The Winter Letter

by D. E. Stanley

  Gatnom slammed the open book down in front of Will. Both wooden cups spilt as the table shook. Will grabbed the letter and placed it side by side with the book. In the loose papers was a hand drawn symbol that matched the watermark on the letter exactly. Both of a lion standing in front of the sun.

  “The one who sent for you is the one who killed my parents,” said Gatnom. “And I imagine your parents did not die in an accident at all. Not if the King is involved. He has already orphaned every child this side of the sudden peaks, and now it seems he has taking his evil to other worlds.”

  The quiet air instantly was full of clanging thoughts.

  “So now the question is this,” Gatnom said seriously. “Will you join us?”

  “Join you? Join you in what?”

  “Will, it is the will of the King of All that you are here. A war is coming, to stop King Mel Masih’s evil, and we are going to join. Every orphan older than I has already joined the new army. Together we can put a good King on the throne! One who will not murder an entire generation!”

  Gatnom’s eyes were full of contagious passion, and Will felt the same stirring in his own heart. King Mel had not planned on him falling into this forest and meeting Gatnom. It was a setup the entire time, but the King’s plan had failed. Of course he had killed his parents, how else had he known all of those things?

  Will’s eyes caught fire, and with them the last depressed feeling turned to anger. He crumpled the letter up inside of a tight fist and looked Gatnom straight in the eye.

  “I’m with you,” Will said.

  Gatnom smiled, then his face softened. “I have one more question,” he said.

  “Yeah?”

  “What’s a train?”

  Ten

  The Team

  Will woke the next morning more rested than he had been in days. Dreams of his parents, fires, and evil kings had been constant throughout the night, but somehow he still felt refreshed. He crawled out of bed and walked into the main room. This tent had 12 tiny bedrooms, a small kitchen, a large living room with a library, and a bathroom (which Will had to figure out, don’t ask). Gatnom was seated at the table in the main room, reading. He was surrounded by a stack of books two feet high, but only one was open.

  “Good morning Will. How was your rest?” Gatnom asked without looking up.

  “Good. I feel better.”

  Gatnom looked up and smiled. He pulled out a piece of cloth from his pocket. “Last night I placed a charm underneath your cot. I imparted some magic into it to help you rest.”

  “Imparted? What’s that?”

  “Is there magic in your world?” Gatnom asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Will answered. He wasn’t sure if there was or not anymore.

  “Then there is much to explain. Impartation is when magic is placed into an object, like a cloak or cloth. This way it can be taken to places where the Magi cannot go.” Gatnom slid a book out from the middle of one of the stacks. The ones above it fell to the floor, but Gatnom didn’t seem to notice. He held the book up.

  IMPARTATIONS

  “It’s all a part of the arts you will need to learn.”

  “What arts?”

  “The Magi Faith Arts; the same practiced by magi in Baru for thousands of years.”

  Will’s eyes got wide. “Like Magic? Like what you did last night?”

  “Yes.”

  “Man, that’s awesome!” Will said. He glanced at the table full of books. “Are all of these magic books?”

  “Yes, these are just a few of the books you will need to read.”

  Will suddenly wondered how bad he really wanted to learn magic.

  "But,” Gatnom continued, “we don’t have that much time. The War Games start in just two months.”

  “War Games?”

  “Yes,” said Gatnom, smiling. He seemed more than happy to explain. “The War Games is a tournament of Magi held in the Underground Arena south of here. It’s how the strongest Magi are found and ranked in the army of Lord Markus. It only happens every four years, and this is the year! It is our only chance to join the army of the Under-Kingdom. The war could be over by the next games.”

  “Wait, who is Lord Markus, and what is the Under-Kingdom? I’m lost.”

  “Okay, let me start from the beginning.” Gatnom motioned to a chair at the table. Will sat. “Lord Markus is the most powerful Magi east of the peaks and the leader of the Under-Kingdom. In fact, as far as we know, he is the only magi who has mastered the power needed to summon the dragons from the sea—”

  “Dragons? There are dragons?!”

  “Yes, of course, but why do you look so excited? Are there not dragons in your world?”

  “No!”

  “Well, they are dangerous, ferocious to everyone, but the one summoning them and only loyal to him by magic. They live under ground. When they come to the surface they always emerge from the sea.”

  “I’ve read about Dragons, but those were just stories.”

  “Stories? What do you mean?”

  “It’s, uh, make believe, like telling something that isn’t real, something that never happened as if it did.”

  “How do you imagine something you’ve never seen, or heard, or experienced?” Gatnom asked, suddenly intrigued.

  Will thought for a second. Once he had tried to imagine a new color, but it just made his head hurt. “I don’t know, but Dragons, magic, wars, kings; I can’t believe it’s all real!” Will sounded surprised, but deep down he wondered if he had known it was possible all along, just somewhere along the way stopped believing so.

  Gatnom made himself comfortable in the chair. “I think I should tell you some of Baru’s history. For you this started just a few days ago, but this war actually stems from before you and I were born.

  “Years ago a witch rose up and enslaved the miners of the Sudden Peaks. With some type of new dark magic she turned these men into the nearest thing to Goblins that exist. She was consumed with the desire to be queen of this world, so with them she built a bewitched army and sent them to destroy the city of King Neba, the original King of Baru. The King, having just arrived from a long journey, had no time to prepare, so he split up his top three knights, sending one of the three to hunt down and break the spell the witch had over the people. This knight’s name was Lord Markus.

  “Lord Markus tracked her deep into the mines and killed her, but when the witch died the spell was not broken and the siege continued. There was another power behind it, one unseen. In just a few hours the city was overrun, but all of the sudden almost the entire bewitched army turned and retreated into the caves.”

  “Why did they run?” Will asked.

  “We don’t know, but we do know King Neba was in the city when the invasion happened and afterwards he was never seen again. When the hoard finally cleared King Mel sat on the throne. Some say King Mel was the real power behind the witch; others say he used the invasion to take the throne from King Neba while he was at his weakest. We don’t know. We know nothing about him. It’s like he appeared out of nowhere.

  “Lord Markus had no idea what was going on in the city, but he sensed something was different, so he delayed his return. When he learned of the new King he hid east of the peaks, mostly underground, and recruited a few men to aid him if war came. A few years later the raids began, so Lord Markus began to build his army. We now call him the Under-King, and we are the Under-Kingdom. Our goal is to reclaim the throne of King Neba.”

  “Where’s Lord Markus now?” asked Will.

  “He has been in seclusion for a few years now, working on a spell that will have the power to turn the tides in our favor. King Mel Masih is extremely powerful. Not to mention those huge walls he built around the city. But, Lord Markus is working on something day and night, and I know he will succeed.”

  Gatnom crossed his arms and leaned back. He grinned before he spoke. “Master Jared is the personal guard of the Under-King. He is in charge of the mobilization of the army.”


  Gatnom stared at Will waiting for him to get it.

  “What?” Will asked.

  “Will, Magi are ranked in the army by how well they do in the War Games, but they don’t let just anyone join the games, only the best. The only reason we are being allowed to go is because Master Jared is our guardian and the personal guard of the Under-King. It is such an honor! We will be the youngest team competing!”

  “You mean we will be the youngest in the army?”

  “Yes! Isn’t it exciting? I’ve dreamed of the war-games for years, to be a part of what is coming! We will change the whole world for the good!”

  From atop the staircase there was a rustle. “Gat, you down here?” said a young voice from the tent entrance. A girl, the first girl Will had seen here, with light mocha skin and dirty blonde pigtails descended into the room two steps at a time. She wore pants cut off at the shins that looked like blue jeans, except they were no longer blue, more brown and green (all the colors of dirt). Her shirt was teetering between white and brown with the short sleeves rolled up to her shoulders, and her shoes were shin-high lace-up black boots with wide laces and thick worn soles. Hanging from her left wrist was a small and round silver mirror that looked like it snapped open and closed.

  She didn’t wait to be introduced. “Hey! I’m Wohie!”

  “I’m Will,” Will said. He made a move to shake her hand, but Wohie slapped it, bumped it with her knuckles, spun around, and snapped. Gatnom laughed.

  “Ya know, if you’re gonna be on the team you’re gonna have to learn that,” Wohie said seriously.

  Will looked at the girl standing next to Gatnom. It couldn’t be.

  “Will meet Wohie. She’s the third part of our team,” Gatnom said. “Like you, she’s just old enough to qualify.“

  ”That’s me!“ said Wohie with a smile and a wink.

  “How old are you?” Will asked.

  “I am almost eighty-two percent sure I’m already close to passing the exact age of thirteen.”

  “What?” When Will finally got it he rolled his eyes. Wohie didn’t notice.

  “Don’t worry man; we’re gonna show you all the ropes,” she said. She stood very straight, with both hands propped on her hips.

  ”It is true that we don’t have much time,” said Gatnom. “The tournament is coming soon. You’re gonna have to learn fast.”

  Gatnom grabbed the open book from the table and handed it to Will. It was thick and heavy. “We’ll skip all but one of the books for now, but this one we can’t skip. This must be read before the ceremony.“

  ”Ceremony? What ceremony?“ Will asked.

  ”The Awakening Ceremony. It’s how you become a magi. We must awaken the magic in you.“

  ”Awaken?“

  ”Just read the book. It will answer all of your questions.“

  ”What will I have to do?“

  ”First thing, read this,“ Gatnom said with a smile. Will got the point.

  ”Okay. Just one more question: when’s the ceremony?“

  ”Tonight.“

  “Tonight? Already? You mean I’ve got to read this whole thing today?” Will arms were already tired from holding the big thing.

  “Yes,” Gatnom answered. He looked confused. “Is that a problem?”

  “Oh no! Not at all!” said Will. He shook the large leather book back and forth in front of Gatnom.

  “Good,” Gatnom replied, not getting Will’s sarcasm.

  “Don’t worry Willy, you can do it man,” Wohie said. She punched him softly in the arm.

  “It’s Will,” Will said.

  “Will... hrm... No, I like Willy better. Willy it is.”

  Gatnom laughed again. “Go ahead and find a quiet place to read. Stay close to camp; it’s not safe to wander off. When it’s time for the ceremony we’ll come get you.”

  Eleven

  The Grouchy Book

  After quite the search Will found a tree who promised not to read over his shoulder. He leaned up against it, laid the heavy book in his lap, and flipped open the cover. The book wasn’t divided into chapters, but sections, long scary sections with no page numbers. Will opened to the title page and introduction.

  THE MAGI

  The arts of the Magi Faith are older than any world we know to have ever existed. It started before history was recorded and has survived every age since. The earliest accounts were recorded and kept by an ancient gardener from the land of—

  Will slammed the book shut. As he had been reading the old ink had started to glow neon blue, and the same light had begun leaking from the rough edges of the paper. He looked up at the tree, who quickly looked away.

  “I know you were looking. What should I do?” Will asked.

  When the tree knew he had been caught he answered, “I didn’t see anything. The letters are too small.”

  “What? You didn’t see that light?”

  “Um… no?” The tree said, wondering if he was giving the right answer.

  Reluctantly, Will creaked open the book and began to read again. Just like before, the pages started to glow, but this time Will fought the urge to slam the book shut. Within a minute he was completely surrounded by a blue cartoonish fog, and out of the blue a sentence appeared and a voice spoke.

  “The Arts of the Magi Faith are older than any world we know to have ever existed—”

  “Cool,” Will said.

  The voice stopped.

  “Hello?”

  “Are you finished with your interruption?” the book asked.

  “Geez. Sorry.”

  The book continued, skipping past the introduction. “Section One: The History of the Magi Faith Arts...”

  The book cleared its throat.

  “When Pugian was first created the King of All set up the systems all of Baru is governed by to this day. One of those systems is called Al’Dun— Al’Dunim— Al’Dun`amis.” The book had trouble pronouncing the last word. It did it’s best (which was far from correct), then said, “Today we simply call it The Arts of the Magi Faith. The early history of our world, including the first instances of Magic, from the first song ever sung and the first cloak ever worn, are recorded in the single volume, The Collected History of Baru.”

  The narrator paused. Will heard pages flipping.

  “Section Two,” the book said after the pages stopped. “The Proper Use of Magi—”

  “Wait, that’s all?” Will asked. “Section one looks a lot bigger than that.”

  “We don’t have that much time, now do we?” said the book matter of factly. “Now, as I was saying...”

  Will mockingly mimicked the now as I was saying part.

  “Section Two: The Proper Use of Magic.

  “The most important rule for the Magi is that power should only be used to right wrongs that haven’t happened yet. The urge to change the past can cause a Magi to loose his mind, and using magic for selfish gain at the cost of others is nothing more than setting a trap for yourself.”

  Here, another voice, more high pitched than the first (if that was even possible), began speaking, and a balding man’s torso (except with a head) appeared - complete with a name tag that read Lord Patrooni.

  “The greatest enemy is often yourself,” Lord Patrooni said. “And, one should always know his enemy well enough to know the motive for his enemies actions.”

  Lord Patrooni faded into the blue, looking quite proud he was being quoted. The grouchy voice returned.

  “The danger of using magic in wrong motivation is immense because of its strong ability to corrupt.”

  At this point scenes (like a movie) began to show in the fog. These were not read, but re-enacted by not so good actors. Each story featured a Magi, or Dragon, or Princess that decided to use magic for their own purposes. Every single one ended with bad things happening to innocent people and even worse things happening to the one who misused magic. Some of the stories were hard to watch.

  Once the actors bowed out and disappeared Will h
eard a small commotion coming from within the book.

  “Yes, yes, I understand that, but I think it better if I take it from here,” a different voice said.

  There was a small protest, but then the first voice agreed. “If that is what you think is best Professor.”

  “I do.”

  “Section three is titled, ‘The Carrier,’” the new voice said. This voice made Will sit up and pay closer attention. It was older, with a British accent, and sounded more gentle and dignified (much unlike the previous story teller who had sounded like his nose was stopped up and stuck up in the air).

  “As you read stories of magic you will find it is always kept in a staff, or wand, or ring, or other inanimate object. This is for the world’s protection. If a magi turns evil the authorities must have a way to take his power away. Therefore, magi are powerless apart from their carriers.

  “The carrier cannot be a person, as that would be much too dangerous. It cannot be an animal, because that can turn cruel and the death of the animal would end the magic. Instead, it must be some object the person cares much for. Therefore, the only types of objects able to be used are ones which hold memories the magi wants to keep."

  The new narrator stopped.

  “Do you have any questions William?” he asked.

  “No, sir—I mean Professor,” Will answered.

  “Very good. Where were we? Ah yes, The carrier is bound for life to the magi in a special ceremony (which we’ll talk about in the next section) and if ever the carrier is lost it will try to find its way back to its magi. However, it is possible for a magi of greater power to hold another magi’s carrier captive, although it is very difficult to achieve for any lasting amount of time.