The Traitor of Tyiku
Page 15
With too much focus comes too much knowledge, however. As they grew closer, she saw a group of people pulling out the body of a young girl. She was covered in dark splotches and Jaklyn wasn't sure whether it was due to dirt, bruises, or a combination of the two. Her stomach churned as she considered what state she would be in had she been there. She shuddered and looked away as she walked to the palace. She didn't take her eyes off of the turquoise stones, determined not to see any more monstrosities before figuring out where she was actually trying to go.
As they approached the gate, the metal in her hands grew warm and then hot. It burned, and she dropped them. The entire progression of soldiers turned around to stare at her as if she was an idiot.
"I'm sorry, it must have been too heavy, my arms gave out," she mumbled. The brunette guard closest to her—Arro—glared at her and picked up a contraption only to drop it.
"Sure you didn't drop them because they're hot?"
Minndi raised an eyebrow, bending over to gingerly touch one. "What the hell?"
"I don't know, Minndi. I don't know what happened."
"You will see the palace magician as soon as we get in." She called to the guard at the gate, strode into the walls, dropped her burdens, grabbed Jaklyn, and pulled her toward the magician's chambers. "Jaklyn, I do not know what is going on with you, but if you have been hiding more magic from me, I do not care how this war ends, I will make sure you are forced into telling my people how much of a traitor you are."
"Your Highness, do not threaten me. You are desperate as it is, and if I had magic you don't know about, it's probably damn good stuff."
"You dare to talk to me that way?"
“After everything you’ve kept from me, if I had a secret, it would be only fair." Jaklyn was determined not to back down. Not this time.
Minndi exhaled with anger. “I don't make a practice of telling everyone the dealings of the court in times of war."
"I don't make a habit of siding with those who have given me no reason to trust them."
“What the hell is your problem?"
Jaklyn took a deep breath. "Nothing. I'm fine. You wanted me to see that magician, correct?"
Minndi glared at her. "Third door on the left. Go."
Chapter 17
The magician listened to her story. She thought she heard some awe in his mind somewhere but his manner remained professional.
"You stepped into a beam of magic? And then all of those things happened? The vines, the water, the fire? The wind?"
"Yeah."
"What did it feel like?"
"Well…" She struggled for a way to describe it. "Once, before I practiced with my mind magic, I constructed a block against someone inside my head. The magic sort of settled into my brain. It was almost like a liquid that drenched my brain. This was like that but like instead of a little dripping into one part of me it was all over, forcing as much of itself inside of me as I could hold."
"I see. Has anything weird happened around you since it happened?"
"Not that I've noticed... I wonder if it's somehow connected to the gusts of wind that destroyed part of the city?"
He nodded. "That's possible, but that would take an awful lot of magic, so it seems unlikely."
"I know… sort of. I know how much magic takes certain actions, but I've only studied mind magic in depth. I didn't have time to study anything extracurricular until recently."
"Right. I'm going to ask you to meditate so that your body is not hyperventilating or anything else that might make it more difficult, and then I'm going to use my instruments and a small amount of my own magic to see if I can detect what types of magic you have and in what amounts."
"Okay." She closed her eyes and inhaled, then exhaled through her nose. She focused on the air going into her lungs. It took an abnormally long time for her to reach maximum capacity.
That made it easier, thankfully, and she soon slipped into meditation. She was only marginally aware of the man's movements around her until she felt his magic testing her core, seeking hers. She forced herself to relax and focus on her breathing again.
"You may exit out of meditation again," his voice said from the faraway place of consciousness. "I've found all the magic in you."
She rubbed her eyes and slowly adjusted to being conscious again. She was more aware of her body as she eased out of meditation.
Her eyes slowly focused on the mage she had come to see. She yawned before asking him to continue.
"I found five kinds of magic, and all of them are in sizeable amounts. It's kind of amazing you haven't died yet."
"Five kinds? Are you sure?"
"I'm positive."
"Woah. What kinds…?"
"Mind magic, of course. Water, earth, air, and fire. It's strange... I think I've heard a story about a room that was supposed to have a vast supply of those, straight from the Divine."
"There are large amounts of the elemental magics?"
"Yes. There are incredibly high amounts of elemental magic in your system. I think you should talk to Minndi about getting one of her more qualified magicians to help you out, but I can do some things to help you until that can be arranged since we're in a war and everything."
Jaklyn's mouth was hanging open. It took a significant effort to put it back up again.
"But… I was told you were one of the most prominent mages in this field…"
"Well… I'm considered to be knowledge-wise, yes. I would need a great deal of my own magic to help you beyond that. If something got out of hand, I wouldn't be able to help."
"What if the magician Minndi finds can't either?"
"I'll help them, of course. I'm not saying you need to find a new instructor completely, just that I don't know I can handle your magic alone."
"Okay. I'll talk to her about it."
"Alright. I think I can do a couple of preliminary tests though." He extracted a half-melted candle from his drawer and set it on the desk. "Light this."
Jaklyn stared at the candle. She wasn't entirely sure how to go about this. She shut her eyes and searched for the magic within her. She found it and focused on taking a portion out of the bundle for a moment. She open her eyes and flung it forwards at the candle. It jumped past it and hit a pile of parchment behind the candleholder. The stack lit on fire for a moment before the other mage put it out.
"You have preliminary casting control. That's good. You need to develop a better aim with it though." He recorded this onto a small journal he held in his hand. "Could you try filling this cup up with water?" She tried to focus harder this time and seemed to succeed for the most part. The cup filled up, but water splashed over the sides and it overflowed before she could stop it. "Yes, definitely at least some control. That's a start, at least." He looked at her apprehensively "I think we might want to test the wind later."
"So that leaves earth magic?"
"Yes."
"I don't know how to go about doing that without hurting myself."
"It's easiest to start with defining what exactly you can do. Remember that earth magic is considered a natural magic. That means that although you can change certain things, you have to follow a few basic rules. The major one is that you cannot create something from nothing. You can therefore make things grow, or alter their course of growth. Since you have so much magic, you might be able to change it from one life form to another." He took a long moment of consideration. "That often causes pain though, since it's such a drastic change from the natural. Also, causing your own body to sprout plants might force it to both change what it is made of in those areas and grow quickly." He shook his head. "No wonder you were in pain."
"Wow." She stared at her hands. "Could I test it by trying to make something else grow, perhaps? A seed?"
"Yes, exactly." He took out a pot with soil in it. "There's a seed planted in this pot. I want you to make it take root and sprout from the top of the soil, but stop it as soon as you can see it in the air. The elementals are related,
so try to use what you learned from your attempts with fire and water. Use a tiny amount of magic to start with. Miniscule."
Jaklyn once again found the magic and forced the smallest possible amount she could manage towards the seed in the pot. She stared at the pot as she almost felt it grow and stopped once she saw it break out. It continued to grow after she wanted it to stop, but it didn't grow too high before it froze in place.
"Very good. I would like you to let Minndi know that I've done your basic assessment. I need further instruction as to what we will do with your training. If you wish, you may practice with them, but be intelligent about it. Minndi will not be happy if your chambers are smoking in the morning."
"Thank you. I will let her know."
Minndi bounded through the door. Jaklyn and the magician exchanged glances with one another.
"Were you listening at the door?" he joked.
Minndi glared at him, then yelled. “The Sralossans just tried to force their way into the palace and they're taking out our soldiers as we speak. Jak, do you have good enough magic or not?"
"She has all of the elemental magics, Your Highness."
"I did not ask you to talk. Go work with my advisors. Jaklyn, stay here."
"No, Minndi. I'm going to fight."
"No. You're going to stay here. That's an order. We don't need you, I've got it under control."
"I never said I was going to fight for you."
"I do not have time for your stubborn antics."
"Then get out of my way, Your Highness."
"Sit down."
"Minndi, if you do not move, I am going to light you on fire right here." She wasn't sure whether her threat carried weight. She could start fires, sure, but would it be big enough to cause damage before they tied her up? Would she be able to get out if she started a fire in the doorway?
Her threat worked; Minndi moved. Minndi ran straight at her and jumped in an attempt to throw her to the ground. Right before they collided, Jaklyn threw her hands up in defense, only to watch Minndi fly backwards into the ceiling and land with a crash on the floor.
The magician was scared. He was not brave enough to fight Jaklyn, though, so he cowered in the corner and recoiled when she looked at him.
It was no wonder, with Minndi laying on the floor the way she did. Jaklyn stepped over her to get out, kicking away her hand when she tried to grab her ankle. Without a word to anyone else within the palace walls, she ran through hallways and down stairs. She had never been more thankful Alikos had tortured her into building her endurance.
It seemed like ages before she reached the gates. She could not see to the other side of them; too many people were blocking the way to the street. When she approached, the soldiers in turquoise warned her to get back. She asked them to move. They would not. She tried to force her way through them, but they were too strong. Finally, she took a deep breath, and located her new stores of magic.
Each one had its own light. She cycled through them, trying to understand which was which and trying to decide which to use. Finally, she decided on one and used her mental energy to throw it at them.
It was air. When she exhaled, it was as if her lungs were endless and strong. She did not reach the end of her air, not until they had all been pushed onto the street and had fallen to the ground. Not until she forced herself to stop exhaling and to inhale once more, pulling her magic back into its proper ball once more.
The battles on the street were more chaotic than Jaklyn could possible have imagined. Sralossans, Tyikian soldiers, and hordes of random people seemed to fight. From the ground, Jaklyn could not tell who was fighting for who. The slums people who were there were fighting both Sralossans and Tyikians, not all the soldiers were wearing colors of either nation, and even those in turquoise were fighting one another in some areas. What was even more astonishing was the fact that not one person attacked her. No one seemed to notice her amid bloodshed.
Up above, people on winged horses shot arrows like rain from above, hitting people from both sides. After they had exhausted their arrows, the horses came down to smack people in the head with their feet. Jaklyn ducked as one came toward her, but it landed in front of her.
Astride it was Alikos Phoenix. He pulled her onto the horse without her consent and gave a quick warning before bounding back into the air. As Jaklyn held on for her life, she noticed blood had spread and dried over his jacket. It suddenly occurred to her that she didn't know how long they'd been fighting. A few hours, or a few days?
She looked down. Even from up here, the fighting was chaotic. The biggest difference was the scale. She could see people spread out for what looked like miles. Some were outnumbered, others were off on sidestreets. A number of other people flew on horses above them, while some rode through the streets on the backs of creatures she had only read about. Some people were faring well in their battles. Others were laying in piles surrounded by red.
Then, there was the destruction that made the entire scene look worse. Trees were uprooted, buildings had collapsed, and there were several undistinguishable piles of debris.
There was a rhythm to the fighting. People would fight, someone would fall, and they'd find a new opponent. Others ran, or hid, to get away. Some slums people ran throughout the chaos to raid bodies.
Then came the fire.
A loud noise preceded it, louder than anything Jaklyn had heard before. It grumbled through the city walls right before it exploded into a ball of fire that demolished a third of the shopping district.
"Let me down, Alikos."
"No."
"Alikos, I can stop the fire."
He swooped down, landing one hundred yards away from the rampant flames.
"Be careful, Lyn. I love you." Once she was off, he took off into the sky without a pause.
Because that's not distracting at all.
The horse had brought attention to Jaklyn, and everyone watched her. With a slight amount of mind magic, she could tell that they thought she was on the Taiikian side because of Alikos's garb. She called to them.
"Please, I support Summere. I am blessed by her mother and do not wish to inflict harm upon anyone."
A couple of Tyikians attacked her. She took a punch to the gut and a kick on her thigh, but her attackers were pulled off of her before they could cause further damage. She could not see what was protecting her, just that something was holding them back. They gyrated as if invisible hands were beating on them. Jaklyn watched as the curly haired youth from the Sralossan camp smiled at her and ran past.
She shook her head, and was brought back to the fire, which was picking up. Pulling from deep within her, she gathered her water magic and forced it toward the flames. In a gush, water ran at the wall of orange in front of her. It went out bit by bit.
And then the water picked up. She couldn't stop it, could not stop the liquid that was running through her fingers in rivers at the fire. She watched as it submerged everyone in its path, killing the fire and taking people down in a single swoop.
Everyone stopped fighting. Everyone within vicinity, at least, who saw her actions and stared in awe and fear. She tried to stop the water. There was no point anymore, it was rising too quickly, as if the ocean itself was pouring out of her grip.
Someone tackled her. The water soaked them for a couple of minutes as they held her down, then ceased altogether. She looked into the eyes of Fiona, who was almost unrecognizable covered in dirt. "Don't have too much fun there," she warned, smiling. "Don't do anything stupid. Alikos would be a pain in the ass if something happened to you."
"What's everyone's obsession with us?"
"We just like him." She was attacked from behind, and suddenly Jaklyn could see why she was fighting: she popped small bolts of lightning from her palms whenever her foe tried to hit her, laughing the entire time.
Jaklyn had had enough of the fight. She ran. Exhausted, sore, soaked, and muddy, she ran as fast as she could toward the woods in an attempt to hide.
"Please let Summere know that her mage has returned from the Elemental Room when she comes out."
"Get behind me and wait."
She listened. She sat behind him, bowing her head and trying to reach something greater resembling calm.
She floated in and out of normal consciousness. Sometimes the clangs and pounds behind her seemed like they could never reach her, other times she was certain they would smack her in the head.
Too curious to restrain herself, she pushed her mind magic toward the other two in meditation. Summere was calling upon her mother for guidance and protection of her soldiers, while Ezra was using magic of her own. Jaklyn watched Ezra's magic closer in awe; it seemed she could direct wild animals across distances. Jaklyn wondered whether she'd ever really learn about this woman.
Summere's mind became more active. She looked up at Jaklyn and smiled. Once again, Jaklyn noticed that Summere was glowing. The daughter of Kahiya stood, whispered into the guard's ear, and walked, confidant and smiling, onto the battlefield.
Chapter 18
The light from Summere radiated through the field as twilight came upon the soldiers. As she passed a nearby pair, Jaklyn watched her brush her hands across her enemy's back. The enemy fell to the ground, and she nodded at her soldier. Without words, he pulled the other man to the side of the opening and watched over him.
She continued through in this way, brushing against people, letting them fall, and nodding to her subjects. As the night grew darker, the group of passed out Tyikian fighters grew larger, and somehow, she was coercing her own into making sure those sleeping stayed safe. From the sidelines, Jaklyn watched the light clear out those battling one another, until the field was finally a peaceful area of stars and slumber. When she was finished and the Sralossan soldiers were sitting in an alert circle around the Tyikians, she returned to Ezra and Jaklyn.