire. Caleb I would like to have a short word with you in my office."
Caleb nodded then followed the High-priestess. He gave Os a wink before disappearing to the crowd.
"Mr. Rites, this way please," said the one named Delphi.
Osiris felt as though he was in a five star hotel. "Just call me Os. Mr. Rites was my father."
Both the girls smiled. The three of them walked towards the three doors facing them. The crowd bustled around them, occasionally greeting Delphi and Ruby and giving a smile to Osiris. When Ruby opened the door in the middle, Os saw a wide corridor, with walls made of marble adorned by veins of gold in unsuspecting patterns here and there, sparkling by the glow of more orbs of light hovering above. But the gold decoration didn't much surprise Osiris as he suspected nothing less. He was rather taken aback by the floor of the corridor or rather... the lack of it.
They walked onto a platform just beyond the door but there were no more marble to step upon. Os looked down and he saw instead a stream of flowing dark blue water instead of the ground. A few silver eels glided below the water and Osiris creased his brow then looked to both girls. Delphi and Ruby knew he will be surprised so before he opened his mouth, Delphi said, "Do not worry Os. It's safe."
"Where's the floor?" asked Osiris. "Or do we need a boat?"
"No, we won't need a boat. Look there Os," said Ruby pointing a finger.
Just then, two witches conversing energetically flowed in front of Osiris, Delphi and Ruby. They were standing on top of the water, noticeably without support underneath their feet. They moved with the stream while Os stared, as they passed, his mouth forming a perfect circle.
"This is the floor," said Ruby, giggling a little. "It was a way to travel the Mansion so that we won't tire easily. We can step on the water, let it move us about and we can travel by only standing on it."
"You won't sink?" asked Osiris apprehensively eyeing the stream which looked extremely ordinary.
"No, it's enchanted," said Delphi. "It works like the escalators at the malls. It was devised by a genius Creator in the Middle Ages because the Mansion is just too vast and the Elders will be too exhausted if they walk around all day. Come on."
The two Mordigans jumped to the water and Osiris half expected them to sink but the water appeared solid on their feet. Tentatively, he stepped on it. It supported his weight and it felt cool even through his shoes. The three of them started to move.
"We call it River Corridor. It flows widdershins at one area and deosil at another. This line here marks the sides," said Delphi. Osiris looked down and he saw a silver line at the center of the hall, visible above the water, slithering like a snake with the current.
"Deosil and widdershins?" he inquired.
"They're Old English for clockwise and counter clockwise," said Ruby.
"Clockwise? What are you saying, this hall is circular?" asked Osiris looking around and saw hundreds of doors lined the walls.
"Yes."
Os stared around. "How come I can't see any curves?"
"It's too huge that's why our eyes can't discern its shape but the blueprint that can be found at the Archives shows that the greater part of the Mansion beyond the Vestibule is a great dome," said Delphi.
The things that he was learning about witchcraft and his identity were overwhelming to Osiris's mind but it served to be good distractions. At least now he's not bothered by the danger of the outside world. They continued to move on top of the stream and as they past by doors, he noticed that they were of different colors. Small signages were seen here and there pointing to rooms of the Mansion.
"Oh, that?" said Ruby. "Well, as I told you the Mansion is so vast that even we get lost in it, even after years of living here. The doors are color coded and numbered to stop us from barging in the wrong room. The doors on the side of the Vestibule, lead to the workshops where we work on our tasks."
"Wooden doors direct you to the dormitories which have numbers on them for easy recollection," supplied Delphi. "Doors that are color white are restricted. They are entrance to the Elders' Quarters. There are other doors that can lead you to special rooms in the Mansion but we think it'll be more enjoyable if you discover them yourself."
Getting to Osiris's dorm took some time but it was not wasted as Ruby and Delphi seemed to enjoy telling him things. He found out that Delphi was an Oracle, a kind of Mordigan Witch with an ability to see the future. Ruby, on the other hand, was a Creator, someone who was assigned in inventing spells and potions for the coven. Osiris was quite buoyant, as the two girls didn't sound weird unlike what he expected a witch would sound.
Then suddenly, a chill surged to his body like electricity. It was when they passed a golden door and its sight gave Osiris a feeling he could not explain... as though it tried to get his attention.
Giving it a long stare after they got passed it, Osiris absorbed the alchemic designs of symbols framing the twisting trunk of a tree, its leaves seemed to move like being blown by the wind as lights from hovering orbs made it flicker while the viewer floated by the River Corridor.
Ruby noticed Osiris shivering again. "What's the matter?"
"That door we just passed by. The gold one... where does it lead to?" asked Osiris, feeling rather freaked out by the sensation.
"Well, no one knows," said Delphi.
He raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"
"It's locked and no one has been able to open it. Not even the High-priestess. Some thinks that it needs a password of some kind. Many tried to unlock it with potions and spells but nothing worked."
"Oh." Osiris thought it was kind of odd that with so much magic in this place they can't even unlock one door. It seems magic still has its limitations.
"Well, here we are," said Ruby, as she and Delphi step over the silver line and hopped to the doorstep platform and Os followed. They stood in front of a wooden door with a copper number sixty-seven nailed at it.
"Your room is the fifth door at the right," said Ruby handing Osiris a silver key. "You will find everything that you need. There are robes at the cabinet, food at the pantry and books at the shelves. There's also a laptop at the desk which is connected to the internet."
"A laptop?" Osiris repeated checking whether he heard that right.
"You know, a small computer that opens like a book," said Delphi.
"No, I know what a laptop is. I just didn't expect a magical place will be equipped with technology," said Osiris smilingly. Delphi and Ruby grinned to him.
"Well, High-priestess Verdandi introduced it," said Delphi, "and we believe it was a great idea because it made searching books at the Archives much easier."
"We're witches Os, not cavemen. You will see other appliances by the kitchen," Ruby said rather pointedly.
"Okay then, we need to go back to our tasks. See you later," said both girls in unison then Delphi and Ruby waved goodbye as the stream of the River Corridor carried them away. Osiris opened the door and was greeted with a very long empty passageway lined with at least a hundred wooden doors, illuminated by orbs hovering by the ceiling. He took a deep breath and unlocked his room.
"Would you like something to drink Caleb?" Caleb smiled and knew very well that the polite thing to do is to accept. "A cup of tea would be good, thank you Verdandi." Verdandi waved a hand and a cup of chamomile tea materialized in front of Caleb while a glass of wine appeared in front of the High-priestess.
"I want to talk to you about Osiris's escape," said Verdandi as she swirled the scarlet contents of her glass. "It seems rather odd for the Hand to let any of their victims get away and be rescued by us."
"Probably they got threatened by Osiris's gifts. By the way he related what happened, his mind is a cornucopia of power that might have scared Lilith off a pursuit," replied Caleb with a smile. But it was obvious that the High-priestess didn't share his view.
"But it would be the first time that they have done this and if Osiris is a source of power, they would have never let him get away."
"What bothers you High-priestess?"
"The Hand has rather become more conspicuous lately. The attack at the school would have attracted the non-magical community and it seems that the Hand didn't care as long as they get Osiris and I fear that because of this, the Advocatus had grown much more aggressive," Verdandi stated. "You know his ultimate goal Caleb and I fear that he might use Osiris to achieve it."
Caleb appeared confused. "What can Osiris do? He is ignorant of his heritage, his powers. And he is confined in here where the Hand can't influence him. And I believe this child is good, ma'am, he will not be swayed to the other side."
"There is no other side Caleb. Good and evil is interconnected, with only a fine line that separates one from the other. And I know how the leader of the Hand thinks; he will not stop until he gets what he wants."
Verdandi gave a low sigh then took a drink of her wine. "I would like you to look after Os, teach him our ways and maybe he will join us in the future."
"You think if Osiris becomes a Mordigan, he will be protected from the Hand's advances? That the coven's magic will bind Os to our code?"
Verdandi looked sorrowed as she said, "No magic is perfect Caleb. Not even the binding powers of a coven family."
Osiris entered his designated room and found a spacious apartment that was half-bedroom half-kitchen, with a small circular chandelier of candles. A king-size bed stood at the far end of the square room with fluffy pillows and a large comforter. Beside it was a cabinet that appears to be made of oak. A desk was on the other side of the bed where a laptop was boot up. Rushing to it excitedly, he fingered the fine silver gadget, noticing that it was the newest model that he just recently saw at the mall a few days ago. Taking his eyes off the computer for a second, Osiris saw that the bookshelves that lined the walls were packed with books of magic and sorcery. Something inside him was tingling insight of these.
Walking around the apartment, he got to the kitchen where Osiris found all kinds of appliances for cooking. There were two doors next to the fridge and further investigating made him discover that one led to the pantry while the other to a bathroom with a large tub. 'Nice.'
Going back to the desk, Osiris decided to send a quick email to Jaypee whose probably worried sick of him. He was just getting started to type when the door opened and a short boy, a year or two younger than Osiris, entered.
Carrying a handful of small bottles, the boy look up and jumped in surprise when he saw Osiris by the computer; one bottle containing purple liquid slipped from the boy's grasped and shattered to the floor. Purple smoke came from the spilled potion which covered the boy and after a while, the smoke diminished, and what he saw next made Osiris gave a howl of fright.
The boy's head was gone.
Os got off his chair and cautiously stared at the decapitated body of the boy when a voice from somewhere under the bed called out to him.
"Excuse me? Can you assist me please?"
Stunned, Osiris pulled up the covers of the bed then peered underneath and saw the boy's head that had apparently rolled its way there. It was still alive and Os wasn't sure whether to be thankful or frightened.
"What the--" gasped Osiris. "What happened to you?"
The boy gave him a sheepish smile. "It was my Decapitation potion. Can you help me?"
"How?"
"Just put my head by my feet then take the red potion from my hand and drop it in front of me," said the boy's head as though it was only talking about the weather.
Carefully, Os picked up the boy's pate and put it by the boy's feet. His body was immobile as a statue.
"Is your body alright?" asked Osiris as he took the red potion from the handful of bottles.
"I'm okay. I won't be able to move though because my brain's not attached to my spine. Throw the red potion now."
"Okay, here goes." Osiris let the red potion drop in front of the boy. Greenish smoke emerged and covered the scene. Coughing followed and Osiris saw that the boy was reunited with his head, waving smoke away from him.
"I'm sorry about that," said the boy. "I just got surprised when I saw you here. I thought this was my room. I'm Roland Draft, a Mordigan Creator." The boy put some of the bottle on his pocket and extended his hand and Osiris shook it.
"I'm Osiris Rites, I'm... um..."
"Don't worry. I know why you're here. The Hand's after you right?"
"Yeah. Wait... you're Roland? Caleb mentioned you once." Roland smiled. "Well, Caleb was my mentor when I was still starting. Welcome to the Mansion, Os. You're in the safest place on earth."
"Caleb did mention that," smiled Osiris, who decided to come back to the computer. He reread his letter:
EMAIL:
Hi Jaypee... Osiris here. Can't really talk right now but I want to tell you that I'm alright. Mr. Brine is helping me and he took me to this place but I can't really tell where it is because I don't know. It's like a witness protection safe house kind of places but only classier. I just want to tell you that I'm safe and that you shouldn't be worried of me. I miss you bro. Hope to see you once everything gets sorted out. Be safe.
Osiris noticed that Roland seemed interested with what he was doing by the way the boy craned his neck to stare at the screen. Glancing back to him, Osiris asked, "Yes?"
"Um... sorry," mumbled Roland, "It's just, I wonder if you can... you know... teach me in using a... um..."
"Laptop," Osiris provided automatically.
"Yes, laptop," the boy blushed. "I haven't really mastered this kind of thing and you make it look so easy..."
"Oh, alright then. I'll teach you," said Osiris.
Roland beamed. "Great. Can I just go to my room and put these potions in storage? Be right back." He dashed out and after a minute came back to Osiris's room.
"Um... I would have asked you to sit but there's... only one chair," said Osiris frowning to the grandeur of the room that appeared to be rather under furnished.
"Oh, no problem," said Roland who waved his hand and a fluffy chair materialized beside Osiris. Roland sat on it staring at the screen.
"So you're telling me you can conjure stuff but can't use a computer?" asked Osiris, finishing his typing.
"Well, no one could be good in everything and it was only recently that the High-priestess suggested using computers and not many Mordigans had gotten the hang of it yet which includes me."
"How come? Can't you get tutorials or something?"
"Well, not all Mordigans are allowed to get outside and the manuals on the Archives doesn't really do justice. What if the laptop just blow-up," said Roland watching Osiris's fingers hit the keys on the keyboard. "And with the threat of the Hand, it is very dangerous to be a Mordigan outside the Mansion. Only Heralds and Trackers are allowed to leave."
"That sucks," said Os. "And how long have you been a witch?"
"Well, technically all my life. I came from a long line of witch ancestry so we have always known that we have powers. My aunt was a Mordigan and when she saw that I excelled more than my cousins, she trained me and I got initiated when I was seven."
"Initiated? It sounds as though you joined a fraternity or something," said Osiris now hitting the enter key and finally sent the email.
"Initiation is a ritual that you need to perform when you wish to join a coven and a coven is a group of witches bound in perfect love and perfect trust. Some even say that covens are much closer than family," Roland explained. "You sound as though you haven't got a clue about witchcraft."
Osiris shrugged his shoulder. "I only knew that I'm a witch this morning."
"What?" asked Roland befuddled, "you mean you survived the Hand without your powers?"
"How come so many of you know about my encounter with the Hand?"
"It's big news really," said Roland eagerly. "The attack at your school was the most noticeable act the Hand did for over thirteen years. It was like they didn't care about exposing their powers to the normal people. How did you survive them anyway?"
"Well, I used my powers but at that time I didn't know I have them. I just shouted and the room exploded," Osiris said, shrugging his shoulders a bit.
"Whoa," said Roland in awe but then grinned. "Cool. Hey how about you teach me how to computer and I'll teach you everything I know about witchcraft. What do you say?"
"That would be great!" said Osiris. "So what do you want to learn?"
Roland appeared sheepish. "Everything? Maybe we can begin on how to turn it on?"
The other guy fought to stifle his laughter. "You don't even know how to turn it on? Okay then, I'll shut it down first so I can show you." Os then clicked the device and showed Roland the switch, explained to him terms like startup,' operating system' and `internet.' Being a nerd at heart, Osiris talked about this and that without realizing Roland's perplexed expression.
"--so you know, the network at that research facility was the founding idea of today's World Wide Web--what?" Osiris asked.
"Do I really need to know about the history of the internet?" Roland asked timidly.
"No, sorry, I just got carried away. You won't need to know that except if you want to be a hacker or something," chuckled Os but Roland creased his brow wondering what was funny.
"So here," Osiris continued to cover up his lame joke, "these little pictures are called icons that you click or double click to start a program using this cursor, the little arrow that moves when you touch the pad in here. Tap once for a click and twice for a double click.
"This is a program that launches the internet," Os pointed the cursor to a small globe-like icon, "and when I click it, it will show you your homepage, it serves as a starting point in a hypertext system--"
"Hypertext?" asked Roland sounding anxious.
"Hypertext are text linked together in a complex, non-sequential web of associations in which the user can browse thro--" rattled Osiris then caught himself just in time. He grinned to Roland and said, "Forget that. I always rumble when I'm lecturing someone."
Roland smiled at him. "Don't worry me too."
Then Osiris showed Roland websites and explained to him what search engines were.
"Wow," said Roland, "I never thought it would be this easy to get information by typing and clicking. The knowledge that we can acquire..."
Osiris got impressed on how good of a student Roland could be. He was already a fast typist only after three hours in front of the laptop. After feeling his stomach grunting though, Os decided to have a break and went to the kitchen while Roland reluctantly shut down the computer.
The pantry was packed with all sorts of food imaginable and as though food had been packed inside just to squeeze it all in just to fit even if the small closet refused to hold anymore. After taking in the sight, Osiris started extracting from the piles of packet and cans of food some bread, peanut butter, jelly and milk then looked back to Roland and said, "Care to eat with me?"
"Okay," said Roland who went to the kitchen then stared at Osiris's selection for dinner. "Don't tell me you're on a diet?"
"No, why?"
"Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches doesn't really pack as a meal in here," said Roland as he walked pass Osiris then rummaged in the pantry and took some carrots, potatoes, bell peppers and tomato sauce. "When you spend your day casting spells and brewing potions, it gets rather draining so you should be well nourished." He placed these at the kitchen counter then got a whole chicken from the freezer which he defrosted by wave of a hand.
Roland began to chop the chicken while Osiris watch and said, "Don't tell me they teach culinary arts in the Mordigan Mansion?"
Roland smiled. "Well, they do teach us potion making so I guess it's the same principle."
Acting horrified, Osiris scooted away from Roland. "That dish won't take my head off, will it?" Both of them laughed. Os continued to make sandwiches just so he won't feel useless while Roland simmered the casserole. Above the pile of sandwich, Osiris gave Roland an amused stare as the guy didn't act like his age... maybe that could happen after getting cooped up inside a Mansion for so long, he thought.
"So, how did you learn to cook?" asked Os.
"Living here teaches you many things Os. At first I only know how to make sandwiches too but as years past by, you grow sick with the same old stuff so you try something new. I found a cookbook at the Archives and tried to do the recipes and it did pay off. One thing that I learned here is that if you want to learn something, you've got to teach yourself."
"It seems rather harsh not to let you guys out even once in a while."
"We really haven't been like this in the past," said Roland and Os saw a hint of sadness in his new found friend, "only when the Hand started murdering any Mordigan that crosses their path. Once, we were free to get out and visit our families but when the Hand started an all out war against us, we didn't have a choice but to hide here. I was nine the last time I saw my family."
"That's tough," said Osiris who didn't notice that he already made two dozen sandwiches.
"But it's not really that bad," said Roland, "I mean, we have to sacrifice one thing or another if we really wanted to make a difference."
"What do you do in here really?" Osiris asked as he stopped making sandwiches after finally getting aware of the large pile of bread, peanut butter and jelly overflowing the plate in front of him. Roland placed a large bowl of steaming casserole on the table. It smelled delicious.
"As a whole, the Mordigan Witches' main aim is to promote peace in the world. We become mediator between magical and non-magical people. We tend to remind witches not to use their magic to harm others so that the world will not come back to that time when owning a black cat was punishable by being burned at the stake.
"Also, we try to discover new kinds of magic and research ancient ones that have been forgotten. Knowledge is important here that's why we have the biggest library there is and we pride that all knowledge should be shared but as you know some people tend to abuse the power of knowledge. Also, we protect magical beings that are in danger of extinction because of the changes humanity has done to the world, you know, deforestation, pollution and industrialization."
"Magical beings?" Osiris said while he gulped down the chicken casserole which tasted exquisite.
"You know, tree fairies, leprechauns, Alvens and other nature sprites. We try to console lost souls too to find their way to the other side and try to negotiate with poltergeists so that they will no longer hunt people," explained Roland, taking a sandwich from the pile. "And we also help witches that are hunted by the Hand, which is why you're here."
"How come the Hand's seemed so angry with the world, besides the fact that they are evil?" Roland chewed thoughtfully then said, "The Hand is not angry with the world, contrary to that, they say they want to save it."
Osiris's face looked as though he just found a dead rat in his casserole. "Save the world? How the hell can they save the world if they keep killing people all the time?"
"The head of the Hand believes the world has grown so evil that it is his duty to atone it. He uses magic to kidnap criminals then uses them as sacrifices in rituals."
"But I'm not a criminal," said Os. "Why did they want kill me?"
"Well," Roland continued even though he appeared to be uncomfortable. "Some rituals need special people as sacrifices, I guess."
"Caleb said the Hand has partnered with criminals? How does that work if they kill them for rituals?" Osiris frowned.
"I don't really know that but I know that the majority of the Hand's victims are people that had done something wrong and that's why we, Mordigans, opposes them because even though how evil a person is he doesn't deserve to be killed on an altar or get dissected for potions."
Talking about killing and dissecting can put off anyone's appetite so both guys decided to clean up the table, though Os thought they made a sizable dent to the casserole and pile of sandwiches. Osiris started to wash the dishes while Roland kept the leftovers to the fridge. When finished, Os found Roland grinning at him.
"What?"
"I told you I'll coach you on witchcraft as payment for computer lessons. So let's begin," said Roland who appeared excited.
"Let's start with your active power. What is it?"
"Caleb told me I'm a telepath and a psychokinetic," said Os.
"You have two powers... already?" asked Roland looking surprised again.
"I think so. Is that bad?"
"No, not at all. I'm a Transformer. I can change object's forms without spells," said Roland as the two of them sat at the floor in front of the bed. "It's just that, you seemed well gifted even though you have just discovered you were a witch."
"Don't you mean a warlock?" asked Osiris. "I mean, that's the proper male version of a witch right?"
"Warlock is proper but witch can be use for either male or female. So how come you have so much power?" Osiris shrugged in reply then a low male voice answered by the door way.
"That's because his powers got stored in him and now they are struggling to catch up." Both boys looked up and saw Caleb Brine standing there while Luna, the ocelot sat by the floor.
"Caleb!" Os exclaimed. "You missed dinner. You're right. Roland here is an excellent cook."
"I know, he cooked for me when I was his mentor," said Caleb entering the room. "I hope you liked your room."
"It's great. We were just about to practice my power. Roland's teaching me magic in exchange for me teaching him how to use the computer."
"Well, that's quite a bargain. But remember that knowledge is power on its own already." Caleb sat by Osiris's bed and looked down at the two boys by the floor. "Okay then, let's see my student become a teacher."
To be continued...