Rune of the Apprentice (The Rune Chronicles)

by Jamison Stone

Despite the late hour, Aleksi was still gazing out at the water. Suddenly, he felt his Rune pulse frantically. He looked to his right and saw Luka Norte approach the gunwale. He was dressed in fine clothes with woven gold and jewels sewn into the fabric; everything about the man seemed burnished in the glowing light of the moons.

  “Do you mind if I join you in your contemplation of the ocean’s beauty?” Luka asked.

  Aleksi eyed the man without speaking and rested his bandaged hand on the hilt of his blade. Up close, the nobleman’s mocking green eyes were filled with dark secrets. As the land slowly disappeared into the distance, a cutting wind picked up and chilled the air.

  After a short while, the nobleman turned to Aleksi a second time. “We pass the point of no return,” he said with a thin smile. “Wouldn’t you say, Aleksi?” Without waiting for a response, Luka turned away and disappeared belowdecks.

  Aleksi watched the man’s back as he left. His youthful eyes then grew wide. My name—how does he know my name? Did he ask the captain or crew? Did Domadred even tell anyone? Aleksi gripped the hilt of his sheathed sword and winced as the sharp tendrils of his Rune dug deeper into his flesh. Could it really be possible that Luka knows who I am? But if Luka were an assassin, wouldn’t he have tried to kill me instantly? No, he must have overheard my name somewhere . . . He must have . . .

  Trying to calm his mind, Aleksi drew a long breath as he once again gazed out to sea. As Adhira faded from view, the sea seemed to swallow Aleksi’s last sense of security.

  Aleksi stood in a small guest berth lit by a wall candle and desk lamp. His quarters had their own porthole, and through it, Aleksi could clearly see one of Terra’s two moons resting in the sky. But whether it was Rahu or Ketu Aleksi did not know. The youth’s berth contained a sleeping hammock, an empty chest, and even a desk built into the wall next to a series of hooks. Upon one of the hooks hung his long black cloak and hidden pendant.

  Aleksi leaned against the desk and slowly drew his blade from its scabbard. The youth inspected the layered steel and checked its edge. He then sheathed the sword and lay back in his hammock. Able to rest for the first time in countless days, he stared up at the ceiling’s wooden timbers and tried to force his body to relax into the rhythmic yawing of the ship. It was no use; fear still clutched at his heart.

  Although I’m finally bound for Vai’kel and one step closer to finding Master Rudra, if Luka truly knows who I am, then I’m no safer than when I started. But with my Rune continuing to grow, I have even greater problems. Let’s see how much time I have left.

  Aleksi slowly removed the bandage wrapped around his right arm. Almost ceremoniously, the youth raised his hand to the light of the moon. The majestic Rune etched into his right palm shimmered in the moonshine. It had grown considerably.

  The black Rune flowed in an intricate circular pattern over his palm, and its glow of power radiated out from under his skin. Aleksi had borne this Rune for his whole life. For nearly the entirety of that time, however, the Rune had lain dormant. Now, it had finally begun to synchronize with his body and was clawing its way through his nervous system, leaving many darkly bruised lines behind as it painfully crept toward his shoulder.

  Clenching his fist, Aleksi felt the new metallic tendrils in his hand and forearm pulse with a strange, foreign power. He then flexed his biceps and winced as the sharp ends of the growing Rune dug into the muscles of his upper arm. The Rune’s tendrils were still working their way up his peripheral nervous system—but Aleksi knew that if he did not find Rudra soon, he would not survive when the Rune’s metallic links reached his spine and entered his central nervous system and brain.

  Somehow, channeling Beck’s amulet drained the Rune of its energy stores. Although I felt that same searing pain when it dug its way deeper into my upper arm, I think saving Beck bought me some time. Aleksi let out a sigh. If only Rudra were here to tell me how long I have until its power replenishes and the Rune fully synchronizes with my body.

  Closing his eyes and focusing on his breath, Aleksi felt his mind wander over the events of the past two days. Coming to the carnage of Mindra’s Square, Aleksi’s mind grew uneasy. He deliberately forced himself to move on. Relaxing, he then came to Luka, the nobleman . . . his smile . . . those eyes. It was the look of dark power—the smile of caged violence.

  Aleksi knew that look all too well.

  Nataraja’s eyes were fixed on him, cruel and calculating. They were in the Academy training yard.

  “Come at me again!” the man said, as his long hair flowed in the wind. “How do you expect to purify yourself when you succumb to fear?”

  The child Aleksi snarled, letting his passion rise in his chest as he ran at Nataraja. The boy’s wooden sword flashed out, lunging high toward his teacher’s right shoulder. As Nataraja’s practice blade came up in an easy parry, Aleksi let his weight carry him forward to attempt his real strike. Aleksi felt time slow as his right foot swung out to side kick his mentor in the ribs.

  Nataraja, however, easily slid inside the strike, catching Aleksi’s leg in midair. The Master forcefully pushed up and Aleksi saw the sky rush below him as he was thrown backward. His young body then hit the ground, and the wind was knocked out of him in a painful gust.

  Aleksi felt his chest sting bitterly and he rolled over, trying to recover. Nataraja’s practice blade then slammed point first into the boy’s sternum. Bolts of searing pain shot outward from Aleksi’s rib cage. Instinctively, the boy curled his legs up and tried to reclaim his breath. In response, Nataraja only pushed down harder, pinning Aleksi to the ground.

  “Tame your anger like the animal it is,” Nataraja said, shaking his head. “You must become its master and establish dominance, or you will never come close to awakening your true power.” Nataraja removed his sword, allowing Aleksi to roll onto his side.

  Wheezing, the boy crawled onto all fours and silent tears fell to the ground. “Why . . . why are you so hard on me?”

  “It is only through the purification of pain that you can achieve clarity of mind and emotion.”

  As he clutched the earth with his hands, Aleksi’s voice was rough. “But you don’t even treat the older students like this! Why me?”

  “You know you are not like them, Aleksi. Because of your Rune, you must become an Apprentice soon, despite your age. Although the demands are strenuous, you have no choice but to prepare yourself for your Runic training. You are deeply underprepared and already behind schedule.”

  Still lying on the ground, Aleksi looked at the dormant Rune embedded on his right palm. “I will be ready for Rudra when he comes for me.”

  “Rudra?” Anger leapt across Nataraja’s face and his voice was thick with hatred. “That murderous betrayer will never return here; this I swear to you!” Taking a deep breath, Nataraja recomposed himself. “I am your Master, for only I can ensure that you will not fall to failure and disgrace like that outcast Rudra. But regardless of your delusions, if you do not burn away your weakness, you will not be ready to Apprentice under me, or any Master. So wipe away your tears, channel your anger, and come at me again!”

  Rage welled in Aleksi’s chest as he rose to his feet and snatched his practice sword from the dirt. “Rudra is my true Master and I will be ready when he comes back for me!” Nataraja’s eyes narrowed as the boy wiped the streaks from his face and held his training blade high in defiance. “For neither you nor anyone else will ever see weakness in me again!”

  “Yes. Now that you feel your anger’s strength, cage it! Only through mastery of self will you awaken that which separates you from the others. There is power in your anger, beyond what you could ever know. Let it rise and then become its master!”

  Aleksi felt his rage expand as he attempted to order its direction and flow. Standing in the wild current, he felt the hairs on his skin rise in anticipation as the Rune on his palm pulsed painfully for the first time in his life. Shudders of energy suddenly climbed up his spine as Aleksi sensed the power of his Rune awake
n within him. Somewhere deep in the core of his essence, there was a raging fury ready to burst forth and devour him.

  “Yes . . .” Nataraja’s voice was only a whisper. “It’s finally happened.”

  Aleksi let himself go and a tortured scream rang in his ear as he lunged forward. Faster than he had ever dreamed, he attacked Nataraja and drove the Master back. Nataraja’s smile slowly widened as he was forced to take one, two, and then three steps backward. With every parry and counter, Nataraja’s green eyes glimmered with anticipation.

  This is it! Aleksi thought as he parried Nataraja’s sword close to his own body, creating an opening. And then, for the first time in one-on-one combat, Aleksi struck his mentor, slamming his elbow into Nataraja’s stomach. Nataraja gave a muffled grunt as Aleksi’s Rune sent a surge of pain up his arm. Then, in one continuous movement, Aleksi cut down with his sword—it was aimed directly at Nataraja’s head.

  Time suddenly seemed to freeze. Aleksi watched as Nataraja miraculously slipped to the side of his strike and grabbed his right arm. In slow motion, Aleksi then felt himself wrenched forward with extreme force. The boy looked down and saw Nataraja’s knee rise and slam into his chest.

  Time sped up again. Aleksi’s feet left the ground and he felt his ribs crack from the powerful blow. He then hit the dirt and agony flooded his body. The pain was from Nataraja’s strike, however, for the Rune had gone dormant once again.

  “Become master of your rage, my student.” Aleksi felt the tip of Nataraja’s sword lie softly against his neck. “You play with a fire which will consume not only you, but potentially the whole world. Domination of your anger is what will set that power free and save us all—for it seems that my Master was right about you.”

  A knock brought Aleksi back to the present. “Hey, Green Eyes, Captain thought you would be hungry from the day’s events.”

  After draping a blanket over his arm, Aleksi opened the cabin door to reveal a small man holding a platter of dark meat, cheese, and bread. There was even a small bowl of soup and a mug of what looked to be spiced wine.

  “Thank you,” Aleksi said, taking the tray. The sailor grunted before turning to depart.

  I hope it’s not poisoned. I’ll have to take the risk, though, because I can’t starve myself for this entire voyage.

  After eating, Aleksi lay back in his hammock and sank into the rhythms of the ship. The movement slowly lulled him to sleep.

  It was then that Aleksi saw her. The young woman rose out of the depths of the dream into which Aleksi was falling. They passed one another, each riding their own current in the psychical waters. Aleksi cut off his dive to return to her, wanting. She seemed to do the same, deftly soaring back through the shifting colors and feelings of the shadowy ether.

  Her youthful eyes were magnetic, and Aleksi felt pulled to her and her power. She was ethereal and unique but also alive. A light glowed upon her forehead and he tried to get nearer to her but was pushed back. An invisible barrier was keeping him away. Her lips moved but Aleksi heard nothing but a beautiful melody of the heart. The sound seemed to come from across a distant horizon.

  Aleksi read her eyes. The young woman seemed to warn him, to beckon, to plead. She came closer. Her hands pressed against the invisible wall as her surreal beauty shone out in the darkness. Again, her lips moved wordlessly.

  What is she saying? But then the young woman was closer and Aleksi no longer cared. Her eyes drew him in. He breathed in the scent of her body and felt the warmth of her breath. Suddenly, she swirled and came apart like paint on a canvas. Only her eyes remained. Unchanging and stoic, they were like fire and water flowing together in darkness. They were beautiful—and then she was gone.

  Suddenly awake, Aleksi fell out of his hammock and groped for her in the darkness of his mind. He tried to cling to the memory of her eyes as he grabbed the wall to steady himself. Aleksi continued to feel her gaze and it pierced his heart painfully. He put a shaky hand through his hair. It came away damp with a sheen of cold sweat. The young woman was more than a dream. He knew it.

  Aleksi went to the desk. Illuminated by the blue light of the moons, he took a leather-bound notebook from a shelf. With a charcoal pencil, Aleksi drew her eyes on a blank page—just her eyes.

  Over and over again Aleksi drew them until at last he lay back in his hammock, falling into a deep sleep with the young woman’s eyes gazing back at him.

  CHAPTER XIII

  Aleksi awoke with the glaring rays of the Eastern Zenith streaming through his cabin’s small porthole. He had never slept in a hammock before and as he unsteadily descended from its intricately pleached netting, he felt his neck ache. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Aleksi looked out the window. Through the thick glass, he saw endless sea stretching out before him.

  Aleksi blinked his eyes several times in surprise. In addition to the light of the Eastern Zenith behind the ship, Aleksi saw another glare shining on the horizon before them. Sweet Arkai, of course, that’s Vai’kel’s Zenith! Because of its great distance, it was hovering just above the horizon line, but the sight of it caused Aleksi’s breath to catch in his throat. Although it did not rise as tall as its cardinal brethren, the Central Zenith of Vai’kel, according to legend, commingled its light with each of the other four Zeniths at the very center of the world—the Yad’razil Island. Never before had Aleksi seen anything other than the Eastern Zenith, and witnessing this glowing orb so low on the skyline was astonishing. Aleksi took a deep breath as he watched the waves glisten with two sets of morning light as they rolled out into the distant horizon beyond.

  “So vast,” Aleksi whispered as he turned from the porthole. Back at the Academy, Aleksi had often gazed from his dormitory window out to the great sea past Adhira. He had always wondered what it would be like to leave the high towers of the Academy and sail off into the endless unknown.

  Nataraja said he would take me to each corner of Terra if I chose him as my Master. He said that there would be nothing we could not see together—nothing we could not do. But at what price was his offer extended, and to what purpose? Nataraja, just like all the other Masters of the Academy, was only interested in me for my Rune. What would he have done had I pledged myself to his command? How would he have used my power? How would he have used me? Is Rudra any different?

  Inside Aleksi’s quarters, brilliant-white dust motes floated in the air. As the youth got dressed, he still had a lingering sensation from his dreams. What they had been of, however, he could not recall. All Aleksi could remember was the piercing blue gaze of a young woman and his own deep longing. Pushing the feeling away, he finished dressing.

  Pulling on his boots and cinching his blade to his belt, Aleksi felt his eye rest upon his long black cloak that hung on the wall. Even though he could not see it, the pendant resting in the cloak’s pocket tugged at his mind. Aleksi stepped toward the cloak and reached into its pocket. At first he felt only smooth fabric, but then his probing fingers grazed it. It was like touching thickly braided leather—soft, yet firm. Aleksi closed his eyes and rubbed the broken pendant between his fingers. Touching the etched Runes, he felt their talismanic murmur, a familiar melody of a near-forgotten song. Before he could remember its source, however, the sensation was snatched away, leaving in its place the hollow feeling of a lost memory.

  Aleksi let out a sigh as he retracted his hand. Just more mysteries. I’ve waited this long; what is another few days?

  Making sure the bandage that wrapped around his Rune-covered hand was snug, Aleksi rested his left palm on the upper scabbard of his sword and opened the door to the hallway. He locked the door behind him, glancing down the dimly lit and small passage beyond. Walking down the narrow hallway which led to the ladder to the deck, he realized that getting used to living in such close quarters was not going to be easy. The ship was at a slight angle and gently swayed with the rhythmic yaw of the ocean. At first, walking on a slant was strange, but after reaching the ladder, Aleksi felt his body naturally adjust to the
ship’s movement and tilt.

  Aleksi ascended into the morning’s bright light and fresh sea air. Shielding his eyes from both Zeniths’ rays, he looked about the ship and saw that the crew was up and working. In fact, they moved tirelessly. Walking the deck and climbing the shrouds, they flowed over the ship in a symbiotic harmony.

  In the darkness of the night prior, Aleksi had not been able to see the full majesty that was the Illusive Diamond. Now, in the bright light of day, he could clearly appreciate the true splendor of the three-masted ship. He took in her grandeur as she cut through the waves, spray splashing at her bow. Looking up at the cloth canopy above, the youth saw that the regal ship flew with full sails catching the morning wind. Her strong spars and tight rigging creaked and moaned as she cut across the water. The soft groaning of the tackle sounded odd to his ears, but he assumed it would soon become second nature.

  Closest to the bow, the Illusive Diamond’s foremast had five large square-rigged sails that rode on horizontal spars, which were perpendicular to the midline keel of the ship. The other two masts were fore-and-aft rigged; however, each possessed two massive sheets fitted to long booms that were set along the line of the keel, rather than perpendicular to it. In addition, much like a schooner, both booms of the latter masts could swivel freely. This gave the Diamond profound maneuverability with the added trait of being able to sail nearly directly into the wind. With this suite of fore-and-aft rigged sails, Aleksi assumed that the Diamond could be operated with relative ease and efficiency, while the single foremast offered long-distance speed and dramatic appearance at both sea and port.

  “She’s a beauty, isn’t she?” a voice said from behind Aleksi.

  “She is at that,” Aleksi responded, turning toward a sailor with blue eyes. The man’s garb was slightly more ornate than the clothes of the majority of the seamen, and the numerous beaded braids in his hair signaled him as an officer. Instead of going shirtless or wearing simple cottons, he bore a loose-fitting embroidered V-neck vest tucked into an elegant belt. He had the same baggy pants as the crew but instead of being barefoot like the many of others, he tucked his pants into knee-high brushed-leather boots.