Between Darkness and Light Trilogy (48 page)

“Have you asked to bring them here?”

“Yes, but I was told there wasn't any place
to keep them – resources being scarce as they are.”

“Just a moment.” I concentrate on my image
of Fauna, feel her respond.

'Yes, Shi'ahn?'

'News from the front, Chaos is attacking all
outlying worlds, apparently they intend to lay siege. I was
wondering… William has gathered a few hundred battle-dragons, but
he is being told there is nowhere to keep them. Would you know of
any place they could stay?”

“Will me through, Shi'ahn.”

Ah, well, it feels strange, but I do as she
asks, I concentrate on her image and will her to pass through.
Sparkles form in my mind - It works!

“Thank you, Shi'ahn. William, we would have
space, but we could not feed that many dragons for any length of
time.”

William smiles, “As it happens, they love
fish and seaweed!”

She smiles. “Is there anything else you need
to tell me, Shi'ahn?”

“Novanus believes that the Chaosians are
creating passages into our realm. He does not believe they are
capable of opening one into Lumina, but… I think now I had best
advise Varuna of the current situation.”

“Yes, that would be wise.” She turns to
William, “Take my hand, I will take you to where you can keep your
dragons.”

He accepts her hand, but turns, concerned,
back to me, “We need to talk soon, Shi'ahn.”

I smile playfully, “I thought we just did.”
They sink swiftly into the ground! I
listen
to the forest
floor and hear brief movement, then a disturbance far away. What an
interesting way to travel!

Again I concentrate, 'Varuna?'

My mind fills with golden light,
'Shi'ahn?'

'Yes. I thought you should know Chaos
appears to be laying siege to Lumina – they are attacking nearly
all the outlying worlds; and the creation of Passages seems almost
certain.'

'It should not be possible for them to
create a Passage into Lumina, but I will watch for
disturbances.'

'Much about this war does not seem
possible.'

'Indeed. Thank you, Shi'ahn.'

I feel his presence begin to fade away, I
quickly add, 'Oh, and if you notice some dragons fishing in your
waters – they will be my brother's reinforcements.' Do I sense a
smile? A thought whispers in my mind,

'Magnificent creatures, dragons.'

Even though I wasn't really using my eyes
during our conversation, still they need to adjust to the 'normal'
light levels around me; my stomach seems fully functional before my
eyes are. Food, I need food again.

“And food you shall have!” Cailli appears
with a heavily laden platter and I set to without delay.
“Communicating with beings of tremendous power can do that to a
person. Unless, of course, the being knows how to mask the effect,
and cares to do so.” Her smile is playful; I keep eating. The
moment I finish the last morsel, the platter disappears. “Good!
Now, I think my study would be the proper place to continue your
education.” I find myself sitting in an exceedingly comfortable
chair. Cailli walks to a crowded shelf and lifts down…

“A crystal ball?”

She arches an eyebrow, “I happen to be
exceedingly good with crystals, and this is a very special
specimen. Look into it and think of a place you wish to see. A
place nearby, to start.”

I think of Caverna Cernunnos, such a
beautiful place. Mists swirl within the ball, and then I see
it!

“Good – very good. Now explore the place,
look for… food.”

Food? Well, OK, I think of food. The image
changes, as though I am walking through the place. Not far at all
from where I spent the night is a clearing that somewhat resembles
the island Cailli held me on, it teems with berries, seed baring
flowers and edible greens. Within the surrounding tree line are
plentiful nuts and mushrooms… forest foods.

“Good, now look farther away, try to find
Varuna.”

I send my mind to the sea, searching for the
golden god. I see him seeming to hold council with all kinds of
exotic creatures. He looks up questioningly and Cailli waves her
hand over the ball.

“That's enough for there, now try to look
out toward the nearby outer worlds.”

I don't have the slightest idea how to do
that.

“Do you remember how you would seek with
Llywelyn's ring? It is much the same with this; send your mind out
through the crystal, looking for populated worlds.”

Again the ball clouds, then I see visions.
Fire, blood; screams in both light and darkness.

“Enough! That wasn't a good example, but you
see what is happening out there now. We must stop it, and your
learning to use this tool is one step in that direction. Now I need
you to stop relying on sight. Look away from the crystal, but touch
it with your mind as you think of a place you wish to see.
Someplace close again.”

William, I wish to see William. My mind
floods with a vision of him herding dragons into a large clearing
within the great forest. Fauna stands next to him, smiling
warmly.

“Very good! Now let go, it is time for
lunch.”

Lunch? Where did the time go? My stomach
growls, though, she must be right.

“Ah, Lucian's food server, ready as it ever
is to satisfy your needs.”

“Lucian's
food server? No, I'd rather
starve!”

“Don't be foolish, child. Lucian recognized
your needs almost immediately – and he was right. You need
extremely nutritious food on a very regular basis.”

“He started haunting me with that server
before I developed this new need.”

“Which should serve to prove to you that he
has cared about your well-being since before you became an Avatar –
making his concern more…”

“Unnecessary and down right irritating.”

“I was thinking more along the line of true
– one could almost say heartfelt. And since your needs have
increased, he has modified the server to provide you the most
nutritious foods he has access to. Quite the statement, really,
considering our current situation.”

“But he is a beast, evil incarnate!”

“He is the tool of a misguided master.”

“I don't care – I can't forgive him
Celeste's murder!”

“All right, leave it be for now. But do eat,
please, your body needs it.”

“Why? Why is everyone so interested in my
rest and nutrition?”

She sighs, “Because, child, the energies
that suffuse you do not come without a price. If you fail to
nourish yourself and rest sufficiently, your body will become
wholly dependent upon those energies, and you will lose yourself to
the Avatar. Do you want to forget William, and Shiral, and
everything else that your heart holds dear? If you do not properly
sustain yourself, that is what will happen. Lucian recognized that
almost immediately, and acted to keep you from being lost.”

“Why would he do that – he is a
monster!”

“His father has become the monster. At this
time Lucian cares more for your welfare than any other descendant
of the Emperor.”

“I'm sorry, I just can't accept that.”

“Then at least accept his server – he did an
exceptional job judging your needs. Only I might do better, but I
will likely be very busy in the future, too distracted to provide
for your needs.”

“Oh… very well.” I walk up, touch it and it
opens, revealing a marvelous meal.

After lunch we return to the crystal ball,
but Cailli takes it up in her hand and it shrinks!

“What are you doing?”

“Making it practical.” She walks over to
another shelf and picks up something small, places the now tiny
crystal ball against it and there is a brilliant flash. “There! Now
you can easily keep it with you.” She hands me a beautiful filigree
band with the crystal mounted on it, without thought I place it
where I had once worn Llywelyn's ring, on my right index
finger.

We work with it until she has me eat dinner,
and then she sends me back to my private sanctuary. Rest seems far
more important to me now that she has explained my situation
better. I settle down early and meditate on the strange SeshHaudian
loop.

Chapter
26

Battle

I awake hungry, and find myself again
transported to Cailli's study; Lucian's damnable server provides
another perfect meal. As we speak, I
hear
something really,
really strange. We look up at each other, our eyes unfocused as we
train our attention to
listening
. Strange beings, shifty
things pour out onto the bottom of our sea not far from the city.
Cailli doesn't look as surprised as I would expect.

“That was the SeshHaud's work – he has
created a passage into Lumina.”

“The SeshHaud?”

“Later, child. I recommend you alert
Varuna.”

I concentrate on his image.

'Varuna!' I feel his mind focus on me and do
not pause for his response. 'The Chaosians have created a passage
into Lumina, it is underwater not far from the city!'

He does not respond in words, but I feel
certain he is already on his way to help. I'm surrounded with
light, and find myself in the war council room, Cailli thankfully
at my side.

I do not wait to be addressed, this is too
important. “The Chaosians have created a passage into the ocean not
far from the city!”

The Emperor looks livid, “And how exactly do
you know that?”

“I heard it – we both did!”

Cailli calmly adds, “She speaks the truth –
I suggest you prepare for battle.”

I add, “I have notified Varuna, he is on his
way to the breach.”

“You what? You do not have the
authority!”

Cailli responds, “Don't be ridiculous,
Augustus.” The Emperor isn't looking at us, though, he lifts away
part of the arm of his chair, revealing controls I hadn't noticed
before. A holographic display lights up, scanning the seashore.
Creatures from nightmare come stalking out of the water.

“Damn! Vespasian, initialize the lasers,
destroy them!” We see creatures emerge behind the front line,
carrying a large object. They place it down and press
something.

I scream as my mind is bombarded with
discordant
harmonies
as well as the
harmonies
of
magnetism and Chaos; the room goes dark.

Someone casts a light spell, but I can't see
properly. When sound resolves, I pick up on an argument.

“The EMP shielding was working perfectly – I
checked it just yesterday!”

I almost stammer, “That wasn't just EMP, it
was far, far more. It was created by a Harmony wielder.”

Cailli doesn't sound particularly
distressed, “Well, I seriously doubt you'll manage to fix this
soon, it looks like you're going to have to fall back on the old
ways!”

Llywelyn gets up to leave, “I have troops
that will be appropriate for this kind of battle, I need to
retrieve them.”

The Emperor appears nearly stunned.
“Vespasian, gather the citadel guard and arm them with whatever
weapons are operational. Everyone else – ready yourselves for the
greatest battle Lumina has ever seen.”

William almost jumps up and heads out the
door, no doubt to his dragons.

Cailli states to any interested in
listening, “I have transported the populace to the city within,
they will be safe there.” It is as if no one hears her, or no one
cares. Everyone else leaves.

Alone or not, I speak to her quietly, “If
you can do such a thing, can't you do something about the rest of
this?”

To my shock she laughs, “And ruin the
fun?”

“Cailli, people will die! Couldn't you have
done something to counter that… whatever it was?”

“Possibly, but one way or another, once they
made it through, this is where the war will be decided. A war waged
with swords and sorcery will cause far less damage than one of
lasers and cannon. We can't afford that kind of war now. Not here.
But it isn't as bad as you think – the tower is fine – my shielding
is far superior to Augustus'. And in case you haven't noticed, your
crystals still work, as do several other carefully placed items, we
are not helpless.”

“They are superior sorcerers, won't that be
problematical?”

“Not here. This place is the polar opposite
of what they are accustomed to, only the most powerful will be
capable of casting spells, and those won't be particularly
successful.”

“What if they bring in high tech weapons of
their own?”

“Then I will ensure they don't work. I have
already assured that firearms will not function now. This is my
realm, remember; what I say works or does not, as I see fit.”

“You wanted them to do something like
this!”

“Sometimes bad things have to be allowed to
happen, for the greater good. Think of it as a learning experience
for all involved. Besides, would you want our primary line of
defense to be in the hands of Vespasian?” She pauses as we share
similar looks of distaste. “Come, it is time for you to join the
Emperor.” We shimmer and appear on the observation balcony; he
actually takes a step back.

“What are you doing here? I understood that
you didn't wish to see any of us.”

Cailli shakes her head. “The time for
recriminations is over, Augustus. War is literally at our doorstep,
and it is time for Shi'ahn to take her place at the Emperor's
side.”

“I do not wish her to be at my side.”

“You don't have a choice; Lumina needs
her.”

The Emperor's eyes narrow, then take on a
resigned look. “Very well.” His eyes flash angrily as he turns my
way, “Keep your distance from me. Stand over there where you can be
seen by the people, and keep quiet. And above all else, DO NOT
tamper with Croi'Solas!”

I look over to Cailli, hoping she will see
the futility of this and take me with her.

“I shall return, Shi'ahn, when it is time.
This will be an excellent opportunity for you to practice – I
expect you to make use of it.” With that she sparkles to
nothingness.