Apprentice

by Nicholas Hale

  The third phase for discharge was fairly simple and there were rarely mistakes. Most spells had a simple trigger word that released them from the body of the mage.

  Other forms of magic such as necromancy and summoning were more complicated than elemental magic. Necromancy had five phases, and summoning, Lorian knew, had about eight to eleven phases, depending on the type of creature or demon you wished to summon.

  But the starting point for all of them was elemental magic, because the basic steps were the same. There were some spells that combined elements which had a few more phases.

  It made sense that if he was learning a new form of magic, the best place to start understanding it was to build upon his knowledge of elemental magic.

  "The basics of the Lumen are the same as elemental magic," explained Gawain, echoing Lorian's thoughts. "It too consists of only three phases at the simplest level. The first phase lets you tap into the void. I shall explain in detail later, but first repeat the phrases after me. And do not worry about moving to the second phase. The simulacrum will not let the energies flow back. They will remain for some time."

  Gawain began chanting. Lorian too picked up the chants, taking great care to emulate the hand movements.

  As they chanted, he could feel a funnel of energy building up from his own body directing itself towards the ocean underneath them. Several of the strands parted and one of them in particular became rigid and began to extend towards him and touched his body. He felt no flashes of memories in his mind this time. As the strand connected with him, he felt slightly empowered. Gawain too had a fork of the same strand touching him. He stopped casting and turned to Lorian.

  "Do you feel the strength of this essence flowing within you?"

  It was faint, but Lorian could feel it.

  "Try and shape it. As you would shape fire to form a scorching lance of flame."

  Lorian began the second phase, but barely a small way through, the strand withered and disconnected from his body.

  Lorian was surprised and looked to Gawain who was laughing. Without saying anything to Lorian, Gawain began casting the same spell that Lorian had tried. Except there were subtle differences in the beginning, and many more later on as well. The phrase seemed similar to the one Lorian had used but Lorian was sure it differed in many places. As soon as Gawain was done, he discharged a bright-gray lance of energy into the open space.

  "You used a different phrase from mine. Give me the one you used," asked Lorian.

  Gawain repeated the phrase and Lorian memorized it taking care to note where it was different from the phrase he had used.

  They both began the exercise again. The first phase went smoothly enough.

  But Lorian once again failed as soon as they reached the second phase. Even with the modified phrases that Gawain had used, the strand withered and went back into the ocean.

  Gawain, however, succeeded yet again. Lorian noticed that the spell he used was different this time again from the previous one he used. What was going on here?

  "I don't understand," said Lorian as he saw the lance of energy leaving Gawain's body. "The exact same result. The same spell, but the phrases you used both the times were different."

  "That is where the Lumen differs from conventional magic," explained Gawain.

  "Elemental magic is simple because after you make the connection in the first phase, it remains rigid while you continue in the second phase. See how the essence strands from the ocean are lashing around. That is their very nature. When you use elemental magic, the connection is like a rigid pillar that you can shape. Essence strands, however, keep moving and change their positions. You need to keep modifying your spell to take into account their movements. One mistake and you lose the strand back into the void. You need to start from the beginning."

  It sounded incredible. He would be making up the spell as he went along. Not just incredible but impossible. He would need to keep track of the strand's movement while he also needed to continue shaping it. Gawain seemed to have understood what Lorian was thinking.

  "Fortunately the strands do not move as chaotically as we think they do. Once you study them, you'll find that they move in certain predictable ways. So, you can adjust your spell to account for their newer positions."

  Lorian looked at the ocean again. There were several more strands but they moved very differently relative to each other.

  "There are too many of them. And they're all moving differently. And why did we pick this one strand over the others? Whose essence is it?"

  Gawain shrugged.

  "Just a strand I singled out. To show you an example. But you are right, they all move differently and the changes you make to your spell for one strand need not work for another."

  Lorian was even more confused. Moreover, he had a nagging doubt.

  "When I reach into the elemental plane, I can feel the energy flooding me after I make contact with it. This strand, however... It felt too weak. Even the lance of energy you released. It barely held any power. I thought the Lumen was one of the most destructive forces in the known lands. I heard stories of how your spells shattered the combined shields put up by Valymar and his twelve."

  "Ah. Now you get closer to the secret of the Lumen. Tell me. What do you know of the essences in the void?" asked Gawain.

  "Well, from what I know, they contain essences of every being departed from its plane. Any creature—mortal or immortal. This endless ocean seems full of them."

  "Tell me what you feel about those strands that are reaching up towards the sky."

  Lorian tried to recollect everything he knew about essences.

  For a long time, exploring the void was considered futile because you simply couldn't find the essences you wanted. Some of the strands seemed restless compared to others that peacefully lay on the ocean surface. Lorian was sure the ocean itself was endlessly deep if it represented the void. He thought back to the barbarian king and the housewife. He could feel the anger and the thirst for vengeance that the barbarian king had in him when he touched the essence. And the woman's calmness. Lorian didn't know for sure, but he took his best guess.

  "They seem to have some connection to the mortal plane... To be trying to reach out as they are."

  Gawain smiled. Lorian could see pride in his face. Gawain was happy with the answer.

  "Exactly. Essences of creatures that have ties to the mortal plane try and reach out to it. The strongest of the ties are those of blood. A departed essence wishing to connect with its blood kin who are still in the mortal plane. Essences that are extremely restless can often project themselves into our planes as ghosts. There are numerous connections that would draw essences from the void into other planes."

  Lorian understood. The ones that had no connections were probably deep inside the ocean and out of reach from the mortal plane.

  "But Master, I still don't understand. Do you gather up many of these strands to fuel your spells?"

  Lorian knew it was unlikely. From what it appeared, even controlling one strand would require perfect timing and flawless modifications in the second phase. Two or more would compound it. Even if they could control more of them, it didn't make sense. The essence of some farmer was not as powerful as a pillar of fire from the elemental plane. He was missing something here...

  "No, child. Just one essence."

  Lorian raised his eyebrows.

  "A single essence having that much strength? That's... But how is that possible? Even if there were a creature of that much strength, why would its essence be tied to the mortal plane? It would be tied to its own plane. And I don't know any creature—"

  Lorian was interrupted by Gawain's laughter.

  "You will understand later how it's tied to our plane, but first come with me. I want to show it to you."

  Full of excitement, Lorian followed as Gawain made his way across the ocean. He paused in between and chanted some spell. No doubt trying to locate this strong essence.

  As they flew,
he could see in the distance that many of the clouds in the sky seemed to converge at one point forming a kind of mist that met the ocean. The closer they got, the mist seemed to thin.

  All of a sudden, it was visible.

  Lorian literally gaped. His eyes went wide when he saw it.

  One large strand.

  No... That word wasn't fit to describe it. The ones he had seen earlier were like seaweeds. The longer ones were like snakes.

  The thing in front of his eyes appeared to be much larger than a castle. As he got closer, its size increased dramatically.

  Finally, when they were close enough, it was like he was standing in front of a wall.

  Its width seemed endless as did its height into the white sky. Lorian knew it was cylindrical, but at such a close distance, it almost looked flat. It appeared to be calmly shifting in place. There appeared to be numerous smaller strands leaving the main body and floating calmly. Even the smallest of them was much larger than any of the ones he had seen before.

  The size of the essence indicated the power of the creature in its lifetime. Even the dragons, some of the strongest creatures on the mortal plane, did not have an essence that measured up to a fraction of the essence in front of him.

  "It's impossible. There is no creature in existence with this kind of strength. At least not tied to the mortal plane."

  He wanted to reach out and touch it, but was afraid of what he would see. Gathering his courage, he moved close to it and tried to touch it, but found that his hand was repelled from its surface. He tried moving deeper but met resistance.

  "Whose essence is it?" asked Lorian.

  "The essence of a god. Better yet, a dead one. This is what we call the Lumen. And this is what you will learn to control. Now do you understand why I wanted you to learn the Alekh?"

  A god.

  Lorian had barely heard anything after that word. He nodded weakly and kept staring. And staring.

  Chapter 27

  "So I think we might have started off on the wrong foot, Governor Rennar."

  Rennar was sitting behind his desk, and sitting in front of him was the newest thorn in his side, Azrael.

  This was certainly surprising. He didn't intend on meeting Azrael at all, but he would soon need him to sign those papers so he realized he might as well get it over with. He thought the idiot would come and demand that he be sent to Marduk. To his rightful seat.

  But he seemed to have come to his senses. Rennar was surprised but wary.

  "Why the sudden change of mind?" asked Rennar.

  "I often felt this way. Even back in the army, my lord. Back on the Deckan plains. Everyone assumes because I won the grand tournament that I have the stomach for war. Truth be told, I was slightly upset at the treatment of slaves in Bren. It was what I had intended to avoid this time. Disagreeing with you was my way of…protesting."

  If you disapprove of the conditions here, I can only imagine what you'll feel once you go to the mines, thought Rennar.

  "Things are what they are. My father spoke to me the day I left for Bren. I realized how much of an effort he had to put in to get me this office. I owe it to him, my family and my country to stand by them. Emperor Thyurin often tells us that our greatest strength is our solidarity. We are a new empire and we must stand by each other if we are to succeed. Even if it means enduring things that we find distasteful."

  Rennar looked at Azrael carefully. This felt different. Was he being sincere? Certainly, his family had much to gain with this boy sitting in the position of an overseer. And surely, being an Aegean by birth, he couldn't hate his country that much.

  He thought back to his wife. At first, she had accompanied him to Norvind. But being of a sensitive disposition, she did not have the stomach to see the conditions in the city. Rennar had spent sleepless nights being tormented by her voice asking him to change this and change that.

  By the end of their first year, she had even stopped speaking to him altogether.

  He suggested that she go back to Aegis, and that he would quit the post of governor and head back. Of course, he had no intention of doing so, but it would mean his wife would be far away from this place, and, more importantly, from him.

  He had expected the same treatment to continue from his wife, but it seemed the benefits of having the Governor of Bren for a husband soon grew on her. Once she was back in Aegis, she did not see the things Rennar had to do, but enjoyed the full benefits of his work. They had increased their wealth tenfold in the first two years of Rennar's service. His wife had possibly the most lavish lifestyle in all of the isles and was the envy of every noblewoman in the Aegean court.

  What was even more satisfying to her, it seemed, was that she was held in such high regard by the other families. Every other family wished to please her, just to get closer to Rennar, so that they could get some concessions on the trade from Bren and southern Ryga. And there was a lot of it to be had. After the treasurer took his quota for Aegis, there were vast amounts left for Rennar himself to sell on rebate to other Aegeans.

  Never to the foreigners though.

  That was to be done only by the treasurer. The iron was often of the best quality and the cheapest.

  As such, all the nobles flocked to him, or rather his wife. She would write to him regularly telling him of which nobles invited her for lunch and the gifts that they would send her. Rennar would see to it that those nobles or merchants that his wife recommended would get the best deals.

  And it didn't end with just iron. There was plenty that Ryga had to offer in trade. A hundred different kinds of furs, wood, spices, metals and gemstones that had useful properties. The lakes had exotic fish that were not found in the oceans around Aegis.

  But most importantly—slaves.

  Many of the noble families had holdings in other colonies, some on Bren itself and others on different islands scattered across the oceans. They all needed strong labor. The best slaves were those caught by the nomads of southern Ryga. And Khamis made sure that the best stock was accessible only to Rennar. Anyone wishing to purchase directly from the nomads had to pay more, and they were never assured of the quality. If they went through Rennar they only got the best.

  It made sense that the Llothran family would also want to partake in this windfall. Even if Azrael was a weak hearted fool and an idiot, his own family no doubt wanted the benefits from Bren. Kirrel had told him that Lord Serael, Azrael's father, might even increase his stake in the mines. It would seem Azrael was much like his own wife. Soft of heart. But perhaps he too could be swayed with Rennar's gifts.

  But first he needed to know if Azrael genuinely had a change of heart. He removed from the desk a small stack of papers and placed them in front of Azrael.

  "These are the papers containing details about the mines. Reports that we send every two weeks to the treasurer. I have had them prepared for you."

  Azrael nodded.

  "All they need is your signature," said Rennar.

  "I understand. Hand me the quill," replied Azrael.

  Azrael had signed every one of the papers without even reading them. Curious. He had expected at least a small flash of reluctance in his eyes.

  "You must forgive me, Governor. Even as a child, I had always been plagued with a malady of the mind. I keep getting visions that I need to dull with medicine. They often affect my judgment as well. I had forgotten some of them and only today received a small package from home containing the herbs I need. They served to clear my head."

  Ah. That made sense. Kirrel had told him that his new overseer was afflicted with such problems. Perhaps he wasn't as big a fool as he had appeared. Perhaps he would even be able to use him.

  "Is that all?" asked Rennar.

  "Yes, my lord," said Azrael. He got up and left the room after taking a bow.

  Not one word about wanting to be sent to Marduk. Rennar rang for his guard and told him to fetch Kirrel.

  Chapter 28

  That went well, thought Azrael. He
just hoped he didn't overdo it. Rennar gave no signs of having believed Azrael.

  That was fine, considering it would be hard for Rennar to accept such a transformation easily. He would probably have his own doubts and would set his man Kirrel into finding out if Azrael had really changed.

  Azrael had taken exceptional care in orchestrating this. He discreetly had Doyen purchase some herbs and had written a fake letter seemingly from his own father and had it included in a package. Azrael had gone out of the castle to collect it himself.

  It was Kirrel's job to read letters and find out what people did. He had no doubt that Kirrel would already have done so. That would lend more credibility to his story.

  Asking if he could go to Marduk in that same conversation would have betrayed his true intentions.

  Slowly, said Doyen.

  One step at a time.

  Azrael had a mind for strategy and knew how wars were fought. And won. He knew how many sacrifices had to be made and how many battles willingly given up to win the war.

  He had thought for some time about what Lord Doyen had told him that day. About Rennar stealing from the empire. If Azrael could find proof that Rennar was stealing... Corruption was one thing that Emperor Thyurin never tolerated. Especially when it came to making deals with foreigners on the sensitive subject of iron—quite possibly the most valuable resource in a time of war.

  There were already enough concessions for the governors. All that was done to ensure that they remained utterly faithful to the empire. Rennar had grown even greedier and it would lead to his downfall. If he was stealing and selling iron to the Eorans on the side, then it would surely mean his dismissal. But only if Azrael could find proof. For that he would need to play his hand carefully. One misstep and he would end up dead.