by Arlin Fehr
‘This is a catalogue of astronomical phenomenon from the Observatory,’ she commented.
‘Dating back, three thousand yehvs,’ Azra agreed.
‘What are you looking for precisely?’ Jahnyz asked.
‘Not sure,’ Azra responded and looked back at the contents, ignoring Jahnyz’s sigh.
‘Here,’ he said pointing at the heading, ‘planetary impacts of comets and asteroids.’
‘Why?’ Jahnyz asked.
‘I have a feeling it might be something worth checking,’ the Wyzard responded.
‘Astounding,’ Dykyn whispered in awe.
Azra flipped through the book and found the listings.
Two caught his eye.
‘Here,’ he said, ‘two listings look promising, one that occurred out in the ocean, and another...’ He frowned. ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘I should have remembered that.’
‘What?’ Jahnyz asked.
‘Basic history,’ Azra responded, ‘you do know, of course that the continents of Halli and Milla used to be one continent.’
‘No,’ Dykyn said.
‘Oh,’ Azra responded with a frown. Then he said, ‘The southern continent, Milla, was separated from the rest of Halli by a meteor impact some three thousand yehvs ago.’
‘Right,’ Jahnyz agreed, ‘the Dark Days of Peril.’
‘The impact crater broke the continents into two separate landmasses,’ Azra said to Dykyn, as if he was teaching in a class. ‘The fireball killed many around the impact site, and anyone in the impact area itself had been killed instantly.’
‘Obviously,’ Jahnyz sighed.
Azra ignored her and went on, ‘So much dust was thrown into the air that the planet had started to cool. The Kingdoms of that age had to come together, and, using void ships and Mahgic, they had fixed the air and prevented widespread famine and ended the long winter.’
‘Wow,’ Dykyn said, ‘I never heard that story.’
Azra cocked an eyebrow at the boy. ‘How long have you been training with Meridon?’
‘Just a month, sir,’ Dykyn responded.
‘Oh, of course, you’re quite green... anyway, after things were fixed on Antia, things went back to business as usual, except that one of the Old Kingdoms had been utterly destroyed by the impact, and a few new ones had risen on Milla.’
‘Didn’t Shakla say these Nehhom came to Anita three thousand yehvs ago?’ Jahnyz asked.
Azra frowned at the logic. ‘Yes,’ he grumbled, ‘I doubt that impact would have brought them from another world. The impact that killed so many would have killed surely them too.’
He consulted the book again.
Then he said, ‘The second impact though, the one that happened in the ocean off the west coast of Milla, that one is more promising.’
‘Nedin,’ Jahnyz said to Azra.
He grinned at her. ‘Clever girl,’ he said.
‘What?’ Dykyn asked.
‘The Kingdom of Nedin, on the west of Milla,’ Azra told the boy, ‘it is a kingdom that offers protection to many independent coastal trade towns on Milla. In exchange, they use the ports of the cities for their navies, and receive tribute regularly. If anyone would know about a race beneath the waves, it would be them.’
‘Then we’re done here?’ Jahnyz smiled.
‘How long have you two been going out?’ Azra asked.
Jahnyz rolled her eyes and started away with Dykyn. ‘Talk to you later, Azra.’
He let them go.
Then Azra felt a sensation in his head.
John had activated the stone the Wyzard had left with him.
Kia had escaped!
Azra got to his feet, put the book back, and rushed out of the library, towards the courtyard, at the base of the tower, where he could teleport away, back to Jarridon.
Reunions
‘You tell a lot of stories and teach little Mahgic, Wyzard... sometimes I feel like you’re wasting my time...’
-Jahnyz, voicing frustration to Azra
JARRIDON – BAZRA DESERT
Azra stood in the lobby of his palace in Jarridon. He was looking warily at the black snake that was coiled on the floor next to Kia. It was looking back at him, but otherwise, hadn’t really moved since he’d arrive.
John Fort had rehearsed in detail to Azra all that Kia had told him when she emerged from the tunnel. The girl looked small and afraid, and the others gathered in the lobby left a healthy space between themselves and the snake.
‘The Sorcerer didn’t say anything else?’ Azra asked, not taking his eyes of the snake.
‘No, Azra. Nothing. He just said I would be let go so I wouldn’t distract you from your mission,’ Kia explained.
‘Your Father is not going to be happy,’ Azra mused.
Then he began to pace. He walked slowly in a circle around Kia. She was holding herself and looking at the floor. She looked quite upset. Azra wanted to just tell her everything would be all right, but he really didn’t know if it would be.
He heard footsteps hurrying towards them and stopped and looked up. Cina, wearing a red tunic, with a dagger at her side, was rushing towards them. She was looking at Kia. She raised her arms towards Kia, and Azra stepped between them. Cina looked at Azra, anger on her face.
‘Don’t touch Kia! I know I told you she was back, but she’s brought an unwelcome guest,’ Azra said, gesturing towards the snake. ‘If anyone tries to touch Kia, that snake will kill them.’
‘It’s just a snake,’ Cina scoffed, pulling the dagger from her belt.
‘No, it’s something more. Kia saw the snake get its head cut off, only to have it heal itself and kill the man who tried it. She’s safe, for now, but we can’t risk losing her again. The Sorcerer told her that anyone who tries to remove the snake risks getting Kia killed, and certainly getting themselves killed.’
‘The Sorcerer said?’ Cina asked, slowly putting her dagger away.
Azra sighed, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. ‘The Sorcerer let her go. But he made the snake come with her. The snake killed a few of his own men just to keep them from stopping her. He told her that not having her back would distract me from my mission.’
Cina looked over Azra’s shoulder at Kia. Then she looked back at Azra and said, ‘You can’t be seriously planning on going through with this.’
‘What choice do I have? He’s tricked me with his Mahgic before, and I didn’t see it coming. I can’t risk destroying the snake, lest I do it wrong, and it kills Kia.’
‘You can’t expect the King to just stand by and wait for you.’
‘I actually do. He has a war to fight. His daughter is back in our protection, and for now, I don’t think we have to worry about the Raiders. Kia told us there is some dissension among the ranks.’
‘While you do what exactly? Try to track down what the Sorcerer wants, and give it to him on a silver platter?’ Cina asked impatiently.
‘More or less. I'll work on a better plan while I look for answers.’
Cina let out a sigh, and asked, ‘So, what now Baron Hemnoth?’
‘Now, I go talk to the King,’ Azra said.
*
MINNA – ROYAL PALACE – VANHO PROVINCE
As much as he disliked the gaudy grandeur of the Wyzards and Sorcerers in Sallock, he couldn’t forget that he was intimately attached to such grandeur himself. He was reminded quite forcefully of this as he walked up the grand causeway leading to the palace.
Kia trailed behind him, and Cina was next to her. John, and Azra’s apprentice Jahnyz, walked behind them. He had brought them along, and told them his plan as they had walked from the Archway to the palace.
Jahnyz had been understandably upset at having to abandon Dykyn. Nevertheless, she was eager for something other than watching after a city in the desert. It was no secret she was frustrated by the slow pace of Azra’s Mahgical tutoring.
Cina thought Azra’s whole endeavour was a terrible idea, but had chosen to let the King try to convince Azra of
that.
That much didn’t surprise Azra, either.
John was supportive of the plan, though was concerned about leaving his second in command in charge of Jarridon during such a delicate time.
Kia, however, was unsure. She was unsure about many things right now, and Azra couldn’t blame her. He hoped she’d come along, but of course he still needed to convince the King of his plan.
They strode through the large gates of the palace. Inside the walls, the estate was no less impressive than it always was. It was a vast castle of polished stone and ornate fixtures and doors. Red banners with the royal crest hung from the walls. Towers and parapets stretched up to the sky. The grounds inside the wall were green and lush, with trees standing in copses carefully arranged around the open courtyard.
Azra stopped for a moment and took in a deep breath of the sweet, fresh, air. There was life here, it was a welcome change of pace from the dry blandness of Jarridon and the Bazra Desert.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked to see John standing next to him. The two men had spent a great deal of time in Jarridon, and they were both appreciative of the reprise.
Azra continued onward towards the main doors. The armoured guards by the doors opened them so Azra and his group could pass through. Jahnyz stopped at the threshold and looked inside the castle. Azra remember she had never been here before. He walked up to her.
‘You’ll be staying here in the lobby,’ the Wyzard informed his apprentice. ‘Stick with John, he can show you around if you’d like,’ Azra said.
Jahnyz just nodded, looking distracted.
Azra turned and started towards the throne room. Kia and Cina followed in behind him.
They entered the throne room, the guards shutting the door behind them. King Hadrian Minna and Azra’s sister, the Queen Fera Hemnoth Minna, sat on their throne. The King was tall, bald, with hard brown eyes and a greying brown, beard. He had the build of a man who was a warrior through and through. Hadrian was not a soft man. Azra’s sister, as beautiful as ever, sat in her throne, dressed in white and crimson gown that hugged her slender form. Long, blonde, locks cascaded down her back, and her eyes, of the iciest blue, stared in wonder and relief at her approaching daughter. The youngest son, a blond boy of only eight, stood off to one side, behind the throne, watching them.
The three of them walked up to the base of the dais on which the thrones sat. Azra bowed down, and heard Kia and Cina do the same.
King Hadrian stood up, and walked down the steps. He motioned for them to rise.
He started towards Kia, and she took a step back.
The King stopped.
Azra turned to him, and said, ‘Your majesty, I’m afraid you shouldn’t try to touch your daughter just yet.’
The Queen walked down the steps and stood by her husband.
Azra gave Fera a sad smile. ‘Sister,’ he greeted.
‘Explain yourself, Azra, and why is that snake near my daughter?’ King Hadrian asked.
‘The snake is a pet of the Sorcerer’s. It is here to ensure my loyalty to him and to keep you at a distance from him.’ Azra noticed the guards along the wall stiffen a bit. ‘If we try to remove it, it will kill Kia. If anyone touches Kia, it will kill them. It already killed a few of the Raiders as they tried to stop Kia from escaping.’
‘Escaping?’ The King asked with one eyebrow raised.
‘I slipped her a map so she could escape from the Raider’s fortress.’
‘That was the plan you had me stop the attack for? Endangering my daughter by letting her try to escape herself?’ Hadrian demanded darkly.
Azra frowned. ‘The sorcerer would have killed her had we attacked. Kia says the snake was with her at all times.’
King Hadrian was silent for a moment, but didn’t look away from Azra. Azra, for his part, felt uncomfortable, but didn’t look away either.
‘I know you too well, Baron. You would not have come yourself if you did not have some plan, or some request to make. Spit it out.’
Hadrian turned around and walked back to his throne, sitting once more.
Azra swallowed, before saying, ‘I need a ship and a crew to go to the Milla continent so that I can look for a people called the Nehhom, who the Sorcerer says live beneath the waves. It is the price requested of me by the Sorcerer so that we can free Kia from his pet.’
‘And?’
Azra grimaced, adding, ‘And I want to take Kia with me.’
The King bowed his head and ran a hand over his shiny, bald, dome.
Azra stood in the uncomfortable silence.
'Why not use the Archway Wyzard? Why use a ship? The kingdom of Nevron does not keep their Archway under lock and key.'
'My king, I don't know if we can trust the Archways with your daughter. She was stolen right out of the Archway of Jarridon,' Azra said, his own regret heavy on his voice.
King Hadrian sat back heavily and looked deep in thought.
‘I will need a moment to think about it. Please leave.’
Azra took a step backwards and slowly walked away from them. Kia and Cina turned to follow him, but the king looked up.
‘Kia, please stay.’
Kia stopped.
Cina hesitated, but followed after Azra.
*
They stood in the hall outside the throne room, waiting. The King had not sent anyone out to speak with them for some time.
‘I’ve never seen the King agonize over a decision like this before,’ Cina commented quietly.
‘I just asked him to give up his daughter, after he just got her back. If I do that, all but one of his children will be away on missions or leading troops. The dynasty is stretched thin,’ Azra pointed out.
‘It’s more than that,’ Cina suggested.
‘It is. I know that.’
‘Still,’ Cina said, ‘knowing the King, he won’t allow his personal feelings to affect what he feels is the best choice for the Kingdom,’ she said loyally.
‘He was going to risk the whole Kingdom to attack the Zharin Raider fortress to get Kia back... While I don’t fully disagree with his choice, he is not as unaffected by human feeling as you seem to believe.’
Cina frowned at Azra. ‘It’s the Queen,’ she said, ‘no doubt she constantly reminds Hadrian that he’s a Father as well as a King.’
‘No doubt,’ Azra agreed, unable to comprehend the mind of this woman.
The doors to the throne room creaked open. Azra turned around and saw his sister, the Queen, stepping through the doors. The guards on either side moved to flank her.
‘If I am not safe with my brother, inside my own palace, then there is no place left for me. Leave us,’ she commanded, and looked to Cina. ‘You may go inside,’ she said.
‘Highness,’ Cina said, bowing.
The soldiers turned and marched away, while Cina made for the throne room.
When they were gone, Fera said, ‘Azra... Why do you want to take her from us again?’ Her sapphire eyes were brimming with Motherly concern.
‘Fera, I want her with me so that I can watch over her.’
‘We can do that here at the palace,’ Fera argued.
‘I know. But, if an opportunity arises to free her from the snake early, I want to be there to seize it.’
'Then why a ship my brother? Surely our Archway is not at risk. The sorcerer is no where near our city.'
Azra raised his hands and let them rest on his sister's shoulders, 'Oh Fera, I wish I could say with certainty that was true. I just don't know. This sorcerer... scares me. He makes me afraid of what he could do to our family, or our kingdom. I don't know what's safe and what isn't.'
Fera stared at Azra. ‘You can’t bear the thought of something happening to her and not being there to do something about it?’ she asked.
Azra lowered his hands, and let them hang by his side.
Azra closed his eyes. ‘Yes,’ he agreed. ‘It’s my fault she’s got that blasted snake following her. I should have been less reck
less in my use of the Archway.’
Fera placed a hand on Azra’s shoulder. ‘I believe in you,’ she said. She pulled away and walked back to the door. Before going in, she turned and said, ‘I’ll see what I can do to convince the King. Just remember... there was a strained note to her voice and a quiver of emotion, ‘keep her safe.’
Before Azra could say anything, Fera ducked back into the throne room. Azra stood there in silence for some time.
He felt very alone at the moment.
The door opened again, the young blond boy, Prince Gray, stepped out. ‘The King will see you now.’
‘Thank you, Prince Grey,’ Azra said, following him in.
They walked up to the dais. Cina and Kia were standing off to the right. The King was sitting on his throne, and Fera was standing on his right. Prince Gray walked up and stood on his left.
‘Baron Azra Hemnoth, brother of my Queen, uncle to my children, after much deliberation, I have decided to grant your request. While we may not always see eye to eye, I understand your desire to protect your niece, and your continued service to the Kingdom. The Sorcerer Shakla has shown himself to be the enemy of the Kingdom of Minna, and right now the Kingdom cannot afford a grand reshuffling of resources to deal with him. As such, your request for one ship is a small price to pay for the future safety of my daughter and the Kingdom. Lady Cina and her guards will accompany you. You will also have the crew of the ship at your disposal. Word will be sent ahead, and the ship will be waiting for you in the port town of Salvor,’ King Hadrian announced.
Azra bowed himself. ‘Thank you, my King,’ he said.
‘You may go Baron. May the Heavens smile upon you.’
Azra got up and turned to go. He heard Cina and Kia walking behind him. After they left the throne room, Azra stopped and turned to them.
‘What did you say to him?’ he asked.
Cina looked at Kia and then at Azra.
‘Kia said she wanted to be there when you figured it all out,’ Cina grumbled. ‘I am to help you find what you’re looking for.’
‘How many of your guards are you bringing?’ Azra asked.
‘Ten, not counting myself. It’s a small ship we’ve been given. I suggested it. It’ll be less conspicuous, and it’s fast. It’s called the Summer Wind.’