Dragonlinked

by Adolfo Garza Jr.

  “Ah, yes,” she said, acknowledging his love for the breakfast dish. “And how is it this morning? Up to Master Tallah’s high standards?”

  “Definitely. It’s delicious.”

  Master Tallah was the Caer’s Culinary Craft master and head chef and was known by everyone for her delicious meals. Most of the day-to-day cooking she left to journeyman and adepts, only occasionally sampling something here and there. But for special meals, holiday or celebratory, she would personally supervise every dish.

  “The porridge is good too,” Aeron said, noting that Sharrah had only porridge and a biscuit on her tray, along with a glass of milk.

  “Yes, it is,” she agreed, just having had a spoon of the creamy cereal. She glanced sidelong at Aeron, put some butter on her biscuit and asked, “Still enjoying your craft chores?”

  “Hmm?” replied Aeron. “Oh. Yes, I suppose. This will be my third week of helping to clean the glass globes. Much better than sweeping floors or cataloging the completed globes for shipment or helping pack the globes, which are the kinds of chores I’ve been doing for months and months. But I’m hoping that eventually I’ll get to see how they actually extract the essence of the light moss and how they magic it into the globes.”

  By the time the Caer’s children were fourteen years of age, they had completed their academic education and were ready for the next phase of learning. At that point, they began doing work for the various craft halls at the Caer. In order for this process to proceed smoothly, the children were moved into the dormitories so they could focus on their work for the various crafts. At new caers like Caer Baronel, not only did the dormitories house children from families of the caer, but they also housed children from other caers or villages, children whose parents had successfully placed them there for a chance at an apprenticeship.

  Wood Craft, Glass Craft, Leather Craft, Animal Craft, Culinary Craft, Magic Craft, and Botany Craft, were just some of the crafts available at Caer Baronel. You chose up to three and did work for a different one each day. At first, the chores were general make-work, like sweeping and cleaning up. But as time went on, if you showed an ability to follow directions and be diligent in your assigned duties, you would be invited to be an accepted. At that time you would be given craft-specific tasks and some light training in the craft. If you showed proficiency at it, you would then be offered an apprenticeship. At the end of your ‘Year of Choice,’ you would select one of the offers and that craft hall would begin training you in earnest, with the potential of you moving up in ranks, first to apprentice, then journeyman, then adept, and if you were very good, up to master.

  If you found that you didn’t like any of the crafts, however, you could chose up to another three and start another Year of Choice. After four years, if you never showed skill in any craft or didn’t like any of them, you were placed in General Staff. If you were unsuccessful there as well, you would be let go from the Caer and would be on your own. Those people had to try to find a position at other caers or anyplace, really, where they could find work. Aeron’s first year was coming up soon, and he had only elected to work for one craft hall.

  Aeron sighed and said, “Honestly, I’m getting a little worried because Master Doronal still doesn’t have me doing anything even remotely magical at all. I mean, I can understand that Magic Craft is a little different, seeing as magic can be very dangerous, but still.”

  “Have you asked him about it?”

  “Do you think I should?”

  Sharrah furrowed her brows. “How else are you going to know why you aren’t doing anything with magic yet?”

  Aeron quirked his mouth and played with the food on his plate. “I don’t know. I’m not sure I’m ready to ask him yet. Maybe in a week or so.”

  “Well, how do you like working with Master Doronal? Do you still like magic, considering?” she asked, munching on her biscuit.

  “He seems nice enough. And I really am very interested in sorcery. I have been for years.” He smiled. “So many things are made easier with it, from lighting, to hot baths, to the various kinds of enchanted machinery, to healing and cleaning and, well, the list goes on forever. But even more than all that, sorcery just seems so . . .” he gestured vaguely, then shrugged. “Magical!”

  They both laughed at his turn of phrase.

  “So what are you two laughing about?” Willem asked as he sat with them. He removed his plates from his tray and began to eat.

  “Good morning! We were talking about Aeron’s apprenticeship. You know he only chose one craft to try out.” Aeron made a face, and Sharrah chuckled. “His year’s up pretty soon and I was asking him how he liked working with Master Doronal.”

  “Ah, yes. Your Year of Choice is up in three months on your birthday, right?” Willem asked and took a sip of his drink.

  Aeron nodded ruefully.

  “Well, like I’ve said before,” Willem continued, “I think you made a great choice with sorcery. Magic is a well-respected craft, and you’d be able to find a placement almost anywhere you like once you make journeyman. But not everyone is cut out for magic. And I’ve heard it can be quite dangerous.”

  Aeron frowned. “Yeah, I know. Although, as I was telling Sharrah, I haven’t actually done any magic.”

  “Well, if you do get in, at least you’ll be doing something you like,” Willem said. “Many end up working at a position they have no heart in, and that’s not something to look forward to. Lucky for me, I love working with leather. And apparently, I’m good at it too!”

  “Yes, you are,” Sharrah said. “I’ve seen some of your work, and to my eyes, it’s journeyman workmanship at the very least.”

  “Yes, this belt you made for me is excellent. Fantastic work!” Aeron said, tugging on the leather belt he was wearing.

  “And you,” Willem said to Sharrah, “I’ve seen how you ride. Your choice of craft seems well suited to you too.”

  “I do love riding, it’s true.” Sharrah smiled in fond memory. “I love animals in general, so Animal Craft was my dream, but riding horses is just—” She turned to Aeron, a twinkle in her eye, and said, “Magical!”

  All three burst into laughter.

  Chapter 3

  Hemday, Duody 3, 1873

  Morning

  As he stepped outside the Dining Hall, Aeron noticed that the air was a touch warmer, and the sun was now a little over the horizon, bringing golden morning light to the tops of the buildings in the Caer. As he passed the Caer stable, he could hear the horses blowing and pacing, eager for a morning ride to stretch their legs. Ahead, past the guard barracks, he could see the only outward evidence of the Magic Craft Hall. He picked up his pace.

  His destination was a large building just off the center of the Caer. It was built over the entrance to the caverns, which themselves housed the actual Magic Craft Hall as well as the lightglobe production rooms. So much sorcery was involved in crafting of the globes, it made sense to locate the production rooms there. The building called the Magic Craft Hall was just a structure that housed the storage and packing areas for the completed lightglobes as well as the stairwell and the cargo elevator, both of which lead down into the rooms of the actual craft hall and, beyond those, to the rest of the caverns themselves.

  Aeron walked up the steps at the side of the loading dock. Located on the north end of the magic hall, it was where the delivery wagons were filled for larger lightglobe orders. He passed through one of the immense doorways of the dock and glanced over at the storage shelves, half of which were filled with both large and small crates. Each rectangular crate contained two trays, and each tray could hold six lightglobes with packing straw to keep them safe during storage and shipping. The bigger crates, of which there was a much smaller number, were where the large globes used for street and special lighting were packed. The smaller creates were used for what Aeron thought of as the ‘normal’ lightglobes, the ones used in lanterns and in sconces for rooms and hallways and such.

  As yet, no one
was at the packing tables, which formed a line along the middle of the room. Beyond them, along the back wall to either side of another large door, were shelves that held empty crates and packing materials, ready to receive completed lightglobe trays, which would be raised up from below on the cargo elevator. New empty glass globes were brought in through that far door and, along with faded globes to be recycled, were lowered down on the cargo elevator into the cavern to be made into new lightglobes.

  Aeron glanced at the cargo elevator, an awesome display of both Smith and Magic Craft, and dashed down the stairs next to it. After two and a half turns around the circular stone stairwell, he came out into the main lightglobe production room. Here was where the moss extraction was performed and the magicking of the lightglobes was completed. Several wooden racks in the middle of the room were stacked high with cleaned glass globes waiting to be magicked. In the corner beyond those stood the two enormous tubs in which everything took place.

  Within the hour, workers would bring up the first batch of light moss, hauling it in a large cart along its track from farther in the caverns, and load it into the tubs for extraction. Light moss harvesting was done by two teams. The work didn’t sound that hard to Aeron, but he imagined that harvesting light moss for two hours could be boring.

  Aeron heard people making their way down the stairs behind him on their way to start work for the day. He headed for the door that lead farther into the caverns and to the cleaning room where glass globes were cleaned prior to making their way back here to the shelves.

  Not surprisingly, there was no one in the cleaning room yet. The room was dark, as the one half-shielded sconce was only enough to dimly light the space. He walked around the room opening all the bronze sconces, gently sliding back the covers to fully expose the lightglobes within. He looked around the now well-lit room. “Much better,” he muttered to himself satisfactorily.

  He walked to one of the large wash tanks in the middle of the room and opened the water tap. As it was filling, he grabbed a large wooden stirring paddle from the wall. When the water was the correct depth, he shut it off and added several cleaning powders in just the right proportions. He stirred the water in the tank with the paddle for a while, raising it up and out of the cleaning solution when the powders were thoroughly mixed.

  “Exactly correct, my boy. Well done!”

  Aeron jumped about a foot into the air, cleaning solution running down the paddle and down his arm. “Master Doronal! You about scared me out of my skin!”

  The magic master walked into the room from the other doorway, which lead deeper still into the caverns, and laughed. “My apologies, lad, my apologies.” He gestured to the water tank as he approached it. “I do see that you have learned this part of the cleaning process quite well. In fact, everything you’ve been asked to do, you have done in a timely fashion and with care.”

  Aeron bobbed his head in acknowledgment and thanks and headed to the wall to replace the paddle.

  “Perhaps it is time to teach you the cleaning spell?”

  Aeron, one hand still on the paddle as it rested in its hooks, glanced back quickly, hope shining on his face. “Really?”

  Master Doronal gestured for Aeron to come over to him by the tank and he made his way over quickly.

  “Now, as you may or may not know, these powders are not just for cleaning.”

  Aeron nodded, then shook his head. “No, sir, I did not know that.”

  “While it is true that we want the globes to be as clean as possible, the better for them to shine brightly, the fact is that all but one of the powders are to facilitate the enchantment process. As you know, the glass globes are quite complete and have no openings. In order to enchant the extract into them, we need to make the glass permeable, and the various powders, along with the cleaning spell, help do that for us.”

  Master Doronal paused and looked intently at Aeron. “First things first, however. Your initial lesson is that magic can be dangerous, and make no mistake. It takes concentration and strength of will to bend it to your needs. Never, ever use magic if you cannot concentrate. Do you understand?”

  Struck by the seriousness of Master Doronal’s tone, Aeron merely nodded mutely.

  “Good. Now, tell me, have you ever tried to perform magic?”

  Aeron quickly shook his head. “No, Master Doronal, I was too scared, what with the stories of accidents and tragedies. Besides, I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

  “Quite correct. Magic is not to be trifled with without proper training. If one is not careful, one can be killed.” He paused, looked at Aeron and said, “Or worse.”

  Aeron’s eyes widened. Worse? Than death? He was really very sure he didn’t want to know what could be worse than death.

  Master Doronal studied Aeron to determine whether the import of his words was sinking in. Satisfied, he continued. “The second lesson is that magic is an inherent part of the universe. It is a seemingly limitless power like a raging river, or lightning, or the sun, Suule. It is everywhere, all around us. And when bent to a purpose, it is very powerful. Have you ever felt magic?”

  Aeron looked pensive a moment. “I am not sure, but I think I have.”

  Master Doronal tilted his head slightly and his eyes lost focus. “Magic feels . . . prickly, and warm. Like a million tiny, fizzy bubbles warm to the touch. Or a windstorm blowing particles of sand against your skin. It’s alive, almost.” Master Doronal’s gaze returned to Aeron and he frowned slightly. “Then again, it feels nothing like that at all. It’s difficult to describe, but you will know when you feel it. Usually, however, the uninitiated must be fairly close to someone casting a spell in order to sense magic.”

  “Yes!” Aeron said, excitedly. “That’s exactly what I felt. I was watching the last part of the Bath Hall being built. They were installing the water tanks on the roof. I saw a sorcerer magicking the tanks before they were lifted up and I moved closer to watch.”

  “Enchanting,” Master Doronal corrected, raising a finger. “Enchanting the tanks.”

  “Yes, sir, she was enchanting the tanks, as you say, and I moved closer so that maybe I could see what she was doing. That’s when I felt it, faintly. Every now and then I would feel it again here in the magic hall, though I was never sure of the source. I never knew what that feeling was. I thought for a while that the cleaning powders were causing the feeling, because I felt the tingling here in this room, and sometimes the cleaning wash would get on me.”

  “Excellent. Once someone has actually felt magic, it makes it much easier for them to sense it, draw upon it, and control it.” Master Doronal looked above and beyond Aeron and said, “Samuel! How good to see you this morning!”

  Aeron turned to see the journeyman sorcerer shuffling in the door. Samuel was three years Aeron’s senior and nearly a foot taller. He was thin as a stick and his light-brown hair was a mostly uncontrolled mass atop his head.

  “Good morning Master Doronal,” replied the journeyman, stifling a yawn and nervously straightening his clothes.

  Master Doronal was the picture of well-dressed decorum from his salt-and-pepper black hair neatly trimmed short, to his crisp and clean black tunic and pants, and even down to his black leather boots. Samuel, on the other hand, was a bit rumpled and had apparently just woken up.

  Master Doronal, pretending not to notice Samuel’s nervous fidgeting, said, “Young Aeron here has already prepared the cleaning wash in the tub there. Please let everyone know as I will be borrowing him for the day.”

  Samuel nodded. “As you say, sir.”

  “Aeron, come with me please.” The magic master headed back out the door he had entered from and walked farther into the caverns.

  Aeron followed out the door. He was a little nervous and very excited. Magic! He was finally going to do magic! He could barely contain himself as he followed behind Master Doronal, who set a fairly quick pace.

  They made their way down the well-lit passageway. Aeron had always been amused at
how crazy the pathways were down here. They were somewhat twisty and not all of one level because they were the winding passages originally part of the cavern system, though they had been magicked—enchanted! Aeron corrected himself mentally—to be smoother, like finished stone walls, and a bit straighter in their runs. Not all of the passages had been enchanted completely to walls and floors, only those in the Magic Craft Hall proper. There were passages beyond, where only minor enchanting had been performed.

  Suddenly a thought occurred to him. What if he bungled the spell? Magic was dangerous and could be deadly. What if he somehow killed himself? He swallowed hard. The worrying thought occupied his mind as they continued down the hallway.

  At last they arrived at their destination. As they walked in, he noted the nameplate just to the side of the door. It was Master Doronal’s office! Aeron had never been there before. He looked around, highly curious, his concern about the spell momentarily forgotten. Upon his initial quick inspection, however, the office was a little bit of a letdown.

  Aeron had expected it to be packed with books and mysterious devices, lots of magical . . . stuff, all strewn about in a wild jumble with barely any room to move. Perhaps even a magical pet of some kind wandering around, or in a cage. Instead, it was fairly empty.

  It was a nice big office, however, and it was very tidy. To the left was Master Doronal’s desk, with two large leather chairs in front. The desk was huge, and it had several potentially interesting items on it, along with some parchments and pens. Behind the desk were wall-to-wall bookshelves, which rose all the way to what looked like an eight-foot ceiling, each filled neatly with books of various size, color, and condition.

  Along the right wall was a stone worktop, the left side of which had a medium-sized tank, or tub, sitting on top, next to two large built-in sinks. On the wall above the sinks were shelves with various containers, candles, and other items.

  The back wall of the office was dominated by a large hanging, which depicted some ancient battle. Aeron got excited when he noticed that there was a dragon illustrated on the tapestry, flying above two armies on a field. He had always been interested in dragons.