Birthright: The Crystal Throne - Book 1

by Kim Fedyk

  Arleth continued to stare at him.

  “You really don’t know? How were you never taught this? I mean I know you were on Tocarra, but this is important. It is part of the history that affects the entire universe. I’m surprised Neve never told you anything about it.” He paused, “Well I guess maybe she would have if she had been given more time.” He paused again, thinking. “Were you taught anything of any other worlds? Please tell me you know the importance of Oherra. About the Crystal Throne, the other artefacts, the Great War, Dread Mages? You were taught at least that much right?”

  Arleth nodded. “Yes I was taught all of that in the orphanage. We learned the basic history of all the worlds.”

  “Ok well that is good at least,” Aedan said, “I would hate to think that the worlds had become so isolated from each other that children would grow up not learning at least a bit about the others. And I always assumed, that like here, all the worlds would teach their children about the Great War; what caused it, and the solution held by Oherra through the Crystal Throne. I mean that didn’t just affect us, the war involved the entire universe.”

  “I don’t know about in other places, but at the orphanage we learned about that early on when we started going to school.” Arleth said a bit defensively. “But I still never learned about any female Amaran birthright.” She paused for a moment as the reality sunk in, “About my birthright,” she amended quietly.

  “Well about your magic itself, I can’t help you very much – Selene would be much better at it that me. But I can tell you about the origin of your powers.”

  Arleth nodded eagerly.

  “After the Great War,” Aedan began “The remaining sorcerers and sorceresses put a lot of safeguards in place in order to prevent that scale of destruction from ever happening again. As you know, I think, that was when the artefacts were made and the crystal throne, being the strongest was entrusted to the house of Amara.”

  “Yes,” Arleth said, remembering her childhood lessons, “The artefacts were created because cutting off the worlds completely from each other seemed too drastic a measure. The worlds might need each other in the future. But at the same time, it was too dangerous to continue to allow the unhindered travel between them, as it had caused people to get too greedy and ambitious. Many sorcerers and sorceresses had seen the benefit in controlling the entire universe and in the destruction and death they had created in their quest for such power, they had turned into Dread Mages. They had come close to annihilating some of the worlds completely during the century of power struggles.

  In order to stop the bloodshed and prevent this from ever being able to happen again, the 10 most powerful sorcerers and sorceresses who were still good, combined their magic to create the artefacts so that travel between the worlds could still occur but it would be limited to a handful of people in each world.”

  Arleth paused for a second as she couldn’t help but smile at the look of proud surprise on her brother’s face. She looked over at Zeeshan and could see that he was struggling not to smile as well. She had gone into a lot of detail on purpose, telling him everything that she knew. She knew she was shamelessly showing off, but she was a bit upset at Aedan’s attitude when he assumed that just because she didn’t know about some power she was supposed to have, she wouldn’t know anything at all. Well she intended to show him!

  “The artefacts worked by creating a passageway between the worlds, but only the person in possession of one could use it. Also, each artefact was only able to form a passageway with a few of the closest worlds and there was a lag period so the weaker ones could only be used every couple of months for example. So it not only restricted travel to a few individuals on each world but also the frequency as well. A few artefacts were dispersed with the sorcerers and sorceresses to each of the 10 worlds. But on Oherra, the Crystal Throne artefact was made. It was the strongest of the artefacts and allowed passage to all of the worlds and only had a lag period of one hour. It was entrusted to the King of Oherra at the time, Falcon Amara and to all Amarans afterwards. It was created as an additional safeguard so Oherra could monitor the other worlds.” Arleth finished, rather proud of herself.

  Aedan for his part, looked a bit dumbfounded, “I still don’t understand how if you know so much about the other safeguards put in place after the Great War – the artefacts and the crystal throne – you were never taught about the last protection – the power inherited by all female descendants of the Amaran line.”

  In the darkness Arleth sighed.

  Zeeshan put of a large paw to his mouth in an attempt to stifle his laughter. He was partially successful, creating a muffled growling noise.

  Aedan looked over at the sound Zeeshan made, but was completely oblivious to its cause.

  “Oh well, I guess it doesn’t matter. It’s just rather odd.” Aedan continued. “Anyways, another precaution the 10 sorcerers and sorceresses created was to enchant the Amaran bloodline. This took an incredible amount of power and was very difficult for them, but they felt that it was necessary. They had witnessed too much death and suffering to not put everything they had into making sure it would never happen again. So they cast a spell on Falcon Amara to ensure that every female descendent of his would be born with magic capable of defending the crystal throne and Oherra itself if necessary. They called it the power of empathy.”

  “The power of what?!?” Arleth sputtered, “Empathy? How can empathy protect anything, much less an entire world?”

  “It’s not empathy like you are thinking Arleth. It’s empathic power. It works through your connection with other people and the things around you. It is very powerful, trust me. If you have it under your control, you can get people, objects, animals, nature, anything to bend to your will.”

  “I can control other people?!” Arleth asked incredulously

  “Not so much control as influence, there are some limits.”

  “If this power is so strong how was my mother not able to defend against Absalom’s attack?”

  “Our mother wasn’t an Amara; she didn’t have the power that you do. She only became an Amara when she married our father. Only those women born into the house of Amara inherit the power.”

  “But how do you know the power didn’t skip me? Are you sure I have it, maybe it skipped a generation or something.” Arleth thought back through her life, the brutal attack on the orphanage, then her seven years as a slave to Bella. She certainly hadn’t been able to influence anything then. Someone with the kind of powers Aedan described should have been able to control her own life. At least not have ended up as a slave, bending to the whims of such a frivolous and empty-headed woman as Bella.

  “No Arleth, it doesn’t skip any generations, it doesn’t work like that. You have the power. Selene’s mother could sense it in you when you were born.”

  “But I don’t have any powers. I can’t do magic! I have been a slave almost half of my life – I can’t control, sorry, influence things!”

  “You can’t do those things yet. And that is understandable; you have had no one to teach you how to use your magic. Selene wasn’t born knowing how to use her magic either, she had to learn. But trust me, you have the power in you. You just need to be taught how to draw it out and use it.”

  “But how do I do that?” Arleth asked, daunted.

  “I don’t know Arleth,” Aedan replied “I don’t have any magic myself. I have told you everything I know about your powers, it isn’t very much, I know. You would have to ask Selene.”

  As if on cue, there was a gentle knocking on the door and Selene’s voice softly called “Aedan?”

  Aedan carefully climbed over Zeeshan and opened the door for her. She scrambled in, closing the door quietly behind her, in her arms she was carrying a small black book that Arleth assumed was the Erum. “Ah Selene,” Aedan said, helping her to sit down beside him, “I was just telling Arleth about her powers. She has a lot of questions for you.”

  “I would love to answer them Arleth,”
Selene said, taking the ball of light back from Aedan and floating it into the centre of the small room. “But it is night already and we need to be heading back to the mountains. I will answer all your questions when we are back in the stronghold. Every minute we spend in the castle puts us in more danger, especially now that I have the Erum. Absalom will likely know it is missing very soon.”

  “Did you have any trouble getting it?” Aedan asked.

  “No, it was in the library, right where I expected it to be. There were some servants there, but I managed to avoid them without being seen. And the spells that had been put on the book were easy to break. They were more spells to hide it from sight, rather than to defend it against someone taking it. It is clear that neither Absalom nor Rogan expected the book to be taken. I guess that makes sense though, their servants wouldn’t touch it, and the spells that were cast would be enough to prevent any spy that we send in from finding it.”

  Aedan smiled at Selene, “Well I am glad there were no problems."

  Selene nodded her agreement. “Ok we should be going.” She fished around in her pocket and pulled out a small blue pill. Arleth recognized it immediately, it was a concealing spell, just like the one Neve’s brother had given her. Selene popped it in her mouth, and turned around to crouch in front of the group, her face looked grave.

  "We have a few miles of open land to pass through before we get to the safety of the mountains. It is a huge stretch of territory that will be visible from the castle and is patrolled by Grekens and Absalom's soldiers. It will be dangerous and the way we are now, we will stand out like a fox in a chicken coop. To make matters worse, Aedan is known on sight to every member of Absalom's army."

  Arleth reached over to Zeeshan and squeezed his furry paw.

  Aedan, seeing the fearful look on his sister's face cut in, "But Selene has a plan." He gave the blonde woman a pointed look. "Right?”

  Selene, startled for a second by Aedan's interuption, saw Arleth's face and hurriedly said "Oh yes, sorry I have a plan."

  Arleth and Zeeshan let out a breath almost in unison.

  "We still have to be very careful," Selene continued. "But yes I think I have some tricks that will help." She turned to face Aedan and put her hands on his shoulders. "First I am going to cast a small illusion spell on Aedan so that he isn't as recognizable." She started to mutter a few words and then instantly stopped. She reached back into her pocket and pulled out another concealing spell and handed it to him. "On second thought, you should probably take another one of these before I start."

  Aedan popped it into his mouth soundlessly and Selene put her hands back on his shoulders.

  Selene's mouth started moving and Arleth felt certain she was chanting something, but even though Arleth was sitting right beside her, she couldn't hear what the woman was saying. She didn't need to hear to know what was happening though. She watched in awe as Aedan's body started to glow a bright blue. And remarkably, right before her eyes, Arleth watched as Aedan's nose grew longer and wider; his eye colour changed from purple to brown; he shrunk in height and he was wearing the same clothes that one of Absalom's soliders would wear.

  Selene took her hands away from his shoulders and the blue light faded instantly. She looked him up and down, appraising her work. "What do you think?" She turned to Zeeshan and Arleth. "Does he look like a soldier?"

  Arleth and Zeeshan just stared at him open-mouthed. They were too suprised to say anything.

  Selene let out a quiet giggle "I guess that is a yes then?" She smiled at them.

  "Oh my goodness yes," Arleth said. "How? What? Does he actually look different now?"

  "Oh no, no," Selene said with a smile. "Aedan hasn't changed at all."

  "EH?" Arleth and Zeeshan said together.

  "An illusion spell, like what I cast on Aedan, is just that: an illusion. It just changes the perception of others. Aedan is still the same, but when other people - like us - look at him, we see a different man in front of us."

  "Wow that is incredible!" Said Zeeshan. "He isn't even recognizable."

  "I am glad you think that way," Said Selene slowly. "Because I would also like to perform the same spell on you."

  Zeeshan turned his head sharply to face her, his dinner-plate sized eyes, somehow even larger.

  "I know I am asking a lot of you," She said to the Talwyag gently. "You have just had a terrible experience with magic, and I can't begin to imagine all the things you are feeling right now. But if you let me do this, I know that it will help us to escape." She put her hand on his furry arm, "But I fully understand if you don't want me to."

  Zeeshan stayed quiet for a moment, thinking.

  "You know, I don't think I mind." he said relatively calmly. "It didn't seem to hurt Aedan."

  Aedan shook his head "Completely painless."

  "Would I look like a solider too?" He asked Selene.

  "No, I was thinking a Greken would be better. In the off chance that we still raise some suspicions, a Greken would be more likely to make someone not ask any questions and leave us alone. And.." She fished around for a nice way to say it. "It is easier for me to make as little modification as possible, and since you are already a similiar size..." She left the sentence unfinished.

  "I understand." Zeeshan said "I just want to get back home. Please do what you must."

  "Thank you," Selene said gratefully. "Here take this first please." She handed Zeeshan the last concealing spell. He popped it in his mouth without argument.

  Just like she had done with Aedan, Selene put her hands on Zeeshan's shoulders and started to mutter under her breath.

  If Arleth had been in shock with Aedan's transformation, she didn't even know how to describe her reaction to Zeeshan's. Through the blue glow, she watched as his white fur disappeared to be replaced with serpentine scales. His body sprouted a long snake head, his eyes shrunk and changed from green to yellow. And Arleth could make out tentacles hovering in the air, attached to his back. If she hadn't known, there would have been no way she would have realized he wasn't a real Greken.

  "How do you feel?" Arleth asked her new friend.

  "Different." Zeeshan said, "I guess? More different?"

  Arleth silently chastized herself. What a ridiculously stupid question to ask him. Of course he feels different. He was just turned from a Talywag, into whatever he is now. And before he was even used to his body at all, he was magicked into a Greken.

  "Sorry Zeeshan, that was a stupid question."

  "No, Arleth it's ok. I just don't know how I feel. I guess... fuzzy?"

  "Fuzzy?" Arleth said.

  "It's like the edges of your body are tingly." Aedan interrupted. "Really weird actually." He lifted up his arm and waved it in front of him. "Really Really weird."

  Selene shook her head at him. "Ok Mr weird, do you think you can keep it together so we can leave?" She smiled at him teasingly.

  "Yes Ma'am!" Aedan looked at Arleth and Zeeshan and winked.

  "Ok jokes aside," Selene said seriously, her smile gone. "Zeeshan, Aedan, you two are both good right? Neither of you are in pain or feel anything other than tingling or fuzziness?"

  Both of them shook their heads.

  "Ok great. Zeeshan, you are going to have to lead us. It would make the most sense for a Greken to be at the front of this group. Arleth and I look like servants, and Aedan obviously looks like a soldier. I don't think anyone will bother us. With Absalom's entire army and servants being enchanted, they shouldn't question us, unless we look like the escaping enemy. So let's walk as calmly as we can, and pretend that we belong here. Also, Zeeshan, even though I want you to walk in front. Make sure you stay as close to me as you can. I know there are protection charms all over the place and I don't want you to trip one by accident."

  Selene looked at each one of them in turn. "Is everyone clear on what we need to do?"

  When it was Arleth's turn, she gulped audibly but nodded. She was ready. Scared, but ready. Selene seemed satisfied. She gru
nted to herself and then without another word, she extinguished the ball of light and they were off, with Zeeshan leading the way.

  * * *

  A few hours later, Absalom and Rogan stood in Absalom’s bed chamber looking out the window across the Iridian plains. It was dark, but even still they could make out 4 figures, 3 small and one rather large, bulky one just beginning to enter the mountains.

  Rogan was pleased, although trying to hide it.

  Absalom was pissed.

  To Rogan, everything had worked out perfectly. He had wasted just enough time in the dungeons, pretending to check his ‘traps’ and to follow Selene and Aedan’s path to ensure that they had enough time to escape. Because the truth was, he didn’t especially want to capture Aedan, Selene and Arleth; at least not like this.

  It wasn’t any fun.

  He had hatched his own plan – and it wouldn’t kill just those three, but Aedan’s entire stronghold as well. But in order for it to work, they had to actually get back to their stronghold.

  It had taken him years to figure out how to create this particular piece of magic – his Ranin Bud. They had never been able to get inside Aedan’s mountain base because of Selene’s protection spells. In fact they had never even come close to finding where it was located – Selene’s magic was that impenetrable. So a few years ago, Rogan had decided to change tactics – instead of trying to find a way to break Selene’s spells, he had worked on creating an object that would implant itself inside a host. It would be magically invisible to Selene’s spells and it would therefore get inside her barriers and into the stronghold, being carried unbeknownst by the person it had implanted in. Once inside, it would detach itself from the person, multiply and grow to maturity. 14 days later, hundreds of bloodthirsty Ranin would be inside Aedan’s mountain camp, destroying everyone and everything in sight.

  And now he had finally finished it. Even better, it was currently implanted inside Aedan Amara.

  Rogan was finding it hard to contain his excitement.