“Now,” Joel commanded and ten beams of light shot into the Aakacarns, killing them instantly.
They had been bunched together, back to back, and could not fall because they were up to their shins in solid stone. A short while later a muffled sound came from the standing corpses and they burst open, meaning a second team had teleported in and died as their substance attempted to displace that of their dead associates.
“That was not a pretty sight,” Sylvester Dulighter commented from his alcove two paces away.
“Just be ready to cast, Die Now, the instant the next group appears within the chamber,” Joel ordered.
“But any who appear in this spot will be instantly melded with the corpses of the previous group and die quickly without our help,” Laannie Shaferon decided his opinion had been called for.
“The next group may not appear right in front of your face,” Brandolf Solenin gave the correct answer.
Ten more Accomplisheds of the Serpent Guild appeared inside the chamber, twenty paces from the standing corpses, and ten beams of light shot from the alcoves, killing the Aakacarns while they were drawing breath to scream. Like the others, these were standing back to back, each with their shins part of the floor, and unable to fall. Muffled sounds, followed by bursting corpses, indicated Serpents were being sent to reinforce their associates at both arrival points, and consequently died.
Through Fashioning, Joel could sense other Atlantans involved with phase three, reforming chambers and passages into teleportation deathtraps throughout Shantear. Phase four was up to the Maestro and Joel stepped out of his alcove, wanting to be of help. Harmonic waves washed through him as he made his way out into the main chamber and around the corpses littering the floor. All of the spell casting was taking place on the other side of the Great Crystal, so he went over there.
“That is one solid shield. I can’t find an air passage for my seeds to get through,” Simon Trenca said disgustedly, while standing beside Leah Barryn.
On the other side of the shield stood twenty-three Aakacarns, one of which was the short-stout fellow who had been shown so much respect from his fellows. His hood was laid back, revealing short white hair. Red veins shot through his bulbous nose and a twisted smile revealed white teeth. The smugness of the man gave Joel the urge to reach in and slap him. Behind the enemy Aakacarns was the entrance to the Great Crystal and the apparent reason for the attitude.
Jerremy DeSuan aimed his baton and a purple beam struck the shield and accomplished nothing. “I think the shield is being sustained by a Grand Symphony.”
Daniel, with Sherree Jenna at his side, aimed a diamond-bladed crescendo, launching a topaz lighting bolt so bright Joel had a difficult time blinking the after image from his eyes. His vision cleared and he was sorry to see the Maestro’s full power blast had been just as in effective as the tall Serinian’s.
Letters appeared above the head of the stout, apparently Demfilian-born, Accomplished. I AM NEST LEADER BELLOMY BROCKHOUSE, THE COMMANDER OF SERPENT WEST. YOUR ATTEMPS TO BREAK THIS SHIELD ARE FUTILE. YOUR PEOPLE ARE DYING ON THE MOUNTIANSIDE AND THE GREAT TARIN CONN WILL SOON BREAK FREE. HE COMPOSED A HIGH POWERED SHIELD SPELL THAT KEEPS THE AIR FRESH. WE SHALL BE HERE AS LONG AS IT TAKES AND YOU WILL NOT GET TO THE CRYSTAL CHAMBER BEFORE HE IS FREE FROM KELGOTH.
More letters appeared but Joel paid them no attention. He went to the wall of the chamber, placed his left hand flat against the stone, and cast the spell, Fashioning. His senses went into the substance of the mountain, revealing all of the minerals and quartz deposits in the chamber. The crystals in this section of the chamber were larger than on the other side, but he managed to feel his way around them, pushing his awareness down into the floor, beneath the shield, and under each Aakacarn standing smugly in front of the Great Crystal. An image of what he wanted to change came into his mind and the spell complied. Twenty-three pointed ramrods shot up right between the legs of each Accomplished, puncturing flesh and shoving needle sharp points all the way up into their lungs, instantly impaling each and every one of them. The impenetrable High Powered shield composed by the Dark Maestro vanished as the potential feeding it was suddenly cut off.
“Great job!” the Maestro blurted. “Joel, you are a treasure. I like the way you think.”
Sherree applauded while Jerremy smiled and said, “Not bad thinking for a common-born.”
The remark reminded Joel of the time he and the Serinian had spent with Sherree Jenna down beneath the waves in the sunken city of Tomlin, bringing a smile to his face. “It was certainly more effective than what the son of Lord Jerrome and Lady Aurora came up with.”
Jerremy and Sherree laughed. Leah, Simon, and Samuel, were shaking their heads, not understanding the inside joke, while the rest of the Accomplisheds began examining the bodies. They probably wanted to be sure, but Joel had no doubt these Serpents were dead. One would think vacant eyes and slack jaws dripping blood to be evidence enough of their demise.
“I approve of your architectural modification of the space in front of the Great Crystal,” Jerremy commented. “But the decor is not to my taste. You might want to consider lowering the skewers so we can hang something else that might come along.”
Joel touched the wall and used Fashioning to sink the ramrods back into the floor. The two teams of Accomplisheds who had been selected to perform the Grand Symphonies took up the task of removing the bodies, but naturally not by hand; they used levitation.
Daniel removed his boots and stepped into the Great Crystal. Blue light radiated from his bare feet into the giant quartz and Joel knew every living thing beneath this chamber and within fifty spans of Mount Shantear had just fallen asleep.
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Sandra Treena waited in the grand assembly hall beneath center court at Daniel’s Northland Holding. She had been watching the battle taking place in the number three teleportation chamber, where Accomplished Lexus Bencover and his team were on the verge of achieving their objective, when Carlos Tiran, standing beside her said, “Strike Leader, you really need to take a look at what is happening on the mountainside.”
Sandra withdrew her awareness from Riccus, her rat, and focused on the only scout she had above ground. Fires burned in seven brown circles, two hundred paces across, all near the cave entrances, and spells lit up the night in more colors than she had time to count. A thousand Accomplisheds were with her, anxious to join the battle she was now viewing through the eyes of Prescott. The owl flew from tree to tree, allowing her to look down upon the fighting taking place from the lofty sequoias. Beams of light, fire balls of all sizes, including jets of flame, and lighting bolts, were blasting back and forth. Wild fires were burning as a result of the battle and clouds of smoke billowed into the air. It seemed as though the entire mountain was on fire. Prescott was forced to take off or choke. He flapped a few times and soared to the lower branch of a sequoia that was not far from cave number two. On the ground far below, Maestro Reese cut the legs off one of his own fleeing Accomplisheds and then removed the man’s head.
An Accomplished of the Serpent Guild suddenly appeared right near an Atlantan in blue silks and blasted a spell into the Aakacarn’s face. His or her identity was impossible to determine from Prescott’s point of view, so Sandra did not know who had just fallen. Jeremiah Lassiter took a step toward the new threat and then stopped as more and more Serpents, thousands of them, materialized around him. People in blue wool and silks were dropping as well as many Accomplisheds of Aakadon.
“We need to go now, before it is too late, or there will be nobody left to save,” Quala Robin blurted while wringing her hands. The woman has lived sixty-five years, had been Condemned at the age of nine, and remained in that state until Sandra brought her to the Maestro. Her sentiment was no doubt shared by all.
“We stay until ordered to move,” Sandra made clear to everyone under her command, verbally and through her array.
Prescott gave off a sense of panic and launched into the air, flying as f
ast as he could, and so were many other birds. Sandra increased her focus on the owl until she could feel everything he could feel and hopefully determine what had frightened him. The harmonic waves of a major spell were rippling out from near the top of Mount Shantear. She had no doubt the concentrated focus and tremendous power could only come from her Maestro. She encouraged Prescott to fly back to the tree he had vacated.
Fires raged below, yet the battle had come to a stop while the combatants all seemed to be staring in the direction of the mountaintop, which no longer gave off any ripples. Accomplisheds of the Atlantan Guild and the Chosen’s Sentinels sprang to their feet and began launching spells at the Serpents, killing some. The battle resumed and Sandra was tempted to Convey to Shantear with all of the forces under her command. The men and women around her, many seeing the battle through the eyes of their own creatures, were staring at their commander and she knew they were wondering what was stopping her from giving that order, even after she had made clear they were not going to jump into the area prematurely. The discipline from having once been a Soarer is what held her back and is probably one of the reasons she had been selected by the Maestro to command the third strike. After a few moments more of staring through the eyes of an owl, a blue light radiated from the ground, giving off harmonic ripples, and people as well as animals collapsed and fell asleep. A thrill of relief surged through her body as she realized she had just witnessed the implementation of phase four; Sleep Time focused broadly through the Great Crystal with enough amplification to overwhelm shields and seep through any openings for air. Every single member of the Atlantan Guild actually glowed brighter as their shields absorbed the energy and strengthen, but they would be asleep due to the flooding of potential reaching their eyes, ears, and mouths. The numbers on the battle fields were simply too great for Daniel to discriminate between friend and foe.
“Go,” the one word command from the First Accomplished sounded in her head and Sandra relayed the order through the communication array which sat on her head like a crown. A double row of twenty-five gems sent the command to fifty team leaders and everybody cast the spell Conveyance.
Sandra appeared with two teams of twenty by her side, thirty paces from where Lassiter had fallen. “Kill the serpents and gather our people. Leaders, cast the spell, Running With The Wolves, there might be invisible assassins among the sleepers,” she said while walking over to check on Jeremiah, whose silks had been torn and singed. “The Accomplisheds of Aakadon, both dead and alive, must be conveyed to the staging chamber,” she added after casting the spell, How Do You Feel, and determining the First Strike Commander had not been harmed. “Begin healing the most severe injuries first, including those of our allies,” she ordered verbally and through the communication array. “All teams within Shantear stand ready to kill the Serpents who will soon be teleporting into your locations.”
She expected the battle for Shantear to be a difficult, take no prisoners, proposition and that is exactly how it turned out, but all would be for nothing if the Maestro and his Grand Symphonies cannot complete phase five. Her gaze swept the field as her orders were being carried out by Accomplisheds of the Atlantan Guild, most of which had been brought in as Aakademneds to be healed by Daniel Benhannon. That young man had done the impossible before and she was confident he could do it again.
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Daniel motioned with his hand for Sherree and Leah to enter the Great Crystal along with their teams. Silvia and David were the last to step into the tight space. “Cozy,” the knife thrower commented in what was a clear attempt to lighten the mood of the people around him.
All of their faces were grim, and yet Sherree managed a weak smile and a nod of encouragement. Daniel was the only one barefooted, since the Potential of both Grand Symphonies would be focused into him. He made eye contact with each Accomplished, who were holding their level four batons, six aimed at Leah and six at Sherree. The First Lady and First Accomplished both had their crescendos aimed in his direction. He did a quick assessment of the amount of potential about to be focused into him. Leah would be contributing eleven bolts with the crescendo he had given her and Simon would be wielding seven with the baton given to him. Carmen, Joseb, Jaxon, Frieda, Capis, and Daria, were all Three-bolts and would each command seven bolts with the crescendos given to them by the First Accomplished. Daniel closed his eyes, gave the command, “Find All, begin,” and their combined life force energy flowed into him and he channeled it out from his feet, amplifying his potential through his diamond-bladed knife, focused the energy through the Great Crystal, where it was more than doubled, and sent it deep down into the mountain. The thrill of possessing so much power was tempered by the importance of the chore he had willing taken on.
He instantly became aware of everything in and on Shantear. The thousands of living and dead Serpents were only recognizable to him as Aakacarns, since he never had physical contact with any of them, and so he could take their deaths impersonally as casualties of war. His people were a different matter, they all had been restored by him and he knew each and every one who had died. Seven hundred sixty-three Sentinels were dead along with thirty-three of his Accomplisheds, and the wounded among all members of the Atlantan Guild numbered into the thousands. Sandra and her thousand Aakacarns were in the process of transporting Accomplisheds of Aakadon into the staging chamber, healing the wounded men and women, and waiting in the chambers and caves to kill any Serpents who appear. He did not have time to grieve over the losses or continue assessing the battle fields around Shantear and so commanded, “Fashioning, begin.”
Sherree sent him her nine bolts of potential using the diamond-bladed knife, and that of the rest of her team, who were using batons created by Leah. Sero contributed eight bolts, Sam six, Jerremy five, Berren, Lara, and Martin, each commanded seven. Their combined energy flooded into Daniel and he channeled it out through his feet just as he had Find All. He sensed the minerals, quartz, dirt, and stone, of which Shantear was made. The power to reshape the mountain at will was at his command, although he could do little with the sensory-blocking deposits of quartz. He began gently raising the ground, with everything on it, until it was seven cubits higher than it had been. The casting did no harm to the sleepers, but Sandra and those under her command staggered around as if drunken when the harmonic waves began rippling through them.
His awareness was the width of the mountain, deep as the bedrock, and he projected it out in a straight line to the northeast. Bugs scurried in a general panic, animals ran in all directions, birds took to the sky, bushes and trees shook, and people staggered as the world trembled in protest against the power being channeled at and below the surface. His awareness went beyond the border of Lobenia, into Battencay, through the town of Cherico, and on past the Fon Kayan legions surrounding Trevica.
He became conscious of people, animals, and creatures beyond his ability to count as the dual spells took his mind through Battencay’s Mount Catterus, beneath forests, and out into the extreme eastern edge of the Taltin Sea. Fish and aquatic creatures of all types flooded his mind, and they scattered as the huge swath of energy shot through their watery homes faster than any bird ever flew.
His awareness passed through the southern end of Pentrosa and into Ecoppia. Daniel knew the harmonic waves given off by the dual spells, amplified through the Great Crystal, were being felt by every living thing in the world. Mount Tumerious and the wildlife living in and on it came into his mind and a few moments more he reached the desert created by Tarin Conn.
“It’s the first time I have ever held my full potential for half a mark,” Daria remarked. She could not sense what Daniel could, but the drain on her reservoir of life force energy was taking its toll.
Each participant had to be feeling the strain and Daniel was no exception. He remembered casting full power spells intermittently in various battles, but never had he held the potential for this long, not even during his duel with Balen Tamm. “Don’t lose heart, we are nea
rly there.”
“We are with you all the way,” Samuel assured him.
As the spells brought his consciousness closer and closer to Kelgotha, Daniel sensed thousands of Aakacarns, and knew they were feeling his castings. Large groups of them began disappearing and reappearing at Mount Shantear, seven cubits below the ground, and into the caves and chambers. The first group died instantly, seeing as dirt and rock do not displace as easily as air, and the second group had various parts of their anatomy fused into floors and cave walls. Joel and his team sent deadly beams of light into the ones who materialized in the Crystal Chamber while the other Atlantans throughout the mountain put the rest of the suffering Serpents out of their misery.
“I hear people dying,” Carmen said, as if no one else could hear the screams. Daniel did not have the time or inclination to determine how many people were teleporting to their deaths, but was sure the number had to be in the thousands.
The Serpent Guild was throwing their might at Shantear in a clear attempt to stop the great casting they knew was meant to prevent their leader from breaking free. Thousands more of them were at Kelgotha, but Daniel had no time to waste dealing with them. He sent his awareness into the mountain and down to the crystalline vault containing his fellow Aakasear. His consciousness found the minute flaws in the setting between the tiny chunks of quartz, through which the Dark Maestro touched the world, and proving it was made of thousands of crystals like the one Daniel had shown to Talmon Reese.
Daniel licked his dry lips as the potential flowed from his body and from those helping to maintain the spells cast from the other side of the continent. He had to think of a way to break into the vault before they all died of mummification. “Joel, I like the way you think,” he remembered saying and suddenly knew what to do.
To Be a Maestro Page 47
