The Chronicles of Weyard
By Claviculae
Chapter 5: Boat Boredom
"I can not believe how incredibly boring this is!" yelled Meron. She was not used to long boat journeys. Brigg and Gandas had both been on many long journeys before, but the longest boat journey Meron had ever had was crossing the Karagol in a passenger boat. That took a few hours. They had now been out at sea for three days. Brigg was leaning back in his chair. Gandas was at the helm, making minor course corrections when necessary. Santur had made the discovery that he could use his Sleep Psynergy on himself and was snoring on the aft deck. Meron was pacing back and forth, taking an occasional break to whine about how bored she was. "Why don't you release your Djinn and play with them?" Gandas suggested. "Because they're all either sleeping or swimming in our wake. They're Mercury Djinn, after all. They love the sea." she replied. She finally lay down on the deck and started beating her head against it. "You could spend your time reading. It's an enriching activity, and will do less damage to your forehead." Brigg said. "Very funny. And besides, I've already read through the three books I brought along." Gandas thought for a minute before replying. "Why don't you head inside. I have several shelves of books in there." "Why didn't you say so?" Meron squealed, jumping up instantly. "Mainly because you didn't ask. Also, I kind of enjoyed watching you hit your head on the deck." Meron shot Gandas a powerful glare before heading off to the cabin door. "Geez, someone's touchy." Gandas said to Brigg, now the only conscious one within earshot. "Give her a break." Brigg said without opening his eyes. "She's never been confined to such a small area for such a long time. This is her first real sea journey. She just needs to learn how to throw her mind into slow motion. She'll get over it eventually. In the mean time, cut her some slack. I know exactly how she feels. My first few sea voyages almost drove me insane." Gandas looked over at Santur, who was lying facedown on the deck, snoring contentedly. "There are, however, some of us who are lucky enough to have sedating Psynergy. I'm sure Meron wouldn't mind napping if she could get to sleep." Gandas said. Meron promptly returned with a book and sat back. Kite flew over and perched on her shoulder, enjoying the story as well.
After a few minutes, she paused and looked up. "Gandas, I'm sorry for yelling at you. It was pretty childish." "That's all right. It's not easy getting used to long days without activity. When sleepy-head wakes up, you can always talk to him." Gandas replied. "Oh, I don't need him awake for that." she responded. "What, he sleep talks?" Gandas asked with interest. Brigg cut in. "She wasn't talking about that. She was referring to her odd ability to use a preliminary Mind Read by touching someone's hand. It's saved both her and Santur before. I myself haven't quite figured out how she does it. It has something to do with Mercury's close relation to Jupiter." Gandas smiled as he locked the wheel in place. He grabbed a chair and dragged it over next to Brigg. "How does that work?" he asked. "Like this." Brigg replied, holding up his hand. Gandas' chair started to scrape across the deck as Brigg used his Psynergy to shove it back. After a couple seconds, he dropped his hand and continued. "Move is really a Mars Psynergy, but it's so basic that almost all Venus people have it, and a few Jupiter and Mercury people have all mastered it. You see, the four Elements are all related. They all have their roots in Alchemy, sort of like siblings. They have different abilities, but no ability is really unique to a certain Element. Every type of Psynergy can be mastered by anyone if they take the time to work on it. The more basic it is, the easier it is to learn. For instance, Move is one of the simplest Mars Psynergies there is. That's why pretty much anyone can learn it. Mind Read is also a fairly simple Psynergy, and since Mercury and Jupiter are so close, Meron is able to use a primitive form of it. Remember, she still has to join hands with whomever she wants to read, and the other person can usually read her mind while she's doing it. As I said before, basic Psynergies are much easier to master. Now if she were to try and master Whirlwind, she would bairly be able to conjure up a breeze. An effort to use ray would result in a static zap about as powerful as rubbing your feet on carpet. She would have to work for months to even get close to using Wind Slash. But Mind Read is simple enough to where she can use it. And it's not just limited to Jupiter and Mercury. If you, Gandas, were to try, you could probably use Quake. I can already use Flare, but it takes a lot of effort." Gandas was suprised by how much Brigg knew. "What about certain Psynergies that could be learned by using certain items?" he asked. "Those are legendary. No one has ever found one of those, but I'll tell you what I know. According to legend, there were certain items that allowed whoever wielded them to use a certain Psynergy, regardless of their Elemental disposition. A small brooch would supposedly allow the wielder to conjure up an explosive force and blast certain things to dust. Though anyone could use it, it was still affected by his or her elemental power. For instance, it would be pointless for a Mercury person to wield it. Mercury is too weak with fire to make any use of it. At the same time, there is also a legendary piece of Jade that allows the user to levitate. It would be useless to give it to you, Gandas. You would bairly make it an inch off the ground. Santur, however, could probably fly several feet off the ground. He would be able to move in midair as well. Supposedly, this ability can be achieved through meditation, but it's much easier if you have the piece of Jade. There is also another type of item that allows you to learn Psynergy. Supposedly, there are certain stone tablets that allow the person who touches them to learn a new Psynergy, permanently. So, unlike the items that you have to wield to use the Psynergy and you lose the ability as soon as you put the item down, these stones would allow you to use the ability whenever you wanted. But they only work on someone of the same Element as the Psynergy they grant. For instance, there was supposedly a stone that allowed Mercury people to drain standing water away. There is also a tablet that allows those who use Venus to disintegrate, temporarily, into sand. Unfortunately, that's all I know." He leaned back and closed his eyes again while Gandas pondered all he had just said. Finally, he spoke again. "Meron, can you come here for a minute?" Meron put her book down and walked over, leaving Kite to read it. "I'd like to see you use Mind Read on me and see how well it works." She nodded and joined hands with him, closing her eyes. "You're thinking about your hometown, Prox. About your family and friends. Wait, now it's about a special someone, but I don't know who. I can't tell beyond that." She separated her hands from his. "It works much better with someone who is Jupiter and already has the ability." "Thanks. I was just curious." he said, getting up and walking to the helm.
She walked over to where she had put her book down, but saw that Kite had fallen asleep on top of it. Not wanting to disturb him, she walked over to where Santur was collapsed on the deck. She sat down, leaning against the wall that supported the poop deck and tried unsuccessfully to go to sleep. After five minutes, she opened her eyes and, for lack of anything better to do, grabbed Santur's hand, reading into his dreams. She slumped back against the deck, her vision fading around the edges as sleep overcame her. She suddenly felt like she was falling, falling from a great height, the wind rushing by her. Then she realized that she was really flying, arms stretched out. Then she saw Santur flying next to her. He startled as he saw her, then tried to say something, but the wind was too loud. Finally he signaled for her to follow him. He dived down through the clouds, the land approaching fast. He swerved at the last minute and landed gently on his feet. Meron followed his example, landing about five feet away. "Meron, what are you doing here?" he asked, not sure what to think. "Well, I was on the deck of the ship, listening to Brigg lecture Gandas on using Psynergy outside of your own Element. He explained how I could sort of use Mind Read. Afterward, he went to sleep and Gandas had me read his mind, just to prove it. Then I got bored. Kite fell asleep on top of my book, so I came over next to you. I couldn't get to sleep, so I decided to join you in your dream. I hope you don't mind." "No, that's fine. If you want your own dream next time, just wake me up and I'll put you out. I know how boring it gets on the ship." he replied. "Thanks. Say, what were you dreaming about before I butted in?" she asked. "Well, I was" Santur began, but was cut off as they both started to see sparkles all around them. The dream started fading. Someone was waking them up. They both opened their eyes to find Gandas shaking Santur. "Get up! We've got a giant squid to deal with!" he shouted. Sure enough, a giant tentacle reached over the deck, grabbing for whatever it could reach. Santur and Gandas both drew their swords as Meron grabbed her mace. Santur and Meron both set their weapons ablaze as the three of them charged at the tentacle, hacking at it madly. "Where's Brigg?" Santur yelled, trying to stay out of the way of the tentacle grabbing him. "He's going for the head." Gandas replied, plunging his weapon into one of the many powerful suckers on the underside of the tentacle. "I think I'll go join him. Meron, stay and help Gandas." Santur said, heading off to the side rail. He looked over. Brigg was having a tough time defeating the head. He had already used Ragnarok to chop off several tentacles, but he couldn't defeat the head. Santur used a whirlwind to pick him up and fling him out of reach of a tentacle that would have had him otherwise. "Brigg," Santur yelled, "go help Gandas. Send Meron over here fast!" Brigg nodded and ran off. Santur instantly set up an aura to protect himself as he prepared to kill this loathsome thing. Meron ran up, her mace burning. "What do you need?" she asked. "Channel your Psynergy to me!" he said. She obeyed, sending all her power into Santur. A huge whirlwind started to form around the creature, slowly picking it up. Santur was too busy sustaining the whirlwind to yell at Brigg and Gandas. He flashed a quick message to Meron, who instantly relayed it to them. "Guys, Santur's going to fling this thing to kingdom come. Get that tentacle chopped off or it'll take us with it!" They signaled OK, then hacked all the harder at it. They finally managed to separate it from the squid. They yelled over the din and succeeded to get Meron's attention. They signaled OK, and she tried to tell Santur. Even without all the background noise the squid was making he wouldn't able to hear her. He was completely focused on sustaining the whirlwind. She grabbed his clenched fist and mentally gave him the signal. She then focused all her Psynergy into him. The whirlwind started to get stronger. The water around the squid became very turbulent, and the animal itself started to lift off the surface. Suddenly, the turbulent waters hit the ship, nearly capsizing it. Gandas jumped over to the wheel and began struggling to keep it under control. Brigg ran over and helped Gandas keep the ship afloat. Santur was drenched, not with seawater, but with his own sweat. He had never focused like this. The whirlwind picked the creature up off the surface. Its altitude kept increasing. Soon, the squid was eighty feet above them. Santur sent Meron another message. 'Give me everything you can muster. And fast!' She focused intently, boosting his power. Suddenly, the whirlwind lurched to the side and dissipated. The squid was flung several miles before landing in the water with a tremendous splash. Santur screamed. Just like he had never focused like this, he had never had to bring himself out of an intent focus like this. And the pain that accompanied it was unlike any he had ever experienced. He snapped back to reality and collapsed on the deck, writhing. Meron touched his hand and attempted to read his mind, but was thrown back, screaming from pain. She quickly took his Djinn and set them to herself, allowing her a little more control over her minor skill with Jupiter. She immediately cast Sleep on him. His moaning diminished as he fell asleep. Brigg and Gandas had just gotten the ship under control. They came running up. Meron, who was still shocked from the pain she had just gone through, was bairly coherent. She mumbled through what had happened. Brigg, noticing how much fluid he had expelled through sweat, tried to get the unconscious figure to drink some water. Santur was dehydrated. He had sweated to the point where it looked like he had been caught in a storm. Gandas started massaging his back, trying to get Santur's muscles to relax. Meron mumbled something about helping him as she grabbed his hand. Her vision instantly started to fade.
She and Santur were in complete darkness. Suddenly, she heard a hissing scream. A ghoulish ghost-like creature was diving at her. She screamed and ducked as it flew by her. Suddenly, she felt like she was being squeezed. She couldn't breathe. She wanted to scream, but had no air left in her lungs for that. Suddenly, the pressure was gone. She could breathe. She screamed as an arrow landed in her shoulder. Blood started flowing all over her. Santur was having a really bad nightmare. She yelled out to him that it was over and that he was all right. The pain vanished. Everything faded to white. Then, she saw him, simply standing there. She ran up to him and embraced him, happy to find him intact. Santur looked at her. "What happened?" he asked. "The squid. After you flung it away, you collapsed, moaning and writhing. I borrowed your Djinn so I could knock you out. Brigg and Gandas are trying to help you right now. You've expended vast quantities of liquid by sweating. Try to wake up if you can." Santur nodded and closed his eyes. The dream started to fade.
Brigg was the first to notice the slight movement in Meron's sleeping form. Suddenly, she sat up and opened her eyes. She looked at Santur, who was starting to moan. She shook him, and suddenly his eyes opened. He smiled at her. "Thanks." he said, taking the cup of water that Brigg was holding to his lips and draining it. "How do you feel?" Gandas asked, looking very concerned. "Completely drained. I've never felt so weak in my life." he replied. Brigg and Gandas picked him up and carried him in the cabin, placing him on the bed. He drank a half-gallon of water, then drifted off to sleep. Meron stayed in the cabin with him while Gandas went out to reset their course. Brigg started repairing the ripped-up deck boards. Meron hadn't realized how much of her own Psynergy she had drained boosting his. She started to feel very exhausted. Finally, she slumped forward off her chair, landing in a kneeling position at the side of the bed. As she collapsed, her hand fell forward, touching Santur's. She was soon dreaming with him.
Brigg and Gandas came to check on Santur. They found an exhausted Meron slumped half on the bed, half-kneeling on the floor. "I guess she drained herself helping him out." Brigg said. He was grabbing a sleeping bag for her when he noticed that their hands were clasped. "She must've decided to check on him." Gandas said, noticing it the same time as Brigg. They walked out of the cabin, not wanting to disturb the two.
Six hours later, Santur woke up. Meron, in the same dream as his, opened her eyes as well. They both got up. Meron hugged him. "I'm so glad you're okay." she said. "We were worried about you for a while." "I know. Thanks for checking on me both times. I'm glad you can use Mind Read." They both walked out on deck, where Brigg was nailing boards in place. They immediately noticed a change. Instead of open, endless ocean, there where chunks of ice, even small icebergs floating in the water. Santur asked Brigg about it. "We're in the northern reaches now. We'll reach Prox soon. Up here, it's much colder. Don't worry, you'll get used to it." They reached mainland the next day. After packing up their camping gear, they hiked out onto the frozen mainland. Two days later, they saw Prox. Gandas gave a cry of joy and started running at full speed, eager to be home.
Well, whaddya think? That's another chapter. And I did it in a day, too! I did half of it without getting up (an accomplishment for someone as hyper as me.) Please review! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! Subject should be 'Chronicles of Weyard' Thanx.
Claviculae
. /
5/29/03
9:29 PM
18 paragraphs
244 lines
3073 words