Border wars book nine of.., p.23
Border Wars: Book Nine of Crystals of Memory, page 23
He felt bad, making everyone that late, but didn’t speak about the topic, merely patting Juniper as she moved over to greet him.
“Hello! We’re traveling to the next base, then? I have some work to do.” He looked at Depak and even if it felt off, he sighed and then shrugged.
Hoping he wasn’t simply being foolish in his plans.
“I’m going to try and make a new spell, to allow me to hear and see the Devica better. So I don’t have to have them yelling at me to be understood? Perhaps with some way of increasing and decreasing how well I can see and hear them?”
The old man holding the reins of his own horse, which was dark in color and giant seeming next to Juniper, slowly nodded.
“I can see that being of use. I should do the same, even if my own work with such beings has been rather... Scant, so far. What plans do you have for that?”
Anders smiled, and gestured to Farad, who was standing next to him, smiling gently.
“You know, I have very little so far. I... It seems like it should be simple, to tell the truth. I need to amplify their voices. I can hear them, it’s simply soft and gentle, compared to one of our voices. The same with seeing them. I know what it’s like, I just have to increase it, I think. Which... Should be simple enough.” He grinned then, patting Juniper again, as she nuzzled his hair, trying to get him to move, since they were late to their travels that day already.
Then he smiled, hugely and with a sudden air to it.
“Which means I’m probably totally wrong! Still, I should try it first thing. We’re riding now?”
Depak Sona nodded.
“The plan is to collect you and Mary first. She’s...” The man looked off into the distance, then pointed to where the robed woman was, walking toward them. Talking to herself.
Only it wouldn’t be that going on most likely, she’d be talking to her new friends. Beings hidden from Anders Brolly totally, at the moment. Even straining, he couldn’t see them. What he could do, he thought, if it wasn’t pure imagination, was feel them as they moved. Gently disturbing the world of magic in their passing.
Farad lifted a hand, and then nodded, at Depak.
“I should put myself away, for the moment. One of the Devica...” He shook his head a little bit. “One of my brothers from the hermitage, Londis, is here. Apparently the language of the Natech is Ciru. My original tongue. That... Probably means that these nomads we’re having trouble with are the descendants of my own people. Perhaps being the children of my brothers and sisters, many generations removed. It’s... I need to find out more, if I can.”
Instead of playing that off or acting as if Farad speaking to him directly was strange, which it truly was, at least with a full illusion body, though Depak had seen it before, there was a nod.
“Oh? That sounds important. We should meet with your old friend and see what time has brought about, in this part of the world? Perhaps after we stop for the night? I don’t wish to rush us all away, but...”
Anders nodded.
“We should get onto the road, quickly. Oh, I think I have Wopat set up to come and teach at the college? Shamanic studies, of course. I want to see if Londis might aid with languages, as well. Perhaps history. I’ve only asked the one being so far however. She seemed to think it was an interesting plan?”
Depak smiled, suddenly.
“Shamanic studies taught by an energy being? That’s... You know, I like the sound of it. Now, how do we increase our ability to hear and be heard, by such people?” That was, Anders thought, perhaps the first time Depak had spoken of the Devica as fellows, instead of by their new title or referring to them as even entities in his own language.
It showed growth.
Farad vanished, as Anders got on Juniper, the road being pointed at by Mage Walden that day, with Mage Kip riding next to Prince Naveed, with Niven. To act as his guard that day, while the red-headed Yansian boy smoothed the road for them.
Of some interest, Ezola was riding a horse, seeming less than comfortable about it, but also talking to the three guards who were learning new spells and magics. Teaching them, it seemed. Which had Anders wanting to blink and comment on the idea.
Then he didn’t. The woman had, in the last days, managed to seem much less of a problem. Not kind or anything like that, of course, but as if she might not be descending into true madness. That portion of matters had seemed less than assured, even a week before that point. Now she seemed, not like the others, but almost like the first time he’d met her. In the sick room of her family’s cook, mopping a poor dying woman’s brow with a cool cloth, trying to help her live.
It was better.
Smiling, gently, he looked away. Then he and Depak worked on the new spell. Which, even if it felt as if it should be impossible, a thing that drove them to madness as they tried and failed, over and again to work it out, they both had ready to try inside ten minutes.
There were four components to it, hearing, and control of that sense in regards only to the energy people, and then seeing them, and increasing or decreasing that. When the second part was used for either sense, the level should, if he’d done the magic right, allow him to comfortably hear or see them, without doing more than muttering the phrase. If it was needed.
Trying it then, he nearly jumped out of the saddle.
“Devoconia, fen ot... Senddovica fen ot...” The words to allow him to hear and see the energy beings spoken, the flow of energy moving out of himself in a fine trickle, the world around him suddenly lit up.
“Gah!” He forced a grin, suddenly, looking around at the mass of multicolored energy floating all around them. Suddenly not invisible at all. The collected masses of Devica, hundreds strong, more in fact than he’d thought were there earlier, by about three times, also spoke as they moved along.
It wasn’t, thankfully, deafening.
Looking at Depak Sona, he cleared his throat.
“This works! There are, a lot of them here. I’d guess three to four hundred of them?”
Muttering the same words, Depak only raised his eyebrows instead of jumping and calling out like a fool. Indeed, the man seemed pleased to see how many of the beings were there that day.
“Hello! Anders and myself have just been working on a magic to allow us to see and hear you more clearly. Would it be allowed for someone to speak to us, perhaps? Without calling out, at least to start with?”
The words were spoke in Barquean, which meant that, a moment later, from the side of the crowd above and around them, a rather large, very bright orange and gold being moved in their direction.
“Well met! I’m Dara. You are Magician Depak?”
The bald, rather tan fellow nodded, slowly, seeming surprised.
“I am. Well met! This is Anders Brolly, from up north.”
Anders nodded then, speaking but not yelling.
“Well met, Dara. Can you hear us all right? We could amplify our words. I’ve always tried to yell, to make myself heard with the Devica, but...”
There was a gentle, polite seeming, chuckle.
“We can all hear you just fine. I’d wondered at the yelling, earlier. It seemed a trifle out of place. I have to say, this is a most interesting happening, isn’t it? I heard that languages were being taught, by some of my people, from Barquea, so came to make certain that no one was being abused. To learn, as well, if I’m allowed? I have ancient Modroc, but not the modern version of it, as of yet. I should learn other tongues as well, which, clearly that’s why we’re all here, of course.”
Anders smiled up at the orange being, who sounded very female, even if she’d probably never been a human being at all. People, the human ones, tended to be smaller and green or with green and blue mixed, when they turned into such beings. The larger blue ones tended to be different, often knowing the future very well. Orange and red were, as often as not, significant beings in one way or another. Powerful, but basically gods, even if not worshiped as such directly.
This one had mentioned her people, of course. Also, Depak looked a bit like someone had stuffed a fish down his trousers, suddenly. Anders nodded, just a bit.
“Say, if it’s all right to ask, Dara, are you a god in these parts?”
Depak went wide eyed, and the orange being sent out a wave of feelings that seemed to indicate laughter, even with no sound being used at all.
“I am, actually. Not that major of one, of course. Dara of the southern wind, I think they call me? I bring the rains, when the weather isn’t cooperating, that sort of thing.”
The man riding near him on his large charger looked as if he might scold Anders for not knowing that already. Which made some sense.
“Ah? That’s useful! I fear that the river I made, off to the east, to prevent the Modroc from invading Barquea, has interrupted the rains and fruitfulness of the Natech lands to the south. That set them into raiding, at least more than normal, so some people were harmed. Would you be able to instruct me as to what I did wrong, so I might repair the damage, do you think?”
Depak, once again, seemed as if he were being assaulted in a most uncomfortable and sudden fashion, his face pursing at the mouth, as if he couldn’t believe the audacity of the fool next to him. Which was probably a simple truth.
Dara, however, simply glowed a brighter, more golden color for a moment.
“I should be able to do that! It’s a much better plan than simply riding off to war. We kind of feared that was what you were all doing here, in fact. Not that you have many men at arms, but it’s clear that you all glow with the power of great magic. You seek to merely set the trouble back to right? Not to end the Natech?”
Anders nodded.
“If they’ll allow that. We’ve been attacked a few times now. My friend Eltha Tennet was set upon by powerful assassins and we were hit by a group of mercenaries and a, probably a shaman with a Devica aiding her. That being fled as soon as it could, not redoubling the attack, once the shaman was gone.” He didn’t mention that Salina had ended the woman.
Just in case that would be a problem.
Dara sighed. A very human seeming matter. Floating along easily, as the horses walked, the world filled with lights and sounds to Anders that day.
“That has been an issue with the Natech for some time. They’ve taken to trapping some of the weaker of the... You call us Devica now? That sounds much better than evil spirit, I must say. The weak are sometimes trapped or lured into service using magical force. Then made to harm and kill. That...” The orange and gold being didn’t make any noise for nearly a full minute, simply traveling in silence.
Thinking.
“It would, I imagine, be like an adult of your kind, being trapped by children. They would not want to harm them, or any of their little playmates, and it would harm them to be forced to do so...”
Anders winced.
“Ah. That matches with some of what I’ve noticed, in my searching into their lands. I... Don’t know what, if anything, I can do about that. I’ve been told that the Natech are a warlike people? I need to find out more about that. At the same time, I need to help with the magic for the new bases. Water and buildings, for the soldiers there. Cooking facilities. Things like that?”
There was a slow turning, the floating being seeming to regard him closely, for a moment or two.
Then there was a soft sound, like breathing.
“I noticed that the walking and riding paths here are improving. Are they easier to use, for your people?”
That, those words, weren’t directed at Anders at all. He could feel it rather powerfully. Not Depak either. No, the goddess Dara of the Winds was speaking to his horse. Juniper sent words back, rather directly. More clearly than she normally bothered to do with him at all.
~They are far easier, under the hoof. Smooth. The two legs also have placed water every part of walking, so that we never will be too far from such as we travel. It would be nice to have more food, but that is the way of this herd. We walk fast, then stop to eat, instead of moving slowly and doing that as we go.~
The goddess seemed pleased with that, it seemed.
“They, the two legs, aren’t only seeking violence and war, you think then?”
Juniper looked over at the glowing being then, for the first time.
~I do not think so. Straw Head has fought, but when other ways come, he’s not fought. He heals as well. That is a thing the people of my old herd did not do at all. Which is why I had to flee, in part. They had turned harsh, so many of my people left the plains. Now we go back.~
Which explained much, he supposed. Why Juniper had been an entire land over, from where they were when he’d first met her. Her back beaten into sores and broken down by too much riding. Things that he’d been able to repair, over time for her.
Depak stared at the good girl horse, blinking.
“Um, Anders... Is your horse speaking to Dara of the South Winds, do you think?”
He nodded.
“Yes. She’s normally not that chatty. I think that means she likes you, Dara!” He smiled, being playful. “More to the point, I think the new spell allows us to hear her better, as well. Not just the Devica. I wonder if she’s related to them, in some way? Possibly she has shamanic skills?”
Interestingly, Dara spoke again.
“I know that her people can all speak to us, as some humans can. Most of the four-legged beings have troubles with that, in these lands, however. Some other places have different ways of being, of course, for those with many legs. The white war beasts of the far east, for instance. They can speak as this being does as well.”
That was interesting to learn of. Before he could ask any questions, Dara, the goddess, sighed.
“I fear I must go for some time. I’ll be back for the lesson in the morning, Anders Brolly?”
Then, as he nodded, she vanished.
Allowing the next Devica who wished to speak to move over, to be near them.
Chapter sixteen
The second military base was handled that evening. Not, perhaps, as finely or nicely as the rearward one was, but the main paths were turned, by Prince Roald, into hardened fine walking paths, as new buildings were put up for everyone to use. They doubled the space for housing soldiers as well. The water and sanitation systems were improved by Mary and Ezola. Truly, Anders didn’t have to do much at all, the others choosing their projects instantly.
Collin built a fairly grand bathhouse, and decorated it himself, with some lovely fish patterns, and bright colors on the inside. The water was warm in certain pools and there was a waterfall that ran constantly, for bathing in a hurry.
Then, early the next morning, they left, moving toward the final base, the jungle giving way to grassland before they did so. At mid-morning they stopped again, most of the way to their destination. Not only for the morning lessons, but so their own rear base could be put into place.
Anders didn’t even see it happening, working with Mary as he was, to teach the language of Istlan. It went much faster that day, as Anders was able to actually hear the Devica properly. Still, while he pushed in to correct Mary a few times, several, being annoying as he was, he stood back for the most part, allowing the woman to teach her class her way.
Using memory skills, since that was how she’d learned, so far. Interestingly, while Mary moved everyone through the new words more slowly than he would have, the Devica seemed to be capturing the information better that way than they had when he’d been in charge of such things, in the past. So, while they weren’t going to learn Istlan in a week, it probably wouldn’t take them two months of daily work, either.
That day, when they stopped at noon, Londis and Wopat floated over, both speaking to him easily and seeming happy. If in different languages.
Wopat went first.
“This is working well! Mary is a good teacher, isn’t she? I never managed to learn this fast when I was alive. Or since, to be honest on the matter.” The green shaman spirit sounded pleasant and even warm, in her words. Then, she wasn’t shouting so that he could hear her.
It was going to make a difference as to how well she could express herself.
Anders nodded.
“Mary seems to have found the right pattern for Devica to learn, indeed. I wonder, should we see if we can get her to work in as an instructor at the new college, up in Istlan?”
Londis moved toward him, slightly, speaking to him in the language that they’d been learning that day.
“Anders, would it be proper for me to speak to you soon?”
Shifting to the new language, even if it was a bit stilted for the new speakers, he nodded, also using his words, since his bodily motions didn’t seem to mean a lot to the Devica.
“Certainly, Londis. We should go and find someplace to sit? Rest, at least. Perhaps the main room of the inn that...” He figured that it would be an inn, but there was something that seemed more like an armed keep behind them in the distance, not the normal inn and outbuildings he was used to. The stone seeming wall wasn’t small, or decorative, either. It was a good twenty feet tall, and felt, to his mind and wizard skills, thick. He couldn’t see over it, except a large tower that seemed to be rather imposing, sticking out over the top of the tan expanse.
That was golden. Truly, it seemed to be made of gold, glinting in the sunlight.
“Or, you know, the golden temple over there? Whichever.”
Londis snorted, a very human sounding thing.
“It’s lovely, of course. I understand the wall. The tower is to see if trouble comes, perhaps?”
Anders nodded.
“Likely. That should work well in the grasslands, here.” If you stood at the top of the tower it would be possible to see miles further away, at a guess. They needed some kind of viewing glass, for that to really work. Which, while he could possibly build one, they probably needed some kind of spell for that, instead. The path he’d chosen was one of magic, after all.
