The Fire and the Storm - Metric Pro Edition: Fiction, Dragons, Elves, Unicorns, Magic (99 page)

“I want you to know that I’m very proud of all of you for how strong your spirit and your resolve has been in the face of all the challenges that we’re facing.  Kellaran has pulled together in peace and co-operation, more than it ever has before, and the problems we’ve had to deal with along the way have been far fewer than any of us could have expected.

“Thank you.”

While he’d been speaking, Bava Kukur interviewed the Governors.  They found her questioning to be rather inane; what their favorite colors, foods, and songs were, who they thought was cute or attractive, whether they got along with other children their ages, did they find it hard to bear such responsibilities and always be at the center of events.  They tolerated it and gave her honest answers, since her viewers were the youth of Kletiuk and it was understandable that they would be interested in such things.  But when she had asked every question she had for them in her notebook and looked to be ready to continue with more impromptu inquiries, Fire politely thanked her and invited the other Revealers to join the conversation.

Since their audiences were more general, they asked more interesting questions; what were their thoughts on the future of Kellaran, did they really think they could win the Tournament of Governors and what strategies did they plan to employ, what were their thoughts on the mixing of races?

The children politely refused to be specific about their strategies for the tournament, but were very open about the rest of it, and it was an enjoyable half hour.  The most interesting question was; “You are all very exceptional, but does it ever bother you to be so… unusual?”

They considered the question and the questioner for a moment, the Revealer in question being a young giant some three and two-thirds meters tall with dark hair, dark eyes, a neat goatee, and white desert robes over all else.

Six answered for them.  “We’re warlocks.  We’re unusual, but we’re the first of a new breed.  Being a warlock is more than merely having access to a different and stronger kind of power.  Like our father, we can see the magic shining out of other beings of power as a visible glow, whether they’re wizards or sorcerers, and we can see each other’s power glow.  Being a warlock also changes your perception in many other less-noticeable ways.

“We can also see the power-field of wizardry around us like elves can, and being an elf also changes your perception in many subtle ways.  Though we’re only half-elven, our purely elven abilities aren’t below average.  In fact, if we lost all of our warlock abilities completely, we’d still be among the most capable elves alive.

“We’re sure that Val will also be as big and at least as strong as an average human girl, and I’ll be bigger than average even for humans, if not as big as my father.  Even Fire is far stronger than one would expect from a child of her age and size, of either race.  Though smaller than average for her age, even among elves, she is physically stronger than average human children of her age who are much bigger than her. 

“Being a half-elven, half-human warlock combines the best qualities of elves, humans, and warlocks, and changes our perceptions in ways that our parents don’t have.  I’m sure we’re perfectly normal for half-elven warlocks, and soon there’ll be forty-four more of us.  That’s enough of us to feel normal.  Eventually we’ll have children, and they’ll have children, and eventually there’ll be millions of us.

“We’re like the very first elves, who were the most recent race to develop before us.  We’re strange compared to those around us now, but when there’s a few thousand of us nobody will think twice about it.

“On the other hand, all the humanoid races can interbreed now.  Over the long term, that’s sure to produce some averaging among the races, but it’s also sure to produce completely new kinds of people.  And if the warlock characteristics are passed on without being diminished by being diluted by other bloodlines, as we think will be the case, then eventually every humanoid born will also be a warlock, regardless of any other racial characteristics they may have.”

They moved on to Mark’s speech at a military training center in Beijur, Kletiuk, which was attended by Overlord Senchak and most of the elite of Kletiuk’s dwarven society, as well as a vast throng of staff and trainees from the base.

His speech was similar to the one he gave in Debivin, yet different enough to show that he was speaking from the heart, without rehearsal or preparation.

As he was half finished, his children got bored of the proceedings and elected to go home to Hilia.  Talia suggested that they go instead with her to the Living Palace in First Valley, and they agreed.  Alilia elected to continue with Mark on his tour.

“Welcome to the place where my heart is most at home.” Talia said with a smile as she, her children, and Karz emerged in the living room of the palace’s master suite.  “Though we only lived here a few days, the love I share with Mark truly blossomed and became part of us while we were here.  And I’ve known since I could talk that I would have a home on this land when I was grown, though I could never have predicted this place!  That’s my parents tree there, where I grew up.” she told them as she pointed out a mighty oak that was visible through the windowed double doors to the balcony.

“I love the aura of it.” Val said as she took a deep breath.  “And the wizard’s magic here feels really good too.  The elven part of me can sure feel why we fought so hard to hold this land.”

“I do get a feeling that this is home, in a way.” Fire said as she opened the doors and went out on the balcony, and the rest joined her.  They looked around at the beautiful gardens at the front of the palace, the redwood wall around it, the giant trees with elven homes visible above the wall, and the occasional view of the ring of mountain around the valley that was visible through the trees.

“Here.” Talia giggled, and passed them her memory of Alilia, Theramin, and her parents casting the mighty spell that had made the wonderful home around them.

“Wow.  That’s really beautiful, both the making and what they made.” Six quietly stated.

“Such an elven thing to do, to grow a home out of a tree.” Karz commented.  “Yet so beautifully strange that the shape and the design is obviously so typically human.”

“That’s the beauty and the magic of it, to be sure.” Talia agreed.

They just stood there for a view minutes, enjoying the view and absorbing the ambience of the place.

Then Val said suddenly said; “I’m getting really tired of working on the education spell.  It’s going well, but I’m bored of it, and if gets finished sooner then we can get the wizards that’ve been teaching into the preparations for the next exercise sooner.

“Will you all help me with it?  We should be able to have it done by tonight if we all work on it.  At least the core part anyway.  Then it has to go to the translators, then back to me for final collation and distribution.”

“Sure, sister.” Fire told her with a grin as she gave her a one armed hug.  “You’ve been working pretty hard on it, and besides, me and Six can probably add a few things to your psionics lessons.”

The five of them brought chairs out onto the balcony and sat down to work, still enjoying the view as the sun set.

Mark and Alilia appeared in the living room just over an hour and a half later.

Talia literally jumped up into Mark’s arms as he and Alilia joined them on the balcony.

“How are you doing, my love?” Mark softly asked as he gently cuddled her, and she hugged him around his neck with desperate affection.

“Quite good, considering.” she murmured.  “I was able to keep it almost completely out of my mind until you returned.  But I sure missed you a lot.”

“Quite good indeed.” Mark chuckled as Alilia floated up and joined their hug.  “It wasn’t that long ago when the curse would have tortured you horribly if you were that far away from me.  And it was almost two hours.”

“We’ve come a long way since we’ve been together.” Alilia smiled.

“Mmm, we have.” Mark agreed as he leaned in for a kiss, and they both gave it to him.

“You know, you have a room right in there.” Val giggled.

“Good point.” Mark chuckled, and disappeared with his wives.

His children and Karz giggled together about it for a moment, then returned to their work until Povon called Karz home another two hours later.  Then the three siblings went to sleep on the couches in the living room.

They were up and Karz was back six hours later.  They had a quick snack of juice and tarts as they got back to work, and worked for three more hours.

Finally they paused, grinned at each other with satisfaction, had a joyous and proud group hug, and launched the completed Trade Common version of ‘Valentia’s Magic Education - General Journeyman’ out into the world as they held the embrace.  Then they sent it to the translators.

Val ordered a huge brunch of local Nine Valleys fare from the palace kitchens, which were largely automated and always open since the place was now a hotel, and a very expensive and exclusive one.

When the food arrived on a serving cart, they wheeled it over to their parents’ door and magically sent the scents of the small feast wafting under the door for a minute.

When they heard their parents stirring they giggled and wheeled the cart out to the balcony.

Mark was out his door, still pulling his shirt on, before the children were finished serving themselves.  His wives were right behind him, still casting to repair their appearances, and his, since he hadn’t bothered straightening his hair or his clothes or even cleaning himself before he became fixated on eating.

“Good morning and thanks, we’re starved!” Mark chuckled as he sat and started eating right from the cart.

“Good morning.” the children chorused with cheery grins.

“Good morning.” Talia returned as she smiled and fixed a plate for Mark.  “How long have you been up?”

“About three hours.” Fire answered around a mouthful of steamed greens.  “We had a snack when we got up.”

“Where did you sleep?” Alilia asked as she sat with her plate.  The children hadn’t bothered bringing out the table, they just ate with their plates on their laps and left their drinks on the cart within easy reach, so their parents did the same.

“On the couches inside.” Six answered.  “They were quite comfy.  We thought of getting another room here, but they’re all occupied, and then we thought of using Grandfather’s house over there, but we couldn’t ask him since he’s in the time-bubble, and we didn’t want to disturb you about it.  Then we just fell asleep here while we were trying to decide between going back to Hilia or Heartwood.”

“As long as you slept.” Talia answered.  “I’m glad you stayed close.  I didn’t think about it, but I’m sure I could feel that you were near, and I’d have noticed if you left.

“I’m keying the locks on Father’s place to you, except the door on his workshop, in case you ever want to stay there another time.  I’m sure he and Mother and Hilsith wouldn’t mind, so long as you sleep in my and Dalia’s old rooms.  It would be polite to stay out of their bedroom and Mother’s study, and I don’t have the key to father’s workshop anyway, but you can have the run of the rest of the place.”

“Thanks.  I doubt it’ll be necessary though.” Val told her as she reached for a glass of juice.  “If we’d have been awake enough to think straight, we could’ve just brought our bed from Hilia, there’s plenty of room for it in the living room here.  But it was really okay.  One nice thing about still being small is that the couches are plenty big enough for us, and they have to be some of the nicest, most comfy couches in the world.”

“They were wedding presents from the elves, like almost everything else here.” Mark mentioned.  “I’m a bit embarrassed to say that I don’t recall who gave them to us, but we got an enormous number of presents that night.  It’s all the very best elven quality and craftsmanship though, that’s for sure.”

“The nice thing about elves is, they’re patient.” Alilia laughed.  “If it took you five hundred years to get around to sending thank you notes for those couches, those who gave them would appreciate it just as much, and not consider the timing to be in any way inappropriate.  They do expect that you’ll get around to thanking each of them eventually, but they know you’ve been busy since you were married.”

“We also don’t have to thank them individually if they gifted us as groups, and most of the elves did so.” Talia pointed out with a giggle.  “So we only have about forty thousand thanks to send out or deliver in person.  We’ll get around to it after the war.”

Just then a big group of gods appeared floating in the air outside the balcony, and Neela, First Goddess of Humans, moved to the edge of the balcony to address them.

“Your education spell is wonderful work, and it is of crucial importance right now.” she stated with a warm smile, letting her aura and her mood affect them.  “While we lacked the creativity to think of doing such a thing, and we lack your skill with automated spells and so could not have produced a better spell, nor done it in a shorter time, we do have some abilities that are still beyond any mortal levels of achievement.  Thus we have relieved your translators of their tasks, and have produced some three thousand, six hundred and fifty-seven translations.  They are accurate in magic, language, and dialect.  That is all the languages and major variations spoken on our world now, and every new magic user on Kellaran can use one.

“So, if you are capable of accepting such a huge transfer of information, we will return the translated spells to you, so you can make them self-powering and send them out.  It would be best if you did this now.  As I’ve said, this is of crucial importance, since almost no-one speaks Trade Common as their native language as you do.”

Val and her family Linked to ensure they had the capacity to accept the transfer, then she told Neela; “Thank you, every one of you, for your quick work on this.  I’ll take the transfer now.”

Neela gave her the thousands of versions of the huge and complex spell over a one-way Link that otherwise seemed completely conventional.  Val had to use some magic memory enhancements, but it turned out that she didn’t need her family’s assistance to assimilate it all.