Rynth: Four Beats

| 6th of Teryusin — Year 362 of the Cycle of Synthesis, Grand Cycle ??? |

Suffusing a spell with varying degrees of Jati often had chaotic, unpredictable effects. Spells were created with formulas in mind: specific hand gestures that fulfilled somatic component requirements, verbal phrases in Istharynth—Common Rynthian’s older sibling—served to fulfill verbal components. These, including the appropriate amount of Jati required to achieve the desired effect of a spell, all contributed toward the actual moment of casting.

In Merlin’s instance, the effect was not as chaotic as someone like Pull-Tear-Guys would have hoped. The god of jubilation often enjoyed the like; and to only see a marginally larger and uncontained explosion that didn’t differ from the standard Fireball much would have displeased him.

Damage-wise, much of the cabin was gone.

In the instant before Merlin had blown them up, Raoul had rushed to pick up Avil and reached for the closest sturdy bar. As a reward for his quick thinking, the burns he endured singed only his clothes.

The wind was howling in their ears, deafening no thanks to the velocity the Highspeed Train was going at. His grip on the bar was loosening, and both their bodies were swinging wildly in the wind.

“Ugh… I’m losing my grip here! Can’t you stop time and drag us back into the train?”

Avil straightened himself up. His only saving grace from falling off the vehicle and splattering into a bloody mess on the tracks below was Raoul’s right hand, clasping around his in a surprising show of strength that was lessening by the second. He shouted back, his chest and back still hurting from both his prior impact with the bar and his heartburn.

“You know I can’t! I need both my hands to weave the signs for Time Stop!”

Raoul gritted his teeth and peered around, searching for a solution to their problem. Within seconds, he caught sight of Idri and Calliope, both holding on below them, their respective weapons stabbed into the part of the train that was still connected. Their grips were loosening too, the pushback of the wind making it difficult to create any sort of leverage.

“I’m… losing my grip here too!” Idri yelped, wrapping herself around Kranstor’s hilt like a baby koala to its mother. “Cali, I don’t suppose you have some kind of secret flying ability, do you?!”

Cali kicked herself up, barely managing to keep her feet from colliding with the tracks below. “Oof…! You are going to be disappointed, Idri. I cannot fly.”

Raoul was the closest to the train, if only by a little. He knew he was their last hope. Shutting his eyes firmly, he steadied his mind and attempted to remove the environment from his perception. He hadn’t lost hope and was fleeing. Rather, he was preparing for a way to make it his.

Help me out here, Rynth! We’re about to die!

In the untouched corners of his heart, a wellspring of resolve and conviction rushed forth, expanding outward to cover the entirety of his body. Raoul spoke another deep breath, this time mentally reaching into that resolve before blinking his eyes open again. He noted the area around: a train moving at hundreds of miles. Four friends hanging loosely by its hinges. His crazed mother now flying close by and gearing up another spell that would undoubtedly seal their coffins with nails of Jati.

Here we go…

“Emergence: Kamtari Futyris.”

Like an antique wooden chest breaking apart its lock, his Path poured out from him in all directions, covering both the train and tracks in the familiar sea of grass and golden wheat fields. It moved alongside the train, centering on Raoul and dragging along the nostalgic scent of dirt and farmland. Below the Batan, the ground remained steady, finally offering a place to step on. Even in the distance and in the corner of his eye, he spotted Pinky, the tree remaining stalwart and unbreakable.

“Go ahead,” Raoul encouraged, releasing his grip on Avil. “It should work for now. Get on the train while we have time.” With his now free hand, he pulled himself back into the mostly-destroyed cabin, groaning as he rolled into a ball.

The other three nodded in response, using his Emergence as a foothold to jump back into stable train-ground. They all hunched over, sighing in relief once they were secure.

Raoul pulled himself upright and willed the Emergence to disappear, and soon enough the scent and feel of Midasia disappeared from the world. Without wasting time, he raised a finger and gestured at the pursuing clone of Merlin, already in the midst of finishing up on another Fireball.

“Mother’s not letting up. Let’s retreat further into the rest of the cabins.”

Idri shook her head violently. “Umm, maybe don’t! She went so far as to destroy the cabin without care for our lives. If we lead her further along, she’ll only keep firing off more spells and destroying more cabins. We’ll be risking other people’s lives.”

“Idri is right, Raoul.” Cali agreed, slipping away momentarily to throw another dagger at Merlin to interrupt her spellcasting. “We must take the offensive to her. We cannot remain on the receiving end forever.”

Raoul nodded. Merlin reached back to hoist another Fireball straight for them, but raising his prosthetic allowed him to absorb another. Two out of four vials filled. “Fair… In that case, I have an idea.” He turned to Avil. “Avil, if I’m correct, she has two contingency wards active, right? I noticed it when Time Stop wore off. A second one shone.

“Yeah,” replied Avil, still clutching his heart slightly. “We can’t defeat her if we don’t find a way to break through both wards before they recharge.”

“I might have an idea. Follow me.”

Without another word, he bolted past the broken doors. The succeeding cabin still held many passengers, their faces streaked with fright and horror from the explosion a short while before.

“Get out of here!” shouted Raoul, waving them off. “Move to the next cabin unless you want to die!”

At his words, they all rose from their seats and fled, cramming into tight lines as they ran into the cabin ahead. Once gone, Raoul gestured his friends forward, positioning the four of them in the middle.

“Idri. Could you cut a hole in the ceiling? One big enough for me and Avil to climb through. I’d also like to borrow Kranstor from you.”

“I… are you sure, Raoul? I can do the first, but making you wield Kranstor for longer than a few seconds… Well, you already know what happens. I don’t want you to experience those visions.”

He stepped closer, taking her hand in his in a tight clasp. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. This is for all of us.”

Idri hesitated for a few more seconds, but the warmth from his hand completely blindsided her, overriding any sort of rational thought. He wants this. Who was she to stop him? She exhaled deeply before returning the touch with one more tighter.

“Okay. Just promise me you won’t let yourself get hurt any more than this. You already lost an arm today.”

“I promise.”

“Good.”

She surged upward off the ground that next tick, slashing Kranstor in a near-perfect circle across the roof. With her free palm, she shoved it off, and it caught onto the wind and blew off. “There,” she muttered. Hesitation once more flared in her face, but she shook it away and offered the blade by its handle to Raoul. “Don’t break your promise.”

“When have I ever?” he chuckled, and then leaned closer to Avil to whisper his plan.

Cali relaxed, sheathing her daggers into two of her hidden pockets. “If you are set on your plan, then I will stay here with Idri to watch the passengers in case any try to run back or Merlin breaks through.”

Avil gasped at his words, but he did not refuse outright.

“That’s stupid. But also smart. It might just work.” He favored Idri and Cali with an approving incline of his head. “We’ll leave this to you too, then. Ready, Raoul?”

“Ready as can be.” Raoul curved a wry smile.

“Alright, here goes. Arislaapi…” “Emergence…”