Fairy Opera Chapter 4: Escape

 

Escape

A dozen soldiers filed out of the nearby hallway and surrounded us, spears pointed. Orion held his hand up. “I don’t want to do this, but I have to.” He snapped and a scroll appeared in his hand. “Null Borvis. Destroy.”

“No!” Ruby flew towards Orion.

Orion continued. “Exception note X, Y, Z, Pi.”

The whole world erupted in bright light. When the light cleared, all of the soldiers were on the floor, and the walls were charred.

Ruby flew over to Orion. “You idiot!”

“How else were we supposed to get out of that situation?” Orion turned to the door. “Quick. Your family is almost at the gallows.”

I shouldered my way through the door to the gallows. Stepping out onto the platform, I was greeted by hundreds of citizens watching the ceremony. Ami stood on the platform, her neck tied with a noose.

All at once there was silence. A man wearing a black cloak and a strange skull-like helmet walked onto the platform. He held a strange device in his hand, a wand-like stick that was covered in mechanical devices and runes. He approached the gallows.

“Boy.” He pointed his stick at me. “Null Decivio. Reminder gone.”

Orion leaped out behind me, holding a similar stick. “Apac Crush! Target zero!”

Two streams of magic clashed right in front of the gallows, in full view of the whole town. When the magic streams collided, they exploded outwards, sending a wave of energy through the crowd that bowled over many of them. I stood against the heat and force.

The man in black whipped his wand again. He said something I couldn’t catch. A bright light surrounded him and my sister. Then they disappeared.

The peacekeepers and soldiers appeared to be keeping their distance. I didn’t blame them, after that show of force.

Orion turned to me. “Let’s go. We have to get out of here before the magic hunters arrive.” He whipped his wand through the air. “Create object. Import sky engine. Import frame two dash one.”

A small sky dinghy formed in front of Oroin. He, Tae, myself, and Jak leaped onto it. The ship floated away from the ground and sped off towards the open sky.

“We can expect pursuit.” Orion steered the boat with a wooden steering wheel. “This ship isn’t fast and it isn’t sturdy. We’re going to have to find a bigger and better ship if we ever want to save your sister.”

Jak stood up, brushing off his pants. “Who are you and what happened?”

Orion sighed. “You’re Rock’s uncle, are you not?”

“I am.”

“Well, whether you like it or not, you’re with us.”

“I don’t care about that. I want to know who you are and why we were taken away by the peacekeepers. Why were we about to be executed? And what was that light show all about?”

“Not now!”

An arrow thunked into the wood of the boat. I turned and saw a pursuit of several small, fast sky ships. One of them featured a large ballista. Several sailors were rolling back the string.

“Watch out! They’ve got power!” I gripped the side of the boat.

“Tae!” Orion yelled at her. “You’re good at steering! Get us out of here!”

Tae grabbed the wheel. “Sorry about this, guys.”

Jak gripped a rope. “You haven’t answered my question!”

“We’ll handle that when we’re not in mortal danger!” Tae whipped the wheel to port and our ship careened through the sky.

“Okay! What can I do to help?” Jak staggered across the deck.

“Just stay down!”

Orion held out his hand. “Null Bravos. Set Parameters one-four-seven. Burn hotter. Fire!”

A large fireball shot from his hands and impacted one of the pursuing ships. The ship fell towards the skyfloor, its sails wrapped in flames. The sailors leaped off of the deck and opened their parachutes.

The ship with the ballista finished prepping. A gigantic bolt flicked through the air, heading straight for us.

“Apropos. Shield!” Orion held out his hand and a force field formed in front of our boat. The ballista bolt cracked against it, sending shivers of electricity through the body of the shield. Then the shield dissolved and the ballista bolt fell away.

The ballista ship readied another bolt. Orion was breathing heavily. “I can’t do this again.”

“I’ll do it. Give me the scroll!”

“That’s a fifth level spell.” Orion felt in his coat pocket. “But I’ll put our lives in your hands.” He handed me a scroll.

The words on it were different than what he had said before.

“I’ll answer your question before you ask.” Orion knelt on the ground. “Apropos casts a certain spell put in your spell slot storage. You’re going to have to read the whole thing.”

I opened the scroll.

Orion coughed. “It’s a long one. Hurry!”

“Null Operatus. Begin plate protocol.”

Several more arrows struck the ship. Tae spun the wheel again and the ship listed.

“When plate protocol is established, turn invisible.”

“You’ve got great pronunciation. Keep going.” Orion stood back up.

The ballista ship was almost done preparing the next shot.

“Plate protocol?” That part had a question mark. “Delete secondary establishment.”

The ballista pointed straight at us.

“Destroy atomic nucleation. Expand!”

The ballista bolt flew. Just as it was about to strike us, it slammed into a red force field.

“Good! Now jerk the spell!”

“Jerk the what?” I panicked. The force field disappeared.

“Not good.” Orion leaned against the ship. “I’ll take care of this now. I’ve recovered.” He held out his hand. “Null Canus.” He breathed out. “Set variables X, Y, Z, P, Q. Name X as myself. Q is an inanimate object. Belay if untrue.”

The ballista began its loading process again.

Orion continued to chant. “Bubble size: ten meters, radius.”

A ball of energy grew out from Orion’s hand. It expanded until it covered the entire boat.

“Stop the boat.” Orion held his hand up.

Tae pulled a rope and the sail furled. The boat stopped moving.

The two pursuit ships passed by us without even slowing. The sailors on the deck appeared to be confused.

“Are we invisible?” Tae leaned back.

“No. We’re just not important enough for anyone to notice us.” Orion stood up, shaking. “Boy, you’ve got talent. No one else could have cast that spell so quickly.”

“It was easy. I just read what was on the parchment.” I shrugged.

Orion shook his head. “No. Rock, you have a talent that very few people have. I believe you are a technomage.”

“What is that?”

“It’s someone who has an innate connection to scode, the magical language. Your ability to read the cluster runes without training proves that.”

“Cluster runes? They look like normal letters to me.”

“And that’s the magic.”

The two pursuit craft got further and further away, to the point where we were able to slip by and head in the opposite direction.

Jak looked between us. “Now that we’re out of danger, can you answer my question? Who are you and why are you able to use magic? Also, why did the Empire try to execute me?”

“Because Rock has acquired the mark of the magician.” Orion faced me. “Rock has inherited an ancient contract, between man and god. A contract that was once considered lost.”

Ruby flew out from my pocket. “And I’m here too!” She moved in circles around Jak’s shoulders. “Don’t forget me!”

“The fairy.” Orion sighed. “I know it’s far too late for this, but you spoke to her and now we’re here.”

“So wait.” Jak frowned. “You’re telling me that the ancient order of the magus is alive and well, and my nephew is now a member.”

“Not technically, but you have the right idea.” Orion looked out over the horizon. “I have a friend I’d like us to meet. Tae, can you steer us following this map?” Orion took a map out of his haversack and handed it to Tae.

Tae took the map and nodded. “Sure thing, boss.” She turned to the controls, unfurled the sails, and steered us slightly to starboard. The skyfloor stretched out beneath us, an endless ocean of green.

I turned to Orion. “I want to know. What’s magic, and why am I able to use it?” I looked around us. “Now that we have a bit of time.”

“Magic and scode are inseparable. Scode is a language that connects reality to the forces of the aether.”

“What are those scrolls that I have to read?” I crossed my arms.

“I want to know too.” Tae turned from the helm. “Both you and Ruby produced those scrolls out of seemingly nowhere.”

Jak looked between myself and Orion. “I think I’m the most confused here. I want to know these answers as well.”

Ruby landed on my shoulder. “Tell them, Orion-sage.”

Orion sighed. “In order to invoke the powers of magic, one must first write a spell on a medium. The medium becomes one with the aether. Each time you cast the spell, with exceptions, you must read from the scroll. It’s possible to improvise a spell but you risk destroying yourself.”

“Okay. So scode is the language of magic. Then why do I understand it like I understand Common?”

“I thought I told you that. You’re a technomage.” Orion sat down. “Let me tell you a story. Before the God Emperor came to the throne, about three hundred years ago, there was an order of mages who kept peace in the land. The Fey Accompli.”

Tae turned the steering wheel a bit. “I think I’ve heard of them.”

“Right. It’s suppressed knowledge under the God Emperor. But there was a time before.”

“And you’re one of them.”

“No. I was an acolyte.” Orion’s face changes, as if he is remembering a painful event. “But in any case, all magicians were hunted down. I am the only one I know of who continues the tradition of magic.”

“There are probably others, right?” Tae looked away from the wheel.

“I do not know. Considering the size of the population of the Empire, and the fact that several magicians were never accounted for, there may be. But I am alone as far as I know.”

“Okay.” Jak crossed his arms. “I think I get it. You dragged my nephew into an ancient cult that is banned by the Empire and caused myself and my niece to be captured and sentenced to death.”

“I did not choose him. I do not even know how he ended up at my doorstep.”

I gave an awkward grin. “I, ah, a cat led me to a dump pile and then all of a sudden there was a flash.”

Orion clapped his hand to his forehead. “By the gods. I must have accidentally thrown out a talisman.”

“Talisman?”

“The Fey Accompli used talismans to store and detect magical power.” Orion sighed. “Well, it’s no use considering what could have happened. It’s all in the past now. For the moment, we have to focus on surviving.”

Ruby kicked her feet back and forth while sitting on my shoulder. “So you know someone, Orion-sage?”

Orion turned away. “I do. I just hope he’s still where I think he is.”

A school of skyfish came through a cloud above us, their shadows flowing across the deck. Orion looked up at them and snapped his fingers. A scroll appeared in his hand.

“Null Canus One. Drag. Target acquisition, import. Careful. Drag towards.”

An invisible claw entrapped one of the skyfish. The fish struggled, but was drawn towards the boat. When it landed on the deck Orion hit it in the head with his staff. The fish stopped moving. It was a small breed, a mani-pot, about the size of a small cat.

Orion took a knife from his belt. “Lunch?”

“How are we going to cook this thing on a ship this small?” Jak looked at the fish with curiosity.

“We’re not going to cook it. Have you ever had sashimi?”

“I don’t even know what that is.” Jak appeared interested, though.

Orion carved it up raw and we ate it.

Surprisingly, it was delicious.

 

5

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