Chapter 23: Shina, the Lightning Goddess

Nero backed away from the princess, his ears wobbling. He was afraid of her, afraid of the way she looked at him with her examining eyes. Cah’lia and Sehn were looking at him in awe, but the princess only looked determined.

Since the day he met Sehn, Nero had always wanted to use magic, but he was told only one out of a million could do it. For years he dreamed about how awesome it would be to shoot fireballs like Sehn, and when he was alone he’d make believe he could. This time was different, this time he actually did it, and it hurt so much!

“Cah’lia,” Nero moaned, his hand still throbbing with a dull pain. “Why is the princess looking at me like that?”

Saerina advanced on him yet again, and Nero was backed into a tree. She really was one of the prettiest Elves, maybe even prettier than his sister. She was wearing a robe made from the finest Rezza-silk, and her ornate jewelry sparkled from the bit of sunlight that breached the tall trees.

“Nero,” she said. “You have a responsibility now. Once a person, be them Elven, Human, or even Dwarf, have casted a spell, they then become the property of the Order.”

Sehn raised an eyebrow and walked over to where Nero was backed against a tree. “The Order? What are you on about, Saerina? What does the Order have to do with anything?”

There was a dangerous glint in her eye. She rolled up the left sleeve of her robe, revealing her slender, smooth Elven arm, matching the same grace as the rest of her body. Running along from her wrist to the top of her arm, was a blue and gold tattooed marking in the shape of a staff, the tip of which was golden and alight with flame.

“There is a treaty that exists among the races of this world, one that common citizens have no knowledge of. You see, for many years those born with the ability to call upon her Grace—or magic, if you will—were found, and brought to the Order. Agents would enter cities, and drag them if need be. All born with the gift were subject to the Order. For many years this continued unabated, until a treaty was formed.”

She paused for a moment and looked at Nero, causing him to tremble. “In accordance with the treaty, two conditions must be met. The first of course, is that at least one spell must have been cast by the person in question. This spell must be cast of his own ability and will. The second is that they leave a city controlled by their own kind for a period of longer than two weeks, at approximately the distance we have thus far traveled. If these two conditions are met, then even if the caster retreats back into their own city, it no longer matters. No guards, politicians, or even kings may stop the Agents of the Order. They are within their rights to take you, and you can be sure that they will come for you.”

Nero tried to control himself, but he began wailing again. “Cah’lia!” he cried. “I don’t wanna be taken away.”

Cah’lia ran to his side, and embraced him in a tight hug. “Don’t worry,” she cooed. “No one is taking you, Nero.” She turned her head to face Saerina, carrying a wicked scowl. “That includes you.”

Saerina only smiled back, holding out her hands in a surrendering gesture. “I have no intention of taking your brother away. Quite the contrary, I’d rather see both him and Sehn as far from the Order as possible, especially given…” she looked over her shoulder at Sehn. “Well, you know.”

Nero had no idea what the woman was talking about, and he didn’t think Sehn did either, though from the looks of things Sehn didn’t seem to care.

“I don’t care about the Order,” Sehn grunted. “Besides, how can they even know that Nero just hilariously roasted Daniel? Oh, and by the way, Nero,” Sehn grinned. “I am very proud of you. Not only do you have magic, but you used it to cause another person pain and agony. Nothing could make me happier. I look forward to the day you stand beside me and together we burn the world down in flames and enslave it.”

Nero felt his heart explode with happiness, and he almost forgot about the pain in his hand. “Do you mean that, Sehn? That’s so cool! I can’t wait to destroy the world with you!”

Cah’lia sighed. “I don’t know whether to be happy for Nero, or laugh at the stupidity of those two,” she said to Saerina.

Sehn growled at her. “Silence, Cah’lia! We’ll see who you call ‘stupid’ when Nero and I are making it rain fire.”

Nero began to dance, ignoring his pain completely, and spinning around. “Do I get a statue too, Sehn?”

“Of course,” he said. “But only eight of them, and they are to be no larger than five percent of the height of my own statues. There will also be a—”

Sehn was cut off as Cah’lia covered his mouth with her hand. His lower face was no longer visible, but his eyes promised revenge.

“I’d like to hear the answer to the question Sehn asked,” Cah’lia said. “How will they know that my brother used magic? I’m only coming to grips with it myself. I’ve known Nero his whole life, and to suddenly find out now, it’s overwhelming. But how can these people somewhere across the world know?”

Saerina narrowed her eyes, and wore her usual penetrating gaze. “Sensors,” she whispered.

Sehn brushed off Cah’lia’s silencing hand. “What’s a Sensor? You know what? I don’t even care. The Great Sehn fears no Sensors, or whatever the fuck they are! Fuck Sensors!”

******

“Fuck Sensors,” the Elf said, his image twisting and fading from sight in the murky crystal ball on top of her Mistress’s desk.

Shina squeezed her hands into fists, and tried to control her growing anger. Lightning crackled and shot from between her fingertips as she tried to calm her burning rage. “As arrogant as always,” she growled.

“Shina!” a woman’s voice called. “Has it been confirmed? Are there really two more of them?”

Shina turned to her mistress and bowed, planting one knee on the ground. “Yes, Mistress Orellia. It’s my brother and another young Elven boy.”

Orellia waved her to stand, and Shina returned to her feet. Orellia was a beautiful Human woman, tall, with fiery red hair and a very finely shaped body. Shina on the other hand, knew she’d blossom into a beautiful Elven woman someday, but for the moment was nothing more than an Eleventh-seasoned Elven acolyte, with dark green eyes and curly black hair. She was short for her age, and she hoped she’d grow to full height soon.

“Did you say that one of them was your own brother?”

Shina bit her lip in disgust. “Unfortunately, yes. One of them was Sehn, for certain.” Lightning and sparks began shooting from her eyes as she thought of her annoying brother. One strand left her pupil and gave a tiny zap to a Human bending over another desk next to her. He grabbed at his rump and jumped, rubbing it and turning to give Shina an angry glare.

“Shina, what have we been working on?” Orellia asked. “Control your magic. You can’t go throwing lightning bolts all over the place every time you’re angry. The injuries around here are really starting to rack up.”

They were in the Seeing Chamber. There were rows upon rows of large, red desks, each containing an expensive sight-crystal. It was here that they observed the world around them, finding new users of magic, and bringing them—capturing if they refused to cooperate—back to Magia, capital city of all things Magic.

Shina tried her best to look guilty, casting her eyes down to the floor, and curling her lips. She hoped she fooled her Mistress. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean it.”

Orellia laughed, and gave her a playful slap on the rump. “You can’t fool me, Shina. I’ve been your instructor for almost four years now.”

Shina knew she was one of the oddest cases the Order had ever encountered. Just about every single person regardless of race tried to avoid capture. Shina was different, she wanted nothing more in life than to learn and study the forces of Magic. When she was just seventh seasoned—years old as the Humans called it—she snuck away from home, and traveled by herself to the Jinkar forests, a perilous journey for a child.

It was there she casted her first spell, and waited. For a week she camped in the forest, living off of edible plants and the occasional Moore-rabbit. Orellia was the first mage to show up, with two of her best students tagging along with her.

Shina had prepared for her arrival. The first sight Orellia had seen on arriving was of Shina, out in the open, and dressed in a version of the Order’s robes she had sewn herself. She’d gotten down on one knee, and begged to be accepted into the Order. Shina had known full well that most Magic users were accepted whether they wanted to be or not. Still, she wanted to hear it from one of their mouths, she wanted her dreams to become a reality.

Orellia had lifted her off her feet and hugged her, at the time a complete stranger. They’d bonded almost immediately, and the story had spread. Shina was not a unique case, yet Magic users seeking the Order on their own volition were still a great rarity.

“This is going to be a big problem,” Shina said. “My brother will never cooperate.”

Orellia laughed. “You should know by now, that there is no man or woman that can’t be broken and rebuilt. You’ve spent a great deal of time speaking about your brother, but I assure you that here in the Order we can change anyone.”

“You don’t understand,” Shina insisted. “Sehn isn’t like anyone in the world. You’d have a better chance convincing a rock to grow wings and fly. He’ll never cooperate with the Order. In fact, we’re better off taking the little Elven boy and leaving Sehn be.”

Orellia crossed her arms and gave Shina a stern look. “I know you well enough to know that you’re not telling me this out of loyalty to your brother.”

Shina nodded. “Of course not! I am dedicated to the Order, I love it here. If it really came down to it of course I’d rather my brother live the life he wants, but I’d never go against the Order to help keep him free. He stepped out of Elvar, and so now he’s in our domain. I’m only keeping the Order’s best interests at heart, when I say we should just let him slip through the cracks.”

“How bad can he be? Our Magistrates have made kings kneel before our feet.”

Shina sighed—her Mistress would not be satisfied with just her assurance. “Okay, let me give you an example, Mistress, if I may?”

“You may.”

“When I was five years old, my brother accidentally broke both his legs, poisoned all of Elvar’s water supply, and destroyed ten people’s homes.”

Orellia looked bewildered, a strand of her red hair falling from her face and dangling before her eyes. She blew it out of the way. “Keep going.”

Shina really didn’t want to remember such a ridiculous story. A tale of extreme stupidity, yet, her Mistress had commanded her.

“It started like this,” she began. “Sehn had spent too long in the sun one day, and got a very small sunburn. It’s very common in Elvar during the summer, but Sehn did not see it that way. To him, he believed that the sun had done it on purpose, and was challenging Sehn to a war or something. That’s right, my brother declared war on the sun. He spent the next four months planning on…it’s so ridiculous, please don’t make me keep going.”

Orellia smiled, and spoke with an encouraging voice. “It is fine, Shina. Please, continue.”

Shina shrugged, and finished the story. “Well, my brother made plans to blow up the sun. He would yell at it at night, asking it to come closer and fight him, screaming and saying things like ‘you dare give the Great Sehn a sunburn’ and other nonsense. Well, most of us in Elvar thought nothing of it. He had a history of doing things like this, but this time ended up differently.”

She shuddered as she remembered, and continued to speak. “Sehn actually managed to build a bomb, using Dwarven technology. To this day I don’t know how he figured it out, but he did. It was a large, round thing, made up of different stuff none of us in Elvar knew anything about. You see, Mistress, Sehn is so arrogant that in his mind he actually believed he could throw something hard enough that it would travel to the sun. All he ended up doing, was creating a massive explosion in Oakley, exploding ten homes, and luckily only breaking his legs. No one was home at the time, which was a blessing of Goddess Helena. The wood, and charcoal, and all the other stuff spilled into the water supply, and no one was able to drink from it for two weeks. So, now do you see why Sehn is better off left alone?”

Orellia remained silent for a moment, her chin resting on her thumbs, deep in thought. “I still think we can tame him, though if what you’re saying is true, I’m not looking forward to it. Pack your bags, Shina, we’re leaving at once. If your brother is as stubborn as you say, perhaps your presence will make his return easier.”

I doubt it, she wanted to say, but chose to submit and drop the argument. Shina walked over to the window in the corner of the Seeing Chamber, and looked out of it. Even after four years, she’d never get used to the breathtaking locale of the Order. Floating miles above the ground, on over seventy separate buildings, the Order was the most wondrous place in the world. They traveled from building to building by gryphon, large winged beasts with a playful and friendly demeanor. Shina had fallen in love with the creatures when she’d first arrived.

Every free moment Shina had, she always made time to look out of a window, no matter where in the Order she was. Every building had a view of at least a few dozen others, and a spectacular view of the clouds they lived amongst. On clear days, she could sometimes see down to the surface, an ever-changing sight as the Order’s hovering city was constantly moving. Today, they were hovering over a beautiful blue ocean.

I don’t wanna leave, she thought bitterly. I don’t wanna go back to the surface and hafta deal with my dumb brother!

Shina did not like speaking with either Elven or Human formality, but when addressing her Mistress, she always spoke in complete and Human-formal sentences. Seeing her friend Kellar approach from behind, she dropped her mask of professionalism and let out a delighted gasp.

“Kellar, you’re back from the hunt early!” she said with cheer. “What’cha doing?”

“Hey, Shina,” he said. The tall Human boy was muscular, with two golden rings symbolizing the passing of his twelfth birthday, a long-going tradition of his Drashian culture. He was strong, but around Shina he was always gentle. He had dark brown hair, short trimmed and always kept neat and combed. He was wearing a black robe, and his dreamy blue eyes made her heart warm.

Do Humans like Elven girls? Shina wondered. She had a secret crush on the boy, but was petrified to say anything to him. For one, he was among the most powerful Mages in their age group, immensely popular around the Order. Secondly, Shina knew she had no chance with such a cool, gorgeous hunk, even if he did like Elven girls. After all, with his level of popularity, he could have any girl in the Order. Why would he be interested in boring old Shina?

“Did you capture the Dwarves?” Shina asked, trying to keep her voice smooth and even.

“Yep, you bet,” Kellar said. “They tried to run, but I stopped them in their tracks.” Kellar was amazing. Only twelve years of age, and already he was sent on solo missions, capturing new Mages all on his own.

“I hear you’re going after two more. This is your first hunt, right? I’m proud of you, Shina.”

He just said he’s proud of me! She thought with an anxious jolt in her stomach.

Shina was so happy, that she didn’t even realize the lightning crackling from her legs and feet. Everyone knew she got “sparky” when she was being emotional, and she looked on with embarrassment as Kellar took notice. Some people blushed—Shina merely sent a million volts in every direction.

“Something bothering you?” he asked.

“I-it’s nothing!” she shot back.

“Well, I’ve got some good news, Shina. I’m coming with you and Mistress Orellia. She told me she couldn’t find anyone else to be your third, and I like getting out. We’ll have fun!”

Shina wondered how it was possible for a boy to have such dreamy eyes, but she shook the thought from her head. She realized she was only a moment from drooling, and then she’d really look like a fool in front of her friend.

I get to be on a hunt with Kellar! She thought.

The happiness didn’t last; she remembered who it was they were hunting. A dark look crossed her face.

Sehn is going to embarrass the hell out of me! I can’t let the two meet. That will kill me inside.

“Are you sure you want to go? I mean, you just came back from a hunt. Maybe you should rest a bit, ya know?”

“Hmm?” Kellar said. “Do you not want me to come along, Shina?”

Gyah! Shina screamed in her mind. I totally just made it look bad for myself.

“Of course I want you to go!”

“Well, then you better get packing. We’re leaving in an hour.”

Shina gulped, and worked up all the courage she could muster. “Do you think…we should ride on the same gryphon? I only ask because I know yours is too tired to make another journey, and I think mine would be better than having to get used to a strange animal.”

Shina had to struggle for everything she was worth not send out a billion jolts while she waited for his reply. Luckily, he answered in an instant. “Sounds cool, I’m off to pack. See ya!”

Shina almost feinted. She’d be riding on the same gryphon as Kellar!

Sehn, she thought with a dark anger. You better not embarrass me.

*****

“How the fuck did this happen?” Sehn shouted, hanging upside down with his foot stuck in the bark of a tree.

“You did this to yourself,” Saerina answered. “You got angry when Nero said that possums are the best at hanging upside down from trees, and you once again made yourself look like a fool.”

“Fuck possums!” Sehn yelled. “They’re the ones that had the nerve to challenge Sehn to a tree-hanging war!”

Patrick rode up alongside Saerina, and yelled at Sehn. “Dammit Sehn, why is it every time I travel with you, you always end up getting into fights with the wilderness? Just for once, I’d like to go through a forest without you ending up hanging upside down from a tree!”

Sehn grumbled to himself, and ignored the foolish peasants. He knew he’d beaten those stupid Possums. They’d go and tell their stupid Possum friends what happens when you challenge the Great Sehn!