The Apprentice to Zdrell

by David K Bennett

  On the third week after he had been given his charge, Jonny was ready to begin the first ring. The air of late fall was chill. He had experimented and worked things out in his mind and was feeling confident he could make it happen. He decided that this first ring would be made of gold, since gold had such a low working temperature. He also knew that it would be easy to start over again if his first attempt did not turn out properly.

  Jonny worked at one of the jewelry forges off in the corner of the shop. He made sure that no one was watching. He was unsure enough of himself that he did not want any distractions.

  He started with a small rectangular piece of gold; commonly used to make rings. He lifted it with his zdrell and brought it to the hottest part of the forge. Using his zdrell sight, he could see the metal take on the heat and soften, then begin to flow. As the metal became fluid, he reached out with his mind to bend it round until it formed a circle. Then he set the circle spinning in the midst of the heat. As it spun, he felt it become more and more uniform. He could no longer tell where the two ends had originally been. He moved it to a slightly cooler part of the forge and felt the metal begin to harden. As it hardened, he moved through it with his mind, removing any imperfections or inconsistencies.

  He felt for where the natural force lines intersected it and enhanced those parts of the ring. Without planning it previously, he began to shift the actual structure of the ring in a manner very similar to what he did when he inscribed the blades of weapons. This though was at a deeper level, and subtler in its execution. The ring continued to cool and Jonny worked more and more near, but not on, the surface of the ring. Jonny planned to scribe enhancement lines in the surface of the ring as well, so he did not attempt to alter the surface.

  At last, Jonny could tell that the ring had cooled to a low enough temperature where it could touch things without being marred. He gently allowed the ring to come to rest on a work cloth where it glinted brightly. Because physical implements had never touched the ring, its surface was as bright and polished as a well-finished piece. As bright as it was to natural eyes, that was nothing compared to how it glowed when Jonny looked at it with his zdrell sight. It fairly radiated force lines. It strongly reminded Jonny of how his amulet had looked when his spell had finally taken. The ring though, did not have the fragility about it that the amulet had had. Jonny knew that with the amulet he had needed to quickly cast the binding spell, or the whole thing would collapse. With this ring, he did not sense this at all. It seemed like it could stay like this forever.

  Jonny knew one more thing when he looked closely at the ring. It was not done. He could sense it, and he knew what he needed to do. He needed to give it surface etchings, as he had with the swords. But that evening he was too drained to finish.

  He started early the next morning and worked most of the day. Finally, at near normal close of day, he was done with the etchings, but had one more thing to do. He took the ring and lifted it again with his mental touch alone. He brought it to a small cauldron filled with liquid silver. He dropped the ring to where its bottom edge just touched the liquid surface. He set it slowly spinning, so that as the ring rotated the silver was drawn into the etchings. In just a few moments, all the etchings were filled with silver. Jonny withdrew it and allowed it to cool slowly.

  The previous day the ring had been bright when viewed with his sight, now the ring was nearly blinding. The etchings had done as he had anticipated, and even more greatly enhanced the power focusing nature of the ring. To a pair of natural eyes, the ring was dazzling as well. It was a simple gold band with silver inlay, but the overall effect of its perfection and the way the silvered etchings flowed, captured and held the eye.

  Jonny knew he had done something important. He knew he could not leave it in its present state. Hoping he was not making a mistake, he cast a binding spell on the ring, the same as he had with the amulet. Immediately the ring’s aspect changed. Where before with his sight Jonny could clearly see the ring connected to lines of power in all directions, now he saw nothing. Now all he saw was that the ring glowed with an inner light, but its connections were not visible. Jonny was unsure if he had done the right thing, but he knew he could not have left it as it was. That much visible power was sure to attract some sort of unwanted attention.

  To the natural eye, the ring was still a thing of great beauty. When he showed it the next day to Kason, the master metalworker was extremely impressed. “It is a wonder, Jonny; I’ve never seen its like. I’d sell my whole shop to have one like it.”

  He turned it over and over and ran his finger around the inside of the band. “Still, it is a thing of power. Even a poor mundane fool like myself can see that. No, on second thought, it is not for the likes of me. You keep it, and do not show it to anyone else in the shop, for a time. Yes, that would be best.”

  Kason instructed Jonny that he should immediately go and show the ring to The Master. Jonny had wanted to do just that, but had not wanted to ask. He borrowed a horse and rode to the castle, tired and happy.

  Chapter 54

  Jonny entered the castle just before noon. Master Silurian was unavailable, so Jonny had lunch with the journeymen, as had been his custom. He was surprised at how many different journeymen were present from when he had left. Fully half of the journeymen were new, and they gave Jonny curious glances. The journeymen who knew Jonny had no such reserve, and welcomed him with great enthusiasm. He had a good time getting caught up on all the gossip of the castle, but he could still see that there were some of the new journeymen who kept looking at him in less than friendly ways.

  Jonny’s interview with The Master did not last long. He examined the ring and was clearly impressed. When he put the ring on his finger, a look of great surprise filled his eyes.

  “Jonny, have you tried this ring on?” The Master asked with awe in his voice.

  “Yes, Master,” Jonny replied quietly.

  “How did it affect you?”

  “I’m not sure I can put it into words, Master. Mostly, everything just seemed much clearer.”

  “My boy, that is one of the greatest understatements I believe I have ever heard. The inrush of power I feel is tremendous. I do not think I have felt this strong in two hundred years; that is if I have ever felt this strong. This ring is wonderful, Jonny. You have once again exceeded my expectations. If we had not already set the ground rules, I would say this ring alone would fulfill your journeyman assignment.”

  Jonny was embarrassed. He had never heard, or thought it possible to hear, The Master be so effusive with praise. The Master’s eyes glowed brightly. He looked down sadly, as he took off the ring and placed it back on top of the sack Jonny had brought it in. He looked somehow smaller than he had moments before.

  “It is a pity to take it off. I wish I could wear it always.”

  “Then wear it, Master, keep it. I can always make another!”

  “No, Jonny, this is part of your journeyman project, and I feel,” he said, as a faraway look came into his eyes, “that you will need it. Yes, wear it as you work on the other items. It will increase your abilities and the quality of your work. But remember to take it off sometimes, so that you do not become dependent on it, for that is the danger of an item such as this. It can cause you to believe that all this power is within you. It is not, it is the ring.”

  Now Jonny was almost afraid to take back the ring, afraid of what he had created. Master Silurian saw Jonny’s fear and reassured him.

  “Don’t be too concerned, Jonny. You should be proud of what you have done. I doubt a ring of this power has been created in the last hundred years or more anywhere in the world. There are much greater magical devices in existence, but most are of ancient date, made well before the Great War.”

  “Do not be afraid of what you have created. You will do better still, but always remember that the power an item such as this confers is only with you as long as you have it, and a ring like this would be a very great prize to many. My best advice is
that you wear it most of the time and that you deliberately tarnish it so that it will seem less valuable. It is a great shame to do that to such a beautiful thing, but better that than to have jealousy and the greed of others take it from you.”

  § § §

  Jonny left soon after he finished talking with The Master. He wore the ring as he rode back to town and it did make everything much clearer. Without any effort at all, he perceived things the same as when he concentrated on his sight, but he also saw things with his natural eyes much more clearly. He felt the power, and on a whim lifted himself and the horse off the road into the air for several yards. The horse did not enjoy the experience much. It was so much easier to do than if he had not been wearing the ring that Jonny laughed nearly the whole way back just thinking about it.

  When Jonny mentioned Master Silurian’s idea to tarnish the ring to Kason, the man looked as if he were going to be ill, but he finally agreed with the wisdom of the action. Sullying the ring turned out to be more difficult than either of them had anticipated. The ring was so finely made that dirt and grime just flaked off it. Finally, they came upon the combination of coating the ring with oil and metal filings and then heating it until the oil burned and charred on its surface. This left a fairly solid coating that mostly obscured the ring’s beauty. Jonny had to be careful when he took it off for the inside of it quickly polished itself again, but the outer portion maintained its disguise.

  Chapter 55

  Jonny had several weeks of work for Kason before he could begin on the next ring. Kason worked Jonny very hard, but while wearing the ring Jonny rarely tired, and was able to work very quickly. Even the other workers noticed Jonny’s new ability to work long hours without apparent fatigue. He also noticed that even now in the middle of winter, he didn’t get as cold. Jonny knew it was because of the power he was getting from the ring.

  He quickly came to understand why The Master had cautioned him against relying too much on the ring. When he took it off, the whole world seemed flat and colorless and he got tired so quickly. Jonny began thinking of the ring as his “power” ring. When he thought of it in his mind, that is what he called it.

  When the week was up, Jonny was eager to begin work on the second ring. He did not really know what he was going to do with it, but he knew it should be very different from the power ring. Still unsure of what direction to go with this ring, Jonny settled on this ring being the exact opposite of the first.

  Where the first ring had been made of fine materials Jonny decided this would be made of coarse but strong ones. He used a remnant of steel that he had used in a sword earlier in the week. He took the metal and heated and beat it into a strip as though he were making a very small blade. He dropped the metal into the forge and pumped the bellows until the metal was white hot then he used his power to fold it into a circle as had with the first ring. However, with this ring once he had it rolled to perfection, he dropped it straight into the water to quench it.

  With his enhanced sight Jonny could see the metal getting stronger from being quenched, but also losing connections to the force lines around it. As soon as he saw it, Jonny knew what he would do. Where the first ring drew in and concentrated power, this one would disrupt and drain it.

  Jonny heated the ring again and began to make subtle changes in its structure. He doubted he would have been able to do work this subtle without the assistance of the power ring. Again, he quenched the ring and Jonny could feel the rightness of the changes he had made. The ring was now a dull gray in color, almost black, and it seemed to take light in and give none back. It had no reflection or luster. Jonny had to use his hardest, sharpest scribe to make his etchings, and even so, it was very difficult work.

  When he finished his work, Jonny was almost afraid to put on the ring. It had a presence, a weight about it that was somehow oppressive. Two things happened when he put it on. It felt like Jonny had taken off his power ring, even though he had not. He felt more tired and less clear-headed. Jonny also felt that the lines of power feeding into his power ring more acutely, and he was certain that if he concentrated, he would be able to break them, to destroy the power of the ring.

  The ring frightened Jonny, and he quickly took it off. He knew that in some ways, this ring was more powerful than the first, but it was a power of destruction. Jonny put it in a leather pouch and took it to Kason to show it to him. When Kason saw it, he too was clearly disturbed by it.

  “This is a curious thing of power Jonny. I’ll not hazard to try it on, nor guess what it does, but it has a dark beauty to it. In truth, this is what I always imagined a wizard’s ring would look like. Guard it well, for I don’t think it would do for it to get into the wrong hands.”

  Chapter 56

  Master Silurian was not there when Jonny went to the castle the next day to show him the new ring. Not only that, but Jonny noticed that even more of the journeymen and apprentices were new and did not know him, and those who did, did not know him well. Nearly all his old friends were gone.

  Jonny entered The Master’s workshop to find only two journeymen there, neither of whom he knew.

  “What are you doing in here?” the bigger of the two asked. “This area is off limits to all but magicians and journeyman.”

  “I’m Jonny. I was looking for Master Silurian.”

  “He’s not here today,” the shorter journeyman said. “He had to go to Sharafleg on business.”

  Jonny was disappointed and about to leave when the taller journeyman suddenly looked at Jonny with new interest.

  “Are you ‘The Jonny,’ the one everyone is always talking about, the one that everyone says can do more magic than most masters?” he asked with a sneer on his face.

  Jonny was not sure how to answer. He thought about just leaving, but decided he had better at least answer the question. “Yeah, I guess I am the one everyone talks about.”

  “I don’t believe it. You don’t even look like you’re twelve. There’s no way even half of what they say about you could be true.”

  This was a lie. While Jonny was still a bit small for his age, he had grown considerably and could possibly be taken for thirteen, but never younger than that. Jonny could sense that things would only get worse, so he said nothing and turned to go.

  The tall journeyman clearly was not happy with Jonny’s lack of response. “Hey, I didn’t tell you, you could go. Master Silurian left me in charge and you haven’t asked my permission to leave.”

  “May I go,” Jonny said staring at the floor, knowing what the response would be.

  “No you may not. In fact, I want you to come over here right now. Tillock help him if he can’t see the way.”

  “I’m not so sure this is a good idea,” the shorter journeyman said.

  “Now, Tillock, just do as I say. It’s a fine idea. The Master left me in charge, so that means that any apprentice or journeyman here has to do what I say, isn’t that so?”

  “Well, yeah, but I don’t think this is what The Master meant, Surlant. He just had to name someone to deal with small things since both he and Lord Feldor are gone. We could get in trouble if you do something to The Master’s star apprentice.”

  “Nonsense. He is still an apprentice, and has to do what I tell him, and he will,” Surlant said with an ugly edge to his voice.

  By now, Jonny had come over to stand by the two journeymen. He avoided eye contact, hoping that he could quickly do whatever stupid task or scut work Surlant seemed to have in mind.

  “Why don’t you show us some of your wonderful talent?” Surlant said.

  Before Jonny could do or say anything he continued.

  “No, I know just the thing. You’ll watch me do some real magic, in fact you’ll help. Someone told me you’ve never been under the knife. That means you can be a very big help in the task Tillock and I were just about to do.”

  Both Tillock and Jonny were shocked by what Surlant was saying. Jonny had never been under the knife and had no intention of experiencing i
t now. Tillock too was clearly alarmed by what Surlant was suggesting.

  “I don’t think this is a good idea at all, Surlant.”