The Lies We Hope For

Part One: https://steemit.com/writing/@bardbarian/he-who-will-not-be-tamed
Part Two:

Lione was a hill or three away from the city’s western wall. Outstretched between he and it were the cleared land of Creed’s factory-farms. He had sneaked past them. He did not want to know if the slaves were still in chains. The suns shone down and gave the whole scene a golden hue, and Lione despite himself, felt hope.

“Well, Lione, what do you think?” Lione started, and turned to see a ghostly figure of Daniel standing next to him. “I admit I did not always, but I love this city now.”

“You…” Lione put a hand through the apparition, “you aren’t here.”

“Yes and no.”

“You have got to be kidding me.” Lione shouldered his pack and turned away to start off.

“Wait, wait, wait, buddy, my man, my dude,” Lione kept walking, headed for the woods beyond the edge of farmland. “Lione, I can’t go any farther than this, so I need you to-”

“You can’t go any farther? So wait, you aren’t in my head?”

“Nope.”

“I’m not sure that is better.”

The vision of Daniel flickered, and he stopped keeping pace with Lione. “Seriously, just hold up a minute.”

Lione dropped his pack again. “So you can what, astral project now?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s more like a long-distance wire.”

“What do you want.”

“Ok, look. I know you don’t trust me, but I know you trust Sara, and-”

“I’m losing faith, given her choice of boyfriend.”

“Well, slow down we aren’t really putting any labels on it.”

“Good bye, fake Daniel.”

“Ok, ok, seriously. I want to tell you where to go.”

Lione scowled viciously at the apparition. “What makes you think you know what I am looking for?”

“I know you are looking for the same kind of magic I have so you can fight me if you have to.”

“And you want to stop me.”

“No. I want to help you. If I wanted to stop you I would have before you left.”

“Fine, whatever, say what you want and leave.”

As if it was possible, the apparition of Daniel looked bemused at Lione’s stubbornness. “You will find that you can get power without some sort of learning, some sort of growing. And even then, the power you find? It can only ever be as strong as your conviction.”

“Says the man with the magic book with infinite pages.”

“What? You know about that?”

“Was I not supposed to?”

“No, it’s just hard for me to keep track of who knows what in these things-wait, when did you ever see the book-nevermind. Lione, look for the man who taught me, I think you’ll find far more in common with him than you think. Look for the old man, they call him a magus, or a shaman. He ranges the woods. The outland people know him, they can point the way.”

“I know the legends. You aren’t really telling me anything I don’t already know.”

“Huh, maybe you are right. Oh well. Go west until you find him.”

"Daniel?"

"Yes, Lione."

"Who works the farm factories?"

The vision, the idea of Daniel was gone, if it ever was there in the first place. Lione took a long look back at the city and entered the woods.

The senate had gathered to hear the Blue Queen Sara. Daniel ached and strained, but the dream held, all the people believed. He was hidden away in a conference room, the book open and the air crackling around him. He sighed as he released his hold on the illusion. The air thinned and the lights grew brighter. Slowly carefully always cautious. He closed the book and unlocked the door. Lay the seeds of dream and let them bloom when you are not looking. Not every illusion needed the full force of his magic to sustain.

“Well, love, I think it went well.” Sara entered and removed her crown. An aide took it, another handed her several documents in exchange for a tablet, and then they were left alone. She looked closer at Daniel. “Daniel, are you alright?”

“Ye-yes, fine.” Daniel was amazed that he was so out of breathe. “It was quite at the edge of what I know how to do, but it is done. They will believe.”

Sara was holding his hand now. Odd: he hadn’t noticed her move closer. “I did not know it would take such a toll on you. I should not have asked this of you.”

“No!” He faced her, holding her hands in his, looking deep into her eyes. “No. I do this of my own will. Because I want your vision to come to be.”

“I could have handled at least this speech without your magic.”

“They are all still acting as if Creed the dictator is king: we need to wean them off, make them see the way things are going to be.”

“Creed did not look as pale as you, and he held a whole city.”

“Creed used other things far more than magic to keep the dream alive. What I am doing, setting a dream on a new course, I see nothing in my book to tell me it has ever been done before.”

They stood silent for a moment. There was so much to do. So many people to account for. Half the city had to be told what to do at any given time. When they were alone, that is when they were most crowded in upon by the weight of the thing they attempted. “Daniel, I don’t understand it, but I trust you. I am not afraid to do this the hard way. I would rather that than lose you like we lost our parents.”

“I value your trust more than anything. I will not betray it.”

It wasn’t a lie, but it was far from the truth.