"This should keep him alive when we return to Stormm," said the Professor
to Jo. She had put bionic arms on to de Winter, with the Lord Avatarr using
his magic to keep his body whole and not reject them. It had taken over
seven hours for everything to be perfected and another hour for everything
to be checked out to see if it was working. That meant they had been absent
from Stormm for over eight hours and almost anything could have happened
over there. "However," the professor warned, "it is possible that they will
just disappear when we arrive in Staghorn." Jo nodded.
"I'll keep him safe in a healing field if that is the case," she said.
"I am not happy about this," he said. "My world has no need of this
science. If I am to die, then I will die. There is nothing that can be done
about it."
"It won't come to that," said Jo. "Now, come on. The portal is only big
enough for the two of us. Let's go and see if victory has been
accomplished."
"Okay," he said. "Perhaps your husband has defied the prophecy after all."
Jo activated her gauntlet. The professor activated hers. De Winter put on a brave face and cried out "So what are we
waiting for? Let's go!" Jo grabbed his arm and all
three went over to Stormm.
The army of humanoids was being overwhelmed. The dwarves were too focused
and were not taking as many casualties as the humans were. Dave refused to
admit defeat and was fighting on. He had taken his own injuries but he was
fighting on anyway. Then he remembered. The Five had access to mind-speak.
He was one of the Five. Thoras was another. It came down to a case of
mental combat.
:::Thoras!::: called Dave. :::I challenge you, as leader of the dwarven,
to fight me as leader of the elven. Unless you are afraid!:::
:::I accept your challenge::: Dave felt his mind being removed from his
body. He was on the astral plane of Stormm. In front of him was the dwarf
he had tried to attack earlier. :::Welcome, Elven Lord. Prepare to die:::
:::Not today::: he answered. In the back of his mind he felt someone else,
but Jo and de Winter were not back yet and the new leader of the faerie
would have announce their presence. He pushed the feeling away and prepared
for battle. The dwarf grew in height, using the power of the astral plane
to guide him. Dave, however, was no slouch when it came to using the astral
plane. His powers as avatarr were fuelled by it and in this realm he was
power. This astral plane may not have given him the powers of the avatarr
as the old one did, but Dave knew how to use the place to his advantage. He
shrank the dwarf back down.
:::Impossible!::: called Thoras.
:::Nothing's impossible, only untried::: countered Dave and joined the
battle. They fought with skill and courage for in the end there would only
be one left standing, unless the other fled. Both knew that this would take
all off their focus, so they cut themselves off from the outside world.
The portal opened and the three figures reappeared on Stormm. Professor
Stone had been right. The bionics disappeared and the Lord Avatarr was
armlets once more. Jo grabbed him in a healing field. It stopped the flow
of his blood but not the pain.
"There's nothing you can do for me, Miss Geneva," he said. "Let me die so
Stormm can choose a new leader for the humans."
"I'll not let you die!" said Jo. "Not after we've come so far."
"It cannot be helped," he said. "Life ends. I didn't expect to live long
after you had arrived, anyway. For what it's worth, I grew to like you."
"Thank you," she whispered. "How will the magics choose your successor?"
"The magics choose my successor based on the powers of their intellect. I
had used to have the power to learn anything and then I became the supreme
sorcerer of this planet. I assume it will be the same again. My very being
will become part of the magic that is passed on. Most of what I know, the
next Avatarr will know. Always with transference there are holes in memory.
Please lower your field. My time has come." Jo did as he required and soon
after that Lord David de Winter - Lord Avatarr - died. His body faded away
and the magic rushed to choose a successor.
"Goodbye," said Jo. "I'm sorry." She spoke to his empty clothes.
"Jo!" cried the professor. "The commander's over here!"
The death of the Lord Avatarr sent a shockwave through the astral plane,
affecting both Thoras and Goldfish. Both were set off guard which allowed
the other presence in Dave's mind to resurface. This time he knew it's
origin. He moved past Thoras and went to the furthest reaches of the plane.
He found a small box, with no obvious way in. It was calling to him. Thoras
caught him up before he could open it.
:::Don't touch that!::: he called. Then another shockwave went through the
astral plane as the new Avatarr was chosen. The magic reached out form the
heavens and hit Professor Stone just as Jo arrived at her side. She was
momentarily stunned by the power. Jo helped her up and gave her a moment to
recover as she checked on Dave. He was badly injured, but alive. However
she could not detect him in her mind. The battle had moved away from him
and one other dwarf who lay similar to Dave a few metres away, but
relatively unhurt. She gathered what was happening with Dave and decided to
leave him to it. There were few beings who could defeat Dave on the astral
plane. She checked on the Professor.
"Jennifer, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she said. "The magic wasn't meant for me."
"But it hit you," said Jo.
"No, it passed through me. The new avatarr is to be my unborn child."
"You're pregnant?" exclaimed Jo.
"I suspected so, but I was waiting for the results of the test I had
done.They are due in tomorrow morning. This confirms it."
"Well," said Jo. "I guess that means you'll be staying."
"Yes," she said sadly. "I'll miss Earth, but even now my child is using
his.."
"Or her."
"Or her new powers to direct the battle. My child is unifying the minds of the
human race and creating a mind blast. I can feel it building and being
directed at the dwarves."
Thoras could also feel the power building. The entire astral plane was
vibrating with it's intensity. He was caught in it's epicentre here and it
would kill him if he stayed. The battle he was having with Dave was
affecting his warriors who were without a leader and the human unification
had them spooked. They did not know if they had won or lost. He had to
redirect his troops to try and break the humans concentration. He left the
astral plane in a hurry, leaving Dave to concentrate on the box.
:::Hurry::: it said. :::You must open me before the mindblast or we'll
both be destroyed::: Dave took the box in the palm of his hand and placed
his other hand over it. This would take an immense amount of power to open,
if he could focus it in time.
Thoras woke up and began to redirect his troops. They were about to attack
the humans when the humans began to glow. It was too late. The build up of
power on the astral plain was intense. Dave called out with his mind to Jo.
:::Help me!::: he implored. :::I can't do this alone:::
:::I'm here for you::: he received as she appeared on the plane beside
him. Together their combined powers opened the box, but before they could
find out what it contained the blast reared towards them. The dwarven race
fell under the onslaught that the humans unleashed. They were held under
its spell and cleansed by its psionic fire. The blast redefined the dwarves
by the nature of the new Avatarr, who had no direct concept of good and
evil, of prejudice and hatred and now the races of dwarves and humans were
the same. Thoras was so affected by the blast his mind was ripped away,
leaving him a vegetable yet still alive. Without his death the magic of
Stormm could not pass his power to his descendant, leaving the dwarves
without a leader. The truth why the humans did not possess the mind speak
was clear - only the Avatarr could control it to a certain extent and if it
was used the affects of it were devastating. Through knowledge came power
and the power corrupted both user and target.
"My child says that the power shall only be used again in the gravest
need," said Professor Stone to Jo, who did not respond. The professor shook
Jo and she awoke.
"Wow, do I have a headache," she said. On the floor, Dave was coming
around as well.
"Keep it down, my head's killing me," he said, very quietly. Both knew
they had only just escaped being killed. Above them came a shimmering
light.
~I am Queen of the Faerie~ she said to them all. ~Thank you for freeing my
mind from the astral plain. The faerie that remain will forever be your
ally.~ The light disappeared and Dave smiled.
"You knew that was going to happen?" said Jo.
"I had an idea," he replied. "Darkfleet and Skurm said she wasn't dead but
it didn't register."
"Commander," said Professor Stone. "My child says that the prophecy has
come true. It was the light the prophecy referred to after all. You and Jo
have removed the dark, so the light has disappeared as well, for one cannot
exist without the other. There is only peace, here now and because of this
the planet has been renamed. It is no longer Stormm but Avalon." Dave
nodded.
"I have ordered the elves to stay hidden from human sight and to never
interfere with the other races. Jo has removed the threat of the orcs and
the dwarves have been dealt with. So the prophecy came true after all." He
shrugged. "Just proves that you can't win them all."
"I have also fixed your gauntlet, whilst Jo spoke with de Winter. A loose
chip was all that was wrong with it. You can leave any time you wish."
"Thank you, Professor," said Dave. He knew that they'd miss her expertise
in R&D. "I'll send your husband over as soon as I return to Earth."
"And then you can buy me dinner, down the Bar & Grille. You owe me,
remember?" said Jo, with mock seriousness.
"So I do," laughed Dave. "Come on. Let's go home." They pressed the
buttons on their gauntlets and walked through the portal, back to C&C.
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