As the group stood on the mountain in front of the giant dragon with their eyes closed, images began to flood their minds. They felt their bodies become light, and it felt as if they were drifting, flying. They saw Iwote in present time and with a flash of bright light they saw the continent as it stood perhaps thousands of years ago. Both the Desert of Itha and Osoph Desert transformed into lush, forests. There was more landmass on the southern end of the continent, just as Kaiten had discovered on the map on the transportation vehicle. To the north of the continent was a thin strip of landmass that seemed to connect Iwote to the present-day Ardolia continent.
“Observe” Kron’s voice boomed in their minds, “this is Iwote as it stood 2054 years ago.” He paused a moment to let the images and realization sink in. “This is a time when Human and Elvan kind were just beginning to venture forth to Iwote from Ardolia. The continent at this time was primarily ruled by the Shingi. The images shifted, zooming closer into the area where the present-day Desert of Itha lay. There was a grand building with strange looking runes and smoking pipes coming out of it.
“The Lab of Itha” Kron said. “This is where the story begins…”
* * *
In a small room of the giant building stood a strange looking man with large round ears and a long pointed nose. He had white hair, pulled back into a ponytail and small green eyes. In front of him lay a large screen showing images of a small green gem. It was pulsing, sending small waves of green across a snowy area. Through the snow were small green sprouts struggling to break free of the icy prison. To the side of the man was a small blue wyvern that squeaked blissfully. With a hiss of a door, another man who looked similar, only gray hair and blue eyes instead, walked in. He was followed by a young teenager with long blue hair, a large black hat, wearing a black cloak.
“Ah, Kron, it seems we have guests.” The wyvern flipped up higher in the air and turned to the two new people. “Akushi, Clom. How nice to see you both again.” Kron bowed his little wyvern head, the first Shingi man, Akushi, just nodded and the large-hatted teen, Clom, smiled.
“Congratulations Midoshi” Clom said. “News around the laboratory says that it seems your experiment is a success.” He seated himself at a small table.
“Indeed” Midoshi said matter-of-factly. “It seems that my calculations are correct. It is quite possible to focus and harness the power of the planet and terraform uninhabitable areas.” He gave a small smile.
“So how long will it take for an area the size of Droth to be completely terraformed and viable for colonization?” Clom asked, curious.
“At the current rate, it seems it will only take a mere ten years.”
“Amazing.” Akushi said, wonder in his voice. “To believe it was possible to use technology for this.. I wonder” his voice drifted off. He seemed lost in thought, the wheels in his mind turning.
Kron did a little back flip in mid-air and squeaked gleefully before flying between Clom and Midoshi.
“And how about yourself, Master Clom? How goes your quest to discover the inner power of–oh dear, what did you call it again?”
“Magic” Clom said, nodding. “And quite well. Observe.” Clom reached into his cloak and pulled out a small golden mirror. It began to float in the air. Clom said a few words under his breath and it began to glow brightly.
“A nice light show” Akushi said, jokingly. “When our lighting fails us we will be sure to call upon you.” Midoshi and Akushi laughed together. The light dimmed and the mirror returned to Clom.
“You may laugh now,” he said putting the mirror away back beneath his cloak, “but one day I shall have the power to move the very heavens themselves.”
“Sure, sure. Whatever you say Clom.” Midoshi walked over to the screen and pushed a button. The screen buzzed and went dark. “The power to move the heavens is a myth, a dream. It cannot be done. But ah, the power to shape the very planet we live on, now this is within our grasp. With my experiments we shall be able to completely change the face of the planet.” He paused for dramatic effect, took a deep breath and continued. “With this power we can turn the planet into a lush paradise for all species. No one shall ever go hungry again; we can grow food anywhere in the world. And perhaps one day” a sparkle grew in his eye, “we might even be able to create new land mass. Just think of the possibilities.”
Clom started laughing, “now who’s the madman?” he asked.
Akushi crossed his arms, his eyes narrow and in deep thought. “Something troubling you, old friend?” Midoshi said, noticing Akushi.
“No, sorry.” He shook his head and relaxed his arms. “I just have to wonder how else we may utilize your research.”
“There may yet be more ways unknown to us. But for now, I must go finish writing this report and submitting it to the council. They will be eager to hear of the progress. Please don’t hesitate to call again, Clom, Akushi.” Midoshi walked to the door, which opened with another hiss. Kron squeaked with glee once more and flew out first doing a flip as he did so.
The scene began to fade to black. Everyone’s bodies felt light again. Kron’s voice boomed in their heads once again. “And for fifty-four years the world was at peace. Humans and Elves began to spread across Iwote and lived in harmony alongside the Shingi. Meanwhile, the colonization of Droth took place just as the brilliant Midoshi had said, a mere ten years later. Midoshi had become a hero to the Shingi, his people. The Shingi felt that with Midoshi’s power to harness the planet’s energy they could possibly even control the weather and wanted him to research more upon it. The second stage of his experiments had begun.”
Images began to flood everyone’s minds once more. They saw Midoshi, now older with more wrinkles on his face and the start of a white beard, pacing back and forth in front of a large, diamond-shaped machine. Strange arm-like metal rods were emitting a red gas onto a small black rock sitting inside the diamond. Large pipes stuck up from the back of the machine down into the ground and were pulsing. There were many buttons on the machine. The wyvern, Kron, now much larger in size, flapped his wings next to him.
“If my calculations are correct here Kron, we may yet be able to change the weather over the human settlement of Hakura.” He scratched his beard. “According to the weather monitor, Hakura has not had rain in the last five months. If they do not get some soon the water will be completely dried up and the settlement will run the risk of collapsing. It is the perfect test indeed.”
The black rock in the machine began to turn a sapphire blue as more and more gas coated it. Midoshi leaned forward over the machine and pressed several buttons. The machine hissed and beeped but Midoshi did not seem alarmed. The gas stopped flowing and the gem pulsed blue.
“Here we are” he said, “the rain stone is finished.” The diamond opened and Midoshi removed the small sapphire blue gem. “Come Kron, we’re off to Hakura.” The two exited the room and entered a small gray cylinder–the transportation device.
The scene changed and the two were now standing at the gate to a small village, muchlike present-day Erutoru. The giant mountains of present-day Tinnei loomed as distant shadows in the background. The sky was a bright blue with not a single cloud in the sky. There were many humans standing at the gate, curious, wondering who the mysterious stranger was.
“Hello everyone” Midoshi said in human language, “my name is Midoshi. I am here to help you.”
“Help us?” A tall soot-covered, burly man with long black hair with a large hammer broke himself free of the crowd and towered over Midoshi. “How, exactly will you and your little pet help us?”
“Oh my” Midoshi said, looking up at the man who made him look as small as a child. Kron flapped his wings and squeaked with discontent at being called a pet. “And just who might you be, sir?”
“Adeak Ragehammer” he said.
“I can’t possibly imagine why” Midoshi said to himself. “Listen, as you may be aware, the weather has not been very kind to you all here. I imagine your water reserves are running low.”
The crowd mumbled behind Adeak. “So what? You come to bring water?”
“Well, not exactly.” He revealed the gem. “This has the power to make it rain.”
“No mortal being has control of the weather” a woman behind Adeak shouted.
“I assure you, I am indeed mortal. This has been my life’s work. I have been learning how to work with the power of nature, to command it. You need rain, I bring you a way to have it. Just allow me inside the gates and bring me to your water supply.”
Kron flew higher and had an overview of the town. The well for the water was dead-center of town, with much rubble to the southern end of town. Houses were close to the well, to shorten the frequent trips to it. The loud mummers of the townsfolk echoed. Adeak turned his back and looked to the people on whether or not to allow him entry.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of whispers, Adeak lowered his hammer. “You may enter, but I’ve got my eye on you.” As the gem was being lowered into the well Midoshi closed his eyes.
“If this works” he said in his native language, “I can die happy.”
SPLASH!
The gem hit the water.
At first nothing happened. The sky remained the same, cheerful blue. Adeak spit. “Tricked us” he said. “Got our hopes up. You know, you are the worst kind of people” he raised his hammer up and onto his shoulder. “I think it best you leave.”
“I don’t understand” Midoshi said, looking to Kron. “All my research suggests that this will work.” He paused and spoke again in human language, “please, give it a little more time. These things are not instant you know.”
“No, I don’t know.” Adeak said, “but you’ve already set us back more time than we have to waste. Now am I going to have to force you to leave?”
“Very well. Come Kron. It seems we have overstayed our welcome.”
Together the two were escorted back to the gate. As they approached the gate there grew a loud rumble of thunder. Everyone stopped and stared at the sky. Thick black clouds began to form over the area of the well. Seconds later a hard rain began to downpour from the sky. Kron squeaked happily and Midoshi began to laugh uncontrollably. “It works! It works!”
The townspeople were wide-eyed. Adeak dropped his hammer in surprise. Everyone began to laugh and dance in the rain–rain that they had not seen in so long.
A bolt of lightning crackled in the sky and shot down towards the ground, hitting a nearby tree igniting it. The people’s laughter stopped and they began to scream in terror as more and more bolts began to shoot out of the sky. “By the heavens, the gods are angry!” People ran seeking shelter. The rain picked up harder, the winds blew harshly uprooting some of the rubble at the souther end of town and throwing it around, like tiny bullets. A scream was heard as a villager collapsed with a loud thud, struck dead by rubble. Tiny tornadoes formed out of the clouds. Midoshi and Kron ran back, trying to escape being pulled in.
Suddenly everything went back. Kron’s voice boomed to the group once again, “the horrors that happened in Hakura are too gruesome for me to even allow you to see. Needless to say, the village was destroyed..violently. The massive storm that brewed that day was beyond anything the continent of Iwote has experienced before. It was so strong it changed the terrain it sat upon, turning that entire area into a marshland.” Everyone saw a glimpse of what Hakura had turned into.
“But where is Hakura now?” Iyouboushi spoke aloud. “I have not heard of any such place?”
“Patience young one” was the answer. “As you all may imagine, the human kind were not happy with the results. They blamed the Shingi for the destruction of their town and the deaths of so many people. Perhaps they were right to blame them.” Kron reflected, “but what happened next was nothing like what had come before it.”
“One year later..” the scene shifted back to the laboratory. Kron flapped his wings, he was floating in the room where the rain gem had been created. Midoshi was taking the machine apart, his beard much longer and most of his hair having fallen out. Clom, now an adult and sporting a nice golden ring on his left hand, and Akushi, also balding, were both standing in the room with him.
“It is a pity” Clom said tipping his old, worn-out hat. “I hate to see your dream die this way.”
“The elders were quite specific: destroy any machine that pertained to harnessing the power of the planet. Anything less and it would be full-scale war with the Humans and Elves.” Midoshi ripped a small circuit board from the machine. “We’ve already taken massive casualties on our western front.”
“Because the elders will not listen to reason and allow us to arm ourselves” Akushi said, angrily. “We have the power to create a weapon that would wipe the filthy primitive humans from Iwote and drive them back from whence they came.” Clom gave him a look. “All except you, Clom, of course.”
“Be that as it may, that is not what the elders wish.”
“The elders would not have to know!” Sparks shot out from the machine as Midoshi ripped out a piece of pipe. “Allow me access to your research notes. I will do it in secret.”
“Absolutely not. In fact, as soon as I am finished here with this machine I will burn the notes.”
“How foolish!”
“Listen Akushi, I understand your passion but I must ask you to either help me or leave.”
“As you wish” Akushi said. The hiss of the door closed behind him as he departed.
“I worry for him” Clom said. “Lately he has become obsessed with your work and turning it into raw power.”
“All the more reason to destroy this machine” Midoshi replied in turn.
“Still, I have a bad feeling about what is to come.”
“Is that your inner magic intuition talking to you?” he chuckled. More sparks shot out as he ripped out yet another piece of pipe.
“After fifty-six years you still doubt me when I say I will have the power to move the heavens themselves?”
“Still touting that same old line old friend? No, I do not doubt you. I do, however, question whether we on this planet were meant to hold such power.” He paused, coming out from behind the machine to stand with Clom face to face. Once again, Midoshi proved to be shorter than the human. “The humans of that village told me that no mortal being had the power to control the weather. It seems that they were right. Beware of your power, lest it control you instead of you controlling it.”
Clom chuckled and nodded. “I shall keep that in mind.”
Suddenly klaxon alarms began to blare, causing both of them to jump. Kron screached in worry. A voice echoed across the entire laboratory. “Humans are attacking the laboratory. I repeat, humans are attacking the laboratory. Everyone seek the closest transportation pod and escape.”
“Go, save yourself” Midoshi said. “I must destroy this machine. No one must be allowed to get their hands on it, this includes humans.”
“Allow me to help you with that.” Clom removed the mirror from his cloak once again, as he did all those years ago, and held it up. It floated into the air and towards the machine. “You may wish to move” he said “unless you enjoy being being set on fire” his eyes sparkled when he mentioned the word fire. Midoshi did as he was told. The mirror began to glow as Clom chanted something Kron nor Midoshi understood. With a huge force the mirror slammed into the machine, causing huge flames to shoot out of it. The air around the machine began to implode upon itself, and then down into the mirror. Within a few seconds all that remained was the mirror which slowly floated back to Clom. “A piece of cake” he said with a wink.
“Why didn’t you do this to start?”
“You didn’t ask.”
Kron squeaked out a small laugh. The alarms grew louder. The voice echoed the same warning as before. “We must go now” Clom said.
“Wait! I must retrieve my research notes. They are just as important as this machine was. Go on without me. I will be right behind you.”
“Hurry it up old man” Clom said “don’t want you to be lost in a senseless raid. Kron, go with Midoshi.” Kron squeaked with agreement.
Together the large wyvern and the old man raced down the hallways, left, right, left and into a small room. There was a window in this room, looking outside at a bright and clear day; the rest of the room had been completely turned upside down and was an utter disaster. “Oh dear, it seems someone was here. No matter, the research notes are hidden in a very secure place.” He pushed the over-turned bed out of the way and crawled on his hands and knees to a small niche in the wall. Slowly he lifted it out of place and revealed a small leather-bound book.
“Finally,” he heard Akushi’s voice speaking from behind him. “That’s quite tricky old man, hiding it like that.”
Kron growled loudly as Midoshi stood up and turned around. “No, I don’t believe it!” Standing before him was Akushi and the ever-towering Adeak Ragehammer, hammer in hand. Adeak’s skin was a pale gray, and seemed more like scales than skin. A female Shingi stood behind Adeak, watching their backs. From what little Midoshi and Kron could see, she had shiny, curly black hair and wore a pink dress. Midoshi’s focused returned to Adeak. “You.. you die–”
“Died?” he said. An evil laughter escaped his lips. “Far from it. I should thank you, really. If it wasn’t for your little experiment I would have never realized my true potential.”
“This is impossible!” Midoshi shouted. “We sent a team back to the village in search of survivors. I lead the search party myself.”
“Let’s be honest” Akushi said, “the team was sent to recover the rain gem.” Midoshi’s eyes grew large as Akushi pulled out a small ruby red rock from a pocket. “But you couldn’t find it because Adeak here had already recovered it and escaped.” Adeak took a step forward as Midoshi took a step backwards.
“The rain gem! What happened to it? Why has it turned red?”
“Stained by the blood of all those killed that day” Akushi said.
“You left me for dead. You left all of us for dead. And for what? For your ‘research?’ So you could be a hero to your people? You did not really cared what happened to us humans, did you?” Adeak’s voice was angry.
“I found Adeak and cared for him in secret. It has taken me a full year for us to plan this out.” Akushi tossed the gem up into the air and caught it as it came back down. “Your research notes, please.”
“You’re mad! I would rather die than give these to you.”
“As you wish.” Akushi shrugged his shoulders and nodded to Adeak.
“This is revenge for everyone that died that day.” A crooked smile overcame his lips.
“Kron, take the notes and flee!” Without hesitation, Midoshi threw the notebook to Kron, who caught it in his mouth. Kron flapped his large wings as hard as he could and slammed through the window.
“Stop the dragon!” Akushi screamed, “he’ll ruin everything!”
Kron heard a loud scream of pain come from behind him as he fled the building. Below him lay a grassy area with a small path leading into a large forest. Just a few more wing flaps and he could dive into the trees and be safe from detection.
CRACK!
Kron felt his right wing go limp. He glanced over and saw a hammer go flying downwards. Adeak had tossed his hammer with such strength and accuracy that it broke his wing. He felt himself falling, slowly. He struggled not to let out a screech of pain, he must not drop the book. Whatever he did, he must not let the two psychopaths get a hold of it. He was losing air, quickly. The trees seemed millions of miles away now. He wasn’t going to make it. With once last attempt to gain speed and air, he slammed into the ground. The research notebook flew from his mouth and landed to his side. His vision grew blurry. Mustn’t black out. Must get back up.
The last thing he heard was Adeak ask, “should I kill the dragon?” and Akushi replying that it was ‘already dead.’
