Thinblade (Sovereign of the Seven Isles: Book One)

by David A. Wells

Chapter 36

  Alexander’s eyes snapped open. He was sitting on a meditation cushion on his balcony but he could still hear the laughter of the man in the brown robes. His heart hammered in terror. He reeled in confusion. It was so real. He felt like he was actually there in the same room with Prince Phane. He was certain beyond doubt that the man in the brown robes was Phane. Alexander focused on the experience, trying to recall every detail. He went to his sitting room and found a pen, some ink and a piece of parchment, and started writing every detail of the experience in rushed, hurried strokes. He played it back in his mind over and over, searching for anything he hadn’t yet captured on paper.

  Whatever the experience was, however it had happened, Alexander was sure the information he’d learned was valuable. He went over his notes again. When he was satisfied he’d recorded every salient fact, he put on his boots and headed for Mason’s workshop. Alexander knew from the past few days that Wizard Kallentera slept very little and could usually be found in his chaotic-looking laboratory late in the evening working on something or other. The man was as bad as Lucky. He always had a dozen projects in progress and would flit from one to the next at a whim.

  When Alexander entered in a rush, he found his parents and Lucky sitting around the fire with Mason, sipping tea and talking quietly. All turned at his unannounced entrance and stood quickly when they saw the look on his face.

  “What’s happened?” Duncan asked in his calm and reassuring way.

  Alexander held up the scrap of parchment covered with his hastily scribbled notes. “I saw Phane,” he said, hurrying across the room.

  Everyone was speechless for just a fraction of a moment before they all started asking questions at once, then stopped talking just as abruptly.

  Alexander took a seat and put his notes on the table in front of him. His mother poured him a cup of hot tea and stirred in a dollop of honey and a shot of cream just the way he liked it. He took a moment to gather his thoughts and slow his breathing.

  “I was meditating like you suggested,” he said to his father, “when my thoughts wandered off and I started wondering about Phane. Suddenly I was outside of my body, floating in the firmament. It was confusing and overwhelming. A moment later, I was just there in a room with Phane and eight men in armor.”

  Mason leaned in. “When you say you were there, how do you mean? Were you physically in the same room or where you just aware of the room?”

  “I guess I was just aware of the room,” Alexander said. “I could tell my body was still here on my balcony, but I could see the room and hear what the men were saying. It was like I was floating against the ceiling in the corner.”

  Mason nodded in thought.

  Duncan took up the questioning. “What did you hear?”

  “They were discussing an attack against Karth,” Alexander said. “The men in armor were reporting to Phane on preparations for a battle. They seemed confident that they would win.”

  “It makes sense that Phane would go to the Reishi Army Regency,” Lucky mused. “It’s the largest standing army in the Seven Isles that still claims any loyalty to the Reishi line.”

  “Can you describe the armor they wore in greater detail?” Mason asked.

  Alexander nodded and took up his notes. “It was polished silver with a big gold letter R on the breastplate. It looked ornate and well crafted like the men who wore it held high rank.”

  “That’s the Reishi Army Regency, all right. Phane isn’t wasting any time,” Mason said.

  “What else did they say, Son?” Duncan asked gently but intently.

  “The men in armor didn’t say anything else because Phane suddenly looked right at me.” Looks of alarm passed all around the room before Alexander continued, “He said he could see that his nether wolves had failed but what he sent next would succeed. Then he started laughing maniacally and told me that I don’t even know what I am, but he does. That’s when I came back.”

  The room fell silent. Alexander tried to school the trembling in his gut with a sip of tea.

  Duncan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “All right, let’s take this one item at a time. You had a clairvoyant experience without casting a clairvoyance spell, or even knowing how to cast a clairvoyance spell, for that matter. You saw the council chamber of the Reishi Army Regency in Karth and heard their battle plan to attack the House of Karth. Phane knows his nether wolves failed to kill you and he’s sent something else to finish the job. And he knows what you are, but you don’t.”

  Alexander nodded at his father’s summation. Duncan Valentine was a man who valued facts. He often stated the facts of a problem as a starting point for discovering a solution. Alexander was familiar with his father’s way of thinking and it set him at ease. Mason stood and started pacing in front of the fireplace.

  “The claim that you don’t know what you are may shed some light on your inability to learn any of the spells that Mason’s had you study,” Lucky offered. “There are many ways that a person can interact with the firmament. For example, I can’t cast most spells to save my life, but I can imbue my concoctions with potent magic. Perhaps you have a more narrow connection to the firmament. So far, you’ve demonstrated an ability to see a living aura and you’ve just had a clairvoyant experience. Both of these things are acts of magic. Other wizards would have to cast a spell to accomplish either. You’ve demonstrated an ability to use aura reading and clairvoyance without using the normal process of spell casting.”

  “All things considered, I’m more concerned with whatever Phane has sent to kill my son.” Bella was angry and frightened all at once.

  “I agree, Bella, but Alexander should be safe behind the circles of protection guarding Glen Morillian. Nothing from the netherworld can get in here.” Duncan tried to reassure his wife despite the look of grave concern clouding his own face.

  Mason stopped pacing abruptly and turned to them. “Perhaps we can warn Karth.” Before anyone could respond, he rushed off to one of his shelves and started looking for a book.

  While everyone was watching Mason shuffle off to his books, Alexander refocused the conversation. “What do we know about Karth?”

  The three looked at each other and Duncan nodded to Lucky. Lucky took a moment to order his thoughts before beginning his lecture. Alexander smiled slightly at his old tutor’s familiar mannerism.

  “The House of Karth sided with the rebellion during the Reishi War. Toward the end of the war, the bulk of the Reishi army was sent to Karth by the Reishi Sovereign to crush the House of Karth, but the Reishi fell shortly thereafter, stranding the Reishi army without support. They had nowhere to go and no way to get there, so the generals and wizards leading the force decided to conquer Karth and bring it under their rule. The House of Karth proved to be more difficult to subdue than they anticipated. They’ve been at war for the better part of the past two thousand years. The Reishi Army Regency rules over the southern half of the island while the House of Karth rules in the north. By all accounts, the place is a nightmare. Both sides rule their people with fear and violence and with no respect for the Old Law. The war flares periodically but both sides are pretty evenly matched, so the land holdings have remained more or less stable for many centuries.”

  “Phane just tipped the balance of power in favor of the Reishi Army Regency,” Alexander said. “Once he consolidates his hold on Karth, it’ll give him a base of operations and establish his credibility throughout the Seven Isles.” Now Alexander stood and started pacing. “If we can stop him there, or at least slow him down, it’ll give us more time.”

  “Agreed, but how can we do that?” Duncan asked.

  “I don’t know, but I think Mason might have an idea or two once he finds what he’s looking for,” Alexander answered. “Let’s table that for the moment. I’d like to get back to the question of what I am. Lucky, you said there are many ways a person can interact with the firmament. Tell me about some of them.”

  “Elemental wizards are
the most common. They deal in things like fire, water, and air. There are enchanters like my Guild Mage, Kelvin Gamaliel, and alchemists like me who imbue items with magic but wield very little influence on the firmament directly. There are conjurors who summon creatures to do their bidding. Necromancers deal in forces from the netherworld; they can summon creatures like the nether wolves and worse as well as wield dark powers directly. There are generalists who can wield magic from most of the different disciplines but cannot attain great levels of power in any one area, due in large part, to the general nature of their study. Generalists are often the most versatile wizards but they can’t rise to the level of power wielded by a mage. There are those who specialize in divination, others who focus on evocation, and some few who practice transmutation. Then there are specialist wizards who have very narrow and specific ways of using their connection to the firmament. The battle wizard you fought is a good example. He had great power but it was limited by its narrow focus. Specialist wizards are very rare and often quite powerful within the confines of their abilities. Then, of course, there are witches. Women who have survived the mana fast like your mother. Witches tend to manipulate the firmament in very different ways than wizards, but that doesn’t pertain to you.”

  “So what does that make me?” Alexander asked.

  “If I had to say right now,” Lucky mused for a moment, “I believe you are a specialist wizard but I couldn’t say what type. In truth, you may have a unique connection to the firmament that has never been seen before. Whatever the case, I believe we can rule out the more common classifications because you’ve proven unable to master basic spells that would be easy for a novice wizard of a more common variety to learn. More importantly, you’ve demonstrated that your connection to the firmament is surprisingly powerful with the sheer range of your clairvoyant experience. Mason is a Master Wizard of significant power and experience. I doubt he could project a clairvoyance spell farther than a mile or so and then only with great effort and preparation. You looked across the ocean and into just the right room thousands of miles away, and you could hear what was said, as well. That is no small feat.”

  “So how do I control it? How do I use it to fight?” Alexander asked.

  Lucky looked helpless as he shrugged and slowly shook his head. “I don’t know, Alexander. Your abilities are different from any I’ve even heard of but perhaps Mage Gamaliel will know more.”

  “You’re not still thinking about leaving Glen Morillian, are you?” Bella snapped.

  Alexander looked at his mother with gentle determination and nodded.

  “Alexander, you said yourself Phane has sent something else, something worse than nether wolves, to kill you. How can you leave? You must stay here where it’s safe,” she said in half plea and half command.

  Alexander sat down with a sigh. He spoke quietly but with conviction. “Mom, during my mana fast, I saw what will happen to the world if Phane wins. I’ve been chosen to stop him. I didn’t ask for it but the duty is mine nonetheless. If I hide here in the safety of Glen Morillian while he ravages the rest of the world and inflicts unspeakable suffering on thousands of innocent people, then I’m no better than he is. He’s evil and he intends to impose his will on every living thing in all of the Seven Isles. I have to do everything I can to stop him, no matter the cost.”

  A tear slipped from her eye and she hastily brushed it from her cheek. “I’m very proud of you, Alexander, and I know what you say is right and true but I’ve already lost one child to this monster and I can’t bear to lose another.” Her voice trembled as she spoke and another tear slid down her face. Alexander took a seat next to his mother, put his arm around her and pulled her head gently to his shoulder. She cried quietly for a few moments in silence.

  When she looked up, Alexander whispered softly, “I love you, Mom, but I have to do this.”

  She nodded, still wiping tears from her face.

  Mason bustled up with excitement and exclaimed, “I’ve found it!”

  Everyone turned to look at the court wizard. He held up a very old-looking book. “It’s a dream whisper spell. We may be able to use it to deliver a message to the House of Karth.”

  Alexander stood, suddenly quite interested, “How so?”

  “I’ll have to study the spell to see if it’ll work and then I might need to make some preparations to adequately power it, but I believe I can send a message into the dreams of the King of Karth.”

  “Even over such a great distance?” Duncan asked.

  “Distance matters much less in the realm of dreams,” Mason said. “I have a projection spell but I can only throw my image for several hundred feet, so that would never work, but I may be able to reach him in his dreams.”

  “All right, then,” Alexander said with renewed enthusiasm, “we’ll still leave for New Ruatha as planned. Mason, when you figure out the dream whisper spell, send the King of Karth this message: Lord Alexander, King of Ruatha, sends warning. Prince Phane has taken command of the Reishi Army Regency and they will attack you on the new moon.”

  Mason took a piece of parchment from a nearby table and copied the message. “I will send him your words,” Mason said. “On another subject, I’ve studied the skillbook and I believe it might still be of great use to us. There are very clear instructions for fighting with a blade in ways that are probably not known by any in the Seven Isles, save a few. I could translate the basic instructions and use it as a basis for a training manual for our soldiers. It may better prepare them for the battle ahead.”

  “That sounds like a good idea. I’d like Hanlon and Anatoly to be the first to study it.” Alexander paused for a moment. “Mason, I need to know how to use my connection to the firmament. I need to be able to control it and fight with it. Anything you can offer on the subject would be helpful.”

  Mason deflated slightly. “Alexander, I understand how important this is to you but I’ve searched my memory and my library for any insight into your abilities and found none. For now, trust your instincts. Take mental note of how you feel when you connect with the firmament and practice recreating those feelings. Your relationship to the firmament is unlike any I’ve encountered, but it also seems to have the potential for great power. Be open-minded as you try to master it; you might be surprised at what you’re capable of.”

  Alexander spent the next few days trying to control his connection to the firmament without any luck at all. He could still see the living aura of everyone and everything around. His second sight had merged with his normal vision. At first, it took some getting used to, but it became normal and natural over the course of a few days. Other than that, he couldn’t produce or cause any magical effects whatsoever. He tried to meditate the way he did the night of his clairvoyant experience but had no luck reproducing the effect, which only led to greater frustration.

  Mason succeeded at sending a message to the King of Karth. At least he’d been confident that the message had been delivered. Unfortunately, there was no way to determine if it worked, if the king heard the message in his dreams, if he believed the message, or if he chose to act on it. Alexander consoled himself with the knowledge that they had done all they could and shifted his focus to more immediate concerns.

  He was ready to be on his way. Lucky was working hard preparing potions and other concoctions for their journey. Abigail and Isabel were training with Hanlon and Anatoly in some of the new blade techniques from the skillbook. Alexander was trying without success to produce even the simplest magical effect. Jack had made friends with every cook, servant, valet, stableman, and groundskeeper in the entire palace. He was in his element at court. He knew how the place worked and played it like a fiddle.

  What spare time Alexander had, he spent with his parents or Isabel but he was distracted and anxious. He felt like he was wasting time. He came to believe that his magic would come or it wouldn’t. No amount of time spent trying to make it work seemed to have any effect. The day before they were set to leave, Alexand
er revealed his plan at breakfast.

  “We’ll be going on foot from the north fortress gate and traveling through the forest. I believe that’s our best chance to avoid Phane’s hunters. At the same time, I need Erik to take a hundred good Rangers and ride out from the eastern fortress gate to draw the enemy away.”

  Erik smiled proudly, “I’ll make sure they see me.”

  Hanlon and Emily looked less enthusiastic about the assignment but they didn’t object.

  “Erik, this task will be very dangerous,” Alexander said seriously. “I don’t know what Phane’s sent to hunt me but I’m certain it’ll be deadly. I want you to ride fast. Take spare horses and don’t let up. Do not engage unless you have no other choice. I want you to run from whatever is chasing you. Don’t put yourself or your men at risk if you can help it.”

  Erik sobered slightly, “I understand.”

  Alexander considered for a moment before continuing. “I’d like Kevin and Duane to stay here.” Both of Erik’s younger brothers looked upset and started to object, but Alexander stopped them with a raised hand. “Your father will need you both to help him build and train the army.”

  Both looked disappointed but nodded their agreement. Emily looked a little relieved that at least two of her children would be safe for the time being. Alexander feared that wouldn’t last. All too soon the world would be caught up in a war that no one anywhere would be able to escape.

  “Our first stop will be the Wizards Guild in New Ruatha but I don’t plan on staying there long. I want to talk to Mage Gamaliel to see if he can offer any suggestions or insight. My primary goal is to get to Blackstone Keep. I believe the second of the Bloodvaults is there. Whatever Mage Cedric left me there will be useful and we can use Blackstone Keep as a source of authority to help bring the territories under the banner of Ruatha and to house the army we’re building.

  “Erik, you’ll ride straight to the base of Blackstone Keep and scout the area. Don’t stay in one place long and keep your force intact as much as possible. Once I arrive, you’ll help me secure the interior of the Keep and establish basic defenses. Hanlon, once you have a significant force assembled, I want you to secure the forest road. It’s the main overland route from north to south and will provide us with a strategic advantage if some of the territories are reluctant to accept my leadership. After you have sufficient forces to control the road, begin assembling legion-sized units and sending them to Blackstone Keep but be sure to keep adequate forces to defend Glen Morillian.”

  Breakfast the next morning was somber. Everyone said their goodbyes and then Alexander and his companions were on their way to the north fortress gate. The ride was pleasant enough. Alexander’s mind wandered while they meandered through rolling farmland, past herds of cattle. He wondered about his calling. It troubled him that he was so different from other wizards. He needed guidance but didn’t know where to find it. He hoped that Mage Gamaliel would have the answers he needed, but for some reason that he couldn’t quite define, he doubted it.

  Most wizards could alter the nature of the world around them through a process of vivid visualization of the outcome they desired, coupled with a deliberate and controlled connection to the firmament. Alexander remembered how it felt to connect to the timeless realm beneath reality but he wasn’t able to make it happen again. Most novice wizards were easily taught how to make that all-important connection. In fact, the biggest difficulty for most wizards was in controlling the degree of the connection. The firmament was virtually infinite and offered such an impossible variety of possibilities that wizards had been known to get lost. It was as if their consciousness, sentience, and even soul simply lost hold of their physical being. Those wizards died slowly.

  Alexander couldn’t seem to create a connection and yet his second sight had become a permanent fixture of his life. Now he could simply see the colors around all living things without effort or concentration. It troubled him because he knew that the source of his aura reading had to be a connection to the firmament but he couldn’t feel it or control it. It was simply there. He didn’t do anything to establish the connection and he couldn’t stop it, yet he didn’t feel any sense of risk. He didn’t feel anything different at all except for the colors he could see.

  Then there was his clairvoyant experience. Besides the unsettling encounter with Phane, he was bewildered by the fact that it happened at all. He tried over and over to recreate the experience but failed every time. He went over the feelings of the experience a hundred times, trying to identify exactly what it was that caused it to happen, but he couldn’t seem to figure it out. When he took inventory of the things he could rely on for sure, he could only name his second sight and his newfound skill with a blade. He hoped it would be enough, but he knew that it wouldn’t.

  He needed to know what he was.

  What troubled him most was that Phane did know. Alexander presumed he meant what type of wizard he was, what his magical calling was. He tried to reason through it and could only assume that Phane had encountered wizards like Alexander before. The idea that Phane knew more about his abilities and limitations than he did scared him. He knew at a basic level that the key to defeating an enemy was knowledge of their strengths and weaknesses. Phane was several steps ahead and gaining ground quickly, while Alexander was floundering.

  He needed to get to Blackstone Keep. Mage Gamaliel might offer some insights but Alexander had the nagging sense that the real answers would be provided by Mage Cedric and his Bloodvaults. Blackstone Keep had been inaccessible for millennia. It stood to reason that it had been protected from the world all these years so it would be here for Alexander when the time came to fight the final battle of the Reishi War.

  They reached the north fortress gate at midday. Alexander had been silent the entire ride. Once he was inside the mountain tunnel, he set aside his frustrations and brought his mind back to the task at hand. He didn’t know if Phane would be able to see him leave from the north gate but Alexander believed it was his best chance of avoiding the Reishi.

  He hoped Erik would be safe enough with a company of Rangers, but it nagged at him that he’d put Isabel’s brother in harm’s way. He’d read about command and leadership. He thought he understood it, but when the time came to make decisions that had very real consequences for other people, he found that the burden was much weightier than it ever seemed in the dry old history books.

  He remembered times when he was unable to understand the hesitation or the indecision of a general or a commander in the accounts of battles fought long ago. He understood now. Those men made decisions about the lives of others. It was one thing to read about a battle that had been fought before you were even born and quite another to make decisions about one yet to be fought. The future was shrouded in shadow and mystery. Then there was the heavy responsibility of commanding others to risk their lives. Alexander was perfectly willing to risk his own life if the circumstances warranted it, but sending another out to face the enemy put a knot in his stomach. The feeling only deepened at the realization that he would likely send many men to their deaths before this war was over. How many lives would he command into the darkness?

  A wave of disquiet washed over him as they came into a big chamber deep within the mountain. He looked around in the light of the massive chandeliers suspended from the ceiling and took in all of the men who worked and lived here. Some of these men would die in the coming battles. Some would die by his order and in his name. It was more authority and responsibility than any man should have. Why should he be able to cast away another life with a word? What gave him that right? It was certainly more power than he ever wanted.

  Then there was Phane. He was a man who clearly reveled in wielding power over the lives of others. Alexander wondered what caused a man to lust after that kind of power. He’d been raised to believe that life and liberty were sacred gifts. They were not to be taken from another without just cause. Phane clearly had no such restraint. From his brief encount
er with Phane, Alexander got the impression that the Reishi Prince rather enjoyed watching others die on his word. How did that kind of darkness come to exist in a man?

  Men came up to take the reins of their horses. The gatekeeper strode up with his administrator in tow and came to an abrupt halt, bowing formally to Alexander.

  “Lord Alexander, we’ve been expecting you. I understand you wish to move through the gate today and be on your way immediately.”

  “The sooner we’re on our way, the better,” Alexander replied.

  “If you’d like, the kitchen has a roasted pig on the spit. One last hot meal before your journey couldn’t hurt,” the gatekeeper offered.

  Alexander felt a twinge of hunger at the prospect of a hot meal, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lucky perk up, so he agreed. They ate quickly, checked their packs and were through the gate within the hour. They still had a few hours of light left and Alexander wanted to cover as much ground as they could through the dense forest.

  The north gate didn’t have a road leading to it but a steep and winding trail instead; it was too treacherous for horses. Besides, they intended to travel through the forest to stay out of view of Phane’s spies and mercenaries. It would be slower going but hopefully much safer. Alexander didn’t want to fight if he didn’t have to. He knew that killing a small band of mercenaries would have no effect on the greater conflict but could easily risk the lives of his friends or cost him his own. Engaging the enemy now was not wise. There was nothing to gain and much to lose. Moving quietly under the cover of the forest was the best strategy to get to New Ruatha. He had no doubt there would be enemy waiting for him there. By now Phane had probably alerted every agent of the Reishi Protectorate on the entire Isle of Ruatha. Alexander would be hunted wherever he went—best to move in the shadows.