She smiled, “Exactly. So now picture an onion the size of a planet, with millions upon millions of layers. In the very center is the source of all magic, the spark of life. It radiates out level to level, but grows weaker as it radiates outward. Toward the edge of the onion there’s hardly any magic at all, just enough to spark life, do you understand?”
I so didn’t. I mean, I followed what she was saying, but what was the point?
She sighed at my thoughts, “Patience Katrina. I’m trying to dumb down the explanation enough so you’ll get it, but it’s still complicated.”
I bit my lip and payed attention. Onion world, magic in the center, radiates outward.
She said, “Now time is the circumference of the layer. So picture a second hand on an old fashioned clock, it sweeps around the layers. In the center, it went a much smaller distance, or time, than it did in the outer layers.”
I frowned, “So the farther from the center of magic the faster time moves?”
She nodded, and then stared at me for a moment, “This world is very magical Katrina, magical enough to support gods and goddesses, your old world isn’t magical enough to perform a light spell.”
I tried to follow that thought through, and my eyes widened in alarm when the point of her nonsensical explanations finally hit me, “How long?” I gasped out the question.
The goddess sighed and looked at me comfortingly, “I’m sorry Katrina, but your parents, everyone you knew, were dead and buried for millennia by the time you woke up in that cell. Several hundred years have passed on your old world since we started this conversation.”
I shook my head in denial, “You can’t send me back?”
She nodded gently, “I can send you back to your world, but time travel is not possible, I can’t get you back to the people you knew. Or even the place you knew, your old world would be unrecognizable to you now. Empires have risen, and fallen.”
I closed my eyes and tried to let the peace of her presence wash away my turmoil, but my mind was gibbering with denial, anger, and fear. My parents were dead, they’d lived out their lives and died. My mother probably tried to get me back, but had obviously failed.
I felt defeated.
“So, what decision do I have to make, and what is your offer?”
She said, “You can go back to a world you don’t know, or stay here. If you do stay here, I have an offer for you, though it isn’t a simple path. I want your service.”
I frowned, wasn’t I supposed to pick her first? Although, I guess I already had, the moment I felt her presence I’d known she was my goddess. I didn’t want to go back home, not if it wasn’t home anymore. Here, I had Gerard, or at least I hoped I did. The goddess would give me a purpose, besides teaching this backwards world how to build plumbing.
I sighed, and gave Arella my answer.
Chapter 10
A black castle surrounded by four peeks, a keep with dead bodies, a village in ashes, a large stone castle that wasn’t Magehaven that was deserted and empty. Frozen moments flashed in my mind of death, fire, destruction, all in place after place I was shown horrors. Finally, I started to recognize them at the end, Magehaven, the city had burned to the ground except for the stones, followed by Linmoor, Greycliff, and Southwater. I could feel the hatred, and the evil, and then I woke with a gasp as I took a deep breath.
“What the hell was that!”
Danielle chuckled, “It is the gift of those that follow the goddess of dreams. Glimpses into past, present, or future. It is what the third eye stands for child.”
I reached up to my throat, and felt the symbol of the goddess. I’d been her follower for less than a minute, and I already had second thoughts. That vision had been hell, the destruction of two kingdoms, I could only assume the ravaged town and keep far to the north was in the kingdom of Jendas.
Strangely I felt peace descend on me, as I held the amulet, as if the goddess were still with me. I shook my head, I’d come here for help to go home, and somehow became a warrior priest, a paladin.
Those gamer geeks would be so jealous.
Then I felt a stab of anguish. Those gamer geeks were dead, just like everyone else I knew, or rather, had known back home.
“So I’ll get visions? In my sleep?”
She nodded, “Probably not many, only when it’s needed. You can also pray for her assistance, she will often answer in a dream. Normally, we would keep you here and train you, since you have to learn the prayers a paladin is capable of as well as our history. You won’t have nearly as much magic as a cleric would, but it will help you. The problem is, I was told the dream was rather urgent, and you’re needed?”
I shook my head, “Apparently I have to stop some threat from the north, or we’ll all be dead.”
How fair is that? Talk about a huge project for my first day. Arella obviously believed in the sink or swim method.
“Is there any help you can give me?” I asked rather plaintively.
She nodded and handed me a book. I opened it up, and the strange language seemed to translate itself in my mind.
“Those are the prayers, or spells you can learn, try to study on the road. You might want to talk to Gerard, he may accompany you?”
I closed my eyes. I’d said yes to the goddess while I was in denial and grief, but I also knew I’d meant it. If I was stuck on this world, I needed a purpose. Besides plumbing I mean. And teaching proper personal hygiene.
I sat up and then stood, “Thank you Danielle. Or should I call you high priestess now, I suppose you’re my general?”
She laughed with mirth, “No. Respect is enough, please call me Danielle. How could I demand the honor of being called by a title, when our goddess is simply Arella to us. Besides, I command the Clerics, not the paladins, who answer only to Arella.”
“Thanks,” I said in a slightly overwhelmed voice.
I had way too much left to learn, I flipped through the pages, and saw a few useful things. It wasn’t a very thick book, paladins only got access to a few spells, maybe ten or so, and I didn’t think it would take long to memorize it. I was a super and a telepath, good memory and learning skills were a given.
I felt a little nervous as I made my way out of the temple. What would Gerard make of my vision, or the fact that I was staying. My stomach was also doing flips, because there was no reason for us to stay apart anymore either. At the same time, I was upset about the loss of my old life, and almost overwhelmed at what I had just become and agreed to. Emotional mess didn’t quite cover it…
“Umm, surprise,” I said while trying to smile. I saw his eyes flicker down to the holy symbol on my chest and then narrow a bit.
Gerard nodded with a careful look on his face, “So you aren’t going home?”
I shook my head, “I… it isn’t possible. Well, that isn’t entirely true, I can go back to my world, but not my time.”
He frowned, “I see, I thought you weren’t going to give up?”
I sighed and my voice was conflicted with all my emotions, “It’s really impossible, Arella explained it to me. I also umm, had a vision. Some threat far to the north.”
He asked curiously, “What kind of threat?”
I frowned in thought, my mind going back to the vision, “I’m not sure, I just know it comes from a black castle, far to the north, that’s surrounded by four peaks. Or at least, that’s where the vision started. And it kind of kills everyone in Jendas and Trelin. Any idea what that means?”
He shook his head and the corners of his lips twitched, “No, but you don’t believe in half measures do you?”
I blushed and sounded a bit defensive while trying not to break down and cry, I was still a little in shock over all that happened, and his almost uncaring attitude about me staying was throwing me off. I’d thought he’d be happy.
“Not my fault. Will you help me?”
He raised an eyebrow, “It’s not up to me, we’ll have to see the king. And the historian might have a clue, I’ve never
heard of any black castles. I can do that much without permission. Will you work for the king, or be independent?”
I frowned, “What’s the difference?”
He sighed, “Let’s go back to the inn and talk, we need to get our horses anyway and head to the palace today.”
I nodded slowly in agreement, “Alright.”
We walked back to the inn in silence, and ate a quick lunch before going upstairs. I was relieved to see my saddlebags hadn’t grown legs, I didn’t think I’d need them anymore so had only taken my satchel and clothes for a souvenir. I didn’t need a crappy tent and smelly soap.
He cleared his throat, “You can do one of two things. If you work for the king, you’ll follow his orders and you’ll have authority to arrest and even judge those that break the law. Most likely you’ll be given postings like I had in Southwater. It also includes a gold a month, and a retirement of five silver a month if you live long enough to see it. The second option is to work for yourself.
“If you work for yourself, you won’t have the same authority to judge, but you’ll still be able to take people in and you’d be shown respect. You could also do whatever you wanted between your… vision quests? But you’d also have to find a way to earn coin on your own, the clerics don’t share their hard-won donations with the paladins.”
I shook my head, is it bad I was tempted to do the second one, simply because I was afraid the king would split us up if I worked for him? I knew that was kind of clingy, but I really cared about Gerard. It was so easy to admit it to myself now that I wasn’t leaving, even if he was being rather cold right now, and I still didn’t know why.
Still, the idea of following around an indifferent man struck me as pathetic. I was too confused with everything right now to work it all out. But there was also another reason to put it off, and I clung to it.
“Can I take option B, at least for now, and change my mind later? If the king refused to heed the vision, which you told me he could do, I could be ordered not to go. That would be a bad thing right?”
He chuckled, “Yes, if you’re vision comes true it would be.”
I frowned, “You mean it might not?”
He shrugged, “She isn’t the only god in this world, and I imagine they hedge their bets. Others may be sent to deal with it, most likely from Jendas.”
I considered that, “Perhaps, but I’m not going to ignore it.”
He half smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes, “Why doesn’t that surprise me. Alright, let’s go see the king, he’ll want to hear about it from you. On second thought, let’s go to the historian first. Having more information before seeing the king won’t hurt.”
“Thanks,” I said a bit conflicted. I wanted to roll up in a ball and let it all out, take the time to come to terms with it all. My family was dead, my whole world and life lost to time far in the past. Added to all that, was what was going on in my new life already, and I barely hung onto my sanity by a thread.
I stood up, put my satchel back in the saddlebags, and then threw them over my shoulder. I waited while Gerard got his stuff, and then we returned our keys.
I smiled happily, and felt a tear in my eyes when I saddled Stormy. It was ridiculous, and I felt guilty for being happy about a horse when everyone I knew was dead. I got the idea they didn’t die tragically in an accident, hopefully they’d lived full and long lives, but they were still gone.
As we walked the horses towards the palace I reached up and touched my medallion, holy symbol, I did feel an echo of her presence, and a little peace. It helped, but I knew I was just staving off the inevitable breakdown.
I said in need of a distraction, “So, do woman paladins wear armor, that stuff looks way too heavy.”
He laughed, “I imagine it’s up to you. Some do, but you don’t exactly fight with a sword do you?”
I shook my head, “No, I guess not.”
I wasn’t a melee fighter, closer to a mage that way in that I fought from a distance.
The city was rather large, and it was another couple of miles along the main road before we approached the inner gate to access the castle. The guards didn’t even question us, either they recognized Gerard, or paladins had access and were generally trusted.
Stormy stomped her foot and neighed in annoyance when I led her to another stable. I smiled and sent soothing thoughts, and the general idea that we’d be going soon. Apparently, she’d thought we were going now, and had some energy to work off.
The castle was fairly large, well-appointed with riches, and there were guards all over the place.
“How many live here?”
Gerard shrugged, “There’s the king’s family, thirty or so nobles, advisors, and then all the servants, guards, and paladins. Just over two hundred?”
I clenched my jaw, he sounded so indifferent, and I didn’t know how to deal with it right now, so I stopped asking questions.
He led us through several hallways, and up some stairs, two more corridors and we entered a large library. The room held shelves of leather bound books, scrolls, and even loose piles of parchment. There were no candles or torches evident in this room, and I wasn’t sure where the light was coming from. Probably some spell.
A middle aged man smiled over at us, and we moved in his direction. He had a graying mustache and a short beard, wore blue robes, and had a look of welcome in his eyes.
“Gerard, what brings you up here?”
Gerard smiled, “Old man. This here is the newest paladin of Arella, Katrina. Katrina, this is James, the royal historian. Which is just a fancy way of saying librarian.”
It was nice to see Gerard in such a good mood, but it hurt that it wasn’t me that caused it.
“Nice to meet you James.”
James smiled at me kindly, “Likewise, what can I do for you?”
Gerard explained, “Vision, got a black castle far to the north in Jendas. Source of some huge danger for us. Ring any bells?”
I added, “Surrounded by four mountain peaks, white with snow.”
James looked up in thought, “It’s not familiar. I’ll see what I can find out, I don’t quite have this room memorized yet. Still, if it’s here it will be in the Jendas section which shouldn’t take too long to search through.”
I smiled as I looked around, there were a lot of books in here, hundreds on each set of shelves and there were a great number of stacks of shelves in the large room. It would be the work of several lifetimes to absorb it all.
Gerard nodded, “Thanks old man.”
James shot him a mock scowl and walked off.
Gerard said to me, “Well, I’d hoped for more information, but we should see the king before he starts to think I’m avoiding him. The king is very formal, unlike James, so speak with respect and you’ll be fine.”
He looked me up and down, “Since you’re in travel clothes a bow will do.”
I could agree with that. A curtsey would look ridiculous without a dress on. Plus, I wasn’t really sure how to even do one.
I nodded but didn’t speak, and followed Gerard back to where we started. Then we went straight down the main hallway which had carpets in the corridor, and paintings on the walls of who I could only assume was the previous kings and queens of Trelin.
The doors to the throne room were open, and the guards at the doors nodded to Gerard, and gave me a quick once over until their eyes settled on the silver medallion, and let us both pass without a word. There must have been some kind of audience because the king was on his throne, along with the queen. There was also an older man in robes holding a staff quite similar, just larger, to the one the goblin mage held back at Southwater.
The king looked to be in his thirties, and was dressed in voluminous purple robes, wore a very heavy looking crown, and had his own staff inside a loop on the side of the throne. He had a serious look on his face, and I had a feeling very formal had been an understatement.
The queen was at least fifteen years younger, perhaps twenty-two. She w
as very beautiful with long black hair, high cheek bones, a perfect complexion, and bright green eyes. She wore a very conservative dark blue dress, but hints of her shapely body came through regardless. My first thought was that she was a trophy wife of some kind, but those green eyes were sharp, and held intelligence and I had to adjust my thoughts.
My empathy also told me she was far from frivolous, and probably a powerful mage in her own right.
I bowed when Gerard did, and we just stood there as the King measured us both in his sharp gaze for a few moments.
The king said, “Gerard, welcome back to Magehaven. I assume you have a story to explain the young lady beside you?”
Gerard replied sonorously, “Thank you your majesty, it’s good to be home. And yes, I’ve quite a tale to tell you, and a request.”
The king nodded in approval for him to proceed, and Gerard told a rather detailed story, minus our drama and feelings for each other, from the moment he chained up the strange girl in black. It took quite a while to get through it all, but the king seemed to have endless patience. I tried my best not to fidget. Eventually, he got to the vision, and a request to allow him to accompany me to the north.
He finished by explaining he’d asked the royal historian to look into it.
The king simply nodded and then turned to me, “Do you have anything to add?”
I replied, “No your majesty, except to say I’m sure it’s a true threat and needs to be dealt with.”
The king sat back with a frown.
The mage advisor objected, “I don’t like it your majesty, the gods usually respect the borders. If this is a true threat, surely they have sent others from within Jendas to deal with it?”
Gerard interjected, “Your majesty, if I may?”
The king nodded in permission and Gerard continued, “I believe she’s been sent by her goddess because of her unique talents. Perhaps they will be needed? While it would be inadvisable to send a large force north into an enemy kingdom, perhaps a small group, the two of us for instance, would have a chance to remain undetected?”
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