Techromancy Scrolls: Soras (4 page)

Prince George said, “Grand. Now shall we be about it, people?”

I nodded and wobbled a little. Celeste steadied me and offered her arm. I gratefully took it.

The Prince said, “I just had to be here when you started up this grand venture. This could change everything in all the realms if it is successful. It would have more impact on the habitable lands than the Great Bridging.”

Work had begun on the Prince's dream of uniting the two portions of the inhabitable lands across the Gap. A forty mile stretch of uninhabitable lands between the Highland and the Lower Ten. He proposed excavating soil from the mountains on either side of the Gap and to run an irrigation canal, to build a grassland bridge over a mile wide between the lands.

The Gap can be crossed easily on horseback in less than a day now. But it will be a boon as it would increase the grazing lands for both lands and allow wildlife to easily migrate between the lands.

It would take almost forty years to complete, and work began on it just this year. The two lands would merge naturally in around eight hundred years without the Prince's intervention, but now I may see the two lands united in my lifetime.

Every year, water seeps farther and farther out into the rocky landscape of the uninhabitable areas, and wind and rain erosion slowly builds up the land; grasses slowly spreading outward. The inhabitable lands on the Fringe are continually growing by about a hundred yards a year all around the perimeter of the realms.

The Prince offered an arm out to me and I swallowed and looked at Celeste, who was seeing some sort of humor in my terror. She crinkled her nose at me and moved her arm closer to the Prince's and I transferred my fingertip to his.

He placed a hand over mine to calm me, and started striding toward the generator shed with me in tow and asked, “So each of those grand paddle wheels is connected to a generator. What is their capacity?”

I squinted an eye at the man then back at the people we left behind us. I'm positive by the look on Everett's face that he had already discussed this with the man. I responded with a tinge of suspicion in my voice, “Theoretically, each generator has a one-megawatt capacity. With all working in concert, we can provide the Keep with enough power to give every cottage in Cheap Quarter electric lighting, including the streetlamps at night, power electric motors on the hand pumps for the wells, and still have power enough to supply to vendors at the market.”

He nodded then asked, “And the idea of supplying the power first to the serfs rather than the nobles?”

I paled, I knew it was not popular, and I could not tell if he approved or not. I explained, “Most everyone in Uptown and Mid End, already enjoy electrics, whether it is from magic spark containment vessels or are supplied power from the castle proper. Almost everyone in Cheap Quarter and the Trough can only dream of owning a spark containment vessel.”

My voice firmed as I clarified, “As nobles, our measure can only be taken by the care of the people under our charge. Wexbury prides itself upon the benefits we provide our own. From our Bath House to cut down on illness, to our weekly feast on the castle grounds. And now our new programs to educate every man, woman and child in the realm, and our new Wexbury Spark program, only add to that. Now, if this project is successful and doesn't explode in our faces today, we will provide them with modern conveniences once only enjoyed by nobles.”

He had a look I couldn't quite understand on his face, but it had a touch of... admiration?

He said softly, “You speak with great passion. I am told you hail from Cheap Quarter yourself.”

I nodded slowly and he smiled and asserted, “You have the qualities that mark a great noblewoman. With compassion and empathy like that, you will aspire to great things.”

I blushed and looked down. Then he turned us back toward the cage while shaking his head and muttering, “Three megawatts? That is unheard of.”

My mouth started moving on its own volition. “That is but a fraction of what the Wizards of the Before had accomplished. Just one of the many turbines we witnessed in the bowels of the Monolith was over eight hundred megawatts. And they were in the third powerhouse, which meant there were three times that many.”

He raised his silvered eyebrows on his handsomely weathered face. “Indeed?” Then he just shook his head like most of us did, as he wondered at the accomplishments of mankind before the Great Impact.

We joined the others and Emily claimed my arm before Celeste could. I grinned at the tiny woman. I noted her long blonde hair now reached her ankles in its braid. She seemed to be brimming with excitement. Donovan shot a smile her way and I swear the woman melted.

We all turned to face the crowd as the Prince stood on a box near the lever. The moment he did that, the din of voices in the crowd beyond the roped off area quieted. The only sounds were the river rushing by below and the wind blowing gently through the trees.

I noticed as I looked out from our slightly raised position, that there were at least a dozen knights in the colors of Highland Keep ringing the perimeter of the crowd. I squinted and studied the tree line. There were about as many archers in the trees. The Prince's personal guard.

I had wondered why he was there speaking with us without an escort. Now I knew he indeed had an escort, but he must have instructed them to keep a discreet distance. I appreciated that, for I knew I would have been twice as nervous speaking with the Prince if a group of armed knights of another realm was following us.

Then I looked up at Celeste on my other side. She would have known the Prince was here, and his guard, as commander of our mobile battalion. The evil woman purposely didn't tell me. She didn't look down at me but I saw her crooked, sly smile form on her face as she felt my scrutiny of her.

Prince George began speaking in a powerful, authoritative voice, “People of Wexbury, and honored guests from the other nine realms. On this day, the eleventh day before Three Sisters Conjunction, twenty-seven and forty-four years post Impact, we witness a modern marvel.”

The crowd murmured and he continued, “This grand experiment is headed by a commoner come Knight, Baroness Laney of Wexbury, and the distinguished Techromancer with a vision, Baron Everett of Wexbury.”

I could feel the excitement in the crowd building as he finished, “With the pulling of that lever...” He pointed to the caged lever. “Electricity will be provided to thousands of people in the Keep. A free energy from nature herself without the need for magic spark to power it.”

The murmurs grew and I could feel the anticipation like a solid wave flowing out from those assembled. I saw Yvette step up to the ropes in the crowd and grin at me as she took off her heavy leather work gloves to watch. I gave her a tiny wave.

Then the Prince surprised me. “Lady Laney, if you would.”

He gave me a flourish of his hand and a bow. I blinked. The ruler of the realms just bowed to me. Come on Laney, don't pass out and don't screw this up.

I gave him a bow I hoped looked graceful. “My Liege.” I stepped over to the lever as he stepped down from the box.

I tried to look regal, to do Celeste proud. I grabbed the lever and heard the clank as I held the small safety lever to the shaft. Then I exhaled and pulled. The crowd chuckled as my feet slid a bit. To my chagrin, I had to yank a couple times to get the thing in motion. Oh, dear lord, I was going to die from embarrassment.

Then I muscled the lever down until I heard three loud clunks from the generator shed. With a rumbling, creaking groan, each of the huge paddle wheels started to turn, pushed by the mighty Hawktail River. I heard the restraints protest as the generators engaged.

Electricity likes me. I can use it to enhance my weak magics. It is part of being an Adept. I can, to an extent, harness energy from around me, whether it be magic or electricity, and can channel it through me to give me more power than I can produce myself. But too much and I wind up damaging myself in return. I glanced at my silk gloved right hand.

I could feel and taste the power rising. The strings of electric lights we had around the area for demonstration purposes started flickering then glowing brightly as the crowd cheered. I looked at the panel beside the lever as lights began glowing on it. They went from blue to amber. I blinked, Mother Luna, it worked!

The crowd exploded into cheers as the Prince clapped my shoulder and boomed out, “Good show Laney!”

I felt weak in the knees and sparks arced out from the panel into me and the nearest bulbs broke and electricity leaped to me. People started backing away from the roped off area. I heard the Prince speaking to me, “Calm yourself little one. Don't let the power control you.”

I glanced at him and his eyes were lit up with a green light from within. I could see amber energy flowing from me. I nodded and started taking deep breaths and calmed myself as the colors of the world dimmed and the arcing of electricity stopped. He gave me a consoling look and said, “Better, right?”

I nodded and Celeste was there, by my side as the Prince just studied me. With a furrowed brow he turned his head toward Duke Frederick. “Electricity? And earlier I saw the steel around her starting to quiver.” There was a touch of accusation in his voice when he asked, “What kind of elemental is she?”

The Duke smoothly supplied a line his wife had used to placate someone else that raised the questions of two abilities. “Electromagnetism my Liege, earth magic.”

Prince George looked between us, brow furrowed then slowly nodded his head. I was so afraid he'd ask me to confirm it, and I couldn't lie to the ruler of the inhabitable lands. And if I did, it would be an automatic death sentence. I wondered why we must also deceive the Prince about the fact I was an Adept. Highland had one of their own after all.

The ruler of the realms exhaled and let it drop as he looked around and at the string of lights that were lit by the power of water and his smile returned. He looked around and said loudly, “Shall we have a celebration feast within the walls of Wexbury?”

The crowd cheered in support of that idea. Everett went about locking up the control platform when a small figure came barreling through the crowd toward us. Almost like magic, three of the knights in Highland colors had the newcomer surrounded and one was holding my panting brother up off the ground by the scruff of his tunic.

Jace's eyes were wide in fear as I started moving toward him. Celeste restrained me by my arm and gave me a cautioning look. She spoke calmly to the Prince, “My Liege, he is a messenger of the court, and brother to Baroness Laney, he is no threat.” Then she lowered her eyes and tilted her head down in respect.

Princess Everly tutted before the Prince could speak, “For goodness sake, he's just a boy. Have you no shame gentlemen? Let him pass.”

As if they had been doing it their entire adult lives, the three stood at attention so quickly I was afraid they'd snap their own spines. The center man released Jace, who landed awkwardly. Then he looked at the men and us, and if I weren't so terrified for him at that moment, I would have laughed when he glared at the Knights and indignantly tugged his tunic back in shape.

He was still panting and out of breath as he came under the rope and started toward us. His eyes flicked around and at the deathly silent crowd then his eyes caught an overly amused looking Price George, and his eyes almost popped out of their sockets as he went to the ground in prostration.

The Prince chuckled as his wife hustled to Jace's side and knelt to grab his arm gently to usher him to his feet. “Get up you silly boy, you've already suffered enough indignity by my husband's heavy handed doom troopers.”

I caught the wink she shot at the Knights to let then know she teased and they had barely restrained smiles on their faces. The teasing must have been a common occurrence.

Duke Fredrick had joined them and stood in front of Jace and asked, “You have a message young Jace?”

He nodded and had to bend over to put his hands on his knees. He held a finger up as he tried to get his panting under control. He had run the two miles to here? Why hadn't he just taken a horse from the royal stables? The thought probably never occurred to him since he rarely ever left the walls of the Keep.

He looked over at me and said between gasps of air, “Alexandru... is... awake.”

We had returned to the Keep with all haste, the rulers followed with Verna, Kristof, and Bex in tow. People all along the lanes in Wexbury bowed in shock at seeing the rulers of Highland pass by with us in the middle of knights and archers, not in the colors of Wexbury.

It must have looked a sight as two knights entered the hospital first and the rest of the knights and archers formed a perimeter around it. A minute later the two knights exited the hospital, gave a nod to the Prince, then took positions on either side of the door. Our Duke's guard joined them.

I knew they were around, there are always four of them guarding Duke Fredrick and Duchess Lucia, they had kept a discreet distance until then. Mostly because if anyone come for them, they'd have to get through the Prince's elite guard first.

After Fredrick had explained to the Prince by the river just who Alexandru was and what he had said before he lost consciousness, the Prince insisted on coming with us. Something about maintaining good political relations with the Mountain Gypsies.

The Gypsies had roamed the Whispering Walls mountain range long before the scouts from Highland Reach; which is what the Highland Realm is often called; had crossed the Gap to discover the New World. Every realm acknowledges the right of the Gypsies to roam the realms unencumbered and beholden to none of the Altii, the Others.

No realm has sway nor say over the people who so freely shared their lands with us newcomers. Though the Lower Ten purport it to be for diplomatic reasons, the truth of the matter is that all know it would be folly to be at odds with the peaceful people.

There are estimated to be over seventy thousand of them across over a thousand miles of mountain terrain, and we cannot fathom their magics or how powerful the magic of the spirit is. I am the first known Techromancer to possess it and I have no idea what I can do with it yet. So if any realm were foolish enough to anger the gentle people, they all fear what the Gypsies can bring to bear.

The short time I spent with them, I fell in love with their people and their ways. I almost chuckled when I realized that in both of my stays with them, I was injured and they had to nurse me back to health. Just once I'd like to visit the clan I knew, the Lupei family, when I was strong and healthy.

The Prince shot a smile at his wife and winked at her then offered me his arm, “Lady Laney?”

I looked up at Celeste and gave a weak smile then accepted the Prince's arm. He marched us in and I heard Celeste tell our group to wait there. Then she positioned herself behind and to the left of the Duke and Duchess as they followed.

Doc Maxwell met us in the lobby. He seemed frazzled and he only gave a nod of recognition to the Prince. He never paid much attention to station and I worried about how the Prince would react. To my surprise, he didn't seem to care. Doc held a clipboard as he smiled at me through his tight-lipped expression.

He gave me a tilted bow of his head which made me more embarrassed to get more attention than the Prince. “Lady Laney, our combative guest is insisting on speaking with you. It is all we can do to get him to rest. He was just impaled by an arrow for God's sake.”

I held back a smile. Yes, Alexandru was a bit headstrong.

I nodded as he plucked me from the Prince's grasp. I glanced back and Prince George seemed overly amused. Doc started telling me about the accelerated healing he saw as we walked, “It has been a day but he has healed what would take at least four or five days.”

I was peripherally aware of the procession of people we had in tow.

I nodded. “His family is of the Touched of the People. His sister possesses the gift to heal, so I've suspected that he had a touch of the gift since he can go for days without sleep and seem unaffected.”

He thought out loud, “I wonder if he would agree to allow us to study his blood and cells.”

I slapped his shoulder lightly and scolded, “He is not one of your lab mice Max.”

He nodded with a grin. I loved this scarecrow looking man with his long face, he had saved my mother from certain death with his new treatments for Wasting Syndrome. He never seemed to take a break and always looked so frazzled and tired. I liked it when he grinned or smiled, it seemed to take away that bone-deep weariness, if just for a fleeting moment.

He pulled me into a room and the four royals and my Celeste followed, stepping against the walls to be as unobtrusive as possible. I had to grin, there were three nurses at the bed as my charismatic friend flirted with them all while he finished some, no doubt exaggerated, tale of valor.

The women tittered and giggled at him. You couldn't fault them for fawning over him. The first time I saw the man I had thought him beautiful. I know men don't like being called beautiful, but he was. His long, flowing, wavy black hair hung below his shoulders. He had a chiseled jaw with a perpetual three-day growth of stubble, giving him a rakish appearance. And I had never seen him with his shirt off like this. His torso was wrapped in clean white bandages and his abdomen was rippling with muscle.

If I hadn't had a preference for the fairer sex; I smiled back at Celeste who looked overly amused at his antics; I would have succumbed to the man's charms myself.

He noticed me and started to sit up quickly, but three sets of hands pushed him back to the bed. He shooed them away and held a hand out to me and said in the tongue of the People, “Laney, Celeste, my Soras. We must make haste, Mother Udele has been taken. The clans are threatening to take up arms.”

I glanced back as Celeste stepped quickly to my side, her eyes wide. Her grasp on Mountain Gypsy was rough, but she understood what he was saying. I saw the crease in the Prince's brow and looked back at our friend as I grabbed his hand and said in English, “Dru, English please, not everyone here speaks the tongue of the People.”

He nodded and slowed down a bit then looked at the others in the room and gave then an acknowledging tilt of his head as he switched to English. “Yes, of course, my apologies.”

I paused and remembered my mother's lessons on manners. “Alexandru of the Lupei family, this is Prince George and Princess Everly, rulers of the lands of Sparo, and you know the Duke and Duchess.” The nurses noticed the people in my company and bowed deeply then scurried out of the room.

Dru got a silly half smile on his face, his dimple showing and mirth sparkling in his dark eyes. “I'm surrounded by princesses, I must have passed to the afterlife.”

The Prince asked with confusion in his tone, “Princesses?”

Dru nodded and said, “My princesses here, and yours.” He winked at Everly and then flexed his pectoral muscles.

I slapped his shoulder again. “Behave, she's royalty. And taken.”

He tilted his head and teased, “Yes, my Sora.”

I glanced back at the blushing ruler, she didn't seem to mind. She looped her arm through her husband's arm.

Fredrick explained to the Prince, “When the Lupei family aided us in our Far Reach campaign, and the battle of the Monolith, Countess Celeste here, inadvertently initiated a blood bond between the ruler of the Lupei family, Mother Udele, and the House of Celeste. Which had the unfortunate side effect of our two Knights becoming the heirs to Udele. In essence, they are Gypsy Princesses of the Mountain Gypsies as well as being Knights of the realm.”

The Prince took a moment to process that. Then he turned to Fredrick and asked incredulously, “And, you allowed this, Fred?”

The Duke shook his head and shot Celeste an amused look as he said, “Of course not. It was done before I could protest.”

The Prince nodded slowly, wheels turning in his head as he said slowly, “This is unprecedented. The Gypsies have always isolated themselves from the Altii. This opens a whole can of political and diplomatic worms. Wexbury now has ties to the Mountain Gypsies that no other realm enjoys.”

I had never thought about that. Parity has been critical in keeping the peace between all the realms. That is why the Prince makes sure that no one realm gains such a significant advantage over the others that it causes friction.

The only real disparities in the Lower Ten are the populations of each. For the most part, the fighting force of any realm is proportionate to their population, with few exceptions. Wexbury is the third smallest Realm, but we have the third largest fighting force. We also have more Techno Knights than any realm but Highland.

This has always been acceptable because we are always the first to answer a call for aid from any other realm and our Knights bleed and die beside their own to defend their realms. We have joint defense pacts with every realm of the Lower Ten. Wexbury stands with all. So I did not know how or if our situation would affect the status quo.

Princess Everly seemed to grasp it all in a moment and she made light of it. “Laney, Celeste, it seems we are peers.” She seemed infinitely amused at that. It just made the blood drain from my face. Mother Luna!

The Prince rolled his eyes at her antics then looked at the Duke. “Wexbury, we'll discuss this soon.”

Fredrick bowed his head in acceptance, then we all turned our attention to the overly amused looking Dru.

Then I cocked an eyebrow at him, he hid away his smile and started to tell us what was going on in a solemn tone, “I was out on patrol in the passes when it happened.”

His eyes began to burn with anger as he recounted, “I returned to camp but was alerted to the fact that our spotters were not in position, so I dismounted and came into our camp as stealthily as I could manage on foot.”

He gritted his teeth. “What I thought was the central camp fire had been two of our wagons set aflame. People laying all on the ground. Men, women... children.”

My eyes flew wide as I gasped out, “Ingr and Eli?”

He laid a hand on my arm to allay my fear as he softly said, “Safe.”

My heart, which had threatened to burst out of my chest, slowed as I exhaled in relief. Ingr and Eli were the children of Dru's sister, Sylvia. They were such adorable children and smart too. I don't think my heart could take it if they came to harm. At the same time my heart went out to the children who had apparently lost their lives.

He continued, “I found Sylvia healing the wounded. She told me that a band of fifty men, all dressed like the Knights of the Altii, only all in black, had stormed the camp, killing all who got in their way. They had a vrajitor of the Altii, how do you say, magic user? To counter the few of our Touched, who stood against them.”

He shook his head. “They struck us when most of our men had gone out on patrol, they must have been watching and waiting for that chance. They took Mother Udele and left the camp in ruins.”

He hissed out, “I was enraged, twenty of our clan had died at their hands. I retrieved my horse and rode hard with three men following their trail East toward Solomon and the Great Sea. But we found dozens of these Altii surrounding the camp to prevent us from following. It was all we could do to fight our way back to the wagons.”

He nodded to himself as he shared, “We were able to slip a tracker out to follow the kidnappers, and a messenger to the other clans, out in the dark of night. When the messenger returned a week later, he brought word that a war council was gathering near Heaven's Gate and that they were going to vote on whether the Gypsies would go to war for the first time in over a thousand years. The thirteen families would move on the Altii if they get a unanimous vote.”

I glanced back at the Prince and his eyes were dark and his gaze held something dangerous at that news. I looked back at Dru and he said, “They have twelve votes, but they have not heard the voice of the Lupei family yet. With Mother Udele gone, it falls to her heirs to cast their vote. It falls upon the Soras of the Lupei. It falls upon you and Celeste, Laney.”

I blinked. “But... war? How can we vote to start a war that would cost both sides so much?”

He nodded at that, knowing it would be my response, the man didn't want war either, even after seeing his kin slain. He said, “You are the only one who can stop it. We sent out four men in different directions to track you down in the dark of night. I fear I am the only one to make it through the enemy to find you?” It was a question.

I nodded sadly. “You are the only one of the Lupei we have seen.”

I turned to Fredrick and blurted, “We need to free the Lupei from siege and find Mother Udele.”

The Duke shook his head, I could see the conflict in his eyes, “We are not allowed to unless they are in the realm of Wexbury.” He looked at Dru hopefully.

The Gypsy nodded with a primal grin. “We are in the mountains at the southeastern most reach of the Realm of Wexbury.”

Fredrick looked at the Prince who tilted his head in assent and I could see the fire of Wexbury in his eyes as he said, “Celeste, mobilize the force you deem necessary to free the Lupei. We will not let this assault on the friends of Wexbury stand.”

I noted he carefully stayed way from the word ally, as it held too many political connotations. I hated politics.

The Prince cleared his voice and we all turned to him as he said, “I'm afraid Lady Celeste cannot act in the name of Wexbury on this one. In this instance, she is being called upon by the Gypsies as one of their own. As such, she is akin to a visiting dignitary from a foreign land. Have her second in command take charge until such time as this whole mess is straightened up.”