Flynn took the seal from Bren’s hand with a glower on his face. “You know I hate you,” He whispered as he put on an impassive face and turned toward the crowd.
Once everything died down, people started to drift out of the palace. From the way that everyone talked, he was sure that he had made the right choice in Flynn. He was headstrong and hated those in power, but that made him perfect for his position. Bren doubted that he would do anything to harm the people and would punish those harshly who tried to in his absence. Most likely far worse than Bren himself would have.
“So you have made up your mind,” Sae-Thae said moving over to where Bren stood.
“Yes I have,” Bren declared with more confidence than he felt at the moment.
“I will be sending Isophena with you,” Sae-Thae said in less than a whisper making Bren look over to his half-sister.
“Don’t you think that she will…” Bren said, as he fished for the words.
“The Vathari have ways to blend in,” Sae-Thae answered mysteriously. “When do you plan to leave?”
“In the morning,” Bren replied.
“You don’t leave much of a notice do you?” Sae-Thae replied laughing.
“The longer I wait the more likely that I will continue to postpone it,” Bren answered. “It is best to do these things once everything is ready.”
“That is true but don’t rush head blindly,” Sae-Thae warned. “You need to keep your wits about you. As I told you many times in the past your father was a good man but he had the forethought and attention span of a fly.”
“Don’t worry while I may be my father’s son. I am also my mothers,” Bren said with a look of reassurance on his face.
“That is true,” Sae-Thae said, his worry still clear on his face. “You know that once she learns of this she will come yelling at me. You and your father never make things easy,” Sae-Thae added with an exaggerated sigh.
“Admit it you like complications. Keeps you from growing old,” Bren said laughing.
Many other people came to talk to him before they left. Most of the people waited until everyone had left to ambush him. The first of those being Cass, who looked none too pleased with his decision.
“Why in the nine hells didn’t you talk to me about this?” Cass nearly yelled and from the looks of his other friends who were gathered about many of them wanted the same answer. “You wait until the day before you plan to leave to tell us. Do you have any idea how much planning goes into a trip like this. Now I have to send the men around trying to gather up enough supplies for the trip. Not to mention having to pick out who will go with us. Don’t you think they would like a little notification to give their loved ones besides…oh by the way I have to leave tomorrow and I don’t know when I will be back.”
“Are you done yet?” Bren asked knowing that Cass was right in his own way.
“Not even close,” Cass said angrily.
“I couldn’t tell anyone until everything was ready,” Bren explained. “I needed to keep it hidden from the tower until I was already gone, otherwise it would cause more problems. I understand your concerns, but something’s just can’t be avoided.”
“You think my men would tell your business?” Cass asked, his anger still flaring.
“I still don’t know how everyone learned of the Brotherhood,” Bren replied, taking a lot of the heat out of Cass’s eyes. “I couldn’t risk it.”
“A trip sounds fun to me,” Brenda said, taking a long drink from a large mug. “I never been to Northern Kurt, sounds interesting.”
“I didn’t think you would be going with us,” Bren said, having forgotten that Brenda and Shariel were still staying at the palace.
“Wouldn’t miss,” Brenda said loudly. “Isn’t that right Shariel.”
“It’s either go with him or be the one who goes back and tell the queen what foolishness he is up to,” Shariel said sighing. “Given those choices I think going with you is the only chance I have at surviving.”
“How many are going all together then?” Cass asked, shaking his head.
When Bren made it back to his room he felt tried. Most of the night he had spent trying to talk people out of going with him, but for most of them it was impossible. In the end it was decided that Brenda, Shariel, Phena, Lillian, Cass, as well as eight guards would be leaving with Bren in the morning. It was far more than he had expected but it was still a manageable number. The hardest thing to decide out of everything would be Avalanche. That was if the rock hound decided to follow him. One could never tell where Avalanche was concerned.
Surprisingly, Bren didn’t have trouble drifting off to sleep that night. Now that everything was settled the tension that had building up in his body had faded away leaving him weak and tired making sleeping easy.
As tired as he was and as hard as he slept Bren still woke early the next morning. Lillian was the only one awake when he went down stairs and after a quick meal Bren roused Cass and the other guards so that they could begin preparations to leave.
It took more than four hours to get the wagon loaded with all the supplies that Cass insisted that be taken along. Bren wanted to complain but he figured that they would come in handy even if they did slow them down a little.
Once everything was loaded, Bren quickly gathered the rest of his companions. In the end the only person he was waiting on was Phena who he hoped was already on her way down from the tower.
“What are we waiting on?” A young girl with milky white skin asked.
“Who are you?” Bren asked thinking that Lillian had decided to bring along someone to help her with meals.
“And here I thought you would recognize me even through this little façade,” Phena said, letting the spell drop and returning her skin to its normal color.
“That was… Amazing,” Bren said laughing.
“It’s just an enchanted item that Sae-Thae had. It seems like it was made by a mage skilled in light magic. Oddly as much as light mages hate hiding the truth, nothing is better at it than light magic,” Phena said with a concealed grin.
“That is odd,” Bren agreed.
“Ready to leave?” Flynn asked walking up next to Bren.
“That we are, but first I need to talk with you,” Bren said pulling Flynn to the side. “First I have a trunk in my study that will allow you to send things through them to us and vice versa.”
“That will come in handy in case I need to get news to you,” Flynn said impressed.
“It can only be used once every few days, so only use it in emergencies,” Bren said holding out his hand and placing a small earing in Flynn’s hand. “If you need to contact me use this. It allows two people to communicate over long distances.”
“Seems like you are well prepared then,” Flynn said unhappily. “I don’t like this and you know it.”
“That’s what makes you the perfect choice. You hate the mages in the tower but you are not reckless enough to do anything that would harm others. You are the one person I know who will do everything they can for people. You will hate it but you will be fair, and in the end most likely a much better king than I was.”
“A blind fool would be a better king than you,” Flynn retorted.
“Then it shouldn’t be that hard,” Bren replied as he signaled for the small group to move forward. “Just try to keep everything in one piece until I get back,” Bren yelled over his shoulder.
CHAPTER XV
It took most of the first day to reach the borders of Torin and enter Rane. By nightfall though they had still only reached the edge of the rolling hills that opened up into the vast plains of Rane. As they made camp the first night Bren wanted to think that they had made good time but he had hoped to be much farther along by now but they had got a much later start than he had expected and the bulky wagon had to move slowly. Thankfully though the rods were well kept but that was to be expected from a country that prided itself on trade.
As Bren set up his bedroll he noticed that Aval
anche was acting strangely. Most of the time she would be jumping around or running off to explore the area but for most the day she had stuck close to the wagon and even now she quietly lay beside it, making Bren a little worried. He had never know the creature to get sick but there was a first time for everything.
“What’s wrong girl?” Bren asked as he walked over to where Avalanche lay.
When Bren was only a few steps away from Avalanche it felt as if he stepped on something soft. “Ow!” A loud voice squeaked from the seemingly bare ground.
“Faye?” Bren asked as he probed the ground with his foot.
The air started to shimmer and once where there had been nothing slowly Faye’s thin body came into view. Unlike the last time he had seen her use her ability this time she was wearing clothes. “Why did you have to kick me?” She asked pushing herself from where she lay.
“Seems you have gotten better at using your magic,” Bren said with a disapproving look on his face. “I won’t ask how you learned about this little trip,” Bren said, looking over to where Phena stood acting innocent with a thin smile on her face. “I will send one of the guards to take you back to the tower in the morning.”
“No,” Faye said ignoring him.
“I don’t know what you think this trip is about but,” Bren started to say.
“I don’t care,” Faye responded cutting him off. “You might fancy yourself a king but you won’t see me bowing to you. I will go where I want, when I want, and how I want.”
Looking at the stern look on her face, Bren knew that he had lost the argument. The only way he was going to get Faye to go back to the tower was if she was bound and gagged then watched afterward. “Why do you want to go that bad?” Bren asked as he rubbed the temple of his head with his thumb and index finger.
Faye’s eyes cut over to where Lillian stood hunched over a large black pot preparing the evening meal. “Idiot,” She said as she looked down at her hands.
“Fine, do whatever you wish,” Bren said admitting defeat.
You are not going to simply roll over and let her come with us? You are as much a pushover with women as your father.
“What would you have me do?” Bren asked frustrated.
Just what you suggested. Send her back by force if she won’t go quietly.
“If I did that she would simply use her magic to follow us,” Bren said sighing. “Even if they could escort her back to the tower she would most likely leave as soon as they averted their eyes. If she didn’t find us there is a chance that she would fall prey to beasts or bandits.”
Then let the fool girl fall prey to them. It would be her own fault.
“Like I could do that,” Bren said as he stomped back toward his own bedding.
Bren could almost feel Thuraman’s disapproval but he pushed it aside. He had far more important things to worry about. It would still be a few days but soon they would be arriving in the capital of Rane, and that was where his journey would truly begin. Without help he doubted that he could do everything he needed to do...At least not without sacrifices. He needed support but from people he trusted and there were few of those around.
As he sat down, Bren looked toward Phena who has placed her pallet on the outskirts of the small camp. He thought about going over to ask her why she had moved so far away from the others but before he could act Cass was already talking to her.
He had noticed his friend talking to her many times but he never thought much about it. Cass was infamous around the town for courting young women and Bren never felt the need to warn Phena of his behavior knowing that she was intelligent enough to know about it on her own. If by chance she did get involved with Cass he would simply start looking for another head guard as he was sure that Cass would simply disappear one night as Phena did not seem to be the forgiving type, then again the Vathari viewed relationships in a different light than humans so there might not be a problem in that area. The more Bren thought about it the more his head began to hurt. Sighing, he turned his head toward the sky and watched as the few clouds in the sky drifted by lazily.
What are you planning?
“Since you’re in my mind, don’t you already know that?”
If you were your father I could sift through your thoughts but unlike him, your mind is still mostly closed to me. I can try but all I can get are small glimpses into what is at the front of your thoughts and that is not enough to understand.
“I guess it won’t hurt to let you know since you can’t really tell everyone else,” Bren said as a hefted the staff into the air the large diamond on its top catching some of the waning sunlight and sparkling lightly. “First I need to speak with Monique about getting a merchant permit. If she agrees then we can pass into northern Kurt and act as traders.”
And if she doesn’t?
“Then our journey will become much harder,” Bren answered honestly. “From there I plan to make our way toward the brotherhoods camp and try and get the map.”
That’s as far as you have thought ahead. That sounds like something your father would do. What route will we take? If we don’t do any trading or bring anything with us then we will draw attention. Not to mention any member of the brotherhood who gets within a league of you will be able to sense your presence.
“What do you mean?” Bren asked sitting up quickly. “How will the Brotherhood sense my presence?”
“I guess that you are even worse than your father. You have been studying for his location and planned to go into a Brotherhood camp and didn’t even think to research anything about them.
“Would you drop the insults and just tell me?” Bren asked irritably.
If I didn’t let you know of your foolishness then how would you learn, though even though I pointed your father’s shortcomings out many times he still reaped many of the same mistakes.
“The Brotherhood,” Bren growled.
The Brotherhood are famous for their white metal swords that can cut through magic but that is not all the white metal can do. The white metal has a way of telling where strong magical currents are moving towards. Mages always have a stronger current around them than a normal human and while this might not tell them where you are precisely with as strong of a current that you have around you it would be hard for them to miss your presence.
“I thought that only a small percentage of the Brotherhood soldiers carry the white swords?”
That is true but every member carries a small medallion made of the same metal. Your father got ahold of a few of these and had different servants try them out. It seems that when a mage is near they grow warm to the touch but when held by a mage it will feel as if all the warmth is being drained from your body. A mage who touches the metal for too long will start to feel increasing pain. That is how the Brotherhood always tested a person for magic.
“I wondered how they always seemed to know but I never gave it much thought.” Bren said dismissively.
Your father was always very curious, but you are far from it. In the past year you have not played with your magic nor tested your limits. You study only what you have to and leave everything else behind as if it’s unimportant. You need to learn that everything in this world is connected and take steps to learn what you can and that includes how to use your magic effectively. Right now your only use in a fight is your sword and against a large number of soldiers or even a few skilled ones, you will be easily overtaken.
Bren wanted to argue with Thuraman but he couldn’t think of anything that he could say to dispute the staff’s claims. Looking back to Phena he thought for a moment to ask her to help him with his magical training but he quickly dismissed that thought. He knew that she would try to help but he doubted that she could help until he first learn to control his intake of magical energy.
Bren started to move away from the rest of the group slowly hoping not to draw any attention. When he was nearing a small wooded line Cass called out to him. Sighing, Bren turned to his friend and waited for the large fighter to come
to his side.
“Where are you sneaking off too?” Cass asked his voice calm but his posture showing his annoyance in Bren’s actions.
“I thought I would try using some magic and I didn’t want to…” Bren said as he tried to think of how to phrase his words.
“I understand,” Cass said as his face visibly blanched. Looking at his friend’s reaction Bren remembered the time he had first tried to use his magic in a large field near the tower. Remembering that event made Bren rethink using his magic again.
Once they were far enough away from the wagons that they could no longer see anyone in the distance Bren took a seat on the ground. Avalanche bounced up next to him pushing him with her muzzle. Bren pushed the rock hound away and closed his eyes and began to focus.
Unlike when he had first tried to use magic, now Bren could see the thin strands of magical energy that flowed around him. Bren found it interesting that the magical energy was much thinner than he had found around the tower.
There was a large amount of wind and earth elemental energy around him but very little of the others. After deciding on what spell he wanted to use Bren reached out and started to pull in the magical energies around him.
As the magic entered his body, Bren felt a slight tingling sensation in his covered hand. He fought the urge to look but his mind still had a small fear that even more of his body would start to take on the faint silver color that had started to spread out from the scar on his hand.
Once Bren felt that he had enough energy, he started to form the energy. Once he was sure that he had the form down, Bren released the magical energies and small tunnel of wind no taller than he was appeared in front of him.
Though it had worked, Bren didn’t have time to celebrate as the left over energy was starting to burn inside him. As Master Carnear had taught him Bren tightened his grip on his staff and imagined the energy flowing from his hands and into Thuraman.
To his surprise, the energy quickly dissipated from his body leaving him feeling empty and slightly tired. Turning his attention back to the small wind tunnel, he noticed that with his waning focus on it that it had reduced its size by half. Pushing a bit harder, Bren fought to hold what was left of the spell moving it around by his will alone.
Silver Mage (Book 2) Page 12