The Crimson Road

by William Wells

  “We always knew she was special. Picked things up faster than everyone else and somehow knew things that she shouldn’t have learned yet.” Ash shook his head, “When Charon took out half the royal family, and I was stripped of my title, it seemed like a blessing to come here and hide her from the Tower before she came of age for testing. I kept my little girl, and got to see her grow up to become a fine woman any man would be proud to have as a daughter.”

  “I’ll do my best to train her, but I was taught through harsh methods that meant skipped meals if I failed or worse. It’ll hurt you to see her that way, but I believe you know the saying.”

  He smiled, “I do, ‘The best blades are broken and forged again and again in the hottest fires until they become nigh unbreakable.’ I always loved that saying.”

  “My master lived by it. He always pushed himself, and in turn he always pushed me.” I declined the bottle. “Do I have your permission to continue?”

  “Break her.” Ash’s face was conflicted with emotions. “Break her so that when she leaves it’ll take someone like Charon to kill her.”

  I nodded, “Then I’ll break her.”

  Ash finished the bottle in a single gulp.

  Before I went to bed, I began to set up the next day’s lesson. For the next hour, I sat in meditation outside Olivia’s door. Instead of the rolling ward, I set new ones spaced just enough apart that they wouldn’t interfere with each other. Standing up had me dizzy, and I drew on the ether to bolster my reserves. Breaking her would be excellent training for me, but she couldn’t know it just yet.

  It was dinner again by the time Olivia left her room. Her face was pale, and her breathing labored. Ash and Lorraine ignored her, focusing on the next chapter being acted out in front of the hearth. Again, Olivia passed out after finishing her meal, and again her father carried her to her room.

  This continued until the first month passed, and Olivia was finally able to join us for breakfast as if a few dozen wards hadn’t enclosed her while she slept. The weight she lost in that time stayed off for the most part, giving her a much more dangerous, lean look of someone who fought to eat their next meal.

  I looked her up and down over the meal in front of me, “Time for the second lesson.”

  Chapter 6

  Olivia and I squared off, and without warning I wrapped a ward around her. She fought it for a few seconds, before finding a foothold and then unraveling it. In the interval, I came up with another ward and again wrapped her movements. She began to get faster at unraveling the wards, until it only took her half a second to read it and dispel it.

  “Good.” I held up my hand to stop her. “You learned my style quickly. So what is the ether?”

  In the small breaks between casting, I would ask her a question to see if her understanding had grown.

  “The ether is the instructions for how objects interact. Mages manipulate the instructions to perform their spells, and the complexity of the spells requires more ether to be manipulated.”

  I nodded my head side to side, “Closer, but not quite there yet. You have to understand nature in its entirety before messing with it, or the backlash will kill you.” I sent some lightning towards her, zapping her before she could react.

  “What the-” Olivia jumped and rubbed her hand. “How?”

  “You’ll learn. There’s much more to mages than just wards, but wards are the foundation to everything. Look at my hand,” I held my hand up and placed a small ward that allowed no heat to get passed it. A fireball appeared in my palm, resting on the ward. “You couldn’t see it before, but this is how I can hold fire in my hand without burning myself.”

  I launched the small fireball at her, and it clipped her in the shoulder. She rolled around for a second to make sure the fire was out. A growl came from her throat, and I sensed the ward forming around me. Another fireball distracted her and her ward failed as she concentrated on defending. This time the attack hit her ward instead of her shoulder, and dissipated.

  Olivia thrust out her hands, and a much stronger ward began to form. Instead of fire, I sent a strong gust of wind towards her body, and she blocked it with another ward at the sacrifice of her attack against me. Almost instantly, her ward against my wind disappeared and she fell to the ground. I waited for her to pick herself back up.

  “What’d you learn?”

  “I need air to breathe.” Olivia reverted back to the Common. “You knew I would try to block the wind the same way I did the fireball.”

  “Of course.” I sat on a log, pulling out a knife. “When first starting out, most mages tend to think a simple ward is the best. All you have to do is pump more power into it if it isn’t strong enough to hold against an attack or two. The problem with that theory, you’ve just experienced first hand by almost suffocating yourself to guard against a little gust of wind.”

  “So what do I do?”

  “Think faster. Never think in absolutes.” I picked up a stick and began to shape it with my knife. “Unless you panic. How long can you hold your breath?”

  Olivia shrugged, “For a little while. I never really counted.”

  “Okay, new question: Do you think you could hold your breath longer than I can keep the wind up?” I sent a small gust her way.

  “Probably not.” She didn’t try to defend herself this time, proof her learning to read the attack before reacting.

  “Agreed. I can maintain that level of wind all day if I need to.” I looked at the stick critically. “Another issue, is what if I sent this stick at you with the wind?”

  “I’d have to make a new ward to protect from flying objects.”

  “And you struggle with concentrating on more than thing at a time.” I began to shape the stick again. “You need to be able to think on many things at once, and determine priority in what to deal with first.”

  “How?”

  “Practice.” I pulled out my sword, and tossed it so that it would land next to her. “Pick it up.”

  She did, holding it with more familiarity than one would expect from a woman in her late teens. “This is beautiful.”

  “It’s a decent blade, much better than most that are out there in the world.” I twirled my stick. “It’s a master blade, but not Hel-forged like what I’ve commissioned from your father.”

  “Am I going to learn how to swing a sword now?” Olivia began to swing it around in a slow, controlled manner. “My father taught me how to fight with blade and fists growing up.”

  I adopted a stance, stick held in front. “That should make this go by faster then. Attack me, and try to get through my defenses.”

  She frowned, “You have a stick.”

  I shrugged, inching closer. “In the hands of a master, a stick becomes the deadliest weapon in the world. For the purpose of instructing you, I may as well be a master of the sword.”

  Olivia swung halfheartedly at me. I didn’t bother trying to block, and instead rapped her knuckles causing her to drop the sword. Before she could pick it up, I summoned another gust of wind and blew her into the stream. She came up spluttering, and this time I used my magic to force her head down under the stream again. My ward held her there, until the bubbles stopped coming up.

  A few seconds later, she broke the surface with murder in her eyes. Without a word she began to manipulate the ether and told it to crush me. I shifted, half a step to the left and her magic left a void in the space I just occupied. With each spell, I dodged to one side and then another as if I was dancing.

  “So close.” I drew deep on my reserves, and created a single ward that kept her from reaching the ether. “Most of the time, I kill people who try to send me to the void. This is your only warning.” My voice was low, and held danger in it.

  “YOU TRIED TO KILL ME!” Olivia screamed at me from the bank. “You held my head underwater until I had no air in my lungs!”

  I nodded, “How did you get up?”

  “I destroyed your ward holding me there.” She raised the swor
d, and began walking towards me. “I could have drowned and died.”

  “Probably.” I kept my stick down, and waited for her to get closer. “What did my ward say?”

  “It was created to hold me underwater until my heart stopped beating.” Olivia was close enough and swung for my neck. Despite her rage, the years of training with her father still showed in her form.

  With a flick of the wrist I stopped her blade an inch before it could slice into me. “I don’t see what the problem is, as I was trying to kill you.”

  She disengaged, and launched a series of attacks that I either dodged, parried or blocked. “I thought you were supposed to teach me.”

  “What greater lesson is there to be learned? Always assume someone is trying to kill you.” I continued to weather her attacks with minimal effort. “You think an enemy mage will give you an out with their spells? A bandit won’t try to stab you because you are a woman? Do you really think the world is so forgiving that a single slip won’t cause you to die?”

  The more I spoke, the more she hesitated in her attacks. The initial surge of rage was dwindling, and the strikes lost some of their strength.

  “You’ve been sheltered for the most part of your life. Your parents meant well by keeping you from harm, but if you are going to be a mage then it means you will live the rest of your days with a target on your back. Some people will want to kill you for consorting with demons. Some people will try to manipulate you into doing the wrong thing because you have the power. Some people will torture you, trying to get you to transfer your gift to them. Some people will worship you, thinking you are a god descended to live among mortals for a brief time until you ascend again.” I knocked the sword from her grip, and the sharp end of the stick was at her neck instantly. “Living as a mage is a lonely life. Most try to hide their abilities with anonymity or behind lords and kings. Only the truly powerful mages are open with their abilities, but even they are careful to guard against every attack.”

  Her mouth hung open, eyes full of hurt and confusion. Before she could speak, I stepped back and looked past her. “You have a week to decide. I’ve taught you enough that you won’t go destroying villages on accident. You may stop here if you want to, and no one will ever know that you have the potential.” I walked away to give her space to think.

  Ash found me in his workshop, hanging from the rafters by my fingertips. My arms were trembling with the effort as I slowly raised my legs up until they were parallel to the floor. After holding it for a few seconds, I let them drop slowly again. Each movement was perfectly controlled so that I didn’t sway and lose my grip.

  “Impressive.” He picked up one of the ingots of Titan’s Bone I had brought. “You’ve not neglected your body as some mages do.”

  I did another leg lift while answering, “Charon was very specific that only fools did anything halfway. He also told me that when the ether fails me, my body won’t.” I dropped slightly to the floor.

  “Your master was a good teacher, no matter his other flaws.” He set down the ingot. “My other work is finished, and now it is time for your blades to be forged.”

  “I’m aware. We’ve worked the design out already.” I nodded over to the sketches on the drafting table.

  Ash recited, “The main blade will be as long as your arm from shoulder to fingertip with an extra hand length, with a two handed hilt. Double-edged. The short sword will be half as long as the main blade, and just over a hand wide for the handle length. The daggers will be of two sizes, one the length of your hand from bottom of wrist to fingertip and the other half again in length. Hilts will be made from the left over Titan’s Bone, a plain design that hides their nature. No gems in the pommels, and no script on the blades. Your name will be engraved on the hilts.” He looked at me, “Right?”

  “Perfect.” I tossed him a small coin pouch. “The first half of my payment.”

  He reached in and pulled out a gold coin with a diamond in the center. “A Thou. I’ve only seen a couple ever before.”

  “The Bank was a little furious I wouldn’t accept anything smaller, and they weren’t happy I closed my account.” I waited a second, “If you want smaller denominations…”

  “No,” Ash closed his fist, “I’ll just be giving it back to the Bank when I go into town next week. No sense in inviting myself as a target before then.”

  “I’ll accompany you, as guardian and fellow shopper.”

  “I accept.” Ash waved me towards a seat, and from a different hiding place pulled another bottle out. “About my daughter…”

  “It’s part of training,” I cut him off. “My master gave me the same choice after a couple weeks of training when I tried my best to kill him with what he had taught me. The first lessons are to make sure that the trainee knows how to keep their power in check so that accidents don’t happen. Then you goad them into exploding, and they see for themselves how much of an effect their power can have on the area. Finally you offer them a choice, and when they make that decision, it’s after seeing both the good and bad in what their future holds.”

  “It’s tough to see her like this.” Ash took a swig, “You scared her quite a bit.”

  “I had to.” I took a drink, “She had to believe I’d really kill her if she failed in undoing the ward. Then she had to see the amount of destruction her untamed power could have if she lost control.”

  Ash nodded. He had seen the holes in the ground and the warping on the trees. The stream had altered its course slightly, and there was a perfect circle in the center of the trees where nothing would ever grow again. His daughter had killed the very soil with her rage. That spot was now devoid of the ether, and only thousands of years would be able to correct it.

  “When would you like to begin forging?” Ash decided to avoid the topic for now, accepting my explanation.

  “Tomorrow.” I looked at the ingots, “They will be a lot of work.”

  “Then tonight, I’ll tell you a story of your master, before he became Charon. When I knew him and forged him the blades that made him both famous and infamous.”

  I offered the bottle back, knowing how storytelling quickly became thirst work. “He never talked about his past, I’d like to hear it.”

  Ash took a drink, “This was just before you were born, almost 25 years ago…

  I was working at the Capital as an apprentice smith, still a couple years from graduating. My work was gaining recognition, and my master was getting the praise for being such a good teacher. He was a good teacher, but it wasn’t until later that Charon told me the truth about my talent for working with metal.

  Lorraine was a serving girl at an upscale tavern, and I dropped by frequently to spend my pitiful allowance on the drinks. Everything I saved up for a week could only buy me two rounds, and I nursed each one as a way to spend more time with her.

  It was during one of these visits that I met Charon, who was talking with Lorraine. I was immediately jealous of him, with how he stood almost a head taller than her and had an easy way with talking to her while I struggled beyond the traditional pleasantries. He had money from being an Adept, but looking back on it I never once saw him buy a drink whenever we went out later. He always stuck with water.

  Before I could summon the courage to pull him away from my future wife, he turned and the air grew tense. Then he saw me, and relaxed a little at the sight of me.

  “You must be Asham. I’ve been looking for you.” He gave his thanks to Lorraine and walked over to a table. “Please join me, as I have a proposition for you.”

  I joined him, and Lorraine brought me my usual drink and handed Charon a mug full of water. “You have me at a disadvantage, knowing my name.”

  “Apologies, my name is Sideseth. I abhor my name, and will be changing it soon.”

  I started at the name, recognizing it almost instantly. The newest and youngest Adept to come from the Tower had just made the news after saving the King’s life. In less than a year there wasn’t a month that
went by where he didn’t have an adventure that wasn’t discussed by the citizens long into the night and deep into their drinks. “It’s an honor…” I began to stand.

  Charon took on a pained expression, “Please, I’m a regular person and there is no need to treat me any differently. Call me Seth.”

  “Okay, Seth.” I took a drink, “What do you have in mind that you need an apprentice smith?”

  He reached into his pack and took out a package, “I need someone who can make me a blade out of this.”

  I took the package, and unwrapped it. My drink was forgotten as I looked on the ingot of Titan’s Bone, with the Royal seal marking it of the highest grade. Most smiths would go their lives without ever seeing one, much less the blades that could be forged from it. “I’m just an apprentice,” I began. “I don’t have the skill…”