The Flames of Deception - A Horizon of Storms: Book 1
Page 21
Matthias smiled. “Well I can’t say for certain, but it sounds like you were becoming attuned to the power.”
“Attuned? What does that mean?”
“It’s complex princess. I’m not sure I can describe it. At least, not very well.”
“Please try!” Josephine pressed him.
“Well alright.” He paused a moment and scratched at his head, thinking. “Erm…”
“Matthias Greenwald!” she prodded, when he didn’t say anything more.
“I’m thinking how best to explain,” he responded. “Alright, here goes. When wizards first begin training we don’t conjure up a flame from nowhere by waving a hand about or, as is a popular misconception, by reciting magical chants. What we do is learn to tune ourselves into the threads of the earth power running through the fabric of the world, and then focus them into a desired outcome. If you twist them in different ways, combine them and weave them properly, they can be moulded to create fire, ice…”
“The ball of light you produced when we were in Rina?”
“Exactly. I focussed the earth power and manipulated it through my body like a conductor. Out of that came the ball of light. I was trained to shift my perception of the world so the threads can be visibly seen in the mind. We do that firstly by relaxing and focussing on one singular point just like I’m teaching you, and then our natural affinity towards the earth power shifts our gaze towards seeing the threads.” Matthias paused. “Did anything I just say make any sense to you? It’s not easy to explain and it is many years since I have had to try to."
Josephine nodded. “I believe so. You think I became accustomed to the energies for a moment? I could quite literally see the fifth power?”
“I think so.” Matthias smiled. “So you do understand. Well done!” He leaned forward. “What did it look like? The earth power looks sort of like... tendrils of light. Different colours and thicknesses of string coalescing around you. Was it like that?"
“It was… different. A little like staring at the sun for too long. There were patterns dancing across my vision. It almost...” She stopped and squinted
“Almost what?” Matthias prompted her.
“It almost felt like... like fire. A raging fire.”
Matthias thought for a moment, nodding. “I see.”
“Is that bad?” she asked.
“Bad? No. No I don't think so. Just different. But then I would expect nothing less from the fifth power.” He smiled at her. “Well done Josephine. You’ve done well for your first proper lesson!”
Josephine nodded. “Thank you. I do not feel any different. I expected to feel something new.”
“Such as?”
“I am not sure exactly. Something momentous. Trumpets going off or the like.”
“Well, trumpets or not, you’re one step closer to fulfilling your destiny.”
The princess scoffed. “I never wanted a destiny.”
“We don’t always have the freedom of choosing our own path princess."
She shook her head. “That is easy for you to say! You became a wizard of your own choosing!”
“That’s not exactly true,” Matthias said, and Josephine looked taken aback.
“You didn’t?” she asked. Matthias shook his head. Then Josephine nodded. “Your mother... of course. I am sorry Matthias, I had forgotten.”
He shrugged. “It's alright.”
“What did you want to be, if not a wizard?” Josephine asked.
Matthias smiled. “I was going to become a farmer like my father. My family rented land from the local nobleman in the southlands of Mahalia.” Josephine grinned. “What?” Matthias asked.
“I apologise, but I just cannot picture you as a farmer. Covered head to toe in mud and pulling up cabbages! You seem far too proper!”
“This from a princess? You’re still speaking like you have a silver spoon in your mouth you know.”
“There is no one here!” she rebuffed.
Matthias shrugged. "A fair point I suppose. In any case, I'll have you know I grew up learning the ways of a farmhand. I could milk a cow at the age of five!”
“I am sure that must have been very rewarding for you,” Josephine retorted with a wry smile. “So what changed for you? Especially after…well...”
Matthias smiled. “It’s alright, you can say it. After my mother was killed by wizards.” Josephine nodded. “Men and boys who are found to have the ability to wield the earth power aren’t given much in the way of a luxury of choice. I discovered I was able to wield shortly after my mother was taken away. I was... quite upset about the matter.”
“Understandably!” Josephine exclaimed.
Matthias smiled. “It would seem my mother passed on her talents to me. I found, much like you, that when I let myself get emotional, the ability would leak out. But unlike you, I seemed able to control some things with the power from the start. I could pick objects up, throw them around. For a young man, angry at the loss of his mother, such abilities were a gift.”
“What did you do?” Josephine asked.
“I was foolish enough to think that I could fight all of Mahalia alone. I was wrong. Obviously. I picked a fight with a wizard the first chance I got. The very first one I challenged I got slapped down like a misbehaving pup. From that day on, everything changed for me. I was not allowed to remain a loose cannon, using the power to pick fights or disturb the peace. I was made to leave behind my old life, my family – what remained – my father, brothers and my uncle, and was taken to the capital, where I was trained to become a wizard. That was a long time ago now,” he said distantly.
“Did you ever see your family again?” Josephine asked.
Matthias shook his head. “It wasn’t permitted. Past associations can be dangerous, especially where family is concerned.”
“That sounds horrible,” Josephine said. “Like kidnap!” She caught Matthias’s eye.
“Well that was a subtle dig in the ribs,” he smiled.
“Subtle wasn’t my intention,” she smiled back.
Mathias sighed. “You’re right, in a way. It’s complicated. Mahalian culture is confusing to explain. I didn’t like it, not at first, and I fought them with every fibre of my being. But after a time I began to see the benefits of a life as wizard.”
“But your mother!” Josephine said. “How could you look them in the eye every day and respect the very people who had killed her for no good reason?”
Matthias smiled. “When your great, great grandfather had your great, great grandmother put to death for treason, did his son and daughter, your ancestors, not find a way to speak with their father, even when he had killed their own mother? Nothing is ever as black and white as it would seem, Josephine. It’s never easy, of course, but as a wizard I have the opportunity to influence this world more than I ever would have as a farmer, and hopefully make it a better place, so that things like what happened to my mother won’t happen again.”
Josephine nodded after a moment’s pause. “I suppose I can understand. Do you miss them?” she pressed. “The rest of your family?”
Matthias nodded. “All the time. Anyone who says otherwise is a liar. But I comfort myself in the knowledge that what I am doing is for the good of all people, my family included.” He laughed under his breath. “But back to the point of this conversation. If anyone had told me beforehand that this would be my life-” he gestured with his hands to their surroundings, “I’d have laughed in their face. A farmhand from the lowlands, a peasant by most definitions, charged with looking after a princess whose actions could decide the fate of the world?” He shook his head. “Whatever you think your life will be, it usually never works out quite the way you intend. The gods deal you a different hand than you expect. They like to be unpredictable.”
Josephine shook her head. “What do you do if you don’t want to play their hand? The gods have no right to be playing a game of chance with people’s lives. I am not a pawn to be used! No one should be.”
“What do you think I should do?” she asked.
“I think you should play them at their own game,” he smiled.
“And hope for the best?”
“It’s all you can do.”
“My mother hoped for the best. She was a devout believer in the gods. Look what happened to her.”
“Sometimes people just get dealt a bad hand.”
Josephine smiled. "You certainly have a way with words Matthias. You would make a good speech writer." She sighed. “Since my birth I’ve been brought up in the knowledge that I would one day take my father’s place on the throne. I’ve been trained in the ways of court life, of the nuances of the Privy Council and politics. I’ve mastered etiquette and diplomacy. Mostly. But I don’t know how to fight! I haven’t a clue how to do any of this!” She shook her head. “If the gods wish me to fulfil this destiny then they could have prepared me better! I do not like the uncertainty."
Matthias shrugged. “Uncertainty can be quite exciting.”
Josephine’s lips curved into a resistant smile. “Then you are a more adventurous person than I am, Matthias Greenwald.” She shook her head. “Oh, let’s just get on with it then! All this moping and mulling over things is getting me nowhere.” She tucked her skirt about her and sat back down, placing her hands in her lap. “So what do I do now?”
“Now,” Matthias began, as he sat himself back down on the ground and crossed his legs, “we are going to try that again. Only this time, when you do see those patterns in the darkness, don’t flinch away from them or open your eyes. I want you to embrace them. Reach out to them.”
“And how will I know if I am doing that?” Josephine asked.
“If I'm right, you’ll know,” he nodded. Just remember: don’t be afraid and shy away. You’ll get there.”
Josephine took a deep breath. “Very well. Here goes. Wish me luck!”
Matthias shook his head. “You don’t need luck, princess.”
She resisted a smile and closed her eyes. The scent of damp moss and dirt and woodland filled her nose as she let her mind release itself. She was aware of her fingers twitching, however much she tried to ignore them, and she could sense the presence of Matthias sitting in front of her, his eyes watching her. She pushed the thought away. She had to clear her mind. For what felt like hours, she let her consciousness float away into the darkness of her mind. Then, as if out of nowhere, it appeared- a swirl of light. She gasped. Her hands were tingling.
Matthias watched the princess carefully, analysing her expression. After a while he leant forward in anticipation as her face creased.
“Josephine?” he whispered. “What is it?”
She sharply drew an intake of breath and swallowed. “I can see it again,” she whispered back dozily.
“Describe it to me,” Matthias asked.
Her eyes darted back and forth rapidly beneath her eyelids. “It’s beautiful. A trail of lights, like… like fireflies. They’re swaying back and forth. They’re changing colour, swirling around. It’s like stardust!”
“Stardust?” Matthias asked.
“An old tale from Aralia. My people call the streaks that sometimes appear briefly across the night sky ‘fairies’. When they glide through the air on a clear night they would sometimes leave stardust in their path. It looks just like that.”
“I see,” Matthias nodded. “You mean falling stars,” he advised. “They’re rocks from the heavens, burning as they enter our realm.”
“Well that is certainly a lot more boring than them being fairies,” the princess commented. “But the stardust would still work in that context, I suppose.”
“Can you get closer to the patterns you see?” Matthias asked. “Or can you pull them towards your mind?” He cradled his chin in his long fingers and patiently watched.
The princess went silent for a while, but her breathing continued to be quick. Then after several more minutes, she smiled. “They are getting closer. I think I am drawing them to me, but I…I don’t know how.”
“That doesn’t matter right now. It’s an unconscious reflex. Now can you-”
“No! They’re not just lights,” Josephine interrupted with a gasp. “They’re structures. I can see now they are drawing closer.”
“What do you mean, ‘structures?’” Matthias’ frowned and licked his own lips nervously.
“I can’t quite explain. They’re spheres, but with… webs of what looks like string joining them. They’re so intricate, so beautiful! There are more now. They’re everywhere! It's a fiery, dazzling pattern!”
Matthias thought for a moment. Then, resolving an internal dialogue, he nodded his head.
“Josephine. Open your eyes.”
“Open my eyes? But you told me not to. I don’t want to lose them Matthias. They’re so incredible! I have never seen anything like it!“
“No, neither have I,” Matthias said, with a hint of trepidation in his voice. “But I don’t think you will lose them. Josephine, open your eyes,” Matthias commanded. “Do it. Now.”
Her eyelids began to flicker, the whites of her eyes showed, and then she opened them fully.
She smiled. “They are still here!” She waved her hand at them dreamily. The structures moved around her fingers, swirled around her palm like water. “I can’t feel them on my skin, but they are there and reacting to my motions!” She smiled and looked to Matthias, whose brow was furrowed. “What is wrong?”
“Can’t you see?” he asked, and nodded to her hand. She followed his eye line, and though her vision was covered with the tiny structures, she noticed that the air was rippling where she was waving.
“Perhaps we should stop for now,” Matthias said cautiously. He looked worried. Josephine nodded and lowered her hand. It took an effort to release her grasp on them, but she did, relaxed her concentration, and one by one the little lights winked out of her focus. She slumped back, and exhaled heavily.
“Well”, Matthias began, taking a deep breath “I’d say that lesson went very well. Very informative.”
The smile on Josephine’s face could have melted ice. “I was in control! For the first time, I felt that I knew what I was doing!”
“Except that you didn’t. This was a good start Josephine, but we don’t know what it was you were doing to the air.”
Josephine sighed and folded her arms. “You are determined to devastate my good mood, aren’t you Matthias Greenwald?”
“I just think we need to be careful,” he said. “We don’t know how your power works yet Josephine.” Then he smiled. “However, I’m pleased for you as well. You did very well!”
“Thank you, Matthias!” She nodded back formally and then laughed.
“It's only the beginning,” he added. “Remember that!”
“Oh, but what a beginning!” Josephine exclaimed, clapping her hands.
“That looked... interesting,” said Thadius, approaching with Luccius in tow. “I take it you’ve made some progress?”
Matthias uncrossed his legs and took to his feet. “Oh yes, we certainly have.”
Luccius smiled and clapped Matthias on the shoulder. “I knew you’d be able to teach her! Well done Josephine!” he said, nodding to the princess.
“Why thank you, Mister ansuwan!” She chuckled. “You are most kind!”
“We didn’t mean to interrupt, but it’s getting late. You’ve been alone here for almost two hours,” said Luccius.
“What?” Matthias exclaimed. “Has it been that long?”
“We had better be moving off,” Thadi
us added, and Matthias nodded.
They spent the rest of the remaining daylight riding on, but as the sun set and with no village in sight in which to rest, they set up another camp in the middle of a field. There was a building just in sight off the next hill, but with any luck the owner wouldn’t notice them, even with Matthias starting another fire to ward off the chill of the approaching night.
While Josephine slept heavily beside Luccius, who was leisurely blowing on the set of pan pipes he kept tucked in his pocket, Thadius sat on watch, puffing on his pipe, while Matthias hunched over next to him, studying his tattered map again.
“Know where we are?” asked Thadius, blowing a smoke ring into the cool night air.
“Vaguely,” said Matthias. “I think we passed this stream a few hours back.” He pointed to a small winding blue line snaking up the map. “Which would put us around about... here.” He poked a finger at the tattered parchment. Thadius craned his neck to see.
“That seems about right. I have never travelled this way before, but by my guess that puts us at another good three weeks to Olindia,” he said glumly. And we don’t have that long I wager, judging by the look on your face?"
Matthias shook his head. “I’m not sure.”
“By horse it would take three weeks. But there might be a quicker way,” Thadius advised. “Look, that stream is an offshoot of the river Bralene. If we could re-join it and follow its path we will arrive at this small village here.” He pointed again to a dot on the map. “I think we can catch a riverboat from there, straight up to the border.”
“What kind of boat?” Matthias asked curiously.
“Longboats. They’re relatively new and are renowned for their speed, though I have never been fortunate enough to see them myself. They use steam from burning wood to propel them. Clever stuff.”
Matthias inspected the map and nodded. “We’d still have to cross through the mountain pass afterwards on foot, but it could save us a good week, if not more. If these boats travel as quickly as you say and through the night as well, when we would usually have to rest up, we might be in luck.”