God-Kissed: Book 1 (The Apprentices)

by Clark Bolton

  Autbek furrowed his brow. “You mean the riddle that isn’t even a riddle … a catastrophe that isn’t!”

  “Now don’t go all noblemen on me.” Berdtom said with some irritation. “I get that a lot around here.” He then walked over to the door and invited Eifled in.

  “Greetings again, Autbek.” Eifled said jovially in his characteristic baritone voice. “Don’t think this meeting is chance like the last one, or as short I hope.”

  “No, I hope not.” Autbek replied as he motioned for them to sit.

  “Eifled, if you don’t mind I think Autbek would very much like to know about your soothsayer skills. That way we can get it out of the way and move on to things more interesting.”

  “Fine…” Eifled replied, “… first let me just say that a soothsayer I am not, least not what passes for one in Astrum nor in Bene Aimont. No bones do I cast or trances do I induce upon myself, Autbek. My predictions come from knowledge, and that can lead to trouble as it has in this case.”

  “Then you know nothing of what is to come or even if something will?”

  “Not so true, my boy for you can say that I’m a gatherer of sources, reliable ones when they are available, and concerning the Earl of Astrum they are.” Eifled replied. “Crows are flying south and sages sailing north.” He added with a hint of a smile.

  “Yes, which reminds me what did clinch your decision to leave the capital?” Berdtom asked.

  “I find it best to get an early seat in the amphitheater before the play starts. And besides the truth of the relationship between your King and the Earl was becoming inconvenient … for the King that is.” Eifled then turned back to Autbek. “Young Kings love knowledge and respect truths but aging ones find neither comforting, and they particularly find that sages remind them of these new habits.”

  “Oh?” Autbek replied as he pictured Eifled sitting at the Kings feet and instructing him. Something he found easy to imagine.

  “Yes, I’ve learned from experience that there comes a time to stop poking the lion.”

  “Hope you don’t think us sheep then here in Astrum.” Berdtom added.

  “Not at all, Tom, your Earl has a bite unlike any sheep I’m sure.”

  Autbek furrowed his brow as he shook his head slightly. “What is coming then, does anyone know?”

  “No!” Eifled replied emphatically. “That is why I’m here in the palace, for if anyone can see what is coming from afar it would be your master Tenric. No other mage known is half as skilled as he when it comes to scrying the present.”

  “But not the future.” Berdtom stated.

  “Indeed not, and I’m willing to concede now that all hope of divining that future is lost.” Eifled said sadly. “Whatever is coming is on the move, more than that I’m convinced Astrum won’t know until it arrives.”

  “How long do we have?” Autbek asked with a touch of concern.

  Eifled shrugged. “A year maybe, two perhaps.”

  “Seems like forever.” Autbek mused as he thought about how long he had already been in Astrum.

  “Only to the unwise, my boy.” Eifled informed him. “Now I shall suggest to Tenric that you accompany him tomorrow if you don’t mind.” Seeing that neither of them seemed aware of upcoming events he added, “The scrying demonstration that Tenric has been asked to do before the court.”

  “Guess I know something about it.” Autbek replied. “My master did tell me he had things for me to do tomorrow but I don’t think I was invited.”

  “Consider yourself so.” Eifled replied with a smile. “And you also Berdtom.”

  Berdtom smiled. “But only if Cachner is present as I would not wish to deny him a chance to wish me well.”

  Autbek found he did not like that sound of that.

  “Better you then Sterncast I think Autbek.” Tenric said as they trudged down the palace corridors between the mages wing and where the meeting they were attending lay. “He has no way with these lords and since you are one of them I suspect you’ll be more of an asset to me.”

  “Yes master.” Autbek replied, deciding it was best not to mention that he virtually never got to leave the mages wing and had never been outside of Runeholden before and so could name all the lords he knew of on his two hands.

  “Not that I’m ingratiated with them!” Tenric continued as he glanced back at the two servants who were following behind them carrying the things Tenric needed for the meeting. “They tire of me, Autbek and I tire of them, but that will all change once construction of the academy begins.”

  “Yes master.” Autbek replied again as he adjusted his robe. Valice at Berdtom’s behest had it delivered to the mages wing. It was black as was Tenric’s robe but several small threads of burgundy had been woven into the lower hem, signifying that he was of noble birth. He considered it distracting and found himself a bit self-conscious about it.

  When they arrived they found the lavish meeting hall already occupied with a number of lords who milled about and for the most part ignored them as they set up a large scrying bowl on the center table. Tenric then had him lay out a number of reagents in preparation for the demonstration they were to perform. Signally a scribe when they were done, they then waited for the Earl to arrive.

  The Earl was followed in by a small entourage which included Berdtom and Eifled, as well as Cachner and Valice. With little more ceremony the Earl signaled Tenric to begin. With a nod Tenric began waving his hand over the bowl which began to glow slightly.

  “Autbek, the lights, do please extinguish most of them.” Tenric called out to his apprentice.

  Pausing for just a second to see if perhaps he could with some aid quickly walk around and put out the many candles and torches in the room he then recalled why they were here. So with a wave of his hand he targeted the large chandelier above the table.

  “AHH!” A number of people cried out in surprise as every flame upon the chandelier went out at once, plunging the room into near darkness.

  “Sorry…my lords!” Autbek apologized.

  “No need!” Called out a nobleman joyfully. “That was worth the whole evening I should say!” The young man said loudly to the two or three other young nobles who accompanied him.

  “Do restrain yourself Fesmbol, the demonstration has not yet begun.” The Earl said with annoyance. This got some chuckles and then a nod from Fesmbol who quickly sobered up.

  Tenric then proceeded with the demonstration which involved calling forth an image of the city of Bene Aimont. “You see here my lords the capital as it stands at this very instant.”

  At this point the lords began to jostle for a better view of the bowl until all could clearly see that Tenric spoke the truth for small figures moved about in front of what appeared to be the royal palace itself. Tenric then concentrated and the image became sharper and more defined to the point where individuals could be identified.

  “The royal guards.” Someone noted as the view changed to the main gates. Tenric then entertained their requests to see other parts of the capital until the Earl signaled an end to it.

  Putting the bowl aside Tenric then used a cantrip to light a candle that had been placed on the table. After which he began tossing small pinches of the reagents Autbek had laid out for him. Autbek had to suppress a smile when he noticed that Tenric was making use of flashy powders that they both knew did nothing more than burn brightly and produce colored smoke.

  Finally Tenric made use of the critical ingredients for the spell he was casting and after that a figure began to take shape in the smoke above the candle. It was an elaborately dressed woman but unlike any those present had seen before.

  “Tell me Eifled, can you identify the peoples from whence this lady comes?” The Earl asked in a tone that conveyed the fact he had seen the image before.

  “I cannot, my lord!” Eifled replied. “I’ve, like you, have seen Tenric produce this very likeness before but can think of no one or place that might know her nature.”

  “Where did you s
ee her, Lord Councilor?” One of the other lords asked.

  With all eyes on him, Tenric appeared to grudgingly admit his level of knowledge concerning the woman. “She is the sole image that I have been able to glean from over two years of struggling to confirm master Eifled’s theory of a coming disaster.”

  “More than a theory, my lords.” Eifled proclaimed from his chair. “Every source for divining the future confirms and is in agreement that Astrum is the focal point. Ignore it at your own peril, and forget not that the King has most certainly not chosen to do so.”

  This left the lords in the room in an agitated state but after a few minutes they calmed down as all had heard this prediction before. Some appeared concerned by it but none wanted to discuss it further.

  When things had quieted and Tenric and Autbek were being ignored for the most part Fesmbol spoke up again as he lightly jostled the scrying bowl. “I would think one could peer into some interesting places with this.” He said as he looked to his lackeys with a grin. “Not that all ladies rooms would rate it.”

  After the boyish laughter died down a bit the Earl could be heard to say “I may have erred with this one, Cachner.”

  Exhaling strongly Cachner began to tap loudly on the table with the hilt of his dagger until he had Fesmbol’s attention and that of his associates. Then he motioned curtly for them to leave.

  Taking the hint Fesmbol then bowed to the Earl and as he walked out he motioned specifically to Autbek to follow him and his friends. Seeing no harm in it, and wishing very much to have a good excuse to walk out Autbek then followed them out into another chamber, but stayed near the door in case Tenric called on him for some reason.

  Fesmbol sized him up for a moment before asking, “Your from Astrum are you not, and how does one come to enter the mage profession?”

  Before he could answer one of the others pointed to the lower part of Autbek’s robe. “Better rephrase that more politely, lord Fesmbol!” The man said with a laugh.

  “Huh?” Fesmbol replied and then he noticed the burgundy threads. “You’re a lord are you, Autbek? Do say you are as I certainly never expected to lay eyes on a lord mage.”

  Figuring he was becoming the butt of their jokes he decided it was about time to leave. “I am and now if you’ll excuse me my lords.”

  “Wait, do please take no offense for I truly meant none.” Fesmbol informed him. “I am truly wondering how this can be. I’ve met not a single mage … least a capable one as yourself, in all my time in Astrum and those other places which I had to endure.”

  “Endure you did.” One of the others smirked. “But don’t think too much of him Fesmbol, I’ve seen similar things done by my uncles man.”

  “Have you truly now, Bek?” Fesmbol turned to ask. “This man can wave a chandelier to darkness?”

  “Something like that.” Bek said while sounding a little unsure of himself.

  “Well perhaps you can show us more, lord Autbek.” Fesmbol asked with anticipation. “My friend here seems to think your skills un-noteworthy.”

  “I do!” Bek said boisterously. “Paintings of smoke and reflections of palaces in a bowl are maybe magecraft but only just barely I think.”

  Autbek shook his head before saying, “As an apprentice I’m not allowed to give demonstrations on my own. So if you’ll excuse me.”

  “Oh do show them, Autbek.” A voice called out from behind him. Turning he confirmed it was Eifled who had come out to sit upon a bench against the far wall of the room. “Some learn wisdom only the hard way.”

  “Yes do show us.” Bek added. “Here I will hold this candle while you snuff it out from say five paces away.”

  “Oh I hardly think that will do.” Fesmbol called out. “Give him something to remember, lord Autbek, else he will never hold his tongue in front of any mage.”

  Autbek stared with furrowed brow at the annoying Bek for a moment before deciding to relent to their demands. He had several dozen cantrips in his head, now he had to figure out the right one for this situation. Turning to Eifled to get one last nod of approve, which he got, he then uttered a single symbol of arcane-script as he pointed at Bek.

  Immediately Bek began to glow all over with a soft greenish light, much to the delight of his two friends and to some extent himself. Seeing the reaction was pleasing to the man, Autbek moved on to another cantrip. This one did nothing visibly but soon Bek started to scratch himself relentlessly much to the amusement of his friends.

  “More!” Fesmbol demanded as he grinned at Bek.

  “No!” Bek begged. “These are parlor tricks but they still itch!” He complained as he continued to scratch himself.

  “The parlor trick will stop in a minute.” Autbek said as he turned to leave.

  “One more, please!” The other two begged.

  “No, he ain’t got nothin anyways!” Bek announced as he started to feel the itching subside. “Still think my uncle’s man could do all this.”

  That did it, Autbek decided as he turned back toward the young man. “DES KRKKK SNII” he called out as he performed three cantrips at once. The first doubled over Bek with a stomach ache, the second then caused him to trip and fall to the ground with a moan and a grunt, and the third sent his whole body spinning around a fixed point like a top.

  “Ohhhh yea!” Fesmbol yelled out in glee as his second friend ran over to Bek and tried desperately to figure out how to help his poor whirling friend. After several dozen revolutions Bek came to a halt and then proceeded to stagger about dizzily when his friend pulled him to his feet.

  As Autbek waved a terse goodbye and stepped back into the meeting room he could hear Eifled say, “Wisdom has found a means to enter Lord Bek I think.”

  Chapter 7

  Autbek found the opportunity to meet privately with Eifled a few days after the demonstration he had assisted Tenric with. Eifled came to the mages wing nearly every day now, and would sit and peruse scrolls that he requested from the librarians, who still refused him entrance into the library itself.

  “A moment!” Autbek said as he closed the door to his seating room in his suite outside the mages wing. He then cast the same spell he had used before to prevent any mage from spying on them. “The room is warded now.” He announced as he studied the sage for a moment. He always had a little trouble gaging the man’s age, which if he had to guess he would say at least seventy.

  Autbek had wanted very much to discuss with Berdtom what he was about to talk with Eifled about, but had decided that the sage’s knowledge of mages was far above that of Berdtom’s and so he was the better choice. Berdtom’s confidence in Eifled as a friend had begun to influence Autbek as well. “What do you think of Tenric, as a mage I mean?” He finally managed to ask.

  Eifled thought for a moment then replied, “He is a master of divinations, O’t, as I have said before, but Berdtom has let slip a few things about you which suggests to me you may soon outgrow him. Am I right?”

  Glad now that it appeared Eifled may well understand what he was about to say, he nodded his head as he began to relate his concerns. “You are right … but it’s not that simple. I feel as if he is a great mage in the area of divination as you say, but in other things he is poorly schooled I think.” When Eifled nodded sympathetically he continued to lay out his understanding of magecraft and how it related to his current master.

  Autbek did his best to relay to Eifled his thoughts on his training by his Runeholden masters, thinking of it as a continuous foundation that allowed him or others like him to walk from one end of the spectrum of magecraft to the other down very well defined roads. It was these solidly wide and smooth roads that he felt had not been revealed in their entirety to Tenric. The man walked these same roads but only for short distances, and then he had to leap in faith over chasms to reach other intersections.

  He could see understanding and sympathy in Eifled’s face as he paused for a minute. “He has these alleyways, Eifled, ones that my former masters never saw fit to lead me i
nto or maybe they just don’t know about them. That’s where he excels … the only place he does. It’s where his divination magic comes from and he has shown me some of it.” He paused again. “Does that make any sense?”

  Eifled smiled and nodded. “It very much does, O’t! I’m impressed so far with your analogies, please continue.”

  “Not much else to say I think. He can move down these alleyways and he can teach me to do the same but he can’t get back to the road sometimes, so I have to conclude there are other alleyways that he could never find.”

  “And so he can’t lead you to them…” Eifled added. “…and therefore he can’t teach what is there.”

  “Yes!” Autbek exclaimed as he sat down. “He has a lot to teach me, I’m very sure of that, but it will be … incomplete, at least that is what I fear.”

  “Do you think your teachings with Castor and Haspeth are incomplete?” Eifled asked softly.

  “No, they are not!” Autbek replied emphatically. “I don’t hold back anything, and I make sure they move along the road and see and know about every intersection.” He motioned with his hands as he tried desperately to convince Eifled.

  “I believe you do, O’t, and so I think does Berdtom. That’s why I think you should continue teaching, that and it surely strengthens your knowledge when you have to pull and explain things from that fabulous library of Tenric’s.”

  Autbek nodded as he tried to calm himself. “You mean the one they won’t let you walk into?” He joked.

  “The very one, O’t. It is the best I’ve ever seen and I think likely the best that survives to this day, save what the Un Sha monks have hidden away. The Ausic mages had greater libraries you can be sure, but those were lost ages ago.”

  Autbek had never heard of these places or mages, but he could picture the wealth of scrolls they must have had, or perhaps still did. Tenric’s library he knew to be special which made him ponder again how it was that Tenric had managed to inherit it from Yoss Thie, the deceased mage who had apparently originally compiled it. As far as anyone knew Yoss Thie had never been Tenric’s master.