Hope

by Sam Rook

  Lanclor didn't think Lady Kathryn saw their eyes widen in surprise. She complained about mastering a level 6 water spell in a way that said she had gone even further with her fire spells. Most of the instructors here usually stopped at level 5 spells in the areas of their mastery. The spells higher than level 5 seemed to drain you to the point of collapse if performed too often, which wasn’t an option in battle.

  She continued without hesitation. "I always pictured the fire in my head when I performed my fire spells. I tried picturing the water in my head as well, but it didn’t seem to work. I eventually realized that I needed to picture the water and imagine how it would feel and move as well. I didn’t have any problems with the next few levels." She smiled with her eyes as both Garrent and he stared at her.

  Lanclor dared to ask the question burning in their minds. "So, what level of fire and water spells are you able to perform now?"

  "Well, in the documented spells, I think I’ve gone up to level 10 on each spell, but from those other spells that weren’t spelled correctly, I think I’m up to level 29 fire and only level 20 on the water spells."

  Level 29 fire! It seemed as if she thought they would disapprove that she hadn’t mastered the spells at a higher level. She didn’t realize that her misspelled spells had been lost to them for some time. Their Master level knights had to be able to perform level 10 spells in fire, water, ice, wind, and their corresponding shields along with teleportation and motion spells. This could take a decade to master. Lady Kathryn had managed to bypass all of them in less than two cycles. He again wondered whom she Bore.

  "What about ice, wind, any shields?" Garrent could remain silent no longer. He thirsted for knowledge of magic as he thirsted for knowledge of history. "How do you deal with the draining issue? Have you ever lost consciousness?"

  "I haven’t been focusing on the shields, but have been looking more into offensive spells." She quickly glanced Lanclor's way and he nodded to indicate he had shared her Sights with Garrent. They had not yet scheduled a time to speak with her about her library research. Maybe now would be a good time to do that. "My ice is at around level 11 just because I’ve been focusing so much on my fire and water spells." She seemed embarrassed to admit her "lack" of studying. "I haven’t worked with wind much, only level 3. I still don’t understand how it can be more useful than a fire spell. I consider it more of a defensive than offensive spell."

  Lanclor thought their silence confused her. She stood stiffly, as if awaiting some rebuke. He refused to let her believe her success over their failure was a reason for reprimand. "I think, Lady Kathryn, you may have to meet with us and share what you’ve learned. Many of the spells you speak of have been lost to us for a long time.

  "Perhaps you can teach us some of them, or help some of the other knights master the art of learning the spells. I think you have a different approach to learning the spells than what our instructors teach. You may hold the key to us learning the Lost spells and ending the Daemon War."

  After Lady Kathryn departed, Garrent closed the door and seated himself in front of Sir Lanclor's desk. "Whom do you think she Bears?"

  "I honestly don’t know. I don’t remember any women with as high a magic level."

  "It’s not unheard of for a woman to Bear a male. You know that."

  "That’s true. I guess it’s so rare that I never even considered it. We can guess all we want, but we’ll have to wait for the Judgment to occur for her before we’ll know anything. That can only occur after she has Announced. You know as well as I that it could take cycles before she’s even aware that she Bears. "

  "Oh, I know that, Lanclor. I only suggest that you try to include her in more of our discussions so we can judge for ourselves that she Bears nobody evil. Given her Sights and actions thus far, I don’t think she Bears anyone evil, but sometimes evil can hide behind many masks. That, we both know too well."

  He nodded his agreement. Both Garrent and he had taken a potential Soulbearer under their wings. Borith had shown great promise until the night before he was to Announce. Borith had decided go to the local brothel to celebrate the special occasion. In the Knighthood, it wasn’t dishonorable to visit a brothel as long as the knights used some form of pregnancy protection. He chose the best woman in town, but she wasn’t a fan of Borith’s sexual aggression.

  After Borith satisfied himself and the woman was severely injured, she cast some type of curse upon him which any lesser witch could remove. Instead of accepting the curse and having it removed later, he used a spell of Manipulation and forced the woman and the rest of the brothel women to throw themselves out the window along with some Royal Guardsmen who had tried to stop him.

  Spells of Manipulation were strictly forbidden, as was murder. The Knighthood Stripped Borith of his title and Blocked him before banishing him. He disappeared from his cell before the knights could brand him with the murderer’s mark and escort him to the wild lands. Nobody had seen him since.

  "I hope more than anything that Lady Kathryn bears nobody evil," Lanclor said as he realized what could happen. "I don’t think we could ever stop someone who could cast a level 29 fire spell."

  Garrent’s eyes widened. "You’re right. No knight here would know a powerful enough fire shield spell to block it. I hope and pray it’ll never come to that."

  "You and I both."

  Chapter 23

  Kathryn entered the room and looked around, trying to figure out where in the world she should sit. She was here to tell the knight instructors that they were ignorant and she had all of the answers with her Lost Spells corrections. Sure, they’ll be so happy to hear that.

  Glancing around, she saw many instructors looking at her with disbelief. She wasn’t sure if it was her wing color or the fact that she was a first-cycle knight giving them a lecture on magic. Luckily, Sir Garrent saved her from her discomfort and motioned her to the seat on his right. She only noticed they were on a pair of raised chairs when she had to climb a step to take her seat.

  Around them, she only saw a few knights she recognized. The rest were helmeted strangers emanating impatience to get back to their duties. Many had their arms crossed, which on this world shouted we have more important things to do than this.

  The room quieted as Sir Garrent spoke. "I thank everyone for coming today. I know you have many things to do, but I believe this takes precedence over them. Lady Kathryn has been researching the Lost Books and has found misspellings. She has corrected these spellings and has performed many of the Lost Spells. I’ll leave it up to her to demonstrate. Lady Kathryn?" He motioned her to rise as he sat down.

  She hesitantly rose from her seat and pushed all of her awful memories of oral exams from Earth from her mind. "I’m sure that many of you think this is a waste of time, so I’ll get right to the point. I apologize ahead of time if I offend anyone." After she removed her helmet, there were several gasps of surprise, either by her appearance or by the action itself, she wasn’t sure.

  I know that the vast majority of you balk at the removal of my helmet during this meeting, but it’s the only way to show you that I’m indeed using the Communication spell.

  She paused to let that sink in. Every eye in the room widened in surprise and arms were uncrossed. She had their attention.

  Sir Lanclor explained to me that this spell was one that has been lost too long. I’ve been going through the Lost Spells and I’ve corrected only a small portion of them. Some I dare not demonstrate in a crowded room. You can’t imagine how hot a level 20 fire spell can be in a small room. I had to wear my helmet everywhere just to hide my missing eyebrows. This brought out a few chuckles, most likely from those with such experiences.

  I’ve written a list of the spells I’ve corrected and Sir Garrent will make a copy for anyone who wants one. Sir Garrent and I have agreed that it will be best to learn these spells on a one-on-one basis until everyone learns how to control the spell. Otherwise, we may all be Communicating our personal conversations to the rest
of the Knighthood.

  I’ve taught both Sir Lanclor and Sir Garrent the spell, and they’ve both mastered how to control it. I’m sure they would be the best teachers in this situation. Everybody will also be able to experiment on their own using the list, but I’d recommend looking at the spell in the Lost Spell book beforehand so you’re aware of the dangers. With that, I’ll hand the floor back over to Sir Garrent.

  Sir Garrent stood and asked fearfully, "Are there any questions?"

  The room erupted with noise. It took quite a while before Sir Garrent regained order. There were many questions about a handful of spells and when they could learn them. Kathryn quietly sat in her chair and waited for the end of the meeting. Sir Garrent finally declared this one as his final question and called upon a knight in gold. She hadn’t realized that Lord Alextor attended.

  Lord Alextor stood and looked directly at her. "If I may ask, Lady Kathryn, why do you think Sir Garrent and Sir Lanclor would be the best teachers in this situation? I would think if you were the one to discover the spells, that you would be the best person to teach them." He saved her from answering the questions she had no idea how to answer. "With that in mind, I’d like you to teach me the Lost Spells. I’ll decide if these spells should be in the hands of the rest of the Knighthood. It might be best if some of these spells remained lost."

  She couldn’t refuse the leader of the Knighthood. "I’d be honored to teach you the Lost Spells, Lord Alextor."

  Kathryn's next Sight occurred several weeks into her lessons with Lord Alextor. This Sight was different since it lasted long enough for her to question Lord Alextor about its meaning. As Lord Alextor sat across from her with both of their hands touching the same bowl of water intended for a level 15 ice spell, the white haze obscured her vision.

  She was suddenly aware of an image of him and a tall woman walking arm-in-arm down an aisle. The woman walked with her back straight and seemed to show everyone her prize—her husband. They walked away from a short woman with gentle eyes who stood in front of hundreds of knights, with Sir Lanclor in the forefront. As Lord Alextor and the tall woman walked farther and farther away, the knights began to fall to the ground. She heard the clang of their armor as they hit the stone floor. The short woman’s eyes were pleading as she reached a hand toward Lord Alextor.

  "Who’s the tall woman, Alextor? The tall woman, so confident and commanding, while the short one seems so gentle, yet has a certain power emanating from her?" Kathryn spoke as if in a dream, her fuzzy mind only realizing afterward that she had addressed Lord Alextor as an equal.

  He didn’t hesitate, even in his surprise. "I assume the tall woman you speak of is Loreaneth of Valtimar. Her father has offered me her hand in marriage. The Council is pressuring me to accept, for her father is a wealthy merchant. I haven’t met a short woman, unless that could be Guarenia of Lenton. Her mother also offered me her hand in marriage, but Guarenia’s mother only recently recovered from an illness and won’t be able to present Guarenia until the New Harvest next week. Valtimar is insisting I respond by the end of this week."

  Loreaneth and Lord Alextor continued to walk away from Guarenia and the falling knights. They headed for an army of Daemons. The Daemons stood upon a misshapen hill and their claws created a sickening popping sound when they adjusted their positions. Only when the couple reached the Daemons did she realize they stood upon a hill of bleached skulls.

  . "Loreaneth will somehow cause the end of the Knighthood. Don’t turn your back on Guarenia and the knights."

  Kathryn felt a brush of wind upon her cheek and a shadow flickered at the edge of her vision. Someone else was in the room.

  You stupid bitch. Do you really think you’re untouchable? The histories are true; a Seer is defenseless during a Sight. I think it’s time for your education of our leader to end. He’s not capable of leading us down the right road anyway.

  The newcomer cast some type of choking spell combined with some other mental attack upon her. Kathryn fell from her chair trying to remove the invisible hands from around her throat. She heard Lord Alextor shouting for the other knights before the white haze faded to black.

  Chapter 24

  Kathryn awoke to hunger and a bad headache. The antiseptic smell lingered in the air of the hospital wing. Two guards, posted inside her room, sat at a table playing a dice game. When they saw her awake, one of them left the room.

  "How are you feeling?" the remaining knight asked.

  "I’m okay."

  The knight nodded, but didn’t say anything else.

  Several minutes later, Lord Alextor and Sir Lanclor entered the room, accompanied by the Master Healer, Vetera. The room felt much smaller.

  "Lady Kathryn, how are you feeling?" Master Vetera asked.

  "My head hurts, but I think I’m okay. I’m hungry. What happened?" She had a vague recollection of the attack, but couldn’t seem to understand what truly happened.

  Lord Alextor exchanged a look with Sir Lanclor and responded, "Someone attacked you, magically, in my throne room. You were having a Sight and I felt someone come into the room and begin attacking you after you warned me about Loreaneth. My guards and I were able to reverse the spells, but not before you lost consciousness. That happened about two weeks ago."

  "Two weeks!" She paused, trying to grasp how so much time had passed when it seemed like it had only happened a few hours before. "Did you find out who did it?"

  "No, we didn’t find out who performed the spells." Sir Lanclor clenched his fists at his sides. "The fact that he was able to attack you inside the throne room has us worried. He used Forbidden spells to attack you. It may take us a while to find him. In the meantime, we’d like to increase the defensive spells on the throne room. When you feel up to it, Lady Kathryn, I’d like your assistance with researching defensive spells from the Lost Spells book. I’m glad to see you’ve recovered. I have a lot to do, so I must take my leave with your permission, Lord Alextor?" With Lord Alextor’s nod, he saluted and left the room.

  "Sometimes I wonder why he punishes himself. He thinks that just because he Bears the Destructor that everyone judges him based upon the Destructor’s reputation. He needs to realize that we Bear their memories and not their souls."

  Lord Alextor continued to stare after him. "We used to be childhood friends, you know. We were closer than brothers until he Announced. After that, he pushed everybody away, fearing he would somehow betray them." He cleared his throat.

  "You know, I believed in your Sight. I waited until I met Guarenia before I made my decision. Guarenia and I are to be wed by month's end." His eyes smiled. "You were right. She has a gentle heart, but a firm authority. She has managed her estate for cycles and is a fine huntswoman."

  Kathryn hadn’t noticed that the healer had gone. Master Healer Vetera now entered the room carrying a tray full of food.

  "I’ll now leave you to your meal. When you’ve fully recovered, we can continue our lessons. Be safe, Lady Kathryn," Lord Alextor said with a nod and left the room.

  Kathryn joined Sir Lanclor in the library at his request three weeks after the incident in the throne room. They had decided that the best way to prevent the Last Battle Sight from happening was to find a spell powerful enough to defeat the Daemons. He also wanted to find more defensive spells for the throne room.

  They agreed to search in the library for one hour every other day in the evening until they had gone through all of the Lost Spell books. With Sir Lanclor present, Kathryn felt it more appropriate to keep her helmet on to avoid offending him. She didn't realize until that moment how annoying it was to try reading a book looking through eye slits. Growing frustrated, she decided to approach the problem head-on.

  "Sir Lanclor?" she said in a quiet voice.

  He responded with some annoyance since she had interrupted his search. "Yes, Lady Kathryn?"

  "Would you be offended if I removed my helmet? It's awkward trying to read through this thing."

  "That's fine. I gues
s I've had a lot of practice so I don't even notice it anymore."

  She removed her helmet with relief and resumed her search through the Lost Spells: Book 50. She started at the end of the book list while Sir Lanclor tackled the beginning. They decided they could meet in the middle if they had the time to do so. To save time, they decided to only read the spell descriptions and note any that may be helpful during the battle. If she tried correcting all of the spellings, they'd be stuck in the library for years.

  On the sixth day of their mutual search, she found a spell that might turn the tides of the Battle. Even after so many days cooped up together, Sir Lanclor and she still maintained their formalities. He was still the Knight-Commander and she dared not offend him. Likewise, he acted as though he was her teacher and avoided any type of conversation not related to the search. While this seemed like an unlikely alliance, she felt as if she knew him a little better and their silence wasn’t uncomfortable.

  "Sir Lanclor, I think I may have found something."

  "What did you find?" He sat up straight in his chair with his eyes alight.

  She read the description aloud. "The Phoenix Fire Spell: A unique fire spell of the highest level that can be focused on creatures of a particular physiology. This spell safely engulfs the caster and expands to strike the targeted creatures within sight of the caster. Originally used by the High Dragon Synthakla to rid Av'lor of thickly armored karatoek bugs destroying the last crops of the Lir’Kelah, avoiding a catastrophic famine."

  "That sounds like a possibility. What are the warnings?"

  "Oh, I haven't read those yet. Let me see." She paused, frowning as she first read the warning to herself. "This spell should only be used by a mage capable of a level 250 fire spell. If not controlled, the Phoenix Fire Spell will not only engulf, but also fully consume the caster. That doesn't sound good."