Sac'a'rith

by Vincent Trigili

  “Shira?” I asked.

  “Well, whatever you think best,,” she sent. “Is what she told us true? Is she our sister?” asked Shira.

  “She seems to believe so,” I said.

  “Then it seems to be the right thing to do, to stick with family – doesn’t it?”

  “Zah’rak,” sent Ragnar. “What do you think?”

  “I don’t know,” I replied. “I’d got used to it just being us.”

  “But it never really is just us,” sent Ragnar. “Currently we are working for the Phareon government. As Crivreen pointed out, that’s our other option. Sure, we could offer our services to Resden, or one of the other consortiums, but in the end we’d always be working for someone.”

  “I suppose so,” I sent. He was right, but I wasn’t quite prepared to admit it. I liked our little squad. It felt safe. It was my family and my world. Raquel represented an upheaval of that world and I wasn’t sure I was ready for that, but then I might never be.

  “Crivreen, see if we have any good food left for that dinner,” I said. We were too far from any station to pick up supplies en route before Mathorn arrived, so we’d have to make do with whatever we had on board.

  He replied, “Now you think of it.” Chuckling, he went down to the mess hall.

  “Shira, do we have any fresh vegetables to serve our guest?” I sent.

  “Yes; not a big selection, but some of the faster-growing ones are ready,” she sent back.

  “Great, let Crivreen know what we can spare for Mathorn’s dinner,” I sent.

  Raquel leaned back in her chair and sighed. “I should tell you that proper etiquette requires you to refer to him as ‘Master Mathorn’. That’s how lower-level magi refer to those at a higher level. It’s also how outsiders are expected to address wizards of importance, such as himself.”

  “I take it you’re his peer, then?” asked Ragnar.

  “Yes,” she replied and went on to tell us about the structure of the government and ranks in the Wizard Kingdom.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  When the day came for Master Mathorn to visit, Shira placed a marker in our mess hall which he used to weavewalk to the Night Wisp.

  On his arrival, I walked forward and extended my hand in greeting. “Welcome aboard the Night Wisp, Master Mathorn.”

  “Thank you, Zah’rak,” he replied and grasped my forearm in the way Narcion used to. Narcion had called it a traditional warrior’s grasp; it signified respect and honor between two fighting men. “Raquel has told me much about you all. I’m honored to finally meet you.”

  He was elderly and resembled the storybook version of a wizard more than any of us did. He wore deep purple flowing robes covered in strange symbols. A number of rings glowed on each hand, and he wore a pair in each ear. Around his neck was a chain with a large pendant. He had a full head of grey hair and a closely-cropped beard.

  One of the skills which I had taught myself from the data Master Spectra had given us was an enchanter’s ability to detect enchanted items. Using that skill, I observed that everything he was wearing was enchanted with very powerful magic, far more power than I’d ever seen attached to any item. I wondered whether I could make jewelry like that, or if my power was limited to clothing.

  Ragnar came forward, bowed deeply, and said, “Master, I’m grateful that you came all the way out here just for me. If it’s not an imposition, I would like you to explain to me about the basic powers.”

  “I’d be happy to tell you, Ragnar. I wish I could have told you at your binding. As I recall, you were quite excited that day. You have an older brother, I think? How is he?” he asked.

  “Yes. He is, or at least was, Keeper of the Runes of Therin now. When last we were together he was doing well, but I’ve heard no news since coming here,” said Ragnar.

  “What a great honor! You must be proud!” said Master Mathorn.

  “Aye, for him I am, but it meant I’d always be second string. That is, until I met Zah’rak and seized a new life.”

  Master Mathorn smiled and nodded at that comment. He might have said more, but Crivreen ushered everyone to the table to eat. When we were settled, Master Mathorn recounted essentially the same story that Raquel had told us. It seemed that the wizards of Ragnar’s homeworld were a devious and controlling bunch. I wondered what that meant for the future here. Would our Wizard’s Council turn out to be the same in the long run?

  “Now, it’s vital that none of you shares this information with anyone right now,” he said. “The relationship between our realms is in dire straits. Grandmaster Vydor is doing all he can to save it, or at least to avoid the war that many of us are predicting.”

  “What does this story about the basic powers have to do with that?” I asked.

  Master Mathorn took a deep drink. He continued, “There are many apprentice and journeymen wizards here who are still loyal to Grandmaster Korshalem. I believe that if they find out what I have just recounted. Once word of the deception spreads through the ranks of the Korshalemian wizards there will be an irreparable loss of trust, and that could potentially spark a civil war. I fear that the balance of power in Korshalemia is far too delicate to survive, and even if it does it would permanently destroy any goodwill that remains between the realms.”

  “What about Shea?” asked Ragnar.

  “Shea knows, but she agrees with my assessment so she will say nothing as yet,” he said. “In fact, she has asked us not to remove her blocks so that there is no danger of her accidently tipping people off.”

  “That makes sense, since she is constantly among the other wizards and I assume is well known,” said Ragnar.

  “Very much so,” said Master Mathorn.

  “So what does this all mean for Ragnar?” I asked.

  “I can remove the power blocks,” said Master Mathorn. “But I’d prefer to do that after he joins the Wizard Kingdom and we can update his files to list him as a native of this realm. That way no one will be suspicious if they happen to see him using the basic powers.”

  “Is that a condition or a preference?” Ragnar asked.

  He smiled. “I’m not here to bribe anyone. The choice remains yours whether to accept our offer of citizenship or not.”

  “I’m being a fool, aren’t I?” I sent privately to Shira, Crivreen and Ragnar.

  “What do you mean?” asked Ragnar.

  “I should accept the offer,” I sent.

  “That would be my advice,” replied Ragnar.

  “Master Mathorn, Raquel, our current commitment to the Phareon government might constitute an obstacle to our joining you,” I said. “How can we work that out?”

  “In truth, it might help to heal our relationship with them,” said Master Mathorn. He told us how the Wizard Kingdom and the Phareon government had almost gone to war over Hospital Station just a couple of months previously. Phareon had apparently sent a fleet out to claim it, and Grandmaster Vydor had stopped them.

  “Do you mean that the hospital station was wizard property all this time?” I asked. That at least explained why there was a gate there.

  “Yes, and now the Wizard Kingdom’s flag is flying over it openly,” said Master Mathorn.

  “Zah’rak,” said Raquel. “I would suggest that we finish the current mission for the Phareon government and then tell them of the new arrangement. I suspect that the Wizard Kingdom will be very interested in the outcome of that mission. We can work out an arrangement with them after the mission.”

  “Seems reasonable,” I said. “But what about Master Spectra’s order?”

  “Raquel told me about the order and your trip to Siden,” said Master Mathorn. “I will be stopping there on my way out. I don’t like the fact that the sorcerers got their hands on that stockpile, and I want to know what they are up to. In the meantime, I can have a sufficient quantity of gold and diamonds delivered to Hospital Station for you to pick up when you’re ready. It was wise of Spectr
a to enlist you to make armor, and I suspect that you will have a permanent standing order to make armor for us as long as you are willing to make it. Enchanters seem to be much less common in this realm than in Korshalemia. This means we’re sorely in need of all kinds of enchanted supplies, especially since the collapse of trade between the realms.”

  We talked a little while longer, until he was ready to take Ragnar aside to remove the blocks. He wanted to spend some time alone with Ragnar to make sure he understood the fundamentals of using the basic powers, and I was sure that Ragnar had more questions for him.

  Crivreen left to answer a call on our comm system and Shira went back to her gardens, leaving me alone with Raquel.

  “Zah’rak,” sent Raquel privately, “everyone here looks to you for leadership – so the decision is more yours than theirs, in reality. They’ll follow your lead, and I suspect you’re the only one holding out.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed.

  “Look, I haven’t been forthcoming about one matter,” she sent. “Grandmaster Vydor has given me responsibility for representing the Wizard Kingdom out here. That means I’ll have to handle treaties, diplomacy and all kinds of government-related tasks.”

  “What are you getting at?” I asked.

  “I can’t do that and recreate the Sac’a’rith as well. I need you to lead that effort. I’ll advise, train and offer what help I can, but it’ll be up to you. Shira and any others we may find will look to you for leadership,” she sent.

  “What about Ragnar and Crivreen?” I asked.

  “You know my opinion on admitting those who were not born into the order,” she sent.

  “If you’re truly putting me in charge, then that’s my decision to make, isn’t it?” I sent.

  “Zah’rak,” she said. “My duties to Grandmaster Vydor have to take precedence now, but my real goal is to see the Sac’a’rith rise back up. I can see now that you’re the best hope for that. Narcion saw it, and I’m beginning to see why. You will have to define the new era of our people.”

  I didn’t know what to make of that. Until then, I was sure she intended to keep complete control over everything. I had to admit that was part of my problem with this agreement; I didn’t want to give up control of my team.

  I didn’t have much time to think about that before Crivreen came rushing in.

  “Zah’rak, Felix is in trouble!” he exclaimed.

  “What? What happened?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. I just got a message from him that says, ‘I guess you were right: you never can go back,’ and it contains a coded location,” he said.

  “And by that you know he’s in trouble?” asked Raquel.

  “Yes!” he exclaimed. “He’s a loner. Only serious trouble would lead him to send a message like that.”

  “How far is he from here?” I asked.

  “Two jumps, maybe, but we still have to clear this Emperor-forsaken gravity well before we can do anything,” said Crivreen.

  “Lay in a course, and see if you can find out any more,” I said. He ran off without another word, presumably back to the bridge. “Is that offer still open to Felix?”

  Raquel smiled. “I suspect he could be a sorcerer for a decade and Grandmaster Vydor would pardon him and offer him another chance.”

  “You don’t approve?”

  “It’s not that,” she said. “Ten thousand years ago the wizards here were a military order, and discipline was fast and effective. I’m just having a hard time adjusting to this new reality.”

  “We all are,” said Master Mathorn as he walked back in alone.

  “Ragnar,” I sent, “are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. I just have some exercises to work on,” he sent.

  “Crivreen talks about the Wizard Kingdom in such idealistic terms, but the way you two talk about the other wizards belies that,” I said.

  “People are people,” said Master Mathorn. “Wherever you go, that will always be true. Grandmaster Vydor and his masters are working hard to live up to the ideal, but they’re still just people.”

  “Yet you gave up everything to follow them?” I said.

  “Yes - because they are trying, where others have given up,” he said. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to talk to Shira about that stockpile the sorcerers took. We hadn’t heard of any movement from them out this way.”

  “Sure. She’s over in hydroponics; right this way,” I said and led him there.

  When we arrived, Shira was tending the small section she had created to grow food. It was now pretty barren since we’d eaten a lot of it at dinner, but I knew she would get us more soon enough. Even if it was just vegetables, it was a real treat to have fresh food for a change.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  I had just sent a coded message to Crivreen when they finally found us. Blaster fire erupted all around our position, destroying our makeshift shelter and comm. station. Debris flew everywhere and the roof caved in right in front of us. There were too much smoke and dust in the air to be able to guess where anything was.

  “Now what, Purwryn?” Marcus attempted to pile debris quickly between us and the direction the blasts seemed to be coming from.

  “Run!” It’d been over a month since we had made our escape from the Paradise. The Resden agents were hunting us far more aggressively than either of us had guessed they would. I’d originally planned to put Marcus on a Phareon cruise liner and head off alone, but we never got that chance; they dispatched fighters almost immediately and we had been on the run ever since. It had been one close call after another, but this was shaping up to be the closest yet.

  Marcus returned fire with his rifle, firing blindly through the smoke. “Obviously, but to where?”

  “Anywhere but here!” I threw one of the sonic grenades I’d taken from a Resden corpse and ran deeper into the woods. We were on a small, forested planet where our ship had crashed after losing a battle with a Resden fast cruiser. I had hoped that Resden would have assumed we’d died in the crash, but that wasn’t the case; they sent a shuttle down with a landing party. I thought we had lost them, but they found us again. They must have picked up my outgoing transmission.

  Marcus ran behind me as the grenade detonated, sending a shockwave through what I hoped was Resden’s position. “We should circle around and steal their ship.”

  “You’re assuming it’ll be unguarded and unlocked,” I said.

  “Locks won’t be a problem. Guards, maybe,” he said.

  We were trapped on the planet, and without any cloaking tech we really had no place to hide. “A direct frontal assault would be suicide if there are any guards. We’d be caught between those guarding the ship and the ones following us.”

  “Right, so we have to draw them as far away as possible and then sneak back around them,” he said.

  A tree to my left exploded, throwing shrapnel everywhere. “Leading them doesn’t seem to be a problem, but how are we going to lose them?”

  Before he could answer we had to dive for cover, as Resden fired on our position. The ground and trees around us were shaking from the pounding. Marcus got into position and returned fire, shooting mostly wild but as fast as he could, forcing them to seek cover. He was much tougher than I had guessed while serving with him on the Paradise. I suspected he had more experience of this kind of thing than he’d let on; certainly having him along had saved my hide more than once.

  I shouldered my rifle and drew a pair of blasters. “I have an idea. You slip away while I keep them pinned down. We’ll meet back up at their ship.”

  “But how are you going to get away?” he asked.

  “Don’t worry about that. You just get that ship unlocked and ready to fly, or we both die here.”

  He nodded. “Good luck.” He rolled over onto his belly and slipped away with unusual skill and agility, especially considering we were under fire. He was totally calm throughout this battle, while I could feel my hear
t racing at many times its normal rate. Sweat poured down my face, pushing dirt and grime into my eyes, but I didn’t need much in the way of accuracy for this plan.

  I kept my blasters firing as fast as I could. Resden kept their heads down. They knew as well as I that firing at this rate would overheat my weapons and soon leave me defenseless. All they had to do was wait me out: that’s what I wanted them to think, and it was exactly what they were doing.

  The guns got warm in my hands and I knew I’d have to stop shooting soon or risk damaging the weapons. I’d wanted to keep them from seeing that I was alone for long enough to give Marcus a head start.

  Resden’s position was well shielded from the angle I was shooting at, and if I stood to run they would cut me down. My own position was not nearly so well protected. I suspected it was only a matter of time before they broke through. I had done my best to avoid using any magic since leaving the Night Wisp, but there was no way to escape this otherwise. It was time to expand my combat options.

  I teleported just behind their position. “Surprise!”

  They turned to bring their guns to bear, but it was too late. I quickly finished them off and holstered my pistols, now dangerously hot.

  There was a noise behind me, and before I could turn a blast hit my leg and sent me tumbling. I rolled over and saw another agent climbing out from his cover.

  “Surprise!” he said with a smirk clearly visible through his visor. He had been hiding a little distance away from the group I had finished off behind a small hill. In his hands was a high-powered rifle and I was sure a direct hit from it would overwhelm what was left of my armor.

  At this range I knew I didn’t have time to draw my guns so I teleported again, this time off to the left. Predictably he turned and looked behind him as I leaned against a tree and drew my blasters, only to find out they had finally overheated and had shut themselves down.

  Forcing myself to focus through the pain in my leg, I cast a mage bolt which slammed into his body, throwing him to the ground. Before he could recover, I unslung my rifle and finished him.