by B. T. Narro
Charlie said, “Can’t enchantments be disrupted by other enchantments?”
“What do you mean?” Eslenda asked.
“Like a ward of fire weakens an essence of fire. Both are enchantments, right?”
“Yes…” Eslenda said.
“So the right ward should disrupt a cloaking spell.”
The elf said, “There aren’t any wards against spells of ordia. There are only wards against erto and dteria.”
“That we know of,” Charlie argued. “Perhaps one could be made.”
“I doubt so,” Eslenda said. “Ordia is the magical art of order. Nothing can change order. It is, by design, the stability of the world.”
“No, order does have a weakness. Chaos.”
“Young one, there is no chaos in mana.”
“Oh, but there is,” he said without his usual enthusiasm, his subdued tone making me nervous. “It’s the very thing I’ve been working on. Yes, I think this will be its purpose.”
“Wait,” Michael said. “You’ve been making something without knowing its purpose?”
“I’ve been conducting experiments to see what it could do first, knowing it would likely have a purpose later,” Charlie replied. “But now a purpose is set. I am almost certain it will work to disrupt a cloaking spell.”
“What you speak of will not work, young one,” Eslenda lectured. “There is no chaos to be controlled. Enchantments are made through ordia, order.”
“I really think there is a way,” Charlie said hesitantly.
“I am saying no. You can’t make an enchantment to cause chaos. Enchantments are done with order. Nijja, the demigod of order, would not have made it possible. You may hurt yourself or someone else trying to create this chaos through other methods.”
Did Eslenda know what Charlie was referring to? I still had no idea.
Charlie angrily replied, “It wasn’t Nijja who made it possible.”
Eslenda appeared horrified. “You really are speaking about what I think you are?”
“I am,” Charlie said proudly. “We use the enemy’s weapon against him!”
“You can’t use dteria, young one—”
“Stop calling me that!” he interrupted.
“Dteria will corrupt you!” Eslenda scolded loudly.
“It’s not specifically dteria!” he replied.
“Then what?” Eslenda asked.
“Charlie,” Michael said, deadpan, then waited for Charlie to look at him. “Tell us what is before we all go insane wondering.”
“I don’t…feel comfortable saying it.”
“You’re going to have to,” Michael explained coldly. “Now.”
Charlie looked at Eslenda. “Do you know exactly what I’m referring to?”
From the look the elf gave him, it seemed that she did. But she folded her arms rather than speak.
“Just say it, Charlie!” Michael told him.
Charlie appeared uncomfortable in his own skin. “So…an illusion is an enchantment done with order, so all we need is to disrupt that order. The right kind of enchantment can do that. We take…” He had a breath, then spoke quickly. “We take the essence of a man with a conflicted soul, one who has been corrupted. With a strong enchanter and a moonstone, we should be able to create something. I’ve wanted to test it, and I have been in conversations with Barrett about it. He agrees it should be possible, but—”
Kataleya interrupted, “My god, Charlie. You’re talking about a curse!”
“Yes, technically it’s a curse, but—”
The sounds of everyone expressing their disagreement interrupted him this time.
“I can control it!” Charlie yelled over us.
We quieted down.
“At least I think so. I still need to test it.”
We erupted again.
Eslenda put up her hands. “Silence!”
We stopped clamoring to let her speak.
“The kind of curse that would disrupt a spell of ordia could disrupt all mana in the vicinity. You might not be able to cast anything if you hold this cursed stone with you. And you need a lot more than just a powerful enchanter to make it. You will need other unsavory materials. You will not perform this curse under any circumstance, blond child.”
“But—”
“But no! You’re more likely to do harm than good, blond child!”
“Can you go back to calling me young one?”
“She’s right,” I interjected. I had seen not only what a curse could do, I had felt how powerful it could remain even after the witch was done making it. This was more likely to go wrong than right.
“An essence of man, you said it required?” Michael asked. “Do I even want to know how you would get that?”
“You should give up on this project,” I said. “Permanently.”
Eden gestured at me. “Then you, Jon, are going to have to sense ordia, because I’m not going to be fighting alongside you when it’s time to sense for Cason.”
“Yes, and we’re wasting time.”
Charlie folded his arms and looked down as if to pout. I had to ignore him, as we had wasted enough time already.
“Eslenda, let’s begin,” I said.
“Yes, I will cast. You feel.”
“Wait,” Charlie said.
I gave an exasperated sigh.
“Just one last thing,” Charlie said. “What about resistance?” he asked Eslenda.
“Why do you mention resistance?”
“An illusion is a spell just like any other. It affects not the caster but the people around the caster, correct?”
Oh, he might be on to something.
“Yes,” Eslenda said. “It does not change the caster’s physical appearance. It changes the perception of others to the caster.”
“Then it really is just like any other spell,” Charlie concluded. “So it must be able to be resisted.”
Eslenda drew everyone’s gaze again as she pursed her lips. “I think you are right.”
“Yes!” Charlie cheered.
“But?” Michael hinted.
“What?” Eslenda asked.
“Aren’t you going to say there is a problem with resisting?” he asked.
“Yes. I don’t know how one would practice resistance besides standing close to a sorcerer while they cast an illusion for many hours over days. I will not do that. I cannot do that. It is too draining. But in theory, it should work.”
“Can you finally explain illusions?” I asked, giving a quick look at Charlie in hopes of finally quieting him. I appreciated his efforts, but there should be time for questions later. I was eager to begin training.
“The illusion is a conversation between my mana and your eyes.”
“A conversation?” I asked, wondering if this might be a language problem.
“Yes. My mana speaks to your eyes. When I cloak myself using my mana, I change the way you see me. I have never thought of resistance to such a spell, but it should be possible. Perhaps the best way to see through the illusion is resistance after all. I need to think on it.”
Kataleya asked, “If Nijja established all the rules of ordia, did she also create the rules of resistance?”
According to the stories, Nijja was one of the five demigods. Like the others, she used up much of her power to create a magical art, ordia in this case. Apparently Basael, the god who gave life to every demigod, was pleased with Nijja’s creation because it could finally establish order in the chaotic world of Fyrren, where the powerful fae had been killing each other.
I wasn’t sure how much of it I believed, but I was beginning to feel that there was a form of power in this world greater than myself. There was something at play, not just between the kingdoms. It was like the land was alive…and at war with itself. Or perhaps it wasn’t the land per se but nature.
“Nijja did not create resistance,” Eslenda answered Kataleya. “Resistance is…what is the word?”
“Inherent?” Kataleya asked.
&
nbsp; “Yes. It is inherent in every living person and creature.” She moved her hair over her elven ear as she seemed to be in thought, perhaps about how to continue.
I had an idea—something to test. “I feel like I can direct my mana where I want it to be, and I know that mana is essential to resisting spells. If my eyes are the only thing affected by an illusion, isn’t there some way I can move my mana to my eyes to ensure my gaze breaks through the illusion?”
“I have never heard of such a thing,” Eslenda said. “But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.”
“Cloak yourself,” I requested. “And we will try.”
*****
After the better part of an hour, all of us needed a break. Although Eslenda seemed exhausted as she panted for breath, it was the frustration shared by me and my peers that made me want to give up already. Everyone had tried using their mana to resist the spell, all directing it to their vision, but it didn’t seem to do anything. I wasn’t planning on leaving until I knew how to at least practice finding a cloaked Cason, but Eslenda didn’t have much longer, it seemed from the way she looked around the forest impatiently.
I asked, “How do you decide between turning invisible or taking on the appearance of someone else?”
“Like with every spell of ordia,” she explained, “the decision is made in one’s mind.”
“So your mana must be connected to your mind in such a way that it understands your thoughts,” I realized.
“Yes, it must.”
“Then using mana for resistance should be the same way,” I concluded, thinking I was onto something, but she shook her head at me.
“It’s not exactly like that. Resistance takes practice, like spellcasting. You cannot tell your mana to cast Expel without help from your mind, and you cannot tell your mana to resist Dislodge without help from your mind. You must train to cast and to resist specific spells. Your mana works in harmony with you because it is part of you. It is like an arm and a hand, but so much more. You understand?”
“Yes. Will you cloak again?” I decided to take a different approach to resistance now. In order to resist the spell, I had to fight it the same way I would fight Dislodge trying to take me off my feet.
Eslenda cloaked. I moved close. Her silhouette looked like heat waves.
I felt nothing. Nothing. I tried closing my eyes to really focus on what my mana told me, but that didn’t help, either.
I opened my eyes. “Why can’t I feel the spell?” I asked, holding back my frustration.
She reappeared, but it was Charlie who answered. “Because the illusionist is too strong. You’re trying to resist a powerful spell from a powerful sorcerer, and you’ve had no practice. It would be like trying to resist Leon’s fire. It’s just not going to work.”
“I believe the young one is right, Jon. This is pointless. I have wasted enough time as it is. The forest must be watched.”
I let out my breath. “Please just another moment. I can’t leave without having some idea what to practice.”
“You’re going to have to learn ordia,” Eden told me. “I can feel when she’s using the spell because it feels like ordia. I know that doesn’t help you much,” she said with a shrug. “It’s like a tickle in my mind. I don’t know how to describe it.”
“But can you locate her by feeling for ordia?”
“I have a general sense of where she is, yes. But Aliana would be more accurate with her tracking.”
“That’s true,” Aliana agreed. “It doesn’t seem like you’re going to learn to resist the spell before you might learn how to cast it. We might as well get to training, all of us. We don’t often get to the forest, as you’ve said.”
I hated to give up on the idea of seeing through Cason’s illusion, especially given how difficult it was going to be for me to learn ordia. But it was what the king wanted. Aliana was right. It was time to train while we could.
At least the time wasn’t wasted, I told myself. I had learned more about mana, and its connection to the mind. I still felt like I knew hardly anything, however. I was a little envious of Charlie, how much time he’d spent studying mana. And with his mind, he absorbed it very quickly. I really should be experimenting with him, like he had been pleading with me to do for some time now.
As soon as I learned some ordia.
“All right, thank you, Eslenda,” I said. “I’m sure we’ll see each other again.”
“We will. Best of luck against Cason, all of you. He is a man who does not deserve freedom, for he has used it against the good of mankind.”
She walked off.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Shortly after Eslenda left, Eden asked Aliana if she would hunt with her, as it would be a good way for Aliana to practice her tracking as well obtain ingredients for Eden’s enchantments. I still didn’t know what kind of enchants she was making, but I figured if she had something useful for my sword, she would’ve told me. It was clear by now that our fight against our enemies was not over.
I expressed my worry about them hunting alone, but I felt better after Reuben and Michael agreed to join them. That left me with Charlie, Kataleya, and Remi.
But after a little bickering with Charlie—when he’d soon realized I was only going to be training ordia right now and not helping him experiment with mana—he rushed off to catch up with the hunting group, leaving me with just the fire and water mages.
We practiced for hours, snacking through lunch without stopping. I made good progress familiarizing myself with the low notes of ordia, thanks to my vibmtaer and color chart. I took breaks when I tired, watching Remi and Kataleya with awe.
Remi played with fire casually, as if the burning energy was a third arm she had her whole life. She could bend it to her will, reshaping the fire from clusters into spears.
Kataleya was just as talented with water, moving and shaping it in similar ways as if competing with Remi. They seemed to find entertainment in one-upping each other, often shown through tense expressions that broke into smiles as they mimicked each other’s shapes.
My morbid thoughts made me curious about who would win in a fight between them.
Remi broke out in a sweat quickly, her wild hair sticking to the sides of her face. I was sure part of the reason was the heat from her fire, which I could feel even ten yards from her, but the other reason certainly had to do with the immense effort she put into practicing. As determined as I was, even I took more breaks than she did, as it was just too taxing for me to continuously use low notes of mana. Remi usually trained hard in the courtyard, but here she seemed to strive for improvement with even more ferocity, as her game with Kataleya slowly came to an end. Each practiced on her own again.
My stomach was grumbling. I had eaten, but the quality of the dried food we’d brought just didn’t compare to what we would’ve gotten at the castle. I didn’t have the same stamina like I did before my punishment had begun. It wasn’t as if I’d caught up on any missed sleep last night, either. I couldn’t imagine spending another night here in the forest. My time in the castle had softened me. I was used to hearty meals and soft beds. I figured my peers felt the same. It should be easy to convince them to return for supper rather than stay here another night.
Kataleya soon took a break. I was a little surprised when she came over to sit on the same tree stump with me. There wasn’t much space for her, our shoulders touching, but she didn’t seem to mind, and neither did I.
“I wanted to thank you for the things you said yesterday,” she began. “That whole conversation went much more smoothly because of your help.”
She looked into my eyes from quite close. I glanced over at Remi, who was staring until she saw me look, then quickly returned to her casting.
“I’m glad you stopped us to have that talk,” I said. “It was needed.”
“It was.” She held my gaze and looked as if she wanted to say something else, but it took her a few moments to get the words out. “Do you still think I did it?”
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br /> “No. And I’m sure even the king knows that there’s a good chance someone set you up.”
She smiled as she looked ahead and had a breath. But then she lost her smile. “I think whoever it is might become desperate now that we’re all suspicious, especially if Cason is relying on them for something.” She looked into my eyes again. “I’ve always felt that I could be honest with you.”
“I’ve always appreciated your honesty.”
“Yeah, I figured. You seem like the type who doesn’t like to hide things.”
“It’s not that I dislike hiding things, it’s that I’m incapable.”
She gave a laugh. “I also thought that might be the case.”
It made me a little flustered to speak from so close, my heart rate climbing as I thought about how she could have this conversation without sitting on the same stump, rubbing shoulders with me.
“It seems that we’ve both been targeted by the traitor,” she said. “Will you look out for me if I do the same for you?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you.” She put her hand over mine and squeezed as she stood up. Then she walked ten yards away and returned to her training.
I grew more flustered as I was filled with various emotions, but my suspicion was getting the better of them all. Had she just used her charm to make me trust her even more? Was she the traitor after all?
It was either that or she really trusted me and seemed to have an attraction toward me. I liked to think it was the latter, but picking out the bad in someone was not my specialty.
I had spent a considerable amount of time—most of it with our clothes off—with a girl named Joanne in my hometown of Bhode. She was the only girl with whom I had any romantic involvement, but our relationship didn’t last long. We were never friends when we were growing up near each other, but that didn’t seem to matter much to her. She was a year older and made her romantic intentions quite clear soon after I turned seventeen.
We didn’t spend much time talking, even after she started inviting me into her bed. She didn’t seem interested in building a trusting emotional relationship, which confused me at first, though I didn’t complain. I tended to go along with the pace she set. I was attracted to her, and everything we did was new and exciting. It was only after my father became sick that I realized how little she actually cared about me. I was no longer interested in any passion when my father was bedridden.