Forgotten Mage

by D. W. Jackson

  “That’s great,” Bren said under his breath. “First I have to deal with Phena and now this.”

  “Well as the Weapons Master says, all of life is a battle and only fools don’t recognize it,” Cass said, patting Bren on the back comfortingly. “Now, we better get back to the training field, otherwise we might find ourselves having to crawl around the entire compound until nightfall.”

  Bren and Cass returned to the field, where more than a hundred students of all ages had gathered. “Nice of you two to join us,” Jacob said, with a scathing glare. “Cass, I want you to supervise the new soldiers today.”

  “Looks like you finally caught a break.” Cass said in a near whisper.

  First, everyone was made to work the pells with Cass walking up and down the line pointing out mistakes in form. Bren found himself swinging at the pells for more than an hour before Cass called for a break, and broke them into groups of four.

  “We will now start sparing. Today, we will see which of you have the best skill with your choice weapon. I want each of you to go to the storeroom and pick what you feel most comfortable with, then return here.”

  Bren, along with the others rushed toward the storage building, where they had spent the entire morning cleaning. Bren quickly chose a sword with a thin crossbar and only a five foot blade that was slightly curved. It was slightly different than his fathers, but it was as close as he could find.

  Bren was the sixth person to return, and when he found out the prize for being last, he was glad that he didn’t spend more time searching for the prefect weapon. Nothing was worth having to stand with two buckets of water at shoulder level as the others watched. Each time the buckets dropped the slightest, Cass struck the young man in the arms with a thin wooden rod.

  Once back in their groups, they were forced to pair off, with only the winner from each round advancing, and the losing being force to lie on the ground, his limbs outstretched to show that he had been killed.

  Bren’s first opponent was a young boy, who was slightly taller than him, who had chosen a short sword and shield. After the first few strikes, Bren felt sorry for the boy. The sword he had chosen was right, but his shield was too large and any attack was clumsily made. Not wanting to draw out the fight, and the boy’s humiliation, Bren moved in quickly, pivoting to the side as the boy moved the shield to the left to strike. As soon as the shield began to move, Bren grabbed hold of it and twisted with his hips, moving his foot back and took a knee to the ground. Bren heard a loud pop as the boys arm was dislocated and he fell to the ground, whimpering. Bren had been trained not to show any remorse once a battle had been started, so he calmly walked up to his opponent and placed the tip of his sword at the boy throat.

  As soon as Cass called the battle over, Bren offered his hand to the boy and helped him to his feet. “Logan, go to see about your wound, Farlane come here,” Cass yelled, as soon as the two left the small circle.

  Bren walked slowly over to Cass, unsure if he was in trouble or not for his actions during the battle. “That was well done, but try not to injure anyone too badly. The mage’s can fix most wounds, but the worse the wound, the longer they will be out of training.”

  Bren nodded his head and returned to the line, to await his next fight. It was odd to be in a real sparing match, where no punches were pulled. When he had trained with the guard, it was rare anyone got injured, but most of them had been trained for years and only advanced to the position of royal guard when they had proven to have a great deal of skill. Bren tried to remind himself that, though he and the others might be the same age, he shouldn’t be overly aggressive toward them during practice.

  After eight more fights, it was down to Bren and the sandy haired boy that had given him such a hard time earlier that morning. The other boy had chosen a long spear to use as a weapon, and from what Bren had seen from the other fights, he was well versed in its use. His sword was short, so he would be forced to get close and inside the striking range of the spear. His heart fluttering, Bren reset his grip on his swords hilt as he waited for the other boy to make the first move.

  The first attack was a straight jab with the spear, which Bren was easily able to dodge. He had seen other boys try and grab the shaft of the weapon, but each time, the other boy had set his legs, jerking hard. Most the time, the weapon was pulled from the others hand, leaving them off balance and an easy kill for the sandy haired boy, but the few who had held on, had not fared much better as the other boy had lunged forward kicking them hard in the chest.

  Bren knew that the other boy was larger, and didn’t want to test his strength or skill against him, at least not in that manner. Bren bided his time and dodged the other boy’s attacks. A spear was a great weapon to keep your opponent at bay, but it had drawbacks. You couldn’t make a large strike without leaving yourself exposed and once they were inside your range, the large spear was nearly useless.

  Both tired from their previous fights, the two moved cautiously. Bren would move in and wait for the other boy to strike, hoping that he would overshoot or leave enough of a safe area that would allow him to get in close. His chance came when the other boy took a slow strike, allowing Bren to knock it aside and moving quickly move in next to him. Bren had thought that it would be an easy kill once inside his range, but the other boy dropped down into a crouch, dodging Bren’s first strike and reversed his grip on his spear, striking Bren hard in the stomach with its hard wooden end.

  Bren wanted to double over in pain, but he knew he didn’t have that luxury…not if he wanted to win. Letting his body slump, Bren jumped and rolled to his feet, coming in behind the other boy, but he wasn’t the only one who was preparing for his next attack. The other boy had reversed his grip again and swung the spear straight at Bren’s head.

  Flattening himself to the ground, the spear soared only inches above his head. As soon as it was gone, Bren rolled to his feet and tackled the other boy, slamming the hilt of his sword hard into the boy’s nose. The other boy’s eyes rolled back in his head, but Bren didn’t relent. He continued to strike over and over until the boy’s face was covered in a dark red blood.

  Bren didn’t know how many times he had struck before he was pulled from the other boy by Cass and another of the older boys. Bren fought against them, but they had secure holds on his upper arms. As soon as he was pulled away, Bren calmed down and looked around to the other trainees. They were all looking at him with frightened stares.

  “Leon, Jennings, take Morus to the nurse,” Cass barked. The other boys moved quickly, though their eyes lingered on Bren for the briefest of moments.

  “A little overboard don’t you think?” Cass asked in a low whisper, as he pulled Bren to the side.

  “I don’t know what happened,” Bren said slowly. “As soon as I had him down, everything went red and my arms just kept hitting him over and over.”

  “Battle rage,” Cass replied in a way of explanation. “Believe it or not, it’s quite common, but you’re going to have to learn to control yourself. There is nothing more dangerous on the battlefield than a soldier who loses control, even if it’s for a single moment.”

  “Understood Cass,” Bren said, feeling more than a little ashamed of himself.

  “Call me Sergeant when we are in training,” Cass said with a half grin. “Otherwise, both of us will find ourselves worse for it.”

  “Ok, Sergeant,” Bren replied, trying to smile a bit. He was happy that his friend had tried to lighten the mood.

  It wasn’t long after the sparing, the rest of the trainees were sent inside to start their inside lessons for the day. Bren had the urge to follow, but the Weapons Master made sure he knew that Sae-Thae was expecting him back before the noon bell.

  Tired and aching more than he could ever remember, and that included after his first few days working on the farm, Bren stumbled back toward the Tower. His stomach growling, he did stop by a small roadside stand to grab a meet pie. The food was good, but after what he had witnessed at lu
nch, he tried to gulp it down as fast as he could. The small bits singed his tongue and throat, but he paid them little heed. Once he was finished, he looked at the crumbs that were left and sighed. As the Tower came into full view, Bren wondered when the next time would be that he got to enjoy a real meal.

  CHAPTER XI

  Bren found Sae-Thae in his office, awaiting his arrival. “Looks like you survived your first day,” The older mage said, as soon as Bren entered his field of vision. “It took a bit longer than I expected, so I hope you were able to get something to eat, because for the next few hours I am afraid you won’t have the time for that luxury.”

  “I ate enough to last me until supper,” Bren said after rubbing his tongue over the still tender spots on the roof of his mouth.

  “Good to hear,” Sae-Thae said, leading Bren by the shoulder out of the room. “The first thing we need to do, is have you tested for your skills in magic. At your age, they are bound to shift a bit, but it will give us a starting foundation for what we have to work with. Every year, our mages have to retake the test until their scores stabilize, then we check every five years.”

  “Do they change that much?” Bren asked, having thought, from what the other mages said, that strength in magic was predetermined.

  “Not normally, but it has been known to happen, especially after a trauma. There was once a mage, a very famous one back before the Fae war, whose whole family was killed in front of him. The mage at the time had only a small skill in water, and none in any of the other elements. After the event though, he could wield fire magic on a level that was past mastery, though from all the stories, he was also quite insane as well.”

  Sae-Thae led Bren to a large open room with eight glass globes sitting on a long table, and one massive glass orb that was nearly five feet high sitting on the ground. “Just place your hand on each of the globes and try to use magic. Even if you can’t quite use it yet, it should still give us a basic reading.”

  Bren walked over to the first globe and gently placed his right hand over the top of the globe. He focused and tried to form a ball of light, as he had been told many times that it was the easiest of the magics to perform. For a brief moment, it looked as if the scar on the back of his hand glowed, then suddenly the glass orb below his hand started to hum lightly as it filled with a light that grew in brightness, until it nearly blinded Bren.

  “Move your hand!” Sae-Thae shouted, but it was too late. The glass orb shattered, showering Bren with small shards of glass that cut into his skin. When the dust cleared, Bren looked around frantically and was happy to see Sae-Thae standing in the corner of the room, using a dark shield to cover himself. “I’m sorry,” Bren said as Sae-Thae looked at him questioningly.

  “That was unexpected,” Sae-Thae said, looking from where the glass orb had rested to Bren. “I have known many mages in my time, but only once have I heard breaking a testing orb, and that was when an exceptionally powerful vathari mage had used one. Try the next one, but if it starts to hum again, move your hand off immediately. Don’t let it linger even for a second.”

  Bren did as he was told and within seconds, that orb too began to hum, and Bren quickly removed his hand. “What does it mean?” Bren asked, confused and more than a little scared.

  “It means that you have an ability far above any I have ever seen or heard of before,” Sae-Thae replied, sitting down heavily in a chair that stood near the center of the room. “Try your hand on the rest of the orbs, but remember what I said about the humming.”

  Bren did as he was told, and all eight of the orbs reacted the same way. After he was done, Bren was instructed to touch the last large orb, which was over ten times as large as the other. When he did, it didn’t hum right away. Instead, in its center, a multitude of colors began to form then spread out until they filled the entire orb. After over a minute, the tell-tell hum began to sound, though this time it was much louder, prompting Bren to remove his hand. The colors didn’t disappear quickly, it was more as if they were slowly drained away from the orb.

  “Bren, I expected you to be as strong in magic as your father was, but this is beyond anything I could have imagined. A mage that can wield all eight elemental powers at their highest level is unheard of. “

  “Sae-Thae, I haven’t even been able to use my magic once in the way I meant to,” Bren said, after a moment of silence.

  “That is odd, but it might be because of the strength behind your power.”

  As Sae-Thae spoke, his words were reassuring and kind, but his eyes showed something else. It wasn’t hatred, but fear. Almost as if he was facing down a monster. Bren didn’t know what to say or do, so he remained quiet and listened to the mage talk. As they headed back toward Sae-Thae’s office, Bren stopped in the middle of the hall, prompting the vathari mage to stop and turn around. “What is it child?”

  “Are you afraid of me?” Bren asked, his voice meek and trembling slightly as the words came out of his mouth.

  Sae-Thae let out a heavy sigh. “Afraid of you no…I have known you since you were a babe stuck to your mothers tit…your power on the other hand is something else entirely. It…Frightens me. No one should have that much power.”

  “Then what do I do to get rid of it?” Bren asked, his voice desperate and pleading. He had always dreamed of being the strongest mage in history, but what child didn’t. Now that he seemed to have such power, all he wanted to do was get rid of it.

  “The only way to rid yourself of magic, is to burn yourself out. That often means death, and even then, with the strength you have shown today, you might destroy part of the world doing so…that is what frightens me. You are young, and not even at the age when most come into their full strength. More than one young mage has destroyed a house or small village when they lost control of their magic…you on the other hand, could do much more than that, and I don’t think there is much anyone could do to stop you.”

  “What should I do?” Bren asked, as the weight of Sae-Thae’s words settled on his mind.

  “There is little you can do at the moment, but learn to use your magic and keep your emotions under control. At your age, that will be a battle in itself,” the vathari mage said, giving Bren a knowing look.

  It wasn’t long after the two settled back in Sae-Thae’s office that Phena made her appearance, rushing through the door, as if something had caught on fire. “Master Sae-Thae, I heard that there had been an accident in the testing room!” She said in a worried tone, surprising Bren more than a little.

  “I wondered how long it would take you to get here,” The mage said, with a sly grin. “There is nothing to worry about, we are fine. Though Bren seems to have more power in him than even I would have guessed.”

  Phena looked at Bren for a brief moment before turning her head. “Such great news,” She replied, in a scathing voice.

  “Isophena, I think it is about time that you stopped crying anytime that your brother or father’s name is mentioned,” Sae-Thae said, slamming his fist down.

  “Brother?” Bren asked, his mind stirring at what the mage had said.

  As soon as the words left Bren’s mouth, Sae-Thae looked up and muttered a stream of words that Bren didn’t understand. He watched for a while as Sae-Thae and Phena talked back and forth, his mind still working through what Sae-Thae had said.

  “You might as well tell him the rest,” Phena said, finally noticing the lost look on Bren’s face.

  “Bren…you must understand that some things are different in our cultures…one of the main ones is, when a mage visits, it is highly encouraged that they spend time with some of our better women. Your father was no exception. During his stay, which was longer than most, he sired three children, two of which can use magic. Phena’s skill is far greater than any other mage, and I have been grooming her to take her place among our people, but all she seems to want is what she can’t have. That is my seat here, which by your father’s request was reserved for you.”

  “I don’t want
to live underground my whole life,” Phena declared angrily. “I enjoy the sunlight and smell of fresh air, and I don’t fancy going back to sleep in that damp hole in the ground.”

  “Wait,” Thad said softy, but Sae-Thae and Phena continued arguing. “Wait!” he screamed when they refused to acknowledge him after his third attempt to get their attention.

  The two stopped and turned to him, both with their faces still pinched in anger. “What is it Bren?” Sae-Thae asked between clinched teeth.

  “I have another sister?” Bren asked, looking at Phena as if she had grown a second head.

  Sae-Thae clinched his eyes and rubbed them with his thumb and forefinger. “Yes, you have two sisters and a brother. Considering the differences between our cultures, I didn’t think it prudent to discuss this. Now that is has come to light, why don’t you two go discuss this while I finish my work.”

  Bren’s mind was still whirling around the fact that he had other siblings as Sae-Thae pushed him and Phena into the hall. “So what now?” Bren asked, feeling more than a little lost.

  “What now…what now!?!” Phena said in a near scream. “Look, I don’t need a brother, I already have thousands of them. In our culture, we aren’t separated by our birth, unless like me, and you are the child of a human mage. Then, you are tested and treated as some sort of exotic pet.”

  Bren watched for a moment as Phena stormed off before quickly going after her. “Wait, I know it might not be a big deal to you, but the fact that I have another brother and sister is no small thing.”

  “Then what would you like to know brother?” Phena asked in a mocking tone.

  “Can we go somewhere else to talk…standing in the hall is a bit embarrassing,” Bren said, ducking his head as two younger mages looked at them as they walked past.