I looked at him, miserable. “I am going to have to demonstrate my power?”
“Do not fret, Safi. I had the gamesmen set up a demonstration that will properly highlight your strengths. Even if your control deserts you, the king will be impressed, not horrified by the display.”
“We must prepare to leave soon. Will you stand please so that I can look at you properly?” I frowned, confused, but I did as I was asked. He gestured for me to turn a full circle as he squinted at me. I wore the same rumpled and dusty suit of traveling clothes that I had been wearing since he bought them for me. They were the only presentable clothes I had. My other pair of trousers, the ones I had worn when I met him, were much too threadbare and patched. Finally he nodded with satisfaction. “You look like a travel worn young boy and nothing else.” He did not need to explain what he meant. We both knew what was at stake if someone discovered that I was something else.
He sat back in his chair, lost in thought for a moment, and then he spoke again. “I wanted to share something I have learned over the years, about men born to privilege like our king. They learn from a very young age never to truly take notice of those who serve them. The king will be interested in seeing what you can do for him, but he will never take the time to truly notice you. That fact will probably save both of our necks. If you are quiet, keep your head down and speak only when spoken to, you will be all but invisible to him. Other than that, just follow my lead. Bow when I bow and call him Your Majesty if he even bothers to address you directly.”
The driver who had driven us from Bedato, also drove us to the castle. He greeted us both warmly as he had done every morning on the road. When we got into the carriage I asked Wylan, “Is he your exclusive driver?”
Wylan smiled, “No, but Savan has known me since my early days at the royal court, back when I was the lowly apprentice. I trained in combat with his sons. Some of the newer drivers, who have not known me as long, feel less comfortable.” Even though I was preoccupied with my own worries, I could not help but feel a bit curious about young Wylan. A dozen questions entered my mind about his childhood and his North Land mother. Somehow I sensed that he would not welcome an endless barrage of questions about his past.
Our trip down the dirt road which led to the castle was swift and rough. My nearly empty stomach lurched with every bump. This time we did not stop when we reached the stone arch at the entrance to the drawbridge. Instead, we turned and headed over the wide, wooden slats. The same guard that I had seen the previous afternoon turned to salute us as we passed. The other guard kept his eyes glued on the horizon. “Why does the one guard never speak? Is he intimidated like the carriage drivers?”
“No, it is his sworn duty. When there are guards at the gate, one is charged with identifying all who enter, the other must keep his eyes alert to any threats that might appear from the town or beyond. He must not allow himself to be distracted from his duty.” I nodded, understanding.
We crossed the sturdy wooden bridge and rode through the gates. The castle was made of the same sparkling blue gray stone as the city walls. It was not as tall as our tower. but it stretched nearly the entire length of the courtyard. Mullioned windows covered the front face of the structure, making it look almost like delicate lace. A footman opened the door of the carriage as we pulled up to the front steps, and Wylan stepped out of the coach first. I followed, stumbling against the coach door as I descended the step. I heard a small rip and stopped to investigate. My shirt had caught a nail and there was a small tear under my right arm. If I raised that hand, the bindings around my chest were clearly visible. I looked at Wylan helplessly. He bent and whispered in my ear. “Just keep your elbows at your sides and no one will notice.” I prayed that he was right.
The double front doors were as tall as three men but they were narrow. The servant who answered the door only opened the left half and it was barely as wide as Wylan’s shoulders. He recognized Wylan immediately. “Ah yes, the king and queen have been expecting you. Right this way, please.”
Wylan nodded curtly and followed the man as he briskly led us into a large entryway. Long panel tapestries hung from the high ceiling and draped down the stone walls. They depicted great battles and I would have loved more time to look at the work. There was no time. The servant was still walking and Wylan was keeping pace. There was a large doorway cut into the stone wall just ahead of us. It was flanked by two giant statues. One was a man and the other, a woman figure. Double stone staircases curved around the figures and up to the second floor. I tried not to gape as I was led through the doorway and into the next, equally large chamber. This room was bathed in bright, golden light from the glowing candles in the massive chandelier, but it was almost completely empty of furnishing. A long, carpeted aisle led up to two gilded thrones, set against the back wall of the room.
“Come forth, my mage. Show me who you have brought to our court.” I had not even noticed the thrones were occupied until the deep, male voice spoke. I saw them sitting there unmoving, almost like the statues in the entry.
Wylan approached quickly. My knees were suddenly water but I made myself move forward. The moment we stopped in front of the dais, I lowered my eyes, but not before I was able to catch a glimpse of the monarchs. There was silver threaded through King Naser’s black hair, but he was still a strong vital man. He wore a floor length purple vestment which was embroidered with gold thread. A tall, purple hat adorned his head. Queen Kisi was younger than her husband, but not by much. She had a smooth complexion and a slender figure, but the character lines around her eyes could only have come from age and experience.
I watched from the corner of my eye as Wylan bowed and I followed suit as he had asked me. “Your Majesty, the old witch’s claim was true. I have brought back a young mage of extraordinary power.”
The king was silent for a moment. With my eyes trained on the floor, I could only assume he was looking at me because when next he spoke, he said, “this one looks even scrawnier than you did. Is he like you? One of the--”
“No, Sire,” Wylan interrupted. “He is a farm boy from the west country.”
“West country boy, eh? I thought they liked to make ropes of their hair out there. Why has this one got a shaved head?”
“I could not say, Your Majesty.”
King Naser shrugged. “Ah well, no matter anyway. Let us see what the boy can do. Is he able to open up holes in the earth like you? Damndest thing! Even old Napu could not do that. You would be a godsend on the field of battle if not for that leg of yours.”
Wylan ignored the comment. “I think you will find that the boy brings other unique skills to the arsenal. If you will follow me to the lists, I have had the stable hands prepare a demonstration.” I looked up again.
As was his habit, Wylan turned and started out of the room before I realized that he had moved. I watched as the king and queen rose from their thrones. The queen looked my way and flashed me a quick smile. I had no idea how I was meant to respond so I turned and quickly followed Wylan out the door.
The lists turned out to be a large patch of hard packed earth. It was surrounded by a wooden fence. On one end there were rows of straw dummies, no doubt set up for sword training. In the middle there was a large pile of straw bales. I suspected those were for me. I knew what I was supposed to do with them. I just prayed I had enough control to get it right.
As we approached, I noticed a man standing near the straw. He was dressed in the leather chest armor and battle kilt of a soldier. He strode towards us with animal like grace. Wylan spoke first. “Good morning, Prince Taye, how fare the troops?”
“The new recruits are still quite green, but we will have them whipped into shape in no time. I am still not certain why Father has had me start to increase our troop numbers. He will not say.” I could hear the frustration in his voice. “I cannot say yet how many of the men will be deemed worthy of carrying enchanted weapons, but I will let you know as soon as promising candidates emerge.” Wyla
n nodded and Prince Taye continued, “I am still looking for officers to coordinate troop movements and exercises. Are you sure you are not interested?”
“I am quite sure, Your Majesty. My work may not be as glamorous as yours, but it is important. I am needed here at home in my workshop.”
“My pardon, old friend. I did not mean to imply that your work was trivial. Our campaigns would never be as successful without you. But enough about my worries,” he looked at me. “I see you have a new recruit of your own. Is he going to be as powerful as his master?” His eyes were upon me, but his words were meant for Wylan.
“Only time will tell, but yes, this one has the makings of a powerful mage as long as he sticks to his training.” No one had spoken a word to me since I had arrived. Ordinarily I hated being talked about as if I was not in the room, but today, I was grateful. I stood back and watched the prince talk to my mentor. They seemed to be almost the same age and, although I could not say for certain, they seemed almost like friends. Their relationship was, at least, cordial. I wondered if they had known each other as boys and if they had played together. It was hard to imagine Wylan ever playing, it made me smile just to think of him as a tall gangly boy with a serious expression, holding the leather ball and trying to understand the practical purpose for a game of kick and catch.
The king and queen arrived on the field several moments later and Prince Taye greeted his mother warmly with a kiss on the cheek. He made a shallow bow to the king. “Good morrow, Father. You are looking well.”
“Good morrow, my son. I am surprised to see you here at this hour.”
“Yes, Sire, I was just putting in some early practice before the troops arrive and I had a fortunate encounter with our newest young recruit. I was somewhat dismayed that I had not been informed of his arrival.”
The king puffed up a little bit at the prince’s pointed comments. “I thought I would see him first and get a sense of his power before you were briefed. There is no sense bringing you into the matter until we have judged the boy’s potential. I was going to inform you after I had seen what he can do and if he might be of some use to you in the future.” The prince seemed somewhat mollified, but not completely. The king continued. “At any rate, we are all here and it is time to see this extraordinary gift that Wylan has promised. “
Wylan bowed to the king, then he looked at me. “Where would you like to stand, Safi?” I looked up at him and blinked dumbly. My mouth had temporarily lost the ability to respond. I had a better sense of my range since I began working with Wylan. I had been lighting fires every day since we had met. On the road, he had always charged me with lighting the cook fires. He chose thick logs and used no kindling so I had to light the wood with my own power. Lighting a fire with thick branches required a lot of power so it was a good way for me to let off steam and it had prevented accidents. I had not even felt close to losing control. Standing in this field, with my mentor and the royal family watching, I was afraid that, for the first time a year, my power might actually desert me. I walked closer to the pile of straw bales. There were ten arranged in a pyramid. Wylan directed the royal family to stand back before he turned to me and whispered into my ear. “I know you are nervous. Whatever you can manage will be fine. Aim towards the bottom of the pyramid. If the power will not stop, just turn the whole thing to ash. You do not have to worry about them. If nothing happens, they will take my word for it that you do have the power.”
I nodded at him, then turned and focused on my target, shutting out all outside distraction. I saw the bales sitting in their stack and called the familiar tingle. For several long seconds, it would not come. I just stood in silence and nothing happened. A small bead of sweat trickled down my forehead and the germ of panic began to grow in my belly. Wylan was still standing next to me. He reached down and placed a comforting hand between my shoulder blades. It was the second time he had ever touched me. “Just tune them out. Focus only on the target. You can do this. You have done it dozens of times before.” He bent closer to my ear. “More importantly, even if you cannot do this, it will still be okay.” His touch seemed to be what I needed. The panic receded from my gut and the tingle I had been calling, finally came. Wylan drew his hand away as my flesh got hot but I had gained my confidence again. I could definitely incinerate the straw. A moment later, the flames shot out of my fingers. I aimed for the top of the pyramid and worked my way down, setting each bale on fire as I went. When they were all aflame, I tried to shut the power off, but I could not. My nerves were making the powers unpredictable so I kept shooting flame at the pile of already burning straw, making the flames hotter and hotter. Finally, when the pile was reduced to white ash, I was able to control myself and extinguish the flames.
I turned to Wylan. His mouth lifted in a half smile and he nodded in approval. Then he turned to the royal family. The queen was clapping enthusiastically and beaming at me. The prince’s expression was unreadable as he stood watching me. Only the king spoke, “Damnation! What was that? I have never seen anything like it. Was that even mage power? I thought you were all tied to the earth or something.”
Prince Taye answered, “Historically, there were mages who commanded all four of the elements, earth, air, fire and water. They are all mentioned in story and song, but for some reason, all but the earth mages have disappeared. No one knows what happened to them and no one has seen any other kind of mage for centuries.” The prince spared me one more long look before he turned to Wylan and his father.
The king was beside himself with excitement, “When can we have him battle ready, mage? He can aid our cause in ways that you cannot.”
“Your Majesty, he is a twelve year old boy. It will be at least five years before he is old enough to be conscripted. Unless relations have very much changed in the two weeks since I was away, I fail to see why you are so eager to train him for combat anyway.”
The king shook his head. “All will be revealed in the fullness of time. Just know that I have need of the boy when he is of age. In the meantime, how long before we may expect to see fire enchanted weapons?”
“Timelines are unpredictable. No one alive has ever even seen a fire mage. We do not know what he will be able to do or how soon he will be able to do it until we try.”
I was so intent on the conversation, I barely felt the queen tap me on the shoulder. “They will be discussing your fate for quite a while and they will not welcome input from either of us. Would you do me the honor of taking a little walk with me? I would love to give you a tour of the grounds.” I really did not want to take a walk. I wanted to stay and listen. They were discussing my fate, after all. I knew without being told that I could not say no to the queen. I turned and she linked her hand around my upper arm companionably. We walked the castle courtyard and she pointed out the bakehouse and brewery, sitting near the large outdoor kitchen building. I saw the beautiful carvings and colored windows of the worship house and the stables where all the fine horses were kept. She pointed out the wash house “The royal tailor works in there too.”
Suddenly and unexpectedly, the queen stopped walking and grabbed my hand and examined it. “So small and so clean. I have five living children, you know. At your age, my boys were still small, but their hands and feet were huge! They usually kept enough dirt under their nails to plant potatoes.” She laughed, “I declare, making sure they came to dinner with tidy hands was nearly a full time job!” She paused as if reliving a pleasant memory. “My girls, on the other hand, they all had small neat fingers, just like yours.” I froze. I could not even meet her eyes but she did not seem to notice. She grabbed my shoulder. “My but you are a skinny thing too. My boys were the same. It is lucky your hips flare so nicely or else that belt might not be able to help you keep those trousers up.” She touched the rip in my shirt. I froze. I had forgotten about it. “Oh dear! It looks like you are wearing a bandage. I do hope the injury is not serious.” She picked up the silken drawstring bag that was hanging from her waist. “I car
ry a small sewing kit in my bag for such emergencies.” She quickly produced a needle and thread and closed the hole in my shirt with quick, neat stitches then she took out a knotted thread for measuring. “If I know Wylan, he is planning to take you to the tailor after this meeting is finished. He may have forgotten that you have to be measured in order to be fitted for new clothes. I will just do it for you while we are standing here. I will write it down on a scrap of paper that you can give to the seamstress. You can claim that you are injured and cannot remove your garments.”
She smiled at me and placed her hand back on my arm. “Shall we head back? I imagine the boys have finished their conversation now.” She leaned in confidentially, “I never bother my husband with such petty details as the shape of our new mages hips, of course. Though meeting you makes me think perhaps the other mages are not as long lost as they think. Perhaps they have just been looking in the wrong places.” She patted my arm. “Let that be an end to the matter. We should get back to the boys. It will be lunch time soon and you and your master will be invited to dine.” We walked back to the lists and I tried to figure out how Wylan would feel about my chat with the queen.
Through The Fire: The Alawansi Book One Page 6
