The Rogue Mage (The Age of Oracles Book 1)

by Ben Hale

  “Start with your patrol,” he said. “After what you’ve brought upon them, they deserve the truth from your lips.”

  “When?”

  “Never delay a difficult task,” he said firmly. “If they will follow you, let them decide now.”

  Footsteps heralded the arrival of the healing mages. Devkin gave Alydian a warning look as he reached to an orange sphere sticking to the door. Grasping it, he deactivated and pocketed it, and Alydian realized the man had suppressed any monitoring magic in the room. She blinked into her sight and examined the room, and wasn’t surprised to find several dots of sound magic scattered around her, all intended to capture anything spoken in the room. She hadn’t even considered the possibility, but Devkin clearly had.

  The door swung open and healer Marin strode in. Dressed in a simple white dress with a pink band on the shoulder, she was an older human and a single talent mage, but the best of the healing mages in Dawnskeep. A smile spread on her face as she saw Alydian sitting up in the bed.

  “It appears my patient has returned to the living once more.”

  “How bad was it?” Alydian asked.

  Marin gave a cursory nod to Devkin and stepped to Alydian’s side. “Your magesickness nearly cost you your life, dear one,” she said kindly. “I would not recommend such a spell a second time.”

  “It needed to be done,” Alydian replied.

  “Perhaps,” Marin said, and touched her arm, examining her flesh. “But even an oracle will perish if they attempt too much magic. The body simply cannot endure such power. Do not forget that magic is the power, the body the conduit.”

  Devkin’s lips twitched as if he wanted to smile. Then he stepped to the door. “I’ll inform Commander Othan that his acolyte has awoken.”

  “Thank you, Captain,” Marin replied before her voice became stern. “And do inform Alydian that I would still like to see her. She may be an oracle, but her illness has kept her in her in seclusion for a fortnight. I am confident I can help.”

  Devkin met Alydian’s gaze. “She improves daily,” he replied. “I’m sure she can visit you when she is ready.”

  “But I can—”

  “First Sister Elenyr is caring for her,” Devkin said, slipping out of view.

  Marin muttered under her breath. “If that man wasn’t so handsome I would give him a tongue lashing for his attitude.”

  Alydian raised an eyebrow. “You favor him?”

  The woman glanced up at her, her tone amused. “He may be a few years older than I, but he has the physique of a man in his youth.”

  Alydian laughed at that. “His wife died many years ago, so I wish you luck in courting him.”

  She sniffed. “For now, I’ll just admire him from afar. Now, be on your way, and use magic sparingly for the next few days.”

  “As you order,” Alydian said.

  “Do not disobey the order,” Marin said, looking like an angry bear. “Or I will have you dismissed as an acolyte before your magesickness makes you vomit.”

  Alydian heard the sincerity in her voice and inclined her head. “I will do as you ask. Thank you for your concern.”

  Alydian exited the healing chambers and made her way back to the courtyard. It quickly became clear that her notoriety had mounted while she’d been unconscious, and every guard she passed regarded her with thinly veiled curiosity. The Verinai guards stared at her with wariness and anger, oddly a welcome shift from the previous hatred.

  As she stepped into the courtyard she realized she was an enigma to the Verinai, a powerful master capable of rising in their ranks, yet refusing to abide by their secrets. Her very existence threatened the guild of Verinai, and if allowed to live she could become a beacon for those dissatisfied within the guild’s ranks.

  She walked across the courtyard towards the acolyte quarters, uncomfortably aware of the many eyes resting upon her. She recalled a voyage to the azure islands, where the islanders had used a cow to display the dangers of local sharks. The beasts had circled the chunk of meat for several minutes until tearing it asunder. She’d thought the display bloody and pointless. She never imagined she’d feel an affinity for the carcass.

  She reached the acolyte quarters and stepped inside, making her way down the empty halls to the one containing her patrol. Built into the outer wall of the citadel, the barracks contained bunkrooms that the acolytes were required to share. The long corridor branched into patrol chambers, each reserved for the patrols residing together. Banners and shields adorned the wall, both crafted from magic to illuminate the corridor. Word of her recovery had preceded her arrival, and she found her patrol standing in the doorway.

  “May we speak inside?” Alydian asked.

  They parted without a word, allowing her to enter. The click of the door shutting reverberated off the bare walls, harsh and grating before fading into silence. Alydian avoided eye contact, her eyes passing over the beds and privy at the back. Then she sighed and turned to face them.

  “You lied to us,” Toala said, her voice clipped and hard. “No normal Verinai could do what you did.”

  Alydian raised her hand and sent a flicker of orange magic about the room, silencing the monitoring magic that had been placed. The sight of her using a magic she was not supposed to have caused Ferin to raise an eyebrow.

  “I am not who you think I am,” Alydian hedged.

  “Then who are you?” Ferin asked.

  Alydian tried to voice it but the truth stuck in her throat. Ferin, Toala, and Grogith had become the closest thing she had to friends, and she’d lied to them from the beginning. Would they hate her? Refuse to help her? She’d broken more than one rule to become an acolyte, and it would be easy for them to perceive her actions as the pinnacle of arrogance. Then Grogith grunted and stabbed a long finger at her.

  “She’s an oracle.”

  Chapter 35: A Test of Friendship

  “You knew?” Alydian asked.

  The gnome made a sound between a laugh and a snort. “You are not as gifted in subterfuge as you might think.”

  “I don’t understand,” Ferin said to Alydian. “Who are you?”

  Alydian reached up and removed the Alethean necklace, and the magic faded from her features. Toala gasped, while Ferin began to laugh in chagrin.

  “But why?” Toala asked. “You are an oracle, the very person we have come to protect. Why put yourself in danger to be an acolyte?”

  “The Soldier,” Alydian said simply. “When he sought to kill me I was helpless, and I never wanted to feel weak again. As an oracle I do not train with combat magics until my second century, so I joined the Runeguard.” She offered a tentative smile, but Ferin shook his head.

  “The Verinai thought you were one of them,” he said, speaking slowly. “But you didn’t act like them.”

  She grimaced. “It was never my intention to incite their ire upon you.”

  Toala looked away, her emotions washing across her face. Ferin seemed uncertain as well, while Grogith’s features were as inscrutable as ever. The seconds passed in awkward silence until Toala turned and stabbed a finger at her.

  “They hated us because of you.”

  “They would have hated us anyway,” Ferin said, his expression unusually somber.

  “Not like this,” Toala said. “They did everything in their power to force us out.”

  “And we defied them,” Grogith said.

  “They will never respect us now,” Toala said harshly. “And once they find out what you did we will be dismissed. They’ll think we aided you.”

  Alydian swallowed, knowing that what she was about to ask might divide them further. But she desperately needed allies, and aside from Devkin, they were the only ones she trusted. Gathering her courage, she began.

  “They cannot dismiss you if you join my personal guard.”

  Toala’s eyes widened at that, the surprise draining her anger. “But new guards are never granted the honor of protecting one on the council.”

  “T
hey can at the request of an oracle,” Alydian said.

  “You trust us that much?” Ferin asked.

  “We have fought and bled together,” Alydian said earnestly. “And right now most of my guards are Verinai. I would rather have those I trust than those with power.”

  Toala and Ferin exchanged a look, and then glanced at Grogith, who hadn’t moved. He leaned against the wall with his arms folded, his black eyes hard and focused. Alydian turned to him.

  “To join me will be fraught with peril,” Alydian said.

  “Why not seek the help of the other oracles?” Toala asked. “Surely they will help you.”

  “I do not know who I can trust,” Alydian said. “For a betrayer lies on the council, and I know not their identity.”

  They exchanged a worried look, and Grogith scowled. Although the taciturn gnome kept his distance from the others, she thought he’d developed a gradual respect for her over the last few months. Ferin and Toala had accepted him as their lieutenant, and would likely follow his example.

  “I have no wish to see you killed,” Alydian said softly, “but I need your aid.”

  Grogith held her gaze, his expression annoyed. “Was our loyalty ever in question?”

  Alydian laughed wryly. “I did put you in danger.”

  “The Verinai did that on their own,” he said with a scowl. “We came to protect the oracles, even if Runeguard are the threat.”

  His black eyes flicked to Ferin, and the elf began to nod. “I’d get to train with Captain Devkin—assuming you still trust him to lead your guard.”

  “I trust him with my life,” Alydian said, turning to Toala.

  The sound mage looked between the three of them, uncertainty warring with her anger. Then she looked to Alydian.

  “Ferin is right,” she said. “And I have no love for the Verinai after what they have done.”

  Alydian swallowed against the sudden knot in her throat. “You have my gratitude.”

  “It doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven you,” Toala warned.

  “I know,” Alydian replied.

  Ferin gestured to her. “There is still something I don’t understand. Why did you reveal your power in the bandit camp?”

  Alydian shuddered as the image of the battle flashed across her mind. “I have revealed the truth about myself,” she said. “But that is not my only truth to share.”

  Briefly she outlined what she’d learned about the Verinai, the Accord, and the Soldier. She kept Raiden’s identity a secret, but held nothing else back. As she spoke Toala’s expression hardened, and Ferin’s perpetual smile disappeared. When she finished Toala muttered a curse.

  “Skorn-blasted mages,” she growled. “And we were all set to fight alongside them.”

  “If they would even let us,” Ferin said, his features tight with anger. “Once they took over they would likely cast us out like feral dogs.”

  “Their pride will be their downfall,” Grogith said.

  “Their pride is not without cause,” Alydian said. “They truly command the most powerful army in Lumineia. If their plan is brought to pass, there will be little we can do. They will control the strongholds throughout Lumineia, and no amount of magicless or single mages will be able to breach them. We would all live under a new Mage Empire.”

  “The people will revolt,” Toala said.

  “They haven’t,” Ferin said. “They live by fear, and fighting a tyrant requires courage.”

  “The Soldier has inspired them,” Alydian said. “And the people view him as a hero.”

  “And you believe the one you saved in the bandit camp is Red? His lieutenant?”

  “I do,” Alydian said. “Which is why I revealed myself to you this day. Her execution will take place in six days. And I wish to stop it.”

  “As Alydian?” Grogith asked slyly. “Or Alethean?”

  “Both,” Alydian said, returning the smile.

  As she laid out her plan their expression changed to astonishment, and then anticipation. It was a bold move, but one that could bring the Verinai’s advance to a grinding halt. It would also invite retribution.

  “We’ll stand with you,” Ferin said. “After what you have said, we can do nothing less.”

  Toala hesitated, and then inclined her head. “When you look into our future, do we triumph?”

  Alydian shook her head. “Since the Soldier attacked me, my future has grown progressively more clouded. Many do not know how they will react to the impending conflict, and their uncertainty flows into mine. For now, my farsight is all but useless.”

  The admission was a blow, one that caused Ferin to scowl. “So you have no idea if this plan will work?”

  “I do not,” Alydian said.

  Grogith grunted, the sound exasperated. “The plan has merit, elf. You can’t deny that.”

  “Grogith speaks the truth,” Toala said, stepping to Ferin. “Even without knowing the outcome, Alydian’s plan is sound.”

  “We will do our part,” Grogith said. “Go and do yours.”

  “She’s not your subordinate anymore,” Ferin said, grinning at Grogith. “You now answer to her.”

  The gnome jerked his head and scowled, but did not argue. Alydian looked at the three of them, relief and gratitude bringing tears to her eyes. She’d become an acolyte to learn to find her courage. She’d never anticipated she’d find a friend.

  She stepped to the door but paused on the threshold. “Do not forget,” she warned, placing the amulet back about her shoulders. “If the Verinai know who I am . . .”

  “They will move against you,” Ferin said.

  Alydian nodded. “You’ll receive your orders by the end of the day. Do try to act like they are a surprise.”

  “They are a surprise,” Ferin said with a laugh.

  Alydian grinned and stepped into the hall. She closed the door and leaned against the wall, her relief so palpable she could taste it. When she’d stepped into the barracks she’d steeled herself for the worst, but her friends were still hers.

  As she exited the barracks and made her way to the library she considered the lie she’d given. She had not been entirely truthful when she’d said her future was clouded, but the pieces that remained open to her were not worth sharing.

  She entered the library as Alethean and exited as Alydian, returning to her quarters to ponder. Passing her Verinai guards, she arrived to find Devkin inside. The grizzled soldier rose to his feet.

  “I take it things went well?”

  “Send the order,” she said. “They are to join my personal guard by the end of the day.”

  “Your Verinai guards will not be pleased,” Devkin said, his lips twitching.

  “Don’t act so happy when you reassign them,” Alydian said. “And the trouble is just beginning. My patrol’s appointment to the protection of an oracle will inspire even more questions, and accelerate the Verinai discovering my identity. We must act quickly.”

  “Then we have work to do.”

  They started with her farsight, and Alydian pushed herself to the limit of exhaustion exploring every branch not obscured by indecision. With every detail gleaned, she added to a framework of her original idea.

  The next day she was forced to return to Alethean and endure the intense scrutiny of her superiors. Having survived the third trial, they were now officially Runeguard, and received new armor and weaponry. The actual ceremony to appoint them would take place at the end of the week, but if things went according to plan Alethean would not be present. Their patrol had been assigned to protect Alydian with Captain Devkin, a fact that drew enormous criticism from other officers in the Runeguard, as well as the other acolytes.

  Newly appointed Rightenant Holan sneered at them as they passed in the meal hall. “A barren guard for a barren oracle,” he growled, eliciting laughter from Leftenant Erona.

  “Alydian must have lost her wits,” Erona said.

  The soldiers laughed again, and Alydian noticed Toala’s jaw tighten. “Your mo
ther would want you as her guard,” she shot back, “but only to keep the world from seeing your ugliness.”

  Ferin burst into a laugh as Holan’s face turned red. The Verinai fell to muttering as Alydian’s patrol accepted their bowls of stew and bread. Taking a seat at the far table, they ate quietly. Throughout the meal Alydian felt the many eyes upon her back and did her best not to look up.

  Of the four of them, none had been promoted, and Grogith had lost his rank. Even though Alydian knew Devkin was going to promote the gnome to rightenant, it still stung. Surprisingly, Grogith didn’t seem to care, and ate his stew without a glance at the glowering soldiers.

  After the meal the foursome reported to the Elsheeria Tower, ascending to Alydian’s quarters. When they reached Alydian’s door, Bathic and Yaria scowled at them. They saluted Devkin and then ambled away, casting baleful looks over their shoulders. Only when they were gone did Devkin speak.

  “If you’ll come this way,” he said. “I’m certain Alydian will be pleased to meet you.”

  They filed into the room and Alydian promptly removed her necklace. The door shut and Devkin began issuing orders. He’d turned one of the private receiving rooms into a training room, and in minutes he began testing them. They took turns, all exiting the room exhausted and lathered in sweat, always in defeat.

  The next two days were a blur of the same, with Devkin training them at a feverish pace, even allowing Alydian to test her mettle. Alydian used the intervening time to craft a special lightcast bird, adding her magic with great care until the tiny falcon carried enough magic to convey the required message.

  Squirreled away in her quarters, she still heard the rumors that she was weak and timid, unstable even. The Runeguard launched an inquisition, seeking the Council’s aid to force Alydian into accepting Verinai into her guards. Alydian reached out to Raine for aid and she promptly ended the request. The conflict was nothing compared to what was happening in Horizon.

  The streets were clogged with travelers clamoring for aid. The elves in Rualia demanded an inquisition while the humans from Griffin were terrified that the king’s assassin would return. Word had spread of Red’s capture and some of the populace wanted to witness her execution, but the Verinai refused to bring her out of Verisith. Rife with speculation and argument, the conflict in the streets of Horizon mounted to the breaking point.