Gegen instantly threw his thoughts into creating the
barrier. He drew from his recent
experience holding in the Valkea, but this time he added the image of a
powerful dam to the attributes of his granite wall. This was a structure capable of holding back
the raging waters of a flood. In his
mind he could see the crests of wind-swept waves crashing against the dam face
to be effortlessly deflected by the massive stonework so the water, soundly
chastened, flowed back into the lake.
Flindra drew upon her memories of the ferocious summer
thunderstorms that would build all day above the Greyfell Mountains. The wind would grow strong as the clouds drew
in surrounding air along with moisture from Lake Eghero. Clouds would rise to unimaginable heights,
fueled by the power of the roiling and churning internal winds. By afternoon, the thunderheads would darken,
lightning would flash, and thunder would echo against the distant peaks. Then the monster storms would sally forth and
batter the forest, the lake and surrounding lands with deafening thunder,
pounding hail, torrential rains and tempestuous winds so formidable they
transformed Lake Eghero into a wild and dangerous thing capable of swallowing
up any craft, regardless of how skilled the fishermen and sailors aboard. Howling gales could effortlessly uproot
decades-old trees, snap off branches or even split trees asunder. Hail would strip trees and bushes bare of
leaves, making the forest floor look as if it had snowed in green once the hail
pellets melted. All creatures, feathered
or furred, sought shelter for to remain in the open could mean death. Such times also ended all human activity as
well for nothing could be done outdoors until the storms were finally spent of
their fury.
She poured details and distinct memories of such storms into
the White and the crystal took her images and translated them into a dominating
force. A whirlpool of power exploded
into existence inside Gegen’s barrier and pressed mightily against the
restriction of his containing field. His
barrier held against her storm of energy just as his imaginary dam repelled the
pent up anger of surging waves.
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.
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