Part 39: Explanations

Vindicta's POVOur tattered and tired group walked up the rocky path we had stumbled upon just a short distance from where we Von-Pac found the entrance to the cave. Jake was in the back, still feeling sluggish from the paralytic bite of that creature. Von-Pac was riding on my familiar, well… he was less riding on and more lying flat on my familiar's saddle half passed out from mana exhaustion. "I still can't believe it." Jake mumbled."Believe what?" Suma asked from his shoulder saddle."That a perfectly safe," he stopped talking and looked at several large rocks rolling down the side of the mountain and falling off of the side of a sheer cliff with a huge crack like a breaking branch as they hit the ground below, "well… mostly safe, path was just a few meters past the entrance of that cave.""Hnn hnn hn," Von-Pac groaned. I couldn't tell if he was agreeing or cursing, but he did whatever it was with what sounded like annoyance."How are you feeling Jake?" I asked."Barely." He replied. I was confused by his response."What do you mean?" I wondered."Barely... I can barely feel anything. Except for tingling, like pins and needles." He said."Where is the tingling? Maybe I can heal you a bit more?" Suma offered."Just a few places… my hands, my arms, my legs, feet, chest, back, head, face, and oh yeah... my tongue. Can't forget that." He said."I am sorry for bringing you there Jake." Suma said. Her head lowered regretfully."Don't worry about it; you didn't know that cave was filled with Chupacabra." Jake reassured her."Hn hnnmmn hnnm nnmm hmn mnm nmmhn hnnmnn," Von-Pac groaned unintelligibly, his face pressed firmly into the corner of Argosa's saddle."What?" Suma asked.Von-Pac raised his head and spoke louder and more clearly. "I thought you said they were called echoes?" He asked then lowered his head again."A Chupacabra is… well it's like… oh forget it, I'm too out of it right now. Let's just call them echoes." Jake said downtrodden. We all walked in silence for a while, slowly following the twisting and turning hill.------------------------------------------------------------------------The POV of the Drill InstructorI was perched in my room when my assistant yelled that another group was spotted coming up the path. I quickly made my way outside and confirmed it was in fact team four, which consisted of Toman and recruits seven and eight. They seemed happy upon their familiar's backs, and I could see why. The named Neame called Toman had a silver band around his neck. They came striding into town, like they were hot stuff."Hello drill instructor," Toman said, "here is our band sir." The other two removed the band from his neck and one brought it to me."And only a few minutes till nightfall, not bad for third place." I told him. "Team four should be proud." He seemed taken back, like I had just pecked his head."Third sir? Are you telling me two other teams came before us?" He almost whined."Yes, teams one and two have both already arrived." I explained."At least we aren't last," one of his team members said."Yeah, we don't have to wake up early for more training." The other agreed.Toman looked at his comrades in disgust, "I… if you two had not… if we had…." He stuttered. His head fell forward, "Forget it… I am going to get some sleep… I do not care anymore." They walked away, probably feeling defeated based on Toman's response."I wonder what happened to them?" My assistant asked."Dragon's Hoard is filled with any number of dangerous creatures; they most likely had a tough time with some of them." I said and then flew back to my room to wait for the next, and final, group to arrive. "I wonder what is taking group three so long? They had a Viking after all."------------------------------------------------------------------------Jake's POVIt took two hours, but the last of the paralysis had finally worn off… just in time too, because all three of my teammates were perched somewhere on my body as I climbed up a steep hill. All of their familiars were either too tired to continue, or couldn't be summoned due to lack of mana. Night fell over an hour ago, and I was maintaining a fireball a few meters above us to light the way. Most of the creatures on this mountain were nocturnal apparently, so the giant ball of fire came in handy keeping them away. None of the beasts came close enough to see clearly… thankfully."How are you doing Jake?" Suma asked."I'm fine, can you guys see okay?" I asked; Neame didn't have particularly good vision at night."Well enough," Vindicta said sleepily. Von-Pac didn't respond… because he was completely asleep. Our journey up the mountain continued for another thirty minutes before I finally saw what we had been looking for... the top."Finally…" I said and collapsed to my knees exhausted. Von-Pac fell to the ground and woke up yelling."AHH! What is going on?" He said and flapped around for a second before finally getting to a standing position."We're at the top," Vindicta said as she and Suma fluttered slowly to the ground."Oh… good, finally." Von-Pac said settling his standing feathers back down to his body."You guys can start looking for those bands, I'm going to rest." I said and laid down on the grass. The heat from my fireball was incredibly soothing, and it wasn't long before I drifted off to sleep.-------------------------------------------------------------------------Suma's POVVon-Pac, Vindicta, and I all flew in separate directions searching for the silver bands. Jake's fire spell was bright, but it was not enough by itself to illuminate an entire mountaintop, so we were literally searching in the dark as most of us were too tired or drained of mana to cast our own fire spells. I did not know how the others were doing but if they were having as hard a time as I was then we would be on this mountain for a while. In the darkness, the shadows all started to blend together, so much so that I nearly flew into boulders on two separate occasions. We searched for ten minutes before finally I heard Von-Pac's voice call out."I found it!" He shouted. I flew over to his location to see for myself, and there it was... a single band wrapped tightly around a metal pole in the ground. We could not undo the band's knot with magic, as you need mana for that, so we each carefully gabbed it with beaks and undid it. We crossed over and under one another like some kind of serpent twisting around in its death-throes. In the end however, we were able to undo it. Once it was free, we looked at it for a moment, well we tried to anyway."Is it getting darker?" I asked."Your familiar must be running out of mana." Von-Pac suggested. "We had better get back to him." As he was saying that, suddenly it became bright again."What in Atmosia?" Vindicta wondered. Confused, we all flew back to Jake and saw him still lying on the ground. Above him was a fire spell, and it seemed to be slowly shifting in size, getting smaller and larger every few moments."Jake, what are you doing with that fire spell?" I asked, but he did not answer. However, there was a strange noise he was making. I flew over beside him and realized… he was asleep. "He is asleep." I told the others quietly."But he is making noise, and his fire spell is still active." Von-Pac pointed out."Huh… they are in rhythm," Vindicta said."What are?" I asked."His breathing and the fire spell," she said, "the spell is growing and shrinking in time with his breathing." I stopped to watch the two for a moment, and she was right. As Jake breathed in, the spell got larger; when he breathed out, it shrunk."How is he doing that?" Von-Pac wondered."Which part?" I wondered."All of it, how is he maintaining a spell while asleep, and how is he making it keep in time with his breathing?" He wondered."Well, I did not call him Sentinel for no reason." I said."We have the band now… should we wake him?" Vindicta asked. "I mean, I think we should let him sleep.""We will come in last and have to wake up early if we do not hurry," Von-Pac reminded us."I think we are already going to have to do that." I said.Von-Pac sighed, "You are probably right, but we still cannot stay on Dragon's Hoard of all places overnight.""Why not? Jake's spell is producing enough heat to keep us warm, and enough light to keep any beast away." Vindicta pointed out. "We could at least get a few hours of sleep before going all the way back down.""What if he runs out of mana before sunrise?" Von-Pac argued."Unlikely," I said. "His mana capacity is huge, and even if he was constantly outputting mana, which he is not, he is just maintaining a spell he already cast, then it would still take over an hour for him to run out of mana.""Over an hour?" Vindicta asked stunned. "His life force density must be staggering, and I can't even imagine his mana reservoir.""Have you ever had it measured?" Von-Pac asked."Actually, we have, his life force is five-hundred Kelma and about sixty Dalma. He also has a mana reservoir of nine-fifteen." I told them. They both stood in stunned silence, probably deciding if they actually believed such staggering figures."How? Just… how?" Von-Pac wondered.Vindicta stayed quiet for a moment longer, she seemed to be deep in thought. "Suma… I… I don't mean to… it's just… well-" she stopped herself, like she regretted saying anything in the first place."What is it?" I asked."There are rumors… I didn't believe them, not until you said… but I want you to know I don't care about them, even if they are true." She stuttered out."Rumors? What rumors?" I questioned."I don't want… and I don't mean to be-" she tried to say, but Von-Pac cut her off."She means the rumors about your familiar… Jake… being a Viking." I was stunned, how could anyone have known? I never told anyone, and I am fairly certain Jake had not either."That is not… he is not… there is more to it than…" I stuttered, then stopped and sighed. "Look, it is not what you think.""So, he is a Viking then?" Vindicta asked."Not exactly." I said."Is he or is he not, it cannot be that difficult." Von-Pac declared. I decided to explain the way Jake explained it to me."The Vikings were not, are not, a race of people. They were a culture, a way of life, one that was abandoned long ago. Jake is not descended from them, at least he does not think he is." I explained."Does he not know?" Von-Pac asked. I should have expected such a question from him. To nobles, lineage is a matter of pride, and thus it is strictly catalogued, and records are well preserved, even as far back as the ravaging, that being the near extinction event caused by the Chaos Dragon."To his people, lineage is less important; only royals and nobility worry about it apparently." I told him. "According to Jake, where you are from is more important than who you are descended from in most places.""How strange." Von-Pac said."So, what you are saying is, he is the same species, but he isn't actually a Viking?" Vindicta asked."Yes," I said simply."Well, this explains he aptitude for magic, his people must be-" Von-Pac said, but I cut him off."Magic does not exist on his world." They both fell dead silent."What do you mean?" Vindicta finally asked a long while."According to jake, Magic has never existed on his world before, at least not any confirmed cases. But he says there are stories of people who could use it, but that he had always just assumed they were untrue tales passed down from ancient times." I explained."How... how does a world even do anything without magic?" Von-Pac wondered. I could not blame them for not understanding, I still have trouble wrapping my mind around it as well."In truth, I am not sure I could explain that; I am not even sure I understand it." I said."With unimaginable amounts of manpower, violence, and ingenuity." Jake said rolling over, causing all of us to become surprised and our feathers to stand on end for a moment.-------------------------------------------------------------------------Jake's POV"By the dragons!" Von-Pac shouted and beat his wings causing him to flutter back slightly."Did we wake you?" Vindicta asked."Yeah, but it's fine," I said."How long have you been awake?" Suma asked."Since you asked about the rumors of me being a Viking." I told her."Sorry," Vindicta said mournfully."It's fine, I can't blame you for being curious." I said. "But now that you know the truth, how do you feel?""You have been nothing but kind to me, you gave me a name, and you were attacked by those Echo beasts making sure we all got to safety. I have nothing but gratitude towards you Jake." Vindicta said. Hearing her say that put me at ease, I was worried she would be afraid or hate me. The Neame view Vikings as monsters, so I wasn't sure how deeply ingrained that would be."And you?" I asked turning to Von-Pac. The noble stayed quiet for a moment, perhaps pondering his own opinions, but he did eventually give an answer."I will with-hold judgment until given cause to be concerned. While it is true I do not care for your lax attitude towards nobles, I do know one thing: you are a good soul. You have the power of a dragon, the potential ability to use the most devastating magic my world has ever seen, the strength of a monster, and all you have done with these things is join the army and try to help your master fulfill her desires to become a healing mage. I have seen and undergone enough over these last hours to make me… reconsider... some previously held notions. I will leave it at that for now." Von-Pac stated. I appreciated his honesty, but the way he spoke made it feel like he considered me some kind of world ending event. I decided to let it be for now, and instead change the subject."So, should we head down the mountain?""No, we think it would be best to just wait up here for the night, then head back down in the morning." Suma explained."Well, we better get some firewood then, that way I don't have to maintain this spell all night." I suggested."Okay," Vindicta said, "but... what is firewood?" I sighed, it was going to be a long night atop this mountain.------------------------------------------------------------------------Suma's POVTurns out, firewood is exactly what it sounds like, wood specifically cut to be burned in a fire. "It feels like we are preparing for some kind of strange ritual." Vindicta pointed out as she released her mana and let a bundle of logs Jake had cut with magic fall to the ground. He had found a tree that "looked dry enough", then used some kind of beam of magical energy to remove a branch and cut it into small sections."I know what you mean," Von-Pac said as he carefully arranged the wood into the pattern Jake described beforehand. "I cannot say I have ever had to do anything like this before.""And he cast that magical spell without uttering a word." Vindicta said. "You must have taught him well if he can use shadow casting, despite not having magic on his world.""I did not teach him a thing, in fact, I think he has probably taught me more about shadow casting than I ever could have taught him." I said from my perch. My job was to be on lookout while everyone was working, just in case."What do you mean?" Vindicta asked."Jake taught himself shadow casting. In truth, I am not sure I have ever heard him utter a single incantation." I told them."I should be surprised at that, but I am not." Von-Pac said as he lit the small pile of wood aflame. Even from my perch I could feel the heat begin to increase. "Hot!" He exclaimed and fluttered back sharply, landing on another stack of wood behind him."How does he cast such powerful magic then?" Vindicta wondered."He has this way of imagining the spells and their effects, but also their processes. I would liken it to the way a rune crafter works." I explained."Does that mean he can craft runes?" Von-Pac asked."He thought about learning, but did not have time before we left for training." I said.------------------------------------------------------------------------Vindicta's POVSuma, Von-Pac, and I were perched around the flames talking; the warm glow of the fire seemed to illuminate in a way that Jake's fireball just couldn't. The fireball was more of a penetrating brightness, but this was more like a living being. It flickered and popped occasionally at the base, surprising me each time."Vindicta, I have some more logs ready!" Jake called out from a short distance away. I left the warm flame, and as soon as I did, I noticed something I hadn't before… how cold the mountain was. It hadn't bothered me before, but now that I had felt so warm and comfortable, the cold bit at my feathers. I wonder, had I felt like this earlier, and just not known enough to care or realize it, or had it really not affected me before. I landed beside Jake's pile of logs and wrapped my mana, what little I had, around them to pick them up."That should be enough for the night," Jake said and picked up a few logs himself. We went over to the fire and dropped our logs a short distance away, then perched around those warming golden and sky orange flames again. "Ah, that feels good." Jake said sitting on a rock he had rolled over earlier. He was rather close to it though, I actually worried he might get burned, but he seemed content. "Aren't you guys going to get closer?""Are you trying to be funny?" Von-Pac scoffed. "I can barely stand the heat from this distance." We had all perched two or three times further than Jake was due to the heat. Despite the fact that I was enjoying it, I couldn't bear to draw any nearer.-------------------------------------------------------------------------Jake's POVOnce the campfire was built up enough, I dispelled the fireball. That left only the orange glow of the burning wood to light up the area. We all sat, or perched in their cases, and talked for a while. As we did, I would watch the fire to make sure it was getting enough oxygen by wrapping mana around certain logs and maneuvering them into better positions."So Jake, what is your world like?" Von-Pac asked."It's pretty different from your world. For starters we don't have magic." I told them."Yes, Suma mentioned that earlier, but what else makes it so different?" He wondered."Well for one, our sky is a different color. Yours is orange, but ours is a faded light blue." I said."Blue? Why is it blue?" Vindicta asked confused."Why is your sky orange?" I countered."Umm, it's… huh, I guess I don't know." She said."Our skies are the colors they are because of the gases that make them up. I don't know what makes up your world's air, but my world's, Earth, is mostly oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide; as well as several others. The specific mixture of all these gases defuses more blue light than anything else, so our sky looks blue and yours looks orange." I explained.They all seemed lost. "I'm sorry… I don't understand," Vindicta stated.------------------------------------------------------------------------Von-Pac's POVWe perched around the flames listening to Jake attempt to explain something far beyond my comprehension, but by the dragons there was no way I would ever admit that to them. Instead, I tried a different tactic. "Perhaps we should switch back to the original question?" I offered."Oh right, sorry. I can really go off on tangents when it comes to science." Jake said apologetically. He thankfully went back to detailing what his home, Earth as he called it, was like. To me, it sounded both like a utopia and like a torture. He described a world where dangerous and deadly diseases were being cured daily, where hunger and war were all but eliminated, and where most people did not concern themselves with survival, but with enjoying their lives. However, he also told us of his people's long and violent history. Of weapons more powerful than anything shy of grand scale magic. And perhaps most horrifyingly, of his people's switch from noble ruling classes, to elected leaders; for a moment, I felt sick.