by Brad Clark
Hargon flipped the pages of the book towards the back. Where there previously had been blank pages were now pages full of symbols and letters. In some cases, there were even pictures. His mind spun even more with the idea that he now could cast even more spells.
He took in a deep breath and asked, “How?”
“Do you want me to waste time teaching you everything you should already know, or would you like me to help you?”
“Help me, of course!”
“Well then stop asking questions and just do what I tell you! Go to the back of your book. Three pages from the end. What do you see?”
Hargon quickly pushed all the book’s pages to the left until he was at the end of the book, and then flipped back three pages. “There is a picture of a big flaming circle. The flames are blue. There is a picture of what looks like houses or a farm inside of the circle. Trees. Some people. Underneath are the words to the spell. What does this mean? What kind of spell is this? How will this help us?”
“Enough!” Myllia snapped. “No more questions, remember? Just do what I tell you to do. The spell on that page of your book allows you to open up a doorway between two places. Anyone who passes through the doorway can move from one place to another.”
“So, we open a doorway to escape? You want us to run away and hide?”
“You know the time for running is long past. No, we will bring help to us. An army that will rival the Deceiver’s.”
“There is no such army,” Hargon declared.
“You say that with such conviction as if you know the happenings of the rest of the world.”
“I was the Emperor of Taran for many years. I know the nations of this world, and I know no other nation will have an army that would stand up to the Deceiver’s.”
“You presume too much. There is indeed such an army, and they have already started marching east, but they are still a week’s hard march from here. They will arrive too late to help unless you open up this doorway and allow them to come through.”
Hargon felt another explosion reverberate through the wall. The battle was going to be lost before it really began.
“How do I do this?”
“The doorway is between two places, but you must either be able to see both places or have a memory of the places for the spell to work. There is a village about three days ride to the northeast of Iseron. It is in the middle of Taran’s Eastern Province. I believe the local people call it Forestkeep.”
“Forestkeep,” Hargon repeated. “I know this village. How do you know about it?”
“The army is camped there. An army of men from the north that you know as the Bargoroth. They have been marching for a week, now.”
“Bargoroth? That is your army? They are a bunch of wild barbarians.”
“Tens of thousands of wild barbarians,” Myllia corrected. “Does it matter who they are? They are coming this way to help defend this castle, but if you do not open this doorway, they will arrive at a burning castle. So, you know of this village?”
“When I was young, my brother and I spent many summers there when my father tired of us being in the palace with him. There is a small river that runs through the forest, and we used to fish there.” He took a deep breath and let his heart rate fall. “How is it that there is an army camped at a village that I visited when I was young.”
“The One God works in mysterious ways.”
Hargon narrowed his eyes. “I don’t believe you.”
“The One God is very powerful. More powerful than you or I.”
“The One God has been specifically absent from this war. I do not believe that it is a coincidence that this army is there.”
Myllia lifted her head. “I think the One God is making his presence quite clear.”
“What! Do you see all this death around us! We are being attacked by an army that we cannot defend against! If the One God really wanted us to defeat this army, would he have put us in such dire straits? Would he not send us help?”
Myllia took several steps forward. “The One God has been sending help. Elves, Dwarves, Humans, all in one place for the first time in thousands of years. You have the power to bring an entire army from hundreds of miles away to save this castle and save what might be the last chance to defeat the Deceiver and his army. Open this doorway and bring the Bargoroth here.”
“Some of my most memorable memories of my childhood are from Forestkeep. Other than the palace of Taran, no other place is so ingrained in my memory that I can picture where I fished, where I camped, where I healed a dead frog that my brother killed. If this army were any other place in the entire world, I would not be able to bring them, but only because they are at Forestkeep can I do this. I cannot believe that this is a coincidence, and I do not believe that it is a miracle of the One God.”
Myllia let out her own audible sigh. She glanced at the approaching army, knowing their time was growing short. “No, it is not a coincidence, and you are right, it is not the One God. I cannot read minds, but I can feel things that are important to people. Sometimes they are images. I saw the image of this place in your mind, and then I saw those places when I was flying west to find Princess Nikki. I directed Princess Nikki to lead the Bargoroth to this place.”
“You need to stay out of my mind,” Hargon growled.
“I will not do this ever again, but I was desperate to find a way to help. We are running out of time, and you must hurry.”
Hargon looked down at the page in his spellbook. “Why this spell? Is there not another spell I can use to destroy this army? There must be!”
“Given a year of training, yes, there are spells that you could use to destroy this army. But, we don’t have a year to give to training, so we make due with what we have. This is a very powerful spell, but it is one I believe you can handle. You need a mentor else you’ll just end up killing yourself and everyone else around you.” Myllia moved closer so that she was only a few feet from Hargon. “For now, I’ll have to do.”
Hargon tried to understand the words and symbols and shook his head slowly. “It will take me some time to memorize this spell. There can be no hurry to this.”
Myllia said, “Rather than using your own focus and concentration to generate the power to cast the spell, you only need to use the power of the Ark of Life. This new power that you possess not only helps you cast more spells but more powerful spells as well. You also don’t need to concentrate so hard and memorize the spells. Most of the time, you will only need to read the spell once, and you will be able to recite the spell and cast it.”
Hargon looked back at the book and continued to see only symbols and letters that did not make sense to him. He even squinted to try and read the spell, but nothing made sense.
“You’re still panicking. Relax, and let the words come to you. The training and mentorship of a mage should take decades, not minutes. You will have to trust me. Relax, and it will come to you.”
Hargon closed his eyes and tried to clear out his mind from all that was happening around him. He took the pendant in his hand and squeezed it, letting the sharp edges of the metal cut into his hand. The pain allowed him to concentrate and focus his mind on the tiny thread that connected him to the Web of Magic. The more he thought, and the more he focused, the larger that thread became. The red gem became warm in his palm, and he thought he remembered what some of those symbols meant.
When he opened his eyes, the symbols and letters were words that he could read. Squeezing harder on the pendant, he began reading the words knowing that if he stumbled or stuttered over any of them, the spell might be broken or even worse, backfire on him. He knew he had the power to cast the spell, and he now had the confidence to make it happen.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Aeneas limped over to Princess Nikki, who was sitting in front of a small fire. It was obvious his wounds still hurt tremendously, but he was a soldier, and he was capable of ignoring pain. With a grunt and a groan, he sat next to her. She acknowledged him
by handing over a strip of freshly cooked meat. He gladly accepted it and ripped off a big chunk, shoving it into his mouth and chewing heartily. The meat was tough and difficult to chew, but it was still meat and satisfied his grumbling stomach.
There was not much fresh meat to go around, but a recent hunting expedition had come across a herd of elk. Although the rations were meager, everyone was tired of the vegetable stew that the Bargoroth cooks had thrown together for their meals. A dozen yards away, two tribal leaders, Ulg and Barr, were quietly talking. Nikki wondered what they were talking about, but she could not let it concern her. Hopefully, it was just some mundane discussion about the logistics of a large army traveling across open land. Surrounding her was the entire Bargoroth army. Although there were many other tribes of the people from the north that made up the army, she used the Taran term for their people. It made it easier when talking about them rather than trying to know which tribe they came from.
Aeneas shoved the last of his meat into his mouth, and said with a mouthful of food, “We have lost almost an entire day waiting here. The Bargoroth seemed relieved to not have to push from daybreak to nightfall, but if your friends are in as dire need as you say, one missed day could be the difference between victory and defeat.”
“Myllia said to wait,” Nikki replied. She was just as anxious to get Karmon to help her friends, but Myllia had been clear about waiting at the outskirts of the small village until Myllia returned.
“Remember, I was in charge of moving thousands of Centurions across the northern Taran Steppes. Believe me when I say there are some practical reasons to keep moving. We have no supply troops to help provide food and clean water. In another day, two at most, all that we have hunted and gathered will be gone.”
“There is plenty of clean water.”
“Soldiers cannot fight on water alone, and I gather our Bargoroth friends cannot, either. We have to move on in the morning.”
“Myllia told us to stay here and wait.”
Aeneas shook his head. “Myllia is a Dragon. What does she know about the logistics of moving an army? I am a professional soldier, and moving armies is my life, so you have to trust me in this. We have to move in the morning, else we will starve.”
“They do seem to be getting restless,” Nikki said.
“That might be because they have traveled farther south than they had ever been.”
“I have seen many of them shed their furs. It is cold for me, but it seems to be balmy for them.”
They both chuckled, sharing a comfortable moment in the middle of a war where either of them could die at any time.
As their laughter faded, Nikki took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay,” she said. “We will leave in the morning, whether we hear from Myllia or not.”
“It’s the right thing to do,” Aeneas said.
They both fell silent. Nikki kept an eye on him, and after a few moments, he looked up at her, but quickly looked away. He picked up a small dead twig and threw it into the fire.
“What will you do next?” Nikki asked. Kile was the only other one that she had spent any time with, and he was off taking care of his own business. The Bargoroth kept to themselves and seemed to be wary of her. That left Aeneas as the only other person that she cared to talk to. She actually enjoyed his company, more than she expected or let on. “Will you really be able to stop being a soldier when this is over?”
Aeneas held up his hands, showing the bloody bandages that covered his wrist wounds. “I can barely hold a sword. I think my days of soldiering are over whether I like them or not. It is time for me to settle down. Find a nice woman and spend the rest of my days in comfort.”
She locked eyes with him and felt a fluttering in her heart. “You are a good man, Aeneas. You deserve a good woman.”
He smiled at her. “I’m sure there’s at least one good woman left in this world.”
She smiled and glanced away.
He quickly continued before the moment became uncomfortable. “You know, I have been a soldier my entire life. Even as a young child, I knew I wanted to be a soldier. I have been all over the continent, going from one war to another. The Tarans like to keep themselves busy with being in a constant state of war. I think I’m ready for something different.”
Aeneas rubbed his hands together and put his palms toward the flames.
“Cold?” she asked. “You only have on a light cloak.”
“It’s getting a little chilly, but I’ll be fine. I’ve been up here too long to get cold this time of year. Besides, summer will soon be here, and we will be begging for a cool day.”
“Where I’m from, it’s summer year-round. Winter is the season when it rains, but it is still mostly hot. This is almost too cold for me.”
“Iseron used to be the most perfect place to live. It’s only a few days ride south from here. It’s a beautiful city right on the Gulf of Taran. The water seemed to always keep it cool when the days were hot and kept the cold days from getting too cold. I hope we have a chance to rebuild that city.”
“Barr told me that the devastation he saw was complete. He could not imagine a city ever being rebuilt. The ground was scorched, and all the buildings were piles of rubble.”
Aeneas smiled. “Tarans are resourceful. We will rebuild.”
“What if you’re the last Taran alive?”
“Then I’ll rebuild alone if I must. Since my days of soldiering are over, I’ll find a small plot of land that has good soil, maybe next to a lake where I can fish. My father taught me to fish when I was a boy, but as a soldier, I haven’t had much time for it. Once the war is over, I should have time for many things I haven’t had time for.” He glanced over at her, and this time, when she looked back at him, he held her gaze.
“What about you?” he asked after a moment. “You’ll head back to Hurai?”
She broke his gaze and looked down into the fire, watching the dancing flames. “My father is not well, and I am his only child. I will have to put up my swords for the throne.”
“But you are a warrior, not a ruler.”
She smiled. “You know me, well.”
“Your kind is easy to spot. You do what is right, regardless of the consequences. Those who rule must compromise. To them, right is only what is right for the moment. For us warriors, right is absolute.”
She let out a burst of laughter. “I will make a horrible queen. I do not have the patience for it.”
“Then don’t go back.”
She smiled and started to laugh but saw the serious look on his face. He wasn’t kidding. “I am Hurai, and I do not have the luxury of following my whims. I must do what duty requires, and that means serving as queen once my father passes into the next realm.”
“Is it really your duty?”
“If not me, then who?”
“Which is worse, to be ruled by the incompetent, or ruled by the unmotivated? The one can be taught, the other can’t.”
“Many would say that my father is an incompetent, unmotivated buffoon who should be replaced. The line of Hurai kings has been in my family for many, many generations. We have ruled well, and our people are prosperous.”
“Then why do your people want to revolt?”
“They believe we are not prosperous enough. There are many nations nearby, including Taran, that have grown and become powerful. Hurai has remained the same for many generations. Some people believe it is time to move on and become a part of the world. My father believes we should never conform to the world, as it is evil and rife with pagan heathens.”
“And you just want to be a warrior.”
“It’s all I ever wanted to be. I didn’t want to be a princess or a queen. I don’t care about royalty politics. My earliest memories are learning how to hold a Sak’Turana with two hands. I was clumsy, but I figured it out pretty quickly. As a rule, royalty does not become Sak’Hurai, but I knew I was destined to become one.” She dropped her gaze to the fire, her thoughts taking her back to he
r childhood when she spent many lonely hours practicing with her Sak’Turana. “My father made an exception, but it made me an outcast. As royalty, I was untouchable. As a Sak’Hurai, I was unapproachable. No one knew what to do with me, so they just left me alone, and I trained and worked hard. I had to train harder than everyone else to prove that I was worthy of being a Sak’Hurai and not just because my father was king.”
“Now, you lead them? You are a general of sorts?”
“I earned my place. Unlike my title of princess, I earned being a Sak’Hurai. Eventually, I accepted my role as princess, but the idea of being queen is not appealing.”
“That is one of the benefits of Taran’s political system. Only those that want to be in a position of power are in a position of power.” He paused for a moment to look at Nikki carefully. She was looking down at the ground, and he smiled at what he saw. “Sometimes, the people who want power are the ones who should not be in power. It is those who do not wish it who are really the most qualified. I think you would make an outstanding queen. Queen Nikki, greatest ruler Hurai has ever known!”
Nikki let out a laugh. “I have seen my father grow old and age beyond his years. Leadership has pulled all the life out of my father, and it is literally killing him. I do not wish that for me.”
“We are not all made for leadership, but sometimes, our choices are not our own.”
“Discipline and sacrifice are the creed of the Sak’Hurai,” Nikki said. “We do not live for ourselves, but for the protection of our kingdom. I would actually have more freedoms and live a fuller life as queen, rather than as a Sak’Hurai, but it is not a life I want. The simple life of a Sak’Hurai is all I have ever wanted.”
“Then that is the life you should lead.”
“And what of Hurai?”
“What of it? Will the world come to a stop if you choose not to be queen? Will the people of Hurai suddenly fall to the ground and die because you choose not to be queen? We all have to take responsibility for those things that we are responsible for, but we do not have to be responsible for everything. Hurai, I believe, is bigger than just one person, is it not? I do not know your father, so I cannot make any judgments of what he is like as a leader, but even if he is the best king Hurai has ever known, will Hurai cease to exist as a kingdom? Will there not be someone to take the throne who might be just as good?”