Mana Mutation Menace (Journey to Chaos Book 3) (52 page)

“But Miss Polug—!”

“
Leave right now
or I’ll lace you into a
straightjacket, lock you in a cell, and tell your family that the Subjugation
Collar took over your mind.”

“Try it
and I will stuff your limbs into your orifices.”
 

“Eric, down! Recite Mom’s nursery rhyme.”

Eric hummed the tone and his features shifted back to
human one by one. Annala held his hand for comfort and smiled politely at Miss
Polug.

“Thank you for your time and advice. Good day.”

Once outside the building, she slumped against its bark.
She looked so adorable and in need of comfort that Eric hugged her and kissed
her neck while whispering sweet nothings between each one. Annala closed her
eyes to enjoy his attention and put down her burden for a while. She was
disappointed when he eventually stopped.

“What could have been so bad as to provoke such a
reaction?” Eric asked.

“The war started over eight hundred years ago. To humans,
that’s a long time out of mind, but to elves, it’s last week.”

Hand-in-hand, they walked back through the village. From
the weeping willow, they strolled to the Sage Tree Dnnac. No elves crossed their
path for fear of the Subjugation Collar on her neck, and several sent hostile
looks in Annala’s direction. Word travels fast in a small community.

The guardians and bookworms must be gossiping about
her. They don’t have anything else to do…!

At the courtyard of Dnnac, Annala stopped. She looked up
into its branches. This tree was the foundation of their community. It was
planted to form the center organs of their society. In time, it became the
source of the Chaotic Curtain that hid them from the world and supported the
tree rings that protected it further. It served other functions—for administration,
food, play, research, and worship—but everyone thought of it as a guardian tree.
She sighed.

“It all started with mana mutation and what to do about
it. It was a bad time to be a demon. People like you would have been killed
like vermin. There was a hysteria about mutation because of new understanding
about how it worked and my grandmother had found a way to induce it on
something. It was for science, of course, but it led to fears that elves were
going to use it to wipe out the mortal races; mutation into elves or monsters.”

“Just hysteria, right?”

“Yes and no. Most of it was baseless, but several elven
villages
were
researching it. Some of it was a reflection of arrogance and
some of it charity, but all of them claimed to be emulating The Trickster.
Whenever a human nation found out about this, they declared war on
all
elven
villages. Many of them turned to ordercraft so they could turn elves into
humans, or whatever mortal species they would be without their Seed of Chaos.”

She touched the Subjugation Collar on her neck.

“These were in use before the war, but complete suppression
of the Seed of Chaos was brand new and it put hysteria into the elves.”

“Thus the ‘Conversion War.’”

“It was about more than that, of course. Wars are never so
simple that they can be reduced to a single cause on both sides. There was
racial hatred, ambitions of conquest, economic opportunities in production,
technology or supplies, thirst for glory, de-stabilizing neighbors, religious
fervor—did you know that there’s a trickster who detests elves and calls
himself ‘the patron of humanity’?”

“I didn’t. What’s his name?”

“Aphelion or Larks Logos. He’s
persona non grata
in
every elf village and the only deity that doesn’t….” She trailed off, stared at
the Sage Tree Dnnac right in front of her, and her eyes widened. “That doesn’t
have a shrine here!”

“You sound awfully excited about that.”

“Of course I do! If he doesn’t, then that means the
opposite does!”

She yanked Eric to the base of Dnnac’s trunk.

“Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! I’ve been avoiding it because I
couldn’t face it, but it’s just the place I need to move forward! Tasio was
right the whole time! I could have saved so much time if I were willing to
listen!”

Eric, stumbling behind her and, trying to keep up,
quipped, “We could have saved more time if he told us directly.”

Through Dnnac’s roots and into the trunk, past the offices
and community rooms was the holy chapel of Arin. It sat at the confluence of Dnnac’s
many branches, high above the rest of the village. Annala didn’t slow down
until she reached its threshold, at which point she stopped. There she dipped
her hands into a pail of water and a made Arin’s Triangle: forehead, both
elbows, and then clasped her hands together. She indicated that Eric should do
the same, but he wasn’t interested in worshiping anyone (except maybe the
Mother Dragon), so he didn’t. She rolled her eyes in exasperation and entered
the chapel anyway.

It was a bright place with illumination from both the sun
and blessed crystals and framed by a trio of female elf statues. One held a
broken chain in her shackled hands, a second held a staff and a book and the
third held a microscope and a telescope. On the wall behind each statue was a
painting of the Flower of Chaos, each in a different color. Within this double
triangle, a circle of seats surrounded a single podium on which a cornucopia of
gold sat upon an altar. Above this altar floated an image of Tasio. Seated next
to it was a living elf.

She was a short and pudgy woman. Her floor-length hair was
loose and pooled about her like moss on the cliff of a waterfall. Somehow, her
face possessed both the look of youth and sense of age. She wore a white habit
trimmed in gold at the edges. On her wrists and ankles were golden bangles, and
in her ears were gold rings. Around her neck was a beaded necklace carrying the
Flower of Chaos, known as a “Paidrín.” She was in a meditative trance when the
couple arrived, but when Annala crossed the threshold, she opened her eyes.

"Chaos be with you, Annala."

 "And also with you, Sister Sagart."

Annala crossed the room by the time Sagart stood and
hugged her. From Eric’s perspective, it was like a young girl visiting her
grandmother. When the hug broke, Sagart even reached into the cornucopia to
give her a piece of candy. Then she tossed one to Eric as well.

“Chaos be with you, Eric Watley.”

“He already is,” he said sourly.

Annala sent him an equally sour look.

“And also with you, Sister Sagart,” he said
half-heartedly.

The two elves sat around the altar, but Eric held back. He
had enough of the real Trickster hovering over him in his day-to-day life. He
didn’t want to add an image of him. It would probably spring to life and douse
him with holy water. Instead, he watched his girlfriend chat with the parish
priestess.

Annala spoke at length about her classes, her experiences
with human society, and the friends she’d made. Then she gushed about her
boyfriend in particular, apparently forgetting that he could hear every word. This
included how valiantly he protected her from orcs and ordercrafters, despite
lacking the power needed to fight them.

“You seem to be doing well,” Sagart said. “Much better than
when you left the village last year.”

“Yes, I am. I’ve come to realize that you were right. To
embrace Lady Chaos, I had to embrace change and bewilderment. It has led to personal
growth and understanding. I feel greater compassion for those that lack the Great
Mother’s blessing...” She touched the Subjugation Collar with her fingertips. “And
those with the Awful Uncle’s curse.”

Sagart projected such sympathy that Eric felt it as a
physical force. It was similar to the effect Kasile’s emotions had on him
through their link, or the physical contact with Kallen.
Another name for
Lady Chaos is the Spectrum of Emotion. Is that why?

“Let me take a look, dearie. I may be able to do
something.”

Annala held her hair up and allowed her to examine it.
What followed was a form of Magic Sight Eric had never seen before. While he
could observe and manipulate mana, this was only the first under layer of
reality. It was chaos, not mana, that was its true underpinning. What Sagart
used was closer to
Chaos
Sight. At last she leaned back and shook her
head.

“I’m sorry, my dear, but I cannot help you.”

Annala slouched.

“But I have good news.”

Annala leaned up and Eric leaned forward. “Really?!”

“Yes, this model is unique. It singles you out for captivity
and possesses no method of release. On anyone else, it would be mere jewelry
and a high-grade ordercrafter drove himself to madness in crafting it. This
means that someone with an enslavement authority considers you crucial to the
success of their plan.”

“How is that good news?” Eric demanded. “Being crucial for
anyone’s plans is nothing but trouble.”

Sagart smirked in a way that was too close to Kallen and
Tasio for Eric’s tastes. It was as if she’d figured something out and was
pleased with this revelation.

“That must be why
you
are crucial. Yes, I imagine
you will do well with that job.”

 “
You
must be a mystic.” Eric twirled his pointer
finger near his ear. “You speak cryptic nonsense!”

“
Eric
, show respect! I know you have reasons for
disliking Lady Chaos and her children, but Sister Sagart is a benevolent sage
who guided me through the worst period of my life.”

Sagart chuckled. “Oh ho, dearie, you flatter me.”

Annala looked back to her with wide and earnest eyes. “But
it’s true! One year ago, I was a lost and neurotic mess. You showed me the path
to recovery. You proved to me that I wasn’t forsaken for what I did or doomed
to a tragic life because of what provoked me to such action.”

“Yes, I did that much, but I couldn’t help you with your
apostasy and bring you back to Lady Chaos. For that reason alone, I am not a
sage.”

Annala looked away and tugged her ear. “Oh, uh, well, I’m
still working on that. A-anyway, about why I came. You see, I gained great
understanding from my study abroad, but it has only caused me greater
confusion.”

Sagart nodded. “Chaos is like that. Tell me and I will do
my best.”

Annala let go of her ear and turned her full attention
back to her spiritual advisor.

“Aunt Alexis refuses to allow the Mana Mutation Summit to
be reconvened here and, without her, I can’t convince anyone other than my
flaky father and witch mother.”

“Ah yes, Alexis,” Sagart said knowingly. “If anyone has a
right to be cautious, then it is your aunt. She suffered terribly on her first
trip around the world. Why, it’s tragedies like hers that justify Meza’s
continued stance against humans.”

“Is convincing her impossible?”

Sagart chuckled again. “Of course not! With Chaos, all
things are possible, but they require cleverness and faith. Tell me, do you
understand human society and the fundamental difference between their culture
and ours?”

“Yes, I believe I do.”

“And how did you come by that understanding?”

“By living alongside them and experiencing what they
experience.”

“Thus, it follows...”

Annala’s eyes lit up. “EAOL!”

“Eaol?” Eric tilted his head. “Earth’s avatar? What can he
do?”

 Annala hugged Sagart. “Thank you very much, Sister! I
know just what to do now!”

She shrugged. “I only helped you see the door. You found
it and you will open it.”

Annala stood up and made the Sign of Arin’s Triangle. “May
you live in interesting times.”

Sagart repeated the sign. “May interesting times live in
you.”

Annala walked back to the entrance of the shrine and
entwined her fingers with Eric’s. Just before she crossed the threshold, Sagart
spoke up again.

“There is one more piece of good news I mean to share with
you.”

“Yes?”

“Your collar does not have Order’s approval and was
created by an ordercrafter who has since used the Zeroth Law Exception. This is
rebellion against Order and using chaos to confine is a contradiction. This makes
it weak. Despite the lack of a keyhole or releasing mechanism, the collar
can
be broken. All that is required is cleverness and faith.”

“Thank you, Sister,” Annala said. “I will keep your words
in mind.”

The next person Annala visited was a florist. She picked
out two Evening Tide flowers and a stick of incense. The florist herself was so
amused by Annala’s plan that she gave them to her for free. The elf girl
thanked her, told Eric to hold her purchases, and raced down a path to another
area of the village.

Down a winding trail away from the hustle of daily life
was a clearing in the forest. Here the trees were straight and hallowed and the
air was quiet and peaceful. Annala slowed down in order to walk with reverence.
The boundary was marked with a ten-colored rope wrapped around a golden-brown
pole. She stopped here.

Clapping her hands together, she bowed her head and
recited, “Chaos has eleven faces. I am one of them. I seek to enter the
presence of the other ten.”

Still in her pious posture, she turned her head to stare
at Eric. This time, he consented to mimicking her. She stood upright and led
him into the Courtyard of Elemental Worship.

In this place, the elves worshipped the ten elements that
composed the physical world. Ten shrines were arranged in a circle representing
the Cycle of Life that all planets followed. Fire stood at the north point and
Water the south point; Wind east and Earth west. The Four Basic Elements at the
Four Cardinal Directions and the fundamental level of worldly existence.

In between them stood four more shrines showing the cycles
the elements themselves passed through. Lava at the northwest and Ice at the
southeast; Lightning at the northeast and Forest at the southwest. The Four
Composite Elements at the Four Lesser Directions and the complex level of
worldly existence.