Legon Awakening: Book One in the Legon Series (39 page)

“So we see the same as Elves,” Sara said, looking
unconvinced.

“No, not at all. Their eyes are much, much stronger
than ours and are able to take the extra detail. It’s not that they
are smarter than us, but that their sensory centers are far more
advanced. Now, Legon can see far away because he is getting more of
the image. When you do it Sasha, your eyes can’t see as much, so
the image is blurry.”

That made sense to her but she still had questions.
“Arkin, can you augment this with magic to get a better
result?”

“I don’t know. I suppose so, but I’m not an Elf.”

She laughed. “Come on, you know everything.”

Now it was his turn to laugh. “Ok, I know that up to
this point I have been a teacher and mentor to you all and I hope
to always be that. But please understand that I have taught the
basics. All of Legon and Sasha’s training up to this point was in
fact directed by the Elves and I had to constantly contact them for
help.”

Legon interrupted. “Wait a moment. You have been able
to talk to the Elves from Salmont? That’s too far.”

“For one man, yes, but I checked in at the same time
every week, and when I did I would connect to someone who was in
range and then they with another and so on. In this fashion you can
span any distance and talk in someone’s mind like we do.”

The implications were astounding to Sasha. Up to this
point she was amazed by their apparently limited abilities. But to
communicate across that much space was unimaginable.

Arkin went on. “I had to be precise about my time,
but you get the idea. Anyway, they told me everything that I needed
to do with you, and as time went on I needed less and less help.
But still, the core of my training is in combat and concealment.
Magic is a vast subject, but I’m sure you can ask another Venefica
that specializes in this topic.”

Sasha made a mental note to do so and continued to
experiment in her mind. She knew that Arkin was limited, as were
all people, and in a way it was a comfort to have finally found
some of those limits. In another way she was saddened. Arkin had
always been a hero to her. Nothing could stop or stump him, but
this was unfair to expect of anyone. She began to admire him more
for his ability to recognize when he was lacking and go to another
for help. That was the true mark of a wise man, and a hero.

* * * * *

Arkin sat forward in the saddle as Phaedra started up
the steep goat path. They rode in a line with him in the lead and
then alternating pack mules and riders, with Sasha brining up the
tail. She was by far the best with the horses and if there were
problems he wanted an experienced rider at the back to help the
others along.

Soon the rocky hill to their left gave way to a space
in the rock. A deep fissure that not even a goat could jump ran
next to the path. They wound along, climbing all the time. It was
slower than Arkin remembered and there was moisture in the normally
parched air.

After three hours they could no longer see the great
rolling hills of the Empire. They were deep in the mountains, which
were unforgiving. There was a certain amount of fear coming from
all but Legon, whose superior senses would be a comfort in these
lands. For Arkin, he felt no fear. He had grown up in Manton, which
was surrounded by these peaks. He had played in them as a boy and
hunted rams with his father here. No, these mountains were not his
enemies, but his friends. He felt a drop of rain on his brow and
contemplated stopping for the night. The rocks became slick in the
rain and mudslides were commonplace.

After a while the rain came harder. Arkin searched
his memory for a resting place; one was close if he wasn’t
mistaken. The path was leveling onto a rock ledge, and against the
wall of the mountain was an opening. To the untrained eye it looked
to be a small alcove, but he saw the sanctuary within.

“We will rest here tonight,” Arkin said over his
shoulder to the others.

“Why? The rain isn’t that bad,” Sara protested.

“Not yet, but I promise it will be, and the lightning
will be as well. Come. This may not look it, but it’s a large
cave.”

There were caves all throughout the Cornis Mountains.
These were once the only true strongholds of humanity. He
dismounted and walked Phaedra through the low entrance. As he was
shrouded with darkness he produced a light showing the high ceiling
and long cavern that he’d known was here. He heard the intake of
air as each entered.

“How big is this?” Keither asked.

“It’s large. There will be chambers where the horses
can stay and others where we can.”

He looked to the entrance. The rock was shaped in a
way that didn’t allow the rain to enter the cave but that allowed
the smoke to float out. This refuge of man dawned back to the time
when dragons came to be. This particular cave had thousands of
years of history.

Humans had been the first to separate themselves from
the other races. He didn’t know for what reason their ancestors had
done this, but he knew they had. Man lived in the desolate lands
long before the Iumenta. When the Elves and Iumenta had split they
were already much more advanced than man, but still they didn’t
attempt to inhabit this land. After the Great War men still lived
here and as they adopted Iumenta and Elven technology, these caves
had changed in form and function.

He walked to the wall and ran his fingers along it,
feeling the history. If they went deep into the cave there would be
paintings on the walls from primitive man. Up here at the opening
there were signs of more modern times, when these caves had been
communities and guard posts. He became aware of the others’
silence. They were listening to his thoughts, at first waiting for
instruction and now taking in their heritage.

“Even you have a place here, Legon. You are the only
Elf alive that can claim these mountains as home,” Arkin
explained

The rain was roaring outside. A great curtain of
water covered the entrance as sheets of lightning ran across the
sky. If one listened they could hear the rocks shifting as dirt
turned to slippery mud. Arkin exhaled, relaxing. The rain would
cover their tracks and no one would enter this area. They were
safe, perhaps safer than they would be in the Elven capital.

The rain was making things cold, and Arkin could soon
see his own breath. Farther into the cave was a world in itself; it
refused the control of the outside, and while it was cool here, the
inner chambers would be warmer than the cold rain and wind that now
drove at them.

He was aware of the group’s collective interest in
this place and those like it, but he was tired and pushed the
feelings from his mind. He walked to a chamber. There were enough
chambers here for each traveler to have their own, but he knew that
the others would probably sleep together at the cave entrance. He
didn’t blame them. The cave was just another vulnerable hiding spot
to them, and perhaps their concerns were right. But never mind that
now. He sat, leaning against the cold hard stone wall, and
extinguished his emerald ball of light.

* * * * *

Sara sat on her bedroll at the entrance to the cave,
her knees under her chin. This was a cold place to her, yet it felt
like home somehow. The rain was loud outside, but after traveling
the first few feet into the cave the sound became muffled and
distant.

Legon searched in their packs and procured a small
loaf of bread, passing it to her. “Give Sasha my portion.”

Their supplies were light and this was the last bit
of bread they had. Now it would be up to Legon and Arkin to kill
animals for food. They were close to the Precipice, Sara knew, but
with this weather and their luck, there was no guarantee that they
would be in friendly company soon.

“Legon,” Sara said.

“I am stronger than you. I do not need it.”

Sara nodded. She knew he was stronger than she was.
She broke the bread into three pieces. Arkin had retired for the
night, and after last night’s meal said he would rather eat the
dirt of the field than more stale bread. She knew there was another
reason for his distaste for eating this bread, though. They had
found it with some other food on a table in one of the huts from
the now burned co-op. It was she who said to take it. She knew that
there was death in that place, so why save food for the dead?

Sasha was off exploring the cave, but Sara would save
her portion. It was just her and Keither now. She handed a piece to
him.

“I’m fine, thank you.”

She looked at him sternly. “Just because
Legon didn’t…”

“I am not trying to emulate him, but while he is
strong with character and has the body of an Elf, I have the fat
for three. Doing without is just as much good for me as eating my
ration is for you.”

He smiled at her then, and she saw that it wasn’t a
bad attitude that precipitated this but rather a genuine concern
for her. She ate the stale bread. She undid her water skin to
drink.
“Dang it,”
she thought.

“Keither, may I borrow some water from you? I’m
out.”

“Sure, let me get my water skin for you.”

He walked off and then returned. “It’s empty.”

“Well, that won’t do now will it.”

An idea came to her and she took both skins to the
entrance.

“It will take you all night to fill those, you know,”
Keither said warmly.

That wasn’t her plan. She concentrated on the magic
in her mind, seeing the water coming down in sheets outside. She
held one of the skins in the deluge and released the spell.

“Auga.” She used just the name for water and let her
intent do the work. The water formed together, falling as a stream
about three inches wide. It took almost no energy but she felt her
spell slipping as her mind did. She held the skins, filling them.
When they were full she walked back to Keither.

“Nice,” he said smiling at her.

* * * * *

Sasha rested in a chamber deep enough in the cave
that all sound from the outside world was blocked off. The room was
an oval about ten feet across and fifteen feet wide. The chamber
wasn’t tall, only going up six feet or so, and she saw signs of
tool marks on the ceiling and walls. This place was not part of the
original cave. The floor was flat. She knelt, planning on taking
advantage of their rest for some training. She accessed Arkin’s
memory, thumbing through it like a book, looking for the desired
subject. He didn’t resist and had encouraged them to do this.
Anything that he didn’t want them to know was blocked off. She soon
found what she wanted. Arkin didn’t have much in the way of
training on it, but she still took in what he had.

The principle was called the Pronos. She reviewed
what he knew of it and began. The Jezeer was vast, and even with
the training they had been given, she knew that it was a subject
that they hadn’t even begun to tap into. The Jezeer was about the
body, mind, and voice, about ways of thinking, acting, and even
moving, but the principle or practice she wanted now was that of
perspective. She was able to change her sight today and that had to
be part of the Jezeer. She looked at the Pronos. In essence, it was
changing the world around you, if only in your mind. You could
project your mind’s eye onto your surroundings. The mind still saw
the real world and noted it, keeping you aware of your environment,
but your eyes and senses saw what you wanted. This room was a good
place to try this out. It was isolated and when she stopped the
light spell the darkness was almost palpable. She disconnected from
the network, calming herself.

This first attempt was to be simplistic. She was
going to keep her eyes open and select a color, then see the color
in her surroundings. After that she would attempt to make other
images with her open eyes.

* * * * *

Legon felt Sasha leaving the network in pursuit of
the Pronos. It was a worthy endeavor and he knew why she did it.
Life was perspective. If you changed that you changed reality. He
had been walking the cave and rejoined Sara and Keither. He
wondered if Keither gave up his ration. He sat next to them,
leaning on the wall. Both were asleep but still sitting up. He
reached with his mind, out looking for anything intelligent to link
with and found it in the form of goats in the area. He settled back
into the waking sleep. It was going to be good to get to the
Precipice. Maybe there he could get a real night’s sleep.

The sun was peeking over the mountains when Sasha’s
presence roused him from the waking sleep. The rain had stopped in
the night and the air smelled clean and fresh. From a rams
perspective he could see the sky was relatively clear. Sasha looked
tired and somewhat disappointed.

“Were you at it all night?” Legon asked

“Yes, and I didn’t get far. I’m afraid this part of
my training will require patience. How did you sleep?”

He chuckled. “I didn’t really. Come sit with me, you
are tired.”

She plopped down next to him and he placed his arm
around her, bringing her close. They would leave soon but she had a
little time to sleep. This was to be a big day; she had been
foolish to pursue the Pronos last night. But could he blame
her?

She was already asleep and he accessed her
unconscious mind. Since she was not opposed to this when awake her
unconscious mind didn’t resist. He transfused energy into her body.
She would have protested, but she was asleep and needed it. When
Arkin eventually came to wake them she looked up, blinking
rapidly.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“Yeah I feel good. Wow, you always said that power
naps were good but I guess I didn’t believe you.”

She got up and they prepared to leave. It was only
going to take two or three hours today to make it out of the
highlands, and there was excitement in the group as they loaded up.
As they left their cave and hideout, the excitement soon faded with
the hot sun and treacherous terrain that seemed to bother even the
mules. By midday, however, the path started down a steep hill and
soon a valley was in the distance. The land was improving as well;
there were now short trees and grass around.