Darkmancer Chapter 11

When I entered the conference room, a large wooden clad room, with a massive mahogany table in the centre of the room lined with roughly 20 chairs and at the end furthest from the door was the main chair, a large throne like affair, with a padded cushion covered in luxurious red silk. I sat down in the chair, the cushion was very comfortable, I placed the large red leather bound tome on the table, opening it the first page. I began to scan through the pages. I took a sheet of fresh unused velum from the pack on the table and wrote down the council members, their title and the date

Administrative & 18 years representative: Thomas Wilkins 
Chief Drake Rider: Corry Homes
Head of Guard: Terry Garnet
Secretary: Ickabod Dernal
and more...

I then called Propaganda, my personal Ill’guard and emissary around the school to call the people to the chamber. I took a notepad from the stack on the top of the cabinet and opened it on the chair to my right, and waited. I knew it would be at least ten to fifteen minutes before any of the representatives would arrive and take their seats, with the exception of Tom, who was busy in the headmaster’s office working on the new timetables and on the duties. I took folded position labels and filled them in, placing them on the table, the youngest members at the far end, spaced with the secretary on my right, Tom’s seat on my left. With the Chief and Guard on the second row of seats.

Bill Reed with his brother Willem Reed where the first to enter, they took their seats, within 20 minutes all members of the council were at their seats. Looking towards me, some in conversation with others, I rose from the chair and silence fell in the room.

“Welcome to you my councillors, you are the members of the council of Ajbal, there are representatives of every age group, as well as the soon to be formed Ajbal Guard, as well as the Chief of the soon to be Drake’wood riders. This council is formed to help me to run this fortress smoothly, I will require your opinions and advice on some very important matters as and when they arise. However, for this moment there are only 2 issues that I need help with, that is the creation of Golems, of the staff, and the extension of the school week. To begin with, the extension of the School week, Thomas Wilkins who should be here is working at the administration; however, with the creation of this separate fortress, certain duties will fall on pupils. However, to not cut down on the learning Tom has requested that Saturday becomes a normal school day, with set lessons. Now please tell me what you think”

Martyn James, the representative for the nine year old section of the school, was the first of the council members to speak. He was a lanky figure not much smaller then the majority of sixteen year olds, with long blonde hair to his shoulders. He rose from the table looking at me.

“I think that it is a good idea, although we are a small city in reality rather then a school, now, thanks to your coup, if that is what it takes for the smooth running of this new home then I think we all agree that it is what’s best”
there was a loud ‘here, here’ from all the members except the youngest member Bill Reed, a small rounded individual, who was the representative for the youngest conclave, the six year old members of the citadel. 
“Well what do you think then young Master Reed, what do you think?”
He rose from the chair.
“I think that the time is a good idea but what I want to know is these duties what do they involve?”
The council looked at me
“There will be a wide number of different duties, from guard duty, to Drake riding. However, no one will be forced, anybody can volunteer for a duty, so long as they are adequate and the leader of the duty agrees. So for instance, people who enjoy horticulture and growing plants can elect to become one of the Gardeners that tend to the food gardens and herb gardens. Others who enjoy sword work such as Mister Garnet can become one of the guards, who will patrol the school and in times of emergency defend the fortress”

Master Reed nodded and turned to the council
“Then it is agreed, Saturdays will be a school day, with the same duties as any other.”
He sat back down
“Then it is agreed, Saturdays will now be a standard day”
There was a nod of agreement from the council. 
“So now what of the idea of Golems of the old teachers to be the new teachers”

Obsidian Rose, got out of his chair and stood up, deep green eyes and long black hair trailed down to the small of his back
“What are these Golems and what will they do”
“Golems, Master Rose are constructs made to house the sprits of the teachers, they will be bound to my orders and will teach the same subjects but with my teachings, they will teach and if needed will deal out the punishments they could if they were real people. However, they will be trapped in the rooms in which they teach. So in other words they are pure teachers, created to teach the subjects they did before they were petrified, they will be made of stone rather then flesh”

“Then I agree that it is the only way we can be taught until those that are close to graduation can replace them. But only if they are slowly replaced by the graduates”
The other council members all nodded in agreement, it appeared that Master Rose seemed to be a figure that the others rallied around, he would be a figure to watch and try and control if at all possible. He had managed to turn the council against my idea. However, even though they wouldn’t be permanent they would solve a big problem to begin with; there were several students Tom included that were only months away from graduating.

“Fine they will be replaced by graduated pupils, however that is only if they wish to teach. We cannot force them to do a job that they dislike.” 
“That is expected after all we are not dictators”
“I think you mean I am not a dictator”
Master Rose glared at me and sat back down. Propaganda passed me the note book with all that had been said in the meetings
“This meeting is disbanded, return to wherever you are supposed to be”
I waited for all the members to leave, I got up and opened a dark portal and stepped through, I arrived through into the headmasters office, Tom was still at the desk rifling through papers, working hard.

The council meeting is over, they have agreed to the proposition”
“Did they ever have a choice in the matter?”
“Not really, but it looks good to have people think it’s democratic, but there’s a problem, Obsidian Rose, is a risk he is clearly a figurehead for the rest and could if not controlled could turn against us and overthrow us”
“Well then you get to work turn him into a servant, I still am inundated with work and wont be done until around 7, so go have some fun, but remember that we no longer live in the room, our new home is the cottage in the field”
“See you later”

I opened the portal and fell through back into the secret lab, I reopened a portal and Obsidian dropped through, with my powers I held him in mid-air and made the shackles to clamp on him. I didn’t care what he had to say, so I closed his mouth, I grabbed the blade and pushed him against the wall, the clamps moved and held him in the star position. I sliced his clothes of him and sent a dark filament up through his arsehole and began to see his sprit copying it and transferred it to a Heartstone. I pulled the filament out and began to work on the spirit. I changed and enhanced his Pyrokinetic skills and brought him under my control, and granted him the same gift as Propaganda to hear me when I want him to. I finished the work and the spirit turned from a ball of white flame to a small net of black flames. I connected the Heartstone to the tool, and then lubricated up the tool, I walked back and rammed the tool up his arsehole and allowed him to scream and as he screamed blasted him with dark lightening and continued to blast him until I saw the black flame shoot up into him. I released the shackles and he dropped to the floor, his body smoking from the lightening, with one hand he reached round and pulled the tool out. He sighed as it dropped onto the floor. I walked over to him and picked him up, holding him, allowing my muscles to swell to give me the strength. I looked into his eyes, and said to him
“Rise my flame; you are born again as my servant”
He stirred and looked back at me
“Master, I am yours to command”
I passed him a set of robes and opened a portal back to his room. He walked through, with him now under my control, the council without even knowing it would be simple pawns in my game. They would agree with my ideas, even if they agreed with what Obsidian said, it would be my idea. 

I opened a portal back to the old apartment; I walked through into the small room. Lucifer flew over to me and landed on my chest hugging me, I hugged him back, allowing him to cling on to me while I began to sort through the room. I sent a dark filament into my chest at the end of my desk, I changed it so that it had a compressed spatial fold inside, meaning that it could hold much more then its dimensions suggested. I opened the top, I started to clean out the room, putting all our stuff in the chest, it was only after I had emptied the entire room that I stopped, Lucifer still clinging on to my body. I looked at the bare room and then closed the lid of my chest. Times had changed, this was no longer my home, as leader of this community, I would need to live in a much more spacious and grand house, there was no grander place in the entire school then the headmasters cottage, with its wooden veranda, entrance, private library, kitchen, Lab and workshop, as well as the basic a living room, bedroom, bathroom. It would be much bigger and would mean I wouldn’t have to go all over the school, which was one thing I would miss. I walked out onto the balcony and took the Heartstone ashtray that Tom had made long before I ever came to the school, I emptied the ash and fag butts over the edge of the balcony. I went back and opened another portal, back to the headmaster’s office and carried the extremely light chest through, along with Lucifer. Tom looked up to see me, I could see he was working and allowed him to continue, walking out onto the fields, and towards the cottage to settle in.

As soon as I reached the veranda, I put the chest down and placed the Heartstone ashtray on the table on the veranda, before walking through the door, leaving the chest outside. Lucifer looked around at the wood panelled Hall and a ‘Uhhh’ escaped his mouth. It was very impressive, I had to admit; I walked round and checked the rooms, the team Tom had sent to clean the house had done a good job, on the shelves were books that we could enjoy. The rooms were fully equipped; all that was missing was the personal objects that made it from a house to a home. I brought the chest back inside and began to unpack, putting our clothes in the chest, several of my private tools became part of the private labs, I placed my personal books and papers in the office. The main chamber after my office was the massive office, filled now with the tomes that had been removed from the administrative office, and had been put on the shelves so that Tom could work here. However, I would order someone to make copies of the essential books, so that Tom would use his own office in the school and I could use the headmaster’s office as my own. 

When I had put all our belongings in the new home, I went back outside and flew in the form of a raven from the cottage across the small garden patch, over the fields and landed in the small courtyard with the statues. I began work on the creation of the Golems, when I had finished the final Golem and sent it to its room, it was nearly 8pm, I rose into the air and flew away into the night, across the fields and to the cottage, I could see a small red speck of light on the veranda and landed resuming my human form up along the garden path up to the house, to see Tom smoking on the veranda.
“Have you finished your jobs now?”
Sitting down beside him I took a fag from the packed and lit it up inhaling deeply

“Yes, on Monday when the pupils go to class they will be taught by the stone golems of their old teachers. How about you?”
“The rotas have been made; tomorrow I have called an assembly, and announce the task that will be open to application. If you would like you could be in the offices with me and help me with the applications”
“With pleasure”
We enjoyed a peaceful evening in front of the television and christened every room in the house.