Champions of Serenity: Destiny Fulfilled

Chapter 22

Pale gray light filtered into the main cavern. A stray breeze blew across the embers from the night before and caused a spark. Delicate, long fingers fed the spark until a flame burst into being. Slowly, as the light of the sun strengthened, the wisps of fire grew and warmed the cold stone. A large black pot was set on a flat rock that was stained by lapping heat and repeated use. Water began to steam and then boil inside the pot. A double handful of grain was thrown into the roiling mass, quickly followed by dried fruit, herbs, and honeycomb.

The long handled wooden spoon was well shaped and smoothed by frequent handling. As it mixed the cooking food it released delicious odors into the air. When the cereal had thickened and the fruit softened and the honey melted, it was removed from the hot stone and placed on a different stone that was merely warm.

Another fire blackened pot was set on the cooking stone and filled with more water. To this pot was added a sachet of herbs and tea even more fragrant than the fruit and honey in the first pot. After the water darkened and grew scalding hot, it too was removed to the warming stone.

Strips of seasoned venison were placed on the stone and the hiss of cooking meat was eclipsed by the gasp of surprise coming from Korol. Tris looked up from her cooking and flashed him a quick smile and added the last of the strips to the heat.

“I didn’t know you knew how to cook meat, Leader Tris.” Korol said, picking up a bowl and getting some of the cereal. He poured himself a measure of tea and sweetened it before taking a sip. “Breakfast is wonderful, thank you.”

Tris watched the meat sizzle a moment longer then started flipping it over so it would cook evenly. “You are welcome, I’m glad you like it. And just because I don’t eat it this way, doesn’t mean I don’t know how to prepare it. Not only do I have Drianne’s teachings to fall back on, but I have Debra’s knowledge, Dina’s experience, and months of watching Finbrahner prepare food.”

The others stumbled from their sleeping caves to greet the day, all of them stopping to comment on Tris cooking strips of meat. Cutting one of them into bite sized pieces; she let them taste her efforts and tried not to become irritated by their shocked praise. Using a touch of magic, she cooled the meat and wrapped it into several leaves and tucked it into her cloak pocket.

“Tris, I sure do love your magic pockets.” Shrina said for the millionth time. She was always trying to figure out how it worked and hinting about how much she wished she could have something like it. “But I don’t understand why you are putting cooked meat into your pocket. It isn’t like you eat it.”

“You are right, Shrelannasha, I don’t eat it, but Tyrandeannah does. And after breakfast, I’m taking her away for a few days to help her gain control of her magic.” Tris said and then served herself some breakfast.

Tyra choked on a sip of tea and almost dropped her bowl when she heard Tris’s plan. “Uh, Tris…” The Demon Elf looked at the dark haired beauty and lifted a single golden eyebrow. “Nothing, I’ll get my things after I eat and be ready to go.”

“You won’t need anything, Tyrandeannah. I have food for you and the rest will be provided by magic. Finish eating, we leave before the sun touches the tops of the trees.” Tris stated before going back to finishing her own meal.

Tyra threw Fini a look of pleading but all her bear like mate could do was shrug. Airidon gave Tyra an encouraging smile and motioned for her to sneak a dagger with her in her boot. Jehro chuckled and commented on the pleasure of being alone with Tris for a few days; giving Airidon a sideways look as the second in command blushed a deep crimson.

“You aren’t going to be too rough on her, are you, Leader Tris?” Korol whispered softly next to Tris.

“Not as rough as she will be on herself, Korolwyn.” Tris answered just as softly and shared a knowing look with the Shadow.

Breakfast over, Tris drew on her cloak and waited for Tyra to get hers. When the warrior had returned, Tris looked her over and nodded. “We will return later, don’t worry if it takes a few days. I’ll send word if there is trouble. Shrelannasha, try not to wear out the men too badly.”

Taking Tyra by the arm, Tris surrounded them both with magic and vanished from the cave before Shrina could make anything more than a few outraged sputters. Jehro patted Shrina on the back in sympathy and the others continued with their normal morning routines.

Early morning mist rose from the crystal clear lake. The lake was surrounded by a gleaming pebble beach on three sides and a granite cliff on the fourth. A grassy verge grew beyond the beach and led into a dense copse of black bark trees. Few birds flew in the sky and there was almost no insect life in the area. The silence was deep enough you could almost hear the mist hissing against the water. Pink and yellow light filtered from the rising sun to pierce the fog with pastel patches. A tang to the air warred with cedar to perfume the warming day.

Two sets of foot falls crunched against the pebbles as Tris’s magic released them. Both women were of a height, one dark the other golden, as they looked out over the clearing. In the middle of the grassy verge stood a single boulder, kissed and worn by time and the elements to a craggy parody of a sun rotted apple.

“Before we begin, Tyrandeannah, why don’t you get a drink of water? I know that you are nervous and that tends to dry out the mouth.” Tris smiled at the older woman and gestured toward the lake.

Nodding, Tyra knelt and lifted a handful of slightly warm water to her lips. She quickly spat it back out and glared over her shoulder at Tris. “That water isn’t drinkable, Tris, it has too much metal in it.”

Shrugging, Tris picked up handful of water and sipped it. “It tastes fine to me, Tyrandeannah. Perhaps you forgot to use your magic to purify it before tasting it.” Tris gave Tyra a reproachful look. “I thought you knew enough about survival to do at least that. Try again.”

Tyra studied Tris a moment, took another look around the glade. There were no game trails leading to the lake and none of the small animal life that thrived in this forest. Looking back at the lake she could see a faint yellowish tinge to the water and named the tang in the air she had dismissed earlier. Reaching into the water, she noted it was warm instead of cold and the source was underground rather than a waterfall. As she lifted the water to her lips she quietly said a few words and the water was icy and crisp against her teeth.

“Very good, next time though, use your new form of magic to purify it. Now, we work on the gross control. That boulder, move it to the edge of the water by touch alone. No words, even under your breath. And don’t break it; the core is even more rotted than the skin.” Tris said, taking a seat in the grass to watch.

Death was in the glare Tyra sent to Tris before turning her attention to the boulder. Walking around it, she studied the many faces of the stone. Using her knuckles, she rapped against it and felt the solidness of the giant rock. Sighing, she closed her eyes and pictured the rock sitting next to the water. When she could firmly see the new position for the boulder, she reached out and touched it.

A large splash and then a drenching of water made Tyra open her eyes in shock. The boulder was sticking just the top inch out of the middle of the lake and where it had been sitting in the grass was a crater twice as deep as the boulder had been tall standing above the ground.

“What happened?” Tris asked simply, drawing her hands over her clothing and drying it with magic.

Tyra looked at her hands as they shook and then she fell to her knees trembling with weakness. “I’m not sure. I think I used too much power.”

“Oh, I’m sure you used too much power, Tyrandeannah.” Tris said with a hint of laughter in her voice. “Don’t think about the mass of the stone, just think about it moving.” Tris waved her hand and the slick stone was once again in its place in the grass. “Try it again.”

Taking another deep breath, Tyra again pictured the rock next to the water’s edge. This time, she didn’t try to push it; she tried to lift it, gently. Reaching out, she touched the boulder and felt it vanish from under her finger tips and waited to be drenched again. When nothing happened, she opened her eyes and looked around. The boulder was nowhere to be seen in the clearing.

“Uh, where did you put the boulder, Tyrandeannah?” Tris asked and then frowned as she felt a tentative touch in her mind.

“Did you lose something, Tris?” Jehro’s mind voice asked, humor lacing it. “A giant boulder almost crushed Fini as he was getting water from the stream.”

“Thank you, Jehrones, I’ll let Tyrandeannah know.” Tris answered and then looked the confused Tyra over.

“Tyrandeannah, did you and Finbrahner have a fight? Or are you just so consumed with each other that he dominates your every thought?” Tris asked, getting Tyra’s attention.

Narrowing her eyes, she tried to figure out what Tris was trying to find out. “No fight and no he doesn’t consume my every thought. Why?”

“Jehrones just informed me that a boulder landed just inches from Finbrahner as he was getting water from the stream outside the cave. While I admire the range, that wasn’t the assignment.” Tris waved her hand and the boulder was once again in the middle of the grass. “Try again. Remember, you just want to move it next to this lake.”

“I know, Tris.” Tyra replied sharply. Without being careful this time, Tyra touched the boulder and almost fell on her butt when it vanished from the grass and sat properly next to the lake. Staggering, she fell to her knees at the edge of the crater that was home to the boulder. “But, I didn’t even concentrate that time, I was so angry….”

Tris got up and walked around the boulder and nodded. “Very good, Tyrandeannah, it’s where we wanted it and it’s in one piece. You have also answered your own question about why it worked this time and not before. Magic, like sword work, shouldn’t be concentrated on so much that you lose focus of what the task at hand is. Too much concentration is just as bad as too little. Focus is important, the image of what you are trying to do is important, but a nudge works as well if not better than a shove when it comes to applying power. See if you can purify the water without words and only a single handful, not the entire lake.”

Tyra got up and walked to the lake’s edge. She smiled as she touched the rock a moment before kneeling to get a drink of water. The image of lifting a pure drink of water from the heavy minerals of the lake filled her mind. When she tasted the water it was refreshing and when she looked over the lake it still had the slight yellowish tinge to it.

“I did it.”

“Very good, Tyrandeannah, you are learning control. But you and I both know moving rocks and getting drinking water is the least of our worries at the moment. So after today, we will work on more practical applications of the magic. For now, put the boulder back in the hole. When you have done that, move it to the top of the cliff. After it is at the top of the cliff, bring it back down to its hole and then we can have lunch.”

“How am I to get to top of the cliff and bring it down, Tris?” Tyra asked.

“That is something you need to figure out, Tyra. I’m sure you can come up with something that will work using just the power of touch. I’ll be back in a few minutes; I need to check on something.” Tris waved to Tyra and vanished, leaving the chore to be done in private.

Deep in the woods, Tris appeared and then changed shape into a fly and went back to the clearing to watch Tyra. She watched as Tyra moved around the boulder and looked at it and then at the top of the cliff. Tris wondered what Tyra would do to complete the tasks given her.

Tyra watched Tris go and shook her head. This wasn’t quite what she was expecting but as both a trainer and trainee, she knew that seldom did the one learning understand until the lesson was completed. Setting her mind to the problem, Tyra knew putting it back into the hole would be the least of her problems. Keeping track of it until she got the right amount of focus on the other hand would be an entirely different thing.

Walking around the boulder, Tyra thought about the problem and the different ways it could be accomplished. The only rules that Tris set down were that Tyra couldn’t use her vocal magic and where the stone was to go. She wasn’t strong enough to move the stone with simple physical strength and there wasn’t anything close at hand to make a pulley and tackle to slide it along the ground. That pretty much left magic in one form or another.

She had already used the vocal magic to do a teleportation spell; perhaps she could modify it somehow so it could work by touch alone. Thinking about it from that view point, the options were more varied. But she still ran into the problem of keeping track of it while she adjusted the focus she needed to move it. Maybe what she needed was a combination of physical strength and magical focus.

Closing her eyes, she pictured the boulder shrinking until it could fit in the palm of her hand. Holding that image in her mind’s eye, Tyra opened her eyes and touched the boulder. Nothing happened. Tyra thought it through again, it should have worked.

Trying again, she closed her eyes and pictured the boulder small enough to carry in her hand. Instead of keeping the image in her mind, she moved it to her palm and rested it against the face of the stone. When it started to move against her skin, Tyra’s eyes flew open and she watched as the stone grew smaller and smaller. When it was no bigger than a wheel of cheese, it stopped shrinking.

Bending over, Tyra picked it up and looked at it. She walked over to the hole and stood over it, keeping hold of the stone. From her vantage point, Tris nodded her approval. Tyra was using magic in her own way, figuring out what worked best for her, which is what Tris wanted.

“Well, the boulder is back to the hole. I guess the next step is to get it to the top of the cliff and then back to the hole.” Tyra said to herself and rested the boulder on the ground next to her feet. “Tris would just wave her hand and send it to where she wanted it. Someday, I might be able to do that, but for now, I think I need to take baby steps. I hope that Tris isn’t too angry when she finds out how I completed her tasks.”

Using her cloak as a sling, Tyra carried the stone up the cliff and rested it on the top of the precipice. After catching her breath, Tyra picked up the stone again and carried it back down to the valley floor and to the hole in the meadow.

Now came the tricky part and Tyra had to think about it before just dropping the stone into the very deep hole. If she just let it fall, it would be too deep for her to touch. If she grew it before putting it in the hole, she might lose it in transportation, like earlier. If she grew it in her hand, she might be crushed and then what would Tris say?

Making a decision, Tyra nodded her head and closed her eyes to concentrate. Tris watched, wondering just what Tyra would do in this situation. When the picture of the stone once again becoming the boulder had been secured and moved to her hand, Tyra opened her eyes and touched the stone.

Slowly, it started to grow bigger. Tyra set it down as it kept growing and then when it was almost too big for her to move, she shoved it into the hole. It continued to grow, filling the hole and climbing for the sky. When it was bigger than it had started out, Tyra panicked and slapped it down with a mental command to behave and keep its normal size. She was surprised when it followed her orders and stopped growing, settling down into the same boulder it was before it had been shrunken.

Tris stepped from the eaves of the trees in time to see Tyra slide down the side of the boulder and mop her forehead. She walked around to where Tyra was sitting on the ground and looked at the boulder.

“I see it has traveled to the top of the cliff and back, very well done, Tyrandeannah.” Tris said, startling Tyra. Crouching down on her haunches, Tris smiled at the wizard warrior. “I bet you are thirsty and hungry. Take this skin to the lake and fill it with pure water and then return and we will eat.”

“You aren’t going to ask how I did it?” Tyra asked, surprised. When Tris shook her head and gestured toward the lake with the water skin, Tyra shrugged and went to get water. She looked over at Tris and wondered for a moment where she had gone.

Kneeling by the side of the lake, Tyra concentrated on creating pure water from the heavy mineral water that lived there. Using her hands, she filled the skin with icy cold water and then returned.

Tris handed Tyra a handful of the seasoned and fried meat she had made just that morning. “Magic is personal, Tyrandeannah. What works for one person seldom works for another. If you try to make all magic users use their craft in the exact same way, all but one will burn themselves out and probably die. How I would have moved the boulder is very different than how you chose to move it. This time isn’t to teach you the many different techniques there are in the world to use touch magic, it’s to get you to figure out how that touch magic works for you and to learn how to control it. Once you have control, you can play with it to your heart’s content and figure out all the nuances. Do you understand?”

Tyra thoughtfully chewed on a piece of the very tender jerky as Tris’s words sank in. “All right, I am here to gain control so I won’t accidentally blow anyone up. I’m not here to fine tune my skills. I also want to learn the limits of what I can do.”

Chuckling softly, Tris shook her head. “Tyrandeannah, I have been working with magic since I was old enough to understand the words spoken to me by Drianne and Noshtra. I still don’t know my own limits as I am constantly learning new things I can do with magic and growing in my abilities. It will take years, decades, before you can even begin to see a limit to what you can do. Does that mean you can wipe out a whole army with a single thought right now? I wouldn’t recommend it. Why? Because it would drain your very small reserves to the point you could be permanently rendered unable to ever use magic. You must stretch and grow with your magic, just as you had to stretch and grow with your sword work. Tell me, do you think you know everything there is to know about swords?”

Tyra shook her head. “I know I don’t. Having watched Airidon this past year, I am amazed at what I didn’t know. And even as good as he is, he still practices several hours a day, running through drills and moves and positions and such. It’s mind-blowing just how much I thought I knew but didn’t really.” Tyra stopped and noticed the look on Tris’s face. “Ah, I get it. The same is true of magic. All right, I’ll be patient and not expect to become a master overnight. And I’ll keep practicing, even after I think I know all I need to. So, what is next?”

Tris gave Tyra a feral grin and pointed back to the boulder. “We continue on your focus. Only this time, instead of moving it, you get to do something a little more fun.”

Tyra looked at the boulder doubtfully and then over to Tris. “What do I have to do with it this time? Make it fly?”

Laughing, Tris shook her head. “No, you don’t have to do something so out of the patterns of nature. All I want you to do with it is smash it into one hundred identical stones and then put it back together.”

“Oh, is that all.” Tyra said sarcastically wishing she could glare at Tris. Giving the boulder a glare, Tyra slapped it and jumped back as it shattered into a thousand pieces. “Oh my.”

Tris walked around the rubble and shook her head. “Well, its close but not quite what I asked for. Try again, this time a little less unfocused aggression and a little more finesse.” Tris waved her hand and the boulder was whole again.

Tyra frowned. “You aren’t going to yell at me for not concentrating before acting?”

“No, I’m not. You would be useless as a battle mage if you had to stop and concentrate on every effect you were trying to achieve with your magic. It’s a good thing it will come to you when you need quick action as well as when you have time to really craft a work of art. Now, try it again, remember it needs to be one hundred pieces only and each need to be identical.”

Nodding, Tyra walked around the boulder and thought about what Tris said. It was true that in a battle situation you didn’t have time to think, that is why warriors drilled so hard when not fighting so the moves would be instinctive. Now she was learning that magic was the same way and it made it easier to accept as part of her.

Without taking the time to picture the result in her mind, Tyra demanded one hundred identical pieces from the boulder and slapped it again. It collapsed around the ground, sparkling like glass beads, in the grass.

Tris walked around the effect and thought about it a minute. “Well, they all look alike and there is exactly one hundred, so that fits the lesson. But, they don’t look like the boulder any longer, they look like gemstones. I was hoping for something a little less polished and a little more natural. Now you can put it back together, as the boulder.”

Tyra looked at Tris a moment as if she had lost her mind. Then she shook her head and chuckled. “Okay, I have to be able to deal with details, even when tired. I get it. I just wish you weren’t so round about in your teaching methods, Tris.”

Shaking her head, Tris just waved for Tyra to continue with the lesson. She wasn’t trying to teach that particular lesson yet, but if Tyra was learning it, then so be it. Just like magic was a personal creature, so was learning it.

When the boulder once again stood in the middle of the clearing, Tris walked around it. Tyra was going to hate her for this, but it had to be done. Being able to use magic to destroy and rebuild stone was one thing, using it in battle was something else.

“All right, Tyrandeannah. Take the rest of the afternoon off. Set up your camp as you wish it. I’ll be back in a couple of hours with dinner. Remember, everything you create must be done by touch alone.” Tris said and then left Tyra alone again.

The wizard rolled her eyes with frustration, wondering what Tris was up to this time. She could tell by the gleam in Tris’s eyes that the training for the day wasn’t over and setting up a campsite wasn’t it. Doing what Tris told her anyway, Tyra tried to figure out just what form the next test would take.

Something rustled the trees behind her and Tyra turned in time to see a wild boar charging her. Reaching for her sword, Tyra cursed when she realized she had left it back at the cave. Going into a defensive crouch, Tyra opened her mind to the possibilities of magic and reached out with an invisible spike of power, guiding it with her hand, and plunged it deep into the heart of the animal. He slid to a stop at her feet, the light in his eyes dying as the thrust of power ripped his heart in half and a bubble of his lifeblood welled up between his lips and stained the ground crimson.

“Very good, Tyrandeannah. I’m impressed, it was more than I could hope for coming from one who just a year ago refused to believe she could ever use magic let alone control it.”

Looking at Tris coming from the woods, Tyra stood up and took a deep breath, stilling her racing heart and calming her mind. She looked at the dead boar at her feet and then back to the Demon Elf she called friend and leader. “Tris….”

Shaking her head, Tris stayed where she was, just within the arms of the forest. “No, Tyrandeannah. You have to learn how to kill with magic just as surely as you have to learn how to create with it. I have opened the door for you, shown you that you can control it and shape it to your will. Now you must refine it, now you have to test your own limits and then stretch them and grow; now you must set your own tasks for yourself. When you feel you have gained enough control over your new skill, then return. Press yourself as hard as you feel you need to. The final task I set you is to get home.”

With the words, Tris waved her hand and a swirling blue dome encased the entire clearing, then she was gone. Tyra felt betrayed and rushed to the edge of the clearing, resting her hand against the barrier and willed it gone with every ounce of her strength. When nothing happened, she screamed and tried to tear at it with her fingers, willing it down with each second and still nothing changed. Fear wrapped its ugly wings around her and refused to let go.

Tris watched for a moment and felt her own personal pain as Tyra suffered. When she had been but a child, Noshtra and Drianne had done the same thing to her, to make her comfortable with trusting herself to use her own power. Noshtra had explained later that be it a magic user or a warrior, if a person always depended on someone else to control them and give orders and approval, then they could never learn to trust their own judgment. It was a harsh truth, but she needed to know that Tyra trusted herself with her new power and this was the only way for Tyra to gain that trust within the short amount of time they had open to them.

Tris returned to the others in the Circle and they looked at her in question. “Where is my wife, Tris?” Fini asked as he stirred the evening pot of stew.

“She is learning, Finbrahner.” She answered and walked past the rest of them and their questions to the sleeping area rolled up in her cloak and pretended to sleep.

“Well, that wasn’t very helpful.” Shrina said as Tris turned her face to the wall and for all intents and purposes was beyond reach. “When will Tyra be back?”

“I would assume that when she learns, Shrina, she will return.” Korol said as he looked from Tris’s still form and then out into the darkness.

Chaos shook his head. Tris was almost exactly like Serenity when it came to teaching lessons. He recalled when the Circle was being gathered and he had asked Serenity if it wouldn’t be easier to have Meckin join sooner than later. Her reply had been, “What does easier have to do with anything?”

Surely there could be another, nicer way of teaching self-confidence than just abandoning a friend to the wilds to suffer. A sound caught his hearing and he looked back at Tris.

His face softened as he looked at the near silent tears sparkling on Tris’s cheeks. She wasn’t as calloused as her actions spoke. Gently, he reached through his window and wiped away the tears on Tris’s cheek and then to Tyra and wiped away her tears.

“Chaos?” Serenity asked, stepping into his palace.

Chaos looked at the two women a moment longer before looking over his shoulder to his sister. “I once thought I was the harshest task master because I use confusion to teach. Watching you with your champions, I thought you were harsh because you didn’t take away unpleasant tasks or make them more palatable. Now, watching Tris teach Tyra control over her magic, I see we are nothing compared to the heartbreak mortals, and your champions must go through to learn simple concepts.”

Serenity frowned a moment and looked at the mirror to understand what Chaos was talking about. Then she nodded. “Yes, in matters of the heart, lessons are always difficult and cause pain to both the teacher and the student. Perhaps that is why Debra has so many problems right now, she is learning to trust herself.”

With a shrug, Chaos looked over his sister again. “Did you want something? Or did you just come to bother me because I was watching the Circle again?”

“Actually, I was wondering if you have heard anything about Meckin. But I can see that you haven’t, so I will leave you in peace. Oh, thank you, Chaos, for helping me to find him. It means a great deal to me.” Serenity said with a smile for her brother and a soft kiss on his cheek.

Before Chaos could say anything, she vanished, leaving him sputtering and blushing. His sister could be so annoying sometimes.