The
Progenitor's chest rose and fell slowly but steadily. She was pale but
there were no marks upon her, no wounds, bruises, or burns. The fine metals
and gems of her clothing gleamed in the light which grew so soft among
the silken folds swathed about her couch.
The
rider's fingertip just brushed the screen. "This portion here."
"Yes?"
It was not the 1st time I had had to pry things from Ince piece by tiny
reluctant piece.
"It
resembles a reaction to a stun blast. Inverted," she added.
"It
is like a stun reaction, though inverted?"
"Yes.
And incomplete. It resembles an imprinting."
I frowned.
"I don't understand. Explain this to me, rider, please."
"Energy
does it. It happened in the arena. In the rock. I saw it in my mind later,
when I was with the lines. I saw that it had occurred in a portion of my
mind but I performed the inversion because I am a rider and because I entered
prepared. But the Progenitor had no defense against this when the lines
initated emission in the arena. I believe she was there and that they struck
her in attempting to conduit her as they did me."
"Because
she is not a rider they could not use her as conduit and she was struck
down?"
The
rider nodded. "The force of the lines' impact was great enough to carry
an energy pattern from the Progenitor. Similar to a bow shock wave imprinted
with a portion of her vital energy. It traveled instantaneously across
the arena. It would have carried on the imprinted pattern except I believe
the lines neared a more compatible receptacle and the pattern was left
shadowed there."
I
struggled to follow this. "Left the Progenitor's energy shadow, or imprint
upon....rock?"
"No."
Ince looked away.
"You?
Rider?"
"I
was not there. Fion bears it."