Teliko Mageia: Curse of the Frozen Flame

by A. J. Carbonell

  “I have found some spent mystos, nothing of any value.” Frekkis rubbed up against Alden as though to give him a big hug. “I used to have a wolf just like this one,” he said fondly.

  Frekkis then broke from Alden and returned to Jael, standing still at his side. Her fur didn’t bristle in alarm, she just stood. “What is it?” he asked.

  “I can show you around the village,” Alden offered.

  “Yes, please,” Jael replied, and Alden gestured for them to follow into the long abandoned village. The night was dark, but clear enough they could navigate with the aid of manual torches.

  Frekkis herself seemed ill at ease, but it was Vaan who leaned over and whispered to Jael, “Don’t be too trusting; something seems off about him.”

  Jael shrugged. He didn’t think Alden was harmful.

  Alden showed them around the village. Abandoned many years ago, there was little of any note. What buildings had not been burnt were crumbling to their foundations, and no signs of life remained. Anything of value was picked by scavengers or grown over by nature’s hunger. Jael found no connection though he hunted earnestly for any clue about why he had been dreaming about Sanhera. Nothing that could be picked out in the dark, anyway. When Alden offered them to stay for the night, they happily accepted the offer. After setting up camp, they talked more about Sanhera.

  “Do you know about Tiger Paw? They are the ones who raided this village,” Jael asked.

  “I have heard of them,” Alden mused. “They are under the Order of the Tiamat. Tiamat is one of the Four Titans.”

  “The Four Titans? Those were the ones who destroyed that village we saw on the way,” Vaan said.

  “So, these… Four Titans, you say, do they possess great magick? Why doesn’t the Kingdom handle them?” Jael asked. “The Titans are very skilled, their men as well. They are not to be handled lightly. They are treacherous, merciless and malevolent mages; they would not think twice of murder in the name of their mission. Something intervenes, they wipe it out.”

  “I see. We should stay out of their way,” Vaan sensibly concluded. After that, they retired.

  “Jael… Come… Jael… Come…” An ethereal, distant female voice whispered to Jael in his dreamless slumber and he stirred. Night dragged around him like a smoky wraith-like cloud. The form of a woman appeared in the dim haze, near the central well, close to him. He rose in a smooth, dreamlike gesture and his legs pulled him in toward her. But as he drew closer, the already faint woman faded. “Jael… Come… Bel…”

  What was she saying? Confused, he ran toward the woman but she faded away. “Come… Beltha…”

  Jael, frustrated, ran as fast as he could but he still could not reach the woman. “Jael… Bel… Thasar…”

  She disappeared. He tripped, fell to the ground. Gasping for breath, he woke. Over by the fire, Alden still sat, strangely awake. “Jael, why did you wake?”

  “I had a strange dream. I saw a woman… a ghost? She was calling me,” Jael said.

  “That truly is odd. I’ve naught seen a ghost like in Sanhera before, even in my dreams,” Alden replied.

  Jael rubbed his eyes. He hadn’t seen a ghost before either, except in dreams. Already the memory of the dream was fading. “She was telling me… something about Belthasar. Do you know what–or who–is Belthasar?”

  “Ah! Yes. Belthasar is the grand city. It is beyond the Valley of Armaia.”

  “I see.” Jael stared off into the smothering night. There was still so much of the world he had not yet seen, indeed, not even heard of. “I should go there. Maybe there I will meet this woman and she might tell me about my past.”

  “Hm,” said Alden, and he added nothing about his thought on that matter. “For you to reach the Great City of Belthasar, you would need to ride the Valkyries! You can board them in the city of Fulbor. It is directly south east from here.”

  “What are Valkyries?”

  “Valkyries are floating ships in the sky with bodies of metal and billowing clouds of fabric. They transport anything to anywhere within Bristal.”

  “Thank you for the information.” Jael paused. “Why are you still awake?”

  “Ah, I was thinking of someone dear,” Alden answered, wistfully. He stared into the fire in thought.

  “Should I leave you be?” “No, stay a while.”

  Jael rose to sit with him. “I’m wondering, how did you learn about beast magick? Every creature around is drawn to you, even my own wolf companion.”

  “It began when I was a child. I trained to become a beast mage, but it appeared I had no talent in managing creatures. Until one day, I was cornered by a group of panthers. They attacked left and right, biting me, and slashing me with their claws. I thought I would die! But when I reached my limit, magick burst out of me and slaughtered the panthers. Shortly, I realised that I could summon their spirits. That’s how I first got my own summon. After that, I trained hard to capture more creatures. Really, it is just the hard work of learning any magick craft.”

  “Wow! My mother was fond of animals, and every creature she touched returned her affection. She died protecting me when I was still a child, unfortunately. She ordered her wolf to accompany me wherever I go,” Jael reminisced. These hard memories were not ones he enjoyed dwelling on, and the chill of the dream now distant, he returned to bed.

  The dawn broke and Vaan was first to wake. To his surprise, Alden was missing. “Where is he?” he wondered. On the alert, Vaan crouched and sneaked around, checking the security of the camp site. If Alden was missing, it was not for being taken in the night. Sanhera’s morning was quiet, the creatures seeming to be gone and Vaan wondered if Alden had left Sanhera and returned to his own camp. Vaan woke Jael, along with Frekkis, reporting Alden’s excursion. “Should we be concerned?”

  “I don’t quite fathom, he left? Frekkis–search for Alden. Make haste,” Jael said. Frekkis searched the whole village and found Alden meditating at the village gate. Frekkis returned and together they went to Alden.

  “Good morning–” Jael began.

  “Invoke Panther!” Alden shouted and three dark shadowy panthers appeared, circling around him. The same animal as Alden’s story, Jael noted. The panthers seem to be aflame by a black fire-like substance.

  “Those aren’t real panthers. They look like familiars–a conjuror’s trick, made of shadow and darkness,” Vaan whispered to Jael as they walked with caution toward Alden. Alden saw Jael and the others and clapped his hands. The panthers disappeared. At first Jael thought they’d finally been noticed. Then he shouted: “Invoke Serpent!” A dark towering snake appeared before them. Alden controlled the snake using gestures and propelling it towards them. Its sinuous shadowy form surrounded and constricted them.

  “Aldweihen! Stop it!” Jael shouted but Alden didn’t budge. Alden’s eyes were wide, dazed and unfocused, but most discomforting of all, pitch black.

  “I told you, Jael, this man is not to be trusted!” Vaan cried in excruciating pain; the summoned snake tightened even more as he struggled in its grip.

  Frekkis let herself loose using Feather Form and bolted straight to Alden. She froze before Alden in confusion. “Frekkis! What are you waiting for?” The wolf didn’t move. “Frekkis! We’ll be crushed!” Jael screamed in pain. Frekkis shivered out of her reverie and gnashed at Alden’s hands.

  The large snake disappeared; Alden deflated. Jael and Vaan tumbled to the ground, gasping and wheezing for breath. “What happened?” Alden said, in a state of shock at the sight of the two struggling to breathe. Frekkis stood before him.

  “You, you tried to kill us!” Vaan shouted at Alden.

  “No! I… I’m terribly sorry, I was in a trance. Damn it, I must learn to control it! This happens every time I remember my past,” Alden said.

  “Why then did you strike us?” Vaan questioned him.

  “I didn’t mean to do that, for, as I have said, I was in a daze, and in that daze I aimlessly attack anything, anyone I see. I really am trul
y sorry for any harm I might have caused. Please, allow me to repay what I have done. Here, please, please accept these healing mystos,” Alden said, pushing mysto orbs into their hands and casting them to mend the damage.

  “I think we should get going. Thank you for your hospitality. But I need to reach Belthasar,” Jael said coldly. Alden hung his head and Frekkis whined, looking back at the shamed beast mage as the party left the village.

  “I told you, Jael, he’s not as good a fellow as he appears.” Vaan snorted.

  “That’s enough, Vaan. The important thing is that he felt abashed for what happened and he healed us. We need to go to Fulbor, a city just south east. From there we will take a Valkyrie and fly to Belthasar…” he said and continued to share his dreams with Vaan and Frekkis.

  Fulbor, The City of Mecha, was advanced in terms of technology and armoury. They produced all kinds of advanced tools and crafts for the whole kingdom of Bristal, led by Consul Viktor Alatov, chief engineer of the city. Jael, Frekkis and Vaan marvelled at the views.

  It began with the city gate. A huge complex circle that operated through strange technology. Magistreck, the guard explained, which explained nothing. The technology of combining magick and machine. The walls were made of metallic stones infused with magick. Flying Valkyries could be seen everywhere, weaving in orderly patterns between towering buildings. Citizens wore clothes of a futuristic fashion, machined and decorated with eerily regular sequins and stones. The sun itself was bounced around by the metal sheen of rising buildings cast in silver and copper tones, aged by wind and rain. At the centre of the city lay the Main Core. The central control structure responsible for all the magistreck in the city. Only the Consul had the full and total control over that complex piece of magick technology.

  Upon entering the city, a machine inspected them, recording their ensemble, their age, gender and other information. For Frekkis, Jael frowned when she was placed into the system as a ‘pet’. When they gained the signal from the city guard, only then were they welcomed to walk inside the giant metropolis of machines.

  “That Alden guy…” Jael couldn’t shake it. “He doesn’t seem to be, you know, an awful fellow to me. It really seemed like he was in a trance. I see through his eyes. They were pure black. He acted unusual. He didn’t even recognise us. How can we fault him?”

  “The important thing is, Frekkis woke him up from his trance. Not that it matters, that thing taking a chomp out of my hand would’ve woken me up from anything,” Vaan replied. Remembering Vaan’s earlier trance, Jael hoped they wouldn’t have to put it to future test. “So, what about this… Belthasar City? I’ve heard it’s the great city of magick. Some call it the centre of Mageia in all of Bristal.”

  “Well, the woman in my dream uttered the word ‘Belthasar’ and I thought…” Jael trailed off. On the main avenue, they came across a flashy dome with the signage “Maggus’ Stadium” and stopped to read the posters at the dome entrance:

  Battle your way to the centre!

  Win ten thousand golden suns!

  “Current Champion: Gregorio Excempla”

  “Free entrance from dawn until noon”

  “Hey, Jael, do you want to have a look?” Vaan asked. “Well… it wouldn’t hurt to watch one fight.”

  They went to the ticket booth and were given the explanation. Maggus’ Stadium was a large dome used for various mage competitions. A spiral stage with a big ring stood proudly at the centre. Each mage who entered the competition would fight their way to the centre and claim the grand prize of 10,000 golden suns. Mages eliminated each other through various rings in a spiral manner and upon reaching the central ring, the mage would then fight the current champion. Of course, for those too afraid to continue, prizes were available at various safe-points. There would be a total of 30 stages until a competitor reached the final stage, the central ring. The Maggus’ Stadium held tournaments every five days, with a competitor’s fee of 100 golden suns.

  Because it was still before noon, they obtained entry for free, and headed into the screaming stadium. Two mages were on, sparring. Jael was astonished at the sight of a massive crowd cheering, the thirty-one stages, and the fighters. It was a never- ending sea of things to see and impossible to decide where in the crowd and noise to go first. They witnessed different mages fighting. Each ring had a referee and at the ceiling of the dome was a large monitor for the announcements and mage status. “Whoa! This certainly is a mage’s dome all right!” Vaan exclaimed.

  “Let’s watch a couple fights–then we should eat. I'm famished.” Food always sounded great to Vaan.

  After a few fights they went to one of the food stalls in the surrounding entertainment within the dome and quickly discovered how the Maggus’ Stadium made enough money to pay its competitors. Forced to leave the stadium for the day, and now too late for the free entry, they headed out to find a nearby cafeteria and have a midday meal. After that, with no entertainment to get in the way, they headed out to find a ticket station for the valkyries. After asking around, they found directions to a ticket store.

  Jael, Frekkis and Vaan entered the ticket store. On the way in, Jael accidentally bumped into an attractive young woman wearing expensive armour with engraved runes. “I’m sorry, ma’am.”

  “Watch where you're going.” She didn’t waste time, stalked away abruptly. Her armour was extensive, stylized and highly detailed. And, Jael thought, seemed inappropriate given the safety of the city setting.

  “She was certainly in a downer, eh?” Vaan said. “I wonder why she was wearing armour.”

  Vaan considered her in parting and said, “I think she is one of the kingdom’s knights.”

  Jael laughed. His first impulse had been to think she was pretty. “In that case, I don’t want to mess with her.”

  They went to the ticket counter and inquired about the valkyrie ride to Belthasar. The counter lady assessed them, then showed them the price: 740 golden suns for the three of them. Vaan thanked the counter lady, and they counted their coin. Between the two of them, they had 340 golden suns left. But Jael had never been to a city without a tavern, and he’d never been to a tavern without available work. They would just have to find something.

  They went to the nearest pub, a rowdy bar in an old aluminium building likely once used for trade and transport. Sure enough, in the back of the board, a request board stood proudly. But Jael stared in shock. There were no requests posted on the board. They went to the bartender. “Good day sir, why are there no requests in the board?” Jael asked.

  The bartender looked down at them, smugly wiping dry a faucet, secure in his dull, non-magickal job, because all mages got thirsty at the end of the day. “There are far too many mages here. All are taking requests and so the minute a client posts a request, a local snatches it up.”

  “I see, thank you, sir.” Jael turned to Vaan.

  “Now what do we do?” Vaan asked in frustration.

  “The Maggus’ Stadium! The main prize of 10,000 golden suns! We should go there and try,” Jael exclaimed in excitement, and so the three of them went to the Maggus’ Stadium. It was nightfall when they came to the stadium and inquired about joining the competition.

  Jael and Vaan asked the reception about the rules of the stadium and the woman at the reception explained to them in strict detail what she’d glazed over during the day. Her hair was wound up tight in a brown scarf and pinned with small brass tacks. It likely hadn’t budged all day. “To enter the competition, you need to pay an entrance fee of 100 gold. All fighters should be here at the stadium at daybreak and the tournament will begin. A referee is assigned to every match there is. The referee decides when to stop a match if a fighter concedes defeat. If a fighter falls from the ring, he loses. If he is knocked out, the referee will count to ten and if the fighter is unable to fight, he loses. There are four safe-points, the 6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th stage. In these stages you can either quit–”

  And her voice made it quite clear what she thought
about people who quit. “–and take the prize money allotted for the safe- point, or you may continue until the next safe-point. If a fighter is defeated three times, he is out of the competition. He may join again but he needs to pay 100 golden suns and he will be sent back to the 1st stage. A fighter at the 31st stage or the central ring has a maximum of five winnings and then he will be sent back to 1st stage. The competition is relentless. There will always be new challengers every five days. Here is the prize list for the safe- points:

  6th stage = 400 golden suns

  13th stage = 1000 golden suns

  20th stage = 2200 golden suns

  27th stage = 4500 golden suns

  31st stage = 10,000 golden suns

  If you wish to join the Maggus’ Stadium, please fill up this form and present 100 golden suns.” She pushed two forms to them and two graphite pens.

  “Jael, I think we should give this a shot! If both of us reach the thirteenth stage, we have more than enough coins to go to Belthasar!”

  “Yes! We should!” They filled out the forms, signed the consent waivers, and paid 200 golden suns for the two of them. “Here you go, ma’am.” Jael gave the woman at the desk their forms and payment.

  “Please come back three days from now. Thank you,” the woman at the counter said with a smirk. After all, they were only two out of hundreds of eager young mages she saw, day after day, eager to trade a beating for a shot at gold. But Jael knew he had experience and was ready for any challenges the arena would cast at them.

  Excitement built over the competition, Jael walked with flames sparking at his fingertips while Vaan had rocks spinning all about him in a frenzy. Frekkis seemed confused. Why are they in such high spirits, she seemed to ask, whining about their ankles and begging to play catch instead of practise-practise all the time.