The Magelands Epic: Storm Mage (Book 6)

by Christopher Mitchell

  ‘Will you be staying in the imperial capital long, Lord Agang?’ said Clove.

  ‘A few days,’ he said, smiling. ‘Long enough to visit some old friends and take a break from all the travelling. As you know, I’ve seen much of the Star Continent, and remain one of the only Sanang to have lived in the far-off lands of Kellach Bridgdomin, but alas, time is taking its toll, and I’m not the young man I used to be.’

  Thorn smiled. ‘Oh, I’d say you’d pass for a man at least ten years younger than your age.’

  Agang looked pleased with the comment, and nodded as if Thorn had said something wise.

  ‘You don’t seem too worried about the war,’ said Acorn.

  ‘My worrying won’t help the Empress,’ Agang said. ‘I’m sure her Majesty knows what she’s doing. When the surviving high mages selected her as Empress; I was, of course, fortunate enough to be a member of that group; we chose her as the best qualified to rebuild the empire, and I think our choice turned out to be the right one. There were a few doubters at the time but I, as the representative of Sanang, held firm to my belief that the job should go to her.’

  Thorn nodded, but she had heard all of this before.

  ‘The Empress has five children, doesn’t she?’ she said.

  ‘Yes, that’s right,’ Agang said. ‘Twins and triplets.’

  ‘And does the father live in the palace with them?’

  Agang smiled. ‘That is a question I am unable to answer, Miss Thorn.’

  Thorn raised an eyebrow.

  ‘You see,’ Agang went on, ‘the identity of the father,’ he paused, and lowered his voice, ‘or fathers, remains a secret, known to no one but the Empress herself.’

  Thorn gasped. ‘Then it could be anyone?’

  ‘Why did she do that?’ said Clove. ‘Why keep it a secret?’

  ‘She’s the Empress,’ Agang said. ‘The sole ruler of the world. Perhaps she didn’t want anyone around to distract her.’

  ‘Does she keep a harem,’ said Thorn, ‘like the Matriarch does?’

  ‘No, no,’ Agang said. ‘I don’t think that would go down too well on the Plateau. Men and women are equal here, and there are equal numbers of both, so they have never experienced the issues that we’ve seen in Sanang. As I’m sure you’re all aware, when I was young it was the girls and women who were kept in female enclosures and now, when the imbalance is the other way round, the Matriarch of Sanang has her own enclosure of young men, as a symbol of her status and authority.’

  Thorn frowned, thinking of the Empress. It sounded like the most powerful woman in the world led a lonely life. What was the point of all that wealth and power if one was too alone to enjoy it? And five children? She wondered if she would be able to tell by looking at them if they shared the same father. At the same time, she gave up thinking that the father might live anywhere near the palace. If the Empress wanted his identity kept quiet, she wouldn’t want any family resemblance to ruin the secret. No, she would have sent him, or them, far away. Or maybe even had them killed. After all, she wouldn’t want them turning up unexpectedly one day.

  ‘Have you ever met any Kellach Brigdomin?’ Agang asked the sisters.

  ‘No,’ said Thorn, ‘though I’ve seen portraits of Keira Kill-Kill in the Matriarch’s hall in Broadwater.’

  Agang nodded. ‘Don’t be intimidated by their size; they’re just like the rest of us.’

  Acorn’s mouth opened, and she pointed out of the carriage window. Thorn glanced outside, and saw that the carriage was emerging from a small woodland. To their right lay the shore of the vast Inner Sea, shining in the morning sunlight. Thorn followed where her sister was pointing, and in the distance she had her first glimpse of the imperial capital. Massive sea walls stretched along the rocky shoreline, and behind stood towers and spires, with flags and pennants flying in the breeze. Thorn shifted seats to get a better look.

  ‘Hey,’ said Clove, ‘watch it. You nearly trod on my foot.’

  Thorn ignored her, keeping her attention focussed on the sight of the city as they approached along the sea road. Her eyes followed the line of walls as they headed east away from the Inner Sea.

  ‘It’s so big,’ she said.

  ‘Yes,’ said Agang, ‘and you can see only a small piece of it from here. It extends right back to the south-east on the other side of a river, where the harbour is located. Most of the inhabitants are from the Holdings, but there are quarters for the Kellach, Rahain and Rakanese within the city-walls.’

  ‘No Sanang?’ said Acorn.

  ‘There are a few,’ Agang said, ‘but not too many. They tend to live among the Kellach. They’re the people most similar to our own, to some degree.’

  Acorn reached under the bench and pulled out a book, which she started scanning, her eyes narrow.

  ‘It’s a bit late to be studying the Holdings language,’ Thorn said, laughing.

  Acorn smiled. ‘I’m just worried that I’ll say the wrong thing to the Empress.’

  ‘I’ll doubt you’ll be saying anything,’ said Clove. ‘Our job will be to stand there, seen but not heard.’

  Thorn’s attention drifted from her sisters. She gazed at an enormous gatehouse close to where the northern wall met the sea-wall. The high gates were open, and a group of armoured soldiers on horseback were assembling in their shadow. They were holding their lances high in the air, and tied to them were garlands and ribbons fluttering in the wind. Thorn smiled as they formed into lines and began trotting along the road towards the train of carriages. She leaned out of the window, letting the air flow over her face, savouring the scent of the spring flowers and trees in blossom. She had never felt happier.

  Their escort split into two columns, and each cantered up one side of the carriages as they approached the city. Thorn watched as a Holdings trooper in sparkling steel armour and black leather moved alongside their carriage atop a gorgeous brown horse. Thorn took in every detail: the trooper’s cavalry helmet, complete with a long red feather, the sheathed sword hanging from her belt, the leather gloves that reached up to her elbows, and her boots that rose past the knee. The trooper noticed Thorn’s gaze and turned to smile at her, and Thorn’s heart nearly stopped. Her only wish at that moment was to be like the woman on the horse – a strong, brave warrior in service of the Empress.

  But she was a healer, not a fighter, and her job was to undo the damage that warriors like the woman on the horse caused, not to inflict them herself. Nevertheless, she couldn’t look away, transfixed.

  The carriages followed the road as it turned right towards the city gates. Imperial troopers lined the battlements to welcome them, cheering and waving, while high trumpet notes sounded. The entrance was wide and high, and the carriage went under the stone archway and into the city, where a wall of noise greeted them. People were thronging the roadsides, held back on either side by a long line of soldiers with spears. They were throwing flowers onto the cobbles of the wide street, and Thorn grinned, her eyes feasting on the city.

  ‘See that ruined wall over there?’ Agang said, pointing out of the other window. ‘That’s all that remains of the old Emperor’s palace, the one that was destroyed by Mage Keira.’

  Thorn turned to the right hand side of the carriage and gazed out past Clove’s head. A long stretch of crumbling wall was lining the street, just a few yards back from the cobbled road. Beyond it was a maze of enormous stone tenement blocks.

  ‘The old palace was bigger than Broadwater,’ Agang said, ‘and is now home to thousands of Holdings workers and peasants. The Empress’s palace is just an ordinary house in comparison, much smaller than the Matriarch’s hall.’

  Thorn blinked. What?

  ‘But,’ continued Agang, ‘since the start of the war with Rahain, she has been living in the Great Fortress in the centre of the city, a residence much more fitting to her Majesty’s status in my opinion.

  Thorn almost groaned in relief. She turned her head to gaze up the road. Over the rooftops of the houses and
shops loomed the largest building she had ever seen – an enormous, blocky mass of stone, at least ten storeys high; forbidding and dark. It was the Great Fortress; she didn’t need to ask. It was upon its roof that the Fire Goddess had ended the reign of the mad Emperor and brought peace to the world at the price of her own life. At the foot of the colossal structure was a large entrance gate.

  ‘That’s new,’ said Agang. ‘When I was last here, you had to go through the Old Town to get into the fortress. The Empress must have recently opened up the wall to allow access to the New Town.’

  A wide, stone-lined defensive ditch ran along the front of the wall of the fortress, with a slender bridge carried on a single span linking the road to the entrance. The carriage drew to a halt before the bridge, their escorting cavalry forming a perimeter around them to keep the curious crowds at bay. At a signal, the doors of the carriages were opened, to a great cheer from the watching citizens. Agang was the first to step out of Thorn’s carriage. He paused on the steps and raised his hand to wave at the crowd, then stepped down to the smooth flagstones, where a cavalry officer greeted him.

  ‘Eldest first,’ said Clove, pushing Thorn aside as she reached the door.

  Thorn betrayed no expression as she watched Clove, and then Acorn, descend the steps to the roar and applause of the crowds. She reached into her baggage and withdrew a pair of silver and sapphire earrings and a matching necklace that she had tucked away earlier. She put them on, composed herself, then stepped to the door. Copying Agang, she stood on the highest step and waved to the crowd. Before she could stop herself, her serene smile turned into a wide grin as she took in the spectacle of a street full of people cheering her. To her left and right, the other hedgewitches were also getting down from their carriages, but she paid them no attention and stood, basking in the gaze of hundreds of eyes.

  ‘Get down from there, girl,’ frowned her mother as she approached.

  ‘Yes, mother,’ Thorn said, stepping down to the ground.

  ‘Lady Ivy,’ said a cavalry officer, bowing before her mother. ‘If you and your daughters would be so kind as to accompany me into the Royal Palace.’

  Ivy beamed.

  The cavalry officers escorted the dozen hedgewitches and their retinue past the carriages and onto the bridge over the defensive ditch. Bluebell was at the front, or Lady Bluebell as the troopers referred to her, Thorn barely able to contain her amusement at the vulgar old crone being called a ‘lady’.

  The towering walls of the fortress loomed above them, its stones bearing scars and scorch marks from the old wars. The entrance looked new, as Agang had said, and was flanked with imperial soldiers, many of whom stood at least a foot taller than everyone else. Thorn gazed up at them. They were covered head to toe in polished steel, and had swords that were almost as long as she was.

  Kellach Brigdomin. She smiled. They were just as she had imagined them.

  The party continued on through the gates and into the interior of the Great Fortress. They went down a wide passageway, with rooms to either side filled with soldiers, until they reached a narrow staircase leading upwards. It was all very military, and not at all how Thorn had pictured a palace to look. They went up four flights altogether, and through a heavily guarded gateway, and the interior changed. Instead of rough stone walls and plain floorboards, the passageway was painted, and thick with rich tapestries, while their shoes trod on deep woollen carpets. A line of courtiers dressed in simple but elegant robes greeted them.

  ‘Welcome to the imperial palace,’ said one, bowing. ‘Apartments have been prepared for you on the upper floors, where bathing facilities and refreshments are ready, but before you rest, her Imperial Majesty has asked that you attend her.’

  Bluebell chuckled. ‘Well, we don’t want to let her Majesty down, do we, girls?’

  Thorn cringed as several of the old woman’s cronies laughed. They were behaving like peasants on an outing.

  A courtier opened a tall door and Lord Agang led the party into a wide hall with a high, painted ceiling. At the end of the hall was a raised platform, and upon it sat the Empress on a throne. To either side of her stood a multitude of lord and ladies, dressed in luxurious and expensive robes, but Thorn’s eyes never left the Empress. Even seated, it was clear that she was tall, and powerfully-built. She had straight, dark hair that ended above her shoulders, and upon her brow sat a slender golden band that glistened with diamonds.

  Agang stopped a few yards from the raised platform, and bowed low as the party of Sanang assembled behind him.

  ‘Your Majesty, Holder of the World,’ he said, his voice ringing through the hall, ‘I am honoured and delighted to present to you the volunteer hedgewitches that the Matriarch of my nation has sent here to lend assistance.’

  A hint of a smile touched the edge of the Empress’s lips.

  ‘Welcome,’ she said, ‘and thank you, Lord Agang for escorting them safely from Sanang. We are moved by the generosity of the Matriarch, to spare some precious hedgewitches in order to help those injured by the recent struggles. This gesture will not be forgotten.’ She turned to a Rahain woman that stood at her right. ‘This is Herald Nyane, who will minister to your needs while you are guests in the palace.’

  The Rahain woman stepped forward and started speaking, but Thorn was lost in the sight of the Empress. She could almost feel the power radiating from her; the authority, and knew that she wanted the same. It was as if every dream she had ever had, had crystallised in that moment. Somehow, one day, a throne would be hers.

  She felt a nudge in her ribs. ‘Wake up,’ Acorn whispered.

  Thorn glanced around. Her mother and sisters were stepping forwards, as Lord Agang was introducing the famous family of four mages to the imperial court. She hurried to join them as Clove shot her a glare.

  Agang laughed. ‘And last, but certainly by no means the least, this is Miss Thorn, the youngest of the three hedgewitch sisters.’

  Thorn smiled and curtsied. ‘My apologies,’ she said in flawless Holdings, her cheeks flushing, ‘I’ve dreamed about meeting the Empress since I was a little girl, and I’m a little over-awed by the occasion.’

  The Empress smiled back at her, and Thorn’s heart soared so high she couldn’t breath.

  ‘This young lady,’ said Agang, ‘was a most delightful companion on our journey here. I recommend her to the court.’

  ‘It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Thorn,’ said the Empress, ‘as it is for all of you that have travelled so far.’

  ‘You will now be shown to your apartments,’ said Lady Nyane. ‘Lord Agang, would you remain, please? There is some news you need to hear.’

  Courtiers gestured and the party of Sanang began to move back through the hall. Thorn lingered, desperate to stay so she could hear what they wanted to tell Agang.

  ‘It sounds serious,’ said the Sanang lord.

  ‘I’m afraid it is,’ said Lady Nyane.

  Thorn’s mother glanced back at her, frowning and gesturing for her to follow, but her feet remained frozen to the floor. Lady Nyane carried on as if she hadn’t noticed her, stepping forwards and putting a hand onto Agang’s shoulder.

  ‘A few days ago,’ she said, ‘Lord Laodoc was killed.’

  Someone up on the platform let out a sob. Thorn glanced over and saw a young woman; tall like a Kellach Brigdomin, but with dark skin like the Holdings. Their eyes met for a second.

  Agang shook, his legs unsteady; and his eyes welled up. A hand took Thorn’s arm and began to pull her away.

  ‘That was none of your business,’ her mother said under her breath as she led Thorn away. ‘It’s very rude to pry.’

  ‘Sorry, mother.’

  ‘I don’t understand why I have the smaller room,’ said Bracken, as they climbed the iron steps of a spiral staircase.

  ‘It’s because I’m the hedgewitch,’ said Thorn, as if it was obvious.

  ‘Yes, but my room’s like a cupboard, while yours looks big enough for a pri
ncess.’

  ‘Perhaps they think you’re my maid.’

  Bracken frowned. ‘And I don’t like being stuck on the top floor; it’s where all the children stay.’

  ‘At least we don’t have to put up with Bluebell and her awful friends,’ said Thorn, ‘and being up here gives us access to this…’

  They stepped out onto the roof garden that topped the Great Fortress, and the two young women paused to stare. It was beautiful. Flowering bushes and trees heavy with blossom bordered little gravel pathways that wound over the landscaped roof. Benches sat under the branches of several trees, and a few small wooden cabins were dotted around. The sun was out, and Thorn’s skin felt warm under its rays.

  She smiled. ‘If we were downstairs with the others we wouldn’t get to come here.’

  ‘I wonder where the Empress’s kids are,’ said Bracken.

  ‘Lessons, I think.’

  ‘Good, they’re like little brutes; so loud and rough.’

  ‘I like them.’

  They began strolling along a path, stopping to look at the flower beds amid the patches of mown grass.

  Bracken gasped. ‘Look at the view!’

  Thorn gazed up and saw the city stretch away from the Great Fortress in all directions. Agang had been right; what they had seen from the carriage was a mere fraction of the extent of the imperial capital. Tenements, wide roads, squares with glistening fountains, and a great park were all laid out before them. Thorn put a hand on the railing at the edge of the roof and peered down at the streets below, her head spinning from the height.