The Grand Mage stroked his beard, smiling, “We’ve heard a lot about you as you trained, Sho-ka Ahnon, but I think you couldn’t take a deputy as easily as you believe.”
“I don’t care what you believe. I know what I can do,” Ahnon said, acknowledging the verbal challenge.
The Grand Mage laughed. “Ahnon, you have caused much turmoil in this council and the one before. Your sire was chosen twice, and you refused each time,” he said, still stroking his gray beard.
Relaxing his stance, Ahnon fixed his eyes on the Grand Mage. “Those were not my sires. I’ve seen him and knew who he would be born to. It’s not my fault the council is inept,” he popped off.
Lowering his hand, the Grand Mage’s eyes steeled over. “Your attitude needs some work, Sho-ka.”
Ahnon snorted in contempt. “Maybe but not by anyone here,” he said, grinning. Seeing the two deputies moving, Ahnon dropped his staff. “Magidda zabrid!” he shouted, rising both hands, pointing at the deputies. Extending his fingers, Ahnon unleashed a bright stream of bronze from each hand, hitting the deputies in the chest, hurling them back across the chamber. They each slammed into the wall and slid down, crumpling on the floor, barely breathing.
As soon as the stream hit each man, Ahnon pointed in front of the council table. “Diru emuqa!” he shouted, moving his hands at the floor. A shimmering force erupted from the floor, reaching up to the ceiling as three fireballs hit it.
Three of the council prime mages were on their feet, ready to attack the wall again with new spells, when the Grand Mage bellowed, “Enough!” The three prime mages looked at him and sat back down as the Grand Mage waved at a door on the far right wall. Two mages came rushing in, and Ahnon saw the pendant with three stones of the troika mages, or third-level mages.
The Grand Mage pointed behind him at the two unconscious deputy mages. The troika mages ran to gather their superiors and hit the wall of force that Ahnon had thrown up. They both fell back on their bottoms with one’s nose bleeding. Smirking, the Grand Mage waved his hand at the wall, but the wall still shimmered in front of him.
Getting irritated, he reached in his robe and brought out a small packet. Whispering and pointing his hand at the wall, the packet turned into a bright blue light. The light hit the wall, making it glow, but the wall stayed in place. “Remarkable,” the Grand Mage said, looking at the wall in disbelief. “You did all that without any spell components,” he said with true admiration.
Panting heavily, Ahnon waved his hands at the wall of force, and the wall vanished. The council members all turned to one another, mumbling and nodding in respect. Looking at Ahnon, the Grand Mage walked around the table toward him. “That took a lot out of you. Much more, and you’ll die or collapse from exhaustion,” the Grand Mage told him.
Ahnon stood up straight with sweat dripping off his body. “I can still play, but I warn you; any more, and I will call for my toys. I promise, I will be the only one walking out of here alive,” Ahnon told him with confidence in his eyes.
“The Gods! What a mage you would’ve made if you would’ve studied only magic!” the Grand Mage bellowed in laughter. “You would’ve been the greatest Sho-ka Bhari since Gindal. The greatest magi ever to live,” he said, pulling out a bottle and handing it to Ahnon. “If you’re as good as you think, you will know what this is without me telling you,” the Grand Mage said.
Ahnon snatched the bottle, pulling the cork off. Bringing it to his nose, he carefully sniffed. “Healing potion with a stamina component,” Ahnon told him, draining the bottle. If they wanted to keep playing, he needed the strength. He could feel the fluid hit his stomach and move into his body. The sweat dried on his skin, and his heart rate slowed with his breathing. “Pretty good one at that,” Ahnon admitted with appreciation.
Tuning around, the Grand Mage headed back to the table. “It better be. Potions are my specialty,” he said, taking his seat. He pointed at a stack of papers. “If you would’ve used your two hundred years of study in magic instead of these other worthless endeavors, no one could challenge you,” the Grand Mage told him.
Feeling much better, Ahnon ran his foot over his staff on the floor, making it jump up, and caught it. “Worthless to you, and it was two hundred and seventy-three years I’ve been in training,” Ahnon corrected him.
“Wasting it on this stupid warrior business. You’ve been observed in every kingdom of the alliance and allies learning what their warriors can show you,” the Grand Mage proclaimed with some disgust.
“Any knowledge is of use,” Ahnon said point-blank. “I did study with several mages in my travels.”
Throwing up his hands, “But look at the time you wasted,” the Grand Mage said.
Ahnon smiled. “Gindal is ranked one of the best sho-ka of all time, but if I’m not mistaken, he was killed by a warrior, an assassin,” he pointed out.
“It was luck!” one of the prime mages shouted.
“Maybe to you, but to me, I want to live to see my sire perform his duty and not die protecting him,” Ahnon replied, never taking his eyes off the Grand Mage.
One of the prime mages held up a sheet of paper. “You wrote down that you have studied witchcraft and demoncraft,” he said, looking at Ahnon.
Still looking at the Grand Mage, Ahnon smiled. “Yes, I have, and I admit, demoncraft worries me.”
The Grand Mage grinned at him. “I have to admit, I too have studied demoncraft and agree with you. The summoners are insane for calling on demons.”
“But witchcraft,” one of the prime mages moaned.
“I want to learn as much as possible for my task at hand,” Ahnon said, finally looking at the others at the table. “I must be doing pretty well. None of you could touch me,” Ahnon goaded with a smile.
One of the prime mages jumped up, and a ball of fire formed in his hand as he reared it back, ready to throw it. “Ha! I could’ve killed you, fool!” he shouted. “You were not even ready,” he chided.
“No, you couldn’t have killed me,” Ahnon told him. “Before your arm moved forward, the prime mage to your right would’ve shoved the dagger in his hand in your heart. The prime mage two chairs down was getting ready to throw a shield in front of me,” Ahnon told the cocky mage. The ball of fire died in the mage’s hand as he looked down to see a dagger in the man’s hand next to him.
The Grand Mage slapped the table and leaned back in his chair. “Well played, Ahnon, well played.”
Ahnon looked at the trembling prime mage still standing and looking down at the dagger in his colleague’s hand. “To kill a sho-ka is not looked at kindly, but to kill one destined to protect the sovereign is a death sentence for your entire family. The king would be real put out if he had to fork over another heir,” Ahnon told him.
“You have nothing to fear here, Ahnon. We just wanted to know how good you really are,” the Grand Mage told him as the prime mage sat back down. “We do have some questions before we begin,” he said, looking at Ahnon then at a sheet of paper in front of him. “You studied for five and a half years as a seamstress?” he asked, not believing what he was reading.
“Yes,” Ahnon replied.
“Can you explain why?”
“I can, but I don’t think you would understand.”
Letting out a chuckle, the Grand Mage said, “I’m not stupid as you believe, so try me.”
“I know how a seamstress acts and moves. Since seamstresses are around royalty for fittings, I know how they should act and how they move.”
The Grand Mage nodded, agreeing. “Gods, that’s thinking ahead,” one of the mages said to the mage beside him.
“I have to agree with you,” the Grand Mage said, looking at the mage who spoke with an irritated glare. “So all these mundane studies were to watch for an assassin?” the Grand Mage asked, looking through the stack of papers, making a quick count. “Over a hundred different professions,” he said, looking up.
“Yes,” Ahnon replied.
A paper was passed
down the line to the Grand Mage. He looked at it then at Ahnon. “We’ve heard rumors that you have amassed an incredible amount of wealth.”
“None of your business,” Ahnon told him in a flat voice.
“Oh, I think it is,” the Grand Mage said. “It was over a thousand years ago the three brothers amassed a fortune, then after their infusion, they left their sires, defecting to the kingdoms of the north to start the kytensa,” the Grand Mage informed him.
“I’m well aware of the three brothers and their defiance to the kingdom and honor of Nazar,” Ahnon said. “I studied and became a kytensa, reaching second rank. If the opportunity would have arisen, I would’ve killed the brothers,” Ahnon told the group. All of them jumped back at the revelation.
“That’s impossible. They’re dead by now!” the prime mage who had wanted to throw a fire ball shouted. The Grand Mage didn’t say anything but looked up and down the table, silencing the council.
“Oh no, they’re alive. My guess is they know how to do the infusion,” Ahnon told them.
The Grand Mage turned to him. “I find that hard to believe. Very few know the spell and how it works,” he said with confidence.
With a devious smile, “I have crept into every major castle in the southern kingdoms, northern kingdoms, and more wizards’ towers than I care to admit to. If I wanted to know the spell, I could’ve done it long ago,” Ahnon told him.
With a dire look, the Grand Mage asked, “They are the Triad of the Kytensa we hear about, aren’t they?”
“Yes, and from what I’ve heard and seen, they are very good at what they do,” he answered.
“Well, you see why this fortune has us concerned,” the Grand Mage said.
“I’m not a fool; nor are any of the other sho-kas. We know a binding element was added to the infusion after the brothers’ little experiment,” Ahnon informed the Grand Mage.
Shock hit the Grand Mage like a glass of cold water. “How?” he asked.
“You forget we are bhari first, warriors in plain sight. Trained in espionage and assassination along with many other things,” Ahnon said, glancing at the others. “We find out what threats are in front of us. Another reason you need to learn more than just magic.”
“How would you rate the kytensa to the bhari?” the Grand Mage asked.
“One on one in fighting about the same upon graduation, but the kytensa keep learning in a constant state of war. That is why they have rank. They have to pass tests to move up. Then you have to look at the kytensa, who teach and stress magic more than the bhari do,” Ahnon told him. “To make matters worse, they have summoners in their ranks.”
“I knew the northern kingdoms were lustful for power, but to use demoncraft…” the Grand Mage said. “Well, tell us more about them.”
“No. I gave a report to the king three years ago,” Ahnon told them.
“Impossible. I never heard of it,” the Grand Mage snapped.
“Take a little advice,” Ahnon said. “You aren’t as important as you think you are, so quit acting like it. When you realize that and stop acting like a pompous troll, you’ll move into higher circles.”
Anger flared in the Grand Mage’s eyes as he glared at Ahnon. Then he slowly relaxed and smiled. “There might be some truth to what you say, Ahnon,” he admitted. “Why did you tell us about it today? I’m sure you were aware we didn’t know.”
“The king said I could give you that much yesterday when I arrived in Nepon before coming to the conservatory,” Ahnon said as another mage passed a paper to the Grand Mage.
“You looked into the Seeing Stone at the bhari school in your second year. Only one other sho-ka has ever done that, almost seventeen hundred years ago, and he committed suicide. Why did you look?” Grand Mage asked him.
“It was my choice, and I did it. You may not ask about it again or hold it against me, or you will become hunted by the bhari. That was the bargain. I could take the chance to see my sire and what type of person he would become,” Ahnon said.
The Grand Mage held up his hands. “I don’t mean to pry, but Seeing Stones show the future, and the future is always changing. It was purely an academic question. Several of us have studied them and found out they only got the future right about ten percent of the time,” the Grand Mage told him. “But if you go through the visions slowly, you see small things changing the outcomes of larger events,” he added.
“I’m well aware of how the stones operate and have studied them myself,” Ahnon told him.
“We have all three,” the Grand Mage told him.
“Oh, I’m sorry; I didn’t know you were supposed to have all of them because I know of four more,” Ahnon said, getting tired of the questioning.
The entire table started to buzz with chatter until the Grand Mage cleared his throat. “Gentleman, I know we have never had a subject like Ahnon before, but please remain professional,” he said, looking to his right and left down the table. The Grand Mage started gathering all the papers. “Ahnon, will you continue your duties as sho-ka in the event your sire dies of unseen natural events that are beyond your control?” he asked as a formality.
“No, I will serve only my chosen sire. Then, my duty to my kingdom and family is done. I will live my life after that the way I want,” he said, making the Grand Mage gasp in astonishment.
Slowly shaking his head as he spoke, the Grand Mage stared at Ahnon. “You speak of this as a punishment. You are almost three hundred years old and look like a regular man in his fifties. You have years left in you now without the infusion. Look at what you’ve learned. This is a gift and an honor to be chosen for sho-ka.”
Slowly at first, Ahnon started to chuckle then broke into a soft laugh. When he stopped laughing after few seconds, he wiped a tear from his eye. “Grand Mage, I don’t see you standing here to be a sho-ka. Nor do I see you running to the bhari to start the path. Don’t talk to me about how it’s an honor. I’m a crown prince that will be a servant for several hundred years. I will do my duty for my family, honor, and country to the best of my ability, and if it costs me my life, then so be it, but if it doesn’t, I’m free.”
“You are not a crowned prince anymore,” one of the prime mages said.
Looking back and forth along the table, not knowing who spoke, he said, “Oh, you’re wrong. Look at the treaty of Antlas. I only gave up my place in the line of succession, not my title or privileges.”
“You’re right, Ahnon; you are still a crowned prince, but I think you’re wrong about this not being an honor,” the Grand Mage said, standing up.
“Let’s just do this before my sire is born and I’m still here answering questions. You damn well better be glad I even looked through the stone otherwise you would’ve given me the wrong sire to protect.”
A small grin arose on the Grand Mage’s face. “If we would’ve, you would be done or getting close to the end of your duty. Then you would be free. Isn’t that what you want?” the Grand Mage said, looking at Ahnon. For the first time, Ahnon jumped back, startled. “Remember, it only takes one small thing to change the future. If this is a burden on you, I truly hope you fulfill your duty and live your life in peace. If I’m around, I would like to sit and talk to you for a few years,” the Grand Mage said, holding a hand over the stack of papers.
The Grand Mage looked at the rest of the council. “Are all documents here about Ahnon’s years of learning?” he asked, and they all nodded. “Any not here will be a death sentence to the holder,” he said as he started waving his hand over the stack. Slowly, the stack started glowing green then turned a very bright red with a whoosh. When the people in the room looked at where the stack was, they saw only a pile of white dust.
The Grand Mage looked up at Ahnon to still see him thinking about what he said. “I meant no disrespect, Ahnon.”
For the first time, Ahnon looked at the Grand Mage sincerely. “None taken, but I know what was chosen for me and who I must serve. Otherwise, everything I have sacrificed and lost is
for naught.”
“May the Gods of Just and Fairness, Lynor and Octin, watch over you with their parents,” the Grand Mage told him, lifting his arm and pointing at a table next to the wall. “On the table is the potion you must drink before we can start. You can only wear your amulet around your neck. Leave your robe and staff on the table. Only bring the amulet for your sire back to the inner circle in your hand.”
Nodding at the Grand Mage and hiding his apprehension, Ahnon walked over to the table and stripped off his robe. Laying it on the table, he reached inside a pocket, grabbed something, and then placed his staff on the robe. Picking up the mug, he smelled it and jerked his head back. “This isn’t going to be fun,” he mumbled and poured the drink down his throat. Gasping, Ahnon dropped the mug as he grabbed the table. With his stomach revolting, Ahnon fought to keep the drink down.
When Ahnon’s robe stripped off his robe the council gaped at Ahnon not because he was naked nor because he was very lean and muscled like the statues of the Gods even at such an advanced age. His body was covered in scars. There were so many linear scars across his back running all the way down to his legs one couldn’t even count them. His tan skin made the scars appear like white stripes across his back. On his chest and arms were more scars though nothing like his back.
“I’ve never seen—” the Grand Mage started to mumble. He knew those marks on Ahnon’s back came from whips, but he never in his life had seen so many on one person. The only places free of scars were Ahnon’s face and neck.
Ahnon never noticed the stares as he grabbed the table, fighting to keep the drink down. Then slowly, his body started to tingle. He stood and brought his left hand up, looking at it. Blinking as his hand blurred in his vision, he said, “Whoa, what a ride,” as his body went from tingling to numb.
Shaking his head, trying to clear his eyes, he glanced around the hall. Strangely, his brain wasn’t numb or impaired, but the rest of his body was. He could think clearly but had trouble telling his body what to do. Stumbling over to the inner circle, he was waiting on his mind to completely separate from the body it couldn’t control anymore. “Maybe it won’t hurt now,” he said, which only came out in gibberish.
Dawn of Man (Thanos Book 1) Page 2