Thinblade

by David A. Wells

  “That sounds like a good idea. I’d like Hanlon and Anatoly to be the first to study it.” Alexander paused for a moment. “Mason, I need to know how to use my connection to the firmament. I need to be able to control it and fight with it. Anything you can offer on the subject would be helpful.”

  Mason deflated slightly. “Alexander, I understand how important this is to you but I’ve searched my memory and my library for any insight into your abilities and found none. For now, trust your instincts. Take mental note of how you feel when you connect with the firmament and practice recreating those feelings. Your relationship to the firmament is unlike any I’ve encountered, but it also seems to have the potential for great power. Be open-minded as you try to master it; you might be surprised at what you’re capable of.”

  Alexander spent the next few days trying to control his connection to the firmament without any luck at all. He could still see the living aura of everyone and everything around. His second sight had merged with his normal vision. At first, it took some getting used to, but it became normal and natural over the course of a few days. Other than that, he couldn’t produce or cause any magical effects whatsoever. He tried to meditate the way he did the night of his clairvoyant experience but had no luck reproducing the effect, which only led to greater frustration.

  Mason succeeded at sending a message to the King of Karth. At least he’d been confident that the message had been delivered. Unfortunately, there was no way to determine if it worked, if the king heard the message in his dreams, if he believed the message, or if he chose to act on it. Alexander consoled himself with the knowledge that they had done all they could and shifted his focus to more immediate concerns.

  He was ready to be on his way. Lucky was working hard preparing potions and other concoctions for their journey. Abigail and Isabel were training with Hanlon and Anatoly in some of the new blade techniques from the skillbook. Alexander was trying without success to produce even the simplest magical effect. Jack had made friends with every cook, servant, valet, stableman, and groundskeeper in the entire palace. He was in his element at court. He knew how the place worked and played it like a fiddle.

  What spare time Alexander had, he spent with his parents or Isabel but he was distracted and anxious. He felt like he was wasting time. He came to believe that his magic would come or it wouldn’t. No amount of time spent trying to make it work seemed to have any effect. The day before they were set to leave, Alexander revealed his plan at breakfast.

  “We’ll be going on foot from the north fortress gate and traveling through the forest. I believe that’s our best chance to avoid Phane’s hunters. At the same time, I need Erik to take a hundred good Rangers and ride out from the eastern fortress gate to draw the enemy away.”

  Erik smiled proudly, “I’ll make sure they see me.”

  Hanlon and Emily looked less enthusiastic about the assignment but they didn’t object.

  “Erik, this task will be very dangerous,” Alexander said seriously. “I don’t know what Phane’s sent to hunt me but I’m certain it’ll be deadly. I want you to ride fast. Take spare horses and don’t let up. Do not engage unless you have no other choice. I want you to run from whatever is chasing you. Don’t put yourself or your men at risk if you can help it.”

  Erik sobered slightly, “I understand.”

  Alexander considered for a moment before continuing. “I’d like Kevin and Duane to stay here.” Both of Erik’s younger brothers looked upset and started to object, but Alexander stopped them with a raised hand. “Your father will need you both to help him build and train the army.”

  Both looked disappointed but nodded their agreement. Emily looked a little relieved that at least two of her children would be safe for the time being. Alexander feared that wouldn’t last. All too soon the world would be caught up in a war that no one anywhere would be able to escape.

  “Our first stop will be the Wizards Guild in New Ruatha but I don’t plan on staying there long. I want to talk to Mage Gamaliel to see if he can offer any suggestions or insight. My primary goal is to get to Blackstone Keep. I believe the second of the Bloodvaults is there. Whatever Mage Cedric left me there will be useful and we can use Blackstone Keep as a source of authority to help bring the territories under the banner of Ruatha and to house the army we’re building.

  “Erik, you’ll ride straight to the base of Blackstone Keep and scout the area. Don’t stay in one place long and keep your force intact as much as possible. Once I arrive, you’ll help me secure the interior of the Keep and establish basic defenses. Hanlon, once you have a significant force assembled, I want you to secure the forest road. It’s the main overland route from north to south and will provide us with a strategic advantage if some of the territories are reluctant to accept my leadership. After you have sufficient forces to control the road, begin assembling legion-sized units and sending them to Blackstone Keep but be sure to keep adequate forces to defend Glen Morillian.”

  Breakfast the next morning was somber. Everyone said their goodbyes and then Alexander and his companions were on their way to the north fortress gate. The ride was pleasant enough. Alexander’s mind wandered while they meandered through rolling farmland, past herds of cattle. He wondered about his calling. It troubled him that he was so different from other wizards. He needed guidance but didn’t know where to find it. He hoped that Mage Gamaliel would have the answers he needed, but for some reason that he couldn’t quite define, he doubted it.

  Most wizards could alter the nature of the world around them through a process of vivid visualization of the outcome they desired, coupled with a deliberate and controlled connection to the firmament. Alexander remembered how it felt to connect to the timeless realm beneath reality but he wasn’t able to make it happen again. Most novice wizards were easily taught how to make that all-important connection. In fact, the biggest difficulty for most wizards was in controlling the degree of the connection. The firmament was virtually infinite and offered such an impossible variety of possibilities that wizards had been known to get lost. It was as if their consciousness, sentience, and even soul simply lost hold of their physical being. Those wizards died slowly.

  Alexander couldn’t seem to create a connection and yet his second sight had become a permanent fixture of his life. Now he could simply see the colors around all living things without effort or concentration. It troubled him because he knew that the source of his aura reading had to be a connection to the firmament but he couldn’t feel it or control it. It was simply there. He didn’t do anything to establish the connection and he couldn’t stop it, yet he didn’t feel any sense of risk. He didn’t feel anything different at all except for the colors he could see.

  Then there was his clairvoyant experience. Besides the unsettling encounter with Phane, he was bewildered by the fact that it happened at all. He tried over and over to recreate the experience but failed every time. He went over the feelings of the experience a hundred times, trying to identify exactly what it was that caused it to happen, but he couldn’t seem to figure it out. When he took inventory of the things he could rely on for sure, he could only name his second sight and his newfound skill with a blade. He hoped it would be enough, but he knew that it wouldn’t.

  He needed to know what he was.

  What troubled him most was that Phane did know. Alexander presumed he meant what type of wizard he was, what his magical calling was. He tried to reason through it and could only assume that Phane had encountered wizards like Alexander before. The idea that Phane knew more about his abilities and limitations than he did scared him. He knew at a basic level that the key to defeating an enemy was knowledge of their strengths and weaknesses. Phane was several steps ahead and gaining ground quickly, while Alexander was floundering.

  He needed to get to Blackstone Keep. Mage Gamaliel might offer some insights but Alexander had the nagging sense that the real answers would be provided by Mage Cedric and his Bloodvaults. Blackstone Keep had been inacces
sible for millennia. It stood to reason that it had been protected from the world all these years so it would be here for Alexander when the time came to fight the final battle of the Reishi War.

  They reached the north fortress gate at midday. Alexander had been silent the entire ride. Once he was inside the mountain tunnel, he set aside his frustrations and brought his mind back to the task at hand. He didn’t know if Phane would be able to see him leave from the north gate but Alexander believed it was his best chance of avoiding the Reishi.

  He hoped Erik would be safe enough with a company of Rangers, but it nagged at him that he’d put Isabel’s brother in harm’s way. He’d read about command and leadership. He thought he understood it, but when the time came to make decisions that had very real consequences for other people, he found that the burden was much weightier than it ever seemed in the dry old history books.

  He remembered times when he was unable to understand the hesitation or the indecision of a general or a commander in the accounts of battles fought long ago. He understood now. Those men made decisions about the lives of others. It was one thing to read about a battle that had been fought before you were even born and quite another to make decisions about one yet to be fought. The future was shrouded in shadow and mystery. Then there was the heavy responsibility of commanding others to risk their lives. Alexander was perfectly willing to risk his own life if the circumstances warranted it, but sending another out to face the enemy put a knot in his stomach. The feeling only deepened at the realization that he would likely send many men to their deaths before this war was over. How many lives would he command into the darkness?

  A wave of disquiet washed over him as they came into a big chamber deep within the mountain. He looked around in the light of the massive chandeliers suspended from the ceiling and took in all of the men who worked and lived here. Some of these men would die in the coming battles. Some would die by his order and in his name. It was more authority and responsibility than any man should have. Why should he be able to cast away another life with a word? What gave him that right? It was certainly more power than he ever wanted.

  Then there was Phane. He was a man who clearly reveled in wielding power over the lives of others. Alexander wondered what caused a man to lust after that kind of power. He’d been raised to believe that life and liberty were sacred gifts. They were not to be taken from another without just cause. Phane clearly had no such restraint. From his brief encounter with Phane, Alexander got the impression that the Reishi Prince rather enjoyed watching others die on his word. How did that kind of darkness come to exist in a man?

  Men came up to take the reins of their horses. The gatekeeper strode up with his administrator in tow and came to an abrupt halt, bowing formally to Alexander.

  “Lord Alexander, we’ve been expecting you. I understand you wish to move through the gate today and be on your way immediately.”

  “The sooner we’re on our way, the better,” Alexander replied.

  “If you’d like, the kitchen has a roasted pig on the spit. One last hot meal before your journey couldn’t hurt,” the gatekeeper offered.

  Alexander felt a twinge of hunger at the prospect of a hot meal, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lucky perk up, so he agreed. They ate quickly, checked their packs and were through the gate within the hour. They still had a few hours of light left and Alexander wanted to cover as much ground as they could through the dense forest.

  The north gate didn’t have a road leading to it but a steep and winding trail instead; it was too treacherous for horses. Besides, they intended to travel through the forest to stay out of view of Phane’s spies and mercenaries. It would be slower going but hopefully much safer. Alexander didn’t want to fight if he didn’t have to. He knew that killing a small band of mercenaries would have no effect on the greater conflict but could easily risk the lives of his friends or cost him his own. Engaging the enemy now was not wise. There was nothing to gain and much to lose. Moving quietly under the cover of the forest was the best strategy to get to New Ruatha. He had no doubt there would be enemy waiting for him there. By now Phane had probably alerted every agent of the Reishi Protectorate on the entire Isle of Ruatha. Alexander would be hunted wherever he went—best to move in the shadows.

  Chapter 37

  Isabel led the way through the forest with Slyder flying from treetop to treetop ahead of them. Alexander marveled at how she moved through the woods. She was silent and surefooted. She always seemed to know where to place her feet to find solid ground and to avoid crunching twigs and other forest debris underfoot. After a while, Alexander also began to notice that she left very little evidence of her passage. He felt clumsy by comparison. He could clearly see where he’d stepped and knew that he was making enough noise to alert every animal for miles around to their presence.

  He started to emulate her. He stepped where she stepped and tried to move the way she moved. At first he didn’t understand why she moved as she did, but after a while he started to see the advantages of her selection of foot placement and the path she took through the forest. There were times when she stopped and looked for the best way through the brush or a stand of trees. Sometimes Alexander thought he knew which way she would choose only to be surprised by her path. He never argued or questioned her but instead took the opportunity to learn from her fluid, confident movement through the forest.

  They made good time descending from the cold altitude of the fortress gate and into the warmer, thicker air of the forest floor in the foothills of the barrier mountains. Late in the evening, Isabel found a little clearing with a brook flowing past it and they made camp. She reported that Slyder saw no threat anywhere nearby so they built a little cook fire to prepare their evening meal.

  As darkness fell, colors began to glow slightly brighter in Alexander’s vision, illuminating the forest in a soft cacophony of living light. It was beautiful and haunting all at the same time. He’d never felt this kind of connection to the world around him before. With his second sight he could see the web of life and energy that penetrated and connected everything.

  His view of the world began to subtly shift. He’d always been very much an individual but he was coming to see the connections between all living things. He watched his companions when they moved near large plants and trees and could see the colors of their living auras bend and flow into the surrounding aura as if their basic essence was somehow mingling. He felt a deep sense of peace and tranquility in the forest with all of the life surrounding him and wondered if the life energy of the plants all around were the cause of it.

  After a quiet dinner, he rolled out his bedroll and lay down to look at the stars peeking through the meadow’s gap in the forest canopy. Isabel tossed out her bedroll beside him and lay down. She looked at him for a long time while he stared into the sky, pondering the nature of his magic and his second sight.

  “You’ve been quiet,” she whispered softly. The others had already lain down for the night except Jack, who drew the first shift at guard duty. Lucky was already snoring softly.

  Alexander turned on his side to look at her in the dim light of the fire and the stars. He could see her colors more clearly than he could see the features of her face.

  “I’ve been thinking about magic and responsibility.” He paused, almost afraid to ask the question. “Are you worried about Erik?” he whispered very quietly.

  She was silent for a long moment. “Yes, but I know he’s proud to do his part.”

  “I have no doubt of that, but I hate the fact that his life is in danger on my command. I never wanted this kind of responsibility. How can I even justify it? What right do I have to send others into battle?” He fell silent in frustration. The sound of the forest filled the void for a moment.

  “I’m much more willing to follow a king who doesn’t want power than one who does,” Isabel said. “Truss would be king if he could. He would rule in his own self-interest. He would wield power to bolster his self-impor
tance and he would use his power to inflict harm on the innocent for his amusement. Such a man shouldn’t be trusted with power of any kind, but he wants it with all his twisted little heart and would gladly kill for it if the chance presented itself. I suspect Phane is no different. You’ve been given power that many men would kill for and you’ve had the weight of the world placed squarely on your shoulders in the bargain. You’re being hunted by the most powerful mage to walk the Seven Isles in two thousand years and the concern you put words to is for the safety of my brother. Whether you want this responsibility or not, you have it, and I believe it’s well placed.” She spoke quietly but with firm conviction.

  “I hope you’re right,” he said.

  She reached out slowly and briefly touched his cheek. “I am,” she whispered firmly. “And don’t worry too much about my big brother. He can handle himself.”

  He took her hand and held onto it. Her presence calmed his mind and soon he was sleeping soundly.

  The next few days passed without incident. They traveled through the woods moving as quickly as they could manage on foot through the dense underbrush. The few natural dangers they might have stumbled into were easily avoided. Isabel made a habit of scouting the area ahead through the eyes of her forest hawk. She stopped them at one point and warned of a bear about a mile ahead and then guided them around the area downwind of the bear to avoid any confrontation.

  The forest was alive all around and Alexander made a deliberate effort to let the power of it sink into him. He felt invigorated by it and at times forgot what lay ahead and simply marveled at the ancient beauty of the place. He learned as much as he could from Isabel about the forest and tried to improve his ability to move more quietly. At dinner he quizzed her about the way she walked, how she chose her path, and the dangers inherent in the forest. Abigail and Anatoly listened intently and occasionally added questions of their own. Lucky seemed to be at home in the forest even though he looked totally out of place in his simple grey robes. Jack did his best to tolerate his surroundings and he never complained, but it was clear to Alexander that he was far more comfortable in the palace court than he ever would be out in the wilds.