Parallel Inversion, page 18
part #1 of The Parellyrian Chronicles Series
Elinross let Karen walk ahead of her, and the young woman stepped nervously toward the large throng of hovering magical sprites. Karen stepped between two large trees and found herself standing on a large patch of grass in an opening at the center of the town. She felt encompassed by the many buildings embedded into the dense woods that surrounded her. Fighting the urge to more closely observe the many extravagant, dollhouse-like structures that stood at eye-level some ten feet from where she stood, Karen instead focused on the assembly of fairies fixated on her.
One of the younger fairies, perhaps ten years old, nudged her way to the front of the group to get a closer look at Karen. She paused for a moment, trying to distinguish what was so special about the subject of such interest, and then it dawned on her. She flew forward and stopped just shy of hitting Karen's face.
“Hi,” Karen said.
“Are you a human?” the young fairy inquired, making no attempt to tactfully approach the subject.
“Yes I am,” Karen replied.
The fairy began shaking with delight. “Wow! I've never met a human before. What are you doing here?”
The young fairy had not intended to be rude, but some of the other fairies witnessing the exchange worried that their new visitor would interpret it that way. A few of them, including Aseria, approached Karen to ensure that their visitor still felt welcome.
“My apologies,” said one of the fairies. “My name is Councilor Theranise. Councilor Kormoran made me aware of your presence in our realm. On behalf of everyone here, I welcome you to Trisea. It is our pleasure to have you visit our community.”
Aseria beamed at the display of her people's accommodating nature. Karen's pleasure was also plain to see in her expression. She accepted the fairy Councilor’s gesture of welcome and moved forward to the center of the village.
Karen was ecstatic as she was surrounded by several buzzing fairies. She happily demonstrated her full array of newly discovered skills for them. In return they shared samplings of food, stories, and artistry with her.
Aseria, having returned to Kulamahar after an absence of more than a decade, was nearly as popular for the moment as Karen was. A few fairies close to her own age asked her what the outside world was like, and she provided adept observations in comparison to their community. A few who had known her parents recognized her right away, and expressed their condolences for her loss. Aseria felt more welcomed by strangers than she had since she had first met Dalius.
Elinross remained just outside the scene, taking it all in from a short distance. She also remained aware of the necessity to arrive at the capital city before too long, but did not want to rush Karen away from the fairy community too quickly. The young woman clearly appreciated the wondrous experience Elin's homeland had to offer.
The elf did not need to pull Karen away, as the woman eventually stepped toward her and said, “Should we be on our way? I don't want the council waiting on me.”
Elinross nodded. “We should get going.” She then addressed the crowd of fairies before them, as she could not make out the one she was looking for. “Are you coming with us, Aseria?”
The young fairy was completely engrossed in a conversation with her new peers, but paused to address Elinross at the mention of her name. “I think I'd like to stay here for a while.”
Councilor Theranise approached Aseria. “You're more than welcome to stay as long as you like. We would be honored to have you join our community, if you so wish.”
The councilor offered Aseria a handshake, but Aseria took the initiative to pull the Councilor in for a hug. Theranise grunted in surprise, but not displeasure, as Aseria wrapped her arms around her and squeezed. Theranise returned the embrace, as Aseria vocalized her thanks.
Theranise then then moved next to Karen and Elinross. “I will accompany you,” she said. “I must also attend the council meeting.”
“Very well,” Elinross replied, and they set off together toward Forsahn.
Chapter Seventeen
When Niffain and Aralyn were escorted inside their home, they were surprised by the guests inside waiting to greet them. Niffain was more shocked than anyone there. As a child he had seen his hero disappear into thin air before his very eyes, at the same time that his father had been killed. Seeing Romanbak in front of him now made him question his own memory of what had happened that day.
Romanbak walked toward the dwarf, incorrectly recognizing the familiar visage. “Brondin?” he said. “Brondin Marduk?”
Niffain's heart sank at the mention of his father's name, as his slight hope that he might still be alive was dashed. Dalius saw the look on Niffain's face and realized that the mistaken identity was having quite an effect. Niffain tended to hide beneath a hard outer shell of indifference characterized by uninhibited expressions of foul taste, but underneath that shell he was quite sensitive to the right subjects.
Dalius stepped between Romanbak and Niffain, and he faced the former hero. “Professor Marduk died twenty years ago, the same time you disappeared. This is Niffain, his son.”
Romanbak's embarrassment at his mistake was overshadowed by his exuberance upon discovering the dwarf's true identity. He gently pushed Dalius aside and walked toward the dwarf. “Niffain?” he whispered. “You're so grown up. I can't believe how much you look like your father.”
That was all it took to break Niffain's composure. His twenty year old grief came flooding to the forefront, and a tear rolled down his face. His boyhood hero was alive, and was comparing him to his late father. Niffain pounced forward and leapt into Romanbak's arms. “I can't believe you're here,” he sobbed. “You were gone for so long.”
“I'm back now."” Romanbak smiled reassuringly and returned the dwarf to the floor, who in turn wiped the now numerous tears from his face.
“Crybaby!” Mike said from the corner of the room.
Niffain's hard outer shell was quickly re-established. He pulled his axe from its sheath on his back and turned to face the voice that had insulted him. The source turned out to be much larger than Niffain had expected, and he briefly considered abandoning his intended response, but his confidence soon returned. He marched toward Mike and threatened him at axe point. “Want to run that by me again?”
“Woah, there, little guy. Be careful with that thing. It looks kind of sharp.”
“Little guy? How about I cut your legs off, and then we'll see who's little?”
“Niffain!” Terimor shouted. In anticipation of a familiar scolding, the dwarf re-sheathed his axe and retreated, glaring at Mike the whole time.
“I'd still be bigger than you,” Mike said.
“Well,” Romanbak said, addressing Niffain, “I can see you've developed a personality all your own.”
“Much to our dismay,” Aralyn said.
“Who is this guy, anyway?” Niffain asked, gesturing towards Mike.
“My name's Mike.” He extended a hand downwards to offer Niffain a handshake, but the dwarf brushed him off and returned to the middle of the room.
“Anyhow,” Terimor said, in an attempt to change the subject, “we haven't seen you in twenty years. Why don't you tell us about what's happened since we last saw you?”
Romanbak divulged the details of his unexpected departure from Parellyria, and how he had spent years trying to get back. He told them that Niffain's cat, Boots, had somehow accompanied him to Earth, and Romanbak had used the cat as a guinea pig for his experimental attempts to reproduce the powers he had lost after his teleportation. Niffain was at first upset to hear of Romanbak's experiments on his pet, but that feeling dissipated after learning one significant detail about the results of the experiments.
“Boots is still alive?” Niffain blurted out.
“Yes he is,” Romanbak said. “It seems that one of the substances I was feeding him also affected his longevity. As a result I also ate that particular substance from time to time so I would have more time to work on trying to get back here.”
“That explains why you look so young,” Terimor said.
“You're not too far removed from the young man I remember when I left, yourself,” Romanbak replied.
“So what kind of powers did you manage to give Boots?” Niffain asked.
“Well, that all depended on the combination of ingredients I used. Most recently the powers I gave him were increased strength, speed, reflexes, endurance, the ability to camouflage himself in his environment, and even to walk through walls.”
“That sounds exactly like the powers that Karen has,” Dalius said.
“What are you talking about?” Mike asked.
“Karen has powers?” Romanbak said, reiterating Mike's question.
“Exactly like you described,” Dalius confirmed.
“Is that so?” Aralyn asked her son. “Why didn't you mention this to us before?”
“We were afraid someone at the castle would overhear us and try to use the information to take advantage of Karen.”
“What did you do to her?” Mike asked Romanbak in an accusatory tone.
“I didn't do anything,” Romanbak answered sincerely, and then it dawned on him. “Wait a minute. Just before she disappeared, she helped me feed Boots some of his superfood. Then Boots attacked her and bit her hand. Some of the superfood must have still been in Boots' mouth, and made its way into Karen's bloodstream.”
“No kidding,” said Mike.
“How long do the superfood's effects last?” Terimor said.
“It varies,” Romanbak said. “But it's usually somewhere around a week.”
“So you turned my girlfriend into a superhero,” Mike said, crossing his arms.
Dalius instantly looked up at Mike, his face betraying the disappointment he felt upon hearing Mike's words. He decided it was pointless hiding the source of his disappointment, and worthwhile to at least confirm Mike's statement. “Karen's your girlfriend?” he said.
“That's right,” Mike lied, then he scoffed. “Why? Do you like her, or something?”
Dalius stammered for a moment. “She's an incredible girl,” he said.
“Damn right, she is,” Mike agreed. He put his nose in the air and envisioned the life he would begin after he found her. She would greet him at the door to their new mansion, smiling, holding a tray of chocolate chip cookies, as he arrived home from winning the National Basketball Association Championship, with a cheerleader on each of his arms. Life would be good. He brought himself back to reality by reminding himself of the need to find her first.
“How did you manage to finally get back to Parellyria?” Terimor asked his old friend.
“It wasn't easy,” Romanbak said. “I spent years trying to recreate the chemical makeup of nelodomite, which is what transported me away in the first place. It took even longer to figure out how to make it work. It was only by chance that when Karen visited me, the nelodomite was activated by a powerful lightning storm, and by Karen's touch.”
Mike shifted impatiently at the mention of her name. “Can we go find her now?” he whined.
Niffain leered at the hypocritical oaf who had insulted him earlier. “Of course we can't go find her,” the dwarf said. “She's gone to Kulamahar.”
Aralyn nearly choked on the air she was breathing. “Kulamahar!?”
“What's Kulamahar?” said Mike.
"”Kulamahar is a hidden elf sanctuary,” Dalius said. “Forbidden to humans.”
“Kind of like the North Pole?” Mike said. Upon hearing the word “elf” he had automatically pictured a miniature person with enormous, pointy ears, sitting at a table building wooden toys for a large, bearded man in a red suit.
“Not exactly,” Romanbak said, as he was the only other person there with any idea of what Mike meant.
“Well, how come she gets to go there and we don't?”
“Indeed,” said Terimor, whose thought represented a similar curiosity amongst all in attendance save for Dalius and Niffain.
Dalius felt it was up to him to explain. “Levaricent's power has grown since you left,” he said to Romanbak. “People have been growing more worried, especially since you weren't here to protect them anymore. So when Karen showed up out of nowhere with powers similar to yours, and she claimed to have been sent here by you, we figured now was a good time to warn everyone living in Kulamahar about Levaricent's probable oncoming attempt to rise to power. And to give them a chance to possibly do something about it with Karen's help. And now that you're here, too, you can help us as well.”
“I don't know,” Romanbak said. “Our last encounter didn't end too well for me.”
“Well, last time you weren't expecting him to attack you,” Niffain reminded him. “I was there. I remember. He caught you completely off guard.”
“That's true.”
“And this time he won't be expecting you,” Dalius said, continuing Niffain's thought. “As far as he knows, you're dead.”
“Dalius does raise a good point,” Terimor agreed, happy to support his son.
“What about Karen?” Mike said, frustrated that the topic had shifted away from her.
Romanbak attempted to address both issues at once. “I agree that I am in a much better position to confront Levaricent than I was during our run-in twenty years ago, but I'm not exactly champing at the bit to fight him again. I think it's probably a better idea to wait until Karen gets back so we can hear what the Elvish Council has in mind before we charge in with our guns blazing. Even if the elves decide not to help out, maybe Karen can help me face him, what with all her new powers.”
Apart from Mike, the occupants of the room were unfamiliar with a couple of the phrases Romanbak had used. Clearly he had been influenced by the vernacular of the world he had been trapped in for the last two decades. Nevertheless, his meaning was clear, so he wasn't questioned.
“So we just sit here and wait?” Mike complained. “This world is so boring. You guys don't even have MTV!”
“I don't know what that is,” Dalius said, compelled to defend his home world, “but Parellyria is far from boring.”
“Prove it!”
“All right, let's go.”
“Boys!” Aralyn called after them as they started for the door. Dalius stopped to face his mother, and Mike turned as well. “It's a little late at night to head into town. Why don't we get some sleep? Tomorrow you can show him everything Phellanore has to offer.”
Dalius often felt trapped by the fact that he once again lived in his parents' house, but at this moment he appreciated his mother's intervention. Nothing would even be open this late on a Sunday, except Fhindovar's tavern, so there wouldn't be much for Dalius to show Mike to substantiate his claim.
“Okay,” Dalius said.
“Fine,” Mike said also, reluctant to argue with a woman who reminded him so much of his own mother.
Everyone in the room was tired, so with most questions answered, the conversation subsided. Aralyn and Terimor made sleeping arrangements for the two guests, providing the rarely used guest room for Mike, and bringing out blankets so that Romanbak could get comfortable in the living room. Everyone went to bed anticipating an eventful few days ahead of them.
Snow started blowing around Levaricent's castle deep within the Koyin mountains, foreshadowing an impending blizzard. His dragon, Dictomin, was equipped with a tough exoskeleton that made him nearly impervious to the most unpleasant weather. The dragon's unprotected head and underbelly were being shielded from the wind and snow by his wings, as Dictomin tried to sleep out the storm.
Inside the castle, Kropht hurried through the hallways at his master's bidding. He had been sorting through the numerous items in his wardrobe, putting together an outfit for his venture into a less sophisticated part of the kingdom. He wanted something that would not be considered pretentious by those who saw him wearing it, but would still distinguish him as an individual with a refined sense of fashion. Aware of the delicate balance, he had settled on a subtly artistic two-piece outfit that would allow him to blend in nicely. The trousers were made of top-grain leather, made more fashionable by an exquisite pattern sewn throughout, and topped with a functional, but complex, belt embedded into the waistband. The silk tunic accompanying the trousers was of a similar brown-blue color, and had shiny, metal adornments scattered stylistically throughout it, giving it the rough appearance of body armor
The bell in his room that indicated his master's need for his immediate presence had rung while Kropht was still dressing. He was determined to carry his shoes with him and try to finish dressing himself as he made his way across the castle. This proved to be a more difficult task than he had anticipated as he, in his haste, occasionally dropped his trousers while trying to fasten the belt, and stumbled face-first over them. But he would simply get back up and resume his speed, still trying and failing to secure his pants in place.
Kropht spilled through the large doorway to his master's chamber, losing his balance and falling forward onto the gray stone floors in the process. Levaricent stood and watched his servant clumsily return to his feet, his pants remaining down around his ankles. The elf wizard had come to expect nearly anything from Kropht, and so was not surprised by his pants-less appearance.
“Pull up your trousers,” Levaricent said.
Kropht looked down and gasped. Upon his arrival in Levaricent's chambers he had stopped paying attention to his outfit for a moment, and hadn't even noticed that his pants weren't on. Mortified, he crouched down and picked them up, this time careful to secure his belt properly.
“I'm sorry master,” Kropht said as he was putting on his shoes. “How can I be of service?”
“The army is ready. It is time to acquire the test subject.”
Kropht smiled. “Yes master.”
“Prepare the carriage.”
Kropht had turned to begin his assignment, but stopped and looked back to confirm his master's request. “The carriage?”
“Yes.”
