Ardeen, Volume 1: The Circle of Magic

by Sigrid Kraft

  When their time was up and the mage was on the point of leaving, Eryn took the chance to ask a question quickly:

  “Master Lionas, am I still a prisoner?”

  Master Lionas scratched his cheek in a gesture that expressed a certain discomfort with this topic.

  “I wouldn’t put it that way. The Prince just wants to ensure that you don’t act unreasonably. In time, your conditions will be eased and you will no doubt be given permission to go outside. But at the moment, you still know so little about our way of life and also about yourself. So, this is for your best. Be patient and if you continue to make such good progress as you have today – I’m sure the Prince will soon grant you further privileges.

  Even though the day had been very successful, Eryn was disappointed.

  But I have to see the Princess again. My heart pines for her.

  Suddenly, Eryn had an odd feeling. It was more a guess than really knowing: “You are in my thoughts, Master Lionas!” For some reason, this annoyed him, especially when Master Lionas’ behavior confirmed to Eryn that he was right.

  The mage didn’t answer but asked instead: “You had a visitor?”

  To Eryn it did not seem wrong to talk about his lady. “Yes, indeed. The Princess came to see me. She is the loveliest being on earth and she’s chosen me as her champion. She holds my heart in her hand and I will do everything I can to please her. That is what has induced me to work to master writing, as it is her wish to have an educated man as her champion.”

  Master Lionas nodded appreciatively. “So, so a princess. Does this lovely maiden have a name?”

  “A name as sweet as music. As bright as the water of a mountain spring. How dull and gray everything else seems at the sound of her name...”

  “Very poetic, but would you please get to the point now and just tell me her name?” Master Lionas interrupted the flood of words.

  “Rhyenna, Rhyenna, Rhyenna!” Eryn almost sang.

  “And has this Rhyenna a mind to visit you again?”

  “I hope so, from the bottom of my heart. She promised me I will see her today. I can barely await that moment.”

  Master Lionas winked: “Well, then I don’t want to disturb you any longer. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  After Master Lionas had left the room, he installed a magical eye on the corridor ceiling.

  “Tsk, tsk, a princess. There is no princess at Naganor.”

  In his mind, Master Lionas went through all the beautiful women at Naganor and then even the less beautiful women, but none of them was named Rhyenna. He was also unable to think of anyone who could overcome the barrier at the door, not to mention bewitch the young man with a love spell.

  Indeed, the lady does not appear to know too much. Otherwise she would have cast some additional spells, too. A thought-hiding spell and a keep-quiet spell would have been a good idea. Unless she wants someone – or rather: every mage – to find out about the spell.

  Master Lionas left the citadel through the main gate, but his attention was on the magical eye in the corridor.

  The mage strolled about, looking for herbs at the roadside, always keeping a corner of his mind focused on the corridor. First, a servant went by with a bundle in his arms. He passed Eryn’s room without paying any attention to the door.

  Then old Telfa came, bringing an empty pot for calls of nature. She went into the chamber and left shortly after, carrying the previous day’s pot away with her.

  Could she be the one? The person who manages a love spell needn’t necessarily be pretty herself. That is merely what the bewitched person sees in their imagination. But Telfa? Impossible. She has already spent her whole life here in Naganor and she has never drawn attention to herself by weaving a spell.

  Again Master Lionas bent to pick a flower when the magical eye showed him a new person. A child skipped along the corridor, holding a bundle of clothing under her arm. She came to the door and suddenly stopped and looked around furtively. Having assured herself that she was unobserved, she unrolled the bundle, and to Master Lionas’ great astonishment, he recognized his own cloak.

  Yesterday I sent it to be washed. A bottle of elixir broke and the liquid made a rather big, nasty spot on the fabric. I could of course have cleaned it myself with magic. But in this case, it would have taken me almost as long as the washing women need to clean it. So why do it myself? But what’s the child about to do with my cloak?

  The girl now wrapped the cloak around her shoulders and pulled the hood over her head. The ugly stain was still visible as the cloak began to blow up to occupy the large figure of Master Lionas. She was now a copy of the mage, and passed unhindered through the door.

  Smart, that brat. So that’s how she gets through. Uses my image and the aura of my cloak. As a mage, you can’t be careful enough. I give my cloak unsuspectingly to the laundry and the next minute, it is being abused.

  A second eye was fixed on the ceiling of Eryn’s chamber and Master Lionas now switched to that one. Using a magical eye was like using a spy-glass. Only if it was used was there anything to see. To be precise, there was yet another eye in the chamber, installed by Prince Raiden, but neither the Prince nor Master Lionas had the time and leisure to control Eryn all the time. During the day, they merely carried out a few spot checks but they had both missed the Princess’ visit.

  The girl flounced about like a true princess, and Master Lionas almost pitied Eryn, who was close to dying of yearning, so deep was his devotion to her.

  There are several children in the village and also in the citadel, Master Lionas thought. But he spent most of his service in the garrison, so he didn’t know the children very well.

  That face looks familiar, however. That black hair and her expressions – could be a bastard of the Prince himself. It’s not impossible. There are many of his bastard children in Ardeen, none of them officially accepted by His Highness. Everybody knows that.

  To the girl, it all seemed like an exciting game. Her knight had to read to her out loud from one of the books. Eryn toiled away with enthusiasm, but if he made a mistake, she scolded him. He then apologized at once and felt deeply saddened. If he did well, she clapped her hands happily, while Eryn’s face took on an expression of foolish bliss.

  After a while, the little sweetheart left and Eryn buried himself in his books.

  “His Highness should know about this,” murmured Master Lionas and returned to the citadel.

  Prince Raiden sat behind the desk in his study, lost in thought over some old scrolls. The Nimrod is the key. I have to find a way in. The Great Gray surely wasn’t so stupid as to annihilate his own kind. The old dragon wasn’t stupid at all and if anyone knows of a solution to the soulban then it would be him.

  Thus his thoughts circled, as so often, around the misery of his life. At that moment, he noticed the aura of Master Lionas, even before the mage entered the room. The Prince hated to be disturbed while he was puzzling over some issue.

  My subjects are constantly coming to me with their oh-so important matters. Sometimes I wonder what I pay Master Werge and Lord Boron for, when in the end everyone still turns up here to bother me.

  “My Prince, I welcome you to the light of the sun,” Master Lionas used an archaic form of greeting.

  “Master Lionas, what is your concern?” I haven’t much time for courtesy today, so get to the point, would you? If I had wanted endless polite conversations, I could have stayed at the King’s court at Arvon and endured the ceremonial rigmarole every day. Fortunately, Danian as Crown Prince volunteered for that pleasure. He is anyway best suited for that office, never losing his temper whatever clown bothers him.

  “Is it about Eryn?” That name is already a curse to me. “What’s the matter with the Nurin this time? Is he causing any problems?”

  Master Lionas quickly waved aside the Prince’s fears. “No, not at all. On the contrary, he makes good progress and he will soon have mastered the skill of reading and writing.”

  “Good,”
the Prince replied drily, before adding in a voice heavy with sarcasm, “Then he will certainly become a great mage. And where exactly does the problem you mentioned lie?”

  The elderly mage coughed slightly: “Erm. There is a little girl who entered his chamber. She claims to be a princess and has bewitched Eryn with a love spell.”

  That’s nonsense! “Master Lionas, how could that possibly have happened? The entrance is secured with magic. You know that. And no child around here has the power to break a spell of such strength? That is absurd.”

  “Not break, my Prince. She has bypassed it, with a copy of my aura, using a garment I usually wear. The girl seems to be a natural. And I presume – erm – that she might be one of your children.”

  Lost in thought, Prince Raiden ran his fingers through his hair.

  They are all unmagical. “One of my bastards, you say?”

  “She is called Rhyenna – if that’s her real name.”

  Suddenly, Prince Raiden put a face to the girl, who had been raised by a maid and could be seen playing with the other children in the courtyard. He never paid her much attention, let alone regarded her as part of his family.

  But she is very young. “Rhyenna, of course. Visalla, her mother was a wild cat.” And the memory of those days put a lazy smile upon his lips. We really had a good time together. And then one day she left me without a word. Went back to the wide plains of Danenland, where her people lived. That irked me somewhat, but then I had almost forgotten all about it when a bunch of those steppe warriors came knocking at my gate, presenting me with the daughter of my own blood. I was taken aback and it took several words of explanation before I could make sense of the story. Visalla had died in childbirth and the child was named Rhyenna. Some strange prophecy of their woodland mage had told them to bring the child to me. Which is exactly what they did before simply going off, leaving the cradle at my feet. She isn’t my first bastard and probably not the last, so I gave her to one of the kitchenmaids to bring up.

  Master Lionas’ intentions were only the best when he now suggested:

  “My Prince, she is really gifted. Perhaps you should consider allowing her to be educated.” But that touched a sore point in Prince Raiden’s soul.

  “I won’t give one of my bastards preferential treatment or even acknowledge her officially. That could only be of disadvantage – to me and to Ardeen. Just give it a little more thought.” Under no circumstances will I renounce my personal freedom. “And you’ve also seen what the brat can do already. Spank her and sent her back to the kitchen.” Pah, love spells at such an age. Where will this end?

  “My Prince...” His Highness was already looking decidedly sour-faced, but the healing mage was not afraid to argue his case. “I must mention that the bewitchment adds significantly to Eryn’s eagerness to work hard. He pushes on tirelessly with his studies ... under the influence of the spell. Sadly, he hasn’t found access to his veins yet but he is keen to learn. I think we should use that to our advantage. At least for a while. To be honest, I have never before seen a student apply himself so assiduously.”

  At these words, the Prince roared with laughter: “Normally, men turn into completely fools if a love spell is involved, but our Nurin is transformed into a genius. Well, you may be right. Keep it that way for the present. But you should speak with the little brat, make sure that she doesn’t make a mess of things. And tell her that she is not a princess.”

  Master Lionas took his leave, and Prince Raiden shook his head in disbelief. The brat is not yet ten years old and is already playing about with love spells. I don’t know where that will end. But Visalla... she was quite something herself …

  The days flew past and Eryn studied like a man possessed to please his princess. Every day she paid him a visit, and eagerly he reported to her about his progress and how Master Lionas had praised him again. Eryn had already internalized the theories in ‘The Elementary Basics of Magic’ and by this time, his reading and writing were passable. His desk was now filled with a whole row of books. Introduction to Magic, Basic Spells, Ardeen’s History I and II, and Volume I of the Oranium. The Oranium was a thirty-volume encyclopedia of the art of magical healing. The first volume dealt with how to stop bleeding, refreshing the body, closing small wounds and many more basics. Eryn was enormously interested in that aspect of the art, but unfortunately he still had no access to his own magic.

  Master Lionas had shown him the vein of yellow many times and in those moments, Eryn was able to see it too, but on his own he couldn’t manage the smallest flow.

  The mage was a friendly man with infinite patience, often praising Eryn’s progress, and Eryn had grown fond of him. He also took great pleasure in his present life.

  I get a good meal every day and a daily visit from my lovely princess. And I learn about such incredible things. Sadly, I can’t reach my veins. I haven’t seen the evil Prince for a long while. I can’t say I miss him. That man-sized demon – my torturer. Life is much better without him. Perhaps I’ll never see him again... This thought reflected Eryn’s sincerest hope, but as so often when you wish badly for something, the opposite happens.

  However, the first person to enter the room that day was the princess. Eryn’s heart leapt for joy and they spent time in lively conversation as every day. Then suddenly, the door opened again. It took the Black Prince only two steps to reach the middle of the room.

  “Leave us alone, little brat!” he hissed softly.

  Eryn was indignant at the harshness of the words directed at his beloved. “How dare you treat the Princess so discourteously! That is definitely not the correct behavior for a nobleman towards a lady!” I know I owe the Prince respect but his tone is really unacceptable.

  The mountain-ape lectures me in behavior. Prince Raiden gave Eryn a pitying look, which the young man missed because he had turned to his lady:

  “Princess, excuse...” suddenly Eryn’s world changed completely. The Princess became a little girl again and Eryn’s memories of their first meeting came flooding back.

  “You little beast, what have you done to me?”

  The Prince gave a hearty laugh: “She made a fool out of you – as women tend to do with men.” Then he turned to Rhyenna. “And as for you, you had better quickly forget all about being a princess. Now off you go back to the kitchen to the other maidservants.

  Rhyenna dropped a curtsy and replied coquettishly: “Yes, my Prince.” Then she rushed to the door. While still on the threshold, however, she stopped and pulled a cheeky face, poking out her tongue before she finally ran off.

  Eryn was still perplexed. “How did she do that?”

  “The love spell? If you would only manage to get access, you would sense such magic yourself. Perhaps you are not willing to seek that access? Still believing in those almighty Gods? ”

  Why must he always expect the worst? “Milord, I really try hard, but it doesn’t work. If a Master shows me the veins I see them, too. But not on my own. I...”

  “Enough!” interrupted Prince Raiden, “I wonder if that has something to do with the Unhaer. You spent years of your life in a country which would probably kill every other mage of your powers. Your magic is perhaps sealed, which ensured your survival in the Unhaer, but also blocked your skills. If I find out how it is done, I can certainly remove it. But if it is merely a matter of you being foolish and obdurate... well, then you are beyond help.”

  Thanks, my Prince. Those are exactly the words I wanted to hear yet one more time. Certainly no one other than yourself is intelligent. To banish those kinds of thoughts from his mind, Eryn concentrated on the problem and remarked: “My Prince, as a child, I was very sick and close to death. The healing is the only special thing in my life which might have something to do with the problem. My parents took me to the wise Finngul, and with the help of the Gods I recovered again.”

  A smack hit Eryn and his cheek began to burn.

  “With the help of the Gods – certainly not. Because they don’t
exist. Haven’t we agreed on that point already? And you have told me about that illness before.” But then the Prince reconsidered and asked: “What exactly did the Finngul do with you?”

  “My Prince, that was long ago and I was very feverish. Herbs and strange scents, that’s all I remember. But in the hut of the Finngul, it always smelled of herbs, with steam rising from a cauldron over the fire.

  When I awoke, there were all these symbols painted on my hand and the fever was gone.” Eryn was careful to avoid the term ‘signs of the Gods’, which would no doubt have incensed the Prince.

  He stretched out his arm to show the Black Prince the back of his hand, and the mage inspected it closely. After a while Prince Raiden concluded, disappointed:

  “There is nothing there. Those symbols have no true power. I would sense it if it were otherwise. Well, just to please Master Elderon, we’ll try again. Sit down!”

  Eryn obeyed and Prince Raiden showed him the light spell once more. Then he ordered Eryn to have a go himself while he paced back and forth across the room.

  Eryn tried to concentrate, but the pounding footsteps distracted him and made him constantly aware of the Prince’s presence. Added to this was the fear of the Black Prince’s impatience, which he would, like or not, soon take out on Eryn.

  “Concentrate, imbecile! It is hardly a job for a lifetime. A simple light spell – why aren’t you capable of this!”

  The Lord of Naganor sounded so annoyed that Eryn feared one false word would make His Highness explode.

  Fortunately, Prince Raiden stormed out and Eryn sighed with relief.

  He spent a considerable time wondering about his inability to find access to himself: I’ve tried it a thousand times and – nothing. Why can’t I do it if it is as simple as all of them say? I am capable of deeper concentration – so that’s probably not the problem. His eyes wandered to the window and he saw the same framed picture as always. Under Rhyenna’s spell, he hadn’t been quite so aware of the fact during the last few weeks, but now that the little brat’s magic had been dissolved, he felt like a prisoner again and he wished he could leave the chamber, if only for a walk.