Kriki's Gift, Chapter 29, Reading 31

The excitement builds as the release of 

Kriki's Gift, Book Two of the Geometry of Power 

draws near.

The energy pulse propagated throughout the mountain collapsing tunnels and caverns as it went. The entire universe of the Valkea's horde was utterly obliterated as the mountain reclaimed its inviolate and impenetrable strength. Deformation within the rock mass served to absorb and dissipate the energy of the shockwave on its passage outward so by the time the wave front broke out on the surface it didn't trigger the catastrophic rock slides Flindra had feared.

The three champions had pulled their focus out of the cavern when things started to collapse so they could see what was happening on the surface.

"Praise the Spirit we didn't bring down the entire mountain," Flindra observed with relief.

"My engineers are going to have to clean up the road," Kalmar remarked as he took note of a minor rock fall that had spread out over the road. He sighed wearily for he was utterly spent. "Let's see if there is anything left of the Valkea's nursery. It's not likely to have survived, but we need to make sure."

Kalmar directed his thoughts into the mountain, but sensed nothing but darkness and the oppressive weight of the surrounding rock. "It's gone," he announced wearily. "It's time to rest. Many thanks to both of you," he uttered.

"Rest easy, Your Majesties," Gegen replied and his essence vanished. He was too exhausted to say more.

"Be well and know that I love you," Flindra murmured to her husband.

"Sleep well, my Beloved."

Kalmar and Flindra drew back simultaneously and collapsed in their respective chambers.

Kriki's Gift, Chpater 29, Reading 27

The excitement builds as the release of 

Kriki's Gift, Book Two of the Geometry of Power 

draws near.

He listened carefully. "It almost sounds like a distant drum beat."

"A good way to sound an alarm in a cave fortress," the captain speculated. "I wager we're soon going to have company."

"A reasonable guess."

"Gather around the cave," Pender commanded. "Defensive positions. Try to find a spot where your footing is secure."

As the soldiers moved into the best possible places around the cave entrance, another group of twenty men arrived from the west.

"Good, we have more swords," Cherok noted as he watched the men dismount. "I have a feeling we're going to need them."

The new fighters were under the command of Lieutenant Boerger, Henny's betrothed. He was one of the younger officers, but a capable fighter and leader. He was a big man, but was agile and quickly led his men up the slope.

Before Boerger and the others reached the ledge, the light vanished, leaving behind nothing but the ring of the Valkea's henchmen who had died trying to reach her. Before any of the men could react to the sudden end of the light, an image coalesced and they found themselves in the presence of their King.

The men instantly saluted. "Your Majesty," Pender said respectfully.

"Gentleman," Kalmar replied and gave them a nod to acknowledge their salutes. He didn't realize it, but his face was haggard with the effort of battling the Valkea - a fact instantly noticed by his men who exchanged a concerned glance.

"How may we be of service?" the captain asked.

Kalmar looked around at the men gathered at the cave entrance and instantly noticed that the ground was littered with the Valkea's dead clansmen. "As you can see the Valkea is no more. Thank you for taking care of her fighters here. Now we need to cleanse the world of the nest of monsters she has been incubating in the caverns beneath our feet. Before we can continue, I need to assess the situation here. Have any of your men entered the tunnel?"

"No, Sire. We just finished our battle and were preparing for more of the Valkea's henchmen to appear for we hear the distant drums. Please allow me to congratulate you on your victory."

"Thank you, Captain." Kalmar focused his attention to listen for the drumbeat but instead felt his mind being drawn to the place Flindra and Gegen were now seeing. Deep within the heart of the cavern was a central chamber and it was here that the drums were being sounded. Men and women were running to the summons. All had grabbed some kind of weapon and moved about in complete frenzy. All three Champions were shocked to see the numbers present - hundreds of howling monsters were running helter-skelter while they awaited someone to take command.

Kriki's Gift, Chapter 29, Reading 26

The excitement builds as the release of 

Kriki's Gift, Book Two of the Geometry of Power 

draws near.

Wanting to take advantage of their enemies' ignorance to their presence, the captain issued his commands in low whispers and gestures. They dismounted, spread out along the road, and readied to scale the rock-strewn slope. They then worked their way up the slope. Pender set the pace so they stayed together. The Rangers' attack had been devastatingly effective and the ground was littered with dead and mortally wounded fighters. All others had left their positions to help the Valkea. The Guardsmen worked their way around the bodies and continued up the slope to the rocky ledge.

"Surrender or die!" Pender bellowed when he and his men reached striking distance.

It was as if the Valkea's men were linked mentally, for they all seemed to turn as one. "Kill them," the tallest man screamed madly.

All the Valkea's followers had been filled with impotent rage at their inability to help her. Their pent up anger flowed forth and they charged into Pender's men with insane recklessness. They had a certain advantage for they were uphill from the Guardsmen, but they were outmatched in numbers, for the Rangers had decimated their ranks so a scant twenty men remained.

The tall man ran straight for Pender and raised a short sword over his head to rain down a killing blow. Having no experience in swordsmanship, he didn't realize he was leaving his torso completely exposed - a fact Pender took advantage of by delivering a quick thrust into his midsection. The tall man responded as if he felt no pain and walked deeper into the blade to get close enough to strike at the captain. Pender deflected the blow with his shield, extracted his sword, and beheaded him.

All of the Valkea's fighters seemed to be entirely devoid of fear and oblivious to pain as they fought. The fight was reduced to a brutal business of hacking the Valkea's men to death. It was a sickening sight but a familiar one to the few men present, such as Lieutenant Cherok, who had fought with the howling mob at the altar the day before.

It was soon over and Pender's men were alone on the slope. The blazing light still radiated forth so intensely it created it's own shadows. The men stood with their eyes averted to protect their vision. They were surprised that the column of light gave off no heat.

"An awesome display of power," Pender remarked. "Small wonder it's reported the King and Queen collapse after fighting with their crystals."

Cherok nodded his head in agreement. "Praise the Spirit Their Majesties are capable of such a mighty assault. I felt the Valkea's anger when she attacked Lady Carra's train. Let's pray they didn't suffer too much before the Champions began their battle."

"Agreed." Pender glanced back to the road. "The decoy wagon took some good hits. I wonder how many men were lost or wounded."

"Let's hope not many."

"What mindless maniacs. They didn't seem to care that they were dying in such a hopeless fight."

"Just like yesterday."

"And just like yesterday, more will surely come. I'm sure all of the Valkea's people are aware of her peril." He pointed his sword towards the tunnel. "Do you hear that noise, Cherok?"

Kriki's Gift, Chapter 29, Reading 25

The excitement builds as the release of 

Kriki's Gift, Book Two of the Geometry of Power 

draws near.

Sergeant Garbarek's horn blast was heard by all in the vicinity and was relayed by others with horns until all the men stationed around the road knew that Carra's escort was under attack. Captain Pender and Lieutenant Cherok were the officers in charge of the closest group of horsemen. This group of forty men consisted of superior swordsmen and had been drawn from both of the garrisons at the Pass Gate as well as from the King's regiment. There were so many men ready to do battle with the Valkea that there weren't enough Ranger uniforms to disguise the Guardsmen so there was a mix of red and green cloaks in this group. They charged out of their hiding places and pelted down the road to help Rodal's men. They had watched Carra's escort ride by their place of concealment so they knew they had several miles to go before they could intercept them and offer them aid.

As they rode to the rescue, Cherok soon felt the familiar touch of the Valkea when she attacked Carra's caravan for yesterday's battle at the altar had branded his soul with an awareness of her evil.

"The Valkea is attacking," he hollered to the captain so he could be heard over the galloping horses.

"Best speed!" Pender commanded as he spurred his horse into a dead run. He knew that evil things were happening ahead.

All the men matched his speed and raced their horses onward.

The abandoned wagon and the dead and wounded horses marked the spot of the attack but the glowing light surrounding the Valkea instantly drew their attention to the rock ledge above. Her fighters were clustered around the ledge trying to give her some assistance. They were drawn around the light like so many moths to a flame and were totally oblivious to the arrival of Pender's men.

Pender threw up a hand signaling a halt as he reined his horse to a stop and assessed the situation. "Praise the Spirit Lady Carra's escort has escaped."

Cherok pointed to the carnage on the slope above them. "Those are Ostarian long bow arrows," he noted in a low voice. "There are Rangers about."

The two men turned to look at the slope across the river for undoubtedly that's where the Rangers had taken up their positions. A green clad Ranger stepped from behind the trees to signal they would hold their fire.

Pender acknowledged the wave with one of his own. Then he and Cherok looked back at the situation unfolding before them. The light around the Valkea was now far too intense to actually gaze upon so they had to hold up a hand to block it from view to see what was happening around it. Amazingly enough, some of the Valkea's men were hurling themselves against the globe of light in a futile attempt to penetrate the energy field. They collapsed to the ground and their comrades took their places even if it meant standing on the fallen.

"Mindless," Cherok remarked in disgust and spat. "It's hard to imagine humans reduced to the status of insects."

"It's time to put a stop to this madness," Pender answered.

Kriki's Gift, Chapter 29, Reading 24

The excitement builds as the release of 

Kriki's Gift, Book Two of the Geometry of Power 

draws near.

"Hold fast!" she commanded as she projected her thoughts around them to anchor them to sanity. "Think of the Spirit and all that you hold most dear in this life." She took the full brunt of the Kwetwer's attack to give the others a chance to recover.

Kalmar and Gegen rallied behind Flindra's mental shield and steeled their thoughts against the madness. They were soldiers and immediately counterattacked by filling their minds with all things positive to counter the poisoned Darkness. Their efforts released her from having to stave off the full battering. Just as she had done when facing the evil seed, Flindra drove her focus deep into her extended memories until she experienced the sense of oneness with all that was now and all that gone before her. Due to the overlapping proximity of Kalmar and Gegen's thoughts, she dragged them with her so they, too, became aware of the encompassing wholeness and interconnectivity of life. Existence was an exquisitely complex tapestry with the color and grandeur of the weft threads fully interwoven and supported by the sturdy warp filaments, in a masterful pattern of the Spirit's design.

Fortified by this experience, the champions struck back at the Valkea and through her to the Kwetwer beyond. If the power of the Nameless Ones was experienced as a paralyzing coldness, the answering challenge of the Champions was expressed as blindingly bright light, which produced a heat capable of melting a cold and evil heart. For several moments, the opposing forces cancelled each other into nullity, but then Flindra, Kalmar, and Gegen drew deeper into their personal energies and the crystals responded with a power increase of three to the power of three.

Within the confined sphere they had projected around her, the Valkea could do nothing to hold off the energy of the crystals. She was in a furnace fueled by the focus of the Champions and felt her will weaken. The Nameless Ones had to rely upon her strength to keep open the hole that allowed them to broadcast forth their evil energies, so they became unable to respond to the Champion's assault when the Valkea could no longer maintain the connection. She had become so dependent upon the power of the Nameless Ones to fuel her attacks that she had no reserves of energy of her own to fight with. Pushed by the growing force surrounding her, she collapsed inward much like a hollow gourd will wither and shrink when exposed to heat and sunlight.

The Champions pressed inexorably onward with their assault and the Valkea weakened and faded. It was difficult to say when she actually perished - she merely vanished beyond the limits of perception.

"She's gone," Flindra finally announced. "Let's drop the barrier. Kalmar why don't you assess the situation around us while Gegen and I see what's happening inside the caverns? We can enter the caverns now that the Valkea's power has been broken. Before we attack the nursery we should be aware of the full situation."

"An excellent suggestion," Kalmar agreed. "It shouldn't take me long to talk with my men. Then we will end this horror."

Kriki's Gift, Chapter 29, Reading 23

The excitement builds as the release of

Kriki's Gift, Book Two of the Geometry of Power

draws near.

The Valkea was veiled when Flindra's mind reached her so she couldn't see the monster, but she recognized the power of the Nameless Ones. She felt the numbing cold of Evil surrounding the Valkea but snapped her sphere filled with the essence of the Spirit into position before her mind and soul recoiled from the contact. Kalmar and Gegen were with her - as close as her own thoughts and she rejoiced at having such capable and resourceful allies fighting with her. Their powers joined with hers so smoothly and uniformly that there was no separation between them. They were truly three fighting as one.

The Valkea was caught at the center of the power sphere and suddenly was confused for she couldn't direct her thoughts to the Darkness when she was surrounded by light and hope and love. The situation stunned her into immobility for she didn't know what had happened and she had no inkling of how to fight back any more than snow could battle the heat of the summer sun.

"Hold her," Flindra broadcasted to the men.

Without waiting for a response from them she drove her thoughts deeper into her awareness of the Divine Presence. The Spirit was pure love, power, beauty, and an infinite reservoir of light and all things good. Flindra contemplated these things and felt the Valkea's power fade ever so much. She still remained unable to break out of the imprisoning barrier emplaced around her.

"Carra's escort has gone," Gegen announced for he'd kept watch while Flindra and Kalmar focused their efforts on containing the Valkea. "Let's press our attack," he urged.

Nearly at that same instant, the Valkea surprised them with a stinging blow, which nearly overwhelmed their efforts. The Champions' barrier around her held, but the atmosphere within it shifted, becoming cold and dark and filled to capacity with a sense of utter despair.

What Flindra hadn't considered when she planned on isolating the Valkea from the power of the Nameless Ones was the fact that the Valkea's heart served as a portal to the Darkness. She was linked to the Enemy so completely that she was a point where the Kwetwer could access the world. Now their Evil flowed forth to do battle. The Valkea was useful; few in the world had reached her level of power so she was worth defending.

Flindra could sense the shadowy presence of the Kwetwer in their reality beyond the Valkea as they became aware of the attack and began to funnel their power through her and into the world. She recognized this evil for she'd felt the mind numbing horror before, having experienced such an intimate contact with the essence of the Nameless Ones when she had battled with the evil seed. She held fast against the maelstrom of madness, but Kalmar and Gegen recoiled from the soul-singeing, mind-ripping, and sanity-destroying thoughts of the Kwetwer. Both had skirted the awareness of Darkness during their apprenticeship with their crystals, but neither man was prepared to face the full force of this flood of malice. No one could imagine the full malevolence of the Nameless Ones until facing them directly.

Kriki's Gift, Chapter 29, Reading 22

The excitement builds as the release of 

Kriki's Gift, Book Two of the Geometry of Power 

draws near.

Leitho was immediately aware when Kalmar and the others jumped into action to contain the Valkea. He looked at Stelgan.

"The Valkea has surfaced," he announced grimly. "The battle has begun."

"It's early," the lieutenant remarked with some surprise. "Do you sense anything else, sir?"

Leitho closed his eyes for a moment so he could better isolate the reaction of Sannhet from the distraction of his other senses. "Lady Carra and her escort have been attacked," he finally reported. I can sense Queen Flindra's concern as well as the King's outrage."

Stelgan frowned. "I'll pass word to Colonel Stellag." He hurriedly crossed the room to send a messenger with the news.

Leitho observed Kalmar closely. The look of almost sleepy relaxation on his face had vanished and in its stead was an expression of keen concentration and grim determination. The Blue starting glowing in answer to his will and soon the room was bathed in a light of sapphire hue as the King's battle intensified. Leitho had seen this before when watching Flindra fight her battles and knew the light was a reflection of the power being used to bring home a victory. He also knew what came after the fight - exhaustion and collapse.

"Stelgan," he mentioned in a low voice, when the lieutenant returned. "When the battle is over, the King will collapse and it may happen quickly and unexpectedly. I suggest you take your position close to him so you can catch him before he falls from his chair."

"Yes, sir."

"Please, just call me Leitho."

Stelgan flashed him a smile. "Yes, Leitho."

He gave him a lopsided grin in return. "Thanks." His attention then returned to Kalmar and while he watched the King he kept his hand pressed against Sannhet so he could better receive any impressions from the gem.

Kriki's Gift, Chapter 29, Reading 21

The excitement builds as the release of 

Kriki's Gift, Book Two of the Geometry of Power 

draws near.

After she rescued Heleena, Ghesor had complimented her on her choice of an indirect approach in that contest with the Nameless Ones. He had explained that there was great wisdom in setting the indirect to act directly and making adversity act as an advantage. History showed that those who triumph in a confrontation knew beforehand how to analyze the indirect and the direct and to use it to their advantage. It had taken her some thought to figure out the full import what he'd been saying, but now she understood his wisdom. Acting contrary to what was expected in a battle, in and of itself, created an advantage. It was a superior strategy to appear soft and indirect when an enemy anticipated the hard and straight, and unwaveringly direct when the opposite expectation held true. She thought of Ghesor's lesson on strategy and focused her thoughts on the light of the Spirit to counter the darkness of the Nameless Ones in her indirect challenge of the Valkea.

Kalmar had an instinctive and keenly sharp sense of justice. As the King, he was in fact the highest judge in the land and what the Valkea and her wild horde had done was a crime against all of his people. She and her band needed to be neutralized so they couldn't carry out the evil designs of the Nameless Ones. Revenge was not justice - in truth it fed into the Darkness - but it became necessary to isolate and destroy evil to prevent it from inflicting harm on the innocents of the land. He tapped into the righteous fury he had felt when he'd learned of Blazina's ordeal and the infuriated outrage that had filled his heart at seeing the nightmare spawn of the Valkea's horde born to threaten and torment his people. His anger was not hot and reckless; rather it was cool, patient and focused. He fed this energy into his vision of inexorable justice. Calling upon his anger to fuel his attack was akin to a taproot finding a deep well of water, which drew strength into the branches high above. He had passed judgment on the Valkea and was now readying to carry out the sentence. Knowing that the very concepts of truth and justice would be an anathema to her, he focused his thoughts on these things to fill his zone projected around her with an environment that would surely weaken her.

Gegen was a soldier and his mind was conditioned to think in terms of defensible lines and barriers. A strong wall could keep an enemy out, or in, as the situation required. He sensed what Flindra and Kalmar were planning and understood they were focusing their energies on conditioning the space within a tight zone around her to neutralize the Valkea's strength, but their efforts would only succeed if the barrier itself held. Thus, he concentrated the full force of his thoughts on creating an impenetrable barrier that the Valkea could not hope to breach. He thought of stone - freshly quarried granite - a rock free of any planes of weakness. Granite stood at the root of most mountain ranges and bore the weight of incalculable tons. This was the stone, which was the first choice of masons and the rock that was capable of standing inviolate for eons.

He thought of the properties of granite and incorporated all these characteristics into his vision of the barrier they would soon be projecting around the Valkea. He had come to understand that fighting with the crystals was doing combat within the realm of thought and imagination. He knew full well that he wouldn't actually see granite appearing to entomb the Valkea, but he accepted with faith that the attributes of granite could be called into existence around her. He focused on these things and awaited Flindra's command to attack.

In took but a moment for the three champions to prepare for this battle and Flindra could feel when they were ready.

"Now," she commanded.

Acting in perfect unison, they attacked and surrounded the Valkea with their combined wills.

Kriki's Gift, Chapter 29, Reading 20

The excitement builds as the release of 

Kriki's Gift, Book Two of the Geometry of Power 

draws near.

"We're close enough to press our attack," Flindra answered. "Our first task must be containing the Valkea until Carra's caravan has a chance to escape. As soon as they are out of range, we can go on the offensive. Imagine a shell of energy, which will contain her powers. Make it real in your thoughts first and then we'll spring it around her once it's fully formed in our imaginations. We can't allow her a chance to see what we're doing with a gradual buildup. That would give her a chance to counter our efforts."

"Or unleash an even worse assault on our people," Kalmar added in agreement.

"So true. Each of us will certainly imagine something different but I think our diverse approaches will actually strengthen our efforts. Think of it as three separate notes, which form a musical chord of stunning harmony, instead of a single tone played in unison."

"Understood," the two men replied.

"Bring ample detail into your vision, then it will be easier to make it real. Any questions?"

"I have none," Kalmar answered tersely.

"Nor I. Let's get to it," Gegen replied with restless energy filling his response.

"May the Spirit be with us and bless us with victory," Flindra prayed.

With her instructions given, she focused her attentions to the task at hand and envisioned a sphere filled with the light and love of the Spirit. The goodness of the Spirit was the ultimate antithesis of the Valkea's darkness. Confined within the sphere, the Valkea wouldn't be able to press her attack for her dark powers would be neutralized just like a shadow vanishes when exposed to direct light. Flindra used the recent experience she'd gained when she'd cut off the power of the Nameless Ones to rescue Heleena. During that confrontation, she had sought to isolate the child from the control of the Enemy; now in very much the same manner, she would isolate the Valkea from the source of her powers. It was perhaps a soft approach to a battle, but she expected it to be an effective one.

Kriki's Gift, Chapter 29, Reading 18

The excitement builds as the release of 

Kriki's Gift, Book Two of the Geometry of Power 

draws near.

The Valkea continued to weave her dark energies around Carra's caravan until the foremost riders came into view. Her veil obscured some of her view, but she could make out the dark shapes of the horsemen against the snowy background. With an imperious wave of her hand, she silently ordered her soldiers to prepare for the attack. Her lips twisted into a contorted smile in anticipation of victory when suddenly her heart convulsed with pain when the shouted chorus of the Queen's chant reached her ears. She staggered and one of her lieutenants reached for her arm to steady her.

"Punish them!" she hissed angrily as she pulled away from his grasp. "Kill them! Kill them!"

Whispers buzzed down the slope as her orders were quietly relayed to the archers. Soon the Valkea was rewarded with the sounds of battle and she watched with a renewing sense of pleasure at the scene of chaos enfolding below her. Laughter and snickers broke from the lips of those around her when they took note that Rodal's archers were shooting blindly up the slope. From that angle the arrows struck harmlessly against the rocks.

"So much for the might of Wesperos," her chief lieutenant mocked. "They're utterly helpless!"

"Let's make a new altar supported by their bones," suggested another.

The Valkea joined in the ensuing laughter and stepped a bit farther out on the ledge to get a better view of the killing.

All of the laughter and jeers came to an abrupt halt when an unexpected flood of arrows started landing on the slope, actually hitting and killing her archers.

"No!" she screeched in outrage at seeing the unexpected carnage on the slope.

For a second time, these idiots were besting her fighters! It was time to put a stop to it. The Valkea drew up to her full height as she screamed in fury and then stretched her arms and pointed down the slope at her enemies. Gathering her will she sent the full force of her powers of Darkness down to crush them. They were going to pay!