by P. G. Thomas
“If I was given one gift, I want to see what he sees. Eric I understand as the sword compels him. Zack’s gift is different as is Ryan’s, but both have received gifts from this land. Earth Mother and Sister’s Voice, gifts obvious they are. They all have magic born of this land. The Unchosen, that young lad has pulled this entire land into his head and now dissects it. Now he begins to understand how it works. I understand that magic, pure or impure, is either a gift or taught, and that one does not reach out and just find it. John has done that. Not a gift from Mother, Sister, or others blesses him, but yet he reaches out and grasps magic like not any other has done before. Until Earth Mother returns, we shall watch this young one. Send word to the other Earth Mothers, and tell them I am taking one of their guards. Two will replace you, as you will form the captain of his Earth Guard. Select the other three you want on your team. From now on, he shall not be left alone.”
“What do we call him?” asked Careel.
“For now, we will keep it simple. We shall call him John.”
When John returned to the house, he plugged the cloak into the kite cables and raced up to his room. Pushing the desk from the wall, he started to draw the image from his mind. He created a rough sketch of the mountain range. In the middle was the pass, and on the far side was the river. Drawing radiating curves, he marked them with distances, adding a multi-event calendar on the bottom. Pulling his chair over, he looked at the crude drawing, converted it into a mental image, which he pulled into his head, including all of the variables and timelines. Closing his eyes, he watched the image take shape. Reaching out with his hands, he manipulated the variables. Moving events back and forwards, he rotated the image with his hands, changing the perspective. His mind, like a giant mainframe computer, kept a list of the changes, as John ran through the different simulations.
Panry watched him most of the day, as John’s hands continued to move objects in front of him, which only he could see.
It was later that day when Careel Dawnfalcon came up, advising that they had selected their Earth Guard for John, and silently asked, “What does he accomplish, Panry?”
Shrugging his shoulders, he walked away.
*******
The next day, John headed to his practice range with his cloak and gold, as Earth Guards with empty pockets followed. After only practicing for three hours, he went back to town, and once in his room, he opened his dresser pulling out his tablet. Blowing the dust off of it, he pulled out his Leatherman tool, and removing the screws, he took off the back. The one thing John never thought he would do in his life was destroy technology. Then he ripped off a large electronic component, which he cut in half. Finding Mirtza in the backyard, he placed half of the component on the table. Then he asked Mirtza to join him at the front of the house. Handing him the other half, he asked him to drop it through the bracelet to open a portal. Mirtza, being curious about where John was going, did so. In the portal, an image of the backyard appeared, which John and Mirtza stepped into.
“John, we could have walked back here.”
Picking up the other half of the electronic component, John kissed it, “I just had to be sure it would work.” Returning to his room, he stared at the wall, making the necessary changes to it. Pulling the diagram into his head, he animated it, but each simulation he played out failed to succeed. Rethinking everything, he kept altering his simulation well into the night. When Panry went up to go to bed, he stopped and asked Careel for an update.
“He just sits there, doing the same things over and over. Mayhap he is broken.”
“You are Earth Guard, and he is your charge. Protect and serve.” Then Panry went to bed.
Chapter 26
The next morning, John was replaying the last simulation in his head. It might work. It has to work! He stopped into Logan’s room and called Fodu. Logan had rolled over, pulling the rod free. While not bleeding badly, he still needed a dressing, and Ryan was asleep on the floor. Logan rolled over. This is good. Going down to the kitchen, he grabbed a quick breakfast, thinking about the last simulation. When done, heading out the front door, he was halfway down the street when he realized that five elves were following him, all Earth Guards.
He walked over to Babartin, “What’s up?”
The elf lookup to the sky, thinking a sky elf was arriving, and then then turned to John, “Not anything does be up. Panry asked us to watch over you.”
“Why?”
“He did not say. I did not ask.”
John continued to the Earth Mothers’ house, who were just finishing their breakfast. “I was wondering if there was any update on Lauren.”
“No, when she wakes, she does not want us around. When she sleeps, we give her medicine to help her rest.”
John nodded, “Logan rolled over last night.”
“That would be the first time he has moved,” advised Brook. “We shall look on him later this day.”
“I need a favor from you. You gave Lauren medicine to help her sleep. Can you make a sleeping potion for me? A highly concentrated one.”
“How strong do you need it?” asked Arora.
“I want to take the smallest drop and inject it into someone, making them sleep.”
“How small does the smallest drop be?” asked Brook.
Bending down, he picked a piece of grass and dipped it into a cup of bean juice. Shaking off the excess, you could barely see the brown liquid on the green grass, “Smaller than this.”
Brook had an odd look on her face, “Your request is strange. What do you need this for?”
“I have an idea. Can you make it for me?”
Nur replied for them all, “We will try.”
“When do you need it?” asked Brook.
“Whenever you have a sample, let me know.” John then left the house, continuing to his next stop.
“Gayne those portal bracelets that Mirtza used. How many do you have?”
“This I will not tell you.”
“Fine, I’ll send Panry over, so he can ask the question.” John turned to leave.
“Each student has one. With Mirtza’s and mine, we have fourteen in total.”
“Thank you,” John said without turning around.
Returning to the house, he grabbed his cloak and a bag of gold, and the elves emptied their pockets before following him. Going out to the field, he had the elves place the coins on the sticks, and two hours later, they were all lead. Even though he wanted to try again, he had no idea how much magic his cloak contained, and if he drained it, his plan would fail, as he was unable to formulate a contingency plan.
After they had ridden back to the house, John returned to his room, and sitting in front of the sketch on his wall, he pulled the image into his mind, adding the fourteen bracelets to the dynamic equation that was evolving in his head. Making a mental list of the necessary components, he ran it against his simulation, wondering if an alternate solution might be possible. With only two elements missing, the Earth Mothers were working on one, but that still left the wildcard. After several hours of trying to find a different path, giving up, he went down to the backyard where he found an exhausted Ryan sitting at the table.
“The last time I felt this rundown, it was after an eight hour surgery. What happened?”
“If I’m right, energy from you has transferred to Logan. He rolled over last night. You should be feeling better each day so just spend a lot of time outside. The metal in you attracts the energy or magic. You just may have saved Logan’s life.”
The next week was difficult. Every day John went out to his practice range. Knowing he could hit the distance, he had them move the sticks to cover a wider area, as he tried to expand the area covered, and he became faster each day. Every other day, the Earth Mothers would bring him a sleeping potion sample, which he would take down to the building that housed the black-clad soldiers. Dipping a sewing pin into the potion, he would jab one of the soldiers, but none fell asleep
Panry had arranged with P
intar that updates were to take place outside of John’s room, ensuring he would overhear each report. Each day, the news was worse; the army was growing, the bridge was huge, being over two hundred feet wide, and across the river, the shield of innocents was now complete.
The next morning, John bumped into Gingaar, “She is not well, friend John, as medication does not help. In her sleep, she complains of what you would call dark horses?”
Nightmares.
“It gets worse, as she wanders in her sleep. We find her upright but not awake. In middle of night, she washes her hands and arms.”
“Does she say anything?”
“Yes, she complains the blood will not wash off.”
Two days later, he pricked the black-clad soldier with the pin, who fell asleep in a matter of seconds, and later reports would advise that the sleep lasted for six hours. He went back to the Earth Mothers, “Make me a huge pot of that potion.”
The same day, a postal service carriage pulled into town. The dwarves had been sending in small amounts of mithril chains, ropes, and threads, but today, the floodgates opened. Fodu already had the new kites built and the new cloak cut, so he quickly assembled his teams as they began to process the mithril objects.
Ryan walked into the backyard, looking like crap.
“You should get some sleep,” advised John.
“I can’t, I’m too worried about Lauren. They won’t let me visit her, and all I hear is bad news. If I ever find the bastard that did that to her…”
“Right now you just need to get your strength back, and your head clear, so when Lauren needs you, you can help her.”
“Get better? I saw her lying on that table in that room. It’s one thing to wake up with injuries like that from an accident. I can’t imagine what hell she went through when they tortured her. Gingaar told me that sick bastard cut open her leg, carving his name on her calf bone. How is she ever going to be normal, knowing that is there? How will she ever be able to forget what happened, as every crippled step she takes will remind her of those days. I used to think my nightmares were bad. I would trade them with her if I could, as she doesn’t deserve the ones that now destroy her sleep.”
“It took you some time to heal—”
“The night I went down to Pintar’s, morphing into Lauren. Before I went, I brought her staff to her. She told me that the longer she held onto it, the stronger she felt, but when I told Gingaar and Nur, they told me Lauren wouldn’t touch it. She just throws it away. Nur even put it on the bed beside her, but in the morning, Lauren had hidden it under the bed. I don’t understand why she won’t let it help her?”
John let out a heavy sigh, “I think the staff represents death to her. She killed two armies with it, and she could’ve killed Korg. If she heals before the battle, with that kind of power, she doesn’t know what she should do. Should she kill the innocent victims that march this way, so they don’t kill the innocent victims behind our wall? Should she stop the innocent victims in the west from attacking the innocent victims that march this way? Or does she do nothing and just watch the innocents kill each other. Gingaar told me that she’s having nightmares. They find her washing her hands in her sleep, complaining the blood won’t wash off.”
Ryan sat down and cradled his head in his hands, “We have to help her. I know about depression, which will eat away at her from the insides until there’s just a hollow shell there.”
“I know. I’m working on a plan, and I think it’ll bring her back. When I get the last details worked out, I’ll let you know.”
John needed a break to validate that everything was happening according to the plan in his head. Borrowing two of the fast horses, he rode out to the pass with Careel. Looking out over the army, he checked the positions of the suns through a large dark crystal, comparing the current view of the battlefield to the image in his head: the image that haunted him. They were close enough to suggest everything was going as calculated.
John went to Lauren’s room that night. There was one piece to his puzzle that he needed dearly. Mother, now is the time. He knocked on Lauren’s door, but when nobody answered, he opened it. She was crying in her pillow.
“Lauren, may I enter?”
“Leave me alone.” It was a weak request.
Panry was standing outside the door.
“Lauren, I need your help.”
“No, I cannot help.”
“The army is here, and they’ll attack soon.”
“I know. I can’t do anything.”
“They have brought a shield of innocents to protect them.”
You could hear Lauren trying to fight off the tears, “John, I know. I saw them. I tried to stop them. I failed. So many will die, and I don’t want to kill innocent people. There’s already too much pain in this world. I can’t add to it. Let Eric bear this burden.”
“No, Lauren, it’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. The battle will be horrific. Tranquil Fury will not attack the innocents. He was made to destroy evil. Innocents will meet innocents on the battlefield. How can midlander kill midlander? Those in the west will not know if the one that stands in front of them stands with or against them. Family will meet family on the battlefield, and will have to kill each other. Dwarf will reach out to fallen dwarf, only to be killed, and the same with elf. Even if by some chance victory is ours, the loss will be too great. Both the east and west will be wiped out. None will be left. All of Mother’s children will be dead.”
“I have a plan, and we can save them, but I need your help.”
Lauren wiped the tears from her eyes, unsure of what to say.
John continued, “Do you remember the first time you encountered the black-clad forces on the south bank, and you created your army of insects?”
“I thought of that, but the insects aren’t smart enough. They could inflict horrible diseases on the innocents.”
“I know, I thought of that also, but I don’t want to harm anybody. We have a sleeping potion. I need you to call forth an army of mosquitoes, making them fill their syringes with the potion, which they’ll deliver to the black-clad soldiers. If they deliver it to any innocents, they’ll just fall asleep like the soldiers. When they sleep, I’ll free the innocents, and we’ll bring them back here. They’ll live.” John prayed to Mother, asking for her help. By his calculations, there were about eleven days to when the suns would align, “You’ll help save lives because we’ll take away their shield, and then Tranquil Fury can complete his prophecy.”
Lauren sat up, wiping away her tears, “Don’t toy with me.”
John took a deep breath, “I’m serious because I’ve found magic, and I can free those enslaved by the black-clad, but I’ll need your help.” She began to cry, and John was uncertain if it was a good or bad sign, “I should add that Logan rolled over the other day, he’s getting better.”
Lauren’s world stopped, “What did you say?”
“Logan’s doing better.”
“Now I know you toy with me! Get out!” scrammed Lauren. “Logan’s dead. He died when they captured us,” her voice changed to a whisper, “me. Get out you bastard.”
“Your brother isn’t dead, and he saved your life. Didn’t anybody tell you?”
Lauren fought back her tears, “Panry, please take me to my brother.”
“I am Earth Guard. I serve Earth Mother, and she has left.”
“Please, help me to see my brother.”
“Do I help Earth Mother or Lauren?”
“Lauren.”
John cursed under his breath.
However, Panry’s frustration was still present, “I wait for Earth Mother to return.”
Lauren brought her hands up to her face, started to cry, “Panry, I can’t walk. Please, can’t you help me…as a friend?”
It was not an Earth Bond. It was a hurt soul calling for help, and Panry, he was unable to refuse. His face showed no emotion, but his heart screamed in pain. He picked up Lauren from her bed, taking her to
Logan’s room. He was sleeping on his side facing the door, and John pushed a chair beside the bed.
“What happened?”
Panry started, “After they captured you, Earth Mothers and Gingaar felt Earth Bonds and Curses from you. They advised that the Royal House tortured you. After two days, you command your Earth Guard to save you.”
“No, I didn’t, I would never do that.”
“Mother helped you to call. Ryan also shared a similar concern. He encouraged Mirtza to open a portal to you, which Zack and Ironhouse followed him into. You apparently gave Ryan a piece of your staff.” Panry wanted to rip into her, telling her that she should never have mounted the damn eagle, or she should have told him she gave Ryan a piece of her staff. She could have done so much, so differently, but his heart rejected the harsh words. “They rescued you and your brother. As we raced across the grasslands, we saw a flare in sky. Eric had returned by that time and flew out to look for you also. We all met, and I flew you and Logan back to Alron.”
John added, “Logan realized that your injuries were serious, and he told Panry that he had to carry you to keep you warm, but Panry flew back faster than Eric flew out. I think Logan leant his magic to your mount so it would fly faster. However, I think he overextended himself keeping you warm and with the faster flight. I think he drilled down into his own life essence. I can’t explain it, but my best guess is that when the magic was gone, he willed his own energy into you. Ryan gave him a magic transfusion a couple of days ago, and it seems to have helped.”
“Is the potion ready?” asked Lauren, wiping happy tears from her eyes,
“Yes.”
“You can free the innocents?”
“Yes.”
Lauren stared at her motionless brother, “Panry, please arrange a carriage, as I need to be close to the mosquitoes. I cannot walk or ride there.”
Before he could answer, John replied, “Thank you, Lauren.” He then pushed Panry out of the room, “Don’t call her Earth Mother until she tells you to. She’s back on the path, so give her some time. If we push her too hard, she may step off.”
