Vivid Dream Reality 3

by Savannah Maun

  They couldn't just take guns across, of course. It was only knowledge that could be taken across, but that was even more valuable. It was going to require careful thought and consideration though. If you weren't careful you just raised the stakes. To emphasise the point I asked them to imagine goblins or orcs with guns instead of clubs and knives. The ability to create bombs were not that complicated, but that also means the enemy could also learn. Exactly what information they decided on would be crucial to success.

  Understanding basic physics could give them ideas to better utilise the resources they already had. I gave the example of compressed air mixed with nails held in a glass ball that is thrown at the enemy. All the elements were cheap and easy to produce, it would just require someone with a wind familiar. When chucked at the enemy it should explode. A bit of experimentation would be required to work out how much air compression could be achieved and whether ball bearings would be better than nails and even how thick the glass needed to be to contain it without making it unbreakable. In my mind I imagined them launched in a steel tube like a mortar, using magic to launch them over great distances, although some kind of modified catapult would probably work and probably launch hundreds in one go. A quick google search of medieval siege weapons immediately captured their interest.

  Tia thought they shouldn't rush and use the ideas that we could come up with, but instead, she wanted to put some of them through the whole schooling program, including university. On the Isle of Wight was the imaginatively named Isle of Wight College. Tia wanted to expand the courses that were on offer and some of the people that had been highlighted for transformation were teachers and professors. The College worked with Southampton University and that would continue, but with the investment that we intended to make, the Isle of Wight College should expand and become independent.

  Tia used to be an avid reader and had told me there were numerous books that put a modern man in a medieval world and he then used his knowledge to turn the world on its head. Advanced knowledge of physics, how the body worked and using ideas that had already been invented could give the Elves a huge advantage. If your opponents were intelligent then they started to counter these strategies and you began an arms race and that needed to be avoided. You had to know your enemy and these male elves were on the front line in Lagbit's World and were probably the best people to suggest what would work.

  There was also the complication that your allies could become your enemies if they feared your strength or thought you were going to become stronger. The elves had never been a conquering race and, in truth, the dwarves and humans had nothing to fear. The dwarves had occasionally skirmished with the Elves when they wanted to mine on Elven land, but there was never a serious dispute. The humans, on the other hand, every once in a while, decided that the Elves should be conquered and had to be taught that a lack of desire for conquest was not a sign of weakness. They would fear a perceived shift in power. They were also the ones most likely to use spies.

  At that moment, the elves had a good relationship with both dwarves and humans, but from past experience, the Elves tried to keep their distance and kept other races out of their territory. Human civilisation tended to go through cycles, rarely lasting more than about two thousand years, which was a blink to the long-lived elves.

  So extreme care needed to be taken for any changes that were to be implemented. Both in what to do and how to do it. The idea, though, and the possibilities definitely invigorated them.

  The elves were motivated and had been through simulations that Andi had organised so I felt confident to leave them to protect Vee and Tia while I concentrated on finding where Cari was and gathering intel on the organisation that was involved.

  Tia was now entering Lagbits world seven times for each two-hour session, transforming a total of thirty-five people a time and was able to do that five times in a day. I delegated Harriet to liaise with Andi and bring additional people from the application list, so we didn't run out and waste the opportunity.

  Chapter 18

  Tia's POV

  As the head of an emerging new state, I had a theoretical to-do list a mile long, however it was so much and so overwhelming that I had realised early on the power of delegation. Without micromanaging I still wanted to keep my finger on the pulse and usually had Andi keeping me up to date. I was confident in the people I had surrounded myself with, but now that the world was known to be dying and the big hint I had received was that I was the only one who could save it, I had to release any control I thought I had, trust my people and concentrate on saving the world.

  There was an element of freedom, by releasing all my other worries to concentrate on just one, but that one was so important that it carried enough anxiety on its own. That didn't mean I didn't have fun though. I focused and worked my druid abilities as much as I could, both on Earth and on Lagbit's World. For my sanity, I needed to have breaks and Vee was there to make sure I took them and was wonderfully distracting. Still the majority of the time I spent working with druids to fulfil my druidic potential.

  The male elves on Lagbit's World didn't stay long after they had been copied but spent some time educating me on the more brutal warlike familiar tactics. They felt a need to get back to the war. To some extent, the training was more a case of educating my familiars than me, since I would ask them to do something and the manner they acted was up to them. This was achieved by presenting them with challenges to overcome and give or show examples of outside the box thinking. In the end, I knew my familiars were ready to defend me.

  After they left I concentrated on how my familiars could help with the constructions that we had planned. My metal and earth familiars worked together to create very strong walls. I worked with elven architects to design a palace and normal dwellings. Andi was somehow able to record these structures into a digital memory so I could build up a repertoire of different designs. When I returned to Earth, Andi sent them off to Simone and Mia so that they could be looked over and tweaked to work with modern desires and technology. I also looked into a geothermal power plant, using designs that already existed and discussing them with my familiars who would explain what was possible and the difficulty of the different elements so that we could work out the optimal schematic.

  My other technique for settling in my metal familiar, Dina, was meditation. Dina was my fifth familiar, so I was getting better at communicating and working with all my girls, as I thought of them. This time it took me three weeks in Lagbit's World or three two hour sessions before I felt comfortable enough to go for another familiar ceremony.

  Knowing that I was hoping for a wood familiar, Leaf slightly altered our usual ceremony, by having me holding a branch in one hand and talking about a tree during her hypnotic meditation. She thought it hadn't worked as there was no obvious glow to the branch, but I felt the life in it flare and brought it to my forehead to receive Adi, my wood familiar.

  I then set to work to commune and integrate Adi with myself and all my other familiars. After two weeks I felt ready to attempt to talk to the trees. I wasn't ready for another familiar, but I had started being able to understand what Adi was saying to me and felt her desire expressed to me for the next step.

  My original thoughts of just walking up to any tree went completely against my instincts which drove me to wander through the forest touching various trees until I came across a very large oak tree. I was on my own, as much as a princess could be. Vee and my honour guard had followed me at a discrete distance, Leaf accompanying them as well as Branch.

  I had spoken to Branch before who had told me how it worked for her. As usual with most druidic abilities, you couldn't force or attempt to control the experience. It was more about listening and waiting for permission to ask your own questions, then being patient enough to hear the answer. So I put my hand on the trunk, closed my eyes and just listened. Initially, all I could hear was normal forest sounds. I just relaxed listening to them and eventually became aware of another presen
ce listening with me. When I became aware of that presence I felt a welcoming feeling, as it responded to my notice.

  Somehow I felt the tree's peace, serenity and satisfaction with life and then it paused as if waiting for me to add my part of the conversation. Rather than immediately ask about Nudi and the World Tree, I expressed my enjoyment of life. How I had met someone who made me very happy and the beautiful future that I was looking forward to. The anticipation of our child and our attempts to build a good and peaceful nation, so that child could grow up surrounded by love. I included the love that had been shown to me by my adoptive mother and her parents and all my familiars as well as all my dear friends. Going through it all I felt such gratitude and I tried to convey that. Finally, I expressed the need to communicate with Nudi.

  Then I waited. And waited.

  Branch had told me that I would receive an answer, even if it was negative, so I knew I just had to have patience.

  Finally, I received a sense of agreement and then I knew the talk was over. I withdrew my hand and headed back to the palace.

  “Well?” Vee asked.

  “Hmm...” I answered. “It is not easy to express in words. I asked to speak to Nudi and eventually, I was told 'yes' and then the conversation was over.”

  “So what is next?”

  “I think Nudi has agreed to speak with me, but I don't know if I have to do anything else or go anywhere to make it happen,” I answered Vee.

  At dinner that night I had the same discussion. Geri was pretty sure that there was no knowledge of where Nudi or the World Tree was in the library. Leaf and Branch thought the next step would be obvious when it was meant to be. They didn't believe we needed to do anything else but wait.

  That night was the last on Lagbit's World before I slept for real on Earth and now that I had achieved what I needed to I could pick up all the balls that I had dropped while I waited. When I took the VDR headset off and looked around, Lacy looked very busy and everyone else had gone to sleep. I checked with Andi that Lacy didn't need my help or direction and after Andi suggested I leave her to it, we turned in for the night.

  The next morning I organised a meeting, including Mia, Katie, Roni and Simone, so that everyone was up to date with my quest and I could be updated on theirs. I was asked to go first, so I went through with my journey and my present status, which was effectively waiting for something to happen.

  Lacy went next. She didn't know where Cari was, but she knew where she was headed. She had been sold to an Arab. Andi had infiltrated the computer system that was used for anonymous bidding with a little help from my honour guard. She had a whole list of people who bought human sex slaves and more than one of them had bid on Cari.

  Andi was in the process of stealing all the money from each and every one of them. The organisation that was responsible for the kidnapping was one of several crime families. Lacy had worked with Killash and had managed to confront every active member to leave them with mental compulsions. For six months they would gather evidence on all the organised crime that they were aware of and then they would enter a police station and confess their guilt, providing all the details that they had accumulated. An Andi app had been installed and hidden on all their computers and phones.

  Lacy proposed a team composed of druids and modern warfare experts, rather like my honour guard, be sent to retrieve Cari and deal with the man who had bought her. She suggested the strong message that I wanted to send to the world that elves needed to be left alone or there would be consequences, should be done there. She also pointed out that my presence was not required.

  Part of me wanted to go, just because I felt responsible for all my elves, but I couldn't find a good argument so had to go with the consensus. I mentioned that we would probably find more victims than just Cari so we needed to plan for that. Exactly what punishment we intended to deal out was debated, from death, castration to various forms of maiming. My elves, especially those who originated from Lagbit's World could be quite brutal. In the end, we semi-agreed on a more psychological statement. All those involved would mysteriously disappear, with a message left behind that would be uploaded to the internet. When we were able to put our plans in motion, we would review and make any final decisions.

  Harriet reported that all those who had passports or were able to get them would travel to the Isle of Wight on airplane tickets that Andi had organised. They needed to move quickly before their bodies changed significantly towards their new Elf selves. They were going as a group with the majority of our security forces, but this left the girls who had no passports, those who had been copied from characters on Lagbit's World, Tia and her honour guard that needed to leave without a trace.

  Simone talked about the ship that was waiting for them. She had found it easier and quicker to use her own pleasure ship that had been in Florida. She had managed to crew it with applicants for change, we just needed to get to it. Leaf, Berry, Branch and Vienne had already been ferrying people across, with the help of the copied druids from Lagbit's World, who had a wind familiar. That night, we would be ready to move out of the warehouse under cover of darkness and start heading for the Isle of Wight.

  Mia said the handover was progressing well and left it at that. Katie and Roni went through our affairs in Fiji, but there were no major issues there either. I felt that I had caught up, so we finished the meeting. I had breakfast with Vee and we returned to Lagbit's World for our next stint.

  Chapter 19

  Going to Lagbit's World five times a day at two hours a time for the past two days meant that I had spent ten weeks there and only two days here. It also meant that I spent most of my time on Earth lying on my back. I didn't feel sore, but I also didn't think it would be wise to continue doing it. I discussed it with Vee and we agreed that three times a day should be a maximum.

  Harriet with Andi's help had already organised the number of applicants on the basis that I would be transforming thirty-five people five times, so while I was entering for the first time that day, seventy people that were on route were redirected to the Isle of Wight.

  I suspected that Wendy would be requested for the team organised to extract Cari, but I didn't want that to happen until I had brought her and Mia together. This meant that I would probably need to make another long flight to the Isle of Wight, after dropping off anyone left at the warehouse.

  I settled down with my headset, letting go of my worries and responsibilities, returning to my second home, Lagbit's World.

  Now that I had managed to get agreement to visit Nudi, we were just waiting for some kind of sign to help us work out what to do next. Nothing in the library spoke of Nudi and information on the World Tree was sketchy at best. At the end of my first week there, I tried communing with the tree again and received the same message, with a feeling that I needed patience.

  I tried to relax and just enjoy my time there. I did feel like the sword of Damocles was hanging over my head, but Vee was very good at taking my mind off my problems. I went back to my normal routine with learning about the elf culture, practising Taigoa, guitar, dancing and working with my different familiars. I was busy, but I also had time to relax and enjoy myself.

  Three weeks spent in Lagbit's World, one hundred and five people transformed and one day in New York and we were ready to leave. No further forward on my attempts to speak to Nudi although I was much more comfortable with my new wood familiar, Adi. I discussed going for another familiar at our nightly family dinner. Theoretically, I was ready for it, but I wasn't sure if it would be a good idea. Myra and Mary both thought that I should go with the traditional druidic wisdom, which was to go for another if I was ready. Kayla pointed out that my case was different since there was no limit to the number of familiars that I could channel. Vee just asked me to think deeply and decide what my heart was telling me.

  The conversation went quiet while everyone gave me time to think. Looking back, that could have been a lot of pressure to come up with a decision. I mean the que
en herself was refraining from talking to give me some space to make a choice. At the time I just felt gratitude that my family supported me and were giving me that freedom along with the subtle under message that they trusted my judgement.

  My heart was giving me feelings of uncertainty which was enough for me to say I didn't think it was the right time. That was enough for everyone to agree with me and leave acquiring any more familiars for another time.

  I also decided that the next time I put the headset on it would be time to bring Mia with me, which meant Mary, Kayla and Myra could finally organise the bonding ceremony of Myra and Wendy, and Mia and Wendy. Mary asked me to not involve any transformees and arrange to be here for a week without returning to Earth at night, to give the couple the chance to create a second Wendy and bond properly.

  So when I took my headset off for the last time in New York, ready for my journey back to the Isle of Wight, I was no further forward in my goal to return mana to Earth and save it from dying, but I was looking forward to finishing a personal quest, helping Mia to find happiness.

  When I awoke on Earth, the warehouse was empty except for the last five transformees and my party. The transformed applicants left quickly with flights already booked. Simone's ship was already on route, so I took down my stone walls, returning the warehouse to what it was like before, and we left to join them.

  We flew using the hand gliders, but only stopped on the ship for a quick rest before we continued on. I wanted to get to the Isle of Wight as quickly as possible. My concern was that I wanted Cari rescued as quickly as possible, but I didn't want the Wendy and Mia saga to continue unresolved. Again I needed to create an Iceboat for us to rest periodically. I was fine, but Vienne was my barometer for when we needed to take a break.