“Another Conscript…” she said, placing the book down. “That’s all we get these days. I’m supposed to protect the Empire with vagrants and thieves.”
“I’m no thief, madam,” Aric replied.
An eyebrow jumped on the Grand-Master’s face and Aric felt Saruk’s hand squeeze his arm.
“You will speak when authorized, recruit,” the Grand-Master told him. She looked at Saruk. “At least, he has manners. I don’t remember the last time someone called me ‘madam’.”
“Well,” Saruk replied, “he is….”
“I know who he is.” She paced herself along a line of book shelves. “Is he going to be any trouble, Saruk?”
Aric clenched his teeth. He hated when people talked about him as if he couldn’t hear them. It reminded him of Sagun.
“I don’t think so,” Saruk replied. He looked at Aric. “He had his chance to run away… and didn’t.”
Grand-Master Sylene frowned. “He did?”
“Let’s just say,” Saruk replied, “the boy had a choice to make, and he made the right one.”
The Grand-Master crossed her arms, pondering Saruk’s words. She was very tall and lean, and wore black leather armor with a scorpion on her chest. The desert and her duties had clearly taken their toll, but she was remarkably beautiful nonetheless. She glanced at the table where the wooden Hunters stood watch.
“I don’t care where you came from,” she said, then looked him in the eyes. “It has no importance here. In fact, who you are, or even why you’re here will have no impact on your life as a Dragon Hunter. You’re one of us now. Any crimes you’ve committed or injustices you’ve suffered, they’re forgotten.”
She approached Aric and grabbed his shoulders tightly.
“Welcome to Lamash.”
Crackling torches flickered in every corridor and tunnel of the mountain fortress. Each of their steps echoed a thousand times.
“The dining hall is on the main level, where we came in,” Saruk explained. “These upper levels are the sleeping quarters.”
Wind drafts whistled here and there, even though all doors were closed and there was no window in sight. It was almost surprising to look up and not see dripping stalactites hanging from the ceiling.
“Why are so many of these doors locked?” Aric asked.
“They’re not locked, just closed,” Saruk replied. “There was a time when Dragons numbered in the thousands, and so did the Guild. But the world changed. Dragons no longer haunt the entire Empire. We’ve confined the scourge to the desert.” He shrugged. “So our numbers dwindle and our fortress becomes emptier every year.” They turned a corner into an ante-chamber of sorts. “Even more so ever since magic was forbidden. Dragon blood used to be the most precious commodity in the Empire, and now a single drop can send you to the gallows. Turns out that’s a terrible way to get new people volunteering to hunt Dragons.”
Saruk stopped in front of a large double door. Above it hung a tattered banner with the number twenty-three written in every language in the Empire. Aric could only read Arreline and Samehrian, but the Akhami and Cyrinian numerals were easy enough to understand.
“We’re here.”
Aric stared at the massive wooden door. “What’s on the other side?” he asked.
“Your Company’s quarters. The people you will spend the rest of your life with.”
That made Aric swallow dryly.
“They’re trainees, just like you,” Saruk continued. “The twenty third is a Company we are reforming. With you, it’s now only two recruits away from being at full strength. At that point, you will begin your Dragon Hunting training.”
Aric sighed.
“I don’t belong here…. I don’t even know how to hold a sword.”
“Trust me, nothing anyone could teach you outside this mountain could prepare you for a Dragon.” He paused. “Don’t try anything stupid again, kid. You won’t make it, and there will be a punishment this time.”
“I know… I just wished…. I don’t even know what happened to my father. Is he even alive?”
Saruk considered his words for a moment.
“How about this. The Grand-Master has contacts in the Citadel. She can find out, and she will if I ask her to. But you have to promise me that you won’t try to escape again, no matter the news. Agreed?”
Aric pursed his lips as if he wanted to forbid himself from answering, but he gave up with a massive sigh.
“Alright,” he said. “Agreed.”
Saruk pushed, and the door opened with a creak. On the other side, a Dragon skull the size of a cow greeted them with sword-like fangs. It hung from the ceiling, and Aric felt his breath leave him.
“Wow!” he let out.
Saruk smirked. “Congratulations,” he said. “Skully here scares the life out of most recruits the first time they see it. I’ve seen boys and girls older than you soiling their pants.”
“May I?” Aric asked with a hand frozen a couple of inches from the massive jaw.
“Sure. Skully doesn’t bite.”
The surface of the bone was smooth and shiny. It had obviously been polished for better preservation.
“This must be worth a fortune…” Aric muttered.
“Gold was never a problem in Lamash,” Saruk said. “Until Runium became illegal, of course. Come on, let me show you the place.” He signaled Aric to follow him. “This is the common room, the dorm is through that corridor,” Saruk explained as he pointed to his right. The Hunter pushed him through the dormitory’s threshold. The room was a large rectangle filled with bunk beds. There were five windows, but they had been closed for the night, so the only available light came from a couple of lanterns casting long, twisting shadows all over the place. Two young boys were playing dice on the floor, and a tall, black bundle of muscles was dripping sweat from what looked like the one hundredth push-up in a row. Everyone else was laying on their beds, some sleeping, the rest about to.
“Anyone still awake?” Saruk asked.
The question worked like an alarm bell. Everyone jumped to their feet, forming a double line along the row of bunks.
“Guess so….” The Hunter glanced around the trainees. “Goddess damn you, Tharius, how many times do I have to tell you this is not the freaking Legion. Stop saluting.”
A boy with bushy black hair and blue eyes lowered his arm.
“I’m sorry, sir,” he said.
“And stop calling me sir,” Saruk replied. “From now on, I’ll make you run up and down the mountain each time you do that again, understood?”
“Yes… Instructor.”
“Good,” Saruk paused and faced the room as a whole. “This is Aric, your new fellow trainee. Make him feel welcome.” He grabbed Aric’s shoulder. “Good luck, kid. And welcome home.”
As the Hunter left everyone quietly returned to their beds, except for the boy named Tharius. He offered Aric a hand.
“Hi,” he said with a smile. “Are you a volunteer too?”
“No,” Aric replied, shaking the boy’s hand.
“I’m from Nosta. You?”
“Are there any free beds?” Aric asked instead. “I’m really tired.”
“Yeah, sure,” Tharius replied. “Those three are available. Just pick one.”
Aric thanked him and found one of the free beds. It was right across from another bunk where a boy was reading quietly.
With a sigh, Aric dropped his satchel and removed the only thing inside – the leather parcel containing the Glowstone and Dragon scales armor his father had gifted him. He untied the parcel and laid the cuirass on the straw mattress, running his fingers along the shiny scales. The incrusted shards of Glowstone hued like frost on a sunny winter morning.
Someone whistled.
“That’s beautiful,” Aric heard someone say.
He turned around. It was the boy across from him who had spoken. He had closed his book and was now sitting straight. He had long, sharp features and his hair was cut in the Akhami
fashion, with long braids in some places and completely shaven in others. The hairstyle was quite similar to Saruk’s, except he didn’t have any feathers, fangs, or jewelry hanging from it.
“Family heirloom?” the Akhami asked.
“Yeah…” Aric replied.
It was more than just an heirloom, though. It was the only thing the Emperor hadn’t taken away from him, and that was probably only because the Emperor didn’t know about it.
“I’m Leth,” the Akhami said. “I know you didn’t ask, but Saruk already told us your name, so I thought we should take that out of the way.”
“Huh, ok,” Aric replied. “Thanks.”
Leth gave Aric a ‘don’t mention it’ nod and leaned back on his bed, resuming his reading. Intrigued, Aric glanced around Leth’s bunk. It had to be the neatest in the dormitory, probably in the whole fortress. It had a shelf attached to the bed, holding dozens of books as well as several statuettes, among them a dancing woman, a prancing panther, a bull’s head, and a small dragon. He was also wearing a silk tunic, far too expensive for any plebian.
Somewhere, someone blew out one of the lanterns and the dorm suddenly became near dark. Exhaling loudly, Leth closed his book and slid under the bed covers. Feeling his muscles ache from the trip, Aric decided to do the same, and soon the last lantern was extinguished, covering the dorm with darkness.
Despite being exhausted, he didn’t feel sleepy at all. The room had apparently accumulated so much heat during the day that it was as hot as though they were inside a baking oven. Was it going to be like this, every night?
Aric turned from one side to the other and tried every possible position, but sleep simply refused to come. The mattress felt weird and lumpy, the covers felt harsh and made him scratchy, not to the mention the countless snores coming from every direction.
It’s like sleeping with a herd of Bison… during heat.
He gave up and sat on the bed. There were thin shreds of light seeping through the blinds in the windows, and he used them to guide himself out. Tip toeing, he slid across the dorm and into the common room, making sure he didn’t make any creaking noises opening and closing the door. Immediately a cold gust of wind rustled his clothes, and the fresh air felt like home. He stepped towards the large window and sat on the thick parapet.
A huge silver moon hung in the sky, shedding its light upon the endless sea of dunes down below. Augusta was never this quiet at night. There was always some dog barking or the occasional yells and screams coming from the streets or one of the myriad towers of the city. This silence felt peaceful, but also slightly creepier.
Another gust of wind swept in and Aric hugged himself.
“It’s weird how it gets so cold all of a sudden, isn’t it?”
Aric would have probably fallen off the window if the parapet wasn’t so large. He turned and saw Leth.
“Merciful Ava,” Aric said. “You want to kill me?”
“Sorry. I thought you had heard my footsteps.”
“No,” Aric replied, then faced the desert once again. “You can’t sleep either?”
“With the snore fest going on inside?” Leth snorted. “It’s too damn early anyway.”
Aric smiled with half of his face. “It is,” he said, facing the desert.
There was a small silence between them.
“It’s a lot to take in, isn’t it?” Leth asked.
Aric agreed. “How long have you been here?” he asked.
“Three weeks. Still not used to it.” Leth leaned into the window besides where Aric was sitting. “I know who you are,” he said after a while.
Aric’s head spun so fast it almost snapped out of place. “You do?!”
“Every nobleman would recognize the Empress’s son, and my brother is Duke Carth of Nahlwar.”
“Oh…” Aric said, returning his gaze to the desert. “I see. Can’t say I was expecting to find a nobleman in here, but your clothes are a bit of a giveaway.”
Leth inspected his tunic. “Well, I might be stuck at the bottom end of the Empire for the rest of my life, but that doesn’t mean I have to look like dung.”
Aric chuckled.
“You’re one to talk…” Leth continued. “That armor of yours must be worth more than my brother’s palace.”
“You don’t think someone will try to steal it, do you? I mean, someone from our Company.”
“No… everyone in here is too scared to break the rules. Do you know what the most common punishment here is?”
Aric replied with a shake of his head.
“They call it ‘the pilgrimage’. Basically, you’re dropped three hundred miles to the south, in the deep desert, without any supplies. If you make it back to Lamash, you are forgiven. If not, well, you die. Which is what happens to just about everyone, because even if you know what you are doing, and find some water before you dehydrate, the odds are a Dragon will smell you, or hear you, and make a nice roast out of you.”
“I see…” Aric said. “That’s good to know.”
“This place is really messed up, let me tell you.”
“Did you volunteer?” Aric asked.
“No,” Leth sniggered. “I mean, officially, yes. But no, I didn’t.”
“What do you mean? What happened?”
Leth exhaled loudly. “What can I say?” he replied. “We can’t all have perfect little families like yours.”
Aric burst out laughing. Leth smiled as well.
“How much do you know?” Aric asked.
“Enough…. The Legions may have unified the Empire, but gossip is what holds it together.”
“It’s funny,” Aric said, “no matter how messed up things were back in the Citadel, I still wish I was there.”
“I know what you mean….”
There was another moment of silence as the two of them contemplated the silvery dunes.
“Hey, want to see something really interesting?” Leth asked.
Aric shrugged. “Sure.”
Leth grabbed a torch and signaled Aric to follow him. The windowless hallway was completely dark, filled only with the howling of wind drafts. On his way in, Aric had found the air current strange, but now it was downright scary.
“Where are we going?” he asked in a whisper.
“You’ll see,” Leth replied. “But why are you whispering?”
Good question.
“I… old habit, I guess,” he said. “I did this all the time in the Citadel with my brother. You know, sneaking out at night. It was the only way we could spend some time together. The Emperor forbade us from seeing each other.”
“You and your brother are close?” Leth asked as they turned a corner with moonlight flooding the corridor.
“He’s my best friend,” Aric said.
“Good. That’s really good. Anyway, we don’t have to hide if we walk around here at night. The Guild has rules for everything. Never spill water, the stables are off limits to trainees, don’t spend more than one hour in the dining hall unless there is a feast, the kitchens and the lower levels are off limits to trainees, and so on…. Surprisingly though, no curfew.”
“Why can’t we go to the lower levels?” Aric asked.
They were now walking along a veranda of sorts, from which you could see one of Lamash’s other towers. It was much thinner than the main one, albeit just as tall.
“I’m not sure,” Leth replied. “I was told we will visit the lower levels as part of our training.” He stopped at a large door at the end of the veranda. “This way.” He pushed the door open and crossed it. “Grab onto the railing. It gets windy up here.”
It was a bridge leading to the other tower. The wind sent Aric’s blond curls into a wild dance and he had to turn his face so he wouldn’t get sand in his eyes.
“I can’t see any lights,” Aric said. “Is the tower abandoned?”
“It is,” Leth replied.
They reached the other end of the bridge, and the Akhami boy held the door for Aric. The interio
r had nothing to do with anything in the main tower. Instead of jagged walls and twisting columns, there were low relief sculptures everywhere. Women made of water and fire stood gracefully at the corners, prancing stags and prowling tigers chased after each other on the walls, and flowing ribbons framed every doorway. Even the door knobs were small works of art.
“Welcome to the Mage’s Tower,” Leth told him.
Aric wandered around with his mouth open.
It was beautiful. There was some sand piling on the corners, and everything was covered with a thick layer of dust, but it looked magnificent nevertheless. He crossed into a large room with a long mahogany table at its center. Ten armchairs were lined on one side of the table, facing a mirror as wide as the table was long. On each of its ends, a statue of a man made of smoke and stone held the mirror in place. It was framed in a silver ribbon, with dozens of incrusted Glowstone shards shaped like jewels. Aric forgot how to breathe.
“It’s a Hypervisor,” Leth explained. “Mages used it to communicate with each other over long distances. They could actually see and hear any other Mage, no matter where he or she was, as long as they also had one of these.” He approached the mirror and grabbed the silver frame. “It was powered by spells stored in these Glowstone shards, but they must have run out years ago. It’s just another piece of furniture now.”
“You were right,” Aric said, his eyes glowing. “This is incredible.”
Leth smirked.
“We haven’t got to the incredible part yet. Follow me.”
Aric did not need any further encouragement. He followed Leth through a series of hallways and a wide staircase. Upstairs the floor was like a giant puzzle, with each tile shaped differently, yet perfectly fitting each other. The painting on the tiles showed a twirling ribbon that transformed smoothly into a column of twisting smoke before ending abruptly at a tall double door. Leth pushed the door open and the smoke strand poured inside, becoming a trickle of water.
“What is this?” Aric asked, stepping into the room and looking around. It was larger than the main tower’s dining hall and was packed full of row after row of empty shelf cases.
The Dragon Hunter and the Mage Page 11