The Aftermath of Mount Woe
by Nanaki
Rating: T

***

Note: If you haven't read "The Origin of Mount Woe", please seriously considering doing so as that story is the prequel to this one.

The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 20
Another New Source

12,010 B.C.

"What we must do now," Zeal announced, "is find a new power source."

"With all due respect, your majesty, that's a lot easier said than done." One of the old advisors pointed out.

"Under normal means, yes." Zeal frowned. "But nothing that's been going on lately falls into the normal category. If that Weapon doesn't want us to use the planet's energy, she should be more than happy to help us find something else. Schala's unusual abilities will also help in the search."

"So we're really going to raise the island again?" Gaspar asked from his stretcher.

"Of course! You don't want Vigo's sacrifice to be in vain, do you?" Since Zeal looked like she would try to vaporize anyone who said yes, everyone kept their mouths shut.

.

A while later, Zeal blew a stray strand of hair out of her face as she left the council room. Karak was sitting in the hall, looking exceedingly bored. "You're still here?" She asked, surprised.

"Yeah. I figured you guys still needed help. What do you want us to do?"

"Nothing. We can handle it."

"To proud to ask for help, huh?" Karak looked like he had expected this. "You stuck up... Never mind. I guess I'll be taking my leave then." He turned to leave.

"Wait!" Karak turned back around. "Don't go yet!" Zeal pleaded. Karak looked surprised now. Zeal quickly put an angry expression on her face. "You didn't really come up here because you thought we needed help."

"I didn't?" Karak looked confused.

"No. Deep down, you came up here because you thought this would PROVE you were better than Vigo!"

"What are you getting so angry about?" Karak backed away as she stepped menacingly forward. "Besides, I thought you never showed your emotions anyway."

"Shut up!" Zeal reached back as far as she could, and slapped him in the face. His head didn't move an inch, but she didn't seem to notice. "I only show emotions to people I care about!"

"What the hell? You're showing 'em right now!"

"I told you to shut up! That's a royal order!"

"In case you've forgotten, I'm royalty too, your high and mightiness."

Zeal growled in frustration. "You haven't changed a bit since you were twelve!"

A slightly understanding look came into his face. "Are you still mad about... that?"

"Of course! You never apologized. Until then, I looked up to you, because you were a good leader. Then that one day, when I was walking by, you told some inane joke, and then made fun of me because I didn't laugh at it. Then you got this weird look on your face when I didn't get mad at you. Vigo started yelling something at you, but I left..."

"I was twelve! Gimme a break!" But she wasn't listening anymore.

"Vigo..." Then she looked up at him, but seemed to stare through him at the same time. "He shouldn't be dead yet!!" She screamed, then burst into tears. She launched herself into him, pounding the armor on his chest, and they both collapsed to the floor. "This is all your fault!"

"My fault?! How? I am sorry he's dead. But... Zeal..." She finally ceased her bombardment, looking up at him strangely through disheveled hair, tears streaming down her face. "You got your revenge. The Weapons are dead, except for one, and she's helping us!"

Zeal turned around and sat back against the wall next to him. "Then why don't I feel better?"

.

"Ready to begin Schala?" Violen asked softly. The young girl nodded. "Okay. You're going to be the focus point of this search. My powers will be augmenting yours, but you'll be in control." Without further ado, they both closed their eyes. Schala felt herself leaving her body, and traveling down into the ground. Somehow, probably through Violen's power, she felt like she knew the territory well. She reached everywhere, looking for anything new.

All she found was the planet's energy. Lots and lots of it, streaming everywhere. It almost flooded her senses, there was so much. Schala wanted to scream. 'There's a ton of this stuff! More than anyone could ever use! What was the problem?'

'More than any one could use yes.' Violen replied. Schala gulped as she realized that of course her thoughts would be open in here, wherever "here" actually was. 'But many people using this could drain it quickly. That is why I cannot allow your people any more access to it.'

'Sure thing.' Schala said nervously. Watching what you said out loud was one thing. Watching what you automatically thought was much harder. She resumed her search of the underground. As she went deeper, she discovered a lot of heat. But you couldn't float something on hot air. At least, not a huge mountain.

Then, in the midst of the heat, an aberration. Small compared to everything, but upon closer investigation, it clearly had a huge energy signature unlike anything she had ever experienced. Looking even closer, Schala saw tons of magical energy on every wavelength, and some magic she hadn't seen before. There was a tremendous amount of energy emanating from this thing, but the most surprising part was -

"Its alive?" Schala asked out loud, her eyelids jerking open roughly.

"Oh. That... thing." Violen said distastefully. "I wouldn't recommend using it."

"Fine for you to say." Schala said crossly. "But right now, its all we got!" Schala got up and ran out the door.

.

Zeal looked up as the outer door burst open. She quickly shrugged off Karak's supporting arm, and tried to wipe her face off. She was relieved to see that it was only Schala. "Well? Any luck?"

A grin broke over Schala's face. "Yes! We found something good, and it wasn't hard to find!"

'Actually,' she realized, 'it was almost too easy to find.' But Schala kept the grin on her face.

.

"Zeal's advances stem from a new energy source. It's power surpasses that of the elements."  - Anonymous

The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 21

The Beginning Of The End

12,010 B.C.

"No, no, no!" Schala scolded. "Dreamstone here! Steel there!" She pointed. Once again, Schala found herself forced to supervise the construction of an energy gathering machine. Unfortunately, this one was not as efficient as the last. Schala guessed that it would need three mages to monitor it constantly while in operation. The way Melchior, Gaspar, and Belthasar were bumbling around, she was considering asking Zeal to make them the keepers. Only Melchior seemed to have any clue of what he was doing. She was also slightly crabby because tomorrow was her eighth birthday, but there was too much work to be done for anyone to take notice of her.

Zeal's plans for reraising Enhasa were on a much larger scale than anyone would have guessed. She had confided to Schala that she hoped to raise the entire central continent, and fill it up with other cities besides Enhasa. Schala had wanted to ask how she planned to do all this without Vigo, but she decided to wait until she saw for herself what kind of power this new energy provided. The reconstruction on Enhasa was well underway, and everyone who was going to recover had, except for Mune and Doreen. Masa was guessing that it took his kind a lot longer to heal than the residents of this planet. Mune and Doreen had been hurt pretty severely when Jade sliced their ship anyway.

It was pretty hard to keep track of what was going on. There was always a feeling of chaos right now. The city was so beat up, it was hard to tell where the ruins ended and the torn up ground began. Earthbound ones flowed freely up and down the sides of the plateau. Their children played on what parts of Serges' armor Dalton hadn't carted away, while their parents alternated between cowering in awe of the Enlightened ones, or yelling at people they used to know for leaving them on the ground for so long. And of course, the Nus were everywhere. They stayed out from underfoot mostly, but one would tumble out of a cupboard every once in a while, scolding whoever had woken it up. Through it all, Schala was slightly peeved that she had to be responsible and fairly in charge, while all the children, including the Nu children, were free from any and all responsibility until things got back to normal. The earthbound ones were hoping that they would get to rise with the new kingdom, but that was undecided right now.

Melchior wiped his brow. "Schala, it looks like we're going to need a few more Dreamstone pipes, as well as some compressed Dreamstone to use as inhibitors."

"Um... Okay, I'll just tell that to your underlings." Schala ran out of Melchior's workshop, heading for what was left of the storage area. As she was running out the door, she bumped into someone larger than her, and was knocked back onto the ground. "Hey! Watch it!"

"It was your own fault." A neutral voice replied. Squinting against the sun, Schala saw a boy about eight or nine years old. He looked down at the ground, surprised, then picked something up. "Here, you dropped this." He handed her the half melted Dreamstone pendant.

"Thanks, I guess." The boy turned and began to walk away. Schala slowly stood up. "Hey, wait! I haven't seen you around before. What's your name?"

He turned back reluctantly, as if he disliked interacting with other people. "Greven." Then he smiled slightly, as if he had just realized who she was. "Remember it." As he turned around a half destroyed corner, he turned back one last time. In the instant before he turned the corner, Schala saw a purple glint in his eyes.

"Holy!..." She started, giving several meanings to the word. So she hadn't imagined that second purple blast. "Hmm... I'll remember you all right, Greven." She considered running after him, but instead resumed running to the store room.

.

"And then three of those older boys said that Vigo was only going to rule because his father was the king, not because he was able to lead. Then Vigo cast one simple spell, and they all fell to the ground crying. One of 'em said that he could only win in a magic contest, so he teleported them all three miles from the cave entrance and challenged them to race back. He beat them all by a long shot."

Zeal laughed. "That sounds like him. He was always ready to prove himself. Never accepting help, even when he needed it..."

"Now don't be getting all teary eyed again." Karak said, concerned. "You loved him a lot, I know, but you've got to get on with your life. You've got a kingdom to rule now."

"You're right, but that doesn't stop me from missing him."

"Everyone misses him!" Karak said. "Even me. He was my best friend until the earthquake, and I guess he really did have an excuse then. From the people I've talked to, it looks like you and Schala really would have died if he hadn't stayed up here."

"That was a hellish day." Zeal said distastefully. "It took an awful lot for another day to replace that as the worst of my life."

"Even though you got Schala out of the deal?"

"Yes. No child is worth the trouble of childbirth. I imagine ordinary women have it bad enough. Do you have any idea how painful it is to squeeze something the size of a watermelon through an opening the size of a lemon? Now, give that watermelon immense magical powers, and you've got a recipe for disaster."

Karak started to laugh until he saw that Zeal hadn't intended to be funny. "I never looked at it in quite that light." He said, wiping a smirk off his face. "Our "earthbound" women seem to pop out new children all the time. I can hardly keep track of them all."

"Well start looking at it in that light. There may be some hope for you yet." Karak nodded and got up.

"So when are you planning to reraise this hunk of rock?"

"As soon as possible. In fact, we're having a meeting to discuss that in just a few minutes."

"Hmm. So how long am I supposed to stick around here anyway?"

"I... uh..." Zeal seemed to be making a difficult decision, although Karak had thought it was a pretty simple question. "Indefinitely." She finally smiled. "I may need you for some things." She left Karak with that puzzling remark as she strolled down the hall.

.

"Okay people, here are your orders!" Zeal glared imperiously at the advisors. "Melchior, I want you to take your construction crews and build two cities on the central continent. One should be similar to Enhasa, while the other will be a large fortress. Make them big enough to hold at least five times what our population was before the Weapon attack. After you're through with that, chain what's left of our old mountain to the ground. There's not room for two floating mountains in the sky. Belthasar, a while ago, you talked to Vigo about building a large flying machine. Do it. Gaspar, you will try to get these darn Nus out from underfoot, and carefully monitor who Spekkio gives magic to. We're not going to be holding some planetary free for all up there. Some of the Explorers should be looking for some small islands we can attach to the current Enhasa island while this is going on. Meanwhile, Schala and I will be trying to find out just exactly how we're going to do this. Now, are there any questions?" Nearly every hand in the room shot straight into the air. "Good. There should be. Now keep them to yourself and obey my orders! I know what I'm doing here. Needless to say, I want this all done as fast as possible."

As Zeal turned and left the room, she wondered if it had been wise to just order everyone around like that. But if she hadn't there would have been days of discussion about whether or not this was the right thing to do. This way, they would be skyward again in the least possible time. As she walked back down the hall, she wondered what she was going to name this new kingdom.

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"After the king died, the queen nurtured magic, which has advanced the kingdom." - Anonymous

The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 22

Civil Unrest

12,009 B.C.

In the predawn stillness, two figures traversed the still-snowy landscape of the central continent. Their journey had taken weeks, but now the end was in sight. As they cleared an overhang on the mountainside, their target came into view. The newly completed Zeal Palace, as it had been nicknamed, was totally unguarded. The figure in front, who had a backpack mostly full of gunpowder, began to run forward, with the other following a second later.

They were soon in the shadow of the building itself. "Okay, start unloading." The first figure took off his backpack. The second nodded, and rummaged in his own pack for a tinder box. The first man opened his pack and began scattering the powder around the base of the wall.

"I can't believe we finally made it!" The second figure exclaimed. "After all these months, the Enlightened ones are finally going to get what they deserve!" The first man simply nodded from where he was pouring the powder.

"That's about all I've got, it's a pity we couldn't bring more."

"We had to eat something on the way here. But this will be worth it. Without this palace, the Enlightened ones will stay firmly on the ground."

"So, do you have the bomb?"

"Right here!" The second man gleefully drew out a silver ball about eight inches in diameter.

"It looks awfully small..."

"Greven said he pilfered it straight from Melchior's workshop. As much as I detest Melchior's politics right now, you have to admit the guy knows what he's doing. Greven said the notes indicated that this little thing can cause as much damage as a conventional bomb weighing over three tons."

"Let's set it up then." The two began digging under the wall, pausing every once in a while to look for sentries. They completed their work in a short time, and placed the bomb in the hole. The first man made one last trail of gunpowder going in, and then they both backed away. "Got the box ready? Okay, light it."

The second man produced a small flame and dropped it on the trail of gunpowder. The flame raced toward the bomb as they ran away. Eventually, they dived behind some scraggly shrubs, then turned to look. As the flame raced into the bomb's hole, a giant orange explosion started. Pieces of the wall flew away, but the explosion itself did not. As the men stared in dismay, the explosion turned blue, then abruptly reversed, becoming an implosion. It shrank back into the hole, causing no further damage. When they could see clearly, it was apparent that only a small portion of one wall had been destroyed. "No! They must have had some sort of magical shield on it!"

"Either that, or our double agent really isn't." Just then, there was a faint whirring noise. Whirling around, the two men saw Karak standing behind them.

"No, but your man, whoever he is, didn't know that Melchior designed these things to implode instead of explode if they were accidentaly detonated inside any Enhasan city."

"Well if it isn't our ex-leader." The first man sneered, ignoring Karak's comment.

"What do you mean? I still am your leader!" He shouted.

"That's a laugh and a half!" The second man shouted back. "You used to be, but now you're just Zeal's new boy toy!"

"You don't understand at all." Karak shook his head. "I have the chance to become the king of both our worlds! You may have just ruined that chance! Zeal's not going to be happy about this..." He trailed off, surveying the light damage.

"Screw off! We failed anyway." The first man said. They both turned to leave.

"Hold on a minute! Just where do you think you're going?"

"We're out of here! Just go running back to Zeal and tell her that a minor incident occurred. That's all this is going to amount to in the long run."

"Not in her eyes." The two men stared in amazement as Karak drew his sword. "By even attempting this, you two have signed your own death warrant."

"But sir!" The first man said, much more respectful now. "You wouldn't just cut down two of your own men, would you?"

"My men?" It was Karak's turn to sneer now. "Didn't you just say I was your EX-leader?" With that, Karak threw his sword. The blade went clear through the second man. With a slight gesture, the sword pulled out and returned to Karak's hand, blood and slivers of broken bone oozing off of it. The first man looked rapidly back and forth between Karak and his fallen comrade.

"Why are you doing this? You always said you hated Zeal!"

"Its not Zeal." Karak said grimly. "Its this new energy source she's discovered. There will be no Earthbound ones if we rebel. Nothing can stand against the power of Lavos, that is why I have to be on their side!" With that, Karak rushed forward, disembowling his former subject. The hapless man sank to his knees, holding his own intestines in his hands. Karak quickly struck his head off. Next, Karak cleaned off his sword in the snow, then summoned a meteor to incinerate the bodies. Karak sighed, then prepared his mind for a mental message. 'Attention all construction teams, there has been an unprovoked attack by the Earthbound ones-'

.

"-on the undefended Zeal palace?!!" Zeal roared from her throne room in Enhasa. Her hands shook with rage as she shouted, "Messengers! Deliver this announcement to everyone!" The messengers nearby snapped to attention and saluted. "The Earthbound ones are hereby forbidden to enter Enhasa or any Enhasan city. All Enlightened ones living or visiting in Algetty are ordered back to Enhasa immediately. Spekkio is forbidden to give magic to anyone else. And finally, no people without magic will be allowed to rise with the new islands!"

One of the messengers stepped forward. "Your majesty, pardon me for saying so, but I beseech you to reconsider making such a rash decision."

Zeal tensed. "First of all, I will not pardon your saying so! And second-" A bolt of lightning energy flew from her fingertips, slamming the messenger into the far wall, where he lay, breathing shallowly. The other messengers hurried away to spread the news, and to get away from their suddenly hot-tempered queen. Zeal suddenly didn't feel well. Holding her head in her hands, she wondered what was happening to make her feel this way.

.

As the three volunteer mages lowered their concentration, the noise coming from the strange machine slowly whirred to a stop. Schala removed her protective goggles. "Another successful test run. This machine has functioned exactly as designed every time."

Melchior nodded. "I had my doubts at first, but now I'm sure that this machine will be able to provide all of our energy needs. Its a pity that we need three people to constantly maintain such rigid control over it."

One of the volunteers wiped his brow. "Yes sir. But if everyone in the kingdom takes a turn, it shouldn't be too draining on any one person."

"Ah, well you would know, having tested it. But how do you feel right now?"

"Very tired sir. This may be draining on everyone in the long run... I don't know. But right now, its looking pretty good."

"Very well then. We will immediately report to Queen Zeal that this machine is ready to operate. We will move it to where the Sun stone and the planet energy gatherer were being kept." Everyone nodded. "Now then, I suggest we all retire for a well deserved rest."

* * *

Violen: Oh no. It can't be...

Lavos: "Grumble" "Snort!"

Violen: What's disturbing him?

Lavos: "Skreeeeeeeeeee..."

Violen: His meditation levels are rising...

Lavos: "Snorf?"

Violen: He senses me? No, its something up above, on the surface.

Lavos: "Snorf!" "Kraah!"

Violen: 18, 17, 16... He's waking up fast!

Lavos: "Raaaaaaagh..."

Violen: 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10... No, he's almost conscious!

Lavos: Eeeeeeeeeeeee...

Violen: No! Back to sleep!

Lavos:Bluuuuuuuaauauaughahauauaughghauauauhahahaaughguagbluaaaaaaaaaaauauaughughahhahaaughahahahaughahhuaghaughiscrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeaughaughhahahahaaughskreeawwwwwwwwwwhahahahahablurururururuurbleooooooooooskreeeeeeeoooooooooooo...

Violen: That was too close. Way too close. I wish Serges was here...

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"There will come a time when the voices of soil and seedling will sing only laments" - Oracle en-Vec

The Aftermath of Mount Woe Chapter 23

Reascension

12,009 B.C.

"Everything is in order then? Good. Tell Melchior to begin the warm up phase." Zeal said curtly. The messenger nodded an ran out of the room. Zeal had been feeling better lately, and had apologized to the messenger she waylaid earlier. He was keeping his distance from her though. She had not retracted her harsh order, because that would send a sign to the populace that the ruler of the kingdom was not sure of herself. She could not have that going around. She had discovered that her flares of temper only occurred when the machine was activated. That was a very odd phenomenon, but until there was more evidence, she would assume it was just coincidence.

She ran through the checklist in her head. They would reraise Enhasa first, then attach the suitable land masses the Explorers had located to it, then proceed to raise the central continent. Of course, ocean levels all over the world would drop drastically, but that was just the price to be paid. Melchior's teams on the Mountain of Woe were having a little trouble with the Gaia that was still prowling around, but since it appeared to be dumb and sleepy, there had been no casualties so far. The final chains were almost in place. 'Good.' She thought. 'Once En- no, Mount Woe is firmly fixed to the ground, I can leave everything from my old life behind. There's plenty to do, and I've got to get on with it. I can't dwell on the past.' She made herself believe the tripe her public mind thought, but deep down, she knew she was trying to get rid of all reminders of Vigo because he would be spinning in his grave if he knew some of the things that were going on. Karak seemed to feel the weight of Vigo's lingering presence even moreso than she. She would be glad when she could get him out of Enhasa, and into one of the new cities.

"Your majesty!" A shout rang out. Spinning around, Zeal saw a black portal opening.

'This is new.' She thought, slightly amused.

Dalton materialized out of the portal, dragging a stone-faced boy behind him. "I've found the leak to the Enlightened ones!"

"You have?!" Zeal's face lit up. "This is excellent news. Where is the traitor?"

"Right here."

"You mean, this boy?"

"Yes. It turns out he was just about the first one Spekkio gave magic to. He is extremely loyal to the Earthbound ones, as none of his family are Enlightened."

Zeal frowned. "No family here? There's no guiding force, to teach him how to use his powers?"

"Your majesty, I would respectfully suggest that you put an end to his miserable life as soon as possible. He can only bring you trouble in the long run."

"Excuse me!" The boy shouted. "Don't I have any say in this?"

"Hold your tongue before the queen!" Dalton shouted, dealing the boy a blow that sent him sprawling.

'What's gotten into Dalton?' Zeal wondered. 'As I recall, he was never horribly obedient to Vigo.' "Hold Dalton!" She said out loud. "Let him speak."

"Thank you." The boy said simply, pointedly not adding "your majesty" to his sentence. "My name is Greven Vecar. I was born in New Allegan, and have resided in Algetty most of my life. I see no reason to live up here. I did not request these powers, nor do I deserve them. The reason I helped my fellow Earthbound ones with the bombing plans was because I, like them, was greatly concerned about rumors that the Earthbound ones would not get to rise with the new kingdom. Rumors that have since been proven true."

Zeal frowned. "Damn. There's reason in his argument."

"You're not going to kill him?" Dalton whined.

Suddenly, a red light flashed in Zeal's eyes. Even though she was sure there was no background noise in the room, she heard a low whirring noise start up. "I didn't say that." She snapped angrily.

Greven, sensing that his well phrased, overly respectful, and somewhat convincing argument hadn't worked, gave up all hope of getting away. "Oh, you can both go to hell. Ever since King Vigo died, the whole world has been going straight down the crapper. Go ahead and kill me then, it makes no difference in the long run."

"How dare you speak of Vigo?!" Zeal roared. "Dalton, you're getting your wish!" Zeal's hands began to take on a red glow, and Dalton grinned sadistically. Greven made no attempt to defend himself. Just as Zeal was ready to unleash her spell, Schala appeared at the door.

"Stop!" Dalton was unsure of what to do for the moment, which probably saved Greven's life. It was too late for Zeal to stop the spell, so instinctively, Schala reached into her robes and threw something forward to stop it. The object turned out to be the pendant. It absorbed all of the power in the blast, and clattered to the floor, full of energy. They all stared transfixed, as the energy seeped outward along the chain, rebuilding the melted parts as it went. When the odd reaction was through, the pendant was whole again, and glowed a dull red.

"Schala, you really shouldn't have interrupted..." Zeal began. "Anyway, what did you come to tell me?"

"The machine is all ready to go. There's no reason why we can't begin now."

A grin spread across Zeal's face. "Well then, let's get skyward! Come along Dalton." Zeal got off of her throne and walked over to where Dalton's portal had appeared. He quickly followed and activated it, and they both vanished into the darkness.

"That's it?!" Greven screamed. "After they were about to kill me, they just drop it and leave?"

"I guess so." Schala said, gazing into the fiery heart of the pendant. "But if I were you, I'd try to keep out of her sight as much as possible."

"Well, thanks for saving me." Suddenly, the ground rumbled beneath their feet. "Whoah! What does that mean?"

"It means..." Schala began to smile, "..we're movin' on up!" Greven frowned. "Listen. I've got to go. I would suggest that you find a good place to hide for a few years." Greven nodded and ran out of the room. Schala sighed and teleported herself away.

.

As Schala appeared in the room, the three control mages and Zeal were already concentrating deeply. Gaspar was staring at the odd glow. "Hmm... This energy flux is unlike anything I have ever seen."

"Isn't it supposed to be?" Schala was slightly puzzled.

"Shh! Let them concentrate!" Melchior said. Gaspar and Schala obediently quieted down. With a final rumble, the plateau lifted clear of the ground, and rushed back up into the sky. "You just can't keep a good kingdom down." Melchior grinned. Schala giggled.

"Why was that funny?" Gaspar scratched his head. Schala just shook her head at him.

Now that they were rising throught the cloud layer, cold winds blew through the chamber. Zeal and the three mages were impervious to this. Despite the freezing wind, Schala could feel none of... that kind of wind that made her bone marrow want to freeze and shatter. She relaxed a little, letting herself enjoy the ride up.

This time, the journey passed without incident. Once they reached a sufficient altitude, their ascent slowed to a stop. Schala looked out the windows and breathed deeply, immediately readjusting to the surroundings she had known all her life. Zeal seemed to come out of her trance. "Belthasar?" She questioned the empty air.

"He's still working on the... uh... the "Blackbird," I believe he called it." Melchior said.

"Drat! Oh well, its really just a minor inconvenience." Zeal resumed her concentration.

"Mother, what are you doing? Aren't we done?" Schala began to get worried.

"Oh no Schala, far from it!" Zeal grinned, then resumed her concentration.

Schala didn't want to be in the room anymore, so she turned and ran outside. She smiled a little as she heard Gaspar exclaim, "can't keep a good kingdom down! I get it! That's hilarious!" But then her blood froze as she leaned over the edge of the plateau, trying to get a look at the land below through the clouds. Instead, land was rising up toward her. Many small islands, dripping with seawater, rose up to their level and hovered near the plateau. Suddenly, they seemed to break apart and reform, their shape altering perfectly to match the sides of Enhasa. Then, with a tooth rattling shudder, the fused to Enhasa, drastically increasing the size of the island. Schala felt a different wind begin to blow. Shouts came from the direction of the machine.

"No, your majesty! It isn't time yet! We're not ready! The control mages..." As the voices drifted off, Schala heard a huge cracking sound. It must surely have been audible all over the planet, it was so deep and intense. The wind she had been feeling went up from a breeze to a roaring gale, screaming in her ears. The cracking sound grew louder and louder, until with one deafening roar, it ended. Then came the sound of rushing water, impossibly loud. Schala really wished she could see below the cloud level. Then there was silence. A few minutes later, a gleaming new fortress came into view, dragging a mountain behind it. The black wind, which had just been a breeze before, was screaming now, threatening to freeze her soul and shatter it into a million pieces. Soon the mountain, which was even larger than Enhasa had been, flattened out into a large plain. Another gleaming structure had been built down below, but Schala could barely make out the details, it was so close to the horizon. As the land mass drew closer to their location, she lost sight of it all together. Nearer to her, she could see an odd lump that had to be the Blackbird. She was sure that, if she could see their faces, the workers would look very scared and angry.

"Sweet mother of all that is good and pure." She finally whispered. The black wind subsided from a scream to a dull roar. It rose in pitch slightly as another island appeared to the north of Enhasa. She was surprised to see a blue pyramidal structure in the middle of it. Schala guessed that the central continent's other main island was rising on the west side, but she couldn't see it from here. Suddenly, a large shape smashed down onto the Enhasa island from out of nowhere, and Karak materialized at the same time.

"What's going on?!" Violen demanded. "The planet is screaming bloody murder down there!" She turned her gaze outward, taking in the awesome sight. Violen tightened her fist. "Technically, I guess you didn't use any energy, but that hurt a lot!" Schala took a precautionary step backward, surprised by Violen's anger. Karak ignored the Weapon.

"Zeal did all of this by herself?" He asked eagerly. Now Schala looked at him funny.

"Yes, with that new energy source we discovered." Schala frowned. Then she said to herself, 'Yes, that was way, waaaaaaaay too easy. A feat like this should have taken four mages as powerful as dad, with a Sun stone for each one! We're not getting this energy for free... I just wonder what the price is going to be, when the time comes.'

"What power!" Karak exclaimed, a hungry look in his eyes. Schala immediately put him on her mental beware/dislike list. "The power of Lavos is unbelievable!" Then he ran off to the room where Zeal was still standing.

"Lavos?" Schala wondered out loud.

"An old word meaning "great fire." Violen explained offhand. "This is really not good. Tearing a gash in the planet like this... and you do realize, if anything ever happens to all three of those control mages at once, everything here will drop like a stone. And if something this big falls on land, it will destroy all life on the planet. I should force you to land right now."

"We'll keep over the deep ocean." Schala said, sensing a need to prevent a conflict right now. She saw Zeal was stepping out into the sunlight.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you have just witnessed the birth of the greatest civilization in the history of mankind! With this new power, no petty rivals, no monsters, no Weapons-" Violen snorted involuntarily, "-can stand in our way! We have discovered the ultimate energy source, as you can all see! I give you all..." Zeal paused for dramatic effect, "the Kingdom of Zeal!! Now, we are immediately moving this equipment to the Zeal Palace. Be ready for teleportation in five minutes." There were disturbed murmurs pretty much all around, before cheers rang out. Through the throng of people now surrounding her, Schala saw Karak run up, hug Zeal, and kiss her on the cheek. She felt a burning hatred rise up in her heart, towards both of them.

"Such arrogance..." Violen hissed.

Schala's rage dissipated as suddenly as it had begun. "Its funny. Even though this is exactly what Dad would have wanted, I feel like she's forgotten what he died for." Violen just nodded in agreement. Schala stared at her toes. "Well then, I guess I'll gather my things, and prepare for our move to the Zeal Palace."

.

"Those who fail to learn the lessons of history, are doomed to repeat it." - A lot of wise people

The Aftermath of Mount Woe Chapter 24

A Critical Decision

By Nanaki

12,006 B.C.

"Your majesty, are you all right?" A servant nervously banged on the door to the royal bedroom.

"I'm fine. I just wish to sleep in a little longer." Zeal replied through a strained voice.

"But, the sun is already high in the sky."

"Leave me alone!" Zeal ordered imperiously. Actually, she had failed to rise yet because she felt that, if she did, last night's dinner would end up on the floor. Zeal hadn't felt this sick in a long time. In fact, she hadn't felt sick at all since they had discovered Lavos. 'What can be the problem?' She wondered to herself for the millionth time. Feeling frustrated, she slammed her fist down on the sheets. The action tipped her forward slightly, and she found herself being sick over the edge of the bed. "Damn." She said out loud. "What can be going on here?" 'It almost feels like not all of my body is... my... own. No, that's impossible.' She tried to reassure herself. 'Its just odd being sick again after all this time.'

However, she was not so sure when she felt all right just fifteen minutes later. In fact, she felt as fit as when she- "Oh god, I'm sorry Vigo." She covered her face with her hands. Getting out of bed, she immediately vaporized the mess on the floor with a small fire spell. No point in letting the maids see that. Slipping into her clothes, she leaned out the door. Instantly, a servant sprang to attention. "Please cancel all my previously scheduled meetings for the day." The servant nodded and ran off. Zeal sighed weakly and stepped out the door. Despite the fact that she wasn't even sure of it herself, she had to go warn the father.

.

"You're pregnant?!" Karak asked incredulously. "No way! Its not possible! Well, okay, it is, but it just seems impossible that we..."

"I know, I know." Zeal felt a headache coming on. "I can't believe it either. I mean, Schala's old enough to get pregnant, for God's sake! But the morning sickness doesn't lie."

Karak smiled. "Wow. Now we can finally have an excuse to get married! The people won't object when they hear this. They're not going to hold me in too high esteem, I know, but..."

Zeal managed to set up a light smile on her face too, even though she was far from happy. "Maybe."

"Maybe?" Karak looked dismayed for a second, but then his smile came back. "Oh well, even if you still won't get married again, now there's some gossip fuel for the maids, I'll finally have a kid of my own! I was starting to think it would never happen. None of the Earthbound women ever stayed with me for long enough, I don't know why-"

"Its 'cause you're too damn rough sometimes." Zeal mumbled.

"Huh?" Karak looked back at her.

"Nothing, nothing." She sighed. "Karak, to be perfectly frank, I don't know if I want to have this kid."

"What?" He gulped. "Oh, come on now! You can't assume it'll be like-"

"Don't you remember what I told you three years ago? No child is worth..."

"..the trouble of childbirth. I know what you said. But I didn't think you would just... abort."

"For you, I'll consider it." She frowned. "But don't set your hopes too high." Seeing the ashen look on his face, she stepped forward and embraced him.

'Yes!' He thought. 'She's weakening! I never expected her to give in so easily. My chance to attain the throne of Zeal kingdom is in sight!'

Zeal pulled back immediately. "What the hell was that?"

Karak jumped back apprehensively. "What?" Zeal clearly heard him think, 'No one ever told me she was telepathic!'

"So that's all you were thinking this whole time? First you would try to get me to fall in love with you, and if that didn't work, you would knock me up and see what happened?!"

"No, no! Of course not! You were all that I ever thought about!" 'Oh no, she's on to me!'

Zeal's face contorted in rage. "If you're going to succeed in lying to me outright, I would suggest that you stop broadcasting your thoughts so clearly!"

"Zeal, you've gotta believe me!" 'How the hell am I gonna get out of this?'

"All this time, all you cared about was power." She said in an icy voice. "Well, I'll show you power!" Zeal's right hand took on a red glow.

"Zeal, what are you doing?! You can't be serious!"

"I'm finishing the job Vigo started twelve years ago!" She shouted. An extremely sharp icicle flew forward, impaling Karak in a manner similar to when he had killed the two Earthbound men. It immediately burst into flame once inside him. From there, lightning coursed through his body, and finally a wave of Shadow energy washed over him. As he collapsed to the ground, a black portal opened behind him, sucking what was left inside.

Zeal was surprised to find a tear in her eye. 'That does it, no one is ever getting close to me again. I've only let it happen twice. Once, it was worth it. Once, it wasn't. In both cases, they died and left me to raise a kid by myself.' "Damn you both!!" Zeal screamed to the air. 'I don't want another kid! I would rather die right now than...' Zeal looked at her hands, where a few wisps of energy still danced between her fingers. 'Die right now...'

She immediately placed her hands on her midsection, and began to concentrate again. A low hum filled the hall, and her hands pulsed with a red light. Suddenly, her tightly squeezed eyes jerked open again. "That's the first time I've ever killed someone!" She gasped. As she sank to the floor, the huge blast of energy she had been preparing ripped into and through the outer wall, shooting out into the sky. The gold gleam of that section of wall shifted to a dull brown. "Except for Serges, but he doesn't count." She slowly stood again, looking out the hole. "But, bastard that he was, Karak did count." She looked down at her midsection. It was still flat now, but she could practically feel the bulge already. "I guess evil and sin doesn't die so easily. Well kid, whatever pain you put me through, I guess I deserve it, after that." Zeal took one last look out the hole, and walked away.

After turning a corner, Zeal nearly ran into Melchior. "Oh, I'm sorry your majesty. Have you seen Karak? I have some weapon designs I'd like to discuss with him."

Melchior was surprised at the odd look that came into Zeal's eyes. "No. I don't think I've truly seen him in a long time." Then, she continued down the hall.

Melchior scratched his head. As he walked around the corner, he was amazed to see a huge gap in the wall, and scorch marks on the ground. "What the hell? Sound the alert! Look for a possible intruder in the west wing! There's been a breach in the wall!" As the sound of many feet rushed to answer his call, he was pretty sure they wouldn't find anyone at all.

.

"I'll just tell the emperor I had to exterminate a traitor!" - Kefka

Nanaki: I'm pretty sure I'm going to get some e-mails about this one. I originally didn't plan to make the chapter quite this intense, but this is just the way it turned out. You'll notice the characters use more slang and profanity than normal when speaking, but this isn't the kind of subject where everyone says please and thank you. So if I've offended anyone (I'm looking at you, Dark Magus!) I apologize profusely. Now stay tuned for Chapter 25: A Meeting of Minds!

The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 25

A Meeting Of Minds

By Nanaki

12,002 B.C.

"...and that's how Vigo saved all of us here today from being destroyed by the Weapons." Schala smiled down at Janus, satisfied with her storytelling abilities. He seemed to think over the story for a few moments.

"But Dalton said that he didn't actually kill any of 'em except Shivan, and that Violen was the one who really killed Serges." Janus protested, unwilling to accept this new information without examining all sides of the story.

"Dalton is full of..." Schala trailed off. "That's technically correct, but without Vigo, we never would have stood any chance against them."

"As long as we're going with technical correctness, isn't it also true that Enhasa never would've been raised off the ground without him? And doesn't that mean the Weapons never would've been summoned?"

"Maybe..." Schala seemed to drift off. "Maybe. But then, I wouldn't be here to argue the point with you."

"Well, whatever anyone says, it sounds like he was pretty powerful. I would have liked to have met him." After a few more moments of silence, Janus burst out, "Wait! What do you mean you wouldn't be here to argue with me? I wouldn't be here either would I? I mean, no one is willing to tell me why, but they all assure me that I wouldn't be here without a father."

"Janus, Vigo wasn't your father." Immediately after she said it, Schala cringed for openly disobeying Zeal's orders.

"What?! But everyone says I'm of royal blood. Doesn't that automatically make Vigo my father?"

"You're of royal Zealian blood yes. As far as Alleganian blood goes, politically yes, but from actual bloodlines, no." Schala sighed at Janus' confused look. "Look, you weren't born until over four years after he died."

"What does that have to do with it?"

"Human gestation only takes..." Schala trailed off as she realized that Janus was a little too young for a lesson on this subject, nor was she the proper teacher. "Never mind. I wish you could have met him too."

"So why don't all of us ever go over to Enhasa?" Janus asked innocently.

Schala thought for a minute. "I really don't know."

"So why don't you go over there today, and see if there's any problem with all of us going?"

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why, are you afraid of what you'll find? Are you afraid you'll get in trouble? Or is it both?"

Schala sighed and smiled at the same time. For a four year old, Janus was amazingly insightful. "All right, I'll see what I can do. Now you better hurry down to the kitchens. They'll be done with lunch soon, and you haven't eaten a thing yet." Janus nodded and turned to leave. When he had reached the door, Schala noticed a large and unpleasant bruise on his right arm. "Well, well. How did you manage to acquire that?" She asked, pointing to the angry purple flesh.

"Oh that." Janus tried to dissemble, but the words wouldn't come. He decided to go with the truth. "Yesterday, some guys were standing around talking, and I heard one of 'em call you something that sounded like a "voluptuous vamp." I kicked him in the shin, and he punched me back before he saw who I was." Schala stifled a laugh. "What?"

"Oh Janus, I'm pretty sure that was a good thing!" 'That's the understatement of the year.' She thought to herself.

"Oh. So I should ask questions first, maul later?"

"Yes, you might want to consider doing that." She smiled, then guided him out the door.

.

Schala concentrated deeply, invoking the summon spell that Violen had taught her. In a flash of green and purple light, the Weapon appeared on the mountain, right below the gates to the Zeal Palace where Schala was standing. She rubbed her head tiredly. "It figures. As soon as you're asleep, the planet screams..." then she looked up, "..or you're summoned away by a spoiled young princess. What's the trouble Schala?"

"I need to go over to Enhasa. Trouble is, I don't know if they'll be too friendly, seeing as its been so long since we were there last. Also, the residents may have made some modifications, so I won't have a clear image to teleport to."

"Uh huh. And what's the real reason?"

"You're much more fun than teleporting." Schala smiled.

"Ack! Such arrogance! I come all the way up here only to find that I'm supposed to be your vehicle for the day. Very well. Let's get going." Violen made an odd gesture, and a fierce wind blew them straight off the mountain, on a direct course for Enhasa island.

"So how is Lavos keeping busy?" Schala asked, half joking, half serious.

"He's still deep asleep, thank goodness." Schala said no more, but just relaxed and enjoyed the ride.

A little over an hour later, Schala was slammed roughly into the ground at Enhasa. "Hey, watch it will you?!"

"Sorry." Violen said, not really paying attention. "I keep forgetting what delicate little creatures you humans are. So do you want me to go on ahead?"

"No. I think its better that I go on alone. I'll call you back if I need you for anything."

Violen groaned under her mock burden. "Oh, I'm sure you will." With that, she departed. Schala picked herself up, dusted the dirt off, and walked the short distance to the entrance. Once she was close enough to see inside, she observed that everyone seemed to be in a panic. People were running everywhere, putting books on shelves roughly, so that as soon as they turned around, the books flew right off again. Suddenly, there was a large crash, and a cloud of dust blocked her view. Out of all the chaos, a boy who looked to be about twelve emerged, smiling a crooked grin, and eyes sparkling with amusement and intelligence.

"Hello Miss Schala. I'm sorry for the dreadful mess, but when I told everyone I saw you coming, they kind of went ballistic... in a good way." He added, seeing her apprehensive expression. "I'm Ertai Vecar. Its an honor to meet you."

"Hello Ertai. What do you mean you saw me coming? And I didn't think meeting me would be that big a deal for everyone..." While inside she thought, 'This guy's cute, and smart. Too bad he's not a few years older.'

Ertai shrugged. "Well, Violen is kind of hard to miss, you know. I could see her coming when you were still miles away." Then, his voice switched tones slightly. "And if you really feel that way, you should meet my older brother." Schala's eyebrows arched upward in surprise. Ertai grinned and pointed to his temple. "I'm a telepath Schala. It comes with the territory." His mind continued on his train of thought. 'And coming from you, that was high praise indeed.'

Ertai rubbed his shin, as if it was paining him.

Schala was surprised again. "You wouldn't have happened to be in the Zeal Palace recently, would you?"

It was hard to glean anything from his lopsided grin. "Not to my recollection."

"So you don't know of anyone who visits the palace so infrequently my brother wouldn't know who he was and refers to me as a voluptuous vamp, do you?"

Ertai blushed. "Fine. If you must have the truth of it, I'm telekinetic too."

Schala ignored her princessly duties for the moment, and played the part of the teenager she was. Looking at the mess being created inside, she wondered, "How would I know your brother if I saw him?"

Erati resumed eye contact. "Well, look for someone who looks a lot like me, except he has a square chin, is pretty tall, and walks like he's had sex."

Schala laughed. "You can't fake that walk!"

Ertai grinned again. "Tell me about it. I tried once, but I just fell down." They both found this immensely funny, and erupted into laughter.

As Schala wiped the tears away she asked, "So has he really?"

"Oh yeah." Ertai got serious. "He goes down to the Earthbound village all the time. From what he says, there's not much else to do down there..." It was obvious from his expression that he wished he could go.

"So why is he down there so much? It isn't that big of an incentive, is it?"

"It would be for me." Ertai said seriously. Then he looked up, surprised. "Why? You never have?"

"No." 'There's no one worth it...'

"Well that makes me feel better."

"But really, there has to be another reason."

"Well, we were both born down there. The thing is, he was nine when we were trapped up here. I was only three or four, so I hardly remember home."

'Trapped up here. That's certainly a new way of looking at it.' "Doesn't he get in trouble for it? Or is he really good at teleporting away fast?"

"He can't teleport at all. He always has someone else send him down there. There's always a danger of being caught, so he has someone different send him each time. He always tries to stay down there permanently, but somebody who has to be hugely powerful always sends him back up. I guess they don't want him to get in trouble." An understanding look came to his face so fast Schala could almost see a lantern coming on in his head. "Say, it isn't you, is it?"

"Sorry." Schala shook her head. "I don't even know who he is. Its probably one of the Gurus."

Ertai smiled. "I can't believe that actually caught on."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm the one who started calling the old geezers "Gurus." I can't believe people are still using the names." Ertai peeked back at the entrance. "Hmm... Looks like the chaos is dying down. Do you want to go in?"

"Sure. I've been wondering what you people have done to my old room..." She was interrupted as a white beam of energy shot up beyond the edge of the island. It immediately arced back down and slammed into the roof of Enhasa. "What was that?"

A puzzled look crossed Ertai's face. "He's back. But... ..it seems his anonymous benefactor is none too pleased with him at the moment." Both were curious about this new development, so they hurried inside. Ertai gestured for Schala to go ahead of him, and two of his friends ran up behind him, whispering in hushed tones.

"Uh, Ertai?" Schala called. "There's nobody unusual here." Everyone in the vicinity was dressed in typical Zealian clothes.

"Oh, forgive my oversight." Ertai ran forward as his friends snickered behind him. "He prefers to inhabit the Guru of Reason's secret room. Half of the people here know about it, but your mother doesn't. I don't think you'll tell on us though."

"I've got no reason to." Schala shrugged, effecting indifference.

"All right then." Ertai rushed around, opening spellbooks seemingly at random. All of a sudden, one of the bookshelves slid away, revealing a gaping doorway. As Ertai ran up, Schala could see a dark figure inside. It wasn't due to poor lighting either. He was dressed all in black armor, and was much more tanned than most Enlightened ones. Particles of white energy were still streaming out of the armor, but he paid no attention. He was flipping through a book, turning the pages tenderly, as if his large arms would tear it to shreds if he was any rougher.

'I could be crushed by arms like those and not mind.' Schala couldn't help but smile. Another part of her seemed to scream, 'Whoah girl! When did I start thinking like that?' Schala was glad that Ertai had politely closed his receiving telepathic channels.

"Hey brother." Ertai called, with less enthusiasm than earlier, Schala noticed.

"Not exactly a good time Ertai." He called back, flipping pages faster. "I was finally able to resist the teleportation today- I have no idea how- but apparently they have more than one way to drag me from home."

"Why do you put up such a fight? You know you'll be able to go back the next day. Why don't you just submit to spending the night up here?"

An angry look crossed his face. "What makes you say that? You know I've never wanted anything to do with these people. Except for that one lapse, and I've been paying for it the rest of my life. You sound like you've been talking to- hello!" He stopped as he finally looked up and saw Schala. "Talking to the Zealian princess. That explains a lot."

"Well hello to you too." Schala said, her smile disappearing.

"Well 'scuse my bitterness, but I've got reasons. You probably have no idea who I am, do you?"

Schala gulped, sensing she was being put through a test. 'Okay, that should indicate I've met this guy before. Let's see, fiercely independent, a neutral to surly expression and disposition, a tendency to dress in black...' Her smile returned. "Why hello, Greven Vecar."

Greven gaped. "Well, well." Ertai grinned like an idiot. As soon as she said the name, Schala felt an odd sensation.

'Is it possible there's such a thing as white wind?' She wondered.

Greven looked at Ertai accusingly. "You..."

"I never mentioned you by name. I mentioned our last name, but that was it."

Greven glowered angrily. "Hunh. Then you're a bit better than most. But I've got nothing to say to you."

"What?" Schala exclaimed. "You won't even give me a chance? You don't even know why I'm here!"

"You can stay! I'm the one who needs to leave!" He erupted. "All these Enlightened ones preach about how lucky I am to live above the clouds. Then they boss me around like I'm dirt, because I was once an Earthbound one, even though I've mastered my magic better than anyone here."

An understanding look came to Schala's face. "So you're mad because all these people give you trouble for having been an Earthbound one, when you think you're better than all of them."

"I don't think, I know."

"You think you could beat me?" Schala asked, a dangerous glint in her eye. As soon as she spoke, a purple flame leapt up from her finger.

"Of course!" Greven waved her aside. She assumed a battle stance. "You're really serious huh? Well, if you insist..."

"Uh, Greven... I really don't think defeating the princess will keep the queen's attention off of you." Ertai warned him.

"He won't defeat me, so don't worry about it." Schala grinned rather wickedly.

"You are either very confident, or very foolish." Schala grew a little worried as she saw a smile creep onto Greven's face. "We shall soon find out which!"

Schala nodded, throwing off her royal robes. Then, the eyes of the watching boys widened with hope as she also threw off her dress underneath. When the dress fluttered to the ground, everyone could see that she was wearing tight pants and a tank top underneath. A collective sigh was heard. "Sorry boys." She winked at the doorway. "Maybe in a few years, when I'm not so self-conscious." Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something rushing toward her. She jumped out of the way just as a large purple blast slammed into the wall.

"Dirty pool!" Ertai cried.

"She shouldn't be stopping to show off!" Greven responded.

Ertai smiled. "Actually, that was a pretty clumsy blast." He said, turning to the boys behind him. "That was a smart move. She put him at a psychological disadvantage. That is, she's hoping he'll be less willing to beat up a pretty girl."

This whole time, Schala's mind had been reeling. 'He used holy! I forgot about that! Holy, my goodness. It just seems so weird.' As she was thinking, she dodged two more blasts.

"That's it! I'm done playing around!" Greven grinned like a maniac. He floated in the air for a second, then a large purple explosion engulfed the half of the room Schala was in. Tables and chairs went flying, but he didn't seem to care. As she was thrown into the wall, Schala guessed this wasn't the first time he had fought someone in here. Schala finally fired a returning blast, which Greven parried easily with more of his energy. "Ha! As I thought, your skills are pathetic." Greven began to gather more energy. Suddenly, he backed up a step as Schala began to grin. Then, three distinct beams of energy raced toward him, one on the left, one on the right, and one in the middle. Greven struggled to fend off all three, only to be nailed in the back of the head by the fourth blast that he hadn't even seen coming. He toppled forward, only to be nailed in the stomach by a full force beam of power, which smashed him into the wall.

Growling, Greven leapt forward almost faster than the eye could follow, his arm pulled back in preparation for the strike. A split second later, there was no movement in the area, as everyone was frozen by the sight of the Dreamstone dagger pointed at Greven's neck. "Let's keep this contest magical, hmm?" Schala asked dangerously. Greven gulped and nodded imperceptably. No one had seen the dagger hidden underneath Schala's near skin tight pants. Apparently, "near" was the key word. The opponents backflipped away from each other, then resumed their spell hurling.

Neither could gain a clear advantage, until Greven realized he might actually lose. The thought angered him so much that he put all his remaining energy into one series of spells. An explosion under Schala's feet sent her flying into the air. A series of energy arcs carried her upward, pounding her into the ceiling. They stopped suddenly, and she fell over ten feet to the floor, where she landed face down, and lay still.

Ertai stepped back into the room. "That was over the line Greven. I think you really hurt her!"

Greven ran forward and leaned over her. "I guess so. I didn't mean to. I wasn't thinking." He felt her for a pulse, and when he detected that, he was relieved to see that no blood was flowing out from her head. He lifted her head up by her hair to make sure she was okay. Suddenly, her eyes fluttered open, and she quickly grabbed his arm.

"Don't mess with my hair, or you're really be sorry!"

"Look Schala, I'm sorry I..." Greven trailed off and his eyes opened wide. His grip on her hair loosened as Schala's grip on his arm increased. Somehow, she flipped up from her position on the floor, managing to kick Greven in the stomach as she did so. She used the momentum from that to rebound off the wall. Then amazingly, she began to spin around in midair, and a tornado like funnel surrounded her. Greven's jaw dropped just before her feet connected with his chest, sweeping him into the funnel as well. It spun vertically around the room, rotating wildly, before finally smashing through the roof of the secret room, and carrying them both outside.

Ertai and his friends rushed outside in time to see the funnel smash into the ground, raising a huge cloud of dust. When it cleared, they saw Schala standing tiredly, breathing heavily. As the dust drifted away, she stretched her hand out to help her opponent out of the Greven-shaped crater, but he was unconscious. "Nice try." She grinned, tossing her hair like the type of arrogant person she definitely was not. Ertai ran up to her.

"I'm so sorry about all this! He gets carried away sometimes, but I never thought he would do this! I'm sorry I introduced you two."

"Are you kidding? I had a blast! It was nice to let myself go, and not act the part of a proper princess."

Suddenly, a mental shout cut through the area that was so loud every telepath heard it. 'Schala!!! What the hell are you doing?! Get back over here NOW!!! There's important news!'

"Oops." Schala smiled weakly, rubbing her temple. "Guess that my cue to skee-do." A white flash came from her hand, and suddenly all her clothes were just where they had been, as though nothing at all had happened. She waved goodbye to the gathered crowd, then teleported back to the Zeal Palace.

Greven began to stir in his crater. The crowd drifted away, afraid of his temper. Ertai, who knew him better, walked right up. "Unh... Is she gone?" Greven groaned.

"Yep. Guess her mother found out where she was."

"Where did she learn that wind magic? I thought that holy was all she knew."

"Just cause its all you know..." Ertai teased. A few moments passed in silence. Then Ertai decided to plunge ahead into dangerous territory. "You like her, don't you?"

"Of course!" Greven was always brutally honest, and he never evaded a question. "She's not a hypocrite like nearly everyone else here. And boy, what power!"

"Hmm... Then why did you try to smash her face in? Twice?! If that's your way of expressing affection, I wish you hated me!" Ertai said, rubbing his shin. "First, you nearly break my leg, and then Prince Janus tries to complete the job."

"Think we'll be seeing more of her?" Greven asked, standing up.

"Of course! After a swell experience like this," Ertai stretched out his hand to show the damage their battle had caused, "I don't see how she can resist!"

.

"Are you kidding? That's the most fun I've had in months! And I found some great new friends too!" - Nadia

The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 26

Mammon Machines And Golem Dreams

By Nanaki

12,002 B.C.

Schala teleported directly to Zeal's throne room, prepared for a stern tongue lashing. Instead, Zeal acted like she had never realized Schala was gone. "Schala, I've made an important decision." Schala groaned inwardly. "We've lived with that inefficient machine of yours and the Gurus' long enough. We have eight years' worth of research on Lavos' energy. Now its time to put our knowledge to good use. We need to build truly masterful energy gathering machine. Behold..." Zeal pulled out a piece of paper from behind her throne and unrolled it. "The preliminary plans for the Mammon Machine! You are the first person to see it. Since you and the Gurus designed our other two machines, I'm hoping you four will be able to construct this one as well." Schala scanned the blueprints with a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. The machine reeked of just plain evil. For some sick reason of Zeal's, it was humanoid in shape, and bore a resemblence to Serges. "I see you've noticed it's Weaponistic design." Zeal smiled. "I thought it would be a good symbol of our kingdom, showing both what nearly destroyed us and what allowed us to discover... Lavos!" She said the name with reverence.

"I'm thrilled, to be sure." Schala said in a droll voice. "But I'm pretty tired, so I'm going to bed."

"Of course dear." Zeal smiled. "I'm sure you'll be more enthusiastic in the morning." She didn't take her eyes off of the blueprint. Schala shivered as she left the throne room. There was certainly no white wind in the Zeal Palace.

.

Schala woke up as the sun was just beginning to drift in her window. She was aware that her door was opening slowly. Suddenly, she convulsed involuntarily as a little brother landed on her lap. "Ow! Watch it Janus, I'm a little sore there.

She could see Janus giving her a puzzled look through her sleep filled eyes. "Why, did you belly flop in the lake again?"

"Something like that." Schala smiled, looking at the ceiling.

"What was that?" Janus asked with a skewed glance.

"What do you mean?" Schala finally sat up in bed.

"That was no ordinary smile! What did you find yesterday? You got back pretty late."

"Enhasa isn't too horribly different from when I lived there, except for two people."

"What's different about them?"

"I don't think you could appreciate it."

"Can I at least go with you today? I wanna see too!"

"Oh, very well." Schala gave in. "Whoah, wait! What do you mean today? I wasn't planning on going back for a while."

"Why not? Did you find something you're afraid to face again?"

Schala clenched her fists. "You are so infuriatingly accurate!" Janus laughed. "Fine!" She got up, opened her closet, and rummaged around for something that looked at least a little different from what she had worn the day before. No such luck. "I've got to talk to mom about letting up on the uniform rules a little."

"Why? The only people who worry about their clothes are those silly girls who want to impress their boyfriends... Oh Schala, don't tell me..."

"It's time for you to mind your own business." Schala said, giving him a push toward the door.

"Okay, but I expect you to pick me up when you're ready to go." Schala just shut the door behind him.

.

Zeal managed to tear her eyes away from the blueprint as Dalton's black portal opened. "Your majesty! I've finally done it!" Zeal looked at him with non-interest. "I've finally unlocked the secret of Serges' armor!" Dalton gestured behind him. A huge yellow beast materializd out of the portal. It was at least ten feet tall, and it seemed to be mostly mouth, with two large arms on the side. "Just by adding a small amount of Lavos' energy to the armor, I was able to imbue it with artificial intelligence. These creatures will be the ultimate security guards of Zeal kingdom." Now Zeal had some real interest.

"Very good Dalton! I'll grant Zeal needs some securing. There have been reports from Enhasa that the citizenry has been mixing with the Earthbound ones."

"That is trouble indeed, my liege." Dalton paused, unsure of whether to proceed. "Will you grant me a boon?"

"You have been doing very good work lately Dalton. Very well."

"I need more authority. Some of the peasant rabble have been unruly lately. Among other things, they have been spreading rumors that... well..." Dalton seemed to hesitate now. "You know... You and me..."

"Hmm... The point is taken. Very well. If you need more political power, you shall have it. From this point forward, your power is only lesser than my own and the Gurus'," Dalton's face broke into a grin, "and Schala's." The grin fell apart.

"Th-Thank you my liege." Dalton quickly turned, and he and the Golem vanished back into the portal.

'Finally, someone with ambition.' Zeal smiled. 'Ah, I do admire that boy. The citizenry is right, to a point. "Point" is the key word. As if I'd ever take a peasant to bed.' Then, she stopped fooling herself. 'Ah, I'd like to, but past experience indicates that would be a very bad idea. Making him a leader in the kingdom probably is a smart move though. He may whip these apathetic unbelievers into shape yet. They all pretend to support me on the outside, but few of them truly accept the power of Lavos. Including Schala. What am I going to do about that girl?'

.

Janus squinted as his eyes adjusted back to normal from the white of teleportation. His eyes widened in surprise as he finally caught his first glimpse of Enhasa. "This is where the whole kingdom used to be?" He asked, incredulous. Schala just nodded, grinning. "But its so small! I mean, even Kajar is a lot bigger than this."

"Appearances can be deceiving." Schala said, leading him forward. Enhasa looked different in the early morning light, but then, everything looked prettier in the morning, Schala reflected. Janus was looking everywhere, wide eyed. To the casual observer, it would have appeared that he was just a curious four year old, but Schala knew that he was memorizing landmarks for teleportation purposes. They entered the main entrance just as a bookshelf behind the desk was sliding down into the floor. Janus looked across in surprise. It was a lot brighter in the room than it had been yesterday, probably due to the numerous holes in the walls and ceiling caused by their battle. Greven appeared at the door, wearing only a black tanktop and black shorts. He stretched, yawned, then looked out in surprise.

"Whoah! I didn't expect to see you back so soon."

"You'll find I'm full of surprises." Schala smiled. "Actually, I'm only back because Janus wanted to come."

She looked down at Janus, who finally mumbled, "Is he the... the uh... the smile causer?"

Schala laughed nervously. "Get thine royal self up to the library, lest you get into trouble."

"But Schala-"

"Leave right now!" She hissed at him. Janus knew when he could push his luck, and now was definitely not one of those times. He scurried up the stairs, and soon found other things to occupy him anyway.

"Smile causer?" Greven asked with a grin.

"Say, when did you start smiling yourself?" Schala changed the subject. "Don't tell me you're a morning person."

"No. I was hoping you'd show up again." Schala looked surprised. "What? Too forward?"

"Huh? Forward? No..." Schala wasn't sure what the right response was, or even if there was one.

"Well sorry princess, but I never hide my feelings."

"Feelings?" Schala looked up, half afraid, half hopeful.

"Well-"

"Miss Schala! Good to have you with us again!" Ertai came down the stairs, wearing only blue shorts and a gold T-shirt. Schala looked surprised.

"Were you people only wearing clothes yesterday for show?"

"You'll find we don't stand on ceremony here." Greven went back to displaying his usual indifference.

"At least not until a reasonable hour." Ertai butted in. "The sun's barely up, for crying out loud. I only woke up because I'm too hungry to sleep in. And I think Greven's only up because he's got an appointment in the Earthbound village."

"Sho 'nuff." Greven nodded. "'Cept its still night there. Different time zone you know."

"Oh. One of THOSE appointments." Ertai sighed.

"Don't look so dejected!" Greven smiled at him. "I keep telling you, as soon as you turn sixteen-"

"That's four friggin' years!" Ertai wailed.

Schala had a slightly disgusted, yet slightly interested look on her face. "I take it from your expression that you know what we're talking about."

"Er... Well, yes. You just schedule it? Like an appointment?"

"Well, two appointments, actually."

Ertai groaned, pretending to collapse on the staircase. "You're killing me Greven!"

Greven cracked up. "Just wait! Those four years'll go by a lot faster than you think, you'll see."

"Yeah, thanks dad." Ertai grumbled. Greven immediately turned serious. "Oh, I'm sorry. They still won' t talk to you?"

"Mom is too afraid of me. I've only seen her once this whole time, and she said she didn't want me around because she was afraid my powers might "malfunction." She's afraid I'll hurt my brothers and sisters." He began to shake with rage. "Even dad thinks that Zeal might be using me for a spy, even though I gave his agents Melchior's bomb!"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up." Ertai smiled weakly as he noticed Schala's disturbed expression. "Yeah, we're outcasts all around. Our own people are afraid of us, and now the Enlightened ones are starting to be too." Now Schala looked confused.

"Haven't you heard?" Greven asked. "They're saying that our powers are too "primitive" and "raw." We're not sophisticated enough for them."

"If power isn't raw, then its no good!" Schala said adamantly.

"I like that way of thinking!" Greven actually smiled again. He sighed. "Ah, well. I'd better get going. After I get back, I've got quite a few repairs to get to work on." With that, he walked back into the room, but left the bookshelf down.

"Well," Ertai smiled his unique smile again, "I must say, that's the most anyone outside of our group of friends has got him to talk in a long time."

'But I'm in the group now, don't you see?' Schala thought at him.

"Hmm... Maybe you are."

"Oops." Schala had forgotten about his telepathy already. "Now I must say, you're quite good at that." Just then, Janus reappeared at the top of the stairs.

"Schala, you've got to come see- you!" Janus shouted, glaring at Ertai. "Schala, he's the one who-"

"I know Janus. I figured that out yesterday."

Ertai stood up nervously. "Uh, hello Prince Janus. Please forgive my... unrestrained actions."

"That punch really hurt. You shouldn't be punching little guys like me." Janus came down and stood in front of Ertai.

"Sorry about that. It was a reflex."

"Like this?" Janus asked, kicking Ertai in the shin again. He howled in pain, hopping on one foot.

"Why you little-" Ertai tried to grab Janus, but he was too fast. Ertai fell forward, and they both rolled to the bottom of the stairs. Suddenly, Schala felt the black wind blowing up.

'What in the world?' She was confused. 'I'm with my friends here. There's nothing to-'

"Schala, look behind you!" Janus called from his upside down position at the bottom of the stairs. Whirling around, Schala saw she was standing right at the entrance to a black portal. An odd growling noise came from inside, and she took a few steps back. Then an enormous yellow creature appeared out of it. It looked around for a bit, before looking right at her.

"Princess Schala, Prince Janus, you are ordered to return to the Zeal Palace immediately."

"What? Why? What are you?" Schala demanded.

"Uh... Princess Schala, Prince Janus, you are ordered-"

"No way! On whose authority?"

But the Golem was not paying attention to her anymore. It seemed to be sniffing the air. "Detecting objective number two. Subject identified. Greven Vecar, wanted felon. Initiating special programming. Terminate with extreme prejudice." The Golem pushed Schala aside and smashed it's way through the narrow door into Greven's secret room.

"I'm getting dressed here!" Schala heard Greven's annoyed voice. She was too shocked at the moment to do anything. "Hey, I said... Augh! What the hell?!" Schala heard a small explosion, which spurred her into action. She rushed into Greven's room. He was sprawled on the floor, reeling from the impact of whatever spell the Golem had just cast. His lower half was all decked out in his black armor, but his top was bare.

"Greven Vecar, you must surrender to the justice of Queen Zeal immediately. If you do not comply, you will be terminated."

Greven looked up, a hurt look on his face. "Schala, you were a spy?!"

"What? No, I-"

"You were really trying to kill me yesterday! I was just lucky enough to be good..."

"No! Greven, I swear-"

"This is your last warning. Princess Schala and Greven Vecar, you must both come immediately to the Zeal Palace."

"Hell no!" Schala said, raising her hand. In a flash, a huge beam of purple energy smashed into the Golem and pushed it back through the front entrance. "Greven, I swear to you, I was only here to-"

"Schala, I really think we better take care of that thing first." Greven pointed to the Golem, then ran outside. Schala sighed and followed him. The Golem was whirring to itself.

"Analyzing attack. Unknown magic type. Cannot be copied. Closest facsimile... Shadow type. Initiating Shadow program." The Golem closed it's eyes, and two beams of rainbow colored light shot out of it, one hitting Schala, and one hitting Greven. Greven responded by stretching his arms out, and a steady stream of holy energy kept the Golem at bay. Schala quickly conjured up a small tornado funnel. The Golem was lifted high into the air, then slammed down with great force. "Copying air and water types." A huge block of ice fell out of the sky, landing on the two mages. It broke into many pieces, only to be followed by a second block. In a rage, Greven rushed up and smashed his fist into the thing's face. It only growled slightly in response, while Greven was in considerable pain.

"What is that thing made out of?" He hissed, holding his hand. Suddenly, he was blocked from view as a solid iron ball fell out of the sky and landed right on top of him. Schala gasped, then redoubled her efforts. The Golem was tossed around like a rag doll in a huge purple explosion, but when it landed, it seemed to be all right. Schala could see Greven begin to crawl out from under the orb, but it looked like he would be out of it for a few minutes more. Then, the Golem raced up and swung it's arm in a broad arc. Schala was thrown several feet before landing hard.

"This thing's tougher than I would have thought." She gasped. Then, her world went spinning as more ice blocks dropped from the sky. She stood, wobbling on her feet, as she used more holy power against it, but the Golem seemed to shrug it off. It reverted to it's original Shadow spell, and Schala and Greven were hurled back into the walls of Enhasa, nearly unconscious. Schala faintly saw Ertai, of all people, standing beside them, warming up to cast some kind of spell. "Ertai wait!" He obeyed instantly. She staggered to her feet. "Cast that spell on me instead."

"Schala, you're hurt pretty bad." Ertai argued.

"Just do it, I know what I'm doing!" Schala drew her dagger. Ertai reluctantly obeyed. A lightning bolt cracked out of the sky and hit Schala, but the dagger seemed to absorb all of the energy. It hummed with power as a purple glow surrounded it. Then, a wavy beam of purple and green energy ripped into the Golem, tearing through its armor with ease, and causing massive internal damage. The Golem whirred more slowly now.

"Copying Dalton..." A black cloud of poisonous gas filled the air, but Schala blew it away with another wind spell. Greven staggered to his feet, then a series of holy arcs slammed into the Golem from all different directions. "Dalton program inneffective. Fatal system damage. Now copying Karak..." As the Golem exploded, a long sliver of it's yellow armor raced out of the chaos, tearing a gaping wound in Schala's side before smashing into the wall of Enhasa. Schala screamed and collapsed to the ground.

Greven could see her weakly try to raise her hand and perform a healing spell. "Oh no. Schala, save your strength! Healers! Hey, let's get some healers out here!"

"They're all cowering in their rooms." Ertai spat with disgust.

Greven muttered an unprintable phrase. Due to the blood loss, Schala was nearing unconsciousness. "That could be a fatal wound! What can we-" Greven stopped as he saw the Dreamstone dagger. Thinking quickly, he picked it up. "I'm not sure what energy properties this has..." He ran over to where Schala lay, unmoving now, and kneeled over her. He cast another attack spell on the dagger, but it seemed to warp as it neared the blade. The energy changed color, and when it had passed the blade, it fell gently on Schala as a healing light. Her wound closed up enough to stop the blood flow, then Greven tore the bottom off her robe and a piece of fabric off of her dress to bandage it up. "Just wait 'till I get my hands on Dalton." Ertai heard him mumbling. When Greven was satisfied that she would be all right, he gently picked her up and carried her into his room.

"Why would Dalton send such a war machine just to bring her back to the palace?" Ertai wondered out loud.

"I think he was using her to get to me. I believe that she didn't have anything to do with this, especially since the Golem attacked us both equally." Janus quietly walked up and peeked in the door as Greven was setting her on his bed.

"Is she going to be okay?" He asked nervously.

"I think so kid, er, Prince Janus. Look, the best thing you can do right now is to go home and tell your side of the story before Dalton gets to the queen with his. Also, you would be doing me a huge favor if you left my role in all this out of it." Janus meekly nodded and then teleported away. "Ertai, you'd best go try to rouse some of the healers out of their hiding places. I don't think my little trick is going to do it for her." Ertai nodded and ran out. Greven quickly crawled into his torso armor and fastened all the straps. "Looks like the best thing I can do is disappear to the Earthbound village until all this blows over." He said to Schala, even though he didn't think she could hear. "I hate to leave you like this." He paused for a minute, looking down at her through confused eyes and conflicting emotions. "Such a peaceful facade." He finally mumbled, sure that she was asleep. "No one would ever guess at the raging tempest underneath." After a quick glance at the door to make sure no one was around,

Greven leaned over and landed a light kiss on her forehead. As he turned and hurried out the door, a smile slowly crept up Schala's face.

.

The sun had already set when the white glow of teleportation had faded, signaling to Ertai that Greven was back. As Ertai hurried into the secret room, he was shocked to see that Greven was on his knees, his face and arms blackened with soot. "Dalton is after me." He said, answering Ertai's unspoken question. "I think he found out I'm the one who trashed his Golem. He came right down to the Earthbound village, demanding that they hand me over. At least my loyalty has been somewhat rewarded, in that they didn't turn me over to him. I managed to hide in one of the grain silos, so he set them all on fire. I thought I was gonna roast alive, but my noble benefactor got me away from there before I could really fry. That's good for me, but the Earthbound are practically out of food now."

"What are they going to eat?" Ertai asked, a worried look on his face.

"I don't know. We need to find out who it is that's been helping me all this time, but I don't know how... Schala! I'm sure she can help us!" Greven looked back to his bed. "What happened to her?"

"Some of the healers finally got over here once all the smoke from the Golem explosion had dissipated. They closed that wound right up, and she went back to the Zeal Palace."

"That's good. Think she'll be back any time soon?"

"Hey, she had a great time again today didn't she?" Ertai gestured to include Greven's shattered wall, and slightly bloody piece of fabric on the floor. "How can she resist?"

.

"Young people... Hang in there!" - An anonymous resident of Vector

The Aftermath Of Mount Woe Chapter 27

The Noble Benefactor

By Nanaki

12,002 B.C.

As Schala tenderly rubbed the scar tissue of her wound that night, she reflected on the events of the day. Before they had been so rudely interrupted, Greven had been saying something about not hiding his feelings. Did that mean he liked her as much as she liked him, or was she just chasing shadows? She wasn't even sure why she liked him, she just felt like it was something that was meant to be. She remembered him being really worried about her until she had fallen unconscious. Even while she was asleep, she had imagined something. It seemed no more real than the bubble on a sleeper's eye, but she had felt the light touch of a kiss. Her reverie was broken as her door opened and Janus propelled himself onto her bed.

"What a weird day that was! I can kind of see why you didn't want me to go."

"It was a lot weirder than I would have thought. I'm still trying to sort out everything that happened."

Suddenly, the door burst open, and Dalton stood there, looking very angry. "Princess Schala, you were at Enhasa today when one of my Golems was destroyed. I was hoping you would assist me in finding the villain who commited this heinous act." He said in a tightly controlled voice.

"I did not witness the actual event. I had been injured in an unfortunate accident and was recuperating inside." 'There's more than one of those damn things?'

"Surely you must have seen something. Was anyone unusual in the vicinity? Perhaps a wanted criminal?" 'You bet your royal ass there's more than one!'

"Cut the polite pretense Dalton!" Schala spat. "We both know there's some kind of freaky telepathic link between us. The true story is that your freakin' Golem attacked me when I refused to come back to the Zeal Palace right away!"

"Matters of state come above your personal wishes." He growled in a low voice. "I honestly didn't think the Golem would attack you. But I get the feeling that someone else was there to instigate the attack first."

"Oh, how very clever you are." Schala's voice was the epitome of sarcasm. "It attacked an honest citizen of Enhasa. Unfortunately for it, that citizen was strong enough to overpower it."

"And you helped in this overpowering?"

"Of course! I wasn't too fond of the thing either." Schala parted her royal robe to show Dalton the wide slash in her dress, and the scar underneath. Then she cried out in surprise as Dalton kicked her to the floor.

"YOU FREAKING-" The rest of Dalton's phrase was truly unprintable. "Who saved your miserable hide?! Who helped you beat the Golem?! Talk, damn it!!!" Schala just stared up at him in amazement and defiance. Dalton strode over to her in three steps, and lifted her up by the neck. "WHO WAS IT?!! I'll end your cursed bloodline right now if you don't tell me!!"

Schala couldn't have told him even if she wanted to, which she didn't. His grip on her neck was too tight.

A sudden pain in Dalton's shin caused him to let go. Schala crashed to the floor, rubbing her neck. When he didn't immediately back away, Janus kicked him again. Dalton dealt the young prince such a blow that he almost flew through the window, which would probably have killed him. Schala unleashed a blast of holy power that sent Dalton through her door to land in a hurting heap out in the hall. She slowly got up, then after making sure Janus had sustained no permanent damage, walked out into the hall. Dalton stared up at her through hate filled eyes. "Dalton... What the hell is your deal anyway?"

Dalton achingly got up and resumed his usual arrogant posture. "Wouldn't you just love to know. I'll find your little friend, and you both will pay for what you've done." With that, he hurried on down the hall.

"We... We've got to go tell mom..." Janus said in a thin voice. Schala guessed that he'd had the wind knocked out of him.

"I'd like to," she began, rubbing her neck, "but she would never believe us. She trusts Dalton more than she trusts me right now."

"But why? He's always been rude and mean and..." Janus trailed off to breathe some more. They both looked up as a messenger appeared at the door.

"Miss Schala, her royal highness requests your presence in the throne room." The messenger bowed.

"Guess I'd better go." She turned back for a second. "Are you going to be all right Janus?"

"S-sure." He wheezed, then waved her off as a cough overtook him. Schala followed the messenger, a worried look on her face.

.

Schala paused at the door to Zeal's throne room. She was disturbed to see a large engraving resembling the Mammon Machine carved onto the door. The messenger came to a halt and waved her inside. Once she got through the door, she saw that the three Gurus were already there, in a discussion, or rather, a debate with the queen. Melchior was holding the plans.

"Your majesty, I simply don't see the need for a machine of this scale. The machine we have now already more than meets our needs."

"That means we don't need enough!" Zeal smiled unpleasantly. "Not to mention its very draining on the control mages. I'm sure nearly everyone is fed up with it by now."

"But without the control mages won't we, well, lose control?"

"That's the last thing I'm worried about. I want you three, and you Schala," she said, noticing that Schala had entered the room, "to build a machine that will collect more energy than mere mortals could stand. I don't want my orders questioned. I know what I'm doing here." With that, she dismissed them.

"She has no idea what she's doing here." Melchior said in the hallway.

"I agree." Schala