by Marc Johnson
I was going to have to do this and be strong without her. I could do it as long as I remembered why I was doing it.
I pulled the doors open, and we entered. Torches illuminated a giant, hollow chamber—a perfect wizards’ place. A low haze of magic settled around me. It was strongest here in the central chamber because of the council’s constant presence. A huge stone table sat on an elevated dais, and behind it, three wooden chairs. There were no windows to let natural light into this artificial cave, nor were there any guards. Not that the council would need them, with all their magical might.
I stared at the chairs, wondering why there were only three. There should have been six chairs, one representing each of the six manas. Did they divide the council so that each side ruled from a strategic area, or so that they would not all be vulnerable to one attack? Or was it something more?
I clenched my fists in frustration. There was so much I was missing that I had to know. Without the proper information, I could foul things up. I took a deep breath and let my hands relax, reminding myself that that was what I was here to see the council for.
Three people filed out from an open doorway behind the chairs, their hoods draped over their faces. The three wizards were each clothed in the color of their strongest mana: white, red, and green. Their robes swirled with life, the colors crawling over the fabric. I had never seen such a thing before. Stradus was right. A wizard’s robes become part of a master wizard. I briefly grasped the sides of my black robes. My robes weren’t alive like theirs, and I was supposed to be some kind of chosen one. Yet Stradus’s robes hadn’t been like theirs either. He was a powerful wizard in his own right. How much more powerful were these three?
The life wizard and the earth wizard carried long wooden staffs to amplify and focus their power. The fire wizard didn’t. They took their seats and kept their hoods on. I wasn’t able to see their faces clearly, but I glimpsed their eyes.
All their eyes glowed with a solid color—the color of the mana they were strongest in—a sign of pure mastery. I extended my wizard senses, and the power and magic seeping from them almost dropped me to my knees. I had seen both Stradus’s and Premier’s eyes solidify like that, but only briefly while they fought. No magic was being performed here. It was their natural state. It was like a hurricane wind scraping against my skin, and there was no shelter for me to hide in.
“Wizard Hellsfire,” the white wizard said, his voice calm, soothing, and full of life like the mana he’d mastered. Hearing him speak, I no longer felt as tired or nervous as I was. “You have an unusual name. Did you come up with it by yourself, or did your former master give it to you when you became a wizard?”
“It‘s my name,” I said.
He nodded, misunderstanding what I meant. “It’s good to see some of the old ways are still alive.”
“It’s a perfect name for you,” the red wizard said, his voice full of anger, strength, and—well—fire. “I feel your fire, and it’s strong. Most wizards these days do not take a name, Wizard Hellsfire. They merely keep their own and drop their surname.”
I nodded. They knew my name and whatever information Dylan had already told them, yet they’d told me nothing of themselves. I cleared my throat. “What are your names?”
“You will show the council some respect,” the green wizard said. Her voice was low, yet full of menace. Her deep, thick, commanding voice was as rough and jagged as the earth.
“Forgive us, Hellsfire,” the white wizard said. His voice soothed and calmed me. “Some of us still need our beauty sleep.” He pulled back his hood, exposing a short gray beard and frizzy hair to match. “I am Ardonis. Helios is fire and Nairi is earth.”
The other two pulled back their hoods and nodded in greeting, though Nairi’s nod was shallow. Helios was the youngest of the three. His pure red and orange eyes matched his hair and freckles. No longer hiding in the concealment of his hood, he wasn’t as intimidating. He couldn’t have been more than a few years older than I. That didn’t mean he wasn’t a force to be reckoned with, especially since he didn’t carry a staff to focus his power. I was curious as to why one so young was on the Elemental Council and where the other three were.
Nairi was the oldest of the three. Her big-boned body made her the most imposing of the council. Her sagging face reminded me of an aged dog, and she looked as tough as one. Her green eyes glowered at me.
“Thank you, Council,” I said and bowed.
“Now that the pleasantries are out of the way,” Nairi said, “can we get to the point? We need to know if what Hellsfire says is true.”
“We know you’re tired from your travels,” Ardonis said, “but we have to know if you’re truly from what you call Northern Shala, and what you can tell us.”
I stood firm and held my head high. “As you wish. But then you must tell us of what’s been happening down here, and of this war of yours. And you must help us find our friends.”
“We’re not to be ordered around,” Nairi said. “You tell us what we want to know, and then we’ll see what we can do.”
“No. That’s not how this works. You help us. We help you.”
Nairi didn’t say anything. She didn’t need to. Under my feet, the building rumbled. Bits of rock fell from the ceiling, striking the floor.
“Nairi, please,” Ardonis said. “He’s not under our command. He’s a fellow wizard.” The rumbling ceased, but Nairi continued to glare at me. “We’ll see what we can do for you, Hellsfire, but no promises. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
I let the words flow from me, careful not to say too much. We told them where we were from and that we were explorers into Southern Shala, seeking to establish trade. They weren’t interested in that. They were more interested in me bringing down the Great Barrier, along with my training and who my master was. Nairi chuckled when I told them about Stradus. She once knew ‘the pig-headed dreamer,’ as she called him.
When I told them there weren’t as many in wizards in Northern Shala as there were here, I thought they would be sad to hear that fact. They said they were, but their voices and bright eyes betrayed them. They seemed excited. It worried me that it might be because of a desire to use Northern Shala’s resources to help fund their war and not because the land was open once more.
The council wanted to question me specifically because they had felt no disturbance when the barrier fell. Nairi said it was completely different from when it went up. That she had nearly toppled over from the magic used to create it. She had always thought it would be the same way if it were ever to come down.
I then warned the council about Premier and of his plan for revenge, but they dismissed him as a threat. I knew they were the council, but they shouldn’t have underestimated such a wily foe as Premier, and one who had had access to the remnants of Renak’s magic. But as was soon pointed out to me, he was just one wizard against many, and an army as well.
Lastly, I spoke of Renak’s threat and the gods’ war. As with Premier, they didn’t take that seriously.
“You can’t trust him,” Helios said. “He is the Great Deceiver.”
Nairi waved her hand. “Is that what he told you? That he erected the barrier to stop some fabled war of the gods? He did it because we were about to crush him. Plain and simple.”
Ardonis leaned back. “Yes, there is no war of the gods, and we’ve not heard of any person of immense power. If there was, we would have recruited him. Or the other side would have.”
“But—”
“Please, Hellsfire,” he said. “We have more important matters to discuss. I give you my word that we will take Renak’s warning under consideration, but until we see tangible proof, we can’t take this as more than another one of his lies.”
I bit the inside of my cheek. They were the Elemental Council, but they didn’t understand anything! They hadn’t fought against Premier and seen that even in a weakened state, he had contingency plans. They hadn’t seen the panic and fear that was in the le
gendary Renak’s eyes. Whatever their war was about, it clouded their judgment.
I stopped talking shortly after that. My voice was hoarse and I wanted to know more about them. I was surprised they asked so many questions about me and the magic I had seen and done. They didn’t press hard to find out much about Alexandria, Erlam, or Sharald, which I didn’t understand. Those cities were far more valuable than I was. They had vast resources, armies, and supplies. I was just a wizard.
I glanced at Jastillian and remembered what I had been through and done. I was a wizard who not only knew of Northern Shala, but one who had journeyed to the Wastelands and brought down the Great Barrier. I recalled my former master’s words about me being a chosen one. That might be why they were so interested in me.
But I knew I couldn’t ask these people for help with my power, or Krystal’s curse. I couldn’t be indebted to them, no matter how much I wanted to help her. There would have to be another way. With Southern Shala open, I would find it. There were bound to be wizards not involved in the war.
Helios and Ardonis then led the discussion and gave us some information. Nairi was reluctant to do so, even though we didn’t ask for much. We were stunned by what we learned about the people of Southern Shala.
Some called their current war the Second War of the Wizards; others called it a civil war. It began after the War of the Wizards. Things heated up in Southern Shala, or Tyree, as they still called it, because of the Great Barrier. After several failed attempts to get through the barrier or around the Coast of Delia, arguments broke out between two opposing camps. One side blamed Renak, because it was he who had started the war and erected the barrier. They said it was all his fault that the land was split in two. It wasn’t long before those two groups became heated and blood was drawn. Then war was declared.
The west side of the land and the city we were in, Romenia, believed in Shala and what he fought for. They despised Renak for what he had done and said that those in the east, and particularly the other half of the council in the city of Ashton, were fools for believing in Renak. When I asked how that happened, they said that there had always been a few who sympathized with Renak. But they had started to believe the lies Renak spoke. As the horrors of the war passed and people’s memories faded, they started to believe those lies.
I doubted things were so cut and dried and that this story was the complete truth, but this was what this half of the council believed. No matter the reasons why, the fighting continued to this day.
What shocked me was that the council had split, and no longer represented all the wizards. That was why there were only three of them here. Some wizards, witches, and sorcerers did their best to stay out of it, hiding if need be. They didn’t want to be involved in another war. However, there were still many who followed the councils on both sides.
Aside from humans, the western army primarily had centaurs, ogres, and gnomes while the east had dwarves, goblins, and elves. There were a few stragglers in each race that backed the other side, which was why Jastillian didn’t stand out too much, and his colors helped us blend in. If we had gone east, we would have been in big trouble with his red armor.
They said the few Wasteland creatures left over from the war had been given a choice. They could either die or try to assimilate into society. Most died, but a few were able to adapt. I shouldn’t have been surprised after meeting Kemek and Baal, but I still had a hard time letting go of the childhood stories that said they were nothing but mindless, savage brutes.
I rubbed my eyes and stifled a yawn. We had been up half the night, trading information, and I was tired. I thought we were through, but there was still one more thing they wanted to ask me.
“Will you join us, Hellsfire?” Ardonis asked, leaning forward.
“Yes, we could use your magic,” Nairi said. “With your expertise about Northern Shala and the fact that you brought down the Great Barrier, we could end this war quickly. You could lead us into Northern Shala—”
“As part of an invasion force?” I asked, raising my eyebrow.
“As a liaison,” Ardonis said. “Or a guide or ambassador. You would be key, Hellsfire, and play a very important part in things to come.”
I stared at the council. I couldn’t believe what they were asking me to do. I didn’t come here to be in a war. I came here to warn them about Premier and Renak’s threat, to ask for help in understanding my powers, and to find a cure for Krystal.
“I’m just one wizard,” I said. “What can I do?”
“The fire’s strong in you, Hellsfire,” Helios said. “Join us and I’ll help you unlock your full potential.”
Helios could have helped me with my powers. I sensed his eagerness and I knew I could have bargained with them. If I helped them with what they wanted, they would have helped me with Renak’s curse. But that’s not what the princess would have wanted. She would have never forgiven me for making such a bargain.
“I’m sorry,” I said, shaking my head. “I can’t do it.”
“I can’t say we’re not disappointed,” Ardonis said. “But as a sign of good faith, we’ll give you any information we can find about your friends and help you search for them. We would hate for anything to happen to them.”
I was almost thankful for that, until I realized the meaning behind his seemingly sincere tone. Would this war council use my friends as bargaining chips to get what they wanted? I stared into their colorful eyes and knew they would.
I struggled to control my magic as I thought of them using Krystal in that way. Something drew the dark fire closer to the surface. I couldn’t tell whether it was being in proximity to the council or the fact that they were willing to use innocent bystanders for their foolish war.
I swallowed and closed my eyes, feeling a drip of sweat run down my brow. Now was not the time for me to lose control. But the dark flame within me didn’t want to go away. It wasn’t just feeding off my emotions this time. Something else was drawing it out. But what? Was it the council?
I steadied my breathing and tried to balance myself. I gritted my teeth and bowed my head. “Thank you for sharing information, Council. We would appreciate any help you could give us.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider our offer, Hellsfire?” Nairi asked, her intense, green eyes flashing.
“I—”
“He’s tired,” Ardonis said. “We all are. It’s been a long night and our guests could use some rest. In the morning, things might be different.”
“Very well,” Nairi said. “We’ll have our guards show you to your rooms for the night. Get some rest.”
“Good night,” Helios said.
“Good night, Council.” I bowed my head, concealing my twitching eyes.
As soon as we left the chambers, the dark fire receded. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and breathed easier. I shook my head. It probably had to do with the lack of a warm bed, hard travels, my lost friends, and being in the presence of that much raw magical power.
A pair of guards escorted us to our rooms. The rooms were like the rest of the castle—grimy and in disarray. The torn curtains covered only half the window, and the dresser was tilted, both legs missing on one side.
Guards stood outside our doors, but allowed us to move freely to each other’s rooms. Rebekah and Jastillian came and huddled in mine.
“You don’t plan on joining them, do you?” Rebekah asked me.
“I thought about it,” I said and paused. “I might have agreed, if they could help us find the others and cure the princess. But it isn’t what she would have wanted.”
“Quite right.”
“What do we do now?” I asked. “We can’t stay here, and I’m not joining their war.” I sighed. “If only we had more information. We learned one side of the story, but I doubt they’ll let us go to the other side to learn theirs. And they would be just as biased as these people are. I fear that by bringing down the Great Barrier, I may have broken whatever stalemate these people had.” I
ran my fingers through my hair. “What’s our next move?”
Jastillian grinned. “We escape, lad.”
“When?”
“Tonight. It’s only opportunity.”
“What about the council and the other wizards?” Rebekah asked.
“Hellsfire can handle them.” Jastillian smirked and clasped my shoulder. I couldn’t help grinning, even though I didn’t agree with him. “You look exhausted, lad.”
I did my best not to yawn. “No more than either of you.”
“We still have a little more time before dawn breaks. Let’s get two hours rest. I have a feeling we’re going to need it.”
----
Jastillian and Rebekah came two hours later. I struggled to break my coma-like slumber. I knew I should have been ready, but with a belly full of food and a warm, if lumpy bed, it was hard not to succumb to sleep.
Rebekah and Jastillian had taken care of the guards outside our rooms. We backtracked our way out of the castle. We knew we should have gone through a side exit, or maybe even a servants’ exit, but we couldn’t spend time searching the place.
Jastillian took the lead, his superior eyesight guiding us through the dimly lit corridors. I used air magic to try to listen for noises and avoid anyone wandering around. I had to use as little as possible lest the council or another wizard feel my magic.
As we crept through the darkened hallways, what bothered me the most was that we ran into no one. There wasn’t a single guard or servant. No one was about. It was as if the entire castle was dead. There should have been more activity if this was the heart of their operations for the war.
We reached the entrance and peeked around the corner. We expected to have to deal with the four guards we saw earlier, but no one was there. I examined the area for magic and didn’t find anything. We cautiously skulked forward into the moonlight.
I allowed myself a glimmer of hope. I thought we might not only get out of Romenia, but that by the time they realized we were missing, we would have too much of a start for them to catch us.
