Mana Mutation Menace (Journey to Chaos Book 3) (60 page)

“Mom’s Eternal Hobby is research
and crafting, so she can get weird about them when she’s in the mood,” Annala
answered.

“What's an 'Eternal Hobby'?
I've heard Sonic and others talk about it and I assume it's a long-lasting
hobby, but it seems more important than that.”

“We’re immortal. If we
don’t stay busy, we’ll go mad, so everyone has some hobby or two that they
focus on to prevent that from happening. It's part of the elven life cycle and
a crucial element of mental and emotional maturation. You can equate it to the
human desire to find their 'true calling,' or 'fulfilling their destiny.'”

“Is that why adult elves
are always….quirky?”

“Ahuh.”

They manage four repetitions of the story before they ran
out of time, then they ran to the stage near Dnnac. A crowd was already
gathered there and they squeezed their way through to reach the stage itself.
There, the producer, casting director, special effects artist, and stage
director appraised the year’s talent.

These four people were actually one person, Remo the
Trickster, but that single identity represented four aspects, and so they were
four trickster patron archetypes that inhabited a single form and a single soul.
They were not four personalities but one personality with four aspects; four
roles united into a single purpose and person.

He wore his golden-brown hair curled into a loop about his
ears along with a groomed bread. He also wore a toga, sandals, and a pen in his
ear. With a flourish of his arms that made his toga swirl, he boomed,
"Welcome! Welcome one and
all!"

His voice carried over the entire crowd and back to the
library, where it activated a special silence rune that was created
specifically for him.

"Today, I shall select the best among you to perform
this year's re-enactment of the birth of your species and culture,
Elven
Origin.
"

In the crowd, he spotted Ralm, whose attention was
commanded by the sight of Annala with Eric at her side. The Subjugation Collar
on her neck was impossible to miss, as were the grey hairs on her head and the
arm Eric snaked around her waist.

 "I have a good feeling about this group. I believe
it shall be the truest, most spot on, and realistic portrayal in
CENTURIES!"

Pyrotechnics exploded behind him.

"Now, one by one, I would like you to step forward
and ACT! Don't tell me what you're auditioning for—
show me
.
CONVINCE
ME
that you deserve the role you are seeking. Abandon your inhibitions and
let your soul ignite with
passion
! Now that we understand each other,
may the
Elven Origin
Open Audition
BEGGGGGIINNNNNN
!"

 This declaration was followed by more pyrotechnics and
several rockets shrieking into the sky and exploding into the words “Audition
in Progress.”

"What’s with the explosions?" Eric asked.

Annala shrugged. "He likes explosions."

By the time the auditions ended, Eric had been chosen for
the male lead and Annala the female lead. Remho said he saw great potential for
chemistry in the two of them. Ralm was to be the villain and Nilo as one of his
minions. Remho proclaimed that the female lead’s past and present boyfriends
fighting would make for stupendous method acting. The potential stage presence
excited him so much he called for an immediate rehearsal.

"Uh...That was quite a convincing act," Eric
said afterward.

"Thanks,” Ralm said. “I enjoyed beating you up on
stage because I'm terribly bitter that you stole my girlfriend and so I took it
out on you in a socially disguised manner."

Eric's jaw dropped. Such a frank and outrageous confession
had no precedence in his human memories and thus muffled his grendel mentality.
Given his previous behavior, he couldn’t even label the boy as a threat.

Ralm chuckled and playfully slugged his shoulder. "I'm
kidding. I was Belco last year so I want to try something different this
time."

"Nilo was his Arin," Annala added.

"That was
after
we broke up," Ralm said.
"Stop making me sound like a villain."

"You're playing one now," Annala drawled.

Ralm grinned sheepishly. "Walked right into that one,
didn't I? I’m sorry our thing didn’t work out, but we’re both with better
people now, so it’s all good, right?”

Annala looked down at her and Eric’s intertwined fingers.
“I guess so...”

“Good.” Nilo grabbed Ralm’s arm. “Then you won’t mind what
we do between now and the next rehearsal.”

The two of transformed into doves and flew away.

"He seems like a nice guy," Eric said.

"He is," Annala said, somewhat reluctantly.
"I shouldn't be mean to him...Or Nilo...It's just...we had a messy breakup
and... the village is kinda small..."

Eric hugged her.

"I got an idea," he whispered into her ear. "How
about we go on a picnic?"

"In the
winter
?"

"Welll...it doesn't have to be outside....We can get
some food and a blanket and...find a nice empty spot in the library—”

"So that's what this is about! You want to do more
reading."

"I want to read poems of love to the lady of my
heart."

Annala broke into a giggle fit so intense she had to lean
against him to avoid falling in the snow.
Not quite the effect I was going
for, but at least she's in a better mood...

“Hey, Eric!”

The grendel’s attention
was drawn to backstage where Kallen stood with her staff out. The five lights
inside gleamed.

“Are you ready for a
different kind of rehearsal?”

“What do you have in
mind?”

“The story of how the
Trickster’s Chosen harnessed the power of gods to slay an evil sorcerer powered
by Order.”

Kallen grabbed Eric’s free elbow, and, ignoring the look
on Annala’s face, she led the way to the next stage. The noise of the village gradually
died down until nothing but the wind could be heard. Her hand
accidentally
slid from his elbow to his palm on the way, and he didn't seem to mind. This
brought her more joy than she could stand. She bit her lip to stop the incoming
glee. Encouraged, she led him beyond the Chaotic Curtain hiding the village. It
washed over her as easily as it did him.

The Chaotic Curtain is supposed to befuddle anyone
without a Seed of Chaos. I guess that means Kallen is still drenched with it
after all these years…

All of a sudden, she stopped. Just as suddenly, she
twirled around. The expression on her face startled him. She was smiling
uncontrollably. The sheer
volume
of happiness radiating off her made him
feel light as a feather.
Not even my link with Kasile is as strong as
this...Why do I feel like this around her? How can she make me feel so....content?

Joy bloomed in Kallen's heart. She couldn't help it. It
was all she could do not to hug him. From his words to the four lights in his
crystal, only one thought appeared in her mind.
The time's almost come! It’s
almost here!
It was so loud she was positive he could hear it.

“Big sister,” Annala said, “I hope you don’t have your
eyes on my boyfriend.”

She leaned into Eric while holding his arm closer.

Kallen put her hands on her hips. “Sister guilt? Really,
Annala? I haven’t stolen anything from you in ages. Nothing since that doll
Grandpa Ferdinand gave you for your eighth birthday.”

“You stole my dessert just the other day.”

“Cruel to be kind. Nunnal’s taken your measurements, so
you gotta watch your figure.”

Annala frowned and her face puffed up. Eric thought it
looked charming.

“Rest assured,
even if he were my soul mate
, I
wouldn’t try to steal him from you. All I want right now is to teach him.”

"You can start with ‘why us’?"

“That’s a long story. Specifically, it’s ‘The Tale of The
Two Sisters.’ You’ll find it in the
Elven Tome
, latest chapter. Moving
on, each one of these lights can perform divine magic. It’s different from
Three Law Magic, so don’t feel bad if you don’t get it right away.”

Eric didn't think it would be any different, so he
approached it from that angle. He wasted an hour and a half. It was so
frustrating, he almost threw his staff on the ground. Kallen's laughter only
worsened his mood. Annala’s hug removed his anger and he fell into self-pity. He
felt like he was back on the Isle of Tisaq struggling with a basic fireball.

"I'm a better mage than this….Why can't I get
it?"

"You're trying too hard. You need to feel the power
and guide it out."

She knelt on the ground and cleared away a patch of snow
with her fingers. Then, without any effort or chants, they glowed with forest
green light. Kallen raised her hand and a small flower bloomed. It amazed Eric.
His eyes bugged out when the flower jumped out of the ground, ran up Kallen's
leg, and into her coat pocket. She stood up and brushed dirt off her hand.

"It helps to be humble."

"
You're
humble?"

"I can't tell you how humble I am because then I
would no longer be humble."

"That's a paradox."

"It really isn't. Try thinking about something else
like Annala.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. This is emotion-based magic and he gets more
emotional about you than he does about anything else.”

The couple heard a twinge of bitterness in her voice at
those last words.

Eric nodded and closed his eyes. There were so many qualities
he admired: her kindness, her intelligence, her mischievous streak, the way she
spoke in convoluted sentences, her simple beauty... Kallen smiled, eyes alight.
All four lights were shining.
Just one more...one more!

Finally deciding, Eric opened his eyes. With a sweep of
his staff, he pointed the crystal at the sky and shot a fireball the size of a
meteor. It escaped the earth's gravity. He watched it with pride until its glow
faded into the blackness of space.

“Wow!” Annala exclaimed.

"Not bad," Kallen said." A little showy,
but not bad. Can you do it again?"

Eric swung his staff a second time, and a third, and a
fourth, and finally waved it erratically. None of the lights responded. "Why
doesn't it work!?"

"Because you're treating it like regular
magecraft," Kallen explained. "How many times do I have to repeat
myself? Avatarcraft is different from the traditional Three Law system because
it’s based on emotions. If it’ll help, consider this a
Two
Law
system.
The laws are
feel
and
imagine
. Now thank me; it took me ages to
figure that out on my own."

“Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Eric succeeded in performing avatarcraft five more times
in the next hour. Then he fell flat on his back from exhaustion. The heat from
his body melted the snow into a puddle, evaporated it, and dried his winter
clothes before he could get as much as a chill.

"I feel like I'm on fire."

"That's because you kinda are," Kallen said.
"If you overuse these powers, you'll turn into whatever element you're
using.”

“Is that why the ancient avatars died?”

“So the theory goes.”

Four days passed. There was a full rehearsal on every one
of them and Eric was the only one who thought it wasn't going to be enough. He
was also the only one who hadn't seen the play every year since they were a
toddler. Afterward, he practiced with Kallen and, every day, he got better. He
could slide into the mindset quicker and easier, although the limitation
remained the same and would remain the same as long as he had a mortal coil.
Still, the rapid progress exhilarated him. His teacher was quick to remind him
why it was so rapid.

“You're standing on my shoulders. I spent years working
this out.”

Eric nodded, although his stomach turned at the phrase. He
was now three chapters into
Intermediate Magecraft
and Grey Dengel
guided him through the transition to rhyme-less spells. He'd learned a total of
four intermediate ones, with Explosion being the first. Without Grey Dengel to
explain the mechanics, he'd still be struggling with it.

He touched the red hair growing out of his head.
Even
as I learn two branches of magic, I still can't grasp something that should be
as natural as breathing...

"Eric, pay attention!" Kallen shouted.

Eric was so startled his avatarcraft destabilized and a
cloud burst over him; just him. He was trying to generate holy water, but
instead, a cloud rained on him.

"You really shouldn't space out with Waol's
power," Kallen admonished. "Humans and elves are two-thirds water;
you might do something nasty on accident."

"Sorry...just thinking about something..."

"Shapeshifting?"

"How'd you know?"

"It’s not hard with the way you touched your hair
just now. It'll happen. Trust me; it will."

"How do you know?"

Kallen grabbed several strands of hair and made sure they
belonged to the streaks of golden-brown. “Did you really think this happened in
a mana storm?” She flipped it and collapsed her staff. “Let's stop for today.
We can take up your training again tomorrow."

“Sure.” Eric collapsed his own staff. “It’s about time for
the vanguard to arrive anyway.”

“What!?” Kallen pulled out her scry to check the time.
“Abyss! You’re right!” She pulled her staff back out. “I’m not gonna have time
to change!”

Lightning flashed and she was gone. Eric chuckled and left
their training area the old-fashioned away; one foot in front of the other.

This area was a small space outside the village. By now,
it was dotted with craters, mounds, lava pools, ice fields, and a micro jungle.
If one scrubbed the grass or snow, they could quickly generate enough static
electricity to power an oven. Much of it was charred, flooded, or overgrown and
then
frozen
. Eric felt confident in his new abilities, but, as powerful
as they were, they still wouldn’t be enough to kill someone empowered by Order
himself. He needed the final light, but Wiol hadn’t answered his bi-daily
prayers for an audience.