First Comes The One Who Wanders

by Lynette S. Jones

  “There are some who don’t believe the powers are in balance as do you,” replied Joshuas.

  “Surely you are not one who believes this.” Gidron accused him.

  “I don’t think it matters what I believe at this time. What is important is that the school is being threatened and you need to prepare yourselves for battle. I have come as quickly as I could, but I didn’t give you much time. I was delayed in Dari by some of the School of Land.”

  Leilas felt the hum as the Masters shielded their thoughts while they spoke together. This was grim news indeed. Her father was not prepared for war and would surely be defeated. If Darryl was intent on killing the royal family, her mother and brother were in danger. She needed to go to them and get them to safety. Backing away from the circle, she began to slip away to find her mother and brother. She needed to help what was left of her family.

  “Leilas, please do not leave.” Cedric called to her and stopped her in her tracks. His call brought the attention of the stranger upon her. She couldn’t read his thoughts and had no idea what he thought of her, though by his expression, she thought he disapproved of her, of her being here and in the limelight. “You must stay within the walls of the School. It will be sealed with power and if you are not within the seal, we cannot protect you.”

  “That is a risk I have to take. I must try to get my mother and brother out of the city before Darryl and Jarras arrive.”

  “You will not have time to get them out of the city,” Joshuas answered her. “But perhaps with Cedric’s permission, we can get them within the walls of the school, before the seal is complete.”

  “Are you saying you will help her in this?” asked Cedric, to the newly-arrived magik.

  “Someone must protect her. After all, she is the Chidra. This much I do not dispute.”

  “We have heard your theory on this subject. But this is not the time to discuss it. We have much to prepare. I would speak with you before you leave.”

  Having turned her over to the care of this stranger, Cedric began giving orders to the masters and students who were assembled. Within minutes, magiks were scurrying to their appointed tasks, preparing for war. Leilas watched the orchestrated motion in amazement. Cedric and the other masters must have practiced for this moment, even while believing it would never come. They knew exactly what must be done in order to preserve the school, magic books protected, scrolls hidden and warded, walls strengthened by spells, weapons woven with power. As she watched, Leilas wondered if she would ever be a master of this school. There was no time to take vows now, and after this battle, should the magiks here lose, there would be no time for many years to come.

  Waiting impatiently for Cedric to finish giving his instructions and then summon Joshuas to his side, Leilas fretted at the delay. She needed to find her mother and brother, and every minute counted. She knew how vulnerable her father’s keep was to invasion. He’d been overextending himself for years and there was no loyalty to him among the people. Jarras and Darryl would find no resistance from the villagers. Only when they reached the Manor would there be a show of resistance and Leilas wasn’t sure how strong that would be. Her father hadn’t earned any loyalty with his policies of oppression and fear.

  Joshuas bowed slightly and backed away from Cedric, tucking something into his sleeve as he did. Leilas wondered what Master Manchu had entrusted to this scruffy master’s care as she turned and almost ran out the doors to the entrance from the school that led to the Manor. Joshuas kept pace with her, even though she knew he must be tired. Chaffing against his presence, not sure why Master Manchu would send one of his obviously trusted masters with her when he was surely of more use in the school, she slowed her pace to one that was less rigorous. Although he said nothing, Joshuas’ breathing became less ragged as they followed the turnings of the Manor hallway that led to her mother’s chambers.

  “Mother, I must speak with you,” began Leilas as she knocked on the chamber door. “May I come in?” Without waiting for an answer, she pushed open the massive doors she knew were never locked and entered the large chambers her mother called home.

  Queen Daina almost never left these rooms. Knowing it was her brother’s custom to visit with their mother at this time of day, Leilas hoped he was here. It would save her the precious time it would take to find him within the castle. Leilas found the two of them, seated at a small table, engaged in a game of rocks. It was a simple game, moving rocks from one carved hole to another. But it was amusing and it helped to pass away the lonely hours that had become Queen Daina’s life.

  “You don’t manage to get up here very often,” said Brenth, looking up. He was barely in his fifteenth year, tall, fair-complected, gangly, and his nose didn’t quite fit his face. He was not yet a man, but she could see the man he would become in his face now. “What brings you here? Who is that with you?”

  The queen looked up in surprise to find a stranger in her room. Leilas followed her startled stare to Joshuas, who had stepped in the room and shut the door behind them, then barred it. “This is Master Joshuas, a magik from the school. Master Joshuas, may I introduce you to my mother, Queen Daina and my brother, Prince Brenth.”

  “Queen Daina,” Joshuas greeted her, stressing her title. “It is indeed a pleasure to see you again after all this time.” Joshuas took the hand that the queen extended to him and bent over it. Leilas thought that he took care not to linger long over it or to touch his lips to it as was customary. He did seem to be a man who followed his own set of rules. She wondered if all wanderers were like that.

  “I didn’t think we would ever meet again,” Queen Daina responded quietly to Joshuas’ greeting.

  “Under normal circumstances, I doubt we would have. But these aren’t normal circumstances.”

  “What do you mean?” asked the queen, withdrawing her scarlet and silver bedecked hand from his, but staying close. Like her son, Queen Daina was fair-skinned with dark hair and dark eyes. She was renowned as a beauty in the region. There were many who wondered why she had married Leyhan, a broad-chested man with gangly legs and an overly large nose.

  “Darryl and Jarras are on their way to attack us as we speak. They’ve sworn to kill all the royal family.” Leilas broke in. “Master Manchu has agreed to offer you and Brenth sanctuary, but we must hurry and enter the school before it is sealed against the attack.”

  The queen didn’t seem at all surprised at her daughter’s revelation. She sighed softly and turned to the window. Brenth stood and walked to her side.

  Brenth had always been close to his mother, though he seemed to be distant from others. Leilas had done her best to get to know her youngest and only surviving brother, but he seemed reluctant to let her into his world. She’d always supposed it was because she was so much older and so busy with her studies. There were some around the Manor who said he was fey and shied away from him. There were times she thought he might have inherited some of the gifts she’d inherited, but he’d never expressed any interest in pursuing them.

  “I’m not surprised to find that those around us wish to put a stop to my husband’s excesses. Though I know I’ll probably lose my life, I can’t run away. After all, I am queen.”

  “And that’s why you must come with me,” argued Leilas. “Who will bring the kingdom back together, if you’re killed along with father?”

  “Brenth is old enough to take his father’s place.” Daina turned from the window and faced Leilas with quiet determination. “I can’t run like a coward.”

  “And I won’t leave you,” Brenth said with the same quiet. “As you said, I’m a man. I’ll stay and protect you.”

  “Sometimes it takes more courage to run, than it does to stay and fight.” Leilas knew she was fighting a losing battle. Once her mother made up her mind, she rarely changed it. She could count the times her mother had reversed a decision on one hand. Instead of wasting her time thinking up reasons that would convince her mother to come with her, she was already planning how the
y could best defend this room.

  “Sometimes it does. I wish I was strong enough to make that decision. I wasn’t strong enough thirty years ago. I’m not strong enough today. I will stay.”

  “If you won’t do it for yourself, do it for me. Do it for Brenth. Neither of us wants to see you die.” Queen Daina turned and faced her young son. Leilas could almost feel the communication between them, but she didn’t understand it. Perhaps it was less a thought than a feeling. But whatever mother and son shared, they didn’t choose to share it with her.

  “I’ll stay with my mother,” said Brenth again. “But we both feel you should go back to the school. That is where you belong, not here with us.”

  “I won’t go back there without you.” Leilas felt them trying to push her away. It wasn’t the first time she’d felt her family try to distance themselves from her and what she was. As always, she ignored it. They were her family and despite their feelings, she felt love and loyalty for them and she would until they were no longer alive.

  “If we’re going to stay, it might be good if we could find some weapons to use for protection.” Joshuas intruded on the family for the first time since he had been introduced. Leilas had almost forgotten he was there with them.

  “I don’t expect you to stay.” Leilas turned to face him, surprised at his statement of intent. “This is not your fight or your family. You must get back to the school and help protect it.”

  “There are those better able to defend the school than myself,” replied Joshuas. “Besides, I was commissioned to protect you. Now, are there weapons somewhere?”

  “In the gymnasium,” replied Brenth. “I’ll show you.”

  Leilas waited until they left the room before she approached her mother on the subject of leaving again. “There’s nothing to keep you here, Mother. Can’t you see that? Father won’t even think of us until it’s too late. Our lives will only be tools used to help win the battle. You owe him nothing, certainly not your life.”

  “But I do owe it to my people to die with them. I’ve given them nothing, when I should have been fighting your father. Perhaps if I had stood against him or been more involved in his life, he wouldn’t have fallen into the abyss he is lost in now. It’s partly my fault that the people out in the city will die. I’ll stay and pay the price I owe.”

  “You owe them the chance at a better life, which you can only give them if you are alive, but I won’t argue the point with you.” Leilas stepped over to the window and looked out at the blue sky and golden sun. “Today is as good a day to die as any.”

  “But you won’t die. You can’t die.”

  “There are magiks out there mother, who are intent on killing the crafters here at the school. Despite the fact that only a crafter can kill me, today I can die just like you and probably will. I’m not a trained warrior. The only fighting I do is on the streets of Dirth. Master Frey hasn’t focused on warrior training. He doesn’t believe it’s in my future to fight. I’ve had only the basics of battle training.”

  “It’s not your destiny to die today, my dear,” her mother told her confidently.

  “I won’t let you die, not while I live,” replied Leilas.

  Queen Daina just smiled and joined Leilas at the window. A cloud of dust was clearly visible on the outskirts of the city. Dark spots could be seen coming out of it. Men arrayed in the green and gold of Darryl of Draggor mounted on fighting steeds were leading a column of men ten wide, sprawled back further than Leilas could see. It was an impressive army, twice as strong as it needed to be to conquer Dirth. The people of Dirth were surrendering without a fight as the men rode by. Leilas hadn’t expected more from them. Many of the townspeople probably saw this invasion as liberation.

  “They’ve arrived.” Leilas told Joshuas as he and Brenth returned, laden with swords and crossbows. Joshuas bolted the door and handed Leilas a short sword to compliment her long sword. “So far, they’ve met with no resistance.”

  “How many magiks are with them?”

  Leilas went back to the window and tried to pick out the crafters from the soldiers. “I can’t see them.”

  Joshuas came to the window and stood next to Leilas. The queen and her son picked weapons from among the array they’d collected from the gymnasium and settled in to wait for the inevitable. After studying the invading soldiers for several minutes, Joshuas grunted. “Enough. Jayram is leading them. Can you see him?” Joshuas stood behind Leilas and turned her until she was looking in the proper direction. Sighting down his finger, she saw the young magik leading the group adorned in the gray and green of the School of Land. Their insignia, a Yew tree, was outlined on their gray tunics in dark green. “Remember his face. Don’t let his looks deceive you. He is very experienced, very powerful and quite evil. All of these crafters are evil. Don’t hesitate if you come face to face with one and remember, your power is stronger than theirs because it’s purer.”

  “But I am not a master, I won’t be much of a match for any master crafter,” began Leilas.

  “You are a master in every way that counts. You have power and you can use it. I’ll be here to help you. With luck, and it usually comes to my rescue, we’ll live.

  CHAPTER 2

  The tower bells began to toll ominously as the guards in the watchtowers caught sight of the army marching toward them. Soon, footfalls could be heard running up and down the hall outside the door. Leilas knew that the barred door would not keep out the magiks, but it would deter the soldiers. It seemed to her, she was the only one in this room anxious about what was to come.

  Her mother was calm, resigned to her fate. A wave of anger washed over Leilas toward her mother, for giving up the battle before it had even begun. Brenth was an enigma. He seemed resigned, as her mother was, about the battle to come. Maybe he was under an enchantment as the people had claimed. But right now, Leilas wished she had some of his composure.

  She wasn’t afraid. She’d faced enemies before and knew what to expect. But her instincts were telling her she should leave this place, now. The noise her inner voices were making was deafening and almost irresistible. Only sheer willpower was keeping her in this room.

  Joshuas had taken up his position by the door. For the last few minutes, he’d been chanting an incantation of binding. If he was strong enough, it would keep most of the soldiers and magiks out. If they were lucky, Jayram would take his strongest, most experienced magiks to fight the school and they would be safe for a while. They couldn’t stay in here forever and if Darryl overtook the Manor, they would eventually be taken prisoner and killed. Moving to the door, Leilas joined in with Joshuas chanting the words of binding. Every voice made the spell stronger. She could feel his power and sense his thoughts as she worked with him to bind the room closed. She followed his thoughts as he probed the walls of binding looking for flaws. Wherever she felt a weakness, she spoke the words to strengthen them.

  Panting with the exertion, Joshuas fell silent. Leilas let her mind probe the walls once more before she fell silent, too.

  “That should protect us from most of the haunts out there,” said Joshuas, sinking into one of the chairs.

  “But not from the worst of them.” Leilas took up a position by the door. She was going to make every soldier who crossed the threshold pay dearly for their indiscretion. “There is still time to find a way out of Dirth.” She appealed to her mother once more. “I know all the passages out of Dirthstone Manor.”

  “What do you think Joshuas? Should I leave?” Queen Daina turned to face the tired, scruffy magik with deference.

  Joshuas smiled at the queen’s question. “It’s not my place to say. You must do what is right for you.”

  “As always, you give the proper answer for a crafter, never interfere, never guide destiny.” The queen fingered the short sword in her hand. “I’m amazed that you would even use your magic to protect us lowly mortals in this room. But then, you didn’t do it to protect the mortals here, did you? You did it to protect Leilas
.” She nodded her head in agreement with her own conclusion. “I’ve known for some time that she was special, that she was one of the Chosen. The Menas have their own special gifts,” she said haughtily, “even if the crafters don’t think they’re worthy of notice.”

  “Not all crafters are so callous, my lady. You know I’ve often called on the Menas for help.” Joshuas paused before he added, “Brenth would have a good home among them.”

  “You know I can’t go back to them.” Leilas saw a dark, longing cross her mother’s face. Joshuas’ comment had reached a part of her mother she hadn’t been aware even existed.

  “They would welcome you,” Joshuas disagreed with her softly. “Your father is no longer their king. They no longer follow his bannings. Many of the Menas didn’t agree with his actions thirty years ago, but were afraid to openly oppose him. They wouldn’t consider your return a dishonor. Some would even welcome you as their Queen Apparent.”

  “Even if I did wish to return, it’s too late. The soldiers are at the doors and you have spent your magic protecting this room.”

  “I could get us out,” Leilas interrupted, “if you wanted to leave. It’s not too late. Weaving binding spells isn’t very taxing and the effort wouldn’t have been wasted if we decide to leave. It’s kept us safe while you decided.” Leilas barely paused for breath before she continued. She didn’t want to lose the opportunity her mother had given them. “I know a way under the city that doesn’t emerge until we are well out of town.” Leilas felt her hopes lifting. Perhaps she would get her mother out of Dirth alive. It might mean leaving her dream of becoming a master behind, but maybe there was a place in Menas for her, as well.

  Joshuas tilted his head at the queen awaiting her decision. She turned to face her son, who couldn’t keep the hope from showing on his face.

  “I see. I seem to be the only one who thinks it would be honorable to stay in Dirth.” She looked down at the lounging gown she was wearing. “I can’t go dressed like this,” she acquiesced. “If you’ll help me, Leilas, I’ll try to hurry.”