by Amber Morant
“There is no telling how to do it. Magic is a feeling, not a chant or a ritual.”
“Like how it felt with the stone?”
Elindel nodded. “You could say like that.”
Elona held her hands out again and watched as Elindel again dripped the small flames into her hands. She imagined a small string attached between her palms and the flame and entangle together. The flame flicked above her palms for only a second, then vanished once more. She groaned and smacked the cold stone floor in frustration.
“I had it! Why didn't it stay!?”
“Practice.” He stood up and stretched his arms out. “We will do it again tomorrow. Once you can properly hold the flame then we will proceed to you creating one yourself.”
“Wait, how long will this take. I thought I was going to learn some big magic like that transportation spell you did earlier?”
He laughed and pulled Elona up. “Time is not important while here. In this room time is still so long as the candles are not lit. Besides, how do you intend to control flames larger than yourself when you can't even control the wick?”
Elindel put his cloak back on and walked out of the room. It was still bright outside despite having spent hours within the chamber. Elindel had stated time was frozen in that room, but to see it for herself was an entirely new experience all together. She rubbed her eyes to adjust to the bright lights and stepped out into the open hallway. The door closed behind them and faded into the stone walls as if it had never been there before.
“Would you believe me that that room was once a broom closet I stumbled on once? Excellent for mastering spells in a short matter of time, but impossible to see anything else in there.”
Elona followed the mage through the Citadel. Magic was his primary focus of educating her but if she didn't know her way around the building it would be pointless to plan meetings. She soon learned there were no servants that walked the halls or worked in the kitchens. Instead, Elindel had enchanted the equipment to work on their own. Occasionally they bumped into a broom or feather duster that chased them, believing they were dirty, but soon stopped when threatened with fire.
“Do you only use fire based spells.”
He shook his head. “No, but fire is a source of life and far easier to teach and manipulate. You can't see air, water gets too wet to do much with afterwards, and earth we need to be outside for. So in the end, a dark room that stops time is beneficial for fire magic over others.”
He led her through another hall that opened to a far larger doorway. The wood on the door had runes etched across it with an eternal knot in the center of the door. She recognized the markings as being part of the language the Toreks, the ones who founded Tore, but never expected it be written on any doors. She didn't have much time to examine it before Elindel opened the door into the room.
She stepped inside and was greeted by walls of books. Stairways led to two more floors filled with tomes. Each floor required ladders to reach the top shelves and there were still books scattered on tables and the floor that had a shred of paper sticking out to mark where the reader had left off. Elona didn't know how to read properly beyond basic signs, but knew books were worth money to collectors and with so many here Elindel was bound not to notice a few missing.
“You will study here as well.”
“Pardon?”
“You didn't think magic was all practical, did you? Education is the most powerful weapon you can gain from any human. Perhaps even you have some I can gather.” He grabbed one of the books off the ground and handed it to Elona. “Tome of the Toreks. A history of the first kings of this country before the civil war.”
Elona looked at the spine and saw the same runes as before. Inside were maps drawn out of different parts of what she assumed was Tore. The writing inside was also in the ancient runic writing so she couldn't tell what the maps were trying to describe.
“I can't read it,” she mumbled and handed the book back to Elindel.
The Mage’s eyes grew wide in shock then turned a light shade of red. “Sorry. Used to noble children. All taught from a young age to read runes and modern writing. You can read modern, right?” Elona shook her head. “Ah, I see. Well this muddles up things. Do you at least know your letters and numbers?”
“I know those. Just nothing fancy like. So Boar's Head and Cat’s Cradle.”
Elindel blushed again. “Bars and brothels… interesting way to learn to read… no matter, we can work on your arithmetic and grammar another day. Perhaps a tutor is in order there.” He let out a low yawn. “We've been at this for hours I believe. Let's get some sleep and we will begin your magic training in the morning. I will send for a teacher this week for your other studies.”
Elona beamed in excitement at the thought of learning how to read and write, she had no idea what arithmetic was though. It almost made her feel bad for wanting to steal from him, yet her life belonged to the streets. Even with all the new education, Elona would always be a street rat. She grasped the cloth that Roland had given her before, remembering that she had promised to help make them both rich after this endeavor. Leaving him out on the streets while she lived in luxury was against her entire moral code.
“He can come to.”
“What?”
“Your friend. Don't try and hide secrets from me so much. You're not a good liar. Also, this room has been enchanted, you can't steal the books from here.” He turned out of the room. “Your bed chamber is to the right. The brooms will lead you there. I must sleep now.”
Elona looked down the hall and saw a lone broom beckoning for her to follow. She looked at the broom more closely than last time and saw in the bristles a small black figure in the center of it. Before she gained a better view of it, it disappeared within the broom again and scurried further down the hall.
“So it's not enchanted, at least not this one. It's just a simple fairy.”
She remembered tales of fairies that fed on the life of powerful humans and claimed objects in the house as a home and blended in. The fact that the other brooms were enchanted to move meant the fairy had free reign to move in the eyesight of humans. Again it beckoned her to follow down the hall and down a flight of stairs. It stayed out of reach of Elona, but close enough that she could still keep up. Occasionally she saw a small tail dragon out of the bristles to only be pulled back in quickly.
The fairy-broom stopped in front of a large wooden door. It was plain compared to the library door. The fairy-broom tapped the door, then ran off down the hall and out of sight. Elona smiled and wondered if she would see the broom again. Elindel had stated that Roland could come into the Citadel of Hours so she had to show him the fairy one day. Though with how much Elindel disliked the company of others, she knew Roland would have to stay out of the mage’s way whenever he was around.
The room was larger than the hall the thieves’ guild had four beds. Off to the left was a stone basin for washing and the other side of the room held multiple wardrobes. In the center of the room was a bed capable of fitting an entire family in it. Elona jumped onto the bed and bounced a few times before embracing the soft comforter. The pillows smelled faintly of lavender, lulling Elona into a deep sleep that she had never enjoyed before in her life.
***
Elona woke up to a pair of red eyes staring down at her. She jumped up and tossed the blanket at the creature. It screeched out in response the jolted to a small broom that automatically stood upright. She could see its red eyes peering out from the bristles. The fairy-broom hissed in response to the comforter attack from Elona then scurried off into the hall.
“Interesting wake up call.”
She looked out the window and saw it was already late morning. A black tunic with brown pants were laid out on the chair for her. Elona wondered if it was the fairy who had gotten her new clothes and wanted to thank them for the help. At least after taking what she wanted still there would be at least one person here she would miss.
Elona jumped in
fear. “The classes!” She threw her new clothes on and bolted out of the room. “How did I get here…” She looked around and saw the fairy-broom off to the left. “Wait for me!”
The two ran through the halls. The fairy-broom looked back to make sure Elona was still behind them and continued on their journey. Elona saw them run past the doorway that led to the library and almost into a mob at work that was flooding the hall. The fairy-broom smacked the mop in disapproval, then bolted back off again.
They reached the timeless door which was now open with small candles lit inside. “Thank you, fairy.” The fairy bowed the handle of the broom, then disappeared down the hall again.
“You're late.”
“I'm sorry. I slept in.” Elona walked in and closed the door behind her. She could faintly see his blue robe hanging up next to her but ignored it as she sat down in front of Elindel. “Good thing time freezes in here.”
Elindel nodded. “Very true. Now, let us begin.”
The two continued to practice passing the small flame between each other without the flame going out. It soon became second nature and Elona was now making the flames grow and form into people dancing across her fingertips. The fire no longer singed her fingers, but gave a nice warm welcome to her palms.
Practice continued this way for days, each one more extenuating than the last. Within the month Elona was capable of manipulating all the elements. The fairy-broom hardly showed himself to Elona anymore either, but she knew he was around when in the morning her clothes would be set out and a small squeak woke her up.
***
The days Elona wasn’t focused on learning magic, Elindel would summon a man from the college that taught her different skills. He was strange in appearance compared to the citizens she had always encountered. He was tall and lanky with black hair that never seemed to stay in one place. The teacher claimed it was the light, but Elona also swore a few times his eye’s would flash a deep red before returning to their dull brown once again.
They started with reading basic letters and children’s books that seemed to drag on for hours. Her teacher would speed through books within an instant while Elona still struggled with her first. After a while, the teacher would pile different books up at different reading levels for her to comprehend down the road. If she didn’t finish them then practice would just continue again the next day for hours until she could read much faster and at a speed that was on par with noble children far younger than she was.
Her favorite subject was arithmetic. The numbers were easy to understand and her teacher connected a lot of it with how a fence dealer would. How her teacher even knew such ideas and subjects was beyond her and yet he never would answer why. Once Elona could comprehend basic arithmetic, they went into combining her reading and solving problems that way. It slowed the process for her yet she still persevered so long as Elindel was happy about the progress.
“When can I start reading actual spells and alchemy books? Reading about stupid adventures of a kid going up a river won’t help me any.” Elona grumbled and pushed the stack of books away from her.
The teacher laughed. “Well once you can read without stuttering on your words and taking forever to read just one line perhaps we will read some spells. But that’s up to Elindel’s discretion. We don’t need you turning your eyebrows into flames on accident.”
Elona guffawed at the thought of her eyebrows being large flames that danced on her face. Her imagined self was much fiercer than she was but also a lot harder to conceal when trying to pickpocket an unsuspecting victim. The door behind them closed and Elona could see Elindel standing at the doorway, unimpressed with the jokes. This ceased anymore tomfoolery the two may have had in an instant.
After that day, Elindel kept a close eye and visited their practices often leading to the teacher growing meeker with time and sometimes letting out what sounded like a squeak of fear. Elona knew it was to prevent the two of them reading any spell books on accident. On one occasion, Elona watched Elindel put a temporary spell to make everything fire retardant ‘just in case’ as he put it. Soon, their meetings to learn grew less and less as her teacher refused to show up as often. Elindel brushed it off as nothing but Elona was still concerned that perhaps Elindel had scared off her new teacher and wouldn’t have another one again.
***
It was on the night of the full moon that Elona’s easy like was turned to turmoil. She had ventured into the higher towers of the citadel to stargaze and wonder about Roland down in the streets. Elindel had promised he could come to the citadel, yet every time she had the teacher call for him there would be no reply. She wondered if Roland was receiving her messages at all anymore or even cared about her. With Elindel she was safe and living a much better life, but she still yearned and missed the thieves’ guild down below the streets.
While looking out above the city, Elona could see a faint glow near the horizon. At first glance it seemed to be the sun setting, kissing the rose tinted sky one last time. She looked again and realized it was a fire burning in the distant forest that was the largest border between Tore and their warring nation brother Kastron. After only a few seconds, Elona could see the faint outline of the army approaching the city.
“Elindel! It's war!” She called out in fear, racing down the stairs to find the blue Mage.
He was already at the bottom awaiting her. “The King summoned me as soon as he heard. You will stay here to protect the citadel until I return. Until then, take this.” Elindel handed her a set of keys. “You know where all the keys go in this place already. But this key,” he held up a large rusted old key, “must never be used to open its door. Do not let anyone in there or it will destroy the kingdom.”
Elona looked at the strange key then placed it inside of her satchel. “I promise, but what I s in there? I thought you showed me the entire citadel.”
“It's the key to why I am so powerful. One day I will show you but today you are not ready. So do not open it at all costs.”
Before Elona could respond, Elindel disappeared in a burst of flames. If the war was now this close to the citadel, Elona had to warn Roland and bring him to safety. If she didn't he could be caught by surprise and killed mercilessly by those of Kastron.
She ran to the library first, remembering one of the books she had learned to read mapped the tunnels underground perfectly. There was an entrance to the tunnels not far from the citadel that she could enter so long as she followed the map. It wasn't worth anything financially, but the life of her friend was worth far more than any coins in existence.
The fairy-broom greeted her at the library with the book she was looking for in front of it. “How did you know? No, never mind. I need to go.” Elona grabbed the book and bolted to the front door. Somehow the fairy had broken the enchantment on the books that prevented them from being stolen. It was magic she would need to learn later in case this happened again.
Elona could hear the fairy-broom following behind, but when she turned around, he was nowhere to be seen. The citadel shook as the army bombarded the city. Elona could hear screams from outside and she prayed that it wasn't already too late to find Roland. The door leading outside was completely destroyed with only one hinge still holding it in place.
She climbed through the rubble blocking the entrance and scanned the streets. People were running between buildings, all aiming for the castle for protection. Those who were of age to fight still were running towards the walls to face off with the enemy while the young and old would seek shelter within the strongest holds. The thieves’ guild held no loyalty to the kingdom meaning it was unlikely any of them were fighting and most were either hiding in the tunnels or looting the abandoned houses.
“Roland! Roland where are you?”
Another boulder landed on a building a few blocks down from Elona. She turned another corner and found the drop into the thieves’ den was completely opened up from the attacks. The hole was wide enough for an entire army to clamber down, leaving
the thieves open to attack if they were still down below. Those who had already escaped already would have no home to return to and forced to leave the city during the siege if they intended on staying alive.
Elona jumped down the hole. A few members were still hiding in the side tunnels, huddled together in fear or counting the last few coins they owned. If she hadn't trained under Elindel and learned magic, she knew she would be one of the many thieves down here, scared for her own life. The magic wouldn't stop her from an attack by the boulders, yet it still made her feel far more powerful in the end.
“Elona? Is that you?” A voice called out from one of the darkened corners.
“Roland!” Elona ran up to the elf and embraced him closer than she had ever done before. She pulled away after feeling the earth rumble underneath her again. I need to give this to you.” Elona handed Roland the book the fairy-broom had offered her. “It has the maps of all the tunnels under the city. I have to get back to the citadel, but I will find you.”
Roland flipped through the book, examine all of the different detailed maps. “I don't see why you don't come with us. You were supposed to go into the citadel then come back with treasures to make us rich. There won't be a citadel in a few minutes.”
Elona shook her head. “No, but there is more than just treasure there. Look,” she held her hand up and summoned a woman made of flames that danced erotically across Elona’s palm. “I can do so much since he trained me. He even gave me these keys.” She pulled out the set of old rusted keys. “This one is supposedly to a room that holds Elindel’s full power. I can't pass that up. If I can get my hands on that I will meet you all and we can get out of here and truly be rich amongst thieves.”
Roland bit his bottom lip and squirmed. “Elona, I don't think it's safe. The army is coming and you don't know what is I that room.” He tried to grab the keys from Elona but she pulled away. “It's not worth it. We’re thieves, not heroes. We’ll figure out the tunnels together and escape immediately.”