by Reiter
“If you are where you must be to move like this, you can hear this,” Nugar thought.
“I can, Master,” Dungias thought as his feet touched ground.
“Then you must know that they feel us, Dungi. Have you accounted for that?”
“We are moving much faster than my plan requires of us, Master,” Dungias replied. “She will feel us, then see us, and then react. The speed of her hovercraft will not be enough to change what is about to happen.”
“And since when do you call me ‘Master’? I thought we had discussed and put away that issue.”
“I would like to think that we are … still learning, Kwinsoah. The moment you were gone I became aware of my shortsightedness. I also became aware that we all share the same potential for blindness and delusion. You are and always will be my Master! Forgive my lack of awareness.”
“Even the Light lacks darkness, vazi,” Nugar returned, feeling Talkurra’s perceptions sweep the area as they ran over the grounds. “Lack of awareness will never be your bane! Damn, you even have me sounding poetic now!”
** b *** t *** o *** r **
“Founder’s Fates!” Talkurra exclaimed as she leveled off her sky-bike. Two streaking clouds of dust were being kicked up and at the head of one of the streaks was Nugar! “How does he run like that?!” She looked at the grounds in front of them. She could see the hydroponics laboratory, the quantum engineering facility… and the storage lot where students and faculty parked their vehicles. Despite their foot speed, Talkurra knew her sky-bike had enough speed to overtake them easily. She engaged full throttle acceleration while radioing her sighting of the target and his accomplice. One of the good things in having Isak left in a debilitated state was that she was now the senior ranking official on campus and her orders would not be questioned. Of course, that only mattered when the orders were questioned.
“I see him,” a voice replied over the open network and Talkurra looked up to see a bright blue-gold circular disc descending from the clouds. It was obviously a majikul device and it was being ridden by a young Vinthur who was a student of Isak’s. At that juncture of events, it was not a very healthy combination.
Holding onto the combat wand with his left hand, Puranzior leaned back as he guided his disc toward the running forms. He was so overwhelmed with emotion and fear of losing his mentor that the speed with which the bodies ran did not register on his bronze-colored eyes. All he could see was an opportunity to strike in Isak’s name.
“I see the Master Traveler!” he declared as the disc continued to dive. “What I do now, I do in the name of Isak Dunrossi!”
“Idiot,” Talkurra cried. “You’re about to engage a Vinthur who could be an Osur if he wanted!”
“And he is about to engage with a true Vinthur!”
“They are trying for the parked vehicles!” Talkurra stressed, desperate to reach the young man on some level. “If you stop them, we can retake Nugar and bring your Master’s prize back to him.”
“They will need the ground to run on,” Puranzior proclaimed. “Let us see them run atop this!” The sky thundered with the booming, echoing voice of the gifted student as he summoned the power to affect a change in the elements. Lightning struck the palm of his outstretched right hand and collected there as he completed his incantation. Holding his right hand over his head, the collected power shifted to a green flame and shot down from his combat wand.
The ground shook as the column of green flame burst against the grass and dirt. Dungias and Nugar demonstrated the same reaction: nothing. They maintained their speed and direction as the ground ahead of them began to swell.
“And thus, one additional advantage to riding the conveyance,” Dungias thought, drawing his Osamu. “The direction of our path makes it easy to assume that we are bound for the vehicle bay. Stay with me, Master!”
“You call me Master, but in this moment, I am the student,” Nugar thought, moving even closer behind Dungias. He put his focus on his student’s back and just let the rest of the area register as a decent frame into which a masterpiece was about to be mounted.
The mound of earth suddenly fell flat, but it did not escape Dungias’ notice the way the ground now swayed, as if it was not ground at all! Taking a tighter grip on his Osamu, he stepped out onto the affected grounds. Mud splashed in all directions in high-arching waves. Puranzior, now kneeling on his disc which was barely managing a slow descent, lifted his fist in triumph and Talkurra was halfway to joining him with a smile of her own, but there was something amiss: there was no sense of surprise or fear coming from the area. Nothing had changed! When the waves of mud finally splashed down, the two were still running, and their speed had only increased.
Nugar looked down at the feet of his student and noticed that they were not quite touching the water, but something under the soles of his boots was. Taking advantage of the softness of the earth, Dungias stopped running and the two of them skimmed over the surface, kicking up a high wave of mud as they turned toward the quantum engineering building. Puranzior wanted to give chase again, but he was not sure if he could cast again and keep the disc in the air. Talkurra had to turn her aircraft, as she had been heading toward the parking lot. She was not even in a position to draw her weapon and take a shot.
Skimming across the water, Dungias leaned forward and jumped. Nugar followed him as Dungias ascended and flipped to where he was flying feet first. Touching his Osamu to the side of his leg, the glass of the third floor window shattered and even part of the frame came away from the wall. The two slid down the main corridor after they landed, and Dungias was forced to release the Star-Stride. He had been strong and very accurate in his plans; now was not the time to push himself beyond his limitations and risk not having the necessary power to finish what he had started. He put his free hand on his hip and walked down the hallway, panting for air.
“This building looked smaller on the map,” Dungias huffed.
“Are you all right?” Nugar asked as he too was beginning to pant. Dungias nodded without speaking and Nugar slapped the young Malgovi on the shoulder. “Normally an incantation that impressive brings things to a grinding halt.”
“I had to improvise,” Dungias admitted.
“That is where most of genius is found, vazi, let me assure you,” Nugar advised his student. “I have to tell you, Dungi, the Stars might have kissed me with sacred youth, but I feel younger now than I have in an age or two! I am almost to the point of not caring how this all ends. Almost!” Dungias chuckled and he pointed with his Osamu.
“We need to get to the end of this corridor,” Dungias directed. “Would you be so kind as to open the folding pocket on the bottom of the power pack?”
“Oh, you shouldn’t have!” Nugar jested.
“And continue to be the brooding, insensitive and loveless student? Never!”
“It’s a rocket,” Nugar announced.
“One of my design, Master,” Dungias said, looking back. Time was growing short and he would have preferred a larger window. “It was designed with you in mind. Put that atop your Osamu, and when I give you the word, aim it for the far wall and deliver a photonic charge.” Nugar laughed out loud as the rocket slid down the Osamu and locked into place.
“We should get back to running now,” Dungias said as he started moving more quickly. Nugar ran at his side, beginning to feel heavier and slower. He would not mention it, but he could see Dungias nodding in acknowledgement. “I know,” he said softly, “but we don’t have much longer, Master. Stay close!”
“I will never be anything else, vazi,” Nugar said as he pushed his body for more speed. Dungias said nothing as he too ran faster. Nugar was still his teacher, and the lesson being learned at the moment was simple: Nugar had a better perspective of what Nugar could do.
Both runners detected a sudden change in the feeling of the corridor. With the loss of a large window, there was a breeze added to the corridor. That much they expected. But instead of a steady breeze blowin
g out of the building, it shifted to a powerful gust blowing into the corridor.
“The one on the disc did change solid earth to water,” Nugar commented.
“An InvokeR dedicated to the elements,” Dungias remarked, taking a tighter grip on his Osamu. “And from the feel of things, an angered one as well.”
“I’ve found that only the better of their kind are emotionally disciplined,” Nugar remarked. “The rest are children with really impressive toys!”
“Stand your ground and move no further!” a voice behind them commanded.
“Demanding little children,” Dungias added.
“Especially when their toys are outdone.”
“Or they are enraged,” Dungias said, quickly drawing his pistol. “Ready a steady force field fixed only to your Osamu.” Dungias turned to see the young Vinthur come flying into the corridor. He did not land on the floor. Swirling winds kept him aloft and his long blonde away from his back and shoulders.
“Keep your distance and your air, wind-boy!” Dungias shouted before firing two shots that missed poorly… as intended. “I’ve killed more powerful smoke clouds!”
“You will doubt my power no more!” Puranzior claimed, thrusting both hands forward and sending gale force winds down the corridor.
“Genius, boy!” Nugar smiled as he erected his force field from one end of his Osamu, the armed end still facing the end of the corridor. Dungias touched his Osamu to Nugar’s and both of them were shot down the hallway as the wind pushed them to greater and greater speeds. Nugar looked at the fast-approaching wall and smiled once more, sending the photonic charge into the rocket that fired in the same instant. It streaked down the corridor and when it reached the wall, Nugar braced for the explosion. There was a flash of light, but nothing in the way of a concussive force, just a small bouncing ball that adhered to the side of Dungias’ extended rod as he passed by on the way out of the hole.
Puranzior had indeed been angered with the laser fire, but he was overcome with rage upon realizing he had aided his targets in their escape. Fortunately, the enchanted element of air was still with him and he was able to use it to fly down the corridor. Debris of glass and metal trailed after him with the speed he quickly attained.
Outside the building, Nugar found that he and his student were bound for absolutely nothing but an immeasurable fall. A shaft that was no less than one hundred trams in diameter had been dug and framed with a wall that came up to the second story of the building. The force of their flight took them nearly fifty trams out over the hole before they began to drop.
“He said stay close,” Nugar reminded himself, trying not to lose his focus or his faith in his student. He took control of his body as the descent began. “How deep?!” he shouted.
“Five olig-trams,” Dungias replied as he turned so that he could look back. He saw the enraged Vinthur come flying out of the hole and spot the two of them falling. He made a wide-arc turn and started his dive. “But the ion-converter grid is only three olig-trams.”
“So, not a hole,” Nugar realized. “… but a thrust portal for a super engine!”
Lightning began to strike around the two as they fell. It missed them, but struck the walls of the shaft and one bolt even passed between the two of them, sparking against something that reacted with an energy wave of its own. Nugar knew that to be the ion-converter! It was much closer than he had thought it might have been. Whatever Dungias was going to do, he needed to do it quickly.
“I have had enough of this one!” Dungias declared, using his Osamu to sling the ball up toward the chasing Invoker. He took careful aim with his pistol and waited a moment before firing. His shot hit the ball and the removed section of the wall returned, bursting with stone, metal and plastiform. The flying Vinthur collided with the debris field, pelted by large chunks, blinded by smaller pieces, and he lost control of his flight.
Dungias rolled to where he was dropping feet-first; placing his Osamu under his feet and in essence standing on it. Nugar did the same as Dungias reached to his arm-top computer. Looking at his hand, Nugar could see which fingers were entering commands and the pinky finger that was tapping with the passing of tanku. When Nugar saw iro-form waves passing just underneath him, he knew they were about to enter the area where fuel or iro-form feeds were converted to thrust. He pressed his lips together as he watched Dungias activate a device. There was a flash of very bright light and for Dungias, only darkness followed.
The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.
Marcel Proust
(V)
It was very quiet. Much, much too quiet for a man who had voluntarily deprived himself of his own eyes. It had been a simple trade, however; his sight had been given in the name of a power he had desperately sought for a very long time. The merchant who had sold him the means to attain that power had warned him of the heavy price he would have to pay, but Freund had been of the age and mind to believe he was strong enough to withstand any and all things asked of him. The purchase was certainly of the sort that belonged within the definition of unique. But the man who would come to be known as Freund had staved off his doubts and fears, forging ahead into incredible power and ability… and blindness.
The castle did what it could, seeing to his food and drink, and Freund was very appreciative for every offering, but his mind was on the recent developments of the game. Isse and Zerrell were safely away and he was still slightly angry at the audacity of his opponents in mounting an attack on them the very moment he had teleported them away. Freund shook his head as he extended his senses to sweep over the game table. Nothing had changed since his last assessment, but someone or something was proving to be foolhardy if not foolishly courageous.
“Color?” he asked as he turned away from the table. The presence was just barely detectable to Freund, which showed considerable skill and ability. He snorted and nodded twice. “When you are committed to the cold embrace of space, what color would you like to be wearing?
“Too high,” Freund remarked, passing under a power blast meant for his head. Not many were of the taste to dispense raw energy, and Freund was amused to see it was still within the realm of choice. “And don’t over-adjust,” he directed, stepping to his left to avoid the second. “Too rushed!” Freund said without moving at all. The third shot missed without him needing to defend against it. “Or perhaps you were assuming I would move in a different fashion.
“You see,” he said, adjusting his head slightly to his left, as if he were addressing someone else. “… you’re not the only one who feels that way.”
“So it would seem,” a voice agreed, followed by a soft gasp. Her attack, though initiated out of fear, was quick and very technical. She had a solid base under her as she turned to see her hand passing harmlessly through a fading image.
“A flat-palmed thrust meant for the chest,” Freund commented as he wrapped his left arm around the woman’s neck and started to choke her. She did not panic and sent her right elbow back for his ribs. It was blocked by Freund’s right hand. Her left elbow was sent back, but a spinning and squatting Freund avoided the blow, sweeping the woman’s feet with his staff. She landed on her back where Freund pressed a two-finger nerve-lock against her chest. “Not a fatal blow, at least.” The woman struggled to move, but found the command of her body had been cut off. “Not a commonly used nerve pinch, I’ll grant you. But, as you can bear witness, it does exist. At this current time, the commands coming from your brain simply aren’t getting to your nervous system.”
“You’re pretty sure of yourself, old man!” the woman said, defiant against the notion of surrendering. Freund could feel energies building up in the woman and they were only an instant from activating. He stepped back and folded space within the room, moving himself to the far corner as the woman changed forms. The pinned woman was now a bird of prey, making a very hasty exit through the balcony doors.
“How refreshing to know that at my age, the surpris
es have not stopped coming,” Freund mused, taking hold of the mind of the female who suddenly turned to avoid an obstacle that Freund’s mind told her mind she was seeing. She avoided three more imaginary obstacles before flying into a very real wall. She was caught a few inches from the floor inside a makeshift, form-fitting, energy prism.
As Freund walked over to the middle of the room, the prism was lifted from the floor to meet the blind entity. Getting over its daze, the bird started crying angrily. “Yes, yes, I’m sure. That is quite an embarrassing thing, running into a wall like that. We won’t speak of it in open company, how’s that?” The bird continued to screech and it sounded as if it was only getting madder. “And while I can hear you, little bird, I cannot see you. Ah, but I have a way around that, don’t I?”
With a wave of his hand, Freund summoned a large mirror to float in front of the bird. He then linked his mind to his captive’s mind and looked at the bird through her own eyes. “Yes, there you are! Oh my, you’re quite lovely! And look at me, a total mess! Please forgive me,” Freund said as he hand-combed his hair and straightened his clothing. What seemed to be an ironic waste of time quickly turned into a labor of proper presentation. The more he worked at it, the less the bird sang. “There. How’s that?” A one note response brought a smile to Freund’s face. “Thank you, I think.” Light flared in Freund’s eyes and the prism faded, allowing the bird to fly free. It circled twice before flapping to hover. A burst of energy came from the body of the bird and Freund was once again in the company of a woman. She looked at Freund for a moment as her anger abated. She then smiled and shook her head before turning to look into the mirror, giving the blind one a good look at her form. Opal eyes stared out of the tall, muscle-toned form clad in thin gold chain and light, see-through silk. Her hair was cut short around her head, a look that did not normally register too well with Freund. This creature was going to be an exception! It was a bright maroon becoming black nearer to the scalp. The light in the room brightened so that Freund could take in her mocha-brown skin. “Yes... quite lovely!” Freund said just before coughing.
