The Apprentice to Zdrell

by David K Bennett

  “That’s just the first part of the exercise. I have several other ideas as well . . .” and The Master proceeded to outline what he needed to do.

  Chapter 43

  When Jonny was learning to make himself fly, that was all he had been doing. Now Master Silurian had him working in completely different ways. The Master had him spend two weeks where Jonny was in the air for every waking moment he could manage it. Not far in the air, just an inch or two. If that was all he had been doing, Jonny would have been terribly bored.

  Boredom was not a problem.

  For the first few days, Master Silurian detailed Jonny as his official messenger; in addition to catching up on all his other studies. He would send Jonny all over the castle and surrounding grounds with messages from The Master, and from Feldor. Once again, Jonny found out how a lot more went on in the castle than he had known about. He became privy to information he never would have imagined previously, and was even more impressed with what The Master and Feldor did in running the castle and kingdom. There were so many details just to keep the castle running and supplied, let alone all the affairs of Salaways.

  At first Jonny found it hard to stay airborne for more than a half hour at a time, but gradually he was able to go longer and longer without having to come to ground. The Master even had him attending classes and eating his meals while floating.

  All of this gave him ample opportunity to practice getting back in the air after the inevitable loss of concentration and fall to the ground. Jonny grew less and less easily distracted, and better and better at keeping himself in the air while concentrating on other things. Mid-winter day came and went.

  The Master then had Jonny focus on reading while floating. This would not have been so bad except Master Silurian figured Jonny had not been studying enough in Klathar, the High Wizard tongue. Reading those books would have been difficult in any circumstance, but doing so while staying in the air made it doubly difficult. At least the reading was interesting once he figured out what it was about. The Master had him study more about materials magic, amulets, glyphs, and most intriguing, books on zdrell manipulation.

  Jonny read these books late into the night. The most annoying part of them was how they described things from a theoretical point of view, or described accomplishments, but few gave more than the vaguest instruction on how to actually accomplish the wonders they described. When he asked his master about it, he simply said that was the way with most books on magic. It is much easier to write of things than to do them, and you have to both do and understand a thing well in order to actually explain the process to someone else. Even in the Klathar, many parts of magic were very difficult to describe.

  One day, three weeks into Chule, the first month of the year and second of winter, Jonny was reading in the Journeyman’s study, floating just above a chair, when Master Silurian entered.

  “Jonny, you seem to be doing much better at staying in the air.”

  Jonny nodded, but made sure that he did not allow himself to drop.

  The wizard continued, “Your birthday was three days ago and you are small for a thirteen-year-old. A growing boy your age needs physical exercise, and I don’t believe you are getting enough of it.”

  “How can I, Master, if I’m always to keep floating?”

  “How indeed? I have a simple plan. I want you to climb the stairs, on your feet, to the top of each of the five turrets of the castle and then float down them again, five times a day.”

  It was pure torture for the first week, but Jonny knew better than to argue. By the end of the second week of this regimen, he actually looked forward to it as a way to get a break from his studies.

  § § §

  Soon, The Master decided Jonny was ready for another twist. He brought Jonny back to the barn where Jonny found a bigger than usual pile of hay.

  “I want you to fly up to the loft, Jonny,” he began.

  Jonny flew up and waited for the next instruction.

  “Now, jump down into the pile of hay.”

  Jonny was puzzled, but stepped off the loft and began to float down towards the pile of hay.

  “No, Jonny,” The Master said, irritated. “I did not say fly, I said jump. Just like any of us earthbound mortals would do it.”

  Jonny was more puzzled, but floated back up to the loft and jumped off. It was a strange feeling. He had almost forgotten what it felt like to fall like a stone. He almost stopped himself reflexively, but let himself fall into the hay. It was strange but not unpleasant since the hay was soft and deep.

  “Now, Jonny, I want you to get back up to the loft and jump again, but this time when you are half way down I want you to stop your fall.”

  This did not sound too hard to Jonny since he had already nearly done just that. He flew up to the loft and jumped, his anxiety at stopping himself did not let him get control until his feet were just beginning to touch the hay. Master Silurian did not seem to mind and had him try it several more times, each time at a different height. It went fairly well until The Master once again pulled a switch.

  “Jonny, I want you to go to the loft and wait till I tell you to jump.”

  Jonny went up and waited, then The Master yelled out, “Grelnick!” Before Jonny knew what was happening, he was being pushed by the young apprentice off the edge of the loft. It was totally unexpected, which was clearly The Master’s intention. Jonny hit the hay before he had time to figure out what was happening.

  “Well, Jonny, I can see that you still are not reflexive enough at recovering from a good distraction,” the wizard said chuckling. “I think you and Grelnick have some work to do.”

  The Master looked up at Grelnick. “You have my permission to try anything you can think of to see if you can get Jonny to fall as well as you did that time, Grelnick. Start off easy, but I want to make sure that this is as automatic for Jonny as not falling when you step in a crack is for you.”

  He looked back at Jonny. “I will expect a full report this evening,” he said and left.

  Grelnick once again proved a very resourceful boy. Every time Jonny was sure he could not be surprised into falling, Grelnick proved him wrong. It was a good thing the hay was soft because Jonny fell many times, but just like a toddler, each fall only increased his determination. By the end of the day, he was bruised, sore, scratched, tired, and had straw all through his hair and clothes. But in spite of Grelnick’s most strenuous efforts, he had not fallen once in the last hour. He decided that they were done and headed up to his room to bathe before having dinner with The Master.

  It seemed that Master Silurian was not content to let things lie. After dinner, where Jonny had reported his progress to The Master, he was walking back up the stairs to his room when a hole suddenly opened in the wall next to him and he felt himself thrown out twenty feet above the courtyard. He was bone tired and looking forward to collapsing into bed when it happened. Even so, he transitioned from falling to floating seamlessly. He did not even bother to look at how it had happened or if his master was watching, he would not give him the satisfaction. He just flew in the window of his room and went straight to bed, smiling.

  § § §

  The next morning The Master said nothing about the previous night’s incident, but Jonny could tell by what he did not say, that he was very pleased with Jonny’s progress. Unfortunately, the way Master Silurian chose to show his pleasure was nearly always to increase the difficulty of the tasks he asked Jonny to do.

  He told Jonny to work through the morning again with Grelnick, but what he did not tell him was that he had spread word to all at the castle that it was now open season on Jonny.

  The morning had been mostly easy, so Jonny was just a little suspicious after lunch when Feldor put him back on messenger duty. He quickly found that everyone in the castle was trying to do what Grelnick had done the previous day, and there was no easy bed of straw to fall on this time. Everywhere Jonny turned there were apprentices, journeymen, and servants trying to surprise
him into falling. He was back hovering at only an inch or two off the ground, so when he did fall it was more embarrassing than dangerous, but it soon became the biggest game in the castle.

  Everyone was trying to distract Jonny, but he soon got into the spirit of the contest and was having as much fun at not falling as they were in trying to make him fall. Even Feldor got into the act. While Jonny was truly surprised that he would try, the surprise was not enough for him to fall.

  This went on for three days before The Master called a halt. He said Jonny was ready for the next phase. Jonny too was ready because he was really getting tired of not having any peace. He accomplished very little the day before, because everywhere he turned there was yet another hopeful contestant in the “make Jonny drop” game.

  “Jonny,” The Master began, the morning he had called off open season on Jonny. “I know I have pushed you pretty hard, but realize all this is for your good. It is necessary that your reactions be reflexive if you are to survive. But, I think you are ready for the next step, I really do.”

  “So what is it, Master?” Jonny asked breathlessly. Jonny had several ideas but he did not know which direction The Master would choose to go.

  “The next step is simple, Jonny.” He paused, “Leave the ground and fly like a bird. You have proven to me and I am sure to yourself as well that there is no danger of you losing concentration and falling more than a few feet. Since you are safe to do that, there is no longer any reason you should stay so close to the ground.”

  Jonny was stunned. It was more than he had hoped for. He had assumed that it would be weeks or months before The Master would let him get more than a few feet off the ground. The Master was still talking.

  “Jonny, I want you flying over the castle walls. I want you soaring like an eagle, eventually even as high as an eagle. I want you to show us all what you can do. There is only one thing I want to caution you about; those outside the castle must not see you. As it is, I am going to have a hard time trying to keep this a secret, but as long as you are not seen by anyone but those here; I think no one will believe it. In some ways I think if it were me, I would not believe it.”

  “But why, Master?” Jonny asked, confused.

  “Jonny, Jonny, you are so young, you know so little of the world, and I think that is why I love you all the more.”

  Now Jonny was stunned. “Love?” That was the word he had used, but Jonny had never once thought he was anything more than a student for The Master, a special student, but love? Jonny did not understand, but decided he would have to think about it later, as The Master continued to explain.

  “Jonny, you saw just a small bit of the jealousy that your talent and skills engender when we were at the conclave. You probably were not aware that you were the talk of it, were you? I have since heard how your demonstration has been talked about across the continent and more than half the world away.

  “It is natural for you not to see this as astounding, but there has not been a wizard who could fly as you now do in nearly seven hundred years. The last one I am aware of who could do it was a very old master. He only did so rarely, but his power was such that he was over one thousand years old when he died. Many have thought magic of the type you wield had forever left the world.

  “Even without the ability to fly, you are already able to fight as most wizards only can by using demons. Think what a large boulder dropped on an enemy castle or army would do. You can already move a stone larger than most siege engines. Now combine that with the ability to fly, and think of the jealousy that will arouse. I have tried to shield and prepare you, but many people will want you dead, and soon. That is why, Jonny, it is imperative you develop your talents as quickly and as completely as possible. That is why we must keep your ability to fly secret outside the castle, a little while longer.”

  If Jonny had been stunned by The Master’s earlier comment, this nearly made him faint. Now, all of The Master’s constant pushing and testing, now it made sense. Fear, yes, fear made sense. The Master was afraid for Jonny, not of what Jonny could do, but what others would try to do to Jonny if he was not ready.

  Also now, Jonny saw The Master’s actions in a new light, as being motivated by something better and more noble than Jonny ever could have conceived earlier. Yes, love, that was the word.

  The Master had been treating Jonny like a father treats a son he loves, and knows he must discipline if the boy has any chance of growing into a man of strength and character. All this made Jonny incredibly grateful, but he knew he could not, should not, say it.

  All he said was, “I understand, Master. I will be careful.” Then Jonny left The Master’s study, but he was not the same boy who had entered it. He had grown, and this had nothing to do with magic.

  Chapter 44

  Jonny did not immediately go out and fly as Master Silurian had said he could. Instead, he climbed all five of the castle’s towers for exercise and to warm himself from the early spring chill, but his mind was elsewhere. When he reached the top of the last tower he did what he had never done before, he stepped off the edge and floated down outside the castle walls. Then he hiked up to the grove of trees above the castle where he had always liked to play with Roald. The days of Gost, the first month of spring, alternated between cold and rainy and clear with a bite in the air. The previous day it had rained, and today there was not a cloud in the sky, but Jonny was glad for the heavy coat he wore.

  He sat on a rock and thought, his bottom gradually going numb. He thought about all the things that had happened to him in his life, all the pain, and lately all the joy and he wondered, why me? Why am I special?

  He could come up with no answer. After some time, it could have been hours, he was not sure, he determined he was unlikely to find out any time soon. So, he left the questions for later. There was something The Master was preparing him for, something big. The more he thought of it the more sure he was that all this was preparation for something more significant than just defending himself, and that it would affect more than just Jonny.

  It was too big.

  Jonny knew his master would tell him when the time was right, when he was older and could do something about it. . Knowing Master Silurian loved him only increased his confidence in him. Now was not the time; Jonny could feel that too, and in a sense it made him happy.

  He was just a boy, and he felt very young. Now, he was happy to put all these questions in the back of his mind, and concentrate on learning the best he could now and letting the future wait.

  When Jonny came to this resolution, it was like waking up from a long night of sleep. Without really planning it, he was drifting towards the tops of the trees. Most of the trees near the castle were just coming back into leaf and the trees were a painfully bright green in the early afternoon sun. He remembered The Master had said, “Fly like a bird,” so he decided that is just what he would do.

  He flew until he was above the tops of the trees, casting a shadow on the green canopy, then he flew horizontally dipping and soaring, staying within ten feet or so of the tops of the branches. He was flying faster than he ever had before, and he was not scared. Actually, this was the most wonderful feeling he had ever felt. He flashed fast and smooth through the air. His eyes started to water, his cheeks and ears burned with the cold, he was moving so swiftly, but the faster he went the faster he wanted to go.

  Flying above the treetops, he was weaving higher and higher in the hills that provided the backdrop above the castle. The trees and rocks became a gray and green blur below him until finally they suddenly dropped away beneath him.

  Realization struck, the ground had dropped away because he had reached the top of the mountain ridge. He saw patches of snow along the ridge, the only place it fell in this part of Salaways He whirled and looked back at where he had come from and was stunned. He had gained over three thousand feet in elevation and covered perhaps four or five miles, all in a few short moments.