A Clash of Magics

by Guy Antibes

  They remained standing as the pontiff and the bishop walked the few steps to the pontiff’s massive desk as if they were performing some kind of processional.

  “You may be seated,” the announcer intoned before Trevor, Brother Yvan, and the head seer sat. His chair was behind everyone else’s.

  “Why do I have to sit back here?” Trevor said. “I am Dryden’s messenger.”

  “That position has no standing in my church,” the bishop said. “It is a seer’s appointment.”

  “Then why have I been dragged over here?” Trevor said. He thought the seers were reasonable people for clerics, but the church side was very irritating.

  “I want answers, young man.” The pontiff finally said something.

  “If you ask me intelligent questions, I’ll give you intelligent answers,” Trevor said. He glanced at the head seer, who appeared to be holding back a smile. Perhaps Dryden did align him with the right group.

  “What is your relationship with the Presidonians?”

  The question surprised Trevor. “I have no relationship other than that of an exiled citizen, I guess. I assume the Presidonians hired a band of assassins to end my life on the way from the western border.”

  “So you say,” the bishop said.

  “And so do two of my party—Brother Yvan, a seer, and Linwood Volst, a silver-ranked Viksaran magician. I also have some newly…”

  Trevor stopped. He was going to talk about the charms, but Trevor stared at the two men with the funny hats. The churchmen didn’t deserve to be treated any better than anyone else. He couldn’t see how Dryden was working through these arrogant men. He changed what he was going to say.

  “…gained information.” He told the men about the Maskumite magician who had influenced King Worto to make poor decisions, and that other magicians were doing the same thing with other heads of state. The other magicians were not King Worto’s subjects.

  Trevor looked for some indication of indignation or shock, but the two clerics looked blankly at him. The Pontiff stood and said, “Thank you for the warning.” He sprouted a condescending smile. “Now that you have delivered your message, you may return to the Seer’s headquarters.”

  Lister Vale rose and turned back to Trevor. “It is time to leave.” He faced the Pontiff. “We thank you for your time. I’m sure Trevor learned as much or more about Dryden as you did about the mundane matters that affect us.”

  On the walk back to seer headquarters, Trevor tried to put his jumbled thoughts in order. “The split between seers and the church isn’t much better than the relationship between focuses and the Selaran church in Jarkan.”

  Brother Yvan smiled and nodded. “You picked that up, eh? The relationship isn’t as acrimonious, but there is a schism. I’ve interfaced with bishops and church clerics, and when they find I am a seer, some clerics are very respectful and cooperative, and others aren’t. Dryden lets men run his church until he needs to prod them here or there. We’ve seen it in our travels.”

  Lister Vale nodded his head. “I wanted to show you a different perspective on Dryden clerics. You are the equivalent of any seer, but you noted that the pontiff doesn’t recognize you as a cleric of Dryden. Do you believe that Dryden has been working through you, or do you think you aren’t a servant?”

  “I am a servant, but I’m no cleric,” Trevor said. “You both know that. I don’t have the level of guilt about my behavior that Brother Yvan has. I can’t deny that I am different, but it appears that Dryden is moving me through Brother Yvan and now through you. I can’t claim to see the best in everyone, and I sure didn’t see much good in the pontiff.”

  “You sound more like the prince I took out of Presidon than the duke of Listenwell,” Brother Yvan said.

  Trevor sighed. “I can’t be honest with you now?”

  “Be as honest as you can at the right times to the right people,” the head seer said. “Brother Yvan knows you much better than I do, but I will admit Dryden’s choice of pontiff often perplexes me.”

  “Perhaps Dryden doesn’t care about the pontiff,” Trevor said, “but he cares who the head seer is.”

  “I can only hope you are right,” Lister Vale said with a broadening smile. “What do you intend to do with your newfound insight?”

  “I’m not sure I should do anything. If Dryden doesn’t care about him, why should I?” Trevor asked.

  “Answer him, Yvan,” Lister said.

  “If Dryden doesn’t care about what happens, where does that put you?” Brother Yvan said. “This should be an easy one, Trevor.”

  “I am to make my own way unless Dryden directs,” Trevor said. “I ended up in the basement of the seer headquarters, so it is up to me to make something of it. Right?” Trevor knew he gave his mentor the correct answer. It wasn’t the first time they had talked about the general subject, but it was the first time they spoke about a specific instance affecting Trevor’s life.

  A cleric ran up to the head seer. “You are wanted at headquarters.”

  “I will leave you now. We will meet again after midday.” The head seer scurried away, with his subordinate lagging behind.

  “If the church clerics are the way they are, why did you seek out the bishop of Jilgrath?” Trevor said, watching the head seer turn a corner.

  “Not everyone in the church is like the pontiff. Most clerics have been led to their callings by Dryden. Sometimes it isn’t right to judge the members of an organization by their leaders, but by their subordinates.”

  “And the bishop of Tarviston wasn’t as good a person as the one in Jilgrath?” Trevor asked.

  “You expect me to answer that?” Brother Yvan said.

  “Now that I think of it, no. I can answer that question by your actions.” Trevor furrowed his brow. “But you said you got direction from the bishop in Jilgrath? Wouldn’t the messages make it to the pontiff?”

  “I needed someone local to be an intercessor with the head seer while I was performing penance. It is a rule both clerics and seers follow. Seers can communicate with headquarters, but the spell doesn’t allow for perfect communications.”

  Trevor nodded. “That is why Seer Caspur said something about unreliable messages. And the spell involves magic, so no one can communicate with me?”

  Brother Yvan nodded. “Dryden must think a magicless messenger might be better. There are benefits and disadvantages either way.”

  Trevor thought about it for a bit. “I’d make my way.”

  “I don’t think anyone who knows you and what you’ve done disagrees.”

  ~

  The head seer held up a simple, dull gold ring from behind his desk. “This is why I hurried back here from our meeting with the pontiff. I knew it was in our treasure room, but we finally found it.”

  “It is important, I imagine,” Volst said.

  Lister Vale glared at Volst. “Would I be holding it if it weren’t?”

  “It was a rhetorical question,” Volst said.

  Trevor wasn’t so sure. “What does it do? Is it a charm?”

  “We don’t exactly know,” the head seer said. “It uses old magic. The messenger should wear this since it facilitates communication between the wearer and another ring.” He held up a duplicate ring. “This artifact is supposed to work with today’s magic. Since no one could use the old magic, we could never test them.”

  “You still can’t. I can’t use old magic. I still need a magician to get this cuirass to work.”

  “You can think better than that,” Brother Yvan said. “We will have to test them.”

  Trevor sighed. “I’ll need a magician to make this work too?” Trevor said to the head seer while he stared at Brother Yvan.

  “No better time than the present?” Lister Vale said.

  Trevor stood and took the offered ring and asked Volst to accompany him out the door. They walked to the end of the corridor before Trevor slipped the ring on his finger. The ring glowed briefly before turning dull again.

  �
�At least we know it works,” Volst said.

  “It glows,” Trevor said. “It might not work.”

  He wanted to tell Volst about the inter-church communications, but he had promised Brother Yvan to keep that secret. First, Trevor thought of the seer and the other ring and tried to send a greeting through the ring on his finger all by himself, but nothing happened.

  “Hold onto my wrist,” Trevor said.

  “What should I be feeling?” Volst asked.

  Trevor tried to come up with something. “Perhaps how it felt when I used your magic to transport to Jilgrath.”

  Volst frowned. “It is hard to remember a feeling you’ve never had. I just stood next to you.”

  Trevor sighed. He didn’t know if this was going to be easy or hard. He concentrated on using Volst’s magic to establish a channel of communication with the head seer. Trevor thought of the same greeting. As he focused on the sending, the ring pulsed with a glow and then went dormant again. He waited for a bit, but nothing happened. They returned to the head seer’s office.

  “I sent a message.”

  Lister Vale frowned and repeated Trevor’s message back to him.

  “It works!” Trevor said.

  “One way, only,” the head seer said. “I tried to acknowledge your sending, but nothing happened.

  “Perhaps we will need another’s magic,” Brother Yvan said. He held out his hand.

  Trevor tried the same pattern over but changed the words in his greeting. When he returned, the situation was the same. Brother Yvan could receive the message, but he couldn’t send anything. The next time Brother Yvan went out into the corridor with Trevor. The results didn’t change, but when Volst tried to use the receiving ring, he could only hear garbled words in his mind.

  The failure to return communications started an afternoon of using the strongest magicians among the staff and the seers-in-training. Most couldn’t do any better than Volst.

  After the latest failure, the head seer shook his head. “We’ve tried everyone,” he said.

  “Not everyone,” Brother Yvan said. “There are four more powerful magicians who we can test. Glynna Bostik, Gorian Custik, Lissa Caspur, and Reena Corulu. Reena is here so I will fetch her.”

  The head seer looked at Trevor. “I don’t think I can entrust one of the rings to a magician who isn’t a seer.”

  “You did to me,” Volst said.

  “That was for the experiment,” Lister Vale said.

  “Isn’t she the equivalent of a seer?” Trevor said.

  Lister pursed his lips. “Maybe.”

  They dropped the subject and waited in silence until Brother Yvan brought in Reena. Trevor stepped out into the corridor with Volst again and repeated the experiment. While he waited for a reply, Reena’s voice rang in his head as if she stood next to him. “Can you hear me? I can hear you. Are you going to embarrass me by not listening to my voice?”

  Trevor grinned. “Success!”

  They walked into the head seer’s office, where Trevor repeated Reena’s reply.

  “That is it!” Brother Yvan said.

  “One other experiment,” Lister Vale said. “Use Reena as your magic partner, and let’s see if I can hear her.”

  Trevor nodded. He clutched the ring on their way into the corridor.

  “Lister wants to be able to participate,” Reena said. “He thinks your story will persist for ages, and he would like at least a mention.”

  “I still don’t know how any of this works.”

  Reena shook her head. “Neither do I, and neither do Ivan or Lister.”

  Trevor used different words, and he didn’t have to wait long before the head seer’s voice spoke in his head. Trevor repeated the words.

  Reena sighed. “Now he can become part of history,” she said. “Let’s give him the good news.”

  Trevor frowned. “It isn’t good news for you.”

  “What?” Reena asked.

  “You will have to be by my side to give Lister Vale the fame he wants. You don’t have to come with me. It will be dangerous wherever we go.”

  “As long as you allow Brother Yvan to come along, too, I’m fine with it. Jarkan shares a border with Maskum. Consider me a Jarkanese patriot.”

  “And Selara would like to see you help?” Trevor asked.

  “Selara, Dryden, it doesn’t matter to me who it is.” She rose on her tiptoes and gave him a tiny kiss on the cheek. “You are kind to care.” She pursed her lips. “Don’t tell Yvan I kissed you.”

  “It was hardly a kiss,” Trevor said.

  “You would know,” Reena said provocatively and then giggled.

  The head seer was beaming. “We got it to work. I am very pleased. Now you can tell us what you were doing.”

  Trevor hadn’t done much other than think of the helper’s magic and then did his communicating. Lister was still excited. “For a final try, I’d like you to transfer somewhere and communicate from there.”

  Trevor looked at Reena. “Are you up to it?”

  “As long as you return her intact,” Brother Yvan said.

  Where did Trevor want to go? He thought for a moment. “Do you want to visit Mino

  Kawis?”

  “I wouldn’t mind,” Reena said.

  Trevor went to his room and retrieved his sword before they appeared in front of the current focus’s house in Argara. The pair of them walked to the door, and Trevor knocked.

  “Focus!” the maid said, her mouth dropping open. “I thought you were in Ginster.”

  “I was. Is Mino in?”

  The maid ushered them in and had them sit in the sitting room. Mino showed up, still chewing on something.

  “It’s too early for dinner for you, isn’t it?” Mino said. “What brings you here?” the new focus said with his mouth full.

  “A test,” Reena said.

  “I don’t want to take a test,” Mino immediately said.

  “It is a special test for Trevor and me, but we needed a fair distance to test a communication ring,” Reena said.

  “A charm?” Mino said. Interest was lighting up his eyes.

  “Probably,” Trevor said. He looked at Reena. “Shall we begin?”

  The experiment went flawlessly, communicating with the head seer.

  “Now, let’s try Mino,” Trevor said.

  Mino grinned. “What do I have to do.”

  “Swallow all your food, first,” Reena said.

  Mino began to masticate and finally gulped down what was left.

  “Hold onto my wrist,” Trevor said.

  The experiment worked to Trevor’s satisfaction, and he broke off communications with the head seer. Trevor spent the next two hours listening to Mino talk about managing King Turgul’s actions on the throne and Reena’s version of their travels to Ginster. Trevor wouldn’t have gone into such detail if he were to tell the stories, but both focuses seemed to be enjoying themselves. It was more than enough payment for Reena being a good sport about the ring trials.

  Trevor and Reena teleported to his room at Collet’s headquarters. They found Brother Yvan and Volst eating dinner and joined them.

  “I’m not sure Mino’s talent at receiving communications from the other ring will be particularly useful,” Volst said.

  “You don’t know what will be useful and what won’t,” Brother Yvan said.

  “You have a backup for me who is almost instantly available,” Reena said.

  “With three more tests to go,” Trevor said.

  “But the head seer said…” Volst uttered the words but then grinned. “You don’t care what Lister Vale says.”

  “I do, but being prepared is important too. I’d rather have multiple backups than none. Aren’t I right, Brother Yvan?”

  “You are the military man,” Brother Yvan said, neatly avoiding the question.

  Chapter Ten

  ~

  T revor visited Jilgrath after he had secured both rings and spent two hours locating Lissa, who was just
returning to the inn. Custik and Glynna were out, and Lissa didn’t know where. They walked to Glynna’s house and tested the rings with Lissa.

  She couldn’t use the ancient magic ring, and it seemed that no one could. Trevor had his magic-imbued sword and held it and the old magic ring while Lissa took the other and walked down the street.

  “Can you hear me?” Trevor said, thinking and speaking the words at the same time.

  “I can,” Lissa said. “Do you want me to say anything else?”

  Trevor smiled to himself. “You can tell me that Head Seer Vale will be disappointed.”

  “The head seer will be disappointed,” Lissa said. “Are we done?”

  “We are,” Trevor said. He said that he was glad to see her, but the communication sputtered out. He guessed his sword had run out of power, and he stepped onto the street to wave her back.

  They waited a few more minutes, holding hands in the shadows of the porch, talking about King Worto’s reaction to the exposure of Gareeze Plissaki when Glynna and Gorian walked up.

  “We have a visitor!” Custik said. “Who did you bring this time?”

  “Two rings,” Trevor said before describing what the seers had brought up from a vault of trinkets. He gave them to Custik, who held one in each palm.

  “This one I can tell is charmed,” the magician said, looking at the new-magic ring. “This one seems dull or dead to me.”

  “That one is powered by old magic.”

  “The one you use?”

  Trevor nodded. “I can use stored magic to use it, but the drain is fast. It didn’t even last long enough for a decent conversation,” he said.

  “In a pinch, even a few words are better than none,” Glynna said.

  “Lissa can be my power. I want to see if either of you can receive communications.”

  When Trevor tested the pair, only Custik could use the new-magic ring, but even then, the communication was a little garbled. Neither Glynna nor Custik could give Trevor the power he needed, but Lissa could.

  “Should I feel left out?” Glynna asked.

  “You have a lot of people to keep you company. Volst and Brother Yvan can’t receive my messages, but Reena, Mino Kawis, Lissa, and the head seer can hear me, and I can clearly understand them.”