Meridias

  He sent a message to his friends and they appeared a few minutes later wondering what he’d been doing. “Er, I had a conversation with one of the supervisors,” he replied. Tanis proposed that they try to train on Earth instead. It would be like training with weighted equipment and would probably make them a lot stronger. After some discussion they decided that they were too exhausted for the day and returned to Earth. Maria was somewhat bewildered when they returned to Earth. She wondered if something had come up unexpectedly but none of them seemed like they were in a hurry. Maria slumped down on the desk. She thought back to when Elunduil’s group had been asking after Mr. Elden. Elunduil had avoided her gaze and had a painful expression on it. She wondered if maybe he was in some sort of pain? Maybe that was why they’d left almost as soon as they’d come? She wasn’t sure, but it gave her something to mull over while she manned the counter.

  ***

  Ashblade and Joel trained throughout the day. He’d noticed it when they’d first come to Meridias but Joel had a bit of a temper. His training had helped to alleviate some of the problem as it left him too exhausted to complain, but when he was alert and ready Joel could be cranky. Ashblade noticed this especially when Joel kept losing to him. “I still… can’t… hit you!!!” Joel’s face was red with rage and he growled in frustration. “Come on focus! Use your anger. Bathe it in, but never lose sight of your opponent.” Joel drew a deep breath and glared at Ashblade. They crossed blades several more times until Joel had to stop for a breather. Ashblade offered him a canteen of water and Joel gratefully took it. “It feels like I’m not getting anywhere!” Joel complained and gave the canteen back to Ashblade.

  He took a sip of water and said, “You’re slowly improving, but it took me years to get to where I am. You can’t expect to catch up to me so easily.” He spoke in a calm, soothing tone. Joel shrugged. “I guess you’re right. It’s still annoying.” He rested his hands on the guard of his sword. “So Ash, we’re finally leaving tomorrow aren’t we? When will I get to see my family again?” Joel’s question caused Ashblade to pause. “It’s-” he sighed and gave up on correcting Joel. “Honestly speaking there’s a good chance you won’t get to see them again.” Ashblade’s tone had a hint of irritation in it. “I haven’t been able to contact my family since I returned to Earth several months ago. I barely even know what they’ve been up to since my absence!” Anger rose up in his voice. He took a breath to steady himself. He had to rein in his emotions now! “That’s a load of garbage! I get whisked off by some dudes in suits and then taken to a military base to be trained on some other world, and for what?! What the Hell is the point of me even being here?!” Joel’s knuckles where white as he angrily gripped his swords guard.

  Ashblade realized that this was a bad tipping point for Joel. If he didn’t do something then Joel would probably charge The General and try to throttle him when they returned. However… he needed Joel to speak with Elunduil when The General did finally decide to bring him in. That had been the point to taking Joel under his wing to begin with. The fact that Elunduil had survived meant that he may have the power to eliminate The General or at the very least he could help Ashblade escape. He made up his mind. “Listen when we return tomorrow The General will initiate his plan. We’re… no he’s trying to learn how to use magic. Remember how I said that there was a human that defeated my comrades? Well General Titus knows who it is and plans to bring him in.” Ashblade let his words sink in. Joel didn’t look any less angry and looked confused. “Whoop de doo! What does that have to do with me?!” He gazed angrily at Ashblade. “He wants you to talk to the kid. However I have a different plan. I want to use the kid to oust The General.”

  There was a long moment of silence and the desert winds picked up. “You mean…overthrowing him?” Joel asked.

  “Yes. I want to see my family again. As long as General Titus is in command I’m trapped. I can’t trust the others though. They could be The General’s spies, but you… you’re an outsider and honest with your feelings to a fault. I want you to try and get this kid on our side if possible. If it works than we may be able to find our freedom.” Ashblade waited for Joel’s response. He nodded. “Alright then. If we get this mage to help us then what?” Joel asked. Ashblade flashed him an evil grin. “I won’t go into specifics but we’ll raise Hell!” Joel snorted and then laughed evilly. “Okay then! I guess we should train or it might look suspicious.” Joel drew up his sword and Ashblade followed suit. They clashed for several more hours. In the end Joel never did manage to control his temper or hit Ashblade.

  Chapter 22

  Inferno of the Flower

  Elunduil was surprised the next day when he received a call from Mr. Elden. He wasn’t sure how the man had gotten his number but he told Elunduil that he was coming to his house soon to explain everything. Elunduil had hung up after that and had been waiting since then for Mr. Elden to arrive. He and Felras had been about to go to meet with the others. Felras brought up a question that had been at the back of his mind. “So… when you disappeared in April it was because of this guy right?” Elunduil nodded.

  “He didn’t say it was a game back then. It wasn’t until after we returned that he told us that.” Felras nodded in understanding and they went back to waiting. Luckily their mom had gone out to do some shopping so there wouldn’t be any awkward greetings or anything.

  There was a knock on the door and Elunduil got up from the sofa he’d been sitting on and went to see who it was. He peered through the peephole and saw Mr. Elden standing there with Cerra! He quickly opened the door and let them inside. “Good day! I already heard from Melony that you figured out the truth. I’m actually surprised none of you tried using magic until now,” Mr. Elden said cheerfully. He spotted Felras and nodded. Elunduil was slightly shocked. He knew it was real but seeing Cerra standing in his living room drove the point home. They sat down in the living room. Except Cerra who looked around at everything like a kid in a new place.

  Mr. Elden explained to Elunduil the events that happened leading to today. Scott was the engineer who had first created the portal machine six years ago and Mr. Elden had done the programming. When they discovered the elves The General had ordered the troops to take the secrets of magic through whatever means. Scott didn’t wish for his portal to be used to torment another people and together with Mr. Elden they destroyed the blueprints for the portal and the portal machine itself. Mr. Elden had then fled to Ellicia while Scott kept tabs on Ragnarok.

  Elunduil asked Mr. Elden why magic was harder to use on Earth. “Magic itself dried up on Earth ever since the end of the Age of the Gods. There isn’t any magic in the air here at all whereas on Meridias that air is filled with magical energy. You and your friends have been unconsciously drawing on the magic in Meridias’ air, but on Earth you can only use what your body generates.” Mr. Elden’s explanation made sense. Earth would be the equivalent of a desert waste compared to Meridias.

  He turned to Cerra who was currently poking the button that switched the ceiling light on. “Why is she here then?” he asked. Mr. Elden chuckled.

  “I’m here to prove that Meridias is real!” she said. “I made the bracelet for you so that you would discover the truth. Father always planned on revealing the truth so I didn’t see the harm in giving you physical evidence.” She hummed and twirled a finger through her hair. “I was also really curious about your world. It’s amazing how many people live here! There’s so many lights and transports going about. I wonder if we elves will ever be like that?” Elunduil shrugged. He looked down at his hand and had a thought. “Say doesn’t using magic mean that we’ll leave traces of magical energy here?” he asked. Mr. Elden turned to Cerra who nodded. “Yes. Well except for you of course but for everyone else… they could very gradually saturate this world with magic. It would probably take centuries though for magic to really return to Earth.”

  Elunduil mulled over Cerra’s words. If magic did return then… he thought about The General an
d asked Mr. Elden about his plan to stop him. “General Titus Leviticus… my former leader and in a sense jailer. Though I don’t agree with his methods I respect the ideal he’s trying to grasp. He’s but one man trying to move the whole of the world.” Mr. Elden’s words seemed genuine. “If I’m being honest I wouldn’t mind seeing a world free from conflict. However I am against trampling upon others backs to achieve that goal. As for our plan… well it started with getting the knights as our allies, and that was where Tim and then you came into the picture.” Mr. Elden then explained to Elunduil that they had been hard at work collecting information to expose the inhumane side of The General. That was why having Maria man the counter had been a great help to them recently.

  Mr. Elden had finally gathered enough evidence and was ready at any time to expose The General to the world. However he still had to get the data from the VR center and send it to a safe place. “I am concerned that The General is on to us though. You said that one of your friends was suddenly recruited by the military back in June correct?” Elunduil nodded. “Scott and I looked into it and did find he was brought in by The General. That information alone took us weeks to find, but since you weren’t aware of General Titus yet I felt it best not alarm you and the others.” Mr. Elden stroked his chin. “Since Melony told you though I should warn you: The General probably means to use your friend to get to you. I don’t know how he figured out about you but he has eyes everywhere. It’s possible the knight that fled into the desert managed to find his way back to our world… no I’d say that’s what happened. That’s the only reason he’s had men keeping eyes on you and took your friend under his wing.”

  Elunduil was alarmed. He was also somewhat amused. Joel would never willingly help The General … he could also be forced to go against him. He sighed. If Mr. Elden’s assumption was correct he would probably wind up seeing Joel again sometime soon. “Anyway they haven’t made a move yet but I feel they will soon enough. Scott and I are ready to go now so as soon as I return to the center we will make our move!” Mr. Elden’s conviction echoed within Elunduil and he nodded. Good. Hopefully things would end peacefully. “There is something we need to do first. I would like to show something to you Elunduil. Your brother may also come along if he wants to.” Elunduil looked over at Felras.

  “Actually you should probably meet up with everyone else and let them know what’s going on. I’m sure I’ll be back soon,” he said. Felras nodded.

  While Elunduil left with Mr. Elden and Cerra in Mr. Elden’s car Felras took off walking towards the wetlands. Unlike Elunduil he didn’t quite trust Mr. Elden. He was almost too cheerful. The elf on the other hand had been quite beautiful. She was probably about as close to an angel as he’d ever see in his life. He mulled over the fact that it would take centuries for magic to return to Earth if they kept using it. What if there were hundreds or thousands of people using magic? That would probably speed up the process by a lot. It was so hard to use magic on Earth that people would have to train in Meridias first, and that would only happen if Mr. Elden’s plan worked.

  ***

  Joel and the others stood under the desert sun. The shambled camp had been emptied out of all valuables and sat in packs next to the group. Today was the day they would finally leave this hellish world and return to Earth. Joel was nervous. What if the portal never opened? He tapped his foot nervously and Ashblade noticed and said, “It will open on time. The General likes keeping operations running like clockwork.” A blue light appeared moments after Ashblade had finished talking. It grew in size until it became large enough for them to pass through. “See? Like clockwork,” Ashblade commented and hefted several bags over his shoulders. He led the way through the portal and Joel and the others followed after him.

  When they stepped onto the other side of the portal they saw General Titus waiting with his arms folded behind his back. A small group of soldiers stood at attention by his side. Nadir and Bryce carried Lucas through the portal on a makeshift stretcher and Jerome followed carried by James and Draxus. Kali was the last through the portal and the General looked them over with some concern. “Is this everyone?” he asked. Ashblade nodded.

  “We ran into some… problems. Revais didn’t make it.” The General shook his head sadly. “A pity to lose such talent. He was a fine man and a fine cook. I will miss him and his crepes greatly.” There was regret in The General’s voice. Ashblade raised a brow. He wasn’t aware that The General had ever tasted Revais cooking. “Anyway you can leave your equipment here. I’ll have these men take care of the rest.” The General quickly shifted into business mode. “Ashblade, I’ll expect a report within the hour. You too Draxus.” Draxus sharply saluted. Ashblade saluted as well but Joel noted it was somewhat slower than Draxus’ salute. “The rest of you may use the facilities as you see fit. You’ve done well to have survived. I salute you!” The General brought an arm up and saluted the group. He then turned and walked over to speak with one of the men in a lab coat while the other group of soldiers took the bags of equipment off of Joel and the others hands.

  Uncertain of what to do Joel followed the others. They took Lucas and Jerome to the infirmary first. He wasn’t too surprised when they made a straight beeline for the showers. It had been a long time since they had a real bath. Thankfully the baths were divided by gender so Joel didn’t have to awkwardly wash himself with Kali around. Though it was still a bit awkward being naked around a bunch of guys. The stalls were somewhat divided by a short half-wall that at least obstructed part of the view. Joel watched with satisfaction as layers of dirt and sand washed off himself and into the drain. Good riddance!

  He went with the others to the mess hall after the shower. Ashblade disappeared and went back to his quarters to compile his report. He’d kept a journal during his time in the other world so he took the important events and put them in the report. He was done in about 20 minutes and decided to go ahead and deliver the report to General Titus. He left his quarters and went to The General’s office. He knocked on the door and heard General Titus say, “Enter.” Ashblade turned the doorknob and entered The General’s office.

  General Titus was sitting at a wood desk staring at the screen of a black laptop. His eyes flicked up at Ashblade as he entered. “Ah, already done?” he asked. Ashblade nodded and put his report on the General’s desk. The General didn’t grab it immediately and instead leaned back and looked Ashblade in the eye. “So tell me, how is your team’s morale?” he asked. Ashblade’s eyes narrowed. The General was driving at something. “Fine now that we’re back on Earth,” he replied curtly. The General nodded. “I see… I assume the details behind Revais’ death are in the report?” he asked. Ashblade nodded. “I will read it momentarily, but first there is one things. The boy. Do you think we can use him against his friend?” General Titus leaned forward. There was a hint of danger in his eyes. If Ashblade didn’t convince him that Joel was an asset then Joel might ‘vanish’. “He’s insane but also loyal to a fault. If we tell him getting the secrets from magic is for the good of the country he’ll obey.”

  The General’s gaze was unreadable. Finally he smirked and returned to a normal sitting posture. “Excellent. I like loyalty! Now then with no other qualms to address I think it is time.” General Titus pressed a button on the desk. “Newitz, Operation Wild Lion is a go!” Ashblade heard an affirmative from the speaker. He was impressed. He knew The General was liable to be watching Elunduil but the fact he’d been ready to capture him at any time was frightening. “We’re close now Ashblade! Once we figure out how to control magic we can take the world and end the war! No all wars!” The General was excited. Ashblade nodded and dismissed himself. His blood was racing for a different reason. His plan to rid himself of The General was about to start!

  ***

  The car that Mr. Elden was driving stopped in front of a large warehouse on the outskirts of town. Elunduil wondered what the man had stored here as they stepped out of the car. Cerra seemed like she had an idea o
f what it was but was nonetheless excited by the new sight. “I wonder how many buildings you humans have?” she mused out loud. Elunduil shrugged. He didn’t know but it was beyond his count. They walked up to one of the side doors of the warehouse. Mr. Elden input a code on a door panel and the door lock clicked open for them. They entered the warehouse and found it dimly lit on the inside.

  Mr. Elden led them deeper into the warehouse and they came to another door. This one was more secure than the first one as Mr. Elden had to scan his eye to open the door. They went inside the next room and found themselves completely shrouded in darkness. “There’s rather large containers here,” Cerra said less affected by the darkness. Mr. Elden chuckled and hit a switch and two rows of lights came on in the room. In front of them was a row of dark green containers 8 or 9 feet tall and 20 feet long. Elunduil counted 12 containers in total. “Here we are. This is also what Scott and I have been working on these past couple of months,” Mr. Elden sounded excited to show off his work.

  He led them to the nearest container. This one was similarly locked to the doors and in a moment Mr. Elden had the door unlocked. He slowly pulled the large door open to reveal the contents inside. Cerra gasped as they saw large metal arches inside the room. It took Elunduil a moment but he realized that they were pieces of a portal machine. Not only that but they also seemed to be bigger than the ones used at the VR center. “Are all these containers filled with these?” Cerra asked. Mr. Elden grinned and nodded.

  “Yep! It’s taken a long time but we’re finally ready to bring Meridias to the world!” Mr. Elden beamed with pride. Elunduil looked over the parts and a question sprung to mind. “The portals only connect to Meridias in relevance to our world don’t they?” he asked. Mr. Elden nodded. “Yes, however Scott adapted the Terminus Circuit technology and we can now point the portals end destination to where we’d like in Meridias.”