Setting down the mirror, Evika threw herself onto the bed and cried into the pillow for a good five minutes. At the end of her tears, she pulled herself together and sat upon the bed. Outside, a full moon illuminated the houses below. When the lune goes dark…
Naurasia's days compared to Earth's is very awkward. Being a slightly bigger planet with a slower turning time, it has longer days and nights, but the moon phases of Earth's moon and L'aru, Naurasia's biggest moon, match each other perfectly.
Two and a half weeks, thought Evika. Two weeks to plan, perfect, and execute an escape, a salvation. A salvation of her people from the invading Crogs. Her mind blanked out with all the thoughts hyperventilating. All seemed impossible again. How was she, a fifteen-year old hidden Naurasian princess with no special talent, suppose to drive out one of the most powerful and dangerous forces in the galaxy? Even her parents at their youth required help from Jordan, whose transformation saved them and their planets; for the moment.
But she had nobody and nothing.
Feeling light-headed, Evika pulled out the scabbard and goggles from under the pillow; securing the band around the quar'z ring on her head, the belt around her waist. Receiving a slight sense of comfort, she unsheathed the light dagger with a shhhing sound, observing its lightness and recalling the nighttime story that accompanied it; how after the Great Race, the Avatar, Jordan, had found the remnants of his comrade's weapon and had honored him with repairing it with strong magic; later placing it on the doorstep of her father's room, passing on a blade of light magic to Father.
Maybe there's still some magic left? Never had she tried it, but maybe a test of magic would draw out some answers. Holding out the dagger flat on her palm, she spoke firmly, "Aumsicci pranier cas." Nothing noticeable happened.
Sighing with regret at the failure of her detecting spell, she tipped her head forward in a sigh, causing the loose band to slip down and place the lenses on top of her closed eyes.
It wasn't surprising to look into a pink world; the band always stayed too loose. What did catch her eyes was the only thing not tinged pink. Runes have magically appeared on the blade of the dagger on her lap, blazing gold.
First thought: This isn't in Naurasian.
It was an ancient script written in simple dots and lines and curves. Just as she thought to get a translator, the lines and dots rearranged themselves into the Naurasian text she was fluent in. It read out into a spell: Aumsicci verin calbar ligh quall. Strange, she thought, why would a spell translating into 'bring up the light' be magically carved into my father's dagger?
I wonder if my parents knew?
Thoughts swung in and out through the well of her mind, until one sure fact remained: Jordan (if he did do it) had written the spell for a female. 'Aumsicci' started spells for females; 'Umsicci' started males' spells.
Making sure that the spell was visible in pink, she repositioned the goggles back off her eyes, and looked at the blade with her naked eye. The words were nowhere to be seen.
So most likely it was for Mother. However, she knew that Eva rarely used the lenses for something other than habitual dressing. She, however, have given Evika many chances to turn her world pink. Dead end there.
Perhaps Father? As unlikely though it be, perhaps Aikka was to find the spell for his life partner, but…he rarely shows the dagger. Like Eva, he carries it around out of habit, not for use. Coincidentally, he also shows it to his daughter on a daily basis. Nothing there too.
So if she was the only one who knew…"Only one way to find out," she said, "Aumsicci verin calbar ligh quell!" The effects were instantaneous.
A cry of surprise split the silence of the moonlit room as Evika shielded her eyes from the sudden burst of blinding light. For a few seconds, all was afire white, and then it faded gradually from sight. Waiting until the dancing spots disappeared, Evika came out from under her sleeves.
What a disappointment she felt when nothing had changed in her sight. But something must have happened, for how could nothing have happened when the spell made her feel weak and drained; the signs of powerful magic at work?
What had happened in that flash of light? I'd better find out, she thought.
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Light years away, across vast plains of stars and nebulas, a planet set in the center of the Milky Way galaxy stood alone. Above its surface, an oval stone building hovered amongst the clouds. A single figure stood on one of the jutting platforms of rock overlooking the heavens and the forest underneath.
The figure watched the vast blackness above him, and suddenly, a white flare erupted amongst the little pinpoints of light, changing form into a starburst with thirteen points. Golden eyes wide, the robed person ran back into the stone courtyard, passing into a blue circle inside a small stone building marked by eight lines ending in a curl.
Jordan the Avatar stormed into his private study. Fifteen years ago, his best friend had made him promise in a dream to keep her treasure safe until her newborn daughter needed it. He was to deliver it to her when her mark showed amongst the stars.
Moving around teetering piles of scrolls and books, he jumped to a small cupboard in a dusty corner and cracked the magical lock sealing it. The doors swung open to reveal a series of drawers. Pulling a ring fixed to the top drawer, it slid open revealing a small, battered wooden cube. Next to the block, a scroll sealed with a wax circle marked with two vertical lines ending in a small curl lay on a cushion, the paper slightly yellow with age. He fished the items out of their resting spot and placed them inside the folds of his multi-layered robe.
Finding his staff in a corner nearby, he took hold of the smooth wood and stared at the set of small curls adorning the top of the wood. Looking balefully at the purple, magenta, and white, he tapped the butt of the staff twice against the stone floor. Streaks of white light surrounded him, and Jordan disappeared.
Appearing on the top of the Flying Temple, he searched the skies for the starburst, and found a line of lilac magic like a string trail into the inky blackness. Flying up to meet it, he took hold of the end, and streaked through the sky, the magic gathering in his hand as he went.
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Evika searched everything. None of her surroundings had changed noticeably. Even in pink, the only difference was that the runes have faded from the dagger, which was too small a detail in powerful magic. The light acted like a sapping spell, draining her magic and putting it…nowhere. Searching through the sheets again, a feeling came over her…a fuzzy, familiar feeling…of magic.
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Jordan was floating above the white, blue, and green sphere of his birth planet, Earth. Mostly coiled into a ball in his hand, the yarn of lilac string kept going into the atmosphere. Shielded from sight, he sunk into the wispy skies.
It wasn't long until he saw the house. The simplicity astonished him; somehow he thought that the greatest racing manager on Earth had fancier lodgings; but then Don wasn't the sort to change too much.
Lilac was strung across his hand to an upstairs window. Finishing the ball of light, he peered through the half-closed curtains. He nearly fell over in the air at the sight.
Eva, in her one contact, had not described baby Evika. Even so, Jordan had half-dreamed how she and Aikka's child would turn out. What a shock he found when he nearly mistook the figure sifting through the bed as Eva during their first meeting twenty-some years ago, only with long, brown-streaked hair. He smiled, seeing that she had taken her mother's good looks.
Despite his calm, serious manner, he couldn't help thinking, "So where did Pretty-Boy hide himself in her?"
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Leaving the tingles bathe her in shivers, Evika stood up and looked around the room, hoping to seek out its source. She was about to go into the closet when the window unlatched.