by Greg Curtis
But why did he have them at all? That was the question.
When Elodie had made her sending, it had seemed like a good plan. A way of getting the magic from the Heartfire out into the rest of the shadow worlds when no one could go to the Temple anymore. So he'd agreed readily enough. But now that they were here and he'd had time to think about it, it had occurred to him that they wouldn't really help anything. There was only one person with the gift around, and that was him. And he was only going to use these thrones once every six months. So apart from making it possible for him to use the thrones without being killed by wandering through the primordial darkness as he travelled to them, what good were they? Little. And seven hours of just standing in his yard, concentrating on the casting, had nearly left him on the ground. Even now, two days later, his head still throbbed.
Still it had been an impressive cast, and he was pleased with himself for having managed it.
But he didn't have time to bask in his success as he heard the sound of hooves beating hard against the ground and realised he had a visitor. He looked up and half a minute later saw a rider gallop into his yard, and watched a man dismount in a desperate panic having raced all the way from Charlton. He guessed something had happened there, and it worried him. Stonely was already gone. And Charlton was where his family lived. He couldn't lose both towns.
“What's happened?” he asked even as the man – Pallas from the town guard – came running towards him.
“Mammoths!” the guard yelled a little hysterically at him. “Bloody great mammoths!”
“Damn!” Chy hadn't expected that. But he was relieved that it was something so simple. Mammoths he could handle. He wasn't worried by the mammoths so much as by where they'd come from. He'd seen them before as he'd travelled the road to the Temple in the days before he'd learned to portal. They were creatures native to the endless forest. Which meant the primordial darkness had spread into it. That was bad. Exactly as Elodie had said it was.
“Go back and make sure everyone keeps their distance from them. No loud noises or sudden movements. And definitely don't shoot them. It'll just annoy them. Mammoths are peaceful creatures – as long as you don't upset them. I'll be there shortly.” And with that he headed inside to get his coat and his good boots, while the guard mounted back up and rode off in another frantic dash.
A minute later Chy was out on his patio again, and about to head off when a thought occurred to him. He was no longer hiding his gift – so why did he have to walk? And the truth was, he suddenly realised, he didn't. He couldn't use his portal, because he'd never created another one in Charlton. But that didn't mean he had to walk.
Chy stepped out into the middle of his front yard and summoned the wind, and then he started spinning it around him like a mini-tornado, before he let it lift him off the ground. And just as he had been the last time he'd used this casting, he found himself pleased with the magic. It wasn't so good for his laundry which was flapping crazily on the line – and some of it came free as he watched, falling to the ground and blowing away – but he was still flying! And he solved the laundry problem by rising higher into the sky.
Soon he was hundreds of paces up, looking down on his home and his property and wondering at how small it was. He'd never seen it from this vantage point before. But he couldn't just hover there and stare at it, much as he might want to. He had to get to Charlton before things fell apart.
So he leaned forwards a little to direct the mini-tornado and started heading in the direction of the town.
The wind was fast, and even though a man on a horse wasn't so quick, he still found himself pleased by the speed with which he overtook the town guard. And by the way the man stopped galloping and just looked up at him as he raced by overhead. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing that people now knew about his gift.
And anyone who didn't would soon find out he realised as he raced by over other houses and farms and watched the people below pointing at him. Some ran for cover. Some just stood there and stared at him. But fairly much everyone saw him.
So too did a party of elves he spotted from above, heading in the direction of the town. A hunting party he guessed from the bows they were carrying. There had been gossip that there were people with pointed ears in the woods, but until then he hadn't been sure. There were all sorts of stories abounding, including tales of flying pigs. Nothing was certain any more – except of course for the fact that anything could happen. They were living on the edge of chaos. Trying to maintain order in the midst of a storm.
And yet, the sky wasn't so yellow as it had once been. Not since the thrones had arrived. There was some order returning to the chaos of the magic.
Fifteen minutes later Charlton was in sight and he could see the problem for himself. Several dozen mammoths had wandered into the town and were busy helping themselves to the produce on sale in the market while the people were taking shelter wherever they could find it. A couple of shops and a few houses looked to have been damaged with walls hanging at strange angles, but none had fallen over, which was good. Still the carpenters were going to be busy in the coming weeks.
One problem at a time though. And his problem began with the mammoths. They surprised him for their size. He'd thought they would be more or less like elephants. He hadn't really been able to judge their sizes when he'd been walking the road to the Temple. Distance was always a problem in the endless forest. But they were twice the height of the elephants he was used to. They stood surely fifteen feet at the shoulders, had thickets full of tusks poking out of their mouths, great coats of hair and stupid ears that were actually too large for them.
But they were peaceful. His senses told him that. For the moment they were content, simply eating their fill from the market stalls, and not even worrying about the two legged creatures all around. But then why would they? Nothing could harm them. Not people with bows and arrows and not those with guns. Even the great wheeled things with steam puffing out of their stacks, were nothing to them. For the moment their main challenge was simply keeping their stomachs full.
He actually found he liked the creatures as he descended to the streets. They were sort of cute in a slightly scary way. But of course they didn't belong in a town.
Neither did tornadoes no matter how small they were, and as he descended to the dirt street dust was whipped up from it and sent flying everywhere. People yelled and ran to get away from it. Windows rattled in their frames and washing was blown off lines. Maybe he should have chosen a more discrete method of transport he thought as he stepped off the spinning column of air and on to the ground. But then again, now they knew he was a wizard.
Strangely though, the mammoths didn't. They were too big to care about a little wind. Just as they were too big to stay in town. Thankfully he had a solution for them. Bosun's Lake. No one lived there and there were plenty of trees and long grasses for them to eat. Better still it was a good five or six leagues from Charlton
And it wasn't that hard to command them either. All he had to do was find the matriarch of the herd, and put the image of the lake and the promise of abundant food in her head, and she was off with a snort, bringing the rest of the herd with her. Of course he had to go with her or she'd become distracted – probably by other delicious looking food – which meant he was walking again. But that was alright. The mammoths were under control for the moment and no one had been hurt.
“Alright, I'm going to take them to Bosun's Lake,” he called to the nearest of the town guards as he started walking. “They should be content to stay there for a while. As long as there's food to eat and no one bothers them.”
“You can command them?” the man called back, his face filled with disbelief and maybe a little bit of horror. But then his clothes were coated in dirt from the wind storm.
“Command them? No. But I can guide them a little bit. Put thoughts in their heads. And as long as no one upsets them or distracts them.”
“Upsets them?”
“By say s
hooting at them. You startle them and it'll be a stampede and then there'll be the Great Beast to pay.”
“Oh!” The man turned pale as he tried to pat the dirt out of his coat.
“Just stand back and let me lead them away. Calmly.”
The guard did as he said, backing away and waving to his fellow guards to do the same. It wasn't that he trusted him Chy knew. It was that when he looked at the size of the beasts and then at his rifle, he realised it wasn't going to be of any use. If the crazy man with magic could lead them away, he liked that better than being caught in a stampede. And who was going to refuse a wizard anyway?!
The mammoths liked his plan too. They were more than content to follow their matriarch to their new feeding ground. And she was sure she could smell the distant feeding ground. Chy smiled to himself. This was going well he thought as he led the huge beasts out of Charlton.
But of course every success had to be tempered with troubles. And in his case that trouble arrived in the form of an elf maiden who turned up just as he was leading the herd out of the town and across the farm lands. And soon after the rest of the party joined her.
She was a noble woman he realised immediately. Even among her people she stood out because of her robes. They were designed to show power and importance. And thanks to the long slits in them, to let her ride a horse or a unicorn. But she also had a sash across her front with some sort of heraldic badge on it. That fairly much told him she was no commoner.
“So you're what passes for a wizard in this land?” She asked in a somewhat haughty voice.
“Just a man with a gift,” he answered her, keeping his concentration on the mammoths.
“Never-the-less you'd think a man of importance would dress better.”
Chy stared at her in disbelief, wondering if she'd actually said that. And it took a moment or two for him to think of an answer. “You do know that the end of the world – of all worlds – is bearing down upon us all? And you're worried about how I dress? Have you taken leave of your senses?!”
“I am Lady Lialle De Clara of the Clara Legacy.” She stood up straight and proved herself to be a full inch or two taller than him. “Do not mock me human.”
“I am not mocking you,” he replied – though perhaps he had been a little. “I just find your priorities a little strange.”
“But in any case, I am no man of importance here. And there is no Clara Legacy here either. This is the human world of Althern and your titles have no meaning here. And as for me I have no station and no title.”
“You're a commoner?” She stared at him in surprise. “With magic?”
“I polish rocks to earn my coin. Magic is of no great value here. Or it wasn't until now.” He took a breath to give himself time to think about what he needed to say. And what he decided was that he needed to say as little as possible. The dwarves had been enough trouble. And from what he'd heard they were still making more trouble in the town, drinking and fighting. Some of that was surely being blamed on him. He didn't need any more trouble.
“So how may I help you Lady?”
“You can send us home.”
“No. I can't. I'm sorry.” He let out a heavy breath. Of course that was what they would want. The same as the dwarves. And naturally, he could do nothing for them. “But that is beyond my ability.” But really he thought, he would like to – if only so that he didn't have to deal with her.
“You can't create portals?”
“I can create portals. But in order to create one, I have to be somewhere else and then create a portal there that links back to my other portals. This is Althern and I have never even been to Thiessen, and I would have to go there in order to create a portal linking back here.” A thought occurred to him. Her skin wasn't coppery. “You are from Thiessen?”
“Lall,” she replied.
“Ahh, so you're a sun elf. My apologies. But I've never been there either.” There were four races of elves, and they each had their own world just as the different races of giants did too. He didn't understand that. Not really. All the elves were quite similar. And the sun elves and the copper elves were extremely similar, at least to his eyes. Wood elves he could pick out as their skin was brown instead of coppery or golden. And the high elves had brown eyes and extremely arched eyebrows. But why did each group of elves get their own world? Why were they so special? And why did humans have only one? Something about that didn't strike him as fair.
“The mistake is forgiven.” The Lady stared at him suspiciously, but held her tongue for a time. Unfortunately she could not hold it forever. “Is it a question of coin?”
“It is not a matter of coin or anything else except the practical limitations of magic. At least my magic. If you want to find a portal back to your home, you will have to find someone with the gift who has come from your world and has a portal there. He or she will then be able to create a new portal here that will link back to it. To create a new portal at a distance, in another world, when I have never even been there would require more than I am capable of. You would need someone or something far greater than me.”
“I'm just a man with a gift.”
He thought about adding that with the way things were progressing, soon enough she wouldn't even have a world to return to. But then he thought that that might be too cruel. The woman was annoying, but that was no reason to upset her further.
“Then we are trapped here?”
“For a time. But eventually others of your people will surely arrive and some will have gifts. Until then you will just have to make do.” Then a thought occurred to him. “Do you have none among your number with the gift?” And he understood that the elves, no matter which world they came from, were very magical. Few used the Temple – they had their academies and what have you – but still the gifts were common.
“Two. An aunt and her niece. But they have little training and have largely used their magic only to aide them in their artistry.”
“Then if they are willing, send them to me, please. I will see if I can help them advance in the gift.”
“You are a teacher?” The Lady stared at him in surprise.
“No. There are no teachers of the gift in this realm. No academies, no masters or apprentices either. But I have been to the Heartfire Temple a great many times, and now I have the ability to let others make that connection even here.”
“That is the old way. A relic. Few make that journey any more. Training in the academies is far superior.”
“That may be. But we have no academy.” Did he really have to point out the obvious? Again? And yet it reminded him of what some of the other elves he'd met had said. That they were only intending to visit the Temple once. Simply as proof that they had the gift – so they could gain a place in an academy. And they'd all been young as he recalled.
So how much better was an academy? He had to wonder. Or was it not so much that it was better as it was that it didn't come with the pain? Maybe one day, assuming they survived this, he would try to find out.
For the moment though, he had mammoths to lead and elves to talk to. And he also had to make sure he didn't trip over his own feet as the ground became rough underfoot. They'd left the road. But at least the entire herd was following them.
“I will consider your suggestion,” the Lady finally replied. “But it seems so … crude.”
It probably was crude, Chy thought. Compared to sitting in a chair with paper and pen and listening to educated people explaining the details of magic. But it worked and he had no complaints. And in any case it didn't matter for the moment.
“There is already a group of dwarves from the Cupris Clanhold staying in the town. They and a giant scorpion they were battling came through some time ago and now also cannot return. But apart from the drinking and brawling, they seem to be adjusting to their days in this realm. Perhaps you should speak to the Mayor – Mayor Barkins – and find yourself and your people a place to stay. There are boarding houses.” But he wasn't sure how many
of them would have rooms left. Many had been filled by the survivors of Stonely, some of whom had settled in Charlton.
“We have seen them – from a distance. They are an uncouth people.” She wrinkled up her regal nose a little at the thought of them.
“That they are,” he agreed. “That they truly are.” And yet if he was honest he had a little admiration for them. They might be short, but they let nothing and no one brow beat them. And they would never back away from a fight with anyone. Not even with a dragon. The spirit in their hearts towered like that of giants.
“Lady, how are things in your world? As filled with chaos as they are becoming here?”
