The Queen's Champion

by Whiskey Flowers

  CHAPTER 1

  Jonathan saw his target and sent a strong lightning bolt streaking towards him. Jonathan was not sure if the man screamed out or not, if he was being honest he didn't care either. The only thing Jonathan cared about was the loud clap of thunder which accompanied his bright streak of lightning. Jonathan saw the blackened husk his target left behind and frowned. The man should have been nothing but dust which meant Jonathan must have been losing power. Despite his gifts Jonathan thought it always seemed like he was running out of power, there was never enough of it. Jonathan wished he could meet his enemy head-on, on the field of battle instead of conducting these sneak attacks he was doing.

  The Raelinians were his sworn enemy, they had started the fight with the Kingdom of Kirby. The Raelinians had used their magic to overwhelm and kill Jonathan’s parents, now all Jonathan wanted was to repay them. The Raelinians were seen as a joke by the Kingdom, the real enemy was thought to be the Downey. The Downey were rumored to have dragons and many other Kingdoms that had ever fought against them were defeated and assimilated. Kurcher, Maizen, and Gelrot all fell to the Downey and now the Downey were massing troops and coming for Kirby. Dragons had been spotted flying so the Kingdom had placed most of their troops on the Downian border. The King of Kirby had only placed the bare minimum amount of people to face down the Raelin.

  The small amount of troops that were near the border with Raelin had taken massive losses at first and the King still refused to send more people. Instead the King and the former Archmage thought it would be a good way to get rid of any enemies they could not just kill. Jonathan’s parents were some of those enemies, Jonathan was sure if the King could turn back time he would have made a different decision. Jonathan knew the former Archmage definitely would not have sent Joshua and Sara Thunder to their deaths. Neither the King nor the Archmage knew that Jonathan was not only strong for a commoner mage but he was amongst the top four mages the Kingdom had ever seen.

  Jonathan repaid the Archmage by killing his brother in a duel, the fight was not a close one. Almost everyone thought that Quevin Wilson, the Head of the Tower of Magic and thought to be the second strongest mage in the Kirby would kill Jonathan. During the time of their duel, no one wanted to believe a commoner could be as strong as a noble. Noble mages had been intermarrying between each other for centuries unlike commoner mages who married whoever they wanted and watered their power down. Jonathan’s family was one of the few exceptions, they only married other commoner mages. Jonathan also had a special spell that was unique to his family, lightning magic. It was the lightning spell that killed Quevin Wilson and made all of Jonathan’s enemies take notice of him. The Queen sent Jonathan to fight the Raelinians to ease his anger and bolster the troops slightly.

  Since Jonathan had been fighting the Raelinians, the Raelinians had come up with a way to neutralize his magic. They started carrying metal rods the Raelinians called lightning rods, Jonathan hated them. The rods made it difficult for him to accurately strike his target, the lightning would be attracted to the rods and strike it instead. For a living person this would be fatal, unfortunately the majority of the Raelinian fighting force were all undead.

  The Raelinian magic users were called Blood Priests, Jonathan was not sure how they did it but these people could raise and control the dead. These undead were the ones holding the lightning rods, they were the ones who took most of the damage Jonathan dealt. Eventually Jonathan had to turn to using his earth magic but it was barely enough to hold the horde back. Jonathan knew if he could take out a Blood Priest then the undead the Blood Priest controlled would fall. That was the reason Jonathan often hunted alone and in the dark, he would hover for as long as he could above the enemy until he found his targets. They were easy to find Jonathan thought if someone knew what to look for. The undead didn't need a warm fire to stand by or a nice tent to keep the rain off them. The hard part was that Jonathan could only kill a few targets a night, it took a lot of magic to hover and he needed to wait until the right time to attack. Jonathan would be happy with his kill, it would make the Blood Priests hesitate before they tried anything else.

  Jonathan flew back to the Kirby forces, his commander was Senior Commander Sideland Burns but the man would probably gain another rank soon. The Queen of Kirby now knew exactly what they were facing in Raelin thanks to her son, Crown Prince Xalen. Jonathan had been fighting off the Raelinians for a few months when studies at the Tower of Magic finally let out for the year. Almost all of the commoner mages in the Tower of Magic had flocked to help him fight. This eventually made some of the noble mages come as well. None of them wanted to be outdone by a commoner. Prince Xalen came along and like fools he and a few strong mages tried to blast their way through the Raelinians and almost got themselves killed. Xalen had seen first hand how difficult the Raelinians could be and left after his first battle. Jonathan thought it was no way an arrogant snob like Xalen would admit to almost being killed by people thought to be an easy fight.

  Too many people had seen Jonathan help Xalen and his friends out, most notably a maniac named Gerald and one of Jonathan’s rivals, a girl named Monica. Monica had left with Xalen and Jonathan thought no more than a month would go by before they received reinforcements. As Jonathan landed he could see horses outside of Burns command tent. Jonathan landed in front of them and was disappointed, if it were more troops then there would have been a lot more horses followed by guards in military uniforms. Jonathan walked into the tent and could not believe what he saw.

  Standing in front of Burns were three people, all of them were mages. The first person was Jonathan’s age although it would be hard to tell based on his size. Russell Golad was one of the largest men Jonathan had ever seen. Jonathan was tall for a man but Russell was something else. Russell was a head taller than Jonathan was nearly twice as wide. Russell carried his weight well and could physically match up to anyone. Russell was also considered to be the strongest mage who ever lived. Jonathan knew Russell had more raw power than he did and that Russell knew how to use it. Many people thought Russell would be the next Archmage, the only serious contender he had to that title was one of the people standing next to him.

  Farrah Golad was Russell’s sister and was arguably considered the second strongest mage in the Kingdom. She was tall like her brother, in the Tower of Magic only her brother and Jonathan were taller. She and Jonathan had flirted a little, her brother had let Jonathan know that their relationship would go nowhere. Farrah was the only daughter of Duke Golad and had caught the eye of Baron Nettleton. Jonathan knew she would have been a fool to let go of a title that great if she could land him. Farrah probably realized this as well since she had stopped writing him. Jonathan knew why both of them were there, they were protection for the other mage talking to Burns, Kevin Wilson.

  Kevin Wilson was the former Archmage and before Jonathan, Russell, Farrah and Monica Manchin were discovered everyone thought he was the strongest in the Kingdom. He had sent Jonathan’s parents here to die, if anyone knew what type of threat the Raelinians were this man did. Even if he was ignorant he should have sent a lot more mages than he did, he only had sent Jonathan’s parents and another man named Max Ward. Jonathan was sure they were all sent because they were commoners who married other commoners with magic. Female mages were outnumbered by a margin of three to one compared to male mages. All female mages were expected to marry a noble male mage, anyone who did not was looked down upon. Kevin Wilson had made it clear that he did not like that Sara Thunder had married Jonathan’s father Joshua. Jonathan hated this man and wanted to make sure he knew it.

  “I didn't know they let cowards in this war,” Jonathan said and crossed his arms. “You must feel so powerful needing the Gol
ads to protect you.”

  “Thunder they are here to help and we will let them help,” Burns said as he stood up.

  “Who do you think you are talking to?” Kevin snapped as he turned to stare angrily at Jonathan.

  “I am talking to you,” Jonathan snapped. “And what exactly are you going to do about it?”

  “You shut your mouth Thunder,” Russell said as he turned around.

  “I am willing to die right here and right now for my beliefs,” Jonathan said. “If you feel the same then let us go outside and handle this. If I lose then your master Kevin can live his life in relative safety. If you lose then you are dead and your master Kevin would follow you shortly.”

  “No one is my master!” Russell snapped.

  “Then stop protecting him,” Jonathan said. “He sent my father to die and ran scared after I smeared his brother all over the arena. I do not need any cowards here, only people ready to fight and die.”

  “You are no longer in charge here,” Kevin said. “The King has sent me to take over here.”

  “I am in charge here, not you,” Jonathan said.

  “Well I am in charge right now,” Kevin said. “His Majesty knows a man should be in charge of the mages here instead of a boy. You almost got the Crown Prince killed while you pretended to be Archmage. This military man has his orders from the King, all mages assigned here are under me except for you. The King himself sent you a missive and he wants you in front of him as soon as possible.”

  “I am in the middle of fighting a war!” Jonathan screamed.

  “Not any more,” Kevin said with a smile. “Now that there is real leadership here this little skirmish can finally be put down. Your orders are in your tent little Thunder. Off to see the King, do hurry.”

  Jonathan looked over at Burns who gave him an apologetic smile then over at a smirking Kevin before leaving. As soon as Jonathan walked out of the tent he saw practically every mage who had been fighting alongside of him there. Jonathan had been amazed they volunteered to come fight but had to admit their reasoning was sound. Jonathan was the first commoner mage that was sent to a battle with orders stating he was in charge of any magical assets. His friends from the Tower all came to help him along with many other mages. They had told Jonathan that it was important that he win the fight, he could show others that mages with commoner blood were just as smart as mages with noble blood.

  Normally a noble mage would be in charge and they did not mind tossing commoner mages at the enemy while they stayed back in safety and lobbed spells. Commoner mages were not well liked and hardly anyone saw any issue with the strategy. Commoners on the front line were happy to have mage help, if they were not present then they would have to meet the enemy head on without the immediate help of magic. Nobles whether mage or mundane thought all commoners belonged on the front lines while they planned and plotted against the enemy. Nobles were trained in actual warfare and most of the time commoners only knew to poke the enemy with the pointy end of a sword. Commoner mages hated the strategy, under Jonathan they could fight without being used as fodder. Despite the small number of troops, Jonathan had enough mages that flocked to him to keep the Blood Priests honest. There had been a number of stalemates in the last month whenever it was a force on force fight and the mages were a big reason for that.

  “Is it true?” Joran Gately, one of the commoner mages asked. “Is it true we are supposed to fall under that man in there?”

  “It is true that I am supposed to leave,” Jonathan said angrily. “They are putting that man in charge.”

  “Well we all ready had a talk while you were out,” Joran said. “That maniac fancy man told us all about it. He was excited to see the former Archmage. I hate the man and know that if it wasn't for you, I along with most of the men here would have been sent here to die eventually.”

  “What can we do?” Jonathan asked. “They are angry that we have been able to hold the enemy and now they want to take the glory.”

  “It was good fighting under you Thunder,” Joran said.

  “We were fighting alongside each other if anything,” Jonathan said. “I didn't know what the pit I was doing until you got here.”

  “Still it was fun,” Joran said. “But I am here as a volunteer. I already made up my mind to leave if a noble came here and started trying to call the shots. Dealing with the Crown Prince let me know exactly what I should do if someone came down here, especially someone like the Archmage. I am leaving tonight, none of us are getting paid to be here and no one in that tent can call those shots.”

  “My beloved wants me back anyway,” Bill said as he stepped forward. Jonathan could remember hating the man when they first met. Bill was a year above him and bowed down to any noble mage around. Jonathan thought the man lacked a spine but found out Bill was just playing the game. He would do what the noble mages expected of him and stayed quiet around them. If the noble mages knew what Jonathan knew then they would see Bill Angus as a bigger enemy than Jonathan ever was.

  Female mages were expected to marry noble mages regardless of their blood, male mages were to at least try to make a match with another mage. This would be almost impossible for a male mage of commoner blood, that male mage would then be expected to marry a mundane female from a noble bloodline. Bill was the son of a promiscuous servant girl who help commit the ultimate sin in mage circles, she had slept with a mage. Mages were supposed to be chaste, any woman who married one could consider herself lucky since it was unlikely that man would sleep around. Nobles had started the trend may years ago to cut down on the number of commoner mages born. If a commoner was found with magic, it would be most likely due to some long dead ancestor. Bill had introduced the more promiscuous commoner mages to the many girls who didn't mind laying with a mage in the hopes she could have a mage baby and climb out of poverty. Jonathan knew Bill was there to support him but had also talked to any mage he could about the fun they could have with the many pretty girls he knew.

  “I appreciate you coming here Bill,” Jonathan said.

  “Most of your classmates left once they saw Kevin Wilson,” Bill replied. “I only stayed back to tell you face to face.”

  “Still not happening,” Jonathan said as he allowed himself to smile.

  “Lady Golad is so far above your station you will get dizzy trying to look up to her,” Bill said. “Whenever you figure that out the richer girls I know may already be taken.”

  “Farrah has not written me in weeks, I doubt she is still interested,” Jonathan said.

  “Well look lively,” Bill said. “She is walking up behind you.”

  “What is your meeting about?” Farrah said as the mages who Jonathan were talking to started leaving. “Kevin Wilson wasn't lying when he said the King put him in charge of every mage assigned here. You shouldn't be holding meetings anymore.”

  “I was just letting them know that coward was in charge,” Jonathan said.

  “Jon you shouldn't call him that,” Farrah said. “I know you have your history but he is here as an agent of the King and he is a noble. You have already gotten whatever revenge you were looking for when you killed his brother.”

  “I’ll call that coward whatever I want,” Jonathan said. “And when did you start calling me Jon?”

  “I have always done it, just inside my head,” Farrah said. “We are alone so I thought it would be okay.”

  “Just not in front of the people who really matter to you,” Jonathan said and turned away from her.

  “Jon you know the situation,” Farrah said. “My mother has spent most of our break berating me for even thinking about you. She thinks I have let your dark dreamy eyes and dark hair cloud my mind.”

  “And your father?” Jonathan asked.

  “My father thinks that no one is good enough for me no matter what title they hold,” Farrah said. “But he is partial to you. He knows if I wanted to, that I could be a major factor in the Kingdom. If it wasn't for Russell everyone knows that I could be th
e first female Archmage, with Russell it is still not guaranteed that he will get the position over me. Russell still would have a duchy to run and if he didn't, I am still one of the best mages to ever live. This kind of power would lead me to fighting Dragonknights, my father thinks other than Russell only you would wade into a battle and pull me out if I needed it.”

  “He does?” Jonathan asked a little surprised.

  “You already know he likes your boldness and killing Quevin Wilson made him like you even more,” Farrah said. “He is part of the reason my mother has tossed every noble mage she could find at me. I am glad I will not be around whenever she hears that you will be studying back in the Tower.”

  “Well it is what it is,” Jonathan said. “It just seems like everyone in power is trying to plot against me.”

  “They are plotting against you,” Farrah said. “Commoners have been excited to hear about your exploits, once they heard about how you have been down here fighting the Raelinians your legend has grown. I think it is the reason Kevin Wilson is down here. Apparently it has gotten out that Xalen tried to rush the enemy and nearly got himself killed.”

  “Of course that got out,” Jonathan said. “My grandfather has a lot of money and has spread it everywhere.”

  “That is not very nice,” Farrah said. “People might lose faith in Xalen’s ability to lead.”

  “I don't have faith in his ability to lead,” Jonathan said. “And I know without it getting out that the story will be twisted.”

  “People are seeing you as some sort of hero when they should be looking up to their leaders Jon,” Farrah said. “You will never be a Baron, an Earl or anything.”

  “I could be Archmage,” Jonathan said.

  “Russell is stronger than you are,” Farrah said. “And I think I am as well.”

  “I am faster that you both,” Jonathan said. “And I am already more infamous. I have fought and killed a strong mage in single combat. Neither you or Russell can make that claim. I have also killed so many Blood Priests even I have lost count. Senior Commander Burns has put me in for many military awards, all of them have been granted. I know part of the reason you and Russell are down here is so you can get your own accolades.”