by Tony Corden
Turning to Leah, Zor said, “Atherleah, we acknowledge you as our Empress.”
Nine mages ascended the dais. Including High Mage Zor there were two from each of the five Mage Circles of Iktidar. Together they cast a spell using a complex combination of words and motion. Mana began to flow from each mage until a torus of power spun around Leah. It was formed by an intricate multicoloured lattice of Mana which rotated rapidly and pulsed in time with the chanting. Suddenly the mages stopped their chant, all at the same instant. The Mana, however, continued to spin. It also started to shrink, coming closer and closer to Leah until in a flash of light it buried itself in a ring around the top of her head. Leah felt a momentary flash of heat and light, and then a message appeared.
Atherleah, the Elfaun Mages have cast a spell of Knowing on you.
Those who owe you allegiance will become aware of your identity when they recognise the tattoo of a golden crown around your head. The spell includes the ability for the ‘crown’ to take additional forms depending on the race and culture of the observer.
For example, in Elfaun lands, not only do they see the crown, but they also see a set of golden antlers protruding from your head.
Leah looked up to find all the Elfauns in the valley on their knees, with heads bowed. Leah said, “Please rise.”
When everyone was standing Zor said, “We also give you the Vambraces of the Elfaun Mage Queen, Altin Geyik Efsanesi. Among other things, they have the power to transform you into the form of Ruh Geyiği, the Spirit Hart of Elfaun legend.”
Zor handed Leah a pair of black vambraces. Covering the entire surface of each vambrace were etchings of many different animals, and highlighted in the middle of each was a larger etching of a magnificent deer. Its antlers spread from one side of the vambrace to the other. This etching was filled with what looked like gold. Each vambrace was made from what looked like adamantine except they had the suppleness of leather. Leah looked closely at the right Vambrace to study their description.
Ruh Hayvanları, the Beast-walker Vambraces of the Elfaun Mage Queen - Right Vambrace (1 of 2)
Altin Geyik Efsanesi was one of the greatest queens of Elfaun legend. She studied the magic of transformation and with the help of the five mage Circles of Iktidar she designed and created the Ruh Hayvanlari. Her greatest desire was to be one with the natural world.
The vambraces allow the wearer to take the form of whichever beast is outlined in gold. Only after mastering the current animal form are you able to choose another. To Beast-walk requires both vambraces, an act of the will, an application of mana, and the correct enunciation of the phrase, ‘Let Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Darkness aid me to live in the skin of this beast’. (Please see the Dunyanin Manual for more details concerning this phrase.)
The transformation ends either when your mana expires or a the direction of your will. Mana usage depends on a variety of factors which include player level, Wisdom, and the player’s Beast-walker spell level.
Minimum: Level 250 (W250)
When used as a vambrace it adds 50 S and 50 C
When the wearer is beast-walking it adds 100 to best suit the chosen beast’s natural characteristics.
Binds on pickup
Leah looked up and said in a quiet voice, “This is a precious artefact from Elfaun history. Thank you, Zor.”
Zor smiled and said, “To give you those was the suggestion of our young King. He believes you will make better use of them than allowing them to gather dust in the Kingdom’s treasure vault.”
Leah turned and gave a nod of thanks to Mirasçi and then using a spell to amplify her voice she spoke to the gathered Elfauns, “Yesterday was a day that will forever be etched in my memory. It is etched in my memory not because of the battle with Schamirii, nor because of the defeat of the demigod Büyük, but because of the courage of King Mirasçi, a young Elfaun who was prepared to die that his people might live. I will never forget yesterday because of the joy and love showed me by the Elfaun child Zarif, and because of the sacrifice of Lady Yar Dimci and many others in defence of this city. I cannot forget yesterday because when I was overcome with sorrow, pain and loss, at a time when I felt alone and when the burdens of life threatened to overwhelm me, it was then that I was comforted. I was shown grace and compassion by Counsellor Tarilan and the citizens of Dag Tarafind.
“I must continue on my journey, but I am confident that the changes wrought in these last few days will bring greater peace and prosperity to the valley and to the lives of all Elfauns. Thank you for the honour you showed me both last night and today. When I have finished the tasks still before me, I shall return to visit this valley. In my absence, I charge you with maintaining the attitudes of courage, love, sacrifice and compassion that were displayed yesterday. And now I must say goodbye.”
As she said ‘goodbye’ she looked toward one of the distant peaks far to the north of the city and teleported from the Valley of Dag Tarafind. She appeared high on the mountain, and after checking that there was nothing dangerous nearby, she logged out to the Tower.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
December 12, 2073 - Part 3
Leah exited the Tower and had an early breakfast. Neither Michael nor Conner were anywhere to be seen. She checked with security and was told that Conner was in the exercise room and her father was still in his Pod. She wondered how her dad was faring but knew he would let nothing stop him from helping her mum. She considered spending some time with Conner, but she simply didn’t have enough hours in the day to do everything she needed to. Finally, Leah realised that she was putting off returning to the Tower because her next visit was to see Thad. She took a couple of deep breaths, resolutely returned to her room and entered the Pod.
She thought for a moment of what to wear and decided she was looking for another excuse to put off the inevitable. She changed into some jeans and a t-shirt and then had Gèng open a portal to Thad’s virtual address. She appeared in an enclosed courtyard with a small path leading to the front door of what she assumed was Thad’s apartment. Steeling herself, she walked up the pathway and knocked on the door. She could hear footsteps approaching, and then the door was flung open, and Thad appeared, a huge grin on his face.
Leah stepped forward, and was raising her hands to embrace him when Gèng said, “Stop! Take one step back and be prepared to be transferred back to the Tower at any moment. There is a tendril of code across the door that resembles a type of malicious code that you will face when you rescue Akia. I only recognised it because I have been working with her to prepare a practice world for you.”
Leah had stopped immediately and taken a step back into the outer courtyard. She looked at Thad and saw that his smile had disappeared. Instead, he had a look of deep hurt and betrayal on his face. Leah said, “Thad, I want to come in, and I want to tell you what has been happening. I need to explain things to you, and I long to share how much you mean to me, but I can’t. I can’t until you ensure me that you’ve had your world tested and that you aren’t under any form of compulsion.”
“Of course I’ve had it tested. I talked with my dad, and he had the head of security come and test my world himself. There is, and never has been any compulsion used on me.”
“I know this is going to sound crazy, but I wonder if you would mind me getting someone independent to check it?”
Thad’s face shifted expressions again. He began to look angry. “You’re right. It does sound crazy. It sounds like you don’t trust me. I’m beginning to believe that you truly have developed an inflated opinion of yourself and what you can do. I think that maybe you should leave.”
Leah thought furiously. She was sure that Thad was under some form of compulsion. She said, “Who said that to you, Thad? Who has said I think too highly of myself?”
As he struggled to answer, she communicated with Gèng, “Can I enter and avoid the code?”
“It’s stationary at the moment, and it’s been constructed to conform to a standard real-world cartesian fram
ework, so I think so. I’m going to apply a filter to your sight which will allow you to perceive the boundaries within which the malware exists. Be careful not to touch it. You will see it appear in red, I’ve designed the filter to show it as a multi-stranded web. Do not let any of the fibres touch you in any way. Akia has analysed some of the code and suggests it’s viral.”
Thad responded, “Everybody is saying that. All of your so-called friends think that. They are all wondering what has come over you.”
“It can’t be everybody, Thad. I know it wasn’t Amy or Wisp. And it isn’t something James would say—he wouldn’t care. So who said that to you, Thad?”
Thad’s face became angrier, but before he could explode, Leah said, “Never-mind. Look, I’d like to talk this through in a less confrontational and less adversarial way. I came because, at the very least, I want you as a friend. May I come in and talk with you rationally?”
Thad face went blank and said, “OK, come in, but don’t get too comfortable, your whole attitude is really starting to piss me off.”
He turned and walked deeper into his apartment. While his back was turned Leah dropped to the floor and crawled quickly under the web that had appeared just beyond the doorway. It went from knee to head height and spanned the whole corridor. She was back on her feet quickly but was walking slowly and hesitantly, giving Gèng the opportunity to check ahead.
Thad had a large and open planned apartment. The ceiling was high, and although Thad had decorated it almost exclusively for a single male, the artwork and colours were tasteful and of high quality. Leah did note that there were several portraits of her on the wall and wondered if Thad would be taking them down after she left.
He led her toward a set of sofas and then sat down quickly, giving an obvious indication that he expected her to sit on the other one. She headed for sofa he indicated, but before she could sit, Gèng said, “Be careful Leah, there is the outline of an imposed-logic restraint covering the surface of the sofa. It works by redirecting and manipulating data packets so that it becomes impossible to move. No matter how I changed the data, it would be reoriented to keep you sitting. Do not sit next to Thad either. His sofa is covered with a similar logic-based restraint.”
“How can he move?”
“I imagine it is coded to ignore his virtual signature. I am superimposing this type of trap onto your vision, and I’ve given it the form of red chains.”
“Can you have my virtual signature mimic Thad’s?”
“It may be possible. Remain standing while I discuss this with Akia. I may also contact Reed and Tesfaye as they have additional experiences and skills beyond mine.”
Leah went and stood near the sofa and looked down at Thad, who was staring at her with an angry and hurt look. This was not like him. He was usually easy going and self-deprecating. Now he appeared sullen and full of an unreasonable rage.
She said, “Thad, I understand your reaction but can you see it from my point of view? I trust you, I really do, but I don’t know your security person. I haven’t met them, or seen their credentials. I’m not from your part of town. Where I come from, we rarely just hand our security over to someone else. Sure, we pay protection money to the boss who controls our area, but we also keep a knife under our pillow, and our doors locked at night. Even when we trust someone, we still keep an eye on them as anyone can be bought or manipulated. I trust Thomas to clean your space because I checked his work and verified it. I’d like to trust your security person but to do that I need to verify.”
While she waited for Thad to respond, Gèng said, “Tesfaye suggested a simple work-around. You can now sit on the sofa, but you’ll find it doesn’t provide any cushioning. I’ve added an offset to your physical boundary, and you will, if anyone looks closely, be suspended just over a centimetre above the restraint.”
Leah gently lowered herself onto the sofa and found it disconcerting to be suspended even that small distance above the surface of the sofa. She’d become so used to the virtual multi-verse that she’d begun to see it in terms of a different, but valid, reality. Magic itself had become real, but somehow this, this seemed un-natural.
Thad’s face had suddenly become calmer, and he said, “I suppose I can see why you act the way you do but it still doesn’t explain why you cut Amy, Wisp, James, and I out of your life for a few days. All we wanted to do was help you at a difficult time, but you blew us off. Then you recruit Amy and Wisp into your plans and continue giving me the cold shoulder. I want to be a part of your life, the good and the bad, but I’m uncomfortable being ignored until it suits you. I don’t need, or even want, you to feel that I must be included or that I think I have a right to be included. All I want is for the channels of communication to be kept open. All you needed to say was, ‘Thanks, Thad, but this something I have to deal with alone at the moment. I’ll call you if I need anything.’ I would have been content with that, not happy, mind you, but I would have understood. Instead, all I got was a big fat, ‘no comment’ from Gèng.”
Leah carefully thought through his words and then said, “You’re right. I think I had good reasons at the time, and maybe I did, but I should have considered how to communicate a need for privacy without ignoring you, or our friendship. You should know that Gèng, Amy, Wisp, and even my brother suggested I should just talk things with you. I’m sorry. Can we start again? Can I have a do-over?”
Thad gave one of his trademark cheeky grins and said, “Seriously, a do-over? Sure. I’ll give a do-over this time. In fact, the way I’ve missed you I’ll probably give you several do-over opportunities if it means I can still spend time with you. So, a do-over it is.” He cleared his throat and said with mock seriousness, “So Leah, I’ve just heard that Dunyanin has cancelled your account and I’m really worried, is there anything I can do to help?”
Leah gave a small chuckle and then said just as seriously, “Thanks, Thad, but this something I have to deal with alone at the moment. I’ll call you if I need anything.”
Thad gave a small laugh and was about to say something when a man Leah had never seen before appeared in the room. He was obviously going to talk with Thad because he started to speak, “Thad, what t…”
He stopped mid-word, in shock, when he saw Leah sitting on the sofa talking with Thad.
Before he could say or do anything else, Thad said, “Oh, hey Mr Peterson, Leah and I were just talking about the security sweep you did. Can you reassure her that everything is clean as a whistle in here?”
Mr Peterson said, “Morpheus.” At that, Thad’s eyes glazed over, and he sat, still as a statue.
Mr Peterson looked over at Leah and said, “I don’t know how you got in here undetected, but I assure you, it won’t be so easy to leave. I simply wanted to meet Thad’s suggested guest to the Gala and to make sure she was suitable. What an absolute surprise to discover that his amazing ‘Leah’ is none other than the disreputable ‘Atherleah’. The same negative-tax up-start Atherleah who’s been causing Meredith so much trouble. Meredith will be delighted when I deliver you to her all wrapped up. Don’t worry about Thad, a few commands and he’ll forget all about you, and he’ll go back to his easy-going, ignorant, unencumbered life. There is no way that Mrs Emerson would have ever approved of her son having a relationship with you. Now, just sit there, and I assure you, there is nowhere for you to go, I have a few calls to make. I’m certain you’ll bring in a tidy profit.”
At that, he turned aside and began communicating silently with someone. Leah checked and felt no restrictions on her movements. She knew she could escape if she wanted to. Gèng said, “You can leave whenever you wish. However, this Mr Peterson seems to have almost complete control of Thad. I’ve given Tesfaye access to your feed, and he is attempting to piggy-back into Thad's Pod with the help of Reed. They want to see if they can sever Mr Peterson’s connection. Unfortunately, his security protocols seem a step above anything that even Akia has ever seen. Tesfaye believes the only way might be to discover the code wo
rd, or phrase, which is used by Mr Peterson to wake Thad.”
“I assume the code word that put him to sleep was ‘Morpheus’.”
“That is the logical assumption. Tesfaye suggests you try using the names other Greek deities.”
Leah turned to speak to Thad but was interrupted by Mr Peterson. He said, “It seems your luck has run out. Mr Emerson has been in touch with Mr Kodoman, and they’ve decided to leave you here for the moment. Mr Kodoman has some business to complete, and then he’s coming himself to pick you up himself. Apparently, they’ve got a work-around to overcome the latest security updates.”
Leah said to Gèng, “I can’t think of anything at the moment that might help Thad. Any suggestions?”
“Only one. You need to get out of there. It’s possible that whatever new code they have might be able to overcome the extra security you currently have. I cannot see them hurting Thad, and it leaves you free to consider your options.”
“Can you ask Tesfaye if it is possible to leave an inactive but viable pathway to this world? If there is a way to help Thad, then I may need to break back in at some stage.”
It was several minutes before Gèng said, “We’ve come up with one possibility. Tesfaye is certain that any link, even dormant, will be discovered. He suggests we leave something out in plain sight, a trojan that Thad might trigger and thereby make the connection from his end. Such a connection is far less likely to be discovered.”
“Where am I supposed to get this ‘trojan’ from?”
“Tesfaye is working on that now. I’ve permitted for him to burrow deeper into my connection to Thad’s space. Together we plan to subtly modify your signal. The modification changes what you brought to Thad’s. A letter will appear in your left hand. It is a love letter from you to Thad. Drop it, so it lies on the sofa toward the back. It is small, but at some stage, Thad’s AI will notice it and bring it to his attention. When he reads it? And if he says your name aloud, then he will trigger the connection.”
