The Fire and The Storm - The Nexus of Kellaran #2 novel Chapter 9

Part 2

“That’s what it’ll be like working in the void, or on the moons.” Yazadril thoughtfully pointed out. “Everything will have all its momentum, without its weight.”

“Yup.” Mark agreed. “That’s what it was like in Quewanak’s cavern on Blenda, when we took our training with him. It was pretty awkward just trying to stand up straight without bouncing around. At least here, these men have their own weight, so they at least have some traction.”

“I notice those men are using mortar between the stones, though Kragorram said they wouldn’t have to.” Nemia pointed out, indicating a fireplace that was going up near them.

“Yes.” Mark nodded. “Some want the rustic look of roughly shaped stones and mortar. And the mortar does give a nice color contrast to the stone. Almost all of those who chose smooth squared blocks are having them fused, and the fusing is being done by elves with a spell Alilia had, since it looks like our dragons are going to be hollowing out that mountain for another couple of hours at least. Quewanak’s den is done, but Kragorram and Povon’s is barely half finished. No need to make Kragorram do a bunch of stone fusing after all of that.”

“I wonder what they’ll do with all the extra stone?” Nemia said as they moved along. “All these that are being used by the rest of us are only a tiny fraction of what they’re taking out of the mountain. There’s a huge pile of it between their dens.”

“Kragorram says he’ll use it to build an astronomical observatory on the top of the highest mountain in Hiliani.” Povon psionicly reported. “He says that such serene contemplations as astronomy shouldn’t be interrupted by distracting weather, even for those of us who’re immune to discomfort from such things. The observatory will be more than large enough for us to teach Karzog of astronomy there, so a great number of you smaller folk will be able to observe there at once, if any are inclined to such things. I’m not, particularly, but I do wish to share in the experience as Kragorram teaches our son about the sky, and what’s up there. Besides, at this point, astronomy is also scouting the enemy, and the battlefield for the coming conflict. And I wish to know that battlefield very well when the time comes.”

“Thank you Povon, that’s good to know.” Yazadril told her with a smile. “And some wise thinking on your part, as well.”

“Thank you. I’m really not assisting with this den-building in any way, except by contributing power, and my thoughts on the design of our home. So I’ve been using my spare attention to follow the activities in the rest of the settlement. And of course I couldn’t help but notice when you thought of us.”

“Ah. What’s little Karzog doing?” Nemia asked.

“He’s watching the excavation. He loves us both, but he really idolizes Kragorram, and takes him as his role model. He watches all that Kragorram does, and imitates what he can. Of course, though he’s fourteen years old, his mind is equivalent to that of a four-year-old human, or perhaps a five-year-old elf. Dragons develop slowly, but then we have more development to do, and more lifespan to do it in. So there’s not really a lot he can do to help right now. But he memorizes everything he sees with fierce concentration. He will be much like his blood-father in size and ability, if not in personality.”

“Who is his blood mother?” Talia asked.