Spirit Mage

by Esther Mitchell

  She gave him a strange look.

  "Of course. You insulted them. That took guts, lad; standing up to them without a weapon." Amusement colored her voice.

  "I didn't insult them, and I'm not a child. Why, I'm probably older than you!"

  She grinned, a flash in the settling darkness. "I meant no insult, friend. Come on, let's find a place to camp for the night."

  "But... the trolls..."

  "Trolls? Oh, the Rahians. Don't worry. This piece of trash," she toed the dead troll, "was their general. They don't know how to fight without a leader, and it'll take them time to appoint a new one. I figure I've got a few days to get you to safety."

  He nodded, gathering up his armload of wood. "I have a camp circle back way, but..."

  "Your friend. Aye, I heard. I found your campsite before I found you. Looked like there'd been a fight, but the only bodies I found were Rahians. Your friend must be one demned good swordsman." She glanced at the body of the troll again, frowning. "Just wish I knew what they were doing here."

  Paduari shook his head. "They work for the Anieni -- the Dark Star."

  "You don't say," the woman grabbed her horse's reins and turned to grin at him. "Well, let's find a new camp site, for now. Once we get a good fire going, you can tell me all about this Anieni of yours, and we'll see if we can't figure out how to rescue your friend."

  Paduari jogged to catch up with her as she strode toward the camp circle. "Wait! I don't even know who you are..."

  She grinned again, brandishing her armband for him to see. "I'm the Phoenix Telyn Gwndal. You can call me Telyn."

  Chapter Two

  Telyn. Paduari followed her silently as they strode through the forest after having collected supplies from the old site, still sorting through the events he just witnessed. Sehidhe's trolls weren't known for their cowardice. Quite the opposite -- they were so brutal and bold they terrified most Lurudani. However, this strange, lone woman, looking of an age with him, sent an entire band of trolls into flight, or on to whatever vile afterworld they believed in. Her sword was unlike any he'd ever seen, and what she'd done, he'd believe impossible had he not seen it with his own eyes.

  At the edge of a clearing, Telyn tethered her stallion to a small tree and turned to take the firewood from Paduari.

  "You've had enough excitement for one day, my young friend. I'll get the fire going."

  Without another word, she set about making a fire pit, preventing Paduari from venting his indignation about being referred to as a "young" anything. He was tired of people assuming he wasn't worthy of the respect a man of his age typically earned just because he didn't look his thirty-plus eniane. Paduari's mouth, open to start his tirade, fell open further as he watched her stack the wood and sit back. Without a word, the carefully piled wood burst into flames. Never in his life had Paduari witnessed such a display of power. He was certain even the Anieni's priests couldn't duplicate such a miracle. Wary respect formed in Paduari's mind, and he made his way carefully to the opposite side of the fire from the woman called Telyn, watching her in awe. Finally, he worked up the courage to ask, "How did you do that?"

  She lifted her eyes from observation of the flames and smiled at him. "Believe me, it's too difficult to explain."

  He nodded silently. Of course, she was probably bound to keep such mystical things secret. She was undoubtedly one of the gifted Majin, and... He blinked as he remembered something he meant to ask her since she faced off against the troll.

  "That troll called you a Bathron... are you?"

  She settled back with a small, tight smile. "Yes and no."

  He stared at her in bemusement, and she laughed.

  "My father was a Bathron Warrior and, according to some, a passable Majin. I get my night eyes and reflexes from him. But I'm only part Bathron."

  "What was your mother?"

  She smiled fondly. "She is a Healiart Mistress of the Gild."

  Paduari's mouth dropped open again. "You're... Then the feud's over?"

  Her gaze snapped level with his for a moment, and a rough, quiet curse left her. "You know about that demned war? Why is it everyone always knows about the feud, but nothing else?" She sighed then, slumping back, her attention dropping back to the fire. "Suppose it doesn't matter, does it? No, the feud's not over. It's not likely to ever be over, the way they're going at it. Doesn't even matter I died once, trying to end it."

  "Died?" Paduari choked on the word, unable to believe his ears.

  She glanced up, and a half-smile twitched on her lips. "Aye. I know how it sounds, and it's a story best left until you know me better. I'm not easy to kill," she paused then, frowning. "But there are ways, and most of them start and end with betrayal."

  "Betrayed by..." At her sharp look, he swallowed hard. "Never mind. How can you be part of both sides if they hate each other so much?"

  She laughed bitterly. "My father, Ashes, died because he and my mother loved each other. In the end, it was inevitable, I guess. Even if he'd lived, they would have faced the same separation. One, or both, would have been executed as a traitor if anyone ever found out they fell in love."

  "Is that how he died?" Paduari asked hesitantly, aware she may not answer such a personal question.

  Telyn shook her head sadly. "No. He was betrayed and murdered by a jealous man."

  "Were you forced to leave when you got old enough?"

  Telyn laughed. "Inquisitive, aren't you? No, I chose to leave the Gild."

  "And you went to the Bathron?"

  "No. I went my own way. I help both houses, but not against each other."

  "And your... sword. Was it your father's?"

  She grinned as the weapon flashed brightly in its sheath. "Careful, or you'll really insult it. No, my anaqueri is my own, as much as I am its. It found me in the Endlands when I was a child. We've been learning to work together ever since."

  "An anaqueri? I've heard of those. They're said to be living metal and they choose a warrior on their merits. You must be really important."

  She laughed, and gave him an odd look. "I'm just a traveler here."

  "Were you a Gildgard before you left? It's said only the Gildgards can bond with the anaqueri."

  She nodded. "Most of the time. And, yes, I was a Gildgard, for a time. But I bonded with my anaqueri long before that." She gave him a questioning look. "How do you know so much about the lands and people beyond this forest? I thought Lurudani were little more than myth -- no one's ever seen one of your people on the other side of the Eleshau."

  Paduari shrugged awkwardly, and then grinned. "My grandam used to tell stories about the lands beyond the forest. She was born and raised in a place called the Borderlands, and she could remember a lot about life there. Her stories are the only thing that's given me hope since the Anieni arrived."

  Telyn's eyes narrowed. "You've mentioned this Anieni before. Who are they?"

  "She. She's called Sehidhe. She came to Lurudan from a faraway, mystical place. She arrived on the last Ani-Crosus – the last convergence of three siblings, Genus, Mabius and Ara, in the heavens. She appeared through a bitter mist at the Portal gates. People took it as a sign, and handed her power. She's wielded it in terrifying ways, ever since."

  "Some mystical place? How do you know that?"

  "She came through the Slephian Portal."

  "I see." Telyn looked lost in thought for a moment, and then glanced his way. "What, exactly, is this Slephian Portal?"

  "The Slephian Portal is part of our Saphicarhi -- our Prophetic Lore," Paduari explained. "When the last Great Teacher left us, it was through the Portal. He foretold the Vetakaphima -- the Promised One, who would bring us great peace and wisdom. The Vetakaphima would come the way he left, he said."

  "But legend never mentions the Lurudani being a warlike race!"

  Paduari nodded sadly. "The Vetakaphima is supposed to bring us the Gemadani."

  "The what?"

  He glanced at her. "The Peace of the Land. It is said
the Gemadani would allow us to venture beyond Eleshau."

  "Uh-huh. And this Sehidhe just breezes in through the Slephian Portal, and everyone assumes she's the Promised One you've been waiting for, right? What happened then? A harbinger of light and peace wouldn't employ Rahians."

  Hearing everything he knew to be true voiced so clearly, Paduari's heart sank. With a weary sigh, he shrugged. "Sehidhe did not bring us light or peace. She brought us darkness and fear, and stole the Light of Life from our people."

  "Explains why she's called 'Dark Star'."

  "No!" Paduari shook his head emphatically. Telyn's eyes widened in surprise, and Paduari ducked his head to hide the burn of shame on his face. How many times had his father warned him such outbursts were unmanly? "She came with the title already hers. The Anieni is her symbol, much as I believe the bird on your armband is yours."

  Telyn stared into the fire for a long moment, her expression grim. "What else do you know about Sehidhe? What does she look like?"

  Paduari shrugged. "No one except her priests have ever seen her. They, along with her generals, issue her proclamations and orders, and the priests officiate all learning and religious function."

  Telyn's eyes narrowed as she studied the flames, before she looked back up at Paduari. "And no one's ever questioned that, in all these cycles? Isn't that odd?"

  Paduari shook his head. "No one dares question her. Those who do usually end up dead."

  "She has them killed?"

  "No. Most just... disappear. Or they fall very ill shortly afterward. If they do not receive Sehidhe’s pardon, they die of illness." He averted his gaze and muttered the words as anger flowed through him. Grandam Tarlae was one of those struck by the illness. He watched her waste away, from hale and hardy to a mere skeleton, within a week. He glanced back at Telyn again. "Usually within days of having broken her law."

  "Her law?"

  He nodded, and solemnly intoned, "None may question the Divine Right of Sehidhe... she was sent through the Slephian Portal, and that's all the proof anyone should ever need."

  Telyn snorted derisively. "You believe such bloody nonsense?"

  He shook his head, and then shrugged. "No. But if anyone ever found out, I'd disappear, like the rest."

  "And the protesters just vanish, like spirits?" At his answering nod, Telyn's eyes filled with sadness and anger as her attention returned to the fire. "It's true, then."

  "What is? Are you talking to me?"

  Telyn hopped up. "That the Eleshau harbors souls. That the Wild Majik it possesses draws spirits to it. If what you say is true, then the Eleshau has to be tied to the Lurudani somehow."

  Paduari gasped in horror as her words sank clear to his bones, causing a shiver to lunge along his spine. The memory of Sehidhe's priests out in the forest, burning foul-smelling incense and holding terrifying rites, flashed through his mind, and the urge to be violently ill coiled within him as he realized what he witnessed. Jumping to his feet, he raced for the forest beyond the edge of the camp circle, aware of only one thing -- he had to stop the Anieni, no matter what it cost him.

  The tight grip of a hand around his upper arm stopped Paduari short, and he turned to glare at Telyn. "Let me go! I have to stop her!"

  "Getting yourself killed in a fool's fight is hardly any way to start," Telyn's voice was quiet, but deadly serious. "You rush out there with rage as your ally, and you'll only succeed in getting innocent people killed."

  He gritted his teeth and, for the first time since she rode out of the trees, thought he could hate this woman. "So you're suggesting I sit idly by and do nothing, now that I know the truth?"

  "No. Learn to master your fear and rage. You said Sehidhe grows more powerful the longer she's here. That's the key to destroying her, somehow. So, for now, that's the mystery we have to unravel first. I've learned the hard way you don't challenge Maji in their seat of power."

  He blinked at her in confusion, then stammered, "B-But you're a Majin. Surely you can--"

  "I'm no Majin."

  "But you lit the fire... You do things with your anaqueri I can't ever remember hearing about. You have to be a Majin."

  Telyn sighed, releasing his arm and rubbing her face wearily. "I can see I'm not going to be able to convince you what a poor excuse for a Majin I really am without revealing one of my secrets."

  Paduari watched her warily as she turned back toward the fire.

  "Come on out, Sala."

  There was a flash, startling Paduari, then a sound like tinkling bells, before an ember of fire as big as Telyn's smallest finger dropped onto her shoulder.

  "You're on fire!" Paduari sought frantically for something to douse the fire with.

  Telyn laughed, and bells tinkled again. Paduari stared at Telyn in wide-eyed disbelief. She was on fire and... laughing?

  "I like him, Telyn," a tiny voice said, followed by another silvery peal of bells. Paduari blinked, startled, as he realized those bells were laughter. "He amuses me."

  Paduari peered closer at the small, fiery mass on Telyn's shoulder, and gasped when he realized it was a very tiny being made completely of fire, floating a hair's breadth above Telyn's shoulder.

  "This... this is what gives you your power? A flame creature?"

  "They're called Salamandars, and none of them give me any power, least of all Sala." He opened his mouth to ask about the fire, but she forestalled his query with, "And no, she didn't light the fire, either. That much, I’m capable of on my own."

  "What about the anaqueri? Did she do that, make it glow?"

  Telyn shook her head. "No. That's a power within the anaqueri itself. It was released the first time it came in contact with the Salamandars and their cavern, but it was not brought about by them."

  "Why couldn't I see the Salamandar before?"

  "Her name is Sala, and you couldn't see her because she didn't wish to be seen. We've discovered it can be very advantageous when no one know she exists."

  Paduari frowned, but nodded. He imagined there were other reasons Telyn chose to keep her miniscule companion's existence a secret, as well. "So, then, how are we going to deal with Sehidhe if we can't approach her directly?"

  Eyes narrowed, Telyn moved to the edge of the circle of firelight and glared into the darkness of the forest. "I'm not exactly sure, but I have a few ideas."

  "What?"

  Telyn's gaze scanned the trees one last time before she walked back to the fire and sat. "The first thing we have to do is discover what's giving her power. I'm going to have to get in there."

  Sala perked up. "I will call Jelait."

  Telyn stilled her with a finger. "Peace, my friend. We won't need him until we are inside the stronghold. It's pointless to call him here."

  Paduari watched their exchange in confusion. When neither ventured an explanation, Paduari returned to the fire as well, giving Telyn a questioning look. "Who is Jelait?"

  Telyn glanced up at him only briefly. "Sala's kindle-mate."

  "Kindle-mate?"

  Sala bobbed away from Telyn's shoulder for a moment, and spun in mid-air. "Jelait and I were released from the World Forge on the same eve. Kindle-mate Jelait is very good at seeing what no one knows he sees."

  "A master spy," Telyn agreed absently, and Sala beamed a bright shade of blue with pride. It was obvious Sala served Telyn with a measure of personal delight, and took great pleasure in hearing any word of praise for her kindle-mate from her mistress.

  "So, send this Jelait in and find out her weakness, and then we can go after her."

  "No." Telyn looked up sharply, her expression as chilling as her voice. "Jelait isn't going to find her weakness. He'll be looking for the reason she's here to begin with."

  "But--"

  "My friend," Telyn said wearily, cutting him off. "This is a warrior's game we're playing, and you're clearly out of your element. I don't know whether Sehidhe's powers are real, or simply good storytelling. Her power may be growing simply through fear and physical violenc
e, and defeating her may only take standing up to her. Then again, if what I suspect is true, she might be a very powerful Majin, and we're both out of our depths there. I can't afford to take reckless chances, and the only way to know for sure is to either get close enough to observe her, or confront her outright."

  "But no one sees Sehidhe," Paduari protested, then fell silent for a moment before he ventured, "And my name is Paduari."

  Telyn nodded absently, her attention on Sala. "Seems you're right. There's definitely a connection. Since the Rahians are here, it means the one they serve must be this Anieni."

  Paduari cleared his throat. "Excuse me?"

  She glanced his way. "You have no idea how lucky you were we came across you when we did. Those thugs are killers. I've seen their brutality personally." Sadness stole over her features for a moment before she settled back against a large rock, her expression once again unreadable. "And, as for seeing Sehidhe, I don't much care if she knows I'm there or not, at least for now. There has to be a way of getting close to her. No one is ever totally inaccessible."

  He didn't like the sound of that. Paduari fixed his anxious gaze on her. Was she planning something daft, after all? "What are you going to do?"

  She grinned. "That's my business, Paduari. First thing tomorrow, I'll get you to safety, and then I'll go on from there."

  "You can't do that," he protested with a vehement shake of his head. "You can't just dump me in some village. Those trolls took Marakai. I have to go with you."

  "It's too dangerous. If you go, my plan may not work, and your friend will certainly die."

  "Well, you need me. Hadvia's a hidden city. You'll never find it without a guide."

  "Hidden?"

  "In the mountains west of here. It used to be the ancient Necropolis of Lurudan. Only the Lurudani know how to get there."

  "How'd Sehidhe find it?"

  "She came in through it. The Slephian Portal is in Hadvia."

  Telyn sighed heavily. "I'll have to think about it. Get some rest. We'll see in the morning."

  Sleep, as it turned out, was thoroughly beyond Paduari. He lay listening to the sounds of the night-draped Eleshau, and began to understand why everyone believed it haunted. Voices whispered through the trees. Their ancient language shivered through his memory, and he knew, without understanding how, they spoke of life and death. As he lay listening to them, Paduari found it easier and easier to believe Telyn was right. Somehow, the Eleshau and his people were intertwined.