Soldiers of the Crown

by Stephen L. Nowland

  “She’s right, you lot are a bunch of freaks,” Ronan agreed laconically. “But seriously, you never said you two were an item Aiden, so really, you’ve only got yourself to blame.”

  “I don’t recall assigning blame to anyone for anything,” Aiden said quietly, noticing the serving girl arriving with their meal.

  “Right… well, I think I’ll leave you to eat your meal in peace.”

  “You’re going out into that weather?” Pacian asked, picking up some hot-buttered bread from the tray that was placed before them.

  “Yeah it’s cold, but I feel a powerful need to be elsewhere right now,” Ronan replied, slightly ashamed as he turned and made for the exit. “I’ll be back soon and we’ll talk about our next move.”

  “What happened to Nellise?” Maggie asked after he’d left. “I can sense her energies are very uneven after last night.”

  “And she’s having a crisis of faith,” Aiden answered delicately, giving his friend a dark look.

  “Hey, don’t look at me like that,” Pace snapped, “I was just reminding her of the truth of the situation, and she backed down. Mark my words, Holister is too dangerous to keep alive. But I guess she’s not ready for doing what needs to be done.”

  “So, you’re actually trying to turn her into you?” Maggie asked, distaste evident on her tiny features.

  “It’s for her own good,” Pace said with a shrug.

  “I’m too tired and sore to correct that statement,” Maggie sighed, touching her injured arm which seemed to have improved greatly since the previous night. “Listen, I don’t want to sound selfish, but I’m running out of time. I haven’t had any news from the lord of Amalis, and I have to assume my order is still plotting to do something big in the near future. Your help would be greatly appreciated.”

  “I hear you and believe me, I want this whole situation cleaned up as soon as possible too,” Aiden assured her. “We’ve dealt a blow to the assassins, and I think we’re getting closer to putting a stop to it all so if you can hold on for a couple more days…”

  “It’s not me that has to hold on, Aiden,” she pointed out. “Two more days is probably all the time I can afford to give. You gave me your word you would help me, so I expect you to follow through on it. I’ve sacrificed a lot to help you out, after all.”

  “You have, and I will,” Aiden promised. “Just be aware that we’ve also sworn to help the Crown, and that has to take precedence.”

  “I understand, but my patience has limits,” Maggie answered. “I’m going to do some healing on us and then go and clean myself up. You two boys try to stay out of trouble, okay?” She pulled a crystal out of her pouch and proceeded to do just that, touching each of them on the shoulder briefly and leaving behind a tingling sensation spreading through their injuries. As she walked away, Aiden spied Nellise moving through the crowd towards the stairs.

  “You saw that too?” Pacian remarked, his eyes lingering on her distant figure.

  “Leave her alone, Pace,” Aiden advised. “If she wants to talk about it, I’m sure she’ll let us know.” Pacian shrugged and went back to his meal. After their second helping of the stew, Aiden’s heart felt heavy as spied Sayana coming down the stairs searching for someone. As soon as she spotted him, she started to move through the crowd towards their table.

  “Bugger this,” Aiden muttered, having no desire to speak with her right now, as he wasn’t sure he could trust himself. He abruptly stood and decided this was a good time to have one last try at getting some information out of Desmond. He was still disturbed by the nightmare he’d had last night, the vivid imagery surely the work of his elusive dragon ally.

  “Can I borrow this?” Aiden asked, grabbing Pacian’s cloak from the back of his chair without waiting for an answer. He threw it around his shoulders as he headed towards the door, noticing Valennia approaching from across the room, still wearing his longcoat. “Not now,” Aiden told her as she seemed about to speak, moving past the surprised woman as he tried to lose Sayana.

  The cold weather hit him in the face like a block of ice, and he wrapped himself tightly in the borrowed cloak as he strode out into the bitter winds. It wasn’t far to the University tower from here, but a quick glance behind him showed that Sayana had not been dissuaded by the frigid conditions, for she was following him through the snow.

  Aiden managed to keep his distance from the persistent girl until he reached the tower a few minutes later, though pausing to open the large double-doors gave her the chance to catch up with him.

  “Couldn’t you hear me calling you?” she exclaimed, shaking from the cold as she stumbled inside the foyer right behind Aiden.

  “Was that you? I thought it was the wind,” he replied dryly. “You’re mad for being out in this weather without a coat, by the way.”

  “You didn’t give me much choice,” she protested. “I needed to talk to you about this morning.”

  “You’re a free woman, Sy,” Aiden replied as he started walking across the large circular chamber to the stairwell. “You can be with who you want to be with.” The metal guardian stood in the middle of the floor, passively keeping watch over the University.

  “I hadn’t meant for you to see that,” she told him quietly so that her voice wouldn’t carry in the stone chamber. “Please understand, I’m going through a difficult time here in the city. Ronan was there in my time of need, but before you say it, I hadn’t intended for things to go that far.”

  “He’s had his eye on you for a while now, did you know that?” Aiden asked, taking the spiral stairs up to Desmond’s laboratory.

  “Did he? I never noticed,” Sayana mused. “Anyway, I did not think it would bother you, for you have the interest of another woman.”

  “I do?” Aiden said, stopping on the stairs to look at her in confusion.

  “You are as blind as I was about Ronan it seems,” Sayana remarked.

  “What, Criosa?” Aiden asked incredulously. “She’s a princess Sy, and I know you don’t know much about royalty, but I’m sure her father has arranged for her to meet another noble somewhere. It’s the way things are done in civilised society, and a country boy such as myself isn’t part of that picture. Now if you’ll excuse me, Desmond and I are about to have a very interesting conversation.”

  “You’re trying to talk to that old buffoon again?” Sayana asked as Aiden continued up the stairs. He didn’t bother to answer, for he still felt betrayed by her and whether or not his feelings were justified, they were still distorting his thoughts on the matter.

  Upon reaching the laboratory Aiden opened the door and walked right in without knocking, his mood black and his patience already worn thin. The lab was much the same as when he had last seen it. At the table sat the cranky wizard, who was looking up at Aiden with an imperious gaze.

  “What in blazes do you think you’re doing, barging in here like a madman?” he thundered, standing up and grasping a staff that leaned against his desk.

  “I have it on good authority that you know what I’m talking about when I say the word ‘Salinder’ to you,” Aiden answered in a measured voice. “If you give me some nonsense about a wood plane or some other tool I’ll knock you on your backside.” He pulled the shard of crystal that hung around his neck out for the wizard to see, holding it so the light caught the smooth surface. “Do you know what this is?”

  “A piece of glass… that carries with it a miniscule aura of power,” Desmond replied, his curiosity replacing his outrage. “From the shape of it, I could easily assume that it used to be part of something larger. What has this to do with anything?”

  “There is a dragon of gold in the Aether that communicates to me in my sleep, using this,” Aiden explained bluntly. “It used to be a ball of crystal, but I broke it a few years ago. Salinder has one of these, and was able to connect with me through it, mostly in the form of dreams. I am told you have the means to communicate with the dragon and if you are able to, I would request you do so, right no
w.”

  With a flick of his staff, Desmond caused the door Aiden had walked through to swing shut, leaving a startled looking Sayana on the other side as the bolt slid across to lock it in place.

  “My dear Mister Wainwright, I do owe you an apology,” Desmond explained. “Please understand that the king swore me to secrecy on this matter, and had you been this forthcoming on our previous meetings, we could have forgone the substantial waste of time that ensued.”

  “Then you do know what I’m talking about?” Aiden asked, relieved to finally have the truth.

  “Yes yes, I’m not a complete nincompoop,” he gruffly answered, returning to form. “I must confess that I did have a good laugh about the bevelling plane quip afterwards though. I’m quite the cut-up around here, you know.”

  “So, the king knows about Salinder as well?” Aiden asked impatiently, not finding this area of discussion as amusing as the old wizard.

  “Indeed he does, Mister Wainwright. This surprises you?”

  “I’d like to know more about all that, if you don’t mind,” Aiden said evenly.

  “I do mind, I mind very much,” Desmond retorted. “I only tell you what I have because it is clear you have some knowledge about this affair, but that does not entitle me to break my oath to His Majesty. Clearly you have a connection to this entire matter, and I will discover what that is by going directly to the source. Now, let’s set up, shall we?”

  Desmond turned and walked across the room, heading to a large piece of cloth draped over a large something. He pulled back the fabric and revealed a metal cylinder over two yards in height, with small pipes snaking around its base and a glass-like tube running down the middle. Aiden’s breath caught as he realised he was looking at a duplicate of the cylinder he’d seen back in Bracksford, in the possession of a sage named Dale who Aiden had worked with briefly.

  “Please refrain from touching this device, as it is a rather unstable contraption that predates the formation of our Kingdom,” Desmond advised, removing another cloth from a nearby table and uncovering several curious instruments.

  “So this actually works?” Aiden asked, trying to keep his excitement in check.

  “Of course it works, what on earth are you talking about?” Desmond replied gruffly. “Usually Terinus would handle this sort of thing but I’m fairly confident I can accomplish what we need. Now just stand back and let a professional handle this, if you please.” Aiden took a few steps backward, his gaze locked on the device before him. It was in worse condition than the one back in Dale’s house, with numerous scratches, dents and the like, but otherwise it was identical in appearance.

  Desmond fetched a small wand-like stick and placed it into a receptacle, and the similarities with its counterpart ended there. A small blue light appeared on the panel and a dull humming sound could be heard emanating from the central tube. A trail of blue sparks started to dance around inside it, growing with intensity every second.

  Aiden took a few more steps back without even thinking as the device started to vibrate intensely, but Desmond seemed to take it in his stride. Withdrawing the small wand from the panel, he pointed it towards the centre of the room where he had placed a small metal disk. The wizard intoned a series of strange words Aiden didn’t recognise, and lightning shot forth from the wand, striking the metal disk and creating a blinding flash of light.

  Shielding his eyes with one hand, the luminance gradually faded into a purple mist, allowing Aiden to see exactly what was happening. There was a tall, mirror-like ellipse with violet light swirling inside it in the middle of the room.

  “Behold the powers of the ancient world,” Desmond intoned theatrically over the loud, unsteady hum from the cylinder behind him. “Before you stands a doorway, a portal into the aether that one may step — wait, where are you going?” His speech was cut off as Aiden stepped through the ellipse, which was as easy as walking through an archway. Once his head had crossed over, the sounds of the cylinder disappeared instantly, and were replaced by the soft echoing ambience of the Aether.

  The sensation of standing here in the flesh was entirely different from his last visit, likely due to his being dead at the time. The purple mist surrounding the small island he stood upon seemed to be moving, something he didn’t recall noticing before.

  Turning to his right he saw the bulk of the golden dragon, its immensity almost blocking the silhouette of the castle wall and gate standing behind it. The awe Aiden felt was tempered by a measure of pity, for the once magnificent creature was a shadow of its former self, bearing upon its withered hide the atrophy of years.

  You are late, spoke a clear, deep voice in his mind. Despite the dragon’s appearance, its “voice” had lost none of its potency.

  “I didn’t know there was a schedule to keep,” Aiden replied, feeling small and insignificant. Desmond stepped into the realm behind him and looked around, momentarily taken aback by the scene.

  Did you not receive my messages? The dragon asked.

  “I had a weird dream once but I recall no specific message,” Aiden wondered after a moment of thought.

  It appears my direct control over this device is not as complete as I had hoped, Salinder remarked, opening his claw to reveal the glowing sphere within.

  “All I could fathom was a sense of urgency and fear,” Aiden explained. “Now that I’m here, just tell me directly what you were trying to say.” A faint tremor ran through the ground beneath his feet, accompanied by an ominous rumbling sound that echoed in the mist. Salinder raised his head and looked to the castle gate until the tremor subsided.

  “Forgive my interruption,” Desmond spoke in the politest manner Aiden had ever heard from him. “I do not believe this reality is altogether stable, so perhaps you should expedite your conversation.”

  It is stable enough, Salinder replied, resting his head once more on the ground before them. The means by which you came to be here however, is not, so your advice remains pertinent, wizard. Expedite.

  “The two of you do indeed seem to be acquainted, which answers my questions regarding the veracity of Aiden’s statements,” Desmond continued. “I would ask, however, if you would be so kind as to tell me why exactly you have included this young man in such a sensitive matter? Or not… as you deem fit,” the wizard blurted after a few moments of the dragon silently gazing at him with one huge golden eye.

  “Before we go any further, I need to ask something,” Aiden stated. “My memory isn’t what it used to be. My entire childhood is unknown to me, and I want to know if you had anything to do with that.”

  In a way, yes, the dragon replied, and Aiden immediately felt a wave of shock sweep through him. Your injuries at the time were restrictive, and I could not save all of you. Something had to be left behind, and I chose the least useful aspect of your being to sacrifice. You are otherwise intact, and able to function in the required manner.

  You were dying, Aiden, and I stitched your soul together from what scattered remnants I could grasp from the Aether. You live, because I will it to be so and if what you are now is little more than a tool that I use to fulfil my task, then that is how it shall be. Aiden was momentarily speechless, hearing Sayana’s worst fears confirmed at last.

  But there is no need for animosity, Salinder continued in a more relaxed manner. We strive for the same goal — the protection of your Kingdom. Desmond looked on silently, content to watch the proceedings with a keen eye while Aiden paced around in an effort to calm himself and afraid at the news he was indeed a puppet of the powerful creature. He took in the scene around him and realised the dragon was basically trapped here on this island of reality, withering away for their benefit.

  Do you remember the battle of Fort Highmarch? Salinder asked.

  “I felt like I lived through that fight hundreds of times over,” Aiden muttered in reply. “How could I ever forget it?”

  Does the land beneath you seem familiar? Does the castle wall behind me?”

  “Yes… yes t
his is all from the battle when you confronted that iron warrior,” Aiden continued, recalling the smaller details. He realised what else had been within the range of the dragon’s incantation at the time, and a cold shiver ran down Aiden’s spine. “You once said you brought all this with you — wait, does that mean it is here as well?”

  Salinder did not answer, though Aiden felt his eyes drawn towards the castle gate behind the dragon. There were slender chains drawn across the front that he hadn’t noticed with a casual glance, and it may have been his imagination, but he thought he could see the door flexing slightly, as if being pushed.

  “What’s on the other side of that door?” Aiden asked quietly, not sure he wanted to know the answer.

  Beyond that door lies a pocket of null-space, in which I have imprisoned the entity that King Alaric the second, the grandfather of your current monarch, referred to as the Ironlord, the dragon explained. You witnessed its might on the field at the Battle of Fort Highmarch. There is a storied history behind the origin and destructive life of this construct, but for now I will only say that it is a threat to all life on Feydwiir.

  “Then why not destroy it?”

  “It cannot be destroyed,” Desmond explained grimly. “Entire armies have stood before its might and none have survived. On expeditions to neighbouring lands we have found remnants of their civilisations that bear the distinctive footprints of this infernal contraption. In his righteous desire to avoid the same fate for Aielund, King Alaric the second made a pact.”

  “With you, I assume,” Aiden surmised, looking to Salinder.

  Realising that it could not be destroyed, Alaric came to me and begged for another solution, the dragon said. If it could not be destroyed, then it must be imprisoned. But attempts to transport it through magical means to a holding place deep within the earth failed, leaving one option — banishment to another plane of reality. But a prison without guards is quickly circumvented, even in this place, and so it was that I agreed to spend the rest of my days ensuring the Ironlord could not escape and return to plague the world.