by Jason Kenyon
‘Dunno why we don’t,’ Obdo said. ‘What do we care if Miss Harpy attacks the Supreme Commander?’
‘Miss Harpy is Valia?’ Archimegadon asked.
‘Course.’
‘Because there’s the likelihood that Valia will just smother Arenfel in demons and kill thousands of innocents,’ Archimegadon replied.
‘Oh, yeah, guess that would be a bit bad,’ Obdo said.
‘Maybe you got through to her,’ Neurion said. ‘She seemed sincere about returning the favour for sparing her.’
‘The only time I’d trust Valia more than someone else would be if she offered to deal cards instead of Obdo,’ Archimegadon said. ‘As to sincerity, that can be faked.’ He glared at Ithalna, who was a short distance ahead of them, talking to Anjilo about cakes while giggling.
After the sun reached its mid-point in the heavens above, the group chose to turn off the road and seek shelter at the nearest woodland. Trees were sparse in this part of Valanthas, so close to the frozen Malthair to the north, but they found some eventually and settled down once they were comfortably out of sight.
While they were in the middle of eating, Archimegadon approached Ithalna. She had her mouth full of horrible, flavourless travel biscuit, and looked up at Archimegadon with large eyes as he greeted her. He had to hide his discomfort; not only was he particularly nervous about carrying out this plan, but she was still looking about as cultist-y as Obdo resembled a necromancer.
‘Ah, U… er, you, Ithalna, how are you?’
Ithalna made an indistinct noise, trying to swallow her food quickly so she could answer.
‘Excellent,’ Archimegadon said. ‘Since we’re stopping for a bit, I was wondering if I could request another lesson in magic.’
Ithalna’s attempts to answer resulted in her coughing instead, and her face went red. She cleared her throat a few times, coughed some more, and then took a breath. ‘Oh dear, sorry. I do need to be more careful. Yes, of course we can have another lesson. I am glad that you are the one asking me, for once.’
‘Tush, I am always eager to expand my knowledge,’ Archimegadon said.
‘What did you want to learn?’ Ithalna asked, looking quite tired after nearly choking. It wasn’t helping Archimegadon to believe she was really the dreaded assassin of the King.
‘I was wondering if you could teach me to silence opponents,’ Archimegadon replied.
‘Oh, that is a good idea,’ Ithalna said. ‘It will be tricky, mind you, but I am sure that we can get through the basics swiftly. Do you mind if I finish my food, though?’
Archimegadon most certainly did mind, but she looked so helplessly fragile after her coughing that he relented and let her eat in peace. Mellara and Tharanor watched him carefully as he sat back down, and he hoped the two sour eagles wouldn’t give the game away.
The passage of time was slow indeed, but Ithalna finally finished her food and soothed her poor throat a bit with some cool water, before inviting Archimegadon to follow her a short distance away. Mellara tried to join as usual, and Ithalna glared at her.
‘You are always teasing him,’ Ithalna said. ‘I do not want you near us as we practice.’
‘I’ll behave,’ Mellara said.
‘Believe me, I would very much like to trust you,’ Ithalna said. ‘However, I have had faith in you in the past, and you have made fun of poor Master Forseld each time.’
‘I can keep an eye on her,’ Tharanor said, looming at Mellara’s side. Mellara was quite short anyway, but Tharanor was the tallest of the group aside from Ithalna, and his dark beard, though better-kept than Diojin’s bushy mess, made him that bit more shady.
‘Very well,’ Ithalna said, sighing. ‘If you misbehave as well, I shall be most cross with you!’
The four of them settled in a small open area between a collection of trees, and Mellara crouched at the base of one of them. Tharanor slouched against a tree next to hers, and he managed to give the appearance of being a guard back in Ferrina again, watching the proceedings with a stern eye. Ithalna faced Archimegadon and smiled.
‘Alright, let us begin,’ she said. ‘We have been over some of the principles of magic before. There are different types of energy, and elements, and multiple ways in which we, as mages, can manipulate those energies to bring them into the shape of our choosing. Along with this ability, with some further application of the same principles, we can then use those manipulations to counter someone else.’
‘Of course,’ Archimegadon said, beginning to very much get the feeling that this plan wasn’t going to work out at all. He wished that Mellara and Tharanor weren’t glaring at him as if he’d just murdered their families.
‘There are several different ways to counter spells, or silence your opponent,’ Ithalna went on. ‘With one method, for example, you can go so far as to still the very ability for them to speak entirely, manipulating not only the energies in the air but also their own body’s capability to produce sound.’
Archimegadon’s forehead furrowed.
‘We will work on a simpler principle today, though,’ Ithalna said. ‘Do not look so worried! I will not stress you too far on our first attempts.’
‘I fear nothing,’ Archimegadon said.
‘Is that true?’ Ithalna asked, and there was a mischievous glint in her eyes.
‘Of c…’
Ithalna muttered under her breath as he spoke, and Archimegadon’s mouth froze in an O shape as he stopped producing any sound. It took his brain a moment to catch up, and then he flushed as he heard Mellara chuckling at him nearby.
‘Miss Nightshot, I did ask you kindly,’ Ithalna said, but she was doing a poor job of concealing her grin as well.
‘Oh come on, princess, you can’t set that up and then blame me for laughing,’ Mellara said, still struggling not to giggle some more.
‘Very well, this once then,’ Ithalna said.
‘How rude,’ Archimegadon said, once his voice returned.
‘Pardon me,’ Ithalna said. ‘Did you notice what it was that I did, though?’
‘Erm, no.’
‘I would have been surprised if you got it on the first try,’ Ithalna said. ‘It is essentially along the same lines as what I would do if I were to counter one of your spells – not as complex as interfering with your body’s ability to speak. When you spoke, I manipulated the wind, so that it barred the passage of sound and limited the magical energy available to you, dissipating it into the ether.’
‘The what?’
‘Imagine that your words were a river, and their natural destination was the sea. What I did was use my power to shift the earth, so that it pushed the water off to one side, resulting in it pouring into a field instead. Do you follow?’
‘No.’
Nearby, Tharanor rolled his eyes.
‘Miss Nightshot, could you come over here?’ Ithalna asked.
Mellara pursed her lips. ‘Uh, I think I’d rather stay here, thanks.’
‘Now, now, you want Archimegadon here to excel just as I do, no?’ Ithalna asked.
‘Not at my expense!’
‘Do not worry, I will not have him experiment on you,’ Ithalna said. ‘I will cast on you, and allow him to sense what I am doing through a magical connection with him. We have done it before, and it is quite safe.’
‘If you hurt me, I promise I will throw you in a river, mage or not,’ Mellara said.
‘There is no risk of that,’ Ithalna said, and she took hold of Archimegadon’s hand. ‘Now, could you say a few sentences? I will attempt to interrupt you, and share the sensation with our friend here.’
‘Uhm, okay,’ Mellara said, with a nervous grin. ‘So, I guess I’ll just talk about random stuff, like that tree over there, or…’
Ithalna muttered again, and Archimegadon felt a surge of energy focused around Mellara’s mouth. The more Ithalna did this with him, the easier it became for him to sense what she was doing, and he imagined something like a red band extending from a central
point in front of Mellara’s mouth to cover it all. The actual effect was invisible, but the image in his head did help him to visualise it for when he wanted to try it himself.
He grinned at Mellara. ‘Aha, now I much prefer her like this.’
He noticed Tharanor watching with a particularly grave expression, though, and it made him pause. What had Tharanor so grumpy? And then it occurred to him what a dangerous path they walked. If Ithalna realised what they were trying, she could quite easily abuse this knowledge and do something nasty to Mellara with her defences down. It didn’t seem like Ithalna was on to them, but then Archimegadon hadn’t even considered that Ithalna might be suspicious up until the previous night.
‘Erm, I think I understand it now,’ Archimegadon said. ‘Mellara, you can go and sit down again.’
‘Are we finishing already?’ Ithalna asked as Mellara walked away.
‘Ah, no, I just felt that it would be safer for me to test my ability to counter spells or speech on you,’ Archimegadon replied. ‘You are more knowledgeable than milady Nightshot, after all.’
‘True enough,’ Ithalna said. ‘I shall conjure an aura of cool air, then, and it will be up to you to successfully silence me. Do you feel you can do this?’
‘Indeed so!’ Archimegadon said. ‘For I am Archimegadon!’
‘Let us begin, then,’ Ithalna said.
She murmured an incantation, which seemed to include a few recognisable words, such as ‘air’ and ‘current’, but it was interspersed with unfamiliar terms that were most likely from an old language pre-dating Valanthas. Archimegadon concentrated his thoughts, and attempted to sense the magic in the air around them. He could also feel Mellara and Tharanor watching him, and wished they’d bugger off.
‘Erm, be quiet!’ Archimegadon said, and he envisaged blocking Ithalna’s spell at that point in front of her mouth, and then stretching a wall out to either side to silence her entirely.
He’d hoped for success. Even silencing himself would have been something. Nothing happened at all, though, and that was somehow worse.
‘Hmph, alright, let’s try again,’ Archimegadon said. ‘One more should do it.’
Unfortunately, this was optimism in the extreme. The next attempt did nothing, and the next, and it continued for several more attempts even beyond that. Ithalna, to her credit, persisted in patiently chanting her incantation, and the cool aura continued to swirl about her. Tharanor and Mellara were noticeably agitated in the background, which started to make Archimegadon rush further attempts.
It would have been nice for Ithalna to actually lend him some more guidance, come to think of it, but she maintained the aura instead, seemingly lost in her casting.
‘Argh, I don’t understand it!’ Archimegadon said eventually.
Ithalna stopped her chant and looked up at him. ‘You do not seem to be quite grasping it.’
‘You didn’t give me very much to go on,’ Archimegadon said.
‘Did you not tell me that you had it?’
‘I suppose I was wrong.’
‘Alright, I will tell you what you did wrong, then,’ Ithalna said. ‘You are still tapping into your fire abilities. Rather than engaging in any form of counter or barrier, you are simply giving me an unusual, if pleasant, warm sensation on my lips.’
‘You’re such a romantic, old man,’ Mellara said.
‘Shut up, Obdo,’ Archimegadon said. ‘Erm, I mean Mellara.’
Ithalna ignored that exchange. ‘For this exercise, leave your love of fire behind, and become one with the air around you. Fire is a force that you make happen. Wind, however, is something that you work with and guide. It is a fairly simplistic description, but compare trying to cool yourself down by making punching motions towards your face to stir the air, instead of fanning yourself. You are doing the former right now.’
Archimegadon wasn’t too sure that helped, but he nodded anyway. ‘Flapping and not punching. Very well.’
Ithalna smiled at him. ‘I know that you can do this.’
That just made him feel worse. Was she really this sinister Cleric in disguise? Well, if he was to find out, he’d have to succeed at this damn spell. Or they could simply jump her while she was conjuring the aura, but he shared the concern that she’d prove to be more formidable than expected if she had her powers available to her.
‘You look unhappy,’ Ithalna said. ‘Is it the lesson? Am I pressuring too much? I am no good at teaching, I am afraid.’
‘No, not at all,’ Archimegadon replied. ‘I am grateful for your aid. Let us continue.’
Ithalna brightened. ‘Wonderful! Same again, then – I will chant an aura, and you must silence me. Best of luck.’
Archimegadon felt hopeful now. The little break had let his head clear a bit, and now he was ready to give it another try. Flap, don’t punch. Guide, don’t force. Focus the centre. Wall. Wind, not fire.
‘Silence,’ Archimegadon said, and he gestured with a hand.
Nothing.
He saw Mellara roll her eyes and lean back against the tree behind her, while Tharanor’s beard bristled with impatience.
‘Silence,’ he tried again. ‘Be quiet. Shush!’
On and on it went, and nothing was working. He could feel faint stirrings of magic, but the damn spell wasn’t working, and now it just felt like he would never make any difference or progress. He didn’t know what to change, and he couldn’t find that same ease with which Ithalna had calmly silenced Mellara. Were they going to have to postpone the plan, and travel on with the question of Ithalna’s identity still unconfirmed?
Argh, he was able to conjure fire! He’d even worked out ice without needing guidance. What was so mysterious about wind magic, the province of boredom? Did he need to continue in this vein until the very innermost secrets of tedium were revealed unto him? Was that why Ithalna insisted on leaving him to guess with such minor guidance? Or was it really so simple as she made out that she couldn’t understand him not getting it earlier?
His thoughts flew back in time to Lord Bartell activating the Kalahd Ring, goaded by Archimegadon into willing him to be silent, causing the magic in the ring to trigger. That was a forceful application of magic, not at all like what Ithalna had described. But then, Bartell technically hadn’t been casting – he had been using the key intention and willing it, which was what was required to activate that particular magical artefact. Actually casting the spell was another thing entirely.
‘I suppose it is not going to happen today,’ Ithalna said, dropping the aura. ‘We can give it another try later, or tomorrow.’
‘Wait, no,’ Archimegadon said. ‘I am sure I can get it.’
‘You are missing something,’ Ithalna said. ‘Some key component of your connection to magic. Perhaps the fault lies with me, and I have not understood how your abilities work. I will give it some thought, and see if I might better amend my teaching style to suit your talents.’
Archimegadon knew she wasn’t meaning to sound condescending, but after such a frustrating length of time, he could only take it that way. His eyes flashed, and he gestured at her with irritation.
‘Bah, enough!’ he said, and he felt the energies flow around him now.
Time seemed to slow, and he properly felt that same connection he’d had when Ithalna had demonstrated on Mellara. His hand was still pointing at Ithalna, and he directed the energies at the invisible spot he envisaged at Ithalna’s mouth, and then swept the energies out to either side of it. That was it – anger was his strength. And now he’d done it.
Ithalna beamed radiantly at him as the spell stopped her next sentence, delighted with his success.
He’d done it.
He’d…
‘Ah! Ah! Now! Mellara!’ Archimegadon shouted.
Mellara surged to her feet with such speed that she nearly toppled onto her face. Tharanor was faster, and he grabbed Ithalna’s arms, turning her to face Mellara. With an apologetic frown, Mellara drew forth the anti-magic neck shackle she�
��d taken from Stornis Hold, and slipped it around Ithalna’s throat. Unable to get free of Tharanor’s grasp, Ithalna’s eyes bulged as Mellara clicked the shackle shut around the wind mage’s throat.
A moment passed in which everyone was silent. Even Obdo and Neurion had noticed the commotion, and Anjilo had already raced over with her sword drawn.
Then Archimegadon’s spell ran out, and Ithalna smiled regretfully.
‘You have figured me out, then?’ she asked.
‘What’s going on, guys?’ Anjilo asked.
Ithalna was watching Mellara, a strange look of amusement on her face.
‘Well, Mellara Nightshot, are you not going to bow to your queen?’ she asked. ‘You called me princess enough times, after all.’
‘I really hoped I was wrong, your majesty,’ Mellara said.
‘It seems not,’ Ithalna said. ‘Yes, I am not really named Ithalna. You may call me by my correct title – Queen Unette of Valanthas. Now more commonly referred to as the traitor queen, or the assassin queen, or simply a Cleric.’
Archimegadon groaned.
‘Please do not kill me right away, however,’ Unette said. ‘Since my little pretence is over, I suppose I can help you out with a few of your questions. You wish to know what the Supreme Commander plans to do in Arenfel? I will tell you everything.’
Chapter Eighteen: Immortality Through Death
Archimegadon tugged at his beard and paused to take stock of the scene around him. Ithalna, with the shackle now binding her powers, was being held still by Tharanor, while Mellara stood flushed before her, her left hand hovering at the hilt of her sheathed short sword. Anjilo was just a few paces away, blade drawn, her eyes comically wide as she tried to understand what had just happened. Obdo and Neurion, late to the party, were still stumbling past the handful of trees between the clearing and their camp.
‘Guys,’ Anjilo said, her tone betraying some rare impatience on her part. ‘What are you doing?’
‘You heard what she said,’ Mellara replied, nodding towards Ithalna.
Anjilo’s eyes met Ithalna’s, and there was a definite regretful tilt to the latter’s eyebrows as she nodded.