“What does it matter? I am not going back there. My mother doesn’t understand me or my magic and I can’t live with her any longer,” the girl complained as the two climbed higher and higher. The school actually consisted of several mountain top buildings. They were on high to keep those that were not part of them away from the secrets of che’ther and mar’goyn’lya magic. There were both secrets and dangers to those born without the powers the magicians and wizards held.
Managing to shrug despite flying, Kel’lor replied simply, “Those without magic always seem unable to understand wizards. I left my nest decades ago. My family can fly, but they all lack any magic.”
“Do you live in the school?” the girl asked suddenly realizing that she really knew very little of her classmate outside of the school. He was older than her and she knew that he had trained in other styles of magic before trying to learn the dragon magic. Beyond his basic personality, Cheleya didn’t know things like his true age or where he lived.
He shook his head. “My clan has eyries on the northern mountain. I live there.”
The che’ther had never thought about where the mar’goyn’lya actually lived. Her people occupied the valley between the spires and few of the gargoyles actually lived among them. Many shops held both mar’goyn’lya and humans in the market areas, but she guessed that wasn’t where they also lived.
Occupying her mind with the trivial thoughts, the girl arrived at the building where most of her classes were taught. Malaketh might be around or maybe one of the other masters, she thought. Not sure what to do about Kel’lor’s presence, Cheleya said, “I think I will look for someone that can tell me where I can stay. You do not need to wait on me, Kel’lor, since I will be here when you return in the morning.
Perched on the rail before the doorway leading into their classroom, the gargoyle smiled grimly and nodded. While the che’ther weren’t always sure of meanings behind other races’ words in their dealings, a mar’goyn’lya was able to understand the others much easier. They had more human like emotions and looked like them in some ways.
“Well, if you think that you will be all right for tonight, then I will leave you. Have you eaten yet?” the gargoyle asked the question as he postured to turn away from the girl.
A rumble from Cheleya’s stomach reminded the dragoness that she had run out before dinner. A warmth came to her cheeks and she replied in embarrassment, “I forgot to eat.”
Cracking a smile, Kel’lor replied graciously, “Go look for someone and I will go get some food for you, Cheleya.”
The mar’goyn’lya tumbled from the rail letting his wings catch the wind and flew off towards the north where both the main city and his mountain home lay. Whether he meant to fly all the way home or had somewhere closer that he could get some food, Cheleya didn’t know; but since he was gone the girl moved to find someone as she had said she would.
Chapter 3- The Night’s Curse
Darkness ruled much of the school making new shapes from old, familiar ones and creating a peculiar sense on unease as Cheleya moved into the first room. Depositing her backpack in the doorway where the first moon’s light could still illuminate it for her simple, human eyes; the girl stepped into the first room that served as a classroom and training area. A place that felt so comfortable to her by day now caused Cheleya to reach out with her hand feeling for the furniture that she knew was hidden there.
Her foot caught the leg of a stool and she felt the pain on her toes. She was barefoot and covered simply by the ribbon of material that she had summoned in her room. The pain made her realize why most che’ther refused to try shape changing. Creatures born with scales out of protective eggs were used to being shielded from the world in one way or another. Those who quested for magic and the changes it could create were the oddities amongst her race.
Bookcases lined the walls of the large room. It was a che’ther created space though the furniture was sized for humans and thus was immense in scale to her current little body. Malaketh, her teacher and master of dragon magic, was human and had asked that they all learn to change form while inside the classroom to meet more on his level, she supposed. Long tables with stools littered the dark room like a mine field for her exposed toes, the dragoness realized and almost considered changing into her real form. A dragon size body was more likely to break things, however, and Cheleya was trying to be accepted so considered breaking furniture a bad start.
Glass holding various fluids caught the light on several tables. The classes taught more than just dragon magic and sometimes alchemists needed such things. It was a form of magic or something called science that she had yet to be shown, but Cheleya had always marveled at all the glass and the colorful liquids they contained. In the dark, the girl simply tried to avoid such things in fear of knocking them over and creating more damage.
Even in human form, Cheleya was able to make out a soft glow coming from the doorway leading into a hall beyond. Doorways here were still large enough to admit a full size che’ther, but these had actual doors on them. Secrecy and a need to block off sound necessitated such things in the Academy of Magic unlike in her home. The light drew her to it as the girl hoped that she would find someone nearby.
Light in her world either meant a lit flame which required someone to keep half an eye on for fear of larger fires or magic which used wizard energy to maintain. Either way should lead her to people, she thought.
As Cheleya moved through the hall, she noticed the occasional lit lantern style holder on the wall. Someone had needed enough light to move through the large corridor and taken the time to light about one in three as they moved through the length of the hall. It turned sometimes in a gentle curve, other times a sharp corner took the girl in a drastic turn as she passed more doors to the other classrooms. Still she followed the lights.
Finally, voices came to her ears. Cheleya moved a little faster and suddenly realized that she was deeper into the academy than she had ever been before. In a normal school, that would be no more of a problem than walking into a classroom, but in the Academy of Magic there were rooms kept from those uninitiated into the small corps of true masters. As a human, Cheleya wasn’t even sure that her master was allowed into such secured rooms, so as a mere apprentice she was daring much.
Slowing her feet to maintain her silence in case she wandered into a place she shouldn’t and needed to back away unnoticed, Cheleya stalled outside a partially opened door. As large as the door was, the girl was unsure she could have moved it easily without a spell and was glad that she had a few feet open to slip through. The voices came from here and the girl realized that she recognized Malaketh’s voice.
She came to a stop at the door frame looking inside and saw Malaketh and three other men that she didn’t recognize. Her eyes were immediately pulled from them as she beheld a strange room. Coming to a peak far over head, the room’s ceiling was formed into a dome, but star and moonlight came through clearly. There should have been more stone above, so Cheleya could only assume that magic was at work here. With dozens of strange artifacts on tables with shelves built on top of them and more shelves on the walls holding so many golden items, the girl’s eyes were nearly stunned with the sight. This was a room forbidden to a mere apprentice she realized. This was one of the legendary rooms of forbidden magic and artifacts collected over the last millennium and farther back into the time before the che’ther had come to this world. The items were often declared too dangerous to be left out for anyone but a master to handle safely.
While Cheleya understood that she was probably banned from this vault of magic, she wasn’t sure who the others were inside the room looking around.
She listened as Malaketh spoke to an older looking white haired man. Her eyes noted a chain at the back of his neck and the shimmer of his illusionary clothes. It was a che’ther in human form. Masters were among the few who used such things and Cheleya wondered who would have brought a human into the treasure trove of artifacts and in the n
ight like this.
“Fa’Kelman’zer, you see this wasn’t so bad. You have shown me so much tonight and I am sure that given time you will forget all of this anyway.”
The dragon master trembled slightly as if he was trying to break free of some invisible rope holding him bound. “Malaketh, how could you do this thing?”
Looking as if he was taken aback by the accusation, the wizard pulled back in an overly dramatic way to emphasize that he was mocking the dragon. Even someone who barely knew humans could see that much, Cheleya thought. “How could I do such a thing? I merely used your amulet to force you take me where I should have been long years ago. After nearly a decade of training and nearly half of them rated as a master of your magic, you old lizards still couldn’t be bothered to show me the real treasures that you hid.
“I have waited long enough to be seen as an equal. Humans don’t live as long as you che’ther and I have a time table that I must follow even if it doesn’t suit your kind.”
“These artifacts are too dangerous to be used,” the master stated looking angry, even from where Cheleya hid. “We don’t allow outsiders in here for their sake as much as everyone else’s. Now that I have seen your true colors, you will never get away with stealing these artifacts, Malaketh.”
Shaking his head, Malaketh stated evenly, “You can’t stop me, old one. My magic has trapped you and once you have transferred all the knowledge I seek, I can use my magic to make you forget this entire night. Now if you would like to forget your entire life, I can do that also and just blame it on a failed experiment that you were working on instead.”
“You wouldn’t,” the dragon master threatened, but the refusal held a certain amount of worry. He was under another master wizard’s spell and that was a daring enough affront to practice on one of the five che’ther dragon masters to believe otherwise.
Cheleya moved slightly forward drawn into the strange conversation. Something was wrong here obviously, but this was her teacher and master of magic. He had been there for his student and taught her much over the last year, but Fa’Kelman’zer was one of the masters that had found her and brought the dragoness to the Academy of Magic in the first place. He had stuck up for her and even convinced her parents to let the young che’ther embark on the life that she was meant to have.
The sound of a bell being triggered made Cheleya glance around in fear. Turning to look at the doorway, Malaketh and the other two unknown men spied the young dragoness. Unsure if she should run, Cheleya’s hesitation dictated her decision as Malaketh grasped a black amulet that looked like the opposite of her own.
Magic lashed out and the girl found her legs unwilling to respond as she decided to run away. It wasn’t the first time that evening she had wished to, but this time she couldn’t escape the approaching dragon master.
“Malaketh? I can’t move,” the girl started looking worried.
Nodding, the wizard moved beyond that fact and asked, “Cheleya, sweetheart, what are you doing here? You should know that the school is off limits to students when the classes are over.”
Still trying to move her legs, the pretty little girl with her strawberry blond hair responded trying to sound calm, “I had an argument with my mother and was hoping that I could discuss staying here at the school.”
Clucking his tongue against his teeth, Malaketh shook his head as if he was sad, “No, no, that will not do, my dear.”
Gesturing with his finger towards the hall, the wizard caused the dragoness to turn and walk back into the hallway without her intending to move. The girl took another step as the taller man followed her through the opening. While the other men stayed with the che’ther dragon master, Malaketh put his arm around her shoulders and for the first time Cheleya felt a sensation against her skin that she didn’t like at all. For some reason his touch felt wrong but, as the man walked and guided her steps back along the path she had walked only moments ago, the girl was helpless to do anything about it. She wondered if this was the same magic that he had used on the dragon master before her.
“Cheleya, what did you hear from the door? I can tell that you heard at least some of what was said.”
Not liking the sound of his question despite his even tone, Cheleya debated on giving any answer, but her body still moved against her will so only her mind and speech were left to the dragoness. “I couldn’t hear anything, Master Malaketh. I wandered down the hall looking for someone until I happened upon you all.
“Who were those other men with you and Fa’Kelman’zer, if I might ask?”
“You may ask, Cheleya,” the man answered with a comfortable smile. “They are simply some long time associates of mine that I introduced to the master, but don’t concern your self over them.”
They had returned to the classroom that the dragoness had first used to enter the building. It was strange how a place that had once held so much joy now engendered so much worry and even fear. The walk back through the hallway had been swift and all too short surprisingly after what had seemed a long, slow trip the first time by her self.
Red moonlight from the second moon, Turas, was already beginning to change the light in the room. It was darker than before and the red reminded her of blood since the moon was named after the human’s war god. Her people had their own gods, but the moons were owned by the men that had lived here long before her people came through a portal.
“I see that you brought a pack, Cheleya,” the wizard stated as they moved into the moonlight on the balcony leading out onto a promontory for practicing flight magic. “This is good since it will make your story more believable.”
“My story?” the dragoness questioned wondering if it was the story she had told to him or if it was some other.
“Yes, the story of how a young initiate came into the academy in the night and stole some of the school’s most valued artifacts. She flew to this balcony and, with her pack, the ungrateful student tried to steal away into the night. When confronted the child fought her teacher before leaping over the rail to try and escape.
“The good teacher tried to stop her, but in the scuffle his magic failed to stop her fully and she went over the rail. His magic was strong and blocked the apprentice magician’s powers just long enough to prevent her from getting away and she plummeted to her death.
“It’s quite sad,” the wizard stated with a grim smile as he forced the dragoness to turn towards him.
“But I didn’t steal! Please, Master Malaketh, don’t do this!” Cheleya cried only able to turn her head to see how close to the rail they had come.
Malaketh was seen to be casting another spell that she did not recognize. As it came to fruition, the man slapped his hand against the amulet dangling against her upper chest. Shattering like glass before a hammer, the charm broke but instead of falling to the ground in pieces the talisman seemed to simply become absorbed into the girl’s body.
“There that should help confuse your magic and prevent you from catching yourself with your wings,” Malaketh stated quietly. “I truly am sorry that I have to do this, but without the time to work the spell on your amulet like I have with Master Fa’Kelman’zer, I must do what I can to ensure that my little secret remains a secret.
“When the magi guards are summoned they will go search your family’s house and they will tell them of what you have done. Maybe I will have to hide an artifact or two there just to throw them off my trail, but maybe I can just leave it to them to think that you had done this before and keep them all instead.”
His eyes revealed greed, the girl thought, and knew that she was beginning to understand more of the human’s mind though it was much too late to save her now.
“Please, Malaketh,” she pleaded one last time dropping her honorific for the human that had just told her that he would kill her for some cursed artifacts. It was like talking to one of those che’ther that only believed in gold. “Please, don’t do this. I won’t tell anyone and you can use that magic to erase my memory like you
just said.”
His right hand reached to his chin as if in thought as he looked to the sky. “You know why the war god’s moon is said to be red, Cheleya?”
Confused by the change in topics as her death loomed, the girl shook her head. She tried to move her arms and legs to flee, but after the destruction of her amulet she seemed even less in control of her body if that was even possible.
Placing a hand on each of her shoulders, Malaketh said, “When confronted by Turas at Fel’s Reach in a far away country that you have probably never heard of, the wizard who had tried to defy the gods found himself cornered and defeated by the three brothers. He pled for mercy from the three gods that were still men.
“Epsilon is the god of harvests and only reaped what he had sown. He forgave the man passing his sentence off on his brothers. Gelinas the third of the brothers is the god of beginnings and decided that a new beginning could be had if they all agreed, but the third brother Turas, is the god of war.
“Turas looked on the wizard and shook his head. He could forgive, but his was a mind that shed blood. He was the god that brought revenge and vengeance both. Turas took the wizard that had defied the gods and uttered judgment. His judgment was that they follow the gods that had sent them and shed his blood as they were meant to do.
“Thus Turas cast the wizard from the tower becoming the god who is also the judgment of all men.
“The red moon is upon us, Cheleya, and Turas has judged that you must fall as well. You will be missed. You will be mourned, but you will also take the blame.”
With that Malaketh pushed Cheleya over the rail. His hands released a shocking burst of electricity meant to stun the girl enabling her to sleep through the fall to her death, but she was a dragoness. Dragons resisted many kinds of magic and even in this body the girl felt little of the pain.
Screaming as she fell from hundreds of feet towards the ground below, Cheleya fought her body trying to awaken her dragon magic. “Dragon wings, dragon wings, dragon wings!” she cried as her eyes looked to the ground below comes towards her so fast.
Battle Mage: Dragon Mage (Tales of Alus) Page 3
