Vincent Trigili - The Enemy of an Enemy

“Yes,” I said.

“That was the grandmaster of the sorcerers.He was upset that the Dark Knights were winning that fight. Theyproved to be far more powerful than the sorcerers had guessed, andif not for his arrival the Dark Knights might have successfullytaken control of that colony,” he said.

“Really? I had not realized that,” Isaid.

“Yes, but the point is: Did you notice howthe grandmaster did nothing to stop the weapon fire, it just had noeffect on him? That is what is known as a passive energy field. Hewas so wrapped up in power that those attacks were insignificant incomparison and were just absorbed,” he said.

“That is very impressive, but what does thathave to do with Larath?” I asked.

“Larath had a shield up to block you that,had you been a mundane person, would have made him completelyinvulnerable to your staff blow. He thought he was safe because hedid not think you would blast him with your staff because of therisk of hitting the people behind him. But as you approached him,do you remember the look of fear on his face? Yes, I was watchingthe whole thing take place; it was too important not to. But do youremember the look? As you closed in on him he could see the powerbuilding in you. By the time you swung your staff, you had so muchpower behind that swing that ten Laraths could not have stoppedit.”

“Surely you cannot be right. I mean, I didnot call on my powers, at least I do not think I did.” I was tryingto think back to what precisely had happened.

“You see, that is exactly why I am concerned.If you can bring forth that level of power without meaning to, Iworry that unintentionally you will start forcing your will onsituations when you know you should not. For example, bargainingwith the Emperor for a ship,” he said.

“Now wait a minute, Mantis, I know I did notuse any power on him, … ” I began.

“No, you did not. But if you can kill Larathwith your powers unintentionally, what is to stop you fromunintentionally doing other things?” He just left that commenthanging, and I had no answer to it.

Eventually I said, “Nothing, I suppose.”

“No, not nothing. One bright spot in yournews is your marriage to Kellyn. She is a great stabilizer for you.You will have to learn to control this intensity of yours, and turnit into a powerful weapon against the sorcerers. You merely have toaccept that it is an issue and decide to fix it. Everything to dowith our art centers on willpower, and you have that in greatabundance. Make it work for you instead of you working for it,” hesaid.

I thought about that a long while, and thensaid, “I understand, and will work on it.”

“Now, about Rannor. That is a mostinteresting development, and while I do not think you are ready tostart training others, you cannot just leave him to himself. Readyor not, you must train him. In this box are all the entry-levelbooks that we use in our schools. Vydor, understand that it willprobably take him fifty or sixty years to reach the level you havealready reached in your more basic powers. I do not understand whyyou are all growing so fast in power, but the Council continues toassure me that this is the way it must be,” he said and placed asmall box on the table. I knew better than to open it here, as itwould be much easier to carry all the books he had somehow stuffedinside it while they were still in that tiny box.

“Well, as long as those materials give usfair expectations for him, however long it takes is however long ittakes,” I said.

“As for Terathan XV, this is news to me and Iwill have to investigate at our end. We might have underestimatedtheir ability to recover from their last loss here; we did notexpect them to make a showing for at least another year. I willcontact you about that when I know more, but not tomorrow. Tomorrowyou need to give completely to Kellyn.” And with that he left. Iwondered if I would have a heart attack if he ever actually made anattempt at a goodbye.

I took the box down to the library and leftit on an empty shelf to deal with another day. Right now, I neededto get some sleep.

I lay there in my bed a long time justthinking about what Mantis had said. I slowly opened my mind to thepower that I had and could see the swirling energy around me.Mantis at one time called me a spellweaver. He also said my naturaltalent for seeing magic meant I worked directly with the energy inits purest form. While most wizards had to convert the energy intosomething else to use it, such as fire or electricity, I couldweave the power itself.

Something else he had said at that time hadnot hit home until now. He said that all the grandmasters werespellweavers, and because of it they dominated any battle they wereinvolved in. As I looked at the amount of power that flowed aroundme, I finally accepted my fate and embraced it. I was trulygrandmaster of this realm.

When I did that I felt something shift. Itwas as if the scales of the universe tipped slightly from darknesstowards light. Yes, that was it: the balance of power in this realmhad just changed for the better. Hope and confidence welled upinside me as I realized this, and I was finally able to get somesleep.

I woke early the next morning and dressed inthe full ceremonial robes of my office. I needed to look my best onmy wedding day. While I was getting ready a call came over theintercom from Luke, saying that the Dark Talon was incoming, so Itold him I would meet them down in bay two.

When I arrived, the bay had just finishedpressurizing and the Dark Talon’s doors were opening. Twenty-fiveof the Dark Knights filed out of the craft and into the bay. Theylined up at perfect attention as if ready for an inspection. Theircommander came towards me and said, “We are honored to take care ofthe Nevermore for you today.”

“Thank you. You will find that most of theship is fully automated, as there are only seven people on boardwho can fly her. Feel free to disengage what automation you need toin order to do your job. I do not expect any trouble out here, butshould any come, handle what has to be handled and contact meimmediately,” I said.

“Yes, sir. Did I hear you right that thereare only seven people to run this ship and fly her into thepotential battle we are about to face?” he asked.

“Yes, there are currently only seven wizardsunder my command,” I said. “I must be going. If I am even a momentlate for our rehearsal this morning, well … let’s just say I darenot risk it.”

He smiled at that, turned and led his squadout. “Luke, when they arrive, make for the garden. They willknow what to do.”

“Okay, Vydor,” he responded.

Once the captain and the others arrived intheir shuttle, I took them down to the gardens. After an exchangeof pleasantries Andreya took charge. I spent the rest of themorning standing where I was told to stand and moving only wheninstructed.

Kellyn wanted a simple but formal-stylewedding. To create this effect, she and Andreya rearranged thegarden so that there was a path from the entrance flanked byvarious pink and purple flowers that led to a grassy knoll alsoflanked by flowering bushes and small trees, with a waterfall inthe center of the back wall of bushes. It was in front of thatwaterfall that the captain would marry us. There were no illusionsanywhere. Kellyn insisted on a pure ceremony.

When the time finally came for the wedding Itook my place in front of the captain and waited for her to come. Ifelt her presence long before she came into view, but when she didI was almost overwhelmed with emotion. She was dressed in astunning, pure white gown that was tastefully decorated with pinkand clear crystals. She came slowly up the path escorted, to mysurprise, by Mantis. Despite, or maybe because of, the lack ofmagic, the ceremony was a powerful experience.