Chapter 21
DRYADS AND MIMSEYS
His troops had begun to look tired as they walked back to the new waygate, even though he knew none of them would admit to it if he asked. He was jolted from his inner musings by the sight that met them when they arrived at the gate. In addition to the creatures he’d killed, Devon counted twenty-two more orcs and four ogres, all dead, all looking like pincushions. Nearly a hundred dryads were busy removing arrows from the corpses. The orcs and ogres hadn’t stood a chance. Never one to miss an opportunity, Devon reached out and harvested every soul. When the dryads saw the shadows emerge and fleet away, they looked up.
A voluptuous dryad detached herself from the others and charged in Devon’s direction. A lot of her moved alluringly when she ran, and Devon found himself mesmerised by the sight.
Gwen smirked from behind him as she saw where his eyes were focused.
Devon thought it best not to respond to that.
The dryad hit him with force and engulfed him in a tight embrace. “Mother divine, I have missed you so, so, so much, my lord. I have been desperate without you.”
“Hello, Aria. I’ve missed you too,” he said.
Gwen looked disapprovingly at the buxom dryad and sniffed disparagingly.
He disengaged himself from her, which proved tricky because she was reluctant to release him. “Aria, I would like you to meet Gwen, Lorn, Grace, Pip, and Ffion.” The women all changed into their usual forms and bowed. “They are all very special to me, so play nice with them. Same for the rest of you,” he said to the sea of happy dryads that stood in front of him.
Aria looked the soldiers up and down and wrinkled her nose. “They’re nothing to us, my lord. We can easily ignore them if that is your wish.”
“I said play nice, and I meant it. You and your sisters need to be friendly to everyone in the settlement, or I shall send you back to your mother,” Devon needed to head off any internal conflict before it occurred.
The dryad pouted and looked away as if she was contemplating an argument. After a short while, she looked straight at Devon and batted her eyes. “Yes, my lord. It will be just as you wish.” She looked over the Shadows and gave them a saccharine smile. “It is nice to meet you.”
“Thank you,” Devon said, grinning.
“Mother gave us all the seeds she promised you. We’ve also brought some friends that wanted to come and live in your forest.” Aria said, quickly changing the subject. She gestured to a beautifully ordered horde of forest creatures, smallest at the front and most prominent at the rear. They were all waiting patiently for the dryad’s permission to move.
“Cute. I hope they’ll be happy in their new home.”
Aria looked at the creatures and pointed to the gate. She barked a few commands in her language, and the animals all trooped off in an orderly fashion. “Is it true what mother told us? The enchanted forests are ours to care for?” Aria asked excitedly.
“My realm is open, but I haven’t done anything with it yet. It’s just as you left it. The one on Earth realm is desperate for your attention. I want you to expand it in every direction, as far as you can. The forest will be where the resurgence of the faie begins. First, though, I need you to use those seeds to grow me an elven-style settlement around the gate. Be creative. Use your imaginations. I’m sure you already have ideas. All of you are very welcome to take both forests into your care,” Devon replied.
There was a lot of hopping and clapping.
Devon raised his hands. “I want the seeds planted and grown soonest, so you need to get busy. Many people will desperately need comfortable places in which to live. I am looking to all of you for your best help with that. I need as many houses, halls, walkways, business spaces and platforms as you can manage. The whole area is flooded with magical energy now, just right to restore the forest to its former glory.”
The dryads nodded excitedly and sprinted through the waygate, grabbing more arrows and their void bags as they did so.
“Well, they’re something else,” Gwen said, the contempt evident in her voice.
Devon chuckled at her comment. “Relax, nothing changes with us. They are a little over-enthusiastic, but they work hard and are good to the core. They will be a serious asset to the settlement and the entire forest. Have faith.”
Devon and the others all jumped when thick roots sprang from the floor, wrapped around the corpses, then dragged them back into the ground. The dryads must have planted several corpse-vine seeds, germinating when the guards’ blood seeped into the soil. Anyone with ill intent near the gate would find themselves feeding the plants before they could flee. “Clever girls.”
Gwen’s expression turned from annoyance to reluctant respect. “I see what you mean. Useful creatures to have around.”
****-****
The next morning, for reasons he didn’t want to consider, Beth had floated into Devon’s thoughts. He hadn’t seen her recently. Devon wondered what she was doing. Abi knew where everyone was, and she had told him that Beth was currently working in the war-room, which is why he was just stepping into it now.
Devon was shocked when he saw the room. It still looked like the hub in shape and décor, but the raised areas around the outside had disappeared, as had the large map table that used to reside in the centre. Now, there was nothing in the room apart from some comfortable-looking office chairs and tall, metal cabinets around the wall. The cabinets all had smoked glass fronts, and inside he could see hundreds of tiny lights flashing in random patterns in a variety of colours. He had spent many points upgrading this room when Beth had offered to take charge of it. A battle coordinator had seemed like a very appealing option, especially as Beth was hopeless in close combat. Yet his points seemed to have reduced the features of the room.
“Don’t look so shocked,” Beth said. Her voice muffled by having her head buried deep inside one of the cabinets. Eventually, she removed her head from the cabinet and stood up to face him with a broad grin.
“I’m a technomancer which is something Abi said was completely unheard of before I arrived,” she announced proudly as she approached him.
“That’s nice. What does a technomancer do besides try to force themselves into cabinets full of flashing lights?”
Beth laughed and thumped his arm. “I was already a technology nerd. My mum and dad were high up in the Hextaine Corporation. As a kid, I wanted to be a witch or a unicorn, but they lectured that out of me. Instead, I received the best education money could buy and became a robotics and bio-tech prodigy. I rebelled and got caught hacking Hextaine’s core financial database. They threatened to put me in a juvenile labour centre, so I ran away. Nearly bloody starved and would have perished if Beks hadn’t found me and brought me back to the village. That’s the short version of my life story.”
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“I had no idea you were smart,” he said with a devious grin. “So, what does technomancy give you that you didn’t already have?”
“The power to be in the wires, to become part of the whole system. Devon, it’s incredible. I can exist inside the machines and have thousands of tiny displays lining my vision. I can bring any of them into focus and see any camera view or data display. I understand so much now. I can be anywhere,” Beth enthused.
Devon noticed that Beth’s brown eyes were bright, almost as if they were backlit, and there was constantly shifting glitter amongst the colouring. Looking at her was almost hypnotic.
“I understand all of Abi’s systems now. We have been working to link her up to the outside world and pull in information from everywhere.”
“Is that safe?” Devon asked with concern. “Can’t other people get to her from out there?”
“Absolutely not. I’m the only technomancer that exists, and I have put protections in place that are magical, not made from mere algorithms. No-one is getting in or out without our permission,” Beth said with triumph radiating from her face.
“Nicely done.”
“My skills also allow me to combine magic with technology. That meant I could create thousands of these,” Beth said, holding out her open hand, palm up.
Devon looked then felt foolish. “There’s nothing there.”
Beth scowled at her hand. “Go on,” she said as if coaxing a reluctant puppy, “show him.”
Devon watched her palm. Either Beth had lost a few marbles during her voluntary isolation, or he was supposed to see something that he couldn’t. Then a small black egg shape appeared. It had two pairs of insectile wings protruding from its sides but otherwise was completely black. Oh, and it had eyelashes. Wait – what?
“Don’t be shy. He wants to meet you,” Beth coaxed.
The little creature opened its one large eye, which was almost as big as its body, and looked up at Devon. It blinked at him.
“This is the first creature and technology hybrid. I call them mimseys.”
“What does that stand for?” Devon asked.
“Nothing, I just thought it sounded cute,” Beth replied with a giggle. “I used the mana-forge to create two-thousand of these little guys.”
“Abi, I didn’t authorise that spend,” Devon said in confusion. All spending had to be cleared by him.
“Beth said you had authorised her to spend what she needed. I’m sorry, master. She was very persuasive.”
“You used your technomancy on poor Abi. That’s just wrong,” Devon said, not quite knowing whether to laugh or be angry. He had begun to see just how powerful Beth’s new talents could be in today’s world.
“Devon, I’m so sorry. I didn’t think it would work. I needed a target to practice on. I can’t exactly go down to the training room and work this stuff out.”
“Well, kindly refrain from doing it to Abi again. She is strictly off-limits. If you need targets, we’ll find you some. By the way, how much did you spend?” he asked, trying his best to sound stern.
“In total, three-thousand, three-hundred and twenty, master,” Abi stated. “Two-thousand for the mimsey creations and the rest for war-room interface upgrades, plus a magical link to the new external uplink.”
“Don’t be mad. I know that sounds like a lot, but it’s worth it, I promise,” Beth said.
“That’s more than the cost of a pod to feed two-hundred people, Beth.”
Beth paled and looked mortified. “Really? Oh, Devon, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I’ll pay you back somehow.”
Devon had to smile. Her face had become so troubled now that she realised the value of points in Haven. “Show me what all these points bought me. It looks like we’ve been burgled. Where did my war-room equipment go? How did you even get the table out of here?”
“I didn’t. It is sunk into the floor now. The rest all disappeared when I upgraded the room to a technomancy design. Everything in Haven is made of mana-forged matter, which Abi can control as she requires.”
Devon laughed and shook his head. Beth knew more about Haven than he did, and she’d only been in here for a few days. “You never stop surprising me.”
Beth smiled a worried smile. “I’m proud to be part of the team, Devon. I really am. What you are doing for people is incredible. I want to help.”
And that was it. Beth had floored him with a few words, and suddenly all was forgiven.
“Let me show you what your hard-earned points paid for,” Beth enthused, sensing her victory.
Beth walked over to the pillar mounted mirror that was customary in Haven and started tapping options. The room went dark, and then the whole place became his realm, just inside the gate he’d opened. The view looked down on the hexagon and the magnificent, moon-willow trees, latticed with walkways and vine bridges. He caught the occasional flash of green as a dryad flitted from tree to tree and villagers carrying various items from the mana-forge to the next home they were furnishing. It was all there.
“Transferring mental controls to you, Devon.”
Various controls appeared superimposed in his vision. After playing with them a bit, he got the hang of what to do and zoomed in on a villager. The resolution was phenomenal, and he could even see the texture of their hair. He tried looking around and discovered that the image was three-dimensional. Above him were the tops of moon-willow trees and then the sky. The view stayed still; it was him that moved within it. His controls just changed the point in space from which he was viewing it all. It was incredible.
“Gods and goddesses, Beth, how have you done this?”
Beth beamed with pride. “I was hoping you would find this useful. My mimseys are smart and normally completely invisible. They can flood an area, and each one sends what they see back to the uplink, which relays it all back to Haven. The war-room sends them instructions about where to be and then stitches all their views together to form this display. When there is a dark space, the system instructs a mimsey to go and look at it, then adds it in.”
“You are an extremely clever woman. In an eternity, I have never met your equal,” Devon said, and he meant it too. One person had no right to be that smart.
Beth went scarlet and bit her lower lip. “Thank you, darling. That’s a lovely thing to say.”
He looked at her with curiosity, then walked over and gave her the hug he had wanted to give her since he’d met her. The minutes passed, and they just held on to each other. This moment had been a long time in the making.
“Is there any chance your mimseys can go through the waygate and scan the city just beyond it? That’s where we’re going to be operating over the next few days. Izzy’s resistance members will want to see this miracle of yours in action tomorrow.”
“Mana flows through that gate thing, right?” Beth asked, disengaging herself from their embrace.
“Yes, both ways,” he replied.
“Then yes, that’ll be easy. I’ll send them through now.”
“You’re a star. Do you trust me enough to bond with me yet? If we bonded, we could all share a mental link and be able to talk to you wherever we are. No point in having a coordinator we can’t coordinate with.”
Beth nodded. “Good point. I think I’m ready to commit to that.”
****-****
After his visit with Beth, Devon had ordered his tired students to the training room and worked them hard for several hours. They needed to learn that war didn’t stop because they were exhausted. After this, they would realise that using just as much energy as was necessary was also a life skill. The training room was the same size and shape as the hub but with a smooth, slightly padded black covering on every surface, including the ceiling. Ambient light came from a glowing strip that circumnavigated the upper wall. When active, the whole area could magically represent almost any scenario imaginable, allowing combatants to train against seemingly real opponents without risking death or serious injury. The room would even simulate spells and magical attacks, which gave Devon and his students a mighty tool to hone their skills.
Devon had dragged Aria in to teach them all how to shoot a bow with competence. Even though Aria had readily agreed to help, she still complained, simply because the task he’d set the dryads was so daunting. Moon-willow trees would usually grow to at least six-hundred feet tall and be over eighty feet across at the trunk’s base. With an unlimited supply of magical power at their disposal, a group of five dryads could raise one of the mighty trees in less than five hours. However, Devon had also asked for rooms inside the trees, interlocking branches, platforms, natural steps, and ladders. It all took time and vast attention to detail. Even the daughters of nature themselves felt the pressure. What was more, there were five-thousand of the monster willows to raise and thousands of other forest flora to establish before the enchanted forest would begin to soak up the magic like a sponge and gain proper sentience. Things were progressing rapidly, though. It was just that teaching younglings to hold a bow correctly wasn’t on Aria’s to-do list.