Magus (Advent Mage Cycle)

by Honor Raconteur

  It was, thankfully, a short distance to the outside courtyard. Still, I was glad to put him down on a bench. Shad gave me a quick smile of thanks then he turned his face up to the suns. He still hadn't gotten enough sunlight, and was outside every chance he got.

  "There you two are!" Xiaolang walked up, faintly amused to see us outside already. "You're going to burn if you keep this up, Shad. Your skin isn't used to sunlight right now."

  "So I look like a lobster for a few days, who cares?" he retorted flippantly. "The sooner I burn, the sooner I'll tan."

  "You'll burn, and then peel, and then you'll have to start the process all over again," Xiaolang corrected. "And we care because we'll have to hear you whine the entire time you're burned."

  Shad turned the full force of his puppy eyes onto Xiaolang. I felt vaguely justified when the Ascalon Captain caved. At least I wasn't the only one here with a soft touch.

  "It's your skin," Xiaolang sighed in resignation. "Anyway, I tracked you down for a reason." He took a seat on the other end of Shad, effectively capturing his audience's attention. "Shad, has anyone explained why it took two hundred years to free you from the crystal?"

  I've learned in the day that I've known him that Shad is a fairly happy-go-lucky person. So it was strange when he became solemn and pensive. "No, no one has. Why?"

  "I think it's perhaps best if Garth answers that question, considering who he is."

  "Who he is?" Shad parroted in confusion. He twisted so that he could look at me. "Who are you, besides the obvious?"

  "I am the first Mage born since the Magic War," I answered softly.

  "It is for this reason that he is called the Advent Mage," Xiaolang added just as softly.

  Shad was so stunned that you could have knocked him over with a feather. "The first…since…" he swallowed hard, and started over. "But why?! There's always been Mages! Not a lot, I'll grant you, but there's always been at least a dozen running around."

  "I think we better start at the beginning," Xiaolang observed. "Garth, you know the history better than I do. Why don't you tell him the full tale?"

  And so I did. I started with the order for all magicians to remove to the Isle of Strae, and then spoke of the effect that the war had on Chahir. I told of the Jaunten, and how they were chased out of the country. There had been no magic in this country, at least none that we were aware of, until I had shown up in Del'Hain. I gave him a brief summary of the agreement Guin had with Vonlorisen, and why such an agreement was necessary.

  By the time I was finished, Shad looked sick to his stomach. It took several tries before he could manage a coherent response. "I can't believe it…. I know that magic did a lot to hurt us during the war but it did so much good as well. For them to just throw that power away…" he shook his head, incredulous.

  "Maybe you can tell us what started the war?" Xiaolang asked in genuine curiosity.

  I think that questioned startled Shad just as much as anything I had said. He jerked around so quickly that he nearly lost his balance on the bench. "You don't know?!"

  "A lot of history and knowledge was lost during the war," I explained quickly. "You won't believe how much. They weren't even really able to train me—it was mostly trial and error. They could barely tell me what kind of Mage I was."

  "Great good guardians! What kind of insanity is this?" he demanded in sheer disbelief. He shook his head, visibly pulling himself together before answering. "There was this great contention in the magic community. There were some that held that the more powerful magicians needed to be regulated more. I don't understand the finer details, as I'm no magician myself, but the gist of it was that they wanted to put some kind of power limitations on people."

  I went stock still as the full implications of what he was telling me sank in. "Mages. They wanted to control how much power a Mage could draw."

  "Them, and any Wizard or Witch deemed too powerful," Shad acknowledged. "There were others, mostly the Mages, that argued against it. They said it was hard enough to do their job as it was, they didn't need any power restrictions to make it even harder."

  "Would it?" Xiaolang asked me quietly.

  "Very much so," I answered shortly. Idiocy. The people back then were absolutely insane to think that would work. "Think about this, Xiaolang. The only time that I'm ever called in is when a Witch's or Wizard's power isn't enough to do the job. How could I do anything effectively if my power is limited to 'normal' levels?"

  "That's the same argument they were using," Shad stated bleakly. "Much good it did them. They started to get into really heated arguments about it, and then fights started breaking out. Before we knew it, we had a total war on our hands, and no way of protecting the civilians. Some of the more compassionate magicians went around putting up wards around the cities and castles, to help protect people, but that didn't do much good if the fight started inside the wards. It was a bloody mess," he concluded grimly. "Still, to banish all magic… that's too extreme."

  "Especially now that more of our countrymen are being born with magic," I agreed. "But that's one of the reasons why I'm here—to help those people into Hain."

  "And that brings me to the original question I wanted to ask." Xiaolang was intent, eyes locked with Shad's. "Will you go with us?"

  Shad froze, sheer surprise keeping him in place. "You…want me to go with you?"

  "We could use your expertise," Xiaolang admitted this with a charming smile. "And we could certainly use another person. We're only doing this impossible job with seven people as it is."

  "Nine if you include a mischievous Meuritta and a prankster-loving Nreesce," I inputted drolly.

  Xiaolang's lips twitched but he continued as if I hadn't interrupted. "If the stories are true, Shad, you're an incredible fighter that knows how to combat magicians and win. I need that knowledge. You're also Chahiran, so you have a better chance of infiltrating than my own people do. I can do this job without you but it would be much easier with you."

  Shad seriously considered that…for about a millisecond. Then he lit up in a smile that was eerily similar to Didi's when he was about to do something he shouldn't but was going to enjoy doing anyway. "So basically, we're going to sneak all around Chahir under Vonlorisen's nose, steal people, smuggle them into Hain, and not get caught doing it."

  "That's about the size of it," Xiaolang agreed. He was smiling too, a reflection of the expression on Shad's face.

  "Sounds like fun to me! I do love the impossible missions; it keeps me on my toes. So when do we start?"

  "Soon," Xiaolang promised. "We have one more thing to do before we get back to what we were assigned to do." He extended a hand, which Shad clasped firmly. A little kernel of worry, that I hadn't even realized was there, eased when Xiaolang said, "Welcome to the team, Riicshaden."

  Chapter Eight: Q'atal

  It was a fifteen mile stretch from the top of Chahir to Q'atal. At least it was if you went by boat and crossed the gulf to get there. If you went by land, it was a good three hundred miles, filled with flat grassland, impossible mountains, rocky shorelines, and bandit infested forests.

  We chose to go by boat.

  Shad still wasn't up to full strength yet, but three days out of the crystal had done a lot to restore him. He was capable of walking on his own, for short stretches of time, and his balance was much better. We had all debated on leaving him here to recuperate, and picking him up later, but in the end decided that might be a bad idea. There would be no one to fend off his rabid fans, since we were all leaving. And besides, it was an easy trip. He could rest in the boat, and again in Q'atal. It wasn't like anyone but I would be working when we got up there, after all.

  There was just one hitch in these plans.

  I couldn't get Xiaolang on the boat.

  He kept offering all sorts of excuses to put off boarding the boat. At first I didn't realize there was a problem, but after the third excuse in fifteen minutes, it became obvious that something was going on.

 
; The shipyard in Jarrell was a very busy place, filled with cargo, people, shipping equipment of all sorts, and vendors. I had to duck around and in between all of it in order to reach Hazard's side. He was standing there, watching his captain, and chuckling to himself.

  I turned to see what Hazard was laughing about, but nothing struck me as funny. Xiaolang was arguing with the Captain of the ship about something, one hand waving emphatically to emphasis his point. The Captain—a large man with a protruding belly and a drooping mustache—was arguing back just as vehemently. Even in this din of noise, I could hear his voice, if not the words. "What's so funny?"

  "The Cap'n," Hazard answered, voice rich with humor.

  "You've lost me, Hazard."

  "Ah, that's right, you wouldn't know, would you?" the question was apparently rhetorical, as he didn't pause for my reply. "On riverboats, he does all right, because he's so close to the shore. He figures he can make it, if he tries hard enough, and latches onto something floatable. But here, across the gulf…" Hazard shook his head again, nearly laughing all over again. "Captain Xiaolang of the Red Hand," Hazard gestured grandly, smirking. "Youngest captain in Ascalon history. Perfect soldier. Sinks like a hammer."

  Ahhhh. That was the problem! "Doesn't he realize that we can't possibly drown?" I demanded in exasperation.

  Hazard blinked at me, clueless. "What do you mean?"

  "Hazard, think about this," I chided. "I'm an Earth Mage. The ship is made out of wood. Even if we did spring some kind of serious leak, I could make the wood grow and patch it up again. Or, if we were somehow tossed out of the ship, I could raise a patch of the sea floor so that we'd have something to stand on. As long as he's in my company, he can't drown."

  Hazard's mouth opened, closed, and then he hummed thoughtfully. "You know, I never thought about it like that. Garth, I'm so glad you're with us."

  I gave him a mocking bow in acknowledgement. "Thank you. Now, grab your captain, and let's go. We're wasting time."

  "Right."

  ~*~

  Despite my many assurances to Xiaolang that he could not drown while he was with me, he still kept a nervous eye on the open sea around us. Just watching him started to make me a little nervous. I felt like picking up a clue-bat and hitting him over the head with it a few times.

  All of us were on the foredeck of the boat, well out of the sailors’ way. I chose to move over to the right side, where Shad was sitting, before I gave into temptation and said something to Xiaolang. He gave me an understanding smile as I approached. "Getting on your nerves?"

  "I know there are just some things that people can't help, but he's making me nervous," I growled.

  "I understand," Shad assured me ruefully. "Why do you think I'm sitting over here? How much longer should this trip take, anyway?"

  Jaunten knowledge came to the rescue, and with only a brief glance at the (barely visible) shoreline, I was able to answer the question. "About an hour, perhaps two."

  "Thank God, Goddess, Saints, angels, sprites and little pink elephants!" he exclaimed.

  I snorted, amused at the expression. "I haven't heard someone say that in the longest time. Not since my grandfather died."

  "Hey now! No cracks about my age, you young whippersnapper!”

  I started laughing at the mock-serious frown on his face.

  “Show some respect for your elders,” Shad continued severely. He sounded so much like a crotchety old man that I lost it, my laughter completely uncontrollable. I was laughing so hard that it got him started, and in no time, we were hanging off each other and laughing like loons.

  That, of course, got Hazard’s attention, and he had to know what we were laughing about so hard. I tried to explain, but every time I got half way through the sentence, I’d remember what I was explaining, and start chortling all over again.

  “Obviously I’m not going to get anything sensible out of you two,” Hazard noted. He was grinning, apparently amused at our being amused. “Well, at least someone is having fun on this trip.”

  I pointed an accusing finger at Shad. “He started it!”

  “I did not!” Shad protested, grinning broadly. “You started making wisecracks about my age!”

  “I was just making an innocent observation!” I protested.

  Hazard, hoping to get an explanation, pounced on that. “What observation?”

  “Shad said something that I haven’t heard since my grandfather passed on,” I explained.

  “Now isn’t that a remark on my age?” Shad demanded. “Isn’t that cruel? Here I am, a poor old man, and he’s commenting on my age.”

  “Shad, if you’re a poor old man, then I’m at death’s door,” Hazard retorted. “You were what, twenty? When you were put into the crystal, I mean.”

  “About twenty-three,” Shad admitted.

  Hazard nodded, as if that didn’t surprise him. “I’m thirty, so you have no room to talk.”

  “But you know,” Shad had an impish light in his eyes that I didn’t trust at all, “out of all of us, Garth looks the oldest.”

  “Because of the white hair,” Hazard agreed. “You’re what, Garth, twenty-eight or so?”

  I blinked at this. “You’re way off, Hazard. I’m seventeen.”

  The silence that followed my statement was so absolute that it would make a graveyard at midnight seem lively. They both stared at me so incredulously that I almost felt like defending my age.

  “Seventeen?!” they gasped, nearly in stereo.

  I tugged a strand of my hair into view, peering at it thoughtfully. It was long enough now to hang just past my shoulder blades, and I was thankful that Chatta had chosen such a good hair-clasp for me. That much hair would surely get in my way. “Does it really make me look that much older?”

  Shad nodded vigorously. “It really does.”

  “I wish I could dye it back…” I muttered in resignation.

  “Dye doesn’t hold?” Hazard studied my hair curiously.

  “Not at all.” I smoothed my hair back into position, determined not to let it bother me. “As Chatta pointed out, when magic changes something, it's difficult to change it back.” I thought about it a bit longer, before something occurred to me. “Actually, I guess it’s a good thing that I look so much older. Most people would be a little nervous about a teenage Mage.”

  “There is that,” Hazard agreed. “Actually, I might have been a little nervous when we first met if I’d known your real age. This side effect is probably a good thing, Garth.”

  “Probably.” I’d still be relieved when I hit fifty, though.

  Xiaolang carefully inched his way towards us, an eye on the sea the entire time. “Garth, tell me we’re close.”

  I sighed. If we make it to Q’atal without me strangling Xiaolang, it will be a miracle of holy proportions.

  ~*~

  Xiaolang was much better once he had his feet on solid ground again. He looked like some sort of crab as he scrambled down the gangway, but he definitely regained his confidence once he was away from the ship, and the sea.

  Some Jaunten ancestor of mine must have been this far north at least once, because I had an idea of where I was. Q’atal didn’t actually extend its borders all the way to the shoreline—actually, there was a Solian city port that hugged the rugged coastline. We had to go another mile inland before we actually reached Q’atal.

  Our Ascalon Captain was his usual commanding self, and started giving us directions once we were completely unloaded. “Hazard, you and Shad go find us an inn somewhere. Take Hayate with you.”

  I noted that neither Night nor I were mentioned in these orders. “What about us?”

  “We need to go report into the City Council, and get an idea of where to go,” Xiaolang responded. His forehead was furrowed slightly as he thought. “I’m not sure how much groundwork has been laid for this. I know that my superiors talked to the Remcar-ol and reached some sort of an agreement that they would accept help, but I’m a little shaky on the details. We n
eed to talk to someone who knows what’s going on.”

  That made perfect sense to me.

  “If it’s all the same to you, I’ll go with them.” Night was rather irritable, like a grizzly just waking up from a long winter nap.

  This was so far outside of Night’s normal behavior that I gave him a worried once-over. “Are you all right?”

  “If you must know, I feel a little queasy.”

  Shad choked, trying to stifle his laughter behind one hand. “Are you suggesting that you got seasick?”

  Night raised his head, and with great dignity, refused to answer him.

  Poor Night. I very carefully didn’t smile. “Go on, then. I’ll stick with Xiaolang and get an idea of where we are supposed to go next.”

  The group left, with Night grumbling about how he wanted nothing more than cool water and shade. I watched him in bemusement. I didn’t know that horses could get seasick. Or maybe Night was an exception to the rule?

  Xiaolang seemed perfectly comfortable with the city, as he struck off confidently through the streets without asking for directions first. I had to scramble to keep up with him. For a short person, he walks really fast.

  "Xiaolang!"

  The Q'atalian pivoted about, turning toward that hail. His face lit up in a sincere smile and one hand waved in greeting. "Magavero!"

  A tall man in the black and red uniform of Ascalon was rapidly approaching us. He was lean, with brown hair graying at the temples, dark eyes, and skin leathered with too much sun. But the smile on his face was just as delighted as Xiaolang's, which wiped years from his looks. As I watched, he grabbed the younger man in a fierce hug, which lifted Xiaolang's feet from the ground. Judging from Xiaolang’s reaction, he didn’t mind—the greeting was returned with equal force.

  "Burn my eyes, boy, but I'm glad to see you." Magavero finally let Xiaolang go, but he only retreated a foot or so, eyeing the Captain thoughtfully. "What are you doing up here?"

  "Nice to see you as well, sir. And I might very well ask you the same question," Xiaolang parried.