“So could I become a god? If I wanted to?’ Alec asked.
“It’s rare for even a mage to become a god and takes certain special circumstances to make it happen. We’re not able to talk about it really, even what I’ve told you so far is really difficult to do.”
Alec let the topic drop and started getting his things ready for the morning. Aaron climbed into the other bed as he laid down putting out the lamp between them.
Allen kept his steady pace as the sun dipped lower in the sky. Ahead was a large clearing and he could see a horse lying on its side kicking weakly. Those stupid mages rode their horses to death. He thought to himself. Dropping to the ground he threw his reins over a low hanging branch.
Allen hoped there was something he could do for the poor horse and drew his knife in case the only option was to end its suffering. He wasn’t worried about the two mages as their last horse seemed determined not to let them mount. Kneeling behind the horse, he coaxed it back to its feet. The horse was still shaking as he led it over to a small stream. He knew not let it drink too much too fast.
Robert and Sherry couldn’t get mounted on their last horse. Even putting a shield next to it so it couldn’t move away from them it would drop or move back and forth to get away.
“If you want to kill the horse it would be easier to just use a knife!” Allen yelled.
Robert spun bringing a shield up between them. “We don’t want to kill the damn thing. We just need to get to Alec fast.”
“You won’t get there trying to ride that horse. I suggest you camp here and catch up with him tomorrow.”
“Allen right? Alec is just down the road, we’ve felt a god’s power nearby, and just recently Alec’s power has disappeared. He may be hurt or dying, we have to get to him.”
Allen shook his head. These people didn’t get it. There was no way that they could get to him tonight and riding their horses into the ground would just take longer.
“As much as I agree with you in that we need to find Alec it’s not happening tonight. He can and has defended himself in the past. I plan on tracking him down in the morning. I’m sure he’s fine or will be.”
Allen took their horse and led it over to the stream then nobbled it with their other one. He hoped their interest in Alec meant well but was going to keep an eye on them regardless. Setting a fire in an old fire pit he broke out some of his rations for supper. Dried beef boiled with chunks of apple wasn’t the most tasteful meal but it was filling.
Sitting back from the fire Allen grabbed a stick off the ground and began slowly carving the bark off it.
“So why are you so hot to catch up with Alec?” He directed the question more toward Robert since he seemed to be more cordial.
“It has been several hundred years since a mage was born. Our Archmage Paul tasked us with finding him. He needs to be properly trained in an environment that the gods can’t get to him easily.”
“He was being trained at the King’s Academy. Why would he need to be trained by your Archmage?” Allen asked.
“A wizard or even a sorcerer can’t train him to use all of his power then to interact directly with the elements. Only another mage can do that, as well as shielding mind and power. Then there is the prophesy to consider. If he truly is the first born mage then lives could be lost without him.”
Allen set down his knife and stick to consider Robert’s answer. There were several prophesies that he had heard over the years but most were so garbled and vague it was almost impossible to decipher them. The ones that weren’t gibberish had time reference the he knew of and could be interpreted at almost any time.
“Which prophecy are we talking about?” he asked.
“There are two that related to Alec one is the caution and the other gives us our time reference.”
Robert looked over at Sherry to see if she would object.
“The Banished break free and gods are slain. The gods must put their faith in them, for only those who are kin to the gods may save them, should they choose to.” “That is the first one and we definitely don’t want the banished gods to return.”
Robert drew a long breath.
“The first born mage shall break free the banished in his quest for power if his heart is not kept free. Only when the second born mage rights old wrongs will he gain the power to exile the banished forever.”
Allen watched the mages over his fire. He’d never heard of those prophecies. The first one could take place at any time including having already happened. If Alec was the first born mage in hundreds of years like they thought then he could see why they would want to get him under their thumbs.
“I have several questions. First, how sure are you that Alec is the first born mage?” Allen asked.
“We are fairly certain. The temples have been killing any sorcerer with the potential to become a mage for a long time now. Alec will become the first born mage in several hundred years if he gets the training that is required. Being able to drain his well dry is not enough to be considered a mage. With his power and when he’s trained we hope we can influence him enough to stop the prophecy from fully occurring.”
“Alright, let’s say Alec is the born mage. I assume the Banished are the gods of old who enslaved humans in the old legends. Does Alec really have the power to break a god’s barrier or kill them and who are the kin of the gods?” Allen asked.
Sherry let out a huge sigh. “We are the kin of the gods, anyone who has any power at all are the direct descendants of the gods. And yes, Alec does have more than enough power to kill a god. When the goddess Melanie attacked him Alec nearly killed her and that was without any formal training as a mage. Imagine what he could do when he’s fully trained.”
“Why not just kill him? That would stop him from fulfilling the prophecy.” Allen hated to say it and seriously hoped they had a good answer.
“If we were to kill him the next young man with the potential to become a mage would fulfill the prophecy. With Alec’s temperament we hope to have a better than fair chance at changing the prophecy itself.”
Allen would have to think about these prophecies. On one hand, it was obvious that Alec and Christi belonged together. On the other, if he was the born mage then he needed protecting and training. Allen didn’t know how Christi could fit into the life of a born mage.
Chapter 14
Alec woke feeling wonderful as he lay there in bed with his eyes closed. He could feel the bright warm sunshine fall across his face and fought to hold on to his dream. He could still see Christi’s smiling face looking over at him. The crows feet at the corners of her eyes and the creased wrinkles from her smile still made his heart flutter. Christi’s soft red hair was now a light grey color as he ran his finger through it straitening the long curls. Alec remembered the feeling of not just contentment but of pure happiness at working and living his life with her.
Alec opened eyes taking in the water stained ceiling above him and reality crashed back into his mind forcing him to blink back tears. A loud nasally snort drew his attention to the bed next to his. Who knew that a god would snore so loud? Grabbing his pillow Alec chucked it toward Aaron and watched it slide off a shield to the ground.
“What? Where?” Aaron sat up quickly with his hands out in front of him until he heard Alec laughing. He looked over and saw the pillow laying on the floor. “What’s so funny?”
“You were snoring!” Alec laughed.
“Always have, ever since I was little. I guess since we’re up we might as well get going.” Aaron smiled seeing the good mood that Alec was in.
With the fall rains to the west Aaron knew he wouldn’t be able to travel by mundane means with Alec the entire time. It was a shame; he really liked the young man and saw a lot of himself in him. However his duties as a god required his attention and soon.
Alec gathered his belongings and thin walking stick as he followed Aaron out of the inn. In a pinch he could use the stick as a stave by strengthening it with his magic if ne
ed arose. The two of them walked side by side down the soft dirt road.
“So who are the Banished?” Alec asked.
“They’re gods. In ancient times, even before I was born, the gods ruled our world in a more physical sense. They enslaved mankind, forcing them to build monuments to them and visiting horrors upon them at their whim. There were twelve gods at that time. For whatever reason, five of them came to the realization that they would destroy our world if they continued waging wars between them.”
“Do you mean to say the gods were all here physically? How could they possibly destroy the world? It’s a pretty big place.”
“My understanding is that they robbed their power directly from their slaves. The hell they unleashed upon one another leveled mountains and boiled seas with little effort. The five gods banded together and drove each of the others to a different plane of existence. Together they placed a barrier between them and our world. Periodically we charge the barrier with our power to keep it in place. The gods today receive a shadow of their power from the temples and use it to help the world prosper.”
“Are any of our gods today of those five?”
“Yes. They don’t have near their old power nor the following that allowed them to pull power from their slaves in the past. Marcus, Silvia and Melanie have all given that up. One of them, Jeramiah, was killed hundreds of years ago. Ralthin simply vanished one day.”
“Melanie doesn’t seem the type to just give up power. She seems to hate me and anyone who has power.”
“Jeramiah was her brother. She killed the mage in a truly horrific way after he died. He was the only reason she sided with the original gods.”
After a brief break to rest their legs and enjoy their lunch Aaron gave a smooth grey stone to Alec.
“I have responsibilities as a god. With the fall rains I must try to hold back major flooding to fields and cities. The rock has a small piece of my power in it so that I can find you when I’m done. Keep your shield in place so that none of the other gods can track you down. I’ll be back as soon as I can but it will probably be at least a couple weeks.”
“And if I lose the rock?”
“Then I won’t be able to find you any easier than you would another traveler on the road. Be careful of who you trust and set a shield at night when you sleep.” Aaron hoped Alec would be alright. He still had a lot to learn.
Aaron grabbed Alec’s hand and patted him on the shoulder before vanishing before his eyes. He was alone again. Alec had just begun thinking of the god as a person and enjoyed having someone to talk to as he walked. Alec reoriented himself feeling as though he was drawn further east.
Rounding a curve in the road two men stood in the center of it blocking the way. One had a steel bar and was tapping it against his hand. The other fingered an overly large knife.
Alec felt a sharp pain coming from the back of his head and his neck felt stiff. He could hear the voices of young children giggling and laughing nearby. Opening his eyes, it took him a minute to realize what he was seeing, the inside of a canvas covered wagon.
“Armon, you need to pull over, he’s waking up.” The voice of an older woman called out. “You’re fine now, calm down. You’re safe now. No one will hurt you here.”
Alec tried to sit up but the pain in his head and neck was nearly unbearable. “Where am I? What happened?” he asked.
Instead of answering she dribbled a little water into his mouth. After several bumps and the swaying of the wagon, it came to a stop. The voices of children and that of a younger man asked questions just outside of the wagon. A man with short cut black hair and a clean-shaven face looked down on him.
“You’re awake and safe now lad. Do you remember your name or what befell you?”
“Alec Carter. The last I remember being stopped on the road by two men. After that, nothing.”
“My name’s Armon and this is my wife Cindy. I’m guessing you were set upon by thieves. When we found you, you were laying in the middle of the road with nothing other than the clothes on your back.”
Armon helped him sit up and steadied him till the dizziness passed. Alec was told they were just within the foothills of the eastern mountains and that he’d been out for four of five days. Alec took sips of water as Armon went to set camp with their wagons.
Searching within himself Alec found his shielded well and drew power from it. The power was wild and difficult to move. It kept trying to escape his mental grasp and he was forced to let it go. Searching the knot on the back of his head, he set his body to healing it quickly along with the strained muscles in his neck.
Cindy set his pants and shirt on his lap then climbed out of the wagon.
“Come on out after you’re dressed. I’m sure Armon will have some questions for you.”
Alec tossed the blanket off and slowly got to his feet grabbing the side of the wagon for support. He was unsure if dizziness was caused by the headache or the headache caused the dizziness. With a little patience, Alec put on his pants and shirt on noticing the sewn rips in the shirt. Running his hand through the back of his hair he concentrated on his body healing. The lump on the back of his head was nearly gone and there was only a slight ache to his neck. He didn’t dare try to exert his will over his own mind to heal away the headache for fear of what it would do to him. Better to let nature take its course.
Climbing out of the wagon Alec looked around the campsite. There were three wagons including the one he’d just come from. One was covered with canvas in the same design as Armon and Cindy’s. The third was a hauler. It appeared as though the wagon had enough on it for three families. A fire was already going with a large pot hanging over it. Cindy and an even older woman were cutting some vegetables into it.
Armon stood off to the side talking to an older man with grey hair. A younger man, probably close to Alec’s own age, held a crossbow and stood listening to them. He could hear the younger voices of a boy and girl coming from behind him.
Taking a step toward Armon, Alec stepped directly on to a stick driving the sharp end into the bottom of his foot. The damn thieves had even taken his boots. He cursed under his breath sitting down quickly to rub his foot. Looking up from his foot Alec met the eyes of the crossbow holding guy and received a nod of recognition.
With a few words to Armon and the older man, the guy motioned for Alec to follow him. They met at the side of the hauler wagon where Alec could see the hard packed muscles moving beneath his shirt. As he pawed through the wagon Alec could see the shirt strain against the man’s shoulders. Pulling out a very worn pair of boots he handed them to Alec.
“Try these on. They’re a bit worn but they are better than nothing.”
Alec stuffed his feet into the boots and laced them up. They were a bit big and would have to find something to stuff into the toe late.
“Thank you! I really appreciate it.” Alec looked up to the man. He realized that the man was older than he had originally thought. The clean-shaven face and easy smile made him appear to be a lot younger than he was.
The big man held out a hand. “I’m Cord Smithy. Mr. Banner and Armon will want to talk with you after supper.”
Alec shook the callus hand. “Alec Carter. I appreciate the help.” Alec followed him over to where their horses were hobbled.
“Looked like you had a rough bit of luck. I’m normally a pretty good judge of people and you don’t look like the type to go looking for trouble even if it found you.”
“Yeah, it found me alright.” Alec said sarcastically.
“Don’t get sore at the world Alec there are plenty of decent folks if you know where to look.”
Cord led him to the fire where stew was being poured into bowls. Three children not yet into their teens waited patiently while everyone else was given a bowl. Cord laid out a blanket on the ground and helped a younger woman with a sleeping baby sit before handing her a bowl.
Seeing everyone else eating, Alec dug into his and finished it quickly. He hadn’t
realized he was so hungry.
“I’m glad someone likes my stew!” The older woman smiled over at him.
Alec blushed realizing how it must have looked watching him eat so fast.
One of the boys made a face at the girl beside him and faked a shiver. “Deer stew. Yuk!”
“Al, be happy you have food in your stomach. It isn’t right to insult what someone has done for you. You’ll be cleaning the bowls and pot tonight.” Cord told him.
The boy’s shoulders slumped. “Yes father.”
“Neal will help him. Together they might even get them clean.” Armon said.
“Yes sir.” The other boy gave a light punch to Al’s shoulder.
Alec was given a second helping of the stew and thanked Mrs. Banner. As everyone finished Cord held out his bowl to his son and the two boys went around collecting them from everyone. Grabbing the pot between them they headed off to the stream berating each other along the way.
“Alec, this is my wife Terry and our little one Lily. The taller boy is my son Al and this is my oldest Heather.”
Alec nodded and said, “Mrs. Smithy, Heather. My name is Alec Carter. It’s nice to meet you.”
Cord sent Heather off to help his wife with the baby and waited till they were out of earshot.
“As you guessed, this is Mrs. Banner and as I pointed out earlier this is Mr. Banner.”
Alec shook their hands and thanked them. Mr. Banner seemed cautious of him but shook his hand anyway.
“Mr. Banner and Armon are carpenters and I’m a smith. We’re headed to Rivers Corner. We hope we can make a decent living for our families.” Cord said.
“The Northern Desert has taken over our town. The people slowly drifted away as the desert claimed the farmland and the forest. It’s hard to make a living when the wood is rotten before you can get it and there is no one to sell your services to.” Armon told him.
“I can see that. Why all the way to Rivers Corner? I’m sure any of the small towns around Kingston would love to have its own carpenter and smith.”
Mage (The Elemental Magic Series Book 2) Page 15