Chapter 38
The dust cleared slowly and settled finely over many layers of debris. The same debris that now buried Tal. From the outside it looked like nothing could have survived such an avalanche but like a caveroach Tal was hard to kill. Under the rubble was an uninjured Tal lying on the flat of his back. A violet hue washed over him as he stared at the pulsing shield he was busy trying to keep between him and the tons of rocks that was threatening to crush him should his shield fail him.
Emergency light magic was a technique that even the most experienced light mages found hard to perform and now Tal knew why. Emergency light magic is triggered by instinct and emotion therefore should the casters concentration waver even for the briefest of moments, the magic will fail. The strain of the constant effort of concentration was getting to Tal. He was looking for ways out but as soon as his mind strayed to thoughts of escape the shield flickered dangerously.
At times like this Tal wished he was somewhere else and then once again the thought of Milla in his arms spurred him on. Tal set his jaw, determined now more than ever to escape just so he could be with Milla. He considered his options and what he had to work with. All he had was his light magic and his wit. Tal thought up of ways to get out but none seemed possible until a thought struck him, odd as it was. Milla had told him many times of how hard it was to pry herself from his arms in the mornings when they slept together. This thought spurred another idea that did seem possible and Tal set to work immediately. Tal felt for the ends of the light shield and started to expand it as far as he could without breaking it or making it too thin. Then, without losing concentration, he started to curl the edges. He continued to curl the violet shield until it resembled a large bowl. Tal's brow furrowed sharply as he felt the mental strain of pushing the rubble skywards.
The strain was draining to say the least and since he was using emergency light magic, the strain only worsened as he progress. Tal pushed the light shield and felt the agony of pressure on his mind but continued to push. For Milla he pushed and finally when he came to the end of his concentration he titled the bowl to the right and dumped the gravel. Relief struck his tired mind and as he savored the blessed relief his shield flickered and died. But that didn't matter anymore. Tal was staring up at the ceiling and breathed in fresh air. Then he stood up a little too quickly and as a result found himself unsteady. Nausea hit him with a vengeance and flogged his mind repeatedly.
"Finally, what took you so long?" a voice said cutting through Tal's nausea long enough for him to focus.
"Well when you're buried alive one does tend to take ones time to consider if it's better to stay buried than to rise again," Tal said sourly at his ancestor.
"It's nice to see that the little mishap didn't take away your sense of humor," Ramellean said totally ignoring Tal's bitterness towards him.
"Why didn't you help me out?" Tal said trying to make guilt spread into Ramellean's mind to no avail.
"Well I figured that you could have done it yourself, you got out didn't you? What kind of emperor would need his followers aid every time a little accident happens?"
"You think being buried alive is a little accident?!"
"Oh don't be such an alarmist Tal, you're safe now and that's what matters. If I were you I'd come up with a way to getting to the final arena instead of wasting your energy acting like a Borzog,"
Tal grumbled but knew he was right. They did need to get out and they needed to get on with more pressing matters. Tal searched the room and besides the pile of rubble and the other freakish statues of frozen stone Aenireans found a way out. At least he hoped it was a way out.
"Over there let's go," Tal said heading off.
"Yes and we must hurry, it's not very good to keep women waiting,"
Tal stopped and spun to question Ramellean face to face.
"What do you mean by that?"
"You need to hurry the women are waiting in the last arena hall,"
"What? How do you know?"
"Danir told me so. I can feel her tension, we have to hurry,"
Tal was about to ask how he could feel his wife's tension when he decided to let it go. It wasn't his business and after all he had better things to do. Tal picked up his pace a notch and wandered into yet another dark hallway. Lighting his sunstone, Tal extended a hand to feel for a wall. His hand brushed something like stone and using the wall as a guide, Tal moved down the hall. After a while the wall curved and was no more. Tal raised an eyebrow and aimed his light at the ground only to find that he was only a quarter of a stretch away from what looked like an endless chasm.
"Oh great! I knew this was coming. Icecarls will be Icecarls," Tal raged venting his frustration out over the chasm to get an echo.
Ramellean finally caught up with him and asked what he was yelling at.
"Tal what in light's name are you yelling at?"
"Take a look for yourself," Tal said pointing into the nothingness.
It's just a big hole," Ramellean said summing up the point to Tal's annoyance.
"I know that but how are we going to get across? I see no other side and I don't think light magic will get us over there either. Look," Tal said pointing his beam into the darkness that seemed to swallow up the light.
"I see," Ramellean mused.
"What do we do? Go back?" Tal asked.
"We can't door's sealed," Ramellean said still musing.
"What can I do? I'll never see Milla again," Tal said almost breaking up.
"Oh don't be so dramatic," Ramellean said finally looking at Tal.
"Tal, do you know what this darkness is?"
"No,"
"It's veil substance. Tal your looking at a Veil Barrier,"
The dust cleared slowly and settled finely over many layers of debris. The same debris that now buried Tal. From the outside it looked like nothing could have survived such an avalanche but like a caveroach Tal was hard to kill. Under the rubble was an uninjured Tal lying on the flat of his back. A violet hue washed over him as he stared at the pulsing shield he was busy trying to keep between him and the tons of rocks that was threatening to crush him should his shield fail him.
Emergency light magic was a technique that even the most experienced light mages found hard to perform and now Tal knew why. Emergency light magic is triggered by instinct and emotion therefore should the casters concentration waver even for the briefest of moments, the magic will fail. The strain of the constant effort of concentration was getting to Tal. He was looking for ways out but as soon as his mind strayed to thoughts of escape the shield flickered dangerously.
At times like this Tal wished he was somewhere else and then once again the thought of Milla in his arms spurred him on. Tal set his jaw, determined now more than ever to escape just so he could be with Milla. He considered his options and what he had to work with. All he had was his light magic and his wit. Tal thought up of ways to get out but none seemed possible until a thought struck him, odd as it was. Milla had told him many times of how hard it was to pry herself from his arms in the mornings when they slept together. This thought spurred another idea that did seem possible and Tal set to work immediately. Tal felt for the ends of the light shield and started to expand it as far as he could without breaking it or making it too thin. Then, without losing concentration, he started to curl the edges. He continued to curl the violet shield until it resembled a large bowl. Tal's brow furrowed sharply as he felt the mental strain of pushing the rubble skywards.
The strain was draining to say the least and since he was using emergency light magic, the strain only worsened as he progress. Tal pushed the light shield and felt the agony of pressure on his mind but continued to push. For Milla he pushed and finally when he came to the end of his concentration he titled the bowl to the right and dumped the gravel. Relief struck his tired mind and as he savored the blessed relief his shield flickered and died. But that didn't matter anymore. Tal was staring up at the ceiling and breathed in fresh air. Then he stood up a little too quickly and as a result found himself unsteady. Nausea hit him with a vengeance and flogged his mind repeatedly.
"Finally, what took you so long?" a voice said cutting through Tal's nausea long enough for him to focus.
"Well when you're buried alive one does tend to take ones time to consider if it's better to stay buried than to rise again," Tal said sourly at his ancestor.
"It's nice to see that the little mishap didn't take away your sense of humor," Ramellean said totally ignoring Tal's bitterness towards him.
"Why didn't you help me out?" Tal said trying to make guilt spread into Ramellean's mind to no avail.
"Well I figured that you could have done it yourself, you got out didn't you? What kind of emperor would need his followers aid every time a little accident happens?"
"You think being buried alive is a little accident?!"
"Oh don't be such an alarmist Tal, you're safe now and that's what matters. If I were you I'd come up with a way to getting to the final arena instead of wasting your energy acting like a Borzog,"
Tal grumbled but knew he was right. They did need to get out and they needed to get on with more pressing matters. Tal searched the room and besides the pile of rubble and the other freakish statues of frozen stone Aenireans found a way out. At least he hoped it was a way out.
"Over there let's go," Tal said heading off.
"Yes and we must hurry, it's not very good to keep women waiting,"
Tal stopped and spun to question Ramellean face to face.
"What do you mean by that?"
"You need to hurry the women are waiting in the last arena hall,"
"What? How do you know?"
"Danir told me so. I can feel her tension, we have to hurry,"
Tal was about to ask how he could feel his wife's tension when he decided to let it go. It wasn't his business and after all he had better things to do. Tal picked up his pace a notch and wandered into yet another dark hallway. Lighting his sunstone, Tal extended a hand to feel for a wall. His hand brushed something like stone and using the wall as a guide, Tal moved down the hall. After a while the wall curved and was no more. Tal raised an eyebrow and aimed his light at the ground only to find that he was only a quarter of a stretch away from what looked like an endless chasm.
"Oh great! I knew this was coming. Icecarls will be Icecarls," Tal raged venting his frustration out over the chasm to get an echo.
Ramellean finally caught up with him and asked what he was yelling at.
"Tal what in light's name are you yelling at?"
"Take a look for yourself," Tal said pointing into the nothingness.
It's just a big hole," Ramellean said summing up the point to Tal's annoyance.
"I know that but how are we going to get across? I see no other side and I don't think light magic will get us over there either. Look," Tal said pointing his beam into the darkness that seemed to swallow up the light.
"I see," Ramellean mused.
"What do we do? Go back?" Tal asked.
"We can't door's sealed," Ramellean said still musing.
"What can I do? I'll never see Milla again," Tal said almost breaking up.
"Oh don't be so dramatic," Ramellean said finally looking at Tal.
"Tal, do you know what this darkness is?"
"No,"
"It's veil substance. Tal your looking at a Veil Barrier,"