The Vaetra Chronicles: Book 01 - Vaetra Unveiled

by Daniel R. Marvello

  Kefer nodded and answered him. "Yes, my Lord. We found these two men spying on the village."

  The man rose from his seat, and our guards pushed us down to our knees as he stepped smoothly around the blocks to stand between them.

  "Did you now? Why would you be spying on our little fishing village?" the man asked us. The quality and design of his robe indicated that he was from a Ruling Family--one of the families that the Emperor appointed to control the provinces. He wore his dark hair long and it flowed onto his shoulders. His hair was just going grey at the temples, a fact that was emphasized by the silver circlet he wore to keep it back from his face.

  Since I was the leader of my little two-man expedition, it was up to me to respond. "We were sent to find Kefer and Peltor and to see what was holding up the shipment they were supposed to guard."

  The man smiled down at me. "I see. Well, I'm afraid that I'm what's holding up the shipment. I needed the glass that was being transported, as you can see." He gestured with his hand toward his improvised workbench.

  "You hijacked the shipment just to steal the glass?"

  He shook his finger at me. "Now, now, don't be judgmental. My need is great and my funding is...insufficient at the moment. The ends justify the means."

  "What are the ends?" I asked.

  His face clouded over. "That's none of your concern. But you can help play a role."

  "I'm not interested. Neither of us is interested. If you don't mind, we would prefer to be on our way." I made to get up, but Kefer laid the flat of his sword on my shoulder. I settled back down onto my knees.

  The man shook his head, his voice mocking sadness. "I'm sorry, but that won't be possible right now. I need your help too badly. But please, we are forgetting our manners. I am Lord Thoron, known here in Buckwoods as the Lord of the Lake." He tilted his head toward us and gestured toward me with his hand, indicating that it was my turn to speak.

  "Jaylan," I said. "I'm Jaylan Forester and my associate is Meldon Wright."

  "It's a pleasure to meet you gentlemen. Now, after a short indoctrination ceremony, we can all get back to work." He turned to the workbench and picked up one of the amulets. He turned to Meldon. "Meldon, you are about to receive a great honor. You will become a Guardian of the Lake like Kefer and Peltor here."

  As soon as Lord Thoron picked up the amulet, Meldon started fidgeting. I looked over at him, and his face had gone pale. His eyes were wide and his hands behind his head were tightly gripped. When Lord Thoron turned to him with the amulet in hand, he shouted, "No!" and started to get up.

  As soon as Meldon put down his hands and started to rise, Peltor struck the base of Meldon's neck with the hilt of his sword. Meldon grunted and collapsed to the floor.

  I shot a fierce look up at Peltor. He just grinned and pointed his sword at me. "You can be next," he said.

  I narrowed my eyes at him and silently vowed I'd find a way to repay him for his heavy handedness. Peltor and I had never been particularly fond of one another and seeing his behavior when put into a position of control did nothing to improve my opinion of him.

  Lord Thoron glared at Peltor. "Peltor, you must try to control your impulses. I need the boy conscious. Wake him at once and hold him steady."

  "Yes, m'lord," Peltor mumbled. He sheathed his sword and lightly slapped Meldon to wake him. As Meldon started to come around, Peltor righted him and twisted one of his arms up behind his back. Peltor held the young man upright with his other hand on Meldon's shoulder.

  "That's better." Lord Thoron set the amulet aside and reached into a pocket of his robe to remove a small crystal sphere. He held it in his hand and spoke a series of words under his breath, staring at Meldon the entire time. The sphere produced a building whine.

  Meldon's eyes went wide and he started to struggle against Peltor's hold. Then he suddenly stopped struggling and relaxed. He didn't go limp; he just stopped struggling. The sphere went silent, and in turn, a low throbbing sound came from Meldon himself.

  "You may release him, Peltor." Lord Thoron put the sphere away and picked up the amulet again. He walked over to Meldon. He lowered the amulet's chain over Meldon's head and arranged it around his neck. Meldon's eyes were still wide and darting, but he didn't move a muscle as the sorcerer placed his right hand over the amulet and said the word "member." The amulet immediately started to hum in tune with the other amulets in the village. Then he began to speak in a low, officious tone.

  "Meldon Wright, you are about to receive a great honor. Henceforth, you are a Guardian of the Lake. You join an elite group of soldiers. Do you feel them around you?" Meldon hesitated, and then nodded. Lord Thoron placed his hand on the amulet again and said, "Protector." The amulet's hum took on a second tone. He looked into Meldon's eyes and continued. "Your job is to protect the village from outsiders. Do you understand?" Meldon nodded again. Lord Thoron pulled out his crystal sphere and spoke a few short words. The sphere squeeked, and the low humming that seemed to immobilize Meldon disappeared. "Do you see any outsiders here, Meldon?"

  Meldon looked over at me. The fear had left his eyes, and he had that distant look I'd seen in Kefer on my first visit to this sorcery-cursed place. "Jaylan is an outsider," he said uncertainly.

  Lord Thoron smiled. "Very good, Meldon. You may rise." Meldon got unsteadily to his feet.

  It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going to happen next. I was starting to understand why sorcery was so widely reviled. Powerful and manipulative people always raised my ire, but this was manipulative power taken to a new level. Someone had to stop the Lord Thoron's of the world from preying on people who had no sorcery to defend themselves.

  I would have thought the sorcerers of the Archives would want to prevent or stop what was happening here in Buckwoods. Rogue sorcerers victimizing the mundane populace would do nothing good for the Archives' reputation. Perhaps they were too insular to care. (Let the mundane take care of themselves, as it were.)

  Lord Thoron was watching me and saw my face set in defiance as I completed my thought. Still holding the sphere, he wasted no time talking to me and simply repeated the incantation he'd used on Meldon. Before I could even think about attempting a desperate move to escape, a low hum filled the inside of my head.

  My muscles relaxed. The sorcerer put his sphere away and took another amulet from the workbench. This one he placed over my neck.

  Once again, he placed his hand over the amulet and spoke the word "member." As he did, a flood of awareness washed over me. I could sense the other people wearing amulets nearby. Their positions and movements were like dim blue lights layered upon my vision. This awareness extended through the walls of the building and out toward the edge of the village.

  "Jaylan Forester, you are about to receive a great honor. Henceforth, you are a Guardian of the Lake." His words felt more personal somehow, as if he were reaching out to connect me with the other guardian lights of the village. It was like walking into a room filled with people I knew and loved.

  "You join an elite group of soldiers. Do you feel them around you?" I did feel them around me, and I nodded. I saw that Lord Thoron himself was one of us. His amulet was hidden beneath his robes, but I could sense its presence as if it were in plain view.

  Still touching my amulet, he said, "Protector." As he spoke the word, the people of the village appeared in my mind's eye and I understood that they performed a vital service as Guardians of the Lake.

  Lord Thoron continued, "Your job is to protect the village from outsiders. Do you understand?" The village and the people needed protection, and I was proud to be able to help them. I nodded to Lord Thoron.

  The corner of Lord Thoron's mouth rose into a satisfied smirk, and he removed his hand from the amulet. "Excellent." Using the sphere once again, he released me from my immobility. "You may rise and take your place among the Guardians."

  I got to my feet, suddenly aware of my responsibility. I looked around the room with concern, but saw only other Guardia
ns. I was satisfied that we were all safe for the moment.

  Kefer handed me my weapons with a grin and slapped me on the shoulder. "Welcome, Jaylan. I'm glad you're with us."

  Peltor handed Meldon's weapons back to him, but said nothing. His face wore the sullen look I normally associated with him. I suspected that he would have preferred for us to remain outsiders.

  Lord Thoron waved us out of the ice house. "Now move along, all of you. I have a lot of work to finish today."

  My suspicion of him remained, but my sense of duty overrode my concerns. "May I help, my lord?"

  "You can help by guarding the village," he answered. "Only I can bear the burden of creating the sacred amulets, and I'm running out of time. I don't know what is holding up my delivery, but I intend to take advantage of this location for as long as I can."

  The word "delivery" tickled my memory, but I dismissed it as unimportant to my new responsibilities.

  The rest of the Guardians and I left the ice house and started to patrol the area. No one gave any orders, we simply shared the watch over the forest and the road. Kefer told me that, if outsiders appeared, we needed to send them away or bring them to Lord Thoron. As Guardians, it was our duty to keep the villagers safe.

  As I started to walk around the perimeter of the village to get a feel for the terrain, something deep inside stopped me in mid-step. My stomach tightened and I had the sudden urge to run into the forest away from the village. But the soothing awareness of my fellow guardians and the pressure of my responsibilities to protect them pushed the feeling away. I took a deep, calming breath, and continued my patrol. As long as I was a Guardian of the Lake, everything would be fine.

  Chapter 18

  The next morning I awoke with my heart pounding. I sat up and the shreds of a dream fluttered away, leaving me with an image of Peltor's determined and angry face. In the dream, we had been sparring in the Raven Company basement, when I realized that he was actually trying to kill me.

  I looked around to get my bearings. The thin morning light seeping through the boards of the window shutters and around the door jamb revealed the interior of a one-room hut that was simple and neat. Edanos and Sati Tragas, the village couple who had let me share their quarters, were sleeping on a narrow bed in the opposite corner of the room.

  In the back of my mind, I noted the glow their amulets created and extended my awareness to locate the others in the village. Some villagers were already up and starting their day, and I sensed no trouble in their movements. Lord Thoron, the brightest light of them all, was already moving around in the direction of the ice house. I laid back on the woven mat I had been given for a bed and tried to sort out my thoughts.

  My memory of the prior afternoon and evening was a watery blur. The fishermen had returned in the late afternoon with a decent catch. Everyone helped with the disposition of the fish except Peltor and me. We kept watch while Meldon and Kefer lent a hand. With the ice house repurposed, most of the fish had to be cleaned and moved into the smoke house right away. The smoke house was becoming rather full, so some poor soul would have to venture out amongst the outsiders to make a delivery soon. I shuddered at the thought.

  During the course of the prior day, my sense of belonging and protectiveness had settled around me like a warm blanket. I was a Guardian of the Lake and all had been well on my watch.

  But this morning, something was different. I felt a sense of detachment, as if I had two minds sharing the same body. One mind was satisfied with the state of affairs; the other was uneasy. I had the feeling I was forgetting something...something important.

  The amulet felt different as well. Wearing it gave me a sense of pride, and the connection it gave me to the others provided comfort. However, I could also sense that it was taking something from me.

  I let my mind relax and explored the sensation of draining energy that flowed from my inner core into the amulet. That sensation was what my second awareness found disturbing. To that other awareness, the steady hum of the amulet was poisonous. If I could figure out a way to stop the unpleasant drain, perhaps I could silence my conflicting emotions and get on with my duties.

  I wasn't sure how to go about it. The situation reminded me of my experience at the healer's cabin. When I thought back on how it had felt to operate the Seeker, certain parallels came to mind. As much as I hated to admit it to myself, the amulet was obviously a working of sorcery, even if it was a revered symbol of the Guardians.

  With the Seeker, I had activated it and deactivated it with a word. No, that wasn't quite right. It wasn't just the word that mattered, it was what I was thinking when I said the word. Lord Thoron had used the words "member" and "protector" to activate this amulet. What word would deactivate it? Did I even want to try deactivating it? I didn't want to lose my connection to the others.

  I shifted uneasily on the mat. The sensation of being poisoned wouldn't go away. I started to feel physically ill just thinking about it. I had to try to stop the energy drain.

  I thought back to my experience with the Seeker again. Sulana had told me to say "stop" and think about telling the amulet to stop seeking the ring she held. The problem here was that I wasn't sure what I needed to stop.

  I quietly said, "Stop," but nothing happened. I tried the word "release." Still nothing. Sati shifted around on the bed to face me, her cloud of sleep-touseled black hair obscured her face, but she appeared to remain asleep.

  I relaxed and mentally probed at that sensation of draining again. I could feel some kind of energy flow from several points in my body out into the metal chain that held the amulet. That energy must be the vaetra that Sulana had talked about. The more I focused on the flow, the worse I felt. I needed to cut that flow somehow.

  Taking off the amulet would probably stop the flow, but doing that was impossible. The amulet was what made me a Guardian of the Lake. It connected me to the others. I'd become an outsider if I took it off, and I certainly didn't want that.

  I closed my hand around the amulet while I thought. As I did so, I realized something. The amulet's hum actually consisted of two separate tones. Only one of the tones was the source of my unease. It was the poison. If I could stop that tone, the poison would be gone.

  I spent a few more minutes holding the amulet and quietly trying different words. Nothing worked. I started to despair.

  Finally, with angry determination, I mentally focused on the point where the vaetra flowed from my body into the amulet's chain and said "stop."

  And it did.

  The amulet stopped humming, and dizziness crashed over me like a giant wave. If I hadn't already been lying down, I'm certain I would have fallen to my knees. As the dizziness ebbed, my memories of who I really was and what I was doing here came rushing back. My hand was still clenched around the amulet, and I nearly tore it off my neck in disgust. My awareness of the others and the sense of belonging faded away.

  As my mind continued to clear, I heard a gasp and a rustle of covers. Sati had sat up in bed and was staring at me. She screamed, and Edanos sat up quickly to see what was wrong.

  I felt completely exposed, sitting there in the middle of a village of Guardians. I had to make a decision quickly. The amulet was the only thing keeping me safe among these people. If Lord Thoron learned I had deactivated it, I doubted things would go well for me. But activating the amulet would put me back under its spell. Would I be able to clear my mind enough deactivate it a second time? Or was this my only chance to escape it?

  Sati screamed again and pointed at me. "Outsider!" she said to her husband in a shaking voice. The sound of running feet came from outside in response to the woman's screams. Edanos turned to look at me, and his eyes widened.

  In spite of my fears, I mumbled the word "member" to reactivate the amulet. Nothing happened. My thoughts were chaos, and I struggled to focus them. I thought back to what Lord Thoron had said after he activated the amulet. The first step of the process had created the connection to the villagers. That was
what I needed to think about. Say the word, think about the effect. I needed to restore the flow of vaetra into the amulet.

  I tried again. "Member." This time, the source of vaetra within me reached toward the amulet's chain and snapped back into place. The amulet started to hum again, and my awareness of the others resumed.

  Sulana's explanation of channeling suddenly made complete sense to me. The process of activating the Seeker had been only a vague sensation, but activating the amulet had given me a more distinct sense of the vaetra within me and the way it could be directed.

  But I wasn't done yet. Lord Thoron had activated the amulet twice. The second command had been "protector."

  I was about to continue activating the amulet when I noticed that Sati and Edanos had calmed down and were looking back and forth between each other and me. Edanos shrugged and let himself fall flat on the bed. Sati continued to peer at me, holding the covers up tight to her chest. Someone pounded on the door to the hut.

  Kefer's voice called from outside. "Is everyone alright in there?"

  "We're fine," I shouted back.

  Sati got up and padded barefoot over to the door in her nightshirt. She opened it and stepped aside to let Kefer and another villager enter the hut. I sat up, placing my hand next to the hilt of my sword.

  "What happened?" Kefer asked Sati.

  She shook her head and looked over at me, pushing her hair away from her face. "When I first woke up, I looked over and thought he was an outsider."

  Kefer turned and looked at me intently, his hand going to the sword at his side. After a brief moment, he relaxed. "You were mistaken. Jaylan is one of the Guardians. Can't you sense him?" Kefer turned to look at Sati with narrowed eyes.

  She glanced over at me and nodded. "Yes. I must have been mistaken."

  So. Only the first enchantment, the Member enchantment, was necessary to establish membership in the community. My mind was still my own. The compulsion to serve the village and reject outsiders was part of the second enchantment. I had stumbled upon a way to infiltrate the village. But to what end?