by Aaron Thomas
The woman smiled, “This used to be my home. Well, it was where I lived until I could control myself. My name is Mary and this is not a cell. It’s my home, or it was.” Mary moved to sit beside Kara on the metal bed. “You will stay here until you are safe enough to be around others. Wizards will test you when you think you are ready. I might even be one of them, but remember you are here for the safety of others.”
“Where exactly am I?” Kara looked around the cement walls. She had been unable to stay calm enough to really get a good look at.
“You’re under the castle,” Mary pointed to the ceiling. “Those holes up there actually split and carry your heat to all areas of the castle. Giving comfort to those inside and providing hot ovens for the kitchen, even heating bath water for the nobles. I think with the amount of heat you just put through them that they might be in for some surprises when they put their feet in their morning baths.” Kara smiled at the thought of providing revenge to those keeping her in such a place, and Mary smiled with her. “Your clothes look a little dirty. Have you been in them for some time?”
“My brother put me in this dress just before he brought me to the king. I have been in them ever since.” The dress she wore was burnt on the edges and was starting to have holes from the flames she was using every time she woke. It was becoming as indecent as the cloths Mary was wearing.
“I have some clothes like mine in the hallway. I will bring them in before I leave and some food for you also.”
“I won’t wear those. It just isn’t right for a woman to parade around in something so…revealing. I have some I took off, in the corner over there.”
Mary smiled, “These clothes are made of leather and won’t burn away in a battle leaving you naked for all to see. They stay close to the body and don’t over heat. One day you will face the truth that you will not be able to wear regular clothes. A fire wizard can go naked in a fight, or they can wear tight fitting leather.” She smiled as she retrieved the leather clothes from the hallway, “I have heard that these are the latest in fashion in the Fire Realm, also.”
“I will think about putting them on,” Kara held up the bodice and frowned at it.
“Think on it hard. The clothes you’re wearing will soon burn up, leaving the men in the hallway to look on you fully. I had to learn the hard way. Good thing your brother convinced me to help you.”
“How exactly did my brother convince you?” She remembered her brother found it difficult to talk to any woman with any amount of skin showing, let alone a woman in leather underclothes flouncing about.
“Well, he fought me and he won. It was quite a feat.” She got up and moved to the door and got a tray from the hallway with chicken, bread, and cheeses. Kara’s mouth started to water. She had eaten broth for almost every meal since Humbridge. “The last new weapon bearer I fought died rather quickly. I always win except for when I fight Twilix. You’re brother has volunteered to continue fighting me.”
“Why do you want to fight my brother?” She didn’t know whether or not she like Mary or if she was a friend or an enemy.
“I don’t want to fight him. Well, not because I dislike him. Let me explain it this way, you should know by now, we are fire wizards. When we use up our energy in the violence of flame, our emotions are more under our control. Your brother fights me to help me expend my energy and afterwards I can safely venture into town without putting others in danger of an angry outburst. The king requires of it of me for the safety of his town. There are only so many people that will fight me. Lately I have only gotten one trip into town in the last three weeks. Your brother bravely provided that trip for me.” Mary sat looking at the folded arms in her lap, “This is your cell. The castle grounds are now mine and will be yours if you learn to control yourself better. In the meantime, if you make progress in controlling yourself you will be provided more furniture, better meals, and even a mattress. Learn everyday how to hold your anger at bay, releasing it where you want and how you want. Don’t let the anger control you.”
“How am I supposed to do that? Even the smallest thing makes me so mad I can’t control myself. Then I just lash out at anything and everything,” She held her head in her hands and cried.
“Just try and remember the castle wants you to get mad and create heat. Then remember that the more you focus into one of those small holes it will affect the castles population in one way or another. If you want revenge for being stuck down here, use it on the proper people. Pick the right hole and you might just find the King’s bath water, evening meal, or even make him swelter in his room.” Both girls smiled at that. Mary stood and shot a stream of flame up a single hole by pointing her finger at it. She smiled as she left and closed the door behind her. “I will be back, so try not to attack everyone that comes through the door.”
***
Kilen woke to Leroy entering the room with another covered plate. He looked out the window and saw that the sun had not risen but the light had started to show along the horizon. Ted wrote down something in his ledger as he passed Kilen’s door. Kilen sat at the desk and started to eat right away, wanting his stomach to settle before he started his training for the day. It was hard boiled eggs, two thick slices of spiced ham, and plenty of bread to cool the mouth. Leroy was already busy at work picking up Kilen’s strewn clothes. He had gotten in very late, staying up talking to Twilix far into the night about past times at Humbridge and mischief Bowie had gotten into. Although he was still reminded of his little sister, he had learned that her personality was similar to those his own age. Leroy noticed that Kilen’s fork had stopped moving, “If you’re going to make it to the training fields you better hurry up and choke that down.”
Kilen snapped back to reality and started to chow down, waiting until he was completely done with the ham and eggs before cooling his mouth on the bread. His mouth burned as he got up and pulled on his pants. Leroy was handing him clothing and armor as he hurried to keep putting them on. Kilen grabbed the last piece of bread and put it in his mouth before walking out of the room. He would have to learn to get to bed earlier if he was going to keep up this schedule. Gortus was squatting with his blade laid on the ground in front of him when Kilen found him in the dim morning light. He walked up and when Gortus said nothing he squatted beside him. A few birds talked back and forth in the city on the other side of the ground’s walls. Otherwise, the morning was silent as nothing else was up and out this early. Gortus whispered as if honoring the quietness, “Every morning we begin anew. Thanking god, which ever you worship, for allowing us to fight another day.” Gortus bowed his head and Kilen did the same, “Oh god, thank thee for the morning, for the blade by which we live this life. Let us forever be strong, swift, and let our blades be true.” Gortus stood and sheathed his massive sword on his back. Kilen followed. “I have spent the last couple days thinking about how to train a weak-lander how to fight. The problem is, we Kapal trained to fight since we could crawl. We train our muscles in everything we do, and yet you can’t even hold up a shield unless you have magic to help you use it. So I finally came up with the training you need. We will have to start from the beginning, like training a baby. First you will have to promise again, that you will do everything I ask, that you will not quit, and you will give it everything you have.”
Kilen was faced with the decision again but he had already promised once. He would not go against his word now. The determination was his own and not the earth’s magic. Somehow deep inside him he felt the difference. “I agree to your terms. I promise I will do what you ask. I promise I will not quit. I promise that I will give it my all. What shall I call you?”
Gortus smiled, revealing his pointed teeth, “Master, for now.” Gortus turned to walk to the edge of the sword arena. The particular arena he had chosen was in the center of all the arena’s. Soon all the men would be a witness to how bad a swordsmen Kilen really was. “Lay down on your stomach.” Kilen looked at Gortus questioningly and then slowly got down onto his stomach,
lying in the graveled dirt. “Today you are a baby that has just learned to crawl, and so you must. You will crawl in all that you do today. You will do nothing other than what I tell you, my child. You cannot talk to others. You cannot eat unless I tell you, and you certainly cannot wield magic, so take off your rings. You will begin crawling around the outside of this arena until I tell you to stop. Begin your training. I will be here with you. Do not fear, my child.” Kilen took off the rings and tucked them into his coin pouch. He began crawling across the ground. It was a dry light brown dirt with pebbles and small rocks throughout. Kilen began to think the training was ridiculous, but he was glad that he was doing it early, before anyone would see. “No, you must crawl. Put your stomach on the ground, you are not an infant. You are a newborn, too weak to pick yourself up. You will only drag your body on the ground. Now start crawling again.” Gortus went to the center of the ring and squatted again on the balls of his feet. Kilen started again remembering not to pick his body off the ground. He pulled himself along the ground using his fingers to dig into the dirt. The rocks under the top layer of dirt were pulled up as Kilen dug. They then scraped against his breastplate making it easier to pull himself as his slid easily over them. When the rocks made it to his waist he pulled his legs over the rocks and they began digging into the flesh. He had made his way a quarter of the way around the arena and began to slow, trying not to dig up so many rocks. Gortus got up from his spot in the middle and came to whisper into the morning again. “You mustn’t slow down. You can only reach the next age when you have learned enough about the age you are in.” He once again went to the center and resumed his squatting position. Kilen took the instructions to heart and laid his body on the ground. He opened his legs and exposed his thighs to the ground to be able to push with his feet. He began moving faster and feeling each pebble and stone as it scraped his arms, fingers, and now the inside of his thighs. He made three complete circuits of the arenas before the first person walked by and laughed. He knew that more would come before the day was over. He tried to ignore the taunting. He knew that he wasn’t allowed to speak to anyone anyway. That skill was beyond his age.
I have no idea what type of training this is. I have never been trained to crawl. Max sounded confused at the pointless training.
He must do as the man asked, perhaps we can distract him from the discomforts, Joahna countered. Most of the time Kilen was happy the two men were silent, but he was happy to have the distraction of the voices. Max and I discussed what we learned from Twilix after you had gone to sleep. We have concluded that you are a spirit wizard as far as we can tell. We must adjust our questioning to that.
The key was the description of the soul wizard. Our bodies are dead and our spirits were not consumed. Although our bodies’ deaths were painful, we did not have a choice to give up our soul. Max explained as though he was still trying to convince himself.
We will have to ask more wizards about spirit wizards to be able to determine the truth. The problem is if there are only a couple recorded instances of soul wizards or spirit wizards the truth becomes hard to come about. Joahna paused for a moment, The elder wizards may know more about these types of wizards, since they have been around longer. It will be difficult finding them.
“Elder wizards?” Kilen asked out loud before he caught himself. The act of speaking was responded with a boot in his back pushing him in the earth.
“Keep going and remember to remain silent, my child. You cannot grow too fast. I will make sure of it,” Gortus’ voice spoke as though it was a warning to be heeded. The extra weight of the man on Kilen’s back only lasted for a few lengths of his drag but the effect was devastating. The rocks in the dirt dug into Kilen’s pants, cutting them in small jagged cuts. His flesh was now exposed to the rocks in the ground. After exacting the damage to Kilen, Gortus once again assumed his squatted position. Kilen dragged himself a few more lengths before Joahna started speaking again.
The elder wizards are just that, wizards that have stopped serving kings in the later years of their life. They collect and keep knowledge and skills of great wizards. They maintain the wizard’s true history, and because of that they remain in solitude. We will have to search hard to find them. Their location is hidden even from wizards themselves. I was told that it was a journey that each wizard would have to decide when and if to take. I’m sure they would have the answers we seek, if we can’t find the answers here. Kilen wanted to ask them why they hadn’t mentioned it before, or how were they supposed to find the elder wizards, but didn’t want another boot in his back.
A couple hours had passed and Kilen’s legs were cramping and starting to ache at the joints. He kept crawling as his muscles felt weak. He had no idea that the muscles he used to crawl would take so much effort. Crawling seemed to take less effort for children. Kilen heard Jace speaking to Gortus in hushed tones, “What is this supposed to teach him, discipline, character, humility, or just to follow orders?”
“You wanted me to train him, this is how I will train him. It is how I was trained. If you want to watch I will allow it but you will not question the methods of my people. He will be a warrior if he continues to obey my orders.” Jace sat on the dirt and started to sharpen a dagger on a wet stone. Kilen could barely make out his features. Dirt had mixed with sweat and stung his eyes to where he rarely opened them. The sun was more than half way in the sky. He had been crawling for hours. The thought reinvigorated his mind. It steeled him to get to the next age in his training. He wanted to crawl. He pushed harder and began to move faster despite the pain in his thighs. He pushed forward and pulled with his arms in alternating patterns to allow him to use both muscles so that he would last longer, he had no idea how long he would be crawling.
A short time later, Gortus rose and poured water over Kilen’s face. The sweat and dirt was washed from his face and he was still looking at Gortus’s black boots. “You push hard child. I give you water for your effort. Soon you will come of age.” The water trickled over Kilen’s cracked lips. He drank as much as he could, sucking the water into his mouth with air. When Gortus returned to his spot in the middle Kilen could see a two sets of feet below two dresses, one green and one blue. He began to crawl again and heard Twilix speak.
“This is your training? You let him bleed on the ground? Let me heal him so that he can continue,” she demanded of Gortus.
Kilen heard Gortus unsheathe his blade as Twilix tried to cross the arena. “He is mine to train. He agreed to follow my commands. You dishonor him by trying to heal him. He must take the growing pains and the scars of age. You have no power here, wizard. Take Mary and leave me to my training. If you wish to play fire against him you will have to do so another time. Today his is learning to become a man.
“If he continues he will die. Look how he bleeds. Have you trained anyone before, Gortus?”
Gortus lowered his sword from Twilix’s chest, “He is the first I have trained. If he dies, it is because of the weaknesses of this land. It would be a shame to have him die. When I was trained like this I complained twice as much as he does. Leave us and when he needs healing I will send for you.” Twilix crossed her arms as Kilen continued to pull his way around the arena. The wizard girl stood defiantly in front of the Kapal man, staring into his eyes even as Kilen dragged his body in-between them. When Kilen had finally passed between them, Twilix stomped off.
“Jace, you know better to let this continue,” she said over her shoulder. Mary seemed to comfort Twilix as they headed back to the castle from where they came. The day continued on with little to note. Leroy came with meals that were poured into Kilen’s mouth and head feed by Gortus as he continued to crawl. Nothing stopped the painful dragging against the rocks and now moist dirt. Kilen’s muscles burned and ached and he continued until he no longer felt the sun on his face.
“Stop my child,” that was all Gortus said, but the words were sweet, ringing in Kilen’s ears. The rhythm of the dragging had been ingrained into his mi
nd. He continued without thinking or knowing where he was. He only knew that he was living in pain and suffering. Gortus helped Kilen to his feet and put Kilen’s arm around his neck, carrying him. Jace helped on the other side. “You have to walk now, but only a short way. Your bed awaits you now Kilen. You’re training is done for the day.” Kilen’s head hung low, he was too exhausted to hold it up. He saw his pant legs were shredded and covered with blood. The flesh on his legs was exposed, bleeding from hundreds of tiny cuts made by dragging over the rocks. As they walked over the arena Kilen noticed that the outside where he had been crawling was a path of red dirt. He had bled in a circle on the perimeter of the arena.
Kilen lay in bed and Gortus and Jace both moved to put bandages on his legs. The water stung as they poured it over his flesh to clean the wounds of dirt. Kilen heard two men arguing as he struggled to maintain consciousness, but it was not the two men in the room with him.
Max, you pushed his body too far. He should not have been able to continue. You pushed his body where should not have gone.
This boy is our key, he is our survival. He has to be pushed, I did the only thing that I could. I kept us in this training. You should be thankful for that.
Kilen was thankful, “Thank you.”
All four men seemed to respond in unison with, “Your welcome.”
“He will heal with the aid of his sword throughout the night. In the morning he will eat and return to the arena. You will not heal him, I will know the difference.” Gortus laid a hand on Kilen’s now unarmored chest, “Good work today, child. Better than I thought a weak lander could manage. I will see you as the sun rises.” He departed the room and left Kilen in Jace’s watchful eye.
“I am sorry, Kilen. I had no idea that this would be the torture you would have to endure. I would have never asked you to do this. You can quit anytime you wish and I will train you the best I can.” Leroy entered and Jace passed on the instructions from Gortus. Leroy started to feed Kilen and prop him up to give him water and his special tea. He re-bandaged the wounds using some slaves he quickly made and gave him seeds to chew on to help him sleep. When he was finished he placed Kilen’s bare hand on his sword and watched over him through the night.