Ringships

by Peter Claisse

  Lynella looked helplessly at it and replied, ‘I don't really know. Everybody used to think that I only used my power to annoy them. I suppose they were right but, with all that and the restrictions placed by the compact, it meant that I never really sat down to work it out. The only person who seemed interested in finding out about it was the Abbot. I suppose it doesn't matter who knows now but my power is stronger than they think.’

  Angus was listening carefully, and the others had gathered round. She paused and then said quietly and deliberately, ‘A few weeks ago. I was at the crucibles, the one with the ringship in it. I don’t know. I think it was the ship in orbit. Something must have made me use the jewel. I lifted the whole ringship out of its crucible - just a bit but I could have gone further. I now have many of the powers of a full mage.’

  This admission stopped the conversation.

  Angus brought them back to the immediate problem, ‘You can get us across that canyon.’ He tried to sound positive, but he felt that he was completely out of his depth. ‘Let's start from the beginning. What can you do with this?’

  He bent the wire into a loop and placed it on the ground. They watched in awe as Lynella made it glow and finally it became so hot that the ends melted together. ‘I know that it's a ring, but I can't make it fly this far from the source. I could if we made another one.’

  He fetched more wire and, when she had made it into a ring, she placed it above the other. By using her power on both of them, she managed to make the top one fly up high in the air. It drifted over to one side and came down in the canyon. They heard it hit the rocks far below.

  ‘Can't you control the direction it goes in?’ Angus didn't even dare to look over the edge to try and see it.

  ‘Not when I do it like that, but I think that I might be able to do something a bit different. Could you bend one around the cable itself?’

  ‘Get back.’ Adam called out in a hoarse whisper, running up the road towards them. ‘More dragons’. They came in a silent procession. Claws extended, climbing down onto the wire. One at a time. Moving out across the void.

  When the last one was gone Angus reached down to the cable with one of the soldiers holding his feet. He managed to bend the wire into place. As soon as he let go, it slid off down the smooth cable and came to rest near the lowest point at the centre of the canyon.

  ‘That wasn't much use was it. You should have held it in place’

  ‘And wait for you to burn holes in my hands?’

  ‘No, hold it with a stick or something. I can't possibly get it hot enough that far away’

  Angus finally managed to get a second wire into place and held it while Lynella welded it into a ring. Now, she tried to picture the outside surface of the cable as a series of rings around it. It was unfamiliar, she let her mind explore it. She backed off, took the jewel from its leather purse and placed it on her forehead.

  The jewel lifted the mist which had been clouding her image. The cable and formed a conduit for her power. The ring shot off along it and hit the loose wire in the centre with a crash and continued across. It ploughed into the dragons. Angus grabbed her shoulder. The contact was broken… a flash like lightning. Lynella collapsed. It was too late for the dragons. They fell headlong, pouring blood from wrecked claws.

  Maria screamed. Grabbing Lynella’s limp body. Cradling her head in her arms. Holding her face close.

  ‘She’s breathing.’

  Angus started to move towards them but was met with a glare that mixed fear with anger and told him very clearly to keep his distance.

  ‘How bad is she?’ he asked

  ‘She'll survive but she's badly stunned. That was an idiotic thing to do. Surely you knew about breaking contact while a mage is working?’

  ‘I should have. God knows I should have’. He paced about uneasily trying to avoid Adam’s piercing gaze until Maria started to get ready to move.

  They carried Lynella into the forest to hide. Soon they were pushing through the massive native ferns but suddenly, these gave way to a small stand of magnificent oak trees. Beneath the trees, they saw the ruins of a small but substantially built stone structure. Finely carved window surrounds were set in thick walls which were still standing on three sides. The relief along the ancient cornice showed horses and hounds and, ahead of them, a dragon. The timber roof had almost disappeared, and trees had established themselves in some cracks in the flagstone floor. They settled into a protected corner to nurse Lynella and wait for her to regain consciousness. Her only sign of injury was a small burn mark on her forehead, but her face was pale and her breathing rapid and light.

  Maria sat with her, never moving, never even permitting Angus to come close. Finally, her breathing became steadier and she opened her eyes. ‘We're in the hunting lodge’

  Maria looked down at her and, rearranging a blanket under her head to make it comfortable, said gently, ‘Don't worry. You'll be all right’

  ‘What did she actually say?’ James asked.

  ‘I couldn't understand it. I don't think she's fully come round yet,’ Maria replied but Lynella cut her short, ‘I am awake, and we are in the hunting lodge’

  ‘What hunting lodge?’

  In a soft monotone, Lynella started to recite the story that had been passed down to all full members of the three gifted families since the Age of the Mages.

  ‘At the time of the landfall, when the three families and their retainers founded the great city at the source, there were dragons roaming freely across the land. They could not be killed with arrows, only by the bravest men who threw spears into the soft flesh under their necks. They caused great terror and damage and only a few were ever killed by the heroes of the first generation. Finally, after many years, a mage looked one in the eye and found that he could kill it.’ She paused for a moment and added, ‘That's what I did back at the ravine.’ After a short silence, she continued, ‘Soon all of the dragons in the lands as far as the canyon were killed and, for many generations, the city grew large and prosperous. There were, however, some nobles who wished to show that they were as brave as the first generation. They commissioned a number of the most powerful mages of the time to build a bridge to enable them to hunt the dragons that they had seen on the far side of the canyon. It took ten years and the most phenomenal power from the mages, but it was built.’

  ‘That's what it was,’ Maria added.

  ‘Yes, I didn't realise it when I saw it because nobody ever comes up here and we always thought that it would look like an ordinary bridge.’

  ‘Anyway, this hunting lodge was built for the nobles to wait in while they hung out animal carcasses to lure a dragon across the bridge. Once the dragon crossed, the hunt began. The hunters refused to have a mage with them so if the dragon turned, many were killed. It was almost a hundred years later that the last of the dragons learned that they should never cross the bridge and the hunting stopped.’

  ‘What happened then?’ Maria asked.

  ‘I suppose you could say that, without dragons to fight, the nobles all started fighting each other until, in the final battle, all of the mages were killed fighting for them. Luckily, the dragons live for a very long time and have good memories so, since the compact, none have ever crossed the bridge and come to the kingdoms. Until now, that is.’

  ‘And you're the only mage who can kill them.’

  ‘That's right, and they've banished me.’

  Adam went to hunt for game. Soon they were preparing to light a fire and looking forward to the fresh roast meat.

  ‘Won't the dragons smell the cooking?’ Lynella asked. ‘Then they'll know we're here.’

  ‘I was assuming that they already did.’ Angus replied. ‘They seem to have left us alone ever since we met them at the ravine.’

  ‘I'm not sure. I have no idea what their plans are. They're quite intelligent and they know about mages. I saw one with scars around its eyes. If you'd had a scar for hundreds of years, you would have had plenty of time to t
hink about it. I wish I knew why they decided to cross the bridge again.’

  ‘It's just as well they did cross, and it's just as well they are still here.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Maria asked.

  ‘Because if or when they do go away, the Abbot's men will be right behind them looking for us with the dogs.’

  Adam pointed up at the trees. ‘I don't know much about dragons and kings, but the wind is blowing out across the canyon away from the road and the bridge so, they won't smell the cooking anyway.’

  Angus quickly started the cooking fire.

  Lynella watched her companions. They were eating a fruit that grew wild. They called horse apples. She remembered what her teachers had said. Only common people ate them. She shuddered at the thought. She was only supposed to eat from plants and animals that had come from earth, the terran ones, not the tough-skinned native species. They would make her sick.

  ‘We have some bread for you to eat when you're ready.’ She turned to see Maria had been watching her. ‘There will be enough for you. We can eat the horse apples’

  She managed to smile.

  She slowly regained her strength. After two days, she felt better than she had for weeks and soon began to realise why. Their flight from the dogs had driven them far to the south. Now they were well south of the source, Paul’s ship was never far above the horizon and caused her much less pain. When she was fit enough, Angus took her out towards the bridge to see what was happening.

  Crouching in the undergrowth with the wind in their faces, they watched as a dragon came towards them along the road and crossed the bridge. At the centre, it stepped carefully over the two loose rings which still hung around the cable. Arriving safely on the far side, it soon disappeared from sight. During the day, almost a hundred more followed it. In the early evening, they were just about to move away when a small group, which had passed them and was about to cross the bridge, suddenly stopped and looked back. They seemed to hesitate and some of them took a few paces back along the road, seeming to be drawn back to the north. Angus prepared to run but Lynella shook her head and stayed put.

  When the dragons finally crossed, she said, ‘That explains it. I just felt the power from the ship and they must be able to feel it like I can. That's why they crossed in the first place. They were drawn to it because it signalled a change.’

  Angus thought about this. ‘And now they're going back because you've shown them that there's at least one mage about to threaten them.’

  ‘So, what I've done is to frighten the dragons away, so it's all clear for the Abbot's dogs to hunt us down.’

  ‘We'll be all right when we cross the bridge.’

  ‘I've been thinking about that. Adam may be right. We can only flee for so long. We've got to go to the monastery and that's in the opposite direction.’

  Angus did not reply so she continued, ‘It's not just to try to rescue Paul. It's for everybody. Even the dragons have realised that the arrival of the ship has changed everything and if we don't stop the Abbot from fighting against the men from the ship, it will mean we'll have wars again.’

  Without thinking she stood up, only to find herself looking straight at another dragon coming up the road. It roared. She ducked and ran, Angus close behind her.

  At the ruined lodge they crouched out of sight behind the remaining walls. All seemed quiet. Lynella was beginning to think that any pursuit would have lost them. Then she realised. The dragons had no need to hurry. Moving slowly forward, a single dragon approached them with its nose to the ground. A group of over twenty more followed.

  She did not hesitate. She stood up, looked at the terrifying creature. She seemed hopelessly small and defenceless. But she was confident. Sure of her power. A flash of light from its eye socket. It collapsed. Others ran forward. Incredibly fast. Then there more flashes. Four dragons on the ground. The others turned and fled.

  They went forward to look at the carcasses.

  ‘Four dead.’ Adam said. ‘An act of incredible power.’

  ‘Look at the other wounds’. Angus replied, looking at bleeding gashes in one of the massive legs. ‘These dragons have fought the Abbot’s men very recently. They cannot be far away. We must be gone soon.’

  Lynella just seemed shocked by what she had done. ‘The stories say that the metallic sheen on their scales comes from standing near to the natural furnace in the heart of a mountain where a lake of metal boils continuously.’ She placed her hand on one of the vast blue heads. It was warm to the touch. ‘They stand in great pain and let the mist from it settle on them to form an armour as strong as any that a man can make. But it also means that mages can kill them.’ She stood back, looking at the four magnificent animals with the grotesquely burnt holes which went into their heads. Maria put a hand around her shoulder and led her away to the lodge.

  15

  The road was now silent. The ancient flagstones had been cleared of undergrowth by the army of dragons which had moved along it. The unbroken surface could be seen extending in a perfect straight line into the distance across the valley to the North. As they watched, a single horseman rode over the brow of the hill beyond and looked out towards them. Being well hidden by the undergrowth, they knew that he could not see them, but they also knew that he could be sure that they were somewhere ahead of him. More horsemen came into sight and, with them, the first of the dogs.

  They must have sent for help from the monastery.’ Angus said as several more packs of dogs appeared, spread well out to either side of the road. ‘There's no way we could leave the road without being followed, I wonder if they know how close they are to the bridge.’

  ‘Perhaps they don't even know the bridge is here,’ Lynella suggested.

  ‘It's hardly mentioned in any of the books I've seen,’ Maria replied. ‘None of them said where it was.’

  ‘I'd heard of it in the hunting stories but never knew where it was’.

  ‘Let's hope they don't know,’ Angus said. ‘Then they'll stop in the valley because they won't want to move at night.’

  ‘Why not?’ Lynella asked. ‘They must have torches.’

  ‘Because they need to see to get the monks with auras to the front if they meet any dragons,’ Angus explained, ‘and if they think that we can't get away, they won’t bother hurrying too much.’

  As the light faded, they saw a collection of campfires in the valley and they heard the distant barking of the dogs when they were fed.

  ‘They’ll move on at first light.’ Angus said. ‘We must go.’

  Working in silence, the soldiers made a harness from leather straps and belts. Lynella concentrated her power on the cable, and the closed ring looped around the centre of it, and managed to make the ring come close enough to her to be held in place with a branch from a tree. Looping the harness through the ring, they found that it was amply strong enough to hold Angus's weight. They released the ring and he slid away into the darkness.

  The sound of metal hitting metal told them that he had reached the centre and the ring above him had hit the loose one on the cable.

  Lynella’s jewel glowed. He started to move again. Slid up a bit but then dropped back.

  ‘It's much harder to move it with his weight on it,’ Lynella said to Maria as she looked up from the cable.

  ‘Can you do it?’

  ‘I think I moved him a bit that time. I'll try again.’

  ‘He’s helpless there.’ Adam said. ‘If you don’t move him the Abbot’s archers will find him at first light.’

  Putting more power into it, she saw Angus's lantern disappearing rapidly. He covered the light to show that he was close to the rock, but Lynella left it too late. She heard the impact and saw the lantern falling. She called his name. Her shout echoed across the canyon. He shouted back.

  Maria and the others looked towards the camp in the valley. A dog barked. Then another. They heard a voice, angry, telling them to stop. They watched for several minutes but saw no sign of approaching l
ights.

  ‘We're going to have to do better than that,’ Maria said.

  ‘I couldn't see,’ Lynella replied. ‘Once I start putting power into the wire and the rings, I can't see anything outside them.’

  James looked at her. ‘Can you see things inside them?’

  ‘I know what's there.’

  ‘What is there?’ Maria asked.

  ‘There's my power flowing around in it and I can feel the effect of the source on it and sometimes even the ship when it comes over.’

  ‘Why couldn't you see where Angus was?’

  ‘I could see where he was but not where the canyon wall was.’

  They soon realised what had to be done. When they had recovered the loop with the harness on it, they used a new length of wire to fix another loop beyond it and sent it over to Angus with a note on it asking him to hold it against the rock. To complete the picture, they set another loop against the rock on their side. Letting her mind reach fully into the cable, Lynella could now see both ends of the bridge.

  Adam was last to cross. The first sign of dawn was showing when he finally climbed clear. Looking around in the spreading light, they saw that this country beyond the canyon was truly different from the land of the kingdoms from where they had come. Beneath their feet there was no sign of the soft green terran grass which grew at the edge of the forest they knew. Here, the small native yellow spiked plants were so dense that they left clear footprints as they broke when trodden on. These human prints looked small and insignificant, relative to the massive marks left by the passage of the dragons.

  The sun rose over the mountains and soon reached the point where it shone directly along the canyon from the east. For a few minutes, the deep shadow, which would remain at the bottom for the rest of the day, was dispelled. Standing on a small outcrop of rock, they looked down to see what had been below them as they had crossed in the night. The jagged sides cast long shadows across the cliffs and crevices far below them. Finally, for a brief instant, the sun reached the point where it shone to the very bottom. The carcases of the dragons Lynella had caught on the bridge lay broken alongside the bubbling water. Dark red blood congealing on gleaming blue scales.