The War of Stardeon (The Bowl of Souls)

by Cooley, Trevor H.

  The mage was in as sad a state as Justan had ever seen her; her eyes red and puffy, her hair and robes disheveled. Antyni gazed at her for a few moments, her nose wrinkled in confusion. She looked down at the ground for a moment.

  “I . . . Qyxal wants me to say . . .” The elf reached up and placed one hand on each of Vannya’s cheeks. Her brow furrowed for a moment, then she leaned forward and planted a tender kiss on Vannya’s lips. “He loved you. He truly did, but he was never able to tell you so. He doesn’t wish this knowledge to cause you pain, but he wanted you to know. He has some things among his belongings at the Mage School that he would like me to give you after we return.”

  Antyni swallowed and returned to stand at Qyxal’s body. Vannya stared after her in shock, one hand raised to her lips. Justan saw a tiny wisp of spirit magic clinging there for a moment before it slowly evaporated away. She turned and buried her face in Locksher’s robes, her shoulders shaking.

  Justan felt horrible for her. Vannya had been though so much in the last few days and a lot of it was his fault. He wished he could help, but anything he did at this point would just make things worse.

  Antyni asked Lenny and Fist to come and help her rewrap Qyxal’s body. Once they were done, she thanked everyone once more and it was over. It was both the most touching and sad funeral Justan had been to. To know that Qyxal wasn’t angry with him helped ease his mind, yet at the same time it felt like he had said goodbye all over again.

  He walked to the elf’s side and asked, “Antyni, is he still with you?”

  “His presence fades,” she replied. “He has left certain knowledge in my head, but his feelings about the knowledge will soon be gone.”

  “I could see his spirit communicating with yours,” he said.

  She seemed surprised. “It is a rare gift among our people to see the heart magic.”

  “It is part of being a bonding wizard,” he explained. “I . . . saw that you left some trace of his thoughts on Vannya’s lips.”

  Her cheeks reddened. “That was Qyxal’s kiss, not mine. His feelings were very strong towards that woman and I could not resist him.”

  “I was surprised,” Justan said. “I had no idea he felt that way about her.”

  “He should have told her,” Antyni said. “My Elqala always was shy about his feelings. It is too bad. They would have had beautiful children.”

  “Uhh . . .” Justan didn’t know what to say to that. She was probably right though. “I hope you don’t mind my asking, but what does it mean when you call him Elqala?”

  “In the tongue of my people, qala is sibling,” she explained. “Elqala means a sibling that shared your womb.”

  “Oh. He was your twin,” Justan said in understanding. “I wouldn’t have guessed. You look so different.”

  “He was tall and dark of hair like mother. I am short and fair like father.”

  Justan nodded. “What will you do with his body now?”

  “I have given him to the earth,” she said, miming the way she has spread the dirt over him. “His body will now become soil and I will bring him back to the Mage School with me. When my people can return to the forest, he will help us grow the homeland.”

  “That reminds me. I brought the things he left for you,” Justan said, picking up Qyxal’s pack.

  A smile touched her lips. “Yes, Elqala is almost gone now, but he was eager for me to see these things.” She opened the pack and sifted through the items inside, pulling out Qyxal’s notebook and the bulging pouch of honstule seeds. “These . . . honstule seeds are special to him.”

  “Qyxal felt that that book and those seeds would give your people the edge they needed to defeat the rot of the forest,” Justan said.

  She opened the bag and stuck her head in, inhaling the aroma. “The seeds are powerful.” Antyni closed her eyes and gripped Qyxal’s notebook. “He wants me to take his place.”

  “I told him I’d help when this was all over,” Justan said. “I will extend that promise to you as well. I’ll help drive the moonrats out of your land so that you can put his knowledge to use.”

  “Then I accept your offer on behalf of the Silvertree Sect. The moonrat mother is a foul and cruel enemy and we will need many friends to help us defeat her,” Antyni said.

  “I will help too,” Fist promised.

  Me too.

  “Gwyrtha too,” he added.

  “An ogre helping elves . . . Thank you Fist.” She shook her head in amusement. “This is an odd time for my people. Lenui gave me Qyxal’s bow and arrows earlier and even though they smelled of iron and fire I accepted them anyway. Perhaps that’s what is needed to win our homeland back.”

  “Qyxal felt the same way,” Justan said. He placed a hand on her shoulder. “The meeting should be starting any moment. Are you coming with us?”

  Antyni turned Qyxal’s notebook over in her hands. “No. You go. I have much to do.”

  Justan and Fist walked back to the cave where the meeting would be taking place. As they neared, he heard a cry of pain. They trotted into the main chamber just in time to see Beth fall to the ground at Tamboor’s feet. The warrior reached down to help her, but Hilt was already kneeling at her side, whispering something.

  Beth grasped Tamboor’s offered hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet. She held her stomach and looked at him, wincing as if in great pain. Then, standing on shaky legs, she reached up and cupped Tamboor’s cheek.

  “So angry . . . the horrors you’ve seen. Your soul hangs by a thread, Tamboor. Please don’t let your memories break you.” She kissed two fingers and laid them against Tamboor’s chest, then turned to Hilt. “Ohh. I may be sick. Can I listen to you, love?”

  Hilt nodded and pulled her close, holding her ear to his chest. He stroked her hair and she let out a long sigh.

  Justan looked at Tamboor. The man’s lips were quivering, but he closed his eyes for just a moment and clenched his jaw. When his eyes opened again he was stone-faced as ever.

  “What happened, father?” Justan asked.

  “She went around groping everyone and listening to their hearts, saying odd things,” Faldon said. “But when she got to Tamboor, she cried out and fell.”

  “She’s using magic,” Justan explained. “I don’t know how it works, but she can take measure of a person’s spirit.”

  “That’s what Hilt said. But I don’t know. She told Lance that his time was nearly finished and well . . .” he rubbed his backside. “She smacked me a good one.”

  “What did she tell you?” Justan asked.

  “She . . .” Faldon began, his brow furrowed in thought, then said, “I’d rather not say.”

  “Beth, honey,” Hilt said and his wife lifted her head from his chest. “I need to get this meeting started. Are you alright now?”

  She rubbed her head, still looking quite pale. “Not quite, but I won’t delay you further. I know you have important things to say.”

  She pointed a finger in Justan’s direction. “Fist, dear, would you come here, please?”

  Justan, relieved that she hadn’t been pointing to him, moved to the side so that the ogre could walk past him. Fist stood before her, uncomfortable with the way everyone was staring at him. “Yes?”

  “Would you mind holding me for a moment, dear?” she asked.

  The ogre scratched his head in embarrassment and looked at Hilt.

  The warrior nodded. “It’s alright, Fist. She just wants to listen.”

  He still looked hesitant and Beth said, “I know I may be a stranger to you, but to me you’re like an old friend.” She crooked her finger at him. “Come on. Please. It will make me feel much better.”

  It’s alright, Fist. I think she just finds you comforting, Justan said

  The ogre finally bent down and reached out for her. Beth wrapped her arms around his wide neck and drew up her legs and when he stood back up, he was cradling her like she was a child. Squirrel left his pouch to curl up on her stomach and Beth stroked the cre
ature’s fur.

  “Thank you, Squirrel, that’s much better.” She smiled and snuggled her head into Fist’s chest. “And thank you Fist. I might fall asleep if that’s alright with you.”

  “Uh . . . okay,” he said.

  Jhonate moved to Justan’s side, tugged on his shirt and whispered, “What is wrong with that woman?”

  Justan looked at the frown on her face and shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

  Hilt turned back to Faldon. “She’ll be okay now. We can begin.”

  Faldon nodded. “Very well, Sir Hilt. The first thing I must ask is why the four of you are here. My son says the prophet told you where we would be?”

  “Perhaps I should start from the beginning,” Hilt said, “About a month ago, Beth and I traveled west from Malaroo. Our intent was to visit the academy, but we heard about the siege while we passed through a small village on the way. The people there were confident that the Mage School was putting together a force to break the siege, so we changed our plans and headed there instead. We had hoped to see what we could do to help. But when we arrived, we discovered that the school hadn’t done anything yet.”

  “As I thought,” Coal said with a shake of his head. “We had hoped to try and convince them ourselves.”

  Locksher cleared his throat. “I know it is hard to understand, but the High Council is made up of wizards with differing viewpoints. Regrettably, this means it can take a while to get any decisions made.”

  “That’s exactly what happened,” Hilt said. “They were nice enough to let us in the gates while they deliberated, but by the time they agreed to send a force to help, the wards around the forest road had collapsed and there was an army of men blocking the road to Sampo.”

  “Ewzad Vriil’s men,” Justan said.

  “Yes, Edge. The council was readying themselves to march against the men when the prophet showed up,” Hilt said. “He took charge immediately and told them that an attack on the men at that point would mean defeat. He had an alternate plan.” Hilt reached into his shirt and pulled out an amulet on a chain. “The lodestones.”

  The amulet was made of silver, perhaps two inches wide and four inches long. It was covered in runes and in the center was a dark gray stone cut in the shape of a triangle.

  Faldon and Tamboor shared a look and Faldon said, “I have heard of them, but to be honest, I didn’t think they would be used again. The Mage School took them back from the academy sixty years ago when the council had all wizards removed from the grounds.”

  “I hadn’t heard of that,” Justan said.

  “Well, the two schools have clashed many times over the years,” Coal said. “This time I believe was actually the Mage School’s fault. It took twenty years before there was another accord between us.”

  “And the lodestones were never returned,” Faldon said.

  “It wouldn’t have mattered anyway,” Locksher said. “The lodestones can only be operated by those with magic and the academy no longer had wizards on staff.”

  “What do they do?” Justan asked.

  “The lodestones are four amulets that act as keys to open a portal from the Mage School to a cave southeast of the academy,” Hilt explained. “One was given to each of the four original members of the Battle Academy Council at the end of the War of the Dark Prophet. The portal was a secret and was meant to be used only in case of emergency.”

  “So the four of you came here from the portal?” Justan asked.

  “No,” Hilt said. “For the portal to work it must be activated from the academy’s side. The four of us traveled here from the Mage School for that purpose.”

  “But how did you get through the forest?” asked Sir Lance. “It’s crawling with moonrats.”

  “We were able to avoid them,” Hilt replied.

  “I have a question.” Locksher said. “Why you four? It seems like an unlikely group for the council to send.”

  “They needed a group that was small enough to get here without notice, strong enough to fight if they needed to, and in order to use the lodestones, each person needed to be able to use magic. The four of us met the criteria. We all have magic in some form, we can all fight, and Antyni knows the Tinny Woods as well as anyone,” Hilt said.

  “I still can’t see why the council agreed.” Locksher replied. “There are at least one or two war wizards at the school at any given moment and I can’t imagine them agreeing to send a party without at least one wizard as part of the group.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t exactly say they agreed,” Hilt said. “While they were busy arguing about it, Wizard Valtrek gathered us at the front gate and handed us the amulets.”

  “Of course it would be Valtrek.” Justan found himself smiling. It seemed the wizard was used to going behind the rest of the council’s back.

  “He said he was doing it on the prophet’s orders,” Hilt added.

  “So that’s the plan,” Faldon said with a look of triumph. “I love it. We open the portal. The wizards come out and join us with their forces and together we break the army besieging the academy.”

  “Well, not exactly,” Hilt said with a wince. “The wizard’s are planning on coming out to help. But . . . this isn’t an attack plan. It’s an escape plan.”

  “What are you saying?” asked Captain Demetrius. “Escape for whom?”

  “For everyone,” Charz said from the back of the cave. The giant was leaning against the rear wall, his arms folded. “They’re ready for you, Hilt. Go on, show them the mirror.”

  Justan wondered just who the giant’s bonding wizard was. They had to be pretty powerful to reach him all the way from the school in the middle of the day.

  Everyone’s eyes returned to the named warrior. Hilt picked up the pack that he had brought to the meeting with him and reached in. He pulled out a gilded hand mirror. It was oval shaped with a handle about half the length of Hilt’s forearm. The frame and back of the mirror was made of gold and encrusted with runes.

  “We’ll let the wizards explain,” Hilt said. “This will allow you to speak face-to-face with them.”

  He turned the mirror towards Faldon and Justan saw his father’s eyes widen as a voice issued from within, “Greetings, Faldon the Fierce. This is Master Latva speaking.”

  Everyone crowded around Faldon to get a look for themselves. Justan squeezed in with them and was relieved to see a familiar set of piercing blue eyes in the other side. Just seeing the master there made him more confident that the wizards were going to help.

  “Master Latva! It is good to see you,” Faldon said guardedly. “We are grateful that the Mage School is offering its help to free the Battle Academy.”

  “Of course, Faldon. Our schools have ever been allies. I just wish that we had found a way to help sooner,” Latva said.

  “We were all caught off guard by the siege. I am sure it couldn’t be helped,” Faldon replied, but diplomacy was something he never had a taste for. He got to the point. “So how is it that you propose to help? Sir Hilt mentioned an escape plan?”

  “Yes, that is true,” Latva said. “I understand that Hilt told you about the lodestones?”

  “Yes,” Faldon said with a nod.

  “If we had the means, we would prefer to join you in an attack. However, the situation is worse than you know,” Latva said and with an apologetic look said, “I am sorry to say it, but we will not be able to save the academy.”

  The cave was filled with angry voices as everyone began to speak at once. Faldon raised his arm to quiet them. “I would have to disagree. What do you know that we don’t?”

  “We recently acquired a source inside the palace in Dremald. Just a few short days ago, we learned that the stand-off is about to end. Ewzad Vriil has unleashed an army of his creations. They are on their way to the school now,” the wizard replied.

  “How many does he have, Master?” Locksher asked.

  “Their raw numbers don’t matter, I’m afraid. It’s what they can do that makes them so formidable,” L
atva said. “They are specifically designed to overcome the walls and cause as much damage inside as possible.”

  “You are suggesting we give up and leave the academy to be slaughtered?” Faldon said.

  “Not at all. We will help you get the people out,” Latva said. “We are offering sanctuary. We have room for all of you. Once everyone is here safely with us, we can regroup and fight Ewzad Vriil and his accomplice together.”

  “Trade one siege for another is what yer sayin’,” Lenny spat. “So we get to the Mage School. The army will just move down there.”