Delminor's Trials

by Stephen J Wolf

  Essalia went immediately to work, sending healing waves through Donya and easing the worst of the pain. She placed pieces of rose quartz and amethyst around the room to assist the flow of energy. Donya endured a few spasms and then relaxed.

  “It’s still early,” Essalia said. “But it’s likely to be today.”

  “Likely?” Donya heaved.

  “This can take days, at worst.” She realized it wasn’t the best thing to say. “But that’s rare,” she added quickly. “Here.” She gave Donya a tonic with valerian meant to calm her nerves.

  Hours passed and Donya went through several bouts of labor pains, each one getting worse. Essalia was concerned and Delminor could see it on her face, but she never said anything.

  He knew that Donya had kept some secrets from him and he wondered what else she may not have told him. But Essalia assured him he was just full of nervous energy and his mind was playing tricks on him.

  Donya screamed and they ran to her side. Arenda nodded. “It’s now.”

  Donya’s cries continued as the pain intensified. Essalia set the jades around the room with Donya as their focal point. She called to each one and activated them. Water and earth served as the grounding forces, while nature and beast supported the life energy. Healing waves flowed through Donya’s body, but her screams continued.

  “Delminor, I need your help,” Essalia said finally.

  He jumped in and followed her instructions. He drew upon the power of the beast jade and pulled its energy into Donya’s body, finding the baby and wrapping him gently, leaving a guardian behind. He pulled on nature next, empowering the healing herbs Essalia had given her.

  The water jade responded most favorably to Donya, washing through her body and helping to reduce her fever.

  He focused on the earth jade, seeking a means of grounding her, of giving her something to focus on that wasn’t pain. He held her hand and she squeezed it desperately, tears pouring from her eyes.

  “Del…”

  “Hang in there. It’s almost over.”

  Essalia pulled on the healing energies and she bade Delminor to do the same. He felt the white light enter her body and work its way through her womb and back again through her racing heart. He managed the five elements with relative ease, keeping their combined energies flowing through her.

  “Del…” she said again.

  “I’m here, beloved.”

  She screamed. “Del!”

  He tightened the energies around her, unsure why the healing jade wasn’t working.

  More crying sounded in the room, but this time it is was the baby. He had been born.

  Donya’s body relaxed for a moment and she looked up at Delminor. “Dariak,” she said, her eyes creased in pain.

  “A strong name.” He smiled, holding her hand and wiping her brow.

  Her face winced and her breathing became labored. “Del!”

  He looked at Essalia and back to Donya. She screamed again, fear in her eyes and she drew one last breath and exhaled it slowly, her life passing along with it.

  “Donya?” he asked. She did not respond. Her eyes were hollow, the light of her soul departed. “Donya! Donya, no!” He cradled her, drawing the healing energies through her body. But there was nothing he could do.

  She was gone.

  Chapter 62

  New Life

  Dariak cried, as he did every day at that hour. The hour his mother had died.

  “Please, son, not today,” Delminor begged. He lifted the small bundle and held him close, looking down at his books, trying to figure out what had gone wrong. When the baby settled, he placed him in the crib and continued his research.

  “Everything was set up the way we had discussed,” he explained to the newborn. “The nature, the water, everything. Why didn’t it save her? Why couldn’t she be here with us?”

  He put his head down on the table, unable to cry. He hadn’t been able to shed a tear, believing he had missed something, that he had failed. It was all his fault for pushing her to try again. His fault for wanting to be a father. His fault for not unlocking enough of the healing jade’s power, that maybe he could have saved her.

  Why couldn’t he have become a conduit of healing energy like he had of metal against the rocktaurs? Even if it took his life, at least Donya could have survived.

  Essalia tried to calm his torment, telling him that there were some things even magic could not fix. But Delminor didn’t want to hear it.

  All that rang in his mind was Donya telling him that her body wasn’t strong enough to carry a baby, and in the end, she had been right.

  He had failed her in the worst way imaginable.

  Dariak cried again and Delminor gritted his teeth. “Must you, son? Can’t you give me just a little time?” He kept his voice even and calm, but the baby sensed his upset and cried harder.

  Delminor picked him up again and walked the room, showing Dariak the bookcases, the flasks and alembics, the jars of spell components. He showed him the light pulsing through the fake window, a trick of lightning magic to simulate the sun.

  Maybe he spent too much time in his laboratory. Maybe Essalia was right about that after all. He looked at Dariak and wondered if the baby was asking for actual sun, actual fresh air, instead of the air magic that was circulating through the room, cleansed by nature energy.

  He would be a child of magic, Delminor knew. His birth had been bathed in it and here he was surrounded by a biome of Delminor’s own creation, a self-sustained terrain underneath the ground, the focal point of his laboratory.

  He’d been down here for two weeks, with someone from the village—generally Essalia, Arenda, or Gallena—sending food down a shaft designed for the purpose. He communicated with Essalia through letters and the one time she endured the gauntlet to get to his chambers. Letters were easier for them both.

  “All right,” he said as Dariak still hiccupped tears. “Let me take you out of here.”

  It took some time to gather his things and to strap Dariak into a carrier. He then made the journey up to the surface and the gleaming sunlight overhead.

  “Magic can’t duplicate that, either,” he muttered to himself, turning from the sun and walking inside his house.

  He was mildly surprised to find Essalia there, cleaning and tending to the place.

  “Delminor! I wasn’t expecting you today.”

  “What are you doing?”

  “It’s been a bit slow at the infirmary so I thought I would come and tidy up.” She looked at Dariak snuggled in his carrier. “And how’s the little master doing today?” She walked over and stroked the baby’s cheek.

  Delminor hesitated to ask. “Would you mind keeping an eye on him for a little while? We’ve had a lot of time together and I could… well, I could use a break, to be honest.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with that, and I would love to.”

  Delminor’s shoulders sagged in relief and he set down his things, handing Dariak over.

  “Thank you, Ess.”

  He didn’t know what he wanted to do. He started by walking through the house, as if for the first time, but it was hard to look at the places he and Donya had built together. He saw her shadow everywhere. The vases she’d had him craft when he was practicing with the glass shard. The metal rack with the pottery he had created. Even the herb garden that she had tended without any magic at all. Every part of it reminded him of her. It was both fulfilling and painful.

  He wandered aimlessly, numb, his mind a complete blank for the first time that he could remember. He tried to recall her voice, her touch, but he couldn’t. He only saw her essence around him, but it was full of emptiness.

  As he thought about it, he knew it truly was emptiness after all. Emptiness in his soul. A part of him missing. Something he hadn’t known he needed so much was now gone forever.

  But why couldn’t he cry? Why couldn’t he shed tears for his loss? What held him back? Had she taken all the water magic with her? Did he simpl
y no longer possess tears?

  He knew he was rationalizing, but it didn’t matter. Dariak needed him. The king needed him. His apprentices needed him. Mages across the kingdoms needed him. He didn’t have the luxury to mourn.

  Delminor walked back the main room and Essalia had gotten Dariak into a peaceful sleep.

  “He’s a healthy young boy,” she said.

  “He needs to be. I don’t know what kind of a father I can be for him. I couldn’t even protect his mother.”

  “Del…”

  “Please don’t call me that anymore. It was her last word.”

  She touched him tentatively. “Delminor, you can’t hold yourself responsible for what happened. There wasn’t anything that could have saved her.”

  He shook his head. “What if I’d had all the jades instead? What if, together, the lost powers of the Red Jade… What if they could have prevented this tragedy?”

  “You can’t ever know.”

  “I’ve thought about it. Air for her lungs, fire for her spirit. Antimagic shadow energy to keep the darkness from her. Or maybe this is the penance Astrith hinted about when he spoke of balance.”

  “Don’t do this to yourself. You’ll be lost and Dariak needs you.”

  He dropped into a chair. “All I have left now is the war.”

  “Don’t say that! You have Dariak! And all your friends.”

  He waved his hand in the air. “That’s not what I mean. I couldn’t save Donya, but maybe I can save the kingdoms. Somehow, I have to find the way to show the kings there’s no way to win the way they’re handling it.”

  “You’ve tried.”

  “I did. But not with all the jades together. I know it, Essalia. If I can find a way to recreate the Red Jade, I can put a stop to the wars. I may not have saved Donya, but somehow, some way, I have to make this place safe for Dariak.”

  “I don’t know what to tell you, Delminor. I think you need more time to mourn.” She stepped toward the kitchen and heated a pot of water. “I’ll make some tea to settle your nerves.”

  “No sleeping draft this time,” he warned.

  “Not at all. That doesn’t mean you won’t feel sleepy.”

  Dariak fussed in his crib but settled quickly. Delminor watched the tiny boy as he slept. “He looks a lot like her. More than he looks like me.”

  “It’s a bit early to tell what he’ll look like when he’s grown. But I bet, regardless, he’ll look a lot like you both, inside and out.”

  “As long as he’s not as cursed.”

  Chapter 63

  Summons

  A message arrived from the king and Delminor had no choice but to respond to it. King Pennithor demanded his presence. Refusing such a demand was cause for retaliation in these frayed times.

  Essalia agreed to take Dariak during his absence, though he promised not to tarry for long. She understood he may not have a choice and had no qualms watching over the baby.

  Delminor used his quickness spell to fold the land underneath him and propel himself rapidly to the castle. He added air magic to blow him from behind, trying to shave off even more travel time. It was difficult to control, and only strong earth and glass mages would be able to carry out the task.

  He wondered what demands the king would have, likely due to the war, and he considered how he could turn such demands aside.

  When he reached the castle town, people were on edge, eyes darting about furtively. Hawkers were few and far between, an oddity for the bustling city. Many had sent their hardiest children off to fight, and they knew their younger children would be next. The war had taken its toll on everyone.

  Yet some businesses flourished and had more to do than ever before. Herbalists and blacksmiths, in particular, were called upon to complete orders for the army. Mage shops were all but cleaned out, the proprietors scrambling to restock their wares. When stores became destitute, the owners teamed up with the bustling shops and helped with supplies. Where competition could have reigned, the spirit of cooperation was visible everywhere, which eased Delminor’s soul.

  Exhausted, he sought refuge at a local inn. It was full of patrons, refugees mostly, but the innkeeper was able to secure a small room for the mage. Though he could have slept at the castle in a more luxurious space, he had no interest in announcing his presence until he was rested. He had a few days before he was expected, anyway.

  He hadn’t gotten used to sleeping alone. It was too soon. He thrashed all night, reaching out for Donya, wishing her to be there with him, to lie with him as he slept, to stand with him as he met with the king. But all he had was memory.

  He wondered if he should have brought Dariak with him, but he was too young for such a journey. Still, it ached him to know his tiny baby was now away from both his parents, though he trusted Essalia implicitly to tend to him.

  He turned over, wondering what he was doing leaving his boy behind. How could the king’s missive have taken him away? He knew he owed the king much and understood he could not have refused, but still…

  He made his way into the castle the next morning and was escorted immediately to the king’s chamber.

  “Your alacrity is impressive, Master Delminor,” the king opened.

  “Yes, your majesty,” he bowed. “I hope this day finds you well.”

  “Well indeed,” the king said sourly. “The Kallisorian forces are striking back with force beyond what we seem able to muster.”

  “I can’t imagine we’re not strong enough to hold them back.”

  “Nor can I. Yet it appears—” The king leaned forward, tapping his fingertips together. “—that the Kallisorians possess armor that is able to reduce the impact of our mages’ spells. You wouldn’t happen to know anything of this, would you, Master Delminor?”

  The mage’s brows furrowed. “I did spend time working with gemstones and determined a way to mitigate the effects of magic, as you may recall. We worked on a way to provide you the same protection.”

  The king glowered. “But how did the Kallisorians discover this truth?”

  Delminor shrugged. “I have no idea.”

  “We know you have been sending spellbooks across the border.”

  “I do no such thing.” But he didn’t elaborate, and the king’s fury increased. “Perhaps there are other souls sending the information. Or there are other methods for obtaining it. It isn’t me.”

  “You suggest we have spies among us?”

  “You don’t have spies in Kallisor?”

  The king grew silent for a moment. “I have no need of your conjectures.”

  “Very well, your majesty. Should I be off then?”

  Pennithor stood up, irate. “You will be dismissed when I am ready to dismiss you. You push your station too hard, Master Delminor.”

  “I left my newborn child at home to come here to be asked a question! I’m sorry if I’m eager to leave.”

  “You will not fare well in the field if you do not take orders.”

  Delminor paled. “The field? You’re not sending me off to fight in this needless war.” It wasn’t a question.

  “You will go where I assign you and when.”

  His voice raised. “I will not throw my life away at the whim of a king who sits upon his throne tossing lives away at the frontline. It’s a wonder the people still fight for you.”

  Enraged, the king grabbed his crown and threw it at Delminor, who graciously took the blow to the chest, then bent down to retrieve it. Pennithor snatched it back and grabbed Delminor’s tunic at the throat. The guards around the room tensed.

  It took a moment, but Pennithor calmed himself and released Delminor. “This is not what I wanted to discuss with you.” He pushed himself into his throne. “Yet you incite such rage in me at times.”

  Delminor forced his eyes to look at the floor. “My apologies, your majesty.”

  Pennithor paused, relaxing his breathing and controlling his tone. “There is a reason you affect me so. I have great respect for the work you’v
e done over the years. I’ve tracked your progress since your time in the Magitorium.”

  “I know you were aware of my movements, but you’ve tracked me in earnest?”

  “You were given the air jade. Did you not think the king would be aware of the gravity of such a thing?”

  Delminor gaped. “I never thought about it. I thought it was Xervius’s idea.”

  “It was and I was not pleased with his decision to send the shard with an unknown teenager out into the land. You could have died.”

  “I didn’t go alone.” He choked as he thought of his companions at the time, Pyron… and Donya.

  “No. None of what you’ve done has been alone. I was informed of your work in Magehaven. It is why I accepted your presence here in the manner in which I did.” The king leaned forward in his chair, looking uncomfortable. “You see, Delminor, I have in essence watched over you all your life, watching you grow and develop into the man you are today.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “There is some part of me that feels responsible for all you’ve been through. And like an errant father, I have tried to make amends at times.”

  “Father?” He thought of his own father and the animosity he had always felt, the biting sarcasm between them, the lack of respect on both sides. “I have no good experience with fathers.” He thought of Dariak. “Nor am I a good father.”

  “Your fatherhood is only beginning.”

  “And I should be with my son.”

  “It was important for me to bring you here.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t understand. To ask me about antimagic armor? To tell me you’ve watched over me?”

  Pennithor controlled his emotions and stared at Delminor sharply. “I have respected you for your will, your determination, your creativity. You have been true to your word at every turn, even when that word has infuriated the throne.”

  He couldn’t help but ask. “Then why have my letters been read for all those years? That’s not a sign of respect or trust.”

  “I tracked your letters because I wanted to know you better. To know your truth. And yes we decoded your letters with Master Pyron’s help. It was an invasion, but you at least knew we were looking.”