The Wish Of Freedom Pt 01

Author: The Architect

Authors note: Mind control story but this part is the setup so no sex or control yet. I have had this idea for sometime and the last few days I finally got around to starting it. I have a few other stories series I want to work on but I'm going to advance this at least one more part and that will have our protagonist exerting some control.

Legends sometimes are built on the truth, sometimes they're just made up and probably there were some drugs involved.

Artifacts found in a hidden room sound mysterious but when we got in there it was mostly long rotted herbs and faded books. The room was found in the mansion of a wealthy landowner here in Pennsylvania, discovered during a renovation. When it became clear that it was nothing but scraps it was assigned to the most junior member of the team, that would be me.

I spent 2 days collecting every piece of paper. Most were faded, stained or an unsuccessful meal of a rodent sometime in the past. We have a scanner with special software which is good at lifting faded images, my mission is to feed what I can into the scanner and let an advisor know if we actually get something.

After I collected the papers I had to catalog the rest of what we found and pack it away, this is not what they show Indianna Jones or Lara Croft doing for sure, I'm basically cleaning the room by hand, covered by gloves, I am expected to collect anything of value.

I have carried maybe 3 containers of items down to the van, pieces of metal with runes etched on them although they could just be random scratches. Number of jewel-encrusted amulets - zero. The closest thing of value is what was probably a very nice mortar and pestle years ago, now it is chipped and may never be fully clean.

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I hate my life. Why didn't I study something useful, like accounting or finance? Sure, I'd be spending the whole day at a desk with no adventure in my life but not like I have that now. I don't dodge poison darts from traps guarding the treasure, I handle documents that were below a rats nest and need to make sure my shots are up to date so I don't get the plague or something.

I have been feeding documents through the scanner all morning with almost no success. Now I have what seems to be a journal in old english and latin.

"I obtained the artifact today, it is a metal rod with a flattened end where a rune was etched, if I can unlock it then I can command the beast within."

Well, that is ominous. Even the computer can't make out the text that was on the following pages. I keep scanning pages in the hope for a part of the story.

While I was waiting I look for this rod it mentioned, I find it and it is covered in rat droppings. I hope the rat droppings weren't a critical part because I wash it off so that I don't catch any diseases. Sure enough the rod is about 8 inches long then ends in about 2 inches where it is flattened, a rune is carved into the metal on the flat part but I don't recognize it. Maybe it is just random scratchings but this was such a poor assignment I grasp to the idea it is a rune that will unlock the secrets of the universe, anything to keep my spirits up.

Holding it in my hand I didn't feel any power, just cold iron. Putting it down on the table, I return to scanning. Toward the end of the journal I catch a fragment of useful information, the journal talked about the rune, he figured it was 7 characters, in Latin, layered forming a word, but it becomes impossible to read after that. That is the last entry, there is no way to tell what happened.

Did they discover they were deceived about this artifact? Did something happen that they gave up? The mansion was owned by a wealthy businessman who disappeared in 1804, where did he disappear to and leave all this behind?

I put the bar on the scanner with the engraving side down and scanned a picture of it. "Scan this image for any characters in Latin, generate any words from the characters you find. How long will this take?"

"Estimate 3 hours and 12 minutes."

Forget this, I'm hungry.

"Email me the results when completed." I take the bar and put it in my jacket pocket, I'll look at it later, maybe something will come to me. Or it will make a nice paperweight.

Before I go I should email my boss.

"Professor, nothing interesting and it was all covered in dirt and feces. No Grail I'm afraid. See you on Monday."

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My life sucks. I can't get this out of my head as I pull out a frozen pizza so I can spend my Friday night alone with the TV. I tossed my jacket over the chair and there is a clunk. I reach into my pocket and take out the rod.

I stare at it for a moment, hundreds of years ago someone thought you had value. I toss it on the table, still not sure why I took it home.

A few minutes later my pizza was cooked and I settled in to watch something meaningless on Netflix.

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Why am I bothering, it isn't like I'm in IT and I need to keep track of things on the weekend, still I pick up my phone and login to my work email. Maybe one of these days it will pay off, a limited time chance to go someplace interesting and I will get the leg up because I checked my email.

Like that would happen.

Oh interesting, got the results for that scan I started on Friday. GPG found a few possible latin words. Nope, nope, hmmm.. ligamen, means binding. "Ligamen" I mumble as I read it in the email report, the rod on the table seems to shudder. What the heck?!?

"Ligamen!"

I can see the rune lines on the rod start to glow, as if they were freshly etched into the iron. The rod is dancing on the table in reaction to it' vibrations. Then an area above the table seemed to shimmer and become opaque. I took a step back, encountering the wall in my small apartment.

The rod settled down, the runes returned to the cold iron look they had moments before but the cloud, I have no other words for it, still hung over the table.

"Invocavisti me, adsum."

My latin is very rusty.

"Gyst þū mē?"

That is old english, I'm not going to do any better with that. Where is the voice coming from?

"Mortal, can you speak?"

"I can. What are you?"

"I am of the race of Aerian, in your mythology I would be called a D'Jinn. I was captured and bound to this object 834 of your years ago."

"You are trapped?"

"Yes, several of my brethren have been snatched from the ethereal and confined in this dismal reality for an eternity. "

"Why?"

"We have been used as servants by lesser creatures that covet our power."

"You are a D'Jinn? Did they ask you to grant wishes?"

"Yes but not in the way of your legends. Bound as I am, I have a limited amount of power to alter reality, then I must rest. While on this plane the power returns to me slowly. It has been 204 years since I was released previously, my powers are at their peek. As required by the binding I must serve the master of the Paradox Prison until I need to rest again."

"Do you have it in your power to break the binding?"

"If commanded, I do have that power."

"How much power would it require?"

"Half of my current power would be needed."

In most legends the D'Jinn are capricious and grant wishes badly unless you are very careful. Maybe if I am going to release him at the end of this he won't curse me? I'd say I have nothing to lose but I probably have a lot to lose, I need to be careful."

"I'd like to end your binding when we are done but could we talk a little first?"

I see the cloud changes a little, it continues to swirl but I see flashes of colors.

"You would release me?"

"800 years seems like a long time to be bound. Maybe we could talk this evening and then I could release you to the ethereal."

I can see its swirling speed up, is this a positive reaction?

"This is acceptable."

"So tell me about the Aerian?"

"We are creatures of thought and will that travel the universe, we do not interact with such as you normally, ours is a grander existence."

"How did you get captured?"

"There exists some magic that can pull one of my kind from the ethereal and bind us to an object, I was captured and bound to the Paradox Prison."

"You said there were others, other Aerian who have been bound on Earth?"

"Yes, there are 6 of us on your planet, I can feel them also. We have been in our prisons for hundreds of your years, it seems we have been forgotten and would be doomed to remain until your star consumed the planet. That would have released us in several billion years."

"The world has forgotten your kind, they are the thing of myth now."

"Yes." The colors in the cloud seem darker now.

"Can you tell me about the last human you encountered?"

"220 years ago a human named William Stiles found the Paradox Prison I was bound to, he studied it for months before unlocking the command to release me." The cloud swirls faster, "You unlocked the prison much faster, you are much smarter than the last human."

"We have machines that help us research now.

"Ah, the Aerian know of machines but don't need them. William Stiles first asked to be able to see the future, he was driven mad by what he saw. I remained outside of the prison for over 3 years before I was pulled back. I have limited perceptions of the world even from inside my prison."

"I was wondering how you knew modern English."

"This isn't how I am communicating, I am not speaking to you with words now."

Is it communicating directly to my thoughts? Can I read my mind? Can you hear me?

Um ... guess not, I guess it can project to me but it needs me to speak to it.

"I'm sorry, I didn't ask your name. Can you tell me?"

"You can call me Nimbus, the Aerian have names but we do not communicate in the same way."

"Thank you Nimbus. Let's talk about using your powers."

"I am listening."

"Can I ask you for something but we need to leave enough power for you to release you from the binding in the end, can we do that?"

"Yes."

"Nimbus, I would like to release your fellow Aerian, can we grant me some abilities toward that end?"

"Yes, what do you wish?"

"Well first I would like to be able to sense and be guided to the nearest Paradox Prison."

"That is very minor."

"Is the same command used to release the other imprisoned Aerian?"

"No, each is bound with its own word of power."

"Can you grant me the ability to find this word for each of the prisons I encounter?"

"This is also minor."

"How are we looking on the energy budget?"

"Continue."

"It is possible I will encounter resistance from other humans, can you grant me the ability to bend them to my will?"

"Yes but this is not as minor, very little energy will remain after this."

"That should be enough, let's do those 3 things and then release you from your prison. Do I need to say anything special to make it so?"

"No, I have made those changes."

"Are you released from the prison?"

"Yes, it does not hold me any longer."

"That is amazing!"

"I will be leaving this plane never to return. I leave you with one more thing, I have marked your aura as a friend of the Aerian, when you find my brethren they will know you are to be trusted."

Wow!

"Farewell Lucas Jones, thank you for ending my torture on this plane."

Slowly the cloud fades. Still on the table is the rod but the etchings on the flattened end are gone, it is smooth.

I reach out with my mind, I can feel a prison far from here. If I release the other 5 and get each of them to grant me some wishes before release I can become quite powerful.

I go to lay down on my bed to plan. I don't hate my life anymore.