Ice darts flew at him. He brought the earth jade up and around in an arc and his arm solidified so that it could deflect the spell directly. Fire was no match for the torrents of wind and water he gushed forth one fistful after another.
He was tireless, but the masters were not. Winded and drained, the Council members lowered their hands. “We surrender.”
Delminor set the jades into his pockets, wondering when his own energy would die out, leaving him defenseless. “I never intended for any of this. I only want to find a way to help others. Surely, you’ve already gone through the notes in my journals. You know my intentions. I have shared every piece of my knowledge in those entries. My goal has always been for magic to be open and freely used by all. I want to make it accessible to anyone who would learn to cast a spell. Would it lead to danger? Maybe. But aren’t swords themselves dangerous? Don’t we let kids play with them? Yes, but supervised.
“You have seen here that the jades are connected to me somehow. Even you couldn’t take me down because of them. You—experienced masters—can’t stop me from leaving with them, but I will not take them without your permission.”
The masters didn’t move, worried he might unleash another barrage on them and doubting they could truly stop him. No mage had comfortably mastered two elements with such ease, and Delminor was freely switching between or combining three. They stared at him in both awe and terror.
“I don’t want to leave here like this. Not with you on your knees. Not with me shoving proof down your throats. I wanted you to listen and understand. To realize that if I depart with three shards, I would return with more. You would not be without them for long.”
Tyral found his voice. “We cannot stop you. Do what you will.”
“I wish this could have gone differently. So I will ask. May I have your permission to borrow these shards of the Red Jade in my quest to unlock magic and to seek other jades?”
Tyral choked on a refutation, then shook his head, annoyed at himself. “The Council grants you this permission.”
“Furthermore,” Kerlot said. “There is no need for you to run. You may return to your quarters, eat and sleep without fear, and set out at your leisure.” The other members of the Council glared at him but did not argue.
“I second the motion,” Tianna said. “Better we part as allies than enemies. I would like to have the jades returned to us… all of them. There is much more I wish to learn from them.”
Tyral nodded. “Agreed. We vow not to harm you, Delminor. It grieves me to say this, but there isn’t a mage among us who could do what you just did. We need your knowledge.”
“You will have it. That I promise.”
Chapter 24
Departure
“Wait up! Don’t leave yet.”
Delminor had hoped to hear those words, but they came from an unexpected source.
Essalia jogged up to Delminor as he neared the exit of Magehaven. “I heard you were leaving. I guess it’s not a surprise after everything.”
“I don’t know how much you heard.”
“It doesn’t matter. Where are you going?”
“I’m going to seek other jades.”
“Sure, but where?”
He shrugged. “I’ll figure that out on the road.”
She sighed, aggravated. “Are you going to go see Donya?”
He lowered his gaze. “I don’t know that she would want me to show up. I haven’t heard from her these past many months.”
“I’m curious to know how she’s doing.” She bit her lip. “Is there any way I can convince you to escort me to her?”
“I don’t know if it’s a good idea.”
She grabbed his arm. “Please? I can’t make it to Marritosh on my own and you don’t have a destination in mind. At least this would get you started on your way. Besides, even if you’re there, you don’t have to see her if you don’t want to.”
“I don’t think she would want to see me,” he corrected. “Are you sure?”
“I’m decent with a mace and nature magic. Give me a few minutes to pack for the journey.”
He waited, glad to have a travel companion, but he had hoped it would be Pyron. The lanky mage had avoided Delminor completely, often turning down corridors when he saw him. The brief conversation they’d had left Delminor wondering if their friendship could ever be repaired. Not only had he considered stealing the jades, he’d battled and defeated the members of the Mage Council, Pyron’s father included. Some things were too much to bear.
Essalia returned later, her healer robe swapped for a regular set of clothes. There were fewer places to stash spell components without a robe, but she had what she needed in her travel pack. She also assured Delminor that nature was everywhere.
It didn’t take long before the wild beasts tracked their presence and attacked. A flight of eaglons was their first challenge.
The oversized birds flashed their razor-sharp talons and screeched as they descended upon them. Delminor channeled the air jade and launched gusts of wind to deflect them. The eaglons were confused by the zephyrs, but they weren’t stopped for long.
Essalia drew upon the land itself. Shrubs nearby extended their leaves in a whirl, blinding the birds. She used the distraction to rush in and strike with her mace, bringing the first eaglon down.
One by one, the two of them dealt with the eaglons, spells and weapons flashing. Daggers were more of a danger in this battle, as they required proximity with the beasts, which brought the talons ever closer, thus Delminor resorted mostly to magic.
The jades supplied him with extra strength for his spellcasting, but he could sense that it wouldn’t last for long. He switched to earth spells, since the eaglons weren’t deterred by the air magic, but he struggled to do much more than toss pellets at them.
He remembered to use the antithesis of air spells to try to work the earth magic and that helped some, but it was as if the earth and air jades interfered with each other. Each of their spells was weakened.
“Are you all right?” Essalia asked when the eaglons were finished off. “You seem to be struggling.”
“The jades are interfering with each other.” He pulled out the earth and air jades and considered them. “They are counterbalanced, but I find it odd that they get in each other’s way. Why doesn’t one lie dormant while the other functions?”
She looked in awe at the jades he so casually held in his hands. “May I? I’ve never had cause to see them.”
She took the earth jade and turned it over, wiping off a bit of dirt, just to have it replace itself. “It’s always filthy?”
With the earth jade out of his direct possession, he felt a pressure release within the air jade. He hadn’t noticed the tension with all that had been going on, but apparently the two jades did hinder the other.
“You hold onto that until we reach Marritosh.”
“Me? No, I’m a nature mage. I have no need for this.” She handed it back and Delminor immediately sensed the conflict between the earth and air jades.
“I may need you to hold it regardless.” But he didn’t explain, pocketing it for the time being.
“Why?”
“Part of research, I guess.”
They continued and dealt with a pack of sand rodia. Essalia was true to her word. She could bend natural forces with relative ease, magically drawing upon the blades of grass to snag the small monsters.
Not that there was much grass to draw upon, which made her efforts more impressive to Delminor. “The desert keeps encroaching upon its neighbors.”
“Is there any way to stop it?” Essalia wondered.
“I don’t know much about it. Regnard was trying to work spells that would counteract the desert; that’s about all I know. I wanted to do the same thing. But it keeps creeping outward, so there must be something else causing it. I imagine we’ll see the sand reach Magehaven in our lifetimes.”
“That’s a scary thought, especially for a nature mage.” She shuddered. “There isn’t a
lot I can do with sand.”
“Nor can I,” he admitted. “I believe earth magic relies on certain properties inside of dirt and stone. But they don’t exist in sand. I’m very limited when I try to manipulate it.”
She considered for a moment. “Maybe that’s why we can make glass from sand but not from soil?”
He blinked. “That’s a valid point.” He looked at her intently. “So… have you ever had any interest in learning earth magic?”
She didn’t, but as he handed her the earth jade and explained how it could bring inspiration for spells, she wondered aloud if it was something she should consider. He asked her again to hold onto it until Marritosh and she agreed.
“But only because you asked so nicely.”
During their rest periods, they talked of Magehaven, their families, and of Delminor’s research. Essalia was fascinated by what he had discovered and asked him for help with unlocking basic earth skills.
“As long as they don’t interfere with my nature magic, I’ll give it a try.”
“I think those are complementary forces, especially as much of nature relies upon fertile earth.”
She smiled. “You make anything seem possible. It truly amazes me.”
He gave her a curious look. “Why isn’t anything possible?”
Chapter 25
Marritosh
Marritosh was the largest town Delminor had ever seen. There were houses of all kinds littered through the streets, shops selling everything imaginable, and people milling about at all hours. It was a lot to take in.
He had no idea how he was supposed to find Donya amidst all the people, and randomly asking for help seemed a huge waste of time.
“Perhaps there is a registry,” he considered, thinking of his entrance to the Magitorium.
“Let’s head to the center of town and work our way from there,” Essalia suggested. “A large place like this must have a governor of some kind.”
They asked around and were guided to the four ruling houses of Marritosh. Each governed a key aspect of the town, from defenses and commerce to citizenry and finances. Without knowing which was which, they knocked on a door and were ushered inside.
“Well, what have he here,” said an eccentric upper-middle-aged man. “A pair of newcomers randomly banging on my door. You can never be too careful about where you go. I remember when I was but a lad in the army, training over at Arm’s Rest—funny name for a place that makes you use your arms all the time, but that’s a story for another day—Anyway, I was finished with my exercises and I went down the hall—mind you, I was relatively new to the place—and I walked right into the armory and into a beautiful woman half-naked, changing out of her casuals and into some practice garb. Oh, I’ll never forget the sight.
“Ah, but I hadn’t knocked like you folks did, so it was a good sense of caution you used before aimlessly wandering into someone’s home.
“Yes, you see this here is the defensive office, me being an ex-soldier and all that.” He gestured to a glittering wall behind him that was a collection of swords swinging like a bead curtain, tinkling gently as they collided. “It’s been a handful of years since I was in the army at this point. Took a thrust to the leg that never quite healed right, but it doesn’t mean I’m not a good soldier, you know. I keep this town safe. You know what they say, if you can’t get your leg up, you can still get a leg up on your enemy. Not that we’re dogs, but war can bring the worst—”
“Herchig, dear, that’s quite enough,” said a pleasant woman coming in from another room. “Please pardon my husband, dears. He does have much to say.”
Herchig tilted his head toward her and winked. “I already mentioned my wife here a moment ago, if you recall. My sweet Nessaria, capturer of my heart and soul. I thought my call to duty would be what swept me away, but here was this glowing wonder, drawing me in like a riptide, sweeping my legs out from under me. It’s a good strategy for taking down a foe, by the way, a sweep of the legs. Fella can’t fight well on the way down and he almost assuredly will drop his weapon in the process.”
Delminor’s eyes popped wide at the long-windedness of the man. How could he ever focus for a moment on defense? “We seek a friend of ours, but have no way of finding her.”
“Ah,” Herchig said. “A case of missing persons. Though sometimes that requires a bit of defensive planning, especially if it’s a member of the royal family. You have to make sure you don’t kill anyone in case a stray arrow takes out the prince or princess. Then you end yourself up in a dank cell and you can never really find who you’re looking for. Always best to use caution.”
Nessaria politely interrupted before his next exposition. “You need the citizenry across the way, my dears. They may be able to help. Go quickly now.” She grinned, gesturing toward her husband.
“Thank you.”
“Polite as can be, these two. You know good manners are a fading thing. You can’t get a decent ‘please’ or ‘thank you’ out of the younger folks. These two must be an older sort. Ah, you never can tell anymore when you get to my age…”
His prattling continued as Nessaria nudged the two of them out the door.
Their next destination was barely more useful. Despite all their time together, Delminor didn’t know a lot about Donya’s family or childhood. The woman at the citizenry begged him to think harder. “Any information will do. A favorite haunt? Favorite food? Anything?”
He was embarrassed he didn’t know. Essalia stood silently by, just as lost. “She recently returned home after a tragedy. We were at Magehaven together for some months. She is a water mage.”
“Ah, those details help. There is a fountain in the northeast part of town. Perhaps her interest in water magic came from gazing upon that. I would start your search there. Best of luck.”
Delminor looked at Essalia. “This is getting us nowhere.”
“You have to try, don’t you? Do it for me if you won’t do it for her.” She flushed a little. “We have a place to start, at least.”
Delminor didn’t notice her rosy cheeks. “One whole quarter of the entire city and a guess, at that. It’s not any better than we had before.”
Essalia placed a consoling hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently. “We’ll find her. Let’s get something to eat and head over there.”
They made their way toward the fountain, stopping in a tavern to get a bite of food. They assisted in the kitchens to help cover the cost of their meal, asking if anyone knew of a girl who matched Donya’s description. There were either too many or too few who looked like her, depending on who they talked to.
The search took a few days, with Delminor and Essalia sitting in public areas watching for any sign of her. Essalia gasped suddenly. “Look! Is that her?”
Delminor squinted to see the woman from afar. “No. But it does look a lot like her.”
“Come on, let’s ask.” She grabbed his hand and tugged on it. Delminor wasn’t sure he saw the point, but he followed her regardless. “Excuse me, I’m sorry to interrupt you on your way. By any chance, are you Donya’s sister?”
The woman’s brows narrowed. “What business is it of yours?”
“This is Delminor,” she said, presenting him grandly.
The woman gasped. “You came here?”
“Is she all right?” Delminor asked. “Will she see me?”
“She’s all right. I don’t know if she will see you.” She shrugged. “Let’s find out.” They introduced themselves properly and Meral led them to her home. “Wait outside.”
The house was nothing extraordinary. It blended in with all the others, connected with shared walls and standing astride a rickety cobblestone street. Delminor considered using a bit of earth magic to tidy up the walkway in front of the house, but it was an idle thought.
Essalia fidgeted. “I hope she’ll see you.”
“Why is this so important to you?”
She shrugged. “Everything was left in the air between you. I… think you should k
now where things stand.”
The door opened and Meral appeared. “Essalia, you can come inside.”
Delminor waited as patiently as he could for the better part of an hour. Some passersby gave him odd looks, wondering what he was up to, but no one spoke to him. Eventually the door opened and he was invited in.
The entryway was small and housed the kitchen with a table and chairs. The entire place felt well-kept, if not stately. Meral joined Essalia and Donya, who were sitting at the table waiting for him.
Seeing Donya brought back all the love and pain at once. He didn’t know if he wanted to kiss her or console her, and she could see the conflict in his eyes. She stepped over and hugged him gently.
“I didn’t know if I could face you,” she said. “But Essalia explained what’s been going on. Or enough of it, I guess. Have you really been expelled from Magehaven, too?”
“No. The Mage Council loaned me the other jades to work toward my mission. I can return at any time.”
She smiled dimly. “That’s better than I expected and more than I’d hoped. How’s Pyron doing?”
“He chose to remain behind. We had an argument of sorts regarding the jades, so we’ll need some time to heal that between us.” He looked at her with concerned eyes and noticed that she wasn’t wearing his necklace. “May I ask how you’re doing?”
She drew a deep breath and released it slowly. “I’ve recovered physically. I admit, I’m still dealing with the loss. I can’t explain what it was like, having the life inside of me and then having it gone so unexpectedly.”
“I can’t imagine how painful this has been for you.” He wanted to tell her he missed her, but felt she couldn’t hear it.
“I nearly gave up magic entirely.” She returned to her chair but didn’t offer one to Delminor.
“We didn’t think it was a good idea, despite what happened,” Meral said. “She always loved magic. It wouldn’t do to lose that.”
Delminor was glad of that. Part of what he loved about Donya was watching her work her spells. Her graceful movements always mimed the fluidity of water itself, and the words flowed from her lips in such a gentle manner. The world deserved to have her skills, even if he wasn’t sure he could have her anymore.
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