Architecture & Adversity

by Jeremy Dwyer

  “Soldiers, you will run the gauntlet, and be subjected to tests designed to bend your bodies and minds, measuring your control of darkness, light, internal energy, psyche, control of animals and plants, crystal and sound, even healing potential and time. If I think you have it, I will test it to see just how good it is. If I think you don’t measure up…then it’s already too late for you, since you can’t change your waterbinding. That means you’re out! Not my problem anymore! I want you to succeed, but I don’t always get what I want. There’s always a few who just don’t have what it takes. Are you ready?” General Tiglath said.

  “Yes!” the thirty-six hundred (3600) soldiers shouted in unison.

  “No, you’re not. But I want to see what happens, anyway. Knowledge is power, so I want to know just how much you can do, and how far you can go before you fail,” General Tiglath said.

  General Tiglath then turned toward a male lieutenant standing nearby and said: “Lieutenant Skender, bring in the squad.”

  Lieutenant Skender then drank anew of the waters of the Elanatin Ocean from his vial and was energized. He telepathically reached out to the squad leader on the opposite side of a nearby structure and the squad of ninety (90) special operations troops walked around the building and approached, standing face to face with the division of thirty-six hundred (3600) troops. Lieutenant Skender read their minds and knew their training – at least, strategically. However, he could not anticipate their next moves at the speed they were thinking, because they were reasoning at a very high speed. He knew what they were thinking…one (1) moment ago – in combat, that’s two (2) moments too late. He was thirty-six (36) years old and trained since age nineteen (19), when his waterbinding had been set. He rose to the rank of lieutenant when his high potential for telepathy – and low potential for nearly everything else – made that rank his best fit.

  “This is a division of thirty-six hundred (3600) troops, of mixed waterbindings. This is a squad of ninety (90) special operations troops, all of Medathero waterbinding. Since knowledge is power, and logic is the key to knowledge, and the Medathero waters give mastery of logic, it would make sense that this is a tough squad to beat,” General Tiglath said.

  General Tiglath then drank anew of the waters of the Medathero Ocean from his own vial – which had a sharp blade on the other end, to double as a weapon of war – and he gestured for all the troops to do the same.

  All thirty-six hundred (3600) troops in the division drank the appropriate waters from their respective vials and the ninety (90) special operations troops drank the Medathero waters from their own vials. The forces were all energized and awaited their orders.

  General Tiglath wanted to know just how far this squad could go, since they had been specially trained. If they failed, he had another, but he needed to know about the failure in detail. He then turned toward a female lieutenant standing nearby and said: “Lieutenant Delfina, Observe, in detail.”

  Lieutenant Delfina drank anew of the waters of the Ursegan Ocean from her vial and was energized. She held an open book and pen, and then waited for the action to begin. She was nine hundred forty-seven (947) years old, and her nine hundred twenty-two (922) years of experience as a Chronicler before relinquishing the Oath taught her a great deal about careful observation. She respected General Tiglath’s judgment immensely and wanted to help him improve his military through rational methods. It was time, she believed, to end the horrors of this chaotic world ruled by dangerous powers: the value of observation wasn’t fully utilized by taking the knowledge to a distant city where some people might eventually learn from it, if they look for it at all, and if they find it and if they put it to the proper use. Instead, observation should immediately inform meaningful action, so that decisive moves could be made to bring rational order and justice to the world. Delfina had no intention of standing around and merely hoping someone else made the world a better place. Chroniclers of the Oath were passive – which meant that they were living-yet-dead, having no meaningful role. She regretted the centuries she wasted in that role before awakening to her true potential and purpose.

  “This is a simulated confrontation between a squad of ninety (90) and an enemy division of thirty-six (3600). The enmity is simulated. The combat will be real. This squad is trained to kill without compassion. They are loyal to each other and to me. They see every member of the division as sworn enemies. Let the simulation begin!” General Tiglath said.

  The troops in the division exercised their powers of darkness to conceal their comrades such that the entire division disappeared from sight. From under the cover of darkness, they reached out with powers of telepathy, light and sound, spirit energy and even the slowing of time, attacking the troops of the squad.

  The troops in the squad moved decisively, in calculated steps, listening for footsteps, watching for shadows, anticipating tactics down to the footfall and the angle of the blows that would be landed. They carried short swords, flails, hand spikes, and the most precise training that General Tiglath had every given.

  After an hour of conflict, the entire division of thirty-six hundred (3600) had been eliminated and thirty-one (31) troops of the squad had fallen, with fifty-nine (59) remaining.

  “Impressive results, disappointing survival rate. There is room for improvement in the training program…or in the selection process,” General Tiglath said.

  “General I have detailed records of what happened,” Lieutenant Delfina said. She captured the details of the combat in her book. Though she could not see the division troops hidden in darkness, they eventually became visible when those who drank the waters of the Ikkith Tar Ocean were killed and could no longer exercise their powers of darkness. By slowing time around her to see fast moving events, she was able to see – and to record – the exact order in which things happened after exposure. As more and more of the division troops lost their cover of darkness, her battle reporting became more and more detailed. The squad troops moved in calculated ways, but not at a speed that was blinding, so observing them was not especially difficult. Understanding them was another matter – that would take careful thought. She did notice that they seemed to calculate the proper place to stand and the proper positioning of their bodies and their weapons, so that they could eliminate the large number of division troops, which originally outnumbered them forty (40) to one (1). Lieutenant Delfina handed the book over to General Tiglath.

  General Tiglath drank anew of the waters of the Medathero Ocean from his vial and was energized. He then read the book, which was written in the shorthand used by Chroniclers, designed for efficient recording and reading. He was well-versed in it, because it served his need for brevity. He analyzed the patterns in the records, and noticed the strengths and weaknesses of the movements of the squad troops. By this, he came to understand why some of them failed.

  “The failure of the division troops is duly noted. Yet, do not congratulate yourselves too soon. Some of your own failed, and some of you may still fail in your next test,” General Tiglath said.

  Lieutenant Skender read General Tiglath’s mind and knew what he was planning next, but didn’t dare admit what he was doing. He had to pretend to not know and ask instead. Sometimes, however, even asking was unacceptable, and this was one of those times.

  “I have another test of your abilities and training. The first test was facing a well-understood adversary in an expected battle. This next trial, for the fifty-nine (59) of you still remaining, will be adapting to surprises in your environment. Lieutenant Delfina will record your performance there, as well,” General Tiglath said.

  Lieutenant Delfina did not know what General Tiglath was planning and needed to find out. She could see fast moving events as well as before, but if anything went wrong, she no longer had the protection of a Guardian Angel as when she was acting under the Chronicler’s Oath. She could now be crippled, or killed, while observing a dangerous situation. She had scars to remind her of this fact from her five (5) years of service in
the military, and they were unpleasant, causing her occasional severe aches and pains and making her susceptible to infections. Her attractiveness was diminished due to the scars on her face and neck, which made finding an intimate companion nearly impossible, and they never remained for long. She was bothered by the vanity of the men, but realized that some of them had worse fates.

  “Inside this structure, you will find a tunnel, and that will lead you to another structure, where you will find a book with a silver coin inside of it – representing your mission objective. Inscribed on that coin you will find a message – known only to me – that will prove you have succeeded. Bring the book and the coin to me. Getting there won’t be easy. Some of you may very well not survive, or survive but wish you didn’t, because of the obstacles you will face,” General Tiglath said.

  Each of the squad’s fifty-nine (59) remaining special operations troops drank anew of the waters of the Medathero Ocean from their vials and was energized. They then entered a doorway leading into the pyramidal structure.

  Lieutenant Delfina drank anew of the waters of the Ursegan Ocean from her vial and was energized. She opened a new book and cautiously followed the squad into the pyramidal structure, concerned that she may face difficulties, serious injuries, disabilities or even death. General Tiglath’s warning was ominous – she still trusted his judgment, but was concerned that he might just see her as expendable. Lieutenant Delfina wanted a world of justice and peace – with her in it, healthy enough to enjoy the justice and peace.

  The fifty-nine (59) special operations troops scanned the inside of the structure, looking for abnormalities, concealed items or shadows of those items, levers, lights, writings or anything out of place. The light of the many suns entered the room through several vents, and soon the special operations troops found seams between stones in the floor which enabled them to move a large stone out of place. The ceiling in the room began to lower and Lieutenant Delfina realized that they had triggered a trap designed to test them, or even to kill them. She held back a scream, and then moved quickly as the troops moved another stone to reveal an opening in the floor. They all entered the opening in the floor together, escaping the room with the lowering ceiling before being killed by it.

  The opening in the floor led to a narrow passageway below the room. The special operations troops led the way and Lieutenant Delfina followed closely behind. A thin shaft of light entered the narrow passageway from above so that the downward slope of the passageway was visible, although it was definitely noticeable just by walking. Delfina was still able to record the events in her book quickly and accurately, but did so nervously. She also recorded the feeling of water trickling past her legs, and then flowing quickly, and then the fact that she and the special operations troops were all thrust forward by a small but raging river that had poured in from behind them.

  Some of the special operations troops were heard screaming in pain while others were heard screaming: “swim left!” Lieutenant Delfina quickly complied, swimming past whatever it was that likely killed those who would have screamed “swim right!” or “swim center!” had they survived.

  The raging river pushed them along faster and faster, but some of the troops formed a chain, holding on to an opening in the side wall of the passageway, and Lieutenant Delfina grabbed hold of them. After gathering their strength, they were able to enter the opening into a perpendicular passageway, leading into another room. The room was dry and partially lit from the light of the many suns shining through a small vent. Delfina counted and saw that there were thirty-two (32) special operations troops in the room, along with twelve (12) king cobras, so she didn’t move a muscle, waiting for the troops to do something decisive. She didn’t even stop to write this down for fear of startling the snakes.

  Not by virtue of speed, but by careful consideration, several of the troops drew their swords and folded them at a pivoting juncture in the blade, then threw these curved blades along calculated paths, killing each of the snakes. With great relief, Lieutenant Delfina recorded all of this in her book, thinking that she had newfound respect for each of the troops, and wanted to thank them personally, when she had a private moment.

  The special operations troops then scanned this new room, looking for exits other than the opening through which they had come. Instead, they found a series of levers around the room near the decapitated snakes, and so they began to move the levers in different configurations. After several attempts, an opening was revealed on the opposite side of the room from where they entered. The new opening led to an alcove wherein they saw a book.

  One of the special operations troops entered the alcove and reached out to take the book, but a blade swung down. The troop had adequate reflexes – or simply anticipated the danger – and avoided the amputation. After moving a hand around cautiously, he took the book, removed it from the alcove and opened it in front of the others to reveal a silver coin.

  Lieutenant Delfina approached, recording all of this into her own book. She observed the inscription on the coin, which read: “Dead End. Mission objective failed.”

  The thirty-two (32) special operations troops all scrambled toward the passageway through which they entered the room and found that the water from the main passageway was now slowly trickling through, threatening to drown them in this room, and then it gradually flowed faster and faster.

  Lieutenant Delfina became terrified, thinking General Tiglath to be a heartless exploiter, treating all of his troops and officers as entirely expendable. She, however, was not going to be regarded in that way. While the level of the water around her was slowly climbing, she took a moment to drink anew of the waters of the Ursegan Ocean from her vial and became energized. She slowed down time around herself, so that the inrushing waters would not drown her quickly. Instead, they seemed to go around her, and she was safe for the moment. And then she was safe a moment later. And another moment later she was still safe. She exited the room, headed out into the main, narrow passageway through which she entered, and the slowing of time around her continued to cause the waters around her to rush past, without forcing her. This was surprising – she didn’t know how this could be, but it worked. She was able to continue along the main passageway, in the direction the water was rushing, and she soon found herself in another room, where a set of stairs led upwards. She climbed these stairs which took her to a well-lit room with a doorway on the opposite side allowing the lights of the many suns to enter. A stone pedestal dominated the center of the room and a book lay upon it. She reached forward, anticipating another trap, yet none was sprung. She then picked up the book, opened it and found a silver coin inside. The coin bore an inscription which read: “Only you will survive.”

  She took the book and the silver coin and crossed the room to the other doorway, which led to another set of stairs. When she climbed these, she was outside of a pyramidal structure.

  General Tiglath and Lieutenant Skender were standing there and waiting for the report.

  General Tiglath said: “Lieutenant Delfina, I trust that you can give a full accounting of the inadequacies of my special operations troops and their training.”

  “Yes, General. I can tell you the details of their failures. What was that test supposed to measure?” Lieutenant Delfina asked.

  “The ability to improvise beyond your training in a dangerous environment. You, an ex-Chronicler, are better prepared than my special operations troops. Despite their earlier successes, they still had room for improvement. Their inadequacies proved fatal,” General Tiglath said.

  Lieutenant Skender probed Lieutenant Delfina’s mind and found her doubts and resentment toward General Tiglath for the cruelty of his testing regiment, mostly because of the danger that Delfina found herself in during that time. He knew that Delfina still believed in the general’s leadership, but was going to trust him less with her personal safety.

  CHAPTER 15: Experiments on Water and Emotion

  Tanith Orenda sat upon her throne in
the Matriarch’s Room of the water worshipper’s temple and read from several books that had been given to her by her alchemist, Marthe, who had been working with Amaltheia to attempt to split the Dead Waters and release their powers. Tanith Orenda was ancient, wise, experienced and knowledgeable, but she was not infinite, and not particularly strong in the ability to understand scientific experiments. Still, it was informative to see the number of combinations that had been tried, and the sometimes volatile results. The notion of splitting the Dead Waters was ancient, and universally unsuccessful. However, she suspected that anyone clever enough to achieve it would be wise enough to conceal their discovery.

  At one hundred ninety-two thousand seven hundred thirty (192730) years old, she was growing concerned that her goals had still eluded her for so long. The visitors from outside worlds had contaminated the bloodlines of the people here, and she still sought to eliminate that stain from this world. Unfortunately, her boldest move yet – bringing the tempests using the tiara – had not produced the desired effect. The hundreds of millions who were killed were not numerous enough to achieve the hereditary purity necessary. She recognized the true reason that most of the world still endured: the oceans of this world were far too powerful, and civilizations here had developed around them, adapting their lifestyles and skills to what the waters offered. Though a waterbinding could not be changed and drinking any given ocean’s water limited a person to control over a single element, a clever person could find many uses for their water powers and could even, albeit indirectly, control other elements.