Legends of Windemere: 02 - Prodigy of Rainbow Tower

by Charles E Yallowitz

  “I embarrass you? Is that why you want to get rid of me?” she sobs. He extends a handkerchief for her to use, which she refuses by wiping her nose on her sleeve. A spark of magic cleans the mess without Nyx noticing that she cast the spell.

  “That is ridiculous. Willow and I have raised you as our own since you were entrusted to us. We fell in love with you and adopted you before the week was done,” he explains, taking a seat on the edge of the tower. “As your parents, we feel it is in your best interests to leave the city and see the world. It is not an easy decision for any of us, but it must be done. It is time for Willow and I to let go and step back. We have to let you find your niche or your unique abilities will go to waste.”

  Nyx takes a seat next to him, but she fearlessly dangles her legs over the edge. She can see the nervous look on Cyril’s shadowy face before he looks away. The half-elf smiles over her minor victory while she looks out over Gaia. She can see small figures passing in and out of the lamplights. The distant sound of singing can be heard from the tavern down the street and she briefly smells a fresh stew until the wind changes direction. The longer Nyx looks over Gaia, the more she wants to continue fighting with Cyril.

  “What if my niche is here?” she defiantly counters. “You assume that I will find a place outside of Gaia, but I’am perfectly happy here.”

  “How many friends do you have here, Nyx?” Cyril bluntly asks.

  Nyx bites her lower lip and thinks carefully before answering, “I have some. The other apprentices like me.”

  “The other apprentices fear your temper and respect your skills. That is not a form of friendship,” the black-robed caster says as politely as he can. “We also know that your peers in the city have shunned you because you get into fights and use your magic freely. We raised you better than this.”

  “Nobody asked that I get trained in the use of magic,” Nyx argues, crossing her arms like an angry child. “And I didn’t choose to be adopted by you and Willow. I was left at your front door with a note pinned to my shirt telling you that my parents and village were destroyed in a fire. I’ve been living my life as a caster ever since I arrived. My attitude and lack of friends is directly connected to being kept in this tower for all of these years. It has left me with no knowledge on how to make friends and casting me into the world beyond Gaia isn’t going to fix this. You don’t have the right to kick me out of the only home I know.”

  “We are not getting rid of you, Nyx. Please realize that a caster with your level of power has a responsibility to do good for Windemere,” Cyril repeats with a sigh. He rubs his eyes as his frustration grows. “All apprentices and children leave their haven some day and that time has come for you. Unlike most apprentices, you get to start your path on an adventure with capable allies. I suggest you look at the situation this way. Consider this an adventure instead of a punishment.”

  “Still feels like a punishment,” she mutters.

  “I cannot even begin to guess where your stubbornness comes from,” Cyril groans, his patience finally cracking. Nyx sticks her tongue out at her master before moving to the other side of the roof.

  “In the morning, you will be sent into the city with our guests,” orders Cyril, whose voice gently carries across the roof. “Luke has never seen the city and we told him that you would give him and his friends a tour. This will give you a chance to see what they are like when someone is not throwing fireballs at them. You might find that they are more fun to be around than two old casters and their stuffy apprentices.”

  “I assume that this is an order from master to apprentice,” Nyx passively accuses him.

  Cyril glares at the stubborn girl for several seconds before speaking. “If that is the only way you will agree to this then I am ordering you to spend time with your new allies and to give them a chance to become your friends. Now, get some sleep. You will be walking around all day tomorrow. Please, try not to get into any trouble.” Cyril whispers a small spell before sinking through the roof and into the tower.

  Nyx sighs and looks at the closed door below her feet. “I guess telling him that I don’t want to do it isn’t going to cut it. That Callindor is a jerk and two thirds of his friends should be locked up for life. The other third might as well be a statue with all of his personality. Though, if I go with them, I could meet a drite and possibly a few other magical beings. Maybe I can learn about my parents and birth village out there. Gods, I sound like such a child. All these years of acting tough and I crumble because I fear what is outside this city. I must seem so pathetic to those four.”

  Nyx looks up at the shootings stars and meteors that fly a few inches above her head. For a brief moment, she considers breaking the illusion’s hold on her. She can see the sparkling orbs begin to shimmer and fade into the distant sky. They are almost gone when she stops herself and lets the illusion fall back into place around her. With a steady hand, she catches a shooting star and rolls it in her palm. Nyx gives it a gentle kiss and releases it back into the sky.

  “Whether I leave tomorrow or not, you’re my home,” she whispers to the sleeping city below her.

  3

  Nyx’s half-hearted tour of Gaia begins early in the morning and she moves at a fast, unrelenting pace through the busy streets. It is almost noon when the small group is allowed to rest on some benches. The cool breeze from the ocean makes their tour slightly more bearable than their previous hike through Visindor Forest. Unfortunately, the stampeding crowds that fill the city streets overshadow this small improvement. Nyx and Fritz are the only ones who manage to effortlessly walk through the crowds without bumping into random people. With some effort, Aedyn and Nimby are able to avoid the forest of elbows, shoulders, and legs. Far behind the group, Luke spends his time apologizing to total strangers only to stumble into someone else. Nyx has given up waiting for him to catch up and occasionally looks back to make sure he is still in view. Pushing through the bustling mob of the marketplace and the tightly packed gatherings near the temples, Nyx eventually brings the tour to a large courtyard. Luke is the first to breathe a sigh of relief when they are out of the crowds and staring across the open courtyard. He collapses onto a bench as Nyx casually explains that this is the biggest courtyard in Gaia.

  “Let me get this straight,” Nimby lazily interrupts. “This is the biggest courtyard in Gaia and there is nothing in it. Why don’t they put a fountain or a statue here?”

  “I don’t know,” Nyx replies, sitting down and stretching her legs.

  “Some tour guide you turned out to be,” Nimby mutters under his breath.

  Nyx quickly glares at him, a flicker of fire running along her palm. “I’m not a tour guide. I’m a caster. Local history is not my area of expertise and it never will be. This city has too much of a past for someone to learn by my age unless I dedicated my entire life to studying it. I can’t do that when I have spells and monsters to research.”

  “If I may, Lady Nyx, I think I can answer his question,” Fritz politely offers with a friendly smile. “The story of this courtyard goes back to the early days of Gaia. The Gaian committee that was organized to beautify and decorate the city after its founding had decided to contract hundreds of artists. These artists were hired to make statues of all the great heroes of the region. They ran into a problem with this courtyard because nobody could agree on whose statue should be placed here. Several statues were erected here, but each one was destroyed by another artist or committee member. It took three years for the Grand Counsel to dissolve the committee and stop the squabbling. Nobody has attempted to put anything here since that time.”

  “I see,” Luke says with a thoughtful look on his face.

  “Wipe that thought out of your mind. You don’t have a chance,” Aedyn laughs, giving a gentle punch to Luke’s shoulder.

  Luke crosses his arms and smirks. “It isn’t like they have an open courtyard to put my statue in. Where else would they put it?”

  “Gargoyles are placed on top of buildings a
nd gates,” Nyx grumbles. Everyone laughs at the quick insult as Luke sticks his tongue out at the caster.

  “At least, I don’t look like I sleep in a pile of ashes,” Luke says.

  Nyx jumps to her feet and throws a punch at Luke, which he effortlessly dodges by laying down on the bench. He rolls off the bench as Nyx attempts to kick him and he quickly gets to his feet to face her. She tries to hit Luke again, but he catches her arm and uses her momentum to send her stumbling past him. Aedyn steps between them before they have a chance to continue their fight. He calmly uses his staff to stop the other two half-elves from getting within hitting range of each other. Nyx and Luke give each other a final growl and relax.

  “I suggest you two learn to get along,” Aedyn states, his face serious and stern. “We will be on a ship in less than twenty-four hours and your fighting could pose a danger. Last thing we need is for you two to start a fight and damage the ship. Now, are there any other places that you wish to show us before those of us with errands have to leave?”

  Nyx thinks for a minute, looking around the courtyard. “We saw the arena from the outside since there were no challenges or games going on. I brought you to the marketplace where I’m sure Nimby filled his pockets. The port is too busy this time of day for us to enjoy and the various gardens would take an entire day to get through. I can only think of one other place to show all of you before we split up. Follow me.”

  Nyx stops in mid-stride when she hears Nimby’s back and shoulders crackle as he gets to his feet. The halfling looks more exhausted than the others because he was up late telling Willow the story of Luke and the Lich. Half of his storytelling required jumping and rolling around the room to act out the fight until his muscles ached. Now, Nimby is a yawning, sympathetic sight as he tries to stumble after his friends. Nyx watches him for a few seconds before approaching the decrepit halfling.

  “This should help,” she says. A subtle breath of air escapes her lips and forms into a glimmering mist. The mist wraps around Nimby and enters his body through his exposed skin.

  “Wow. I feel great. What did you do?” he asks in amazement.

  “A revitalization spell,” Nyx replies with a modest tone. “You should be fine for about eight hours and then you will need to rest. I mean real rest. The side effect is that you will sleep like a corpse for twelve hours. So, let’s get moving.”

  Their silent curiosity grows as they follow her across town. Luke grumbles as he finds himself pushing and apologizing his way through more crowds. His friends can tell that he is really starting to miss the forest and its open space. Nyx ignores his obvious discomfort while Nimby sympathetically pats him on the lower back. Fritz finally decides to take Luke by the hand and help him weave through the crowds like a child being led by his parent. It stops the forest tracker’s grumbling, but it does not help Luke feel better about the thick mob. He is very thankful when they turn into an empty alley.

  “Cheer up, tracker,” Nyx says from the front of their small procession. “You should see a sign of where we’re going soon enough.”

  “As long as there are no crowds. I’m really starting to hate . . . crowds . . . wow,” Luke whispers as his attention is stolen by a familiar shadow. He stops and stares up at the form that soars over the alley. In the daylight, he can see the shine of the beast’s freshly brushed fur and the glint of battle armor around its legs.

  “You probably saw the mountain from a distance. I figured a forest tracker would enjoy seeing them up close. Have you ever seen a griffin before?” Nyx asks while they file out of the alley. The four travelers look across the wide street at the towering mountain and the thirty griffins that are gathered around its base.

  “I encountered one a few months ago. It was under the control of the Lich. I had to kill it to save Kellia Solomon and myself. Let’s just say it wasn’t my shining moment because my grandfather always told me about the nobility and beauty of griffins,” Luke answers. He reaches into his shirt to pull out a crude necklace made from a dirty, leather strap and a curved griffin talon. “I took this to make sure I always remembered the incident.”

  “That sounds horrible,” Nyx says. An impish grin crosses her face as she watches Luke mindlessly finger the talon. “I’ve got an idea if you trust me enough to go along with it. It will be a test to see if we can really get along when we have to. Is everybody in?” She waves at one of the guards preparing the griffins’ food and holds up two fingers. The man nods and enters one of the nearby buildings.

  “Sadly, I must to go,” Aedyn apologizes with a polite bow. “My temple would appreciate my help around this time since the sun is almost at its peak. Do you want to stay, Fritz?”

  Fritz runs a hand through his greasy hair and sighs in disappointment. “Sorry. I have to go with Aedyn to conduct some business. Besides, I know what you’re planning and gnomes were not designed for such things.”

  “What about you, Nimby? This is once in a lifetime,” Nyx claims.

  “I should get my errands done before the spell runs out,” hollers Nimby, who has already started walking back down the alley. “I think you two should be left alone to work things out anyway. The rest of us aren’t the ones who tried to kill each other. See all of you at Rainbow Tower.”

  “Have fun and try to behave yourselves,” Fritz and Aedyn say at the same time. They stare at each other before shaking their heads in unison and leaving Luke to whatever Nyx has planned.

  “Just the two of us as I expected,” Nyx says, leading Luke to the mountain where the man has returned with a pair of griffins. “Remember to hold on tight and don’t let the griffin take full control. You have to guide them carefully or they will try to throw you into the ocean. They have been trained to force a dismount only over the water. Well, some of the younger ones still put up a fight over the city, but never at fatal heights,” She starts petting one of the beasts on the head while a second griffin begins nuzzling Luke.

  “What are you talking about?” Luke asks. He strokes its solid beak and the griffin lets out a purring squawk until Luke stops.

  “Guiding you around the city on foot is pointless,” Nyx declares, watching the griffins flying above them. “You hate the crowds and I know you want to wander off on your own. So, I have a friend here who can make this tour a lot more exciting.”

  “You’re kidding,” Luke mumbles in disbelief.

  “Not in any way. Mount up and get ready,” Nyx demands with a cruel grin.

  *****

  “Think those two will get along?” Aedyn asks as soon as he feels that they are out of hearing range.

  “I have no idea, but I’m glad to be away from them while they work things out,” Fritz states, enjoying the relaxing atmosphere. “This time together will force them to talk to each other. Some form of respect between them is bound to occur before the end of the day. Whether it comes from talking or fighting, I just don’t care right now.”

  Aedyn stops for a minute to purchase some freshly cooked chicken and a bowl of potatoes from a dwarven vendor. The priest takes an extra bowl and fork with a small nod to the merchant. He hands half of the food to Fritz before they continue on their way. The odd pair is silent as they pass through the busy afternoon streets. Both of them are thinking the same question and wait to see who will be the first to ask.

  “So . . . what do you think of her?” Fritz inquires after the silence becomes too much for him.

  Aedyn finishes his food and cleans his mouth before answering. “I refuse to make a final judgment on her until we are beyond the walls of Gaia. Obviously, she does not want to leave. Her outburst toward Cyril last night makes me think that she feels as if she is being punished or abandoned. Cyril is her master and an apprentice would never speak to him like that. It was more like a father fighting with a defiant child.”

  “You’re avoiding the question,” Fritz mentions. He pulls out a flask of alcohol and takes a deep swig before offering it to Aedyn.

  “No thanks,” Aedyn says with a polit
e wave of his hand. “I just do not want to say anything about her. She has yet to feel comfortable around us, which does not surprise me. From what you told me, her introduction to Luke was far from friendly and she rightly associates us with him. We have an uphill battle with her. Add to this that her judgment was clouded last night by her feelings of betrayal and anger. So, I feel that my current thoughts regarding our new friend are inaccurate and should be kept to myself.”

  Fritz slaps Aedyn on the lower back and laughs. “It’s just between us, kid. You know that I would never tell your secrets. I promise on every invention I have ever made including the ones that blew up during the creation stage. Your thoughts are safe with me.”

  “Durag will hold you to that promise,” Aedyn declares. He takes a minute to gather his thoughts and discard his empty bowl. “I think she has a short-temper and jumps to violent actions without any forethought, which makes me nervous around her. Her magical power is incredible, so I have great respect for her skills. To be honest, I do not know much about casters and how they conjure magic. Yet, I do know that casters require words, gestures, and occasional ingredients to cast their spells. Nyx does not appear to need these requirements and I wonder why that is. Sadly, I doubt she would tell me any time soon. I see again that I return to her attitude, which reminds me of when we first met Luke. They share the same level of arrogance and child-like stubbornness. These shared traits are why I wonder if they will get along now that we have left them alone. Our hero-to-be might be in over his head with her.”

  Fritz is about to respond when a familiar scream is heard from above them. They look up to see a griffin dive out of the clouds and spin violently through the air. The beast appears to be plummeting toward the ground when it stops a few feet above the rooftops. It doesn’t stay still for long and begins playfully thrashing about like an enraged bull. The familiar rider is still yelling at the griffin, but his words are drowned out by the powerful gusts of wind erupting from the beast’s wings. Another griffin can be seen hovering much higher in the sky, as it calls out to the other in a roaring screech. The curious crowd below silently watches the griffin, which continues to spin and spiral through the air.