Lore Rune (Rune Trilogy Book 1)

by Catherine Beery

  “Its good to see you again, Kel,” Caimeir told me as we took our seats.

  “Likewise,” I replied. And I meant it. But even though I had tried to let Nimla’s words sooth me, I was still very curious. “But I have to ask… though I hope it isn’t rude…” I began but seriously debated at the wiseness of giving into curiosity.

  Caimeir raised a brow at me. “Ask.” He said when I debated for too long. “You cannot get answers unless you ask questions.”

  I glanced at him but held my silence for a little longer. Father told everyone it was time to eat. I loaded up my plate with what I could reach while I pondered how to ask that question. Eventually, I decided that I couldn’t think of a politer way to ask and I really wanted to know. “Why are you here?” He told me to ask, so I did. I tried to keep the conversation between the two of us, but Elmora have great ears apparently… and my father was right beside me.

  “Kel!” he hissed in disappointment.

  Caimeir gestured that all was well. “I did tell him to ask what he wanted to.” He grinned at me. “And it is a fair question. One you are likely wondering as well.” He raised an inquiring brow at my father. My father sighed and nodded in agreement.

  “We are here, Kel,” Caimeir said turning back to me, “because we have rendered assistance and now we would like to call in that favor.”

  I blinked at him. Why, when it made sense, I don’t know. It just surprised me. I hadn’t realized that the Elmora would ever need assistance with anything. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one.

  “And what can we possibly do for you?” My father inquired.

  Caimeir finished chewing and said “there is a relic that our tribe has… I don’t want to say lost or misplaced… but the truth is we cannot retrieve it. It was sealed away and protected by a many-layered test. A test that only a mortal mage has any chance of passing.”

  “You want one of our people to go fetch it for you?” My father asked incredulously.

  “In essence.”

  “How long has it been lost?” I asked.

  Caimeir shrugged. “Not too terribly long. Only about three centuries.”

  An eyeblink for the Elmora – generations for the rest of us mere mortals. I chuckled. I couldn’t help it. “Only three hundred years? Yeah, no time at all.”

  Caimeir’s eyes danced mischievously. “Exactly.”

  My father sent me a quelling look. “In all that time your people never thought to come to us?”

  Caimeir shrugged, “I’m sure some of us thought about it. It just wasn’t all that pressing then. Now we kind of need it.”

  “Why? What does this relic do?” My father asked.

  A chill ran through me at the somewhat predatory look that entered Caimeir’s countenance. I didn’t think we were necessarily in danger, but I was sensing that there was more to this ‘relic’ then we would be told. “It is special in that it is four-fold in its gifting. The one who possesses it receives one, a few, or all of its gifts.” He took another bite of food. All us mortals at the table waited for him to continue. Curiosity was a disease… A good one to have, but a potentially dangerous one too. I noted the other Elmora looked a bit amused, but they focused mostly on the food in front of them and not laughing at us.

  I didn’t get the sense that it was a cruel amusement. More like something an adult would feel watching a child inquiring about what gifts someone was planning on giving to them.

  “It can grant power, magically and mundane, should its possessor wish it. Not political, though it could help with the wielder’s charisma.” Caimeir continued finally. “It can also grant protection for those the possessor wishes. Just themselves or for entire nations. The protection could be against enemy assault or natural disaster. Possibly other kinds of attacks, but that is not known for certain. Providence does have a hand in much. Especially when people pray.” Caimeir explained before continuing. “It can also gift its possessor with the courage to face what they fear most. A kind of extra help to give them the will to stand on against adversity. Kind of like a prayer said long ago for whoever longs for that gift. Finally, it grants wisdom. A clear understanding of a given situation and the emotions of those involved. Knowledge too. It helps its possessor to use knowledge and the other gifts wisely. To cause more good than ill.

  “So as you can now understand, it is a very handy relic to have.”

  “Then why was it sealed away?” Uncle Lyrel asked.

  A sadness slipped into Caimeir’s expression, though I’m not sure my family recognized it. “Because its last possessor wanted it sealed away. Those of ill will got their hands on it for a time and dark years came of it. Evil cast its long shadow upon the world and many innocents perished. She managed to take it away from them and knew, because of its wisdom, that if it remained readily available, it would fall into the wrong hands again… Destroying it was not an option for much good can come of it. But it had to be protected against those who would use it for ill. So it was sealed away. However, it has come to our attention that it is needed. So we come to the only ones who can possibly retrieve it.”

  Caimeir tilted his head curiously “So what say you, Oakelan dae Plavea? Do you think any of your kin or clan will be willing to brave the Test protecting this relic?”

  My father turned thoughtful. After a moment he nodded “It is possible that there will be those who would try for it.”

  Chapter 18

  I lay awake that night thinking about the relic Caimeir had described. An object that granted power, protection, courage, and wisdom… I really liked that last one. Knowledge and the wisdom to use it kind of led to the other three. Perhaps not courage… but then again, knowing that what you were doing was the right choice could help with courage.

  I had wanted to volunteer for the test.

  Unfortunately for me, they needed a mage. I wasn’t one yet. So I couldn’t. I could only stay in town with a few forays into the Wood for a change of scenery until I came of age. Then, possibly, I could help the Espirimora out… If they still needed the help then. I sighed wistfully before closing my eyes.

  The following day passed as they normally do. While I didn’t have class, I did have work to do in the library. Down in my territory of the Archives I was searching for anything on the Abyss. “Hey guys!” I greeted the three university ghosts. If I didn’t think about it, I could still think of them as normal people. Well, I guess that isn’t a fair way to put it. They were normal people… Just… they were dead. I meant that I could ignore that fact and interact with them like I had before I knew.

  “Good morning Kel. We’ve seen the Espiramora have come to visit.” Mary greeted me.

  “About time. Its been ages since I’ve seen one of them.” Rosa exclaimed.

  Mary shot her an aggrieved look. “Keep your voice down!” She hissed. “We are in a library.”

  Rosa rolled her eyes. “Oh for pete’s sake Mary! The only one who can hear us is Kel!” She said loudly to prove her point.

  “And the Espirimora if they decided to come down here. We might be dead, Mary, but that doesn’t mean we should lose all sense of propriety and be hellions in the library.” Mary scolded.

  I stared dumbly. It was very rare to see Mary get worked up about something. Normally she was so laid back that she rarely said more than a few words strung together. Before, the only time I had heard her speak more than a few words had been when I had gotten her to talk about a subject she was reading about.

  The faint scent of popcorn wafted in the usually leather and ink dominated room. I turned to see Carl-Jack walk up beside me, his trade-marked cane tucked under an arm. In his hands was a box of what looked to be fresh popcorn. He smiled at me. “It is most entertaining to watch a cat fight, is it not?”

  My brows rose at that. I glanced uneasily at the two women who were still arguing about the merits of following library protocol after death. I don’t think they heard him… I turned back to Carl-Jack. “I’d rather not say,” I replied hesitantly.


  Carl-Jack chuckled. “Ah my lad, you are a wise one… especially for one so young. But you’ll understand that openly enjoying a cat fight can lead to lots of fun later on, if you know what I mean.” He said with a waggle of his eyebrows. I was really questioning his sanity… was that how he had ended up dead? Though curious, I still felt it too rude to ask. Carl-Jack turned his attention back to the two women. He grabbed a handful of popcorn and popped it in his mouth. He munched happily. He offered me the popcorn. I blinked, not sure if I should even bother reaching for it since I could kind of see through it. “Oh! Sorry, Kel lad.” Carl-Jack said pulling the popcorn away again. “I forgot you wouldn’t be able to eat it.”

  “Carl-Jack! What have we said about eating down here?” Both Mary and Rosa snapped when they caught the scent of popcorn. As I figured they would, they banded together against the poor man… though to even the odds we would likely need twenty men. Since we didn’t have that many and I didn’t want any part of it, I edged away as discreetly as I could.

  Innocently still eating his popcorn, Carl-Jack smiled at the two women. “You’re both so cute when you’re mad.”

  It was like he had added dry tinder to an already dangerous blaze. The two women swept toward him. Carl-Jack held up a hand and said, “no fighting in the Library now. And especially not in front of witnesses.” He said with a pointed look in my direction. I almost wailed that he not drag me down with him.

  But, surprisingly, his words had the desired effect. Both women stopped, straightened their attire and backed away. Though they did glare at him, which made me think he was in for a world of hurt when I left.

  “I apologize, Kel. It has been a trying couple of days.” Mary said with a slight blush of embarrassment staining her cheeks.

  “For you and me both.” I agreed before asking “how, if you don’t mind me asking, has it been trying for you?”

  A truly haunted look entered the quiet woman’s eyes. Rosa touched Mary’s shoulder and shook her head. Turning to me she said, “The Espiramora are a sight to see, but Mary is concerned they might decide that we should find our peace and move to the next plane of existence.”

  “There is too much we have yet to accomplish,” Mary added, the haunted look still in her eyes.

  I frowned. “The Espirimora can do that?”

  “Anyone with ability in Spirit magic can,” Rosa said.

  “But we don’t want to go! Not yet. Still so much…” Mary exclaimed before muttering to herself, pacing.

  I blinked at her outburst, but I could understand better now. Suddenly having a group of individuals who could send you packing to the mysterious beyond when you didn’t want to go there would be more than nerve-wracking. I glanced away about the quiet archives. It felt kind of wrong to ask them for help when Mary was so worried about something else… but then again, it could serve as a distraction.

  “Kel, me-lado, you have that look on your face again,” Carl Jack said around some more popcorn he was still eating.

  “What look?”

  “The one that says there is something on your mind, but you are unsure whether or not you should bring it up.”

  “What is it, Kel?” Rosa asked with her arms folded across her chest and her head tilted curiously.

  “Can you help me find information on something?” I asked hesitantly.

  Mary stopped her pacing and turned to me resolutely. “Of course. On what do you seek information on?”

  “Shadekin.”

  For the first time ever they looked as pale as ghosts. Which was ironic considering that they were ghosts.

  Carl-Jack cleared his throat. “That’s an evil thing to be researching, Kel me-lad.”

  I knew that. How could I not know that? I nodded. “One has been… haunting me. ‘Hunting’ might be a better word for it. The High Zeineng suggested a search of the library be conducted, but since the Espirimora have arrived, I think they are all a bit distracted. I had never known what he was called until very recently, and I was thinking the more information I had, the better.”

  “Wise.” Remarked Mary. A sad look entered her expression.

  Rosa and Carl-Jack had similar expressions now. Rosa bit her lip before meeting my gaze again. “I am sorry, Kel. But we have known of the darkness that clung to you. We knew what it was and have been trying to find any reference to it for the last several years.”

  “There are books chronicling the Wars with the Abyss. But those are limited to, for obvious reasons, what people on this side experienced.” Carl-Jack added before telling me of what they had found. “The enemy soldiers: Scythewings, bird-like enemies with bug-like heads and scythe-like wings and sharp talons and beaks were prevalent. Like foot soldiers. Nightmare beasts and Darkkin made up the rest of the forces. Though there were Dark Sons, mortals who chose to serve and then gave their souls to the monsters that rule the Abyss. According to the written accounts, their forms changed to match whatever they had given themselves to. Damned for sure.” Carl-Jack shivered. “But deadly. Their power could lay waste to an army in moments. It was a blessing there were not that many of them during each of the wars. “

  “Don’t forget about the Keath.” Rosa cut in. “If the Scythewings were foot soldiers, these were the dragon knights. Some even rode nightmare beasts into battle. They were vicious. Only the most skilled of Elmoran warriors and dragon knights could best them… given enough time and luck.”

  “Those wars were devastating, Kel. Only by the determination and faith of those who were fighting are we still free.” Mary told me.

  “But in all of our research.” Carl-Jack said picking the conversation back up, “We have found nothing that explains what the Shadekin are or how to fight them. It is only after death that we ever even heard the name ‘shadekin.’”

  I frowned “what about ‘corruptor?’

  Rosa shook her head. “Again, there isn’t very much. Only that every elemental they touch becomes an agent of the Abyss. Disaster always strikes when that happens. An elemental’s strength is the only thing that determines how bad the catastrophe is. Is it local? Or does it change the landscape? The climate?”

  “That’s where the Solzien and Terrazien mages are quite handy. They are pros at containing and cleansing or destroying that threat. Elmora help for the truly nasty ones, but mostly leave that to mortal mages. Their focus has always been on protecting the world from the Abyss.” Carl-Jack said.

  Their words reminded me of something Nimla had said yesterday. I rifled through my memory for a few moments before finding it. “I am sorry that we couldn’t do anything to help you ourselves,” Nimla had said “my people and I… It’s just that if the Shadekin got ahold of one of us very bad things would happen. Other elementals are bad, but a spirit elemental corrupted by one such as he… It would have been catastrophic.”

  “I don’t think Solzien or Terrazien mages deal with spirit elementals. I’ve never heard of it, anyway… Nimla said that a corrupted spirit elemental would be far worse than other elementals?”

  My three ghostly friends nodded, looking grave. “She is not wrong. And you are right, Solzien and Terrazien mages are powerless against a spirit elemental. Can’t even see them.”

  I’m probably very slow, but something that probably should have clicked a while ago finally did just then. “Just like they can do nothing against the Shadekin… or see you… or Nimla and her people.”

  The three nodded again. “Exactly. Only those with access to spirit magic can do anything.” Mary said.

  “Like the Espiramora,” I stated. Another thought edged at my consciousness. One I wasn’t quite ready to acknowledge, but it didn’t want to be ignored anymore. “Then… why can I see you? I’m a son of the Plavea family. I’m going to be a plant mage.”

  Mary, Rosa, and Carl-Jack shared a look. Rosa and Carl-Jack shrugged. Mary turned to me. “You will discover, Kel, that there are plans and expectations… and then there is life.”

  “What? Are you saying I’
m going to be a spirit mage?” I laughed, shaking my head. “I can’t be. It isn’t possible. Plant mages beget plant mages. Metal mages beget metal mages. It is the same for every type of mage.”

  “Then how can you see us? Or the Sha’meir?”

  “Or can see an evil that only one with spirit magic could do anything about…” I added. Then I shook my head sharply. “No. I’m a plant mage.” I said turning away. But I wasn’t as sure anymore.

  I did what I always did when I’m unsure. I started to research spirit magic.

  Chapter 19

  Several unfruitful hours later Nimla formed beside me. “KEL! Something bad has happened!” She said trying to pull me away from the books I was getting a little eyesore reading. “Come! Come! You must hurry!”

  “What has happened?” I asked rising and following her urging. I ran after her as she flew up the stairs to the rest of the library.

  “The blind ones who were with you in the Old Wood are in terrible danger.” She said glancing back at me. She couldn’t go as quickly as she wanted when we got to the better lit upper library. She shrank into my shadow. I slowed down as to not disturb the few who were in the library.

  Uncle Lyrel glanced up as I passed. “Where are you off to, Kel?”

  “They don’t yet know something has happened. Word has not yet reached them.” Nimla cautioned.

  With that in my ears, I paused before Uncle Lyrel’s desk and went for slightly embarrassed. “Just realized I forgot something at the House. I’ll be back though.” Uncle Lyrel nodded in understanding, and I left as quickly as possible.

  “How are Teilnon and Ferna in danger?” I whispered to Nimla.

  “They ventured someplace they shouldn’t. Ferna is trapped. The other managed to escape that trap and was on his way back to your family’s estate. The rest of my kin were shadowing him. He should make it there soon.”