Shadow Sun Unification: Shadow Sun Book Five

by Dave Willmarth

  “I visited my class trainer the other day, and opted for a cool class specialization.” Ramon began to explain. “It’s called Paper Sorcerer. I can create enchanted items with paper, and control them. Like the plane, or a paper golem. Watch this.” Ramon grabbed another sheet of paper and quickly folded it several times, creating a four-pointed star that was several layers thick. It resembled one of the Asian throwing stars Allistor had seen in old movies. After closing his eyes for a moment, Ramon flicked his wrist, sending the paper star spinning toward a metal trash can about ten feet away. The projectile struck the side of the can, and erupted in a tiny fireball, sending the trash can careening across the floor. “That was just twenty mana.” Ramon grinned at Allistor.

  “That’s… awesome!” Allistor shook the last of the frost off his hands, then patted Ramon on the shoulder. “Very cool.”

  “Glad somebody thinks so.” Ramon shook his head. “Last night I made a lil paper golem, ‘bout the size of a gingerbread man. I sent it upstairs with a message for Nancy, nearly made her pee herself. She’s still mad at me.” Ramon hung his head.

  “Ha! She’ll get over it. Maybe you can make one to be the ring bearer at your wedding.” Allistor winked at him. Ramon just chuckled.

  “Oh! You’re not the only one who can do cool stuff, my friend. Check this out!” Allistor retrieved the emerald with ten slots in it, holding it out in the palm of his hand.

  Ramon picked up the gem and Examined it. A moment later, his eyes widened. “Dude! You can make storage devices!” He looked down at the gem, then back at Allistor.

  “Just small ones for now. But as I level up the spell, I could make some pretty cool stuff.”

  “This is already cool! You could sew this into your armor, and even if somebody knew to steal your storage ring, you could have backup gear in here.” Ramon held the gemstone up close to his face and peered into it. “I can… almost see some kind of darkness in there.”

  “That’s probably the dimensional rift. I could feel it pulling at me when I cast the spell. Which is why I’m going to take things slowly. Master Daigath warned me that failure in casting this one could kill me. And maybe everyone around me.”

  Ramon quickly handed the emerald back to Allistor. “Yeah, don’t go around creating black holes all willy-nilly, dude.” He looked at the stone in Allistor’s hand with a bit of fear evident on his face.

  Allistor grinned. “And don’t you go making any giant Stay Puft marshmallow golems out of paper. Can’t have one of those things rampaging through the city…” Both men chuckled at the visual from one of their favorite old movies.

  “How’s the scroll production going?” Allistor changed to business.

  “We’re making several hundred scrolls per day now. But it’ll still take us months to make enough just for everyone you’ve already recruited to get the basic three scrolls. At the rate you’re going, we’ll always be behind. The direct teaching is helping a lot, though. Nancy and the others have been setting aside three or four hours per day, traveling to the different settlements, teaching as many as they can. It seems there’s a limit to how many people you can teach in a day. It drains the teacher’s Stamina and mana a little bit each time they share a spell. And it has to be done one person at a time.”

  “Maybe the class trainers will help?” Allistor ventured, mainly to himself.

  “Oh, they’ve been a tremendous help!” Ramon got enthused again. “I mean, we’re all getting spells and skills we never dreamed of. I’d say, on the average, those of us who’ve been to our trainers are nearly twice as strong as we were before. In terms of survival, I mean. But the trainers are focused on class skills, not the basic spells we want everyone to have. A lot of the classes don’t have any kind of healing ability, for example.”

  Allistor nodded, his mind already working the problem.

  “We need to increase the number of people who can teach the healing spells to others. Pass the word. I want everyone walking around casting the heal spell on each other at random. Or on the chickens, cows, random birds flying by, whatever. I want everyone working to level up their heals so that they can teach it to others. Because it’s not just Invictus citizens I want to teach. We’re about to set out to find other human communities, and I want to be able to teach them. I want a thousand people who’ve mastered Restore and Mend who can walk through a portal or get on ships and teach a whole community in a day.”

  Ramon’s look turned mischievous. “Same daily training with Flame Shot?”

  “Ha!” Allistor shook his head. “No, I don’t want folks burning everything down. But everyone could walk around shooting light globes into the air.”

  “I can picture that causing a few incidents as well.” Ramon’s expression didn’t change. Allistor was about to ask what he meant, when he felt something bump into his butt. Turning around, he found a light globe floating there.

  “Well played, dork.” Allistor chuckled. “But I think practicing Light should be pretty harmless.” He paused for a second, then added, “But not after like, 8pm. I don’t want to keep people’s children up past their bedtime. And let people know that we’ll pay them for their time when they teach others.”

  “Pardon the interruption, sire. Master Daigath has requested your presence at the Wilderness Stronghold.”

  Both men, and everyone else in the room, looked up at the ceiling when Nigel’s voice rang out. There were a few looks of alarm, caused by the realization that the AI had interrupted a conversation, rather than waiting to notify Allistor when he was through talking.

  “Thank you Nigel. Please let him know I’m on my way.” Allistor was already headed for the door.

  As soon as he left the building, he increased his pace to a jog, quickly reaching the teleport pad. The moment he appeared at Wilderness, he found Daigath waiting for him in the courtyard.

  “Good morning, Allistor. I have several bits of news that I wanted to relay immediately. I apologize if my request interrupted something important.”

  “Not at all, Master Daigath. What do you have for me?”

  “First, I have been informed that Harmon’s orcanin have completed their search within the fomorian complex. They did not locate the remains of a Matron in the rubble. It is still possible that she was completely destroyed by one of the bombs.”

  “But it could mean that she’s out there somewhere, looking for payback.”

  Daigath shook his head. “A Matron, especially one who has lost her Patron and Scion, would normally not risk a rash act of vengeance. She would bide her time, rebuild her clan until she was strong enough to claim revenge. This would normally take decades, but for creatures so long-lived, it is not such a burden.” Allistor sighed with relief, which was short-lived.

  “But to reclaim her clan’s Ancestor Orb? For that, a Matron would take nearly any risk. She cannot rebuild her clan without the relic.” Daigath shook his head. “Every day you retain ownership of that relic, it presents a real threat to you and yours.”

  Allistor had been walking them towards the eating area, and his mentor’s words caused him to sit without realizing it. He placed both hands flat on the table in front of him, sliding them back and forth as he thought.

  “I’ve been wondering about something. You said I’m not powerful enough to use the relic, and won’t be for many years. But you can use it.” He raised both hands as Daigath opened his mouth to object. “I know, you’ve already told me you don’t want the orb. Or the power it could give you. And that’s not what I’m offering you.” Allistor got back to his feet and paced back and forth, his hands now clenched behind his back.

  “I recently learned that it’s possible to create dungeon cores, rather than wait to discover a dungeon and take control of it. Master Longbeard explained to me about how emperors often use dungeons to train their people.” He stopped pacing and turned to face the ancient elf.

  “What if you were to use just some of the orb’s power to create a few dungeon cores for us to se
ed Orion with? We could place the dungeons near our existing settlements, where they could be protected. And since I control who gets to settle on the planet, and where, we could also control who gets to use the dungeons.”

  Daigath shook his head. “I won’t use the relic, even for something as innocuous as that. But I have made contact with several entities who have expressed interest in the relic. And by interest I mean that several powerful factions are offering trades that will make even an emperor as wealthy as you blush.” The ancient Battlemage smiled slightly. “And I’m sure you could have a few dungeon cores thrown in with whichever offer you accept.”

  Now Allistor was curious. “What kind of trades? Ships? Klax?”

  Daigath shook his head. “I have promised to let them make their offers, and attempt to persuade you to accept them, in person. Five factions, including your friends the Or’Dralon, are awaiting invitations for an audience.”

  Allistor was slightly nervous, again. Representatives from five obviously powerful factions coming to see him. Which meant a day or more of formal audiences, with all the protocol, and risk, that affairs of state involved.

  “How… would we do this? Private meetings? Or a public auction sort of situation? Will we need to host a formal dinner?”

  Daigath smiled. “Well, this is a rare occurrence, and I am not aware of any particular protocol. If it were me, I would call them all together and allow them to present their offers publicly. It would create an instant competition between the bidders, and drive up the price. Still, one must be careful in any dealings with such powerful entities.”

  “Would you be there with me?” Allistor was definitely scared, now. “I don’t have any idea what they’ll be offering, or what the value would be once I’m told what it is.”

  Daigath favored him with a fatherly smile. “Yes, I will stand at your side. As will Harmon. And no one has a keener eye for the value of things than him. I suggest you have your four analysts attend, as well. Once the final offers are made, it is acceptable behavior for you to take some time to discuss them with your advisors. Wise rulers don’t make rash and unconsidered decisions.” Patting Allistor on the shoulder, he added, “As for protocol, as the host and the seller of such a valuable commodity, you may make the occasion as formal, or informal, as you like. Though I recommend making some of Lady Meg’s delicious food available, if only to put the bidders in a better mood.”

  Allistor relaxed a bit. “When do you suggest we do this?”

  “As soon as possible. The sooner that relic is gone from here, the safer you will be. The Matron, if she lives, likely has a connection to the orb, and may be able to track it. And as I mentioned before, even if the Matron has perished, there are factions that will not hesitate to crush you in order to obtain that relic. All of the bidders have declared themselves available at your earliest convenience. I would recommend tomorrow.”

  Allistor sighed. “Better to just rip off the bandaid, right? Please set it up as you described, with all of them presenting their offers tomorrow at midday. We’ll serve lunch… where do you think we should do it? I don’t exactly have a throne room.”

  “You should correct that as soon as you can.” Daigath smiled. “A noble should have a place for formal gatherings. But for now, the weather is gentle, and the group should not be large. Three or four representatives from each faction, I would think. The courtyard between your building and Harmon’s should serve nicely. L’olwyn has worked wonders on the sunken garden, and tables could be set up for dining. This location also allows Harmon’s troops to watch over the proceedings unobtrusively from nearby, should their assistance be needed.”

  “We can manage that. Thank you, Master Daigath. I’ll go break the news to Meg.”

  Allistor was turning to head back to the portal when he remembered he had questions.

  “Master, about the Dimensional Manipulation spell…” he produced his first two experiments and showed them to Daigath. “I wanted to ask you about this first one that I created. It only has one slot, though the gem shows it has a capacity for fifty. Can I go back and add more slots? Or will it… you know, explode?”

  Daigath chuckled. “For now, your skill level is insufficient to go back and increase the storage capacity. You’ll find, as a general rule, it is much harder to modify an enchanted object than it is to create it in the first place. At your current skill level you would be unlikely to cause an explosion. You would simply fail in the casting. Once your skill level is above ten, you should be able to go back and modify this to increase the capacity. It will be easier to modify your own enchantment than it would be for you to modify that of another enchanter.” The ancient elf looked at him and winked. “In case you were having any grand visions of increasing the capacity of your storage ring.”

  Allistor nodded. That thought had actually occurred to him while he’d been daydreaming about the spell’s possibilities. Though he’d been thinking more about the storage devices on the Phoenix than his own ring.

  “Inside the gems, there’s a sort of darkness, like a tiny rift or black hole. And when I created those, I felt a sort of… physical pull. Are they dangerous?”

  Daigath shook his head. “Because your spell level is still very low, these items are slightly more vulnerable than your ring, for example, which was created by someone much more advanced in the skill. Should these encounter a nullifying element, the enchantment could be broken, the containment element of the spell disrupted. It would then cause an implosion that would be catastrophic within a small area.”

  Allistor gulped, suddenly regretting just tossing his emeralds into his storage ring.

  Daigath chuckled. “Do not worry. The odds of you encountering a nullifying element strong enough to disable even your first attempts here are almost beyond reckoning.” He held out his hand, and Allistor handed him both emeralds. “Still, just so you won’t lose sleep the night before you host such an important event, I will modify these for you.”

  The old elf put his free hand over top of the one that held the emeralds, closed his eyes briefly, and there was a soft glow that leaked between his fingers. When he removed his hand, Allistor quickly Examined the gems. Both of them were now fifty-slot storage devices.

  Impressed, Allistor accepted the gems back. “Thank you, master. You’re right, I was considering throwing these into the lake before going home.” He grinned at Daigath. “I’ll hold off on more experiments for now.”

  Daigath motioned toward the teleport pad. “I’ll return to Invictus with you now, and assist L’olwyn in his preparations. I’d also like to have a word with Harmon before the auction.”

  Chapter 2

  Back at the Invictus Tower, Allistor stopped to see if Amanda was back in her infirmary. She was sitting at a work station, studying something under a microscope. Moving in close, he peered over her shoulder, trying to identify what was on the slide.

  “Back up a bit, buddy. My fiancé could walk in at any minute.” Amanda spoke without looking up from the microscope. “He’s kind of a big deal around here.”

  “I think I could take him.” Allistor grinned at her back. He placed a hand on her shoulder, rubbing with his thumb. “How are the folks at Luther’s Landing?”

  Amanda sighed, still looking through her scope. “They’re still mourning, obviously, but I think they’ll be okay. They’re already starting back to work today. We’re all getting too used to losing loved ones.”

  Allistor grimaced. That was an ugly truth that he didn’t want to examine just then. So he changed the subject. “Whatcha lookin at?”

  This time she did raise her head, turning to smile at him. “Skin. Specifically, some of my skin. I’ve found something interesting, but I’m not sure it means anything.” She motioned for him to take a look as she rolled her chair to one side. He leaned down and placed his eyes in front of the appropriate lenses. What he saw didn’t mean much to him. A bunch of cells all clumped together.

  “Okay, keep watching, I’m going to
cast Restore.” Amanda cast the spell, and watched Allistor’s face.

  In the microscope, Allistor saw the cells begin to vibrate. They rubbed against each other, moving more and more quickly for several seconds, before slowing down again and eventually growing still.

  “What was that?” He raised his head to look at her. “I mean, I know it was a heal spell. But what was the activity I saw?”

  “That skin is from a small piece I sliced off my arm about five minutes ago. In theory, nothing should have happened when I cast a heal on it. It’s just dead flesh, disconnected from my body, from any blood flow to keep it viable. But it still tried to react to the healing magic. If you were able to count the cells before and after the spell, you’d find that new cells have been created.” She took a pair of tweezers from the table and lifted the half-inch wide section of skin. When she held up her arm, Allistor could see the still bloody section she’d sliced the skin away from.

  Using the tweezers, she laid the skin back in place on her arm. “This skin should have been dead by now, but…” She cast Restore again, and they both watched as the sample melded itself back into place, meshing with the surrounding flesh until neither of them could see a hint of the wound. Amanda’s arm looked untouched.

  “So… what? You’re part zombie now?” Allistor was a little creeped out.

  “Dork.” She shook her head. “I’m not sure what this means. We already know we can’t heal the dead and bring them back to life. We’ve tried and failed often enough.” She paused, thinking of some of the friends they hadn’t been able to save. “And that skin should have died quickly once removed. But casting heals on it about once per minute seems to have kept it viable long enough to be reattached. Re-assimilated. Whatever. It might be just because it’s a small piece of a very simple organ…” Her voice faded as she got lost in thought.

  Allistor was starting to get excited. “Are you saying you’ve found a way to resurrect people?”