Warded Mage (Reawakening Saga)

by Jackson, D. W.

  athari. Growing up, there had been plenty of stories about the dwarves though he had learned that most of them had been far from the truth. On the other hand the only stories he could think of that might have anything to do with the Vathari were the ones told to children at night to scare them. It was odd the Vathari had claimed, at one time, that they had ruled the entire surface world until their drive to battle had broken down their own rule. Why weren’t there more stories about them?

  When he reached his temporary home Thad found that it was full of dwarves. Thad wondered why they had all gathered in one place until he heard the rumbling barking of Avalanche as she bound out the small door toward him, knocking him hard to the ground. As Thad tried to pull himself from under the massive weight of his friend, the dwarves began to gather around him laughing.

  “Look, it’s a mage under a rock. Not something you see every day is it boys?” Crusher said continuing to laugh.

  “If you can laugh, you can help me out here.” Thad said slightly annoyed.

  CHAPTER IX

  Thad woke late the next morning with the sun already high in the sky assaulting his eyes. With his head pounding he made his way over to the small water basin and washed his face. The dwarves had thrown a large party and Crusher, as he always did, forced strong dwarven ales down his throat until he passed out. Knowing Crusher, he had forced more down his throat even after that.

  Most of the night was a blur to him but he remembered Elder Grenlor telling him to visit him as soon as possible. It struck Thad as odd that the old elder was so persistent about it the night before. Knowing that the normally easy going elder must have a reason for his rush, Thad dressed as quickly as his pounding head and aching muscles would let him.

  Thad looked at the leather vest Sae-Thae had given him. As he ran his fingers over the symbols representing his strengths he thought about what he had said about the mages of the past. They were founded on the principles of peace and abhorred the use of magic for war. He had already killed hundreds directly and indirectly with his magic during the war at Southpass. He was sure some of the mages of long ago had also killed during the Fae War and before. How did they feel when they used their magic in such a way? Thad had been raised since birth to think little of fighting and when his blade or magic pierced an enemy nothing ran through his mind at the time. Sometimes later after the battle had died down he would dream of the faces he had killed in the heat of battle but they seldom bothered him. Was that part of what the dark hid from him?

  Putting on the leather jerkin Thad let the thoughts drift from his mind. He knew he didn’t enjoy killing and that was enough for him. There was no use in tormenting himself over things he couldn’t control or things he had done in the past. The best thing he could do was set his sights on the future and does his best to work toward his own goals. He would reestablish the Mage’s Tower and bring safety to those like himself. No longer would the children of Moriudonius run scared from the Brotherhood of the Fox.

  The dwarven village was not overly large, only housing a little over two thousand dwarves. A large amount of the dwarves live in houses carved from the mountain but most preferred the open ground. Thad’s house was one of the few with a bed, as the dwarves preferred to sleep on large boulders carved like boxes that fit their frame almost perfectly. Thad had tried it once on Crusher’s urging but had found it an uncomfortable experience.

  Thad found Grenlor in his stone house sitting by the window his old fingers stretched out as he read through the dwarven tablets. No words were written on the stone but all the information one could want could be found on them. It was magically etched into the very heart of the stone. Thad had once tried to read one but it was more than he could handle and he had only been left with a headache a hangover would envy.

  Thad took a seat next to the old dwarf and waited for him to finish. Having tried to read the tomes once he knew the amount of concentration it took to seep into one. When Grenlor finally looked up his face was covered in sweat and his face was pale. “Not as spry as I used ta be. I am glad you have returned from your trip to visit the Vathari. For the look of ya I see ya found what ya were looking fer. I apologize fer not telling ya about the God’s before but there are rules that bind us and only a dwarven mage would be allowed to share the secrets and regrettably, there hasn’t been one of those in centuries. We as a people have moved away from using magic overtly, though there are still dwarf villages that host a great number of mages. Now boyo, I must ask, do ya want ta undergo the dwarven right of pilgrimage? We don’t have a mage to lead ya through it like the Vathari but we have plenty of priests to perform the rite.”

  Thad had already anticipated the question. He was strongest in the earth element so going through the rite wasn’t really the question of if, but when. “I would like to go through the rite as soon as possible. I need to get on my way back to Farlan. I don’t know what it is but something is nagging at me.” Thad replied as the dreams he had of Maria flashed through his mind.

  “I will talk to the priests to prepare your ceremony. Normally the rite fer the coming of age is held in the winter so it will take a few days ta prepare everything. Until then I have translated a few items fer ya ta look through. I couldn’t find much on yer mage’s history but I did find a bit on tha Brotherhood.” The old dwarf said as he pulled a large bundle of parchment from underneath the table and handed them to Thad.

  Thad read through the first few papers. It was very detailed information about the Brotherhood. Though it was centuries old Thad was still sure he could find some useful information to help him in his coming struggle. Thad excused himself and headed back to his own house, the bundle of parchment tucked safely in his arms. Sighing Thad looked down at the large bundle, ever since he had met Sae-Thae he had spent countless hours studying and very little practicing. He could feel the magic around him. It was almost tangible, and he burned to pull it in himself, to mold it into what he desired. Sae-Thae had told him it was the bane of all mages to yearn for the magic. If one did not control oneself then he would let the magic engulf him. He hadn’t touched true magic in almost a fortnight and with every passing day his body craved its touch more and more. He was determined not to let his urges control him, even if it drove him mad.

  After reading for almost an hour Thad had only learned a few things new about the Brotherhood. Thad had thought they had been created by the emperor during the Fae Wars but it looked as if they had existed long before the emperor had taken power. That raised as many questions in his mind that had not been there before. Had the Brotherhood been the true voice behind the war? The origin of their weapons was also a mystery though the dwarves being master craftsmen had a few ideas. While the different theories differed greatly they all had one thing in common, a god or mage had to be involved in some way.

  During the Fae Wars the Brotherhood had been vast with an estimated count of over fifty thousand soldiers at their command, though that was still only a fraction of the emperor’s real force. The whole of the emperor’s force hunted mages but the brotherhood was tasked with especially difficult targets and were seen as an elite force during the Fae Wars. The basic forces of the Brotherhood each carried a sword that absorbed magic but the commanders also had armor crafted from it making it almost impossible for the mages to touch them without expending huge amounts of magic. Their armor also protected against the magical weapons of the dwarves and elves.

  Though there were hints of them being around for thousands of years before the empire was created it was only sparsely mentioned. The dwarves while not extremely long lived were unique in the way they passed down knowledge. The strongest memories were passed down from parents to child at birth. The dwarfs referred to these memories as stone memories. Though there was a limit, memories older than three generations began to fade, only the strongest of memoirs persisted longer than that. That was why the dwarves still kept logs of their history so that nothing was lost, though only the elders ever read them.

&nb
sp; Thad envied the dwarves’ ability to pass down memories, though Crusher had told him it was as much of a burden as a gift. “When you’re young and have little memories of your own everything you do is influenced by the memories of your parents. It is confusing to be playing in the mines and remember taking your wife there on a romantic getaway.” Crusher had told him. His friend hated how his memories of his ancestors pushed him into being a mere copy of them. That was why he became a blacksmith since every one in his family had been miners. It was his way to fight against the unwanted memories in his head.

  Sitting aside the parchments Thad leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. In a few days he would meet with the dwarven god and ask for his blessing. The Vathari god had been scary and had racked his mind to the edges of his sanity. What would the dwarven god be like? The Vathari were almost as different from one another as humans, but the dwarves were strikingly similar to each other, with a few exceptions. They were patient, loved to drink, loved a good fight, and most of all loyal. The God of the Dark had asked Thad what dark was, he had not known the answer at the time though now it made perfect sense to him. But what was earth?

  The earth was strong yet could be broken. It was made up of everything from dirt to gems. As his mind answered the seemingly simple question over and over, each time he had a different answer and reason for it and each time his frustration grew. “What is Earth?” Thad yelled as he slammed his fist into the table.

  “Is that bothering ya,” Thad heard a raspy voice say from behind him. “In dwarven earth means hidden secret. And just like it says dwarves love secrets, we love to hide them, keep them, and make them. Every dwarf has many secrets that we hold as dear as our own life. I have more than a few secrets that I hold dear. Moreover, just like things hidden in the earth, secrets yearn to get out, to make themselves known. So as a dwarf we are torn between keeping our secrets to ourselves and hinting about them to those around us. Ya get a load of dwarves together and ya got nothing more than a bunch of people trying to out hint each other about a secret they hold dear. I bet ya have a few secrets ya hold dear as well.”

  Crusher was right, he had more than a few secrets. Though he did not hold most of those secrets because he found them precious, most of them were kept out of respect or the pain they would cause him if exposed. The secret of his birth name, was one such of those. He had been born Mark Allicar, a son sold to slaver by his very mother. His name had changed when Monique his adopted sister had given him the name Thaddeus, though the details of that meeting were also a secret. Remembering Monique, Thad absent mindedly rubbed the ring on his right hand with the symbol of a rose on it. The fact he was a mage was held a close secret, almost everywhere he went, as to let it be known would cause problems. If the elements one was gifted with guided them, then he understood why earth was his strongest element. “I might have one or two secrets I prefer to keep close.” Thad said teasingly.

  Thad was starting to understand, while the dark hid things not only from others but from the person themselves, the earth held secrets that the person held tightly. They were similar but completely different at the same time. The answer to the question was simple yet nothing like what he thought. It took strength and conviction to hold onto a secret, making the dwarves the perfect host for such a thing. Nowhere in all the realms would you find another creature as stubborn as a dwarf.

  “Yer as bad as a dwarf my friend. One day we shall share a blood secret making us true brothers my friend.” Crusher said confidently.

  “Blood secret?” That asked having never heard the term before though it tended to bring to mind something unpleasant.

  “Tis a secret that a small group of people share that are so valuable they would be willing ta die fer it. Sharing a blood secret is said ta be the true trust of friendship, so those who carry them are called Brothers of Blood.” Crusher said as he pulled a flask from his jerkin and took a quick drink. “The only trouble is that it’s impossible to plan a blood secret they always seem to find you.”

  Thad laughed, “What kind of secret is worth a person’s life?”

  “I know it might be hard fer ya ta think of one but they exist, and if we’re lucky we might just find one on da road.”

  “You sure you want to tag along with me. You know there’s a large chance we’ll end up dead within a score of days.”

  “That’s why I’m coming with ya. Ya won’t last a day without me.” Crusher said laughing. “Now that yer back ya got some catching up ta do. I tried ta take it slow but yer a few casks behind in yer drinking quota.”

  Thad paled slightly at the thought of another night of drinking. “Don’t you think that it’s a bit early to start drinking? The sun isn’t even close to sitting yet.”

  Crusher grabbed Thad by the back of his jerkin and pulled him out of his chair spilling papers everywhere. “Like I said ya got some catching up ta do. How are ya supposed ta catch up if ya don’t start a tad early?” Crusher said laughing as he pulled Thad from his house.

  Thad tried to pull free of Crushers grasp but it was impossible. “Will you at least let me walk on my own?” Thad bellowed after hitting a large rock with his back side.

  Crusher ignored his attempts to escape and continued to pull him along. “Ya can’t be trusted me friend. Ya just want me ta let ya loose so ya can make a run back fer yer house and those dusty books of yerrs. I’ll let ya go after we get a pint or two in ya, until then just sit back and enjoy yer ride.”

  Thad continued to struggle but it was impossible. For a brief moment he thought about using magic to stop his friend but that had a chance of backfiring. It was one thing when Crusher was playfully antagonizing him but the dwarf tended to get heated up rather easily when his plans were thwarted and the last thing Thad wanted was the dwarf to sneak in his house while he slept and force a barrel of ail down his throat.

  When they finally reached their destination Crusher threw Thad through the doors. “That hurt you rock headed dwarf.” Thad yelled as he started to get up from the ground. Brianna reached out her hand her bright smile taking away a bit of the sting of Crushers treatment.

  “Glad ta see ya back lover boy, now drink up before yer buddy forgets that ya don’t drink the ale barrel and all and shoves it down yer gullet.” Brianna said laughing lightly.

  CHAPTER X

  Just as the elder had promised Thad was soon standing before a large door carved in the mountain awaiting his rite of pilgrimage. Crusher and Brianna had come to watch him leave. Though Crusher’s face looked the same as it did every day, though Thad could see the tension in Brianna’s. If it was anything like the dark rite there was some danger in attempting it. That mattered little to Thad. He needed strength and the only way to get it was through progressing in his magic and the rites. Borrowing the power of the gods seemed a bit overboard but he would do whatever it took to see his goals achieved.

  Thad waited as the dwarven priests preformed the chants and the runes on the door started to glow. When they opened all Thad could see was the stone wall of the mountain behind them. He looked around for some help but everyone’s eyes were on him, and it didn’t look like anyone was willing to tell him what he was supposed to do. Carefully Thad walked up to the stone and gently placed his hand on the stone and was surprised when his hand sunk in as if the stone was simply gray colored water. Taking a deep breath Thad cleared his mind and closed his eyes and walked through the wall of solid stone.

  As his body entered the stone it felt as if he had been covered in ice. It was hard to move and breathing was a chore. Opening his eyes he couldn’t see anything but the stone in front of him. He continued to force himself forward but it was like walking in dense fog. He didn’t know where he was going nor the way back to the entrance so he came to a stop. “Are you there?” Thad asked tensely.

  “It has been a long time since one of my nephews paid me a visit. Give me one moment I wasn’t expecting visitors.” A booming voice said from everywhere.

  The gra
y fog lifted and Thad found himself in a large room that looked much like one of the dwarven forges he had spent so much time in. Standing in front of a large anvil striking a piece of metal stood a stout being, while still twice his size looked much in stature like his children. “Have a seat nephew this will only take a short while. I hate to leave a project unfinished so you must bear with me for the time being.” The god said his voice echoing through the room like a thunderstorm.

  Thad found a chair sitting in front of a large table and attempted to pull himself into it. After the third try, he used his magic to push himself high enough he could sit in the giant sized chair. Once in the chair Thad found, even standing up, it was impossible to see the top of the table. Thad was sure the gods could choose any size they wanted. So why did he have to choose to be so large.

  Thad waited patiently for the god to finish his work. He had little to do so to occupy his time Thad watched the sparks fly with each strike of the god’s mighty hammer. It was impossible to tell what he was making but Thad was sure whatever it was it was far beyond his understanding. “Do you know why dwarves love to work metal?” The figure asked between strikes.

  “They are one with the stone and forming it and giving it shape makes them feel at peace.” Thad answered quickly. He had asked the elder the same question when he had first met him.

  “That is part of the answer. You enjoy creating things as well. Why is that?” the god asked giving Thad a curious look.

  Thad thought about the answer. He had always enjoyed working with his hands but he had never stopped to think why. “I don’t know?”

  The god laughed. “Now that is an answer. To admit when one is without knowledge is a great thing. Many who come here will give any answer they think I might accept is right but few simply answer with I don’t know. It is refreshing to see an honest soul. The truth is no one knows, not even I, why the dwarves love to work the forges. All creatures I believe love to create and since they are born of the earth my children have an inherent gift with molding metal. I like to believe it is as simple as that.” The god said as he stuck the end of what he was working on back in the forge to let it reheat.