Vesta and I became close friends over the next few days. I went to the funeral of Vesta's fallen friend whose name I learned was Vasuman. Apparently, the five fallen had become absorbed in the mortal Hindu religion and changed their names. They had bathed in the Ganges, even though it was filthy and polluted, and they worshipped the Vedic Gods and Goddesses. I had been to my parents traditional funeral for hecapsycheires, but I had never been to a funeral with Hindu customs. There were no bodies to cremate so the families had had exact replicas of each hecapsycheir to be used for the ceremony. Before we got there, someone had already cleaned, dressed, and adorned the statues of Vasuman (fire), Bhudev (earth), Kanak (metal), Jafar (water), and Rohan (wood). Prior to the cremation of the sculptures, there were many prayers to Yama, who was the first mortal to meet Death according to the Hindu religion.
There was a ritual that followed that lasted for eleven days, but Vesta, her friends, my brothers, and I couldn't stay for it.
A few days after the funeral, I fell asleep on the couch in Vesta's living room and had a dream. You know hecapsycheires dream about things that really happen, but some aren't as important or memorable as others. This one wasn't just memorable, it scared me. I know you're probably thinking, nightmare, it didn't really happen, but everything we dream happens. Some where in the universe at about the same time as we dream it.
I appeared to be in a computer room. There were screens in front of my face wherever I turned. Under the screens was a large control panel that circled the room. There were chairs all around the room, but all of them were empty except for one. There was a man sitting in it. He had on a black, cotton, long-sleeved shirt, black, cotton, long pants, black socks and shoes, and a black cloak over all of that. If the lights had suddenly gone out, he would have been invisible. His appearance wasn't very scary, but I could sense the presence of pure evil which I had only sensed once before. It seemed like only yesterday I had stood with a crowd of hecapsycheires as Irvin stood up to him -- to Vadrak. Vadrak had said he would, "leave with no further destruction." What was he doing here in this computer room?
Vadrak flipped a couple of switches and five figures appeared on the largest screen. I gasped in horror as I saw that the five figures were the new Elders. I knew Vadrak couldn't hear me, but I clapped my hand over my mouth anyway. Vadrak picked up a microphone and began to talk into it.
"How can you live like this? The name 'hecapsycheir' came from a mortal for crying out loud! Build one Master. If you build one Master of all of the Elements, then the Master will be in your debt. You will have more power than ever before. Think of the possibilities. You could have money, power, fame, anything you have ever dreamed of. Create the Master. Channel your power into him and let him rule this world.
"In fact, you could build an entirely new dimension. You use the English alphabet to name your dimensions so create a new character. One that could name a new dimension. Only the five of you together have the power to create a new dimension. You could move all of your kind to the new dimension, and you could be in charge. Let the Master you build help you create the new dimension and leave this dimension to the Master as a gift."
Vadrak stopped talking and put down the microphone. On the screen, I saw the Elders nodding their heads. It looked as if Vadrak had put the idea into their minds, and the Elders were liking it.
There was a knock on the wall behind me. Vadrak turned around and his eyes seemed to bore through me.
"Come in," he said coldly.
I turned around to find a Heinous Knight had walked through the door. It was the Heinous Knight that attacked Jessica and me back in the clearing so long ago.
"My lord, our sources tell us that the sons of Sergius are still alive and well," he said.
"I know they are," Vadrak spat. "Anything I don't already know, or will the Mighty Thor become the Mighty Bore?"
"Perhaps, my lord. The sons of Sergius have joined forces with five female hecapsycheires."
"What!" Vadrak shouted as he jumped up from his seat. "Which hecapsycheires? Give me everything you know about the subject."
"The names of the female hecapsycheires are Vesta, Gina, Aurelia, Izumi, and Tamara. Each controls a different element. Why do you care, my lord?"
"I care because they are more powerful than I thought possible. I tried to kill them before, but no, they decided to take a tour around the world, and then the former Elders decided to get rid of my Heinous Knights," Vadrak shouted.
"Forgive me, my lord, but when did you learn of their powers?"
"I learned over time. I admit that I was slow, but they are stronger than other hecapsycheires. Their father Sergius was powerful, and now, they have been handed that power. Times five, considering the fact that there are five brothers. Find me the female hecapsycheires. I need to know what we're up against."
Vadrak cursed and dismissed the Heinous Knight.
I woke up and came face to face with Vesta.
"Are you all right?" she asked. "You were muttering in your sleep."
"Listen, Vesta, can you do me a favor?" I asked.
"Of course, what is it?"
"I need you to get all of my brothers and your friends together, we need to talk."
"Okay," she said, and ran off to find her friends and my brothers.
A few minutes later, they all joined me in the living room. I told them about every single detail that I had seen and heard in my dream. When I was done, Irvin leaned forward and asked, "Do you know if Vadrak transmitted his words directly into the minds of the Elders?"
"I'm pretty sure he did, but I don't think that the Elders knew it was Vadrak speaking. They liked the idea even though Vadrak's words weren't very persuasive," I told him.
"So this 'one master' that Vadrak was talking about, was it supposed to be created through a hecapsycheir or would it be some sort of automaton?" Vesta asked.
"I have no idea, although he did say 'build' which points toward the automaton theory," I replied.
"What would happen if the Elders did build this new master?" Izumi asked.
"I don't think that Vadrak was lying, I think he really thought that this new master could build a new dimension, and put the Elders in charge," I said. "I think that he wants control of this dimension for some reason, and he wants to kick all of us hecapsycheires out of this dimension."
"But it's dangerous to travel between dimensions. Does he expect the Elders to have us all line up and jump through a portal?" Gina asked.
"I have no idea. Do you guys have any idea what's happening?" I asked.
"I don't," Timur and Hearst said.
"Neither do I," Demetrio said.
"I have a theory," Irvin said.
"Let's hear it then,' Izumi said.
"I think that Vadrak wants to be the leader of this dimension. I don't know why, but he wants it," Irvin started.
"If he wants to be the leader, then why would he try and kick us out?" Tamara asked.
"Maybe he just wants to be the leader of humans," Irvin said. "I think he wants to kick us off the dimension, but since he can't do it, he wants the Elders to do it. Neither he nor the Elders have the power, but if they combine their powers, they could create a master who was as powerful as the six combined. Once they recovered from creating the master, they would combine their powers again. Then it could be seven people, but one would have the power of six, so it would be like twelve people. Their power together could create a new dimension, and they could throw us all in it.
"After that, the Elders could rule us however they want. They could create Dystopia, or they could create Utopia. Either one, but I don't think they'd create something in the middle. Then Vadrak could have this dimension to himself."
"Maybe he's trying to control all 26 dimensions. He might have conquered Dimension Z. Did you pick that up when you saw part of his past life?" Timur suggested.
"I didn't, but I think that's possible, It would take an awful lot of work. I don't think he would have enough power to create many more portals, travel through them, and take over the dimension he travelled to. I think my theory about wanting to control this dimension fits better," Irvin countered.
"But what would he do with the Master that he and the Elders created?" Hearst asked.
"I don't know . . . . Wait a minute. Aden, didn't you say that Vadrak said 'Let the Master you build help you create the new dimension and leave this dimension to the Master as a gift'?" Irvin asked me.
"Yes, he did," I replied.
"Perhaps he wants to be an acolyte to that Master. I mean, there would be no way that Vadrak could defeat the Master because it would contain most of his power and the power of five other powerful hecapsycheires. If he were an acolyte or even an advisor, for that matter, he could almost control this dimension as we know it. The final decisions would be the Master's but the Master would be in Vadrak's debt since Vadrak was the one who actually created him. I don't know, it's just a theory at most," Irvin said.
"They said we were more powerful that he thought, do you know what he meant?" Demetrio asked.
"I don't know. He said he knew over time and that the power came from our father," I said.
"Aden, he only just found out that we had become friends, right?" Vesta asked.
"Yes, I think so, why?" I asked.
"And he said that he wanted everything on the subject. So, what if the ten of us together are even more powerful? Maybe we are the real threat to this "Master" that he wants to create," Vesta suggested. "I mean, isn't that possible?"
"I think it's possible," Tamara said optimistically.
"But wouldn't we know if we had special powers?" Aurelia asked.
"According to Aden's dream, Vadrak thinks that we have special powers or we're some sort of threat to his plans, but we didn't know we have powers, well, I didn't at any rate," Timur said.
"I didn't either, but Vadrak clearly found us a threat," I said.
"Irvin, do you know if there's a way to choose one's dream. Some sort of spell?" Hearst asked.
"What do you mean?" Irvin asked.
"If we could control our dreams, or make sure that we spy on the enemy through our dreams; then we could keep tabs on his plans and prepare for surprise attacks," Hearst replied.
"I don't know. I could do a little research," Irvin said.
The hecapsycheires don't have the internet, but there are many books on spells, ways to control the elements, and many other topics.
"Irvin, don't bother," I told him. "Doing research may or may not help. But if you go out to do research, then Vadrak and his knights could find you and track you."
"Couldn't they find us here anyway?" Tamara asked.
"I don't think they've found us yet," I told her. "There are protective spells that could be used to help us stay hidden for a longer period of time, but I don't think that we can evade them forever."
"Why don't we set up the protective spells, and in the meantime, work to find out what these special powers are," Vesta said. "We may not have the special powers, but you five obviously do."
"I like the idea. Do we all agree?" Irvin asked.
We all nodded in assent. We decided that it would be best if we placed the protective spells around the house right away. My brothers and I each knew a different spell, but most of them took more than one person. Vesta and her friends did what they could to help, but none of them knew any spells. I wasn't sure why they didn't until I found out their age. They were all born in 1960.
After 1930, schools were no longer required to teach students about protective spells. I told you before we studied how to bend the elements to our will and what is in the other dimensions. Think of a protective spells class as a required elective. Kind of like gym, or perhaps your school makes you take an art class. That was how my brothers and I knew about the spells.
The spell that I knew was an invisibility spell. There needed to be a protective circle drawn with the powers of five hecapsycheires, all of which had to have different elements that they controlled. After we drew the circle, I performed the spell. Anyone on the outside of the circle would not be able to see the house, instead they would see straight through it.
That spell didn't help sound or smell. That's where Timur and Hearst came in. Timur knew how to prevent anyone outside the circle from hearing activity inside it, and Hearst knew how to prevent anyone outside from smelling anything that was inside the circle. Demetrio knew a spell for expanding the invisibility on the earth, so if any of us left the protective circle and left footprints, nobody would be able to see the footprints except for us.
Irvin's was probably the most useful. He knew a spell that would make a person, hecapsycheir, animal, or any other living thing (including bacteria), turn away once it reached another protective circle that would have a greater area than the first. If a human or hecapsycheir reached the second circle, they would forget where they were going and turn in a different direction so that they wouldn't come near the inner protective circle.
If you imagine a ring with a large house in the very center, then you'll have the right idea of what the land looked like to us when we were done. To anyone else, it would probably look like a clearing, or they'd just see straight through it.
Once we had performed the spells, we all went inside for some rest. My brothers and I had our house back in California, but the house here in Seattle was big enough for the ten of us to stay comfortably, so we all stayed, especially since the protective spells had been set up.
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