Apprentice

by Nicholas Hale

  *

  The two demons would be a problem, thought Lorian. He assumed the dragon would be more than enough to distract them, but one of them in particular was battling it only half-heartedly.

  Lorian would not have known it earlier, but he was able to read its face much like he could a human being's. Perhaps it was another ability he could attribute to Mog'rath. While earlier he would have been filled with fear or even revulsion at the sight or smell of a demon, these two only appeared to bother him as much as a human would.

  Looking at the battle, he knew they had the upper hand. Neither demon was taking the fight too seriously. They seemed to consider it little more than an annoyance. The dragon, however, seemed at the far end of its strength. Orcus had told him the creature couldn't be destroyed until Amadeus was, but it would need to sleep much longer to regain its strength.

  "This should be far enough," said Lorian.

  Rhaen nodded and leapt off the ground, floating into the air. Gawain was still unconscious and Rhaen was supporting his weight fully.

  "This isn't good," said the hamster.

  Lorian could feel the little creature quivering.

  He didn't need to ask it what it meant. He knew. The speed at which they were flying was too slow. Lorian turned around, keeping one eye on the battle. His fear had just come to fruition. One of the demons had noticed them and stopped battling the dragon. It started flying toward them and had the distance between them covered in an instant.

  "Keep going!" yelled Lorian to Rhaen, who had also noticed the demon heading for them.

  He had no spells to deal with the demon. Before Orcus had suggested using the dragon as a distraction, he had put significant thought into the alternatives to get out of this mess. He was out of energy to cast spells, so taking on the demons in battle was out of the question.

  He had been aware of the difference in their speed early on, and knew that the only way to escape the lesser Azhurai was using Mog'rath's wings. The only problem was that he still couldn't do it at will.

  However, something that Orcus had spoken of earlier had gotten him thinking. About him learning how to use his newfound sense of smell. Ever since Orcus mentioned it, he had been subconsciously thinking about the process of using new organs and senses. If that was indeed true, then, like his sense of smell, the wings were always there, except they weren't always physically manifested.

  It seemed there were certain triggers that made Mog'rath's presence greatly manifest itself. The hatred he felt towards Auros had drawn out the claw. He remembered feeling immense hunger and wanting to bite into the godling when he first saw it lying on the ground.

  The demon was right in front of him, and it spread its claws and wings, baring its teeth. The look on its face told him everything he needed to know. It didn't even consider him a threat. Lorian brought his hand to his mouth and bit it, hoping that the taste of blood would be strong enough to entice Mog'rath. He could feel the subtle transformation. The two scars on his back. He had to use them. Within seconds, he felt the black wings sprout out and unfold from his back. And just in time. He darted upward, avoiding a slash from the lesser Azhurai.

  As fast as he was, he knew that the demon was used to aerial battles and would have no trouble following his movements. He could see a bloodthirsty grin spread across the demon's face.

  "Impressive, human. But can you do this?"

  The lesser Azhurai spread its wings and suddenly disappeared. Instinctive panic spread through Lorian's body as his eyes lost sight of the demon. Although he couldn't follow it with his eye, he could guess correctly that it would be right behind him.

  If this were a duel, Lorian would have pivoted to face his opponent. But this was no duel—it was a hunt. Lorian made to move away from the dangerous spot. He felt something akin to the lash of a whip on his back as he moved. First it just felt wet, and then it began to hurt. Flying away a small distance, he turned around to see the lesser Azhurai laughing, one of its long talons dripping with blood. The strike had been meant to bifurcate his body from head to toe, but thankfully he had moved quick enough to avoid being killed.

  "Wretched Mog'rath!" said the demon, still laughing. "I know you can hear me. How I have longed for revenge. Twelve millennia slavering at your feet, and I finally get to devour you!"

  The demon spread its wings again, but this time it didn't move fast. Rather, it appeared to be moving slowly and deliberately. Lorian knew what was happening—he was outmatched beyond comparison. The demon had complete confidence in its strength. Lorian felt his knees go weak with fear. It was the same aura that Mog'rath had emanated against Amadeus. Lorian's self-doubt and acceptance of his weakness made him a target for the aura's effect.

  The demon had almost closed in on him when he felt something strange around him. It looked as if Mog'rath was taking control of his body again, but the feeling was entirely different.

  Something wasn't right.

  The first transformation had been possible only because he had imbibed an abnormal amount of essence from the godling. How was he transforming now? There seemed to be no physical changes. Only visual ones. Lorian tried looking around, and it seemed as if he was shrouded in Mog'rath's demonic appearance.

  While the effect was merely strange and confusing to Lorian, he noticed that it had a profound effect on his enemy. Gone was the aura of confidence and strength. The lesser Azhurai, which had been terrifying before, seemed a meek rat. It was shivering, and its eyes were wide with raw fear. It turned around and started flying away from him as fast as it could.

  "Quickly! We don't have time!" yelled Orcus.

  "Did you do that?"

  "Yes I did, you idiot! Move quickly now! Before he comes back!"

  Lorian lost no time. Free from the demon's aura, he flew in the opposite direction.

  An illusion. He had to smile when he thought about the hamster's ingenuity. But Orcus had been right in saying that they needed to move quickly—the lesser Azhurai was terrified of Mog'rath, but it wasn't stupid. It would figure out the ruse in a few moments.

  Its next attack would be fatal—the demon wouldn't toy with him anymore. It would rip him to shreds as soon as he was in reach of its claws. He looked back and the demon was nowhere in sight.

  In seconds, he caught up to Rhaen. With Gawain's weight, her speed had been significantly reduced. He had no time to waste. As he flew past them, he caught Rhaen's robes with one hand and tugged her along. It was much easier than he thought, as Rhaen's magic was already keeping her afloat. They only had to make it to the scar, and they would be out of Amadeus's plane and in the simulacrum.

  He thought he could hear something behind him. Perhaps the demon was giving chase. Or perhaps it was his imagination. He would never find out, and he was fine with that. With one final flap of his wings he burst out through the scar, dragging Rhaen and Gawain along with him.

  He was greeted by the hazy sky of the simulacrum and the ocean of essences. He only caught a glimpse of it before everything went black.

  Chapter 57

  "How is he doing?" asked Rhaen.

  There were two mages tending to Lorian's wounds. When they first broke out of the simulacrum and into the room at Norvind, she was more worried for Master Gawain's health than Lorian's. He had been fine when they traveled through the scar.

  But apparently, the boy was more direly wounded than she had thought. The large gash on his back had festered at an incredible pace and he was burning hot with fever. He was lying face down on the bed with his back exposed to the mages working on it.

  "He will live for now. It's an extremely critical wound left untreated, but these were common enough during Naxannor's war for cures to have been developed. We are fortunate enough to have stocked up on them at Norvind."

  "Are you sure? Because it doesn't look too good. And it still stinks to hell."

  "The curative spells and balms curb the demonic corruption. So it won't spread any further, but he has to heal naturally through th
e damage that it has already done. Regenerative spells of the flesh would not work on wounds like these. There are few things in all the planes worse than a demon's claws. We should be glad he wasn't bitten. A priest's magic could also cleanse the existing corruption, and accelerate his healing, but...well..."

  But what kind of priest would even touch a mage?

  Still, it was better news than she had expected. Rhaen noticed the curious little hamster sitting on Lorian's chest. She had noticed it for the first time when she saw Lorian at the bottom of the sky in Amadeus's plane. She had meant to ask him about it, but that seemed low on her list of priorities at the time. Some of the mages felt magic emanating from it and suggested that they should study it, since it was an extra-planar creature.

  They were right to be cautious about anything coming out from Amadeus's plane, but Lorian had been holding the hamster in a protective embrace when they crashed into the simulacrum floor. If he saw it fit to bring the creature here, then perhaps they could wait till Lorian was healed. She asked the mages to keep an eye on it, but it seemed pretty much an ordinary hamster.

  She still felt dizzy when recounting the entire incident. She had been bombarded with questions when she first stood up in the simulacrum room. Both Gawain and Lorian were unconscious, so Rhaen was their only source of information. Seeing Master Gawain, a man they considered the greatest mage in the known lands, lying there broken seemed to have unsettled them.

  She quietly took charge, telling them that all would be explained in time, but for now, healing both the injured mages was more important. Master Gawain was out of danger too, she had been told, but the strain of the battle had been too much for him. He had pushed himself to his limit keeping up with Amadeus, and at his age, the Lumen had stressed his body far too much. Lorian's crushing grip had been the final straw.

  She had never been in such a situation before, but she tried her best to handle things as Master Gawain would.

  Foremost was sealing off the simulacrum. A less aggressive approach would be to try and seal the scars into Amadeus's plane. That way, they would still have use of the simulacrum but she had to be cautious. Especially considering how much their collective power had decreased with Gawain incapacitated. Amadeus, his hordes, the accursed Irith'arcana and, most of all, the two demons. All of them were a significant threat to Norvind right now, and she couldn't afford to let any of them find a way into the castle and into the mortal plane.

  The creators of the simulacrum had run into several such problems with the void, but all their defenses had been against essences. In fact, the simulacrum was built to help living creatures return to the castle more than anything else. Void explorers who found themselves lost deep inside the void, could find their way back if they knew to look for the signs. The simulacrum allowed for sufficient control from the inside, which was what had allowed Amadeus to make his lair there for so long. She couldn't risk the demons finding a way to use the same magic to escape.

  She ordered the simulacrum closed. Master Oswald was their resident expert on the simulacrum, next to Gawain himself. His life's work had essentially been a study of the magic fueling it and it was he who devised the binding runes along with master Gawain to protect Lorian early on. She had set him to the task of cutting off ties between the simulacrum and Norvind. She wanted nothing to be able to enter in or out through the room in Norvind.

  The second task was to tighten the defenses around Norvind itself. The castle servants weren't normally allowed inside the mage tower, but over the last hundred years, those lines had blurred a little. They had become too lax in their restrictions. Several of the mages were friendly with the castle staff and the guard. They also made trips into Bren to fetch other goods.

  Although she was sure none of them would speak about this incident, she had to assume the worst. If word did get out that Master Gawain had been wounded, and that Norvind was currently without a keeper...

  Although relatively a peaceful school of magic, Norvind had made its share of enemies over the years. Furthermore, the Lumen was the envy of a number of other schools. Any one of them could seize the opportunity for an attack. There was also the threat of Emperor Thyurin. The man had negotiated peace with the mages of Norvind, but he had done so out of sheer practicality, not wanting to get into a battle with Master Gawain. The Council of Three were also nearly equal in strength to Master Gawain. It wouldn't do well for them to learn of Norvind's weakness.

  That in mind, she ordered all the restrictions back in place and the protective runes around the castle strengthened. A young mage named Lillian oversaw the security in the mage tower. She was a good student, but Rhaen would have liked someone more experienced to handle this position now. Unfortunately, she seemed the only choice. But she would handle the situation well. She was, after all, a mage of Norvind like the rest of them. She would simply have to trust that the girl was up to the task. She made a mental note to double-check all the security measures. She had ordered the strongest of the enchantments against demons and the undead towards the inside of the castle and around the simulacrum.

  Thirdly, several of the prominent mages of Norvind, were not inside the castle right now. Most of them were out researching on their own. Shevryn of the Flame and Alexandra were in the great jungle of Holt researching god knows what. They were nearly her equals in strength and she needed them here now.

  And Nader the Mauler. She needed Nader most of all.

  He was the last mage to join Norvind before Lorian. The man's strength in the Lumen was not equal to hers, but he was the most battle-seasoned mage in Norvind next to Master Gawain. He had been a prodigy much like Lorian was now, and his exploits during Naxannor's war were renowned. He had been invited to study at Norvind, because Gawain had considered him a potential for the position of the next keeper. The man was more than pleased to accept, and had trained well in the Lumen, but he realized early on that he would never excel with it. But he had resourcefully incorporated the Lumen to overcome several deficiencies in his own school of magic, which was elemental in nature. Of all the mages in Norvind, his was the most hybrid style of casting. Some of the spells he devised were devastatingly powerful.

  The last one was Vail. The man was almost an outcast in Norvind, because he had been a Summoner before joining the school. Most of them were aghast when Master Gawain accepted him into the castle. She still had her doubts, but the man had never done anything to endanger Norvind. He realized that he wasn't fully accepted, and didn't try to make too many friends in the castle. His only friend was Master Gawain.

  She was thankful that he was an ally. The man's knowledge of demons could come in useful right now with the two demons inside the simulacrum, and, more importantly, in understanding Lorian's affliction.

  She sent out messengers to find and get all the mages back to the castle immediately. Except for Geleb. She would have been glad to have Geleb's advice right now, but he had made several breakthroughs with Artemis at Simea. All that would be undone if she were to call him back now.

  The final task was calling upon their allies. Norvind hadn't just been making enemies all this time. It had also forged good relationships with several organizations, both magical and non-magical. These organizations wouldn't be able to stand against the Imperial Talon or the Aegean Council of Three on their own, but they were still formidable.

  Most of Gawain's allies from his days of adventuring had already passed on from this world, but they had been influential enough to create their own organizations—The paladins of Azanar were a sect of Myria's paladins founded by Master Gawain's closest friend, Castor. Although the man himself had passed away, the organization had flourished and had been among the foremost of Norvind's allies due to their historical ties to Gawain. The organization nearly perished at the hands of Naxannor during the fall of Azanar, but the surviving members had recouped and built another temple with financial help from Norvind. They could be counted on for aid.

  There were also several smaller
adventuring bands and mercenary groups that would gladly help Norvind if the hour of need ever came. She knew that some of them were in the region and it wouldn't hurt to have them in the castle. They were always glad for the rest, the food and the use of Norvind's libraries.

  She was still thinking about whom else she had missed when she found that she was already outside Gawain's chambers. She hesitated as she placed her hand on the doorknob. The mages taking care of him would have fetched her immediately had he awoken. They hadn't, which meant he was still unconscious. They had assured her that he was out of danger, but she wasn't sure she wanted to see Gawain like that.

  She quietly removed her hands from the doorknob and walked toward the garden. The place always calmed her. She quietly began recollecting all her tasks, making sure she hadn't missed anything as she walked.

  *

  Lorian awoke with a start, gasping for breath, his body completely covered with sweat. He was lying on his stomach. Turning slightly to look around the room caused the wound on his back to send a wave of nauseating pain through his body, going as far as to disorient him.

  "Rest easy. They seem well capable of healing you," said a small voice next to him.

  "Orcus?" Lorian asked as he saw the hamster sitting on the side table.

  Lorian exhaled heavily when he realized that he was back in Norvind now.

  "How is Master Gawain?" he asked.

  "Better than you, at the moment. He seems out of danger from what I've heard. He'll take longer to recover than you, but your wound was far more critical."

  One strike. That was all it had taken to reduce him to this pitiful state.

  "So we're really out of the simulacrum?" asked Lorian, still gasping for breath as he struggled to speak.

  "Rhaen had it sealed," replied Orcus. "It would seem we're safe for now. Something else bothers you?"

  "Mog'rath's essence."

  Orcus waited patiently, looking at him while Lorian struggled to find the words. There was no easy way to put this. The prospect of having an arch-demon reside inside him was simply…disturbing.