2012-09-18: The Awakening - Act VIII
The Awakening, Act VIII / 覚醒 - 第八章
| Author: Unknown author | Published: September 18, 2012 |
The power was inimitable and without equal or peer; he could feel it flowing through him as he channeled the energies of the shrine itself into the spell that he'd pieced together from his own research and what Gilforn had taught him. Was this how Nystul had felt when he had created Trammel? The rush of power that coursed through Gilforn's hands as he fashioned the gates initially? Or could this perhaps be something else entirely...the power of his friends Virtues at work? He let his wandering thoughts go as he focused on the spell, and felt the power suddenly rush out in an instant. Flames and fury rushed forth along the course of tiles that formed the Honor chalice, as magical energies Casca.ed along the path before them. It was exhilarating and incredible, and a line of purple flame stood blazing as a testament to the power that was used. He approached the gate slowly and took a breath, looking back at those gathered, and stepped through...and came out the other side into Britain in Trammel. Exactly where he'd wanted to. He stepped back into the gate to speak briefly to those still gathered at Honor, Ilshenar.
After he'd addressed them and spoken briefly, he once again stepped through the gate, but this time arrived in a cracked and broken landscape. A harpy screeched loudly as it's flapping wings led it towards him on a dive, but he was not deterred for an instant. It took only a moment to hurl his hands out and chant the words. “Vas Ort Grav!” The heavens shook with a resounding peal of thunder as a burst of lightning arced out of the sky and took the harpy full force in the chest, blasting it aside into so much cooked flesh. Lord Blackthorn straightened his robe as he eyed another approaching harpy, which chose discretion over valor and fled. He took only a moment to look at the landscape around the gate, and he held his hands out much as he had at the Honor shrine. Here, too, he could feel that same power, just waiting to be used and set to some definite purpose...and he let his hands drop down to his sides. No matter what power there was here, it wasn't what was needed. He stepped back through the gate and headed towards the camp in Ter Mur.
Having reached the camp he sat down and looked over his notes. The cures were keeping the disease at bay and none of those treated were showing anything but signs of remission. There were no recurrent cases and reinfection didn't seem to be occurring either. Even with the gargish plague counteracted and the Honor moongate fixed, there were other problems...though the one that troubled him most was what was occurring in the cities of the once unified realm of Britannia. They were on the verge of outright warfare amongst some of the cities and it was difficult to think of anything that might be able to be done about it...but there was always a solution to any problem. Some of them just took a bit more lateral thinking than others. A heavy step heralded the arrival of another, and Blackthorn waved him over.
“I'm surprised to see you return and come calling once more, Lord Dupre. I had assumed that your own endeavors with the True Britannians had once again drawn you away.”
“I wish that I were in those lands, where cold valorite and iron answered all problems. Not in this one where the nobles duel with words and propaganda.”
Blackthorn steepled his fingers together as he lost himself in thought, finding his way back to his original ideas of lateral thinking. “Dupre, I think perhaps that your answer isn't all wrong. It just needs to be applied correctly.”
Japanese version
力は比類なきものだった。その力が全身に流れるのを感じながら、男は神殿の持つエネルギーで呪文を唱えた。その呪文は、自身の研究とギルフォーン（Gilforn）から学んだ知識より男が編み出したものだ。トランメルを創りだした時、ニスタル（Nystul）もこの力を感じたのだろうか？ 初めてゲートを創りだした時、ギルフォーンの手をこの力が駆け巡ったのだろうか？ それともこれは全く異なるもの……彼の友の徳の原動力……なのだろうか？ 頭によぎる様々な思考を捨てて呪文に集中し、一瞬で力を解き放った。神秘的なエネルギーは、名誉の聖杯をかたどって並べられたタイルに沿って滝のように流れ、それを追うように炎が走る。それは見る者の心を刺激する信じがたい光景だった。エネルギーの走った跡を示す残り火のように、紫の光が一筋輝いていた。彼はゆっくりとゲートに近づき、一呼吸し、一度ふり向いて集まった者たちを見てから足を踏み出し……、トランメルのブリテインに到達した。無事正しい目的地に着いたのだ。彼はもう一度ゲートを使ってイルシェナーの名誉の神殿に戻り、まだそこにいた者たちに短く話をした。
短い話を終えた後、彼は再びゲートに入ったが、今度はひび割れ崩れた大地に着いた。一体のハーピー（harpy）が翼をばたつかせながらギャーギャーと喚きたてて飛びかかって来たが、彼は全く動じなかった。さっと手をあげ、呪文を唱えた。「Vas Ort Grav！」稲光が走ったかと思うと、激しい雷に打たれたハーピーは焼け焦げた肉塊となって転がり、天空は轟く雷鳴で震えた。もう一体のハーピーが近寄って来たが、ローブの乱れを直したロード・ブラックソン（Lord Blackthorn）がじろりと睨むと、このハーピーは勇気より慎重を選んで逃げ去っていった。彼はゲート周辺を軽く見渡してから、名誉の神殿の時と同じように、両腕を広げた。この場所でも、同じ力が感じられた。使われることをじっと待っている、ある明確な目的に定められた力……。彼の両腕は下ろされた。ここにどんな力があったにせよ、それは必要とされたものではなかった。再びゲートに足を踏み入れ、テルマーのキャンプに向かった。
キャンプに到着するとすぐに彼は座り、自分の記録を調べた。治療薬は病を寄せ付けず、薬を与えられた者は全員小康状態を保っていた。病が再発したという事例もなく、再流行の兆しもなかった。ガーゴイルの伝染病の克服、名誉のムーンゲートの修復が行われてもなお、数々の問題が残っていたのだ……。彼を最も悩ませるもの。それは、かつてブリタニアという一つの王国にまとまっていた各街で起きている問題だった。いくつかの街は全面戦争の瀬戸際にあり、それを止める手だてはそう簡単には見出せそうになかった……。だが、どんな問題にも必ず解決策はあるはずだ。他の問題のいくつかは、既成の枠組みにとらわれない自由な発想に基づく思考法である水平思考をやや多く重ねれば済んだ。重い足音がある人物の到着を告げ、ブラックソンはその人物に向かって手招きした。
「ロード・デュプレ（Lord Dupre）、また来ていただけるとは。あなたのことだからトゥルー・ブリタニアンズ（True Britannians）のために遠方に向かったのかと思っていたよ」
「できることなら、オレだって冷たいヴァロライトと鉄が全ての問題を解決してくれる場所にいたいさ。貴族たちが言葉と世論の誘導で戦う場所なんてごめんだね」
ブラックソンは両手の指先を合わせて思索にふけり、水平思考で浮かんだ独自の考えに戻ろうとした。「デュプレ、あなたの答えは全くの誤りではないと思う。正しく行うこと、それが必要だ」
