Novio shrugged.
“It is for us.”
Ion continued
to gape at the Elfling. “How am I supposed to venture out there?”
He gestured towards the desert. “Without getting lost, that
is?”
Novio stroked
his chin, frowning. After a thoughtful second, he bent down by the
chair’s side, unzipped his backpack and rummaged through the items
within it. After digging through what appeared to be a clutter of
junk for a whole minute or so, he slowly straightened up, holding a
small circular object. He tossed it to Ion, who caught it with both
hands. It was a small compass.
“Just follow
northeast, kid.” He told Ion. “You should reach the place in a few
hours.”
A few
hours!
Ion felt his insides scream. His gaze leaped towards the
horizon, past the vast desert sprawl. He cursed his ill luck,
feeling frustration sap his energy. But he fought down his anger,
knowing that things could’ve been a lot worse: As of now, he had an
escape route, a means to leaving the planet unhindered, without
alerting the authorities … and that was something to be grateful
for. And his fears of being discovered and caught bore no reasoned
basis. There was nothing to be afraid of, he reasoned. Not when
nobody even knew that he was a mystic … yet.
“Thanks.” He
told Novio, who nodded and then sank back to his rocking chair,
dropping the silver backpack by his side again.
Ion set off,
glancing at the compass before stuffing it into his pocket.
He felt the
night’s chill wrap around him like a frosty blanket, its freezing
effect sinking right into his bones. Clutching his sides as he half
shivered, Ion trotted forth down the unleveled land.
He felt the
same pang of resentment at the twisted fate that had found him …
that had found this world he lived in. The conversation from his
cruiser journey echoed within him:
“
Do you
really think that all of them deserve to be condemned?…Come on,
surely there’ve gotta be innocent ones among them. And surely they
don’t deserve the prosecution they face here, right?”
“
Whether or
not that’s true, I really don’t care. But I’m definitely glad
they’ve been chased out of our world. We can’t risk being enslaved
by a tyrant like Redgarn ever again, can we? … It’d be hard to find
innocent mystics and if we do find them, it’s too bad they’re a
part of such a lethal class of men.”
The Iveling Ion
had spoke to on the cruiser was just a class of people who held
this twisted belief … and this class of men had literally consumed
the entire spectrum…
The ignorance
that had founded the spectrum’s hatred for mystics was ignited by
fear … The spectrum held a deep seated fear of mystics for their
unnatural powers and the superiority it gave them over other men.
But this fear was aggravated greatly by the fact that mystics had
been responsible for the darkest age in the history of the
world…
Long ago, a
group of twisted, satanic mystics had misused their powers to rise
to dominance over the entire spectrum. They had oppressed and
enslaved all of mankind under their tyrannical, chaotic rule. A
rule that had left its blotch on the pages of time. It was an age
of evil that the world had never forgotten.
This dark
period had carved a deep rooted fear and hatred for mystics among
the peoples of the spectrum. When their rule fell and the spectrum
was free again, the people had grown to hate and dread mystics. And
so, driven to ensure that such a thing never came to pass again,
the spectrum’s states had together taken an extreme step … they had
decided to condemn and hunt down all mystics. They wanted to keep
themselves free from even the slightest threat that could come in
the form of a mystic. Abandoning humanity and reason, they had
banished and chased out all mystics, rooting them all out of the
many states of the spectrum. The Naxim, an anti terrorist
organisation with its focus on curbing mystical terrorism, had been
established. And the entire world had entered a deeply anti mystic
age, which spawned until today…
Ion caught
himself and shook off the negative thoughts, bringing his mind back
to focus. That was what made all the difference in the world. In
their world … the world of the mystic.
Mind
made all the
difference, and if used correctly, with the right discipline … it
would unleash miracles.
“
Guide your
focus away from negativity always, Ion.”
The words of
the great man resonated within Ion, making nostalgic reverence well
within him. The words of the man who had changed Ion’s life … his
great mentor.
“
Keep your
focus on the store of infinite positivity lying within.”
Jedius
had once told him.
“Keep your mind’s eye on the trove of unbound
wonders inside of you… and you shall bring about wonders outside of
you as well.”
Ion drew in a
deep breath as the memory of that voice shook him from within.
Sighing inwardly, He descended a giant crated like depression on
the ground. He pulled his compass out as he did every few minutes,
to check if he was still on the right route.
I must have
crossed at least four miles.
He calculated roughly.
Another
sixteen miles to go.
Pocketing the
compass, he climbed over the other edge of the crater and walked on
idly.
__________
Varn stretched
within the car, feeling boredom gnaw at him. As a taximan, it was
hard to keep himself busy. Fares were getting harder to find these
days, and his hover car, a compact four seater vehicle, was
beginning to go low on activity.
Varn traveled
about from place to place, looking for people who might need
transport services, including interplanetary transport. For almost
an hour now, he had stayed rooted to this gloomy place he’d arrived
to, where there was almost nothing lively going on. Keeping his
hopes up, Varn had decided to cling to this place, waiting for a
fare who might pass by.
He was parked
by the side of a small hut. Since nightfall, he hadn’t seen a soul
crossing the place about him.
A low
bang
drew his attention, making him bolt upright. A figure
stood outside his cab, gesturing to him to open the door.
A fare!
He thought, slightly stunned.
It’s about bloody time.
He opened the
door, and the man’s features came to clarity from the light within
the car. He was an Elfling, wearing a large brown hat over his
head. A badge lay pinned to his cloak’s breast which read, ‘NOVIO
–VILLAGE HEADMAN’
“I just came
into direct contact with a mystic!” Novio burst out. “A boy with
messy red hair. He came to me asking for directions. I need to get
to the nearest Naxim base to report this now!”
Varn stared at
him for a few seconds, feeling a rising disillusionment.
“
What?
”
he whispered, pulling himself straight.
Without
waiting, Novio slid into the vehicle by his side, carrying a silver
backpack by his side.
“Listen,” he
said slowly, with the air of one mustering a great patience in the
face of a heated situation. “I just came across a
mystic
. A
superhuman, lethal creature walking around in our land. I need you
to get me to the nearest Naxim base, so I can report this and make
sure that this mystic is brought down immediately. So fly!”
__________
Officer Gowden
heard what was being told to him, but the tossing effect of the
words reached him a second late.
“A – a
mystic?”
Novio was
carrying a silver backpack, which he unzipped. After furiously
digging through a heavy clutter of items in the bag, he slowly
brought out a small, gleaming disc like device.
Gowden, an
officer for the Naxim, recognised the device instantly.
“This is the
mystical energy detector that Naxim bases here had recently gotten
delivery of.” Novio explained, wagging the disc shaped device. “I’d
gotten one from another Naxim base just yesterday. I had the
mystical energy detector in this backpack,” He gestured to the
silver backpack with the clutter of items within it. “which I
luckily had by the side of my rocking chair when this mystic
happened to pass me. Around then, I’d heard whispers of something
in a nearby terrorist base, involving a mystic. And so, I stayed
out late, keeping an eye for something fishy. My caution payed off:
just later, a young man passed me, asking for directions to leave
the planet. He was in a hurry. I knew something was up. And so, in
the middle of the conversation, I got the chance to look into the
backpack. And when I did, I saw that the mystical energy detector
inside the bag was giving positive readings… The boy was a
mystic.”
As the shock of
the revelation cleared slowly, Gowden felt a supreme sense of
focus. It was now time for action.
“Good, thanks
for bringing this to us, sir.” He told Novio, frowning. He could
feel the gravity in his own tone. “You’ve given us vital
information. And now, we’ve got a burning task at hand. We’ll have
to find and bring down this mystic. Immediately.” He paused, and
felt his frown deepen. “But locating the boy, wherever he is now,
is going to be the hard part.”
“It wouldn’t.”
said Novio, his lip twisting in what could have been a sly smile.
“I’ve made your task a little too easy: Right now, the boy’s
carrying a tracking device which he believes to be a
compass
.” He paused for a complacent chuckle. “He actually
believed me when I told him it was, and took it along with him! He
should be carrying the tracking device with him now.” Reaching into
the silver bag again, Novio pulled out a small metallic device
smaller than a z-com and passed it to Gowden. “That is the monitor
to his tracking device. It’ll show you exactly where he is. And
where he goes.”
Gowden pressed
the only button on the small device, and a small holographic screen
filled the air right atop the device. It was a map, with a pinpoint
focus on a small moving dot. The mystic. He was blissfully unaware
of the fact that the ‘compass’ he was carrying with him now was
actually a tracking device… and that his movements were now
completely monitored. With every step he took.
His mouth
slightly ajar, Gowden locked eyes with Novio, who was still
smiling.
“You’ve just
done this world a great service, sir.” said Gowden, feeling a rush
of adrenaline. “Your quick thinking has just helped us identify a
dangerous, potent threat … and to stomp it out instantly.”
Novio gave a
nod. “No problem … So what’s the plan, captain?”
“There isn’t
one.” said Gowden, smiling. “This is done.” He turned and strode
towards the door of his office, crunching his knuckles. “Now that
we have his location, I’ll take a large squadron, and get to
wherever he is in less than a couple minutes … And we’ll bring him
back – dead or alive.” He gave a loose chuckle. “Not that it
matters, really.”
__________
Ion had decided
to cut himself time by making a speedy bolt across the land. With
his mystic powers, he knew he could reach uncanny speeds in a
steady pace, without growing tired.
The wind swept
past him as he tore through the desert terrain. At speeds
unimaginable to normal men. The scenery around him rushed
backwards, flashing past in a groggy blur.
The rough land
hampered his progress: craters and miniature hills came by his
path, forcing his speed to falter as he ran along the unleveled
terrain. But Ion’s razor sharp senses attuned themselves to the
nature of his surroundings, giving him the split second’s notice he
needed to jump over a hill, or dive down a depression on the ground
ahead of him.
Every few
minutes, he would lower his speed and draw out the compass the
village headman had given him. Checking to ensure that he hadn’t
wavered from the right path.
Twenty miles
northeast…
Ion continued
sweeping across the land at a brutal speed for a few minutes,
before he found himself approach what looked like a village greatly
similar to the earlier one. He calculated that he must have covered
half the distance or more.
A slight
fatigue sapped at his resolve: The unbroken cross country sprint
across the land left him slightly weary. Deciding for a brief halt
at the village, he broke his speed steadily, and came to a
trot.
The village was
doused in silence, with the only sounds coming from the clinking of
vessels in a house or two. All no larger than one storey, the small
brick structures were spread out evenly over the smoothened
terrain. The houses had straw roofs covering them, with large
windows almost half the size of the door.
Ion walked past
one of them, watching as an old man with a flowing white beard
stared at him from the window. He smiled at the old man, partly to
convey the message that he wasn’t bringing any trouble. But the man
continued to stare at him.
Gosh, this
lonely place doesn’t have a lot of visitors does it?
Walking by, Ion
wondered if he could find a place for refreshments somewhere
nearby. He walked past a slightly larger hut, where nobody was
visible through the window. Most of the hut like buildings were
houses, and mild chatter could be discerned from within a few of
them.