Teliko Mageia: Curse of the Frozen Flame

by A. J. Carbonell

  Drix paced toward Jael. Jael threw out his right hand. “Hit me with your best shot!” Drix taunted Jael. Steve observed with rapt interest.

  Then Jael roared “Dragon’s Breath!” and a burst of intense deep red flames spewed from Jael’s right hand and scattered throughout the area uncontrollably.

  “Hah! You should master all of your spells before using it in a real battle. Try to hit me next time.” Drix ran toward Jael and hammered him with his large fists. Jael fell to his knees and Drix stopped his assault only to shove his hand up against Jael’s throat, pinning him to the wall. He hissed, his hot breath reeking of garlic too close to Jael’s mouth, snarling his words with utter disdain, “Now, I want you to beg for your life.”

  “Never!” Jael shouted and in fury and rage Jael once again cast Dragon’s Breath.

  This time, Drix was swept up with the immense magickal surge, if not because of Jael’s skill, because he was standing directly in front of Jael. Jael threw everything into the attack, his right arm sizzling and bubbling and steaming. Though he felt no pain, Jael gasped, saw stars and dark and slumped into unconscious slumber. Drix was defeated instantly.

  Steve rushed to Jael. Jael’s right arm was completely burned up, to a stump of an elbow and above that charred black with only a small bit of unburnt white bone protruding. Steve assisted Jael to where medical mystos were stored, and congratulated him on this remarkable step in unleashing his inner spell before handing him over to the healers. Because of the intense battle between Jael and Drix, he gained the other students’ respect as a mage. But with the immense healing required, he was mandated to take a ten day rest before resuming his training to master this new spell.

  At the end of the three month training period, Jael successfully mastered his inner spell, Dragon’s Breath. Frekkis acquired the mysterious green aura and the spell Heaven’s Wings, while Izabelle caught Byakko, the Tiger of Lightning. Vaan cultivated this new thought to control earth using other parts of his body. He was moderately successful, and in the end, all of them acquired new skills.

  Across the waters in the Floating Fortress, the Dark Mage Dio on his dark and mighty throne gave the horrible signal to move upon the town of Vistregio, situated at the northern part of Bristal. Terra, the Titan of Earth attacked the town. In just minutes, Vistregio was obliterated and all surviving citizens taken captive by the Titan. Malevolentiam’s message had been sent.

  Vistregio had been completely erased from the kingdom.

  From the only relative safety of her castle, Queen Jeannah made her orders. “Alert everyone! Deploy soldiers to every town, village and city. We must do everything in our power to protect Bristal!”

  After three long months of vigorous training, Jael and the others readied to go to Erradia. There they intended to meet the Queen, hoping to join the defence against the Titans and inquire about Rohan the Sage. The months of training had been relatively peaceful for Jael, his mind occupied with that one task only. But the night before travelling to Erradia, Jael again had a strange dream.

  Birds perched atop the tall trees of the serene forest, whistling and singing peacefully. A river flowed beside him. Misty water tumbled from a cliffside, the slowly winding river emerging from an exquisite waterfall that twinkled in the yellow-gold sunlight. Adorable animals roamed underfoot. A mouse skittered across the clearing, rabbits congregating and nibbling the flowers and grass that paved the lush meadow floor. Through the harmonious chaos of nature, a clear voice rang out, calling his name. Jael turned and saw a radiant woman approaching. Her hair cascaded long and silvery white, as though the waterfall had been torn from the cliff wall and wrapped about her shoulders. But her face was obscured by a supernatural blur.

  “Excuse me, do I know you?” Jael asked.

  “It’s very peaceful here, don’t you think?” the woman asked, and she turned, slowly spinning, her feet not moving, not touching the ground.

  “Yes, it is. May I ask who you are?” Jael again asked.

  The woman rotated to face Jael, still with her hazy face and said, “I would love to stay here forever with you…” After, she handed Jael a necklace. Jael picked it up and fingered it in recognition, his own wooden pendant, the one he daily wore around his waking neck.

  “How did you get this? Who are you?”

  “Very soon…” the woman replied. The wind picked up, the sky darkened, and the tall trees wilted in an instant, going limp and trembling. A sudden gust of wind hit them and as if she was nothing more than a sheet of paper, swept away the woman. The ground shuddered, heaving like there was an earthquake.

  Over and over, Jael heard his name cried out, howling in the wind: Jael, Jael, Jael–

  “Jael! Jael!” Vaan said, shaking Jael firmly this time. “We are going to miss the valkyrie trip! Come on! We’re going to Erradia! Remember? Jael!”

  Jael dazedly pushed himself out of bed, holding onto his aching head. He swallowed and went to get a glass of water before dressing. Who is this woman? He thought. She resembles the one from my dream back in Sanhera and told me to go to Belthasar. I know I’ve dreamed of her before. Perhaps she is linked to my past? Curious. I’d best find Rohan quick.

  Erradia, the main city of Bristal, was based out of the south eastern province of the kingdom. Here the royal castle, Krimmirr, was located, and the queen made her home. Erradia was an open city bustling with trade and traffic, in a prime location on the coast of the Erradic Sea. Large mountains climbed around the city, protecting it from invasion. All air traffic was heavily scrutinised by rigid security. Furthermore, the city itself was clad in a massive magickal force field, invisible to the naked eye, forming a dome overhead, protecting it from foreign threats.

  Above Erradia, Skylander, a floating air platform, received all inbound valkyrie flights. Erradia itself had no ports for the valkyries, but instead directed anyone who intended to enter the city post-air travel to pass through Skylander’s intensive security operations. All Skylander arrivals used the glass elevator tubes to travel from Skylander toward the main city Erradia. The elevators ran off of magistreck, the same technology of Fulbor, propelling the elevators through the series of transparent glass tubes.

  “Good morning, everyone! We are about to arrive the capital city of Bristal, Erradia. Strict laws are implemented in this part of the kingdom,” the valkyrie attendant announced. She distributed a booklet about the city, thick with laws and ordinances. “Please review the booklet upon entering the city. Welcome to Erradia!”

  Jael did not have time to read the manual. As soon as the valkyrie arrived and docked at the Skylander, one of the guards shoehorned everyone into tiny offices to interview them. The guard questioned them about the nature of their visit and eventually let them through. After the interrogation, they made their way past a welcome desk with a more receptive guard, who welcomed them and even gave them a map of the whole city. This booklet Jael inspected. It had extensive and exhaustive documentation of streets, alleys, businesses and more, but the castle was not detailed and no tourist information documented. Even the section of the map containing the castle had been blurred out in censorship. “Excuse me, sir, but why is the castle blurred in this map?” Jael asked.

  The reception guard looked amused. “I’m afraid details of the castle are withheld for security purposes–I’m sure you understand. You are, however, free to explore the rest of the city at your leisure! Welcome to Erradia,” the guard replied.

  “Thank you for being so accommodating!” Jael replied, and they exited the transfer station.

  All of them were mesmerised by the grand sight of the city, elegant and magnificent. Luxurious mansions could be seen from left to right, and even the shop windows were shiny glass and trimmed with chrome. A twelve-tiered fountain full of splendorous serpentine statues could be seen at the heart of the city. To the north rose the towering castle of Krimmirr. They roamed around the city for their amusement and asked around about the castle instead.

  Krimmirr, the cast
le of the Queen, was named after King Krimmirr, who built the castle centuries ago. It was considered the most fortified castle ever built in the whole history of Bristal. Krimmirr was protected by a very thick wall crowned with spikes called the Wall of Krimmirr. Eight towers encircled the castle, attached to the wall, representing directions of the compass. These were the Krimmirr Towers. No one knew much about the castle’s interior, except that it was composed of three parts, the East wing, West wing and the Central Tower.

  After Jael and the others were satisfied they’d seen enough of the city, they headed up to the entrance of the castle wall. At once a guard stopped them and demanded, “Halt, visitors. State your business in the castle.”

  “Good day, sir, I am Jael and these are my friends, Frekkis, Vaan and Izabelle. We are looking for Queen Jeannah,” Jael said.

  “The Queen is not available at the moment and she shall not be disturbed by commoners like you until the threats from the Titans are purged,” the guard replied.

  “But sir, this is Izabelle, the sister of Chollo Nugash! She can be of great help for the Queen!” Jael insisted.

  “Really? The sister of a Titan?” The guard looked intrigued. Jael waited expectantly. The guard seemed to reach a decision. “Very well. Seize this young woman at once,” the guard said and the castle guards clamped down upon Izabelle’s arms, surrounding her. Izabelle looked about in panic and shock, but put up no resistance as they began to drag her inside.

  “Wait! We met the Queen in Belthasar when Chollo attacked!” Jael explained, putting a hand out to stop them.

  “Do you want to be imprisoned too? Step back!”

  “Please, don’t!” Izabelle shouted as she was dragged toward the castle dungeons.

  “Let her go!” Jael shouted.

  “Jael. Enough!” Vaan snapped. “If we get imprisoned too, we might end up being there forever. We’ll think of a way to save Izabelle later.” With a final long, desperate shared stare at Izabelle, she was dragged out of sight down the dark hallway to the dungeons, Jael shuddered and turned to leave. He imagined the worst for delicate, helpless Izabelle at the mercy of the guards.

  Back at the inn, the two brainstormed. “How can we get her out of there?” Vaan said.

  “I know! We can infiltrate the castle and save Izabelle, then we can explain to the Queen. I am certain that she will listen to us,” Jael stated. After all, sometimes it was better to ask forgiveness than permission.

  “That is a great risk, my friend…” Vaan groaned, putting his hand to his face.

  “Risky, but I can’t fathom another way. After all, the guards will hardly deliver a message to the queen on our behalf. We strike at midnight,” Jael said, his usual tactician nature blinded by fear for his new friend. Much of his life had been free of close bonds with other humans, and now with one delicate addition to his life a protective rage churned beneath his surface.

  Meanwhile, in the dungeon, Izabelle was imprisoned inside a dark cell. She casted out Osona and nothing happened. “Byakko!” she shouted, but again, nothing happened. A guard strode to her cell and said stiff and coldly, “It’s no use, young lady. All the cells are covered with Elementium. All of your magickal elements and stamina will be absorbed. There is no way you can escape this dungeon.”

  “Jael... Vaan… Frekkis… please save me…” Izabelle sobbed quietly, and she wrapped her thin arms around her knees and wept.

  Midnight came and Jael, Frekkis and Vaan went to the western part of the castle walls, where a few fortunate trees grew near the side. They climbed up and waited for the right moment to jump the Krimmirr wall. There was little time for extensive reconnaissance. Jael could not bear the thought of Izabelle wasting away in a dark cell, with who knows what happening to her. Discerning a smaller amount of guards roaming, Jael noticed a potential blind spot and signalled for the crossover. A large rock was within dashing distance, and they leapt down to the grassy terrain and quickly sneaked behind it.

  A guard near their spot caught a glimpse of Frekkis’ tail disappearing behind the rock and came closer to see. Jael whispered, “Frekkis, use your wings to escape. Distract them so we can enter the castle.” At once, Frekkis flew and cries and calls from the guards rose as well.

  Frekkis soared above the fray and easily escaped, making back to the fountain where they planned to regroup. In the distraction, Jael and Vaan quickly ran toward the edge of the castle. They clambered through an open window and entered the castle. The room appeared to be an office, full mostly of mundane books on dull topics; outside a very long corridor full of doors stretched out to a tedious length. It would be easy for a guard to spot them walking along, and they slowly tread the hallway, keeping alert for any sound of footsteps.

  “I think the dungeon is beneath the castle. We should find a staircase,” Vaan said. Jael agreed, and they walked along the hallway until they reached a break, and Jael leaned out, checking to see what was beyond. These were stairs which widened extensively and swept down towards a grand hall that looked nothing like a dungeon. A guard was climbing the stairs, whistling the state anthem. It was quiet enough indoors that running would draw attention immediately. Jael drew back and wordlessly pointed to a room. Vaan gingerly turned the handle, and it clicked, opened; he peeked in. Jael let his breath go in relief; hadn’t even realised he’d been holding it. Vaan gave him an all-clear gesture, the guard did not immediately alert towards them. They sidled into the room that had thankfully been left unlocked. It was full of weaponry and armour and a half-full mug of cold congealed tea sat abandoned on the edge of one of the tables. No one was inside.

  After the guard passed, Jael and Vaan left quickly, and went down the main staircase. But it seemed to be a central living area, with no passage to a dungeon in such places.

  “Let’s look around through the windows. The dungeon entrance must be outside the castle,” Jael said.

  They looked through every window. After a while, Vaan saw an entrance off to the side of the grounds, through a dark stone hallway. Light emitted from the inside, light cast by a torch. “That must be the dungeon!” Vann said. They opened the window and climbed down through it.

  At the same time, Helena was at her balcony staring at the dark night sky, deep in thought. Waiting for the right moment, Jael and Vaan made their way through the Krimmirr Garden, crouching low to remain unseen, and reached the dungeon passageway. Helena, however, noticed them at once and went down to check on the dungeon.

  There was no guard at the dungeon entrance, and Vaan used a burst of stone to force the door to pop open. Jael and Vaan reached the dungeon cells. A guard was there, sitting bored at a desk with a book, a ring of keys on his belt. There was nowhere to hide; the guard immediately saw them and shouted, “Halt! You are not allowed here!”

  Both Jael and Vaan tried to cast spells; neither worked. Vaan wrestled the guard to the ground. “Quickly Jael–catch!” He snatched the keys from the guard’s belt and threw them to Jael. “Go and find Izabelle!” Vaan shouted, struggling with the guard, smashing his head into the ground. Jael rushed to the cells.

  “Jael!” Izabelle screamed and Jael hurried to the cell she was in. He fumbled with the keys, trying key after key from the key ring. Finally one of them turned with a loud, un-greased click. Other prisoners awakened, and they too howled for help, banging on the cell doors and rattling the bars, cursing Jael when he did not stop to aid them. Jael had eyes for one prisoner only; the rest he’d no notion of why they were locked away. “Come on, Izabelle!” Jael said.

  “Thank you! I never thought you would bother to help me,” she replied.

  “I wouldn’t leave you behind. Let’s save the talking for later, we need to hurry,” Jael said and she took off with him, returning to Vaan at the front.

  Jael and Izabelle reached Vaan. A sudden shout came from the dungeon entrance. “Halt!” Helena shouted. Jael and Vaan rushed her, staggering her and forcing their way back to the exterior dungeon corridor. The guards made pursuit.

>   “Blazia!” he cast, and outside the dungeon perimeter it worked. “Vaan, you and Izabelle escape while I distract Helena and the other guards. Run as fast as you can.”

  “But, Jael….” Izabelle answered.

  “No more buts! Just go!” Jael replied, and he rushed Helena. Vaan casted Revolut over himself and Izabelle, then rose rocks to block the passage in pursuit and they fled. Trapped between the dungeon wall and Vaan’s wall, Jael paced between Helena and the guards.

  “You have some nerve to infiltrate the castle and free one of the prisoners,” Helena said.

  “We only wanted to help the Queen!” Jael replied.

  “Hmph. Do you know there have been attacks from the Titans? Now is not a good time for you to interfere!”

  “We never wanted to interfere! Izabelle is Chollo’s sister, she might be of great help!”

  “Enough! I am Helena Elsworth, Commander of the third Regiment of the Knights of Bristal. By the authority given to me by the Queen you are to be held as prisoner!”

  “Just let me go and we can help you,” Jael said.

  “You have freed a prisoner, you shall take her place,” Helena replied, and the guards closed in on Jael. Suddenly Jael cast Pillar Flare, burning all the surrounding guards, encouraging them into backing off.

  “So, you want to fight the Queen’s army?” Helena said and cast her own magick, “Valkyrian Wings!” Huge wings unfolded angelically from her back, blocking out the light, creating a heavenly silhouette wielding a conjured sword called Retribution. “I am no ordinary mage, Jael. I am a Master Knight. There are five regiments in Bristal’s army. In each regiment, there is a commander. And that commander must be a Master Knight. Master Knights are the finest magick-bearing swordsmen in the kingdom. I have the element of lightning at my fingertips. Are you sure you want to fight me?”