Chapter 17
“Welcome to Xervia, and to the grasslands of The People of Morning.” Tithian said from outside the tent, revealing that their strange journey had ended.
Mark and Talia emerged onto lush green grass, and discovered it was knee deep on Mark, hip high on Talia. “Thanks.” Mark acknowledged, and yawned again.
“The stream there is quite good. Will you wish to eat right away?”
“Not immediately. I could use a cup of Hilsith’s tea first.” Mark said as he dropped to his knees beside the tiny stream, then plunged his head in while Talia cupped a double handful of water to drink.
“I will invite Hilsith, and ask that she bring some.”
Talia rose and dried her hands on her breeches. She concentrated a moment, then exchanged what she’d been wearing under her armor for a blue wool spring dress, warm enough to counteract the slight chill.
She looked about at her surroundings in the pre-dawn brightening of the sky to the east. The grasslands extended as far as the eye could see, rippled with slight hills and coulees in three directions, while to the east the ground gradually fell away into a lowland that extended for kilometers, affording a wonderful view in that direction. Everywhere she looked there was a sparse scattering of unicorns, and she realized that there were thousands of them in sight, perhaps tens of thousands. Most of them were still asleep, and a third of them slept standing up in tightly grouped little herds.
Closer at hand were Tithian and Povon beside a huge round table of dark wood with sixteen matching chairs of various sizes around it. Beyond the table were a group of seventy or so unicorns who were obviously engaged in spell casting.
“My companions here are blocking your auras. We are reasonably certain that we can hide you from Zarkog by doing this.” Tithian explained.
“Oh. Thanks, we really appreciate your time and effort.” Mark said as he squeezed water out of his hair, looking much more awake and refreshed. “And you’re right, that stream is good. It’s surprising that water can taste that good.”
“Who else is coming?” Talia asked as she absentmindedly Summoned a towel for Mark, who just as absentmindedly took it from her and sat down on one of the chairs to dry his hair.
“Senior leaders of the alliance, and some of your and Mark’s friends and family, whose company should help you with your serenity after your trying day yesterday.”
“That’s thoughtful of you, and well appreciated.” Mark offered as he finished drying his hair.
Talia took the towel from him and Sent it back, then began brushing his hair.
“Ahh...” he moaned with a grin as he relaxed further into his chair. “I didn’t think having your hair brushed could feel so nice. Thanks.”
“It’s the love that goes into it.” Talia giggled, and kissed him on the top of his head before continuing her ministrations.
“When will everyone get here?” he asked.
“In a few minutes. First you will have an opportunity to see something that few not of my people have ever seen. And you will learn why the unicorns are called The People of Morning. You see, when my people first became sentient, it was only for a few hours a day after bathing in the power of the source at each day’s dawn. Now of course, we are sentient whenever we are awake, but we still revel in the revitalizing rays of the source at sunrise, and it is still the most special time of day for us.
“You see now, my people are stirring, in anticipation of the coming of the sun. You can see Silaran standing out in the herd just over there. Big pink and white fellow that he is, he’s easy to spot. My darling daughter is just on his far side, though you can’t see her from here. They’ll be joining us when they’re done their awakening.”
“I’m sorry you had to be up before the dawn for our sake.” Talia smiled as she finished Mark’s hair and re-bound it at the back with his gold and diamond hair clip, then settled into his lap for some cuddling.
“I was not, for I slept and woke on my home grazing far to the east of here, where the dawn occurred an hour ago. So now I am lucky enough to experience it twice in one morning.”
“The time problem again.” Mark said.
“Pardon me?”
“To me, time was always decided by the position of the sun, and nobody I knew traveled faster than a run, and not far at that.” he told her as his eyes swept over the huge open vista, where more and more of the visible unicorns were stirring, standing, shaking themselves off, and slowly wandering to the nearest water for a drink. “But now we’re traveling all over the world, and it’s a different time of day everywhere you go. I get all confused as to what time it is and how long it’s been since I last slept. I’m just not used to the implications of fast travel. Like just now, I assumed that you’d slept here, even though I know you’re an important person who travels a lot, and who might have slept anywhere.
“If I didn’t have Talia to keep track of time for me, I think I’d go mad.”
“I didn’t know it was bothering you that much.” Povon admitted, a little guiltily. “Here, this should help a bit at least. I should have thought to give it to you earlier. It’s called a time-sight.”
She passed him a simple compound spell, and when he cast it, it produced the Illusion of a seven centimeter ball, yellow on one side with a white spot in the center, and a deep blue that was almost black on the other. Further inspection revealed the simplified outlines of the continents of Kellaran drawn in thin black lines on the light side, and in thin white lines on the dark side. The equator and poles were similarly marked.
“The white spot shows the position of the sun.” Povon explained. “That is, the place marked in the northern tip of Kletiuk by the white spot is experiencing high noon right now, as the sun is directly overhead there. It is daytime on the light side, and nighttime on the dark side, and it changes constantly with the real time. The glowing blue dot marks your position in the world, so you can see that we’re in northeastern Xervia, and because it’s at the trailing edge of the dark side, you can see that it’s almost dawn here. You can also see that it’s just before midnight in Hilia, and that it’s mid-afternoon in Finitra and The Nine Valleys. It also shows the seasons and the time of year. The sun is north of the equator, indicating that it is summer in the northern half of Kellaran, and the farther north it is, the closer it is to mid-summer. The sun will be on the equator at the spring and autumn equinoxes, and south of the equator when Finitra experiences winter. You see?”
“Yes, this is great! This’ll help a lot!” Mark crowed enthusiastically.
“Then I will give it to you as a late birthday present, though it is not a Draconian tradition to do so.”
“Thank you! Mind you, you risked your life in our cause on my birthday, and your performance in the battle was both crucial and incredible. Birthday presents don’t get any better than that.”
“Thank you.” Povon smiled.
“As for this, now I know what time it is on Kellaran, but we still need a simple way to say what time we’re talking about to someone who’s also a fast traveler. We should just pick somewhere at random and number the hours from there.
“For instance if we picked right here as a standard time reference, the standard time everywhere in the world right now would be about the sixth hour, numbered from midnight. People who lived here wouldn’t have to make an adjustment. But people in Hilia would just have to get used to having midnight at the sixth hour in standard time, just as they’d have to get used to having the sixth hour at noon in east-central Kletiuk, and in mid-afternoon in Finitra. The benefit of it is, if you say you’re going to be in Bojoston at the sixth hour of the fourteenth day of the month, everybody knows exactly when you’re talking about, no matter what time of day it is where they’re at. Do you follow me?”
“That is one of those ideas that is so brilliant, I’m chagrined that I never thought of it myself.” Tithian stated admiringly. “Mind you, fast intercontinental travel was very rare befo
re the founding of the alliance, so standard time would have been much less useful than it is now. It will be of particular benefit to our military planners and commanders, given the world-wide scope of our conflict with Zarkog, and with the demons. And this standardization of time perfectly complements the standardized calendar we’ve recently adopted. May we consider it an official suggestion of the Key to The Just Alliance?”
“Sure!” Mark smiled as he dismissed the illusion.
“I have forwarded it.
“Now the first sliver of the sun will appear above the eastern horizon. Watch my people. Open your mind to them, and share in the glory of it.”
While Mark had been somewhat distracted by conversation, the unicorns had been casually wandering about, seemingly at random. But now patterns emerged. They were spaced so that in the last few seconds before daybreak they could turn sideways to the dawn to absorb the most light, with only their heads turned to face the emerging sun, and each would be in the least possible shadow from the others. He realized that even differing heights were taken into account in the spacing.
Looking toward the lower land to the east, he could see the line of direct daylight appear on the horizon and speed toward them. In less than a second it swept past just as the first bright rays of the sun struck the eye from the horizon. As the light touched each unicorn, they lifted their heads and called out with a sound that no horse could ever make, a pure and smooth tone that rang in the air for a second or two. As each one called out, their minds became fully awake and alert, and they called out to each other psionicly as well. Within a second after daybreak every unicorn in sight was part of a massive and joyous Link that burst into Mark and Talia’s open minds like an unstoppable explosion of pure happiness.
It built and built as the sunlight slowly increased for a minute or two, then the most distant unicorns to the east suddenly began running, which seemed to prompt those just a bit closer to immediately break into a gallop as well, and the wave of movement swept toward and past them as fast as the dawn-line had. The herds ran together with the perfect co-ordination of a school of reef fish or a flock of small birds, and then they began to mesh together into swirling patterns.
“By the source!” Talia breathed in admiration. “It’s a dance!”
It seemed impossible that a herd of hundreds of unicorns who seemed to be galloping almost shoulder-to-shoulder and nose-to-tail could meet another herd head on or at a right angle without a collision, but the only part of them that contacted was the long and flowing hair of their manes and tails.
The patterns became more stable as their muscles warmed, and then all of the largest unicorns synchronized their gaits into a coordinated beat that made the ground throb. Those not quite as large synchronized into a quicker counterpoint beat a moment later, then those of the next smaller size did the same with a quicker one yet, and with a few seconds the entire plain was an immense and hypnotic percussion ensemble.
Then they began to sing. It seemed that each of The People of Morning could only sing one note, but each sang their single note perfectly. It was impossible to tell whether they had all memorized the incredibly complex score, and knew the correct timing and duration of their note within the music whenever it occurred, or whether it was all a great improvisation, and they continuously created the intricate melodies and harmonies as a group by adding their own note whenever it felt right. However it was done, the wordless music was like the universe’s most magnificent symphony, and it was uplifting and haunting in its beauty.
Suddenly Silaran and Equemev leaped out of the swirl and into the clearing around the tent and the table, and skidded to a sudden stop with their hoofs landing in time with the music.
“Come! Ride! Run with us!” Equemev joyously called, and Mark and Talia ran over and leaped to their backs with the aid of a judicious use of Levitation, Mark upon Silaran and Talia on Equemev. Tithian and their seventy warders joined them as they leaped into the dance with careful timing.
“I’ll guard the tent!” Povon laughed as they blended into the swirl.
The unicorns were such capable and stable mounts that the slight fear of falling beneath the thousands of pounding hooves or being pierced by a stray horn faded within moments, to be replaced by breathtaking exhilaration. The deep grass concealed many tiny streams that were hidden until the last moment, but they were always jumped without losing the beat of the music. Soon Mark found himself singing along, improvising his own wordless harmony. A minute later he saw that Talia was standing in a slight crouch on Equemev’s back with one foot in front of the other and her hands out for balance, with the wildest grin he’d ever seen on her pretty face, her blond hair and the hem of her dress flying behind, her cheeks pinked by excitement, exertion, and the cool wind of their speed. He thought of imitating her for a moment, but her elven reflexes were up to the task, and he doubted his own were.
Eventually the song began to simplify as fewer and fewer of the singers added their note, until finally the last voice faded and everyone broke stride at once as they slowed to a trot, then a walk, all of them pleasantly winded and panting.
“I can never thank you enough for allowing me to witness that.” Povon grinned as the others returned.
“Me too!” Talia added psionicly, since she was breathing too hard to talk comfortably.
“It is a sacred thing to us; the dawn ceremony.” Tithian happily responded as she drank from the stream. “And it is not often shared with the other races, since we dread the thought of it being disrupted by those who are unable to fully appreciate it, which one cannot do without being fully psionic. We hold you in high esteem, and we thought it might help replenish your emotional resources.”
“That it did!” Mark grinned as he slid from Silaran’s back. “That was as fun and as beautiful as anything I’ve ever experienced! And coming from a young newlywed, that’s saying something! It was absolutely wondrous!”
“Thanks.” Silaran said with a huffing unicorn chuckle at his friend’s exuberance.
At that moment Kragorram, Somonik, and Grakonexikaldoron arrived a hundred meters overhead with a muffled boom of displacement, and flying fast enough that they had to circle a few times before they could land.
“Good morning!” Gran called. “We were just taking some morning exercise, as Kragorram’s Healers say that it’s important that he do so. I take it that you’ve just done the same?”
“We have.” Tithian happily agreed, still panting a bit “I did so twice this morning, and I almost think I’m getting too old for that!”
“Hah!” Somonik chuckled. “If I can still force my old muscles to fly with our spry youngsters, you can still run with yours!”
“You’re right of course. And you’re still as graceful in flight as any youngster, despite the wing, which is astounding, really.”
“Thank you. I’ve gotten used to compensating for it with the power.” Somonik grinned as he came in for a perfect landing.
“Good morning my love.” Kragorram grinned as he came in for an almost dainty landing, back-winging to a hover first and favoring his injury. “You are beautiful in this light. The red ribbon compliments you nicely.
“Thank you, my loving flatterer, but it clashes with me horribly. I have to wear it as punishment.” Povon smiled as they gently nuzzled.
“For what?”
“At the end of the chase yesterday, we were ready to Translocate Mark, Talia, and Holanam into the midst of The Strike Force in case they should be caught by Zarkog’s forces, who would have gotten a good surprise. Yazadril said that we would not interfere with whatever they were doing unless one of them was injured. He re-iterated that when Mark said it was leading to something. But when they were jumping with every second I lost my nerve. I thought if we waited any longer, they would be Translocating so often that it would be unsafe to extract them, as the military types say. I tried to grab them between their jumps, contrary to direct orders, and Somoni
k restrained me, so to speak. Which I found to be extremely surprising and embarrassing, particularly after First Burgundy intervened.
“Afterward, Yazadril told me to wear a red ribbon. That’s all he said. It’s a mark of shame, even if only he and I knew it till now.”
“You meant well, my love, and he certainly couldn’t have been that upset.” Kragorram consoled as he gently enfolded her with arms, wings and tail.
“Kragorram! You’re speaking normally!” Talia realized.
“Yes. A great circle of Healers put their minds together and came up with a spell that cancels one resonance of my vocal cavity, and eliminates the effort of remembering which sibilants to vocalize. I can’t help but think that I sound more intelligent this way. I even find that I tend to not speak as slowly. And my Draconian has improved even more than my Trade Common.”
“Well I think it sounds nice, though I like the way you sounded before too.”
“Thank you.”
They were soon joined by Yazadril, Nemia, Hilsith, Alilia, Dalia, Bezedil, Holanam, Zayobod, Balen, Senchak, Emeroth, Osbald, King Dren, Wosea, and Mark’s grandparents. They were short two chairs, so Talia sat in Mark’s lap and Wosea simply Levitated, lounging in an invisible chair above the table. The dragons lounged about, and Tithian produced a feast for the humanoids that appeared on the table with a wave of her horn, before she and the other unicorns began grazing on the nearby grass.
The meal was enjoyed with a great deal of discussion of the battles, chases, and revelations of the day before.
As they were finishing, Somonik reported the latest developments. “Zarkog is testing our defenses. A few million of his forces will appear above one of our cities, military bases, or naval shipyards, launch a quick attack, and be gone before we can do much about it. A minute or so later they send a high-altitude observer by for a few seconds to check their results, which are generally negligible.
“Defections continue from both Venak and Serminak. It’s still just a trickle, but the numbers are growing.
“With their Wards down, we’ve been able to send our own observers to learn their dispositions. With the information they’ve gathered, combined with what we’ve learned from the defectors, we have a fairly complete accounting of their numbers, cities, deployments, fortifications, and other assets. We were particularly interested in learning where Zarkog’s Swarms and trolls are, and we now know that.”
“How long do you think it’ll be before they stop probing, and start attacking in earnest?” Mark asked.
“Impossible to say.” Yazadril stated. “We should ask Quewanak that. His knowledge of our opponent may be forty million years out of date, but he still knows Zarkog better than any of us.”
Mark retrieved his small Truthstone from a pocket, and sent his awareness into it. “Eldest?”
Quewanak appeared sitting behind Mark, reaching over to keep a claw-tip in contact with the stone. He instantly updated himself on the conversation from the minds of the participants by doing little more than being interested in the knowledge. “I couldn’t say either. He was never in command of a military force back then, and I don’t know what he’s learned of that discipline since. Based on what I learned of modern military practices from Somonik at the founding, Zarkog appears to be rather conventional in his strategic thinking. Conventional for evil tyrants, that is.
“One thing is certain. Your decision last night to finally undergo my training is the best course you could choose at this time. You do not presently have the ability to defeat Zarkog. I can give you that ability, and in a reasonable amount of time.”
“Really? You think your training will make me able to beat Zarkog?” Mark asked in surprise. “How long would it take?”
“Again, that is impossible to say, as I will be using completely new techniques which I developed in a dream, and I had no reference to real time while I did so. A great deal depends on how much discomfort you and your companions are willing to endure. The greater the realism of the training, the greater its effectiveness and the lesser the time that will be required. But participating in a perfectly realistic combat exercise is exactly as unpleasant as participating in actual battle.”
“To beat Zarkog, I’d be willing to endure a great deal of discomfort. For my part, I’m willing to do whatever it takes to be finished as quickly as possible. This little interlude from the war has been nice, but I know people are dying out there as we sit here feasting, though Somonik tries to spare me a bit by glossing over that fact. Every second counts in lives. I feel that we don’t have a moment to waste.”
“I feel the same.” Talia agreed.
“He speaks for us all.” Kragorram nodded, and the other three of The Six nodded as well.
“Excellent.” Quewanak nodded. “Then if you are finished here, we’ll get started. Mark, keep the stone in your hand.”
“All right. Thank you for a wonderful start to the day, Tithian. “ Mark said as he and Talia stood. “Please pass our gratitude along to all who took part. And thanks to all of you for coming to breakfast, it’s always good seeing you.
“We’ll try to get in twelve hours’ training today, then we’ll check in to see how things are going.”
“They will be safe from Zarkog while they are with me.” Quewanak stated assuredly. “No one could find them where we will be.”
“Thank you. I was wondering about that.” Yazadril nodded.
“All right then, my fine students, prepare to Translocate.” Quewanak briskly instructed, eager to get started. “Silaran has the reference, and you’ll follow him, but each of you will take yourselves there. And gather all your power before you do so, it’s a very long jump. And whatever you do, do not try to fly or levitate when you arrive!
“Povon, cast the Link. Now, if we are all ready, let’s go.”
They cast their Translocations, and all except Silaran were surprised that the brief flash of cold that came with it seemed to last noticeably longer than they expected.
“Report on your surroundings.” Quewanak directed as soon as they emerged, but none heeded him right away.
“Great missing gods, what is that smell?!!!” Povon cried, and Silaran actually retched for a moment before Equemev cast a spell on all of them that blocked the horrible odor and the nausea that came with it.
The next thing to be noticed was Mark floating off the ground for a second when he turned a bit. “I don’t fall right here!” he exclaimed in momentary panic as he flailed in the air.
Talia jumped two meters in the air when she tried to step toward him. “We have no weight! Or almost none!”
Povon cast a Movement on each of them, roughly proportional to their weight, and stuck them to the floor. Silaran stumbled a bit as he landed from the slow jump his initial convulsion had caused.
“This is really weird!” Mark stated as he regained his balance. “I think I’d be losing my breakfast without Equemev’s spell, even without the horrible stink!” He watched some dust they’d stirred up ever-so-slowly drifting down, then knelt to take a pinch of sand from the floor, and dropped it from a meter. “Things fall a lot slower than normal here.” he said as he stood.
“We must be near the center of Kellaran, in the very center of the world!” Povon guessed. “Things would fall slower there!”
“No, there’s not enough magic in play here to maintain this cavern against the pressures that exist deep within Kellaran.” Equemev mused as she looked around. “From all the evidence, I’d say we are within one of Kellaran’s moons.”
“Excellent deduction.” The Eldest congratulated. “We are indeed within the stone of Blenda, the largest and most distant of Kellaran’s moons.”
He had no sense of smell as an astral projection, so he experienced it second-hand from Kragorram over the Link Povon was still maintaining.
“Ugh. You’re right, that scent is disgusting. And worrisome.”
Mark looked around and t
ried to identify the source of the smell. They were in a round cavern shaped like a flattened bubble, perhaps two hundred meters in diameter and a third of that from the floor to the center of the ceiling. In the center of the floor a pink crystal as large as he was protruded from the floor. He’d have assumed it was quartz, were it not glowing brightly in both visible light and in his magic-sensing vision. The rest of the cavern was light gray stone, and the only other color in the place was an area on the far side that had the green of plant life on the floor and up the curve of the wall a bit.
They made their way over there, and saw that there were several varieties of plants, dominated by something that looked somewhat like a fern. As they drew close, they saw that there was a small spring trickling water out of the wall, and it flowed down in a tiny stream to a small pond in a shallow depression. The little watercourse was almost completely hidden by the plants, and only its faint sound and occasional reflected glint among the stems revealed it. And in the shallow pool, also hidden from their sight by the plants until they reached the edge of the water, was the source of the smell.
“I take it that that’s your body, Eldest?” Mark asked as he fought to control another wave of nausea.
“I’m afraid it is. I am obviously on the very verge of death, and have been for a very long time.”
His body was little more than skeleton and skin, and his green color had faded to a sickly off-white. He lay half submerged in the water with the tip of his snout just above the surface at the edge of the pond, and bore many horrible wounds. The worst of those was a gash that had cleaved his skull almost in half, and only a thick layer of scab covered his brain where it was exposed.
“I suppose that since I’ve lasted this long, I’ll probably last long enough to get you trained.”
“Crap on that! We can’t afford to lose you, and I won’t give up on any friend’s life until I have to! I’m calling in some Healers, the best we’ve got! You’ll just have to trust them to keep this location secret, the same as you’re trusting us.”
The eldest stared at his physical self for a long moment before he replied. “I am not going to argue. Let Silaran cast their Translocations. Lend him some power if he needs it to do so. The reference location here changes in a constant and complex but predictable manner as Blenda circles Kellaran, making for a very tricky jump, but he has the knack for such things.”
“Hilsith!” Mark called, somewhat frantically.
“Yes?”
“We’re with the Eldest’s body, and he’s near death. He’s really, really in bad shape. Assemble the best Healers we have, and we’ll bring you all here.”
“What is his condition?”
“He’s got about twenty serious wounds that have been slowly putrefying for forty million years. His skull’s all split open, and there’s a big scab on his brain. He’s lying in a pool of water with a bunch of plants. I’m sure he’s too sick to move him, so bring anything and everything you might need.”
“Give us thirty seconds.”
“Povon, be ready to cast the Movement on them when they get here, and Equemev, the anti-smell and nausea spell. Silaran, how much can you Translocate to here?”
“Perhaps one and a half times my own weight.”
“Tithian!”
“Yes Mark?”
Mark reported everything to the unicorn seer in one quick burst of thought.
“Understood. As many of us as necessary will assist Silaran. Don’t worry. If Quewanak can possibly be saved, he will be.”
“Let’s move over by the wall at the far end of the pond to make room for arrivals and their equipment.” Mark said as he briskly strode that way.
They’d reached there and Kragorram and Povon had just curled up together to save room when Hilsith Spoke.
“We’re ready.”
“Hold still a moment after you get here. We’ll have to cast some spells on you to allow you to work in this environment, because things here have very little weight, and there’s a smell that would make you vomit.” Mark told her.
“You deal with the weight issue then, we’ll deal with our own reaction to the smell.”
A moment later forty-two Healers of every race arrived, including three dragons, four Selkies, and a dozen gnomes, along with some fifty containers of every size full of equipment and supplies. Povon immediately cast her weight-replacing Movement on them and their gear as they cast a Link among themselves, then rapidly went to work.
“What magic is in play here?” Hilsith briskly asked the Eldest.
“There’s a stone in my stomach that produces a basic food, and a simple Movement that moves the water from the drain at the bottom of the pond through a small passage to the outlet on the wall there. That’s it. Both are powered by the emanations of the crystal at the center of the cavern, which also heats this airspace.”
Some of the other Healers were draining the water into a giant spherical water droplet to one side, while some supported Quewanak’s body with gentle spells of Movement. The selkies examined his newly exposed underside, and the rest were casting diagnostics, including Hilsith.
“I appreciate your urgency, but after forty million years, is all this rushing around really necessary?” Quewanak asked.
“Yes!” Mark and Hilsith answered simultaneously.
“Ah. And the selkies?”
“They are experts on the conditions that flesh is subject to when immersed in water for extended periods of time.” a gargoyle said without looking away from the wound she was examining.
“Ah.” the Eldest nodded again.
“Look, I’m sure the work that we must do here will be extremely unpleasant for you, and we need our concentration.” Hilsith stated sternly as she glared between Mark and the Eldest. “Isn’t there something else you can be doing? Preferably at the greatest possible distance from our patient?”
“Sorry.” Mark nodded sheepishly. “We’ll be over at the other side of the cavern. Just call us if you need anything.”
But Hilsith had already turned back to her work and gave no sign of having heard.
Mark led his group away, but before they’d gone three meters Quewanak turned back and spoke with such urgency that Hilsith gave him her full attention.
“Listen! You absolutely must not allow me to regain consciousness! Whether asleep or comatose, induced or natural, it is absolutely critical that my body remains unconscious! I will bring these six youngsters into my dream while I am training them, and if I wake while they are in my dream, we all may lose our minds, if not our lives!”
“Understood. Have no fear, your body will not be waking for at least three days, and likely not for months. You’re closer to death than anything I’ve ever seen that wasn’t actually dead already. We can probably save your life, but you must face the possibility that your body may never wake again.”
“Understood. That is as I expected.”
Hilsith nodded and returned to her task.
“Now then.” Quewanak began as he and his students settled at the far side of the cavern. “Being this close to my body, even as decrepit as it is, I have the power to draw you all into my dream with me. You will cast a timed Sleep spell on yourselves, set to last the twelve hours you have decided to train with me for today, and a timed Awaken to rouse you at the end of that time.
“You will learn by trial and error. Not the easiest way to learn, but the one that offers the most retention. I warn you again, you will not find this to be a pleasant process. You will train as warriors by engaging in war. The war will be simulated, but the simulation will be absolutely lifelike. As each exercise begins, you will be aware that you are dreaming, but you will forget that within a few minutes, and then you will no longer realize that what you are experiencing is a dream. You will believe that what you are experiencing is reality until the end of the exercise. Unless of course you become completely emotionally overwhelmed, in which case you will remember
for a few minutes that what is happening around you is only a dream, which should allow you to carry on with the exercise.
“The arena that I will simulate for you is the world of Kellaran itself, complete in every way, with everyone and everything on it reproduced to the limits of my knowledge and awareness, exactly as it is in reality. Since the fall of the Wards around Venak and Serminak, my awareness of the world has become nearly complete. Rather than spend my time since then in delivering to our commanders an exhaustive report on the detail of enemy dispositions, I have instead prepared the training program you are about to experience. When you can win the war and defeat Zarkog in the dream, then you will be ready to do so in reality.
“You have chosen to have me train you as quickly as possible, which means giving you the most difficult and challenging training I can provide. As I said, that will be as traumatizing and as emotionally disturbing as fighting in the most brutal war that has ever been fought on our world. I give all seven of you this one opportunity to reconsider that choice, including Ria.”
Ria manifested, and joined the others in looking at each other to see if any would take the Eldest’s offer, but all seemed equally determined.
“We have no choice.” Mark stated firmly. “Innocents are being killed right now, and we are sworn.”
“So be it.” Quewanak nodded. “I only hope you don’t hate me for it when we’re done.
“Povon, have one of those Draconian Healers take over your Movement spells that simulate the pull of Kellaran for the Healers and their equipment. Equemev, have one of the unicorn Healers take over the spell you are using to block the stench and the nausea for this group. It reeks in here so badly, it might register on your minds in your sleep otherwise, and we don’t want that.”
“Done.” Povon said a moment later.
“They will also check us hourly, and make certain that we do in fact awaken in twelve hours.” Equemev reported.
“Excellent.” the Eldest nodded. “There is nothing here to sleep upon except the stone floor, but the pull of this moon is so slight that you should be comfortable enough if Povon ends her Movement spells on you just before you cast your Sleep spells.
“You may do so now.”
Mark and Talia cuddled with each other on the floor, as did the unicorn and dragon couples. Talia made sure her hand would remain in contact with Ria’s hilt by binding them together with her sword-belt. As soon as Povon removed their artificial weight, Talia cast the timed Sleep spell on her and Mark. The other two females cast for themselves and their mates, and tied their Sleep spells to Talia’s, since her elven sense of time was the most accurate among them.
It seemed that as soon as they fell asleep they woke up again in exactly the same positions, but now they were on the grass of a fenced pasture, within view of a huge city that was under attack by dragons, and likely by Sylvan as well, though that was impossible to see for certain at this distance.
The Eldest appeared to be physically present, a very small green dragon in robust health, as he must have looked before being struck comatose by Zarkog forty million years before. “Welcome to your first exercise.” he said with a nod as his students stood and gathered round, and it seemed strange to hear him speaking normally.
“This is very strange.” Ria stated. “I have never had a dream before, nor even truly been asleep.”
“Yonder city is Bojoston, capitol of Thon.” Quewanak informed them. “Zarkog has decided to take it as his first conquest in The Just Alliance, and has assigned one-tenth of his forces to doing so. Your task is to prevent that. In order to teach you to make your own decisions, you will be unable to contact any of the other senior leaders or commanders of the alliance.
“Begin.” he said, and vanished.
“All right, let’s deepen the Link to battle levels and precast a few spells.” Mark briskly ordered. “I’ll contact the city’s defenders and determine the state of the siege, and find out where we’re needed most. For now, we’ll disrupt that pack of dark dragons there. They seem pretty determined to crack the shields of whatever they’re attacking below them, which is a good enough reason for us to prevent it. Ria, you have tactical command.”
“Thank you Mark.” Ria acknowledged. “Does anyone have any comments before we begin? No? Then let’s go.”
Within minutes they forgot they were dreaming, and that they were participating in a training exercise. Then they fought for their lives.
This was an entirely different situation than any they had faced previously. Unlike their first battle over Kletiuk, they were vastly outnumbered and out-powered. Nor could they flee as they’d done before, since they were tasked with holding Bojoston. Within an hour they faced some four hundred million Sylvan and dragons, most of whom were fully mobile forces; capable of Flight and Translocation. This host dwarfed the population and defense of the city they attacked, and the Strike Force of The Just Alliance could only send one hundred and eighty million to assist the city’s defenders, since other battles were commencing all over Kellaran. All told, the defenders were outnumbered at two to one.
The exercise was a disaster. Povon and Kragorram were killed in the second hour, soon after the enemy commander identified them as priority targets. Equemev fell two hours later. Mark and Talia only escaped being killed on several occasions because the curse would automatically Translocate them an instant before they were absolutely overwhelmed, and even with that it had to re-integrate Talia once when she and Mark were struck by a massed Concussion spell cast by over six thousand Sylvan.
By midnight, Zarkog’s army held the city. Once they had it secured, they began systematically beating every member of the populace that was old enough to walk, and severely enough that none of them would be walking the next day. Thus they suppressed rebellion among the conquered.
The seven students re-appeared in the pasture with the Eldest. Above Bojoston, Zarkog’s forces were starting their attack anew, exactly the same as they had at the commencement of their first attempt at the exercise.
“You have failed the exercise. Begin again.” Quewanak simply stated, and vanished once more.
“Dammit!” Mark cursed. “We only have a few minutes to set a different course before we forget it’s an exercise again!”
“No, not quite.” Povon disagreed. “I’m starting to get a feel for what the Eldest is doing. We’ll be able to learn from our experience, even though we’ll forget that we’ve fought this battle already. I’m not sure how he’ll handle the discrepancy, perhaps we’ll think we’ve learned from other previous battles, but however it’s done, we’ll remember what we tried before that worked, and what didn’t work.”
“All right.” Mark nodded. “Obviously, we have to make sure we’re not recognized by presenting different appearances. And we’ll have to change our appearance again every time they start to realize how much damage we’re doing, so they don’t send so many after us all the time. Maybe we should just be as undetectable as possible.”
“I think we’re missing the point.” Silaran stated. “No matter how well we fight, the seven of us are not going to turn the tide by ourselves, not in a battle of this scale. We do need to fight more effectively, but far more important than that, we need to find a way to make the entire defending force more effective.”
“All right. That’s good thinking.” Mark nodded. “I think the crucial breakdown was the loss of the reservoir and the eastern industrial district. Does anybody remember who was defending that?”
“That was the Nineteenth Thon Division, aided by a brigade of The Fist of The Empire.” Kragorram supplied.
“All right, we’ll go help them.” Mark decided.
“As far as our fighting ability goes, Kragorram and I are catching up to the rest of you in spell casting as fast as we can.” Silaran pointed out. “But we really need to do something for Talia and Equemev’s physical combat skills. Far more of our enemies have succeeded in closing
to sword range than we expected.
“Ria, did Visinniria give you the ability to bend your body as elves do?” Equemev suddenly asked.
“No, and I wouldn’t do so if she had.” the spirit of the sword stated with assurance.
“So why then did she give you her physical combat skills, as we heard her say she did at the first visitation? They are of no use to you, due to your rigidity and your insubstantial nature. I can only think it was so you could pass them to Talia somehow, and thereby skirt the gods’ restrictions on helping mortals. As well, if I could find a way for Silaran to pass his combat skills to me, I might be able to avoid being killed in the next exercise as I was in the last one. That was… disturbing. To say the least. Even Povon, whose physical combat abilities are quite fearsome, could greatly benefit if she could access and integrate Kragorram’s more highly trained fighting skills.
“Mark, you have passed the knowledge of your combat skills to Talia, but the knowledge does not save her the necessity of practicing the moves. I’d be willing to bet that Visinniria’s fighting skills can be passed from Ria to Talia in a much more immediately useful form, and if we carefully observe how the spell works, we may be able to duplicate it. Then you could also gain from Visinniria’s many centuries of combat skill, and Silaran could share his with me, and Kragorram his with Povon.”
“I am extremely chagrined not to have realized this sooner.” Ria stated. “I feel like I was given a nicely wrapped present, which I then failed to open until it was almost too late. You are indeed correct. Distinct from the martial skills my Lady gave me is the skills-transference spell she used to do so. Talia, I pass it all to you. Povon and Equemev, I pass you the skills transference spell.”
“Oh, that is nice!” Talia grinned, and shivered. “There’s nothing like a gift from a war-goddess to brighten your day! Remember this?” she asked as she drew Ria and danced through the same incredible sequence of moves that Visinniria had done when she’d passed her gifts into the sword.
Then she passed her new skills to Mark, and used the transference spell to access his skills in immediately usable form, as Povon and Equemev learned their mates’ skills in the same way.
“Well!” Mark grinned. “That sure put a whole lot of new tricks up my sleeve! Are we ready? Let’s go.”
This time the defenders held out for twenty-seven hours before the city was lost.
After the Eldest restarted the exercise again, Mark paced in frustration.
“Those damned fools!” he cursed. “Those stupid, closed-minded, mule-headed fools! Well I’m not going through that again! This time I’m taking command of the nineteenth division, and if I have to break a few noses to do it, fine! Let’s go!”
This time they held out for thirty-five hours.
At their seventh repeat of the exercise, Mark began taking command of the entire city’s defenses and all of the mobile forces assigned to it.
And on their twenty-third attempt, after a battle that lasted for eleven days, Zarkog’s decimated forces were forced to withdraw.
They had finally won the battle of Bojoston.
When they appeared in the pasture, Quewanak let them have a bare thirty seconds for a giddy celebration of their victory. “Congratulations. You have successfully completed the first exercise.” he told them, and then the pasture around them was gone, replaced by a clearing in a dense pine forest.
“The second exercise chronologically begins at the completion of the first, and is on the same time stream. Having held Bojoston for eleven days and routed its attackers, you are now assigned to the defense of the nation of Membitra. You are fifteen kilometers east of Coradok, the capital city of Membitra, on the west coast of Debivin. Your objectives for the exercise are to hold the nation intact for thirty-three days, while losing no more than one in ten of its populace. Zarkog has assigned one-fourth of his remaining forces to the conquest of this nation. They are experienced and hardened from their recent victory over eastern Kletiuk, which took place while you were holding Bojoston.
“Begin.”
It only took them nine tries to complete the second exercise, but that added up to the better part of a year spent defending Membitra.
Even when the Eldest met them in the clearing between attempts, they no longer remembered that they had ever lived any other life. There was only the exercises and the brief interludes between them, and when they were in them they didn’t remember that they were exercises, so there was only the war.
The third exercise was their first offensive action. Their objective was to take the Sylvan city of Gewn, a port on the south-east corner of Serminak. They were assigned one-eighth of The Strike Force with which to do so.
It was there that they first faced trolls, ogres, and the Swarm.
They learned the hard way that while trolls and ogres were of the same race and could interbreed, they generally would not do so, and the two groups were more distinct from each other that polar elves were from tropical elves. Trolls were the smaller by a quarter, but quicker of arm and wit, and capable of casting crude but powerful spells. Ogres weighed as much as an average unicorn and came equipped with skin that was tougher than gargoyle hide, and they were capable of fighting with almost undiminished capacity after sustaining wounds that would reduce most warriors to thrashing and screaming.
The Swarm were a nightmare of small biting bodies in their multitudes, and while they each weighed only half a kilogram or so, each bite could remove a chunk of flesh the size of a fingertip. A quarter of them were warrior class and had poison stingers that could fell a giant in six minutes, and their hive-queens possessed strange and inscrutable magics.
The fourth exercise was to hold the Empire of Kuth against an all-out assault by Zarkog’s hordes.
The fifth was to take the nation of Venak for The Just Alliance. It was the only exercise they completed on their first attempt, and was a convincing success that required only fifteen days.
The sixth exercise required that they win the war.
The seventh and final exercise required that they win the war, and that Mark ensured the personal defeat of Zarkog to win the gods’ favor. Even after they finally succeeded at that on their twelfth attempt, they were required to do it again under more difficult conditions, and then again, and again, thirty-seven times in total. If they took longer than two years to complete the objective, they had to finish it while demons attacked Kellaran in ever-increasing numbers.
Eventually, in the cavern in the stone of the moon Blenda, the Eldest’s astral projection manifested, and was immediately harangued by a frazzled-looking Hilsith.
“Just what the hell have you been doing?!” she demanded, then continued before he could answer. “Your life hangs by a thread, yet you’ve been spending your life-force like water! It’s been a constant and frantic struggle to keep you from death for the last twelve hours, yet we dared not disturb whatever it was you’ve been doing, as none of us had a hope of understanding whatever the hell it was! Only constant, delicate and difficult spells of Movement have kept you breathing and your heart beating, and that would not have been enough to keep you alive without a constant infusion of power and a hundred other procedures besides! And even as an astral projection, you look absolutely exhausted!”
“I thank you for your efforts.” Quewanak nodded tiredly. “And know that if I die, it was worth it.
“My charges will be waking momentarily. And while twelve hours of struggle has passed for you, they have been engaged in constant warfare for a subjective time equivalent to some seventy-eight years. During that time they have fought as many battles as Visinniria fought in any three hundred year period of The War of The Segregation. You can imagine that they may require some care. Like any dream, their tribulations will fade from mind much more quickly than true experiences, but they may still be subject to extreme battle fatigue and all that goes with it for a few days.”
Hilsith stared at him for a mom
ent, then shook her head. “I will see to them. You get some rest.”
“He is stabilizing!” one of the dragon Healers exclaimed with such huge relief that tears flowed from her eyes. “Thank all the missing gods, he is stabilizing!”
“Rest. Yes.” Quewanak nodded. “I will withdraw into my dream. This manifestation is difficult right now, particularly when not in contact with the Truthstone. But I wanted to tell you what they have experienced before they wake, for their souls will certainly need healing. Besides, there were a few spare moments remaining in the twelve hours, and their training is as complete as I can make it. And I admit that I’ve no wish to meet their eyes when they return to reality. I put them through a great deal of torturous hardship, and though it was in a good cause, I cannot be proud of it.
“If you would, please tell them for me that I am sorry for their pain, and that I am immensely proud of them. They were magnificent.”
“I will tell them.” Hilsith told him, her anger forgotten, and Quewanak’s projection faded from view.
She strode across to the sleeping figures, checked them with a quick diagnostic scan, and sat on the floor nearby to await their awakening. Then she reconsidered, and moved to wait at a greater distance.
She was to be glad she did, for half a minute later the six sleepers awoke simultaneously and immediately leaped to their feet as they drew weapons and cast spells with a speed that took Hilsith’s breath away. They leaped to stand in an outward-facing semi-circle against the wall as Ria manifested and Povon probed every mind in the vicinity with disturbing speed and strength.
“Safe!” Povon called, but none of them moved for a long moment.
“This… This is reality!” Silaran stammered incredulously. “Remember?! This is where the Eldest’s body is, where we were before we started!”
“It’s Hilsith!” Talia sobbed with a strange look of recognition, and broke into tears as she ran to the Healer. “It’s the real Hilsith, she hasn’t changed at all!”
“How long were we out?!!” Mark demanded angrily, and he strode over as fast as Talia could run. He raised his hand like he meant to seize the polar elf and shake the answer out of her, but controlled himself with an obvious effort as he repeated the question. “Dammit, how long were we out?!!!”
Hilsith had been unable to answer right away, so intimidated was she by his terrible expression and fearsome manner. It was all she could do to not back up as he loomed over her. “Just… just twelve hours. Just the twelve hours that you instructed us to allow you to sleep!”
“By the gods!” Kragorram exclaimed. “It cannot be possible!”
“You’re serious?!” Mark demanded, obviously unconvinced. “We’ve only been out for twelve hours?!!!”
“Settle down, my love.” Talia tearfully told him as she hugged the Healer. “You’re frightening her, and she’s done nothing to deserve it.”
“I swear by my honor as a Healer, you have slept for twelve hours, no more.” Hilsith assured him as she returned Talia’s hug, but kept her eyes on him.
Mark shook his head as the tension drained from his body, and his arms fell to his sides. “Twelve hours. Unbelievable.” he murmured.
“We can stop!” Povon stated quietly, like she could barely believe it. “I mean, we don’t have to fight anything right now! Even if it’s only for a little while, we can actually stop!”
“I’m not going back to it!” Kragorram suddenly insisted. “I don’t care if it has only been one day of training in reality, I won’t go back to it! And if anyone thinks to make me do so, they will find that they are profoundly mistaken!”
“Your training is complete!” Hilsith hurried to assure them. “The Eldest said that it didn’t even require the full twelve hours. He asked me to tell you that he is sorry for your pain, and that he is immensely proud of you. He said that all of you were magnificent.”
They absorbed this for a moment, then Mark asked Talia; “How long were we gone?”
“In the dream, it added up to seventy-seven years, six months, nine days, two hours.” she responded in wonder.
“Sweet mother. And we did all that in twelve hours.” he said, and let himself slump to the floor, where he sat with his feet spread and his elbows resting on his raised knees, his hands and head hanging limp. Then he quietly started to laugh. His mirth built quickly, until he was rolling on the floor in uncontrolled hysterics.
“What? What’s so funny?” Povon demanded in irritation, and Mark held up his hand to stall until he could regain enough self-control to answer.
“All that never happened!!!!” he whooped. “None of those exercises really happened! Don’t you see?!!! Everyone thinks we’re the same as we were the last time we were in this room!!! And we’re still at the beginning!!!”
“Great fiery source above us!” Kragorram said in realization and wonder. “Is Zarkog ever in for a huge surprise!”
Then all seven were laughing and crying, hugging and nuzzling and backslapping and dancing for joy. Kragorram and Povon picked the others up one by one and hugged them like children hugging kittens, and Ria remanifested with her arms straight out to the sides and spun wildly about like a top while gaily singing in Old High Elvish.
Hilsith provided them with food and drink, and their jubilation continued for half an hour. Finally they slumped into relaxation, grinning and panting, their excess energy spent.
“Hilsith, do you need us to stay here for anything?” Mark asked.
“No. Tithian has arranged Translocation to and from here.
“Now listen; you will all feel some effects of battle fatigue for a while. There is no way to exactly predict its symptoms, duration, or severity, since your experience today was completely unique, and everyone reacts differently to the shocks and stresses of war. If there is somewhere you can go that is safe and secure, go there and seclude yourselves for at least three days. Try to do nothing but rest and enjoy yourselves. The Just Alliance can do without your services for at least that long, and if any disagree, tell them that those are your Healer’s orders! You may refer them to me if they wish to know when you will be sufficiently recovered to take part in war or politics. Quewanak tells me that like any troubling dream, the emotional after-effects of your training should fade quite quickly, compared to symptoms produced by similar events experienced in reality.”
“I just hope the skills, spells, techniques and strategies we’ve developed don’t fade just as fast.” Talia said.
“Take a Reading on yourselves and store it, while it’s still fresh in our minds.” Mark instructed, and the seven did so.
“Ahh! Great fried gods on a stick!” Povon cursed in shocked surprise as she clutched the white wood bracelet that had once been a staff. “Everything I stored in this while in the dream is actually stored in it in reality! Every spell, every Reading, every note taken on enemy personnel, everything! How is that possible?”
“I can think of a few techniques that might do it.” Mark grinned. “And so can you, except for the surprise of it. However he did it, I’m thankful. He’s given us all the tools we’ll need. Quewanak the Eldest, truly Master of the Dream. I’m surprised he hasn’t shown up for a post-training briefing or something.”
“He gave his life to give you that training, a hundred times over, and we struggled mightily to give it back to him a hundred times and more.” Hilsith tiredly informed them, and she realized in that moment how close she was to being completely spent. “He is finally stabilized, and if he takes no more turns for the worse for a few hours we might be able to consider his condition to be serious, rather than critical. He has withdrawn into his dreams to rest, on my instructions.
“And now, you should all do the same.”
“We don’t need to rest, we’ve been sleeping for twelve hours!” Mark laughed. “Seriously, we feel like we’ve been fighting the war for years, and it won’t kill us to postpone our vacation for two or three more da
ys. We’ll refrain from battle for a day while we set a few things in motion, and then we’ll end this war once and for all! After that we’ll be able to rest for at least a year! But we can’t risk losing our fine edge now. And the sooner we win, the fewer people will die.
“And… I’m sorry for the way I acted toward you when we woke up.”
“That’s quite all right. From what the Eldest had told me, I should have expected the possibility of such behavior. My Healer’s dispassionate objectivity towards a patient slipped a bit there, and I should’ve known you wouldn’t do anything foolish, no matter how fierce you looked.”
“Thanks.”
“We’ll see you soon.” Talia said as she gave Hilsith a farewell hug. “Are you and my parents still staying at Hilia?”
“I’m not sure. We’re jumping all over the world lately, Yazadril with Nemia to see to military and political matters, and I with The Just Alliance’s Mobile Healers Team. Things change minute by minute, so you’d have to ask your father.”
“We’re off to see him now.” Mark said. “Actually, I think we’ll ask him and the rest of the senior leadership to meet us at the Assembly Hall. Can we give him a message for you?”
“No need.” She showed them a silver ring with a smooth, round, bright pink stone. “He and Nemia crafted this for me. It allows me to Link with them, securely and privately. I’ll contact them once I’m done here. And I do still have work remaining here, so run along and attend to yours. Good luck and stay well.”
“Thanks.” Talia smiled.
“All right troops, let’s go home.” Mark said. “Mind your psionic shields. Silaran, we jump at your cue.”
A moment later they arrived in the Hilian throne room, which was empty. It was close to noon here, and the bright tropical sunlight from the magic windows lit the room, while the fresh sea breeze and the sound of the distant surf filled the air, punctuated by the chirps of bird life.
“Hah! Our minds are so cloaked, even Stripe didn’t notice our arrival!” Povon gloated. “I tell you, we are going to show those Serminak wizards a thing or two!
“And my love, even the Eldest could not bring my sword out of the dream where it was made, and I feel naked without it. We’ll need to replace all the weapons and tools we accumulated in training, and quickly, but I’m hoping you have a suitable blade in your inventory now.”
“I do, and I know what you mean.” Kragorram nodded. “I don’t feel right without my crossbow strapped to my back. It was a revolution in Draconian warfare in our training, and now it will be again!”
“Why don’t you see to replacing all our nasty toys now, and I’ll get things rolling with personnel.” Mark told them. “We’re going with the ‘distraction and infiltration’ plan; that worked best when the enemy was less prepared. And they were never as unprepared as they actually are right now! Mind you, our forces are all still tyros as well, and we’ll need at least a day to introduce them to the new methods we’ve developed. Once we’ve whipped our defenses into shape, we’re go. Call it twenty-four hours from now. But we’ll want you at the command meeting before then. Mind the Link for when it’s scheduled.”
“Right.” Kragorram briskly agreed, then he and Povon were gone.
“We’ll have the Draconians and The People of Morning for personal support?” Equemev asked.
“Yes, and the elves.” Mark nodded. “At least those.”
“The elves won’t take long to organize. We’ll get things started among the Xervians.”
“Go ahead.” Mark told her, and contacted Somonik as the two unicorns vanished.
“Somonik?”
“Yes Mark?”
“I’m calling an emergency meeting of the Assembly of The Just Alliance, and all senior wizards and military commanders, to be held at everyone’s earliest possible convenience.”
There was a long pause before Somonik responded again.
“We can be assembled in one hour and ten minutes.”
“That’ll do. Thank you.”
Meanwhile Talia had Spoken with Yazadril.
“Father?”
“Yes daughter. How is your training progressing?”
“It is finished. We know how to win the war. Actually, we have several viable methods for doing so. We’re calling an emergency meeting of the Assembly, so I imagine you’ll be hearing from Somonik about it momentarily, and we’ll see you there. I just couldn’t wait to talk to you and Mother. I know it’s only been a day since we spoke, but it’s been many decades to us. How are you?”
“We’re fine dear.” Nemia assured her, having joined the conversation as soon as Yazadril realized it was Talia’s Speaking. “How do you fare?”
“We’re a bit stressed, but fine otherwise. I should break off. We’re fairly certain the enemy can’t detect us or our communications, but it’s best not to take a chance. We’ll see you in a few minutes. I love you.”
“As we love you.” Nemia returned, and Talia ended the Speaking.
“Sheramiv, report please.” Mark requested, and she responded by appearing in person.
She seemed a bit frazzled, but smiled with gladness at seeing them.
“Almost every spot of floor space is taken up by evacuees and supplies, except for your personal quarters. The Wards have been repaired, as you’ve probably noticed, and are now charged with considerably more energy than they were before the attack. Our people are well, Atoned and Volunteers alike, and we’ve been kept busy seeing to our many guests, and organizing them into a civil defense force. Organizing the adults that is, over two-thirds of our guests are children.”
“This throne room is considered part of our personal quarters?” Mark asked with a raised eyebrow.
“It is.”
“That’s silly, if considerate. We’ll keep the cottage private, but the rest of this shouldn’t be sitting empty while people are crowded into other places. Store our extra possessions as compactly as possible, and make the space available for those who need it.”
“I’ll see to it.”
“From now until further notice, we’ll be keeping our present location secret. That is to say, we’ll want the cottage, its surroundings, and our beach kept off-limits to all. No one is to know when we’re here, though you can feel free to announce that we’ve been here after we’ve left. It’s just safer for everyone that way.
“We’ll want you and Relgemit with us at the meeting of the Assembly that will take place in an hour or so. You’ll be attending as Hilia’s Senior Wizard, rather than as First Minister, and Relgemit goes as our nation’s military commander, to avoid repeating the address and demonstration of techniques we’ll be holding with all the top wizards and commanders in the alliance. Prepare accordingly, and report to the Hall of the Assembly on Somonik’s call.
“We’re going upstairs for a change of clothes and a bite to eat.”
“I follow your instructions, my Prince.” Sheramiv formally intoned with a grin and a short bow. “I have a feeling things are soon going to become a bit more exciting than they are already.”
“You’re not wrong!” Talia laughed.