by Mark Ryan
PART 1
Book One of the Affinities Cycle
Peter J. Wacks
&
Mark Ryan
BLOODLETTING
Part 1
Peter J. Wacks and Mark Ryan
Long ago, the seven races fought to control the Heart Gem, which could grant them enormous power—and those terrible wars shattered the gem into thousands of shards, thus bringing about an age of defeated peace. To reassemble the Heart, one race would have to collect all the scattered shards … which even the gods deemed impossible.
But ambitions do not consider the impossible, and after a long and uneasy truce, the seven races once again build toward a titanic, all-consuming war to reunite the Heart.
A young man, Tetra, is a victim of the encroaching conflict. With his twin sister missing, his spine shattered, and trapped in a castle under siege, there is little he can do to change the world … except let go of everything he knows. And maybe then Tetra can achieve the impossible—and become more than anyone around him thought possible.
Bloodletting is the beginning of a breathtaking new fantasy epic, the Affinities Cycle, in the vein of Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson, and Neil Gaiman.
***
Smashwords Edition – 2014
WordFire Press
www.wordfire.com
ISBN: 978-1-61475-129-8
Copyright 2014 Peter J. Wacks and Mark Ryan
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the express written permission of the copyright holder, except where permitted by law. This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination, or, if real, used fictitiously.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Cover artwork by J. Zoe Frasure
Book Design by RuneWright, LLC
www.RuneWright.com
Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta Publishers
Published by
WordFire Press, an imprint of
WordFire, Inc.
PO Box 1840
Monument, CO 80132
Electronic Version by Baen Books
www.baen.com
***
Acknowledgments
This book wouldn’t have been possible without the amazing efforts of a lot of people. We want to start by thanking the editors Josh Vogt, Vivian Caethe, and Keith J. Olexa. Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta get a special thank you for pushing the authors and believing in this project, as does everyone in the WordFire Press team. Quincy Allen, we know this book was a thorn in your side, but it couldn’t have happened without you. J. Zoe Frasure, the time you put in slaving over the cover art still blows us away.
But mostly, we want to thank you, the reader, for reading. We don’t get to tell the rest of this epic tale without you.
***
Chapter 0
Deep beneath the cathedral in the city of Aldamere, a chamber was in use. This chamber, a secret hidden from most, was used once a decade. Fourteen forms, cloaked and hooded, circled the outer edges of room. Occasional volamps, casting a steady but dim orange glow, barely illuminated the chamber.
One of the forms, around eight-feet tall and very bulky, stepped forward till it occupied the center of the chamber. It pulled a scroll from under its cloak, exposing a reptilian hand.
“We have found one of the lost tablets. It clarifies the creation myth, but … it is troubling. It is missing certain things the later scrolls contain.” the voice was deep, guttural. The speaker was unused to using the human tongue. “We have authenticated it, placing its origin during the second great expansion, year unknown. I will read our rubbing of the tablet.”
The form cleared its throat and unrolled the scroll.
In the beginning, there was the Heart of the World, a gem drifting amongst the stars. It shone in the Void, a light unto itself, sacred and complete.
The Heart was composed of twelve aspects, each a reflection of the aspects of the universe. Together they were the entirety of all that was. Material, Energy, Conscience, all bound together into the perfect reflection of all that was and all that would be.
The four aspects of Material were named Vox for Air, Trocus for Earth, Volterus for Fire, and Europina for Water. Material was the firmament that the universe was built upon.
The aspects of Energy were named Emascodeus for Density, Agleiopan for Raw Force, Magethia for the Love of Metal, and Tachondrus for the Passing of Ages. Energy was the set of rules that tied the building blocks of the universe together.
The final four aspects, those of Conscience, were named Mentak for Will, Empirious for Emotion, Opion for Perception, and Azaria for Spirit. Conscience was the guiding force that allowed the rules of Energy and the firmament of Material to create the abstract, such as love, hate, desire and loss.
And so in the beginning of all things, each aspect of the Heart reached out to the universe, pulling toward it those things mortal children would need to live. For millennia the aspects spun Material and Energy around the Heart Gem, creating their home. Sky and light, earth and trees, these creations became desires to the aspects as they worked.
Thus, when enough Material had been collected to build the world, and Energy applied to set it in motion around its sun, the aspects of the Heart stepped forward unto the new surface and saw the majesty of their creation. In pairs they created the children of mortality—each gifted with two affinities, a connection to those aspects that had created them.
Trocus, the aspect of Earth, and Azaria, the aspect of Spirit, formed the living plant Orocs to live in the forests. Volterus, the aspect of Fire, and Agleiopan, the aspect of Raw Force, formed the reptilian Ifrahn to wander the deserts. Emascodeus, the aspect of Density, and Empirious, the aspect of Emotion, formed the subterranean Velnites, who dwell in the mountains and caverns of the world.
Europina, the aspect of Water, and Mentak, the aspect of Will, formed the oceanic Lelwyn, who dwell upon islands and sail the waters of the world. Vox, the aspect of Air, and Opion, the aspect of Perception, formed the reptilian Dracus, to fly the skies of the world. Tachondrus, the aspect of Time passing through the ages, and Megathia, the aspect of the Love of Metal, formed the mysterious Shikara who hide in the dark corners of the world. And so the six races were created, each to their own aspects, whole and unique in all of the universe.
Once this great work was completed, the twelve aspects communed together and as one created a final race with no great connection to the heart of the world, but able to reflect in it all aspects. Each member of this race was able to reflect a single aspect, as a whole connecting to the pantheon of their parents. This race was named Humanity.
As children are wont to do, the youngest race coveted the greater powers of the older races. The older races, still children in their own right, coveted the reflections of power which the younger race manifested for all aspects of the Heart. War broke out as the races fought to control the Heart Gem at the center of the world, which could grant power on the scale of the aspects themselves.
In their struggles, these sibling races angered the Aspects—who stepped forward once more onto the world, proclaiming themselves Gods rather than parents, and rent asunder the Heart of the World, that the children races should no lon
ger war. Taking the shattered remnants of the Heart of the World, the twelve aspects flung them across the face of the globe. When they were done, they looked down upon their creation and saw the wars cease.
In this act, the Aspects knew that their work was done, that they could allow the children of mortality to grow. There would be a time of peace. For to reassemble the Heart, one race would have to travel to all corners of the world to collect the scattered remnants of the shattered gem. And even in this time of peace, the borders of sea and land, of desert and forest, held strong.
For an age, the aspects watched, and at the end of that age, the Gods saw their work was complete, for though their mortal children still warred, the conflicts were but minor bouts of bickering compared to the near genocides which occurred during the infancy of the world. Without the temptation of the Heart, the children of mortality were protected to grow and so the Gods withdrew.
And so it was that the immortal aspects gave way to mortal races as the children inherited the lands. The forest dwelling orocs, the nomadic desert tribes of the ifrahn, the reptilian dracus, the subterranean velnites, the island dwelling lelwyn, the mysterious shikara, and the last race, the race of all aspects, humanity, dwelt in peace for eons.
Yet peace was a temporary measure. The aspects knew that one day, the children of mortality would once again war, this time to reunite the Heart and gain dominion … and it would be the war to end all wars.
The form looked up from the scroll. “We are troubled. As you can see, there is no mention of the Quantus.”
Quiet murmurs filled the chamber.
***
Chapter 1
Tetra Bicks
Midday light cut through the valley, warming the otherwise chilly day. Sweat glistened on Tetra’s chest and arms. Wending its way through the valley, the breeze brought with it the smell of grass and growing things. Birds chirped in the distance. He focused on these sensations, hoping they’d distract from the growing tension that straightened his spine and caught at the nape of his neck. When this didn’t work, he cast his gaze out over the village, thinking the familiar, comforting sight might soothe him.
The valley’s edges had been cleared of the woods, making way for stepped crops, allowing packed dirt-and-cobble roads to wind through the busy village of Jaegen. Buildings stood two stories at most in Jaegen, a village that had spread out rather than up. Unlike many villages in the kingdom, most of the roofs were steepled and shingled, rather than thatched. The rains on the edge of the Rocmire Forest were heavy, with monsoons twice a year, and thatch didn’t hold up.
Villagers meandered along the streets, going about the varied tasks of the day, though none came near the grassy clearing at the center of town. There, a massive wooden pole stood, carved and polished to a near-reflective sheen, a glowing green crystal atop it. The crystal pulsed with a rainbow of colors, always retuning to its base green between flashes. Like thousands of other settlements across the lands, Jaegen was built around a shard of the Heart of the World.
A group stood with Tetra, forming a ring around the pole—six other adolescents and an older man crowned by long white tresses with a full and lengthy beard dominating his features. While he leaned on a cane, their instructor’s brown breeches and leather tunic exposed a surprisingly muscular frame for his age. His skin was bronzed by decades of exposure to the sun and weathered by the winter winds he had endured.
The Elder’s attention focused on Tetra. The gangly boy tried to ignore his overheated brow as he concentrated on Sven, who struggled to lift a rock the size of a man’s head. It sat atop a thin pillar of earth that stood at eye level, bobbing and swaying as bits of the supporting column crumbled and fell away. Sven fought to replace the falling pieces of earth, keeping the pillar intact and the stone balanced upon it.
“Concentrate …” Elder Proumin patted Sven on the back. “Good.”
Glittering lines of force shimmered in the air as Proumin exposed the magics at play, creating a map of the power the boy used. As a Prios, Jaegen’s elder instructor used his affinity to expose the use of magics to others, allowing for easier demonstrations of how to effectively employ their abilities and learn to work together.
“Tetra,” Proumin said.
Tetra pushed damp brown locks out of his eyes and looked over to his grandfather. “Yes, Elder?”
Proumin raised a bushy, white eyebrow. “Can you help him?”
“I—I’m not sure,” Tetra reached out with his affinity, probing the stone, studying the lines and seams of millennia spent in its growth. The process proved more intimate than reaching out and taking hold of the rock. The elements, the inner power holding the stone together became part of him, as much as his own bones and blood. Yet if he flexed the control, as he would his own muscles, it would cost him dearly. Using affinity magic burned the body’s energy faster than ordinary muscle use. “It has a high iron content. Perhaps Malec can—”
“You’re a Graviton, Tetra. You can help him as easily as a Magnus. Iron is a good start. Look deeper.” Proumin shifted his weight on the walking stick, studying the interplay of magic. “Sven, allow his magic in. Loosen your control without losing your grip on the magic itself.”
Sven grunted. Sweat beaded on his forehead, clumping together the sandy bangs above his hazel eyes. Tetra knew his probing threatened Sven’s tenuous control, but he acted under his grandfather’s orders.
Concentrating harder, Tetra tried to lighten the rock, affecting its density. He stood with legs spread wide, fists clenched at his side. Raising one hand, he fought an invisible resistance as the earth in front of him rippled. Elements and forces bound the stone together, a maze of titanic proportions compacted into a miniscule space. Confusing, almost maddening, to track them all. His back tensed and a familiar pain flared along his spine, threatening his focus. What good did sensing the rock’s composition achieve if he had no way to affect their shape like Sven?
Knuckles whitening, Tetra let a huff escape him.
“It’s alright,” his twin sister whispered. “You’re doing great.” An encouraging smile flitted across Halli’s lips, quickly replaced with a frown. Wavy brown hair crowned her face, where earth-colored eyes sparkled with encouragement despite the frown. He knew she always believed in him, no matter what.
Tetra huffed again, pushing against the mingling magics, exerting his will. Sven ignored everyone, focused on keeping the rock aloft while allowing Tetra’s magic in. The stone jerked and rose several feet. The air around it distorted with a heat wave shimmer as Sven pushed it higher.
“It’s lighter!” The blond boy sounded jubilant at the sudden success.
“Good.” Proumin flicked a finger, using his affinity to brighten the manifested force lines and expose the intermingled magics. “You didn’t lose control as the density changed. And Tetra fused his magic without disrupting Sven.”
Tetra gasped. Pain flooded through his body; a thousand needles pierced his muscles as rivulets of fire coursed through his veins. Nausea and lightheadedness overcame him. The world spun in place, he fought to remain standing.
With two quick steps, Halli stood at Tetra’s side and slipped his arm over her shoulders. He felt her other arm wrap around his waist. Resentment for her interference warred with gratefulness for the relief Halli provided through her magic as Tetra leaned his weight against his sister.
Tetra’s grip on his magic slipped, breaking the bond with Sven. The other boy gasped, and Tetra felt another excruciating stab of pain in his back. He was still connected to the rock, but now his magic was in conflict with his friend’s, rather than harmony. The flows contorted, working against each other as Tetra tried to regain his hold on the magic. The stone sank as Sven tried to retain control of the rock without Tetra’s magic to assist him.
“Alright, that’s enough.” Proumin stared at Tetra. Worry lines creased his grandfather’s brow. “Listen closely, children.”
Releasing his tentative bond on the stone’s density, Tet
ra leaned harder on his sister. While he appreciated the relief, he also didn’t want anyone to know how bad his old injury was, and Tetra disguised the motion of leaning on his sister by adjusting his stance. The muscles in his back tightened and the rock crashed to the ground.
Sven released his hold on his own magic and the pillar crumbled to the ground, smashing as dirt fell over the rock. “Sorry.”
Tetra smiled wanly. “You did great.” The cool caress of Halli’s affinity probed his spine. Turning his head, he saw her eyes narrow as she studied him.
Tetra pulled away from Halli and sat, ignoring both the pain and his sister’s inspection. She wouldn’t be able to delve too deeply without touching him. That was his only salvation now, his only way to hide his weakness.
“Wrestling with an affinity takes a toll on the body,” their grandfather explained. He pulled up his mat and sat cross-legged, his walking stick set parallel to his knees. “It usually manifests as exhaustion, much the way the body weakens if it goes too long without food. There are even legends of arch mages who have died of starvation by using their magic on too grand a scale.”
“I’m fine,” Tetra lied, forced himself not to look at Halli as the telltale sign of her healing magic faded from his back. A strong Geist, Halli used the twins’ bond in unfair ways, he felt. Their connection didn’t give her the right to constantly probe.
He almost wished her magic wasn’t so good. Almost. Yet magic ran strong in their family. According to Academy testers, Halli demonstrated a once-in-a-century healing talent, and their village only held one other person with such a strong spirit affinity—their mother. Though even hers didn’t have the same potential Halli’s did. Despite that, she was still the strongest Geist the village had ever known. With his back injury, a broken spine when he was an infant, Tetra walked only because of their mother Leta.