::Chapter Four::

The small white target at the end of the range shattered with satisfying intensity, and Nanami looked up over her scope with a bright smile plastered all over her face. That was the fourth out of ten that she'd managed to disintegrate, a wonderful improvement considering that one week ago she'd never touched so much as a water gun. But Londs was proving a patient and able teacher, and while his training regimen for her seemed a bit harsh compared to what the rest of the Royal Guard was subjected to, she was in total agreement with his reasoning for it.

And hard as it was she couldn't quite bring herself to hate him for it, especially not after he'd granted her one request to have Katsuhiko's face painted on each of the targets. Her aim had improved tenfold because of it, and this last session had been her best yet.

said Londs. His tone made it a compliment.

said Fatora listlessly. She'd been forced to come to every single practice session -two hours, three times a day, every day of the week- since Nanami had first started, and she'd ranted and raved at Londs about the arrangements. Until he'd asked her if she wanted to put herself into the hands of the Phantom Tribe by staying an easy target. While Fatora resented the implication that she was unable to protect herself, the memory of what had happened the last time she'd been abducted was more than enough to convince her that this was for her own good. That hadn't kept her from voicing her annoyance with virtually everything else in the palace from the servants to the warm summer breeze.

Gee, I'm really getting better, aren't I? Nanami asked brightly as she swung her rifle down beside her.

said Londs, your aim has improved tremendously. But you are still far behind the other guards in marksmanship, and we must continue to...

He was interrupted when a messenger trotted up to them and bowed. Londs turned slightly towards him and nodded for him to continue. Your Highnesses, Sir Londs, Miss Nanami; Makoto sends word that he and Dr. Stalubaugh have discovered the formula they have been searching for! And that you should join them as soon as you possibly can in the underground facility.

At this news everyone looked up in interest, except Alielle, who had been napping lightly on Fatora's elbow. Nanami pushed her goggles up onto her forehead, then disarmed her rifle and slung it over her shoulder. Fatora nudged Alielle to wake her, and the little woman squeaked gently efore she stirred.

Come on, Alielle, Fatora prodded.

Yawn. Hmmm? Aw, where do we have to go now?

Probably some smelly old lab. Makoto's figured out his flying thingie, how to make it work, Fatora replied nonchalantly.

Alielle's stomach nearly lept up her throat. Ah, okay, she managed to say, then hurried off after Londs before Fatora could ask any questions.

****


If the sight wasn't impressive enough itself, then the noise certainly was. They were standing in one compartment of the underground docking bay, and even though most of the room in the center of the gigantic cavern had been designated for Makoto's use, there were innumerable projects going on around them. Strange machines beeped as the Princesses walked by, long black tubes pulsated as liquids were fed into enormous tanks lining the northern wall, and everywhere you looked there were scientists and mechanics in white coats and overalls tending to a hundred different tasks.

The single greatest source of noise was by far the flyer that was hovering, tethered to the ground in at least ten different places, two meters in the air. The sails were slightly opaque and still had a great deal of testing equipment attached to them, but the odd thing about it was the fact that a sound not entirely unlike the one John's car made was coming from the teardrop-shaped pod that the sails were attached to.

There was quite a bit of air being directed into an oval duct that hung like a mouth beneath the front of the pod, and there were tubes connected to the exhaust pipes in the rear. A heat-distorted jet of air emanated from the tail as the flyer tugged forward against its restraints.

Makoto and Dr. Stalubaugh were huddled together next to one of the tethers, poking at something on a data pad and nodding a lot to each other, when the Princesses approached them. Dr. Stalubaugh turned around and flipped the lens on his monocular up. He and Makoto were festooned with various examination instruments, similar to what the royal scientists were wearing, but much more complicated.

Ah, it is good to see you, Your Highnesses. I am pleased to tell you that we have discovered a combination of naturally-occuring fossil fuels and chemical additives which will allow us to power these vehicles, he said.

Makoto finished his calculations and looked up. Yeah, we were worried about heat expulsion, since this engine block was never designed to run as hot for as long as we'll be pushing it, but it turns out that with a few modifications, the gel that's used to cool the gigantic engines in the Caravans can be used to provide a degree of protection against...

Yes, well, Dr. Stalubaugh interrupted him, suffice it to say we are ready to test this prototype. The final preparations and safety checks are being completed now. Alielle, your safety equipment is in that locker. He pointed to a trunk that was sitting in a pile of tools and spare parts, and Rune, Fatora and Nanami's eyes grew wide when she stepped forward hesitantly.

Hey, you never told me about this! Fatora yelled at Alielle and pointed to the flyer. I certainly don't want you going up in that thing when it hasn't even been tested! You could be killed!

Yeah Alielle, said Nanami, just what do you think you're doing?

Alielle seemed to consider this for a second, before she responded. She put her hands on her hips and as much assurance into her voice as she could muster. I'm doing my part to help the Kingdom. I wasn't too thrilled about it when I first told master Makoto that I would help him any way I could. But the more I thought about it, the less scared I got. At least, until now. She looked up at the prototype again, then marched ahead towards her locker.

Fatora was enraged, and she wheeled around to face Londs. You! You've known about this all along! This is some sort of conspiracy to split us up, I know it! And after all this time, to think that...

Londs began to massage a spot on his temple gently, then raised his voice to interrupt. Princess Fatora, Alielle volunteered for this duty. Until we finalize the design for the engine we had to build the smallest possible cockpit. And she is quite an accomplished pilot in her own right; in fact, has she not flown your own personal cruiser on several occasions?

This gave Fatora pause. Well, yes, but-

-But nothing! Alielle interrupted her. This was my decision, love, and now it's my job to make sure these things can win the war for us. All I could do the last time the Bugrom attacked was scream and look cute, but this time around I'm gonna do whatever I can to make sure they get mashed into the ground permanently!

Alielle stomped her foot on the ground, and there was silence for a few seconds. She seemed to accept this as a tacit confirmation of their support for her decision, and turned back around and walked silently to her locker, picked out a duffle bag, and went over to a small set of restrooms.

Rune turned to her sister. She's really taking this whole thing seriously. You should be proud of her.

ARGH! I can't believe you'd take her side in this! Fatora screamed and stormed off, nearly knocking over several of the guards that had followed their procession into the bay. Nanami shrugged her shoulders as she left.

Gosh, what a crybaby! I can't believe the nerve of that girl, trying to keep Alielle from doing anything at all. She's not a kid, you know.

Londs gestured at four of the guards, and they bowed slightly before running after Fatora. This Second Great War weighs heavily on the members of the royal house. It is their duty to ensure that Roshtaria is not vanquished, and the stress they face without being able to rely on the Eye of God is considerable. Bear this in mind before you judge their actions too harshly, he said.

Princess Rune gave him a reproving look. Londs, you don't have to make excuses for her behavior. Fatora has always been possessive when it came to Alielle. It's understandable that she would be concerned.

She walked over to the flyer and ran her hand along the underbelly of the piloting pod. You've done a wonderful job with the design of this machine, Makoto, but I can't help but be concerned for the safety of whoever is flying them. The construction seems very fragile.

Well, once we have solid figures for just how much weight the design will support, then we can begin to build safety systems into it, Makoto responded cheerfully after he'd finished blushing. I'd like to utilize honeycomb shaped frame members in the construction, which would reduce weight significantly without sacrificing structural integrity. But whether we can or not will depend on the success of this first test.

He turned to look at Alielle, who had finished dressing in one of the restrooms and was walking back up to them. She was wearing one of the new flight jackets that would be the standard uniform for all of the members of the Royal Air Corps, a fur lined, dark brown leather jacket that would have looked remarkably like the Flying Tigers jackets used by the United States pilots in the days of propeller engines and unheated cockpits, except for the distinctly El-Hazardian collar and jeweled two-clasp front flap. She also wore a helmet and flight goggles, and mittens with the royal crest stitched on them.

To any earthling, it might have looked silly. But her countenance was deadly serious, and she fussed a little bit with the straps on her goggles before looking up at Makoto.

I'm ready, she said plainly, and Makoto smiled and nodded to her. He and Dr. Stalubaugh began shouting instructions to the surrounding scientists, and five minutes later the flyer was on the ground and being wheeled out of the mechanics area towards the empty cruiser which would carry it out of the city.

****

John's forehead resembled a topographical map of the Grand Canyon, scrunched up with the force of concentration he was exerting. His hand was out in front of him, and the amber and quartz jewels on his lamp were glowing bright.

There was a stone wall in front of him. Or at least, what appeared to be a wall, except for the large globular distortion that was forming in the center of it. A meter wide section of the wall seemed to be twisting around itself, rippling and distorting as John attempted to pierce through the illusion and see to the other side.

The distortion grew wider, then shrank again, and after a few seconds of struggling John was finally forced to give up. He dropped to the floor, exhausted, and he stared at the wall with his jaw open for several seconds before a disembodied voice spoke to him through it.

You cannot defeat an illusion by trying to force it to dissipate. Particularly not when it's being created by a person with years of professional training in creating them. You must instead bypass it, by using a single ray of light from the other side of it to create a link that you can follow through it. No illusion can be totally perfect, but they can come very close.

The wall faded away quickly, to reveal the other half of the room. The Great Priestess of Light Cerin Tallahn stood up from her chair and walked over to John, her short locks of golden hair bouncing softly above eerily bright green eyes. She was half a head shorter than John but dominated the space around her with her sharp intelligence and powerful charisma. It was difficult not to feel intimidated in her presence, and while she wasn't as busty as some of her fellow priestesses she was more than attractive enough to make John ill at ease whenever she turned those eyes on him.

Afura did an excellent job with your initial training, she continued in a lecturing voice worthy of a high professor, but there are many finer points and techniques you must learn if you are to be of any help in locating the Phantom Tribe.

John nodded tiredly. Yeah, I know, there's always more to learn, blah blah blah, so if you're all so great at this why haven't you found them yet? I mean, you've been searching for years, right?

Because their talents work on several different principals, and are more powerful than what we are capable of controlling ourselves. It is Mother Moram's hope that your unique gift will make it possible to amplify our talents enough to defeat their defenses, but that will never happen if you do not understand first what exactly we are trying to do.

She answered him directly, ignoring the implied insult in his question, and he blushed slightly under her gaze as he realized that she would not respond to the harassment he usually doled out for his teachers. She'd made it clear from the beginning that he was here of his own volition, and could leave at any time, but that the fate of an entire kingdom could rest on how well he did in learning her craft.

So, let's try it, he said.



I can somehow help you control your powers to a greater degree than you normally could on your own, right? So, don't you want to see what you could be capable of? he asked.

Cerin thought for a second. she said, this might help to show you what we'll be up against.

She walked up to him and placed her own hand on the quartz of his lamp. Immediately, her own lamp began to glow brightly in tune with his. She closed her eyes, and the room they were in disappeared in a bright white light for a few seconds. When it faded John was greeted with a sight unlike anything else in his experience.

The Temple Home was gone. All of the acolytes and priestesses were still there, many of them hanging in midair as the floors that supported them were rendered invisible. The walls, the bookcases, the tables and chairs, even the food in the mess area disappeared in front of everyone's eyes. The great slab of granite that the Temple rested on was plainly visible ten meters beneath John's feet, and he fought the giddy sense of vertigo his senses insisted that he feel he turned his head around slowly to look at everyone else's faces.

To his astonishment Headmistress Moram was just a few feet away. She had obviously been walking towards his room, but now she was standing there, looking at the two of them with an expression of bemused tolerance. Everyone else was confused, at least, but most seemed content to wait the phenomenon out. This was obviously not the first time something inexplicable had happened at the Temple.

John spent a good twenty seconds gazing at the thousands of acolytes that filled the air around him, before he realized that something else quite extraordinary had happened. Cerin was no longer holding his arm. In fact, she'd stopped concentrating on the effect all together, and her eyes were as wide as his own.

How are you, I mean, this shouldn't be possible! said Cerin.

And yet, you see with your own eyes that it is, said Mother Moram, who was now standing next to John and Cerin and grinning broadly. We knew that your gift was unique, young John, but we were unsure of it's extent until now. You have proven that not only can a trained Priestess accomplish feats beyond her own ability when done in harmony with your power, but that you can somehow maintain the effect without concentration or force of will.

Uh, that's great, said John after he'd stared for a few moments longer. So how do I stop it?

An interesting question, replied Moram, since it seems that you are not controlling this effect consciously. Perhaps right now you are seeing what you expect to see, and inadvertently projecting that expectation through your power. Close your eyes, and invision what the Temple looked like before.

John did as he was told, forming a very solid mental picture of the room he was in, the hallway outside, and most importantly banishing the image of several scantily clad girls trying desperately to cover themselves three doors down in the locker room.

When he opened his eyes again, everything was back to normal. Cerin had banished the dumbfounded look from her face and now seemed to be considering John very seriously. Everything was so quiet as she gathered her thoughts that John nearly leapt when she spoke again.

We're going to have to be very careful with how we utilize this power of yours, John, because it seems that you can't control it yet, she said.

He looked down at his feet. Yeah, I guess it is still kinda new to me. I mean, I wasn't even trying to do anything. All I felt was your- he gestured at Cerin -energy flowing through my lamp, and it seemed like it was just staying there. I didn't know you'd stopped trying until I saw that you weren't right next to me anymore.

said Moram, we must be very careful. We should limit any techniques we try to harmonize with you to non-lethal ones. But we must discover if this is something that you can control in any way; it would be far less dangerous for you.

It's different when I'm using the techniques that Shayla and Afura taught me, said John, because I guess it takes a conscious effort to initiate them. I suppose that if I'm concentrating on achieving something specific, I can decide when I want it to stop.

Moram looked thoughtful for a second. That is possible. Perhaps we should try something a bit different, but this time, away from the Temple.

****


Half an hour later, because Moram had insisted on walking outside herself and no one dared suggest that she required help, the three of them were standing on another outcropping of rock that overlooked a patch of totally barren landscape. Not so much as a weed was growing in an area that had to be several kilometers on a side.

They found a tree trunk and walked Mother Moram over to it, and when she sat down she said to John, The acolytes for the Circles of Wind, Water, and Earth keep this area free of all life for training purposes. It is very important for an elemental priestess to remain in harmony with the natural elements she commands; otherwise, they may turn on her. It took many years to coax the plant life out of this area without upsetting nature, and it is here that a priestess first learns to harness her powers.

John nodded, then took a look out over the landscape for himself. So. What were you planning to do?

Cerin answered him, what I'd like to do first is see just how powerful an illusion you can create on your own. Give me a yardstick for just how far you have to go.

John replied, I guess, there's something I've kinda wanted to try ever since I got this thing. He brushed his left hand over the amber jewel in his lamp, and a brilliant ray of light shot from his hand into the training area.

A gigantic, twisting form began to take shape from the point where his first ray terminated, and a series of lesser rays began to coarse between the shape and his lamp. They teased the edges of the shape outward, and as it expanded the edges became gradually more defined. There was soon a definite central mass, with two thinner but longer extrusions coming from either end. The light began to shift color, from bright gold to orange to fiery red, and then something like a head appeared at the very end of the shape.

John continued to concentrate immensely on it, and after a few seconds a set of wings unfurled itself from the middle of the shape. Feet and hands grew out from the bottom, the tail grew a spear at the tip, and a gigantic, slightly insubstantial but truly impressive red dragon reared it's head above them. It stretched from one end of the horizon to the other, and may have been utterly terrifying had it made a single noise that would commonly be associated with such a large beast. But because it was only a trick of the light, there was no sound except for the wind, and the heavy breathing coming from John as he put every ounce of effort he could muster into making his dragon as real as possible.

But for all his effort, the illusion didn't last very long. It was simply too big to maintain, for one thing, and after a few more seconds of thrashing about it flickered heavily and disappeared. John lowered his hand, and turned around.

That was, well, impressive, said Cerin slowly, but not really likely to fool anyone. You did well in forming it, though, that was a very difficult sort of thing to attempt.

Yes, it was, said Moram. Then she turned to Cerin. Now, it's your turn.

Cerin took a deep breath, walked over to John, and put her hand on his lamp. But before anything happened, she addressed him. There are other uses for this power, and it's important that you understand the differences between creating false images for amusement, and using the light for a definite purpose.

She closed her eyes, and the world around them flashed by in an instant. They left the training grounds, sped across the landscape, and faster than you could snap your fingers appeared in the middle of the Muldoon Temple.

We're not really here, Cerin said while John was trying to regain his balance, I am simply projecting our own image into the middle of the real Temple, while simultaneously transferring the light from this same area to our surroundings. It's an excellent method of communication, and thanks to you, it could now be maintained indefinitely.

She took her hand off his arm, and continued, if you look around, you'll notice that we're actually surrounded by the light from the training grounds. If anyone were to look at us there, they would see us standing in the Temple. But for those who are in the Temple, it appears that we are standing at the training grounds. It's a very complex exchange.

John nodded dumbly. So, since you're no longer trying to do this...

...you should be able to end it at any time, Cerin finished.

said John.

He flexed his fingers a few times, and stared at the lamp on his wrist as though examining it for the first time. Then he closed his eyes, and concentrated on the image of Cerin, Moram and himself at the training grounds, and of trying to reverse whatever the hell it was he was doing.

Um, John? Cerin's voice broke into his concentration.

Hang on, he puffed in response, I think I've just about got it!

He opened his eyes again, and everything seemed to be back to normal. He was standing a step away from Cerin, who was looking at something just over his right shoulder with great interest. She raised her eyebrows at him, and John turned around gingerly.

One of the acolytes of the Muldoon Temple was standing there, looking around in confusion. She noticed Cerin, then Mother Moram, and bowed at once. Moram simply nodded, then the acolyte stood up and made a series of very complicated hand gestures. John watched, but he'd never learned sign language on earth, and this seemed to be far, deeper somehow. Cerin responded with an equally elaborate display of her own which seemed to include one or two gestures that were directed at him. When she finished, the acolyte nodded in understanding, glanced sideways at John, then turned around and walked off without ever saying a word.

Wait a minute, John said, she's walking back out to the fields. Doesn't she know that's the wrong way back?

Cerin looked straight at him. she commanded.

John turned back around to look at the acolyte, just in time to see her turn to the left and disappear abruptly. He started to say something, but then it donned on him what had happened. He'd inadvertently amplified the effect of Cerin's technique instead of reversing it, and although it looked like they were back at the grounds, he was in reality still projecting their image into the Muldoon Temple, only he'd replaced the entire Temple with the image of the grounds.

Cerin sighed patiently, and Mother Moram chuckled slightly to herself.

You still need a lot of work, young John, she said.