by Beth Alvarez
Perhaps there were greater things at work after all.
“Ah, there's the ice.” Ria interrupted his thoughts, getting up and turning to slip into the tent just as a frigid wind kicked up and the biting ice began to fall.
Rune followed her inside and settled on his pallet. He gathered his blankets close and shuddered as he lay down. The gryphon settled close by and tucked him beneath her wing to share the warmth of her feathers. The night passed peacefully, though the winds howled outside the tents.
When morning came, he looked down into the valley of Aldaan for the first time, the forest transformed to crystal by ice.
13
Aldaan
Mountain slopes fell away before them, spilling into a deep valley. Forests filled the nook in between the mountain ranges, a mix of bony branches and evergreen, both encased in glittering ice from the night's storm. Patches of snow marked clearings between the trees, most of the gaps made by lakes or waterways. More mountains stood in the distance, blue shadows against the gray, snow-heavy sky.
Mountain ranges bordered the valley on three sides, leaving the western side open farther than the eye could see. If there were cities to be found inside the valley, they were nowhere to be seen. Only one structure rose from the trees—a lone, pale stone spire that towered over the forests to the northeast.
Rune slipped to the head of the army at the first chance he got, eager to be out of the mountains and into the valley, if only for the shelter the trees could offer from the shrieking winds. But the procession slowed as they reached the edge of the forest, and Garam and the gryphon paused to exchange words. Then Ria turned and paced toward Rune while Garam shifted to speak to Sera instead.
“We'll be parting ways for a little while,” the gryphon said, fanning her wings as she came to a halt before him. “I’ll miss our conversations until you arrive. The road through the forest is clean and well-maintained, it won't hinder you at all. I am to fly ahead and let the Aldaanan know the army will be joining them at the aerie.”
He assumed she meant the tower. His eyes flicked toward it and a frown twisted his mouth. “So far into the valley?”
Ria nodded. “Aldaeon, the aerie, is what you would consider a major city. It's the only one in Aldaan, in fact. The others are small villages, minor outposts, nothing worth an enemy's notice. When the mages come, they will come to Aldaeon.”
“How long will it take to travel that distance?” He tried not to sound anxious, but he was as eager to escape the cold as he was to meet the leader of the Aldaanan.
Trilling with laughter, she rose on her haunches to clasp his shoulder in one taloned forepaw. “Rest easy, friend. It won't be long.” She pulled back before he could speak, drawing her goggles down over her eyes. The gryphon crouched and thrust herself from the earth with a mighty stroke of her wings. Snow scattered in the winds of her takeoff, settling only after she caught an updraft and soared above the treetops. “May fair winds bless your travel!” she shouted, circling the army once before she turned to the northeast.
Rune shaded his eyes and watched her shadow ripple over the treetops until a call from ahead set the men into motion. The jostle of movement around him kept Rune from staring after her for long. When his eyes fell to the path ahead, he froze in place. Both Sera and Garam watched him. The captain leaned close to share a word with his sister and she nodded with a frown. Then Garam started forward, and Sera trudged back.
“It seems you and the gryphon became fast friends,” she called as she neared. The way she walked with one hand on her hip seemed dangerously casual.
Rune shrugged as he took his place in the ranks. “Two oddities in a normal army, what do you expect?”
She fell in stride beside him. Her lips pressed to a thin line. “Ria told Garam you're to meet with the leader of the Aldaanan when we arrive. Is that so?”
Amused, he glanced at her. “Do you think your guide would tell falsehoods?”
“Answer the question,” she snapped. The venom in her tone startled him.
“Yes,” he said slowly. What did it matter to Garam? “They are free mages, are they not? She believes it would benefit me to meet with him.”
Ice crept into her mage-blue eyes. “And how would it benefit you? The whole truth, lizard. Your speech slips back into archaic patterns when you're trying to be sneaky.”
He blinked. “It does not.”
“It just did! Now why are you meeting with the Aldaanan? Garam told me to get the whole story out of you, and I'll have it if I have to beat you for it.”
The idea almost made him laugh, but he bit his tongue to keep silent. As spirited as the woman was, he doubted Sera could beat anything out of him if she tried. He considered challenging her, just to see if she would, but the scuffle would slow them down. By his guess, the aerie was at least a full day's walk in ideal weather. He didn't want to waste any time. Instead, he shrugged again. “If they really are free mages, it means they are the only ones who can teach me to use my magic properly. Ria suggested I speak with their leader because if he can't help me, he will know who can.” It was the truth, if not the whole of it. The exact nature of the help he hoped to gain from Filadiel was none of her concern.
Sera's eyes widened. “She believes they'll teach you?” Now excitement colored her words, brightened her face. “Imagine the knowledge they could share! Arts lost to the Grand College for centuries!”
“Arts they probably wouldn't want to share,” he said.
She snorted. “As if I could do any of it. You're a free mage. Our Gifts are as different as swimming and flying. But oh, just to hear of it...” She slapped his shoulder. “That settles it. If they do teach you, you have to let me know what you learn. Show me, that is. Even if I can't learn to do it myself, I'd like to see. Understand?”
Rune lifted a brow. “I don't have to show you anything.”
“But you will have to show Garam. Or did you forget that he's your commanding officer? He'll want to know everything you do, especially if it involves magic.”
“Because he hates it?”
“Because he needs it.”
He stopped, unsure he'd understood. He rolled the words over in his head a second time. “He needs... what?”
“Magic.” Sera halted a few paces ahead and turned to look back at him. Her expression softened, a mix of pleading and concern. “Don't you understand?”
Rune stared at her.
Sighing, she inched closer. When she spoke again, she lowered her voice. “We're to fight mages. That means you are more important to this army than a dozen swordsmen. As much as he distrusts our Gifts, Garam knows he needs them. Me and you. People who can protect the army while they fight, keep them safe from magecraft. If the mages in Aldaan can help you learn, help you grow stronger, Garam will encourage it. But he won't lose you to them, either. Remember, we’re the only mages in this army. And of the two of us, you are more valuable.”
Admitting he was of more use to the army hurt her; Rune could see it in her eyes. He tried to think of something to say to offer comfort, but turned up nothing. He shook his head. “The Aldaanan will be more useful than any of us. They have centuries of practice doing things I may only begin to learn now. This is their fight. Their home, a battle to be fought on their doorstep. And very close to yours. I have no stake in this war, Sera. I'm here because of circumstance. Nothing more.”
“And circumstance will require you to fight for your life,” she replied sharply, turning on her heel and moving ahead.
Rune winced, but hurried back to his position in the ranks, sparing her a sideways glance that went ignored.
He had no desire to fight, but he'd done nothing else since he'd arrived on the mainland. Perhaps it was to be expected by now. Or perhaps, he thought as he glanced toward the tower through the skeletal branches of bare trees, this time would be different.
The roadway widened as they neared the tower. As desolate as it had seemed from the mountains, it was hard to believe the tower
before them was the same spire. Manicured gardens sprawled between the trees, a variety of evergreen plants making them bright and merry even under inches of snow.
Low buildings of white stone might have stood out any other time of year, but now only the bright curtains and candles in windows kept them from blending into the wintery background. People bustled in the winding avenues around the foot of the tower, carting firewood and toting wares, though many stopped to stare as the army reached the city's edge. Rune studied them just as intently. He'd expected the Aldaanan mages, and perhaps some Eldani, but all he saw—and sensed—were Giftless human men and women. Gryphons walked in the crowds as well, though their numbers were few. Each of the creatures seemed more unusual than the last, ranging in color from the same tawny brown as Ria to an inky blue-black male with a crested head and a spill of brilliant scarlet plumage in his mane.
The procession stopped at the edge of the city and the few commanding officers collected near the front to take orders. Rune watched the windows of the tower above them as curious faces peered out at the army. He only half heard Garam's directions for camp to be made and men to be sent through the city to purchase needed supplies. The sound of his name made him start and he turned, tearing his eyes away from a dark-feathered gryphon who stared at them from one of the uppermost windows. On the ground, Garam met and held his gaze with a glare.
“I said, you'll be with Sera and me for the night.” The captain didn't look pleased at having to repeat himself. His expression grew hard before he turned back to the officers. “If there are any questions, send someone into the aerie to find me. I imagine we'll be there a while, if not all night.”
The officers saluted and bowed away, one at a time, to attend their tasks. Garam adjusted his gloves and righted his uniform as he started toward the tower. Sera trailed close behind him, frowning darkly. Rune fell in step behind them, gazing up at the aerie once more.
Great doors of polished brass stood open, welcoming the flow of people that moved in and out of the tower. The narrow tunnel of the entrance stretched on at least a dozen paces before they reached the tower's central room. Despite the press of people, Rune stopped in his tracks and stared up at the tower's interior in disbelief.
To the left, a wide ramp rose from the floor to begin a clockwise spiral around the inside of the spire. Doorways opened regularly along the path, no marks beside them to show where they went. The spiraling pathway bore no railing, the center of the tower open to the darkening sky overhead, and cool-colored mage-lights kept everything bright.
“It's beautiful,” Sera gasped. She pressed her fingertips to her mouth as she strode to the middle of the tower's open central shaft, staring up at the dusky sky. With as warm as it was inside, the snowfall should have left puddles underfoot. Instead, the polished gray granite underfoot was bone dry.
Rune took a slow step forward, eyes wide with disbelief. “I've seen this before.”
“You've been to Aldaan before?” Garam asked as he turned toward the ramp.
“No,” Rune murmured. “But I've seen someplace just like this. Only...”
Sera took his arm and dragged him along as her brother started up the spiral walkway. “There's another tower in Roberian, though I hear it's very different. There are several similar towers scattered through the north, and one in the south, in our homeland.”
“Are there any underground?”
She laughed. “If it were underground, it wouldn't be a tower. No, there's nothing like that. Not that I've ever heard of.”
Unconcerned by the lack of railing, Rune walked near the ramp's edge, peering upward. The spacing of the ramp was exactly the same, the distance between the doorways in the wall the same. A perfect copy of the central spiral in Core, but reaching upward instead of down. “Who built these towers?”
“Who can say?” Sera tugged him away from the edge. “Perhaps the Aldaanan can tell you more, if there's time in between everything else they'll have to teach you.”
Garam cast a dark look over his shoulder, silencing both of them. Neither spoke again as he led them upward through the tower.
Fewer people walked the path near the top, though the mage-lights were just as plentiful. The sky grew purple overhead and stars sprinkled the deep color by the time they reached their destination. At last, Garam turned toward the only closed door that bordered the spiral path. It swung open on silent hinges when the captain touched it. All three of them blinked against the brighter light on the other side.
“Ah, Captain Kaith.” A friendly voice beckoned them in. “Wonderful that you've arrived! And your friends, as well.”
“My apologies for our late arrival, Filadiel.” The captain slipped in first. Rune and Sera pushed through the doorway behind him at the same time.
A man at the edge of the room rose from his chair to greet them, and when Rune saw him, he felt an odd stirring of surprise and curiosity.
Rich russet robes, and bright jewels set the man apart from the other people sitting in the room and made it clear he was their leader, but Rune had expected something else. Filadiel stood a head shorter than Rune, his long, stick-straight hair a mousy brown that almost blended in with his clothing. His expression was warm and his face narrow and angular, making him look as if he'd never outgrown awkward adolescence. But the most unusual facet of his appearance was his ears. Unlike any Eldani Rune had ever seen, Filadiel's long, slender ears stood flat against the sides of his skull. They rose at least two inches above the top of his head, their pointed tips twisted backwards.
Undeterred by Rune's staring, Filadiel smiled when they locked eyes. “And look at you! My, my, I almost thought Ria was fooling with me when she said there was a free mage in your midst.” He took a step forward, and the entire room seemed to resonate. A shockwave of power flowed from the small man, his dull green eyes flashing with an inner light.
The other Aldaanan lifted their heads, each answering with an energy wave of their own as they turned glowing eyes toward the newcomers. Without knowing what he was doing, Rune let his own power roll forth, responding in kind.
Filadiel laughed, clapping with childlike delight. “And so you are!” He strode closer, cheer fading to leave his face a somber mask. “I see she didn't exaggerate the state of your corruption, either.”
“You are familiar with tainted magic?” Rune asked.
Nodding grimly, Filadiel crossed his arms and tucked his hands into his sleeves. “I am. Though nothing so severe as this, I must admit. Physical corruption to go with polluted magic is new to me, but I am sure we can both learn a great deal from a simple examination, but we will speak of such matters later. I am sure the three of you are weary from your travels. Shall I have a meal and wine brought for you?”
“It would be much appreciated,” Garam said.
“Of course. Please, sit, all of you.” Filadiel gestured to a number of plain, empty chairs scattered between the people already seated. He inclined his head, and another man of short stature rose from his seat at the edge of the room to slip out the door in response to the silent command. Rune watched him go. There was an invisible hierarchy, it seemed; he'd have to pay attention to ensure he didn't violate it.
Mysterious ranks aside, it didn't take more than a look to realize the people in the room were some sort of council. There were perhaps two dozen Aldaanan in the room, all of them with tall, twisted ears and a sense of magic about them that was so strong, it hummed in Rune's senses. Most of the council members were dressed finely, some adorned with jewels to rival what Filadiel wore. All of the women wore thin earrings in the very tips of their ears, the loops connected with fine gold chains above their heads. Some wore more chains than others, but from the look of their robes, it had more to do with personal preference than rank or wealth.
Some of the Aldaanan regarded him with curiosity, though most gazed at the floor, as if lost in deep introspection. Introspection was likely all the room was good for, unremarkable as it was. Glass-paned windows alo
ng the curved outer wall held snow at bay, and thick velvet curtains offered a sense of comfort to the otherwise featureless room. There was no hearth or fire, but the chamber was still warm. With so many mages in a room, Rune supposed there was no need for other methods of heating. He sat near the window and watched as Garam and Sera tried to make themselves comfortable nearby, relieved to find he wasn't the only one who couldn't settle. The chairs were narrow and short, leaving no comfort to be had.
“I apologize for our late arrival, Filadiel. The weather slowed us enough to concern me.” Garam leaned forward, resting hands against his knees, managing to look at ease despite his awkward perch. “Have you seen any indication of the college mages' approach?”
“Yes, and I'm afraid they are part of the reason for the weather.” Filadiel shifted on his feet and rubbed his forehead as if he could smooth away the growing lines of worry he found there. “We don't like meddling with nature, but we thought it the best way to slow their progress. The college mages move in small groups, which makes them less of a threat, but it also makes it harder for the gryphons to spot them. They stand out better against the snow, and they haven't the manpower to trample a path with any sort of ease.”
Sera's eyes grew wide. “You altered the weather?”
“Not something we like to do, as I said.” Filadiel wrung his hands. “We'll all sleep better, knowing your army is here. Though there may not be much sleep for us tonight. I'm sorry to say I won't be able to rest easy until we've developed some sort of plan of action. The college mages don't come in numbers great enough to attack us yet, but there are bands of them that must be serving as scouts no more than a day behind you.”
“A day!” Garam exclaimed, rocking back in his chair. “Surely we would have known if anyone was following that close.”