The Eighth Born: Book 1 of the Pankaran Chronicles

by C. Night

  Rhyen gritted his teeth. “And that someone is me.”

  Cazing raised his chin and looked at his apprentice. “You are the only eighth born son of Taida’s bloodline. You are the only one who mirrors his circumstances.”

  “Then I’m related to Taida?” asked Rhyen quietly.

  Cazing paused before answering. “Distantly. You are descended from his sister, in a mixed bloodline over a thousand years old.”

  “And you knew that?” Rhyen asked, perfectly aware of the answer.

  Cazing sighed. “I did,” he admitted. “We’ve been watching everyone who was descended from Taida’s family since the breaking of the Stone.”

  “So, all this time, you knew that I was Taida’s match? That I was the exact person destined to balance the world, to put the Stone together and to undo his spell?”

  Cazing nodded sadly. “Yes. Yes, I did know.”

  Rhyen shook his head, still staring out at the sea. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

  Cazing ran a hand over his brows. “I needed to keep it a secret,” he said simply. “But you shouldn’t have had to find out through the Trance. I should have told you when we got to Corna.”

  Rhyen wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “When we got to Corna?” He turned and glared incredulously at his master. “Why not before then? Why did you need to keep it a secret?” His control was starting to fail, and his voice broke. “You’ve known, this whole time, that I would have to put the Stone together. You knew I met whatever criteria there was, that I was the only one who could reverse Taida’s spell. But you never told me. You were happy to just lead me around like a blind man!”

  “No!” Cazing started, but Rhyen cut him off, his anger finally breaking through.

  “Liar!” Rhyen shouted. “You lied to me—you planned this whole thing! You wanted me to apprentice to you! I saw Thom’s memories—you only went to the Academy in the first place so you could train me! You made me trust you, so that one day I would do what you wanted to but couldn’t!” His hands were balled into fists at his sides, and he turned so that he was facing Cazing head on.

  “You don’t care about me at all!” Rhyen was yelling until his throat felt like it would split. “You acted like my friend, when all you really wanted was for me to put together the Stone!” His throat was tight, and to his shame he felt tears prick in his eyes. “You’ve been using me—you don’t care whether I live or die, as long as I serve your purpose!”

  “I do care, Rhyen, I do,” Cazing insisted quietly. “You are the son I never had. I would trade my life for yours in a heartbeat. I value everything about you, Rhyen.” Cazing’s eyes were bright, and even through his rage Rhyen heard the sincerity and truth weaved in the sorcerer’s words. But that did not change the fact that Cazing had lied to him all these years, had kept him in the dark, had hidden the truth from him.

  Rhyen furiously shook his head. “But you never told me about it! Not once, in over eighteen years of knowing each other, did you mention it! It’s not like you didn’t have the time—we were at the Tower together for ten years! Gods, damn it all! Didn’t you ever think that maybe I’d like to know what you have planned for me? What my destiny is? That maybe I wanted a say in it? But no, you don’t care, do you, Cazing of Avernade? Who cares whether one person is used and destroyed—it’s all for the greater good, isn’t it? It’s okay to lie to me, to use me, to do this one bad thing, because in the end you had a good reason, right? What am I to you but a pawn—the exact component, Taida’s perfect match? And you never even mentioned it!”

  Rhyen grabbed his head and ran his fingers in his hair. “All this time, I believed you…why couldn’t you leave me alone?” He staggered away from the sorcerer, pacing back and forth, anger and betrayal wounding him like a sword, confusion hounding him like a wolf.

  Cazing stood quietly, letting Rhyen rage uninterrupted at him. His face was resigned and miserable, and when his apprentice fell silent at last, Cazing spoke. “Yes, Rhyen, I lied to you. I kept your destiny secret. But I was trying to help you by doing so. You see, you cannot put the Stone together alone.”

  Rhyen paused, glaring, confused, at his master.

  Cazing wrinkled his brow. “You are the main reason we can reverse Taida’s spell. But you cannot do it by yourself.”

  Rhyen gritted his teeth. “No. Thom told me I was… and in the Trance, I heard you two talking—even you said I was the only one who could mend the Stone.”

  “Yes, you are! But Taida had with him companions when he set out to take the Stone’s power. To reverse the spell, we need to completely reenact it, with every component—so you need companions too.”

  This pulled Rhyen short. A memory wavered before his eyes, filling his mind… he recalled, as though from someone else’s life, Komil the Bard, more than ten years ago at a Harvest Festival in the village Fayer, telling the story of the Faceless Taida and the Breaking of the Stone…he strode through the city with a chosen few, as silently as a ghost…

  “I had forgotten that Taida had companions,” Rhyen admitted. “But why the hell should that have meant that you needed to keep all this secret from me?”

  “Because of whom Taida had with him when he broke the Stone,” Cazing said, his voice miserable again. Rhyen blinked, confused. Cazing sighed and went on. “He had with him a Thief, who helped him steal into Pero and into the Palace. He had with him a Guide, who led him though the city. And, finally, he had a Betrayer within the Perovian Palace, who granted him access to the keep where the Stone was held.”

  “A Betrayer?” Rhyen asked slowly. It finally clicked in his mind. “So I need a Thief, a Guide, and a Betrayer, because Taida had one of each… and you are my Betrayer.”

  Cazing hung his head. “Yes. I am. I kept all of this secret from you just so that I could betray you—you needed a Betrayer.” He looked seriously up at Rhyen. “It was not my wish to stab you in the back, but I needed to. If you can believe it, I only kept your destiny from you in order to help you.”

  Rhyen listened with horrified astonishment. It made sense. Of course it did. Cazing had only done this to become his Betrayer. Rhyen supposed, after hearing this explanation, that he should feel guilty for raging so at his master. But he didn’t. It only solidified the idea in his mind that Cazing had used him, had played him like a puppet on a string.

  “Are there any other companions?” he asked roughly.

  Cazing seemed disappointed, as though he had been hoping Rhyen would have said something else, maybe something understanding. But he answered his apprentice’s question all the same. “Yes. A Soldier. It was an unintentional companion, but someone there nonetheless—the Perovian soldier who tackled Taida away from the Stone.”

  Rhyen closed his eyes in sudden understanding. “That’s why you were so keen to trust Liem, is it? You knew I needed a Soldier to accompany me?”

  Cazing silently nodded. Rhyen thought about everything needed to undo Taida’s spell, about all the individual components, and the perfectly matched circumstances that had to surround each. It was all beginning to make dreadful sense.

  “Why did you have to be my Betrayer?” he asked finally.

  “So that no one else would betray you. If I did it, and for a good reason, I thought it would hurt you less.”

  Rhyen laughed hollowly. “You were wrong.”

  “I see that now,” Cazing said quietly. “I meant to hurt you, so that I would be your Betrayer, but know this, Rhyen—I never took pleasure in deceiving you.”

  Rhyen clenched his jaw and swallowed hard. His throat was tight again. When he was able to speak, he asked, “Why did you have to apprentice me? Because you’re in the Order?”

  “Not exactly. You have to remember this, Rhyen— it took a thousand years, but the world produced you intentionally to provide balance. No matter what, you will put that Stone together, and reverse Taida’s spell.
You would have had to do this even if I had never met you. Remember the compulsion you felt earlier this night, the force that kept you from turning away from your destiny. You know this, deep down. You will have to mend the Stone. You have no choice.” Cazing was looking with sad sympathy at his apprentice. “But, by apprenticing with me, you have a fighting chance against Taida. You are strong and focused. Besides Taida and his right hand, I am the only known sorcerer left. By apprenticing with me, you’ve learned to control your wielding and your Opposite at the highest level. You can control your magic like a sorcerer, not some lowly magician. And now you’ve far surpassed me, you know. You will be ready to face Taida next summer.”

  “But why do I even have to face him?” Rhyen cried. “Isn’t it enough that I have to repair the Stone?”

  Cazing shook his head sadly. “I’m afraid not. If you let Taida live, he will harness the power of the Stone and gain the crowns of the seven Elemental kingdoms for his mistress. If that happens, the world as we know it will cease, for she will unlock the portal in Pero and have dominion over the earth.”

  “But the Portal leads to Heaven… Would that really be such a bad thing, opening the portal to Heaven?”

  “It would,” Cazing answered seriously. “It was closed for a reason. More than just gods live in the spiritual world, Rhyen. If the Fallen One can open the Portal, she can unleash demons, elementals, and all manner of dangerous spirits upon the world. She will have dominion over us all, and we will be helpless to stop her.”

  Rhyen moaned and buried his face in his hands. How did it come to this? Why was this burden placed on his shoulders? He felt alone and helpless. He stopped suddenly, Cazing’s words finally penetrating his mind. “What do you mean I will be ready to face Taida next summer?”

  “Taida broke the Stone on his 30th Name day. You will have to mend it on yours.”

  “I guess that’s why King Terre knew my Name day, since he’s been Persuaded by Taida,” Rhyen said bitterly. Then he gasped as Cazing’s words sunk in. “How will we find all the pieces in time?”

  “There are only a few left,” Cazing replied evenly. “If we don’t find them, then Taida will have to continue to collect them—like you, he has no choice. The Stone must be repaired on your next Name day. And you will be strong enough to mend it and destroy him.”

  “Should we even bother going after the pieces of the Stone, if Taida is going to be searching for them as well? I mean, if he wants the Stone repaired too, if neither of us have a choice about that, what is the point of hunting down the pieces?”

  “With every piece, you get stronger, Rhyen. That’s why we need to get you as many pieces of the Stone as possible, so that you can take on Taida.”

  Rhyen shook his head. “But how can I possibly hope to take on Taida? Even if I do become as strong as him, his affinity will overtake me. How can I stand against his Persuasion? I barely have any Persuasion at all! Taida will just Persuade me to spare him, and he’ll kill me instead.”

  Cazing looked with wide earnest eyes at Rhyen. “No! He will not. If you can learn to master your Opposite, and use it without letting it control you, he will have no sway over you.”

  Rhyen gave an angry shout of laughter. “Oh, that’s it, is it? Just master my Opposite? Just like that?” Rhyen snapped his fingers “No big deal! Are you kidding me? I can barely contain it! How the hell am I supposed to master it? And if I don’t, if I give in to my Opposite and I can’t control it, it will take over completely, and I’ll become just like him. Won’t I?”

  Cazing ran his hands through his hair. “Yes, you will. I know. But I will help you. I’ll tell you how it is done. You master it on the Sorcerer’s Plane—”

  Rhyen flung up his hands. “You’ve never even been there!” he yelled. “Am I the only one talking sense here? How can you possibly help me do something you can’t even do yourself?”

  Cazing bit his lip. “I know. I know, Rhyen. I’ve never been powerful enough to journey to the Sorcerer’s Plane. But I know how it is done, and what you must do once you are there. I have tools that will help you.”

  “Tools?”

  Cazing nodded. “Yes. Things that will give you instruction as you attempt to master your Opposite, and directives for controlling the journey to the Plane. They’ve been passed down through the Order, kept just for you, to help you when this day came. And, with each shard of the Stone, you will get stronger, and with the increase in your powers, you will find both travelling to the Plane and mastering your Opposite more achievable tasks.”

  Rhyen blew out his breath and looked away over the sea. “Why did you never tell me?”

  “I already told you that, Rhyen,” the old sorcerer said sadly. “I did what I thought was best.”

  “You were wrong.”

  Cazing passed his hand over his eyes again. “So I was.”

  Rhyen continued to gaze out over the sea, thinking. It was all so clear for him now, so terribly obvious. He remembered the compelling pull that had led him to the Stone. He had thought it was the result of powerful magic. Now that he knew he was designed to repair the Stone, that the world had intentionally produced him to bring back balance, he wondered if the pull he felt was more than powerful magic—if it was destiny.

  He shrugged his shoulders, trying to let his mind go numb. “Is Persuasion my affinity, then?” Rhyen asked abruptly. He had always wanted an affinity, but now he was not so certain. He didn’t want to share any more traits with Taida.

  “No. You share Taida’s bloodline, and his was originally blessed by Persuasion, so it’s true that you have it in you as well. But that is not your affinity—”

  “But it’s Taida’s affinity! If it’s not mine too, then we’re not a match, and I’m not the one to put together the Stone!” Rhyen said hopefully.

  “You are the one, Rhyen. There is no doubt. But you see, Taida was of mixed descent. Persuasion was not his only Element. In fact, his strongest affinity was for Earth—steady, level-headed, and loyal. But when the Fallen One called to him while he was on the Sorcerer’s Plane, she Persuaded him into a deal. Though he was one of the most powerful sorcerers ever to walk the earth, he could not refuse the goddess of Persuasion, especially since at least part of his powers came from her originally. When they made their bargain, she gave him some of her powers, increasing his ten-fold. The Persuasion she poured into him changed him. And with that change she was able to make his Opposite corrupt and consume him. That is how his affinity became Persuasion, and how he came to be the evil man we fear today.”

  “How do you know all this?” Rhyen wondered in horrified amazement.

  Cazing hesitated.

  “Don’t lie to me anymore!” Rhyen warned.

  Cazing sighed. “Taida’s master was also on the Sorcerer’s Plane when this happened. In those days, when the Stone was whole, many sorcerers reached the Plane. He witnessed the deal from a distance, and watched as Taida’s Opposite consumed him. When he returned to his body, the master came to our Order, and told us everything.”

  “Is he still alive?”

  “No. He never used magic again. He felt that he had failed his apprentice, and he refused to wield anymore. Eventually, his magic killed him.”

  Rhyen suddenly wished for the old days, where he was nothing more than an apprentice, happy and ignorant in the Tower Avernade. He comprehended all that Cazing was telling him, but he was miserable for it. Perhaps ignorance had been preferable, after all. Besides wanting to be his Betrayer, Rhyen thought there might be another reason why his master had kept him in the dark all these years: Cazing was trying to spare him this terrible knowledge.

  “You will have to do this one way or another, Rhyen.” Cazing said, breaking into Rhyen’s reverie.

  Rhyen shook his head. “Have I no say in it?”

  “You are a man born of destiny. When Taida shattered the Stone, the world became u
nbalanced. Now, in you, history has repeated itself—you are the only one who can put it together again. And you must do so, whether you wish it or not,” Cazing clarified solemnly. Rhyen signed and stared out at the sea. When he said nothing, the old sorcerer reluctantly repeated, “If you do not decide to do this on your own, Taida will make you.”

  “Not if he can’t find me,” Rhyen quietly countered.

  “What about the Dark Rider?” Cazing asked. “He always finds you, and he is Taida’s right hand.”

  “How did you know that?” Rhyen asked with distracted disbelief.

  Cazing smiled sorrowfully. “Because I know you, Rhyen. I can see it on your face whenever the hand is mentioned. You’ve seen him before, and you expect to see him again.”

  Rhyen looked down. Despite his anger, he was touched—perhaps Cazing did care for him after all, to know him so well… But that didn’t solve his problems. He closed his eyes and frowned. He knew his master was right. The dark figure would always find him. “So I truly have no say? I will be forced to put the Stone together, no matter what I would choose?”

  Cazing shook his head. “But that is where you’re wrong, Rhyen. True, you will have to put it together, no matter what, but you do have a choice! You can mend the Stone of your own free will and choosing before harnessing its power to destroy Taida. Or Taida can Persuade you to do it anyway, and use his affinity to override your free will. And then he will use the Stone’s power against you—either to kill you or to make you join him.” Cazing paused before adding, “And then he will release the Fallen One with the crowns of the seven kingdoms, and she will open the Portal in Pero, and the earth will be destroyed.”

  Rhyen actually smiled, an ironic, weak expression. “You make it sound like an easy choice when you put it that way.”