by Lee Morgan
They walked down a short hall and into a room that looked like a smaller version of the bath house on level two. Amphrite handed them three baskets and inside laid a small bottle of strawberry and apple shampoo and soap. There were two towels and a small stick of deodorant. “Alright ladies, I’ll leave you to it.” Amphrite said and left.
To the left were bathroom stalls. Sarah sat the box down and did what nature asked of her. She came out and her mother and Kara were already in the next room. Sarah walked into the bathing area and off to the left was a small sauna room. In front of that lay a heated pool and to the right were five shower stalls. She saw the tops of her mother’s and Kara’s heads as they were showering.
Sarah walked into the stall and took off all her clothing and armor. She sat them on a ledge and quickly lathered up and rinsed. Needing it just as much, she soaked her clothes in the water and hand scrubbed them clean. She even decided to rinse out the stainless steel armor. She summoned forth her power and used heat to evaporate the all moisture out of the clothes and armor. She slid everything back on and the warmth they held was welcome. As she stepped out she began brushing out her wet hair and felt very feminine at the moment. Jillian began using her power over Liquid to dry her clothing her way. Kara asked if she would do the same for her and she did. They put the wet towels, baskets and other things back in the first room.
They left the bath house together, but the men still managed to beat them once again. All three of them had a freshly shaved jaw lines and smelled more pleasant. All three men looked too handsome to be real. Kara walked up to Mark and sniffed his chest. “Much better, Honey.” He only smiled. Jillian walked up to Jack and they chuckled.
Connor looked tall and extremely proud. His piercing and predatory hazel eyes looked Sarah up and down. Satisfaction made a home on his smile. His hair had brushed to the side and he looked so ruggedly handsome. He turned his back and opened a hole in his right arm. Sarah walked up and slid her left arm through the opening. He was warm and his clean smell remained intoxicating for her. She couldn’t even register his scented skin over his natural smell. They walked back through the stone garden and into the waiting area.
When they arrived, everyone was ready. The Elders lined up in three lines. The Changers were lined on the far hallway entrance in the same order that they enter the meetings with the short Raphael leading. The Balancers were lined in pairs with Amphrite and Poseidon in the lead. The Keepers Stood in front of the largest central hallway. Sorono and Veronica stood at the lead of their line and Damian stood behind them.
Sorono shifted his piercing eyes at them and said “Sarah, you and Connor are going to walk with us. Please fall in behind me.”
“Marcus and Kara!” Raphael called aloud. “The two of you will be walking with us and standing on either side of me.”
“Jillian and Jack.” Poseidon said normally, since he was the closest. “Please accompany us to the meeting.”
Sarah looked at everyone for a moment, but they decided to split up. Connor and Sarah made their way behind the gigantic Sorono and the others. Just being near them makes her feel smaller than usual. Sorono heard something as did Connor, but she didn’t. Sorono said “It is time. Let’s wrap this up because I still have many things to do today.”
Without another word he began slowly walking forward. Sarah tightened her hold on Connor’s arm. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head and that was all the reassuring she required. Once Sorono’s and Veronica’s tail’s cleared them they began marching right along. This time going down the long corridor proved to be quieter because there were only thirteen of them rather than ninety seven loud feet. They stopped at the massive mahogany doors and Sorono pushed them open. It was much brighter in the audience chambers than in the corridor, but she managed to make her way into the bright room.
Everyone in the audience was standing and completely silent. There were tens of thousands of immortals patiently and eagerly waiting and it seemed like they were all looking at her, but that was just her paranoia setting in. Off to Sarah’s right gathered the Elder Balancers and they were already seated and that her mother and father stood together on Amphrite’s side. To the left platform lay Mark and Kara as they stood proudly to either side of Raphael’s throne. They remained in their human state.
They continued to follow Sorono as he made his way to the Head Elder’s throne. Veronica stood behind the throne chair and she was more than tall enough to look over. Sorono pointed to his side and Connor and Sarah walked over to stand to his left. The other Elder Keepers stood by their seats.
She felt Sorono’s mind entering everyone present and she allowed it. Although she couldn’t read everyone’s minds he was linked to, she could understand how disconcerting it was to link so many minds to one being, even if it was to simply speak. “Welcome back to today’s meeting. You may all sit down.” Almost as one the entire room sat straight down. “I know you all want answers about yesterday’s entertainment and my deception for these past millennia’s. I promise you will get your answers, but you must be patient. I am grateful that you took my warning seriously for you kept peace in this place. This day will take time for each of you to comprehend and understand” The room remained eerily silent and intense.
Sorono rested a hand on the safety bar and jumped over it. Sarah could barely hear his heavy yet light landing. He asked “Connor, Will you and Sarah please join me?”
They walked to the ledge and dropped down. Sarah used Pressure to slow her decent so she wouldn’t jar herself from the twenty foot drop. Connor had the same idea. Once they landed they walked up to Sorono.
“These fine people are Sarah and Connor, if you do not know by now. What you need to know is that they are no longer Balancers, but something much more special.” He started slowly walking towards the crowd and they followed. “But before that, you must hear this story.” Sorono retold the story of the Hallowed Mother and their history once again. He told them about the brothers Afleen and Ragke, and what had happened and how all Keepers present are their descendants or his. During this speech all three made their way to the front of the platform. He finished the story by saying “…her children were called Harmonizers.” He stopped and looked at them. “ Brother, Let us show them the brands that our mother gave us.”
Connor nodded and took off his shirt and chainmail. Sorono slid out of the top of his robe and showed his back to the crowd. Even Sarah was able to hear a few gasps. They both slid their coverings back on and Sorono continued leading this meeting by saying “Now I must explain about my deception to all of you. I designed these meetings so that we can help fellow immortals live easier and work together, but this system was also designed for a Harmonizer to read the situation and fix the problem. Connor did that by bringing the meeting to an abrupt halt and revealing me as the true Head Elder. Now there is something you must all take to heart.” The crowd leaned forward, paying close attention. “Connor and Sarah might look small and harmless standing next to me, but let me caution you. Do not try to harm them in any way because they could easily cut every single one of you down before you could even blink. They have all the powers I do and I would be the only one to stand a chance at surviving if they became furious.” Every single being in this room was stunned into silence. “That is just a friendly warning. They are great companions, but I still needed to warn you should anyone attempt to challenge their power. I will not intervene if anyone here decides to attack them. Now you must also know they have more authority than all the Elders except for me. Please treat them with respect like you would an Elder.”
Sorono now grinned. “On to more pleasant news, first this will be the last mandatory Elders meeting. Should you still seek our assistance we will be here for your needs.” A long sigh of relief escaped from the crowd. “Also this meeting will end a month earlier. I can tell you are all getting a bit jaded already.” Sarah could see nodding all around. “One last thing, the special event for this quarter century will be dancing.
We will have a total of six dances. For the last six days of the meeting, we will have a dance a day. I will have materials brought here by tomorrow morning. I called in the materials and my companion will have them delivered here. You will have to design and wear six different styles of outfits. The women will work down here in this room while the men will work up on level one. There will be dance lessons held on level three for those who don’t know the different styles for dancing. Anyone with dance experience and is willing to teach will be greatly appreciated. We will have a schedule worked out by this evening and they will be posted on each level’s central pillar to minimize any confusion.”
Sarah witnessed smiles appearing as people whispered to one another in excitement. She felt happy that everyone liked her idea and was accepting it without any fuss. Then Sorono finished by saying “This is the end of the meeting. You may start formulating ideas on the clothes you will make and spend the rest of your time doing as you’d like. Have a good day and thank you for understanding.”
Molten and Frozen
The meeting was very expedient and went without outburst or disruption. There had to be a reasonable explanation for yesterday and Sorono gave everyone the truth. It took at most forty minutes and it seemed like the crowd accepted his answer. Everyone was getting up to leave and Connor was able to listen in on some of the conversations. “Do you think that child is so strong?” “I haven’t a clue, but I’m not going to give it a chance. If an Elder says it is, I’ll believe it.” Or a group of women were getting extremely excited about the dances coming up in the next four months. Connor became actually and honestly impressed at how well everyone took the lecture.
Then he caught the silver, catlike eyes of Liz. She had mimicked the features of a shark. She had sharp serrated teeth, smooth facial features, on each side of her neck were four gills and her arms looked more like oars. She still walked on her back feet, but they were webbed and she was dressed in a leather outfit similar to his sister. She still had short hair on her head and he couldn’t see her ears because he came to realize they were folded back and had melded with her dark skin.
Connor waved her over and said “Firon let her up. We need to talk.” Firon looked up at him and nodded in recognition.
She made her way up to the three of them, walking rather slowly. She actually looked afraid. “You wanted to see me, Connor?” Her voice was almost a gravely hiss in the other state.
“I wanted to know if you missed us last night?” He said jokingly. She smiled with shark-like teeth. “Actually I wanted to ask, when you have time, if you could bring our things from all of our rooms down here? Our three families are staying with Sorono and the other Elders for awhile.”
“Is this true, Head Elder?” She asked, looking up.
Sorono watched the interaction closely, which is what Connor would have naturally done. “It is, Liz. If you would like I can deploy two Guards to assist you with bringing their belongings.”
“That would be a great help, Head Elder.” She bowed and looked up again. “Would it be permissible if I could change back? My gills are dry.”
“Go right on ahead.” Sorono turned around and said “Cassie! Marik!” The two ran over and stopped in front of him; at attention. “Please escort Liz here to her lodge and assist her with bringing my guests’ belongings down here.”
“Sir!” They said as one. All the while this conversation happened, Liz’s bones were popping and she was returning back to normal. Her gills disappeared and became a smooth, seamless neck, her round and smooth facial structure returned to their original place and her ears popped back out and were returning to normal. She was finally herself as she walked away and her two escorts followed closely.
It took twenty more minutes until the room cleared and during that time everyone from breakfast made their way down to them. Apparently Sorono told them about showing Connor how this place runs. He was indeed curious as to what kind of power source supplies this fortress’s electrical requirements.
Once everyone had left and only Firon and three other Guards remained behind did Sorono say “Follow me and I’ll give you a tour of the power plant.”
The sound of a power plant rang in their head as they all walked to the central pillar. Once they were there did Sorono take out a very large key, from his inner robe, to unlock the gate to the lowest level. He pushed the thick doors open and stepped inside. “Go ahead because I need to close this behind us.” Connor started walking first and Sarah was right on his heels. Once everyone slipped in they heard the doors close and lock. He waited as Sorono made his way down to the forefront again. He kept walking down the steps and the rest followed.
The further down they went through the lit steps the warmer it became. Then it hit Connor as to how they were able to supply so much energy and not use fossil fuels. He said aloud “Sorono, does this place actually run on geothermal energy?”
He stopped and grinned. “Very good… Tell us what you know about this kind of energy and how you came to that conclusion.” He turned around and resumed walking.
Sarah stepped forward to hear better and everyone waited for his elaboration. “Geothermal energy can harness power from either the sun or from the very heat of the earth. Since I didn’t see any solar panels on the outside of the mountain I knew it was the ground harnessing kind. The way it works is you drill down until you reach the heat of the earth, but only to the point where water boils and becomes steam, drilling into magma is the worst thing to happen. The water is pumped down pipes, becomes superheated, vaporizes into steam and rises back up. The steam spins turbines and that generates the energy. The superheated steam travels through pipes until it cools back down into water and gets superheated once again.” He looked at Sarah meaningfully.
“Oh, I got it now. It’s like the waterwheel in the stream that spins the generator. So it’s a similar process like our home runs.”
“Exactly.” Sorono peeked over his shoulder as his sibling continued. “I figured it out because of the increasing heat. Usually when your underground things are cold, especially this far north, but it is so warm down here rather than freezing. I figured heat was involved and since I haven’t seen any fuel tanks make their way down here I knew this power was self contained and constantly renewable.”
“Not bad, Connor.” Sorono stated proudly. The rest of the decent was from everyone asking questions.
Five minutes later they arrived at level five. This room’s size resembled level three. In the corner of the room stood the power plant. Connor was anxious to see it for himself and Sorono kept walking too slowly.
Connor brought forth his energy, concentrated jets of Pressure under his feet and jumped between the safety rails and unleashed the power. He heard Sarah yelling “Wait!” but he was already making his way to the huge piece of electrical equipment. Just before he landed on the floor he looked over his shoulder to see Sarah flying right behind him. Connor touched down and Sarah followed his example a few seconds later. Sarah became speechless as she studied the outside of the building and forgot all about his excitement.
Before them stood a relatively small power plant, but more than sufficient to run the entire meeting for a very long time. The plant itself is only three stories tall and about one hundred and fifty feet long in any direction. It was encased in concrete and above the building held two pipes aimed at a sixty degree angle. It went through the side of the mountain wall and Connor knew that was where the dangerous gases were released out the side of the mountain. There was only one clear entrance and it was a large blue metal door with a large doorknob.
It took another five minutes before everyone finally spiraled down and joined them. Kara had a permanent grin plastered to her face, but Jillian didn’t. She said “Don’t do that to me again. Yes I know you two can fly, but next time warn me before you two go jumping off the stairs.”
“Hey Sorono!” Connor said, ignoring his mother-in-law’s complaining. “Can we go in or is it too dangerous?” Jillian
wasn’t too thrilled about being ignored so blatantly.
Sorono and Veronica smiled at each other, but he said “Yes, but only in the first room. You can look at the monitors, but you’ll need a special suit to enter the hot room. It would be too dangerous to survive without them, even for us.”
Sorono walked up and opened the door for him. Connor felt like a little kid as he opened the door and he ran in.
The room was air conditioned and felt refreshing. It was mostly white and there were large consoles with many buttons and flickering lights. Two large chairs big enough for a Keeper to sit comfortably sat beside a desk. On the wall above the console were gauges reading temperature inside the next room, electrical output, water level and some other gages that looked important. Off to the far wall was a door and next to the door were full body suits for only Keepers apparently.
Sorono started explaining about some of the features and fail-safes the plant requiredf. He explained how he and Damian built this building for the past fifteen years in anticipation for this meeting. It was all self contained and didn’t require constant supervision like other power plants. Incase of an emergency the building would send off alarms through the lighting system and give everyone a minimum of two hours to escape before anything catastrophic should occur.
The entire group stayed down there for four hours listening and learning about this place and once they were finished they walked back up the stairs. While they walked Connor asked Sorono “You said you ordered the cloth and other materials for the dances. How does that work?”
Sorono looked behind his shoulder and gave him a questioning look. “I had a Balancer who couldn’t be here for the meeting and I contacted him by e-mail. I had a communication system installed in all thirty five Mélange meeting locations around the world. This site is the most technologically advanced of them all for now. Well my contact gathers whatever I order and air drops them here. It is a very good accomplishment making the internet… Oh don’t look at me like an ignorant old fossil.” Connor couldn’t help but smile with him. “I have had computers for decades and upgrade them every year. I even have had them custom built for my size. I am actually a fan of your online poker.”