The War Over Time
By Indon
Ch.16 Convergence part 2
Exactly 27.042 seconds later (Robo counted), a gate opened about ten feet above the ground near the bucket, at the place Kino was standing. A man within his early 20s fell out of the gate.
"Hello, Robert." said Elise.
"Do I know you?"
"I am Elise." She addressed everybody. "I knew you would all be here at this point in the universe right now. If you weren't going to be here naturally, I made it so you would. You are all necessary for a task that will save this world. Only Gaspar, Robo, and I are not vital to this task. Together, you make 12, Janus, Balthasar, Crono, Lucca, Marle, Ayla, Kino, Cyrus, Glenn, Schala, Jason, and Robert." She gestured to each person as she mentioned them.
Elise continued, "Together, You will utilize a relic called the Aeon Gate. An Aeon Gate holds tremendous power, and the forces of evil are trying to tap its awesome might. You will keep them from opening the gate, and use all of your magic to open it yourselves. Then, you will use its power to defeat the evil forces invading this world."
Marle interrupted, "Umm, Elise?"
"What?"
"Does opening an Aeon Gate require us all to have magic power?"
"Yes, of course."
"Well… that could be a problem…"
"Why?"
"What the girl is trying to say," Janus interrupted, "Is that those two can't learn magic." He pointed to Ayla and Kino.
"What? Why can't they learn magic?" Elise, for the first time in a long time, was puzzled.
"Well, When Lavos landed," Lucca was preparing to explain, "He emitted energy waves at a frequency that the human genome responded to. Over time, we evolved the ability to use magic, but not until long after Ayla's and Kino's generation."
Elise's face had an expression of horror.
It must be the energy of the Gate, thought Elise. I never saw this 'Lavos'. What did he do to this world?
Elise mentally disciplined herself, and once again inwardly calm, she had a flash of insight and said, "Could somebody please tell me the names of the elements?"
Jason answered promptly, "Fire, Water, Lightning, and Shadow."
So that was what Lavos did. All the worlds she had visited had four elements, plus a fifth element, Spirit. The element Shadow she had never heard of, in any world. The first four, on her world, were named Fire, Water, Lightning, and Earth. Sometimes the names were different depending on the world, but there were always those four. The fifth had no consistent name. It was of all elements, and of none. However, what happened was obvious. Lavos had, somehow, combined the fifth element with earth, thus corrupting both and dislodging the eterical balance. Elise sighed. This was going to be harder than she thought. MUCH harder.
With Elise absorbed in her thoughts, and nobody talking, Robert got impatient after a time, as none of his questions were being answered. He said, "You know what? I'm sick of waiting with all these stories, everybody is going to spill their guts. Now." Robert drew twin pistols. "So, who wants to talk first?"
Janus started laughing.
"What's so funny?"
"I was about to propose the same thing, but I'm not so moronic as to challenge a room full of powerful magicians."
"Well I'll have you know, I'm a powerful Shadow magician myself, and a time soldier of 1999 as well."
Both Janus and Crono stood. Crono was about to speak, but Janus raised his hand and said, "Let me." Absently, he was wondering if he was still as intimidating as he was as the Magus. Good time to find out, He thought.
He turned to Robert and said, "Allow me to introduce the people of this crowd. That is Crono. He is a master with a blade called a katana, He uses lightning. The woman with the purple hair and the glasses is called Lucca. She uses a gun, like you, but it operates off of the energy of the sun stone. Never heard of it? It figures. She has mastered the power of fire.
"Those two, and I, defeated Lavos via the Black Omen at 12,000 B.C., by Zealian years, 512." Robert's eyes widened slightly, betraying his shock. "I see you have heard of Lavos. The monster that would have destroyed the world in your time? One and the same. Those two cavepeople, as they are called, aided us. Their names are Ayla and Kino. The blonde is Marle, the robot is Robo, The green-haired knight is Glenn. They aided us as well. Marle is also a Princess of Guardia. That man's name is Cyrus. He was a Knight of the Square Table, don't ask me how he lives today. That man is Balthasar, Zealian Guru of Reason, and that man sleeping at the lamppost is Gaspar, Guru of Time." Robert was visibly shaking. "The young lady with the purple robes is Schala, Former Princess of Zeal. The man dressed like an Earthbound with a brown cloak is Jason, Former King of Zeal. I am Janus, Former Prince of Zeal. Ironically, perhaps even fittingly, I have a second face as well. I am also the Magus, Former leader of the mystics." Janus drew his scythe and looked as menacing as possible. His cloak started billowing about him, without wind. Janus sensed that it was his father's doing. A couple others caught on and so helped, as well. Crono made it appear as if he was charged with electricity, Schala darkened the air around him, adding to the effect of his intimidation. Lucca made the blade of his scythe begin smoldering, then a flame lit his weapon, the fire as red as blood. I'm going to have to ask her how she did that, Janus thought to himself, while at the same time wondering at the comraderie that sprung up seemingly out of nothing.
Janus walked right up to where Robert stood, and simply said, "I harvest souls as a hobby, you see, and yours looks good. Goodbye, mortal." Janus prepared to strike, and Robert fainted.
Janus relaxed his battle posture and cracked a grin. "Speaking of talking, I think we should start conversing in earnest now." Janus said, and walked back to where he was sitting near Schala. Everybody pretty much forgot about Robert, but Balthasar looked at his unconscious form occasionally and chuckled.
Ch.17 A Substansial Amount of Talking
End of Time
Hours had passed, and stories had been told. Elise had explained why she was worried, and her theory about Lavos’ corruption of the elements. The Zealians were especially fascinated by this. Then, Crono and Marle described the quest to defeat Lavos, with occasional supporting points from Lucca and Robo. After that, Janus briefly encapsulated his entire life, mentioning every important event (that he wanted to tell the others). Robert awoke, said that he was sorry for threatening to kill the others.
“Actually, it was a rather amusing break from discussion, ” Jason said.
“Well, I do want to hear your circumstances,“ Lucca said.
“First, I would wish an explanation from my father,” Janus said,” he has heard my story, but I and Schala have not yet heard his.”
“All right,” Jason took a deep breath. With his demeanor he seemed to attract the attention of everybody in the room. Jason noticed this and smiled. “That talent comes from being King of Zeal, It’s a pity I could never teach you, Janus. However, I see you have learned other skills in my absence. You came out strong because your environment required it of you. Even I could not teach you that. In fact…”
“Stop rambling.”
“Sorry, son. Well, First I must ask you a question. How did the Queen say I had died?”
“She said you were attacked by a thief as you and her were exploring a mountain. She said you were thrown off a cliff by the thief, but you dragged the thief off as well,…”
“Thus heroically saving the queen, and showing the council of Gurus that I had died a martyr. That bitch turned that to a political advantage. Ha! She picked that trick up from me!”
“How is that a political advantage?“ Marle said.
“Zealian court politics- Don’t ask,” Schala said.
“Well, A Liege of Zeal, whether male or female, must have a spouse to assist in the operation of the country. However, there is a loophole: true love.” Jason explained.
“And if the king sacrifices himself for the queen…” Lucca had caught on.
“Then it was obviously true love, and therefore she did not need to remarry.” Janus chimed in, looking only half interested. “She had the country to herself, for whatever twisted plots she could concoct.” Janus betrayed a hint of contempt with those words.
“So what really happened?” Schala asked.
“We were really attacked, but it was not a thief, but an assassin hired by the Queen. Apparently Lavos had already begun to influence her. The assassin stabbed me in the gut and I dragged him off a cliff- a tall one. With good reason, she left me for dead. However, I had a secret that allowed me to survive long enough for the gurus to find me. They discovered me half-dead, when searching for me. I learned that the queen had forbid searching parties, to “Honor my memory”. That’s when the gurus got suspicious and went hunting for me. I told them the story, after they revived me, and was advised to hide, and wait it out. I wanted to end the whole business, one way or another, but then I was reminded of you, Janus.
“You see, Zeal was pregnant with you, and if I had exposed her, it would dishonor the family. Schala would be shamed, and you, Janus, would be killed.”
“There were laws against that!” Schala objected.
“That doesn’t mean they would be followed, Schala. Tradition, in we humans, is a powerful force, and reason and logic mutable things, prone to wax and wane as the moon would. The world, when populated by humans, is not a pragmatic one.
“Man is simultaneously the most intelligent, and the most foolish species on this earth,” Jason said in a powerful philosophical culmination.
“How true,” Lucca commented.
“Dad?”
“Yes, Schala?”
“How did you survive falling off that cliff long enough for the gurus to arrive?”
“Well. I’m sure you all know that each of the four elements have three forms?”
“Yes,” said Schala.
“Of course,” said Robert.
“No,” Marle said.
Talk of magic piqued Janus’ interest. “Really?” he said, no longer appearing bored.
“Yes, Janus. There are three forms, one Primary, one Secondary, and the third Tertiary. Each is channeled differently. The Primary forms are most common, and their uniqueness lies in being able to combine with other forms of other elements easily.
“The Secondary form is rare, and usually specializes with whatever the element works best with. Secondary Water, for instance, heals very well.
“The Tertiary forms are rarest. Great power lies in these forms.
“I had the power to Shape, which is the secondary form of Fire.”
Robert had already made sense of the explanation, “You can cast the Float spell!”
“Yes, I can. That’s how I survived the fall off the cliff. To survive the elements, I cast Safe.”
“Safe, that’s a stronger form of Protect, Isn’t it?” Robo said.
“It is, but how do you know? I was creator and sole caster of both Float and Safe.”
Robo explained, “Written records from the past survive. You wrote the design of both spells in your diary, even though you may not have told anybody.
“In fact, the spells of Fire, Ice, and Lightning have been written down and standardized since before Zealian times.”
“There are many spells designed in Zeal that are used in my time,” Robert said.
“Enough with the mindless chatter,” Janus cut in, “My father has yet to explain how his aura escaped detection for over a decade.”
Balthasar broke his silence now, saying, “There is a secret room in the sun keep. The energy radiating from the sun stone that was there veiled his aura. There was also enough energy floating freely for Jason to create food and such out of ether.”
“It was unbelievably boring. I meditated for ten years. I have grown incredibly skilled in my magic.”
“You are all incredibly skilled,” Elise interjected, “That is why you are chosen to defend this world. In fact, I specifically arranged it so that I would have a mage for each form of each element. However, I’m not sure I predicted correctly, as I thought that a quarter of you would be Earth magicians. I assume that there are three Shadow magicians instead?”
“I know Shadow magic,” Robert said.
“I am a user of Shadow,” Janus stated.
“I, too, have Shadow magic,” Schala said, resigned.
“You say that as if you were cursed,” Jason said.
“I am,” Schala whispered. She was looking down, her gaze not rising to meet her father’s.
Janus spoke, “Shadow is not inherently evil, Schala. No magic is either good or evil. It is how it is used that makes it one or the other.
“I know you were forced by Zeal to use your magic for an evil purpose, but that does not make you, or your power, evil.”
Schala looked up. She said, “Thank you, brother.” She didnt look very relieved, however.
She took a deep breath and said, “Yes, Elise, I have Shadow magic.
“My skill is of the primary form of Shadow, the Dark Power.”
“My power is the Tertiary form. It is Force,” Robert said proudly.
Janus said, “I do not know my form of Shadow.”
Elise asked, “What spells do you know?”
“Fire dianos, Ice dianos, Lightn…” Janus noticed the uncomprehending looks on the group’s collective faces. He said, “Nobody knows what dianos means. Well, it’s Mystic for ‘The Second Form Of’, so it essentially means ‘2’.
“So, I’ll start over. Fire 2, Ice 2, Lightning 2, Dark Bomb, Magic Wall, Black Hole, Dark Mist, Dark Matter, and Dark Eternal.”
“You have the Secondary form, son. Composite Shadow.”
“Hey, don’t you need help from Marle and me to cast Dark Eternal?” Lucca said.
“I used to, but now I can gather all the required energy myself. It is very draining, though.”
A magician that can summon more than one element simultaneously? I’ll keep an eye on him. Elise thought. “Well, then I’m sure, we have one magician per form, per element.”
“You are counting on foresight, Elise,” chided Balthasar.
“Well, you have a point. It’s best to make sure.
“All right, we already have our Shadow mages, one for each form. Now let me see. Glenn, you have Primary Water, the form of ordinary Water magic. Marle, you have Tertiary Water, or Ice. Balthasar, you have Secondary Water, called Mist. You are also a skilled Time Soldier. Am I right?”
“You’re right,” Marle said.
“Aye, I can cast water magic,” Glenn confirmed.
“Right on both counts, Young lady. However, you seem to have both of my talents yourself, and to a greater extent. You can cast Mist spells, right?” Balthasar said.
“So, you looked through the timestreams again, and invaded my privacy? You are giving me reason to contemplate sealing your powers of time, Balthasar.”
“Now, now, Elise, let’s not get so hasty. It’s unethical to seal another’s power. It’s a breach of etiquette.”
Elise countered, “Then why are you preventing Robert from tapping the timestream?”
“He is obviously undisciplined.”
Robert had been listening attently to the argument, but at this he stood, glaring at Balthasar. “So YOU are the reason that my prescience disappeared on me!” He yells. He turns to Balthasar and says, “You will pay for that.”
All the people in the room could sense an abrupt change in the atmosphere. Forces were being manipulated that were just barely under the sense of most of the group. Janus was watching (well, sensing) with fascination. Robo could sense subtle waves of temporal energy, radiating from Balthasar and Robert. Neither apparent combatant showed any sign of tension. Both simply stared at each other. Gaspar, who had fallen asleep, had woken up, and was staring curiously at Robert. Elise watched meditatively, as if the two were only playing chess, instead of trying to tear each other out of the timestream.
Jason yells then, in a commanding tone, “You are wasting time, Balthasar, one way or the other, finish it!”
Balthasar seemed to hear, for immediately he began to walk towards Robert.
As Balthasar was closing the distance, Robert’s eyes narrowed and his muscles tensed. Balthasar, however was showing no sign of difficulty. Just as Balthasar reached his opponent, however, Gaspar yells, “Hey, Robert! Balthasar! Quit fooling around and look!”
Both snap out of their focus and glare at Gaspar. Balthasar snaps, “What do you want?”
“For you two to recognize each other! Wow, I know we’ve been the gurus for decades, but don’t you remember how we got the positions? Don’t you remember the mission you were given?” Gaspar said to Balthasar. He turned to address Robert. “What mission did the general send you on?”
Robert’s face dropped in shock. “You… how did you know… Wait. Mission?!?” The impact of Gaspar’s words hit him. He turned to Balthasar. “You were part of the task force sent to stop Lavos! You and Melchior!
He turned to Gaspar, “You are professor Gaspar. We thought you were torn out of the timestream when you jumped into one of your own gates. Why didn’t I see it before!
He turned back to Balthasar, “We were in the same class at the academy!”
“Now that you mention it, you were that troublemaker in the class, weren’t you?” Balthasar's memory was slowly rejuvenating itself.
Janus loudly announced, “One more minute of touchy, nostalgic feelings and I will kill you both. Now, shut up, sit down, and Balthasar, UNSEAL HIS DAMNED POWERS ALREADY!”
Robert and Balthasar awkwardly sit down, both feeling embarrassed.
Jason said, “Wow, that tone was that of a leader! Where did you learn that?”
Janus answered, “You would be surprised how peaceful the Mystics were, before I got there. It took a significant amount of death threats to rally an army.” he chuckled darkly.
After Janus said that, there was an awkward silence. Elise broke it. “Well, now that order is restored, we need to develop an attack plan. First, we need to find out where and when the gate is.
“Seeing that this is a very large task, Robo, you should go. You have cognitive talents that no human can match, and such thinking may be required. Robert, Gaspar, you know a remarkable amount of the science and mathematics of Chronology. You would be of invaluable help.
“Second, we need to find out exactly why Ayla’s and Kino’s powers are unusable, and how to tap them. Janus, you should definitely work on this, you are a skilled magician, and perhaps your own lack of power as a youth has a connection to this. In addition, I would like another to assist him in this. Any volunteers?”
Balthasar spoke up, “I would like to assault this problem.”
“No, Balthasar, I have another task for you.”
“What task is this, Elise?”
“You will know, later.”
After that was settled, Lucca raised her hand, at the same time Jason stood.
Elise said, “I assume you both want to assist Janus. You both may, but I really wanted you, Jason, for another task.” She finished, with a purposefully vague tone in her voice.
Jason took the bait. “What is this task?”
“Well, the others will need to train, as between you 12, you will need great amounts of both magical and fighting skill. I wished you to teach them. Pity.”
“No, I’ll do it.”
“Excellent. Now, everybody else will be training, and Cyrus will go to Spekkio’s room- that is how he would gain magic, right? Good. Now, Balthasar and I will be leaving, and you won’t be able to contact us. I want you three groups to keep communication open, and to back each other up if attacked. Now, any questions?”
“What form of lightning is my power?” Crono asked.
“Primary.”
“I thought so, 'cause I learned so many techniques so easily.”
Elise remembered, “Oh yes, I forgot to tell the rest of you your magic skills! All right, Ayla, you are, or would be, Secondary Lightning, or Wind. Cyrus, you will have Tertiary Lightning, or Inertia. Ask Spekkio any questions you might have.
“Kino, you would be Primary Fire, or simply Fire, and Lucca, you are Tertiary Fire, the power of Inferno.”
“Have I covered everything? Good? Then goodbye.” Elise walked to where Balthasar was standing, grabbed him by the wrist, and the two disappeared.
Cyrus entered Spekkio’s room, Gaspar got up and walked to the Epoch, and Robert and Robo followed. Janus paced into the pillar room, where Alfador waited patiently (Actually, he was sleeping). Janus kneeled next to his friend and mumbled, “Well, now I get my chance at altruistic action. Maybe I won’t go to the worst possible afterlife after all.”
Alfador sent a feeling of confusion, not really comprehending the concept.
“Just so long as you listen, friend, understanding is unnecessary.”
Lucca walked up behind Janus and timidly said, “Well, um, what will we do first?”
“We?” Janus said, slightly humored. “Well, I will decipher the enigma preventing the barbarians from casting magic, and you can watch, so long as you do not interfere with my work.”
He turned towards the 12,000 B.C. pillar and walked to it. Before he left, he turned and said, “Perhaps, little girl, you will learn something.” And he was gone, his cat following him.
“Little girl! Ooh, I’ll show him.” Lucca fumed. She entered the gate to Leene Square, 1,000 A.D.
Ch. 18 The laws of Inertia
Cyrus was expecting the master of war to be human. The creature before him, however, was not a man.
It bore a distinct resemblance to Masa and Mune combined, yet he knew it was nothing so simple as the spirit of a sword.
The creature said, “Hi, I am Spekkio, master of war. You here to learn magic?”
“Yes.”
“Good. But first, I must ask you a question. Do I appear strong to you?”
“Very strong.”
“He he he. Even better. You see, the strength you see in me reflects the inner strength of your soul, where magic comes from. The stronger you see me, the stronger your spirit is.
“Now, to get magic, the most rare and powerful of all things, you must… Walk around this room 3 times clockwise!”
“That’s all?”
“It’s harder than it looks, but you seem a disciplined person, it won’t be that hard for you.
“Now walk.”
Cyrus began walking from the door, wondering where the trial was to begin. However, after one time around, he realized that the trial was under way. The room was much bigger than it seemed, and Cyrus was anxious to get under way. It was a test of will not to slow his step, or speed it. As he began the final lap, time seemed to slow, and the goal of the door seemed so far away. The door was the only thing he could think about, and the magic he would gain. Time slowed more. He shut out everything from his mind but the magic, concentrating that time would speed up, but the world didn’t listen, and time stopped. He stood there awhile, walking, yet standing perfectly still. Then, a memory commanded his attention.
“…To be righteous, and to defend the righteous. To hold the law of the land, and ensure that it is just. To never hold hate in the heart, or covetousness, or lust for power. To sanctify Life, Love, and Honor, and to never forget them…”
His vow as a knight of Guardia. All of a sudden, he knew his error. He had remembered the power, but forgot the purpose of it. It was to save this world. He was this world’s Avatar, one of 12, and he needed magic to save it, and all it’s inhabitants.
All of a sudden, he had reached the door. He touched it, and walked to the center of the room, deliberately controlling his step. He reached the center, and said, “I am done.”
“Excellent! Well, you’ve earned this… Ipso Facto, Meeny Moe… Magico!!!”
In an instant, Cyrus sight shifted. Everything brightened subtly. “What is occurring?” Cyrus exclaimed, disoriented.
“That is your second sight. Your power is Lightning, so you see lightning. You can also cast a basic lightning spell, if you concentrate.”
“How, Spekkio?”
“You focus the brightness into your hand, and will it to become electricity.”
“What is electricity?”
“A lightning bolt.”
Cyrus did as he was told to do. He focused the energy into his hand, and turned it into a lightning bolt in his hand. He looked down at the energy, and asked, “What do I do with it?”
“Throw it!”
“At what?”
“What else? Me!”
“But it would harm you.”
“Believe me, it wouldn’t.”
So Cyrus did throw the energy at Spekkio. Indeed, the creature scarcely reacted.
“Very good. Do you have any questions?”
“Yes. What is Inertia?”
“Why, it’s the Tertiary form of Lightning.”
Cyrus shook his head. “No,” he said, “I mean, ‘what IS it?’”
Spekkio understood now. “OH, all right. I get your meaning.
“Inertia is the force that allows objects to continue moving in a path, except when gravity interferes, and curves the path, which would be straight otherwise, or friction transfers the kinetic energy of the object into heat. You see? It’s all a matter of basic physics.”
Cyrus was dumbfounded. “What is Physics? Or Friction?”
“Wait, you’re from 600 A.D., aren’t you? Uh oh.
“Ok. You know how when you’re running, and you try to stop quickly?”
“Yes.”
“And even though you stopped, your body still pulled you forward, if only for a second?”
“So Inertia is what makes things keep moving after they stop?”
Spekkio couldn’t explain it any better to him. “Basically,” He said.
“And your power is control over that. You can increase it, decrease it, and even nullify… Er, end it,” Spekkio was having a hard time finding good synonyms for his pupil.
“Is that all?”
“Yes.”
“Very good. Now for your first lesson. Here is a hint, though: Weapons don’t hurt me!”
Cyrus said, “What are you talking abo…” and Spekkio attacked.
Ch. 19 To search again
Janus hadn’t had any ideas yet, and it was nearly sundown.
Four hours, he thought. My thoughts have been going in circles. He was in a clearing in his forest in 12,000 B.C., because he could concentrate better there. He was sitting cross-legged, the way he sat when meditating. However, he couldn’t think about how he could grant the two barbarians magical powers. Not that they could handle them anyway.
Janus felt the presence of somebody approaching his clearing. He sent his aura forth, first mentally checking that his scythe was where he left it, two feet behind him, cloaked in a thin layer of half-melted snow. He sensed Alfador hunting, a few miles to the west. Now that is a strong psychic bond, he mentally noted. The intruder was only a handful of yards from entering the clearing, and heading directly towards his place. He stood and looked to where the person would enter.
Lucca entered the clearing, carrying a stack of obviously heavy books. She closed the distance between them rapidly, and once standing directly before him, she dropped the books she was carrying with a loud ‘Thunk’.
“Well, thank you very much for not waiting while I collected my books from my house. And for not leaving some way of telling me where in the world you were, thus forcing me to find your aura and hunt you down. Lucky for me, you are a ludicrously powerful magician, and the only other powerful magician in this time period besides me. Why, it only took me three hours to find you!” Lucca said in between breaths, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Janus sensed a great amount of frustration, but suprisingly, almost no real anger. She has a rather calm persona, Janus remarked mentally.
Janus said, “Do you talk all the time, or is this an isolated incident, caused by circumstances?”
“Why,” Lucca blinked in suprise, “The latter. Actually, I’m normally very shy. I was just angry. I’m sorry.”
Janus felt like laughing at this girl’s obvious embarrassment at showing her anger, despite the fact that the loss of her temper was justified. He said, “You are forgiven, my child,” in his most patronizing, fatherly voice.
She turned an even deeper shade of red. “You don’t need to rub it in.
“Anyway, Janus, look at the books I brought. 7 different books of magic, all copied from…”
Janus was already reviewing the books, and interrupted her. “Five of these books I have already read, written by Zealians. You can read Zealian script?”
Lucca smiled modestly, “passingly.”
“And these two, Inquiry Into the Nature of Shadow Magic and Biblo Shadar were both written by me, the former in Zealian and the latter in Mystic. How did you get these?”
“Well, in 1,000 A.D., you are, frankly, ancient history. It wasn’t easy getting copies of these two books, or learning Mystic so I could read Biblo Shadar. But I did a few weeks ago, before Robo showed up,” Lucca explained.
“Impressive,” Janus said. He gestured to the books. “There is a fire spell I wrote in Shadar for heating inorganic objects. You should be able to cast it. Can you get the book, read it, and understand enough to cast it?”
Lucca smiled. “Shield the books, please,” she said.
Janus did, and Lucca began casting the spell, without even looking at the book. “Zirbos, Aldun, Mithra et Agni. Canon venos Pyre!” She thrust her hands into the air and clasped them.
Fire erupted around Lucca. The snow for a distance of two yards away from her, in a perfect circle, melted and evaporated. The air warmed significantly. The books were unharmed, being shielded by Janus’ spell. Lucca, Janus, and even the grass under the snow, all were unscathed by the fire.
“You memorized it,” Janus observed. Well, you obviously underestimated her. “So, you might have something to contribute after all.”
He sat, and gestured that Lucca do the same. He said, “Well, I assume you have read all the books you have brought?”
“Yes, pretty much.”
“Good. Do you have any comments on the books?”
“What does this have to do with the problem?”
“I want to see if you understand the content of the books.” She might have gotten lucky with the spell…
Lucca thought for a minute. “Well, in one of the Zealian books, General Theories of Magic, the writer says that Fire is a highly volatile element. I know for a fact that it isn’t, that it has no volatile characteristics, but simply adheres to complex rules that only seem chaotic.”
Janus frowned. He corrected Lucca, “Lucca, Fire is a volatile element.”
“No, it isn’t, and I can prove it.” Lucca plucked a blade of grass from the ground. She held the grass vertically and concentrated for a moment. The tip of the blade started to glow bright red and burst into a miniscule flame, staying on the very tip of the blade, like a candle. Not a bit of smoke emitted from the tip. “See, fire can be controlled, it just takes the right kind of energy.” She dropped the grass, and it became ashes before it hit the ground.
The control she put into that magic power… Impossible! For a second, Janus’ carefully constructed persona collapsed, and his face betrayed shock. It took him only an instant to recover from that slip, but Lucca had seen it.
“I take it that means I’ve proven my worth?” She said.
“Yes,” Janus said. ‘Obviously underestimated’ does not describe the magnitude of my ignorance, he thought. “Now let’s get to the problem.” He said to Lucca.
Ch. 20 A Plan of Action
“Well, Cyrus, like your new gift of magic?” commented Jason.
“It was worth fighting Spekkio for a few hours… barely.”
“Well, you’ll appreciate the power, believe me.”
“So, where are we going next?” Crono asked.
“Well, I can’t think of any places to train in particular,” Jason admitted. “Probably as a result of spending a decade or so in isolation. Anybody have any ideas?”
Nobody answered at first.
Marle broke the silence. “Why not train at Guardia Castle?”
“Because your Dad would kill you,” Crono said.
“Hmmm… I guess he probably would.”
“Ayla know!”
Jason looked at Ayla. “Ayla know? Oh, yes, you are uncivilized. That would explain the grammar. All right, Ayla, what do you know?”
“Place to train!” Ayla said enthusiastically. “Hunting Grounds!!!”
“The Hunting Grounds?” Jason said.
Marle explained, “A place near Ayla’s Village, Ioka. There are some monsters there, and we found a Nu. But the monsters aren’t that strong.”
Kino interrupted, “No, monsters much stronger than when you come.”
“Well then, it is settled,” Jason said, “To… Well, what time is this place in?”
Ayla said, “Now.”
Marle interjected, “Ayla doesn't understand time travel too well. The time that they live in is 65,000,000 B.C..
“All right then, to sixty-five million B.C.!”
Everybody turned to leave, except Schala. She tried to hide in the shadows, as if everyone might forget her.
Jason didn’t. He let everybody else go in front, then stopped at the door to the pillar room. He turned around and said, “Coming, Schala?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Schala sat down. She buried her face in her hands and began sobbing.
“Schala? Schala, what’s wrong?”
“My life, that’s what.”
“Schala, now what could be so wrong with your life? You were a princess of Zeal!”
Schala looked up. “When Janus was born… Mother changed. She started researching ‘Alternative energy sources’, and she took this… this air about her. She hugged me once, after Janus was born. She was so cold…
“I screamed so much, and struggled, so she never hugged me again. She would not even talk to me, except when I did something to further her aims. Even then, she sounded as if she was rewarding me with her praise, as if I was her PET!” Schala screamed, then started sobbing again. Jason walked over and held her close.
“Schala dear, you can stop now. Your point is made.”
Schala reacted almost violently. “No! I don’t want to stop! I want this out of me.
“I had no friends, either. All the other children sensed something different in me, as if I had what my mother had. After a few years, I felt like it had rubbed off, that I was that cold.
“I poured myself into my studies. I would have told the Gurus, but I could only see them during my magic lessons, and Dalton was always there! That bastard.”
Jason gave a nod of understanding. “I hardly chose him for personality. He was wise in the ways of court politics.”
“Later, when I was older, Mother gave me more freedom. I began taking trips to the Earthbound Village. There, they couldn’t see what all the Zealians saw. They idolized me. Not simply because I knew magic, but because I saw them as human. They loved me, but they wouldn’t touch me either. Me being there, was like a goddess in their midst. They feared me more than they adored me.
“But at least there was Janus. He looked up to me too, because he was going through what I went through, and I was the only one who wanted to be near him. When I hugged him, though, I felt no warmth or strength. I was giving those to him, he had none to spare. But it was enough.
“Then, Mother started asking use of my magic. She could no longer handle the power of Lavos, at least not in any large amount. By then, I wanted a companion so desperately… and I couldn’t see Janus anymore, because he was always being schooled, just like I was. So I had absolutely no friends, and I started doing what Mother asked. After a while, I even secretly wished she would hug me again, cold or no cold. But she didn’t. All she gave me was an occasional ‘Very good’ or ‘Nice job’ in a tone so patronizing it made me sick.
“But it was something. And I wanted it, even if I had to sell my soul to Lavos.” Schala chuckled in between her tears. “for a while, I thought I did.
“Then I saw Janus, and the Gurus, disappear in front of my eyes. Then I saw Lavos, and Mother hopped on it’s shoulder and tried to kill me. Then, I saved Crono’s friends, and that Prophet- I can’t believe that cruel man was Janus- and I died.” Schala’s voice rose steadily, “Do you know what it’s like to die? It’s cold, like ice… Like my life.”
Schala’s voice dropped again, to almost a whisper. “I wanted that cold. For all the cold, and dark, it was still more love than I got in Zeal.” Now her tears gushed forth, as if in a breaking dam.
Schala took a deep breath, “Magic was the cause of this, and now I am being told to start spellcasting. Only now, It’s my father, and you want me to kill.”
“Come on Schala, the others are waiting. We will talk later.”
Schala stood obediently, and the two walked out.
.