The Changeling

by Whiskey Flowers

  “It is getting better,” Jonathan said. “Well it is getting better for everyone but me.”

  “At least you get these few days to yourself,” Lord Panlaque said. “Have you gotten a room yet?”

  “I am staying uptown,” Jonathan said. “I am supposed to be meeting my parents there if they could make it.”

  “We have an extra room here,” Bill said. “Well an extra bed anyway if one of you don’t mind being in a room with Edgar.”

  “Edgar looks like he is doing well for himself,” Red said. “Maybe I can help him out, I would hate to be known as the kind of lad that sees a friend in need and walks the other way.”

  “You like commoners?” Gertrude asked.

  “Why wouldn’t I, I am a commoner,” Red replied.

  The night was spent drinking and eating. Red told everyone about the men he and Jonathan had fought and gained quite and audience because of it. Bill’s people had brought two noble girls with them whose parents were trying to find them a match with a mage. The other girls where servants who knew Bill’s mother and her story and were secretly hoping to follow in her footsteps. It was rare for a mage to sleep around but as schoolboys on a break from their classes, Bill knew a bunch of them who would do just that. None of the women were looking for relationship, not that they would turn it down. What they wanted was a gifted child that could possibly set them up for life.

  Red decided to stay with Edgar and as soon as he found a girl that was willing he left. Jonathan stayed around for a bit talking to Lord and Lady Panlaque and impressed them with his knowledge and upbringing. Jonathan could see at least one of the noble girls there gave him the eye. Jonathan didn’t think he was much to look at but he was tall. He decided him staying there could hurt whatever his classmate Milton was trying to have with the girl and so he left.

  Jonathan’s carriage was back at his inn but he didn’t mind. He took to the sky and enjoyed letting the wind whip through his hair. Vashing could well be appreciated from 100 yards in the air. It was easy to tell where the slums ended and uptown began. The Inn he was staying at was the same one many of the nobles would use. He landed near the front door. A woman was startled by John’s landing, Jonathan thought she worked at the inn based on the uniform she was wearing. He gave her a smile and walked inside of the inn. Many mages were already there. All of them looked like they were finalizing themselves a room. It would be tough for them to find one in a few days since many of the students and staff prepaid over a month ago.

  “Can you bring my bags in from outside?” a blond female mage said as she looked at John. “I don’t know whose manservant or guard you are but I will toss in an extra silver if you hurry. This place looks too busy to get my things in a timely manner.”

  “What does your carriage look like?” Jonathan said quickly. If the woman was going to throw in an extra silver it meant that he would make two silver just to bring in some bags.

  “The large white one with the black horses,” the female mage barely got out before John was through the door and looking for her carriage.

  Jonathan found it and gave a small smile and shook his head. The woman had three large trunks on top of her carriage and if they were as heavy as they looked it would have taken a team of men to take them down. A combination of air magic along with an extremely delicate use of pure aura got the trunks down and stacked on top of each other. Jonathan floated them inside and stacked them off to side. The woman who had asked him saw him bring in the trunks and stood by stunned for a moment before she started to speak.

  “You are a mage,” the woman said shocked. “Where are your robes?”

  “In my room Milady,” Jonathan replied. “I wasn’t going to turn down two silver though for that little bit of work.”

  “Why would you get my bags for two silver?” the woman said as she counted out two coins and gave them to John.

  “That is a lot of money for some Milady,” Jonathan replied.

  “Are you the commoner mage now training at the Tower?” the woman asked.

  “I am a commoner and I am training at the Tower but I don’t know if I am the commoner mage you are looking for,” Jonathan replied.

  “It is you” the woman said looking John over. “You are Jonathan Thunder.”

  “I am,” Jonathan replied, as he put the two coins away.

  “You are the uppity commoner with decent magic,” the woman said.

  “You know of me but I have no idea who you are,” Jonathan replied. “And I am not uppity. I did just fetch your bags.”

  “My son has told me all about you” the woman said. “I am Duchess Golad.”

  “Your Grace!” Jonathan said as he dropped to a knee.

  “Get up,” Duchess Golad said. “I want to get one thing straight with you. First, my daughter is off limits to one such as you.”

  “Excuse me?” Jonathan said shocked.

  “I know you think you are someone special,” Duchess Golad began. “And I hear your magic is strong enough that you could possibly challenge my daughter if she ever decided to become Tower Mage.”

  “Who is this then?” said a large imposing mage. The mage had a face that Jonathan thought he could punch all day and knew right away that this was Duke Golad. The mage looked like an older version of Russell. He was at least twenty years older than Russell’s mother but looked like he could still throttle anyone that was looking for trouble and that was without his magic.

  “This is the boy Russell has been writing to us about,” Duchess Golad said. “The commoner with the magic that is trying to make a play for Farrah. I am letting him know that she is far above his level and he better look for someone else. And that someone else better not be Monica Manchin. Russell and any of his future children will be the first high nobles who can say they became Archmage or Tower Mage. No commoner is going to ruin the greatness of our family.”

  “So you are the whelp trying for Farrah?” the Duke said as he stood over Jonathan, causing him to step back.

  “I doubt I could ever be so lucky Your Grace,” Jonathan said backing away even further. “For one, I have no doubt that Russell would kill me where I stood. Secondly, I doubt she is interested. She can have any man in the world. She would be silly to take a commoner who happens to have a little bit of magic.”

  “You are full of it Thunder,” Duke Golad said. “But you are telling Daisy what she wants to hear. I am not Her Grace though. I can tell you have thought about it. You have a lot of people you have to beat out for that one.”

  “You can’t be serious Ryan,” Duchess Golad said facing her husband.

  “Would you rather he marry someone else and start up a strong mage family?” Duke Golad said. “If both of his parents were bold enough to marry each other and buck the establishment, then what is to stop him? He would obviously marry the strongest mage he could land, which could be the reason he is going after Farrah.”

  “He is a commoner,” Duchess Golad said raising her voice.

  “And according to Russell he would be a match for me and you,” Duke Golad said. “Good luck young man. I am guessing a lot of mages will make this trip and try for my daughter. None of them are above trying to put you in your place. There is a sparring pit around here somewhere and I think if it gets out you are trying to romance my little girl you may find yourself in there.”

  “As you say Your Grace,” Jonathan said confused.

  Jonathan had never told Farrah Golad that he wanted her or that he was even interested. She was a bit nicer than the rest of the nobles there. Jonathan felt that was mostly because she was a woman with no one to talk to. Jonathan was the only one there other than her brother who was taller than she was. The other girls at school only talked to him to get the bigoted nobles jealous. Well except for Minnie, but that was just harmless flirting. Bill had set him straight on that one and Minnie would probably be married to a noble in two or three years.

  Jonathan went up to his room and decided to remain there for the night.
He was surprised Russell had written his parents about him and wondered if Russell saw him as an actual rival. Russell definitely thought he was competent. A future Duke had no reason writing his parents about some commoner, unless he saw something to fear or admire. Duke Golad was definitely easier going than Duchess Golad was. The woman hated commoner mages which was probably where her son had gotten it from. Maybe a match was trying to be made between Xalen and Farrah and Russell saw Jonathan as potentially getting in the way of that. Jonathan thought they should have considered each other as off limits because they were all cousins, but nobles often married their own family members. It was too much to think about Jonathan mused as he finally drifted off to sleep.

  CHAPTER 5

  Johnathan jumped awake to loud banging on his door. He could tell it was morning outside and he didn't remember requesting a wake up call. He looked around quickly and grabbed his pants. The knocking became louder and more insistent as John put on his shirt and opened the door. If he had known who it was he probably would have kept the door shut. It was Russell Golad. He was alone and looked as angry as John had ever seen him. Russell pushed his way into the room and closed the door behind him. John was happy to have the door at his back and figured if Russell tried anything he could get away.”

  “Listen here Thunder,” Russell said. “I am going to make a few things clear to you. No crowds, no friends, it is just me and you here.”

  “What do you want Russell? It is too early to fight with you. Don't you ever stop?”

  “Shut up commoner! You will shut up and listen to what I have to say or I will paste you all across this room.”

  “Say what you came to say, then hurry up and leave.”

  “I know you have talked to my parents. I don't need to know your exact words, but I can guess what they were. My family is against commoner mages at every level. This is something you already know well. Minnie and any other commoner girl mage are not your type. Powerful commoner families are an abomination. Commoners lack the tact, political worldliness and intelligence to hold this kind of power. You should be married to a noble, it doesn't matter which one, just as long as there is one. You have some power, I have observed you with a critical eye. I have seen you cast incredibly weak spells like your magelight but I have also seen you cast a tiny fireball. Anyone that can cast a fireball of any size can make a brighter magelight than you have shown. I think you are possibly a better mage than Monica is. You are right to know your place and not show it. Mages like us will be the defenders of this land. Our children will defend it, our grandchildren will defend it. I know your friends are showing off down in the slums and will probably get some poor girls to lay with them. It is disgusting. They should be here getting to know their new peers instead of sticking it wherever they can. Since you are staying here anyway, I do not want you traveling to the slums.”

  “Just who do you think you are? You are not my Da, Lord Golad. You don't get to tell me where I can and cannot go and I am not scared of a beating. You may actually be able to give it, but you won't come out of it unscathed.”

  “There are going to be noble mage girls all around here for you to pick from. I will even put in a good word for you. They are who you should be looking at. The dowry you get will be worth it and you will at least be around those who can raise your station and teach you the way of things. You can even serve in my duchy if you wish.”

  “You sound like my parents.”

  “You should listen to them.”

  “Why do you care about my life so much? I haven't seen you have this talk with anyone else.”

  “Except for Tatterson, a noble mage girl would have to be desperate to be with any of them. There is something about Angus that I think is slippery and the rest do not have the power to be important. Thurman Tatterson as small as he is will find an admirer. I plan on having this talk with him as well. And you better leave my sister alone. My father seems to think it is a good idea but she is not the daughter of some Baronet or something. She is the only daughter of a Duke and should be with others of her noble standing.”

  “Is that the end of your threat? I was having a snooze before you barged in here with that.”

  “I will be watching you commoner. You remember that.”

  As Jonathan watched Russell leave, he wondered what went on in the minds of nobles. They hate commoner mages, but want them to marry among them? Bill was right about going at it the way he was. His kids may not be powerful mages but they would be taken care of. It would be up to them if they wanted to find another mage to be with but at least they would grow up with money and not with the hate these noble mage families had. Jonathan arranged to have his clothes laundered and decided to stay in his room for the day and wear one of his robes. It was soft and comfortable and was perfect to lounge around in. Food was brought to him during meal time so he had no need to leave. The workers came in and cleaned around him which made everything so much better. The next day Jonathan got the visit he had been waiting for. It was his mother and father and they looked like they just gotten off the road. They both went to his room to see him and promptly nodded off to sleep during the conversation. Jonathan let them have their privacy and went to stay in the room they had booked for themselves instead. After a couple of hours the door to the room Jonathan was now in opened, his mother was there and she had an odd look on her face.

  “Jonathan do you know a Minnie?” Sara asked.

  “Yes she is a girl at the Tower.”

  “She came by and told me to tell you that you can never be together and to please don't ruin this for her. Whatever that means.”

  “She probably found her some noble to marry herself off to.”

  “Is she someone important to you son?” Joshua said as he came into the room and sat down. “Those damn nobles are hard to compete against.”

  “She is just a friend I flirt with. Father I came to the Tower at the same time as Russell Golad, does that name mean anything to you?”

  “Is that Duke Golad’s son?” Sara asked. “They say he is something of a prodigy and the next Archmage. He and his sister are supposed to take the mage world by storm but you can't believe everything you hear.”

  “I have been holding back a bit since I got here. I don't think the stories you have heard are exaggerations.”

  “Why have you been holding back? You are a Thunder Jonathan, you come from proud stock.”

  “Because I have already brought unwanted attention to myself Father. Russell Golad has more raw power than anyone I or the instructors at the Tower have ever heard of. They say he is going to be the next Archmage and he is a colossal ass wipe.”

  “So he is as good as we have heard, Joshua,” Sara replied.

  “He can cast three magics at the same time as well,” Jonathan said. “He and his little crew get off on torturing people. They leave me the pit alone though after I beat the bollocks off of one of them.”

  “That’s my boy,” Joshua said. “You can't let those nobles push you around.”

  “I threatened the future leader of the kingdom and told Russell I was going to give his sister a tumble” Jonathan said laughing. “I never saw the punch that dropped me but even after that they do not have me cowed. I am part of the Big Four.”

  “The Big Four?” Sara said. “So that is what they are calling your class. Who is the fourth member?”

  “Monica Manchin,” Jonathan replied.

  “Manchin?” Joshua said. “Pit Sara, we should have kept John home for a year. All of the big names are in his class.”

  “Any other time I think I would have been alpha wolf with little problem. Here though there are battles I would rather not have. Father before I forget, why isn't our lightning magic in any of the spell books I have come across?”

  “Why would it be?” Joshua said. “Many mage families have traits or spells that only belong to them. We have lightning. I know Josef Peppers and his clan have the ability to temporarily give some of their aura to mundanes. No r
eason to have a trick like that in a spell book if no one else can do it. When I came through here my lightning was known by just one person who had met my father before. They wouldn't let me spar any of the teachers. But my lightning dropped many a pompous noble right on their ass. Your mother though made them far angrier than I ever could.”

  “What did you do mom?”

  “I refused to marry or play along with whoever they were trying to put me with after your grandmother died. Many people started calling me out to duel after that. With my large amount of aura I just outlasted everyone who fought against me then put them on their ass.”

  “Monica reminds me of a slightly weaker version of you mom. Trust me when I say she is no one to play with and the Golads are above her.”

  “You have a tough break Jonathan” Joshua said. “Prince Xalen being in your class along with a future Duke makes things difficult. But you will make it out of there a stronger mage. Have you been trying to court anyone yet?”

  “Not really” Jonathan said. “The Golads think I am trying for their daughter.”

  “Go big or go home,” Joshua said laughing. “Let’s get something to eat. You and your mother can go downstairs and save us a table and I will be along shortly.”

  Jonathan smiled at his father and left with his mother downstairs and into the dining room of the inn. There were many mages here and it was hard not to notice that he and his family were the only ones with a white stripe accenting their robes. Jonathan turned and could see and empty table. Just as Jonathan started moving in that direction he heard a voice assaulting him from behind.

  “You are an abomination” said a man from behind Jonathan.

  “Who in the pit do you think you are?” Sara said as she turned around and moved Jonathan out of her way.

  “Careful who you speak to with that anger commoner,” a brown haired man said with a sneer. Jonathan thought it sounded funny for a man not much taller than his mother to act like he was something special. He had long hair tied into a ponytail like most noble male mages and a short neat goatee. Jonathan thought the man was around fifty. He could have been younger but had lines around his eyes and mouth.