The Making of a Mage King: Prince in Hiding

by Anna L. Walls

  Sean could think of nothing, absolutely nothing, in all of his life to help him become a king; nothing to help him manage an entire country.

  As the day progressed, the clouds broke up and disappeared without producing the rain they had promised during the night. By the time they came to a village, all the clouds had cleared away. With the intention of spending the next day stocking supplies, they checked into the one scruffy little inn the village had to offer.

  Sean wondered at the way the villagers shied away from them when they came into town. There were several pointed fingers, and some people simply hurried away just short of running. Even the innkeeper was nervous, but he took their coins and led Cisco in to show them where they would sleep.

  When the stable master came around, he flat refused to go anywhere near Prince. The horse’s wounds had all been healed completely, but he was at least three or four years old, and if what Errol had said was true, he had been tortured at least half of that time; there was a lot of scar tissue that Sean couldn’t touch. Eventually, he hoped hair would grow and cover most of it, but until then, he looked rather ghoulish. But the horse was behaving himself so Sean wasn’t too worried about him. However, no assurances would change the stable master’s mind.

  He took one look and said, “You just take ‘im to the last stall on the right. I’ll make sure you kin find whatever your need. I won’t have nothin’ to do with ‘im.” And then he strode off back to his barn.

  As everyone pulled their bedrolls from Prince’s saddle and went into the inn, the sky began to turn almost as dark as night. Sean looked up and saw not only a solar eclipse in progress, but also two moons. He had never seen an eclipse before, so he watched with fascination. Others watched too; most of the villagers stopped what they were doing and looked up at the heavenly development, but then they sank to the ground. Cowering as low as they could without actually laying on the ground, they covered their heads with their arms.

  When the sun became totally obscured behind the darker moon, even Gordon and Ferris sank to their knees, though they went no farther. Errol was the exception; he moved between Larry and Sean and stood just as straight as they did with his eyes glued on the celestial event.

  When it began to pass, Sean nudged Errol and nodded to some of the villagers. “Why do they do that?” he whispered.

  Errol glanced at him, frowning. “They pray that the world will not come to an end,” he replied softly. “They pray that the Dark Lord will turn his eyes elsewhere quickly.”

  “Why didn’t you…?”

  Errol once again looked back up at the moons. “The Dark Lord has already consumed my heart. He can hurt me no more.”

  Sean remembered Errol’s loss, and his folly. Errol didn’t know his mistake. No one knew how he had failed one pretty young woman. Telling himself that he had run out of magic didn’t make him feel any better. He quickly turned from Errol to hide the tears that had started down his face again. I am too damn emotional lately.

  He found himself face-to-face with an old woman. Sean dashed the tears from his face, but a good deal of the light had already returned and she saw them; in fact, she might have been looking for them.

  She pointed and cried out in a high-pitched, scratchy voice:

  “He will come with the Dark Lord’s gaze and sorrow will streak his face.

  “He rides Terror, and Revenge will fight beside him.

  “He wields an ancient blade and Death will shadow his steps.

  “His magic is in his blood and he will do what cannot be done.

  “He will fill the sky with fire and the hearts of men with peace.”

  Sean watched her in horror as she called out her odd poem for all to hear. With grand theatrics, she waved a hand toward the brightening sun when she spoke of the Dark Lord’s gaze, then at Prince and Errol when she spoke of terror and revenge. When she mentioned an ancient blade, she all but kneeled at Sean’s feet and reached out to Clayton’s sword as if it was some artifact of the gods. The rest – Death shadowing his steps? Magic in his blood? Doing what cannot be done? Fire in the sky? Sean was left totally confused. Is this lady crazy?

  The villagers, picking themselves up from the street, stopped what they were doing to watch the performance. Suddenly Sean and his party were the center of attention. Ferris gave Errol a little push. “Get inside.” He would have treated Sean the same, but Prince was looking at him with his ears laid back. “Get him in the stable. Get out of sight,” he hissed.

  Sean led Prince to the stable, his hooves echoing on the cobbles in the silence, and every eye following him. The old woman just stood there and looked after him, her head tipped slightly to the side. When he was out of sight, she let out a cry, ripping into the unnatural silence, sending shivers up Sean’s spine. “He walks among us. The White Star, he walks among us again!”

  Is she calling me a white star? What is a white star? It took him a long time to settle Prince, and it had nothing to do with the horse.

  It was completely dark when Sean tried to edge out of the stables and slip unnoticed into the inn, but the old woman was waiting for him. Before he could duck back out of sight, she ran up and pulled him out into the light from the lantern hanging over the door to the inn. Fortunately, no one else was in sight this time. She was amazingly strong for a woman of her size and apparent age. She had something dangling in her hand; it looked something like half of a shoulder pad used by football players, except it was made of steel.

  She slapped it over Sean’s left shoulder and quickly buckled a wide strap under his right arm then she gave the arrangement a sharp tug that pulled him forward a step. All the while, she muttered. “He told me never to lose it. He told me it was important. ‘Give it to someone,’ he said. ‘You’ll know the right person when you see him,’ he said. It fits, it fits! Oh yes, the right person, it would fit the right person.” Then she scurried off and was out of sight before Sean could ask her any questions.

  He looked at what she had given him. Aside from weighing nearly ten pounds, the thing was surprisingly comfortable to wear. The foundation was a flat plate that went over his shoulder. It reached partway across his chest and across his back; the wide strap connected to the ends buckled under his right arm. Standing up near its inner edge, right on top of his shoulder, was an upright ridge about six inches high. Sean actually bumped his jaw into it when he turned his head in that direction, though he could see over it with no problem. Hinged near the outer edge, was a cup that covered his shoulder joint, then attached to that, were four curved plates that overlapped each other down his upper arm and buckled just above his elbow. The whole thing was enameled black. Even the leather strap was dyed black. Sean thought it was cool. Of course, when he went into the inn, everyone noticed his addition at once.

  “Where did that come from?” asked Ferris.

  “That batty old woman gave it to me,” said Sean.

  “Did she say anything?” asked Cisco.

  “Yeah, she said that some guy told her never to lose it. He told her it was important. He told her to give it to someone and that she would know who when she saw him. She said she figured it would fit the right person. She seemed to be satisfied with the way it fit me. It’s weird, though; she wasn’t talking to me. She was muttering to herself. Freaky lady, that one.”

  “She never mentioned a name?” asked Ferris.

  “No,” said Sean. “Why?”

  “I’ve seen some pictures of your grandfather when he was young. He had a piece like that. I never saw the actual piece during my time in the palace, though his armor has always been on display behind the throne.”

  Sean looked at the thing on his shoulder again. “Are you sure it’s the same thing? What is it anyway?”

  “It doesn’t have a fancy name,” said Ferris. “It’s just called a shoulder piece, and no, there’s no way of knowing if it’s the same piece. It just looks the same as I remember it from a picture.”

  The innkeeper came up just as Ferris said, �
�We’ll need to question her some more.”

  “There’s no point in doing that,” said the innkeeper. “She always talks in riddles and rhymes. They make little sense. Some of the young people go to her for fortunes or seeings, but it’s a matter of translating what she says. Did she actually give you that thing?” He waved a hand toward the shoulder piece Sean now wore.

  “Well, I think so,” said Sean. “She came near to assaulting me with it when I came out of the stables.”

  “We’ll know come morning,” said the innkeeper, with a chuckle. “She’s had that thing on every man and boy that’s ever come through here, or grown up here for that matter, and she’s always wanted it back by the next morning. Looks good on you, though.”

  As they ate, Sean watched Gordon, who sat across from him. Though never an animated man, he seemed overly gloomy and quiet since coming here. He had never asked to go back to New York again, but Sean could see that he was troubled and edgy. After they had finished and the others were heading up to their rooms, Sean held him back for a private word. “Talk to me, Gordon. You have never been this quiet before.”

  “It’s nothing,” he said, and tried to go again.

  “Was it you who helped Ludwyn escape?” Sean asked in a whisper, so no one else in the room could possibly hear. “Does he have some hold on you?”

  Gordon froze, but didn’t jump to any denial. He pulled Sean into a corner near the fireplace. “Your uncle…I was raised with him. I was a friend of his and his brothers. Your father and Clayton made me feel like just another brother, but Ludwyn…Ludwyn was too willing to use black magic to get his way, and he loved to use it on anyone weaker than he was. He used it to compel me to release him; he was never very strong with any of the other magics. He forced me to melt the door. He forced me to watch him kill your father. The shock of that broke his hold on me, or perhaps that’s all he wanted from me. I escaped to the library where Clayton and the others found me. I am so terrified of him. My heart almost stops whenever I think of meeting him again, and you’re taking me directly to him…eventually.”

  “Would you rather have something else to do?” asked Sean. “Are you loyal enough to me to help me no matter what?”

  He gasped, “My lord, I have sworn to give my life for you, and I will. I just wish I didn’t have to give it to Ludwyn.”

  Sean studied his face. Gordon was still conflicted, but Sean could see his determination to hold to his oath. He didn’t ask who he had given it to. “I need you to do something for me. It’s something I can think of no better man to do. I need to learn things. I need books; books on farming, medicine – the understandable kind – books on economics, on politics and negotiations. I need all kinds of knowledge in order to be a king.” He dug a pouch of gold out of his pocket and pressed it into Gordon’s hand. “I’ll support you in any way I can if you can find me what I need. As soon as we’re alone in our room, I’ll take you back to New York.”

  His face lit up and he grasped Sean’s hand. “I can do that. I won’t let you down.”

  The stableboy came in and the innkeeper directed him to Sean. “Your horse, lord, he’s fussin’ some and the master won’t let me anywhere near him. He sent me after you.”

  “Ah, he must be lonely,” said Sean, earning an odd look from the boy. He gave Gordon a meaningful look and nodded before following the boy to the stable. He could hear Prince thumping his big feet on the floor and snorting as soon as the door to the inn was closed, and as soon as he entered the barn, Prince settled down. Sean resigned himself to spending the night in the stall next to Prince. The stable master threw down an extra measure of straw for him and the innkeeper provided him with a blanket.

  He waited until well after midnight before Gordon appeared with his bedroll over his shoulder. “When you didn’t come up, I figured you might have decided to stay out here with him. Next thing you’re going to do is book him a room inside.” He said that with a lopsided grin that erased much of the haggardness from his face.

  Sean stood up to face him. “Are you ready to go back?”

  Gordon took a deep breath and nodded. Sean took him to the apartment. No one had declared it abandoned yet. It was still slightly ransacked and very empty.

  Silently they shook hands. “I’ll be in touch,” said Sean.

  “I’ll be ready,” said Gordon.

  When Sean got back to the stables, he fell asleep almost at once. For his first time sleeping in a barn, it wasn’t too bad, not too bad at all.

  Dungeons & Dragons

  Gordon’s absence was noticed by the time they had finished breakfast. Ferris went looking for him only to find his belongings gone as well; only Errol had slept there.

  When he came back down, he asked, “Have any of you seen Gordon this morning?”

  “I sent him on a mission for me,” said Sean, as he headed for the stables to finish dressing. “I took him back last night.”

  Ferris grabbed Sean’s arm and pulled him close. “You did what?” he hissed. “You took him back? You turned him loose…there? New York City is a big city, boy. It won’t matter what mission you sent him on, you’ll never see him again.”

  Sean butted his face right up to Ferris’s and looked down into his dark eyes. “I happen to think I will,” Sean hissed back, then pulled his arm from his grasp. “Is there something about him I should know?”

  Ferris only turned away muttering, “It’s too late to do anything about it now.”

  Going shopping here reminded Sean of the paper version in the Dungeons and Dragons game, without the added choice of elfish or iron rations. The tiny village couldn’t help them much. Last year’s crops were too used up, and this year’s crops had barely been planted. It didn’t matter much; they could only find two horses, and they looked like they’d seen far too many years in front of a plow. Aside from halters and ropes, the only thing they could find for the horses were pads that strapped on something like a saddle. They offered nothing more than a thick layer of material between the horse and the rider, not even stirrups to help with mounting.

  They also located a mule, likely sold because he was too much bother to keep. The mule, however, came with a full set of trappings, but they were old and stiff from long disuse. Since they all had their bedrolls, they could only fill the panniers little better than half full with supplies.

  It took them all day to get the horses, the mule and all their gear ready, and find enough supplies to get them to the next town. Ferris, Larry, and Sean decided they could hunt along the way. They might not have meat to eat every night, but they wouldn’t starve.

  With that in mind, Larry bought a bow from an old man who couldn’t draw it anymore. He’d have to learn how to use it, but he had always wanted one.

  Though he now wore Sean’s old sword, the only weapon Errol actually knew how to use was a pickax, and a pickax was a difficult thing to use as a weapon. No one in their right mind would willingly go up against a man swinging a pick, but once a successful hit was made, the opponent could disarm the user too easily just by falling down. The village was not equipped to outfit anyone with anything more than a rake or a hoe, so Ferris had the blacksmith cut and shape a staff for him out of wood he had laid by to use for ax handles. The result was a seven-foot-long, two-inch-thick club that could do damage no matter how he hit, and a man who swings an ax for a living has a few muscles, even after a month of less-than-desirable conditions in a dungeon. Ferris took him out and pitted him against a fence post for a few basic lessons.

  When early afternoon came and went without hearing from or seeing the old woman, Larry and Jenny decided to go find her. Larry came back for Cisco at a run a short time later, and the rest of them followed. The man they were buying flour from at the time promised to send his son for the local healer as well. Sean promised the boy a silver penny if he would run.

  Ferris gave him an odd look. As soon as they were out of earshot he said, “That kid could get married with a silver penny; you just made his day.”<
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  “He’s only about six,” said Sean. What boy of six would want to get married?

  “Precisely. You’ve made him a very rich little boy.”

  Sean groaned. Who would have thought a penny could make someone rich? Maybe that’s why everyone has been so nice to us. We have more money than any of them have seen in who knows how long.

  Larry led them to the woman’s cottage. There they found Jenny sitting beside a little cot holding the old woman; she didn’t look too good.

  She held her hand out to Sean as soon as she saw him. Jenny gave way so he could take her thin, gnarled hand and kneel down beside her. Her hand was cold and her skin was so thin, it felt almost transparent.

  “I’m glad you came,” she said. Now that she was speaking softly, her voice wasn’t quite so scratchy and harsh. “I must tell you…” She paused for a moment and closed her rich brown eyes – they were the only color left to her face. “I must tell you…your path will be troubled with death and destruction, but above all, evil will haunt you. You must not let it harden your heart.” She paused again. “These two…” She looked over Sean’s shoulder and he followed her gaze; she was looking at Larry and Jenny. “Keep these two close to you. If you send them away from you – and there will be many reasons, good reasons, to send them somewhere safe – somewhere you are not.” Her hands clutched at his with the intensity of her warning. “You must keep them close to you, for if you are separated, all will be lost. You will be lost. They will be lost. Everything will fail.” Her eyes softened and she reached up a hand and cupped Sean’s cheek. “You are so like him. I loved him so much, but I could never tell him. He would be the next king and I was just the daughter of an herbalist-healer.” Her hand fell to rest on the piece of armor she had given him. “His hand rests on your shoulder. His wisdom is in your soul. Let him guide you and remember to keep your friends close; you will need them.” Her hand fell back to rest on her breast, and the hand that gripped Sean’s went slack. Her eyes glittered for a moment longer, then dulled, and she wasn’t breathing anymore.