by R N Skye
“I imagine it’s the tranquility glyphs I’ve seen on all the corner posts,” Shane commented. Noting the look of impressed curiosity Shane added, “I was in a slightly hostile meeting a while back and the Arc showed me the glyph. The more I learn the more I see. I’m amazed at all of the work you Elios put into this world.”
“Not as much as you might think,” Ahhan said sitting next to his nephew. In fact we were at the point of where all the mages doing most of the magic on Eliom were all naturally born here. That was why we had the gathering. Eliom was ready to be weaned away from the magic of Elios. The Luion and the Elios that remained were sufficiently transitioned so that most of the full Lumen Mages and Masters could return home. It was necessary in order for the Eliom to be a world unto its self and not be dependent on Elios. Take a trip to the Arc and ask it about transitional worlds. You will find it rather interesting.”
Both men sat in silence for a bit and Ahhan started up the conversation again. “Shane you have taken on a lot. When is the last time you had some fun?” Before he could answer Ahhan continued and I don’t mean snuggling with Ava. When was the last time you played a game of warball?”
Shane smiled a bit at the thought of breaking free from a scrum and slamming a goal. “It’s been a while.” he admitted.
“You have found yourself thrust into something that you are meant to do, something that you were destined to do,” consoled Ahhan. “That doesn’t make it any easier, but there are some things that you can do to ease the weight on your mind a little bit.”
“Oh,” Shane said with a raised eyebrow.
“Believe it or not in addition to the magical gifts you have you have a load of physical talent as well. Your father isn’t just an exceptional Sicam and Lumen Master, he is quite an athlete; a trait that you have inherited from him. Your heritage has given you many talents, don’t let them rust away just because of a few minor disruptions like a war. Go gather up some refugees and set up a field; play a few games, the refugees need things to do until they find their place; they could use a diversion as well. You will find as you get older that while work is necessary and often for a purpose to strengthen the soul, play is just as important and lately you have been neglecting that component in your life.”
Shane considered the words of his alien uncle. “I’m not sure I can bring myself to self-indulgence in sports when there are a million people enslaved in Infin and a possessed king perverting the very magic of the world and its inhabitants.”
Ahhan sighed, “So like your mother. Shane you need balance. Just like you need sleep, you need release from stress. Diversion - like a pick-up game on the ball field - will give this to you. I’m not saying give up on the needs of the victims of the Allyant. I am saying that there are things you can be doing that are more effective than feeding birds in a long forgotten park. Others need diversion too. Think about it and see the wisdom of playing a game that involves many; both as enthusiasts as well as participants. Remember we do because we can – but more importantly we do because we should. The more we can effect, the more we maximize the purposes that we endeavor to pursue. In other words why help one when you can help many. Your talents are not just for the oppressed to the south your talents are also needed to unite and heal those that are recovering. Just think about it. My guess you have thought about it on your own a time or two already.”
“I guess I better head back to the research center. I have a few ideas on how to the disable the Aliant devices and I need to get to work on it,” Shane said standing up.
Ahhan stood as well. “Before you go I want to show you something. Take a look at me with your lumen sight.”
Shane examined his uncle as if he were trouble shooting a set of glyphs on an artifact. The brilliance caused him to stagger. “Whoa!” he exclaimed. “How do you keep that contained?”
Ahhan smiled and the brilliance vanished. Take a look at your physical self,” his uncle urged. “Look at your physical self with your lumen sight and slowly look closer until you reach the threshold of where the lumen begins to show. Do you see the border of blue?” At his nephew’s nod Ahhan continued. “That blue is your ‘self-glyph’. You are near the point where you will begin exercising lumen magic like you haven’t imagined and it won’t be long when the time will come that if you haven’t strengthened that barrier you will become a walking lamp post. Query your instructor on the matter.”
Ahhan grasped Shane by the shoulders and nodded with his ever mischievous smile. “I know that it has crossed your mind and you have wondered why the Elios haven’t come more directly to your aid. The short answer is that if we did, it would prolong the transitioning and delay the activation of the world glyphs. We of Elios have complete faith in you Shane.
One last thing, try and help Ava’s Aunt adjust and above all please try to have a little fun. Tell your mother I said hello.” Ahhan dropped his hands and in a blink he was gone.
Shane considered teleporting but then decided that he needed a little more solitude to digest his uncle’s latest visit and walked leisurely back to the research building.
Reflecting on the previous day’s discoveries he found that after two long days of research and inventing with his instructor he thought he may have found the answer he needed. Tired and hungry he had met with Roger providing him with the artifact support he had requested; deciding that the best solution would be to offer him Lance and John to assist in preparing magical support for some of the newly built naval vessels.
Shane walked into Leo’s lab to see the man hunkered over a pile of various metals and schematics. “Still working on the monorail artifacts?” he asked.
“Shane!” exclaimed the former professor. “I am indeed. And not quickly enough for your dear Ava I’m afraid. How delightful see you, it seems that we hardly see each other anymore,” he greeted.
Shane sat on a stool next to the older man and swiped a number of papers to the side and leaned forward placing his forehead face down on folded arms on the cleared space. “Leo, I’m worried,” he replied with a muffle. Sitting up Shane sighed. “The Allyant threat is giving me headaches. I haven’t slept well in a week. It’s crazy. I’ve learned more than I’ve ever dreamed I’d ever learn. I’m learning more and more every day; it’s like the more I learn the more I can learn. And then there are the times I sit back and see things around me and I find that I can’t understand why things are the way they are. You always taught us to discover and to look at things from every angle. I’m hitting a wall, Doc. Why would anyone do what King Allion is doing - or whatever it is that is controlling him – why would anyone cause so much pain, misery, and destruction? I feel I need to put a stop to it. I’m pretty sure I can. My worry is that my cure may be worse than the ailment. My only hope is perhaps neutralizing the effect of the Allyant magic.”
Leo carefully put down the scribe and the piece of metal that he had been working on and with a look of empathy and concern said, “Anything I can do?”
Shane paused as if arranging his thoughts. “Probably not, but I need to bounce a few ideas past you. You always seem to be able to see contingencies that most miss.”
“I’m all ears, let’s hear what’s on your mind,” Leo said as he settled himself onto his stool at the same time leaning forward attentively with clasped hands.
“First, Shane answered slowly, “I’m worried about you and the rest of your trainees and the magetechs working for you. I have something that will protect them from Allyant magic and I need you to start producing it. If Ava had been wearing what I’m about to give you, back when she was attacked in Valee, she would have never been Lumen poisoned.
Second I’m worried about the people of Infin. The detail that we are getting back from the intelligence that Roger and Ari have gathered is heart breaking. Allion is using the people up. Something that he has built is sucking the very lives of his own citizens. So far he hasn’t been effective against Luion; the defensive barriers are protecting Luion and there have not been atta
cks other than expeditionary forces.”
Shane halted a moment then continued; this time not hiding the anger and frustration that had been building in him. “I never dreamed that anyone would sacrifice their own kind for personal gain,” he practically yelled as tools and various artifacts flew across the room falling in a heap on the far side of the room. “It’s not just the men, its women and even children; Pour L'amour De Dieu. What kind of evil is this king?”
Leo gulped at the pile of debris and at the fact that there had been no signs of any use of glyphs in Shane’s use of magic. “It’s obvious, Shane, he has to be stopped,” was Leo’s reply. I think the question you are better served in asking is how can he be stopped.”
“I think I know how,” mumbled Shane, his head back on the desk on folded arms. What I need to do is figure out how to do it without killing the population of Infin.”
“How would killing Allion kill everyone else?” asked Leo. “You can travel anywhere. Why don’t you and Ari just zip in like you did with Mademoiselle Coeur and have that be the end of it?”
“That might have been possible at the first, but he has now tied himself to every individual he can with his Allyant wrist bands. Bands that seem to bleed the people of their energy and life; they also become his eyes and ears. Anything happens to anyone under his influence and he knows it immediately. If we kill Allion then he would just transfer to another host. We have had to back off on the refugee rescues because of how wide spread his magic is.”
“You said you thought you knew how to stop him,” prompted the professor.
“I need to infuse all of his wristbands with this,” he held out a small blue dot.
“What is it,” asked Leo as he picked up the small piece of paper like substance the size of half his fingertip and examined it.
“It is a glyph,” said Shane with a tired voice. It is very complex in both purpose and creation and can only be made by a mage that is strong enough for lumen enchantment; a good Glyph Master could attempt it but more likely only a Lumen Mage can pull it off. To my knowledge only three mages exist at the moment that I dare have attempt it; myself, Ava, and maybe Ari. Because it is a physical glyph it takes a lot of lumen and is very tiring to make. I made my first one just before bedtime and the energy and lumen used caused me to over sleep an hour the next morning. The next day I made a dozen and it practically exhausted me. The good news is the recovery time is faster every time and if you are looking for a way to strengthen you lumen capacity and skill this will do it; but you better be prepared to take a lot of naps and be perpetually hungry.”
“What does it do?” asked Leo patiently.
“I call it a feedback glyph. It is almost the opposite of the Allyant seed,” answered the younger mage. “After examining the wristbands I found that they did two things. First it siphons energy and or lumen from those that come in contact with the wearer or it can be absorbed by the host. Second it siphons the person’s life force itself and forwards it to the Allyant host or other destination – namely an artifact or a storage instrument of some kind.
I got the idea for it, reflecting on the process involved when I cleaned up Valee and Ahhan taught me how to neutralize and destroy Allyant spheres. The difference between an Allyant sphere and the feedback glyph is that one is made from pure lumen and the other; the Allyant seed is made from stolen life force lumen. The way it works is if you can attach it to an Infin wristband it will neutralize the siphoning of both energy and lumen. I have built in a shield function and an emulator so that the Allyant mage would almost have to be right next to the wearer before they could detect that they were wearing a disabled wristband. The shield will protect the wearer from any Allyant possession magic; at least the magic I have seen and been exposed to. The only way to defeat the shield would be to physically remove the modified wristband. The problem… How do I make enough and how to deploy them?”
“Can you just destroy the bands remotely?” asked Leo.
“We’ve tried that,” shrugged Shane sadly. “Once the wristbands are taken off, those nearby with bands seem to know and are on them in a heartbeat and either kill them or replace the damaged or removed band.”
Shane looked at the mess across the room. “Sorry about the lab, Leo, I’m just at my wits end.” Shane closed his eyes and gathered lumen and began to use a technique he had learned from the advanced Lumen Master training. Drawing forth the temporal memory that he now knew existed in all matter he recalled the bits and pieces that he had cast aside to return to their places prior to his blasting them across the room. Opening his eyes he shook his head to clear the vision of the lumen throughout the room to get his normal sight back.
“Unbelievable,” commented Leo. “I thought it was amazing when you were making artifacts. Now you are beyond that. Are you a Lumen Master now?”
“A master, no,” answered Shane thoughtfully as he concentrated on the table top and a dozen of the small flat blue magical feedback glyphs appeared.” Sighing he took a deep breath and repeated the process and conjured even more. Picking them up, he put them in a pouch. “I have mastered some things but I’m afraid I will be a Lumen Mage for many years to come before I can claim mastery.”
“Well Doc,” Shane smiled, “what are your thoughts how can I get these deployed and not get those deploying them killed or letting the enemy know we are doing it.”
Leo paused and scratched his head as he always did when working out a puzzle. “I don’t suppose that you have tried to see where the wristbands are manufactured and see if there is any way to attach the glyphs before they are deployed by the enemy have you?” queried the older mage.
“Leo, you’re a genius. That is just the thing I wasn’t thinking of. I knew you would give me the kick in the pants I needed. Once we can get enough Infin citizens protected we can go in and start sneaking up on those that are already wearing bands and work our way with those that we have already shielded.” Shane jumped up. I better get with Ari and Shew and get a plan set up.
“Oh, I meant to ask you,” Shane said as he halted at the door. “How is Kaysee doing? Is she getting close to learning the glyphs she needs to know to make her own scribe and instructor?”
Leo brightened at the opportunity to talk about Kaysee. “She is doing fantastic. I’ve told her to slow down a bit though. All the work that we have been doing and all of her study seems to be taking a toll. She hasn’t been getting a lot of sleep and has had a few nightmares. Ava pulled her off of the refugee runs; she thinks it might be the stress of seeing so many of those enduring some of the trauma she went through when Soaris rescued her. It appears to be helping she does seem to be resting more and the bad dreams are less now that she is remaining in Yllyan.”
Shane paused frowning and pondered for a moment. She wasn’t touched by any Allyant possessed was she?” he asked.
“Absolutely not; we would have known. Ava or Laura has always been with her whenever she has been abroad on refugee missions. I doubt that anyone would have been able to get close enough to harm her considering how protective your mother and Ava are towards her,” Leo said humorously.
Shane reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of silver rings. “Here, put this on he said without ceremony. When you see Kaysee have her wear the other one. This will protect you both from,” he paused,” from a lot of things,” he deferred. “It will also let me know if either of you are in trouble. Keep her in Coholo until she feels better and I have a chance to see if she may have had any accidental exposure. Also could I get you to make a few more?” Shane closed his eyes for a moment. “The glyphs are in your scribe under protection ring two. If you have time, please make some for the rest of the mages here at the lab.”
“Will do,” acknowledged the professor. “Let me know if there is anything else. Also, would you let Ava know that I’m almost done with her monorail plates? This is the final one and I should be done in an hour so.”
“As soon as I see her,” promised Shan with a wave as
he disappeared from view in an unseen flash of lumen.
Ari was just sitting down at the galley table of the sloop with Shew; Nuekirk filling cups of freshly brewed roasters, when Shane appeared beside him causing Shew to spill the hot beverage on his hand. “Blast it boy,” yowled the retired spy - followed by a stream of profanity, “if you don’t kill me from a heart attack you’re going to cause me to scald myself to death.”
“Watch your language in front of the kid,” scolded Ari as he slid over on the bench seat so that Shane could sit, “He doesn’t need to learn that kind of vocabulary at his age.”
“Humph,” gruffed the old man. “That aint vocabulary, that’s the experience of seventy five years of sentence enhancers. Someday he’s going to have to work with someone like you and he’ll thank me for it. Besides he aint no kid anymore; he’s a big man now that he has a woman friend he’s been making eyes at and see’n when he doesn’t think I’m watching.”
“Hey,” Nuekirk sounded off, “How did you know we were seeing each other? I was using everything you taught me whenever I went to see her.”
Both Shew and Stafford laughed at the inexperienced youth. Ari beat Shew to the punch and said, “Kid you need to realize that Shew may have taught you everything you know, but he in no way close has taught you everything he knows.” Turning to Shew, “Have you vetted her,” he asked with concern?
“She’s fine; a bit of a gold digger, but she is what she seems to be,” Shew said with a resigned look.
“Roasters, monsieur Shane?” asked Nuekirk respectfully hoping to change the subject.
“No thanks,” responded Shane as he chuckled at the banter between Shew and Ari as he watched the boy return the pot to the stove. Grab some yourself if you want.” Turning to Ari he said, “You got here fast. I thought you were going to be tied up at the navy yard for a while.”
“I was at a stopping point when you comm’d so I showed John what I wanted and he and Lance are going to finish up the scribing on the new patrol ships. Since I wasn’t needed I came here. I will need to go back later and help with the nav and the propulsion controls but they won’t need me for a bit – probably not until tomorrow.
