Evacuation

by Sherry Foster

  Trista looked at Hered, then she looked around the meadow at the others, with a grimace she finally admitted, “Darian did not do anything with them. I pulled the soldiers barracked near my home, put Bryol in charge of them, and they have put the scientists on lock down. The scientists have actually been moved to the sorcerer’s wing, with an assigned soldier for each scientist with any knowledge of the portal. The only ones with the knowledge are the ones at Central. We have scientists scattered around the land, but the ones here were so busy with the portal, they never thought to leave to spread the news to other cities. In that we have been fortunate. I did not think that would last long so, I made the decision to lock them down. They can go from their assigned rooms to meeting rooms. They can brainstorm, but they can not leave Central. These last few days I may have forgotten to check on them, but with Bryol in charge of them I have not been worried about them creating mass hysteria. He has the sorcerers to help him, with orders to help in any way needed.”

  Darian and his Lyra all turned as one to look at Trista. No one spoke for a moment till finally Kervin muttered, “Darian is obviously contagious.”

  All heads swiveled to look at Kervin. Darian told him. “I think it is a good plan.”

  Kervin looked at him in disgust, “And that is exactly why I said you are contagious. It is not a good plan, we can not just lock our own people up when it suits us.” He shook his head then continued, “Although, it is the scientists we are talking about. Fine, it is as good a plan as any I would have come up with. So what do we do with them now?”

  Darian shrugged his shoulders and looked at the others before looking at Patro, “What do you suggest?”

  “Me? I say we lock down the wing of Central with the portal. Station the soldiers to keep everyone out, bring Tresimiaset in through the great hall from the landing garden at night, and Kervin, Trista and their Lyra and dragons follow her through. Once they are gone no one on this side will know anyone went through. We close the portal room to everyone with the exception of our Lyra, Malory, and I suggest bringing Timeron and Kristien into the plan. Then we camp out near the portal until Malory gets the call to help anchor the portal.”

  You understand when I cross over this portal will be anchored to the other side, but that will not work unless by some chance the portal opened to the exact spot for the government to be established. Highly unlikely for that to have occurred. I will have to search for a suitable spot, and create a portal back to this one. That will be two portals from this one. It becomes tricky and the details are not something you need worry about. Malory and I can anchor the next portal so it is over the one already in existence. Otherwise you would not be able to determine which portal on the other side you come out of. It will cause a change in the looks of the portal on this side. If you continue to allow people access to the portal you may need to find a story for the change. The portal will look as though the colors have doubled. Malory will not need to stay next to the portal. His presence on this side is the anchor and the portal already exist. He needs to be at the locations that have no portal when I begin to build other portals. I have to use his location to anchor. If you feel comfortable with everything we can start whenever you choose.

  Although the Lyra thought they were ready, being told they could begin at any time brought the realization to them they were not ready. They needed to secure Central, they needed to alert the Elite. They needed to come up with stories to tell the builders to get them to Central. Having the go ahead to start the move meant they had several things to accomplish before they could make the first move.

  As they twelve men and women gathered around trying to discuss what needed to happen Malory surprised them all. “You can do all of that while they look for a place on the other side right? I mean, you just need to block the hall and get the dragons and Lyra through to the portal room without being seen. You can do that easy enough right?”

  Kervin started laughing, “From the mouths of children. Yes child, we can do that in a night, we do need to go home and pack for a few days travel.” He turned to look at Tresimiaset, are you agreeable to going tonight? We do not know the time on the other side so we could come out in the middle of the night. But you said as soon as you cross over the portal is anchored and we can cross back without the colors washing over us. If the timing is bad, we just cross back? Could we create a portal linked back to the meadow of the watch tower to come and go as needed?”

  We can go tonight. If you choose to leave tonight. If you choose to have me anchor the portal tonight and you follow later, after you gather supplies, you can do that also. You can not have a portal to the meadow. I will not open one there. I can cross over to anchor the portal and tell Malory when the next dawn occurs. This would potentially give you time to get your things in order to follow me.

  After much discussion the decision was made to have Darian and his Lyra return to Central where they would secure the wing with the portal, which also had the double doors leading to the landing garden. While they secured the wing, the other two Lyra would be gathering supplies for an extended stay on the other side. Malory and Tresimiaset would fly to Central once Sarian told his dragon who would in turn relay the information to Tresimiaset that the wing was secure. Irirnan would lead the way to the landing garden flying over the area to check for any people who might be out and about during the night.

  Chapter 24

  As Tresimiaset flew toward Central she felt joy that she would once again see a new world. She was created to open portals to new worlds, but she rarely got to do the very thing she was created for. She had not gotten to spend much time on this world before her goddess had decreed she needed to sleep. She had been saddened at the time. Only Ariannia’s promise that the next time she awoke would be for thousands of years had made it easier. For the last few days she had been anxiously awaiting the Lyra of this time to get moving. She wanted so badly to just tell them what needed to be done. But once she took control every problem would be brought to her. She needed for them to figure it out on their own. They had surprised her with how quickly they moved.

  She understood now why Ariannia had twisted the threads to create Darian so flawed. It was those very flaws which created the fear to move quickly when Darian spoke. Darian had obviously been created as one of Ariannia’s chosen to get the race off the planet. If Tresimiaset could have seen the future threads she would have realized how wrong she was.

  Once everyone was settled on the other planet Tresimiaset had very specific plans of how to fix the problems in the race. She even had an idea of how she could fix the bond in Darian’s Lyra. For now though she would concentrate on getting through the portal to explore her new planet. As she consulted with Irirnan she began the long spiral down toward the garden. Moments later, having landed and instructed Malory how to dismount, she saw the great double doors opening. As Darian waved her forward she said goodbye to Irirnan and promised to find the perfect place on the other side for the dragons to call home.

  As she followed Darian down the hall she saw soldiers in the distance. Not one of them turned to see her. She was not quiet as she moved down the hall. Her claws made a clipping sound each time she placed one of her feet down. The soldiers were well trained obviously, or terrified of Darian. It could be either situation, in any case it did not matter at this moment.

  When Darian pushed the double doors open, and she once again laid eyes on one of her portals she, for all her great age, could hardly contain herself. With some last minute instructions to Malory she pushed her head into the portal and as the portal stretched she walked through to get her first glimpse of the other planet.

  As her tailed cleared the portal she murmured through her connection with Malory, The portal is anchored. It is possibly midday here, I can not know until I see the path of the sun to the planet. The land is vibrant and not green. Keep this to yourself for now. The plants here are, different from the plants there. This may disturb some of the others. It is normal for difference
s to exist, but usually the plants are at least green due to the chemical makeup of plants. Or at least the scientist in the past have explained it thus. They are not green here. I will take to the skies soon, but first I will create a disturbance here to see if anything comes. I must know of any dangers in this area before the others cross over. Sleep. Tell the others to sleep. I will let you know when night falls here and again when daylight comes. The others can plan from that.

  Tresimiaset looked around the new planet. Her thoughts turned toward the scientists for a moment as she took in the vibrant blue grasses and trees. The change in the color of the vegetation from one planet to the next would keep them busy for some time. She decided to thump the ground with her tail a few times to see if anything, or anyone came to check out the sound. She would experiment with different sounds as the day went on, to see what kind of wildlife may exist and to see if anything was around that might be curious enough to come visit. The portal appearance may have scared away anything that had been here previously, but after so many weeks any native wildlife should have began to ignore it as just another part of the landscape.

  After a couple of hours exploring the small clearing she took to the sky. She needed to find out what the surrounding land looked like. She needed waterways, a place for a port city and mountains. She needed to find some wildlife to supply her with food soon also. She would fly in one direction for a while then make a circle around the portal. If she saw likely spots for settlements she would make a note of them. If she found the ocean or seas of this planet she would look for islands. She would have to check the islands over carefully. If one knew what to look for one could tell much about what storms on the ocean did to the islands. It would not do to find a suitable island just to have the settlement wiped out during the first storm. The fishermen and herds men were the first people who needed to settle in this new land. The food supply had to take priority over all else.

  Several hours later, having found a likely looking animal for food, and having satisfied herself it was not sentient, she had eaten and found a stream to drink from. The water was crystal clear and cold. The temperature of the water indicated it came from underground not too distant. The mountain range she had seen when she first took to the sky was too distant to fly to at the moment, and the distance too great for the stream to have come from the range. The day was warm on this part of the planet. Without knowing how long the days on this planet lasted she was trying to explore the land around the portal before she satisfied her desire to find mountain homes for the other dragons and herself.

  Climbing even higher she searched for water. A small stream was not going to be suitable when it came to creating settlements. So far all she had seen was small streams. Some meandered through great clearings suitable for herd animals. Some of the clearings had herds of unknown animals grazing, one of which she could vouch was delicious, to a dragon. Much of the land was woodland where she was.

  She saw a glint of something in the distance that could be water. She had almost reached the point where she had started her long circle around the portal several hours prior. Turning in the sky she wheeled around and headed for the glint she had just barely seen, as high as she had climbed it would be some time before she reached it.

  Dusk was falling as she settled on the beach near a sizable stretch of water. As far as she could see into the horizon was water. She had excellent night vision, but even she needed light to be able to see what she was searching for and she had no idea how long the nights lasted. She would rest for the night and watch the water to see what creatures came to the water at night, or from the water. Dangers could lurk anywhere on a new planet.

  ***

  As dawn crept over the water she called through to Malory letting him know dawn had arrived. If it had been midday when she arrived it was safe to assume the days were far longer than the nights on this planet, and one day of the planet many hours longer than Kardan with its twenty-five hour days. When Malory answered her she found the others had recently arrived with the things they needed to stay a few days. She told Malory they could come through the portal and fly toward her pull, or they could wait until she arrived back at the portal to lead them. She explored the surrounding beach while she waited for the others to discuss how they wanted to proceed.

  After some time Malory informed her the others had decided to come through the portal and make their way to her after their dragons had assured them they could feel her and from there they could find her. When she heard this she snorted, she had thought the Lyra understood their dragons could find her now from anywhere, apparently she had not made that clear. Soon she felt the disturbance as the eight dragons and their riders cleared the portal. While she waited she flew out across the water varying her direction each time but staying in the general area. So far she had seen many fish break the surface of the water, she had flown down to see great schools of fish swimming but she had found no island.

  When the others finally reached her she was sitting in a cove waiting. Kervin exclaimed when he arrived, “This is a beautiful site for a settlement. I do not like the blue trees. Do you think the blue grass will be edible for our herds?”

  He would have continued if he had not been interrupted. That is why you send a pair, or several pairs scattered around the land. I have not found an island, this cove has deep waters suitable for fishing vessels. This could be a temporary settlement for your island people until we can find islands. If this planet has islands. We could search for weeks and months and never find an island. We need to search the coast in both directions for a suitable port city location. This is not large enough by far to settle a capital city. You may want to watch the skies, I have noted some predatory birds in the areas around the herd animals here. Too small to cause problems for me, but perhaps large enough to cause problems for the people. They will need to learn to be aware of the skies. I ate one of the animals from one of the herds roaming the plains here. Delicious eating. I will continue to search the waters for more land, your two Lyra need to split up and each take a direction to explore. Call if you need help.

  Chapter 25

  Darian raked his hand through his hair in frustration, “It has been two weeks since they left. How much longer before they are ready?”

  Patro, lounging in a chair near him reached out and kicked his foot against Darian’s chair. “How are we suppose to know? You get the same report we get every night, or whenever they find something worth noting on the other side.”

  The men were taking a much needed break to rest and had retired to the mountain cabin for a few hours.

  Darian slowly turned to glare at Malory. He was not happy Malory was around him every day. He actively disliked Malory being in the mountain cabin. He made no secret of his dislike of Malory. “You are telling us everything right?”

  Malory’s eyes widened when he realized he was again the focus of Darian’s attention. He hunched down in his chair trying to make himself smaller while his eyes shifted from side to side. He swallowed hard. “Yes.” His whispered answer was barely audible. When he bonded with Tresimiaset he had no idea he would be stuck in Darian’s company so much.

  The four Lyra and Malory spent most of their days, and often much of their nights planning and then detailing the planning. Malory did not really do any planning, his part was more to relay the information from the other side to this side. Darian had become increasingly frustrated when no one could find a single trading partner. The seas were huge and ships were small but the dragons went out every day looking. Even dragons got tired of straight flying and though the Lyra took turns stepping from Central to various ports no one could find the ships who traded their goods with the Deyarians despite the war.

  It had not been so long ago that the last ship of the season had left the port of Decca headed to the next trading city but the Lyra either missed them or found they had not yet arrived at every port they tried. Few ship captains went against the laws decreed by their king to continue trading wi
th the Deyarians. Many of the ships had failed to arrive after war was declared. The ones who still plied their trade were captains whose families had traded for decades with the Deyarians. Captains the Lyra considered friends and refused to leave behind when they left the planet. But it would be hard to take people you could not find, and of the eight ships the Lyra considered friendly, not one had been found in the week they had been looking.

  The only bright spot as far as the Lyra were concerned was how many of the Lyriants they had managed to find willing to move to a new land. If the Lyra left out the new land was on a new planet, well, no blame attached to them for the omission. Mostly island people promised all the land they wanted, within reason, to call their own. According to the reports coming through the portal at least two separate land masses had been found. Neither seemed to have any sentient life, both far larger than either race needed at the moment. The island people only stipulated they wanted coast land, and Patro had been happy to negotiate with the leaders of the islands for the land.

  The Lyra may have misled the islanders slightly. But they were able to sleep well at night with those omissions because they knew the future of this planet was bleak. The islanders might labor under the delusion the Deyarians needed settlers to help make up the loss of so many people from the catastrophe three years prior. Patro had even made trade negotiations read in such a way as to promote the delusion. The islanders seemed happy they would be gaining a position to become a trade partner to the Deyarian race. No one felt the need to burst the delusion bubble. Although, as Patro had later pointed out, in the beginning everyone would be trading partners with everyone else. Darian had told the others everyone needed some kind of delusion to make it through life.