The excitement builds as the release
of
Kriki's Gift, Book Two of the Geometry
of Power
draws near.
Many
times Kalmar had witnessed the incredible might of the flood-swollen Kanza. He
had routinely seen trees uprooted, banks undermined, even docks and buildings
washed away. All these were impressive sights, but the undisputed example of
the incontestable might of the river was the battle that was joined between the
flood-swollen Kanza and the mighty current of the sea where the waters met in
the Bay of Tamerre.
Ocean
swells would break against the river currents and lose their rounded shape,
turning into dangerous cliffs of water tall enough to engulf a ship. The
sandbar at the mouth of the river would shift, sometimes disappearing and
reforming in a different place so channels safe to navigate in the winter were
gone by summer. Even the intrepid Azeans avoided these waters during the
annual contest between river and sea. Oftentimes, implacable west winds would
hammer from the outer seas across the coast superimposing a storm surge on top
of the dueling waters. At such times, the memories of men couldn't suggest a
more impressive example of the invincible potency of the elements.
The
King's blue crystal took all his images and transformed them into a concept of
unconquerable might. Gegen had to allow his barrier to expand to hold all the
energy being added by Kalmar's imagery. The synergistic properties of the
crystals suddenly squared the resultant of Flindra and Kalmar's combined
efforts to produce a sparking, crackling energy storm of dazzling intensity.
Flindra recognized that Gegen was straining to hold his barrier to contain this
leap in power.
"Let
it go," she commanded.
Gegen
released his barrier and the energy exploded radially outward in a burst of
unimaginable might. In no way, could the three have anticipated the
unstoppable force they had created and released into the heart of the mountain.
They had freed the energy burst above the howling mob and it manifested as a
ferocious airburst that smashed the frenzied and howling men and women into the
ground - many dying as the shockwave crushed bone and tissue. Above the crowd,
the pulse of energy swept into the overlying rock and the cave reverberated
with the sharp report of rock spalling off the roof. The shattered rock began
to rain upon the prostrate forms of the horde below. Those who had survived
the airburst struggled to rise and escape the deadly hail of jagged stones.
The pitch of the sounds in the cavern lowered, growling ominously as the wave
penetrated deeper into the rock mass. With a deafening roar, the cavern roof
collapsed, obliterating the clan under countless tons of rock.
No comments:
Post a Comment