Both mountain ranges were said to be cursed. Rocious did not believe that, but he did believe that no one had ever come out alive. In the case of the Hadrian Mountains he understood why: there were thunderstorms trapped between the mountains. Momentarily they would calm or there would be gaps between them, but it never lasted long. Anyone out there for more than a few hours usually wound up struck dead by lightning. Not a problem for a master of fire, especially one who could move at his pace. But the Severan Mountain range was an entirely different beast.
The Severan Storm was an endless blizzard that caused men to lose their minds, as well as their sense of direction. Those who ventured into the endless blizzard seldom, if ever, came back out, and those who did never survived for very long. If they survived being infected with cold rot, they lost their minds. Fire might deal with cold rot but it did nothing to shield the mind. He may have been crazy already but he was not about to lose his mind intentionally.
When the sky changed purple and orange he stopped to eat and watch the sunrise. For he knew the first rays of sun did more than warm the skin. As he watched the horizon he heard movement in the trees below and glanced down. It was only some deer being startled as the nighttime fairies fled the coming light. He looked up just in time to see the sun wink over the horizon. Rocious winked back then closed his eyes to enjoy the warmth on his skin. A few minutes later he opened his eyes having claimed more than he needed for the rest of his trip.
Using that magic, Rocious easily made it to Fort Reed by midday and spent the rest of the afternoon marking out the edge of the barrier. It had nothing to do with Eikard but Falcon was right in assuming he would go there. This was the perfect time to investigate how to take down the barrier. The only idea he had come up with all winter was to target what was powering it. A barrier that size would require an enormous source of magic. If Rocious could find that source and cut it off, he might be able to take back the fort single-handed. How to do that, he still did not know but the first step was locating the source.
So after marking out the border he spent the rest of the evening sitting next to the barrier following countless threads of magic to their source, or in this case, sources. He was ambitious in hoping to find a single source but he did find a commonality. Every thread led to one of the city’s fountains but that was where he was stopped. When he tried to follow it farther the complex tapestry of magic being worked overwhelmed his senses. Using what he had recently learned, he thought he knew where the source was located.
Over the past year Falcon had told him countless stories about Fort Reed, and in one of his stories there was a tiny nugget of information that meant the world. His family had a private garden with its own fountain. That was where Rocious focused his senses. It took him a while to locate it, as the Keep was built on a raised mount much higher than he originally thought. When he honed in on the garden he found the fountain instantly. The magic emanating from it was literally screaming at him.
Rocious focused his magical sense of hearing on that fountain, searching for what was controlling this complex weaving. As he started to hone in on the source, the barrier throbbed, suddenly expanding. He was sitting next to the gate, but when he stopped rolling he had been knocked so far down the road he could barely see any of the city over the rise in the road.
“Asshole,” mumbled Rocious to himself.
Well, that ruined his idea. The power of cutting off the source assumed there would not be someone there to turn it back on. At least now he knew the truth of it. That barrier was never coming down until Count Reed wanted it to or he died.
With nothing else to learn, Rocious made camp nearby and decided to continue on his mission in the morning.
He arrived at Keld by late morning and was scouting from a nearby peak for the best way to sneak into the castle when he spotted the duke inside the walls assembling a group of soldiers. He was easy to spot in his scale armor made completely out of stone. Rocious had never met the man outside of the throne room but he seemed like a fair ruler. Killing him was nothing personal, simply something that had to be done to protect the realm.
Since the dragon attacked Dominion, Dominick had been searching for who or what the cause was. Rocious presumed that Dominick had discovered Eikard was behind the attack and was sending him to ensure it would not happen again. Watching the duke assemble a group of soldiers, it seemed the duke would make things easy and leave the castle. All Rocious would need to do is follow them and he could take the duke down when they were far enough away from reinforcements.
If he was careful with his magic he could kill Eikard and toss his body into the Severan Storm. Nobody would be able to link the death back to him and Dominick.
The duke and his men left Keld and followed the road south. Rocious followed them staying on high on the mountains until the road disappeared into a patch of trees. He could see where the road continued on the other side of the trees. If he was fast he might be able to catch Eikard before he made it through the patch of trees. At the least he would be able to wait for Eikard’s return and ambush them.
Rocious quickly executed the plan and slipped into the trees for cover. He reached the road just as fast but Eikard was faster and had already left the trees. Rocious jogged down the road hoping to see which direction they went, but again Eikard was one step ahead. At the top of the next hill was a line of mounted soldiers staring down at the trees, and halfway up the hill Eikard waited on foot with his saber resting in front of him. Apparently they had spotted him and were waiting; the next move was his. Accept the challenge, or flee and fail his mission.
Never one to back down from a fight, Rocious took a few calming breaths to control his fear and anxiety, the reward of magic was a bonus as he had already drawn plenty preparing for this fight. Rocious tossed back his hood and calmly walked up the hill.
“I respect a man who fights his own battles!” shouted Rocious.
“Your respect means nothing to me, Lapdog,” said Eikard, his voice easily carrying down the hill.
“You must have known this was coming!” stated Rocious.
“Aye, the moment I heard of the attack on Dominion, I expected he’d pin it on me,” replied Eikard.
“Why then? To kill a couple hundred people?” asked Rocious.
“Did you come to talk or to fight?” prompted Eikard twirling his saber as he moved toward Rocious.
Rocious knew Eikard was a brilliant military tactician but had not heard anything of his exploits as a duelist. So he approached cautiously, trying to keep him talking in case it helped to distract.
“Just curious how you got the dragon to do what you wanted,” said Rocious keeping his distance by circling the duke.
“It wasn’t me,” said Eikard.
Rocious was slightly surprised by Eikard’s claim and in that moment Eikard threw a small blade. Rocious recovered in time to avoid the blade but Eikard followed it up by rushing in. Rocious triggered an explosion to keep his distance but Eikard pressed the attack again, throwing a series of the blades almost like needles. Each time, Rocious triggered explosions to widen the gap between them.
“What are you running from Lockland?” taunted the soldiers watching the fight.
They had a point; he came to fight not to run.
“Fuck it!” breathed Rocious.
This time, instead of using the explosion to keep his distance, Rocious launched himself forward then triggered a second explosion to stop himself and blast Eikard off his feet. Only Eikard shook off the explosion like it was a warm breeze and followed up with a thrust toward Rocious’s chest. Rocious twisted to avoid being impaled and was kicked square in the chest. By sheer luck or instinct he triggered another explosion, launching himself down the hill. Shaking loose his senses in midair, he triggered another explosion that softened his landing and likely saved his life.
“All flash and no follow through!” taunted Eikard throwing another dagger.
Rocious dodged on instinct, “I’ll show you
flash.”
“Time to end this!” said Eikard and then charged.
Rocious took a deep breath and blew out a gush of flame, then triggered an explosion launching him over Eikard. Eikard charged through the flame slashing, then used the momentum of his swing to turn. Eikard kept his guard up, searching through the lingering smoke for Rocious when a trail of flame lit up. Following the trail of flame Eikard pressed the attack again.
This time Rocious was ready, the trail of flame was actually one of Rocious’s flame ropes. Once Eikard ran over the flames Rocious pulled the duke off balance and immobilized him with more flame ropes. Eikard struggled with the flames and lost hold of his saber. Seeing an opportunity, Rocious pulled the duke away from his saber. Eikard used that time to get in close to Rocious.
Eikard broke free of the flames, punched Rocious in the face and kicked him just above the knee. He went down hard, his head bouncing off the ground dazing him a little. In a last ditch effort Rocious rolled away from Eikard and triggered an explosion at Eikard’s feet. Eikard’s armor lit up and absorbed the explosion like it was nothing. Eikard waved away some of the dust and kicked Rocious in the stomach. Rocious bent to cover his stomach so Eikard took a step closer and kicked him in the face, shattering teeth. Rocious rolled onto his hands and puked blood. When he tried to get up Eikard stepped on his back, then bashed his head into the ground.
“You’re a tough bastard but you are not the first attuned Dominick sent to kill me,” said Eikard.
“-Ek ou!” garbled Rocious through his broken face.
“Yeah. Fuck you too,” answered Eikard.
The duke stood up, pulled another one of his knives from his belt and grabbed Rocious’s hair.
“It’s a shame you sided with Dominick. We haven’t had an ally attuned to fire since Praetorian Caldwell,” said Eikard.
When Eikard tilted Rocious’s head back, Rocious closed his eyes and triggered a series of blinding flashes. Eikard released Rocious to cover his face from the intense light. Rocious used the distraction to run for the tree line.
As he ran he let himself be filled with fear and elation until he was well within the patch of trees. He rushed through the trees and underbrush trying to get to the mountains. When he finally broke through the trees, he took control of his fear and sent the magic right into his explosions. He was so focused on fleeing Eikard that by the time he realized where he had launched himself it was too late. He was trapped inside the Severan Storm.
Chapter 10
Dominion
The same day that Rocious left Spring Forge, Chaplin and his group led their war carts back to Dominion. Since Rocious was not around, Chaplin let Falcon lead the cart containing the armor and weapons. Most of the weaponry had simple runes to make them sharper and stronger. Those Chaplin would deliver to the armory in Dominion. The last few swords were decorated with elaborate markings, or engraved with a complex series of runes by Colville, and were meant for craftsmen and nobles in Dominion. Those, Falcon begged Chaplin to let him deliver so he would have a chance to run around the city.
By the time they reached Dominion, Chaplin had conceded to bring the cart to the armory and let Falcon deliver the rest of the weaponry. He hopped out of the cart with the bag loaded with intricately engraved swords. Over the years, businesses had clumped together in the second ring, so when Falcon hit the business district he was able to make all of his deliveries except two. One sword was meant for a noble Lord Quintus Werval who lived in the inner ring, the other was for a craftsman with a closed storefront: Sir Arik Denali. Since he had nothing else planned for the day, Falcon waited for the store to open. Twenty minutes later a young woman arrived and rushed to open the door.
“Come inside child, it’s too cold to be standing out here,” said the young woman, pushing Falcon inside.
“I don’t mind the cold,” shrugged Falcon.
“Feel free to look around while I get my father,” said the woman as she darted into the back.
Falcon looked around at the room. The store was similar to Colville’s display at the forge. Swords and armor lined the walls and there were three counters displaying a variety of jewelry and small blades. Towards the back of the store there was another counter filled with ornate daggers. Each dagger had a card above it with a rune labeling them with one of the eight expressions of magic: Light, Fire, Ice, Wind, Water, Earth, Shadow, and Energy.
“Beautiful aren’t they?” asked the woman. “I’m Rika.”
“Yes, they are beautiful,” said Falcon.
“Don’t let that fool you, they are powerful weapons. Everything in our store is masterfully engraved and imbued with magic. I promise you, you won’t find better in all of Valentia,” said Rika.
“Who made them?” asked Falcon.
“They are all crafted at Spring Forge and engraved by either my father, Sir Arik Denali, or by none other than Sir Thomas Colville,” answered Rika.
A group of three teenagers a little older than Falcon entered the store stealing Rika’s attention. They were dressed in black robes, marking them as students of the academy in Dominion.
“Feel free to look around, and let me know if something catches your eye,” greeted Rika.
“Do you have anything with more than these basic runes?” asked one of the teenagers.
“The ones along the wall have simple engravings to keep them sharp or stronger. But the ones in the cases are masterfully engraved with more complex runes,” said Rika.
The group explored the various counters and eventually joined Falcon at the back counter.
“Would you like to have a closer look at any of them?” asked Rika.
“Yes, that one,” said one of the boys indicating the dagger under the fire rune.
“Ah, be careful, that one could set the store on fire in the right hands,” warned Rika.
Rika gave the dagger to the pathos. They examined the runes closely and passed it around, unsuccessfully trying to activate the runes.
“Fire should be easy. Your engravings are off,” said one of the boys.
“Can I see it?” asked Falcon.
Falcon just examined the dagger for any flaws much like he had done over the past few months and handed it to Rika.
“What did you say this is supposed to do?” asked Falcon.
Rika checked the dagger again, “That one will create flames. If you can learn to activate the runes,” answered Rika. She took the dagger and closed her eyes to demonstrate. The group turned to watch also, but nothing happened.
“Can I see this one?” asked Falcon indicating the dagger under the Energy rune.
“Sure,” said Rika, thankful for the distraction.
“Ha, good luck. Energy is the toughest,” said one of the boys.
Falcon took the dagger, examined it for a moment and activated the runes. But the sword burst into flames.
“I think you mixed up your display,” said Falcon looking at Rika with a smile. As Falcon went to put the dagger back, one of the three boys moved closer and reached for the it. Falcon moved the dagger out of reach. At the same time another one of the boys stepped behind him. Again the boy reached for the fire runed dagger, but Falcon flicked it across the display and looked up at the boy’s cold blue eyes. Those blue eyes were so similar to his own. Except where Falcon’s eyes had an underlying sadness, this boy’s eyes masked some deepseated anger. Only a moment had passed when an older gentleman entered from the store’s back room grumbling about being woken up. Falcon kept his attention on those cold blue eyes until he turned away and nodded to his friends. He watched the three boys grumble about poor quality as they left the store grumbling then turned to the sleepy older gentleman.
“Sir Arik Denali?” asked Falcon.
“Aye, that’s me,” answered Denali.
“I have a delivery from Master Colville,” said Falcon taking the short sword out of his bag and handing it to Denali.
Denali took the sword and examined it, running his fingers along th
e runes. Then grabbed the handle. The runes activated almost instantly, covering the blade in ice. Everyone watched Denali; he made it look so easy.
“Feels good to have her back again. I’ll have to thank Colville,” said Denali.
Falcon put the bag back on his shoulder. “You should write him, I’m sure he would like that.”
Realizing his daughter was staring, Denali put the sword on the counter. “What’s your name?” asked Denali.
Falcon snapped his fingers, and then patted his pockets. “I almost forgot, Master Colville sent a letter for you too. My name’s Falcon,” said Falcon.
“Thank you, Falcon,” said Denali.
“You’re welcome. I should go, I have another delivery,” said Falcon.
“Of course, of course. Come back anytime, maybe I’ll even have that letter for you,” said Denali.
Falcon found the recipient of his last delivery in a large, stone mansion in the inner ring. For such a large home Falcon was surprised that Lord Quintus Werval greeted him alongside his servants. Werval invited Falcon inside to share a meal and thank him for delivering the sword. Falcon did not really want to join Werval, but it would have been rude to turn down his hospitality.
“This is my wife, Gyda. Gyda, this is the young man I told you about: Falcon Reed,” said Werval, leading Falcon to a large but simply decorated sitting room.
“Nice to meet you, Falcon,” said Gyda.
“Nice to meet you, Madam,” said Falcon.
“Falcon has just returned from Spring Forge and is Master Lockland’s student,” said Werval.
“Oh wow, sounds like you have a taste for adventure. Certainly more than our simple lives,” said Gyda.
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