His murky bliss was short-lived as the pain drew him back to his conscious world of agony. There was no escaping it, and he realized that some things just had to be fought through until they were over.
To distract himself, he imagined how he would describe the experience to someone else. The best he could think of would be to ask the person to imagine the worst case of their foot being asleep and then to think of the pain as it reawakened—the nerves coming back on-line and the blood forcing its way through flattened veins.
Then he’d ask them to multiply that by ten and to imagine that their blood was made of shards of glass and their nerves made of barbed wire.
As Bradley continued to refine the imaginary description of his pain, suddenly his knee was whole again.
And still the magical operation continued.
Next to be rebuilt was his calf and the rest of his lower leg. He passed out halfway through his calf muscle being woven together, waking up only once in excruciating pain and screaming at the healer on his left, pleading with her to tell him why her chanting was having no effect at all on his torment.
After another half hour, all of Bradley’s leg was mostly regrown, down to just above his ankle, and he began to feel a sense of hope grow inside of him. He stared, dumbfounded at his new leg. The muscles looked like his. Even the hair on his new leg looked like his own.
But the skin.
The difference was subtle, but Bradley had spent his entire life living in his own body, and he knew it better than anyone else. Even though his new leg appeared to be constructed like any other human leg, its skin had a certain shimmer to it that the rest of his body did not share.
He tested the new muscles in his leg, flexing his quadriceps muscles and then relaxing them.
It felt good.
It felt strong—stronger than before—like a fresh limb unencumbered by twenty-some years of wear and tear.
He was still angry about having to go through the pain and the trauma of losing his leg in the first place, but as his nervous system began to welcome his new leg, he could feel that a part of him was now comprised of magic as he readied himself for the final steps of the procedure.
Even as he took a deep breath, he glanced up and saw Cara enter the room. Her eyes went large with astonishment as she saw what the healers had done so far.
Bradley started to say something that he hoped would be witty, but as soon as the healer began to regrow his anklebone, he passed out again from the sudden rush of agony.
He did not wake up again until his foot was whole.
When he opened his eyes, he was covered in sweat and more exhausted than he had ever been before, but at least the pain had finally stopped. He lay in bed with a light cotton sheet over his lower body and Cara sitting in a chair by his side.
He looked over to her and smiled an honest but weak smile.
Cara smiled back.
“I’m glad you’re doing better,” she said, “but your body and your mind have been through a lot, and you need to rest for at least a few days. I have to go back to Rune Corp to be with Merrick when the Emperor visits tomorrow, but we’ll both be back after that to check on you. And, don’t worry. Your leg looks perfect.”
Bradley forced himself to move his leg around a little, seeing it respond under the white sheet. He let his head sink into the pillow, and he drifted into a fitful sleep where he dreamed that he was safe inside Terrada’s belly.
CHAPTER 16
MERRICK STOOD NEXT TO Mr. Kawagishi just outside of the Rune Corp building, waiting for the Emperor to arrive. Behind them, the rest of the Wind Family delegation and Mona stood in awkward silence.
Even as he waited for the Emperor to arrive, Merrick thought again about how Cara was not going to be pleased once she heard about this. And he couldn’t blame her. After all, she had built Rune Corp with her father—not Merrick—and if anyone should have been showing off its capabilities to the Emperor, it should have been her.
While waiting, Merrick noticed that Mr. Kawagishi’s height seemed to fluctuate even as he stood still. Merrick glanced down at Mr. Kawagishi’s feet and saw that he was standing on what appeared to be a cushion of air that put him several inches above the ground. If Merrick concentrated and listened very closely, he could hear the faint sound of wind whooshing near the ground.
Merrick looked back at the rest of the Wind Family delegation and noticed the same thing.
“I am sure it is now apparent,” Mr. Kawagishi said, “why at times, we may seem unsure of our footing inside your building. It is something that both humans and Drayoom from the Earth Clan take for granted, but as you can see, we are not used to standing and walking on solid ground.”
“I didn’t notice any awkwardness on your part while you were inside our building,” Merrick said.
Mr. Kawagishi stood proudly and blushed.
“I admit to practicing back in our home city,” Mr. Kawagishi said. “We have a room dedicated to your mighty Terrada and filled with as many earth elements as we could gather, including a floor comprised of dirt and rocks. My favorite aspect of the room is a portion of floor made from wooden planks. The room is much like a human embassy and is treated as territory belonging to the Earth Clan. We have such places as this for each of the other three dragon families so that visitors may feel more...at home in our city.”
“I find that fascinating,” Merrick said. “And I apologize for not having thought of that courtesy at Rune Corp. It’s no excuse, but you’re the first guests from any of the families to visit since I’ve been with the company. I will discuss this idea with Cara, and perhaps we can work together to designate a room for the mighty Araki and his followers for your next visit.”
Not only did this idea truly appeal to Merrick, but the thought also spawned a series of ideas for expanding the Rune Corp facility into more than just an office building. Perhaps it was time for Merrick and Cara’s group to be considered as more than just a bunch of rogue human magic users and to develop a city of their own in the future. As Merrick had learned, changing your surroundings could make all the difference in your self-perception and in how others viewed you.
While Merrick’s thoughts of evolving the company were mulling around in his head, a loud noise shook the air, both sounding and feeling like an approaching train.
He and Mona focused on keeping their balance as the ground beneath them trembled. This was a struggle that Mr. Kawagishi and the rest of the delegation did not face as they turned their faces expectantly to the sky and closed their eyes, as if basking in the radiance of their approaching Emperor.
Merrick had been instructed earlier that his employees were to also look to the sky and close their eyes as the Emperor neared. It was a sign of respect equivalent to bowing in some Asian cultures. Since the Emperor perceived Merrick as the Ard Righ, he had been told that he did not have to do this, nor did he have to avert his eyes when the Emperor first approached. Unlike the rest of the Rune Corp employees, Merrick would be treated, not quite as an equal, but at least as a fellow ruler.
Merrick looked around and saw his people were observing proper form by tilting their heads back so that they faced the sky and by closing their eyes. Meanwhile, Merrick kept his eyes focused forward, waiting to see the Emperor and his traveling entourage once they landed.
Almost quicker than he could visually process, a group of five Drayoom dropped from the sky and landed no more than ten feet in front of him.
The group consisted of a woman dressed in monk’s clothes much like those worn by Tamami, two rather large men who looked quite uncomfortable to be wearing suits, and a small male child who could not have been more than ten years of age, but who was dressed in a fine black suit, tastefully accented with inlays of gold and silver.
Behind the well-dressed child, an old man stood, clothed in an ornate silk kimono and wearing a small, traditional black Japanese hat.
Now that Merrick knew what to look for, he immediately noticed that the members of the r
oyal entourage were each floating a few inches above the ground.
Merrick took one step forward, as he had been told to do when meeting the Emperor for the first time, looked at the old man in the face only briefly, and bowed slightly. As he did so, he heard a light, but genuine laugh.
Merrick raised his head cautiously and saw that the laughter was coming from the young boy.
The boy looked up at Merrick and smiled. The child’s pupils were ringed in a glowing blue, and his iris was a cloudy white, giving him the appearance of one who was blind.
“Greetings, mighty Ard Righ,” the boy said, with a slight bow of his head. “It is my pleasure to meet you at last.”
His voice was that of a young child, but in those first few seconds, Merrick could tell that this child was also a leader.
“I am the Emperor of the honorable Fuugoshujin, more commonly known to you as the Wind Family,” the boy said. “Thank you so much for welcoming me into your home today.”
The boy’s cheeks were unblemished and rosy, and he exuded the health of which only well-provided-for youth were capable.
“Allow me to introduce my companions,” he said, first turning to the old man in the kimono. “This is Mr. Yan. He is one of my trusted advisors, and I am sure he is quite flattered that you mistook him to be the Emperor.”
At first, Merrick wondered if the Emperor had been offended and was now passively expressing his displeasure. But the young leader laughed in a good-natured manner, and Merrick felt himself relax. In fact, his feeling of being at ease came about so suddenly that he wondered if he had just been somehow drugged. He wondered if the power of the Emperor’s creation name was affecting him, and he reminded himself to be wary of becoming too comfortable around the young ruler during his visit.
The Emperor turned to the female monk and then to the two men with whom he had arrived. He introduced the female and the two men simply as members of his personal security force.
“The need for such constant protection is unfortunate but necessary while I am still so physically young,” The Emperor said.
“I understand,” Merrick said. “I’m sure that your people appreciate that you take such precautions.”
The Emperor seemed pleased with Merrick’s statement and smiled.
Merrick turned to Mona and introduced her as one of the members of his own security force opened both sets of doors so that the procession could move seamlessly into the building.
Merrick had debated on whether to have the Emperor go through the regular security procedure, but thought that it might have been perceived as rudeness if detected. He also figured that the Emperor was powerful and astute enough to not be influenced by their security messages anyway.
He and the Emperor walked side by side, leading the procession, with Mona, Mr. Kawagishi, and Mr. Yan behind them. The rest of the group, in turn, followed them. Merrick noticed that the members of the Wind Family, including the Emperor himself were now walking directly on the marble floor. The new wards installed in the aboveground hallways and meeting spaces were working. They essentially nullified the magic from the other families, forcing the members of the delegation to walk awkwardly on solid ground. He hoped that the Emperor would not perceive this inconvenience in a negative manner.
As the group moved into the center of the lobby, the Emperor stopped in front of Oodrosil and stared up to the top of its branches.
“Magnificent,” the boy said. “I have heard of this great tree but was not prepared for its grandeur in person. You will tell the mighty Yew of my sentiments?”
“He hears you well enough,” Merrick said with a laugh. “As you know, Oodrosil is no ordinary tree.”
The Emperor looked up at Merrick with only a slight smile.
“Obviously,” the Emperor said. “Anyone with eyes could see that.”
Merrick led the group to the back of the lobby and down one of the hallways toward the main auditorium.
“Emperor,” Merrick said as they passed into a giant room with theater seating. “Forgive me if I seem rude, but are all leaders of your family chosen at such a young age?”
“I am not offended in the least by your question,” the boy said. “And to answer your question...yes and no. As you are mostly likely aware, all of our rulers have come from the same bloodline since the split of the families long ago. That in itself is not abnormal among the families.
“In my family, however, our successive rulers are much more closely related. Every piece of my physical body, my mind, and my magical power is exactly the same as the parts that comprised my great-grandfather. Likewise, my father’s energy was a direct transference from that of his great-grandfather.
“When an Emperor passes from this existence, his ashes are thrown to the wind and offered to Araki. The mighty Wind Dragon collects each of our molecules and saves them to be later implanted into the womb of the current Emperor’s wife, which results in her bearing a male child.
“As such, it is typical for males of my bloodline to remember their creation names at a very early age since we are essentially reincarnations of past rulers. I was born with all the knowledge of my great-grandfather and his great-grandfather, and so on. But even so, it is not normal for one as young as I to remember his creation name and to ascend to the throne. My father passed away at a relatively young age along with my mother. Leaving the seat of the Emperor vacant was not an option as you can imagine.”
“I am sorry to hear of this, great Emperor,” Merrick said. “You now rule the Wind Family alone? With no parents and no brothers or sisters?”
The Emperor paused for a second before answering.
“I am alone in the leadership of my family,” the Emperor said. “It can be, at times, a heavy burden, but one that I bear with honor and even bliss in my service to the almighty Araki.”
After everyone was shown to his or her seat, Merrick stepped up to the stage and apologized for Cara’s absence. Perhaps it was just his impression, but the Emperor did not seem interested in her at all, other than to ask whether or not she was Ohman’s only living offspring.
Merrick gave a blissfully short presentation about Rune Corp’s capabilities and a high-level overview of their work with the cubes. He watched the Emperor’s face closely as the young ruler was shown a video of the cubes in action, but he could not detect any change in the young boy’s expression.
That alone told Merrick that the Emperor was more affected than he wanted to let on.
“I am impressed,” the Emperor said at one point, “that you have discovered a way for humans to wield the power of the dragons. I am not sure that this is a wise thing to do, but that is not my decision to make, of course. And since I see you remain unharmed before me, I must assume that Terrada agrees with what you are doing here.”
Merrick laughed off the Emperor’s comment and tried to make light of the topic of humans wielding magic by assuring the Emperor that Terrada had much larger things on her mind than worrying about humans using a little of her magic.
After his presentation, Merrick introduced the team of Alphas and stepped off the stage. As soon as he did so, a thick glass wall that was embedded in the stage floor rose toward the ceiling and slid into a deep groove that had been carved there—effectively sealing off the stage from the audience. Despite its thickness, the glass was also very clear and allowed for unfettered viewing of the show.
“The glass is merely for safety’s sake and to prevent damage to the auditorium,” Merrick said. “They will be using fighting skills both physical and magical in nature.”
The Emperor chuckled along with Merrick as all but the stage lights dimmed.
The majority of the Alphas stepped off the stage, leaving only six behind. Dressed in their formfitting battle suits that were laced with threads of divinium, they marched in two lines to the center of the stage. Each of the six wore a lightweight version of an enunciator collar stitched into the top part of his or her suit, and each carried some type of weapon made of divini
um. As one, they turned crisply at the exact same moment to face the audience. After a few moments of pause, they separated out—three of them on one side of the stage and three on the other.
One of the men carried a long black staff and walked back to center stage while his teammates placed different targets made of wood, stone, and metal on the stage. The man with the staff bowed to the audience members before starting his performance. He moved quickly from standing at attention to a low horse stance with his staff held in both hands close to his body.
“They are not using the famous cubes of divinium I have heard so much about,” the Emperor said.
“The cubes are mostly used for our more...academic work,” Merrick said, “but they’re a bit awkward to carry around in battle. We took a page from the other families and created some weapons for our warriors that were a bit more practical. But unlike similar looking weapons used by the Drayoom, these also contain our proprietary operating system so that the humans can interface with them.”
As quickly as Merrick had ever seen a human move, the man on stage twirled the staff in his hands until it was a blur, then ended the spinning with a low, wide swing just inches above the floor. He continued his momentum and stood up, the staff held behind his back as if he were trying to hide its true dimensions from the audience.
An instant later, he leapt into the air and opened his mouth. The sounds of the Earth Dragon words that Merrick knew were coming from the man’s mouth could not be heard through the heavy soundproofed glass even by Drayoom ears. What came across clearly, however, was the effect of his words.
All of the wood, stone, and metal samples that hung from various locations on the stage exploded simultaneously. Fragments from each substance exploded outward only to be contained within an invisible sphere of power that floated several feet above the stage floor.
Merrick turned to the Emperor who was clapping and smiling. The Emperor’s advisors did not look nearly as pleased with what they were seeing.
The Equilibrium of Magic Page 10
