Ardeen, Volume 1: The Circle of Magic

by Sigrid Kraft

  Eryn fled through the corridors, his clothing scrunched up in a bundle, pressed close to his body. He ran as fast as he could – away from the mad Prince. It was night outside and he encountered no one on the way back to his chamber. The small room now seemed to him more of a safe refuge than a prison cell. The door slammed shut behind him and his former longing to leave the chamber had disappeared completely. That place – his room – awoke at least some positive memories in him – more than any other place he had come to know at Naganor.

  What has the Prince done to me? And why? He wondered over and over again.

  Haven’t I done everything he wished? Renounce my faith, subjugate, even abase myself? And still it wasn’t enough for him. He had to cast that evil spell on me, By the Gods, what crime am I guilty of that I deserve this?

  Eryn felt as helpless as a small child. He curled up on his bed and burst into tears of desolation that rolled down his cheeks and soaked the sheet.

  How proud I was living in the freedom of the mountains. When my time comes, I will be brave and look unflinchingly into the eye of the inescapable – so I thought. Now everything has turned out differently and all that remains of me is a broken man. Pride, courage, honor – nothing but hollow words. Am I truly so cowardly and weak? Perhaps this is more than a normal man can bear.

  8. The New Recruit

  Nightmares tormented Eryn and he found no rest. Early the following day, his first visitor was not the maidservant but Master Lionas.

  “Prince Raiden sends me,” he said.

  Even the name made Eryn shiver.

  “Go. Leave me alone.”

  Master Lionas was full of understanding and compassion. “What happened to you is certainly hard to bear. But life goes on, and as I’m informed, you have finally found access to your magic.”

  Holding up the red stump of his arm Eryn replied: “But at what price? Look at me. Not to mention what he did to my spirit. Oh, that night I learned just how merciful the Brotherhood really is!”

  The mage remained calm and matter-of-fact. “I know you have been hurt in many ways and things have happened to you which shouldn’t happen to anyone. But now I am here to give you some explanations. Come, put on your clothes and we’ll go outside for a little walk.”

  Eryn couldn’t believe his ears. “Just like that? Suddenly I may leave this room?”

  But the moment the mere thought of leaving the room came to his mind, he was overcome with nausea and pain.

  “Master Lionas, I may not leave this room. The Prince has ordered that it be so.”

  Thoughtfully, Master Lionas nodded. “Well, I’ll see to that.”

  Master Lionas picked up Eryn’s tunic and breeches and held them out to the young man, who reached for them tentatively.

  “He can go,” the voice of Prince Raiden resounded in the air, reducing Eryn immediately to a quivering wreck.

  It took a great deal of coaxing to get Eryn to compose himself again, and it was only with difficulty that he was able to put his clothes on without the help of his right hand.

  “Master Lionas, can magic cure this and give me back my hand?”

  The mage avoided a clear statement: “Many things can be done. But everything has its time and it’s not an easy task. Let us first go outside and have that talk.”

  Eryn looked around for his boots and then he remembered that he had left them in Prince Raiden’s office.

  “I’ll just have to go barefoot. The place where my boots are – is somewhere I don’t want to see ever again.”

  Master Lionas expressed his sympathy and suggested: “It is a sunny day, and certainly a pleasure to walk barefoot. Now come, let us go. Focus on the positive aspects. That will give you strength and restore your joy for life. You have a unique talent, and of that you can be proud.”

  This thought really did cheer Eryn up a little and proudly he talked about his circles. “Yes, I finally gained access. But you never told me that I have all twelve circles.”

  The mage gave a friendly wink: “That wasn’t necessary – after all, you discovered it for yourself. Your talent is extremely rare. It was a rare thing even before the Dragon War changed the world completely. Since the end of the war, the phenomenon has only occurred once, as far as I know...

  But that’s history, and it is more important to talk of now. Allow me to give you some advice: As long as you can’t handle your magic well enough to shield yourself properly, you should keep your abilities hidden from others. Such a gift as yours is not only a blessing and not everybody may mean you well. Some could try to corrupt you for their purpose, a greater temptation for many people than you can imagine.”

  Bitterly Eryn thought: I already feel used and who could treat me worse than the Prince himself? But his interest in me is sure to protect me from all the other bad people.

  While they were talking, they passed some servants and several guards, but no one stopped them as they walked by. A few curious glances were the only attention they drew to themselves. Indeed, at Naganor, strange happenings took place on a regular basis, and for the common folk it was best to stay out of the way of such things.

  Slowly Eryn regained his inner strength. “May I ask you something?”

  “Ask whatever you like. I’ll do my best to answer.”

  Eryn wanted to know so much, but this was the first thing that came to his mind: “How many circles do you have?” They left the main gate behind them and turned north, following the road.

  “Six.”

  Eryn could barely conceal his amazement.

  He possesses only half of the circles, but to me it always seemed that he has great power and can cast many incredible spells.

  Master Lionas explained: “I had seven circles until recently, but I lost a vein.”

  “You lost one? How did that happen?”

  “As it did to almost all of us at the end of the Dragon War when the Nimrod was created.”

  “But you aren’t that old, are you?” That is now over fifty years ago...

  The mage chuckled: “How old do you think I am?”

  Eryn puzzled over this and scratched his head. There were only a few fine wrinkles on Master Lionas’ face and his hair, though streaked with gray, was still black.

  “That’s difficult. Fifty, perhaps.”

  Master Lionas smiled in delight: “You flatter me. I am almost ninety. If you’ve got the Circle of Green you can lengthen your life. So I’m much older than the Great War and yes, I fought against the dragon and it was terrible. The world was aflame and countless cruelties took place in those times. Magic can create so much that is good, but it is also a great temptation. Some mages were consumed by their hunger for power and delusions of grandeur. Oh, there are so many things you need to know but where should I start?”

  The mage ran his fingers through his hair.

  They had walked a considerable distance along the road by this time, and a large rock provided an opportunity to sit down. So Master Lionas suggested: “Let’s have a rest over there in the sun and I’ll carry on with my story.”

  Eryn sat down and touched the warm, rough surface of the rock.

  How sorely I have missed nature.

  “Master Lionas, aren’t you afraid that I might run off?”

  The mage had also seated himself, and with legs outstretched, he closed his eyes and turned his face towards the sun.

  “Tsk, tsk, where would you possibly go? Who would teach you magic? You have just discovered your veins and in the art of magic you are like a child that doesn’t even know how to walk. But learning the use of magic is much more dangerous than learning to walk. So you’d better stay here ... until you have learned enough not to harm yourself.”

  Eryn was glad that the elderly mage hadn’t threatened him, although there was no need, as Master Lionas was ready to nip every attempt to escape in the bud.

  “Please, tell me more, Master Lionas. Are there other towers apart from the Black and the White?”

  “Ts
k, tsk, where have you been all this time that you know so little? There are twelve – one for each of the circles. To be precise: There were twelve and now only nine of them are left. To be appointed as a Towerlord is the highest honor for a mage. Normally, he is the most powerful mage of this circle and in turn, the first mage is the strongest of these twelve Towerlords. He is chosen as the leader of the Brotherhood for his lifetime. At present, this is Master Elderon, Lord of the White Tower, Aleroth. Before him, it was Master Ador Coronos of the Golden Tower, Elverin. But there are those who now hold him responsible for having a great part in beginning of the Dragon War. That is all so difficult to explain. Where on earth to begin…? Perhaps with this: There is a great spell known as the soulban. Its purpose is to bind a dragon to a mage. You should know that among dragons there were wise mages too, and also simpler, less skilled creatures. The effect of the soulban was to make the dragon become a dedicated servant to the mage. Some lesser dragons saw in that kind of connection a chance to rise in the shadow of a powerful mage, but skilled dragons saw such an attempt only as serious abuse – if not an actual crime. In those times, the Great Gray was considered to be the wisest of the dragons. I will cut this story short and later give you some books about it so that you can read it for yourself. As it is said, Master Ador tried to weave the soulban on the Great Gray but the attempt was a complete and utter failure. As if that were not enough, the dragon was so enraged that he turned into a ferocious beast. That’s how the war was started and many evil events took place before it all ended with the creation of the Nimrod. The Golden Tower was destroyed to its foundations shortly before the great spell was woven, and it was reported that Master Ador died in his tower. At least that was what I heard. What is certainly true is that the war ended when the gray of the Nimrod covered up the whole of Midland, as it was called at that time, and with it Elverin, the Great Gray and all the other dragons were gone. Here outside we were counting our immense losses, among them many Towerlords. The Brotherhood still hasn’t completely recovered from that blow.

  Even today, not every tower has a new lord. What makes it worse is that the numbers of those individuals with magical skills have been decreasing steadily over the past decades. And then, the education for a mage to gain a high enough level to be considered as a Towerlord takes a long time.” Master Lionas kept on talking without a break, but Eryn had so many questions that he interrupted the mage:

  “But why did you lose your vein of gold? And what happened to me last night?”

  “Patience. I’ll come to that. I had the Gold essence as did many others too. But when the Nimrod spell was woven, all the mages I know lost that circle that day. And apart from you, only one other possesses that precious circle.”

  “What kind of spells do you need gold for?

  “You ask and don’t even wait for me to answer. Be patient, my boy. Well, the Circle of Gold is indispensable for the creation of permanent artifacts and for traveling without a gate. Although I never managed that skill myself. My vein of gold was only a feeble strand. In a nutshell: Creating artifacts and traveling are the major features of this circle. But where was I?” Master Lionas had lost the thread.

  “You were speaking of the one who also had the Circle of Gold.”

  “Yes, exactly. He had not only the Golden Circle but all twelve of them – just as you. He was born during the Great War, and as a baby in his cradle he was protected by a mighty artifact the moment the Nimrod came into existence. This was probably what saved him from losing his vein. As the child of a king, he had the good fortune to be much better cared for than others.”

  Eryn had a suspicion. The Black Prince. It was difficult for him even to talk about his tormentor, which brought back a flood of memories so that immediately he felt miserable.

  “Don’t condemn the Prince, Eryn. He is not such a bad person as you believe, though you should never mention what I am telling you now in his presence. He reacts very sensitively to this subject.

  Well then, he was already a capable man even when much younger, skilled in the use of both magic and normal weapons. Handsome, proud and arrogant, yet dutiful to his country, eager in his studies and brave in battle, he soon caught the attention of Master Elderon, who took the Prince to Aleroth. But the Prince wasn’t easy to handle and he seldom relinquished his stance on any issue. Again and again there were fierce disputes between him and the first mage. Finally, the whole story ended in tragedy. Master Elderon’s only son Balan was killed accidentally by Prince Raiden’s hand, and Master Elderon wove the soulban on him.”

  “Didn’t you say this spell was made for dragons?”

  “That’s exactly the point. On humans it has a far more disastrous effect. Since that day, Prince Raiden has suffered infinite torment. If he has to meet Master Elderon face to face, the situation becomes even worse. It took him years to accept the consequences of the spell. Whatever the first mage commands, Prince Raiden has no choice but to obey.”

  Suddenly Eryn remembered the ominous words on that fateful day: It’s the will of the old man. So it will happen. It hit him like a thunderbolt as he realized what had really happened.

  “No. He did the same thing to me.”

  “I’m sorry, Eryn, but that is the way it is. As I heard, he did it on Master Elderon’s command. You are too important to the Brotherhood to be lost. I don’t want to give you any illusions but the soulban can’t be dissolved. You have to make the best of that bad bargain. Accept it. Devote yourself to the studies of magic and learn to understand. Perhaps it is your Circle of Gold that we need in order to finally destroy the Nimrod spell.”

  Eryn barely paid attention. The soulban is irrevocable. Bound to Prince Raiden till the end of my life. His throat went dry and a wave of pain surged through him.

  Master Lionas laid a hand on Eryn’s shoulder to comfort him.

  “Eryn, banish this from your thoughts and don’t fight against it. Accept it. Look, I’ll teach you a spell which enables you to hide your circles.

  Well, you won’t be able to delude the truly great mages with it, but you’ll probably manage to trick one or two magic scholars with it.”

  It helped to distract Eryn to concentrate on something else and they practiced for several hours until Eryn managed a passable weaving of the spell. The work made them hungry, so Master Lionas employed magic to collect fruits and berries for them. It was amazing and a little amusing to see small blackberries and fat apples and pears fly from all directions to form a neat pile before them. The fruit having appeased their worst hunger, they set off home.

  At the gate to the citadel, the friendly Master Lionas took his leave and Eryn thanked him warmly. With a heavy heart, he wandered back to his chamber. Now that Eryn had realized the true power of magic, he feared he no longer had the slightest chance of escaping from Naganor.

  Very early the next morning, Lord Boron was summoned to Prince Raiden. The commander chose to go to the Tower on foot. The day was cool, and muscles and joints needed time to get into motion. The Prince was known for his impatience and hated waiting, so Lord Boron walked briskly. He didn’t think too much on his way to the citadel as it was chilly, not to mention too early in the morning for him, having been as he had, rather unpleasantly torn from his sleep by the message announcing the Prince’s invitation.

  The Prince awaited him in the great hall. His Highness was standing before the fireplace and staring into the flames.

  At least it is pleasantly warm in here. “My Prince.”

  Prince Raiden turned slowly around. His face was deathly pale and there were black rings beneath his eyes. He seemed extremely exhausted and depressed.

  “My Prince are you well?” Lord Boron was shocked by the sight, but the Prince gave him a weak smile.

  “Playing with magic saps your strength. Beware of sorcery, Lord Boron.”

  “I always do, my Prince. What is it you wish to see me about?”

  It seldom happened that the Prince was at a loss for words, but now he
struggled to begin.

  “Yesterday was very unpleasant for me. I had a meeting with Master Elderon...” He paused, but then came straight to the point. “I cast the soulban spell on the lad.”

  Lord Boron whistled through his teeth. “Was that necessary?” he burst out in disbelief, prompting the Prince to reply angrily: “The old man wanted it, so I did it. Now it is as it is, and a new course of action is required.”

  To talk about the soulban is like putting your hand into a hornet’s nest. Does he expect me to have an opinion on that?

  Silence. There was an absent look in Prince Raiden’s eyes. Finally he spoke:

  “The boy should get out off my sight for a while. Handling the soulban is a difficult task.”

  I saw that myself in the first years the ban struck you. You were close to madness, and the worst was in Master Elderon’s presence.

  “On the other hand, he is to continue to make progress in his magical studies and also to remain in our custody. For that reason, I thought it would be a good idea to put him in the Guard.”

  That means nothing but trouble. But it was not the right time for complaining. “As you command, my Prince. I’ll inform Sir Heime at once.”

  “I don’t think Sir Heime is the right person to handle the matter. The lad is a savage and needs discipline and drill. Sir Draken appears to me far more suited to the situation.

  The Bastards Company? “My Prince, I always thought he was supposed to become a mage. How can he be expected to do justice to both educations?”

  “Lord Boron, you worry too much. He is young and working hard won’t be to his disadvantage. Anyway, the lad can’t take part in all the exercises, because he lacks his right hand. That will leave him enough time for his studies.”