Wordscapist, The Myth

I am a myth

A story

A ghost

Slick

So this is how it ends - the thought came to me, settled down and made itself comfortable. From norm to cipher to Wordscapist to incredibly powerful wordsmith doomed to die...to this? I had gotten into and out of more hairy situations in the last couple of weeks than a mouse at a cattery. And after all these feats, I was to be executed like a common wordsmith by Sign; hoodless and scytheless, but still every bit as omnipotent and inevitable as Death. I slowly got up, leaving Dew lying on the hard terrain. What was to happen now?

She was some sight, decked like a goddess of chaos, and accompanied by her three beasts. Three? There was a fourth, and before I started turning around to look for it, I remembered the leaping kitty that had disappeared into the vacuum I’d summoned. Oh well!

Sign stepped closer, every move and gesture threatening, and spoke, “You are finally mine, Alain de Vorto. You have taunted me for centuries, evading me time and again with your little tricks. You disappeared into your hole when I attacked you. You come back after so many centuries and start your old tricks all over again. And now, to make matters worse, you have also destroyed one of my pets; a companion I have had for centuries. I will make you pay, Alain de Vorto, for each of these crimes.”

I stood there and calmly took all this in. That voice was definitely hypnotic. Then again I always had a lamentably short attention span. The effect was beginning to fade.

“Let’s take this one at a time,” I said, looking her right in her glowing purple eyes, “To begin with, I am not Alain de Vorto. I have no idea where that useless bum is. I have had to fight the CCC, the Free Word and half the Guild all on my own today. Dew was right alongside me through all this, but then got knocked down a minute ago. Now I have to deal with you. And the Alain de Vorto you hunt is off being miffed in some corner.”

I could see her eyebrows going up at this. This was not what she had expected. I was going to continue keeping her off balance. This might just turn out to be fun.

“Two; I have never seen you, so you can’t blame me for all those centuries of irritating behaviour. I’ve hardly been around for a quarter of a century myself, and had no clue that there was a psychopathic elemental called Sign until a couple of days ago.”

I could see a range of emotions flitting across that coldly beautiful face. I wondered what I would do when I ran out of points. Until then, I was going to lay it on, thick and powerful. I was done with being pushed around, even if it was the almighty Sign doing it.

“And yes, I have no clue what you mean when you say that I destroyed your pet. I personally like cats. Yours are a bit too overgrown for my taste, but I still would not go so far as destroying one.” I was pushing it. And I could feel my adrenaline pumping as I realised I was having fun doing this. I was egging Sign on. But I hadn’t lied. Except for the cat part. But that was collateral damage.

Sign glared at me, and then took a few moments to regain her calm. She pulled off a convincing smile and spoke, making her voice a bit more hypnotic and arresting, “Your insouciance is irreverent and misplaced. But I shall pardon that as a consequence of your youth and ignorance. You say you are not Alain de Vorto. Who are you then, child? You are apparently unaware of me and all that I am.”

I put on my deepest, classiest voice and spoke, “I am Slick. My real name does not matter. And I heard very recently about your power and your exploits, how you have terrorised the wordsmith community ever since it came into being. But if you don’t mind me saying you seem a little clichéd in form and presentation. I mean, come on! Four cats made up to a night-in-hell theme? And you look like Trinity’s replacement in a Matrix revival series. Does it get any more obvious than that?”

The entire world around us went dark and stormy. She was silhouetted in lightning, her glare piercing enough to bore holes in me. The pop cultural reference might have escaped her (her world looked like it was short on HDTVs and multiplexes), but I think she grasped the general tone I had adopted. I gulped and braced myself for some more ‘insouciant irreverence’. I put on a show of checking out the thunder and lightning, and then brought my hands out in a flashy see-what-I-mean gesture. Unfortunately, that just got her more pissed. The world went all the more stormy. I wondered if it would start raining next. Given the purple all around, it would probably rain blueberry juice here. I decided not to say this though. I had pushed her enough.

“Stop!” she thundered at me. I did not bring to her notice that I had stopped quite some time back. “You dare! You disrespect me?” She came closer. I tried very hard not to flinch or back away. I succeeded, barely. I knew conceptually that one touch of that black skin and I would be dead. “You have gone too far, child. I might have let you live, even after your foolishness led to my pet’s destruction, but you must be punished for your insolence. And with me, there are no warnings, and all punishments are terminal.” She leaned closer. “Do you understand?” She smirked a radiantly cruel smile at that.

It was time to quit fooling around and do what I did best. Only, I could not speak aloud. I quickly thought up the words to summon my ice-balls. Nothing happened. I tried again. Nothing continued to happen. I saw Sign’s smirk growing. I chucked the silence and said the words aloud. No ice-balls. Not even a snowflake.

“You are in my world, boy. Your tricks do not work here. I can feel the gift in you and it is strong, stronger than it ever was in Alain de Vorto. I can see now that you are not him, but his gift lies in you. And for that, you will die. I will not tolerate such power in such a malicious boy.”

Oh shit! I was in deep trouble! I wondered how a right hook would fare against her. I do not hit women on principle, but this was one of those moments when you had to lay aside these things. I found myself wishing I had picked up the demon’s baseball bat.

“What happens to Dew?” I asked, gesturing to the unconscious form on the ground. I knew what she would say, but I was stalling, trying to buy time.

“No one who comes here leaves alive, boy. She is a wordsmith too, and she has been consorting with Alain de Vorto and you. She will pay the price for living dangerously. I will let her get back to your world as a shade. You on the other hand, I will leave no trace of, corporeal or ethereal.”

Great! This woman’s pinnacle of mercy lay in making someone a ghost. What was I to do!

“If you are done asking your questions, can we end this now?” she asked rather sarcastically, coming closer. I was possessive of my physical space and resented such forward behaviour. She was not really my type.

At times like these, you may remember there are three things you can do - freeze, fight or run. I was not the freezing type. I was out of fighting options. I did not have a choice. I turned and ran. I would come back for Dew the moment I had figured out a way to neutralise Sign and her cats. Yeah right! Some hope I had!

The last couple of days had involved a lot of physical activity and gruelling schedules. I had discovered that I was a lot tougher than I had given myself credit for, that I had much more stamina that I imagined. Nevertheless, I was gasping in the first minute of running. Cigarettes! They would be my ruination!

I could sense no motion behind me. I wondered what was up, but did not dare turn around to check. I continued running. I patted my pockets even as I jumped over a huge scar in the land, hoping that a machete or a sub-machine gun had wondrously appeared there. I found a crumpled pack of cigarettes, a disposable lighter and a few pieces of candy (the metal camouflage ones). Not really the kind of stuff you’d like to have when three cats out of hell and their angry owner were after you. I put everything back and put a piece of the candy in my mouth as I ran. I really liked the way they tasted.

I saw a line of cliffs coming up. I took a detour to run around them, wondering why no one was pursuing me. While I was running pretty fast, I had to admit that even a little house cat could have easily outpaced me a while ago. I wondered how much of a handicap Sign was offering me. I told myself to stop thinking and continued running, my breath coming in ragged gasps in the hot, stifling air. I turned quickly to sneak a glance. There was no one behind me. Allowing myself a little smile, I turned around and made my way to the other side of the cliffs, slowing down to a jog. Right in front of me was Sign. Behind her, her three cats sat in various poses. One of them was washing itself while another stretched and yawned. Dew lay right there, exactly in the same position she had been in when I had taken off.

Sheer shock turned to incredulity. How! That is when it came to me. Space and time had no meaning here. I had merely run right back to the place I had started from. I slowed down and stopped near Dew, collapsing to my knees, overplaying my exhaustion a bit. Only a bit, though. Sign watched me with a cold smile, her cats giving me dispassionate green-tinged glares. I gasped for a little longer, trying hard to come up with a strategy of some sort, words that would bail me out. I was running out of options here. More importantly, Sign was running out of patience. And soon, she would lean over and touch me out of existence.

Sign flicked a finger and the entire world dissolved to a cold, wet grey. I was in a sea. Huge waves battered me and I was thrown about. I tried to kick and stay up, but all I managed to do was catch another wave as it hit me in the face. I swallowed huge amounts of rancid, cold salt water as I struggled and gasped to stay afloat, beating with hands and feet. The sheer immensity of the sea hit me as huge swells tossed me about. All the fear I had of being set adrift came rushing into my head, paralysing me. I felt myself slipping deeper and deeper into the water. I gasped, trying desperately to suck in air and keep the water from flooding into my lungs.

Swim! I screamed at myself. My legs struck out in the one-two pattern, and my arms tried to push the water down. For a couple of moments it worked, and I managed to stay afloat long enough to grab a few lungfuls of air. And then the waves took over. Vicious currents grabbed me and pulled me all over the place, corkscrewing me deeper into the water. Panic washed over me as I tried to whoop in a huge breath before I was pulled down. Too late! I felt harsh salty water sear its way down my windpipe, flooding my lungs. I shut my eyes and kicked desperately, breaking through to the surface again. But I still could not breathe. I choked and coughed as I tried to draw in air, but all I managed was pitiful convulsions. My body stiffened and once more I slipped into the water. Even with my eyes shut, I could see my entire world going red. I was low on oxygen and on the verge of passing out. Let go. It’s ok to let go. This is the best way to go, the safest. It will give Dew a chance to live on. It will leave the world a better place. You’re a disaster waiting to happen. Just let go, and complete peace will come.

The words were hypnotic, increasing the urge to just relax and draw in the water into my lungs, to just finish it all. Words...they’re just words. And in response, I felt words of my own come up, rise up.

“I can’t go like this. I can’t die. Not here. Not now. Not like this.”

For one instant, everything around me froze. The thought came back…I cannot die.

That is when things changed.

I kicked furiously, pulling with my arms as I burst through to the surface. I managed to drag in a breath. The air flooding my lungs worked miracles. I kept kicking and took in a few more breaths. I was alive! I saw a huge wave coming my way again. I knew I could not keep this up forever. Sign was playing with me. And it was a game that was all too real and lethal. If I died here, I stayed dead. I would not even have a second innings as a ghost. I had to get out of this madness. And swimming was not the answer. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes as the wave tossed and turned me about. In that chaos, the answer came to me. It was simple. It had never changed. Words. The answer always lay in words. Words that lay beyond Sign’s control. Words that would define my being and the world around me. I knew what I had to do. I closed my eyes and fell back, falling into a dead float in the water.

Unlearn and learn. Deconstruct and build. That would be the beginning. I started weaving, ignoring the physical world around me.

“I do not exist

I was who I was told to be

I was who I was expected to be

I was

Was I?”

I felt the air stirring in response to my words and concentrated thought. I felt it resist me. I could feel the midnight blue leaking into the grey, poisoning the world around me, getting it to ignore my scape. But no! I was not done yet. Words…There was no voice this time. Only a simple realisation. Words…In the beginning there was the word. In the end, there will be the word. With words, I shall assert my identity. With words I shall call out.

“No! I am who I want to be!

I am a myth, a story, a ghost.

I am flux that can be shaped anyhow.

I am me, I am you, I am anyone.”

Open ended thought flowed, taking the world with it. The sea drained out, disappearing as if sponged up by a huge divine mop. I was suspended in air, feeling the liquid seep out of me, as if suddenly aware of its non-existence. In moments, I was dry, and back on my feet. I was back in Sign’s world. The grey of the sea bled out, giving way to the purple of that perverted place. I saw her snarling as she started towards me, her hands reaching to snuff me out. Her cats sensed the danger and leapt too, all of them at the same time. But I was beyond them. I was beyond time and space now. I was in my world.

“Words capture the form

Fleeting though it is

Everything slowed, everything stopped. I was on the verge of the biggest moment in life, and I finally knew what pure consciousness meant. I knew the words that remained. There could be no other.

In these ephemeral scapes

I exist

I am

The Wordscapist”

In that one instant, I had defined and embraced all that I was, all that I was supposed to be. I didn’t care what De Vorto said, what anyone believed. There was to be no more denial. There was to be no more doubt. My powers and limitations were defined by me, and I had been limiting myself for too long now with thoughts of escaping the world and all the challenges that lay therein. I had accepted who I was, who I wanted to be. I would be the Wordscapist. I was the Wordscapist. In that split second of insight, it all came to me. It all became real. And yes, the Wordscapist does not let anyone define his reality.

“Stop!” I said, extending my arm, palm out. It was the classic gesture I had seen in so many movies, and in my head I knew how it was to play out. They were all supposed to freeze in the air. Well…they did not.

A split second later, Sign came crashing into me, her hand around my throat. I collapsed on the hard ground. The elemental did not weigh much, and I was able to push her off and roll away. It was just as well as two of Sign’s cats crashed down on either side of her, where my arms had been splayed a second before. And by way they landed, they did not sound very lightweight. I rolled desperately and scrambled up. That is when I realised that I had survived Sign’s touch. Something had worked! Words! I needed more words!

The cats slid wildly, their claws scratching fiery trails in the rocky ground, trying to twist around. Sign got to her feet, much slower, more graceful and a whole lot more deadly. She shrieked her fury at me and brought her hands up, no doubt to launch another reality-twisting spell.

I knew then what I had done wrong. I had broken through the scape constraints in her world. But I still needed to weave. I could not just say ‘stop’ and expect to freeze them. I feinted to one side and dove to the other, away from a bolt of power that shot from Sign’s hands. I had my favourite freeze spell running in my head, as I put in words to take Sign and her beloved pets into account.

“Capture form

Immobilise intent

Prevent escape

Hold in limbo

The elemental and her pets

Wait in frozen motion

For my command to thaw you”

I was just in time. Everything stopped. The very air turned immobile as I saw Sign and her cats stop in their tracks. The third cat was caught in the midst of a lethal leap a few inches from me, its claws unsheathed and aimed at my face. The scape had worked. Sign and her cats waited, frozen and yet strangely animate. I couldn’t delay, but the lure of studying these alien beings was too much. I walked around them slowly, looking at the sheer definition of their physical forms; the perfection, the texture and the other-worldly hues. I could see little twitches and momentary warps as they struggled against the spell. I did not have much time. I had to figure out this mess. More importantly, I had to figure out what this entire deal with Sign was all about. I squatted beside Sign’s petrified form, weaving an identification spell around her, the like of which had never been woven before.

“In words and images,

Memories and intent,

All that you are,

And all that you were made for,

Let the shadows and veils drop

To reveal your maker

And the purpose that drives you

Open up elemental

To the one who reads you”

I took a deep breath, reached forward and touched her forehead.

A flood of memories swamped me. It was an intense experience, drawing in memories of all Sign’s experiences. I went through those memories, kind of like a regressive hypnotic experience. I saw myself through her eyes; an unprecedented threat who moments before had been nothing more than a rude runt in need of some terminal disciplining. I saw Zauberin quivering and begging mercy. I saw Silvus, pale and drawn. Wordsmith after wordsmith went flashing before my eyes; each of them humbled, most of them murdered mercilessly, torn apart by her cats or caressed to death by a fleeting touch of those lethal hands. As clothes and surroundings changed, I could make out that centuries were flying past. I felt dizzy at the sheer scale of this being’s existence. But I had to hold on. There was much more to go. I was reaching some really ancient memories now, as Sign had fewer and fewer challenges and tasks; the earlier days and wordsmiths being much more peaceful and much less disruptive.

And then her memory came to a standstill. There was no more. Abruptly, with the ridiculously easy hunting of a wordsmith who had no clue who she was, her memories came to an end. But how? There had to be more. I had to find out who she was and how she had come into existence. I could already feel Sign’s consciousness rebelling against the restraining scape. I could not keep her bound for long. Wait, there was a hint of memory, deliberately shrouded in a mist. I instinctively knew that the solution lay therein. I had to uncover that one last piece of memory – it may hold the secret to the creation of this elemental and all the madness that had followed. The scape I had woven had a provision for such a veil. But I could sense the strength in the protection that hid further memories from me. I wove further, extending my consciousness into Sign’s mind. What I was trying was suicidal; running an invasive probe into Sign’s mind, disconnecting my consciousness from my body. I had to know what this was about. I probed and parted, cajoling the veil apart. Hints and shadows lay beyond. And then, suddenly, I was through!

I was inside Sign, seeing the memory from her perspective. Only, the other memories had an alien tinge to them, much like her form and world. They were bereft of emotion and any feeling. Sign had come across in all of them as a ruthless elemental who went about a job that she had to do. But this was different. She was a woman; a simple, ordinary woman. I kept my thoughts to myself and let the memory play.

She was sitting on the top of a hill. I recognised the surroundings. De Vorto’s home, his private little world. I could feel traces of excitement and fear inside her, inside the memory. She was waiting for something monumental, dangerous. I did not have to wait long to find out what. “Lorna…”

She turns around at the voice. I see the wordsmith that the last, or rather the first memories, had focussed on. Now, seen from a human perspective, the features were clear and easily recognisable. It was Alain de Vorto. Though it was a little difficult to recognise features on a full grown man when you have always known him as a two-inch tall faerie.

“Alain! Finally! I was afraid you had chosen someone else!”

“I wish I could, Lorna. I do not like this idea one bit.”

“But this is your brainchild, Alain! I am merely the tool!”

Sign had been an exclamatory kind of person while she was Lorna. I could not believe the sheer difference in personality.

“Lorna,” De Vorto was struggling to say what he wanted to. I could guess. And I was not far from the mark. “I care for you. I do not want you to be hurt in this process. I could accept another’s loss. You, I cannot lose.”

“Alain, you have always put your craft before your life. You can do this. You have to. It will be the greatest scape ever! It will watch over Wordkind and protect the rest of humanity for all of eternity. Do you realise that you are playing God Himself, Alain!”

“Lorna, I have a confession to make. The scape-crux was provided by a Lirus. I do not trust those infernal mages. I am afraid there might be mischief laced into this rune.”

I noticed then that he had in his hand a small stone that was carved intricately with multiple symbols. He had been fingering it throughout the conversation.

“The Lirii? You have their blessing. You do not have anything to fear now! Let’s start, I can’t wait any longer.”

De Vorto rather reluctantly made his way to a stone altar that stood to one side, laying the rune on it. Without further ceremony, he started weaving a scape. Lorna did not go closer and I could not make out much of what he was saying. It was a long scape and throughout Lorna stood rooted as if frozen.

Slowly, I realised that her perspective was changing. Her excitement slowly died out, replaced by a single-minded purpose. I could read the thought forming in her mind; loud and clear. “Eliminate all wordsmiths; starting with the one who created you, moving on to those who dare scar the Continuum and ending with those who remain. Purge the curse of Wordkind from the surface of this planet.”

This did not make sense! Why would De Vorto weave a scape that would lead to Wordkind’s annihilation? Before I could make sense of what was happening, the rune exploded, sending a bolt of flame at Lorna. I could see her wreathed in flames, but she did not move. There was no pain in the memory. I could make out De Vorto screaming and shouting, throwing spell after spell at Lorna, trying to extinguish the flames. But she continued burning. I could see the effect the flames had in her head. Her identity and her memories were being burnt away, one after another. I guess that is why there was nothing else left to hunt for in that mind. I wondered how this memory had survived. Just then, one of the spells broke through, and the flames died. Lorna had changed completely by now. I could see the familiar alien and cold perspective that I recognised from the rest of Sign’s experiences. The transformation was complete.

De Vorto withdrew in horror, unable to come to terms with what he saw. I could see the sheer terror and misery on his face.

“You should not have interrupted the scape, wordsmith. You will pay for that.” I recognised the cold, alien voice from my own memories.

“What…what are you?” De Vorto sobbed, “Lorna!” There was sheer anguish in those words. Somehow, the little caricature of a man who was De Vorto to me did not seem capable of such intensity. It wrenched me to hear the pain in his voice. In a weird, detached way, I felt empathy for his situation pouring into my mind.

“Lorna?” Sign’s alien voice could not have contrasted more with the sheer intensity of all that was human about De Vorto. “I am Sign, wordsmith, the scourge of Wordkind. And I begin my hunt with you.” With those words, she let out a battle cry that sounded a lot like my friend the demon’s shriek. From the warped air above the altar, her four cats leapt forth. I was caught in a horrible fascinated paralysis, and all I could do was stare like a horror film aficionado at the events unfolding in front of me.

“Run, De Vorto!” I whispered, though I knew that there was no point. This was a memory. And I was as helpless as the movie-viewer I had likened myself to. I drew comfort from the knowledge that De Vorto had survived. I tried to find reassurance in that thought, but could not. I saw the beasts stalking De Vorto, creepy in their feline, predatory stealth. He just stood there, staring at the unrecognisable woman he had loved. I saw the anguish on his face slowly morph into ugly rage. “The Lirii!” he almost screamed, “They betrayed me! The scape was to create an elemental that would guard Wordkind, protect it from the ones who misused the gift!”

“You are delirious, wordsmith. Come hither. One touch should remedy that.” I could see the evil smile in Sign’s mind.

De Vorto stumbled towards Sign, in some kind of a dazed trance. He was muttering to himself in grief-stricken delirium. “No!” I screamed. It made no difference. The memory progressed as it had transpired.

Sign reached out to touch De Vorto as he came within her reach. He looked up, his expression clear, all traces of delirium gone. He spoke the termination to the scape, distinctly,

“Your form encased

Your actions redundant

You cannot advance or leave

Wait elemental

And stay your pets

Till my command sets you free”

I smiled as I recognised the logic and structure of the words. It was my freeze scape! For some vague reason, it felt good to know that he used something so similar. I wondered what he had been muttering before. I was soon distracted by the instant fury I felt flaring up in Sign. But she was frozen, and so were her cats. There was no flamboyant crackling of ice that usually accompanied my scapes, but it was just as effective.

I saw a fleeting moment of soft emotion on De Vorto’s handsome face as he watched her frozen form. And then it stiffened into cold resolve. He spoke the rest of the scape he had woven, “You shall be blind to Wordkind, elemental. Only their deeds will you see, and those too, only when they harm the Continuum. At all other times, you will flounder in your search, unable to sense the most powerful wordsmith even if he was right in front of you. I have exhausted myself with all that I have wrought today, and it is time to rest…for a long time. I shall come back though. I will come back to see whether you have strayed from the path I have set you. And if you have, beware elemental. I shall terminate you. I shall know no mercy when dealing with you, even if the form you inhabit is someone I loved very much. And yes, if your masters stop by, do tell them that I will hunt them down too. I will come back and I shall hunt every one of those purple-eyed monsters. Until then, they can try and contain Wordkind to the best of their ability. All the cached scapes I leave behind should keep them busy while I’m gone.”

With those words, he turned around and disappeared, leaving behind an extremely furious woman and four confused hellcats. Once again, the memory ended abruptly. I sensed it continuing on, but I could not follow it any further. The shielding here was much stronger. And it smacked of something extremely disturbing. I could sense something purple about it. The Lirii! I was extremely curious, and wished there was something I could do to unravel this puzzle further. But I did not have the time or luxury to try and weave any more holes. Sign was almost free from my scape. I quickly retreated and returned to my consciousness. Easier said than done, of course. I could feel the vicious intensity of the elemental’s consciousness trying to snare me, trap me inside her until she broke free completely. Yet there was a singular control to everything I was doing now. And strangely, I felt no fear at all. In an instant I was back where I should have been all along.

I focused hard to shrug off the dizziness that came from an out of body experience. I saw the cats beginning to move, their muscles rippling against the remnants of the scape. Sign was almost through. I had to do something fast. I could not use the same scape again. When the going got this tough, I usually got the pranks going.

I collected Dew and started weaving a return scape. I retraced my path here, and opened the portal. Just before I stepped into the portal with Dew in my arms, I could not resist a look behind. The three cats were snarling and pulling at each other, their tails tied together with a combination of very effective sailor’s knots. This particular combination needed an anchor for stability. In this case, it was Sign’s neck that provided the anchor, and the elemental was furiously trying to quell her cats into submission before they wrenched her neck off with their desperate attempts at escape.

I caught her eye for an instant and she snarled at me, for that one instant looking every bit as feline and predatory as her cats. I gave her one of my most charming smiles accompanied by a cute little wave of the hand, and then stepped through the portal, leaving the snarling party to sort out their situation.

Perspective is indeed everything. It felt like a horrible eternity, caught in the perverse domain of Sign. I could still feel the salt from the metaphorical ocean burning my lungs with every breath. I had been escaping certain death at the hands of murderous wordsmiths, only to land in Sign’s clutches. And now I was walking right back into the wordsmiths’ trap. Yet having survived Sign, fear was no longer clutching at my throat. I felt calm, nonchalant even. I still obviously had no clue what I was going to do. The situation was still dangerous and potentially lethal. But at least it felt good approaching the problem in a positive frame of mind.

Not that I had much time to approach the moment. Things had changed in the split second I had been away, but not much. It was a smoking ring of mayhem. Zauberin was on the floor with a podgy man I had seen behind a camera earlier lying squarely on top of her. Silvus must have dived to avoid the smouldering line marking the walls like a waterline left by a wave of molten lava. The cat that had leapt into the sphere was nowhere to be seen, though Sign did let me know that I had destroyed one of her pets. I presumed that had been the pet. With pets like those, her temperament was becoming less surprising.

Very briefly, I let the pieces fall into place. The two spells had converged as planned in my li’l ball of nothing. There had been a mega explosion that left a burning streak across the walls. Both Silvus and Zauberin looked like they had escaped the destruction mostly unscathed; Silvus with the help of his own alacrity, and Zauberin with some help from a podgy man. The point was that both of them were recovering from their respective dives to the floor. I had a fair idea of what they would try the moment they came back to their senses and feet. There was not much time. I bent down and laid Dew gently on the door that Silvus had flattened during his spectacular entry. It had been softened up a bit by the recent explosion, but was not smouldering like the rest of the place. I breathed a protection spell around her even as I placed her in the most comfortable position possible in such circumstances.

Now, to business, Silvus and Zauberin business. It was obvious that the main danger lay elsewhere…the purple tinge...the Lirii. I had heard some things about this mysterious race from Dew, but De Vorto would never acknowledge their existence or admit he knew anything about them. I was not surprised. From all that I had learnt, they were clearly a remarkable sore point with the little guy. Actually, the big guy! I did not even begin to understand all that the man had been and had done. But at least, I would not make the mistake of underestimating him anymore. Never again.

I shot a quick mind probe at the two dazed wordsmiths as they got to their feet. I needed to check a hunch I had before I started off on the insane plan that was beginning to take shape in my head. There was a sudden rush of information and impressions. Silvus was the classic, psychopathic megalomaniac. He would be easy. Zauberin was just plain crazy; a wannabe filled with hate and petty ambitions. Petty or not, disgusting or not, these two were still incredibly dangerous. But the hunch checked out just fine. These two hated each other far more than anything they felt for me or De Vorto. And that’s what I needed.

Zauberin had been swearing pretty fluently at the man lying prostate on her. He was hastily and awkwardly trying to get off her. Silvus was slowly coming to his feet with the help of his staff (which looked a little worse for the wear after the explosion). I could see shreds of wood veering away from the main line of the staff, much like a discarded piece of driftwood. But it still managed to bear Silvus’s considerable weight and he made it to his feet.

I could read rage and fear in their faces. They did not understand what had happened. They knew that there had been an intensely destructive explosion here and could not imagine how I had escaped instant vaporisation. They did not know about me ducking out for a swim.

What’s the plan, Slick? What’s the plan? There was a plan. But I needed some more time. I could feel the thoughts in my head weaving up a scape that defied description. I had no idea where it was going or what it was supposed to accomplish. With hindsight, I would figure it out. I was flying on instinct. And instinct told me that I needed time. Silvus raised his staff, his lips moving in some damned destructive incantation. Zauberin mirrored his efforts, but only with her hands. I raised my hands and thought up two showy but relatively cool flames in my hands. And with the impressive blue-green flames in my hand I shouted, ‘Stop!’

This time it worked.

Silvus and Zauberin stopped and stared. The flames were no big deal, but they had noticed that I had not moved my lips. They had figured out that it was a thoughtscape, however illusive and non-threatening it might be. And even the newest rookie on the Guild rolls knew that a thoughtscape would beat a breathscape every single time. The threatening glows on Silvus’s staff and between Zauberin’s hands died out. I had managed to stall them. What next?

Talk, Slick, talk! I was going to be talking for my life.

“Wordsmiths, halt!”

“I’m the Mastersmith, you prat!” Silvus growled.

He had done something even with that insult; words woven into speech to suck at my very existence. An impressive trick. However I was beyond such petty tricks. I had opened myself up to the chasm within. I felt the energy flooding me. It was a risk, but I needed it all now.

“Mastersmith, then,” I conceded. I was feeling generous. “And leader of the Free Word,” I added before Zauberin could add her two-bit protest. I saw the frown on that classically beautiful face, but she said nothing. I went on before she could say anything, “What I had in my hands can wipe both of you out in an instant. As you’ve now realised, I weave with my thoughts, and there is nothing you can splutter through that will save your exalted hides before I could tear you apart.”

“You…!” Silvus started.

“Not a word, Mastersmith! Not a word! For your own good!” And at this, I made the flame flare a little. It worked. His face went a shade of puce that was interesting and comforting. I like to have my enemies as scared as possible. I do not like killing people, but I love scaring them!

My hands were beginning to ache and the flames were getting warmer, despite a constant thought to sustain them at body temperature. Something that looked like a flame had to get hot to sustain itself, or it would just end up with a harmless phosphoric glow. I had to make this quick, or my bluster was going to come to a messy end.

I could easily imagine up a simple death for both of them. There was also a chance of one of them could conjure up something deadly before snuffing it. I might manage to duck or weave my way out, but Dew was lying unconscious, and nothing was worth risking her safety. And did I mention that I don’t kill people? Not even Silvus and Zauberin. In all honesty, at that thought, I was tempted for a moment. Just a moment.

“Let your egos out for a short walk and consider the thought. I can actually kill you. You might manage to throw something at me before you buy the farm, but buy the farm you will. And probably kick the bucket while you’re at it. The point is that there is way too much risk here to consider. Now I know of your pact with Sign. The good news is that I have sorted things out with her. From now on, she and I will dance alone and you guys can opt out of this ballet. So you do not have to kill me. Understand?” Before either of them could say a word, I went right on, “Actually, that was rhetoric. Don’t bother replying. You can check with Sign the next time she comes down for a visit. While you guys were trying to dig your way out of the spectacular explosion you created, I was away in Sign’s charming world, parlaying with her.”

Through all the talk, I kept a close watch on the two wordsmiths. I could feel my consciousness reach out in invisible tendrils, feeling their scape-signs, checking if they were up to something. It hit me then that all I had to do was watch their lips. I was the only thoughtsmith around. All the others had to say the words, inaudible or not, to make things happen. And that involved moving their lips. I’d never heard of a ventriloquist wordsmith. Silvus obliged immediately with a demonstration of my theory. His lips quivered a bit and immediately I felt his scape-sign flare. I flexed my fingers and sent a searing flame his way. It came up against a protective aura and spread out rather spectacularly, outlining his shield. He quickly stopped whatever he was doing. Back to stalemate. But he did not know that. I kept my eye on Zauberin through this entire exchange, just in case. Whew! This was tiring.

“You expect us to believe you, runt!” Silvus roared out, his fury made worse by his failed attempt at whatever he had tried.

“I do not expect anything, old man,” I gave it back in the same tone, “And you are in no position to be indignant. The last time, I chose to nullify your nasty attacks. This time, I’ll simply reroute them. Let’s see if your shield can stand up to what Zauberin throws out. I might even add a something of my own for flavour.”

“Did you hear that, Lily? The boy is trying to manipulate us!” Silvus roared. He quickly followed it up with a telepathic probe. I felt the thought fly past, though I could not quite figure out what he had said. Before I could figure a way to stop the mental chitchat, Zauberin chimed in.

“You dare tell me what to do! Your days of playing god with Wordkind are over, Silvus! I’ll take this kid down, and then I’m coming for you!”

Whew! That was that, for now. I just had to deal with them one at a time. But how? And then it happened again; that moment of sudden realization, as when I was drowning. Sudden, brilliant insight that made all that I had done before look rather foolish. There was a solution.

With a focussed thought I went invisible, letting the flames in my hands die out at the same instant. The problem with going invisible, especially when you do it for the first time, is that you don’t know if it’s worked. But I was riding an incredibly high wave of confidence. Intent is equal to thought is equal to words is equal to reality. That was my equation, and with the focus I had right now it was going to be spot on every damn time.

Chaos tore loose instantly, and I knew I’d got it right. Both Silvus and Zauberin immediately unleashed their trademark bolts. Rather unimaginative, but still deadly. I was already pasted on the floor right next to Dew. I drew a shield over the both of us and lay back to watch the fireworks. The two most powerful wordsmiths in the world were trying their damnedest to wipe each other out.

Both of them were encased in identical spherical shields, suspended in the air, moving around as they dodged the others bolts and kept throwing attack after attack at the other. Quick darts, bright flashes and a lot of heat and smoke…it was some display! I could hardly see the two forms creating all the mayhem. I reminded myself to focus on keeping the invisibility and shield in place. The last thing I wanted was for all that fury and power to be unleashed at me.

Almost absent-mindedly, I probed to see if the teleport block was still in place. Bingo! I had hit pay dirt. The teleport block was gone, dissolved, probably struck by one or more of the deflected spells. It was time to leave. There would be a split second before I ported Dew and myself out when I would be exposed and visible, but then I had pushed my luck so much that I could not worry about such miniscule risks. And luckily, it worked just fine. The teleport opened up on the little paradise that De Vorto called home. I even had the satisfaction of seeing the looks on Silvus and Zauberin’s faces as we zoomed out.

The next moment, it was all over. Peace, quiet and even nice weather. De Vorto’s protection ensured that the trace analysis was disabled, so we should be alright as long we didn’t get out. There was no convenient entry portal anyway, so we couldn’t really get out without teleporting unless De Vorto dropped by.

I hugged Dew’s still form to myself and closed my eyes. She was ok. I was ok. And we were safe for a while. I’d just wait till she came around; and hold her until she did. Understandably, I was in no hurry.