Sadoul sighed, deeply breathing in the salty air of the western Danek coast. He, Ghaleon, Solon, Kazyr, and Jeal had teleported over here when dawn hit Kerzalt. Due to the time difference, the sun now hung almost directly overhead. Torene, Mythril, and Fireclaw had flown to recover the rest of the dragon wing and return with them to the Charnel . From there the steel battleship would return to Danek.
In the meantime, the four wizards waited in hiding in a small shed near the military port slightly north of Dunton. Jeal had gone to procure supplies from his navy. However, for obvious reasons, Jeal had also asked the others to remain hidden.
"How long do you think Jeal will be gone?" asked Kazyr. The white-haired wizard prodded the grimy floor he sat on with a small twig. "He said it should be fairly quick."
Sadoul wrinkled his nose and peered out the window of the shed. "Being that he's the emperor, I'd wager most of the delay is in getting people away from their normal posts to load up our ship. They'll probably think it's a strange request and insist that he take a retinue of soldiers to protect him. But Jeal should get his way. He sometimes can be stiff-necked enough to headbutt a chimera to the ground."
Kazyr raised an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to be a compliment?"
"Coming from Sadoul it probably is," said Ghaleon, leaning against the wall of the shed opposite the window. His arms lay folded across his chest and his gaze was lowered so as to make his eyes appear closed.
Solon sat on the floor, arms wrapped around his knees. He sighed. "I wish I had the luxury of exploring this world and see what has changed changed in these past thousand years rather than run to save the planet once more."
Sadoul turned to regard his friend with an even gaze. "Solon, this isn't your fight. You don't have to come."
Solon turned his head to one side while making a dismissive gesture with his hand. "You can say it's not my fight as much as you like, but I'm awake after almost a thousand years of sleep. I woke up to protect Vay, and I'm very well gonna do just that. Granted you were the original danger, this Maker being is no less real." Solon smiled lightly. "But once this is over though, I intend on seeing all that has changed."
"Interesting thought," said Ghaleon. "Once this is all over, what are we going to do? A peaceful world has no use for the likes of us. I once thought of continuing to help the descendants of the those I had harmed in the past, but somehow that doesn't seem right. They would only stare and wonder if I was real."
Sadoul nodded solemnly to Ghaleon. "We are dead." He clasped the ivory chip of the golden charm around his neck. "But still, there will be something." He looked out the window. "We can worry about it another time. Jeal's back."
The Danek emperor lend them aboard a small oil-powered vessel, the latest improvement over the steam they had been using before. Sadoul felt slightly disturbed to see that the Danek had improved on something he taught them; and so quickly and without his notice as well. When he asked Jeal when production on this ship had begun, the Danek emperor only smiled and told him that it had been a project he considered beneath his notice.
Kazyr curiously inspected the hold and found several crates of food and water barrels carefully sealed with waxy coating. They seemed strangely out of place in the steel room. But then it seemed one of the wall was made of wood as well. Kazyr took a closer looks at the wall and then noticed that it really was five giant crates, each some fourteen feet tall and eight wide and packed tightly side by side. He looked up and saw the trapdoor leading up to the top deck. Jeal must have lowered them in with one of the cranes at the dock.
"All right!" Jeal shouted. "Let's set sail!"
Kazyr paused and then hurried back on deck to watch the launch.
Ghaleon levitated up the anchor while Solon commanded the currents to pull them out to sea. Sadoul leaned against the railing of the stern, looking over the side at the rudder.
The well-laden craft skimmed out of the harbor with Jeal at the helm. Unlike the Charnel , this craft was built for speed and long distance reconnaissance; perfect for their needs.
Solon cheered from the front of the Gull as the ship skimmed the surface of the water. Its pointed prow cut up white froth that parted to either side. "Now this is a ship!" he exclaimed as Sadoul joined him on the prow. His expression tapered into a bemused grin. "There's nothing like being out on the open sea."
Sadoul smirked, brushing off a few droplets of spray from his sleeve. "Having lived in Danek, I know how to sail, but that's about as far as I'll pay my respects to the sea. Fire has always been so much more enchanting to me."
"Odd isn't it?" asked Solon, his voice quieter and gaze turned out to sea. "You grew up in a land surrounded by ocean, and I in a land of desert. You came to love the heat and fire, and I aligned with the water."
Sadoul chuckled politely. "Well, I don't know about loving the desert. Even I would want a canteen full of water there!"
Solon grinned, clapping Sadoul on the shoulder. "I guess there's still a bit of the old Ardor left in you yet!"
The blond-haired wizard rested his elbows on the railing of the ship's prow. "Yeah," Sadoul sighed. "Maybe. Tell me, Solon, how did you survive all these years? Elynthia and I used the spell of rejuvenation, but you?"
Solon mimicked Sadoul's pose, head lowered to look down at the water rather than the horizon. "After Elynthia chose you I went into a magical sleep. My dedication to protecting Vay was the only thing I had left. So I sealed myself in an ice crystal in my tower. I tied my revival to that of Aquanale, which would alert me if someone should try to recover the Orb of Water and revive the Armor of Vay. From what I've gathered, a young Prince Sandor did just that in his quest to stop you. He even escaped the orb trap I placed."
Sadoul shrugged, reluctant to comment one way or another about the man who had caused his defeat.
"The revival took a little longer than I expected." Solon smiled slightly. "I didn't take into account how long it would take for my ice to melt. I should have known anything that would suspend me for a thousand years wouldn't dissolve in an instant."
Sadoul looked ahead at the horizon. "It's probably better you forgot. I had been wearing a duplicate of the Armor of Vay then. Had you confronted me while I still wore it, I would have killed you."
"I am always thankful for small miracles," said Solon. "Growing up in the desert has taught me that even sand can be precious." The Magician of Water stood up and nodded to Sadoul. He then took his leave of him and walked off to the captain's cabin.
Kazyr stuffed half a filet of salmon in his mouth, chewing it rapidly before swallowing it all in a single gulp. "It ain't rabbit," he declared, "but it sure is good!"
Jeal regarded the white-haired mage with a look of amusement. Ghaleon shook his head and turned back to his own meal. Solon didn't pay Kazyr any attention, and Sadoul seemed lost in his own thoughts.
The five sat in the small dining space of the Gull's eating dinner. The wooden table took up most of the available space, but no one complained since its size did provide enough elbow room for all. The discovery that Kazyr had a knack for cooking also improved everyone's mood. Although he had never worked with most of the food Jeal had packed for the sake of his royal palate, Kazyr's skill still shone more than well enough to be appreciated.
"So, what are in those giant crates down there for?" Ghaleon asked.
Kazyr nodded his agreement as he swallowed another mouthful.
Jeal set his knife down and bit into a slice of halibut. The Danek Emperor carefully finished his chewing with an air of dignity. Finally he spoke. "We may need a method of defending ourselves from the Maker; something he might not fully understand. We know he is more than adequate with magic. And the monsters Ghaleon and Kazyr fought could not be defeated via magic either. So I provided each of us with top of the line mecha."
Sadoul ruminated blandly on his food. "Nothing could beat the Armor of Vay."
"True," Jeal allowed, "but despite your test pilots' failure to defeat Prince Sandor, the Baron is the most powerful mecha Danek currently has under its command. We've had better, but those had been lost and we hadn't the time to reconstruct any."
"What is a mecha?" Ghaleon asked slowly.
"Mech, mecha, it is a powerful suit of armor standing somewhere from ten to fifteen feet high. Via levers and footpedals inside the armor, the person inside can control the movements of the machine. Our variety of mecha can even fly."
"Fly?"
Jeal smiled. "Sadoul and I can show you. You'll all want to know anyway. If magic fails us, hopefully technology won't. After all, a god gives his or her people the ability to tap into the realms of magic, but technology is purely a creation of the mortals themselves. It just might be what we need to catch the Maker off guard."
Kazyr paused with a sudden thought, fork suspended in midair. He peered at Jeal from behind the lock of hair that perpetually fell over his left eye. "Do you think it'd be okay if the mecha were magically enhanced though?"
Jeal shrugged. "I suppose it could. As long as whatever is inflicting the damage itself is a physical object."
The white-haired mage nodded. "That's a relief. This talk of footpedals and levers worries me. I don't know if I could get the hang of it in a mere two weeks or so. After all these years of living, I've never quite gotten the hang of how technology changes from century to century."
"So how old are you?" Sadoul asked blandly, staring off at a wall.
Kazyr's eyes glazed over and he mumbled something about being excused from the table. He pushed back his chair and quietly hurried out of the room.
Ghaleon glared at Sadoul and strode after the white-haired mage.
"I thought only women were sensitive about their age," muttered Sadoul, stuffing another wad of food in his mouth.
Kazyr didn't halt until he reached the top deck of the Gull . His long white hair waved lightly in the night breeze as he gazed thoughtfully up at the stars. Kazyr wrapped his arms about him, feeling a chill he hadn't known in millennia.
Ghaleon stepped beside him, seeing not a powerful ancient wizard before him, but a lost young man barely into adulthood.
The white-haired mage did not seem to notice Ghaleon, boyish countenance scanning the stars. Kazyr suddenly shuddered and squeezed his eyes shut, lowering his head away from Ghaleon. "It's not right," he said haltingly, punctuating each word with a shake.
Ghaleon debated for a moment about whether or not to speak when curiosity got the better of him. "What's wrong?"
"Everything," Kazyr hiccuped. He turned his back from Ghaleon, shoulders heaving. "Do you know what it's like? What it's like giving up your family and friends to dedicate your life to your goddess? To know what it's like to live forever and that everyone you have ever cared about will die from old age?"
Ghaleon looked out to the sea. "No. I can't say I do, although I can imagine. I have been close to that point in some ways."
Kazyr shuddered. "I gave my life willingly. It was an honor. She gave me immortality in return, as well as a beautiful keep to live in and a wonderful wife." Kazyr drew in a ragged breath. "And... And I don't know what's wrong with me! I've never doubted myself or my goddess before!"
The white-haired mage whirled around, eyes wild. "But the loneliness is getting too much to bear!" He clenched his fists, lowering his gaze.
Ghaleon said nothing, keeping his gaze averted.
"My goddess gave me Mira, who was as immortal I am. And I loved her! But I killed her. Since then I've roamed the stars by myself for countless years. Sometimes I would stay in one place or another, but always, always I would outlive anyone I cared about. No mission, no home, I traveled without knowing where I was going or caring. And once we are done here, I will leave this world and continue on my way; alone."
Ghaleon inclined his head towards Kazyr. "Why didn't you resurrect Mira as you did Sadoul and I?"
Kazyr quavered with frustration. "For all my power I can't! I couldn't... My alteration power only changes what already exists. I can call a soul back from the dead so that I may reattach it to the body, but my goddess did not give Mira a soul. She was magically created just for the purpose of keeping me from being alone. Being born immortal, what use had she for an afterlife? My magic can alter the fact the soul is not in the body by reinstating it. But I cannot alter what doesn't exist! I can't create to replace what I've lost." Kazyr mournfully looked at the blackened waters. "But for a being without a soul... I loved her."
Ghaleon nodded. "I'm sorry."
"Sometimes," Kazyr whispered, "sometimes I just think if we only had a child things wouldn't be so bad, for I'd have something to remind me of her. But I had given up such wishes so dreadfully long ago. To live for millennia, and to be so alone..."
The white-haired wizard shook his head sadly and slowly walked to the stairs leading below. He did not look back.