Ardeen, Volume 1: The Circle of Magic

by Sigrid Kraft

  Eryn rose and lowered his head. To carry out that gesture of subservience hurt his pride and cost him a considerable effort.

  The price for Aileen’s freedom. I have broken my word to swear a new oath. What is the value of my word anyway if I break it? Eryn felt miserable. The Prince, by contrast, was in an exceptionally good mood.

  “It pleases me to see that you have started reading the books. I suppose you have already got through a few pages.”

  “Milord...,” Eryn interrupted the Prince, but His Highness mistook this as agreement and simply carried on talking: “Well, now that we have turned the corner, we can come to the point at once.

  What do you know about magic so far?”

  Thanks to Master Agland’s lessons Eryn could at least say something: “There are twelve circles of magic. Gold, silver, black, white, red, blue, green, brown...” Eryn hesitated and thought hard to remember the rest of them.

  “And...?” the Prince probed.

  “Erm... yellow... green.”

  By now, Eryn could read Prince Raiden’s face well enough to know that his feeble presentation didn’t please the Towerlord of Naganor at all.

  Eryn thought it a good idea to confess his ignorance. “Milord, I’m sorry, but I know almost nothing at all about magic.”

  His mood decidedly less positive now, Prince Raiden ascertained: “You can’t even recite the twelve circles. Here, you can read about it in this: ‘The Elementary Basics of Magic’ – a book for children.” The Prince took one of the volumes and handed it to Eryn.

  “Learn it by heart. Weaving magic without knowing what you are doing is very dangerous.”

  Again, Eryn attempted to explain: “Milord...” It is not about ‘not wanting to’, it is only...

  “Well, I must not expect anything. Let’s see to something else: Awakening your skills. You clearly haven’t been able to access them yet. Hold out your hand.”

  Eryn obeyed and immediately felt something flowing through him. It was hard to describe. Cold and refreshing, it concentrated a yellow light inside of him. The flow traveled along the inside of his arm and suddenly a clear bright light appeared on his palm. Alarmed, Eryn tore his hand back and the light followed the movement like the tail of a comet. Then it expired.

  “Fool! That was merely a simple light spell,” the Prince bellowed.

  Eryn apologized: “Milord, I was afraid.”

  “Nurin, I now see the need for you to read the books first, so that next time you are aware of what will happen. And then we can start with the practice at a later date. Tomorrow, I expect you to be considerably better prepared. I myself knew about the twelve circles and was able to cast a formidable light spell at the age of four.”

  The Prince deemed the conversation to be over and walked to the door.

  I had better tell him now. He’ll find out anyway... but he won’t like it. “Milord, I have to tell you something.”

  Prince Raiden turned around and his face seemed to say: How dare you? Which scarcely made it any easier for Eryn. The words came out hesitatingly: “Well... it is so... the books are very interesting and they have many beautiful pictures, and I truly wish I could understand the scribbling... but... I have never learned to read.”

  In surprise, the mage’s mouth snapped open and closed.

  I can’t read and he has lost his words.

  But Master Raiden soon found his voice again: “You biggest of all Nurins. No, worse! Nurin could read! For how long did you stay in the White Tower? And all those wise mages overlooked this trivial fact?! Even the children in the small villages learn to read. I suppose I should be glad that you are able to articulate at all. Master Elderon wants to see progress in this matter. Am I to tell him: Venerable Master, he isn’t yet capable of magic but we have finally learned how to read? Please wait another thousand years and we will make a useful mage out of him!”

  Who needs books while hunting or in combat? He need not always act as if I am completely stupid!” I’m sure you would be happy to teach me, milord.” The tone was provocative, and as such, promptly acknowledged with a magical smack.

  Those sneaky attacks. I never see them coming, Eryn thought in frustration while his cheek burned.

  “Don’t be impertinent, lad. And you had better learn quickly, because my patience for today has already run out.”

  The Prince went to the door, which opened for him before he touched a handle. Once he was safely on the other side, it slammed shut.

  Uncommonly helpful. Shall I teach myself now? I’d best keep my mouth shut. Today, it was only a cuff round the ear, but the Black Prince can do much worse spells on me than that. A fact I know all too well. Besides, I am only just beginning to take pleasure in life again. A life without pain and torture, mind you.

  Again Eryn walked over to the window and looked outside. The coach is still there. It seems the Prince is keeping his word. But I should be careful and rein in my temper so that I do not annoy him again.

  Barely half an hour passed before a new visitor entered. The man was without doubt another mage. His black robe made him appear more slender than he really was. Long gray hair fell over his shoulders, and a full beard framed his round face.

  “I am Master Lionas.” Having introduced himself, he announced: “The Lord of Naganor, Prince Raiden has entrusted me with your further education. So sit down.”

  “Yes, Milord.”

  “Not ‘Milord’, but ‘Master Lionas’. And you are a student of magic, Eryn – well, a student anyway. I suppose we shall have to wait a while longer with the magic.”

  Who to address and how is a science unto itself in this country. But Master Lionas seems far more patient than the Prince. Eryn found the man agreeable.

  The mage searched in his pockets and pulled out a tablet and some chalk. “Let’s start with the alphabet.”

  And the lesson began. Brain-work turned out to be more exhausting than Eryn had expected. Although he tried really hard, his concentration faded after a while and he made more and more mistakes.

  Master Lionas reprimanded him for this, noting that he would have to inform the Prince about Eryn’s progress. He also showed great understanding, however. At the end of the lesson, the mage instructed his student to copy a page of the blue book ‘The Elementary Basics of Magic’ for the next day. He placed white paper and pencil on the table. Then Master Lionas left Eryn to himself.

  The door closed, and Eryn first decided to rest for a little. He lay down on the bed, where, still weak from the past days, he fell asleep immediately. He did not wake again until the womanservant brought his supper. He hadn’t intended to rest for such a long time, and now that the smell of freshly baked bread wafted into his nostrils, he realized how hungry he was and tucked into the food greedily.

  Afterward, Eryn checked the yard again. The wagon is still there. She must be a whole day away by now. That is more than enough for a spearwoman like Aileen. The sun has almost set - perhaps another hour till nightfall.

  Eryn yawned and strolled towards the table. Then he sat down to start his homework. Drawing letters on paper was harder work than he had first thought, and he didn’t manage it nearly as well as he would have liked. Soon the light faded, and as there was neither torch, nor candle nor lamp in the chamber, he had to stop the work when he was only half finished.

  Eryn couldn’t go outside because of the magical barrier in front of the door. Shouting out loud also bore no success. No one came.

  Well, no light – no writing. But he felt uneasy with the half-done work. He feared it would appear lazy, as if he were not trying hard enough.

  I am sure my privileges can vanish as quickly as they were granted if the Prince isn’t pleased with my efforts. I am so sick of suffering and pain. I do not want to go through that again as it almost brought me to the edge. And now, since I have renounced my old life, I wish for a new one that is more enjoyable. Truly, is it my fault that I overslept the whole day? It’s not a lack of interest in magic, I merely c
losed my eyes for a second and immediately fell asleep. But there was nothing to be done any more and so Eryn decided: I’ll do the rest tomorrow and everything will be fine.

  Unfortunately, Eryn was now completely rested and sleep refused to come. He decided to engage in some physical exercises to become fit again. During the last weeks as a prisoner, he had lost a good deal of his former strength and endurance. Soon his body gleamed with sweat and his heart was pumping blood furiously, which made him wide awake and kept him up half the night.

  He awoke the next morning to a sun that had already climbed a good way into the sky.

  Out in nature, Eryn would have been up by dawn, but here, the sunlight needed several hours to shine through the window of his chamber.

  Damn. So late already.

  He set to work immediately, but in his haste, he made many mistakes. The womanservant – it was always the same taciturn, podgy person – went in and out, but Eryn, obsessed by his work, paid neither her, nor the meal any attention. He merely kept on drawing letters.

  He managed three more rows but a part was missing when Master Lionas stood in the doorway.

  After a friendly greeting, the mage took Eryn’s work from the desk and skimmed over the text.

  “You haven’t finished? And so many mistakes,” he admonished Eryn.

  If the Prince usually succeeded in provoking Eryn into a fury of defiance with his criticism, Master Lionas’ rebuke managed to make Eryn feel guilty about the miserable work he had produced.

  “I am sorry. May I have a light so that I can work after sunset?”

  “The sun has been shining long enough. You could easily have done it all in time.”

  That may be true if I hadn’t slept the whole day. Eryn was angry with himself and promised: “I’ll do better today, Master Lionas.”

  They started the lesson with more reading practice, and then Master Lionas showed Eryn again how to create a light, exactly as the Prince had done before. The friendly mage explained:

  “Very skilled persons like yourself are most likely to find access to magic by themselves, and with a little practice you’ll soon manage to do the light spell on your own. That’s all for today, then, and for tomorrow I want you to copy two pages of the book. Also, try to search for the vein of yellow and create a light spell. You can’t do any wrong with that, so just make your magic flow.”

  Then Master Lionas bid farewell and Eryn first attended to the meal, because his stomach was rumbling loudly. They had a saying in the mountains: Eat whenever you have food and time, because you don’t know what will come after. There was truth in that. Eryn had just stuffed an enormous bite of food into his mouth when the door opened again. Normally, he heard the steps first when a person was approaching down the corridor. But his new guest had moved very silently. For an instant Eryn thought Master Lionas had returned, because the shape and the cloak were similar to the solid form of the mage.

  Startled, he almost choked on the bread, which made him cough violently. When he examined the person more closely, however, he was surprised. A little girl wrapped in a cloak that was much too big for her stood before him. Eryn guessed her to be about ten years of age. The girl had long, straight black hair and her lively eyes examined Eryn as well, while he slowly refilled his lungs with air.

  “Are you evil?” she asked naively.

  “Why should I be evil?” Eryn asked in return.

  “I asked first!” insisted the little brat, but then added: “Some say you are evil.”

  “Who?”

  “Telfa and Urim the cook. Also others in the citadel. Master Werge and Harkon don’t think so and neither does Master Lionas.” For the child, it all seemed like some kind of game.

  “And you?” A strange girl, and nosy. I would say even more nosy than afraid of an evil man like me. Eryn grinned. The girl put on a severe face and demanded:

  “Enough of your questions. I want to know at once whether you are evil or not.”

  Somehow she reminds me of Aileen, when we were younger. Everyone had to answer to her will.

  “All right. I’m not evil.” Eryn said, just to satisfy the little smart aleck, but she had at once a new question.

  “Then why are you locked up in here?”

  The little witch finds new questions faster than you can answer them.

  “No, now it is my turn for a question. That’s only fair, isn’t it? So, why are you here?” Perhaps she can help me...

  She grinned confidently: “That’s easy, so I’ll tell you. I am nosy and I was bored. So I decided to find out. And now it’s my turn: Why are you being kept prisoner if you’re not evil?”

  The brat is persistent. But she managed to get through the door and perhaps she knows a way out. I must win her trust. So Eryn tried to appear friendly and went along with her game: “They all think I’m an extraordinarily gifted man, so I’m here to learn the use of magic.”

  The girl made a face: “I don’t understand. That’s no reason to imprison someone. Maybe you are a bad person after all. How many circles do you have?”

  Eryn shrugged his shoulders: “I don’t know.”

  She chuckled: “You are supposed to be skilled and you don’t even know how many circles you have? That’s a joke – or just plain stupid. What are you scribbling there?”

  She skipped over to the desk to get a closer look at the paper. Eryn pulled the sheet away quickly, feeling ashamed. “That’s none of your concern. Tell me instead how you managed to get through the door. Can everybody from outside step so simply into this room?”

  “Certainly not. Now hand me the sheet. I command you!”

  The girl is really cheeky. “And what if I lied to you and I’m evil after all, and will soon spank your backside?” Eryn’s voice didn’t sound too serious, but she took him at his word. Indignantly she stood with her hands on her hips:

  “You wouldn’t dare. I’m a princess. The Black Prince is my father!”

  There’s no denying there is a certain similarity. Eryn took a step toward her. He didn’t mean to harm her, but her eyes opened wide in fear. Suddenly, something like a flash struck Eryn and he didn’t know what was happening to him. Before him, now stood the loveliest woman he had ever seen.

  Struck by her incredible beauty, he sank to his knees.

  “My lady, you are so beautiful. I’m unworthy to remain in your presence, but if you allow it, you would make me the happiest man on earth. Whatever you desire, speak your wish and I will fulfill it. How shall I name you, lovely maiden?”

  “I’m Rhyenna.” Then she added gravely: “Princess Rhyenna. And now hand me over those secret papers.”

  Eryn gave them to her solicitously. “As you desire. But I must apologize that it is only the result of my feeble attempts at writing... I just have started to learn it,” he added, ashamed.

  “You can’t write?”

  “Or read. Forgive me, lady of my heart. But I have had very little education. I already regret that.”

  “That’s really bad. But you can change it - you only have to practice.” She spoke to him as if she were the adult and he the child.

  Eryn bowed his head: “As you command, Lady Rhyenna.” Once again, he went into raptures: “Your name has such a beautiful sound.”

  Rhyenna turned a little red. “Well, it is nice. What’s your name?”

  “Eryn Bloodhand, warrior of the Fenn. An unworthy servant in your shadow.”

  She giggled in amusement at the formulation and began to act in the same manner: “Rise my noble champion. Eryn is all right, but I don’t like Bloodhand. I won’t address you with that name. But I would like a clever knight. Brave, proud and clever. You shall make a great effort to learn reading. Otherwise all the others may think you are stupid, and a princess needs a knight who is worthy of her.”

  Eryn was crestfallen: “Almost everybody thinks that already, my love.”

  “You’ll manage it,” Rhyenna tried to cheer him up. “After all, you aren’t a Nurin, but my noble k
night.”

  “Certainly, Milady.”

  Rhyenna wrapped the cloak around her. “I have to leave now, before Telfa grows suspicious about where I am. But I’ll come back tomorrow.”

  “Wistfully I’ll wait for your return,” Eryn called after her, his heart full of yearning.

  With great enthusiasm, he now copied the pages. And slowly he began to recognize when the words repeated themselves. Slowly some letters merged into a meaning. He spent the whole day writing without taking a break, so spurred on was he by the torch he carried for his lady.

  She is the most beautiful of all woman, the most enchanting being in the entire world, and if she wishes me to learn, I’ll obey gladly. I would do anything for her...

  Only when it became too dark to see did he lay the pencil aside and eat something. Tired, he went to bed and slept deeply till the next morning when the servant entered with his breakfast. Eryn swallowed some hasty mouthfuls before he turned to his work.

  Master Lionas was pleasantly surprised by his industry: “You have completed eight pages, Eryn, and almost without mistakes. You have tried really hard and done a fine job.” In all the time Eryn had been living at Naganor, this was the first praise he had heard and it did him the world of good.

  Yes, now you see it - I’m not a fool or – what do they all call it? – a Nurin. I will prove it to all of them and especially to my beloved lady.

  “Well, Eryn, and what about your magic? Have you managed the light spell?”

  Oh, I completely forgot about that. It was the Princess’ command that I learn writing first and her I must obey. “Unfortunately not, Master Lionas. I was so engrossed in learning how to read and write that it completely slipped my mind.”

  Master Lionas put the papers down and shrugged his shoulders. “Perhaps it isn’t so bad to do one thing after another. But now let’s begin the lesson.”

  They practiced as they had done the day before and Master Lionas was so impressed by Eryn’s eagerness that he wasn’t sparing with praise. This in turn spurred Eryn on to do even more.