The Equilibrium of Magic

by Michael W. Layne

  “I might have something,” Jonathan finally said. “How much control do you have over the ocean floor?”

  “As much as you’ve already seen,” Merrick said. “What did you have in mind?”

  “I was thinking about an engineering solution to our problem, just looking for anything from the human world we might be able to apply here, and for some reason I thought about the Panama Canal.”

  “That was built to connect two oceans, though,” Merrick said.

  “True,” Jonathan said, “but the canal also protects ships from stormy ocean weather. Instead of making stepping stones for us to walk across, could you raise up the ocean floor on either side of the boat—create a channel that could take us all the way to Arden?”

  Merrick immediately understood what Jonathan was suggesting and hopped to his feet. He and Jonathan raised the sail and watched as it filled with gentle air.

  But Merrick cursed after he thought everything through.

  To pull off what Jonathan was suggesting, Merrick would somehow have to chant the name for Arden while also sending the tone that would raise the ocean floor.

  He thought he could handle the task from a mental standpoint, even though intoning the different words simultaneously would be difficult, but he only had four vocal folds. And that meant that he could only physically intone as many sounds at one time.

  Just saying Arden’s name alone took all of his vocal folds. He needed a way to say more.

  Merrick remembered the Tuvan throat singers he had studied when Ohman had first taught him about magic. The Mongolian republic of Tuva was famous for its singers who held their necks in a special position that mimicked extra vocal folds and allowed them to sing multiple tones simultaneously. They were able to imitate sound from nature, and their songs were probably the closest that humans had ever come to speaking the dragon tongues on their own.

  Merrick had studied the throat singers closely when he first learned of his magical legacy, and he knew, at least in theory, how they were able to manipulate their necks. If he did it right, he might be able to add as many as four extra folds to his own throat, but even two would be enough.

  He pulled his chin back to his throat and tried to envision the desired physiological changes that needed to happen. He began tentatively by speaking a word that lifted up a piece of the ocean floor on both sides of the boat.

  Jonathan stood up and grabbed hold of the mast in anticipation of the ride to come, while Merrick took a deep breath and started to overlay the word for Arden on top of his calling tone to the ocean floor.

  It was difficult at first, but soon Merrick grew more confident and stronger in his words. The boat began to steer of its own accord, while Merrick brought up a wall of the ocean floor on each side of them in real-time to match their direction. Once they seemed to be on a steady bearing, Merrick raised more of the ocean floor ahead of them as the seas began to swirl in anger all about them, and the wind began to howl.

  As the waves grew larger and the wind grew stronger, Merrick continued his incantations, stacking the walls made of the ocean floor even higher to protect their craft.

  The storm they had survived last time had been intense and dangerous, but as they neared their goal, the storm raged to such levels that it felt to Merrick as if Araki and Lagu were throwing desperate tantrums because they were unable to stop Merrick’s progress through their domains.

  Even though the way ahead was cleared for the boat, the sail was being whipped about with such force that it had become useless. Merrick stopped his chanting for a moment to rest his mind and his body. With the sea walls on either side of them, he knew they were still pointed in the correct direction.

  After a minute, Merrick began chanting again. This time, he called on the ocean floor to also raise a wall behind them that matched their progress and gently but steadily pushed them forward.

  Merrick only hoped that their bearing remained true as the boat continued on.

  Even though they were not in the same amount of danger as last time, they lashed themselves to the mast again as the winds grew to hurricane speeds and threatened to tear the boat to splinters by dashing it up against the very sea walls that Merrick had created.

  At one point, at the height of the storm’s fury, the boat lurched forward, and Merrick heard and felt a loud scraping noise underneath the boat.

  It was difficult to see through the driving rain and the waves crashing about them on either side of their sea walls, but Merrick peered as hard as he could through the weather in front of him and realized they had just run aground.

  Araki and Lagu continued tormenting them even though Merrick and Jonathan had at last arrived on the shores of Arden.

  Merrick stopped chanting while he and Jonathan unlashed themselves and then hopped over the stern of the boat. They landed on slippery submerged sheets of rocks in chest-deep water. The shore was so close they could see it despite the storm, and they started their final push to make it onto land.

  Within minutes, they stood on the beach, struggling to keep their footing against the hurricane-level winds and the sideways rain. Merrick pointed to what looked like the edge of a forest, not fifty yards from them.

  They made their way slowly to the woods, fighting for every step. As they neared it, Merrick saw two bone-white figures standing at the tree line. One was a man, and the other a woman. Both were naked. The man raised his hand in greeting, and the woman’s face broke out into a sweet smile.

  Even as Merrick continued moving forward, straining with each step, the image of Mona popped into his mind. There was something about the white woman’s smile that reminded him of Mona.

  By the time Merrick and Jonathan fought their way to the forest’s edge, the figures were gone. As soon as Merrick and Jonathan stepped beyond the tree line and into the forest, the storm stopped. Merrick looked at his feet and saw that the ground was completely dry. He turned around and saw the storm raging outside of the forest not more than six inches from his face, but the storm did not follow them into the trees.

  In the Forgotten Forest, all was calm.

  Merrick and Jonathan looked at each other. They had made it.

  Now they just had to hope that Merrick had guessed correctly and that Arden held the source of the Rune Corp divinium that he sought.

  CHAPTER 75

  PRINCE TAKEHIKO WAS PLEASED, but he also thought it was strange that the Queen of the Earth Clan had accepted his request for an audience without hesitation.

  Their meeting began with two members of her personal guard standing with them in the room, but as the conversation turned from pleasantries to the real reason for his visit, the Queen dismissed her warriors so that the two rulers could speak privately.

  As her guards left the room, the Prince took in the countenance of the Queen.

  He could tell that she had once been a beautiful woman, but she wore wrinkles that seemed to be the product of a lifetime of stress and other unhealthy emotions. The door closed behind them, and the Queen raised her eyebrows and signaled the Prince to continue.

  He saw it as a good sign that she trusted him enough to meet with him alone. Of course, for all he knew, there were warriors hiding in the stone walls of the room, ready to strike him down the second he moved too close to their monarch.

  “Queen Nabharia,” the Prince said, maintaining his distance, “we both know that political discussions at our level are often cloaked in double meanings and are filled with carefully phrased words that can sometimes elude direct interpretation.”

  “You are saying that we often lie and attempt to manipulate each other,” the Queen said with a grin. “Your honesty is refreshing. Continue.”

  “Then let me be to the point,” the Prince said. “Merrick, your son, was invited into our house as a guest of my brother, the Emperor. Merrick brought with him his human lover as well as two of his human employees. We offered him every kindness and showed him all due respect.”

  “And...” the Queen said
.

  “In return, he stole from my family and made an attempt on my life,” the Prince said. “I ask your forgiveness for intruding in your grand city without invitation, but I followed Merrick here after he left our city...”

  “I was aware that he was coming, but I have not spoken with him directly,” the Queen said.

  “Your majesty,” the Prince said, “I believe he knows I am following him and has already fled your city. I overheard him speaking with another of his companions—one named, Cara. They spoke of finding the Forgotten Forest of Abred.”

  “Impossible,” the Queen said. “No one has ever found Arden. Not since Abred.”

  The Prince took a single step toward the Queen and looked directly into her eyes.

  “Merrick said that he knew how to get there—that he had to start at Annoon,” the Prince whispered.

  The Queen was silent.

  “What do you wish of me?” she said.

  “I only ask that you allow me to stay here with a small number of my guards and to wait for his return,” the Prince said.

  “Why would he return here if he is running from you?” the Queen said. “I would think that you would want to follow my son and catch him.”

  “His woman is still here,” the Prince said. “He will return for her. I mean her no harm, of course, but she may prove useful as leverage, if that would be amenable to you...”

  The Queen nodded.

  “The woman is merely a human. She means nothing to me either way, although my son is quite fond of her, assuming she is the same one I remember having the displeasure of meeting several months back. You have my permission to do with her as you will.”

  “Thank you, Queen Nabharia. Your generosity is appreciated by the Wind Family and will be remembered,” the Prince said. “I assure you that as soon as our property has been returned, I will leave your city and be gone from your sight.”

  The Queen’s face turned into a slight grin.

  “And what of my son’s attempt on your life?” she said. “Is that so easily forgiven?”

  The Prince made himself appear to be lost in thought for a second.

  “While in your kingdom, I will respect the fact that he is your son,” the Prince said. “However, I will seek the opportunity for a fair battle between the two of us at some point so that I may reclaim my honor.”

  “We shall see how events play out, Prince Takehiko,” the Queen said. “For now, you are welcome in my house while you await his return. I shall have someone prepare a room for you.”

  The Prince bowed his head.

  “There is one more thing, Queen Nabharia,” the Prince said. “Upon meeting the Emperor, Merrick was quite insistent that we refer to him as the Ard Righ. We did not know how to respond to this, since he is your son after all. However, we were not aware that you or your clan had made such a proclamation...”

  For a split second, the Prince saw the fire of anger flash in the Queen’s eyes, but when she opened her mouth to speak, her voice was as calm as ever.

  “Nor was I,” the Queen said. “I shall have to speak to Merrick about his error when he returns.”

  CHAPTER 76

  MERRICK AND JONATHAN MADE their way through the forest. Unlike some forests that had a concentration of one kind of tree, this one was filled with more species than Merrick could identify.

  The trees were dense enough that Merrick couldn’t see more than fifty yards in front of him, but not so much that walking was impossible. And despite being surrounded by so much foliage, there was a gentle, cool breeze that somehow circulated around them, and there was light that filtered down from above. Sometimes the light came down in angled beams that broke through the tree canopy and highlighted portions of the ground.

  “The divinium is here somewhere. I can feel it,” Merrick said. “Keep your eyes open and signal if you see anything.”

  “I can’t believe we’re actually here,” Jonathan said, “in the forest where Abred, Gwynfyd, and their children once lived. This place feels special, Merrick.”

  Merrick could sense it, too. There was something holy about these woods. It felt like sacred ground even more so than Annoon.

  Merrick moved farther abreast of Jonathan so that they could cover more physical territory while still keeping sight of one another as they walked. Not only was the forest filled with trees, but there were several places where they had to jump across small streams that wound their way, presumably, down to the ocean.

  All four of the elements were represented and appeared to be living in perfect harmony within the dense forest. Merrick stopped a few times to listen to the soft buzzing of insects and to the chirps of birds. In his mind, he wondered if this was the forest that somehow served as the basis for the human story of Eden. In fact, Merrick halfway expected to come to a clearing at any moment where he would find a tree bearing the forbidden fruit of wisdom.

  Despite the grandeur of the forest, as they walked on and on, Merrick began to wonder how much farther they would have to trudge before spotting the divinium they were seeking.

  Merrick took the branch-shaped piece of divinium from his pocket and looked at it. It was pulsing gently, with all four colors of the dragons swirling together in unison. Merrick tried to talk to the stone, but it did not answer.

  Whenever Merrick came to a log that was big enough to cover a hidden entrance to a tunnel, he checked to make sure he wasn’t passing by the secret store of divinium. He also tested every tree that was wide enough to contain a secret door leading down into a divinium mine. He even looked in the streambeds, in case the divinium was lying there like gold in the dirt.

  But was all he found were more and more trees.

  And as they moved deeper into the forest, the trees grew closer and closer together. Eventually, the forest was so thick that Merrick and Jonathan couldn’t continue on. Their only potential way forward seemed to be to climb at least halfway up one of the trees and to continue on through the intertwined branches overhead.

  Merrick thought for a moment, then decided to try a word of floating in the Wind Dragon’s language. To his surprise, he felt himself rise above the ground. He was silently thankful that the magic of the dragons worked here, which made sense to him, especially if this really was the lost forest of Abred. While he was in the air, he decided to continue higher to get a view above the tree line before bringing Jonathan up with him.

  Jonathan watched from below, his head tilted backward with his hand shielding his eyes from the glare coming through the trees.

  Once Merrick was above the highest tree in the area, he could finally see where he was. In back of him, the ocean looked like it was miles and miles away. From this view, he could see that they weren’t on an island at all, but rather a land mass large enough to possibly be a continent.

  Above him the same cloudless blue sky surrounded him, still with no apparent source of light in the sky, such as the Sun.

  In front of him, however, he could only see trees and more trees.

  Merrick strained to see as far as he could and noticed two things in so doing. The first was that there was no discernible horizon. It was difficult to wrap his mind around what he was looking at, but from his vantage point, it looked almost like they were inside a giant sphere whose interior walls were painted blue and lit somehow from behind. The second strange thing was that farther out, close to the limits of his vision, it appeared as if the treetops were darker than they were in the rest of the forest—almost black.

  For the first time since they had entered this strange world, Merrick felt a glimmer of real hope that he had chosen correctly—that there really was a forest with black trees that might hold the secret of the Rune Corp divinium.

  Merrick let himself return to the ground.

  “It looks like the forest turns black up ahead,” Merrick said to Jonathan, “but it’s pretty far off in the distance. Probably take us forever if we try to make our way through the trees down here, assuming we could even circle around and
find a way through them. I think our best bet is to travel above the tree line.”

  Merrick motioned Jonathan over.

  “Hold onto my arm, and I think you should be fine,” Merrick said.

  “Anything has to be better than fighting our way through this forest,” Jonathan said.

  Merrick spoke the Wind Dragon words again, and this time, both of them floated into the air.

  Once above the tree line, they drifted forward—in the direction where the horizon would be if there had been one.

  After half an hour of soaring above the trees, the dark forest in the distance didn’t seem any nearer.

  It took another two hours of flying before the trees below started to turn black.

  Merrick looked closer at the treetops below him and crinkled his eyebrows in thought.

  He had expected the black trees to be burnt remnants of some forest fire from long, long ago. But as they continued to float farther and farther into the forest, he saw something completely different.

  Instead of a burned portion of the woods, the trees were actually black, with black trunks, black limbs, and black leaves.

  As they kept moving, more and more of the black trees dotted the forest below them, shining and sparkling like dark diamonds.

  While Merrick was transfixed by the black trees below him, a powerful gust of wind sideswiped them, sending Merrick and Jonathan spiraling backward until they were about one hundred yards from where the black trees had first started appearing. Jonathan was barely able to hold onto Merrick and had to readjust his hold before he was ready to move forward again.

  Merrick spoke the word from the Wind Dragon again as they started to move forward.

  As soon as they got to where the black trees were more frequent, they were pummeled by another pillar of wind, but they were ready for it this time and quickly recovered in mid flight.

  Merrick shook his head and motioned to Jonathan that they were going to land. Jonathan nodded as the two of them descended to the ground.