Delminor's Trials

by Stephen J Wolf

  Arenda received the air jade, while Essalia took the healing shard. Delminor handled the rest, setting some on an oversized table in the workroom.

  “Our purpose is to bring the jades as close together as possible.”

  “Seems easy,” Rothra said. “Don’t they want to come together? You’ve often written about their resonance with each other.”

  “True, but the more energies in the area, the harder they are to bring together. You’ll see.” He began by drawing upon the order he and Donya had discerned years earlier. Rothra stood at the head of the table with Gallena and Arenda on his left. Essalia was next, followed by the glass jade on the table. Water, shadow, metal, and earth followed, ending the circle with the nature and beast jades.

  “We’re not very balanced,” Altran noted, holding the metal jade. “Maybe we should bring in more people.

  “Nervous?” Rothra teased. “It looks like it’s all of us against the one of you.

  Delminor climbed on the center table and folded his legs under him. “That’s enough. We’ll do this first.” He closed his eyes and pulled the unattended jades closer to himself. They resonated and trembled on the table. “Now step in slowly, but focus your energy on the jade and read what you can.”

  “It doesn’t want to go,” Rothra said, surprised.

  As he stepped closer, the water jade slid away. Delminor reached back to secure it. Yet as the other jades came close, he couldn’t hold them all. “We need to tie them down,” he said.

  They scrounged around for leather straps, tying firm knots around the jades and fastening them to the table. Altran used his metal skills to hammer nails through the leather, bragging at how easy it was to do.

  They tried again. As the five mages drew closer to Delminor, it became harder to move. They felt resistance within the shards and the resonance of the other jades grew intensely. The shards broke free of their bindings and slid away.

  “We almost had them all around you,” Arenda said. “But they just wouldn’t go.”

  Delminor nodded. “Did you read the energies?”

  “I couldn’t get anything,” Rothra said.

  Essalia offered, “This one felt confused. It wanted to come together but it was also afraid. It knows they belong together, but it’s been so long, they don’t know each other.”

  Delminor agreed. “That’s what I feel as well. It will take some effort to physically connect them all.”

  “What if you bring them together two at a time and then bring more together that way?” Gallena suggested.

  They tried it, but an invisible force pushed them away and made it impossible as they added more shards to the mix. They ended the experiment for the day, Delminor setting the jades into display cases around the room.

  With the apprentices gone, the adults continued their conversation about the joining.

  “Maybe Altran is right, we need more people,” Gallena said.

  Arenda shrugged. “Will that help? You felt how strong they pushed away from each other. Would anyone be strong enough to do it?”

  “I’m sure I can,” Delminor offered. “They need a mediator of sorts. It’s why I sat where I did instead of taking the earth jade.” He turned to Essalia. “You’re right that they’re afraid and excited all at once. But I don’t know how to bridge the gap.”

  “Maybe some things are best left alone,” Gallena said. “Maybe there was some other reason the old kings separated the Red Jade in the first place. It could be that it’s been so long since it existed that all we have now are fairy stories about how good it was.”

  “It is possible,” Delminor conceded. “However, I don’t sense any malice—or goodness for that matter. I only sense energy.”

  “You’ve always said the jades are somewhat sentient,” Essalia said.

  “True. Perhaps they don’t see a reason to come together.”

  “Maybe it’s just not the right time,” Arenda said.

  Chapter 66

  The Contest

  The king summoned Delminor to attend to him as they ventured out to the location of the contest. He met with the king’s troops along the way, using his fast travel mechanic to reach them.

  He was surprised to see everyone in full battle gear. Pennithor assured him it was only a precaution and that the contest would be of lesser concern.

  “Do you have the jades?”

  “I do.” He had found a way to keep the set of shards closer together by pairing up the opposing elements. He kept them strapped to different locations on his body, from his ankles and knees to his arms and chest. He could reach them as needed, not that he expected to need them. Yet the king had insisted.

  “Have you succeeded in your research with them?”

  “I learned what I can.”

  “That will have to do, won’t it?”

  “Yes, your majesty.”

  The trek to the border was oddly solemn for a group proceeding to the end of the war. Delminor’s suspicions rose as they went.

  His apprentices were walking among the mages, talking in fast, heated tones. They were too far for Delminor to hear, but he saw their hand gestures and he realized they were talking spells. No matter. There was little time for practice while they were on the road.

  The gathering camped numerous times along the way, with guards fending off feral attacks that seemed rampant. Delminor channeled power from the beast jade, trying to stop the onslaught, but it was as if the beasts were compelled by something else. Perhaps it was the collection of jades itself, he wondered again. It fit what had happened after acquiring the healing jade.

  When the Kallisorian army was in view, they made a more permanent camp, setting up tents in earnest and establishing a base of operations. The king’s tent was at the rear, as was Delminor’s.

  He climbed a hill and looked out over the horizon and he saw the Kallisorian forces likewise encamped. Scouts ran along both sides and ensured the other army didn’t cross into the center area.

  “It doesn’t look like we’re set up for a contest of skills,” Delminor muttered, his heart sinking. “I can’t be here for this.”

  The king had anticipated his reaction and he already had guards posted to ensure he didn’t leave. Delminor sought out the king.

  “What is the meaning of this?”

  “King Kannilon and I have decided upon one final foray and the victor will take claim over both lands.”

  Delminor fumed. “I want no part of this! I’m leaving.”

  “You can’t.” Pennithor’s voice was sad. “There are guards stationed at your home as well. If you return without me, they are instructed to slay your wife and child.”

  Delminor’s jaw dropped. “You can’t be serious. What happened to your respect? Your love for me as a son?”

  “It is true I respect you, but I said what you needed to hear to work on the jades in earnest. Now, I need you here. I knew you would not have come otherwise. Go make your preparations, for tomorrow will be a busy day.”

  He felt trapped and betrayed. He crafted a letter and summoned an eaglon to send the message home explaining the situation and asking if they were all right. He knew the answer wouldn’t come in time, but he needed to reach out.

  The sun rose the next morning, a deep thick crimson, as if in foreboding. Delminor tensed but refused to join with the other mages. His apprentices tried to drag him out, saying he needed to help protect them, but he wouldn’t go. Altran spit at his feet and stormed off.

  The challenge of the kings was announced and the rout began. A final fight to end all fights. It was the stupidest, most irresponsible thing Delminor had ever heard.

  Though he refused to participate in the battle, Delminor enlisted the help of a several mages and soldiers to assist in tending to the wounded. He pulled them off the lines early to offer instructions, then set the soldiers to drag the wounded to him and they all went to work.

  The fighting was brutal and he was hard-pressed to keep up with the wounded. Some gashes we
re minor, but others boded ill for the fallen. Several men and women died under his watch and he regretted that his healing skills couldn’t save them. Just as he had been unable to save Donya. It was a constant reminder that, as powerful as he was, he could not fix everything.

  He took a break and stepped away from the healers, looking out over the battlefield for his apprentices. They were launching spells into the fray, Altran with a wild look in his eyes. Rothra seemed tamer, sending blasts of fire and then backing away.

  Altran cast his dagger-chain spell and cut a Kallisorian clean in half, falling to his knees in backlash pain. Rothra watched in horror, then couldn’t take it anymore. He bolted, fleeing the battlefield entirely. Delminor hoped he would make it home before someone chased after him for deserting the king. He would have followed if his family wasn’t in danger.

  Altran was weakened and Delminor wished he could call out to send help, but it was too late. A sword found its way through the boy’s heart.

  The fighting paused as night drew near. Over fifty fighters had been lost in the skirmish and no winner was in sight. Delminor knew the kings would not settle for a stalemate, for that would lead them to a truce after all. Instead, he forced himself to remain calm and he settled down to sleep.

  The battle raged for several days, supplies fading, with no word from Essalia. Reinforcements arrived from the west, the towns all sending what aid they could at the king’s demand. But it was no help, overall, for the Kallisorians also received help and both sides were stalemated again.

  Then the tide turned. The camp erupted into chaos in the depth of night. They had been infiltrated by a Kallisorian squad, who sought out and slew the king’s lieutenants. Delminor was called to inspect the bodies, not that there was anything he could do. They had all been slain and the perpetrators had been apprehended and destroyed. It was a bold move by the Kallisorians; a suicide mission. It was a violation of the edicts of war, but the stakes were high and they clearly demanded a victory at any cost.

  Delminor was summoned to the king’s tent. “There is little time left. How go the preparations, Delminor?”

  He knew the king referred to the jades, to unleashing some forceful magic he wasn’t sure existed. Why else would the king have arranged for all the shards of the Red Jade to be given to him? He was a fool for not realizing it sooner.

  Delminor bit his lip but he met the king’s gaze, knowing his duty. He needed to protect the army. He needed to save Hathreneir and prevent the Kallisorians from crossing the desert expanse that would eventually lead them to his son. He knew what he needed to do. “Perhaps a few hours is all.”

  “Perhaps?” The king was furious. “We will defeat the Kallisorians this day, and that is all. You will be ready.”

  “I will begin immediately,” Delminor promised, bowing his head and returning to his tent.

  Chapter 67

  The Jades

  He pulled the jades from their bindings and set them around him, trying to understand the hushed whispers he heard from them.

  “I need your help,” he implored. “We’re going to be destroyed tomorrow. There will be nothing left. I need what power you can give me so we can survive this horrible onslaught.”

  He sat on the ground, silent, ignoring the rest of the commotion that ran through the night. He heard calls for all arms to gather for new instructions, but he tuned them out. He needed answers.

  Dawn approached and the king rallied his troops and addressed the Kallisorian king, condemning him for the actions of his rogues. They bantered, but then Kannilon had enough and he called his archers to attack.

  The fighting commenced as if it had never stopped. Delminor was heartbroken at all the loss.

  Soon after, a soldier hurried to him with stomach complaints. “It hurts so bad. I can’t concentrate.”

  He knelt down and sent healing waves into the man, sensing another force at work. He struggled against it, but there was little he could do. The soldier had ingested something that the body had already broken down and scattered through him. He pulled nature into his casting and sent the energies again, but he was too late. With painful cries, the man died.

  A mage was next; one of his healers. She called to the energies as she asked for help, but even there, Delminor could do nothing. She collapsed, her mouth foaming.

  “What’s going on?” he asked.

  One after another, he watched as their soldiers fell to their knees. Slowly, he pieced it all together, horrified by the realization. The Kallisorian army had resorted to poison. The infiltrators must have poisoned their stock of food in their attack. He sent a mage to report to the king.

  A soldier limped toward Delminor. “The king demands your presence immediately.”

  He turned the man over to the remaining healers, and hurried to his tent, scrambling to unstrap the pieces of the Red Jade. He knew what the king would demand. He had no answer yet, but time was at its end.

  He arranged the shards in a circle as he had been doing already. They were extended just beyond his reach when he sat within the center. He summoned an image of the battle in his mind and sent it to the shards, asking each for help in turn. He felt them flicker in response to his desperate plea, but they offered him no answers.

  He thought of Essalia, her long blonde hair and brilliant eyes. He thought of how she had followed him for two decades, just wanting to be near him, never expecting to be his, but remaining his constant support.

  He considered Gallena and Arenda and how their friendship had grown over the years despite its difficult start. Their children needed to be safe.

  His thoughts turned to his son. The child he had tried for years to have with Donya. The one child to survive. He needed to be protected from this war at all costs. It was too unfair to bring a child into a world that would strive to tear itself to pieces. He needed to protect him.

  And Donya, whom he loved with all his soul, but he could not save.

  The jades understood, but they did nothing more than vibrate in place. He listened to each one, wondering what was wrong.

  They seemed to be arguing, like the mages in the towers who couldn’t get along. They sounded to him like the Mage Council itself, their loyalties divided between them.

  He thought of Pyron, who had called him in his time of need for Delminor to bridge the distance between the mages. He hadn’t committed himself to the task, losing Pyron’s friendship in the process.

  And here the jades needed a mediator to allow their dissonant energies to cooperate. They needed a strong mind to guide them. He knew he could be that mind.

  The jades needed him, as Hammon had needed him. He was the impetus that would cause them to act, to do more than they had been doing.

  He knew they drew energy from him to power themselves. It was mild with one jade, but here he would empower eleven shards. Perhaps that drain had taken Donya’s life, granting him a son he could not otherwise have.

  It was too late now. There was no going back and the time for postulates was over. He knew enough. He understood what the jades needed from him.

  He opened himself up fully, oblivious to the chaos around him. He drew the essences of the jades through him, each in turn. He felt the grounding force of earth soothe his fears. The metal jade sharpened his wit. Shadow darkened the world around him so he could focus. Water calmed his thoughts. Glass set up protections in his mind. Healing soothed his aching heart. Air breathed into and out of him, fresh despite the death all around him. Fire burned in his soul, giving him conviction. Beasts strengthened him so he could rise. Nature reminded him that he was alive and could fight.

  He could feel there was something wrong. Something missing, but it didn’t matter now. He needed to bring the jades together and put an end to the war once and for all. As he mentally drew the jades into one, he felt what was wrong. They were not meant to be aligned in a single plane. Their powers were too strong to exist on one level alone.

  He scolded himself for not seeing it sooner. H
e had played the adapted version of Elemental Confluence; a three-tiered board, assembled by his apprentices, not knowing where the inspiration had come from. He should have known. The jades had whispered everything.

  He wished he could spend time with the revelation and research it properly, unlocking further secrets. But a sound echoed in the background and he knew what it was.

  The horn signaled that the king was dead.

  His emotions were torn. The king who had overseen his life, who had championed his research, who had funded his home… gone. Yet he was also the man who had lied to him to manipulate his presence here, his work with the jades, his imprisonment on the battlefield… Delminor didn’t know if he should feel relieved or mourn the loss of his king.

  The land would be without a ruler, as the heir was too young to lead. Or perhaps the Kallisorians would succeed and unite the kingdoms in bloodshed, starting with the army here.

  He wished he could order a retreat, but he heard the bloodthirsty cries of revenge as the army raced forward. He wouldn’t be able to stop them by calling to their sensibilities. He had to finish his work with the jades and end this.

  He grabbed a plank of wood and set three of the jades upon it, then placed their direct counterparts on the floor underneath the table, laying the remaining five jades at the points of a pentagon on the table, where he sat in its center. Hoisting the plank of wood over his head, he closed his eyes.

  Delminor could feel the powers of the jades reaching hungrily into him, seeking guidance. This was different. They weren’t warring for position anymore. They were evenly spaced now. He could see it finally.

  One by one, each jade floated toward him and glowed brighter. They surrounded him and his body lifted up, the wood plank and table burning away.

  Power wafted through his entire body and he knew he was strong enough now to end the battle. He imagined himself as an enormous man stomping over the battlefield, striking fear into the masses and causing them to stop. He didn’t need to hurt anyone. A massive show of force would suffice.