Dagger & Deception

by Jeremy Dwyer

  “Agreed, Your Majesty,” Admiral Gavin said.

  “Dismissed,” Emerond said.

  Admiral Gavin returned to his own office in the military academy, and Emerond returned to his own office.

  ~~~

  In Emerond’s office, General Joshua, Romana, Lady Ismene and Judith were waiting. Nathan, being a resource coordinator, had to return to his own office.

  They looked at the many maps on the walls in the office of the imperial prince. The maps detailed the continents, the land bridges, the oceans and the known islands. Judith checked them for accuracy, and found no mistakes. She knew that this was not proof of correctness, but they were thorough enough to match her own knowledge.

  Emerond entered the office, and said: “We have this much vaunted Spirit Sword, now. Let’s put it to use, shall we? Our enemy awaits.”

  “What are your orders, Your Majesty?” General Joshua asked.

  “We are going to the supposed location of the Ahitan woman – this Udovedaj-Pren Island. While it is not certain that she is there, it is a location of interest. Other possible locations have been investigated, revealing nothing, so we must pursue the next avenue,” Emerond said.

  “There is a spiritual danger in all of this. This Lavakara that Duke Hagan warned about may be at least as aware of world events as we are, and will likely make a move,” Romana said.

  “At least as aware?” Emerond asked, surprised.

  “I agree. He is highly aware of the activity around him. We must assume he knows many things, and will even have anticipated our travel to that island,” Lady Ismene said.

  “He is an evil being, with dangerous spiritual powers. This is not to be taken lightly. His presence will make this something other than an ordinary military engagement,” Romana said.

  “How do you know these things with such certainty about the spirit world? You are a fine farmer and among my finest scholars, but these matters are of a different nature, mastered by a different water from what you drink,” Emerond asked.

  “When one prays to the One True God, our Creator, then one is made aware of the dangers and is given understanding of dire warnings. Prayer has power,” Romana said.

  “I assure you, this Lavakara is no mere warrior. He has brought down armies, by words and weapons, and should be considered as an opposing kingdom, though he is only one,” Lady Ismene said.

  “Strange that I haven’t heard of him, given this power that you say he has,” Emerond said.

  “He hides and changes his appearance. No one who is not spiritually attuned can ever be sure of his true identity,” Lady Ismene said.

  Judith was paying close attention, writing all of this down into her book. However, this continued to be in confidence, as she was in one of the war rooms of the powerful people, which she entered in confidence under the authority of the Oath. That which she wrote of their proceedings would not be revealed until the proper time, for several decades at least.

  “Do we not confront the Ahitan woman, then, for fear of this Lavakara?” Emerond asked.

  “I’m not saying that. The woman is terribly dangerous, true enough,” Lady Ismene said.

  “Then what are you saying?” Emerond asked.

  “We must be prepared both militarily and spiritually,” Romana said, answering for Lady Ismene, who merely nodded in agreement.

  “How so? Prayer?” Emerond asked.

  “Do you doubt its importance or power?” Romana asked.

  “No. I doubt that I’m getting all the information either of you has to offer. I wasn’t even told clearly and precisely what this Spirit Sword can and cannot do. I’m not sure I believe in anything that I’m told, literally. I believe in some sort of God, and some kinds of prayers. I just don’t believe in trusting people who use figures of speech and word games,” Emerond said.

  “These aren’t word games or figures of speech,” Romana said.

  “If one of us were to strike this Lavakara with the Spirit Sword, what could we expect would happen? Would he then become easy to locate? Would he be wounded? Would he be disabled in some way I can measure? What can he even do to begin with?” Emerond asked.

  “If you were to strike him, he would be marked, and easy to locate. His powers to hide would be greatly diminished, because he could always be found. Then, it may be possible to actually strike him a fatal blow, one that he cannot resist,” Lady Ismene said.

  “How would the fatal blow be struck? Not with the Spirit Sword, right?” Emerond asked.

  “That is right. An ordinary, physical weapon would end his life. However, anyone who tries will have a terrible time striking him. Lavakara is most extraordinary in warfare. He is the most difficult target,” Lady Ismene said.

  “Many arrows, fired by many civilians, from many directions at once, can bring down even the quick and powerful tiger. Perhaps we can be those civilians, with the many arrows,” Emerond said.

  “Just how many arrows do you have?” Lady Ismene asked.

  “Let me count them,” Emerond said, and he stepped out of his office and called for Admiral Gavin, who then joined them.

  “Admiral Gavin: The troops under you – the same ones recently deployed to Athekriptole Island and still battle-ready – will serve as a combat force. You will lead them on board the Perspicacious. Begin deploying to Udovedaj-Pren Island immediately,” Emerond said.

  “Yes, Your Majesty,” Admiral Gavin said.

  “General Joshua: you and I will travel on board my ship, the Lucent. We will make our way to the island, in parallel with Admiral Gavin’s forces,” Emerond said.

  “Yes, Your Majesty,” General Joshua said.

  “Romana: as a scholar of the empire, you are invited to join, in the capacity of advisor, but you are not required to go,” Emerond said. He expected a battle, and didn’t want to put the scholar’s life at risk unless she was prepared to help and accept that risk.

  “I accept the invitation, Your Majesty,” Romana said.

  “May I join you?” Lady Ismene asked.

  Her presence here was on the basis of having originally suggested the search for the Spirit Sword. If she knew too much about the military proceedings of the Jenaldej Empire, no one was particularly worried. Emerond thought that she might continue to be of service, if he could interpret what she was saying in a useful way.

  “Yes, you may join us,” Emerond said.

  Emerond and General Joshua made their way to the Lucent, followed by Judith, who accompanied them under the authority of the Oath. Romana and Lady Ismene joined them.

  Admiral Gavin ordered the same troops on board the same ships as before, as all were combat ready. Then, he boarded the Perspicacious.

  They converted their ships to airship mode to travel north over the continent of Revod. Then, they returned to sea level in the Ikkith Tar Ocean.

  When they looked up, and saw the bright suns in the sky, and had no difficulty navigating, they were surprised.

  They should have had incredible difficulty navigating. These were the dark waters, sometimes called the shadow waters. The many suns that shone down now cleared the way. Navigating was almost effortless for their star-readers, and even would have been almost effortless without their abilities. And they were disturbed by this. The star-readers then realized some of what had happened. They could feel the difference in the movements and the positions of the many suns above – something extraordinary had occurred.

  “Your Majesty, I must report to you a great change above us,” one of the star-readers said to Emerond on board the Lucent.

  “What is it?” Emerond asked.

  “There is one (1) less sun in the sky. I have sensed it, and the positions of the other suns can be followed, so I know my readings are true. A yellow sun has vanished, leaving no trace behind. It does not move. It is not there,” the star-reader said. He recently drank anew of the waters of the Atrejan Ocean, and he had high innate potential. He was not mistaken.

  “I don’t even know what that m
eans. Yet it must mean something of great importance, and probably great danger. Of that, I have little doubt,” Emerond said, astonished, as it was unreal to him that a sun could disappear.

  Judith heard all of this, and saw the sky and how it was bright over the Ikkith Tar Ocean, like it never was. She wrote down what she heard into her book. She also drew a sketch describing what she saw in the sky as well as she could.

  The Jenaldej ships made their way toward Udovedaj-Pren Island, positioning around it to scout out what was there.

  CHAPTER 25: Forest of Illusions

  Sebastian was strongly empathic and telepathic due to the waters of the Elanatin Ocean that he drank. He could project and feel emotions over long distances, and thoughts over shorter ones. He sensed a large number of people – ships of filled with thousands (1000) of them – approaching Udovedaj-Pren Island from different directions. These were navies, and that meant they were preparing to fight a war on this island. He even felt the minds of other telepaths probing the island – they were scouting ahead before their invasion. He shielded himself so that they would not know that he was present from their distant position, which necessarily diminishes the clarity of the telepathic and empathic senses.

  Sebastian wondered who the war might be against. Was it this woman they were searching for – Victoria? She was one person, and that hardly warranted the bringing of naval forces to the island. Did Victoria have her own military? Then, he remembered something about the tiara of power – perhaps the intention was to take it from her, and then use it to rule the world and make their own empires dominant. To bring all these ships, they must believe that the woman is probably here. Yet, he hadn’t detected any sign of her: the woman was from the legendary Ahitan Empire, which was all about hate and religion, which he thought were the same thing He should have felt the hate of this Victoria if she were nearby. Given the absence of any clear signal, it didn’t make sense to have so many ships approaching.

  Then he thought that maybe it was about Madeline, and the people she had killed for their wealth. Money supports empires and launches ships, and the men who did business and disappeared here may have made some arrangements with the great powers of the world to become involved in the event they went missing. That made more sense – at least a bit more sense. He had to warn her, so that neither she nor he ended up in the crossfire. He also had to focus some of his energy to create a telepathic shield around her as well. He drank anew of the waters of the Elanatin Ocean that were in the vial on the chain he wore around his neck. He was energized, and was more fully able to shield both of them from other telepaths with his own powers of mind and emotion.

  Sebastian approached Madeline, held her by both hands and said: “My love, our enemies are approaching. They are many, and we must stay safe, so that we can remain in each other’s embrace. Steps must be taken, at once. They are arriving in ships, by the thousands (1000).”

  Madeline knew how to deal with certain matters, especially against an enemy that was unprepared. She drank deep of the waters of the Lujladia Ocean that she kept in the vial she wore on a chain around her neck. She was energized. She drank again, and again, energizing herself further. She was a master, and the waters were pure, as she paid to have the purest brought to her in large amounts. She concentrated intensely, and the island around her then changed, or it seemed to change.

  ~~~

  Lavakara used his powers of the spirit world – which he was able to do by drinking waters that did not give access the spirit world, but by having kept those waters in a special ornate vial which imbued them with spiritual powers – so that he could spirit walk. This enabled him to pass through solid objects and enter places uninvited. He could even hide in the spirit world for a time, and watch and listen. He was also completely invisible to the physical world and to telepathy and empathy – neither Sebastian nor the telepathic scouts on the ships positioned around the island knew that he was there. Lavakara, however, knew of the estate, and the woman who murdered her visitors, as he also used his spirit powers to sense the dead.

  He decided to pay attention to was occurring inside the estate, paying close attention to the exchanges between this woman, Madeline, and this man, Sebastian. He learned of the warning of the ships approaching the island, and saw this warning as an opportunity to meet many warriors, perhaps one of them a great warrior, from whom he could take a newer and stronger body from among the military forces of the world’s great empires. He then used the same spirit walking powers to leave the estate and return to the forest, to prepare to confront them. In the spirit world, the illusions did not present their false appearances, and so he was able to move about to where he pleased without being distracted by them, and reappear in the material world as he wished.

  ~~~

  Outside the estate, Claudia held close to Pradrock, not letting him get out of reach. Akylas and Akantha stayed close to Torin, although his ability to navigate despite being blind was growing – he remembered how he had walked and was able to reverse it fairly accurately. Daven and Taesa stayed close to them. They walked along the well-paved road through the forest.

  Then, the road disappeared, and there were trees in front of them. And there were trees next to them, and behind them, as well. They could no longer clearly see Madeline’s large estate – only trees. The forest was incredibly dense. Before they could think about whether it was all real, they reflexively moved away as if it were all real.

  The group was scattered, but started to think clearly again.

  Claudia grabbed onto Pradrock and walked forward on what she remembered the path to be, but had to slow down and reach out to distinguish between the false trees and the real ones.

  A bear appeared from between the trees and approached them, and then Claudia noticed something – this was a real bear, not an illusion. She threw one of her daggers with immense force and masterful accuracy into a major artery in the bear’s neck and it fell dead. “Don’t get too brave! The animals are real – at least some of them! They were probably scared by the illusions,” Claudia shouted.

  Three (3) wolves emerged from the forest, followed by eleven (11) more moments later. The wolf pack looked at Claudia and Pradrock, then began growling and moving in to attack.

  “You have enough daggers?” Pradrock asked.

  “No!” Claudia said. Instead, she drank anew of the waters of the Elanatin Ocean from her vial and was energized. Claudia then concentrated on the minds of the wolves and was able to telepathically plant a sense of fear into them so that the wolves began to retreat.

  A short distance away and out of sight of the others, Taesa saw a rattlesnake, screamed, and then ran as quickly as she could through the thick forest. She was slowed down by the dense placement of trees, having to feel her way through to see which were real and which were illusions. Once she realized that the rattlesnake had not followed her, she tried to find her way back, thinking that she would find the others around the next tree. And then the next tree, and then the next tree. She actually got further away, got lost and slid down a hill – a real hill – and then she fell, hit her head and became unconscious for a time.

  “What happened to the wolves?” Pradrock asked.

  “Animals have weaker minds. I was able to telepathically frighten them,” Claudia said.

  Akylas and Akantha each held on to one of Torin’s hands. Akylas said: “You know the way. Remember, seeing less is seeing more, since you’re not distracted by any illusions. We are distracted – even if we know the trees are not all real, they’re not all unreal – some of them are real.”

  “I think I remember the way back to the ship,” Torin said, walking slowly so as not to outpace his memory of the path. They were going a different way from Claudia and Pradrock.

  Daven was afraid, so he followed Torin and Akylas and Akantha, thinking the boy might be capable of remembering the road. He also wanted to stay with the largest group. He was used to a life of song and comfort, not danger and deception.
<
br />   Claudia and Pradrock looked but could not see the others – the illusory trees in the forest were solid to the eyes, and blocked their view, so they had to wander a while and guess their way back to the ship.

  Soon, Pradrock and Claudia found and regrouped with Daven, Torin, Akylas and Akantha.

  “Where’s Taesa? Not everything here is unreal,” Pradrock asked, worried about the danger the girl could be in: even if many of these trees were illusory, the animals were real.

  “I have no idea. I thought she followed you,” Daven said.

  “Did you even look to see?” Claudia asked.

  “She always goes where she wants, I can only guide her if she wants to be guided,” Daven said.

  “Are you afraid to look? It’s mostly illusions. You have to get used to life outside your little world of wealth and comfort and face adversity,” Claudia asked.

  “We were all startled. I think she got lost in the illusions. It’s like a maze, and even if you’re aware that it isn’t real, you can’t simply see through it,” Pradrock said.

  “Fair enough. Let’s calm down. Let’s see if we can find her,” Claudia said.

  “How?” Daven asked.

  “Think. Clearly. When searching, how does one find?” Claudia asked.

  “Taesa!” Pradrock called out. Akantha and Akylas and Torin did the same.

  Claudia cringed, afraid that they might be getting unwanted attention. She had a gut feeling they were not alone on this island. Unfortunately, she was correct once again.

  Unbeknownst to them, Taesa was knocked unconscious, so she did not hear them and could not answer.

  Daven started to think of how determined, focused and bold that the girl was at the young age of twenty (20). He was now fifty-two (52) and certainly had far less of these traits than she did. He valued her companionship, and found her enlightening. He knew that she was musically extremely powerful as well – more than he was, even. The thought of having something evil befall her was actually too terrible to endure, and yet he believed that it had not happened, yet, and was preventable. He was hoping that it was preventable, anyway.