To Be Grand Maestro (Book 5) (39 page)

“It will be as you say, Maestro,” Carlos replied, waited for the Teki escorts to come near, and then cast the spell.

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Shortly after dawn the next day Daniel decided the task of creating the first manta ray took him longer to accomplish than the first Wager-class patrol boat, even though the surface vessel was much larger. While being smaller than the earlier project, the ray-shaped vehicle was far more complicated, especially the skin. The outer layer had to be durable and flexible, which had been the easy part. It was the thousands of fibers acting as muscles that had required so much of his concentration.

The only boat in its slip at the Benhannon Naval Facility was the RiverDancer. His parents stood beside him, along with every department head and a sizable number of Accomplisheds from Defense, Communications, and Research. His regular entourage was also on hand, Silvia, David, Carlos, along with Sero, and they all applauded Daniel’s creation on the dock in front of the bungalow.

Wait till the hatch opens
, he thought,
that should really get them excited.
“Dad, since you were kind enough to provide me with a bucket of the sap mixture from which I was able to increase, modify, and create the skin, you will be one of the first to ride on Manta One.” The people of Tannakonna did not want the secret of the saps known to flatlanders so he decided it did no harm to humor them by saying, “mixture.”

His father smiled. “Accomplished Obennen provided me with transportation to and from Tannakonna. Even so, I accept the invitation to be among the first.”

“Marsha, you will have your place on the next voyage. Samuel, I see you managed to make it here in time to witness the creation of the first manta. And Simon, I am glad you were able find time to join us,” Daniel told them.

Simon’s lips twitched, briefly forming a half smile, but he stayed silent, evidently choosing not to comment.

Marsha glanced at Miriam. “I will be happy to join your mother on the next trip.”

His mother nodded her head, meaning she was satisfied with the arrangement. “Your father and I showed each of the stubborn lords the armadas off their coasts. They are now convinced of the danger to the realm and will be sending official apologies to the Queen.”

“It is about time,” Daniel replied. “Cleona needs every lord in the realm to cooperate in the defense. Thanks for helping.”

“We were glad to be of use,” both of his parents replied.

Samuel fixed his gaze on Daniel. “I was able to be here because Darrel arrived in Lanta and found Deputy Cloven awake, fully informed, and ready to go. It seems someone with a certain amount of influence came to him at his friend’s house last night and filled him in on the plan.”

Daniel nodded his head and glanced at Silvia before replying, “You’re welcome for the assist. I showed up and spoke to him but Zackery’s cooperation could just be a result of the swirling of events.”

The Teki Seer spoke up. “True, but I think the Deputy’s enthusiasm was more due to the merits of the plan. The man is motivated by devotion to his country and the welfare of its people.”

Daniel agreed with her assessment and also felt enough had been said on that particular subject. “Joel, Sherree, and Leah will also be joining me on the first voyage. I never would have thought to create this vessel if he had not proposed the idea and of course, it is appropriate for the First Lady and First Accomplished to be included.”

He levitated the manta onto the surface of the lake, sideways into the slip belonging to the Wager, and then everyone selected to be on the first voyage followed him out onto the dock. The spell, Reveal, played in his head, and he focused on the ray. The outline of a hatch, one of the little details he had worked out, contoured to the shape of the body, appeared above the crew compartment and then opened. He stepped off the dock onto the back end of the ray and then down the ladder.

“Six and three quarter cubits in height in the center make this space seem cozy,” his father commented after entering the vehicle. “Especially where the manta contours lower in the front and rear.”

“Yes, Manta One is twenty-one paces, front to back, sixty-three paces wide, and seven from top to bottom, but the crew compartment is seven by six and three quarters by fourteen in length,” Daniel informed while making his way to the front right seat. “Joel, you sit up here to my left. Sherree, Leah, Dad, sit wherever you like.”

His father took the seat to the rear facing the tail while Sherree and the First Accomplished took the pair directly behind Daniel, facing forward. He strapped himself in and put on the wristband. It was connected by a durable string-like fiber to the rest of the ship and had three gems on the inside next to his skin. Each amulet contained a specific spell. The ruby provided the shield on the outer skin of the craft, the sapphire contained the spell, Freshen Air, and a turquoise had locked within it the spell he titled, Osprey Vision.

The moment those gems touched his Daniel’s skin; spell-formed windows appeared, giving a panoramic view of the surroundings. “Wow,” Joel said. “I see the sky through the top of this compartment and everything around the surface of the lake through the side windows.”

“Turn around and look at the floor. You can see fish swimming in the water beneath us,” Sherree told him.

“Why did you place a spell-formed window above the observation window?” his father asked.

“And what is the use of the table top attached to the right side of our chairs? I can see they swing up and fold down over our laps.” Leah inquired.

Daniel glimpsed at the compass in the console and then focused on the three gems, topaz, turquoise, and a diamond that he had set in a row down the right side of the control grip. “I added the spell-formed window so the pilot can see even when there is no light. Now, everyone strap in and put on your wristbands. When the amulet embedded in the leather touches your skin, the function of the tables will become self-evident.”

“What do these grips do?” Joel asked while putting on his wristband.

“They control the two forward crescendos. Dad, the one in front of you controls the tail, but only an Aakacarn can operate it,” Daniel answered.

“I will keep that in mind,” Ronn replied. “Oh, I see, an eye-shaped view of the outside has just appeared on my desk.”

It appeared on all of the desks as each individual put on the wristband. A viewer slightly less than a cubit wide had formed on the console in front of Joel. “This even provides depth perception,” he observed, correctly.

“The view adjusts to any direction I will, just like an eye, I can see in any direction and focus incredibly far,” Sherree was the first to make that observation.

“The spell in the amulet is titled, Osprey Vision, and since I have a rather large number of the birds in my swirl, their vision, particularly for spotting fish in the water, is quite familiar to me. They were the inspiration for the visuals and since the spell emanates from the outer skin of the vessel, you can focus the sight in any direction, close up, or far away.” Daniel explained.

He focused the spell, Conceal, at the hatch, and the opening closed, seamlessly melding into the body of the craft. “The amulets in my wristband maintain the shield on the outer skin of the vessel, and provide fresh air, along with the panoramic view. While the shield is activated this vessel is impregnable. Not even I could open the hatch or convey into this manta. We can convey out, but not back in.”

Now that the instructional message was out of the way, he closed his right hand around the grip. An eye-shaped viewer formed on the dash above the compass and under it appeared the number, zero, glowing green. He moved the control crescendos forward and to the right, causing the manta to dive beneath the lake and swim out from under the dock. A pair of otters, Wally and Katy, swam into view of the observation window. Since Franklin had drawn mud and rock for the new slips directly from the bottom of the lake, the water here was deep enough for the vessel to maneuver without difficulty.

Even though this was his first time piloting the manta, Daniel’s familiarity with every fiber of the craft made him able to work the vehicle like an appendage of his own body. The muddy banks of the lake were highly visible and so was the entrance to the canal. With gentle movements of his hand, he navigated into the narrow waterway.

“You haven’t touched the CAPU,” Joel noted when he finally brought his attention away from the many views being offered to him from every direction. “This thing is swimming like a real manta ray.”

Daniel nodded his head. “Anyone who wants to pilot this craft or any of the other ones modeled after it should first learn how to make it swim before adding the speed of a CAPU.”

He manipulated the grip and the manta angled up forty degrees, came to a stop, and began swimming backwards. The eye-shaped viewer, responding to his thoughts, focused to the rear, allowing him to see what was behind the craft. “Unlike a Wager class patrol boat, there is no CAPU mounted in the front to make the craft go in reverse, and yet, as you see, a manta can swim in any direction the pilot chooses.”

He made his point and resumed navigating the curvy canal. They entered the Mighty Hirus and even though the current was strong, the spell, Continuity, had no difficult maintaining a steady course against the flow. Fish, otters, frogs, snakes, and other creatures of the river paid little attention to the huge black beast swimming leisurely by them. Daniel’s thumb came to rest on the emerald, powering the CAPU, and the number created by the spell, Velocity, locked into the diamond, began increasing.

“Son, let’s see how fast this vehicle can go,” his father encouraged him.

The numbers on the console went from eight to seventeen to thirty-seven and then into the triple digits. Creatures and objects passed by in a blur. He cast the spell, Navigation, and focused forward, which was the only way he could sense what was ahead before it came into view.

“You do realize that one twitch of your wrist will bury us in the bottom of the river or into one of its banks,” Sherree apparently felt the need to mention.

“Don’t worry, the manta would suffer no damage, and I suppose we should be thankful for Simon’s idea of adding restraints to the seats,” Daniel replied.

“I learned a good bit about the human body during my time in the Aloe Guild and even more after adding your spells to my repertoire, but I have no idea what coming to a sudden stop at this speed would do to us even with restraints,” Sherree continued to express her concern.

Daniel slowed the manta to just below triple digits and things in the water came back into focus, yet were still passing by quickly. One blink of the eyes was enough to miss seeing anything close in proximity of the manta.

“You designated this vehicle, Manta One. Who will be the recipient of this vessel?” Leah inquired.

“You and Franklin will use this as a template for however many mantas you see fit to produce. This one is mine, Joel will receive one, you and Sherree can decide how many more to make and who will be the recipients. Now that the first one has been made, duplicating it will not be nearly as difficult,” Daniel replied.

He then took his thumb off the emerald and the manta began to slow. The vehicle swam under a large boat, visible as the bottom passed overhead while it headed down river. He cast the spell, Find All, scanning a five span radius, and sensed no traffic ahead and the other boat sailing farther away by the moment. Focusing the viewer, he watched the vessel until it was out of sight, that of an osprey, and then brought the manta to the surface.

“Joel, it is your turn to operate the controls,” Daniel said while removing the wristband. The spell-formed panoramic view vanished the moment his flesh was no longer in contact with the gems. “The air is going to get stale in here if you don’t hurry.”

The Pentrosan-born Accomplished took off his restraints and sprang out of the chair. He and Daniel quickly exchanges seats.

“I have cast, Freshen Air,” Leah announced. “Just because the spell is locked in an amulet on the wrist of the pilot does not mean the rest of us Accomplisheds have forgotten how to cast the spell ourselves.”

“It is in the wrist band for convenience,” Daniel admitted. “Technically, Accomplisheds can add all of the spells used in this craft to their repertoires, and it is probably good for anyone operating the vehicle to do so, but with the amulets the crew is free to work other spells without the need of adding Da Capos. The be-spelled gems allow the crew to concentrate more on the mission than the minutia of keeping the vehicle functioning, especially when they are in situations where every moment counts.”

Joel brought the grip forward and the manta dived under the water and began swimming up river. As the confidence in his ability to maneuver the craft increased, his thumb came to rest on the emerald, and the CAPU increased the speed. He stayed in the double digits and after about a mark, Daniel said, “It is Sherree’s turn at the controls.”

Joel nodded, but instead of surfacing, he brought the manta to rest on the river bottom, cast, Aqua Sphere, and removed the wristband when the sapphire blue bubble of air formed around the entire craft.

“Clever idea,” Daniel commented. “This method will come in handy when staying hidden beneath the waves is a necessity.”

Joel smiled. “I’ve spent a large amount of time hiding in the water of late and it has almost become second nature for me to do so.”