“I came to train here five years ago and I do remember master Sae-Thae taking trips often my first few years here,” Phena replied thoughtfully. “I never paid much attention to them, though I would often ask him to take me with him. It makes sense why he didn’t…I hear that your mother is not always the most level headed of people,” Phena added with a nudge of her elbow.
“I don’t think she would have taken the news that father had another child…well.”
“”You humans and your jealousy… Why is it that you believe that you can only love one person or that one person can only have love for you? Does their having affection for another somehow diminish what they feel for the other? Honestly, your human’s perception of love is one trait that I am glad I do not share.”
Bren, I heard something happened to you,” Faye said, running into the room, her face red and blotchy. There were not many people in the medical section of the Tower, but everyone who was there turned to look at the young girl. “What happened?” She asked, pushing Phena out of the way so she could stand next to Bren.
“I had a little trouble controlling my powers,” Bren replied, trying to shrug his shoulders, nearly costing him his balance. “I haven’t seen you lately…How are your own studies going?” Bren asked, giving a light smile.
“Good…I still can’t turn invisible every time I want, but I can do it most the time now. It’s not as much fun as I thought it would be though. Most my work is meditation and I can’t stand having to sit in the same place for hours on end,” Faye rambled, the look of worry fading away.
“Nine hells!” Bren yelled, startling both Faye and Phena.
“What?” Faye asked, her face laced with worry again.
“I am supposed to report back to the training grounds at the academy tonight,” Bren replied as he tried to force himself out of bed.
Phena easily pushed him back down with one hand, her lips turned into a devious smile. “I don’t think you will be going anywhere tonight,” she said, her voice almost playful. “I will inform the Weapons Master that you have taken to bed under Master Sae-Thae’s orders. That should buy you a day at least to rest up.”
“I can go tell him,” Faye said, her face slightly pinched.
“Do you know who the Weapons Master is?” Phena asked mockingly.
Faye didn’t answer. “I didn’t think so…”
Bren could almost see the sparks of tension between the two women. It was more than obvious they didn’t care for one another, but he had no clue why. They were so much alike, he figured that they would be good friends by now.
“Faye, just let Phena tell the Weapons Master.” Bren said softly, hoping to break the tension.
“”Fine,” Faye said in a sour tone that seemed to eat at Bren’s brain. “Hope you get to feeling better.” She added in the same tone before stomping out of the room.
Phena followed quickly behind, leaving Bren alone in the medical room. He tried to work through what had happened, to see where the two women might have started their fight, but everything seemed fine. He could find nothing that would really offend either of them.
From his spot in the room, Bren spent the next few hours watching as the sun began to set. It had been so long since he had the time to enjoy his own company, and he found it dreadfully burning. He wished that he had asked either Phena of Faye to grab him a book or something to occupy his mind, instead of sitting there with only his thoughts to keep him company.
You really think either of those girls would have brought you a book? Even if they did, they would have made sure it was one you wouldn’t enjoy.
Bren let out a heavy sigh. “You had been so quiet lately, I thought you might have lost your voice...so much for dreams,” Bren replied, in no mood to listen to Thuraman’s comments.
Oh, I have been talking, but there has been so much noise around you that you couldn’t hear. You really need to learn to control you power, otherwise things are going to get real bad for you.
“Worse than they already are?” Bren asked sarcastically.
You don’t seem to understand. Most mages only have a slight impact on the magical flow around them. In most cases, the currents are too strong for them to affect, but gathered here is a great number of mages and magical beings and the flow has changed to accommodate them. Before, your talent was still locked and you were only drawing a little more magic than most toward you. Over the past few days, the wall that has kept your power at bay has begun to break down, and from what I can see today it has crumbled completely. More and more magic will begin to gather, and if you don’t learn to harness it, then it will kill you.
“I have never heard of magic killing someone just by being there,” Bren replied skeptically.
And you know so much child. I have spent a lifetime with your father as he poured over every text relating to magic that he could find. Believe me, those who do not learn to use their power are weakened by it. Some get sick, grow frail…and some die. You are far stronger than any other mage within these walls…and that much power will eat you alive if you don’t learn how to channel it properly.
“Bren, sorry for having to leave in such a rush earlier…the other masters wanted to know what had transpired in the testing room this afternoon,” Sae-Thae said, coming into the room. “What is wrong boy, you look as if you have just been bested by death?
“Is it true that people who don’t learn to control their magic die?” Bren asked, more than a little shaken at Thuraman’s words.
“It has happened, but it is rare. Especially when one is studying within the halls of a proper Tower. I must admit that your strength is far beyond anything known before, but you will learn to control it; though, I don’t honestly know if that is a good or bad thing.”
“What do you mean?” Bren asked, shocked that Sae-Thae would think that his power was a bad thing.
“You’re young child, and haven’t seen what I have. If you had been born a vathari, we would have celebrated your birth and at the same time we would have lamented it. Too much power only brings ruin. We learned that once and vowed to never to repeat that mistake again. You my boy, have too much power…I don’t even know if the gods could best you.”
“Don’t be silly Sae-Thae, there is no way that I could fight a god…They’re gods,” Bren said, almost laughing.
“I don’t think it is any joking matter Bren. I have met with my own god and have felt his power first hand… and I have seen just a hint of what your power could do this very day…It is no joking matter,” Sae-Thae said again, his own face turning more pale than it had been moments before.
“That is not the reason I have come though,” Sae-Thae said, as if pushing off the disturbing thoughts that clouded his mind. “The other masters, myself included, believe that it would be best if you took some meditation training. That is normally held for internal mages and higher level apprentices, but we believe it might help you get a hold on your power. If nothing else, it is worth a try while we try and rework the testing room.”
“Whatever you think is best master Sae-Thae,” Bren said as the pit of his stomach fell. Nothing was going like he had dreamed it would when he first left the palace. His only hope was that nothing else would go wrong.
“What’s all this master business?” Sae-Thae said, slapping Bren playfully on the arm. “I remember a time when you couldn’t even say my name right and chased after me calling me ‘Sathe.’ I do miss the time when I was simply your uncle Sathe.”
“Mother always said that there was a time for names and there was a time for titles. You are my teacher now, so master seems to fit better,” Bren said, giving the old vathari a weak smile.
“Then I won’t complain if you call me master in public, but when we are alone or in my office, Sae-Thae or even uncle will do…It has been ages since you have called me uncle.”
“From what Phena said, I wouldn’t think what you were called would matter much,” Bren said, his smile widening a bit more.
“Is
ophena…That girl is a bit different, but she is right for most of my people at least. Like her, I have human blood running in my veins; though, it was my grandfather and not my father who was the source. He was the last living mage that sought asylum from the Brotherhood. So, I might be a little different than most my kin. I enjoy making bonds and friends…It is one of the reasons your father intrigued me so much, and the same reason I accepted his request to run the Tower…at least for a time.”
“I don’t know, Phena and Faye both see like completely different species,” Bren said laughing.
“That they are,” Sae-Thae replied, joining in the laugh. “They are women, and no knowledge in this world can tell you what they are thinking, or what they might do. You have a better chance of predicating how a leaf might fall in a windstorm than what a woman is thinking.”
“I am glad I am not the only one who is at a loss then.”
“That you are not boy,” Sae-Thae replied as he started to walk toward the door. “Now get some rest… tomorrow I fear will be even tougher on you then the previous days have been.
Taking the mage’s advice, Bren laid down and closed his eyes. He had been going to sleep late and waking early each morning since he had arrived at the magic city. A good night’s rest, or days rest for that matter would do him some good.
Bren didn’t know how long he slept before he felt his mother tugging once again at his dreams. She knew where he was, so he saw no harm in letting her pull him in. Though he did keep a small line of thought focused back toward the darkness and he was dragged under.
As the darkness cleared, Bren found himself in his mother’s study, surrounded by all the books he had grown up reading. Most of them were about politics and the history of Farlan, but a select few were tucked away just for fancy. It had been almost a game growing up, trying to ferret out those books from the others. Over time, he had grown not only to love the stories he found, but also the histories that they were hidden among.
“I see that you finally decided to make an appearance Bren,” his mother’s voice said, more than a little harshly. “Honestly, I would like to know how you were able to keep me away…not even your father figured out how to do that. Though there were times that he would make me so mad that I could no longer hold together this little dream world.”
“I don’t know,” Bren replied sheepishly, afraid that if he told her the truth, she would find a way to force him into her dreams without his permission.
“We have heard from master Sae-Thae that you have made it to the Tower,” Maria said, giving her son a deadly look, filled with venom. “I had figured that was where you had gone, but all of my spies swore to me that you had yet to arrive.”
“I didn’t want to come home mother…I need to be here… Sae-Thae is training me,” Bren replied, shuffling his feet against the imaginary carpet in the room.
“I don’t think so young man,” Maria said, her voice rising to such a high pitch that Bren eyes pinched together in pain. “I am on my way there now… and as soon as I arrive, you will be getting on the coach and headed straight back to the capital young man.”
“Mother I won’t” Bren said determinedly.
“We will see about that young man,” Maria said before the darkness rushed in around him, forcing him out of the dream. Bren tried to fight to hold the dream in place, but it slipped through his fingers like water.
CHAPTER XIV
The next morning Bren woke, well before sunrise. His body was a little stiff, but most the aches had fled during the night. Feeling refreshed, Bren hurried to his room to change and prepare for his daily routine at the academy.
The walk through the town seemed abnormally dark. Bren had never been fond of the darkness. He always felt as if someone was watching him. After the third time checking over his shoulder, Bren picked up his pace moving at a near run with the palm of his hand gripping the hilt of his sword tightly.
When the academy fields came into sight, Bren breathed a sigh of relief. The knowledge that his friends were so close comforted him.
Like he did every day, Bren went to the storeroom to start cleaning. The first few days, he had found the task daunting, but now as his nerves were still frayed from his walk and he found it comforting. It was long after he arrived that the storeroom door opened.
“I was hoping that I would find you here,” Cass’s friendly voice said. “We heard that you had an accident up at the Tower. That has to be the first time that the Weapons Master has allowed a trainee to miss without a huge punishment.”
“Really… surely trainees get sick like everyone else,” Bren said skeptically.
“That they do, and the Weapons Master will let them sit in bed if they wish, but once they are well…” Cass let his words drift off ominously.
“I hope you’re right about him not giving me any extra work…I don’t think I could handle it,” Bren said with a wry smile.
“Oh, he might have thought about it, but that little lady that came over to tell him about your accident made it clear that Master Sae-Thae wouldn’t hear of any reprimand for your absence. The Weapons Master might argue with any other mage at the Tower, but not Sae-Thae,” Cass said with a slight chuckle.
“I have known Sae-Thae my whole life and I can never see him getting mad at anyone,” Bren replied, trying to picture the elder vathari mage facing off against the much younger warrior.
“I remember when I first came here five years ago. Sae-Thae and the Weapons Master at the time had a disagreement about his trainee’s treatment of some of the younger mages from the Tower. Three days after their disagreement, a host of vathari soldiers escorted him to the border... It was impressive.”
Bren had seen a few groups of vathari warriors and knew they were imposing, but he still couldn’t see Sae-Thae ordering such an action. “Do we have any extra leather straps?” Bren asked, noticing a deep rut in one of the shield’s harness straps.
“There are some in the back cage,” Cass said. “Here, I will show you. They can be hard to find when you don’t know where to look.”
Bren and Cass continued to clean and work together for another two hours before any of the other trainees started to arrive.
“Well, seeing that the rest of your friends have arrived, it means it’s time for my group to take their morning run,” Cass said, waving bye to Bren and running out of the storeroom.
Bren watched his friend go, then looked around at the others who had come to join him. Even though they weren’t all bad guys, Bren didn’t talk to them much. Morus seemed to be the ring leader of the other kids, and that meant that the other boys kept their distance, making it hard for Bren to make any real friends. Bren wished that Jacob would let him train with the older boys so that he could at least have someone to talk to.
Bren laughed to himself. His first few days, he had thought the older boys got to sleep in. He was surprised when Cass dispelled that rumor. They got up at the same time as they younger trainees, but instead of cleaning weapons and armor, they did double the amount of exercise. Most mornings, they could be found running around the entire city…which was more than eight miles in diameter.
As always, after an hour of cleaning, it was time for their daily exercise. The day before, they had ran, so today would be push-ups and other physically demanding tasks along with drinking water. Bren didn’t so much mind the physical aspect of the morning drills, but all the water he was forced to drink always made him feel a bit heavy. He almost swore that the Weapons Master thought that one should be able to drink a gallon of water within the space of a breath and was always trying to make them do so. “Drink water,” Bren yelled in his own mind as he started working the pells. “The mighty battle cry.”
The rest of the day proceeded as normal with the exception that Morus didn’t make one snide comment to him. It felt more than a little lonely without even Morus’s jeers to keep him company. Cass was once again assigned to their group as interim trainer for the day, while Jacob worked with one
of the other groups. Bren had noticed that it worked on a rotation. Jacob and the other two instructors would work with each group, switching day to day unless on group needed more attention than the others. This was rarely the case. Bren didn’t know if the Weapons Master put Cass with them regularly because of him or not, but he doubted that was the case. Nonetheless he was grateful for it.
Cass spilt the group into pairs with similar skills. Since there was an odd number of trainees, Bren would normally be paired with Morus while Cass worked with whoever seemed to need the most attention, though he would often switch between different trainees so that he worked with each. Today seemed to be different as Morus was paired off with someone else and Cass pulled him aside to work.
“Thank all that is holy, I don’t have to work with Morus today,” Bren said in relief as he faced off against Cass.
“I don’t know if you will be too grateful once I am done with you,” Cass said, arching his eyebrow. “This was on the Weapons Masters orders. It seems that even against Morus, you haven’t lost a single spar. The Weapons Master thinks that you might need more challenging opponents.”
“Does that mean he will move me into a different group?” Bren asked hopefully.
“No, the groups are based on when they started the academy, not by age or ability. Not to mention, the trouble with your rage is still a large issue that has to be dealt with. I hear the weapon master has been dreaming up some ‘special’ exercises for you.”
“That doesn’t sound very…” Bren began to say, but his words were stopped dead when Cass attacked head on. Unlike the previous times Bren had fought against Cass, the older fighter didn’t slow or pull any attacks. In the space of a few heartbeats, Bren had been struck numerous times, each one a death strike. Whenever Bren thought that he was beginning to catch onto Cass’s tempo, it would suddenly change and an unexpected strike would catch him off guard, sending him back or to the ground painfully.
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