by D G Palmer
He wondered if they had become aware of his presence as soon as he had arrived, but he had sensed no stirrings as of yet; in fact, he could feel nothing at all, as if there were no life on Salamida.
Gydion didn’t have the time to give it much thought; ideally, he wanted to be in and out of the realm as soon as possible and without incident. Unlikely, he knew, but it was always good to have hope.
It was hope, after all, that had kept Daniel’s mother Tina from falling into hysterics when Gydion had returned to the Welsh family home and explained what had befallen their only son. And it had been hope again that Eric harboured, when he was told of the possibility of the Shade being on Earth realm, hope that Gydion was wrong. It had taken all the mages of his old home to turn back their advance and what chance did his new home have with none?
The Archmage, who had by now dispensed with his Earth outfit and replaced it with his dark grey robes with their gold embroidered edge, looked perplexed. He had cast a spell of levitation on himself, intending to get a fix of his position, but nothing had happened. Flight enchantment, again nothing.
It must be the realm itself, Gydion mused as he looked about himself, something to do with the physics of the place, no doubt. In time I could undoubtedly overcome this little hindrance, but time is a luxury I may not have a lot of, so I will need to work a little outside the box.
Gydion cast a quick spell of Earth Control on the ground he stood upon. It suddenly began to rumble and quake and a column of rock formed beneath him before slowly elevating him into the air.
Since he couldn’t sense anything by magical means, Gydion needed to try and sight something visually to get his bearings, and from this vantage point that was going to be an easy job.
Well, well, well, the old mage thought to himself as he spied something in the distant. A light? Here? And a flickering light at that, which could suggest a fire and possibly sentient activity, maybe even a homestead.
He stroked his black beard as he mulled things over in his mind. He knew that he didn’t really have any choice but to investigate the light; after all, he had seen nothing else around, but that still didn’t mean he liked the idea of putting all his eggs into one basket, so to speak.
Gydion held his hands out beside him and with his fingers outstretched, transformed the column of rock into a free-floating bridge that he began walk along toward his destination, the flickering light.
After a few hours of walking Gydion was glad to finally be nearing his destination.
Just because I have the vigour of a man a fraction of my age, does not mean I enjoy walking, especially when I am surrounded by such an uninspiring locale, he thought as he looked out at the darkness to emphasise his point. Why walk when you can fly, I say...
All of a sudden, he stopped in his tracks and cocked his head to one side.
What is that sound? Almost like a slow rhythmic rushing of wind. It could almost be the beating of wings, if I were to hazard at a guess. But if those are indeed beating wings then, judging by their slowness, the wingspan must be immense! Perhaps a Roc, or a Garuda would fit the bill, or even a dragon. Whatever it is, one thing is for sure, this makeshift bridge is no place for any sort of battle.
Gydion was a key proponent of the whole battle mage idea, the concept that the students of magic, whom traditionally were only taught rudimentary defence with their staves, should be trained in fencing. As such he had taken it upon himself to become proficient in tactical knowledge by learning from Queen Rhiannon’s most highly decorated warriors, Eric Mondragon and Grimgaard Thunderbeard, the Dwarf. But he didn’t need to call upon this learning to know that staying where he was, in the open on an elevated platform in a hostile realm, would be tantamount to suicide.
The Archmage broke out into a sprint. As he ran, he mentally lowered the rock bridge until it had been reabsorbed back into the natural landscape of Salamida.
It wasn’t long before Gydion reached his goal, the flickering light he had seen from a distance. It was indeed a fire, but was more of a bonfire in size now that he was able to see it up close. He noticed that the flapping sound he had heard seemed to have vanished. Curiosity tugged at the back of his mind as adrenaline pumped through his body, and he hoped that he might have a chance to investigate the cause of the sound later. For the moment, however, he would put it on the back burner while he dealt with his primary reason for being on Salamida; to see if the Shade were being controlled and directed and, if so, by whom.
The flames danced and flared magnificently, and as Gydion approached them, it soon became apparent to him that it was magically generated since it gave off no heat. It also gave support to his theory that there was indeed life on Salamida other than the Shade, the several yurt shaped abodes further strengthened this belief. The homes not only looked to be out of place in the bleak wilderness that surrounded them but they also seemed familiar to Gydion.
They all appeared to be deserted as he checked them one by one looking for clues. The dirt and dust that had accumulated suggested that they had not been lived in for some time, and who ever had, seemed to have left in a hurry.
Plates of rotten food sat untouched in the kitchen, waiting for the diner that won’t return. Clothes and toys were strewn across the floor after hastily being dragged out of drawers and chests. Jewellery boxes were turned over with the choices, sentimental pieces taken.
What could have caused such a panic, Gydion pondered. This wasn’t a planned evacuation; this was people running for their lives. I wonder if I could...
Gydion’s thoughts trailed off as he hurriedly began picking up random items before discarding them just as quickly as one by one, they failed to meet his requirements. Eventually he halted his search as his eyes came to rest on the jewellery left on the dresser and, in particular, a necklace with a tear-drop shaped orange gem.
He had been looking for something that had been handled in the last moments of the owner’s time here, and that had, hopefully, left traces of their aura on the item. Gydion hoped that the jewels would be perfect for this, hoped that the woman they belonged to would have sorted through each piece as she decided what to take, hoped that he would be able to effectively ‘see’ what the necklace had seen that fateful day.
The Archmage clasped the necklace in his hands and spoke the ancient arcane words to cast the postcognition spell. The mists of time swirled across his eyes as the conjuration took effect, and within moments he could see what had been seen.
Chapter Seven
Daniel had learnt his lesson from his first trip on the Faerie Transit Network. This time he made sure he was in his enchanted seat before the train made a move. Although he was half tempted to make Finn have the full experience of the FTN, as he had, Daniel eventually thought better of it and made sure she was safely in her seat also.
Because he had been tumbling all around the carriage last time, Daniel didn’t get to see the full wonder of his magical journey. Now, from his seat, he certainly made up for that. He marvelled at the speed the train travelled; at every twist and turn, loop and corkscrew it made. Looked on in awe as they plunged through oceans and ploughed through lava seas.
Magic was all around the carriage in the form of faerie dust. It floated around, giving everything a multicoloured hue. Daniel looked at Finn, and she had a look of fascination that he thought might be on his own face. When he looked at Fungal, he expected the laird to be disinterested, and he did; he looked like he was in deep thought, hatching some sort of plot. Daniel was about to ask him about it when the hurtling train came to a sudden stop.
‘This is us,’ Fungal said. He leapt from his seat and bounded from the train. He began to lead the way to the ticket hall.
The ceilings of the platforms were vaulted in a gothic style and when the boggart saw his compatriots take an interest in the architecture, he couldn’t help but fall into his self-boasting spiel.
‘When I first saw the faerie sidhes beginning to fail here on Earth realm, because people turned
away from magic in favour of science, I knew it was an opportunity,’ began Fungal. ‘Sure, I could have gone into mining like Ganygu, but anybody can go into mining. And pretty much everybody has. The only reason Ganygu are top of the pile is because of their underhand tactics; a bit of intimidation here a bit of arson there. But I got plans to knock them off their perch.’ He cackled manically and then, as he remembered he wasn’t alone, he cleared his throat and continued.
‘As I was saying, it’s all well and good mining away in Ariest but what if your clients here on Earth? Do you wait in line to use a sidhe to transport your goods? Or do you pay a mage an extortionate fee to teleport you over? I gave everybody a third option; the Faerie Transit Network.’
They stepped onto one of the FTN’s glorious steam powered brass spiral escalators and Finn couldn’t help be impressed and swell with pride at her uncle Quinn’s work. She had seen the blueprints thousands of times, but she had always wanted to see the real thing in action for herself. Now was her chance, and she examined every bit of it and watched for each hiss and puff of steam. She was in engineering heaven.
‘You know that London Postal Railway, that mail rail?’ Daniel nodded at Fungal’s question. ‘That was going to be my first line, but it wasn’t big enough for what I had planned. I did turn it into my Faerie River Network when I expanded, however. Then I discovered all these disused stations. I had already made the old British Museum station my home and then I made it my flagship station.’
Daniel may have been impressed with the platforms and Quinn’s steam escalator, but when they stepped into the main thoroughfare of the station his jaw almost hit the floor, much to Fungal’s delight.
The station’s floor was made of multicoloured granite and at five types of marble, veined from light grey to black. The chandeliers were made of gilded gold. Pillars were decorated with gold and bright blue majolica panels and marble bas-reliefs. Enormous marble benches with sculpted armrests, at either end, that resembled the tops of Roman Corinthian columns lined the walls. On the ceiling were several mosaics and the walls were adorned with ornate frescoes all showing scenes featuring Fungal. And to top it all off was a large marble statue of Fungal, hands on hips, chest out, wearing a top hat and chomping on a cigar.
‘No’ bad eh?’ Fungal grinned from ear to ear, pleased with himself.
Ganygu may have the money, although with the success of the FTN fungal wasn’t far behind and he had the fame too. As such, as the trio walked through the hall all manner of fae imp came to get a glimpse of the laird. And he loved it.
‘Master Fungal!’ The boggart laird’s assistant, Lowack, fought his way through the crowd. ‘It’s good to have you back, sir.’
‘Yes, it is.’
‘The mage is here, but he says he won’t finish the work until he has the rest of his payment.’
‘Fine, I’ll deal with him shortly. How is the new fresco coming along?’
They were led to a new work of art. A scene depicting the battle of Almedia against the shade. However, Finn notices something not quite right.
‘What the vekt is this?’ Finn couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Fungal was shown blasting the Shade to pieces while he stood protecting the people of Almedia. ‘You weren’t even there! I remember you disappearing as soon as things kicked off!’ Finn then noticed a little purple haired figure with two guns, in the corner of the fresco, cowering in fear. She pulled out a gun and in a matter of fact tone said, ‘Change that now or I’ll blow you head off.’
Fungal gulped, then shouted at the artist. ‘Ye heard the woman! Change it!’
‘Do you know how long it takes to change a fresco?’
‘Do you know who I am?’ Fungal dragged the artist away and when he was out of earshot he whispered in the artist’s ear. A few moments later, he gave the artist a wink and sent him back to work. ‘Are ye happy now?’ He said to Finn. A cough from Lowack reminded him that he had somewhere else to be. ‘Now if yous will excuse me, I have some pressing business t’attend to. Why don’t you drop by on your way back t’Ariest?’
With that said Fungal and Lowack made their way to his office, deep in conversation, while Daniel and Finn headed to the exit.
The exit from the station was a large bronze door engraved with the image of the FTN logo, Fungal. Daniel pull the door open and allowed Finn to walk through. ‘Welcome to Earth,’ he said.
Daniel smiled as he closed the door to the British Museum FTN station. On the station side it might have been a big bronze door, but on the street side in was a dark-blue unassuming door with a Linden tree next to it. Daniel saw that they were on the corner of Bedford Place and Bloomsbury Square and decided to lead the way to Tottenham Court Road underground station to get the tube back to his home. He was looking forward to showing Finn his world, although he knew at some point, he would have to talk things over about the situation between her, himself and Trinity.
The first thing Finn noticed as she stepped out into a new world for the first time, was the peculiar smell in the air, then the blue sky with its single sun, and finally the white washed terraced buildings. ‘Wow! This is so weird,’ she said in amazement. She found herself looking at every person they passed. Every sight, sound and smell were something new for her to experience. ‘What are those things that people are sitting in?’
‘They’re called motorcars, or cars for short,’ explained Daniel. ‘I guess you could call them our version of the horse in Ariest. Although we still have horses, but they’re more for recreation activities and horse racing. And we have motor racing.’
‘Strange.’
They walked past the actual British Museum with Daniel promising to show Finn artefacts from the ancestral lands of the council of three. It was shortly afterwards that he first started to get a dull throbbing sensation behind his eyes, which led to an acute headache. And he knew what was causing it.
It was the sun.
During His time on Ariest he hadn’t thought about his photophobia. It had come to the point when he had even forgotten that he had any such condition. Hence the reason he had walked out of the FTN station without a care in the world, without any sort of covering or protection. Daniel had been a little excited to be visiting home, at least he’d get to see his parents again, but being back on Earth brought back the restricted life he had to lead and he became suddenly aware of all the stares and looks he was getting. The kind of looks that were a distant memory when he was in the faerie world.
They arrived on Charing Cross Road in seconds and as they waited at the traffic lights Finn looked around and took in all she could. The lights of the theatre, the call of The Big Issue sell, the buzz of the people, the noise of the vehicles, the height of the skyscrapers, the size of the cranes, the planes in the air. ‘You lied Daniel,’ Finn said wistfully, ‘there is magic in your world.’
‘HELLO? IS THERE ANYBODY in?’ Daniel called but received no answer. The pair had arrived at an empty Welsh family home. This gave Finn the ideal opportunity to inspect a typical Earth home as well as get a few things off her chest.
‘So, what did you and Trinity get up to at The Dog?’ Finn being Finn went straight to the point. She wasn’t usually one for the flowery build up.
‘What?’ Daniel almost choked on the juice he had taken from the fridge.
‘What did you and Trinity get up to?’ She repeated her question as she inspected the kitchen, Opening drawers and cupboards. ‘You have history together. I know she has affections for you; and I’ve seen the way you look at her. So, I’d be surprised if nothing was done or said.’
‘She talked about having a dream about me and about some of the things that Aradia told me.’
‘Aradia of the Tolgarr? The grandmother of Crellis? They all think she’s dead.’
‘I have her safely in a gem. I promised to return her to her people.’
Finn briefly reminisced about her time with Crellis and his people. They were fond memories. She missed them. She missed him. But he cho
se duty over her. She couldn’t help wonder if she would still feel the same about him if they were face to face, or if it was the memory of him that she still had feelings for. There was only one way she was going to find out.
‘I’ll take you to them,’ she offered. ‘They’re a nomadic people so they move around, but they usually return to the same spots. I’ll go with you,’ she said. ‘But this doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten what you did with Trinity.’ She jabbed him in the chest with each word for emphasis. I don’t like being second choice.’
There was a jangling of keys at the front door and as it was opened, the voices of a man and woman.
‘—and the sign fell off, then, with Justin’s head down the pipe, Sam went in the cubicle and—'
‘No, no, no! You stop right there, Eric Welsh.’
‘What’s wrong, Tina? You’re a surgeon! You’ve seen plenty of things worse than someone getting a face full of—'
‘Daniel!’ Tina Welsh saw her son step out of the kitchen and she rushed to hug him. Then she saw Finn over his shoulder. ‘And he’s with a girl!’ She called back to Eric. ‘You must be Trinity.’
‘Uh, no, I’m Finn.’
Finn couldn’t believe her eyes. ‘Vekt! Vekt! Vekt! It really is you!’ She looked at him with wide eyes. Daniel could have sworn that she stopped breathing a couple times and that she might actually pass out. ‘I can’t believe I’m standing next to the legendary Eric Mondragon! The man that defeated the ogre giant, Daimalak! The man that stood alone against a horde of gnolls! The man that commands The Athanatoi!’
‘Commanded,’ Eric corrected.
‘I read about them when I was Murias City,’ Daniel interjected. ‘It comes from Ancient Greek for athanatos which means “without death”, right?’