by SK Benton
High-level mages (the Prīmulī, as well as archangels and, in limited cases some lower angels) carried a physical object that was genetically encoded to their systems, via the living, non-sentient ghanlo contained within. These ghanlos had massive amounts of memory, and could save 3D and 4D slip data, enabling the mage to return to points in space/time where he had previously been without having to go through the process of recalculating coordinates. Lower-level mages had no such devices, were limited to 3D slips, and merely recited cantuses.
As Max was Draagh's grandson, he was informed that he would be able to use the ancient one's staff on a local level, albeit with some minor limitations. The two went about slipping to various parts of the castle, and when Draagh felt that Max had a decent enough grasp of the concepts, allowed his young charge to select a location with which he was familiar, so Max slipped with his grandfather to the location of the battle with Ladros.
Looking out over the grassy area in which they fought, Draagh kneeled down and touched the earth, which caused an eerie glow to set out from his outstretched palm.
"They returned. Yes, they did indeed," stated the aged wizard, but Max already knew this, as the pole in which he had impaled the separated skull of his opponent was gone of course, along with the head. "We shall not return here, my son," exclaimed Draagh. There is an aura of evil that emanates from this ground - it is spoiled."
Max got the message, and slammed the staff into the ground and slipping them back to the main hall, where they were to continue lessons for the rest of the day.
Jennie passed her day practicing furiously in the open pitch of the training grounds, still miffed by Max's treatment of her the previous night. As she flipped over obstacles with ease and shot fireballs at forward targets with her wand, she simultaneously performing double scissor kicks on lateral targets, destroying them with her powerful legs.
The small, raggedy-looking girl whom Jennie briefly saw a few times after the mock battle watched her from around a corner, apparently impressed with the woman's battle skills. Holding a burnt stick in her, she waved it around, imitating the impressive offworlder's every move.
She was sweating like a pig, and had done all of her practice in battle form, necessitating a break for nourishment, as her levels were nearly depleted. As she walked into the dining hall she saw Max and Draagh sitting at a table to the side of the room, but instead of greeting them, as was her fashion, she simply ignored the two and took a seat further on in the expansive chamber, laying her katana on the table top, off to the side. With three giant plates of steaming hot meat set before her, she dug in, eating voraciously, and not even noticing when Draagh had sat down by her side.
"My dear girl!" he said in a rather loud and almost obnoxious voice, "why not come sit with us? I believe your young colleague has a great deal to tell you regarding today's lessons."
"Naw, that's Ok, Pops. Gotta get back out and train some more," she matter-of-factly replied.
Draagh paused for a moment, but continued to look at her with a kind gaze.
"Very well, then. I am sure you have much to accomplish, but may I ask something of you?"
Jennie looked up from the meat-loaded plates with innocent, but uninterested eyes, her lower face covered in the meat's succulent juices, which dripped down her chin and onto her tunic. With a large chunk of flank steak hanging from the corner of her mouth, she looked at her teacher and nodded in the affirmative.
"Would you loan me your sword - your katana, for the rest of the day? I would like to study it a bit. You see, I find that particular weapon to be quite fascinating and-"
Before he could finish his request, she slid the blade in its saya, or sheath, over to him on the table, and then dug her face back into her plate of food, slurping and chewing with less table manners than even the least-educated of lycan soldiers.
Draagh stood up, and after thanking her most graciously, walked back over to Max, with the girl's sword in his hand.
"Hey Draagh, why do you have her sword? Did you put her on battle-girl time-out?" Max asked, with just a touch of sarcasm to his voice.
Draagh took a moment to decipher Max's use of archaic English, and chuckled lightly, saying, "Oh no, not at all. She is being a good girl, though she is a bit upset - yes, that much is certain. Did the two of you have an argument, perhaps last night after you left the main hall?"
Max looked at him and shook his head while saying, "Nope. I just said goodnight and went to bed."
Draagh knew this to be partially true, as he had witnessed through Socrates - who was hidden in the trees during their battle with the vampires - the aftermath of the fight, including Max's attempt to kiss her. Draagh gave his grandson a warm gaze, and sat down next to him.
"My boy, one must be patient with the fairer sex, and especially so with lycan females. There is a spark between the two of you, but it will not set any embers ablaze if forced, much like when one blows too hard on kindling for the fire. The potential flame simply extinguishes."
Max gave him a deadpan look, and after a brief pause said, "Ok, whatever. Sounds about right to me."
Leaving Jennie in peace, the two returned to the main hall, where Max was allowed to use the staff on his own, but only to slip within the castle itself. Outside locations were not allowed. As Max used Draagh's staff he would not be depleting his own magical skills readout line, and thus not suffer a timeout. Draagh did this to allow Max a bit of controlled freedom and ample practice, and also so he could be alone and examine Jennie's impressive katana, which was made many years prior by Ohiro's grandfather, on what remained of the Japanese main island. As he set about studying the sword, he got a twinkle in his eye and started to manipulate the fearsome weapon with detailed, unspoken cantuses.
Meanwhile, Max was using his grandfather's staff in a most devious fashion, popping in and out of various rooms throughout the castle, and even unwittingly slipped into the small quarters of a post pubescent lycan male who was, at that very moment, discovering the mechanics of his manhood.
"Oops, sorry, bro! Been there, done that!" Max exclaimed, as the frightened youth jumped behind a wardrobe partition and tried to cover his exposed parts.
Feeling a bit awkward after having been painfully reminded of his own journey of self-discovery, Max decided to stop invading the privacy of others, and to bring it out into the open. He slipped into the training grounds, tamping the staff on the earthen pitch and making small concussion waves and popping sounds as he slipped around Jennie's manic efforts at self-improvement; this time without her katana, and only her wand and gauntlet.
The field trainers watched with great amusement as Max appeared and disappeared, while Jennie scrambled over obstacles and shot balls of fire at the annoying young lycan/mage. She nearly hit him on more than one occasion, so he upped the ante by interfering with her path, using conjured laser blasts, and although they were harmless, they did cause her some level of distraction.
As they went on it seemed like she was enjoying the enhanced level of difficulty more and more. Finally, they were both worn out, and as the training hours had come to an end, Max went over to where she was sitting and dropped down next to her.
"Excellent!" shouted Max, having some imagery of a late-20th century movie he had frequently watched as a child pop into his head - the story about two teenaged friends who were provided with a time machine, and assigned with the simple task of researching history so that they could pass their final exam and not be separated into different schools.
"Hey Jennie, did you ever watch any old movies, like from Earth?"
She looked at him, her curiosity aroused, and asked, "You mean when people performed? Before the industry was completely computerized?"
Max nodded, as he smiled, feeling glad that she wasn't ignoring him anymore. "Yeah, back then."
By the mid-21st century, computers were doing all of the work for entertainment, and Hollywood film actors, as they were called, had gone the way of the dinosaur. On Azul, the o
nly actors that existed were people who performed live, in front of audiences, and then only did so out of a love for the art, as they were required to memorize long lines and display great skill in portraying their characters without having the luxury of being able to stop and start over again. Needless to say, it wasn't something one did for a career, as no one could ever earn enough pesos, francs or dollars to make it worth their while.
"Yeah, I saw a few. Hard to believe people were paid incredible amounts for doing that, huh?"
Max laughed and said, "There was this movie about these two idiots, Bill and Ted, and they had a time-"
"Oh I saw that one!" she interrupted, excitedly. "They kidnapped figures from throughout history for their report! It was pretty funny. Come to think of it, can we go back in time, once you learn 4D slipping, and maybe train with Genghis Khan?"
They both burst out laughing, practically rolling on the ground on which they were seated.
"You know, you're getting scary-good. No vampire is going to last long around you - especially smelling like that. Speaking of stink, I wonder what cannibals fight like?"
Jennie looked over, knowing that her natural perfume was less than desirable at the moment, and gained a slight grin.
"Yeah Gunnarsson, I've been wondering the same thing. You think maybe Draagh could set us up with a sampler?"
Max thought for a second, and then said, "Hey, let's go ask him. Stand up!"
The two young officers rose from their seated positions on the grass, where he slammed the staff to the ground, slipping them to the main hall, surprising Draagh, who was seated at his table. It was a complete mess, covered with manuscripts, books, candles and some archaic-looking devices, most with magical qualities. As soon as the pop sounded that designated their arrival, Draagh started waving his hand out in front of his nose.
"My hall smells of the ripest of lycans. Dear Jennie, I do so hope you have fit a bath into your busy schedule", he called out.
"Hey Draagh," Jennie asked, with a hopeful look on her face, "Can we go kill some cannibals?"
Draagh looked at her aghast, and replied, "Oh my dear, no, Jennie. Why would you want to do that?"
"Well," added Max, "they're the enemy, right?"
Draagh gave them a sad, pitying expression and said, "What has befallen them is not their fault, and as long as we can keep them from harming others and adding to their population we do not kill them. It is quite tragic, as they lose a good deal of reason when they are infected. We only kill when attacked, and never, ever out of pleasure or for sport."
Jennie looked at the old mage, and had an expression of complete understanding. Max also wore a face of remorse for having even considered it, as he delicately placed Draagh's staff on the table next to Primulus. Draagh then stood and took his staff in his hand.
"I must meet with Krynos over matters of the utmost urgency. Shall we meet for dinner? It is Donus' birthday today, and it is sure to be quite a celebration."
Both of them looked at Draagh as their eyes lit up, with Jennie quickly responding, saying, "Ok, that sounds great - but hey! Where's my katana?"
Draagh looked back briefly as he went to exit the main hall, saying, "Oh, I haven't finished with it yet. May I return it to you in the morning?"
"Ok, that's cool. Thanks!" replied the beautiful, but sweaty and malodorous lycan girl.
Suddenly, Max ran over to his departing grandfather, saying, "Draagh, just a minute," and then whispered something in the old mage's ear. Draagh got a slight grin and nodded, turning away and continuing his exit from the room.
With an extremely inquisitive look on her face, Jennie asked Max, "Hey Gunnarsson, what was that about?"
"Oh, you'll see," he said with a devilish grin.
Chapter 19 - Let's Dance
Both Max and Jennie returned to their respective quarters to clean up for the party. Jennie spent and substantial amount of time scrubbing down in the shower, as she had spent the majority of the day in battle form, and that tended to create a strong scent. Max also showered, but was able to spend time going over some manuscripts, before visiting with his grandfather so he could pick up what was a very special request.
About an hour before Donus' birthday celebration was about to begin, Jennie heard a knocking on her door. Max's scent was in the corridor, and, dressed only in a plush towel, she opened the portal to see what it was he wanted. To her surprise, Max was standing in the hallway in an all-white, commander's ceremonial uniform from Azul Military, with another uniform draped over his arm. She almost gasped when she saw him, having never seen him dressed like that before. She had always seen him as his usual unkempt self - nerdy and down to business, or in ill-fitting battle armor. But this time he was dressed to the nines, as they used to say. Although unwilling to admit it, she found him rather attractive, and also felt that the uniform made him look much manlier than usual.
"Jennie, I assume you didn't bring your dress whites either?" he asked, fully expecting a negative response, to which she slowly shook her head with a little smile, still visually scanning the young commander up and down.
"Ok then," he said, "take this and get dressed," handing her the uniform and officer's slouch hat he had earlier asked Draagh to conjure. "We'll show these puppies what real uniforms look like." He then gave her a quick wink and burst off back to his room.
Jennie shut the door, turned around and softly fell back against the dark wood of the portal, staring off with a look of wonderment on her face as she slowly slid downwards into a seated position, her supple legs bent in front.
"Wow," she whispered breathlessly, "he's kinda hot. Damn."
Donus' party was already in full swing by the time the two offworlders entered. It was the lycan commander's 123rd birthday, and as such, he was considered quite young for his leadership position. Draagh was seated at the high table with Krynos, and although Donus had a seat of honor with them, he preferred to remain on the main floor with his soldiers and compatriots. They were playing a game that comprised of smashing each other in the face with large legs of roasted moose, while maintaining their balance on precariously stacked wooden blocks.
"Lycan Jenga, "joked Max, referring to an ancient Earth game of stacking, and then removing small, wooden blocks. Jennie had no idea what Jenga was, so she returned a quizzical expression as the two stepped into the hall. Suddenly, the entire party came to a near stand-still, as almost everyone looked up to the main entrance stairs to watch two figures descend to the main floor, dressed in the most impressive white they had ever seen. As they walked the main thoroughfare between the rows of tables, lycans - soldiers, administrators and their spouses - watched the two, who were basically aliens, majestically enter side by side with their heads held high and hats held at their sides. Whispers began throughout the crowd, and even Krynos looked on with great admiration, never having expected these two to show up in such fine garb.
Draagh smiled with a gleam in his eye, quite proud of his two pupils, and also quite pleased with his apparent matchmaking skills, as it seemed that they had come to some sort of mutual understanding - an agreement that he hoped would eventually lead to something of a more permanent nature.
The two stopped in front of the high table, with Max taking a step forward, bowing slightly.
"King Krynos, Commander Maximilianus Gunnarsson and Lieutenant Jennifer Escalante hereby make a formal request to attend this great celebration - with your permission, of course."
Krynos looked at them with feigned apprehension at first, and then broke out into an incredible smile. Standing up, he spread out his arms and said loudly, "Donus, would you have these two fine military officers visiting us from a far-away world attend your birthday celebration?"
Donus, wearing an equally giant smile, looked out at the massive crowd and yelled, "What say my brothers and sisters?" to which the entire crowd roared with approval, prompting Donus to run up and embrace the two, taking great care not to stain their white, almost angelic-looking uniforms.<
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"My friends," he exclaimed loudly, "when you first arrived I was unsure of your ability to fit in, and even complete a single run on the obstacle course. Not only did you surprise me, you have made me incredibly proud. So proud that I shall call you my brother and sister from this day on out."
The crowd applauded and howled, with many of the attendees going to pat the two on their backs. Then, as Max and Jennie turned to take seats somewhere in the expansive crowd, Krynos called out to them, "My friends, young pups. Please be seated with us at the high table. Your efforts and successes have more than earned you the privilege," to which Max and Jennie looked at other with grins, and then bounded up the stairs to take their places with the lycan king and their teacher.
Enjoying the raucous festivities, with various soldiers bashing each other with the closest thing they could get their hands on - sometimes other lycans - Max and Jennie sat and chatted with Krynos and Draagh, telling them about their training earlier in the day, especially where Max was slipping throughout the training field, with Jennie trying in vain to blast him with her wand. Max even admitted that she had managed to singe his posterior on more than one occasion. Further, he recounted how he had slipped into that poor youth's room at the precise moment of the lad's self-discovery, which brought tear-laden laughter, and almost caused Krynos to choke on his fortified mead.
There was music, quite similar to what one would expect to hear in the middle ages of Earth's past, but Max had an idea. He whispered into Jennie's ear, asking her a question to which, at first, she timidly shook her head no. After a bit more apparent pleading, she nodded approvingly. It was then that he bounded down into the main area and raised his arms, calling for everyone's attention. The crowd quieted down after a minute, as it was difficult (almost impossible) to keep lycans soundless during a party.
