Enchantress Awakening: Part One of the Book of Water (The Elemental Cycle 1)

by Whitmarsh, J. W.

  “If we cannot avail you to show mercy can we at least ask what his punishment is to be?”

  “There is only one way to stop corruption’s spread; it must be purified at the source.”

  “How is it purified?”

  “Why, it must be consumed with fire of course.”

  “You mean to burn him?”

  “And his spirit will come to the otherworld clean and thus can he be reborn without the scars of sin.”

  “May I ask something?” Vaughn requested.

  “By all means.”

  “If you intended to show no tolerance and are convinced that burning the boy is the only choice, why did you agree to meet with us?”

  “I did so in part to show my respect to your Order and I hoped to convince you that my course is just.”

  “And the other part?”

  “You of Elevered are resourceful folk, and I would guess likely to interfere if you deem something awry. I cannot let that happen. You will stay here until the fire has burned its last.” Vaughn and Caleigh leapt to their feet and without needing to confer both drew their wands. The four knights about the walls moved forward to restrain them. Vaughn directed his wand at Oswald threateningly.

  “Tell your men to stand aside!”

  “No.” Vaughn shot a shudder spark at Oswald and watched as it flew close then veered away into the statue like it had been sucked by a huge inhale. In unison Vaughn and Caleigh turned their wands on the knights nearest each of them hitting them in a flurry of darting energy enervate, exanimate. Sparks both blue and red flashed into nothingness first against the knights’ sword handles and then around their chests. The knight nearest Vaughn seized his wrist and forced him against the table to wrench his wand free. Another knight came at Caleigh but hesitated slightly unwilling to harm this pretty and charming girl. The lunge in the end was clumsy and Caleigh’s dancer agility enabled her to twist away from his hands and retain her feet.

  “Bedazzle”. The knight swayed back drunkenly unable to focus on anything around him. Vaughn had somehow freed himself from the knight he was grappling with but at the loss of his wand. The knight seemed to think this swung things his way and gripped hold of Vaughn by the front of his robes and forcing him backward. He hadn’t reckoned on what was up Vaughn’s sleeves though and was hit at close quarters by a spells that send him sprawling against the wall like he had been shoved by a man twice his size.

  The reprieve lasted for neither Caleigh nor Vaughn as both had a second knight bearing down on them. Once again their initial spells died against the knights’ protection. “Halt!” Caleigh cried causing both knights to stop momentarily. Neither wizard hesitated in taking advantage; Vaughn pointed his wand downward and rush of air expanded outwards scattering plates, stools and all four knights while aside from whipping her hair leaving Caleigh unaffected. She followed up herself by stunning one of the flailing knights who hit the floor in a flash of red. The door opened behind them and just as Caleigh felt hope rising a pair of arms seized her from behind and knocked her wand from her grasp. Over her shoulder a dark grey sword appeared pointed towards her captor’s side but before the threat made its impact Vaughn was knocked sideways by a punch to the jaw from Sir Oswald joining the melee. Soon both of them were held in the grip of multiple arms and were being dragged through stone corridors to an empty straw covered room where they were pitched out with the door slammed behind them.

  27. The Crux of the Matter

  “Do you think, perhaps, we should not have come alone?” Caleigh put to the glum-faced Vaughn sitting on the bench next to her. Vaughn laughed slightly and shook his head.

  “I don’t know but if they plan to burn poor Cedric I’m glad that some of us are still in place to try and stop it.”

  “Dana was right about the Cruxiars. They cannot be trusted. Why are they like this?”

  “They are zealots; they’re not able to think in anything other than absolutes.”

  “Why are they against magic though? They say they serve the blessed White Lady yet she is Loreliath, a wizard. It is in the cause of Loreliath that we are trying to protect people like Cedric. Surely they should be supporting us?”

  “Well...for one thing they don’t really worship Loreliath. Yes, the blessed White Lady might be Loreliath but the two ideas are very different. Loreliath was and is a person, an undoubtedly good person but a person all the same. She has the virtues of being a good person and maybe, just maybe, some of the vices too precisely because she is a person. The blessed White Lady, on the other hand is perfect. She is the embodiment of any and every ideal they wish to bestow her with. You would be the one to know but I’d guess some of those ideals would sit very uneasily with the real Loreliath.”

  “Like the statue?”

  “Hmm?”

  “That statue shows their White Lady to be dressed with absolute modesty, something chaste and untouched.”

  “That’s true, some her followers call her the White Maiden.”

  “That’s disgusting! That says that if she’d ever loved anyone or had a lover she would be less than perfect.”

  “And they would believe that too.”

  “Well, I’ve met the real one and I much prefer her to their White Maiden.”

  “Ha, ha, I doubt it not.”

  “Why are the Cruxiars here at all? They wear different colours to the other knights of the White Lady I met near the Shrine of Lost Souls.”

  “Those are the Knights Repentant. They were once one order before they split.”

  “What caused that to happen?”

  “The Vessel of Life. After it was lost some of the Order wanted to pursue it and others wanted to stay where they were guarding the holy places of the Kingdom. You know where they get their cross from?”

  “Remind me.”

  “The crucifix is from the design of Albion’s sword. He was the first to have long crossguard and to this day that design of sword is a hallmark of knightly orders. The circle is supposed to be the Vessel of Life seen from above but it’s also a reference to the great Henge where Loreliath appeared to Albion and Caerddyn over the years, which is itself a stone circle. Those who wanted to pursue the Vessel said they would carve their sign in blood until the Vessel was returned. That’s when they reversed the colours. They recruited a great many followers in their fight and daubing this red cross on plain colours became an easy way to show who was in their army.”

  “What did they do when they failed to recover the Vessel?”

  “Who says they have finished? But you’re right; many did turn away from the cause after Albion’s death. They realised that if they had been in Helmgard and not in the southern provinces they could have protected it from Brenoc and all the harm that did. So some quit the Order and others returned to guarding the holy places and then some kept on with the hunt.”

  “What are they hunting for?”

  “Many believe that the Vessel of Life has not been seen of late because we are not worthy to receive it. Only when we prove our virtue will it return. For these Cruxiars they think that the way to show that virtue is to drive away corruption and the way they see it, most use of magic is a form of corruption.”

  “Has anyone ever found the Vessel?”

  “Yes.”

  “Really?” Caleigh was suddenly surprised. “I’ve never heard that.”

  “Most people haven’t, and considering what the Vessel seems to do to people’s minds, I’d say that was a good thing.” Vaughn looked over at Caleigh and saw that she was rapt. “Still, back when I was a bard I travelled all about the Western Lands and was making my way through Norderlund when I stopped at tavern in the town below the Earl’s castle. I did my act and at the end of it a man my age took me aside and said to me ‘I know your secret’.”

  “What did you say?”

  “I pretended not to know what he was talking about but he laughed and said his name was Owain and that I could trust him. He seemed a pleasant fellow so we shared some drinks unti
l there was only handful of people left in the tavern. It was then that he revealed that it was no coincidence that he shared a name with the son of the Earl for ‘twas he.”

  “Did you believe him?”

  “I wasn’t sure so I put it to him that if he were in truth Sir Owain, son of Earl Oswin he’d be able to tell me why the Earl’s son hadn’t been seen at his father’s court in six years.”

  “What was the reason?”

  “He swore me to secrecy but suffice to say his story had a kind of sense to it. The important thing was that he’d convinced me that he was Sir Owain. It seemed he and his father had not made their peace and he had only come up to see his mother at a time he knew the Earl would be away. For most of the time he lived in Lakehaven. For many knights at that time there was a fashion to form questing groups and he had been part of such a group roaming in the Southern Provinces when there was a great gathering of Dragonards unseen for years. Gideon will be able to tell you more about them but they were by this point a fairly small order and utterly disparate. Then suddenly they were all flocking to one place because one of their number had summoned them to the defence of a town called Betouse. This town was neither rich nor important and was beset by plague. It seemed an unusual summons and Owain found this intriguing so accompanied the Dragonard in his party to the defence.”

  “What was there?”

  “Well, this was what was interesting. I had heard of the siege of Bretouse and it did seem strange that in a space of days the nobility of the Southern Provinces gathered to attack an unremarkable place. The cause of this gathering was a mystery to most. I can only assume each lord did not want it the other to know that they might be within reaching distance of the Vessel of Life. Despite their secrecy they did form an alliance against the defenders to assault the town. I heard also in times before how this huge army had failed to capture Bretouse but none could tell me the reason for it.”

  “Did Sir Owain know?”

  “He said that it was all down to a Dragonard by the name of Sir Eleric. He had found the Vessel and instead of taking home he had come to a place that needed it. Now, fearing it would suffer for his doing so he was determined that he should stand between the town and harm. He rode out to the nobles and told them face to face that if they should wait until all in the town had been cured he would surrender the Vessel freely. If not he would oppose them.”

  “Why did they not accept this? All they had to do was wait.”

  “He was but one man. What could he do to stop them? Sir Eleric was the same age as Rosamund and Aethelbald. Can you imagine them standing before an army, can you imagine that these nobles would have been deterred? No, they refused his offer so he made a different one. If any champion from their whole army could best him one to one he would retire and say the day was theirs and on the morrow he would give them the Vessel. Thus they sent forth their champions each noble maintaining that if their man was to win they should be the one to be granted the Vessel. There were a dozen nobles on the field that day and one by one within a short matter of moments there were a dozen bested champions lying about Eleric’s feet.

  Enraged, the nobles sent their armies in full against this lone warrior and the knightly orders within Betouse raced out to recover him. The skirmish was brief but in that time Eleric was able to slay four of those overeager nobles. Fearful that they would join them the remaining leaders pulled back and seeing their retreat the armies followed suit.”

  “Did that end the siege?”

  “No, the nobles thought better of Eleric’s original offer after that and resolved to wait. By that time the defenders were able to get reinforcements. The Cruxiars joined them and soon their numbers were enough to give some fight. The defenders then maintained that the nobles had never accepted Eleric’s offer and when they attacked him they forfeited those terms. Angered, the nobles resolved to attack knowing they still had the advantage of numbers.”

  “They failed again?”

  “Thanks to our friend Sir Owain. He realised that each of the nobles would want the Vessel for themselves so he spread the rumour to each that the others planned to take the attack earlier than they had agreed to be the first into the town. The result was each noble tried to surprise the other by starting earlier and thus none of them slept and even before the sun was yet risen they attacked in the most shambolic and disunited fashion trying to race each other across the field. The defenders had expected this and were able to hold fast against their enemies who were unsure whether to fight them or fight each other.”

  “Did they leave after that?”

  “No, but the Vessel did and the nobles were too distrustful of each other to cut off their march.”

  “What happened then to the Vessel?”

  “Sir Owain did not know since he stayed in Betouse to protect the town from any reprisals.”

  “And Sir Eleric?”

  “He went with the Vessel.”

  “Does that mean that the Cruxiars have the Vessel of Life?”

  “I would guess not. We’d know about it if they did. Likely, ‘tis still out there somewhere lost again or hidden.”

  “What of Sir Eleric? Is he still alive?”

  “Likewise, lost or hidden I’d say.”

  “We could use a Sir Eleric here now or a Ceol or Sir Edgar or Sir Marc. This is not a fight for wizards.”

  “You’re right there. I should’ve known better. We should never have entered that room.”

  “How was it that they were so protected against our magic?”

  “Ah well, these Cruxiars are, like all good zealots, are only too happy to use what they claim to despise when it suits them. They all wear magical artefact and carry charmed weapons when they can.”

  “It is not much use to them if they can only use them once.” Vaughn looked critically at Caleigh when she made this statement.

  “Why would they only use them once?”

  “Aethelbald told me that magical artefacts can only be used once and then you have to cast the spell again.”

  “He has misunderstood that, I think. In general, a spell once used will be spent for a time but it comes back as long as the artefact is in contact with some level of magic. Yes, ‘tis true that if someone has no magical talent a spell might only work for them once but for most others it will come back. Take this lot, they abhor spells but they use prayers of incantation every day. That is why they were protected against us in that room. That statue was a massive magical artefact imbued with daily prayers to give it power.”

  “Does that mean the chain they put on Cedric will continue to work?”

  “It does, it will even use his own magical power to give it strength.”

  “When we get back to Elevered I will have to learn how to break through this kind of protection. Until then we merely need to learn how to break out of here. What is your plan?”

  “Hmmm.” Vaughn pulled back his sleeves and selected one of the wands on his left arm. “I would guess there is some protection on that door.” He flicked a spark at it and sure enough a shimmering barrier appeared to intercept it. “If we blast it enough maybe we can break the charm.”

  “And then fight our way through Helmgard and run back to Stonecairn with horses behind us.”

  “Fair point, but perhaps....” Vaughn shot a surge of energy at the ceiling and dust fell down. “We could break through.”

  “That is half of a good plan but we’d still need to get past all the Cruxiars and back to Stonecairn. The protection is only on the door so there is nothing to stop us leaving by any other way. Can you do what Cedric does to get beyond the wall?”

  “No, Cedric has had years of practice while living in the capital of ley lines to learn that skill.”

  “That’s the answer!”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Tovrik said that Helmgard is on the ley line from Elevered to Stonecairn. Can we not simply move ourselves?”

  “Elevered is also on that line but we cannot simply move
ourselves there. It needs more than a mere connection and some places you cannot pass through.”

  “Why can we not enter Elevered?”

  “Too many wards, Caerddyn and then Tovrik have made it so people cannot simply appear inside. The same is likely true here if that statue is anything to go by.”

  “But we are not entering; we are leaving.”

  “I don’t know Caleigh...maybe Gideon would try that but I’m not that kind of wizard.”

  “Nor are you like Mabon. You tell me to trust in my ability; well I am saying the same to you. Cedric is going to burn if we don’t get out of here.”

  “Better he burns than I kill us both.”

  “You won’t, I trust you. Tell me what you need.”

  “I need a standing stone.”

  “Can we make one?”

  “By the Gods, Caleigh, you’re not easily deterred. Let me think...” Vaughn scratched his temples vigorously. “Standing stones absorb magical energy from the earth and the sky and then we use that energy to open the ley line.”

  “Then perhaps we can pass our magic into the stones in this room and use them to open the ley line.”

  “It is not so simple. The stones are a fixed point...how can I explain...imagine the ley line is a fast flowing river and the stones are like rocks you can hold onto. If you let go from one rock to another you can ride the current a bit at a time grabbing each rock as it passes by. Entering the ley line from and unfixed point would be like jumping in the river and hoping it sweeps you near enough to that rock to get a finger’s grip. Are you prepared to risk missing that hold?”

  “To save a life I am. I understand if you choose to stay on this side.”

  “Not likely, Caleigh. So be it, I will need to save my energy to open the ley line so I need you to infuse these stones with magic.”

  “How may I do that?” Vaughn drew out one the wands from his right sleeve and passed it to her.