Dawn of the Flame Sea
Page 1
Titles by Jean Johnson
DAWN OF THE FLAME SEA
First Salik War
THE TERRANS
THE V’DAN
Theirs Not to Reason Why
A SOLDIER’S DUTY
AN OFFICER’S DUTY
HELLFIRE
HARDSHIP
DAMNATION
The Sons of Destiny
THE SWORD
THE WOLF
THE MASTER
THE SONG
THE CAT
THE STORM
THE FLAME
THE MAGE
The Guardians of Destiny
THE TOWER
THE GROVE
THE GUILD
SHIFTING PLAINS
BEDTIME STORIES
FINDING DESTINY
THE SHIFTER
Specials
BIRTHRIGHT
Dawn of the Flame Sea
Jean Johnson
INTERMIX BOOKS, NEW YORK
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375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014
DAWN OF THE FLAME SEA
An InterMix Book / published by arrangement with the author
Copyright © 2016 by Jean Johnson.
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eBook ISBN: 978-0-698-15260-1
PUBLISHING HISTORY
InterMix eBook edition / April 2016
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Contents
Titles by Jean Johnson
Title Page
Copyright
Author’s Note
Glossary
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
About the Author
The language and culture of the Flame Sea are not quite like ours; plurals end in a t instead of an s, j is a “yuh” or “yih” sound unless paired as dj for a “juh” sound, and they lack concepts for gender-specific honorifics like lord versus lady. Also, each culture’s and character’s viewpoint will alter how certain words are perceived and spelled. A glossary and so forth have been included for your convenience. Enjoy . . . or perhaps that should be endjoj?
Glossary
aether (AY-therr): The realm or purview of magical energies on a particular world. It is most easily compared to the frequency range of radio waves; the aether is normally invisible and intangible to all but those sensitive to its presence, with mages being comparable to radio-transmission/reception towers, but without the aether and its magics being limited to electromagnetic-spectrum capacities. Focusing magic from or through the aether—such as when conjuring light, fire, water, and so forth—can cause it to “hop frequencies” and become visible. Different worlds and universes have different rules on how magic works, and some magic neither uses nor occupies an aetheric field, but in most worlds there is a comparable zone. See aura.
anima (AH-nih-mah): A mysterious energy shaped like a ball of scintillating mist-light. It can emanate from anything, most commonly from fire and storms, least commonly (but most powerfully) from stones. It is used by animadjet, who have trained their will to either conjure it from within themselves or (most commonly) seize a wisp to use it to heal themselves or others, and to cast spells. It is oddly and powerfully drawn straight to any Fae who uses magic.
animadj (AH-ni-mah-j): Someone who can conjure anima within themselves, or control, consume, and use the energy in an anima-wisp to create spells and other magical effects. In other worlds, they would be called mages, wizards, shaman, and so forth.
animadjet (AH-ni-mah-JET): Plural of animadj.
Animadjic (AH-nih-MAH-jick): The style of magic used in the Flame Sea universe.
aura: The physical sensations, noises, or visual effects a mage or other sensitive individual feels, sees, or hears in regards to the concentration of magical energies within or near a particular object, whether that object is based on animal, mineral, plant, location, or whatever.
Fae (FAY): Literally, the Fair. A race of magically powerful humanoids with golden eyes, blond hair, golden or pale skin, and pointed ears, no longer than one or two inches more at the points than the size of curved human-style ears.
Fae Gh’vin (FAY give-IN): Translates as Guardian. A highly skilled warrior-mage. These Guardians serve as a de facto military force for the Fae and also serve as chief advisers to the Fae government. The Great Guardian is the leader of all Guardians.
Faelan (FAY-lan, like “land” without the d): Homeworld of the Fae.
Faelon (FAY-lonn): Language of the Fae.
Fae Rii (fay REE): Fair Traders. Members of the Fae race appointed to travel to other worlds in search of trade goods. They have several strict guidelines they try to follow, including injunctions against being aggressors and thieves. Their philosophy is to find a fair and reasonable trade that benefits all parties, rather than to seek a trade that benefits only their own side. This policy has made the Fae Rii very popular on many of the worlds they visit.
faeshiin (fay-SHEEN): A golden metallic alloy similar to steel but crafted solely by Fae smiths from ores mined on the Fae homeworld. It is resistant to magics as well as to physical damage. Most common uses are for armor and the blades of weapons.
fajenz (FAH-yen-ss): Beads and other objects made from carefully ground up and high-temperature-fired quartz, often with special additives such as nitrous salts to give it a distinct color. Most commonly found in shades of blue through green, it can also be crafted in white, cream, gray, dark grayish blue, brown, reddish, and dull yellow. The White Sands Tribe specialized in making fajenz for trade before being forced off their tribal lands.
féj (FAY): See Fae.
geas (GAY-sh): An obligation, burden, or task—usually laid by magic upon a person by a more powerful being—to perform or avoid a particular activity or duty. Going against a geas either is blocked by the magic involved, or it carries consequences that can range from immediate corrective or punitive pain to a delayed curse of misfortune plaguing the geas-breaker’s actions for months or years to come.
gate, portal: Local apertures connecting two locations on a single world. Gates are very local, usually require some sort of mirror or archway, rarely permit more than a single cart-sized conveyance through at a time, and are confined to distances traveled on foot by up to a month. Portals can span continents and oceans and are often created large enough for two or more carts or conveyances to travel through. The size of the opening and the distance between the two locations exponentially increase the energy needed to create the aperture. One-way portal
s and gates cost less energy than two-way, and smaller openings cost proportionately less as well.
Guardian: See Fae Gh’vin.
Ijesh (ee-YEH-sh): Translates to bountiful blessing. The settlement-city of the Flame Sea Tribe.
madouk (mah-DOOK): A staff, usually crafted from metal or very hard wood wrapped in a crisscross of metal banding, usually about four feet long, with a blade a foot and a half long concealed inside and released/retracted by a set of recessed buttons in the shaft at about the midpoint. Most madouk are used as walking sticks, or balancing poles for when a Fae rides on a slip-disc.
myjiin (my-JEEN): an herbal concoction that permits the drinker’s mind to comprehend and communicate instantly in unfamiliar languages. Efficacy varies from universe to universe.
palraca (pahl-RAH-cah): A potent fermented drink made from the starchy roots of a bush, the sap of a thorny tree, and the flowers of a narrow-leaved, spiky cactus. Has aphrodisiac-style properties, getting drinkers in the mood for randy activities. Usually reserved for important celebrations.
pantean or pantejan (pan-TAY-an): Expedition. It can refer to the group of Fae Rii who establish it but is equally used by the Fae to indicate their base camp.
scrying: Using magic to see and/or hear at a distance, the magical equivalent of surveillance cameras. Most often used via reflective surfaces or clear, three-dimensional mediums such as mirrors, bowls of water, crystals, where everyone within viewing range can see what the scrying point of view can see, but scrying can also be done mentally by one person alone. Scrying consumes far less energy than opening a portal or gate.
selijm (sell-LEE-yihm): The distance a healthy person can walk in an hour, approximately three miles, including a brief rest at some point and presuming the terrain is only modestly difficult: mild sand dunes, hilly or wooded terrain with a rough path, or brush-scattered savannah.
Shae (SHAY): Literally, the Dark, but also synonymous with outworlder, someone who was born on a world that is not the homeworld of the Fae themselves. In its most common use, it means an outworlder accepted by the Fae, a person allowed to live among them as a fellow citizen.
slip-disc: A peculiar device, consisting of pods shaped like eggs cut in half lengthwise, connected by chains. These discs levitate and when stood upon can be controlled by the angle of the feet and the weight shifting of the rider to fly in various directions. A pole of some sort is usually used to help keep balance and control of the artifact. See madouk.
sunsteel: See faeshiin.
taje (TAH-yuh): Lord/lady, elder, honored one, used as a title of respect. Most commonly used before a name; rarely found afterward.
tajet (TAH-yet): Multiple lords, ladies, elders, honored ones. Plural of taje.
tash keleth (TOSH kell-ETH): A Fae curse, it translates approximately as “Copulate with a domesticated mount in a very crude and uninvited manner.”
Veil: The boundary between one universe, dimension, or state of existence and the next. It can be opened or closed between one world and another, opened or closed between one universe and another, or used to refer to the transition from life to death. The thickness of the Veil can span entire star systems, or entire dimensions. It very rarely refers to opening a connection between two places locally on the same world. See gate, portal.
Veilway: The actual opening, aperture, or archway that links one location to another, usually the result of an intentional piercing of the Veil. The Fae guard their Veilways very carefully, as they often connect two very important locations directly and are thus a potential liability for an invasion force, large or small. It is usually anchored in a Veil Arch, a cat’s-eye-shaped aperture. In physics, the trick is accomplished by folding space-time and dimension so that two distant points are adjacent. It is rarely done casually, as most universes become perturbed in the local aether, which messes up the ability to create multiple apertures or perform other major feats of magic.
wadij (wah-DEE-yuh): Valleys or canyons with streambeds that are dry most of the year or contain at most a seeping trickle but flow and can even flood at certain times—most often a flash flood from rain that falls far upstream without any warning. This is also known as a wadi in the real world. Crossing a wadi can be dangerous, even deadly, particularly during the rainy season—again, it may appear to be dry where you are, but a flash flood can happen if it rains dozens and even hundreds of miles away, well beyond your line of sight.
wadijt (wah-DEE-yiht): Plural of wadij.
Chapter One
Year 0, Month 0, Day 0
The season of low summer
Energy shimmered into view, at first forming a single rippling, wavering line, then splitting and curving into an arch. It was pointed at the top somewhat like the pupil of a cat’s eye, though if the bottom was pointed as well, its point was lost under the uneven stone floor. It wasn’t the only source of light. Within moments, scudding balls of opalescent energy, like overgrown dust bunnies, soared in through the cavern walls. The energy balls struck the edge of the arch, brightening and strengthening it with each impact. Two, five, fifteen, then a trickle of a few more stragglers soared in to join the arch. Seconds later, it stabilized.
A dark-clad body dashed through that shimmering portal into the otherwise dark cavern. The man spun, skidding a little as his boot soles slipped on the gritty, uneven surface. One of the marks tattooed on his tanned face shimmered briefly with an odd, faint, brownish glow. He turned in a circle, sword in one hand, crystal-tipped shaft in the other, ready to stab or smash anything that threatened the glimmering archway.
Nothing attacked. The opalescent lights played over the mottled, spotted granite of the cavern walls and gleamed off the black hair of the only figure in the chamber. The sueded silk and black leather of his clothes absorbed most of the light rather than reflected it, leaving him looking like nothing more than a head and a pair of weapon-wielding hands attached to a humanoid shadow.
“Ban?” a feminine voice asked. It was projected through the crystalline hoop piercing the middle shell of his ear.
Something about the chamber, with its uneven folds and ragged exit, made him twist and peer all around for several extra seconds. The only sounds he could hear were his own heartbeat and breathing, the soft scrape of his boot soles on the gritty stone floor, and a faint hiss from the Veil. Scents were simple and plain: warm sandstone, dust, his own body, and a hint of moisture in the mostly still air.
Unable to spot what it was, he waited . . . waited . . . then shook his head slightly and spoke. “It appears to be clear. You may come through now.”
The rippling, opalescent Veil brightened, scintillating in streaks of light that pulled back to reveal a heavily wooded meadow. A cluster of men and women in that clearing moved toward the doorway in the Veil between worlds. Unlike Ban, all of them were golden haired and golden eyed, more lithe and lean than muscular, with ears that swept up to modest points rather than bearing the smooth curves of his own lobes.
One of the three men stepped through and lifted a crystal in his hand. Energy flared outward, bathing the chamber in an opalescent mist before sucking itself back inside. He frowned a little, tilted the faceted oval and studied the shifting colors captured within, then shrugged. “It seems to be safe to use Fae magic, though I’ll need to study this realm in depth. There are some oddities . . .”
“When are there not?” The voice came from the tallest and most stately of the four women remaining on the other side. Her words echoed eerily, coming through both the Veilway and their communication earrings. “Can you be specific, Éfan?”
“The portal stabilized much faster than anticipated, my lady,” Éfan stated, still pacing slowly about the cavern. “A positive sign, but still something to be cautious about. The local aether appears depleted of magic for the moment, but it does seem to be rebuilding in strength—it seeping out of the air, the stones, everything. And while I can sense a thin tric
kle of magical energies coming from Ban, joining the aether . . . I cannot sense any such emanations from any of my active magics. It’s as if the excess energies get used up somehow.”
“It is not enough to turn us back,” Jintaya decided. “We will continue establishing the pantean.”
Two of the four women on the other side stepped through. Along with the men, they formed a four-person chain while the dark-haired Ban stood watch by the exit tunnel and the blond male with the crystal egg continued to frown softly at the device. It was not a chain of muscles and limbs, however; instead, each of the four merely lifted their hands, and the various boxes, bags, chests, and crates started floating across the archway. Goods moved from one universe to the other silently, almost effortlessly, though of course using magic instead of muscle would still cost each of them in some way.
The cavern selected for this transfer was fairly large, if uneven. The Veil had been pierced at one end, the exit tunnel at the other, with a dip and three terraces between the two. Bags and boxes, chests and bundles floated through and settled to either side, sorted by color-coded ribbons and tags to differentiate between personal belongings and shared materials. This cave was at the bottom of a long chain of caverns and tunnels—around a dozen—leading up to the surface. It would make an excellent, defensible home base.
The last of the crates and barrels came through, and now furniture floated past. Everything they would need to set up an initial observation outpost would be sent through for their use. That included stores of food to last them long enough to either find edible things to cultivate and domesticate here on this world, or realize nothing was edible by their kind, in which case other plans would be made. The upper caverns would be claimed and occupied as rough living, working, and storage quarters, and eventually they would reshape the very rock of this place into something much more civilized. But that would take time.
With the Veil portal opened and stabilized, the light pouring from its magics was now equally steady. However, a hint of light off to the left of the archway flickered faintly, erratically. Narrowing his eyes, Ban watched it out of the corner of his eyes—and sprinted for the spot, sword stabbing into the narrow rift even as he reached it. A frantic yell from the other side of the crack stopped his thrust, but only so he could pull the blade out and peer inside. Flames flickered and wobbled, casting weird shadows, but it did allow him to see a man running away from the crack, up a twisting tunnel raggedly illuminated by the burning torch in his hand.