The Fire and The Storm - The Nexus of Kellaran #2

Chapter 26

Part 5

“And they’re damned hard to kill. If you cut off one of their limbs, or even two or three, it won’t kill them,

and they’ll probably be back in the battle in two or three days. Assuming that one of their own doesn’t

take advantage of their weakness to kill them and eat them. You pretty much have to destroy their

heads, or more than half of their torsos, in order to kill them. They breed like flies, and they give birth by

vomiting up a few hundred tiny demons about five centimeters tall, all of whom are battle-ready a

moment after birth. They double in size every three months when well fed, and they can change the

shape and configuration of their bodies as they’re growing. They can add extra limbs, tails, wings,

spikes, horns, whatever they want.

“I mean, I knew a lot of this already, from what Somonik said at the beginning of the War of The

Founding. And we just read about it a couple of months ago. But knowing it is a lot different from

seeing it, hearing it, feeling it like you were there. I don’t know how our babies haven’t been completely

traumatized by this. It just amazes me. Fifty-four years of the demon war, every experience of it, taken

in a blink.

“I’m so worried about them now, but I don’t know what to do about it, or even if we should do anything

about it.

“And beyond that, I’m worried for us all. I think we’re not taking the threat of the demons seriously

enough. But I’m not sure if there’s anything we can do about it. I don’t know that it’ll really help things if

everyone knows in advance how horrible the demons really are. Many are having a hard enough time

dealing with their fear as it is.” Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“No doubt that was Quewanak’s thinking.” Talia mused. “And Povon and Kragorram’s as well, since

they have the memory too. Quewanak’s training pushes us pretty hard. He could make it harder, and

we could improve faster, but then it would start to detract from people’s ability to enjoy their lives

between training. That in turn might slow our progress.

“We have the time to train in the healthiest manner possible. It would be different if we had less time. If

we had to fight the demons in six months it would be worth it to hurry and intensify the training. But we

can’t sustain that level of intensity for twenty four-years.

“On the other hand, the simulations of demons that we face in the training should be just as dangerous

as real demons. If we have to face less of them in the exercises in order for any of us to survive the

battle, then we’ll just have to do that. They just don’t have to be as horrible as real demons, not yet

anyway.

“Tell me; when we faced the demons in Quewanak’s training dream, do you think they were the same

as in Somonik’s memory of them?”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Huh. I haven’t thought about that training since before you got pregnant. It’s

like a dream that keeps fading with time. We didn’t face demons until the last part of the training, and

by then I was pretty emotionally numb from it all, and they were just distractions from the task of

beating Zarkog anyway. But yah, now that I think about it, they were pretty much the same, they were

just as poisonous and tough and horrible in the training dream as they are in Somonik’s memory.”

“Good. I remember Quewanak’s training well enough to know that those demons were bad enough. I

haven’t thought about it enough recently to compare it to the training exercises we’re doing now

though. I spend most of the exercises thinking about how well the others are doing.

“And they’re doing well, considering how inexperienced most of them are. Quewanak allows us enough

victories that the exercises are… Well not fun, as I was going to say. But with the joy and triumph and

celebration that comes from the occasional victory, I think it’s an enjoyable experience overall.

“I’m still worried that we may be forming bad habits that will lead us to underestimate the enemy.

“Quewanak, what are your thoughts on this?” she asked of the thin air, knowing the dragon god’s vast

awareness would insure she was heard.

“You’re correct in assuming that I designed this community’s training with equal consideration for their

emotional health and for their combat capabilities.” He psionicly answered. “And you’re correct in

thinking that this training program has been designed to advance steadily in difficulty over the full

twenty-four year span of our time here.

“For now, a victory over a more numerous enemy feels far better than defeating a small but realistic

band of demons. The realism of the enemy, and their numbers, will gradually increase over the full

score of years, culminating in fully realistic simulations. You need not worry that you will form bad

habits that lead you to underestimate the enemy, because your habits will gradually change as the

training changes. The only long-term habit you will form is the expectation that the demons will always

be a bit more dangerous than they were the last time you faced them, which is likely to be a realistic

assumption.”

“Ah.” Mark nodded. “That’s good thinking, so long as the time-bubble isn’t ended early for some

reason.”

“I see no reason to think that it might be, though that is within the realm of possibility. If it ends without

warning, we will have to see that these people receive accelerated training in the main time stream,

assuming that the time-bubble cannot be resumed for some reason. If we have some warning that the

time-bubble will end early, the training program will be accelerated accordingly.

“But you can trust me on this; so long as things continue as planned, in twenty-four years these people

will be as fully prepared and trained to wage war against the demons as it’s possible for them to be.

Ourselves included.”

“Thank you.” Talia nodded.

“Do you have any thoughts on the twins’ mental health?” Mark asked. “Or ours, for that matter?”

“You’re all doing fine. Don’t worry so much. The twins have a good grasp of their own abilities and

limitations. When they’re ready, they’ll ask to join the community training program, and shortly after that

their worth will be known. Then everyone will want the twins in their squad. Their popularity will take

care of itself.

“You should have heeded your son’s warning, and been better prepared for the emotional shock of the

memory he gave you. You were still filled with loving parental concern, which is a foolish state of mind

to be in when a powerful psionic says that they are about to pass you something traumatic.”

“I guess you’re right.” Mark chuckled. “He did say it wasn’t very nice. I should’ve known from that.”

“He told you in three separate sentences that it was a bad thing. You are his father, and he loves and

respects you very much. That was as much warning as he felt comfortable with giving you. He trusted

you to know what you were doing. You failed to take him seriously enough.

“He and his sister were less traumatized by the memory than you were because they actually spent a

minute considering that a memory of the demons was likely to be a horrible thing, and they were far

more emotionally prepared for it than you were. You let your parental concern over-ride your intellectual

consideration of what they were telling you. It’s a common failing of first-time parents.”

“All right, all right, I get it!” Mark laughed.

“You’re doing fine. Don’t worry.” Quewanak repeated, and then his mental contact was gone.

“Hmm. Maybe we should go in and see what they’re up to.” Talia said as she stood with a smile, then

took his hand and pulled him to his feet with magically-augmented strength.

“Yah. And we’ll tell them what Quewanak said about the training. Hopefully it’ll set their minds at ease

about us taking the demons seriously enough.”