by Clayton Wood
Kyle frowned.
“Um,” he began, then stopped. “I have no idea,” he admitted. Master Banar grinned.
“Me neither,” he agreed. “But I can think of a thousand things Runics did. They built the first Tower, all of the technology that people used, the armor and weapons for the military, the armor you won at the awards ceremony two weeks ago...”
“You were there?” Kyle asked.
“Sure was,” Banar replied. “But seriously, think of what Runics have done...even in the last two hundred years. We rebuilt the Tower, defended it with a magical gate, built an entire city filled with magical technology, outfitted everyone with jumpsuits and levitating carriages, built a bridge across a massive river – with no physical structural supports, mind you – and created a military so advanced that no enemy has been able to withstand our might. And Weavers...well, they made a few craters in the ground,” he added dismissively. Kyle couldn't help but grin.
“Well, when you put it that way,” he conceded.
“I'm just saying,” Banar said with a wink. “Weavers are cool...they really are, there's no doubt about it. It feels good to make things go boom. And let's be honest, Runic school does tend to attract the...less sociable, to put it kindly. But for a hard-working, creative, motivated student, learning to make runic technology can be an amazing, rewarding experience.”
“I see,” Kyle stated, not quite sure how else to respond. Master Banar smiled.
“I've got something for you,” he stated, reaching down into a large bag at his feet. He pulled out a pair of black boots, handing them to Kyle. “Your gravity boots, courtesy of Grand Weaver Kalibar.”
Kyle looked down at the two boots; they went up all the way past the ankles, and had strips of silver metal going down the sides, with tiny runes etched into the surface. A few gems were embedded into the leather. They were identical to the gravity boots that Kalibar had worn a week ago, after their escape from the Arena.
“Thanks,” Kyle replied. “Are they like feathergrass?”
“No, they're much better,” Banar corrected. “Put them on,” he insisted. Kyle did so; the boots were exceedingly comfortable, and a perfect fit.
“Now, push a stream of magic into the blue crystal on the top of each boot,” Banar commanded. Kyle did so, immediately sending a stream to each boot. The crystals began to glow faintly. “That activates the boots,” Master Banar explained. “Now, send a third stream to the orange crystal on the left side of your left boot.” Kyle complied, activating the gem. He lurched upward a foot, crying out in surprise, and immediately dropped both magic streams. Instead of falling onto his butt like he'd expected, he floated gently downward. Master Banar chuckled.
“Notice how slowly you fell,” he stated. “Your boots will never allow you to fall quickly, as long as they still have magic stored in them,” he explained. “The center crystals store and provide the magic power for the rest of the boot. They're all connected inside.”
“Then why do I have to send magic to the side-crystal?”
“Those side crystals control the gravity fields generated by your boots,” Master Banar answered. “Putting magic into the left boot strengthens the up-going gravity field, while the right boot strengthens the down-going field. The left boot goes up, the right goes back down.”
“Oh,” Kyle mumbled. He still didn't get it.
“It's complicated,” Master Banar admitted. “I'll explain how it really works in mind-numbing detail later, believe me. But for now, just trust me. Now put more magic into that left crystal.”
Kyle did so, sending a burst of magic to it. He felt himself lurch upward, flying well above Master Banar's head. He cried out, swinging his arms out to the sides to catch his balance...and found that he didn't need to. He was standing perfectly upright in the air, without even a smidgen of wobbling. Having once again halted his magic stream, he floated slowly back to the ground.
“Whoa there,” Master Banar exclaimed. “I forgot who I was talking to! Here, put a slow, tiny stream of magic into the left boot. Tiny,” he insisted. Kyle obeyed, sending a much smaller stream of magic to his boot. He began to float upward slowly, until he was about a foot off of the ground. He stopped streaming to the side-crystal, his ascent slowing, then stopping. He remained where he was, levitating in mid-air, feeling a thrill run through him. He was flying!
“Sorry about that,” Banar apologized. “I'm not used to dealing with a powerhouse like you. So anyway, you get the idea. Notice how you're only streaming magic to the center crystal on each boot now, and you're not falling. If you stop putting magic into a side crystal, the boots will keep you at whatever elevation you're at...as long as you maintain the stream to the center crystal.”
“I think I got it,” Kyle said. Activate the boots by constantly streaming magic to the main crystals, and go up and down by sending magic to the side crystals. It was simple...in theory, at least.
“Good,” Banar replied. “You look like you could use a break.”
“Already?” Kyle asked. He was eager to get a handle on learning how to fly.
“I don't want to overload you with information,” Banar explained. “Learning is best done in small doses.”
“Okay.”
“Here, why don't we sit down for a bit,” Banar suggested, sitting cross-legged on the grass. Kyle joined him, stopping his magic stream to his boots and sitting down himself. He felt cool moisture soak through his pants, the grass still wet with the morning's dew. “So, Kyle...tell me, where do you come from?”
Kyle hesitated. He couldn't very well tell him the truth – that he was from another planet. But it wouldn't hurt to tell Banar part of the truth.
“Earth,” he answered at last. He smiled at Banar's puzzled expression. “It's pretty far away,” he admitted.
“It must be,” Banar agreed. “I've got a fair knowledge of the world, and I've never heard of it.” He cocked his head at Kyle then. “I don't mean to pry...and please feel free to refuse to answer this question...but I'm curious. How did you meet Grand Weaver Kalibar?”
“He uh, took me in after I got hurt,” Kyle answered. Which was true; Kalibar had saved Kyle after he'd been nearly killed by a vicious beast, a wolf-like creature called an Ulfar.
“How did you get hurt?”
“I was lost in the woods,” Kyle explained. “I was attacked by an Ulfar, and barely escaped. I passed out trying to find help, and when I woke up, I was in Kalibar's house.”
“I see,” Banar replied. “You're lucky to have Kalibar as a father,” he added. “He's a good man. Not many politicians would take in an orphan.”
“An orphan?”
“Well yes,” Banar replied. “I assume that your parents are...no longer with us.”
“Oh,” Kyle replied, not quite sure what to say. On the one hand, he didn't want to give anyone the impression that his real parents were dead. But he couldn't think up of any other explanation for why they weren't around, so he shrugged, lowering his gaze. “Yeah,” he mumbled.
“I'm sorry,” Master Banar apologized. “I didn't mean to upset you.”
“It's okay,” Kyle replied. But it wasn't; he felt terribly homesick all of a sudden. Kalibar was a good surrogate father, and the closest friend that Kyle had ever had, but he couldn't replace his real dad.
“You've gone through a lot for someone your age,” Banar observed. “Do you have anyone to talk to about it?”
“I talk to Kalibar, sometimes,” Kyle answered. “When I can,” he added. “He's pretty busy now.”
“That he is,” Banar agreed. “Well, I know we've just met, but if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here.”
“Thanks,” Kyle replied, smiling at his new teacher. Banar seemed sincere, and Kyle realized that it would be good to talk to someone. But how much could he really say without telling the whole truth? Only Kalibar, Darius, Ariana, and Erasmus knew that he was from another planet. And Kalibar had made it quite clear that Kyle was to tell no one else.
>
“Come on,” Banar stated suddenly, rising up to his feet and offering Kyle his hand. Kyle grabbed it, and Banar hauled him to his feet. “It's about time I taught you how to really fly!”
* * *
Master Banar levitated a few feet off of the lawn of the Secula Magna, looking down at Kyle, who was still standing safely on the ground. The sun peeked over the horizon, sending a splash of red and purple light across the feathered clouds far above, making the dew-tipped grass glitter like tiny diamonds.
“Okay,” Banar stated, folding his arms in front of his chest. “Stream magic to the blue center crystals in each boot to turn them on.” Kyle did so, and saw each crystal glow a slightly brighter blue. “Now,” Banar continued, “...send magic to the 'up' crystal.”
Kyle paused, concentrating on creating a third magic stream while maintaining the first two. He did so successfully, feeling himself rising up off of the grass. He stopped the third magic stream, and levitated in mid-air just like Master Banar.
“Excellent,” his teacher stated. “Now, look down at your right boot...see that orange crystal on the right side of your right boot?” Kyle glanced downward, spotting it instantly. It was identical to the one on his left boot.
“That's the 'down' crystal, right?” Kyle guessed. Banar nodded.
“Send a little magic to it,” he instructed. Kyle did so, and immediately felt himself dropping downward, until his feet were once again on the ground.
“Perfect,” Banar stated. “So left goes up, right goes down. Got it?”
“Got it.”
“Okay, let's show you how to move forward,” Banar said. “See that crystal, the red one at the tip of your boot, at the toes? You only have it on your left boot.”
Kyle nodded, spotting the small red crystal.
“Send some magic to your left boot again, to clear the ground,” Master Banar ordered. “Then send a small amount of magic to the toe-crystal.” Kyle complied, levitating off of the ground a few inches, then sending a magic stream to the toe-crystal. He began to move forward through the air. Once again, he brought his arms out to catch his balance...but there was no need. His entire body felt stabilized somehow.
“No need to balance yourself,” Master Banar explained. “The boots create a weak cylindrical gravity field along the axis of your body, surrounding your torso. It sucks inward toward the center of your body...that prevents you from tipping over.”
“Wow,” Kyle breathed. He stopped the magic stream to the crystal, and he slowly came to a stop in mid-air. Master Banar grinned.
“Wow is right,” he agreed. “The crystal on the heel of your right boot goes backward. Got it?”
“Yeah, I think so,” Kyle replied.
“Good!” Master Banar exclaimed. “Now, let's have some fun. Send a stream to your toe-crystal, then slowly increase the intensity, until you get the speed you want. Then just hold the stream at that level, and you're good to go.”
Kyle tried it, and soon he was accelerating forward at a brisk pace, as fast as he could run. At first he was apprehensive, afraid he'd fall, or run into something. He'd felt the same way the first few times he'd gone snowboarding with his uncles, until he'd gotten used to it. At least with gravity boots he didn't have to fall down to stop!
Master Banar sped alongside Kyle, and it wasn't long at all before they'd reached the Tower. Banar grabbed Kyle's arm, and swerved to the side somehow, pulling Kyle around the Tower, staying clear of the road where students were beginning to travel from their dormitories to the Tower itself for their lessons. They passed by the Tower, levitating over the well-manicured lawn.
Eventually Master Banar slowed down, pulling Kyle backward with him. Kyle fumbled, then stopped the magic stream to his toe-crystal. He decelerated slowly, until they had come to a stop above the grass, over a mile from the Tower. Master Banar grinned at him, his gray eyes twinkling merrily.
“Fun, eh?” he said. Kyle nodded, matching his new teacher's smile. It had been a lot of fun, actually...once he'd gotten over his fear. Banar pointed at Kyle's feet, at a yellow crystal on the inner side of each ankle. “These crystals move you side-to-side,” he explained. “It's counter-intuitive...the left crystal moves you right, and vice-versa. Once you get used to it, it's not so bad.” He demonstrated then, strafing left and right while levitating above the ground. Kyle tried it, and soon he too was sliding from side-to-side. Banar was right...it did take a bit to get used to.
“Okay,” Master Banar declared, deactivating his own gravity boots, sinking gently to the grass below. Kyle did the same. “Now that you've had a taste of what Runics can build, it's time I showed you how we do it!”
Chapter 6
Kalibar squeezed his lids shut, then opened them again, squinting against the dazzling white light forming a miniature corona around the shadowy face that stared down at him from above. He groaned, bringing his hand up to shield his eyes from the assault, tears welling up and dribbling down his cheeks. He closed his lids again, then opened them, seeing two blue eyes staring down at him.
“Kalibar?” a voice called out.
Kalibar groaned again, rolling onto his side on the bed, squeezing his eyes shut and covering them with his hands. Even the slightest light caused a deep, aching pain to shoot through his eye sockets.
“Kalibar,” the voice called again.
Something cold and metallic grasped his bare arm, and Kalibar flinched, pulling back from that grip. Kalibar curled up into the fetal position, pulling his bedsheets over his face. The pain gradually lessened, and he forced himself to slow his breathing, to uncurl his body, extending his feet out in front of him on the bed. He clutched the bedsheets to his face, his tears soaking into the thin fabric.
“Kalibar, what's wrong?”
Slowly, Kalibar brought the sheets down from his face, keeping his lids shut. His eyes still hurt, but now the pain was tolerable. He took a deep breath in, then let it out slowly.
Then he opened his eyes.
A pair of blue eyes stared back at him, surrounded by smooth, tanned flesh. Short brown hair...a glimmer of gold below the neck.
“Darius?” Kalibar blurted, his voice filled with disbelief.
“Kalibar!” Darius exclaimed, his head jerking backward, his metal-gauntleted hand releasing its grip from Kalibar's arm. The bodyguard backpedaled, his jaw dropping. “Your eyes!”
Kalibar blinked, then slowly sat up in his bed, bringing his hands up in front of his face. He stared at his fingers, at the innumerable wrinkles carved into their surfaces, the familiar swirls of his fingerprints plain to see. He turned his hands over, his eyes devouring the pearly surface of his fingernails, the shimmering metallic rings encircling his fingers.
A great sob threatened to burst out of him.
“Go!” Kalibar shouted, feeling the tidal wave of emotion coming, refusing to allow anyone – especially Darius – to see him when it arrived. “Go!” he repeated, waving Darius away with one hand. Darius hesitated, then hurried out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
And then, Kalibar wept.
* * *
Kalibar stared at the surface of the table, marveling at the honey-brown swirl of its grain, the mirror-like quality of its polished finish. He couldn't get over it, this feast of texture and color. Everything he laid his eyes on was beautiful, filled with infinite detail. Everything was perfect.
Just perfect.
He glanced up from the table at last, knowing that Darius, who was seated opposite him, was still staring at him, waiting for him to say something...anything. But Kalibar found it impossible to concentrate, distracted by everything around him. He thought back to the moments after Darius had left the room, when he'd wept uncontrollably, overwhelmed by the miraculous return of his vision. Eventually he'd regained his composure, emerging from his room. He'd seen Darius sitting at the small round table at one corner of his suite, and had sat down opposite the silent bodyguard, saying nothing at all. How long they'd sat there in silence, he di
dn't know.
Thank god it had been Darius, and not someone else, Kalibar thought. He'd never met another man more comfortable with spending his days saying nothing at all, merely patiently observing while everyone else chattered away. A rare skill, to hold one's tongue.
How Kalibar appreciated that silence now!
Minutes passed, and Kalibar finally sighed, his hunger for the sights around him sated for the moment. He turned his gaze to Darius, who was still staring at him.
“This isn't a dream,” Kalibar observed. It wasn't a question, merely a statement of fact. Darius smirked.
“Not unless I'm the man of your dreams,” he quipped. Kalibar chuckled, then glanced down at his hands for the umpteenth time, mesmerized by the horizontal wrinkles at each knuckle, and the three veins coursing over them. How had he lived so many decades without ever having noticed that?
“What happened?” Darius asked. Kalibar shrugged.
“I have no idea,” he admitted. He paused for a moment, then burst into laughter, his shoulders heaving up and down.
“What?” Darius pressed. Kalibar kept laughing, tears streaming down his cheeks, then finally shook his head.
“I thought I was going to be murdered,” he answered, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. “Here I was, lying in my bed, paralyzed...literally paralyzed! And all I could do was wait for death. For some assassin to come out of the shadows and end it all. And you know what went through my head at that very moment?”
“Nope.”
“Whether or not I'd put clean underwear on!” Kalibar replied. “Here I am, inches from death, and I'm worried about my corpse being found with dirty underwear. Don't laugh!” he protested as Darius's shoulders heaved up and down, a rare grin on the bodyguard's face.
“Seriously?” Darius remarked.
“Damn right I'm serious!” Kalibar retorted. “How could I possibly make that up? Why would I?” Darius chuckled, shaking his head.
“It all happened so fast,” Kalibar continued, rubbing his hands together. “One minute, I was lying down to go to sleep, consumed by my thoughts...then I think I may have started to drift off. I heard a noise...” he paused, then nodded. “Yes, and it woke me up. Then I heard the door to my suite close, and then footsteps. I couldn't move, I was paralyzed. Then something...someone...sat on the bed, and I felt a hand over my face. Then...” he trailed off, staring past Darius, remembering that feeling.