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Hazemakers
020: Cracking the Code

020: Cracking the Code

As Maya stood, staring at all the extra colours in the rainbow, a sudden realisation dawned.

“It said breath, right? If I intend to breathe magic, it should happen, and with these I should be able to see it.”

Without waiting for a response, Maya levelled her gaze, and took a long, purposeful breath in through her nose. Slowly she released it, willing with all her might for a puff of magic to show up through the goggles. At first it was hard to spot, but as she carefully exhaled, the air in front of her face swirled with a misty sparkle. The delicate twinkling quickly faded, as each speck drifted further away and her breath was lost to the air.

“Piv! Get down here!”

Maya turned to find him already on the ground next to her, grinning.

“I take it you saw something?”

“Yes! Quick breathe for me, try your best magic deep breath.”

Piv humoured Maya, and gave a comically exaggerated blow, with cheeks puffed.

“Ha, nothing! Here take these, look!”

She rushed off the goggles and shoved them into Piv’s hands, bouncing a little as she waited eagerly for him to put them on.

“Ready?”

Piv nodded. Maya stood straight, and held her head high, as she summoned all the air she could, into her lungs. She paused for a second, flashed her eyebrows at Piv, then breathed out. It was clear by his face, and the little stumble backwards, that he had seen exactly what he was supposed to. He pulled up the goggles and looked Maya in the eyes with a level of hope he hadn’t previously allowed himself to show.

“This is going to work!”

“Yeah! I’m actual magic… Me?!”

Piv held out the goggles to give them back to Maya, as Spanner joined the celebration, but Maya shook her head.

“I don’t need them. I can- feel it. Like when I mean to do it, I can feel that it’s actually happening. I think it could wear me out, if I did it too much, though.”

Spanner chuckled, “All that energy has got to come from somewhere kid. Come on, let’s get some more food in you, and make sure to keep you topped up!”

“Yes, please.”

Spanner split from the others as they reached the basement door.

“You guys go ahead, I’m going to get some food, and I need to organise some more stuff from my house.”

Maya skipped down the stairs, still high from the excitement of her recent validation. “What’s the next chapter about?”

“Not sure, it was titled ‘Crafting Intent’, but we’ve already read about that principle. So…”

“Let’s get started!”

Piv and Maya continued their study with renewed vigour, and once she had returned, Spanner remained consistent in her goal to nourish and care for them both. Over the next couple of days, equipment began arriving as per Spanners tracings and descriptions. Maya paid close attention as Piv described how Hazemakers implemented protective measures into their hazes, and combined the ingredients with their breath to build the final results. As Piv turned the page, Maya’s eyes lit up.

“Chapter Twelve! That was classifying. With everything we know now, maybe we can work out my grandpa’s hazes properly!”

“Your Misvan is coming along nicely, well done!”

Maya flashed a sheepish grin, “I- I just got the number. You looked at this chapter briefly before. I’m right though aren’t I? This one’s the classifying one?”

“It is indeed. Chapter Twelve: The Classification of Hazes. Herein lies the practical application of the fundamental principle of Symbolism. Care and attention to detail, are hallmarks of a hazemakers craft. Accurate record of the hazes created protects all users and even the hazemaker themselves.”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Piv continued reading the preamble, before finally reaching the good stuff. Maya’s note taking had become an art in and of itself, as she took great care to build her own set of instructions and cautions. The notes for chapter twelve however, soon outshone the rest. With meticulous detail, Maya transcribed the almost runic symbols that classified hazes. Maya discovered quickly that the markings on each cap described the purpose, potency, and origin of each haze individually, including the maker. At the end of a long day of study, Piv leaned back, stretching his back out, as Maya emptied her hazes onto a pillow.

“Right, time to work these out properly.”

Maya sat for almost another hour, checking caps and notes, and making scribbled markings on loose pages. After apparently having left the room at some point, Piv came down the stairs as Maya let out a huge relieved sigh and slumped. The gentle, calm smile on her face prompted Piv.

“So… you’ve worked them out?”

“Yes. I think so.” A small single tear escaped Maya’s hold, and rolled down her cheek.

“Everything okay?”

“Oh yeah, sorry. I’ve just worked out my Grandpa’s, sort of… signature? There’s one element on every cap, that’s the same. It’s the only unexplained bit on each one, and it’s on all of them. The book says about each Hazemaker signing their hazes, that must be his. I think I want to use it, or something. Something like it for mine.”

“That’s a great idea.” Piv put a hand on Maya’s shoulder. “He’d be proud you know. Your Grandpa. He’d be impressed, I know I am.”

Just a few more tears rolled down Maya’s cheeks before she wiped them away.

“Look, let me tell you what they do.”

Maya gathered the hazes and picked up a red one. “You know we said this was Augmentation. Well we were right. It’s a basic healing haze really. For small injuries, it speeds up recovery. It’s not super strong, so probably no broken bones. Cuts and burns though, I think it would work. The orange is a hearing thing. Like it improves your hearing a little bit. Again it’s not massively potent, but yeah. The light green one is a Misvan translator. Like my earrings, but it should make someone be able to read and write too. The dark green is a sort of strength one, but it’s more like speed, or leg strength. Should make someone run faster and jump higher. The yellow is really strong. It’s full on invisibility. I don’t how long it would last, but it’s the most potent one of all of them. I know we already knew the blue ones, but it was still interesting. They’re the only ones that have an extra element left apart from my Grandpa’s signature, though.”

“Could it be the location. Like an address?”

“That’s it! Yeah, it’s the same on each one. It must be for the platform. You know, we could probably use these now. I know what they do, and my Grandpa gave them for a reason.”

“Of course, but they are limited. I don’t think they should be wasted.”

“No, I know. Once I can make them, we can use all the hazes we want, though. I think tomorrow, we should start looking at the recipes. That’s all that’s left isn’t it?”

“I think so, and the final notes and credits. We should probably go back over things, though. One read through won’t be enough, surely.”

“I know, but the books not going anywhere. We can always reference it if we get stuck. What do you think of me using the green one, for understanding Misvan? I could read it myself!”

Piv looked puzzled for a second then glanced the green vial Maya held in her hand. His face dropped slightly, before Maya scrambled to explain.

“I’d still need help from you, it might just save your voice a bit. Anyway, in the ‘Responsibility’ bit it kept mentioning Hazemaker’s Assistants. So, I’m going to need you for a long while yet.”

The pair exchanged knowing looks, before Piv shrugged.

“I suppose it’s going to be used at some point. This does seem appropriate. How long will it last?”

“Well it’s not as strong as the Refraction one, but it’s pretty strong. Problem is, I don’t really have anything to compare it to. We should time it!”

“Definitely. Okay, let’s do it.”

Maya stood, and walked to a space in the centre of the room. She held the light green vial out in front of her, and looked to Piv for reassurance.

“Woah there kid, what you doing?” Spanner came down the stairs with yet another bundle of tubes and beakers. “Looks like you’re gonna use that!”

“I am.” Maya beamed, and before Spanner could protest, she flipped the cap with her thumb. A dense emerald green fog crept from the vial and fell to the floor. This one spread much slower than the hazeports, but as with them, it pooled at Maya’s feet, and spiralled up her body. As it reached her head, five tendrils formed in the mist. Two parted at her neck and reached round towards her ears. Two went for the eyes, and the last for her mouth. A panic gripped Maya, as she brought her hands to her face, but Piv called out.

“Maya stop! Don’t interfere, just let it do it’s- work.”

Maya froze as the mist clouded her mind. After no more than a minute, the green fog had completely disappeared into Maya’s skull. She stood for a second after the sensation faded, then shook her head. Blinking her eyes, she reached up and removed her grandmother’s earrings.

“Speak to me.”

Spanner quickly obliged, without even recognising that Maya had spoken Misvan without the charms.

“Well that was insane, and creepy as anything!”

Maya’s face contorted as she realised that she both understood every word and had been understood. She spun immediately, looking down at the book. The letters on it’s cover twisted before her eyes into perfect English. Maya scanned the cover, and gasped. Piv rushed forward,

“What’s wrong!”

Maya knelt and picked up the book, pointing at the small list of names at the bottom of the cover.

“My grandmother wrote this…”