Harmonic Magic Series Boxed Set

by P. E. Padilla

  He spent a few minutes discussing with Rindu every second of what he had seen and felt in the recollection. When they felt they were ready to attempt their task, they sat facing each other on the cold stone, legs crossed, knees almost touching.

  The wind screamed through the crenels, striking the merlons on the other side of the battlement and swirling around Sam and Rindu, tugging at their clothing. Both were well-practiced at concentrating, however, so they were able to ignore the biting blasts almost entirely.

  “Your focus has grown better, Sam,” Rindu said. “That is good. I am glad you continued to practice and progress. Now, you must attain the khulim, the ‘almost-trance.’”

  Sam did so, slipping into the soothing, light-headed feeling he was so familiar with. Immediately, he saw in his mind’s eye the energy swirling around him. It almost shocked him out of the khulim; he had never seen the energy of the wind before. His rohw sensitivity was so much keener in Gythe than in Telani. He felt Rindu in front of him, felt his energy reach out to Sam’s.

  “Now, Sam,” he heard Rindu’s voice as if it as coming from the bottom of a well, “fix in your mind the feeling of the vibrations Grayson used to change the stone’s color.”

  Sam recalled the specific feeling of the frequency of the fortress, how it was changed from black to gray. He nodded.

  “Now picture the snow as it floats in the air, as it covers the ground. Feel its vibration. Can you identify it? Are you intimately familiar with it?”

  Sam was. Living through the winter in his forested home, he had meditated outside in the snow many times. It was a means to increase his focus, ignoring the cold and the wet, becoming one with nature and feeling its call.

  One day in particular stuck in his mind. He had been meditating for over two hours and the snowfall was becoming heavier. He had lost track of time but was still deeply in the khulim. Suddenly, he felt himself melt into his surroundings. There was no other way he could describe it. It felt like he became the snow, really became part of the natural world. At that moment, he understood the frozen water in a way he had never thought possible. He came out of his meditation to find he had several inches of snow covering him from being immobile for such a length of time.

  Sam remembered that feeling now. He understood the component of the snow that determined its color, what light it reflected. He realized the precise vibration he was looking for. He tried to apply it to the wall, reaching out and touching it.

  Nothing happened.

  He cracked an eyelid and looked at the stone he was touching, looking for any sign of a change. There was none. He was so sure he had remembered it correctly. What was wrong? He let his hand drop.

  Taking an extra deep and long breath, he relaxed his mind for a moment, then latched firmly to the vibration of the snow he had experienced. He tried to become that vibration, tried to become the snow. He felt something shift within him and recognized in a distant way that his body no longer felt the chilling wind at all, as if it was going through him.

  Sam felt one with the snow. Not just the snow from his memories, but the snow he saw in the surrounding landscape. He turned it over in his mind, becamse intimately familiar with it, even more so than before.

  He felt Rindu smile. There was something in his energy that fairly screamed the expression much more accurately than outward expressions.

  “Good,” Rindu said. “Now, make the stone vibrate at that frequency. Start at one location and let the energy transmit though all the fortress, changing it all to the color of snow.”

  Sam reached out his hand again and touched the frigid rock of the battlement. When he did, he felt a slight resistance at first, as if it was going to impose its immovable nature and resist Sam’s changes, but it lasted only a brief moment. He felt energy transfer from his hand to the battlement and begin to spread, picking up momentum as it went, building on itself. It was, he thought, like a snowball rolling down a hill, becoming larger with each turning.

  He opened his eyes and watched with wonder as the dark gray stone turned white, the bleaching radiating out from him in a wave. It looked like the demonstrations his science teacher used to perform for the class when he was in school, using a large beaker of colored liquid then adding another compound which prompted a color change, the shift moving down from the top in a wave until all the liquid was the new color. He wished he could have filmed the fortress changing.

  It took very little of his own energy to continue the color change. He could feel the whiteness spread, going throughout the entire keep and its walls, moving along to other buildings, reaching the fortress walls themselves. When it was done, mere minutes later, he felt that it was finished and dropped his hand to his lap. He was tired, but not nearly as tired as he thought he would be.

  He looked over at Rindu. “It is done,” he said simply.

  “Sam, that was remarkable,” the Zouy said to him. “Until you told me of it, I had never heard of anyone doing such a thing, let alone doing it on such a large scale. Come, let us see what your handiwork has wrought.”

  Rindu helped Sam to his feet and they both looked out over the crenels to the rest of the keep, the grounds, and the walls. Though it was an overcast day, the walls shone white, reflecting the diffuse sunlight and causing a glare. It looked like an entire castle made of ice. It was simply beautiful.

  “That ought to make people think about whether this is the same place the Gray Man resided in or not,” Sam said, feeling the face on his skin stretch tight in the cold wind. “Maybe we should go tell Dr. Walt it was our work so he doesn’t spend the next year investigating how it happened.”

  Rindu clapped Sam on the back. “I believe you have the right of it. Please, after you.” He opened the door back inside the keep and motioned for Sam to enter.

  The two found Dr. Walt frantically looking through books, obviously trying to understand why he was now standing in a room with white walls when everything had been gray just a short time ago.

  “Dr. Walt,” Sam said as they entered the library, “it was us. You can stop looking for a reason.”

  The old man’s head snapped up, not having heard them enter. “What? Sam, Rindu, have you noticed anything odd about the color of the walls?”

  “It was us,” Sam repeated. “We changed the color of all the stone in the fortress. We thought it would help people to forget who lived here last. We thought it would help them accept the place as the seat of the new government.”

  “You…” Dr. Walt forced out, “you changed the color of the stone?”

  “Yes,” Rindu said. “Sam remembered how the Gray Man, Grayson, had done it when he changed it from black to gray. Sam changed it to white. Our apologies for not warning you beforehand.”

  “Wha—” the scholar stammered. “Ah, no. No worries. It was just a surprise, that’s all.” He rubbed his chin in thought. “White, eh? Yes, that could help. Shining fortress and all that. I think perhaps this could make a difference. Wonderful, Sam, simply wonderful. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” Sam said. “There’s one other thing. I was kind of thinking about it and maybe I have a good name for the place, since White Fortress seems kind of lame after it was the Black Fortress and then the Gray Fortress.”

  “Ah, yes, I hadn’t thought of that,” Dr. Walt said. “What would you suggest, Sam?”

  “Whitehall.”

  Chapter 10

  “You did that?” Nicole asked Sam. “You turned an entire fortress, millions of tons of rock, a different color just using that energy stuff you’re always talking about?”

  “Yeah, Mom,” Sam said. “It’s called rohw. It’s much more powerful here than back home, probably because there isn’t all the interference from electromagnetic fields and because there is more of a natural setting here. There are actually forests. Not the relatively small pockets of forest like on Telani, but ones that stretch for hundreds of miles. At least, that’s why I think it’s more powerful.

  “Besides, you’ve
seen me use the rohw before. I used it to teleport us here, after all.”

  “I know, but…it’s just…I don’t know.” She shook her head. “It’s kind of crazy, almost scary. It’s a big fortress.”

  Sam laughed. “I know. It’s strange to me, too, I only knew how to do it because I shared the memories of Uncle Grayson changing it to gray, and Rindu had to help or I never could have done it. The power he held, and the knowledge of how to use it—that was scary. Anyway, do you like the new color? I think it’s kind of cool.”

  Nicole came over and hugged him. “Yes, Sam, it’s kind of cool.” She laughed.

  “That was good thinking, Sam,” Nalia said, smiling at him. “Renaming the fortress and changing it to shine like a beacon for miles was just the thing Dr. Walt needed to convince the leaders that this is the appropriate location for the new government. I am proud of you.”

  “Thanks, Nal,” he said. “It just kind of came to me. I hope it helps. We need all the help we can get to make everyone agree on things.”

  “Are you ready to spar now that you are finished solving everyone else’s problems?” she teased.

  “Absolutely, let’s go.”

  An hour and a half later, as their sparring session was winding down, Rindu appeared, watching them. Sam had, as normal, been beaten to a standstill. As much as he felt like he was improving, Nalia was always so far above him in skill that he could hardly see her from where he stood. When they finished, the monk came over to the two.

  “Your skill has improved, Sam,” the Zouy said.

  “Thank you,” Sam returned. “Nalia has been working me hard, trying to make me improve. It has been a year and a half since we were here. At least, it was that long where we were.”

  “It is true,” Nalia said, “and we have practiced constantly in that time. Sam may become a warrior yet. Maybe.” She winked at him, causing his heart to flutter.

  Rindu nodded. “It is good. Sam, Nalia has mentioned that she taught you some of the movements of the kori rohw. Would you show me?”

  Sam felt his heart speed up even more and felt the movement in his stomach, as if there was a creature waking up, trying to get out. “Um, I guess. I haven’t practiced them that much, though.”

  “That is fine. I would like to see the first thirty movements, if you please.”

  Sam gulped. He thought he performed the movements well, but showing them to Rindu made him nervous for some reason, especially after seeing the precise hand movements Rindu demonstrated earlier. Still, he handed his staff, Ahimiro, to Nalia, walked a few steps away from the duo, and began.

  The kori rohw was a set of exercises meant to increase rohw sensitivity and to enable the body to become one with the surroundings, with the universe. It was obvious that some of the movements represented strikes, blocks, and evasions, but others seemed to serve no martial purpose at all. The motions were performed slowly, with no force, as smoothly as the exerciser could manage. It was more about flowing through all the parts of the exercises than showing power or speed.

  As always, when Sam started, he felt a heat generate in his body, especially in his palms and the soles of his feet. A warm, glowing feeling soon centered just below his navel and radiated out, empowering him while at the same time relaxing him. Half the time, he kept his eyes lightly closed, just because it seemed that he could concentrate more fully on the energy surrounding him, as well as his own, without the distraction of sight. He knew Rindu didn’t keep his eyes closed when he did the movements, but Sam chalked it up to his own inexperience.

  Sam soon finished the thirtieth movement and stopped. He looked to Rindu for some kind of expression, some kind of response. There was none. Rindu, as normal, wore a completely emotionless look on his face.

  The silence stretched on.

  Sam began to get fidgety. “Master Rindu?” he said.

  “I am trying to determine where to begin,” the monk said.

  “That bad, huh?”

  Rindu’s expression softened a tiny bit. From diamond to stone. “No, Sam, it is not that. You have learned the movements, but we must work on improving them. Please do the first five movements again, very slowly.”

  Sam had only gotten through the first two movements when Rindu interrupted him. “Slowly, Sam. Do them more slowly.”

  Sam tried again. After the first movement, Rindu stopped him. “You must perform the kori rohw more slowly. The skill in perfect movement requires freedom from hurry. Not only must you maintain correct posture in order to move as slowly as required, but you will collect more of the surrounding rohw doing so. Please observe.”

  The Zouy went into the starting stance, standing straight up with his feet next to each other, hands at his side. He stepped into the first posture, bringing his hands up as if cupping a ball between them. He did it so slowly that it took almost a full minute just to shift his weight and place his foot precisely where it belonged. He performed the second movement as well, taking just as long as the first. Then, he stepped back into a normal standing posture. “Do you understand, Sam?”

  “I do, Master Rindu, but I am having trouble moving so slowly.”

  The monk’s face grew contemplative. “I have an idea. Please come with me.”

  Sam and Nalia followed Rindu around a portion of the keep, to a door Sam had never opened. After going through the portal, they had only a short distance to another. When Rindu opened it and motioned Sam to go through it, Sam’s eyes widened in surprise.

  They were in a massive greenhouse. Sam couldn’t even see the far walls of the chamber. It was much warmer inside than out in the fall air from which they had come. Plants of all kinds were everywhere. He saw movement and noticed that there were birds, insects, even the occasional squirrel.

  “This is amazing,” Sam exclaimed. He looked at Nalia, who had a look of wonder on her face as well. “I didn’t even know this was here. I didn’t get to this area of the keep when I was here before.”

  “It is a favorite place of mine, since I found it. I enjoy coming here to meditate amongst the plants and animals. It is much closer than going down to the Undead Forest, and more peaceful as well. But we are here for a specific purpose. Come.”

  He led them to another area of the greenhouse. Sam clasped Nalia’s hand as they followed her father, head swiveling left and right, trying to take it all in. In a moment, Rindu stopped at the edge of a field of wildflowers.

  “Wildflowers? It’s getting close to winter. How is it that there are flowers here?”

  Rindu tilted his head slightly at Sam. “The great glass panels above bring the sun in, and magnify it, but I think they do more than that. I can feel a strange power here, related to the rohw but not quite the same. I believe this place was infused with some energy, some ‘magic,’ that makes it possible to simulate the spring or summer. Dr. Walt, right after we found this place, searched for references in the many books here. He found only mention by the Arzbedim, that they were unable to affect the greenhouse’s function. They tried, but were unsuccessful. Finally, they accepted it for what it was and instead used it to breed bees so they would have a supply of honey. They used it to make mead.

  “But,” the Zouy continued, “we are not here for lessons in greenhouses. We are here for the kori rohw. Sam, please come with me. Nalia, stay where you are. We will only be a few feet away.”

  Sam wondered what the master was going to do. He followed obediently, moving through the tall grass and the flowers of many different colors. There were bright yellows and oranges, deep blues and purples, too many different shades of red to count, and even some white flowers punctuating the landscape. As he passed, grasshoppers and butterflies moved at his approach, some landing on him. He laughed as a tiny grasshopper landed on his arm and tickled him with its minuscule feet.

  Rindu stopped him in a patch of tall grass almost devoid of the flowers. “Wait here for a moment, Sam,” he said, and moved toward a brightly colored patch of low plants with blossoms everywhere. Sam waited
patiently, delighting in the butterflies that flew up and came to rest on him, slowly pumping their wings as if in greeting.

  Soon, Rindu returned with his hands cupped around something.

  “Do not move,” he said. He waited for Sam’s affirmation and then slowly uncupped his hands, revealing nearly a dozen butterflies within. The monk put his hands near Sam and carefully allowed each butterfly to walk off him and onto the younger man. When it was all done, Sam had close to twenty of the insects resting on different parts of his body, including those flying in to land on the perch Rindu’s butterflies had taken.

  Sam was confused. “Um, Master Rindu?” Sam said, “What’s going on?”

  “This will help your training,” he answered. “You must perform the kori rohw with your new friends perched upon you. If you do so slowly, as you should, they will remain on your body. If, however, you cannot complete the movements at the proper rate, they will be disturbed and fly off. Then we will have to catch more and place them on you.”

  Sam looked at the Zouy with exasperation, trying his hardest not to move. Two butterflies that had been on his face flew away. Rindu, in a perfect mixture of speed and fluid motion, intercepted the butterflies, one with each hand, and gently placed them on Sam’s shoulder. Then he stepped away carefully.

  “Now,” Rindu said, “perform the first five movements of the kori rohw. Do so without causing the butterflies to flee.”

  For the next hour, Sam tried to go through the exercises at such a glacial pace that his colorful friends would not be shaken and fly away. He was mostly unsuccessful. When Rindu told him that it was enough, Sam released a breath he had not known he was holding, causing five more butterflies to leave their landing places. Only three stubborn insects remained on him.

  “That was very hard,” Sam told him as he was walking back toward Nalia with Rindu. “I never knew it was so hard to move slowly.”

  “Indeed it is,” the monk said. “It is said, ‘a movement in its slowness will reveal the skill of the man’ and also ‘the unskilled student makes a show of striking quickly, but the master needs not speed to prevail.’”