Grabbing a small jar, she tossed them all in and prodded them with a wooden mixing tool. It smoked in her face, and she coughed at the rancid smell. Her face fell as she pulled out a parchment from her bag. After scanning the words, she attempted the experiment again, humming something as she went.
Arianna sauntered over to Solomon. The painting of the warrior’s crest shone bright on the wall behind him as he pulled off his robes and rolled out a large mat, inviting her forward.
“Now, take your stance,” he said. “Remember to use the meditation phrases you learned. They’ll help you concentrate your attack and make your mind stronger.”
Arianna nodded, trying not to roll her eyes. In her opinion, the meditation words did quite the opposite of making her stronger. In fact, they made her lose focus, and she tended to avoid them when she practiced alone.
They started slow as they both edged back and forth, neither of them armed. Just warming up. The day always began with a fist fight.
Arianna lunged forward and swung her leg around at his side. It landed in his hip, and he groaned. He spun around, sending her a kick in the chest, and she flew backwards, slamming into the floor.
“Good,” said Solomon. “Try that again.” Arianna got to her feet, straightening her shirt.
He ran at her, and she brought her leg up high in the air. It landed on his shoulder, but he didn’t buckle under the weight. He tackled her to the ground. Rolling, she got to her feet and Solomon moved to copy. He smiled, and she inched forward, concentrating on her next attacks.
Her fists came down hard on his chest, and she ducked as he swung back at her. Jumping, she tried a spinning a kick at his side, but of course he blocked it. Loosening up all of their muscles and firing up their adrenaline, they continued like this for some time. Then, Solomon handed her the swords.
The clang of metal reverberated loud throughout the room as their swords smashed together, over and over. Solomon whirled around like a thundering wind, always bringing his sword down hard.
“Fortilo!” he shouted midair. The blow he sent knocked Arianna clean on her back, the collision exploding in sparks all around them. “Use the words!” he said, now in Master Bell zone. He continued to slam his blade into hers, never backing down. She staggered to her feet, bracing herself under each attack.
“Fortilo…” She spit his words back at him, but they tasted silly coming out of her mouth. Ducking an attack, she swung both swords to his middle. He guarded well, turning so his elbow caught her in the ribs.
She collapsed from the sudden impact, and her annoyance became apparent. “Elictras,” she cried after regaining balance. She raised her swords, but Solomon danced around her, his bad knee doing nothing to ale him.
He caught Arianna’s strike and sent it back tenfold. The swords sizzled and sparked as they collided over and over, but Arianna held her hand up in yield as she took most of the shock. She hadn’t landed one hit on him yet, and this time she decided to blame the meditation words.
Her irritation burst through her control as she let her doubts spill from her mouth. “Why must I use these words if you barely do?” she said, resting her hands on her knees.
“They’re all in here,” said Solomon. He tapped his temple, smiling. “It takes time to master that though. Don’t worry, your power will grow.”
“But why must I say these words at all? They don’t make me feel stronger,” said Arianna. She shook her head, vexed.
“It’s because you have no faith!”
His reaction shocked her as she flinched from his booming voice. Flicking her eyes to Lessa, she saw Solomon had her attention as well.
Lowering her gaze, Arianna grew cautious of her master’s growing impatience. “But how can I have faith in a word?” Her voice grew no louder than a whisper.
A growl escaped his lips, and he threw down his sword. Arianna tried to take back her words, but reality wouldn’t permit that. It seemed everything she did lately let him down.
“I mean, you have no faith in anything!” he said, throwing his hands up. “I’m tired of waiting for you to come around. The meditation words are spells, Arianna. All this time I’ve been training you, teaching you. I’ve been lacing your mind with knowledge of magic, and it’s about time you accepted these things for what they are!” He began to pace in front of her, looking at the floor.
Arianna stood stunned, trembling from head to toe. This subject just wouldn’t leave her in peace. It haunted her now and forever, no matter how much she tried to avoid it, no matter how much it was disguised or obliquely alluded to.
“I wield my weapons alongside knowledge of magic, and so shall you!” he said as if the information had been tearing at his skull for years. Who knows… it probably had.
Arianna stepped back, speechless. Her voice stayed silent, but her brain spun with questions. The meditation words are spells? First she tried wrapping her brain around the word ‘spells’. All this time she thought them merely expressions to help her concentration as Solomon once said. He lied? She trusted him with everything. I don’t trust him with this. She felt betrayed, lost as her world swayed.
Solomon turned away from her. His hands rested behind his back as he stared at the painting of the golden snake and swords, studying the way the serpent entangled the shining blades.
“Every exercise I have ever taught you in order to enhance your strength, both physical and mental… they all have double meanings,” he said. “You’re my apprentice in body and soul, sword and magic. Why can’t you see this? Time is not on our side, Ara.” His words came harsh, his voice soft. “I’m only trying to help you.”
Arianna dropped her weapons, and they landed on the floor with a rippling sound. Behind her she heard the shattering of glass on the table as it tinkled and chimed in the awkward silence. Lessa’s hands shook, her mouth hanging agape.
“And you!” Solomon said, whirling around to face the young healer. “Why, your very master is a sorcerer. And a fine one at that! Or do you know?”
Lessa wouldn’t meet his gaze, and Sano came to console her.
“Those medicines you brew are full of magical qualities, and the words I hear you whisper while your stir are equally charmed. This world is enchanted, ladies, in ways you can’t even begin to imagine.”
His look turned maddening as his words ripped through their world. Arianna just couldn’t process the conversation as she searched for something tangible to grasp onto and make sense of. The words kept sliding through her mind, one after the other, incomprehensible.
Afraid he might lunge at her in his fury, she moved to where Lessa was sitting. Never had she witnessed Solomon so passionate about this issue. Since Talis entered her life, he’d been so willing to accept that she still didn’t know how to believe in magic. How could he expect her to truly believe in such stories after the life she’d lived? He had only encouraged her to study it and learn for herself.
“Magic is of this world,” he said, addressing them both. “Open your minds. Can’t you recall a time or place when something inexplicable happened to you? If you can’t, then I will never mention this subject again.” His voice grew soft now, pleading as he stared, boring into their eyes. “But I know you can.”
Arianna tried to look away, but she couldn’t. Her mind surged, rolling through her memories, images flickering, unbidden, across her mind.
She remembered the inexplicable force drawing her to the hot springs in the jade tunnels. She saw the day Solomon chose her as his apprentice, handing her the priceless dagger. Her mind spun, and she followed a shimmering light back to life after Grinda bested her. She saw Lessa pointing an arrow at her heart, and then they stood together watching a star blaze a path through a dark sky.
Her eyes focused back to reality, locking in with Lessa’s dazzling blue. Arianna watched and waited as her friend looked into her memories as well.
Lessa trailed her fingers up her arm, remembering her miraculous survival from not one, but two Poison Cures—a
poison that when injected can have permanently paralyzing affects. Her eyes flickered to her bow in the corner of the room, and she thought of Talis and the new life he’d gifted her. Then, she rubbed at her mysterious, beautiful, silver mark, remembering that it too was a testimony to her strange luck. But Sano… she gazed at him with watery eyes. He was the best gift of all.
Solomon observed the girls as they dug into their pasts, desperate for their understanding. “These remarkable gifts are all pieces of the world I speak of,” he said, drawing their attention back to him.
“Why do you and Talis leave us with only a sliver of information and then expect us to believe, to understand? This is nonsensical!” said Lessa. She slammed her fists down and stood from the table to face him.
He opened his mouth to speak, but Arianna interrupted.
“He tells me he is a sorcerer, and you say you’re training us in spells,” she said. Her hands gestured everywhere as she panicked. “Are you saying all these strange things that have happened to us are due to magic? None of this makes sense! What does magic even mean?” She folded her hands at her chest.
“Magic has no true definition,” said Solomon. “One who wields magic defines it for himself.” His look turned serious as he struggled to handle the situation.
“Well, why have you chosen us? Why now?” asked Arianna. Her eyes grew wide, and she felt her skin blanch. The questions poured from her lips without her approval. She didn’t even know she had been thinking those, and they surprised her, to say the least.
“Yes,” said Lessa. “Tell us why! Talk of magic is punishable by death… and you wouldn’t risk your lives for nothing. There must be something you aren’t telling us. What do you really train us for? And why us?” Her face flushed, and she pulled at her cheeks.
Solomon slunk back from the bombardment of questions and waved his arms in front of him. “Arianna, you know why I chose you. Don’t you remember?”
Arianna peered back to the day they first met. I chose you because you’re worth choosing. Her eyes started to water as she contemplated Solomon’s words.
“But, Master, please just—”
“No,” he said. “I cannot. I’m so sorry, girls. This is not the right moment, but one day soon. You can trust me.” He donned his robes and moved towards the door. “Keep practicing… everything I’ve taught you.”
Solomon slipped out the door, and Arianna and Lessa both continued their lessons, deep in thought. Soon, the girls were exhausted from trying to keep their minds so busy.
“Lunch?” said Arianna. Lessa nodded in agreement, and they prepared the meals Cyn had left.
“What were you taught of magic in your district?” asked Arianna, confronting the matter at hand.
“I was taught that magic is just a fabrication thought up by people who became overwhelmed by their imaginations, people who never made good citizens of the Olleb,” she said. “The only reason that we’re privileged to know the word is simply to desist any gossip or tales that still linger… hail King Devlindor.” She recited the words as if reading a script. “And you?”
“Quite similar.” A laugh escaped her lips, but then she turned serious. “I think Talis… he healed me. I was beyond repair, yet here I am. No medicine could’ve done that,” said Arianna.
“Yes, he told me,” said Lessa, expressionless.
Arianna didn’t know how to feel. “If magic supposedly gave me life, then where is its place in this history? What else is it capable of? I wish I knew more about the past,” she said.
She slumped, looking to Lessa for answers. It felt odd to yearn for so many answers when not so long ago she never even had questions. Her world had become so complicated in such a short time. She remembered the elders spoon feeding her the knowledge slaves needed to survive. Until now, it never occurred to her there could be more than their wisdom, more to this world.
“The night I came here, Master Churry sat me down in his study beforehand and told me of his belief in magic. He told me he healed you and that fate has led us together.” Lessa trailed off, searching for words. “I always hoped there was more to this life, but I truly wasn’t expecting this much excitement.” She smiled as a curious expression played on her face.
Arianna said nothing, taken by surprise at her friend’s evaluation of the information.
“I believe every word he said. I trust him,” said Lessa. “But I also think they haven’t told us everything yet.”
Arianna stared at her, dumbfounded. “Excitement…” she said, tasting the word. Her eyes twinkled as she recalled all the strange events of her recent past. “Yes, this is quite exhilarating isn’t it?”
Something changed in her then. Maybe Solomon’s words sank in or Lessa’s trust in her master gave her courage. Maybe the weight of it all was too much to deny. She didn’t know, and it didn’t matter anymore. Arianna let her mind open wide, changing her beliefs forever.
Just like that, all of the stories she heard, all of the wisdoms Solomon and Talis shared, and everything that had happened to her became a part of a reality she had been trying to shut out. So many possibilities poured into her mind, and now she wished she’d paid more attention to life in general.
The girls found themselves enraptured in talk of these magical secrets, contemplating old memories in a different light. In an instant, their glum worlds exploded with life. They believed in magic.
“All of those scrolls Talis left, have you looked through them?” asked Lessa.
“Not especially,” said Arianna, shrugging. “I’ve been occupied with the festivals so near.” She shook her head in wondrous confusion. She never thought she would find herself studying for a subject such as this.
Arianna poured some of the red wine left from yesterday, and they sat cross-legged on the training mat. Beaming over the scrolls for hours, they tried to sort out all of the information they could in one sitting, finding it all very puzzling and sometimes disturbing.
The feeling of elation was hard to subdue, but Arianna couldn’t help but notice the cloud hovering over her head. Why have you chosen us? The earlier conversation bounced through her brain. She felt desperate to know more answers.
“I think I’ve found something!” said Lessa, unfurling a long scroll. It read Olleb-Yelfra the Fallen and dated almost three centuries earlier. The scroll seemed to have taken a lot of damage, and no signature claimed the writing.
“Do you think it’ll explain more on the past? All of these other scrolls only talk about charms and creatures that I don’t understand.” Arianna scratched at her head. “Right now, the only thing I care about is how all of this connects to us,” she said, scanning the parchment, doubtful.
“I hope so…” said Lessa. “But I tell you, even if I do believe in all this and trust our masters, I still don’t know if I want anything to do with magic after some of the bizarre stories we’ve read.” She crossed her arms at her chest as Sano crawled into her lap.
“Well, let’s find out more before we write off the new world,” said Arianna. “Besides, it’s a bit too late to turn back now.” She began to read:
Since the dawn of time, Olleb-Yelfra saw many a king and queen. For thousands of years, each kingdom flourished under sovereign rule. It seemed as if the Olleb would relish in a boundless Golden Age. The land was an enchanted place while magic kissed the streams and skies freely. Extraordinary people studied the art of wizardry, and mystic creatures roamed the land. Even common citizens shared the privilege of a magical life while everyone lived in peace. Then, the balance shifted. Where there is light, darkness can always be found. This I know for certain...
Arianna’s voice trailed off, and she looked up with a nervous expression. Lessa clung to every word, urging her onward, but now that Arianna held the information in her hands, she felt unsure. Do I really want to know? She sensed a hard history lesson lay at the end of the script.
All of her life she thought the world had always been depressing and dark. It never occurred to
her that something more may have survived before these times. Yet, here it was… inked in ancient calligraphy. She felt cheated as she reread the first paragraph. There had been a Golden Age?
Lessa’s eyes widened with impatience, so Arianna stifled her nerves and continued to read. As she did, her mind painted a vivid image of the words on the scroll. She felt connected somehow, as if she could see into the past through the script. Her imagination whirled, and she became lost in the words, lost in an Olleb-Yelfra before her time. The nameless author guided her through the Golden Age, and her spirits soared throughout the spectacular, enchanted past.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
OLLEB-YELFRA
THE FALLEN
The sun shone bright, and the familiar roar of the ocean played its symphony nearby. Kyrone Devlindor placed his arm around his cousin, Neas, as they watched the water splash on the silver-sanded beach from the balcony of his room.
Kyrone squinted his eyes to see what caused a splash in the distance. Probably just another mermaid searching for love. He smiled at the thought as he leaned over the white-marbled rail to get a better look. It was doubtful she’d ever find it.
The city swept down below them in stacks around the castle. He could see everything from there, all the land he was sure. The sun warmed his skin as it kissed the land and sea, and the air tasted of sweet salt. The low buzz from the city also stole his attention as it reached his ears, sounding of life and love as children laughed and young men sang through their chores. Kyrone added his own laughter to the mix as a song he knew well rose from the masses:
I asked for some bread, and he gave me a pig
And that’s why I call him my King
I asked for a wife, a pretty young slice
And somehow I wound up with three
Several years later, I’m on my death table
With one more request for my King
I said when I’m dead, if my children should beg
Belvedor and the Four Corners (Belvedor Saga Book 1) Page 16
