Legon Ascension (19 page)

“Yes, the great end would be the end of society, though I find it unlikely. There is some dispute about this. That’s the crux really of the Iumenta and Elvin disagreement about humanity. You see, the Iumenta believe with your race’s ability to breed, and being that you are sentient beings, you will cause the end of us all.”

“How can we do that?” Sam said, a little offended.

Keither answered her. “We shift too much. We are a pendulum going from extreme to extreme. This is evident in our history, even after taking the old wastelands of the War of Generations, we fought amongst ourselves. It was the Elves that brought us together, helped us like a parent would a child kept from extremes.”

She didn’t look convinced, but he went on. “That is why the Elves don’t push us too hard. They don’t want to subjugate us whereas the Iumenta believe that is the only way.”

He helped himself to some food while Ise continued the thought. “We have interceded many times. It’s not that you are different from us, but that you don’t have former generations to see the mistakes of the past. You have lived with Elves in the training house, you must see this.”

Sam nodded. “Ok, I think I understand.”

Sara took a drink. “Is this what the war is about?”

Ise shook her head and held her hand out for the book. He handed it to her.

No two ideologies can exists in one space at one time. One will perish and one survive, this is an inevitability, and for this cause we must destroy the opposition or they us.
 

“That is what the war is about.” Iselin forestalled questions. “It’s not that we aren’t open-minded, we are with many things. However, two ways of ideology cannot coexist unless both parties are near destruction. Yes, they may be cordial, but always fighting one another, be it in word, action or thought.”

“So ‘you’re wrong and we’re right’ is the center of this whole thing?” Sam asked.

Ise took her time, “Yes and no. We are blood enemies and would kill one another anyway. Indeed, even our bodies appear to hate one another, whereas a human can breed with an Elf or Iumenta, though there are no cases of the latter. An Elf and Iumenta cannot have a child together since our species are too different. Yes, the ideologies are why we fight, so different are they. We would let them live if they would let us live, however, their way of thinking is to kill all opposition. They struck first many of the times and to this day no one really knows the true start of the War of Generations. Now, let’s eat and have a good evening.” And with that the topic was closed for discussion.

* * * * *

Legon sat in Sydin’s tight cabin with Sasha as Sydin explained the new world they were going to.

“We are about a day out. Over the next few months you will learn a lot. As you can guess, there are responsibilities to being the head of a house. I’m not here to teach you most of those. Unless you decide to move or replace me, I am in charge of your military.

“This is common in all houses. Now, Arkin told me that you two have developed some slight hand signals for communication.”

Both Sasha and Legon’s faces shot up, but Sasha spoke first. “How did you know that?”

Sydin smiled mischievously. “Well, Arkin was a spy, after all, but also because coding is so important in statecraft that he fostered that by planting the suggestion of signals when you were toddlers.”
 

They really never got anything by the carpenter, did they?
 

Sydin went on. “There is a sub language, common words that mean different things. Each house has several of these languages. You will need to know the sub languages for your security.”

“Are we not safe in our own city?” Legon asked.

Sydin shook his head. “Extremely safe, but caution is important.”

At first the idea of code and sub languages that only a single house knew seemed like a waste of time to him. With the mind’s ability to talk, you were perfectly safe, there was no breaching the connection, but as time went on he realized that the mind talk was only effective over a short distance. There were ways of communicating over vast spaces, as he did every night with Iselin, but that signal could be intercepted; it was not secure. They learned that even Arkin had given every report in code in case one of the relays could not be trusted. Paper documents also contained codes. The words were seemingly meaningless in the code—simple everyday conversation. Legon began to realize that you could be having two conversations at one time, incorporating tone and signal language. They learned that in many ways statecraft was learning this way of communicating, using hints, symbols and inflection to communicate many things. Legon’s communication to the Iumenta command began to take on new meaning. Before he didn’t understand why they were weary of a house leader that was so blunt and arrogant. He understood now. They were looking for the meanings, trying to figure out what Legon’s true motives were. It was the utter simplicity of the message that confused them.
 

Sydin also helped work with Legon on the speech he was to give during his homecoming celebration, a speech that he had no desire to give. To his immense relief, Sydin and Legon’s other house advisors had written the address for him, not from any lack of faith in Legon, but rather in the knowledge that Legon did not have a firm grasp on the Elves language, nor had he ever written a speech in his life.
 

“Will someone always write my addresses?” Legon asked.

“Sometimes yes, you will have a speechwriter on staff. Their job is to take care of doing a lot of the legwork; it can take hours to write a speech. You will on occasion want to write something on your own, but for most occasions you will give instruction to your writer and they will write the speech and then give it to you to approve,” Sydin explained.

“Instructions?” Legon asked. “And what about Sasha?”

“Instructions in the sense that you will tell them what the speech is to be about and the feel you want—if you want any facts or numbers. They will do any research needed and put those points in the speech. As for Sasha, yes, she too will have to address the house from time to time, but not as often as you Legon.”

“Ok, that’s good to know. I feel a little better, but everyone seems to really like Sasha. Don’t you think that maybe she should be the house’s mouthpiece?” Legon offered.

Sasha wasn’t having it. “But Legon, you are the head of house and you’re so brave. It should be you, and besides, it’s so enjoyable watching you choke,” she said sweetly.

It was late in the night before Sydin let up and Legon’s head throbbed with the stress of learning too much. Most of the nation lived in relative relaxation, but the higher ups did not enjoy that luxury. He would still be putting in a full day’s work and then some.
 

“I think my head is going to pop,” Sasha said outside her door. “Why do you think he waited until now to tell us more about how life will be when we get home?”

“I don’t know. I think they have been letting us settle. By the sound of it we will have a lot to learn in the coming months and years.”
 

She nodded. “Tell Ise hi for me.”

He said he would, and went to the communications room of the ship. There, built into a podium against the wall, was a pentagon-shaped crystal that shone with the image of a beautiful blond woman.
 

She smiled at him. “How was your trip?”

He couldn’t help but grin. “Good, we’ve been learning code.”

“Don’t say any meanings over this, but that’s good.” She smiled. “Sorry.”

“You’re fine, the reminder is good. How were Keither and Sara?”
 

“Fair to midline. Keither is doing well. Sara struggles. The training she received on the road put her months ahead of any other Venefica healer. She seems to think that the few weeks she’s been in school should have given her the abilities that Sasha would have. Keither is finally showing progress with the Jezeer. Once something clicks with him, he learns incredibly fast.”

“He does learn quickly. Sara is impatient, but not in a bad way. I’m glad she has a friend.”

“I like them. I want to stay and talk, but I need to pack up to leave for Seeon.”

“How long will it take you?”

She thought for a moment. “Not long, the route you took was longer. Truth be told, I think the city wanted more time to prepare, but even then I will be jumping. I will see you when you get there. There is going to be a big celebration.” Dragons were powerful enough that they could move from one point in space to another instantly. However, it took massive amounts of energy, and unless they were moving, line of sight was all but impossible. Crystals were used to guide dragons from one point like the Precipice to another like Seeon.
 

He liked the sound of that. “Will they last long?”

She rolled her eyes. “The whole house will be putting itself out for this. It will take days. Trust me, your face will be sore from the smiling. Now, I must go. I’ll see you soon.”

Two emotions raged inside him. The first was disappointment that they couldn’t talk longer. He didn’t know why, but he was already extremely attached to her. The second was excitement, because seeing her face to face would be far better than this crystal.
 

“See you soon. Oh, Sasha says hi.”
 

She smiled. “Give her a hug for me.” She kissed her fingers and touched the crystal before she left.

Chapter Eleven

Homecoming

“Environment is what has the greatest impact on emotion. The problem is most people think of the environment as the place they are in, as opposed to a state of mind.”

-Teachings of the Restored Queen

Iselin finished her last walkthrough of her apartment, making sure that nothing was left behind. She brought few personal effects when she was deployed, and most of those were being shipped home. She walked out of the apartment for what she hoped was the last time. Her stay at the Precipice dome hadn’t been an unpleasant one, but she was looking forward to being home and seeing family and friends.
 

She made her way, Cat trotting behind her to the center chamber of the dome. She’d said her goodbyes and didn’t pause when she reached the hangers and looked up and out of the opening to the mostly clear sky.
 

At first, ascending was not uncomfortable, but an odd feeling. Now it wasn’t. She concentrated on the power within her and willed her body to change. When ascending, to those watching it seemed to be an almost instant thing, but while you were doing it, time all but stood still. The air shimmered as her clothes faded into oblivion. It was this that first made ascending awkward. She felt naked, but she knew that her body was blurred and couldn’t be seen in the split second of transformation. Heat coursed down her arms and they shot out to the ground, rippling with scales and muscle. The ground moved away as her neck stretched and heat ripped down her spine. The burn of it should have hurt, but it didn’t, it felt fantastic, like power or energy being liberated from her body, and it was. She stretched and her wings burst from her back and she flicked her tail through the air.
 

Now that it was done, she looked down at the floor below her to Cat, who was just a little fiery furball now. With a flick of her mind, the familiar turned into a ball of energy and flew to rest behind her right horn. The world was so different as a dragon. Normal people couldn’t see energy, couldn’t truly see magic, but dragons could. She watched the Elves moving around the hanger floor, all of them glowing with power. All Elves had some level of magic, even if it was limited to plant manipulation, so all Elves raided energy. It was a calico collage she looked down on now. From the other dragons she saw bands of energy moving around as they did various tasks. In this state she could sense the currents in people’s bodies as their brains sent signals to muscles. This was difficult for all new dragons, probably much the same way it would have been for Legon when he changed into an Elf. The thought of Legon pushed her thoughts of the world around her away and she readied herself for takeoff.

Iselin coiled up and launched herself into the air, feeling her wings unfurl and drive down, thrusting her up. She loved the feel of the wind against her body and the feel of it in her wings. She spiraled higher and angled to the south. As she made her way to the crystal that controlled the outgoing jumps for this area, she accessed it and the network it connected to. Jumping was the magic that would allow her to travel from one point in space to another instantaneously, but guiding herself over long distances was impossible. That’s why there were jump crystals. They connected different points, allowing Ascendeds to jump anywhere in the Empire. She tapped into the crystal, selecting Seeon as a waypoint and then refined her selection to the central jump spot. The connection came back, telling her the air was clear and to begin her jump. Iselin started the spell that would carry her body the distance, letting her mind connect fully with the crystal, letting it guide her. She began her countdown and checklist; THREE: all her wards in her immediate area were disconnected, TWO: she snapped her wings against her body and her mind saw its destination to the exclusion of all else, ONE: she engaged the magic, seeing a bright dot of pink in front of her and felt the giant ball of magic behind her, JUMP. The ball behind her rushed over her body and for a moment she didn’t exist. Then she was in a tunnel of pink. Her wings snapped tight to her side, sliding down the magical corridor. The tunnel opened and just as fast as it had begun it was over. Her wings caught the air and she soared high above Seeon’s central district.
 

* * * * *

Legon looked at himself in the mirror. He was becoming accustomed to Elvin dress, but he still didn’t quite recognize himself. He adjusted his shirt and looked at Pras. “Do I look ok?”

“Wonderful, Un Prosa,” was his reply.

Today was the day that the Lux would be arriving in Seeon. Seeon was a harbor city located at the end of a long bay that extended some distance into the Pawdin Empire. Legon fidgeted with the white robe that he was wearing. The clothes were odd to him. His robe had no sleeves and didn’t tie together. Until now, the only robes he really ever saw were his mother’s and Sasha’s dressing robes, and these robes were nothing like them.