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ROLLALONG HILL DAY 3
Allen moved quickly underground. Surrounded by the soil, he was also surrounded by the energy that forced itself into his very body. Most men had aptitudes for earth, and most women had aptitudes for air, but like Maria Allan had the ability to tap all four elements, but the one that was drawn to him and most powerful was earth. Maria would scoff at this explanation. She believed that there were no elemental divides. She always tried to tell Allen that there was only energy and form. What people claimed were elemental draws, where simply the energy that would draw in the quickest and easiest for a that particular person. Some energy was easier to tap than others, and those that could not understand the power could not give it true purpose.
Allen understood what she tried to teach him. He even could feel it in his draws now and then, but as he tried to explain to her, he did not have to ask for the energy from earth, it simply swept into him without cause constantly. After Maria introduced Allen to Ramelda for the first time over spirits and humble cakes, Ramelda divulged to Allen how to block the powers from coming into him on their own. She had taught Maria to block other peoples magic, but Allen had been a hopeless cause. It took far more skill then strength.
The stench of evil seeping down through the earth became stronger as he took the next fork. He would be upon the magician soon. Dark magicians were not all bad people, but this one had commited murder at least once. To enchant a dagger with that much disease, he had to take a human life.
Allen hoped that he could find the magician and from underneath bind him as Maria had taught him. He could feel her whispering in his ear even now as he thought about the teachings. She had told him it was easier to teach a man while naked in bed, and it certainly worked better for him.
Allen felt the darkness from above growing very strong and spoke to the earth around him. “I will protect her Maria, at any cost.” Allen was struck by thick green vapors and haulted. A large burrowing beetle popped out of the tunnel to his left. “He knows your coming Allen of Rollalong.” and the beetle flopped out and ran away down the dark passage. Who sent that enchanted beetle? He was relieved and curious. The vapors were probably a trap. More murder. The wizard above had to be relinquished to the land, if for no other reason then knowing his Nattalie existed. Allen summoned up water from the ground. A deep underground river ran close. He did not want to draw too much or too quickly. The mole worms had let him use their tunnels, but he doubted they ever would again if he destroyed them. The water puddled up under the green vapors.
Allen pulled the air into small swirls grabbing up the poison and pushing it into the tiny lake. He knew partly his daughters frustration. Air had always struggled against his pull, and the tiny whirlwinds could have been large tornados if it had been Maria.
Before the green gases had been swept away Allen recognized the figure of a tall thin man standing at the far end of the cave. Not really a man, this necromancer had been banned from Unitary lands long ago. Before even Allen had filled his first cup of water. The first thing all students were taught at Unitary was the figure, shape, smell, and evil of this man.
Allen did not have time to put up a binding. The man had him paralyzed and shut off from the energy pulsing around him.
His voice was soft and full of tenor. Allen had always imagined a hissing snake, but now it sounded just like his grandfather. “Allen, at last we meet.” The man stepped forward creating a luminescent ball to light up the cave.
Allen stood quietly, waiting and feeling for the pulse of the Earth to creep closer. Besides teaching him how to create the shield that now cut him off from magic Maria had also taught him how to break the shield someone else created. It wouldn’t take long. Allen had years of practice breaking and creating shields. A little more then seventeen of them.
“Oh,” the man sounded disappointed. “Maria is gone, how sad.” He put a long fingered hand down toward the puddle that had sucked away the poisoned air. “Do they still teach about me at the Unitary? What an evil bastard I am?”
Allen did not have to nod. “Great Necromancer Leon. I think that is what they called me.” Allen could feel the static building outside of the shield. He only needed one spark to make it through. The wrinkled up old wizard waved his hands in the air. “You are strong Allen, but if you break that shield, I will only recreate it stronger.” Allen knew that the stronger a shield was the more likely it would be to suffocate the one inside.
Allen stared the raven haired old man in the eyes, velvety red and glimmering from the faint green light. “What do you want with my daughter.”
The wizard was truly shocked that Allen knew anything of his plan. There was more to this ‘Admiral’, the sky glider had called him then he was led to believe. “You mean my grand-daughter.” Allen coughed and then let the static seep through. A little more and he would have enough energy inside the sheild to throw it over the dark wizard and suffocate the truth out of him.
“My Maria was NO relation to you old man.”
“Don’t you ever wonder why Unitary treasured her so? Do you question why the Unitary you served let you render the land desolate in sacrifice for their causes… Their wars?”
Allen hissed at him. “Murderer.”
The Necromancer sighed and swept away Allen’s shield. “Kill me then.”
Allen had already drawn so much hot energy from below his feet that there was no way for the dark wizard to shield him. It would only take a thought to render him ashes. “What?” was all Allen could muster.
“Tell me Allen,” The wizard sat upon his knees holding himself up with a thick ivory wand. “How many did you kill for Unitary?”
Allen could not answer, there were entire armies enslaved by him and his troops, and more killed by his magic then by the weapons on the battlefield.
“Why doesn’t the poison seep through your viens from the deaths you caused?”
“Tell me Necromancer, before I kill you too.”
“You thought you were righteous.” the old man dropped his cane. “Guilt is the disease that runs through my magic, just as evil runs through the Tyrant of the South. It is not always truth that determines how our magic flows.” Allen felt nauseous. It had to be a trick.
It was then that Allen separated his forces and applied anti magic to the man.
“Tell me why you seek my daughter, and I will release you from your guilt.”
“ The Unitary has taken everything from me. First they took my wife, killed her in war. Then they took my daughter, and used her to drive me out of the land. And now they have taken my grand daughter. I am not as powerful as I used to be when I was their Admiral, the poisons of guilt have destroyed my body.” The necromancer did not fight the sheild, and was no longer threatening.
“The dagger and the sky glider?” Allen tightened the shield, thickening it as the old man started to wheeze.
“Once you have the disease, it only gets stronger if no one will heal you.” He referred to what Allen had thought was murder to create poison. “I was there, waiting incase he did not make it to you. I could have saved him if you could not.”
Allen’s head started to swarm with thousands of nagging questions, doubts about what Unitary had done in war, what he had done for them. “Why? I could kill you with a thought old man for coming for my daughter that way.”
“Unitary can not be trusted. You are a unitary admiral, the boy was a unitary sergeant… and let me tell you how hard it is to drag a sky-glider from the sky, it was all the power I had left to subdue him for you.”
Allen started to see the truth in it, but could not shake the teachings of Unitary. “You’re telling me that everything they taught… The war against Necromancers, the battle to ensure freedom from dark magic, all of it is lies?” Allen was confused by what he should focus on, his daughter was safe for now, and his whole life was coming into question. Everything he had done was all for poloticians?
“They call us Necromancers because they want you to believe we are evil. They have placed this poison into us, they created the tainted energy that loops into the enemy wizards. Between guilt and their poison, there is no way to make it pure again” His eyes began to water. “My Maria thought I was an evil man because of their lies!” wheezing the wizard spat onto the ground.
Allen released his hold, letting the old man breath, but did not allow any sparks to seep through the shield.
“Leon,” He hated using a name for what he was raised believing was the most evil war lord of all time, but Nattalie was more important. “Do you know why Unitary is after Maria?”
The old man’s face was covered in concern. “They want your children. They want her to bear your child, and then they want that child to be raised the most powerful wizard of war to ever be created… and in their name conquer…. Everything.” Leon actually began to sob. The Great Necromancer was nothing more then a poisoned old man who had lost everything to Unitary.
“I have to find Nattalie, do not follow me old man.” Allen sunk into the earth below him in a whirl of cascading dust. He did not believe this man was Maria’s father, or his story about Unitary. One of them would have seen the lies, Maria would have seen the lies, she would have told him about her father… Allen could not concentrate and ran head on into a low hanging tree root. He was unconscious for hours.
Nattalie climbed off from Jinx and onto the floor of an old abandoned storage shed. Jinx had spotted a barrell of rain water and hurried to gulp it all down. Instead of lapping it up, he had done what he saw his humans do. He picked it up like a giant cup and began to drench his hot throat. Water dribbled in streams down the thick mane of fur.
Nattalie opened her bag and pulled out a fresh shirt and pants. She would have to wash her cloths whenever they could find fresh water. Unlike most people, Nattalie learned to do everything without magic. Anyone else could wisk up some water and air to clean their cloths. Weavers could fabricate clothing from the fibers around them. She had loved watching the town weaver create dresses for the other girls.
“Why won’t he teach me.” She wondered aloud to herself, but Jinx had strolled silently back to her and answered.
Nattalie had never heard Jinx speak words so clearly and precise. “Magic does not belong to man.”
Nattalie must have given away her shock, and tried to speak, but could only say, “what?”
Jinx sighed and motioned for Nattalie to sit. “What man uses for himself…” Jinx struggled a bit and then with his gums pulled up, looking ferocious his words came out even better then they had before. “The energy of this earth does not belong to one person.” He sniffed the air and paused. “It belongs to every alive thing.” Jinx growled then and sniffed some more at the air. “Wait here.”
Nattalie was tierd of being thrown about and left out of the secrets. She new she was in terrible danger and no one was explaining any of it to her. She pulled from the saddle that Jinx had removed a bow and arrows. Her Aunt Hannah had taught her how to hunt when she found out Nattalie could not use magic. Hannah had told her it was pure joy to provide for your family good food naturally, and admitted it was the only thing she loved more then doing magic. Hannah’s great uncle had taught her how to make the bow and arrows just as he had taught her father to tend land. Nattalie bet that her great uncle would tell her what was going on. She had never met him, but they were only three days from his farm.
Jinx walked through the large door carrying a very frightened and trembling man in his jaws. He spat him out on the ground and placed a very powerful paw on his chest and neck.
Nattalie had to be careful not to give away Jinx’s secret. “That’s the man from the fields!” Nattalie pulled the arrow back and aimed it at his belly. Magic would not stop a Gnat, and the bow was probably unnecessary but Natt did not want to take a chance. “Why are you here, and what kind of trouble did you get me into!”
Jinx winked in approval. He tapped his large thumb claw on the hard floor behind Jax’s ear. Jax could feel the deadly swiftness with which it would tear his face from his skull. “Your father sent me North, and when I sensed the Gnat, and saw you in here, I thought it was going to hurt you.” Jax looked up at the beasts head nodding at Nattalie.
“Let him loose Jinx, he does not mean us harm.” Natt knew that Jinx would not let him go if she was incorrect, but had to pretend he could not talk to her.
Jax did not move rate away. He tried to tell her what was going on as quickly as possible so that he would not be killed, some drool dripped down onto his sleeves as the gnat lowered his head and stared into his eyes. It was almost as frightening as watching the Admiral unleash his magic.
“ The Unitary Council is about to wage a long terrible war, and they wanted your mother and father back to fight it for them. They sent me to get them, but along the way I was pulled down.” He heard Nattalie gasp, she had heard of sky-gliders and was almost giddy with excitement.
“You fly?” The danger had lept straight out of her mind, and now she wanted to know everything about the handsome stranger. Jinx had not growled yet, so she knew so far, it was the truth.
“My name is Jax, and I must say Nattalie you are more beautiful then your father described.” Jinx growled.
“You’re lieing about something Jax.” She pulled the bow back tight against her shoulder. Jax realized that she like her father could not be lied to. He had not realized that she was creating an anti-magic barrier, under the circumstances a Gnat could make anyone forget about magic.
“I’m sorry. I’m a seer.” It was only the second time in his life he had divulged that secret to someone other then his mother. This family certainly was the most unique bunch he had ever met, and a Gnat as a pet! The Unitary was never going to believe him. He must have sighed a little too much, because the Gnat’s breath was blowing the dreadlocks away from his face. Jinx nodded again to Nattalie.
“The great beast who is very hungry and drooling on you is named Jinx.” Nattalie lowered her bow again.
Jax stuttered. “Ni.. Nice to meet you Jinx.” Jinx took his paw from the mans chest but settled it in swiping distance.
“How did you get diseased Jax?” Nattalie pulled another cookie from the saddle and offered it to Jinx. The long fat tongue snatched it up from in front of Jax’s nose. The Gnat didn’t seem as repulsive and terrible as he was taught in Unitary, but definitely more frightenening.
“The Necromancer Leon pulled me down and told me I had to bring him Maria,” He did not want the girl to be in any more danger, he had rethought wishing to have never been assigned as he looked upon Nattalie. “He was really after you.”
Jinx sniffed the air again and motioned to Natt that he had to go scout. Nattalie nodded back to him and encouraged Jax to continue. They talked for a while, much longer then Nattalie had expected to. He explained to her how sky-gliding worked but would not demonstrate. He asked a couple of questions about her and Jinx, but Nattalie only wanted to hear about Unitary and the dark wizard once he refused to show her how he flew.
The day was growing dim. Nattalie realized that Jinx would never be gone so long without a good reason and started packing up the saddle and bag. Jax looked around expecting the walls to fall down around them unsure of why Nattalie suddenly seemed so paniced.
“Jinx has been gone too long.” Nattalie helped Jax off from the floor. He felt the strength in her arms when she practically tossed him onto his feet single handedly. Nattalie let out a quick laugh, “It’s amazing how strong a person can be when they can’t use magic.”
Jax didn’t ask. She could use magic… and from what he could see from the large distance it took to be out of her anti-magic barrier, maybe more then her father and mother combined. A great static wall had blocked it from view before, but now he knew what it meant. He wanted to know everything, and at the same time he had an intense desire to protect her, not only because a Gnat might eat him up and shit out his bones, or because her father could literally rip his limbs off and use them to pound stakes into the ground, but because he had never wanted to be with someone this much in his life.
The old wizard did not follow Allen until he was far from sensing him. Leon knew his daughter would have never mated with a man that could not see truth, or that was evil in any form. His wife had been the same way. Right was right, and wrong was wrong. After he healed Allen’s concussion from running into the tree leg, his slipped silently away. He regretted now approaching Allen in the way he had. It was not as it seemed. The Unitary spys had given him very bad information. But as it is with Unitary, lies and truth hold no great account in their capitol.
“Some great Admiral.“ Allen rubbed at his temple and hoped he had not lost too much time. Allen knew that the necromancer would follow. There was truth in what Allen had heard, but he refused to believe that some of it was not personal truth. He had killed so many for Unitary, and now they would find his daughter, and make her a murderer. If only he could have told her the truth, his lies had set her up to be the perfect soldier for them, and he must stop her before the sky-glider told her about the static shell. She had to know the truth before she hated him as Maria hated Leon. It only drove him faster.
The knot on his head kept him from loosing concentration. Leon had made sure not to heal it completely so that Allen would be more careful. Soon the caves were not quick enough and Allen shot up out of the earth. He whistled to a grazing Centimount standing by a fruit tree. It was almost night, and he had some traveling to catch up to Jinx.
Being so tied to the earthen powers did not only grant him access to the energy coursing through it’s viens, but the ability to communicate basic needs to the sentient living things around him. He would have been eaten by Jinx and his entire litter of sisters had he not been able to ask for forgiveness. The centimounts long slender legs bent to the ground so that Allen could ride. It gave him a disapproving look at not being more polite about the ride.
Allen patted the large spotted neck, saying “forgive me, my young one is in terrible danger.” The strider, snorted and stood a towering mass of speed. They would be able to avoid the Yellow forest and head directly for where Jinx had sent word he would secure Nattalie. Allen hoped she would not be too frightened when she met Jinx’s family.
Before Nattalie and Jax had a chance to step outside of the shed, Jinx popped his head around the doorframe and halted her. He looked perplexed, something Nattalie was not sure she was reading correctly. She would think it was fear, but Jinx had never been afraid of anything. Nattalie’s jaw dropped when he spoke in front of Jax. “My sisters would like me to bring you…” Natt looked at Jax who was far more confused. Only mad Terry in town had ever shown that much confusion in a single gaze, but he had been staring at an invisible purple elf that burped the alphebet at the time. At least that is what Terry had told Natt.
Jinx snorted at Jax. “Not you… they will eat you.” Jinx tried to be appologetic. “Fwiend.. Fly away and find somewhere safe to hide, we will come get you if Allen says it is ok.” Nattalie felt her heart race.
“My dad is there?”
Jinx shook his head sadly, “Not yet and we don’t have much time.”
Nattalie went to grab the saddle but Jinx growled at her. “No, they would kill you for even owning it.”
“ok.” Natt felt like a timid mouse trapped by a bunch of cats. She grabbed the cookies for safe keeping and placed them in her bag along with the fire starter.
When she went to follow him out she saw Jax frozen in fear, but ready to follow. “Jax, go hide already! I doubt talking is what makes Gnats deadly.” Jax did not want to die, but he did not want to explain that he let the Admiral’s daughter walk into a den of female Gnats. A male gnat was one thing, but a female gnat was bigger, stronger, uglier and deadlier.
Jinx turned to give him one last chance to fly away. Now that the anti-magic barrier had left with Natt he could gather up the air and set himself in a very tall very far away tree. He hoped that being close enough to see the static wall around Nattalie would not be close enough to be smelled.
Natt watched Jax float away up into the trees of the Yellow Valley. He headed toward the Yellow forest when she turned back to Jinx. “My father has told me nothing Jinx, and now your hiding things from me too!” Jinx still looked rather anxious. He was scared. Nattalie realized then that maybe some things she didn’t want to know. Jinx did not have to tell her to be silent as they approached the five gigantic gnats laying by a shallow pond. Each gnat had spotted brown and white fur, much more corse then Jinx had. Their horns were longer and twisted down like a ram in front of their sunken saucer like eyes. Natt had always thought Jinx must be attractive for a Gnat, and now she could see he was a beautiful gnat, and also very small.
Jinx whispered down to her, “They will not speak human, do not talk to them.”
The smaller of the five stood and growled at Jinx, its shadow casting over Nattalie like a bad omen.
There was a lot of growling and snorting as Jinx went from one to the next. He bowed in front of each, and then lay flat nose to the ground in front of the largest. After Natt was finally through shaking she waited patiently for Jinx to come back to her. Instead the largest one that Jinx lay in front of walked passed him nipping at his head. It floated gracefully, powerfully toward her. Her fear had been renewed. She had never doubted Jinx as a protector, until now.
The grumbling was low and gutteral as it stuck it’s great black eye into her face. The horn wrapped around it like a shield, Spiraling down like a funnel into that deep unblinking eye. Nattalie was fascinated by the emptiness inside the darkness. She was always told Gnats could not use magic, but now it seemed, looking into that horrible pit of black that they might be part of the magic itself.
The Gnat backed away suddenly and beckoned Jinx. He seemed to crawl on his belly to Nattalies side. Natt decided she should be kneeling or doing something other then standing. She knelt down next to Jinx and hoped that she wasn’t about to be devoured.
Jinx meowed softly a few times as the large gnat bellowed a fierce roar into Jinx’s ears. Nattalie did not know what to do but she could not watch Jinx be hurt when all her life she had been under his gracious care. Nattalie threw herself between the large gnat and Jinx. She started pleading, knowing that they could understand her. “Please don’t hurt him!” She felt herself ready to puke at the prospect of getting chomped in half by the beast. “Please… don’t hurt him.”
Jinx shuttered beneath her. She could not tell if it was relief, or release. The large gnat then spoke. It wasn’t as grumbly as Jinx, and almost sounded harmonic. “Child, I don’t hurt anyone I don’t eat.” The thing snorted at the two of them and walked back to her perch amongst the others. “Jinx,” she motioned for him to get up with a nonchalant wave of her massive paw. “Protect her, guide her, but do nothing for the father.” Jinx seemed to protest with a large awful cry.
“Dad?” Jinx would not look at her.
“Child,” the beast could have been a singing choir of faries, the voice was entrancing. “We protect only our own, and Jinx has chosen to claim you as his. He will never be able to choose a mate. He will be banned from our circles, and he most certainly will never be allowed in our presence again, but for that,”
She walked back to him, nuzzled his neck affectionately and turned her massive back to them. “he and you will always be under our protection, and never in our presence.”
Nattalie could feel her heart breaking. All of this was for her, he had given up everything from the day she was born, for her. “Jinx no… you can’t.”
“You are my human Nattalie,” he smiled sadly at her, “my greatest fwiend.” The five Gnats howled into the trees sending loose leaves, dead branches and birds of every kind skittering away.
Jinx pushed at her to walk away. It was not far that Natt could see her father and he waited for Jinx to trot toward him before he would come any closer to the den of gnats. Jinx hurriedly told him, “They will kill you Allen, you must go quickly and meet us at the Hallow lake.”
Again without explanation or any aknowledgement that she was there, her father sunk into the earth like the sky had pushed him under, and Jinx tossed her onto his back like a skinned carcass. Nattallie waited until Jinx stopped running before she lept down to get answers. Jax was not far behind in the sky stopping just short of her static shield and landing.
He had seen it all, and felt it all. Being a seer was a curse more then a gift. With beasts of such ties to the earth there was more intensity in the sight than there ever was in humans. The creatures that lived in the north were said to be deadly to seers because of the overwhelming power of their emotional projection.
Nattalie was glad to see Jax. He approached in the middle of Jinx trying to tell Nattalie that she should be grateful she has not had to bear the burden of such horrible secrets.
“Oh Jinx, I love you but father has been completely unfair!” She even stomped her foot like a kid having a tantrum. Jinx looked like he was laughing at her.
Jax said, “You mean, you really didn’t know about the barrier? Those gnats could have…” Jinx lunged at him grasping his neck in a sharp quick grip.
“Say nothing.” Jinx looked down into the seer with his brown pools, they glimmered and shined with a need to eat. “Can’t I just eat him Nattalie?”
Nattalie had not realized what had been said had anything to do with her. “No, you can’t Jinx, but father is full of aged tender muscle.”
Jinx dropped Jax to the ground and did not take his eyes from him. “You’ll know soon enough why Allen has done all he has done.” Jinx was telling Jax to keep quiet, no seer needed to be present to figure it out.
Jinx nodded and snorted at the boy and went back to Nattalie. “Hallow Lake?” Nattalie had never heard of any of the lands other then Yellow forest and Hallow Lake. Her Aunt lived at the end of Hallow Lake, and her great Uncle had a tool shop at the lake. “We get to see uncle?” Nattalie smiled unable to contain the excitement of finally meeting the man who her father had so much admired.
Allen had traveled very quickly by dividing the soil underground. He could sense something was wrong up ahead. He stopped and listened to the flows of energy coursing through the earth. Soldiers footsteps, and blood. Not a lot of it, and sulfur… and another one, metal he did not know. Allen backed away feeling for his way to Jinx and Nattalie.
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