Affinity for War

by Frank Morin

  So he tried rolling aside, but Martys pinned him with his legs, punching harder and faster than ever, shouting a constant, wordless animal howl. Connor tried blocking the blows, but Martys had slipped too deep into unrestrained battle fury. There was no way he could break free with the strength of granite alone.

  He tapped slate. Connecting with the gateway to earth was difficult while trying vainly to defend himself from his uncle's savage blows.

  Martys continued to pound him, and the punches actually began to hurt, despite the protection of his granite-hardened skin. Desperation gave him the will to hold the image of the sunken gateway in his mind and drive his senses through.

  Additional strength roared into Connor from the ground beneath him, and he caught Martys's hands. His uncle leaned over him, growling, eyes blazing orange, face contorted with rage, but Connor held him. Barely.

  The brief respite gave him the chance to focus his earth senses. The cobblestones erupted to either side, driven upward by thick tentacles of earth. Connor used them to lift Martys off and wrap him in restraining bands. For a moment, Martys struggled mightily, his strength amazing, howling and even snapping at the air.

  Connor rose, panting, battered, and shocked by the display.

  Then abruptly Martys relaxed, closed his eyes, and took a long, shuddering breath. He held it for several seconds, then let it out in an explosive rush and opened his eyes. He looked calm, and he smiled.

  "Good on ye, laddie. Ye kept yer head despite the best I could throw at ye. Maybe ye're ready after all."

  "Are you all right?" Connor still felt unsettled by what he'd felt, by Martys's savage attack, and even more by his abrupt shift back to normal.

  "Aye, laddie. It takes a moment to rein in the beast once it be released, but it be a tool of battle, no more."

  Connor eased the earthen bands binding Martys, but maintained connection with the earth, just in case. "I understand what you mean now. I felt it too."

  "I thought ye might, but ye held back."

  Connor nodded. "It was too much like the unclaimed."

  "Ye've seen the might of the unclaimed an' lived to tell the tale?"

  That was an understatement big enough to choke a torc. "Have you?"

  "Aye, laddie," Martys said with an awed expression on his face. "Twas a sight to behold, it was. That be the ultimate beast unleashed, and I no have seen its equal in battle."

  That was not the way most people would describe meeting an unclaimed. When Connor had turned rampager at the Carraig, most people had been simply terrified by his monstrous form, just as he had been when Professor Hector had transformed and nearly killed him.

  "When did you see one?" Connor asked.

  "Away to the south, on the borders of Sehrazad. One of me mates lost patronage for abandoning his post on the eve of an attack by the desert raiders. Luck be praised, when he turned unclaimed he attacked them instead of us."

  Martys whistled softly. "Twas a terrifying an' inspiring sight, laddie. He savaged those raiders. They no had Petralists, but they no be cowards, an' they fought bravely. Died by the score, they did. He killed nearly two hundred afore he escaped into the night."

  Connor grimaced to think of such slaughter. He knew better than anyone the unmatched savagery of porphyry, driven by that overwhelming rage and thirst for blood.

  "I told you in Alasdair, and I meant it. Patronage is a lie, Uncle Martys. That friend of yours who turned unclaimed had another affinity with a stone called porphyry."

  Martys looked shocked. "Can it be true?"

  "I've seen it. I've proved it."

  Martys drew closer and gripped Connor's arm. "Are ye sayin' that ye have turned unclaimed yerself?"

  Connor nodded. "It's porphyry, Uncle. It can change us into those monsters."

  "What does it feel like?" Martys asked in a tone of wonder.

  "It's terrifying. And amazing."

  "Go on," Martys urged.

  Thinking back on that experience triggered another intense yearning for the powder. Connor's stomach cramped and his fingers clenched as he fought to control the renewed hunger. Porphyry had broken Dougal's hold on his mind, had transformed him into a monster savage enough to face the elfonnel, but it had pushed him to the brink of humanity. How could he put that into words?

  "You feel stronger than life," Connor said softly, his voice shaking a little as he remembered the astonishing strength. He could have ripped Boulders apart and outrun the fastest Strider. "But it's savage and wild, and I only barely kept from killing everyone, even people I cared about."

  "Ye mastered the beast," Martys breathed. "Connor, me lad, hold onto that memory when ye fight. Embrace the beast and ride the cusp of insanity, an I promise ye that no one will stand against ye an' live."

  Then Martys clapped him on the shoulder and grinned. "Save the beast fer battle. Now it be time to fill the belly."

  They found some food in one of the kitchens, then Connor left his uncle and looked for Verena, still haunted by Martys's words. They might be true, but could he accept so much blood on his hands? When the battle started, would he dare fight with such savagery?

  Did he dare not to?

  His dark thoughts were interrupted by Kilian, who entered the hallway from a connecting corridor, with Mattias trailing behind.

  "Connor, I'm glad we found you. It's time for a little training with quartzite."

  "Really?" The thought of training again with Kilian drove away Connor's worries. "Can you teach me quartzite?"

  "He can't, but I can," Mattias said, and his smile did not glow at all.

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  "A great tower, firm against pitched battle, can be felled alone by wind when left desolate and untended."

  ~Connor

  Connor was eager for training that might help him master the fickle element of air, but why did it have to be Mattias? The man clearly still cared for Verena, and Connor worried she might still have feelings for him, too.

  Shouldn't that make them enemies? Rivals?

  "Verena mentioned you sing really well," Connor said as he studied Mattias. "Do you think if we perform in front of the army they'll surrender?"

  Mattias laughed. "Don't doubt the power of a song, Connor. But no, I had something a bit more useful in mind."

  "Like what?" Connor asked as they fell into step behind Kilian.

  "Kilian tells me you've ascended."

  That surprised him. Kilian added, "It was necessary Mattias know that fact in order to best teach you."

  "Are you ascended too?" Connor asked.

  "No, but I wish to some day."

  Kilian said, "The risks do not yet outweigh the rewards for you."

  "When are we going to discuss those risks?" Connor asked.

  "Soon."

  Mattias said, "I might not have ascended, but I've studied the deepest quartzite lore, recorded in the king's own library. I know as much as anyone since the Tallan Wars. I should be able to help you learn something new."

  He sounded excited by the prospect, and Connor was impressed that he picked up no hint of jealousy. He had ascended and he was dating a girl that Mattias still cared about. Either Mattias was the most humble man Connor had ever met, or he was the most brilliant actor.

  Hopefully he was just humble. Connor needed that knowledge, but he'd throw Mattias from the citadel towers before letting him steal Verena away.

  He had to wonder if that was the plan when Kilian led them to the top of the wall surrounding the citadel, then to the roof of one of the towers rising above the wall. Evening had fallen and deep shadow obscured most of the city, masking it in a sense of mystery that was only deepened by the tall lantern poles set along the streets.

  "Let's begin with your enhanced vision," Mattias said, popping a little piece of quartzite into his mouth.

  Connor did the same. He felt confident with enhanced senses. In unison, their eyes shifted into hardened crystals.

  Mattias gestured toward the city. "Tell me
what you see."

  He scanned the city. His gaze pierced deeply into the shadows, which lacked the brilliant colors he enjoyed during daylight hours. The city was amazing, but even with enhanced eyes, shadows were still pretty boring.

  "What should I be looking for?"

  "Focus on the market district. Look for a purple light in one window."

  Connor scanned the parts of the distant markets visible from their vantage. There was still a lot of activity there. It was hard to ignore the hurrying shoppers, caravans of wagons moving goods, and men and women on horses or riding in carriages.

  Some even rode tall, oddly shaped beasts that must be the camels Verena had mentioned once. Those were supposed to have come all the way from the deep south of Sehrazad.

  He tried to focus on the windows, but there were so many. He spotted a flash of purple in one and zoomed his vision closer. It turned out to be only the cape of a merchant walking past.

  After a minute of fruitless searching he said, "I am assuming there's a point to the challenge?"

  Mattias acted like he'd expected the question. "When we're searching for one particular thing among so many sights, the very strength of our vision can get in the way."

  "Is there a trick to isolating what I'm looking for, like when we filter sounds?"

  "Very good. Yes. You should have access to some tricks the rest of us can't. I believe you can now parse what you see and actually split apart the different colors, like a prism crystal. After that, you can let most of the colors fade away until only the one color you seek remains."

  "Really?" Connor never would have thought to try such a thing.

  "I've heard of the spectrum effect, so I know it was possible in the past," Kilian said.

  Connor focused on one distant trading house. The set of giant, sliding doors on the near side stood open. Light spilled out over a caravan of oxen-drawn wagons moving slowly inside. He focused until a wart on one of the driver's necks filled his gaze. It had a single hair growing out at an angle.

  Backing out a bit, Connor scanned the entire scene with crystal clarity. As he focused on the colors, they seemed to grow more vibrant.

  The scarred, brown wood of the wagons contrasted with the long, reddish fur of the matched pairs of oxen. Tan canvas tarps covered most of the wares in the backs of the wagons, although one had blown free, revealing splashes of brightly colored bolts of cloth. Everything was tinged golden by the warm glow of brass lanterns, so Connor decided to focus on that color.

  A long moment passed as he gazed at the scene, but the colors did not split. Quartzite eyes did not grow tired like unenhanced eyes, and he vowed to stare all night if he had to. He didn't want to admit to Mattias that he couldn't do it, especially with Kilian watching.

  Although his vision remained crisp and clear, his mind started to wander after a couple of minutes. The impending battle, worry that Verena might still care for Mattias, and the troubling advice Martys had given him all tugged at his attention.

  That's when the light suddenly split.

  The view remained clear, but as his thoughts wandered, the scene shifted slightly. It was similar to how he would sometimes let his eyes cross while looking out over the forests outside of Alasdair on a slow, boring summer afternoon.

  With his enhanced vision, the slight unfocusing didn't blur the image, but split it into sharply distinct bands of color. The change surprised him so much that he blinked, which of course wrecked the effect.

  "What?" Kilian asked immediately. He looked expectant, Mattias a bit envious.

  "I got the light to split. It surprised me, is all."

  "Try again," Mattias urged.

  Now that he knew what to do, it took only a moment to focus on that distant scene again, then let his eyes cross. The colors again split into distinct bands, as if he was looking through a prism crystal. It was beautiful, but all those rainbow streamers made it hard to focus on what he was seeing.

  Luckily the scene was really boring, so Connor kept his gaze slightly unfocused and concentrated on the golden glow of the lanterns. As his attention narrowed to that beam, the other colors did seem to fade to muted grays.

  "I've got one band," Connor said triumphantly. "Just the gold of the lanterns."

  "Very good." Mattias had drawn closer, as if he wanted to look through Connor's eyes too. "You should be able to scan for that one color now."

  It took Connor four tries to get it right. The first three times, as soon as he started looking around, all the other colors snapped back into focus. Finally, he tried re-focusing on the scene of the caravan and the huge doorway first, with the other colors muted and only the golden light bright. Only then could he look around.

  The city looked more mysterious than ever, the shadows darker and other colors little more than muted grays. The glow of lanterns and torches stood out brilliantly by comparison.

  Connor laughed. "Got it!"

  "Now try for purple," Mattias said eagerly.

  That proved a bit tricky, since the original scene he had been looking at didn't have any purple to focus on. Connor finally spotted a purple-robed noblewoman riding across one of the bridges in an open-topped carriage. Once he narrowed the spectrum to that color, he scanned the city again and quickly spotted the light Mattias had challenged him to find.

  "That's a tiny light," Connor said.

  It was a single candle inside a purple glass cylinder that muted its glow. It sat behind a mostly-shuttered window on the second floor of a market building far to the right of the one he'd been looking at earlier. Even with his enhanced vision, Connor almost missed it.

  "Very good." Mattias clapped him on the shoulder, which knocked his vision back to normal. "We had to make the challenge tough, or you wouldn't have needed the new technique."

  "It's pretty amazing, although it takes a while to isolate the color I want."

  Kilian said, "Keep practicing. You'll get better with time."

  "Wait until you ascend through the second threshold," Mattias said, a wistful tone in his voice. "I've read that at that point you should be able to see heat as a color."

  "So there are other thresholds." That confirmation excited Connor, as did the idea of seeing heat. He could pick the best sweetbread every time.

  Kilian nodded. "There are. We don't talk about them much. Few know about the first threshold, and fewer still can succeed in ascending. There are two additional thresholds, plus the obsidian threshold that Dougal used in order to gain the ability to seize the minds of others."

  Mattias said eagerly, "I wasn't aware of that one."

  Kilian warned, "Keep this information private. The second threshold can only be accessed by those with at least a Dawnus ability. It is only after that threshold that one can hope to raise an elfonnel and return to their humanity afterward. All others are lost."

  That meant Kilian had ascended through that threshold. Connor wondered what else Kilian could do that they didn't know about.

  Connor frowned as he realized something. "That means Evander is Dawnus too?"

  Kilian chuckled. "He is, although he's pretty useless with quartzite."

  Connor struggled to imagine the enormous, mysterious Evander as useless at anything. He wanted to ask for more details about that, but Mattias either didn't know Evander, or he didn't want to get sidetracked.

  "And the third threshold?" Mattias pressed.

  Kilian hesitated then said, "That one's a bit different, and is only accessible to the Blood of the Tallan."

  "How is it different?" Connor asked.

  "The day will come when you will need that information, but that day is not today."

  It was a rotten thing to mention the third threshold, then not explain it. Connor opened his mouth to object, but Kilian raised a hand to silence him.

  "You asked about risks and the price one pays for these new abilities. Each threshold has its own dangers. You ascended the first, and it has one of the most dramatic effects. The worst is that you can no longer fat
her children."

  "What?" Connor and Mattias exclaimed together and exchanged astonished looks.

  Connor hadn't thought much about having children. He was still only sixteen, after all, but knowing he could never have a family of his own shocked him deeper than he would have imagined.

  What would Verena think?

  His face flushed at the thought. He loved Verena, and promising to each other was a definite possibility, but they hadn't actually talked about that potential future. If they did promise, if they did marry some day, would Verena accept the fact that they could not have children?

  What would Shona think? He didn't actually want to think about Shona, but she'd played such a huge role in his life for the past months that he couldn't help it. She'd intended for them to wed, but would she have cared if they couldn't have children? Would her plans for conquest and power leave any room for children?

  Then he thought of the edict from the king, granting breeding rights for all of the other high noble families. He wanted to spread the bloodline of the Blood of the Tallan. Did the king know Connor had ascended? Did he understand what that meant?

  Kilian silently watched them. Connor's mind was still reeling, so it was Mattias who first recovered enough to ask, "Is that why so few Petralists are encouraged to attempt an ascension?"

  "It is one of the reasons. Even though I despise the disgusting Obrioner breeding program, Granadure has also focused much effort on encouraging Petralist bloodlines to flourish. Both countries are working to rebuild the Petralist might we enjoyed before the Tallan Wars, but thresholds are a tricky thing.

  "On the one hand, they offer unrivaled power that generals are hungry to obtain. On the other, they deny offspring to the very Petralists who possess the most powerful affinities."

  "Aunt Ailsa mentioned there were dangers," Connor said softly. "But no one mentioned this."

  "Don't lose hope, Connor. For any other Petralist, there would be no remedy that I know of. You alone might one day ascend through the third threshold. If you succeed and survive, that ultimate threshold restores the ability to sire children."