by Serena Yates
"There's nothing here.” Elryk looked around, but there were only plants, a few birds and some insects.
"Right over there.” Kaythan pointed at an empty area.
"All I can see is grass, a few bushes and some old trees.” It was a beautiful garden, but that was all there was.
Kaythan grinned and pulled a small remote from his pocket.
"Watch this.” Kaythan pressed a button.
Elryk's eyes widened as the air shimmered and a sleek glider with wide wings and a pointed nose was revealed as if someone had pulled a blanket off its multicoloured surface. It was one of the most beautiful vehicles he'd ever seen. And it had been hidden well enough for absolutely nothing to show.
"The best part is that it's invisible to the naked eye and it's been covered with concealing spells that make it undetectable to any tracing devices the Xoh'kas have at their disposal. Arith used spells that are more advanced and far less well known than those most commonly available.” Kaythan pocketed the device and walked them towards the glider. “And in case you're wondering, we're the only ones able to see it right now. Using the remote only lifts the spell's effects for people within ten feet of it. Should anyone be watching from above or even just over the fence, they still won't have a clue that there's anything here other than the two of us, the plants and the animals."
Taking a deep breath and determined to trust his new mate and the air wizard who had put the spells on the glider, Elryk got inside, taking his seat behind Kaythan. His fear of heights didn't make the first part of the flight easy. He hated seeing the ground move farther and farther away. But as they rose high over the land, the greenery was beautiful and relaxed him. Elryk's level of trust grew as his spirits rose. Kaythan turned out to be a good pilot and the glider seemed to be working well.
The flight took them straight north. The few signs of civilisation that were still visible this far away from the capital city were quickly left behind, and Elryk watched the landscape become more and more rugged. Well-tended fields gave way to the occasional grazing area. The villages were smaller and smaller, then they were replaced with the odd lonely farmstead. Even those eventually stopped and the land below became hillier. Soon the first mountains appeared and deep, wooded ravines alternated with steep rock faces. Not a sign of people anywhere.
"It's not far now.” Kaythan handled the magic-imbued controls as if he'd never done anything else. “If you look straight ahead, you'll see a small cave to the left of the mountaintop, just above the tree line."
"Arith lives in a cave? I thought that was more of an earth wizard's territory.” Elryk stared at the hole in the rock as they approached and landed on the flat area in front of the cave's entrance. “At least he's well hidden from detection, even without any spells."
"No, he doesn't actually live in the cave.” Kaythan grinned, but didn't explain further.
It made Elryk wonder what his lover was hiding.
After they'd landed, they entered the cave, stooping low to avoid hitting their heads. Only very little daylight filtered in, and once Elryk's eyes had gotten used to the semi-darkness, he detected an old man in a white wizard's robe leaning against the back wall, right next to what looked like a thick patch of fog. Huh?
"My name is Arith. Please follow me.” The old man turned around without another glance and entered the fog, clearly expecting them to follow.
Elryk shrugged and fell in line behind Kaythan. Entering the foggy nothingness felt strange at first, but it wasn't cold or otherwise threatening, and he could still see both Arith and Kaythan walking ahead of him in the dim half-light, so he followed them.
The thick grey mass soon changed into a lighter variation of mist, and a soft glow from above made it seem as though they were walking through dense clouds with the sun trying to break through from above. Another few steps later, the thinning fog dissipated almost completely and the light from above became much stronger and more colourful.
Elryk tried not to stare at Arith as the ancient wizard led them along the strange path. The wrinkles all over his face and hands were unusual enough. But the gnarled fingers and bent posture were almost unheard of for a seer. The air magic that formed the core of his abilities should have minimised these overt signs of aging to make him look ageless.
Arith stepped through a glass door and moved aside. A huge, well-lit room stretched out in front of them, the sudden return of sunlight very welcome.
"Welcome to my sanctuary.” Arith grinned and suddenly looked about a hundred years younger.
He gestured around the room and Elryk gasped.
Perched atop what felt like a giant tree, the front and both side walls of the room were made of glass, a few leaved branches knocking on the windows on each side as the wind moved them. The view across a deep wooded gorge and a distant mountain range was breathtaking. When Elryk turned around the back wall was as rough as a bark-covered tree trunk.
"Quite amazing, isn't it?” Kaythan stepped closer to him, making him feel safe despite the height.
"How did we get here?” Surely they were no longer inside the cave.
"That's right, your magic isn't working, so you wouldn't have noticed.” Arith sank into a comfortable armchair near the front of the room. It almost swallowed his fragile looking body. “We passed quite a few layers of protective and concealing spells. They're necessary to hide this place from the Xoh'kas as well as the magic thieves and anyone else who would like to pry into my affairs."
"How did you know my magic isn't working?” Elryk frowned.
Arith winked.
"Uhm, okay, you're a seer, but even Kaythan and I only found out a few hours ago.” Elryk was worried who else might know about his problem. If any of the wizards on the Magic Council had detected him and his lack of magic, he was in bigger trouble than he'd thought so far.
"Please, sit down.” Arith motioned to a sofa across from his armchair. “This will take a while."
Elryk took a seat and Kaythan followed, putting a protective arm around his shoulders. The contact reduced the slight pulling sensation in his groin immediately. Tah', but this mate bond would take some getting used to.
"Let me get to the point.” Arith sat up and ran a hand through his shoulder length white hair. “The formation of the first mate bond in over two hundred years has activated the Muyd'Zel."
"The Magic Key?” Elryk sat up. “That's the second legendary magical object to suddenly reappear from the shrouding mists of history. And how would the formation of a mate bond be noticed? Isn't the Muyd'Zel an inanimate object? What in Tah's name is going on?"
"I'm getting to that.” Arith shook his head. “You young ones are always so impatient. Right. Where was I? Oh, yes. Two hundred years ago, when the Xoh'kas family took over, they had an ally inside the Magic Council. He was the last Lightning Grand Master known to us and his name was Rhunnyt Bak'omir."
"That's right.” Kaythan nodded. “I remember reading about him in the history books."
"Apparently I'm the first lightning wizard in many years to have shown the same sort of potential to advance from Great Wizard to Grand Master level and join the Council.” Elryk winced. He'd rather have gone unnoticed, like he had before the Xoh'kas had discovered him at the magic school he'd been teaching at. “That potential was the reason why the Xoh'kas were so interested in having me under their control once they had retested me."
"You're right. But that potential was a total surprise to the Xoh'kas. You were the only one to somehow evade their earlier detection. All other candidates in the last two-hundred years have been killed as soon as the ritual of Muyd'pol, at the age of five, showed that they might be strong enough to become Grand Masters.” Arith's eyes flashed with anger.
"Why would they kill all those young lightning wizards?” Elryk felt nauseous. What a horrible thing for them to do.
"Because they needed the Magic Council to be weak.” Arith sighed. “Only a lightning wizard has parts of all the other types of magic inside him, plus
his own. That's why he can unite and strengthen the Council members to enable them to effectively check and balance the Ruling Assembly's activities. Without a lightning wizard to lead the Council for so long, the leaders had to be chosen from among the fire, water, earth and air wizards. With the magic thieves now stealing magic on top of this inherent flaw, the Council has been weakened to the point where it is totally ineffective and the Ruling Assembly, under the leadership of the Xoh'kas, remains unopposed."
"So how does this link to the Muyd'Zel?” Elryk wiggled in his seat. This story was fascinating, but Arith was taking too long to get to the really interesting points.
"Patience, my son.” Arith grinned and leant back in his armchair. “One of the things Rhunnyt did was banish the Muyd'Othar, or Magic Shield, from the real world into the magic realm. This left the Magic Council open to attacks, further strengthening the Xoh'kas’ hold on them. Once Rhunnyt had created the hiding place he was executed by the Xoh'kas."
"That was very clever of them.” Kaythan nodded. “They effectively weakened the Magic Council, the only group able to oppose them, then made sure that group would never recover."
"Exactly.” Arith lifted his hand. “But what they hadn't counted on was some of the wizards outside the Magic Council. Those ‘rebellious’ wizards knew that the Magic Shield would be needed to restore the power of the Council at some point. They were hoping to give the right person the tools to do so. Hence, they created the Muyd'Zel, the purpose of which is to help its owner find and use the Shield."
"Let me guess—the right person is Elryk?” Kaythan's grip on Elryk's shoulders tightened.
Arith nodded.
"And this expedition to find the Magic Key will be dangerous.” Kaythan growled.
Arith nodded again.
"I'm sure you'll keep me safe.” Elryk patted Kaythan's thigh and grinned inwardly at his mate's protectiveness. He could take care of himself, well, once his magic was back he'd be in control again, but it was nice to have someone else's support. He'd missed that.
"You bet your sweet little—ahem—on that.” Kaythan's eyes twinkled wickedly.
Elryk winked at his mate, letting him know he understood and appreciated Kaythan's words and support. He just saw one major problem that no amount of support could solve, so he turned back to Arith.
"This is all very well, but how am I going to retrieve the Muyd'Othar without my magic? It seems to be blocked and I have no idea how to get it back.” It was rather embarrassing to talk about, but it wasn't as though he had any sort of choice if he wanted to solve this problem. “Is it caused by the mate bond?"
"I think you're right. That seems to be the cause of the problem.” Arith frowned. “Somehow it must have interfered in your ability to reconnect with the gateway's energies. When you came back into their range, your magic should have returned. If we had enough time we could let the mate bond stabilise and wait for your magic abilities to return on their own. But I don't think we can afford to wait. The Xoh'kas are also trying to find the Shield. If they get to it before you do, they will surely destroy it. You have absolutely no time to lose."
"So how do we do this? It sounds rather hopeless to me.” Kaythan was tense and obviously still worried about their safety.
"Two things. One is that you have to work together, use both your strengths to overcome the initial disadvantage of no magic. Nobody else who may be looking for the Magic Key has that advantage, since there are no other mated pairs young enough to attempt this quest.” Arith leant forward in his armchair. “But more importantly, the Muyd'Zel, itself, will help restore Elryk's magic as you progress. It's been divided into five pieces, one for each type of magic. Obtaining each piece will result in the ability to gain access to the next location as well as reawaken and strengthen Elryk's magical abilities in the type of magic recovered."
"So how do we find that first piece? As you know the revealing spell you gave Kaythan didn't work. At least, I wasn't able to make it work for me.” Elryk felt totally naked without his magic and wasn't sure he could go anywhere potentially dangerous while unprotected and exposed like that.
"That's where my friend Nysat Pak'odiz comes in.” Arith grinned. “Like me, he comes from the era before the Xoh'kas. He was one of the wizards involved in creating the Muyd'Zel. He may be a lot younger than I am but he's a very powerful earth wizard. He has agreed to help you retrieve the first piece of the Magic Key and to make sure that it awakens that part of your magic inside you. Each of the next pieces will build on that until all of them can fuse and restore you fully."
Arith got up and walked to the back of the room. Near the glass door where they'd entered, he waved his hands in a complicated pattern, then bent down and pulled up a trapdoor that must have been hidden before.
When Arith stepped aside, another man climbed out of the hole in the floor. He was broad-shouldered with massive arms and legs. He looked solid and strong. He wore a short light brown robe, tied off with a green belt, over dark brown pants and brown leather boots. His hair was long and pulled back into a neat braid. His brown eyes twinkled with life and humour as he slowly approached the couch Elryk and Kaythan sat on.
"You must be Nysat?” Elryk felt a little shiver travel down his spine. This man was quite clearly a very powerful wizard.
"I am indeed, young Elryk.” Nysat smiled, revealing perfect teeth and two dimples in his ruddy cheeks.
"Please, take a seat, old friend.” Arith had made his way back from the trapdoor and pointed at a second easy chair next to his own. “Would you like some refreshments?"
"No thank you, I'm fine.” Nysat laughed, a deep rumble emanating from his wide chest. “The trip wasn't long enough to require refuelling my reserves."
"Travelling through those tunnels of yours always makes me very thirsty.” Arith grinned and took his previous seat, sinking back into the cushions.
"I prefer them to your clouds. Using them as transportation always makes me dizzy.” Nysat let loose a booming laugh and sat down in the second easy chair. Luckily, it magically adjusted itself to the larger man's bulk as he sank back.
"To each his own, I guess.” Arith turned serious. “We really appreciate you coming out of hiding to help us out."
"You've been in hiding?” Elryk immediately felt for the other man, knowing what that was like from his years on Earth.
"Yes, well, I'm not exactly the ruling family's most favourite person.” Nysat winked. “Haven't been for over two hundred years. Once they found out that I was one of the wizards responsible for constructing the Muyd'Zel I became a criminal in their eyes. Since I had to avoid them using me to discover how to use the Magic Key for their own purposes, I decided to make myself scarce until the time was right to overthrow them."
"And that time is now?” Elryk couldn't quite believe he was supposed to be the one to fix the situation. It all made sense on an intellectual level, but that was as far as his understanding went. Believing it in his heart was far more difficult.
"Most definitely.” Nysat looked at him with an intensity that was almost scary. “I may not be a seer, but what I know about you confirms that you have potential. Of course, I'd need to touch you to find out for sure."
Kaythan growled.
"Now, now.” Nysat grinned and stared at Kaythan for a change. “You know that's how earth magic works."
"Doesn't mean I have to like it.” Kaythan clenched his teeth. “Crap, this mate bond is going to drive me crazy before we can do any good."
"It does take some getting used to. All I can tell you is that it'll bring out the best in both of you and will become your strongest defence against anyone and anything.” Nysat tilted his head. “It's such a wondrous thing though, to see a new one in action after so long. I wish I were lucky enough to find my mate."
"You will, old friend.” Arith smiled.
"Is that a prediction?” Nysat looked so hopeful it was almost funny.
"Yes.” Arith nodded.
"When?” Nysat moved
to the edge of his seat.
"Soon.” Arith rubbed his temples. “Very soon."
"Oh. Can't happen soon enough for me.” Nysat closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then looked back up. “Right, let's focus on the most immediate problem. You need to retrieve the first piece of the Magic Key, and you have to get to it before the Xoh'kas. They may not have the benefit of my knowledge, but they've been sniffing around the historical records for years and sooner or later they will figure it out."
"So where did you hide it?” Elryk couldn't wait to start rebuilding his magic. He'd never gotten used to it not being there, not even during his three years of self-imposed banishment on Earth.
"It is no longer in the world we know.” Nysat grinned. “We transported the pieces into the temple of Tah'Muyd, which exists entirely inside the magical realm. It's only accessible to wizards of the highest power, and the chambers containing the pieces of the Muyd'Zel have been additionally sealed. We also placed a guardian in charge of each chamber and corresponding piece of the key. They each have detailed instructions about the very limited conditions under which they can release them."
"Sounds complicated.” Kaythan grimaced.
"It's not supposed to be easy, and whoever wants to retrieve all the pieces will need both courage and skill to survive the various tests.” Nysat looked at Kaythan, then at Elryk. “Are you ready?"
"Yes.” Elryk spoke at the same time as Kaythan.
"I will transport you into the first chamber and will deal with the guardian for you. All you need to do is dig up a small wooden box, which contains the earth magic part of the key. Everything else will become obvious once you have absorbed it.” Nysat rose and held out his hands.
After a last look at Arith to say goodbye, Elryk got up, pulling Kaythan with him. Once they'd made a circle by touching hands, Nysat mumbled a spell and with a loud booming sound, Arith's home was replaced with a meadow filled with wild flowers, buzzing insects and a beautiful forest bordering it on two sides.
