Resurgence of Ancient Darkness

by Vincent Trigili

  “Place him on the couch,” I heard Flame say as Phoenix was disentangled from me.

  “Thanks,” I said as I regained my footing.

  Flame was attempting to calm Phoenix down, but he was in a full-on panic. He was screaming, yelling, and throwing small balls of fire everywhere. Master Shadow contained the magic and held him on the couch.

  “Flame, call the doctor!” ordered Shadow.

  “No!” screamed Phoenix in a brief moment of clarity. “No doctors!” he screamed again and tried to break free. Flame was desperately trying to calm him down and explain to him that he needed a doctor.

  “Shea! We need you! Hurry!” Shea was the head of medical on the Shadow Fox, but more than that she was the most trusted person on the ship. Whatever reason Phoenix had for not wanting to see a doctor was unlikely to apply to her.

  “On my way,” she sent back.

  “This is an emergency! Please teleport!” I sent back before I remembered that she could not. She was from Korshalemia, and they did not have the same basic powers.

  Moments later a gate opened in the room and she stepped out of it. I looked over at Spectra who nodded and smiled, indicating that she had opened the gate.

  “What happened?” asked Shea.

  “I don’t know. He came charging into the room like that,” I said.

  Shea walked over to Phoenix and quietly began talking in his ear. Phoenix was bucking and yelling against the magic bonds that Shadow held him with. Flame had returned to Shadow’s side and was clutching his arm with a grip that I was sure was going to cause him to need surgery. Spectra had retreated into herself, and Shadow’s focus was locked on preventing Phoenix from hurting anyone, especially himself. Throughout it all Shea was the epitome of calm, cool, and collected. She never seemed to let anything get to her. Her calm was contagious, and slowly everyone in the room began to relax, even Phoenix.

  “Good call, Dusty,” said Spectra, who had slid up next to me at some point and was nestled against me. In spite of the chaos caused by Phoenix, it really felt nice to have her by my side like this.

  Soon Shea turned to us and said, “He is asleep, for the moment.”

  “What happened?” asked Flame.

  “Master, he has had an anxiety attack of some kind. I will have to get him to sick bay to verify that, but it has all the classic signs of one that has been bottled up for a while and finally broke free,” said Shea.

  “Does anyone have any idea what could have caused such an attack?” asked Shadow, but no one had any ideas.

  “Master, may I use your terminal?” asked Shea. “I want to look at his records and see if I can find any clues.”

  “Certainly,” he said.

  “How long will he be out for?” I asked.

  “Only a few minutes,” Shea said. “He is likely to panic again when he wakes, but I should be able to get him back under control before it escalates again.”

  She searched through his medical records for a few brief minutes, then Phoenix woke and started to yell again. I watched as she calmly walked over to him and placed her hands on his chest. She gently pressed down and he began to relax as she chanted something quietly. His breathing slowed and the crazed look faded from his eyes.

  “Okay, Master Shadow, you can release him now,” said Shea.

  Phoenix slowly sat up and looked around. “Man, I have no idea what came over me. I am so sorry.”

  “It is okay,” said Shea with a gentle voice. “Why don’t you tell us what happened?”

  He did not say anything at first, but appeared to be fighting back tears. “I’m losing my magic.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Shea.

  “I used to be worth something! But now I can barely roast a peanut, never mind do anything useful,” he said.

  “Even if you had no magic, you have proven your worth a dozen times over,” said Shadow.

  “Phoenix, please tell us what has happened,” said Shea in that same gentle voice. It was so soothing to listen to; you could not help but be calm around her.

  “It’s just that I don’t have the strength to cast anymore. I mean, the shield bubble during the fight completely drained me. My second had to take over! I should’ve been able to cast that with ease; instead, I’m still fighting to recover from that. I can barely manage even the simple spells in my fire line,” he said.

  Shea was pensive a moment and then said, “Phoenix, I need to get you to sick bay so I can check you out. Maybe you picked up a virus or some other germ that is suppressing your body’s ability to create illuminescence .”

  “Do you really think that might be it?” he asked.

  “Well, to be honest, I don’t know; but one does not lose magic powers without a reason. I’ll do what I can to find that reason and reverse it,” she said.

  “But I can’t go to sick bay!” he said, starting to sweat again.

  “Why not?” asked Shea in her gentle, calming voice.

  “Because if anyone sees me, I will be ruined,” he said.

  “Take him to sick bay on the Fox, then. Spectra can gate him, and the ship is empty right now,” I said.

  “Would you be okay with that?” asked Shea.

  “Yeah, I guess so,” he said.

  As Spectra was getting the gate ready, Flame sent, “Shea, do you think all the changes are affecting him?”

  “No. For that to happen he would have to stop being a magus, and that would be like undoing his birth. Something must be blocking his connection to the weave,” responded Shea.

  I followed Shea and Phoenix through the gate, and soon we had Phoenix lying on a bed and hooked up to the medical scanners. Shadow and Flame stayed behind, but Spectra joined us.

  “Let us know as soon as you know something,” sent Shadow. “No one is to speak of this. We do not need to create a panic.”

  “Of course, Master,” sent Shea. “Master Phoenix, I want to keep you here for now, under observation. Only Dusty, Spectra, or I will be on the Shadow Fox for the next few days at least. By then, hopefully we will know something.”

  “Do you really think it could be as simple as a virus?” he asked again.

  “Something is blocking your powers. You still have them, so it is merely a question of finding out what it is and removing the block.” After saying that she turned to me and asked, “Master, do you mind if I move back on board for a while?”

  “Absolutely not, and I will put all training on hold for now so that we can get to the bottom of this,” I said.

  “Please don’t do that just for me,” said Phoenix.

  “I have to,” I said. “You are too valuable a friend for me not to do everything I can to help you.”

  “Besides, Master, if this is a virus we will need to try to contain it as best we can,” said Shea.

  I knew enough about medicine to know it was much too late for that. If it was a virus, it was likely to be already spreading throughout the entire ship.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  “Dusty, other than Ice Bolt, what would you say is your main offensive ice spell?” asked Shadow.

  “Ice Storm, Master. I’ve found it very useful when dealing with groups of attackers,” I said. I was trying to focus on the task at hand, but all I could think about was Phoenix barging in to the room and collapsing on me last night.

  “Very well. Move back and cast it against that wall there. Please do it at full force,” he said.

  I looked around the practice room we were in and knew that the area was too small for that. “But, Master, we will be enveloped in the storm.”

  “I will contain it. Go ahead,” he said.

  I started to cast it as I normally would, but something felt different about it, something I could not identify. I altered my words and movements, adjusting to the differences I could feel, and soon a wave of energy left me and flew across the room. Instead of shards of ice, it was like a hailstorm of power. Tiny balls of energy travele
d through the room and slammed into the wall. Shadow quickly wove something that neutralized the power reflecting back on us.

  “Whew,” was all I could manage.

  “I take it that was not what you were expecting?” asked Shadow with a chuckle.

  “No; that wasn’t exactly ice, was it?” I asked. I couldn’t believe it. All these years of learning to be the best ice elementalist I could be and it was all gone, just like that! Was there nothing I couldn’t mess up or lose?

  “No, not exactly,” he said. “But it would have been very effective!”

  I just stared in wonder at the empty space where my spell had been. There was something about it that I knew I should recognize, but I could not retrieve it from my memory.

  “Please cast again, but let’s try a single ice bolt this time,” he said.

  “Sure, Master.” I slowly began, and as before I could feel the spell was different, and as before I adjusted my casting to fit what was starting to feel more and more correct. Soon a bolt of power flew from my fingertips towards the wall at high speed and came to a stop just shy of hitting the wall.

  “That was much faster than your last one, and faster than any ice bolt I have ever seen before. I almost did not catch it in time,” he said.

  We both walked over and looked at the bolt and, while it looked familiar to me, it did not look anything at all like an ice bolt.

  “This is different from the last time,” said Shadow.

  “Yes, Master. I casted differently too,” I said.

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “Well, Master, until now I have been trying to force the spell to be right. This time I just went with the flow.”

  “I see,” he said. He began to pick at the bolt and probe it with his hands. I was not sure what he was doing, but he was manipulating it in some way. “This is definitely not a pattern that any ice wizard would create, but it is familiar. I just cannot place it.”

  “Do you think it could be related to what is happening with Phoenix?” I asked.

  “There is really no way to know,” he said.

  I silently watched him as he worked on the bolt. I was not sure what he was doing, but it consumed his attention. All I could think about was that this was another failure in a long line of failures that marked my life.

  After a while, he dispelled the bolt and said, “Dusty, cast a frost wall, please.”

  “Yes, Master.” As before, I could feel the spell was different and adjusted my casting to go with the flow. It was easier than the first time, but still felt a bit awkward. Once it was complete, I could see that I had created a wall from floor to ceiling that was definitely not made from ice; instead, it was some kind of energy field.

  “Now that is impressive,” said Shadow.

  “What do you mean, Master?” I asked.

  “You created a force wall of some kind. I have never seen one in person before, but I have heard of them. I doubt that much of anything could get through that,” he said.

  “Yes, Master, but it’s not ice!” I said. Why couldn’t he see that regardless of how impressive the wall was, it was still a failure?

  Shadow turned towards me and put his hand on my shoulder. “Dusty, I think we need to accept that your offensive spell line is no longer ice. I do not know how or why, but it has happened.”

  “So what do we do now?” I asked.

  “Let’s go talk with Shea,” he said.

  “Shea?” I asked.

  “Yes, as an alchemist her specialty involves studying nature and reality. She is the closest thing we have to an expert on everything that has been happening lately,” he said.

  I thought about that a moment and then said, “Master, let me try my flight spell. I have not cast it at all since using it in Korshalemia, but there it was very effective in combat. If I have to face that kind of environment again, I need to know if it works.”

  “Of course. There is not a lot of room in here, but perhaps there is enough,” he said.

  I began the spell, but I could not make it work. I could not get the movements or the command words to flow right. Every time I tried to grab the power and shape it into the wind that would power my flight it came apart. I yelled in frustration and collapsed against the wall. I was just starting to get to know who I was and how I could fit in, and this had to happen! I sat there staring down at the deck, not really listening to what Master Shadow was saying. My world, my life, was collapsing around me, and I did not know what to do or think. Finally Shadow crouched down in front of me so that I had to look right at him.

  “Easy, Dusty,” said Shadow. “Let’s find Shea.” He helped me up and, looking me intently in the eye, said, “Dusty, we will get to the bottom of this together. You are one of my most trusted friends, and I will not let you down.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  We found Shea in her office on the Shadow Fox working at her terminal. Shadow quickly filled her in on everything that was happening and then said, “We do not know what the next step should be. I am convinced his spell lines have changed somehow, but I do not know to what, how, or why.”

  “Master Dusty, when you first started learning magic, how did you discover your spell lines?” Shea asked.

  “Well, Master Gafar probes everyone and tells us what our powers are,” I said.

  “Is that the only way it’s done?” she asked.

  “Traditionally, but there are other ways to do it, such as a detection wand,” said Shadow.

  “Ah, yes. That is how they do it in Korshalemia. Do we have such a wand, Master?” she asked.

  “In fact I do. Mathorn gave me one and said that if we pick anyone up out here on our travels it would come in handy,” said Shadow. Then a light seemed to go on in his head. “Of course! I will go and get it right now,” he said and then teleported away.

  “Great! He can teleport when he gets excited, but if I want to do it, I’m lazy,” I said.

  Shea laughed and said, “He just wants to help you, Master.”

  Before I could respond, Shadow reappeared in the room and handed me a wand. “Read the command word and hold it up as if it were a light wand.”

  I did as he asked, and the wand began to softly glow and grow into a brilliant light. I grew concerned that it would get bright enough to blind us, but then it went out by itself. I looked over to Shadow, who seemed pensive. Unsure of the next step, I said, “What does that mean, Master?”

  “Well, you will be happy to know that concealment is still your primary skill line,” he said.

  “That’s a relief!” I exclaimed. That brought a smile to both their faces. “Master, what about ice?”

  He looked at me and seemed to be thinking how best to break the news to me, but before he could say anything Spectra walked in and said, “Hi, everyone!”

  “Hi, Master Spectra. I think you will want to sit down and hear this,” said Shea.

  Spectra sat close to me and said, “What’s wrong?”

  I gave her a telepathic memory of the conversation so far, to save time. She looked at me with those big green eyes of hers and gave me a big hug as she said, “Oh, Dusty!”

  I turned to Shadow. “Master, what did the wand tell you?”

  “It told me I am blind. I should have noticed this myself. Your secondary line is now the spiritual line,” he said.

  “What?” Spectra and I both said at the same time in shock.

  “Think about it: are your spells now not unlike what they were when you were in the realm of the spirits?” he asked.

  “But how, Master?” asked Spectra.

  “I have no idea. I am hoping that Shea can shed some light on that,” he said.

  “Master, I don’t know for sure, but I guess it to be a combination of things. First, you were near the epicenter of the events that spawned all the changes in magic that we are seeing, the closing of the final tear. Second, you practically died while in the realm of the dead, in th
e form of a wraith. Third, the closing of the tear in the Spirit Realm must have released a tremendous amount of pent-up spirit energy that would have pounded both of your bodies pretty heavily. All of that combined had to have some kind of impact, and I think we are seeing it,” she said.

  I sat there trying to digest that for a while and then asked, “I guess all that makes sense, but doesn’t that mean my DNA has changed?”

  “That’s a really good question, Master. We should get samples of your DNA to Rannor and see what he notices. If it has changed, it has not changed enough to alarm our normal medical scans because they do not seem to notice any difference,” said Shea.

  “But am I still me?” I asked.

  “Oh, Dusty, of course you are! This changes nothing. I’ll help you learn your new spells, and you’ll be great at them, just as you were with ice,” said Spectra.

  “But I’m not the same person I was!” I exclaimed.

  “Yes, Master Dusty, you are,” said Shea with a gentle voice. “You’re not that body, nor are you its set of powers. That is your physical manifestation only.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Master, you have a physical body that houses a spirit, which is your life, and a soul, which is who you really are. Your body could change a dozen times over, and you could even switch species, and you would still be Dusty because your identity is not your body. Your body only houses your identity.”

  “Master Mantis said something similar once, but I never really understood it,” I said.

  “Master, tell me; when you look at Spectra do you still feel the same way you always have?” she asked.

  “Of course, but Spectra has not changed,” I said.

  “And neither have you, Master. You still love the same people, for the same reasons,” she said.

  “I think I just need time to take this in,” I said.

  “Shea, will this happen to others?” asked Shadow.

  “Master, I don’t believe so. The only other person in that situation was Spectra, and she was alive when the tear was closed, which probably means her body was protected better than his,” said Shea.