Insight the clash of sun.., p.41
Insight: The Clash of Suns, page 41
“And why are you so sure that Director Morgan and the Council already knew what you just told us about the Clash and the white plague?” Kara crossed her arms.
“I don't like to think badly of others, but Zed is right,” Meria remarked. “It seems that director Morgan hates his own god.”
The children were silent for a long time until Kara walked to the door.
“I don't want to spoil your party, but I repeat: to save the world, Savilles needs to win the Clash. And winning the Cup will be hard enough for your team.”
“Hard, not impossible,” Anne countered.
“And here we go again...” Valon displayed an uncomfortable smile. “Let everyone give their best, and the winner will be the team that has the best chance of defeating those Gollindels vultures. The important thing is that we discovered that there is a way to end the disease! Or, at least, stop its spread.”
“There is no doubt that we will be the victors,” Kara affirmed. “I’ll take off before someone in my tower wakes up; the sun is already rising. It wasn't so bad teaming up with you guys.”
“Have you considered joining our team? You'd make a great backup,” Zed joked.
“Not in your wildest dreams.”
“I hope all goes well with your dad and the key!”
“And I hope you guys do well in the Cup. Don't keep stinking at it, please. It would be nice if there were still something at stake in our second match.” Kara left and closed the door.
Watching her through the window as she went around the Steel Dragons’ tower, Zed felt a small void inside him. He would certainly miss working with someone so capable.
When he was finally able to lay his head on the pillow, a new thought in Zed’s mind kept him awake. He now had a greater motivation to win the Clash of Suns: to save Thalas from the white plague. It seemed fittingly prophetic to him that a person who had lived as Athien, as Zed believed he had done, was the one who would save this world, just as the Testament of Athien said. However, what Kara had said was true: something didn't add up; Athien was not supposed to be able to reincarnate again because of the sanction imposed on him by the mysterious Fifth Eye. As much as he wanted to keep pondering it, the weight of his eyelids overcame him.
For the first time since his arrival at Savilles, Zed fell asleep feeling like a winner, after having entered the most guarded place in that world and living to tell the tale, even if luck and the deputy director had been on his side.
42
“I love Sundays!” Valon exclaimed.
“Did you see the news that’s on all the synchrovision channels?” asked Meria when Zed and Valon came down to breakfast, wiping the crusts from their eyes.
Anne and Finn were already waiting for them at the kitchen table, while Quincy's snoring indicated that he wouldn’t come down for a few more hours.
“News? I don’t watch the news like some old man!” Zed yawned. “What do they say?”
“I’ll read them to you: ‘Mysterious hooded man knocks out the guards of the Palace of Eternity. His motives are unknown’.”
“That's great for us. They'll think he did it all... or, rather, she did,” Zed replied, still wondering how Kali had known they were there. What would Julius Morgan think of all this? He was looking forward to his schedule displaying the ‘History of Thalas’ class again.
“But that's not the biggest news,” Meria continued. “In synchrovision, they say that the director's mansion was burglarized last night and that several of his masks were taken, among other personal objects.”
“Poor guy, now he only has nine hundred and ninety masks left.” Finn spit out his food as he laughed. “That couldn’t have gone any better!”
“Shut your mouth while you chew,” Anne reprimanded him. “Who would dare to enter the director's mansion to steal?”
“I don't know, but if that hadn't happened, maybe he would have gotten to the palace faster and caught us,” said Zed. “Do you think it was also Kali who did that?”
“I don't care if it was her or luck; we got out alive,” Valon concluded.
“I am so happy, I made you pancakes with fronya honey.” Meria walked between them with an overflowing dish. “So you can replenish the energy you spent yesterday, I’m using my grandmother's special recipe.” Meria's smile grew larger each time she served them the fluffy delicacies.
As if attracted by the aroma that filled the kitchen, Quincy descended the stairs almost like a sleepwalker.
“Did you fall out of bed?” Finn teased.
“What smells so good?” Quincy licked his lips.
“Meria's grandmother's recipe. Now we know how to get you motivated for fortak practice.”
“Speaking of which,” Zed interjected, “last night, when I couldn't sleep, I was thinking about how well our plan went, and I think I figured out why that was.”
“It went wonderfully!” Valon remarked. “I felt like I was in an assault team, like the ones in films.”
“And that's why I'm sure that if we were able to get in and out of there alive, putting aside the luck and help we had,” Zed continued, tapping the table with the cutlery, “we can win the Dragon Cup, and then the Clash of Suns.”
“Oh, yeah? How?” asked Anne, combing the ends of her pair of Viking braids that she had strangely learned to make all of a sudden.
“I realized that to enter the palace, each of us contributed the best we had: Kara, her influence and knowledge of the place; Valon, his marksmanship; and Quincy helped us with his fondness for herbs and even his acute sense of smell. However, in the fortak field, we are not harnessing everyone’s maximum potential. I feel good on offense, and I think Anne does too, and that's why it has worked. But what about you, Meria? We named you team architect without asking you if you liked it. Or you, Quincy? You wanted to be the talisman protector, and since that position was already filled, we gave you the one that was left over.”
“I don't dislike my position,” he replied, helping himself to another stack of pancakes.
“But do you enjoy it?” asked Zed, to which Quincy shrugged his shoulders. “You see! You are not excited; not like you are when it comes to plants... or food. You should feel the same passion about your role in the fortak field. I bet you even enjoyed tracking the birongs last night.”
“It felt good to be valued.” He smiled. “Who doesn't love the smell of buttered popcorn? It is one of my favorite foods imported from Earth. Bless the Grey family for making it possible.”
“Then, we just need to think about how you can use what you like to do in the fortak field; tap into what you're good at.”
“I don't like being the team architect,” Meria confessed, crossing her arms. “It's too much pressure.”
“And what do you like?” asked Zed.
“Helping others; making them feel better.”
“Like when you healed my wounds?”
“Yes! Besides, I've researched other, similar skills that I've been dying to try out. Do you think I can cure you in the fortak field?”
“Hmm…” Zed put his hand to his chin. “I'm not sure, but we can ask Coach Holgens next practice. Have you ever heard of a team with a healer?”
“Not that I know of,” Finn replied.
“Well, we'll be the first!” Zed exclaimed. “If Meria's healing power is increased in the fortak field, it could give us a great advantage.”
“Yes!” Valon clashed forks with Zed. “We'll kick my sisters' butts.”
“I know it sounds weird, but I might be a good architect,” said Quincy.
“You?” Finn frowned. “Did the dragon's bite damage your brain?”
“Aren't you listening to Zed?” Anne reprimanded him. “You can be anything you want, Quincy. But... I'm also curious about why you think that.”
“You see?” said Finn. “Even you were baffled!”
“Shhh… Let him talk.”
“When I was in the palace greenhouse”—Quincy's eyes sparkled as if he were back in that place—“you can't imagine the amazing plants I saw. But, in addition to the plants, the greenhouse itself was a work of art.”
“How did it look?” asked Meria.
“The roof was made of glass, but its shape was not flat, but curved, like the leaves of a plant, and the frames holding the panes were like a leaf’s veins. Not to mention the walls, which were not made of stone, but of something malleable like clay, yet solid. They formed hexagonal shapes, like those of many colors that drumstran flowers display. I saw columns that looked like the curved trunks of aglar palms!” Quincy had stood up from the emotion he’d felt when describing the place. “If I were the architect, I could make things like that for our fortress.”
“We appreciate your enthusiasm, Quincy, but this is not a contest to see who builds the prettiest fortress,” said Anne.
“No! I'm not just telling you about that because I found it beautiful. Don't you know that the most perfect structures are found in nature, many of them in plants?”
“Quincy is right. And not only the most perfect, but the most efficient,” Meria added. “I think they would even be faster to build.”
“And more resistant,” Quincy said proudly. “For as long as I can remember, I have studied plants, corals, fungi... and I know the shape of many of them like the back of my hand. When you visit my house, I’ll show you my collection of pressed leaves. It wouldn't take me long to build tunnels in the pattern of a gorgonacea coral, in which they could never find Finn.”
“I have no idea what that is, but it sounds to me like an excellent idea,” Valon agreed.
“I think you would make a good architect, Quincy,” Zed added. “We can try it tomorrow if Meria agrees.”
“You're taking a great weight off my shoulders,” Meria replied. “The position is all yours.”
As Quincy described to Valon what the plants he had mentioned looked like, Zed turned to Finn and said:
“I thought about you, too. Since we haven’t retrieved skills from our past lives, we have to train our handling of ien even harder. If you want, we can do it together.”
“And what makes you think I'd want to train with you, midget?” Finn asked, and his cheeks gradually inflated until he burst out laughing. “Just kidding. After seeing you in action in the games we've played and with the plan for entering the Palace of Eternity, I think I could actually learn a couple of tricks from you. In fact, I never thought we would even make it past the gardens. We all did our bit, but you were the one who directed the whole thing.”
“I never thought I'd hear that from you,” Zed admitted. “But don’t think that I’ll go easy on you just because of a little flattery.”
“Shut up, or you'll make me regret what I’m about to say.”
“Go on, then.”
Finn took a big breath and added:
“I think being the oldest in the group is not enough to be the captain. Besides, I'm tired of having to tell a bunch of little kids what to do,” he confessed, smirking. “The position would be a good fit for you, midget. I don't know what the rest of you think…”
Fighting a lump in his throat, Zed looked at Finn, unable to utter a single word. He wanted to thank him, but didn't know what to say; a simple ‘thank you’ seemed insufficient. A few months ago, he was planning to take the position away from Finn, no matter what, even if it meant that he had to suffer. And now, his friend had given it up voluntarily.
“That would be brilliant,” said Valon.
“After what you've done for me and my family, I couldn't think of anyone better,” Meria added.
As each of his friends spoke, Zed felt like he was on the verge of tears. However, he was acting strong; he even had to turn his back on them for seconds at a time as he fought back his tears.
“And what do you think?” Zed, looking at Anne, could barely say a word.
“Any one of us would make a better captain than this knucklehead,” he said, smiling at Finn.
Zed looked at each of his teammates.
“I promise I won’t let you down. We will win the Cup, whatever it takes, and then the Clash of Suns. Let's plan our next game, guys!”
43
The rest of that Sunday, for the first time, all the members of the Carbon Dragons went to the stadium to watch Ruth face Alok in the Steel vs. Sulfur game, which was sure to be thrilling. Although it was an even match, the lack of skill of the boy who sacrificed himself when his team faced Zed’s was evident, and it cost the Sulfur Dragons the game.
Returning to class felt odd after having been in the Palace of Eternity. Zed felt that everyone, especially the teachers, knew, and that at any moment Julius Morgan would walk through the door to, at least, expel them. However, he believed that, even if that happened, it would not be able to take Meria's smile away, after Quincy informed her that he had received a letter from his mother. She had sent one of their chauffeurs to look for Meria's mother, and he had found her in perfect health.
Everything went on as usual in his classes. After discussing the news of the incidents at the Palace gardens and the director's mansion, Vinitri Gasso did not miss the opportunity to offer Nate emotional support and all manner of special treatment, before assigning exercises for increasing one’s ien, which Zed had already surpassed; however, he kept his skills a secret, so that the professor would not give him extra work, as he had on earlier occasions.
The next Basic Crystallogy classes had a bittersweet taste: all the students had finally discovered their unique dominant energy; however, Professor Framz told them that they would have to wait until they graduated from Savilles and had their emgi license to get those crystals and use them legally. Apparently, there were no practices that would justify a child carrying them, and the chance of them being used irresponsibly was very high. Most of the children left the classroom crestfallen after the news, especially Zed and Valon, who had spent hours discussing what they would do with their enhancing bracelets. Now it seemed to them that they were an eternity away from graduating and realizing those dreams.
The Past Avatars class became a torment for Zed. Professor Loyart might slip into his thoughts and discover that they had been inside the Palace of Eternity. When Zed remembered that, along with the director, she wanted to sever the connection with his past, his rage bubbled up. However, he wondered why the fact that Athien might be his past avatar was so vexing to them. Aside from the few memories recovered from the crown, Zed still felt the same as usual.
Where things changed radically was in the fortak field. Training was more fun than ever and it became Zed's favorite part of the day. After Professor Holgens approved the changes in the team member’s positions and corroborated that healing energy—a strange combination of material energy and vital energy—could be used in both the Clash and the Cup, the game took on new significance. The only reason no one used energy in that peculiar way was that that skill was not taught at Savilles until year five, the last, and only rudimentarily. And although there were books that taught it, such as those from which Meria had learned, no teachers were willing to waste their time teaching advanced subjects to children who were just beginning to manipulate material energy. It was then that Zed learned that all kinds of healing and medical treatments on Thalas were performed with methods very similar to those used on Earth; without as much technology, but with instruments with modified energy, along with various potions that made Thalassian medicines more potent versions of the ones he knew. The few people who could heal through energy charged fees that were unaffordable for almost everyone. Zed was pleased to think that Meria at least had a secure financial future.
At the end of each fortak training session, Zed had to convince Finn to stay and practice their ien manipulation together, instead of wasting time playing cards with Quincy or watching synchrovision until he fell asleep. Another task he had given himself was to search the library for the fortak rules and study them to the letter with Meria. Zed knew that making the best use of the rules meant bending them to his convenience, and to do that he had to know them like the back of his hand. He was surprised to find that all types of weapons were allowed in the field, including firearms. However, it was practically impossible to build them, due to their tiny parts and complex mechanisms that would take an expert to assemble; not to mention that there was no gunpowder or any other explosive substance on the field for the architect to add to his building materials. As he was reading the rules, Zed was pleasantly surprised to run into Mr. Finches, who remarked that his energetic aura seemed more radiant than ever.
For the first time in months, Zed was having a good time.
44
The days went by uneventfully, until the long-awaited moment came to give the Copper Dragons' smug little girls their comeuppance. No one wanted it more than Valon, who was already inside the dressing room in the stadium when the others arrived. He paced back and forth with his jersey on, never taking his eyes off the ground.
“Are you sure you had breakfast?” Meria asked him. “You look like you're about to faint.”
“Seriously, at times, I think I will.”
“Take it easy,” said Zed. “If we follow the plan to the letter, in less than an hour we will be celebrating our first victory.”
“What if I’ve already forgotten the plan?” Valon sat down, covering his face with both hands.
“I can't believe you forgot something so simple,” Anne reprimanded him.
“If you forget the plan, I'll tell you what to do,” said Zed. “But, come on, relax already!”
“It's just... we’re coming up against my sisters; we can't lose to them. My life will be completely ruined if that happens.”
“I’m glad I don't have any siblings,” Quincy muttered as he pinned the gold Savilles emblem on his jersey.
“They’re your sisters, not monsters, Valon,” Zed replied, sitting down beside him. “You give them the power you want them to have over you.”
