Slave Line (The Young Ancients)

by Power, P. S.

  "Don't try that with me Torrance Green Baker. You're not too old to be taken over my knee. Why I should get a belt and do that right now. Ungrateful little..."

  That made Tor laugh out loud. She'd threatened to spank him a good dozen times growing up, but had never done it. He hadn't been the kind of child that had needed beatings to learn and for all her bluster, she wasn't a badperson. She went quiet though as he kept chuckling softly.

  "Actually, I think I may be just a bit too old for that now. That threat kind of fades about the same time you realize that even adults bleed. Why don't we set this aside and just move on? You were wrong, you know it, you can admit it now and we can all be happy and enjoy this meeting as much as possible, without further strife."

  "I was wrong?" Her voice was shrill and sounded ready to go into a rant again. Tor interrupted her, smiling and throwing his hands in the air.

  "Exactly. Good to hear you admit it. Now just apologize to Ali and everyone else for making their trip tense and uncomfortable and we can all move on. Easy as that."

  "You want me to say that I'm sorry for holding my own opinions?" She wasn't less shrill this time either, but Denno was smothering a giggle attack and Carlos was looking out the side window, hiding his smile from the clearly mad women in their midst.

  "Yes. Just like that. Now everyone say you accept her apology and it will all be fixed."

  Burks went first, his face straight and sounding rather polite about the whole thing.

  "I accept your apology dear. Very glad to hear you're coming around. Minor misunderstanding. No lasting harm done I'm sure. So glad that's over. Kind of a minor point to be having an argument about anyway."

  Lyn chimed in as well, then everyone else went. It did get Laurie to shut up for a bit though.

  When she spoke it was a little grudging but not half as harsh as she had been for the last few days.

  "I'm sorry everyone. Especially to you Ali. I'm still angry at my son, but there's no excuse for me saying you were too young to marry. Obviously the immature one in this arrangement is him."

  Tor nodded at that and looked forward again to hide his own grin. No need to goad her now after all.

  "What I was saying the whole time. Good, so Lyn, you're being wrangled into hosting this thing and as far as I can tell you didn't actually get a say in it, what do you want us to do to help?"

  That at least got everyone else to change the subject. Tor didn't really think the whole thing with his mother was done, that would be silly. No, she was a person that could hold a grudge for a good long time. What he hoped for was that she'd be nice to Ali and everyone else. If she still wanted to be angry at him, that was fine. A waste of her time, but if it made her feel better, or like she was getting something done, it didn't really affect him at all. It was probably a sign of something new going on he realized. Before he'd always kind of just forgave everyone, no matter what they'd done to him. For the most part that even worked, but now he understood that he didn't have to. He could just wait for her to change.

  Or Cordes could.

  Either way though, it would be fine, unless it wasn't. Unless the thing growing within him was a trick or a lie. Something that started out harmless and even good, but that would suddenly turn on him. Of course if that was really the case he needed to know how to stop it. It might not be possible, but not trying wouldn't help either. What he needed was to get Lyn and Cynthia together and have them hash out what to do. They were the two best people amongst the Ancients when it came to tech.

  Though according to Lyn they didn't really get along. That part could be tricky. It all could be.

  Tor found himself distracted by some low bumps on the horizon. Lyn smiled and pointed at their destination happily. It got him to shift forward to see what it was. It was hard to tell, but they landed just a few minutes later and everyone piled out quickly enough, taking it all in.

  The city really didn't look like much, once he saw it. Low to the ground and mainly made of mud, supported by sticks, the place smelled just a bit of human and animal waste. It seemed to be summer here though, so the dirt streets were solid and not pits of muck, even if they were probably made of that for the most part. He could see the bits of partly digested straw worked into the pale soil. People came out of their dwellings and stopped the daily tasks they were engaged in to stare. Outside the town there were large fields with a variety of food growing, looking more like big garden plots than cultivated single crops, except to the west, at the foot of the large hills there, which were covered with grass for the animals. At least horses and something like big cows were grazing there. If it was their grain crop some farmer was going to be ticked.

  A small crowd gathered around, dressed in loose long tunics that seemed largely to be made of animal skins, making them look a fairly uniform tan color. Some of them walked a little closer, not smiling, but not doing anything aggressive either, which got Lyn to change form, her body stretching up into her more skeletal and pale combat shape. Tor didn't know what was going on for certain, but felt the lack of a good shield suddenly. Regardless he moved in front of Ali and the others, stepping up right alongside Lyn. If there was a fight, running from it here would be their best bet, since they had the superior craft, but they'd all have to get to it first. Maybe Tor could help hold them off for a few seconds while the others fled? He doubted he was up to really fighting yet, but he had been exercising a little. He wouldn't go down instantly, even if they killed him. Especially since they all seem unarmed. The best they could do here would be spears and bows, ones without metal tips, Tor was pretty sure. He tried to ready his mind, dropping into a deep trance state, letting time slow around him as the group moved closer.

  Right until the people started singing something.

  It sounded a little ceremonial, but kind of happy. They seemed pleased to have their "wise mother" back it seemed. Tor knew this, because even though the language had shifted he kind of understood the Chinese being used. Enough to get a few words at least. It was in the Cordes memories.

  Lyn Red stood, her arms out, hands spread wide, skin pale in the bright sunlight. More so than Tor was, an almost chalk white. Everyone stopped and waited for her to speak, which she did with a vicious grin.

  "Children, I come bringing friends and my family of the Most Old Kind. They are our guests and more will be coming for a short time. More, I have good news, that should be spread far and wide through all of our lands! My brother has delivered to me the knowledge of true magic and taught me it's ways. No longer shall we have to crawl in the mud and dig with sticks of wood. We shall be a land equal to any on the planet!"

  It was a rousing speech, and got a polite murmur from the people watching. They seemed almost defeated, or like they didn't quite believe that things would ever really change. At least that's what the older man in the back said, his wispy beard blowing gently in the wind. Softly... but loud enough that others nodded in agreement, looking sad about it.

  Giant skeletal looking Lyn let out a big puff of air that Tor realized was a sigh.

  "It's true! The time of change has come! Rejoice!"

  They didn't. They kind of milled around instead. Tor turned and went to the Fast Carriage, tempted to just turn it off, but wanting to make a bigger impression. Instead he got his trunk out of the back and dug out one of the larger magical houses. This he handed off to Lyn gently, making her smile when she realized what it was.

  "Alright then. We're supposed to see some rejoicing here people. It took over a century of work to learn this magic and bring it here. This isn't some small thing or a couple of conjuring tricks done with eggs and a hat." She growled the words, which got the people closest to her to take a few steps back, clearly not wanting to make her mad. Tor hadn't really considered it before, but for Lyn to have held control over the largest contingent on the planet with nothing more than simple weapons, she had to be pretty tough didn't she? All the Ancients probably were in some way or another.

  "Follow me!" She
screamed the words, which sounded rough and bloody, then started running toward the edge of the city toward the river, right hand held high, holding the magical house. It didn't take long to get there, the place wasn't that big, but Lyn was fast in this form. To keep up Tor had to use his Not-Flyer, which most of the others quickly copied. Denno didn't, not having one but he was fast on foot. Luckily it wasn't a long trip though, because the villagers and Carlos were having trouble keeping up at all. In fact they had to wait for about ten minutes for the oldest to make it over, not having bothered to do more than gamely jog.

  Lyn didn't let them catch their breath either, holding out the House amulet, which had a glowing sigil, for everyone to get a good look at. That got a bit of a happy sound, since some of the people seemed to think it was pretty and obviously something different based on the color alone. Plus when the only light you saw was the sun or a fire, glowing things were kind of neat.

  "Behold the future of our land!"

  Then she hit the amulet with a single black talon and a small house appeared. Tor thought people were going to pass out from shock at first, but Lyn started to make it grow, expanding fast, reshaping itself to look first like a version of the mud huts everyone seemed to live in here, so that they'd know what it was, then to a shimmering dome of shining reddish metal. It was impressive looking and huge, clearly pushing the limits of the thing. Tor knew for a fact that the amulet was one that he'd made, but that shape wasn't something he'd directly created. He'd never even thought of it before. Lyn had found a way to get the tool he made to do what she wanted, even though he didn't know how she managed.

  That was Interesting.

  Then she made it start to glow, which was truly and easily within the normal specs for the device. Without waiting to hook up water she led them all inside, calling out for everyone to come with her, to see what wonders would await. The inside was just empty though. Oh, it had a nice big space, with a smooth white and blue marble floor that shone with light reflected from the glowing ceiling above.

  When everyone got inside she started to decorate and make rooms. A central pillar appeared, thick and sturdy looking, nearly a hundred feet in diameter, with three circles coming out of it, with about twenty feet between each. On these platforms tiny houses grew, making the entire thing look like a tree with two dozen forts in it. Nice ones though, that glimmered as if encrusted with jewels, even though they looked to be made of wood. Then she closed her eyes and really focused, mouth set in a tight white line. The sides on the bottom of the dome grew rounded sections that were clearly rooms for functions. They were all long and narrow looking, but plenty big enough for everyone to be in at once.

  She pointed to the one on the far left.

  "That's the kitchen We'll need to hook up water though. The river is out back. Tor would you do the honors?" She said this in Noram standard, walking toward the door. The purpose then was to show that it didn't take her to use the great magics? That made sense.

  Tor floated a little higher, taking the lead. The pump could be placed anywhere on the outside, being built in as it was. Tor set it up to siphon a thick stream of clean water from the brown and muddy river, returning it constantly so twin streams of perfectly clear water flowed in large arches in the air. It worked better with the red and shining dome than straight lines would have, he thought. He made the wall of the house glow an intense red that would carry down both streams when it got dark. You could just barely see the effect in the daylight though.

  Then the people started to sing and dance, as if joyful. There was one thing Tor didn't get though and he asked Lyn right then instead of waiting, like he normally would have before.

  "So, why weren't they impressed by the flying device coming in, or us floating around, but freaked out when there was a house?" Maybe homes had special significance or something? The thing was certainly big enough now and looked grand, but they'd gasped in awe when it had been just a tiny hut too.

  Lyn shifted to a form that wasn't as young as he was used to seeing, but was definitely human, a woman that looked about forty or so, with fine lines around the eyes. She didn't look pretty... Except of course that Cordes knew she was. She wasn't funny looking, just of a different race than Tor was used to seeing. Asian. All the villagers were. He looked around and finally saw it. They looked different, more gold than tan, with different bone structures, but Lyn was probably better looking than average and they weren't a homely people at all.

  No, Tor was just a small minded country hick from the backwoods of Noram that hadn't seen enough of the world yet to grow that much. The thought was an eye opener. It wasn't that he was being bad, thinking Lyn wasn't great looking, but that he was being unfair to a whole people, just because he wasn't used to seeing them. He'd always thought of his new sister as homely, but she wasn't at all. He felt bad for a few seconds and then decided to work on it. Maybe he could learn to see these people for what they really were, if he tried hard enough?

  She smiled at him, which was pretty, he realized, now that he got the idea of her peoples shape.

  "Those devices are something they haven't seen before, obviously a great thing, but not theirs, not made by one of them. I'd announced that my brother had the ways of magic, so they didn't let themselves hope it had anything to do with them. This structure was something they watched me create in front of them. Their own Great Mother. It shows that we have magic too now and that we won't have to live in filth forever. We don't have to be people of the stone age any longer, with nature slaying us at the smallest change and flicker. Now we can be safe and keep our children and grandchildren protected from things that the rest of the world barely remembers most days. Now we can learn and struggle out of the muck to become the people of magic."

  Oh. That made sense then. He wouldn't have wanted to live without even basic metals or tools either. No wonder she was so set on learning to build. It didn't even break the Ancients rules for her land, being that it was a thing they could learn to do using nothing more than their own thoughts.

  Brilliant.

  She clapped, gesturing people inside, which got a group of children, some with smudged faces and not very old at all to follow them. They didn't beg or do anything but watch closely, though one girl of about fifteen walked over and touched Ali's face. They were about the same skin tone, but different colors even so. Timon was approached by several kids who poked at him a little, but smiled while they did it.

  "Does he talk do you think?" One said to another, her voice soft. She looked to be about ten and talked to a slightly older girl, who seemed about Tim's actual age. They all had black hair.

  "He does, but not your words yet. Would you teach him? He is... a maker of things magic, already." Tor knew he had a thick accent but the girls eyes went open wide anyway, clearly understanding what he meant.

  "But he's so young... Can we learn to do this too? Is it hard? Is it a think allowed to those like us?" This came from the older of the two girls who stood back a step when Tor spoke, as if nervous about it now that the words had been blurted out. He could have seen it with the others, but he was shorter than the giants with them. These people were regular sized, like his family and friends back home. It was comforting. Still, he'd been seen flying around and might just have been taken as being the brother that Red had been speaking of.

  Tor nodded.

  "You have to have the talent for it, but if you do, it is a skill that can be learned. Anyone has enough talent to learn to make copies of magics and that's the first thing to try. It can take years to learn and more time to become very good at it, but if you're willing to do what's needed, you can. Come back in three days, with anyone that wants to see if they can gain the skills and we will see. Anyone who tries and does so successfully will earn an object of magic to keep." Which was literally true, since they'd have to make a copy that showed they could do it, from a template. They didn't have to do it well of course, just enough to prove they could. The rest was all in the teaching and their own h
ard work.

  He needed a something easy for the testing though.

  "Tim, I'm going to walk you through making a basic template for a cutter, so that you know how." He stopped and looked at Lyn who was smiling at him.

  "Is that safe do you think? They don't know what cutters are. Useful, but some of them are just kids." He spoke in his language, so he wouldn't insult anyone, but Lyn nodded.

  "I'll explain it to them all. If they lose a limb it will teach the others to be more careful. It's our way here. Each person is responsible for their own actions. We'll warn them though, it shouldn't be an issue, even with the youngest."

  That gave them something to do while they waited for the others to arrive at least. Tim could make a cutter on his own and would have to, in order to make the template. It was far easier to make a copy from one of those, but it took more work on the original builders part to make. It was only his brothers second build, but then Tor had built a full template on his first and made something far more complex than this. Sure, he'd had years of schooling by that point and lessons in it, but Tim was probably better at building than he was, or would be with practice. Tor couldn't have done an original build at eleven after all. That showed real promise. Maybe more than anyone had ever shown before.

  He wasn't telling Timon that though. The boy would end up with a swelled head.

  They found a room, one of the little huts on the top level, to work in. It was decently spacious and had a restroom in it, with a private shower and bath, like his house at the Capital in Noram did. It wasn't his room though, since he wasn't sharing with his little brother. It would make having his wife and possibly girlfriend in with him too nerve wracking, even if they were good and didn't do anything. Which would be the case if anyone else was in the room.