Date: Sun, 8 Aug 2004 22:14:37 -0700 (PDT)
From: Taylin Asterifos <taylin_asterifos@yahoo.com>
Subject: The Lost Land of Ouranos, Chapter 4

The Lost Land of Ouranos-Nisi

	Ok, here is Chapter 4!  I tried to make it more action packed than
the previous chapter, so I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer:

      If you are offended by relationships between teenage boys, or between
a man and a teenage boy, please hit the `back' button on your browser and
trouble yourself no further.

	This story has been copyrighted under the pseudonym Taylin.  A copy
has been placed here for your enjoyment. This story cannot be used to
derive monetary gain, nor placed in archives that require payment for
access, or printed and distributed in any form that requires payment either
directly or indirectly.

	This story is fictional, and is solely a product of my imagination.
Any similarities to real individuals, living or dead are entirely
accidental.

      Please send any comments, suggestions, or constructive criticism to:
taylin_asterifos@yahoo.com.  Any input at all would mean a great deal to
me.

Ok, on with the story:

-----------------

Chapter 4 -- Hard Choices

	Devon was having a hard time breathing.  Why was he always the one
who had to bring bad news to Adrian?  Well, this time Adrian couldn't stake
the blame on him.  Samuel was the one who was responsible for reporting any
possible breaches in the magus barrier, and he had been off interviewing
possible candidates for charge points.  Samuel should have sent someone
else and stayed at the gate like he was supposed to, but he wanted to
personally make sure that only the best magi were charging the barrier.
All well and good, thought Devon, but that left Hans and Alex the only ones
maintaining the barrier spell.  Sometimes Devon didn't know whether or not
Sam was taking his role as gatekeeper seriously or not.  Protocol stated
that at least 2 biosfos magus be at the gate, but Adrian said there would
be hell to pay if Sam, Hans and Alex weren't there at ALL times.  Now here
Devon was, three days later, with news of a possible breach when Sam was
gone.

	Taking a deep breath, Devon lightly tapped on the door to Adrian's
office.  "What is it? I'm busy!" Adrian sounded more irritated than normal
today.

	"Sir, I have urgent news from the barrier, please let me in." Devon
responded in a light tenor.

	"Fine, come in" with a sigh, Devon opened the door and stepped in.
"Well, close the door behind you Devon, have you no courtesy?"  Devon
quickly closed the door.  "Now speak up, what's the problem?"  Adrian was
madly typing something on his computer while addressing Devon.  Sitting up
straight in his chair, fingers moving swiftly across the keyboard, Adrian
continued to type away, not even bothering to give Devon eye contact.
Devon just stood there for a few seconds, wondering at how much authority
and confidence could come out of the figure of a 13 year old boy.  Devon
had to remind himself that he and Adrian were close to the same age, even
though he looked 45 yeas older.  "Well come on Devon, I haven't got all
day, what is it?"  Adrian asked half irritated, half unfeeling.

	"Well, as I said before, there is urgent news from the barrier.
The gate reported a possible breach about three days ago.  Sam was off
interviewing chargers sir, and wasn't there to confirm if the breach was
real.  Hans and Alex swear that nothing could have broken through.  When
Sam got back, he thought it was unlikely as well.  Sam said that he had
just added 5 more charge points, putting a total of 55 magi on the barrier
at all times.  He said that NOTHING could breach the barrier, that no one
could channel fos through it, and if any magus wanted to come through, they
would have to go to the gate."  Devon was still in shock that Sam had
managed to get 55 charge points on the barrier.  With a biosfos directing
the spell, it would take a group of at least a 100 magus to breach the
barrier, and that kind of attack would be noticed by every magus in the
country.  A breach in the barrier just wasn't possible.

	"WHAT? Why wasn't I notified of this before now?  You say three
days ago?  I said I wanted to be notified IMEADEATLY if there were any
possible breaches in the barrier!"  Adrian looked positively furious!  His
small frame shot out from his chair, pushing the keyboard away.  He came
around his desk and grabbed Devon by his gold leach and pulled him down to
eye level.  "Where was the disturbance detected?" Adrian's breath was hot
against Devon's face

	"Somewhere above the Rocky Mountains sir.  They weren't able to
pinpoint it any further.  Sir, it was probably just some foreign magus
taking a test shot at the barrier, or maybe even an Ouranos scout, but
nothing could have went through!  It would take at least 100 magus to
breach the barrier, or 10 biosfos.  Even then sir, they would have shown up
on radar, breaching the barrier would require too much fos to hide."
Adrian let go of Devon's leach and quickly turned and stomped around to his
chair. Before he sat, he looked back at his computer with a long, tired
expression.

	"We would have definitely noticed it if 100 magi linked together,
or even 10 biosfos.  But would we notice just one magus who had enough
power to slip through? A magus who could cover his fos signature?  It would
have to be a magus from Ouranos."  Adrian spoke quietly to himself.
Sitting back into his chair, Adrian typed a couple more things into his
computer, and then looked back at Devon with eyes that could melt steal.
"Tell Samuel to increase the number of charge points to 75 immediately.  I
want it done within the next 5 hours!  We will not let the barrier be
breached again!"

	"75 sir, why?  Do you think one magus could have broken through the
barrier?  Who could have-" At that moment, Devon broke off, thinking the
exact same thoughts as Adrian.

	"Taylin Asterifos magus." They both said as one.

**********

	Chris awoke with a start.  There was someone else in his bedroom.
His eyes popped open, and he sat up in his bed.  Wiping the sleep out of
his eyes, Chris looked down at himself and noticed he was in a white tee
shirt and boxers.  Chris must have fallen asleep on the couch last night
while mom, Timmy, and Timmy's dad were asking Taylin what happened on top
the mountain.  Chris was so exhausted from his first lesson with Taylin,
that he couldn't remember what happened the rest of the night.  Teleporting
was REALLY cool, but he didn't know if he would feel up to it again for a
while.

	The sun shined in his face, making Chris squint as he looked over
to the window.  Taylin was standing next to it, looking out into the bright
morning glow.  The sun shined brightly off Taylin's perfectly white hair,
and made his skin glow warmly.  Taylin was still fully dressed from
yesterday, wearing the same straight white shirt and white slacks.  He
looked so beautiful standing there, like an angel, absorbing the sun's rays
and letting the glow surround him.

	Chris threw back his covers and `popped' out of bed.  Boxers
tenting out, he ran over to Taylin and gave him a big hug from behind.
Taylin turned and lifted him up, and held him tightly in his embrace.  He
turned his head and looked directly at Taylin, his eyes as blue as the
deepest ocean, his nose perfectly shaped, and lips soft.  He closed his
eyes and kissed those lips, at first just gentle, light pecks, then longer
and deeper.  Taylin kissed back, opening his mouth to Chris's tongue,
snaking its way in.  He kissed Taylin long and hard, rubbing his hand up
and down Taylin's soft back and through his beautiful white hair.  They
kissed like that for several long minutes, before Taylin pulled back and
put him down.

	"Oh Chris, you have no idea how happy that made me, and I hope to
share much more than kisses with you in the future, if you will let me."
Taylin was stroking Chris's face with the back of his hand, gently brushing
stray locks out of his eyes.  "But right now Chris, we are in danger.  The
seeker is out and about, and we don't have much time left.  It would be
unwise if we stayed here to face him, I suggest we head south to an
isolated area in the mountains.  Quickly now Chris, go put your clothes
on."  Taylin withdrew his hand from Chris's face, and gave him a swat on
the butt, urging him to hurry.

      Taylin watched with a loving expression as Chris pulled off his white
tee-shirt and took down his boxers.  Taylin's eyes never once left Chris as
he raced over to his dresser, boyhood bouncing along the way.  For some
reason, Chris didn't mind if Taylin saw him naked, even if he was a bit
embarrassed at his state of arousal.  Chris pulled a drawer out and took
out a clean pair of boxers and quickly pulled them on.  Chris threw on a
pair of white socks, and then quickly opened up another drawer and fished
out a pair of loose white shorts.  Putting them on real quick, he slammed
the drawers shut and went over to his closet.  Chris pulled out two shirts,
one white with a picture of Hikaru and a Go board behind him, one of
Chris's favorite anime boys. The other shirt was black, with a picture of a
mecha-robot named Escaflowne.  "Which one should I wear Taylin?" Chris
asked, holding them out so Taylin could get a good look at them.

      Taylin was having a hard time keeping his face serious as he looked
at the shirts Chris held up.  Taylin's smile spread wide across his face as
he pointed to the white shirt.  Chris quickly put the other shirt away and
quickly threw on the white shirt.  "Chris, before we go, we should go
downstairs and say goodbye to your mother, ok?"  Chris nodded, giving
Taylin a slightly uneasy look.

      "We're not going to be gone long, are we?  What should I tell mom?
What's a seeker anyways?  Why would a seeker want me?"  Chris's voice
trailed off as Taylin put a finger to his lips, hushing him into silence.

      "We need to say goodbye to your mother first, then make haste to a
campsite outside of town.  Common, lets go downstairs."  Taylin reached out
his hand, and with a smile, and Chris grabbed it.  Taylin squeezed his hand
reassuringly, and led him out of his bedroom and down the stairs.

      Mom had already made her morning cup of coffee, and was seated at the
kitchen table taking slow sips.  Chris let go of Taylin and ran over to
give mother a hug.  "Mom, Taylin and I are going to go out to a campsite
for a while ok?"  Mother looked over to Taylin, her eyes locking with
his. There was a long uneasy silence in the room before Chris's mother
spoke.

      "Take good care of my boy Taylin, I'm trusting you with his
life. Please don't let anyone hurt him, he means the sun and the moon to
me." Tears appeared on mother's face as she pleaded with Taylin.  Mother
then turned her head back to Chris.  "I love you honey, more than life
itself.  I knew this day would come, but I'm still not ready for it.  I
don't want to loose you Chrissie!"  Mother reached over and hugged Chris
hard.  "You're so small and fragile Chrissie, just a little boy."  Mother
pulled back and cleared out her eyes.  "But you have to go with Taylin
now."  Mother composed herself, and then looked Chris straight in the eye.
"Now you mind your manors now Chris, and do what Taylin tells you.  Be a
good boy!"

      Chris was thunder struck as how strangely mother was acting.  "What's
wrong with you mom, Taylin and I are just going out for a little while.  We
will be back soon, wont we Taylin?"  Chris looked back at Taylin, and
Taylin broke his gaze away from his mother then looked squarely at Chris.

      "I don't know Chris. There are a lot of things to take care of, and
we may not be back for a while."  Taylin then shifted his gaze back to
mother.  "Don't worry Mrs.  Connors; I will take good care of Chris.  I
promise that no harm will come to him, and that I will be there right next
to him every step of the way."  Taylin and mother exchanged long and
meaningful looks.  "Ok Chris, we have to go now, time is growing short and
we have to be away from here, away from where anyone can get hurt."  Taylin
gave mother another reassuring nod, then turned around at walked out into
the living room.  Chris just stood there, having no idea what just happened
between Taylin and his mother.

      "Mom, what's going on?  Why do you look so worried?  I'm scared."
Chris started shaking, and mom got up to give him another comforting hug.

      "Don't worry Chrissie, everything will be ok honey. You have to be
strong, ok?  Be strong for mommy, and follow Taylin's lead."  Mom bent down
and gave Chris a large kiss on the cheek.  "Remember Chris, I love you, and
I will always be right here, waiting for you.  Now go."

      Chris withdrew from his mother's embrace, millions of unanswered
questions floating through his head.  "Ok mom, I love you, ok?  I'll be
back, I promise!"

      "Of course you will honey, I'll see you soon, ok?" Mom tried to
smile, but that sad expression lingered on.

      "Ok mom, see you soon."  Chris yanked his eyes away from his mothers,
and headed out to the living room.

      Chris sat down on the couch and put his shoes on.  Taylin was
standing at the door, waiting for him.  Chris took one last look around.
TV sitting in the middle of the back wall, mom's pictures of various scenic
views, all very beautiful, but one picture struck him as odd when it never
had before.  It was a picture mother had taken of father and Chris on top
of Pike's Peak.  Chris had never noticed it before, but slightly off to the
upper left side of his head, there was a bright glimmer.  Chris had always
thought it was just lens flair, but it was the only white glimmer in the
entire photograph, and the sun wasn't at the right angle.  Chris looked
around the room at a couple other pictures of himself, and they all had
that strange white glimmer above his head.  Did mom know he was special?
What was she hiding from him all these years, what did it all mean?  Taylin
broke him out of his pondering with a soft voice.

      "Chris, we have no time for reminiscence, we have to go, now!  Come
on."  Taylin opened the door and motioned Chris through it.  Chris walked
through the door and Taylin closed it quickly behind him, and led him out
to the front yard.

      "Chris, its time to run like the wind, ok?  We're going to do
something that will be very difficult for you at first.  Remember how I
said it was easiest for you to focus on Asteri?  Now I need you to focus on
gi.  Close your eyes and picture the ground beneath your feet.  Feel your
connection to the earth around you.  Imagine the ground as a living thing,
with a light and life of its own.  Let that light shine in your mind.  You
have to concentrate very hard Chris; I know this seems foreign to you."
Chris had his eyes closed tightly, and was trying to picture the ground
alive around him, but for some reason, the picture just didn't come into
his head as easily as the black space with the glowing light.

      Chris tried to envision the yard around him, and picture the grass of
his front yard.  Chris concentrated hard picturing the ground glowing with
light and life. Suddenly, Chris could feel a small stirring in his chest,
and he opened his eyes.  All around him the ground was glowing a
brown-orange, and it seemed somehow brighter than it had before, when he
caught himself from falling off Soldier Mountain.  "Congratulations Chris,
you did it!  It gets easier every time, and this time I helped you along a
little bit, but not as much as last time.  Soon you will be able to touch
all the fos on your own, without my help."  Taylin gave him a pat on the
shoulder.  "Now its time to run like the wind! Are you ready to follow me?"
Before really checking back for confirmation, Taylin darted off down Cheery
Road.

      Chris ran after him, finding it hard to keep up with him.  Chris
could feel a tiny amount of gifos flowing into him as he ran faster and
faster.  Taylin turned left, and Chris followed, trying to catch up with
him.  Taylin then made a hard right onto a paved trail following highway
67.  Taylin turned so fast, that Chris almost fell trying to keep up with
him.  Taylin ran faster and faster, up and down small hills, and Chris
pushed himself harder, trying to keep up.  He tried to close the gap
between himself and Taylin, but every time he got closer, Taylin would run
just a bit faster.  Chris looked to his side, and he actually noticed that
they were passing cars on the highway, and the speed limit was 60 miles per
hour!  Chris looked down at his legs, and almost fell head over heals at
the speed the ground was moving below him.

      The trail curved away from the road, and Taylin kept running,
occasionally looking back to see if Chris was ok.  Taylin slowed down a
little as the trail made some tight curves through a heavily forested area.
The trail came up to a bridge that crossed over Trout Creek, and he started
following it south into the forest.  For 15 minutes Taylin and Chris ran
down the path, no one in sight since it was early Monday morning.  Soon the
path turned to a dirt trail, and they kept running until they came to a
clearing, and a small series of lakes.  Chris hadn't been this far up the
Trout Creek trail, but they had to be at least 15 miles outside of Woodland
Park now.  As soon as Taylin stopped, Chris fell to his knees beside the
lake, then plopped down hard on his behind and began rubbing his legs.

	"Oww, my legs hurt! Why did we have to run so FAST?" Chris kept
trying to rub out the knots that were beginning to form in his upper legs.
Taylin came over and sat next to him and gently removed his hands.  Taylin
ran his hands down Chris's thighs and down to the tips of his toes.  The
pain seemed to just seep out of his muscles, and it left a tingly numb
sensation behind.

	"I'm sorry Chris, but we had to get away fast.  The seeker was only
a few miles away, and he was coming straight at us.  With any luck, our
quick jog south confused him, and will have him looking around for a bit,
But since you touched gifos, he will be able to trace us.  Don't worry
Chris; I will not let the seeker harm you.  He will definitely be in for a
surprise when he finds me here."  Taylin looked to the north again, and his
eyes glowed a dull blue.  "When the seeker gets here, he will have some
very hard choices to make!"

**********

	For 2 hours this mourning, Keith had meditated, and established a
deep link with gifos, allowing him to feel outwards any strange
interferences, like ones generated by other fos.  After searching long and
hard, he had felt it, the signature left by any who could touch the fos, no
matter which kind.  Keith was too far to tell which type of fos this magus
was, but he was definitely strong.  It didn't matter how strong he was
though, because there was no way that a new magus could have the training
he had, and have seen the things he had seen.  Only a rank 6 magus or above
could stand a chance against him, or a biosfos magus, but there were only 4
of them in the entire country, and 3 were always manning the gate.  Fat
chance of discovering a boisfos magus!  According to Adrian, he was one of
the last ones born in 500 years.  Maybe Keith would be lucky enough to
discover an aerasfos magus.  At this elevation, it was possible.

	"What the HELL?"  Suddenly, the fos signature flared to life and
then shot off to the south at high speed.  Touching gifos!  Keith was sure
the fos he was tracking made contact with gi before speeding off.  So it
was a gifos magus.  He must have discovered how to enhance his running
ability, and took a little stroll down the block.

	"What is it magus?  Can you detect your prey?"  Major Kendrik had
been watching him closely as they had made their way out of the motel and
into the car.  "Can you tell where he is?" He asked, opening the driver
side door to the rental car.

	Keith got into the passenger side and closed the door.  Inside, he
adjusted his leach on his neck and looked over to the Major.  "Yes, he was
just south of here, in that major housing development over there" He said,
pointing over the hill from where they were. "but now he has shot off to
the south, and he is getting further as we speak."

	"Do you think he detected us magus?" The Major asked, concerned.

	"Not possible.  I trained for 10 years, leaning how to detect fos
signatures, no matter what fos the magus was.  A new fos would have no idea
we were here. He wouldn't know until he saw me with his own eyes.  Quickly,
let's follow him.  Get on highway 67."  The eagerness for the hunt shined
in Keith's eyes, as the Major took off down the road.

	"I've got you now, my little magus, as soon as you stop, you will
be exhausted from all your channeling, and you will stand no chance against
me!"

      Sometimes Keith wished he would meet a real challenge on assignment,
instead of all the baby magi he was sent to capture.  He could never get
over his own inner feelings of guilt that what he was doing was just
`wrong'.

      **********

      "Here Chris, take my hand.  Let's go over to that small picnic table
over there."  Chris took Taylin's hand and let himself be led over to a
picnic table with a couple narrow benches.

      "Would you like something to eat real quick? Maybe some bananas and
an orange?"  Taylin sat at the other end of the table with Chris, and then
waved his hand above the table surface, eyes glowing a whitish-orange.
With a bright flash, several bananas and oranges appeared on the table.
Chris looked at them with bug eyes for a little while before finally taking
a banana and peeling it.

      "I don't know if I am ever going to get used to this magic stuff
Taylin, this is all still a bit much for me." Chris said with an
exasperated tone. Taylin reached over and ruffled Chris's hair.

      "I am sure you will get used to it eventually, just try to take as
much in as you can."  Then Taylin's expression became serious, and he sat
up a little straighter.  "Chris, I'm going to need you to be strong for me
again.  We don't have much time until the seeker gets here." Taylin again
turned his head north, seeming to follow a distant movement.

      "What's a seeker Taylin, can you PLEASE tell me?"  Chris was become
awfully worried about this seeker business.

      "A seeker is a magus who works for the government Chris.  Their job
is to find new magus and leash them.  They are hunters that can track their
pray no matter where he goes, and no mater which fos he is linked to.  The
US government has some sort of new technology that can run scans across the
entire country, detecting unregistered fos signatures.  It used to be that
a seeker had to go out all over the country, constantly scouring the
countryside to track down a new fos, but now their job has been made
easier." Taylin took a deep breath.

      "Now, they can find any new fos the first time he ever touches any
fos.  Chris, I was there to mask you the first time you touched the fos,
but when you did it alone in Timmy's basement, it caught me off guard, and
you used much more fos than a normal aerasfos magus would on his first
touching.  After that, I knew it was too late.  I can only mask your fos
when I am directly responsible for your connection to it, and the only time
I did so, was with your plummet from Soldier Mountain, and when you ran up
to see me the first time."

      Chris looked truly baffled.  "You mean you were there when I fell off
Soldier Mountain? You saved me from falling to my death?"

      "I was the one who caused you to fall in the fist place Chris.  Your
were old enough to touch the fos, and since you are asterifos, you wouldn't
be able to touch it the first time without my help, and without a need
strong enough.  There is no stronger need than immediate survival.  If you
hadn't touched the fos that first time on Soldier Mountain, you would not
have been able to touch it yourself in Timmy's basement, or any other time.
That fall was the first spark you needed to light the fire.  Now it's lit,
and you will be able to touch the fos much more easily, with every time you
try.  That's the way it had to be Chris, I'm truly sorry."  Taylin looked
truly distraught at what he had to do on top of Soldier Mountain.  "I would
have never let you die Chris, I was there.  I would have caught you if you
hadn't been able to touch the fos.  I swear on everything I hold dear!"

      Chris looked at Taylin for a few minutes, and seeing the true concern
in his eyes, he knew Taylin wasn't lying.  "It's ok Taylin, I believe you.
Just promise not to throw me off a mountain again, ok?"  Taylin took
Chris's hand and put it close to his heart.

      "I promise Chris, that I will always do my best to keep you safe."
Taylin gently put his hand down and then grabbed an orange.  "All this
business has made me hungry too!"  Taylin peeled the orange then stripped
out several large pieces of pulp and began eating.

      For a while, Chris and Taylin just ate in silence, both looking out
over the lake and into the mountains.  It was such a beautiful day,
everything so full of life.  Chris wondered why he could not see the light
in nature before, being so close to it as he was all the time.  Then Chris
thought about what Taylin had said about seekers.  Why would the US
government want him just because he could see nature's light?

      "Taylin? You said the seeker's job is to leash new magus, what do you
mean by that?"  Before Taylin had the chance to answer, a black sedan with
tinted windows drove up from a nearby dirt road.  Taylin had been looking
out in that direction the whole time, and now he knew that Taylin's eyes
had to have been following that car.

      The car pulled up several dozen feet from the table Chris and Taylin
were sitting at, and Taylin made no move to get up, he just sat there,
patiently waiting.  The two front doors opened, and a tall man in a
camouflage army uniform got out of the driver side.  Out of the other side
stepped out a boy that looked younger than Taylin, 12 year old, if Chris
had to guess.  But when Chris looked into his brownish-orange eyes, he
could tell the boy was not 12.  He was dressed similar to Taylin, but wore
all black instead of all white, and his hair was an orangish-brown.  Both
the tall army man and the boy approached the picnic table slowly.  The
boy's confidence was obvious as he took his time walking over to the table,
with a smile on his face.  The boy had a large golden ring in his hand, and
noticed that he was wearing an identical one around his neck. Chris was
beginning to get scared, and Taylin reached over to take his hand.

      "Well, what do we have here, a nice picnic?  I hope you are enjoying
the beautiful morning, because its going to be one of the last you see you
a long while."  The boy's head shifted over to look at Taylin.  "And who
are you, one of baby magus's little friends?"  His eyes studied both Chris
and Taylin a bit longer, and the smile on his face disappeared.  "What's
with this white hair? I've never seen that one before.  And the both of you
too!  Am I lucky enough to run across two magus at once?!"  The boy's smile
returned again, but began to melt away as he thought about the situation
longer.  "But that cannot be possible, I only sense one magus here, and
that's you!"  The boy pointed at Chris.

      Taylin shifted, blocking the boy's view of Chris.  "You cannot sense
me because I am masking my fos signature.  If I uncovered it, you would be
able to sense me quite well, I assure you, Keith."  The boy Taylin had
called Keith just looked at Taylin very oddly, not quite sure what to say
next.

      "Who are you really?"  Keith asked with a note of fear and a look of
pure anger.

      Taylin's reply literally BOOMED in the air.  "I am known as Taylin
Asterifos Magus, and I am afraid that I cannot allow you to take this boy
with you.  He belongs to me, and I will NOT let you have him.  If you wish
to remain unhurt, I suggest you turn around and leave right now.  If you
do, I will let you go, and will not follow you, and I suggest you do the
same."  Taylin spoke with an aura of authority and power that Chris had
never heard before.  His tone made it absolutely clear that if his command
was not obeyed, there would be SERIOUS consequences.

      For a while, Keith looked seriously shaken, and had to blink several
times before snapping back to reality.  When he did, He shot Taylin a look
so full of anger and hatred that Chris almost shied away in fear.  Death
was in Keith's eyes.

      "Who the HELL do you think you are, telling me I that cannot do my
job?  Do you have any idea who I am? I am Keith gifos magus, 6th rank, and
I won't let you stop me from attaining my prey!"  With that, Keith's eyes
started glowing an intense orangish- brown.

      As soon as Keith's eyes lit up, so did Taylin's.  Taylin's eyes shown
a brilliant blue as they stared at each other for several long minutes.
Finally Keith's eyes dulled out.  "Since I couldn't stem you, you must have
some real power after all, Taylin whatever-fos-you-call-yourself.  Now
let's see what you are truly made of!"  Keith shouted, jumping back.  The
army man took that as a signal and ran for cover behind the black sedan.

      "Today Keith, I will give you a taste of what an asterifos magus can
do, and believe me, you will NOT want another one!"  Taylin slowly sat up
and got out from around the picnic table.  "Chris, get back. Get back
against the side of the lake.  I will not let Keith harm you!"

      Both Taylin and Keith walked out a little bit into a clearing next to
the lakes, a smile on Keith's lips again.  "Oh I'm so going to enjoy this!
I haven't had a true challenge for so long, now I am finally going to get
one!"  Keith threw down the gold leash and drew a deep breath.

      Keith's eyes started glowing again, but this time, they were like
beacons of orange-brown light.  The ground began to shake, and rocks of all
sizes everywhere began to rise up into the air.  They all began to come
toward Keith and then spin slowly around him in wide circles.  At the same
time, Taylin's eyes glowed a bright blue, and the wind began to pick up
around him.  Taylin's hair started flowing out in all directions, and the
wind began to swirl around him faster and faster.

      Keith then pointed his finger out, and sent a hail of rocks speeding
directly at Taylin.  The rocks flew across the short distance, then
`crashed' into the air a bare three feet from where Taylin was standing.
Keith sent even more rocks flying at Taylin from all directions, but every
last one of them ricocheted off the invisible barrier surrounding Taylin.
Keith's smile began to drop off a bit, but was back again just as quickly.

      The ground began to shake again, and from somewhere in the distance,
a HUGE boulder came flying directly at Taylin.  Taylin didn't even flinch.
His eyes just glowed a little bit brighter, and his feet lifted off the
ground.  As the house sized boulder came hurling through the air at him,
Taylin rose into the air and begin murmuring something to himself, never
once letting his concentration slip.  When the boulder was only a few dozen
feet away from him, Taylin cut his hand through the air so fast that it
didn't even register with Chris's vision.  The boulder was sliced neatly in
two, and each half went flying directly to either side of Taylin.  The
boulders crashed in the distance, knocking over several trees with their
rough landing.

      Rocks still spinning around Keith, Chris could tell he was beginning
to get very angry.  Keith sent a shock wave rolling through the earth,
cracking the ground below Taylin, but it had no effect, since Taylin was at
least 20 feet in the air.  "Aerasfos, GODDAMMIT, how am I supposed to fight
an aerasfos!"

      "You don't. And besides, I am not aerasfos, I am asterifos.  Now it
is my turn!"  Taylin closed his eyes, still hovering there, wind whipping
through his white hair.  Keith gathered up more rocks and sent them
spinning around himself protectively, preparing for anything Taylin might
send after him.

      The wind picked up again, but this time there was much more, and high
above in the sky, clouds began to gather.  All around the mourning sky,
from horizon to horizon, the sky clouded, and got darker and darker.  Soon,
all the surrounding area was darkened with storm clouds.  The wind was
blowing hard in all directions, and the trees were beginning to sway in all
sorts of directions. Taylin opened his eyes, swirling shades of dark and
light blue, and lighting crashed in the distance, causing a tree to split
right down the middle.

      Chris sat there in his little corner of the lake and felt very very
small.  Taylin was up there, floating, and he looked like a mad god that
was about ready to punish the children of earth.  Taylin raised his hand,
and lightning came down and crashed down directly in front of Keith,
cutting through one of his spinning rocks, and hitting the ground, sending
thousands more flying. Taylin raised both hands into the air and called out
to the raging sky.  Lighting came down in two's, in three's, ripping
through Keith's stony defense.  Before the last few rocks were gone, Taylin
waved his hands and the lightning stopped.

      Taylin closed his eyes again and the wind stopped.  It took time for
the wind to settle across the land, and for the clouds to disperse.  Taylin
just floated there as the wind died down, and the first rays of light
filtered through the breaking clouds.  In those few short minutes, Keith
desperately tried to rebuild his defense, pulling stones from deep under
ground.

      The moment the sun hit Taylin's face, his eyes opened again, this
time glowing a bright white.  Taylin stretched his arm out into the sun's
light, and a hail of starry light like nothing Chris could ever imagine
came at Keith.  Light from the sun seemed to crystallize from high above,
and there was no doubt that Taylin's will was directing them toward Keith's
barrier. Hundreds of missiles of light bombarded all the rocks flying
around Keith, and turned every last one of them to dust.  Keith kept on
digging up more rocks for his defenses, but the glow in his eyes was
beginning to dim, and every last one was turned to dust mere moments after
leaving the ground.  Soon the glow in Keith's eyes began to fade, and then
dimmed completely, and he dropped to his knees and doubled over onto the
ground.

      Taylin held up his hand again, and the missiles of light stopped
coming abruptly.  Taylin's white hot glowing eyes returned to a dull light
blue as he stayed there in the air, hovering.  Waiting.

      Keith was on his hands and knees, sweat pouring off his brow, hair
matted against his scalp, breathing so hard that he was practically
convulsing.  Keith stayed there like that for many long minutes, trying to
put his breathing back in order.  Chris looked over to Taylin, and noticed
that he had lowered himself and was now only floating a few feet in the
air, still waiting for Keith to get to his feet.  Chris also looked over to
where the army guy had gone to hide, and noticed that he was still crouched
behind the car, clutching a small box very firmly.  The look on his face
was one of sheer terror.

      Keith slowly rose to his feet and raised his head to look at Taylin.
"Who... What, are you?  I have never seen power of that magnitude.  I--I--
There is no way I could triumph over you.  I... have failed in my duty, if
you have any honor, kill me here and now. I submit to your will."  Keith
fell to his knees again and lowered his head and waited for whatever
sentence Taylin would deal him.

      Slowly, Taylin landed, but the dull light blue glow never left his
eyes.  Taylin walked over to Keith and gently placed a hand on his
shoulder.  Then Taylin spoke with a voice that was compassionate, yet
commanding at the same time.  "Keith, I realize that you were only doing
your duty, and that is why I did not harm you.  You, like what you were
about to do to Chris, were taken against your will when you were very
young, and used for a purpose that is both physically and morally wrong.
You were trained by people who believed that magus should be contained, and
ruled my mankind."  Taylin looked down at Keith.  At some point, Keith
broke down, and was now crying.

      Keith started speaking through a shaky voice.  "I was only doing my
duty, as I was trained.  Magus have to be leashed, we are a threat to
mankind, and need to be controlled.  If we were allowed to walk free, we
would rain death and destruction upon the earth until its face was wiped
clean of all life.  We MUST be contained, for the good of mankind, for the
good of the children of Giea."  Keith spoke with an empty heart, and with a
tone of complete and utter loss.

      "Do you truly believe that? Do you truly think magus will destroy the
world around them?  If anything, we the children of Ouranos, have a greater
connection to mother Earth, to Giea, than mankind itself.  Look at what
they do with their technology and their weapons of "Peace"!  Mankind has
constantly been at was for thousands and thousands of years, and the advent
of technology has only made it worse, not better.  The group of people
controlling you believes that mankind's advances in technology are the
beginnings of mankind's maturity.  That may be so to some extent, but I
have been watching mankind's progress for a very long time, and they are
not yet ready." Taylin motioned for Chris to come over and join them.
Chris got up from where he was stilling by the lake and ran over to join
Taylin.  Taylin took Chris's hand in his, and then used his other hand to
rise up Keith's chin.

      "Keith, you are magus, and I don't think you know what that truly
means.  For years untold, we have been watching over mankind, watching them
living their short lives, fighting over things that seem important one day
and trivial the next.  As a magus, it is our job to watch over mankind, and
guide them when and where it is necessary.  There have been some humans
throughout history who have truly understood what needed to be done for
mankind to achieve peace, but they were few and far between.  A magus has
the advantage of time, and we can see the mistakes humans make, because it
happens time and time again."

      "You are young Keith, barely into your 5th decade of life; it's not
too late for you to see.  Keith, I can free you from your bondage, your
containment to mankind.  You can join me in a land that is free of tyranny
and deceit, and you can help us."

      Taylin's tone then turned to one purely of command.  "Keith, you have
two choices before you.  You can either go back to your life in captivity,
as a puppet magus to be controlled by the strings of the US military, or
you can come with me and Chris and learn what it truly means to be magus.
You will be free, and hopefully you will see, that mankind is not yet ready
for a burden that small group of biosfos have placed on it.  The decision
is yours."

      Keith's head dropped back down again, and tears began to flow
again. Keith tried very hard to stop them this time, but they came out
against his will.  "You have no idea how many times I wanted this acurrsed
leash off my neck, but had to believe that it was for the good of mankind.
What you are saying... Your words are like a sweet melody to my ears, but is
it deception?  For 10 years I was conditioned, so that I could not be
fooled by the words you are saying now." Then Keith looked into Taylin's
eyes.  "But I can see in you're eyes a ray of hope so bright that I want
nothing more to bask in it for all eternity." Keith looked down at the
ground again.  "But I am unworthy; I have done too many shameful acts for
the `good' of mankind.  I am unworthy of man.  I am like a maggot that
should be burned up by your bright radiance.  I am nothing better than a
worm!"

      Taylin reached out his hand to Keith's face and washed away his
tears.  "Keith, you are magus, and you are just as deserving of life as any
man walking this Earth.  I sense the good in you Keith.  Do you wish to be
free?"  Keith just stood there, head cast down in indecision.

      Chris wasn't sure when the army man had gotten up from behind his
hiding place, but now he was walking quickly toward them.  "You cannot take
the seeker; he is ours to do with as we please.  Keith is the property of
the United States military, and is to be kept strictly under guard at all
times.  I cannot allow you to take him."

      Taylin ignored the man and kept his focus entirely on Keith.  Keith
looked up to Taylin then, with a look that hadn't been on his face for at
least 35 years.  "I want to be free, I want to know what's it's like to be
a real magus! I WANT TO LIVE MY OWN LIFE!"  At that, Taylin reached out and
grabbed Keith's leash, eyes glowing white hot.  The leash around Keith's
neck disintegrated into nothing.

      When the leash around Keith's neck was gone, he reached up to feel
it, and had a look of pure relief when he felt nothing.  "It's GONE! IT'S
GONE! I'm free, I'm FREE!!!"  Keith jumped up and started dancing around
letting all the pent up emotion flow out.  Keith's Eyes lit up, and he
jumped even higher, at least 10 feet in the air, and started doing back
flips around the front of the lakes.  Eventually Keith stopped and caught
his breath.  That's when he noticed the army man standing there, with a
look of horror that would make someone running a haunted house proud.

      "YOU! You can't control me anymore! You can't turn me off at will!  I
could kill you with a thought!" Keith's eyes lit up again, and several
rocks went flying right at him like speeding bullets.

      They didn't make it to their target however; each one was again blown
apart by Taylin's light missiles.  "NO Keith, death and revenge is NOT the
answer! If you come with me, you will learn that we are mankind's
protectors, NOT executioners!"

      The army man backed up then turned to run full out for the black
sedan.  Keith made a move to give chase, but then Taylin's eyes lit up
again, this time with a feint orange glow.  Keith stopped in his tracks,
unable to move a muscle, while he watched the car peel out of the camp site
and out onto the dirt road.  When the car was far out of sight, the glow in
Taylin's eyes died out, and Keith broke out of his hold.  He caught himself
from tripping, and just stood there, watching the dust settle from the
car's passing.

      Keith turned back to look at Taylin and Chris just standing there,
hand in hand, and let out a long, deep sigh.  "Well, what now?  My life
here is over.  It just drove away with that car."  Taylin then motioned
Keith over to the picnic table, which was lying on its side, blown over and
wrecked from the stones Keith had thrown and the wind Taylin had created.

      Taylin walked over to the picnic table with Chris in hand, and then
waved a hand at it.  The table quickly pieced itself back together and
righted itself.  Both Keith and Chris stared long and hard at that table,
but it was Keith who spoke up.

      "NO magus can fix a table like that; it was composed of wood AND
metal!  Maybe only a very powerful biosfos.  What are you, truly?  You
don't have orange hair like any biosfos I have ever seen, your hair is
white! Who in the blazes are you?"  Keith was staring at Taylin again, now
in even more awe.

      Taylin went around and sat at the picnic table, and Chris went and
sat with him, saying close to Taylin.  Keith hesitantly sat with them on
the other side.  "As I stated before, I am asterifos, I can channel asteri,
the light of the universe.  I have the power of 10 average biosfos, or
maybe 5 powerful ones.  You have seen me channel asteri against you, but
you have only seen a fraction of its true power.  I am Taylin asterifos
magus, head of the counsel of Ouranos-Nisi.  That is who and what I am."

      Taylin's expression lightened.  The sun was already nearing high
noon, and Chris's stomach rumbled.  "Well, with all of the channeling we
have done, I have worked up quite an appetite.  What do you guys say to
some honey cooked ham, mashed potatoes and gravy?  It should be something
you are both familiar with, right?" Chris nodded his head eagerly, but
Keith looked skeptical.  "Would you like something else then?" Keith shook
his head.  "Ok then, its settled."  Taylin's eyes started glowing
white-orange as he waved his hand over the table, first flashing nice china
plates and silverware into existence, then waved his hand again creating
nice cuts of ham and several scoops of mashed potatoes and gravy appear on
each plate. Taylin then waved three glasses into existence and filled them
with water.  Lastly, Taylin waved bowls and salads with all the trimmings
into existence.  "If you don't like it please let me know, but at the same
time, I'm not a short order chef, I can only fabricate what I have eaten
before.  Well, Dig in!"

      Chris only hesitated for just a little bit before hungrily devouring
the food Taylin fabricated.  Keith, on the other hand was still looking at
the food in wonderment, and slight apprehension.  "How did you do that? No
magus can make food appear out of nowhere!"

      Without missing a bite, Taylin quickly explained.  "I combine the
light of creation, the asteri, with the light of life, the bios, and viola,
organic substance!"

      "What about the plates and the silverware?" Keith thought he had
Taylin on that one.

      "For the plates, I used gi and asteri.  I can combine asteri with
almost anything and create almost any substance there is, almost.  I can't
create too much of it though!"  Taylin just kept eating, completely
unaffected by Keith's line of questioning.

      Keith then decided to try a bite, and after the first, he realized
how truly hungry he was, and ate with great gusto.  Chris finished with a
loud burp*.  "Excuse me!" And Taylin let out another burp*, and the both
broke out into fits of laughter.  It wasn't long before Keith was laughing
with them, truly beginning to enjoy their company.

      Suddenly Keith looked at Chris as if remembering something.  "Chris,
I'm sorry I came for you.  Even if I would have caught you, I wouldn't have
hurt you.  With every magus I catch, I feel like a little bit more life has
been drained out of my soul.  I'm glad I don't have to do it any more!" It
was then Keith noticed Chris's white hair, and realization dawned on
Keith's face.  "Wait a second, your hair is the same color as Taylin's!
Does that mean you're... does that mean you are asterifos magus too?"  Chris
looked at Keith, now totally lost for words.  All he could do was nod.  "Oh
my GOD!  That's insane!  Another magus with the power of 10 biosfos?  If I
had caught you, Adrian would have..." Keith's voice trailed off. He didn't
even want to THINK about Adrian, or what he would do with someone like
Chris.  "That's why you're here, isn't it Taylin, for Chris, and to make
sure he doesn't end up in the wrong hands."  Taylin only nodded.

      "Yes, I broke through Adrian's magus barrier three days ago in search
of Chris, and since I knew exactly what I was looking for, it didn't take
me long to find him.  When I found him, I helped him to touch the fos for
the first time, but I have the ability to mask his fos signature.  Chris
then channeled unaided the next day, and that was probably what tipped the
Military off.  Unless I am linked to a magus, and am directly responsible
for his contact with the fos, I can only mask my own signature." Taylin was
gently stroking Chris's back as he explained all of this, never once
seeming irritated.

      "The DFDS can sense you!  It sensed your first channeling three days
ago, and it probably just sensed our magical display not too long ago.
When Major Kendrik gets back, he is going to immediately report to captain
Southerland, and Southerland will report to Colonel Davidson, and Adrian
knows everything the Colonel knows.  If we stay here, they will find us.
It won't matter how powerful you are Taylin, Adrian will come after you
himself, with 200 magus behind him!"  Keith was almost in a state of panic
making these realizations himself as he was saying them.

      Taylin did look concerned now.  "Then we have less time than I
originally thought.  If Adrian can tell it was me channeling here three
days ago, then he is probably organizing a stemming team as we speak!
Adrian knows how powerful I am, so he probably knows how many magus it will
take to stem me." Taylin sat up and waved all the dirty dishes out of
existence, then quickly brushed himself off and walked back out to the
clearing.

      "Quickly now, we don't have much time!  We have to get to the gate at
Mt.  Whitney in California with all haste.  Hopefully Adrian hasn't
realized my true purpose here yet and wont expect us to leave so soon."
Taylin motioned for both Chris and Keith to join hands with him.  "I can
teleport us to the gate, but I cannot teleport us through the barrier,
Adrian has been very busy down here.  It staggers me how quickly he is
progressing.  We need to get to Ouranos-Nisi quickly!  We need to get you
both out of Harm's way!"

      After Taylin, Chris, and Keith joined hands, Taylin's eyes lit up and
in a bright flash of light, they were gone, as if they had never been
there.

-------------------

      Well, what did you think of the little light show I put on for you?
I hope you enjoyed this chapter; I had a lot of plot related decisions to
ponder on before I could write this!  I hope that I didn't get too many of
you confused in the tangled web I am trying to weave!

      Please let me know what you thought at Taylin_asterifos@yahoo.com

I promise that I respond to ALL emails, so please tell me what you think,
it would mean a great deal to me!

Thank you, Taylin