Apprentice

by Nicholas Hale

  Whatever this thing was, it had been cloaking itself and hiding in the simulacrum for a very long time. Perhaps even before the third Master Amara had assumed her role as keeper.

  "You said you would explain," said Rhaen.

  Gawain tried to smile. Rhaen was being patient with him. He had been hard on her the last month or so—losing his temper, making snide remarks. He had even been condescending towards some of her suggestions. He had been wrong to do so. Rhaen was the second most powerful mage in Norvind. He surpassed her in the Lumen, but her knowledge in many other forms of magic far exceeded his own.

  After he had lost Astrid to Valymar Skybane, he had found Rhaen. He had taken her as an apprentice and was sure that she would be the next arch-mage and keeper of Norvind. He had been dumbfounded when she told him she did not desire the position. He had been angry at first that she would refuse a position coveted by mages across the known lands. Valymar and his twelve desired it enough to assault Norvind. The Council of Three respected it enough to counsel the Aegean emperor to seek Gawain's consent before the invasion of Ryga. The Imperial Talon of Eora were haughty and pretended to look down on the Lumen, but as powerful as they were, Gawain knew for a fact that they had attempted their own research into the void to harness the Lumen.

  And here Rhaen was, telling him she had no interest in becoming the keeper. She had given her reasons. While the Lumen offered power, she found that the magic was not interesting enough for her to dedicate her life to it. Gawain had decided to let it go. And then he found Lorian. And had lost him. It was that frustration which he had let out on Rhaen.

  "I'm sorry. I know I've been hard on you these pa—"

  "Yes you are. And we can deal with that later. I meant to ask about our current situation. What are we doing here? Shouldn't we be outside trying to pull out the Lumenar shard from his body?"

  "Ah yes," said Gawain.

  One solution that Rhaen had found, and that Gawain was willing to try was to perform a variant of an exorcism.

  It was more akin to priestly magic than to that of a mage, but in theory, it made sense to him. Exorcisms were possible by priests only because they could channel the power of the higher celestial planes to form a rift in the victim's body. Celestial energies were often devastating to a demon and the plane would be strong enough to divide the mortal essence from the demonic one. Although they only worked on weaker demons. With stronger demons, the quantity of the celestial energies required could destroy the mortal shell, defeating the purpose of the exorcism.

  Rhaen had theorized that the same principle could be used in separating Lorian from the Lumenar fragment. All that was needed was a source of power that could function as the divider, and a standard exorcism spell could be used. She suggested that the energies of simulacrum could serve as the dividing power source. But this was before they realized that Lorian's life force had disappeared into the simulacrum. Nevertheless, she had readied the spell for the moment when they actually found his essence again. But Gawain could see that it wouldn't work. He knew it as soon as he saw the runes changing themselves on Lorian's body.

  "Your spell was devised on the premise that we had only two forces at play here. The Lumenar fragment and Lorian's essence. But as you might have noticed, we have a third unknown force here."

  "I recognize the signature. It's necromantic."

  She was right. Gawain cursed himself for not realizing it sooner. Valymar Skybane had been a necromancer. One of the best. Gawain should have had no trouble in recognizing these signatures. Yet, he quickly began to realize why he didn't connect the two. While the signatures were similar, the one he was feeling now indicated the presence of magic far more powerful than anything Valymar had been capable of.

  "I still don't understand. Why would it matter? The third force, whatever it is would also have been separated from Lorian's body once the exorcism was performed. The simulacrum separates all things living from those within the void."

  "Ah, but there you err, my dear Rhaen—all living things from those within the void. One of the first goals in building the simulacrum had been an unbreakable defense. The ancient void explorers needed to protect themselves fully from the void before they could begin harnessing its energies. The cardinal rule of the simulacrum's design had been that the void beings could not manipulate its magic."

  "What?" asked Rhaen. "But then that means—"

  "Whatever this third force is, necromantic or not, it's not from the void," said Gawain finishing her sentence.

  "But that's impossible. Something from the mortal plane is inside the simulacrum? How did we not find it all this time?"

  Gawain had realized it as soon as he had seen the runes on Lorian's body changing themselves. His first instinct had been to think that there was a creature in the void that was manipulating the simulacrum, but he dismissed it immediately. If that had been possible, the void explorers would never have been able to discover the Lumen. The second option, Lorian himself, also had been readily dismissed. He might be a prodigy, but the mastery of magic required to manipulate the simulacrum was inhuman. The only option remaining was an outsider.

  "It appears to have been there for quite some time now."

  It had to be. And it had to have studied the simulacrum immensely to manipulate its core magic with such ease.

  "This is why I needed you with me. I know not what we face, but we do know that it's quickly killing Lorian." They were flying in silence for a few moments when Rhaen suddenly exclaimed, "There!"

  Gawain looked up and saw what she was pointing at. A black scar in the clouded sky. Gawain changed his direction and sped up toward the black scar. It was more a rip in the sky than a scar. The edges were pulsing with the same necromantic power that he had felt. They were forcefully keeping the rip open against the energies of the simulacrum that formed the sky.

  "Be prepared, Rhaen," Gawain said as he started moving closer to the rip. "Stay close to me until we're clear about what we're dealing with."

  Everything went dark as soon as he passed through the rip. For a moment, he appeared to be completely suspended in space. But he did have a strange sensation of wind against his body. But he knew it wasn't wind. It was necromantic energy that was flowing towards the rip and escaping it like blood from a wound.

  And gravity. Somehow entering the rip in the sky had brought back the physical laws of nature. It was as if he had entered another plane.

  "This feels strange. Where are we?" asked Rhaen.

  "Quiet," said Gawain trying not to sound harsh.

  He closed his eyes and began to concentrate. The magical wind. He only needed to follow the direction it was coming from. It seemed to be coming from all directions towards the rip. There! He had found one strand that was particularly strong. He started moving along the direction of that strand. In the distance, he could see a small island in the space. And on that island, a massive castle was beginning to become visible as he sped toward it. Although faint, he could feel Lorian's essence as he got closer.

  There were sparks of magical explosion. There appeared to be a battle underway He saw two figures floating over several terraces of the immense castle. One figure appeared to be made entirely out of gold.

  The Lumenar fragment that Lorian trapped.

  It was armored from head to toe and was bearing a large golden scythe that was two times its own height.

  Its armor appeared severely damaged, though. One of its shoulder pauldrons was missing, and Gawain couldn't be sure, but it appeared one of its legs was not functioning.

  Standing opposite it was a mage. A human mage.

  He was completely shrouded in a black flowing energy. What was more remarkable than the fact that he was defeating a fragment of the Lumen itself, was his sigil.

  Even thorough the black shroud, Gawain recognized the sigil. It was of the oldest necromantic school on Ryga. During the days of the Black legion, it had been engraved on the walls of Castle Norvind. Gawain still remembered seeing it
from a distance.

  Both the fragment and the human had noticed their arrival. The Lumenar fragment repositioned itself facing all three humans. Gawain knew it was regarding the newcomers as enemies too. The mage turned completely to face Gawain. His face still wasn't clear through the shroud of energy. The mage addressed Gawain.

  "Visitors," he said, laughing.

  The shroud of energy was clearing up, revealing a face that appeared…young.

  "I should have known that altering the simulacrum's wards would alert the fools in the castle. Name yourself," he commanded.

  "I am Gawain—arch-mage and keeper of Norvind."

  "Another one?" he asked. "I knew the second keeper, Cerevax, quite well. Which one are you? Third?"

  Amadeus!

  Gawain had suspected it at first, but it was too incredible to be true. He had thought the mage would be an apprentice of Amadeus, but the man himself? One of the most dangerous mages on Ryga in his time. The only man to have defeated the Lumenar mages in battle. Master Cerevax and Amara had supposedly slain him. How was he alive and what was he doing here?

  "Your expression tells me you've figured out who I am. I care little for how you made your way here, but you're free to turn and leave. I should be done with your precious simulacrum soon."

  "Master, there!"

  Gawain looked at where Rhaen was pointing. On one of the smaller terraces towards the center was Lorian. He was on his knees and chained to the center of a large runic circle. He appeared to only be partly conscious, but Gawain could guess how close to death the boy was. Even from this distance he could feel Lorian's essence diminishing.

  "What have you done to him?" asked Gawain, the words barely taking form as he concealed his anger.

  "The boy? So, you're here for him? Now that changes things. At this point, I regret to say the boy is an important part of my plans. Make your choice quickly, keeper. Leave without him or perish."

  Gawain lifted his hand and fired a lance of blue fire at Amadeus. The black shroud expanded momentarily and engulfed the lance. It appeared to have done no damage to him at all.

  "It appears you have made your choice then."

  Gawain felt his surroundings shake as the necromancer began casting. The Lumenar fragment rushed towards him, its scythe borne ready for a strike. Dark lightning arced from Amadeus's outstretched hand and struck the fragment square in its chest, stopping it in its tracks.

  Gawain knew of the magic Amadeus was using.

  The shroud of corruption.

  It was more than just a planar connection. Energies from the plane of necromancy would cover the caster. The area surrounding Amadeus's body was, for all intents and purposes, in the necromantic planes. Any spell that he cast would pass through the necromantic plane and be emitted in its corrupted form. Certain forms of magic would get destroyed completely, but elemental magic was not one of them. They in fact became more powerful and far deadlier. Corrupted fire burned a thousand times hotter and was impossible to counter even with the strongest ice elemental spell. Corrupted lightning was the same. Gawain saw its effects on the Lumenar fragment. Black electricity lingered on its body long after the spell was completed, burning away small parts of its golden skin.

  Another arc of lightning shot toward Gawain. He raised a hand enveloped with a gauntlet formed from the Lumen. Effortlessly, he struck the bolt of lightning aside. He spoke to Rhaen as he began gathering the powers of the Lumen into his body.

  "Your priority is Lorian. I have a feeling the runic circle is being used to weaken the Lumenar fragment. And it is killing Lorian in the process. You need to make your way to him. And both of you find your way out of here as soon as you free him."

  Rhaen nodded and moved away to the side. She would free Lorian. Gawain knew that much.

  The chants he started intoning took on a life of their own and soon the air around him was filled with voices echoing the magic of the Lumen. A familiar feeling. Gawain felt warmth as the golden light covered him.

  Several hundred years of existence had weakened his body. But he always felt invigorated when the energies of the Lumen filled his body. His mind was lucid under its influence. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Amadeus looking at him intently.

  The man's smile was gone and replaced with a far more serious expression.

  "Who taught you, keeper?"

  "Amara was my master," replied Gawain. "The third keeper of Norvind. She was the apprentice of Cerevax."

  As he finished replying, he felt the final links between him and the Lumen complete.

  He stood in stark contrast to his opponent. One was shrouded in golden light, while the other in darkness.

  The Lumen was more primal in its form than most other magic. Elemental spells could be devised to take on advanced shapes such as swords, lances and arrows or simpler shapes such as a ball. The energy of the Lumen was better used in even more fundamental shapes such as curves and lines.

  Gawain raised his hand and brought it down in a slow moving arc.

  The arc expanded became a large half-moon-shaped blade that sped towards Amadeus. He had already shown considerable ability and speed, but contrary to Gawain's anticipation, Amadeus stood still and spread apart both his arms, causing the shapeless shroud of darkness to expand. It had become the size of a small pond before the Lumen struck it.

  The arc of light ripped through the shroud causing most of it to disappear. For the first time, Gawain could see the upper half of Amadeus's body. The flesh itself, however, appeared to be unharmed. The shroud began to regenerate. It seemed Amadeus knew how to counter some spells of the Lumen.

  "The crescent of light, is it not? One of the most basic forms of the Lumen. We're not going to hurt each other with these spells. I can sense from your presence that you're a better mage than the fool Cerevax. You bear the blood of hundreds of mages. One of them even a descendant of my own school of magic. Why don't you show me what you can do, keeper? And I will show you the same."

  Gawain smiled as he felt the extent of Amadeus's power.

  He recalled his old battles. Not the one with Valymar and the fools. He had known that one would be difficult even before it started but there was no doubt about which side would win. Gawain would not be defeated in his prime and in his own castle, so as close as Valymar and his fools thought they had gotten, they were still leagues away from defeating one such as him. The one he remembered was the battle atop Azanar with Anacalor. The uncertainty and excitement it brought with it.

  Gawain had come to accept that he was not a pacifist. As much as he did try to avoid battles, he was a man that could kill when needed. And as such, he grew to be a man that could enjoy bloodlust when the need arose for it. Gawain laughed at Amadeus.

  "Cerevax was still alive when I arrived to study at Norvind. Even after his apprentice Amara became keeper, I still learned from Cerevax."

  "What could that fool possibly have taught you?"

  "It pains me to admit that his knowledge of the Lumen was not complete. But you couldn't blame him considering who his master was. You knew his master very well."

  Amadeus looked serious once again and stopped smiling.

  "You see, Cerevax never taught me how to use the Lumen—he left that to Amara. But he did tell me a lot about the Lumen's history. And its founder. I know all about the sadistic bastard that the first keeper Iothen was. Even your own reign in Ryga pales in comparison to Iothen's atrocities."

  Amadeus began gathering the dark energy into his hands as the look on his face changed from seriousness to anger. Gawain too began gathering his own Lumenar energy as he readied for a clash.

  "He told me all about your first battle at Norvind against Iothen. You knew fear once at Iothen's hands. I believe it is time for you to know it once again."

  "Silence!"

  Amadeus brought his hands together and released a pillar of black light towards Gawain. Gawain laughed as he met it with his own magic.

  Lumen met the plane of corruption
and the space surrounding them shook.

  Gawain's fingers felt the pressure as his bones ground against the recoil of two powerful spells colliding.

  "Rise, armies of the Amber Glade! Rise, wraiths of Gambol!" shouted Amadeus.

  The towers began shaking. They appeared to be getting covered in a black material. Gawain focused and saw that the 'black material' was made up of thousands of figures running along its walls.

  "Arise, Irith'arcana!"

  Gawain heard the clanking of metal followed by a loud roar. One of the towers began to crumble.

  His body shivered as he recognized the roar. He had heard this before. He had felt it up close when he fought Anacalor.

  The roar of a dragon.

  There were few things in all planes of existence that could sound like this. He saw large cracks on the side of the largest tower. Something was rapidly rising through it, ripping apart the walls and the foundational structure as it made its way through. Gawain noticed that there were several other skeletal mages flying toward where he was standing.

  Taking a deep breath, Gawain closed his eyes. A wave of calm swept over him blocking out the chaos around him as he connected to the Lumen, readying his most powerful spells. Spells that he had used to defeat Valymar and the twelve. It was time to see what Amadeus was really capable of.

  Chapter 52

  There was no one word for what Lorian was feeling.

  He had always taken his own essence for granted. He had never even felt its existence. There was no way he could describe what its presence felt like even now.

  But he knew how it felt to lose it.

  He felt convulsions as more of his essence was sucked out by the diamond constructs.

  Pain. Fear. Anger. Depression. Humiliation. It was a mix of everything.

  Even without knowing the real power behind essences and how they worked, Lorian knew what would happen if he lost all of it. He would become a dried-up shell. And as every negative feeling he had felt worsened with each bit of essence he lost, he knew that he would sooner die than lose even one more small fragment of his essence.