A Bridge of Realms

by B. T. Narro

  Leo looked at Edward as he passed by, hoping for some quick advice. But Edward just smiled down at him and said, “You’ll do wonderfully, Leo.”

  The door was only open a crack. Leo decided to knock rather than push it open.

  “Yes, come in. Come in.”

  Leo pushed the door open just enough to squeeze through. He was startled when a man with gray hair appeared just to Leo’s side, quickly shutting the door after Leo.

  “Stand in the circle.”

  One was drawn in the center of the room. These quarters were small, probably similar to Leo’s house if it had no interior walls or windows. A table with an assortment of items was in front of Leo. It held boots, rocks, belts, shirts, and other things Leo had linked before. He smiled with confidence.

  But there was something on the table that called to him. He needed to touch it, no, to possess it. He saw it toward the back of the table where it was hidden behind the boots. It was a gem.

  “Stay in the circle,” ordered the man.

  Leo didn’t realize he had stepped out of it. He hurried back, but he couldn’t keep his gaze off the stone. It seemed to glisten as if it was the source of some kind of energy. A deep blue color, it looked smooth and small enough to fit in Leo’s hand, though he probably wouldn’t be able to close his fingers all the way around it. As he imagined doing so, he started to walk toward it, only to catch himself this time.

  He remembered where he was, about to be tested. Or perhaps the test had already begun. The test-giver had short gray hair, but he did not appear very old. He looked like a capable man as he peered at Leo curiously. He was not large or strong like Leo’s father, but he had the same look in his eyes as Father had when he’d finished testing Leo and Andar—one of surprise.

  Leo remembered where he’d felt a gem like the one on the table. Andar had brought one home before all of this had begun. He had taken it from the table of a woman at the market, who they later figured out must’ve been Erisena. She had set out the stone to catch someone like Andar, someone with an affinity for magic. She had probably wanted to recruit this mage but was surprised when he turned out to be only thirteen. But Leo had never learned much about the stone itself. He’d read plenty of stories in which powerful stones played a role, but how true were any of them?

  “I’m Gare Farns,” said the test-giver. His gray hair fell down his neck, yet it was straight and kempt. He had on a fancy long robe. Leo imagined he had been born wealthy, for it was hard to imagine this man begging for anything in his life.

  “I will train you in Artistry,” said Gare, “but only if you pass.” His tone was more curious than dubious. He did not offer his hand, though. “Do you know what you have, Leo?”

  Leo thought for a while but didn’t know what Gare meant. “Skill with Artistry?” he tried.

  “I figure you do, but that’s not what I’m referring to.” Gare looked down at a couple forms in his hands. “Your brother, Andar, is out there as well, correct?”

  “Yes.”

  Gare cracked open the door and called out, “Andar Litxer, come in here.”

  Andar rushed inside. “Is everything all right?”

  Leo shrugged at him.

  “Yes,” Gare answered. “Leo, move to the far end of the circle. Andar, stand at the close end.”

  Gare walked around as Leo and his brother positioned themselves. Gare stood in front of the table, not far from either of them.

  “Andar, do you know what you and your brother have?”

  “Yes, I think so.”

  “Oh that’s what you’re asking!” Leo blurted. “I do know what we have.”

  “Good, good.” Gare flashed a white-toothed smile. “Tell me how you found out you have this thing between you?”

  Leo let his brother answer.

  “We’ve shared feelings.”

  “How do you mean?”

  But Andar fell silent as he glanced at the table. Leo could feel his brother noticing the stone behind Gare. Andar walked toward it.

  “Stop,” Gare said.

  Andar snapped his head back. “I’m sorry.” He returned to his spot.

  Gare turned and picked up the stone. He held it up in front of him. “This is a testing stone, nothing more. It’s used to tell when people have a connection with Artistry. It isn’t necessary with you two, so let me get rid of the distraction. He walked to the corner of the room, where a clear case waited on a table. Gare put the stone inside and covered the glass with a cloth. “You will stop feeling its pull soon.”

  Gare returned to his previous spot in front of the table. Shortly after, Leo no longer felt the urge to run over and grab the gem. Leo had many questions about this possible rift stone, such as how it worked and what the clear case was made out of to stop its attraction. But now was not the right time.

  “Artistry comes in different forms,” Gare explained. “But we still don’t know everything there is to know about Artistry itself. We do know about links, though, and through links we have learned much about Artistry. Are you paying attention closely?”

  “Yes,” Leo and Andar said.

  “There are only four known types of links. The first is fast-forming and strong, such as the Artistry from fire. The second is fast-forming and weak, such as the Artistry from air and water. The third is slow-forming and strong, such as Artistry from earth. And the fourth is slow-forming and weak, such as Artistry from two items that are similar.”

  “May we take a moment to write this down?” Andar asked.

  Gare chuckled. “No, this is something you will learn when it becomes more important to you. For now it is helpful so I can explain a few things.” He took on a sly look. “There is a fifth type of link that has only been discovered recently, although it is thought to have existed since the time Artistry came about—which was probably around the same time as the creation of our world. Do you know what kind of link I am referring to?” Gare grinned as he spoke, giving Leo the hint he needed.

  “The link between me and my brother.”

  “Exactly!” Gare rushed over to them and took their hands. He joined their hands over the circle. “Imagine your limbs are Artistry. You have a thick and very powerful connection between the two of you, just like your arms.”

  Leo looked down at the circle between them. He tried to feel for Artistry there, but he instead was distracted by all the Artistry everywhere in this small room. There was an abundance of it.

  “I don’t feel anything different between us,” Andar said.

  “I don’t, either,” Leo agreed. They dropped hands.

  “Because you are so very young! Fourteen and ten—it is a marvel the two of you already can feel Artistry. I even imagine you can make links; am I right?”

  “Yes,” Andar confirmed.

  “Marvelous. You see, this link between you is the strongest form of Artistry. It is not only powerful, it draws in all the other Artistry near it. The two of you will have access to an excess of Artistry because of it. You probably have for years already. But I’m assuming all of this because this is the first time I’ve felt a link like this between people, brothers nonetheless.”

  “The first time?” Andar asked.

  “Yes, there are not many links like this.”

  Leo beamed at his brother, but Andar’s grin faded as his brow furrowed.

  “But how do you really know it’s there?” Andar asked Gare.

  He laughed a bit. “Because I am a strong mage who is also quite old. I know what different forms of Artistry feel like because I’ve felt them all before. But never between people, no no. Usually rifts are the other place I feel this kind of link.”

  Andar asked, “Rifts are linked to something?”

  “Why yes of course, to the Esitry on the other side.” Gare shook his palms back and forth. “This is all information you will learn, but first I need to ensure you will be loyal.”

  “So we’ve already passed the test to prove we are mages?”

  “Certainly. I
’m not about to let two brothers who have a stalwart link between them leave so easily.”

  Gare sounded as if he might be jesting as he chuckled to himself, but there was greed in his tone that was unmistakable.

  ◆◆◆

  When Leo and Andar had finished answering Gare’s questions, the trainer immediately told them they had passed. They joyously ran off to join Edward in another section of the training grounds where they were to wait for Jaimy. There were only three other people there besides the three of them; the older girl Leo had seen walking off happily after her test, and two others. One was a boy who seemed closer to Edward’s age than Andar’s, but the other was a pretty girl who was probably close to fourteen. Andar and Leo jabbered with Edward with so much excitement that it was difficult for them to follow any thread of conversation. The other three kept to themselves and seemed content to do so.

  “I have heard of Farns before, I think,” Edward said when they had calmed down some. “He’s been the only mage trainer for a long while.”

  “Isn’t his name Gare?” Leo asked.

  “Yes, that’s his first name. But most people call him by his last name, Farns. It must suit him better.”

  Time went by, but Jaimy didn’t show up. Dread came over Leo when Farns came in by himself.

  “The testing period is over,” he announced. “Congratulations to all of you.”

  But Leo had already celebrated. “Where’s Jaimy?” he asked.

  “I’m sorry, but she wasn’t qualified to join the army yet. She can try again in six months.”

  Leo was shocked.

  Andar asked, “Will she be taken home?”

  “Yes, by the same man who took her here with the rest of you.”

  But she’ll be completely alone this time. Leo was sad enough to shed a tear for her if he let himself. “Can we at least say goodbye?”

  “There isn’t time,” Farns replied. “The testing went long. You are to sign your contracts and learn where you will be staying.”

  Contracts…Leo had forgotten about them. He still couldn’t bring himself to worry, though, as his heart ached for Jaimy. He imagined her weeping in that moment. She might even cry through much of that long, long trip.

  A single scroll, short in length, was handed to each of them. Leo had just gotten his when his brother blurted out, “Forty months?”

  “Is that a problem?” Farns sounded ready to scold.

  “No, just a surprise,” Andar said in a casual tone. “But why forty months?”

  “Because that’s the decided time. Your first lesson is not to question your trainer, Andar.”

  “Yes sir!” Andar said with enthusiasm. He rolled his eyes at Leo when Farns looked away.

  “Forty months!” Edward whispered as he came close.

  “It’s probably forty because it doesn’t sound as long as three years, even though it’s longer,” Andar said.

  Leo became flushed. Longer than three years, gods! Andar was right. Forty months had not sounded that long.

  Leo asked Farns, “But will we have time to return to Jatn for a little while? I have a friend there.”

  “Your friends and family are permitted to visit you here in the capital, but you are not to leave.”

  “Until when?” Leo asked, knowing there had to be a break at some point.

  “Not until the contract is finished.”

  Leo was horrified. He looked down at the contract and found other lines that made him succumb to complete panic.

  “Failure to abide by the rules of your trainer will result in imprisonment. Abandoning the army during the course of your contract is considered treason and will result in your death.”

  Death! They would actually hang Leo if he left for Jatn before forty months were up? He looked up at Farns, who had a hard expression as if he wanted to hear no further questions. But could he really order Leo’s death? Death?

  There were other fearful murmurs spreading around.

  “This is the army of King Mavrim Orello!” Farns boomed. “You have come here requesting to join as soldiers! Soldiers follow the orders of their officers and do not ever abandon the army. You will be trained, fed, and paid. In exchange, you do as you’re told until your contract ends. If you cannot do that, then you should not sign this contract.”

  Silence overcame the room. Then pens started to move. Soon everyone was handing their contract to Farns. Leo was the only one left.

  “We might even be told to fight in a battle?” Leo asked. His brother had warned him of this, but it had seemed so far away at the time. Now it felt as though it could happen tomorrow.

  “Yes,” Farns said. He softened his expression as he knelt in front of Leo. “Sign the contract, Leo. I will make sure you are safe, don’t worry.”

  Leo noticed everyone was staring. At suddenly feeling like a coward, Leo quickly signed the document and handed it over. Farns checked each one.

  “I’m taking these to be certified and recorded. Wait here.”

  All were quiet after he left.

  “There’s no going back now,” Andar whispered to Leo.

  “Do you think Rygen and our aunt will be all right?”

  “Yes, they will take care of each other.”

  Leo wasn’t so sure, though. He knew he should worry about himself, but instead he wondered how he was going to see Rygen again. Forty months was too long when he hadn’t even said a proper goodbye.

  There had to be some way to reach her during his training. He would not give up.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Forty months later

  Leo had set off with his horse and supplies and had been traveling south for many days now. As soon as Leo’s contract had ended, he’d rushed around the capital to prepare for his trip back to Jatn. He’d been counting the months left for a while. Forty certainly was a lot, but each one had gone by faster than the last.

  Andar was into his teenage years now, at seventeen. Leo would be fourteen soon enough and could call himself a man if he cared to. He certainly didn’t feel like one yet, especially when all he did was train with Artistry, sword, and horseback riding. Like Andar, he yearned to use his skills to do something but at the same time wanted nothing to do with any task the army would ask of him.

  Fortunately, Leo had not been called upon to fight. He and his brother, along with the friends they’d made while training, had remained in or near the training grounds for the entire forty-month period.

  It was Rygen’s birthday that he cared most about now. She was turning fourteen today, and he had pushed his horse a little too hard for his liking to ensure he arrived at Jatn on time.

  Rygen was a couple months older than Leo, but he imagined that no one would be able to tell if they saw them together. Leo had grown very tall, almost reaching his brother’s height already, and Andar was taller than many grown men now.

  Leo hoped his aunt had taken good care of Rygen. He had wanted to write to both of them, but there was no mail delivered between Jatn and the capital. It was just too far. He tried to write a letter for Rygen that he addressed to the mail office in Halin, in the hope someone would open it and take his payment within to deliver it to her address in Jatn. But they had probably just taken his coin and ripped up his heartfelt letter. Andar had laughed at Leo for counting on a stranger’s kindness. They had experienced no such thing before arriving at the capital for training, and none after as well.

  Leo arrived at Jatn early in the day, thankfully. He spent the first few hours purchasing the supplies he needed for his trip back, then he paid to put his horse in a stable where his animal would be taken care of. His horse had become precious to him, purchased with his own coin a couple of years back.

  He arrived at his old home with plenty of time left in the day. He would have to leave in the morning if he had any chance of making it back to the capital in the time he was given by Farns. His trainer was too strict. He had booted out one young man who had failed to show up for training for only one day; b
anished without even a warning. Leo thought of that day often. He and the other young soldiers had argued with Farns in hopes of changing his mind, but Farns punished them for talking back to him. The boy who’d been ousted claimed he was too sick to get out of bed, but he was called out on his lie. He had been seen around the capital with a young woman.

  Now he could never reapply to the training program. About every six months, new mages were tested and either sent away or joined the assortment of young men and women. Leo wondered if he or his brother would receive the same strict punishment if they disobeyed Farns, or if they would be given some lenience. It hadn’t taken long for everyone to see that they were different from the rest of the mages. Still, he didn’t want to take any chances by being a day late. He would leave Jatn tomorrow morning no matter what happened with Rygen.

  He was nervous to see her as he knocked on the door to their old shared home. Would she even recognize him? How much had she changed in more than three years? Was she with another boy? Marriage was not legal until fourteen, but many women had arrangements set before then. Could she have one already? Leo had no expectations and yet a hundred curiosities. The one that made him the most nervous was wondering if she hated him for leaving or if she still considered him her friend.

  No one answered. He knocked again. Judging by the soon approaching sunrise, she might’ve left for work already. Or perhaps he had the wrong address? Was there any way he could’ve mixed it up? No, this was the same road. His former neighbor’s houses looked just like he remembered. She must be at work, but did she still work at the same farm?

  He walked away but looked back over his shoulder in case she did answer eventually. He stopped and gasped as he noticed the roof. He had been so focused and worried before that he didn’t see the gaping hole. About half of it was missing!

  He feared it had collapsed on her. With panic, he ran to the inn where his aunt had been staying the last time he was here. But after a quick chat with the innkeeper, he found out that “Miqu Yenu” had left long ago. The innkeeper didn’t know where she’d gone, just that she suddenly had some coin and was happy to tell many people about it.