by Alex C Vick
"Serena, have you seen anyone else on the road recently?" asked Savra.
"Er… only one person. But he went back to the city a little while ago."
"Why are you going to Vayl City?" asked Galen. "If you tell us what you need, we might be able to help you."
"I doubt it," said Peric.
"He doesn't mean to be rude," said Savra. "We need to obtain sponsorship. And our best hope is a good reference from someone who already has it." Her tone of voice became more urgent. "Don't you know anyone in the city? Anyone at all? We have some lumien we can offer you in return."
It was a terrible plan. Firstly, why would a stranger give a reference to someone they'd only just met? And secondly, I didn't know what lumien was, but if they had anything of value, they should be keeping it hidden. This elderly couple might be robbed if they encountered someone less trustworthy.
"I know what you're thinking," she said. "But we wouldn't be here if we had any choice." She reached out a hand and rested it briefly on Marty's neck. "My son deserves a chance," she added softly.
My mouth fell open. "Your son?"
Peric glared at me. "Yes. Our son." He placed his hands over Marty's ears and lowered his voice to a furious whisper. "Haven't you ever seen mage-sickness before?"
I exchanged a horrified glance with Galen and Claudia.
"There's no point in asking them anything," said Peric, lifting his hands and turning away. "I don't know where they come from, but it's not our concern. Ammartus hasn't eaten for hours, and we haven't got any time. The clock is ticking, Savra."
Savra bowed her head. "I know."
"Ammartus," I repeated.
Marty tapped his chest.
"We named him for the second son of Vayl's primary magical family," said Savra. "It was supposed to bring him luck."
"There's no such thing as luck," said Peric. "Come on. Let's go."
He took Savra by the hand and pulled her and Marty after him. The little boy peeked over his shoulder and waved goodbye.
"I'm going after them," I said.
"What?" said Galen.
"I want to help," I said. "And don't tell me you disagree. If you can turn your back on what we just heard without sparing that poor family a second thought, you're not the brother I thought you were."
"It's just that we know so little about Xytovia," he said.
"By the time we find out more, it could be too late for Peric and Savra."
"Do you want us to come with you?" asked Claudia.
"No. I'll be fine. Besides, one person has more chance of blending in than three. And you need to close the portal before someone finds it. I'll open another one if I need to return early."
"Early?" said Galen. "Earlier than when?"
"Give me three days from now," I said. "I'll meet you on the forest path."
"Three days is a long time," said Galen.
"I promise I'll return before then if there's a problem," I said.
"Yeah, but if there's a problem you might not be able to return. OK, OK," he added, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender when I scowled at him. "Fine. I'm not delighted about it, but I trust you to look after yourself."
He strengthened the Concealing Spell over my Sygnus. "It should last three days," he said. "More or less. But keep an eye on it. And remember your magic will be weaker as long as it's hidden."
"Thanks," I said. "I'd better go before they get too far ahead. My ankle's still sore."
I could see from Galen's expression that he'd forgotten about my ankle, and he wasn't happy now I'd reminded him. But he managed to remain silent. Claudia put her arms around me in a quick hug, before taking hold of my hand to project the Communication Spell, fast enough that the rush of magic inside my head disoriented me for a second. "Art is Ammartus, right?"
"Maybe," I said aloud.
"Maybe what?" said Galen.
"Just maybe. Right now, anything's possible."
Giving them both a smile, I turned to follow the road to the city.
4.1 Ammartus, The Next Morning
The only person who will ever read this is me, but I want to be clear about something all the same. Yesterday evening I wrote about meeting someone. I wasn't thinking clearly. To suggest that a random cotidian from a different territory might have been a better match for me than my actual match was madness.
This is why emotions and magic can be a dangerous combination. In a way, I should be grateful I received such a timely reminder. Especially given the results of my assessment.
It is market day, and the city will be busy. Trading in magic has never been more profitable. And new cotidians will present themselves for sponsorship as they always do. I will stand alongside my family despite my reduced status. Of course she won't be there.
I don't even know why I wrote that. What's the matter with me?
5 Entering The City
Peric and Savra had walked faster than I'd expected. The city was in sight by the time I caught up to them. I was shocked when I saw the size of the surrounding wall. It rose up past the height of several people, layer upon layer of enormous blue-and-grey bricks, apparently cut from the mountain looming in the distance. The only building tall enough to be visible from outside was the tower I'd seen in Galen's memories.
Are they keeping people out? Or in?
There was a pair of silver doors where the wall met the end of the road. They were small and solid—clearly intended to prevent too many people from entering the city at once.
"Wait," I called, pulling my force field back from where it had been supporting my ankle. Limping slightly, I walked toward them. Savra and Marty smiled, but Peric looked at me with irritation, as if I were a bug he thought he'd squashed that had come back to life unexpectedly.
"What are you doing here?" he said.
"I still want to help. If you'll let me try."
He folded his arms. "We don't have enough lumien," he said. "I'm not paying to get you in if you can't help us on the other side."
Savra was sympathetic but firm. "I'm sorry, Serena. He's right. You're better off staying with your brother."
"What is lumien?" I said.
"Funny," said Peric.
"It was a serious question," I said.
"It was not a serious question," he replied. "Unless you're a fool. No one can survive without credit."
Credit. Currency. But what was it made from? I might be able to replicate it. I knew I could replicate the precious metals the Romans used for their coins.
Something brushed my hand and I jumped. Marty was pointing to his mother's shoulder bag. He whispered something too quietly for me to hear, so I bent down and asked him to repeat it.
"It's the special glow," he said. "It sparkles."
I turned to Savra. "Can you show me?"
Peric huffed impatiently.
"Please," I added. "I'll be quick."
Savra folded back the flap keeping her bag closed and removed a small silver bottle. It was engraved with a symbol that curled like a serpent from the neck of the bottle to its base.
She tilted it, tracing the outline of the symbol with one finger. "Look," she said. "See how the line glows up to here? Silver means A-grade, and that's how much we have. About half. This is a two-mystron bottle."
"Can I see inside?" I asked.
Immediately, she pushed the bottle back into her bag. "No," she said. "Only a magician can open this bottle."
"Why is that?"
"Enough," said Peric. "Go back to where you came from and leave us alone. We've wasted too much time on you already."
"Wait," I said. "I've got one more question. What is it? What is lumien made from?"
I could guess, but I wanted to be certain. He shook his head, like he couldn't believe how stupid I was. "It's magic," he said. "Magic uncontaminated by any spell. A-grade is its purest and safest form."
Peric made to leave and I didn't stop him. I was frozen with indecision. I didn't know if I should tell them I was a magician or
not. The lumien obviously wouldn't be a problem if I could be open about my true nature. My body created magical energy as easily as breathing.
On the other hand, I would attract attention that way. Attention I wasn't ready for. Secrecy would bring a degree of protection. But then how can I help them?
I followed at a distance, waiting to see what would happen. The closer I got to the doors, the more uncomfortable I felt. I couldn't identify the source of my uneasiness at first. Then I figured out the doors were causing it. A shimmer of magical energy radiated from them, and although it was almost too faint to see, my force field shrank from it as if it were the strongest poison.
I withdrew my magic as fast as I could, wrapping every scrap of energy in my body tightly around the spark in my head. Fortunately, I'd had a lot of practice. Force field suppression was a defensive move used to escape the primary Androvan Combat Spell.
It was manageable, though it made me feel a little unbalanced. If I maintained it for too long, I'd get a headache. Better a headache than being damaged by an unknown spell.
For it was a spell. I had no doubt about that. There was a hint of colour within the shimmer. Hard to pin down, it shifted from purple to grey and back again. Peric and Savra seemed unaffected, which was logical given they had no force fields of their own.
One of the doors opened-not far enough for me to see who was on the other side-and a discussion ensued. Peric's voice gradually increased in volume as he attempted to argue his way into the city. I moved as close as I dared, keeping to the edge of the road. The sun was sinking in the sky, casting longer and deeper shadows from the trees onto the ground.
"Come back tomorrow," came a woman's voice. "You know the rules."
Peric squared his shoulders. "I told you. I can pay. A-grade lumien. One mystron. More than enough for the night and our application."
"And then what? If you fail to obtain sponsorship tomorrow, you'll be evicted with nothing. Better for you to take an application form and stay on the other side of the door."
"We can't," said Peric. "We have nowhere else to go. I would have waited until tomorrow if I could have."
Marty reached to touch the scrollwork on the edge of the door. The woman on the other side made to push it closed, bringing the door into contact with Marty's hand. There was a brief flare of light between his fingers and he stiffened, his back arching.
"Marty!" said Savra, her voice high with shock. The little boy had collapsed. He lay on the ground, not responding to his mother's attempts to revive him. She scooped him up, smoothing his hair and loosening his collar. The door, instead of closing all the way, opened wider, the woman on the other side appearing to take a sudden interest in what was happening.
I hesitated. I'd been about to go and help, but the woman, with her unmistakable air of authority, had to be better qualified than I was. She was immaculate, from her arched brows, to the perfectly tied plait of brown hair falling over one shoulder, to her tailored trousers and shiny boots. And she's wearing an amulet.
She reached past Savra, placing her hand on Marty's forehead. Her expression flickered. "You may enter the city," she said.
Savra, cradling Marty in her arms, didn't respond. Marty's eyes opened and he blinked a few times, grimacing. "Hurts," he said.
Peric squeezed Marty's hand, giving his son a quick smile. "We'll fix it, Marty. Just rest for a minute."
He turned to the woman. "Really? Just like that, you'll grant us access? I don't understand."
"We're not monsters. If your son is ill, that changes your situation."
"My wife and I are ill, too. Something that cannot have escaped your notice," said Peric.
"It's up to you, of course," said the woman, her face giving nothing away. "But I would not advise leaving without having him treated."
"Treated? What's wrong with him?" said Peric.
"Per," said Savra, not taking her eyes off Marty. "You already know the answer to that. He needs help, and neither of us is in a position to give it."
A few seconds later, they disappeared through the door. It shut behind them with a low ringing noise, sounding almost melodic. I looked at the wall. Although I could get across using Solo Transference, it seemed unlikely that it wouldn't be magically protected, or even guarded in person by a magician or two.
Scanning the area again, I noticed Savra's bag on the ground. Perhaps it had fallen from her shoulder when she was looking after Marty. I walked up to it slowly. I would have used an Invisibility Spell, but I didn't want to project my force field so close to those sinister doors.
Once I had the bag, I retreated to the shadows to check its contents for the all-important bottle of lumien. The least I could do would be to fill it to the top before I tried to return it. To my surprise, I found three silver bottles inside. The smaller two were empty and a little scuffed, with indistinct letters engraved on the base. I could make out "P" and "R" but nothing else.
Interesting. Perhaps there's a way for me to enter the city after all.
I walked into the woodland a little way, making sure I was beyond the range of the spell before I sat down. Sections of lilac-coloured moss at the base of the trees formed a makeshift blanket, springy and soft. It released a sweet smell when I settled my weight onto it.
Taking one of the empty bottles, I turned it over in my hands, tracing the symbol from neck to base. When I allowed my magic to expand, the engraving lit up as my finger passed along it. I smiled, relieved. If it responded to my magic, there was a good chance this would work.
However, there was no obvious way to remove the top of the bottle. The neck joined seamlessly with the lid. I recalled Savra's words: Only a magician can open this bottle. Any magician? Or only a Xytovian magician?
I decided to start with an Unlocking Spell, projecting my magic until it surrounded the lid of the bottle. Nothing happened, so I continued until the rest of the bottle was covered too. The symbol moved, and I let out a small exclamation of shock. It curled around the lid before flipping it open.
"Very smart," I murmured.
Next I had to fill the bottle. That was the easy part. I could create droplets of magical energy as if for a remedy, but without adding a spell. The challenge was how to keep my magic potent once I'd resealed the bottle. All magical energy, once separated from its source, degraded over time.
In remedy-making, Androvans used a Protection Spell to enhance the base liquid if it wasn't intended for immediate consumption. Lumien, however, was supposed to contain no spell of any kind.
I traced my finger around the neck of the bottle. The inside felt smoother than the outside, and cold to the touch. I pushed against it. It's like ice. I hastily removed my finger, making a face at the burning sensation.
I discovered that the inside of the bottle only turned cold when it touched my force field. It was impervious to magical energy, forming an icy barrier I could feel all the way down my arm if I maintained contact for long enough.
Ingenious. Apparently Xytovians possessed a substance that could preserve and contain magic. I filled all three bottles, applying a Locking Spell once they were at capacity. The symbols resettled, glowing silver from top to bottom as I'd hoped. Four mystrons of A-grade lumien in total: two in the large bottle and one each in the smaller bottles.
Suppressing my force field again, I stood up and brushed a few stray pieces of moss from my clothes. It was time to put my acting skills to the test.
The closer I got to the doors, the more I appreciated the glowing scrollwork. No wonder Marty had wanted to touch it. There was no obvious handle, or lock, or way in. Just as I wondered how I was going to communicate my presence, the door opened to reveal the same woman as before standing on the other side.
She looked me up and down in silence, her face impassive. I waited, deciding it was better to allow her to lead the conversation.
"You have no sponsor," she said.
How does she know that?
"Not yet," I agreed.
"Co
me back tomorrow," she said, making to close the door.
"I can pay," I said quickly.
"Can you? It's half a mystron for your accommodation and half again for your sponsorship application. A-grade, of course."
From the snooty look on her face, she obviously believed I couldn't afford it. One mystron just for me seemed disproportionate, but I wasn't about to argue.
"Fine," I said.
I put one of the smaller bottles into her outstretched hand. She seemed to take a long time examining the symbol. It was really glowing. Her expression became thoughtful.
"Where did you get this?" she asked.
"Nowhere. I mean… nowhere special."
"Do you know the magician who created it?"
She stared at me. Her amulet and her purple eyes glimmered in unison. One hand reached out to brush my arm. With my force field suppressed, I was at her mercy. Words emerged from my mouth before I knew what I was saying.
"I know her."
"Good. What is your name, cotidian?"
"Serena," I said.
"And your family name?" she asked, returning her attention to the bottle.
I blinked, glad to be released from whatever spell she'd used to elicit my answers. There were no family names on Androva. Sygnus symbols were the closest we had. I resisted the temptation to look down and check mine was still hidden.
"Er… Caesar," I replied, saying the first word that came into my head. I winced internally. Naming yourself after a Roman emperor, Serena? Really?
"Welcome to Vayl City, Serena Caesar," said the woman. "I'm Adelle Bavois. I look forward to reviewing your application."
5.1 Ammartus, The Next Day
This is what I'm reduced to. I'm in my room, writing in my journal again because I can't focus on anything else. I always laughed at my brother when he wrote up pages of notes on his lessons, his match, and his feedback on sponsorship applications.
I never saw how eloquence on the page would help my scores. Maybe I was wrong.
Market day was crazy as usual. The main square in front of the tower was at capacity. There's talk of selling tickets for next month. More lumien for Vayl. Not that we need it.