The Trial of Elysia

They all worked tirelessly over the next few days. Jake, Alex and Kraelin would go out, helping with repairs where they could, as Kraelin showed them more of the village. It was surprisingly similar to their own world, with a school and stores and paved roads and cars. There were some obvious differences, though, such as the shimmering power lines which sent magical energy into the homes and the massive gun towers at the edges of town, the barrier towers which were supposed to protect Lugara from Twisted attacks which somehow failed. Alex was fascinated with all the mechanical things. A sci-fi nerd at heart, he loved seeing how machines worked.

“This is a sorcite engine,” Kraekin said, pointing to the open hood on one of the damaged vehicles. “Sorcite is concentrated magic, generated by magic users daily.”

“Incredible. Magic as a power source. How does it work? Like, is this a carburetor? Those look kinda like spark plugs. What do they do?” Alex asked, getting real close to the gears and tubes in the engine.

“I’m not sure. Sorry, I’m a warrior, not a mechanic,” Kraelin said.

“All you talk about is warrioring, dude. Do you do anything besides work and training?” Alex asked. “You know, fun stuff?”

“Work and training is fun,” Kraelin said with a smile.

“Maybe I’m stupid, but…how?” Alex asked.

“Kraelin! Hammer!” a burly guy on a scaffold shouted out. Kraelin picked up the hammer, flipped it into the air and precisely kicked it three stories up into the man’s hand. “Thanks for the assist, you little showoff!” he laughed.

“Like so,” Kraelin said as he walked back to join the others in work. Jake and Alex stared after him.

“No,” Alex said.

“No what?” Jake asked.

“Do not kick the hammer.”

“I didn’t say I would…”

“Bro, you’re holding a hammer.”

Jake looked down. “Huh. When did I pick this up?”

Alex grabbed it, shaking his head, and went back to work.

*

Elysia was grounded the entire time. Master Augarium, who they learned was her adoptive father, was also the leader of the village. Apparently this fact made Elysia’s actions with the dimensional tuner even more complicated.

“But couldn’t you grease the wheels, help her out?” Alex asked as they ate one night.

“I could,” Augarium said. “But there are rules, young Alex. Rules for magic. Rules for living. It is what a village devoted to learning like Lugara thrives on. Right, Elysia?”

“Yes, Master Augarium…” she softly said.

Over the course of the next few days, Elysia taught them of her world and how it operated. How magic influenced everything in their world, from power to transportation to defense. “See, each person who has an aptitude for magic has a Talent, a magical power based around one of the elements. Augarium, for example, can create vines from plant matter which he can manipulate like tentacles. Others can use geomancy to move rocks, some can turn their skin into plant matter, there’s so many variations. Most of the people in Lugara are green based, which means they tap into Land magic. There’s also Sky, Wave, and Inferno, as well as neutral magic for more general tasks, things which are done with potions or incantations, like the enchantment placed on your weapons which imbued you with your new forms.”

“Thanks again, by the way,” Alex grumbled.

“So, what’s your Talent?” Jake asked. Elysia immediately looked away.

“I…don’t have one. I can do basic energy manipulation. I can tap into Land magic, but…I can’t do anything with it. Only weak energy constructs. Even magic using children can make those. Then when they mature they gain their Talent. I can’t do plant manipulation, geomancy, flame control,  anything. I’m…I’m useless…”

Her hands were tight. Her face was down. Jake could see the pain in her eyes. “Bullcrap,” he said. “You found us. You helped save all those people.”

“Not enough!” Elysia said. “You saw what the Twisted are like! Each year more appear! The barrier towers we have to repel them aren’t enough! We survive, trapped in these towns and cities, taking our lives in our hands when we travel! It’s why I set out to find heroes. I needed you during the attack, but I had been planning on using the dimensional tuner for a while. I plan on going after it.”

“It? What it?” Alex asked.

“The Eastern Treasure. I need you two for…”

Master Augarium walked into the house then, gazing solemnly at them as they sat in the living room. His face looked grim.

“Elysia…the council is finally ready to discuss what must be done with you,” he said.

*

They stared down at them from their stands, the five elders of the village of Lugara, with Master Augarium at the center of the row. They first questioned Kraelin for his role in helping Elysia steal the dimensional tuner.

“You helped Elysia steal an ancient piece of technology from the time of the First to penetrative another dimension?” a harsh looking older woman said.

“I did,” Kraelin simply said.

“Why?” a younger woman asked. “Were you so invested in her mad plan?”

“No. Frankly, I didn’t care if it worked,” Kraelin said.

“Then why did you help her?” a chubby dark skinned man asked.

“Because no matter what happened…she would be out of the village during the attack. She was safe.”

“And you didn’t think at all about the events of six years ago?” the older woman scolded. “In the name of the First, she already lost one friend to her mad plans!”

“I’m done speaking. Forgive me, elders, but if you think Elysia doesn’t think about what happened to Saphira daily, then this meeting is pointless. I’m talking to illogical people.” Kraelin stepped down.  They did not stop him.

Jake and Alex were called next. They were allowed to stand together. “Boys,” a skinny, scarecrow like man said, “I know you are strangers here. Do you understand what is going on?”

“Yeah. You’re all pissed because Elysia saved everyone,” Jake said.

“Oh god, this is a good start…” Alex moaned.

“We’ll ignore the last comment,” the older woman said. “Do you understand the gravity of the situation you are in? The dimensional tuner was an incredibly rare artifact! The fact she destroyed it…”

“We destroyed it, actually,” Jake said.

“With rocks and sticks,” Alex added. “To save us from two Twisted, by the way. We have a kill count of three between the two of us.”

“You’re welcome.” Jake held his fist out and Alex bumped it.

“Yes, well, thank you,” the chubby guy said. “However, we have rules which say she cannot  use technology and magic like she did.”

“Too true!” the older woman sneered. “You two are magically bonded to ancient weapons! We can’t reverse it! We don’t know the effect of such a thing!”

“The effect?” Jake shook his head. “The effect is a bunch of your villagers are alive! Why aren’t they here?!”

“We’ll ask the questions, young man,” the scarecrow said.

“What about you?” the younger woman asked Alex. “You don’t seem as talkative as your friend. You had the more severe change. You don’t see any problem with this?”

“You’re asking the wrong question,” Alex said. “I hate looking like this. But you want to ask me if I’d do it again.” He held up the little girl's picture so all the elders could see. “Hell yeah.”

Finally, Elysia stood before them, their stares weighing down on her. Yet she did not whither. She stood straight and tall.

“Augarium hasn’t spoken,” Alex said as they watched.

“Because he knows what is coming,” Kraelin said.

“What? What is coming?” Jake asked with concern.

“Elysia,” the older woman said with a bit of satisfaction. “Always rebelling. Always trying to do things your own way.”

“I have never meant any disrespect to…”

“Quiet! Since you came here as a babe you were trouble! Always taking out your inadequacies on other children.”

“You mean standing up to bullies like your son?” Elysia said.

“Careful,” the chubby man said. “We’re here for facts, not old grudges. Elysia, you know our rules. We preserve ancient artifacts and magics here, study them, understand them. But we do not use them if we do not understand what can happen.”

“And don’t forget what did happen,” the younger woman said. “Three ancient artifacts, gone. Two innocent boys from another world, trapped here, changed.”

“And it will pain me forever to know I harmed them,” Elysia said, her voice finally cracking. “I watched them die. I’ll never forget it. But I looked for heroes. And I found them. And so many people are alive now. No thanks to you.”

“What did you say, young lady?” the scarecrow said.

“You sit here, waiting for the Twisted to come. We all know there is only one way to end this!” Elysia said.

“Not this nonsense again,” the older woman scoffed.

“The Eastern Treasure can be found! And we either band together and look for it, or sit here and wait for another attack! How many will be acceptable losses then? How many…”

“Enough!” the older woman screamed. “Enough childish nonsense! You seem to live your life trying to make up for your own failures only to create more failures! And we will not allow you to drag the rest of us in afterwards! It’s time to vote!”

They begin to raise their right hands one by one. The older woman was first, followed by the scarecrow. Chubby followed, shaking his head, and the younger woman reluctantly raised hers. Finally, all eyes went to Augarium. He looked Elysia straight in the eyes, and she kept her composure. Slowly, he raised his hand.

“It's decided then,” The older woman said, clearly overjoyed. “Elysia, twenty four hours from now, you will leave Lugara. For gross disrespect for our laws, you are hereby banished from this village.”