The Elemental

by Whiskey Flowers

  “I am the protector of Queen Mary” Allen replied.

  “The royal guard” the king said looking at Allen. “I have heard of you from one of my subjects, he said you are a man not to be taken lightly.”

  “I owe that man a killing” Allen replied. “Depending on this conversation I am not sure if that is still the right course of action. Why do you come here so far away and what do you seek?”

  “You will use respect when talking to the King” the woman said as she stood back up and had her sword in hand.

  “Stand down Sophia” the king replied. “As for you Mr. Smith, I want your charge to marry off to my second son. I want to restore the monarchy and have my blood on the throne, if you want any more conversation you will have to do it face to face, without these walls.”

  “If I even think someone has broken into my home without permission I will not be happy” Allen replied as the stone guard post opened up. As Allen walked forward the stone slid around him like a second skin, the quartz window warped and wrapped itself around his head like a see through visor. The rock added almost a foot in height to Allen and the excess stone formed a large square stone over the area he came from. The mage killers gasped and the King drew his blade causing everyone around Allen to draw their blade.

  “Are we going to talk or fight?” Allen asked.

  “How are you doing this?” the King replied. “My mage killers should have drained your energy, you shouldn’t have any magic.”

  “I am the protector to the Queen” Allen replied as if that statement would answer the question the King had. “Where do you want to do this conversation at and where is this son of yours you want to marry off?”

  “Sophia” the King said looking at the female mage killer. “You wont be any use to me here, it seems the Atropians have figured out a way around mage killers. You and your men stay here in case something else comes out of that cubed stone.”

  Allen followed the king until they came across a purple tent. Soldiers looked at Allen and almost all of them drew their weapons but were waved away by the king. Inside the purple tent was a young man with rich brown hair tied into a pony’s tail with a ribbon. He admired himself in the mirror like he was looking at some great beauty, the site was so comical Allen almost didn’t notice the mage robes the man wore marking him as an air mage.

  “That is your second son?” Allen asked looking at the King.

  “Mr. Smith that is my second son Theodore” the King replied. “He is a fop and a regular dandy. He is too concerned with throwing wealth around and admiring himself. His older brother was bred to be king, Terrell will make a fine king of Gorgas. Theodore will make a horrible king if real decisions are left up to him.”

  “Mary is more than capable” Allen replied. “She is a just person and is knowledgeable in every subject you can think of, from blacksmithing to military leadership.”

  “I just need my blood on the throne” the King said. “Atropia has long been a thorn in my side and I now have a chance to end their threat once and for all. Terrell will not have to worry about the Atropians if I place Theodore on the throne.”

  “I can bring you Mary” Allen replied. “She wont like it one bit but I want some guarantees from you.”

  “You are a bold one to bargain with a king” the King said raising an eyebrow.

  “I am sure you know that if I wanted to kill you there isn’t much you can do to stop me” Allen replied. “I may die in the process but my job is to protect the Queen at all cost. Now if you are through pretending I should be awed to be in your presence we can continue.”

  “You would make a good advisor” the King replied. “No bullshit and straight to the point.”

  “Once I give you Mary I want you to leave the men in my home alone” Allen said gesturing towards his keep. “None of them are to be harmed unless they attack you first. Mary is untouched and better stay that way until her wedding day, believe me when I say I will rip your son apart.”

  “Mr. Smith I think you have nothing to worry about” the King said pointing towards Theodore who was still admiring himself in a mirror. “I am positive my son prefers the company of other men.”

  CHAPTER 4

  Allen stood in line looking at the children around him and shook his head at their excitement. He was in Gorgas now like Mary ordered and was still sure he had done the right thing, Atropians had started flocking to the Gorgas banner and fighting the traitors to put House Godfrey back on the throne. Mary hated Allen for it and would probably never speak to him again which was just as well, Allen couldn’t willfully leave her side but if she ordered it he would have to comply. Allen would miss her eventual wedding, he had to present himself in Gorgas to be trained in magic and thought it was a little insulting, Allen was sure there was nothing he could get out of it. Allen took a step forward and finally he was before the person behind the desk, it was a female wearing purple robes.

  Allen asked some of the Gorgas mages the king traveled with about how magic went in Gorgas and found it was similar to Atropia. Allen had guessed the woman behind the desk was some kind of instructor, the purple robes were almost universal among any magic instructor in any kingdom. The differences in Gorgas though was that the Gorgans taught anyone with the gift from a young age, they were not raised by their parents but instead were raised by the kingdom. They were taught love for the kingdom and given every opportunity to raise their skill in magic. Anyone deemed below par were taken away when they reached eighteen and through some process Allen was not sure of had their magic stripped from them. That process made mage killers, the mage would no longer be able to perform magic and would then be trained in combat. The Gorgans only wanted the strongest mages, to them only the strongest were deserving of the title. For everyone who had reached the standard set they were then sent to where Allen was told to present himself at, the School of Battle Magic. The School of Battle Magic was just like its Atropian counterpart, there they would learn to fight and kill. The top five would go on to more specialized training to become battlemages, the rest would be distributed amongst the kingdom. At any time a mage could challenge their circumstances, different mage jobs gave different pay. That meant going back through the School of Battle Magic and trying for a higher placing or to become a battlemage. The problem with that was that the School of Battle Magic was unpaid, everything like food and supplies would be paid for but Allen would not get a salary, not that he really needed one.

  “Allen Smith, reporting as ordered” Allen replied looking at the woman in purple robes. The woman raised her head to look at him, Allen could see she had streaks of gray throughout her brown hair and had eyes that had considerable lines despite being only a few years older than Allen. Her blue eyes dug into him as she looked him over.

  “Where are your robes?” the woman asked carefully.

  “I don’t wear any” Allen replied. “I see no point of it, they would hamper me from getting at my sword.”

  “If you are a mage then your magic is stronger than any sword” the woman said as she stood up. “You have an accent.”

  “That’s because I am an Atropian” Allen replied. “King Wayne sent me here as a favor to Queen Mary of House Godfrey.”

  “There is no Queen Mary” the woman in purple robes said looking over Allen yet again. “Are you talking about some Atropian noble?”

  “The only remaining child of King Tenkay of Atropia” Allen replied. “I have been her protector for all of these years, these are my papers.”

  “So you are some kind of Atropian mage” the woman in purple robes said looking over the

  papers. “And you were sent here to test your worth in magic.”

  “I was sent here because I angered Her Majesty” Allen began. “No offense to you but I doubt there is anything anyone here can teach me in magic. Atropia would not just trust anyone to take care of the last remaining heir, although I admit I was just a boy when the duty fell to me.”

  “This is the School of Ba
ttle Magic” the woman said raising her voice. “You may be gifted but I am sure there are plenty of things you could learn.”

  “If you say so” Allen replied. “I want to hurry through this thing and return home.”

  “There is no hurrying through” the woman replied. “You will stay here during your six months and it will be awful. You will live under combat conditions and be expected to perform to standard. The strongest mages are often not picked to become battlemages, only the most resilient ones are.”

  “I have no desire to be a battlemage” Allen replied.

  “Everyone wants to become a battlemage” the woman said so loudly that almost everyone started staring at her and Allen. “I will be keeping my eye on you, for now I want you to head over to the corner on my right. You will notice there are four mages there all older than the majority of the people here. They are what we call prior service, you will fall in with them.”

  Allen looked to the woman’s right and could see two men and two women who looked older than the rest. They were all wearing robes corresponding in whatever element they were best at, the two women were both fire mages, their red robes looked well-worn and Allen wouldn’t have been surprised to find out that both were in the military. The two men were different, one had the blue robes of a mage proficient in water, he was the only one who kept a blank look on his face when Allen approached. The other man had on the pale yellow robes of someone that specialized in healing, healing magic was rare in any kingdom. Every mage had some ability to heal but it was not something that could save multiple lives or even one life if the damage was extensive enough. The fact this man wasn’t turned into a mage killer meant he had decent power, why he would want to leave his job as a healer Allen did not know. Allen was certain this man was a good healer, the specialization was too rare to make him anything but. Yet he was trying to become a battlemage, it was enough to make Allen pause.

  “What are you doing here?” said the fire mage with the light brown hair. The woman looked a little younger than Allen and looked thin under her red robe. “This is only for mages, guard.”

  “I have magic” Allen replied. “I just don’t need to dress up to show everyone.”

  “You are Atropian” the other fire mage said as she stepped closer to Allen. Allen could see her dark eyes searching his face as if daring him to deny it.

  “I am Atropian” Allen replied. “I was sent here by your king as a favor to the Queen of Atropia.”

  “An Atropian mage” said the healer. “Our sworn enemy here in the School of Battle Magic. What is your specialization?”

  “I can only use one element” Allen replied. “That element is earth.”

  “Only one element?” the fire mage with the light brown hair asked. “And they sent you here? If Atropia knew the secret of the mage killers you would have been one of them with such weak magic.

  Fighting you will not even be a challenge for me, I don’t think you will do well at all in this school.”

  “This is my fourth time here” the water mage replied. “I have always ranked in the top ten, the last two times I was sixth and seventh. You are probably wasting your time, anyone you fight will just use air or water magic to counteract earth magic.”

  “Or they just will attack you with whatever since your earth magic will not be much of a defense to a good fire mage” the healer said.

  “My name is Allen, Allen Smith” Allen began. “First rule of combat is to never underestimate your enemy."

  "Earth magic has to be the weakest magic around to fight with” the healer replied. “Even weaker than healing, no offense to you but any of these kids could whoop you good. My name is Mike Medica, I am pretty good at healing and I doubt I will make it to battlemage. What I will do is surprise the hell out of some kid looking for an easy victory. I probably can’t do much to those who are good at fire magic, but I think I have enough to make it to the top ten.”

  “If you are not here to make it to battlemage, then why put yourself through this?” Allen asked.

  “I hate being a healer” Mike replied. “I hate being summoned to all parts of the kingdom or to deal with people I can’t save. It weighs on me, I hate healing. Being here is the only thing that gives me reprieve, I’ll come back here as many times as they will let me.”

  “I should have been a battlemage a long time ago” the fire mage with the light brown hair replied. “I was stronger than everyone in my class, I just wasn’t ready for all the little games they play here. I have sparred with many battlemages while I have been in the army, I have lost a lot but I have beaten enough of them to know I belong among their number.”

  “Julie is just full of herself” the other fire mage spoke. “I came here because she didn’t want to come here alone. Julie has always been going on about how she was going to become a battlemage so I wanted to see this happen. If she makes it then I will never have to hear her go on about how she can beat some of the battlemages. If she doesn’t then I don’t have to hear about her if she just had one more chance. Either way I win, but you I am interested in. An Atropian here training? Especially one as weak as yourself doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Queen Mary is angry I made a deal with the King” Allen began. “She is to be married to Prince Theodore, she sees me as betraying her and asked if there is anywhere I could go far away from her. The King sent me here.”

  “How is it a man like you became the protector of a Queen?” Mike asked. “You look more like a guard, you have a big sword and uglier hands than any mage I have ever seen. I am guessing you were a better guard than you were a mage, were you sent here to be humiliated?”

  “Doesn’t matter does it?” Allen asked.

  “You do look like you would do well with the mage killer” the fire mage Allen heard referred to as Tasha said. “What do you think Julie?”

  “Mage Killer?” Allen replied.

  “One of your tests involves fighting a mage killer” Mike began. “Mage killers are trained to be soldiers, they stay in training until they pass. Fighting a mage killer is hard, you can’t use your magic and they are decent melee fighters. You look like you have seen a few scraps though.”

  “I have been looking forward to fighting another one” the water mage said. “All of us here have been smart enough to train to fight without our magic. The kids here have never gotten the chance to train, none of them will probably beat the mage killer, they are being judged on how much heart they show. Those that do beat the mage killer gain a significant advantage in the rankings, I think that is the only way you will gain any kind of points. There are sixty seven of us here, you probably can get ranked in the fifties if you are crafty enough.”

  “What is your name?” Allen asked.

  “Hydran” the water mage replied. “Fire mages normally rule the roost against every one but water mages. Even Julie and Tasha will admit to it even if it does hurt their pride a bit.”

  “I don’t care about losing to any water mage” Julie snapped. “I have other skills and I will come out in the top five.”

  “Well the first rankings should come out soon” Mike began. “Right now they are probably matching us up. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can find out where we are sleeping.”

  “How will they know where everyone stacks up?” Allen asked.

  “We will fight” Mike replied. “Tournament style, the most experienced will get the bye rounds if there is an odd number of mages. The ultimate winner will get the number one ranking with his opponent ranked number two. Depending on which round you fall out in along with your technique will determine everyone else’s ranking. This is just the first of four tests to determine your ranking, the others are fighting an actual battlemage in pairs, fighting the mage killer and a long trip they call the survival. All of that and you can challenge another mage for their spot. You only get to challenge so many times, win your challenge and you will get the spot while the mage you beat will drop two spots. Lose your challenge and you
will drop by ten spots. Only a mage ranked in the top ten can challenge anyone in the top five, so waiting it out in last place and hoping to beat someone at the end for a battlemage spot wont happen.”

  “Fairly easy to understand” Allen replied. “How many spots can someone drop if they do poorly in a test?”

  “Your ranking averages out” Hydran said. “If you take top spot this round and the bottom spot the next, you will be ranked in the middle, not including any lost challenges. Ranking also determines how nice your living area will be. You can be in a big room alone down to a crowded room with many others.”

  “Well I want to hurry and get this over with” Allen replied.

  ~

  Allen looked out at his opponent, this one came with his own cheering section and he looked ready to fight unlike the last opponent who looked ready to show off. Allen hurriedly beat his last opponent who happened to be a fire mage. As soon as the match started Allen threw a wall of dirt up in front of the boy, his fire magic bounced off of it and he set himself on fire. Allen stopped thinking about his last fight and focused on the enemy in front of him. Allen was sure the boy had seen his sword and lack of robes, the fact that Allen was in the second round however meant his opponent would not underestimate him. The boy he was facing specialized in water, the dirt wall wouldn’t work but Allen was sure there was more than one way to win a fight without breaking a sweat. Most of these mages from what he saw relied on their magic only, it was no wonder that they could not beat a mage killer. A mage killer took away their magic and left the fight fairly uneven, a trained soldier versus some guy in a robe. Allen knew he could recreate that condition somewhat, he did in the last round when the fire mage found out his power wasn’t going to save him. It was true the idiot could have cast a water spell to put himself out, but if that wasn’t his specialty then that would have used up a lot of his magical energy. It was still better than being knocked out though Allen thought. Allen’s opponent across from him was breathing deeply and signaled to the instructor that he was ready for the fight. The water mage’s brown hair clung to his head, Allen was unsure if it was because of nervous sweat or if it was water. Allen nodded his head and the match started.