by Dixon, TJ
“There aren’t any plants there.” Rin says puzzled.
“I thought I heard voices.” A harsh sounding lady says as she appears in front of us. I don’t think she ported, so most likely she hid her presence. “You children aren’t allowed down here anymore. I suppose your teacher failed to tell you, but this place is off limits. So get out of here!”
“Um, OK. Back to the classroom everyone.” I say and we all port away quickly. To my surprise the classroom is almost full. “Are we late?”
“No.” Rin answers. “In fall and winter most people spend most of their breaks in the classroom because it’s warm in here. In spring and summer of course it is warm outside too so the classroom is deserted.”
We spend the rest of our lunch break in the classroom around Rin’s desk just talking. It seems Rin rushed our quick talks earlier so the students could still get a chance to try to make friends from their own classes. I hope it worked.
The afternoon class continues where we left off but we are no more successful. None of us are exactly experts on dimensional magic. When I can combine it with my wind magic, such as porting lightning, I am good but more because of my ability with wind magic rather than my dimensional magic. This is pure dimensional magic so I can’t compensate like that.
We go straight to the tree and soon everyone is there. I wasn’t sure how many of our group would want to go together, or even if Year 3 students needed to go. It seems they do and they want to do so together. Many of the new students don’t know yet how to port and we don’t want to waste power so we split into three groups so only three of us need to do the porting. On the way there it is me, Charlotte and Hermes. On the way back it will be Rin, Cherry and Sherry. Of the new students they are the only ones who seem confident in porting so many people.
We arrive at the town gates and see a huge tent. It is much bigger than they could have carried in the wagon. You could fit a small village in it and have room to spare. Did they borrow it from the town or the academy? They seem to be working with the academy so borrowing from the academy seems the most likely option. We queue for ages but finally get to the front.
“We’ll take that discount you offered us.” I say to the boy selling the tickets.
“Discount?” He asks nervously. “I don’t know anything about that.”
“You came then. It’s half price for him and his friends.” The woman who I spoke to at that stream says, appearing out of nowhere. I guess I must be distracted by the crowds to miss her earlier. “How many tickets for you?”
“Sixteen.” I say and she chokes. After a moment she recovers and looks at me a little differently. I feel a little uneasy but I am not sure why. She isn’t exactly threatening. Far from it, she appears welcoming and friendly, but something doesn’t feel right.
“Sixteen it is.” She says and rushes off. I lose her almost instantly. I guess the crowd must be dulling my senses.
“That will be 24 coins sir.” The boy says and I take out enough black coins to pay. I suppose I should ask everyone to contribute but it isn’t enough for me to worry about it.
It is already crowded inside but we can see lots of seats together on the far side. It is fairly dark despite the torches burning around the outside of the stage. It is also really loud. Not wanting to try porting in here with such a large group and many of us unable to port we have to push past everyone to get there. After about ten minutes we reach the other side and there are still just enough seats together. We are close to the back but I am sure it will be fine.
We wait a while for the tent to fill up. Eventually every seat is taken, and there are an awful lot of seats here. I would guess no less than a few thousand. Despite that they are turning people away. I wonder whether there are people here that ported from other towns. It certainly seems possible.
The torches dim and everyone goes quiet. It is almost silent in here now, and only five torches are still lit. They are at the centre of the empty stage. All of a sudden we hear drums beating at first slowly and then picking up pace until they are madly fast. At the centre of the stage the floor disappears and we see maybe twenty or so muscular men and one tall but thin woman march up stairs carved into the ground.
The men are wearing and beating drums tied to their waists. The twenty or so drums are not enough for the sound which seems to come from all around us. After a moment I realise something really odd though. Other than their drum and a small loincloth, the men don’t appear to be wearing anything. There are at least a few thousand people here. Even for me the thought of being seen almost naked by so many people makes me shiver.
For a moment I don’t think the woman is wearing anything at all, but then I realise her clothing is skin coloured and skin tight. Her legs, arms, neck and head are still exposed but it covers everything else. She has long flowing silver hair and smooth pale skin. Suddenly the drums cease and silver wings sprout from the woman’s back. She rises slowly in the air. I sense wind magic but it is different somehow. In fact I sensed magic from her even before the wings sprouted, but now it is much stronger.
She begins to sing and her voice is like that of an angel. It is calming and I start to feel sleepy. Then her tone changes and I am invigorated. A moment later I am in tears as her tone changes again.
“Are you ok?” Rin asks worriedly. Hermes looks at me with concern from my other side.
“Umm, yeah.” I say with a sniff. Her voice changes again and again I am invigorated and this time angry. I am not so easily emotional so I close my eyes and breathe in the air around me to charge it with calming magic. Then I realise it is already filled with magic. Magic is flowing from the song and it has filled the tent already. It doesn’t feel like an attack but I am concerned, and it is certainly affecting my emotions. I clear the air around us and suddenly I am back to my normal self. “I’m okay now, but the song is magical.”
“Most plays use magic to help the audience get in the right mood.” Rin says looking at me strangely.
“Oh. I didn’t know that.”
“It shouldn’t affect you so badly though.” Rin says frowning at me.
“I must be sensitive to it.” I say and shrug. I reduce my magic to just clear the area around me because I don’t want to spoil the play for everyone else. Then I focus on the song again. Even without magic it is beautiful. It seems to be about the early days of Contractia, and she seems to be playing a noble lady forced to leave her children’s side and fight against Contractia’s enemies.
When the song finishes the men start beating their drums again and start to sing. It is a harsh song filled with deep hatred. There is fire in their eyes and all around them fires burst up into the air. I cannot sense the mage who is controlling the fire but I am sure it is nobody on stage. It seems to be a hatred directed at Contractia. They seem to be playing Contractia’s enemies. Suddenly the flames engulf them and they are gone. I assume they ported but I cannot sense the magic.
Above the stage three women with dark wings and a dark version of the clothing the woman in the centre is wearing, swoop down from the top of the tent. They fly amongst the audience leaving a trail of freezing mist, and start to sing. It is a song of death filled with the joy of killing. I shiver as they fly past us. It is just as much from the song as from the mist that drops down on us. After a while I realise they are meant to be Fallen Angels. They end their song landing around the silver winged woman who then begins her next song, which they join in.
The women sing of and act out a magical fight with each other. It is a fight of fire and wind versus the dark winged women’s ice and earth magic. It seems to have the crowd spellbound and I must admit the song is good, and the magic works well with it. It is obvious they aren’t really fighting though, not least because the “Fallen Angels” take it in turns to attack the woman in the centre. Looking to each side I notice even Rin and Hermes seem to be spellbound. I guess the magic in the air must be affecting them more now.
Suddenly the other two dark winged women lu
nge at the silver winged one. She however ports into the air. All three jump into the air and it turns into an aerial battle. It now looks like they are really fighting, and I have to admit I am impressed that they are able to not only fly and fight like that, but that they can do so safely often less than a foot above the audience. They are no longer singing but there is lively music coming from all around. I have no idea how it is doing so though, because I can’t sense anyone outside the tent and there is nobody in sight with an instrument.
Suddenly one of the dark winged women drops onto the stage in flames. A moment later there is just ash. I don’t sense her port but there is no way they kill their actors, right? Then the other two burst into flames and don’t even reach the ground before becoming ash. This is fortunate, as their dust falls onto the audience below them. I am now beyond simply impressed at their skills. I am now truly in awe.
The silver winged woman lands and around her men and women clad in silver appear. I am shocked not to notice any of their ports. There must be a hundred people on stage now. Far more than were in the little band of travellers we saw the other day. Perhaps they came from somewhere else, or perhaps they were there but hidden. To be fooled by their magic so many times though… I really must improve my senses, or an enemy may do the same and I’ll really be in trouble.
The next song is one of celebration. It is a joyous song full of energy and accompanied by soft but quick and cheery music. Then all of a sudden the entire tent is filled with smoke and there is a terrific bang. The music instantly becomes a violent cacophony. Drums beat quick and strong. Metal clashes and explosions punctuate the music. There are two songs being sung together by opposing sides. It is clear the one sung by women represents Contractia and the other sung by men represents the enemy, but it doesn’t feel like it is the Fallen Angels this time.
As the smoke clears I see what looks like soldiers and mages fighting each other. The floor is covered in ash. Contractia are clearly the female soldiers and mages. The men are clearly their enemies. At first the men appear to be winning but soon the tide turns and as it does so the men’s song grows weaker and Contractia’s song grows stronger. Suddenly most of the men disappear and just one soldier is left. With a laugh the mages around him throw fireballs. He dodges with remarkable speed, but it is clear the mages are just playing with him.
“Bet he can’t dodge that one!”
“It’s like he’s dancing!” To my shock these laughing voices are not from the stage. They are Rin and then Hermes. The magic must be affecting them more than I realised. I clear the air around them both as well.
“I feel weird.” Rin says in a parched voice. Then Hermes goes green and looks like she is about to throw up. I grab them both by the wrist and port outside before they cause a problem.
“Sorry, but it seemed like you were being influenced way too much by that magic. Ugh!” I say as Hermes throws up on me.
“Iumsuuurry.” Hermes manages before throwing up a second time. I dodge this time.
“The magic shouldn’t be affecting us like this.” Rin says frowning.
“Just an allurgit react’on.” A toothless little boy says appearing out of nowhere. I am sure he didn’t port. “Rare tu get one sa bad bu’ i’ ‘appens. Yu cleared ta magic tu quick.”
“So it’s my fault.” I say apologetically.
“That doesn’t make sense.” Rin says. “Why would clearing the magic cause an allergic reaction in the first place? Explain the theory.”
“Jus’ a boy. Not like I’d know ta theory.” He says shrugging. “Seen it ‘efore. It ‘appens.”
“I need to get cleaned, and so does Hermes. I’m worried about the others, and about you going back in, Rin.” I say.
“Yu leave yu not go bac in.” The boy says and crosses his arms. I open my senses and realise that the tent has some sort of protection. We can’t just port back in anyway.
“I hope everyone else is OK.” I say now really worried.
“I’ll wait outside and meet them after the show. It wouldn’t do to abandon our new group completely. They’ll be fine though.” Rin says but I can tell she is also worried.
“Keep your guard up, and port back to us if you have any trouble. And make sure not to let that magic in the air near you.”
“OK.” Rin says and I hope she isn’t just saying it.
Chapter 3 (Peter)
I look around our room and can’t help feeling watched, but I can’t see anything even with my senses. I throw off my clothes and use magic to clean myself first. Hermes is kneeling on the floor holding her head and her stomach, but she has thrown up five times already and I don’t think she can have anything left inside her. I quickly put on my spare uniform and coat it with an air layer in case Hermes really does throw up again.
“We’ve got to get you out of those clothes first.” I say looking at the stains of sick all over them. I start to pull up her shirt but Rin appears and I almost jump out of my skin.
“I just realised Hermes is going to need a girl’s help.” Rin says frowning at me. “Get back to the tent so you can meet everyone later.”
“A girl’s help?” I ask confused.
“Yes. Now off with you!” Rin says sounding really annoyed.
“OK.” I say confused and port away. Back at the tent’s entrance I am met by a girl in dark plain clothes.
“Sorry. You’re too late. There’s no admittance once the show starts, and we were sold out anyway.”
“I know. I’m just waiting for my friends. I had to leave after the show started.”
“Oh, I’m very sorry to hear that. I can’t let you back in but please feel free to read the programme whilst you wait.”
“Ah, thank you.” I say and accept a long piece of paper. It tells me a bit about the main actors and then lists the songs. It seems that the main three actors, who play the Fallen Angels, are nobles from the capital of Contractia. They went to the academy together along with the current head of the academy based in the capital. There’s more than one academy? I’ll have to talk to Rin about that. I had thought this was the only magical academy.
It just gives a title for the songs. There’s no description but it only takes me a moment to place the songs I have heard, but looking to the end I notice the last song. “Coronation Dance?”
“That’s my favourite.” The girl says smiling. “The rise of our previous Queen was certainly dramatic. At least in the stories. It just makes her coronation lovely to behold.”
“This play is about the previous Queen’s rise to power?”
“Of course. You didn’t know?”
“No. I’m surprised the current Queen allows it to be played. To celebrate the Queen who she was responsible for killing seems…”
“Apparently she said that she didn’t want to dictate what everyone can and can’t say, so she passed a law banning most censorship recently. If anyone was to actually take action against her it would of course be very different.” The girl says and shivers, but clearly not from the weather.
“How long until it finishes do you think?”
“It will be a while yet. They’re only about halfway through at most.”
“Who plays the silver woman? She isn’t mentioned in this.”
“She’s just a magical creation. She’ll be disposed of after the final showing. We create a new one for each town to save energy. She requires a constant drain of energy to keep her alive.”
“You mean she’ll be killed?” I ask in disbelief.
“If you consider her to be alive, then yes she’ll be killed. She’s more like cattle than a person though. You wouldn’t think twice about killing an animal to eat its meat, would you?”
“She seems to have enough intelligence and emotion to sing really well. I don’t see how you can compare her to cattle.” I say deeply disturbed by the idea.
“She can be trained like a dog, but she isn’t capable of independent thought. That’s what they say anyway. I don’t make the decisions. I j
ust sell the tickets and let people in and out.”
“I’m not blaming you personally but…” I say and shake my head. The time passes slowly with an awkward kind of silence. I hand back the programme and focus my senses trying to penetrate the magical shield and hear what is going on. I have no luck. Time passes even slower as I get frustrated by my failed attempts. Finally I succeed after what seems like forever. I can hear applause.
“They’re coming out in a moment. Please stand to one side so people can get by.” The girl says and I do so both relieved my wait is over and frustrated to have succeeded too late. As people start to drift by I redirect my senses towards the crowd and try to sense my club members. Of course they will be at the back so that is where I direct my senses. I spot the Lightwood twins first because they have the most distinctive auras. Something seems wrong with their auras though, and when I focus in more detail it isn’t just theirs. Everyone seems to be slightly darker and less stable. It is most noticeable with Cherry who was very stable before and is now almost as unstable as her sister. Perhaps the magic they were exposed to affected their auras. I am growing increasingly uneasy about this magic in the air.
“Over here!” I call out as Yu Kii comes into sight.
“Don’t talk to me you piece of filth!” She calls back and I wonder whether I have the wrong person. There’s no way the Yu Kii I know would talk like that to her worst enemy, let alone to a friend. But it is her and there is no doubt in my mind that the magic is affecting her. The abuse the rest of the club shouts at me leaves no doubt in my mind. Outside now the ones who can, simply port away, without thinking about the ones who can’t.
Under the circumstances I am in no position to offer to port them, but I am worried they may not get back safely if I leave them. I could forcibly port them but that would make quite the scene. They grudging agree with each other to head back together, so I hide my presence and follow them. It is a long walk and goes through the forest but once there they are alone. I grab the girl at the rear and port her back before she can call out. I repeat this process and even when they notice somebody is gone they don’t seem to care. Soon they are all back at the academy.
