Clockwork Immortal

by Sam Ryan

  While Sophia had no idea who this man was she did know that he was not his Majesty. He was far too old and lacked the gold and ruby encrusted jewelry that usually accompanied a king.

  “Lord Malorin.” The knight placed a hand to her chest and bowed her head deeply towards the old man. “I have brought Madam Sophia to see his Majesty.”

  “Thank you, Sir Madilyn,” the old man said, turning around from the window and giving them a friendly and warm smile. “Sadly, his Majesty is busy at the moment with prior engagements. However, he has granted me full authority to act in his stead.” He gestured at the large red couch, offering for Sophia to sit.

  “Seems rather rude,” Sophia stated, stepping around the couch. Sitting down, she crossed her legs in the most lady like of fashion, her hands clasped together over her knee. “To drag me here and then not have the courtesy to show up himself.”

  Sophia could feel the woman knight tense up behind her. It would seem she did not take kindly to Sophia’s rather belligerent tone regarding her liege.

  The old man chuckled, nodding his head in agreement. “Let us say that appearances are more important than manners in this case.” The old man took a seat in the middle of the couch across from Sophia, his hands resting on top of the gentleman’s cane that he had placed between his knees. “It is imperative that people do not see this as the important meeting that it actually is. Simultaneously, we must make sure that certain precautions are taken for your safety.”

  “So you send a knight to protect me but a knight nobody likes, so it appears that you are using her for medial courier jobs as a form of belittlement.” Sophia pointed over her shoulder at the knight standing directly behind her. “No offense,” she assured, glancing back at the woman.

  The knight did not say anything, only curling the side of her mouth in annoyance.

  “Sir Madilyn is quite the capable knight,” Lord Malorin stated. He shifted his eyes towards the knight but never turned his attention away from Sophia. “While she may not be the best swordsman or greatest marksman, she has exceeded all the standards she was held too.”

  “To which I am sure has earned her even more disconnect among the other knights than she already had,” Sophia said, unable to stop herself from sneaking another glance at the woman, flashing her a brief smile.

  “The only thing men hate more than having a woman do their job, is having a woman being good at it.” He nodded. “And by the same token of reason that I had Sir Madilyn deliver the summons, is the same reason his Majesty is not present. It would not do well to have his Majesty meet with anyone, regardless of standing, this late into the night. It brings undo attention to the matter and arises speculation. I have no doubt that anyone seeing you brought to me will simply assume that you are a new tryst of mine that I am trying to keep discreet.”

  Sophia narrowed her eyes, glaring at the man. “That’s not what I am, correct?” she asked. Her voice crisp with warning.

  The man leaned back and let out a laugh, his chest shaking as he did so. Sophia even thought he might lose his balance and fall back into this seat. “No,” he said, leaning forward on his cane once more. “I assure you that is not the purpose of this meeting.” He looked up at the knight standing behind Sophia. “Sir Madilyn, why not join us? Seeing as how this conversation involves you as well.”

  Madilyn paused for a second, her brow furrowing. Glancing over at her squire briefly, she unclasped her hands from behind her back and moved around the couch. Unfastening her saber from her belt, she sat down in a red velvet chair, resting the sword against the arm so it was still easily within reach.

  Once Madilyn was seated the old man returned his attention back to Sophia. “Tell me Madam Sophia. Are you familiar with your grandmother’s work?”

  Sophia tilted her head to the side inquiring for him to elaborate. After all, she did not even know who her parents were, much less her grandparents and she highly doubted that this man of all people would somehow know them.

  “Your Grandmother, Professor Sophia Emiel. Your namesake I would imagine,” the old man explained.

  Sophia took a deep breath as realization set in. That had been one of her identities nearly sixty years ago, back when she thought she would try her hand at teaching at the university. It had been fun for a time, but her inability to age meant that she had to quit after a decade or so. She had cited health reason for her resignation. This also gave her an excuse as to why she would never go and visit with her former colleagues. According to official records Sophia was that person’s granddaughter.

  “She was a professor of history,” Sophia stated, leaning forward and staring at the man. She thought if she looked hard enough she might recognize him. Sadly the wrinkles on his face made it hard for her to see the man underneath.

  “One of the best.” The old man nodded. “Her knowledge on past events was second to none. The way that she would explain things was like she had actually been there and was merely recounting her experiences.” Malorin’s eyes glazed over, losing himself to his memories.

  “You were a student of hers?” Sophia asked, still unable to place the face.

  “I was.” He nodded. “Though I doubt she would have remembered me even if she were still alive. I was a spoiled noble’s son who could not believe there existed a place where I would be expected to succeed on work and merit alone and not simply using my father’s name to get what I wanted. So I tended to avoid any real contact with her, except to complain about one thing or another.”

  That did little to narrow his face down for Sophia, as most of the nobles she had taught were of that mentality.

  “And what does my late grandmother have to do with me?” Sophia asked, deciding to forget about trying to remember him and instead return to the matter at hand.

  “Quite right.” Malorin shook his head clear of his memories and focused once more on Sophia. “Do you happen to recall an article your grandmother once wrote on? What she dubbed ‘Legendary Relics’? Artifacts of such great magical power that they could destroy entire cities.”

  “If used incorrectly,” Sophia said, knowing instantly what he was referring to. “They were forged by the Arcane Masters of the Ancient Arcana Empire. They had various uses, from power sources, to magic focuses. Some ancient documents referred to them but if they even did ever exist, they were lost when the Arcana Empire fell over eight hundred years ago.”

  Something Sophia had helped bring about in her not so little way. Her and the other Immortals that was. Bringing down an entire empire had never been their intention but that was what tended to happen when one wiped out every Arcane Master along with the Emperor Arcon himself. Someone so powerful in magic that magic was now named after him.

  “So you have studied up on the subject then?” Malorin asked, seemingly pleased with Sophia’s knowledge on the subject.

  Sophia suddenly wondered if maybe she should have simply remained silent and feigned ignorance. She feared she had just inadvertently gotten herself caught up in something she would rather have stayed out of.

  “I have read some of my grandmother’s notes on the subject.” Sophia nodded. “I really don’t want to say I am the expert that she was.” Even though I am in every way, she added to herself.

  “At this point that is better than anything else we have,” he sighed. “Sadly few people are familiar with the Ancient Arcana Empire. And fewer still are people with even a passing knowledge on Legendary Relics. Many would say that are nothing but myths in the first place. That such magical devices were and are impossible.

  “And how do you know so much about them?” Sophia asked, touching her hand to her chin as she studied the old man. “That article was written in an obscure publication that no longer exists.”

  “I have had reason to look into it,” he said, half his mouth curling into a smile. “And the academy records has a copy of everything published by former professors. No matter how outlandish they may seem to most.”

  “And why do you need
someone who knows about Legendary Relics?” Sophia asked, a little dejected. She had written that article because the school required her to write something in order to keep her position. She had chosen that topic because she was sure no one would ever take it seriously.

  Suddenly the warmth in Malorin’s face seeped out of him as a heavy weight seemed to fall on his old shoulders. “I take it you are aware of our kingdom’s neighbor, the newly formed Republic of Trevelia?”

  Sophia gave a single nod of confirmation but did not say anything more on the subject. It was a new kingdom that had been established a few decades ago, after a bloody war between two kingdoms. The two kingdoms came to an accordance, dissolving their monarchies and establishing an elected council that ruled over both kingdoms. Inadvertently, this had made them the third most powerful kingdom in the land, pushing Lear down into a begrudging fourth. Though few in Lear would openly admit that, and many more were chomping at the bit to prove that was not actually the case.

  “Well, as you may be aware,” Malorin continued. “Much of their land stands on top of the old ruins of the Arcana Empire. Earlier this morrow we received word from one of our spies in the city of New Dentin. He states that while investigating a strange light off in the distance, he came across a barren wasteland of ash where a dense forest once was.”

  Sophia saw Sir Madilyn tense up upon hearing his words. She had been silent through the entire exchange so far but she was still listening intently to everything that was being said.

  “And you think that it was a Legendary Relic that caused this?” Sophia asked. “That seems to be a bit of a leap in logic, don’t you think? After all, five hundred years ago I have no doubt that black powder testing probably had people thinking the same thing.”

  “This is no simple explosion,” the old man stated. He reached under the table and pulled out a brown leather case. Opening the flap, he reached inside. “Our spy sent this back with his report.” Malorin pulled out several grainy black and white photos from the case and set them down on the oak table between them.

  Sophia picked up one of the photos, examining it closer. Many of the details were hard to make out due to the low quality of the image. A hand drawn sketch might have been better. But she could not deny the utter devastation that the grainy photos depicted. She had seen magic spells gone wrong that had caused less destruction.

  “While I was searching for anything in our records that might have caused such an explosion is when I ran across your grandmother’s article,” Malorin continued.

  “So you think a relic caused this because of something a history teacher wrote over fifty years ago?” Sophia said, giving the old man a stink eye.

  “There is more to this idea than that,” Malorin assured. “For over three years now, the Republic of Trevelia has been digging in what is thought to be ancient Arcana Ruins. Almost as if they were looking for something. We don’t know if they were intentionally looking for a Legendary Relic but if they managed to find one…” he let his voice trail off.

  Sophia dropped the photo, letting it fall back to the table, shaking her head in disbelief. “I still don’t buy it,” she stated, leaning back on the couch. “Even if they did somehow find one, and they knew what it was that they had, the kind of energy it would take to activate one is-” She paused as she tried to think of the right word. “I hate to say impossible but…” She shrugged, not able to think of a better word.

  “But you stated that some of these devices were used as power sources,” Malorin pointed out. “Why would those require power?”

  “To activate,” Sophia corrected. “It’s a perpetual motion kind of prin-ciple.” She spun her fingers in front of her to demonstrate. “Once the gears start moving they could generate immense power, but it still required that initial magic of an Arcane Master to activate. No one alive today has that kind of power. Magic of that magnitude died out along with them.”

  Malorin grinned as he listened to Sophia talk. “You are just like your Grandmother.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “You talk with the same kind of passion she did. As if there was no room for error in what you say.”

  Sophia clamped her mouth shut and sat back in her seat, tightly clasping her hands in her lap. She had gotten carried away. Of course she knew how such things worked as she was alive when they were in use. While she could never match the magic power that the Arcane Masters had, she still understood their workings. But there was no way for everyone else in the room to know that. She was sure her words would be thought of as arrogance in more scholarly circles. But Malorin seemed genuinely pleased by what she had said.

  “I want to believe what you say is true,” Malorin stated, shifting slightly in his seat. “But I dare not assume without assurances. As you are the only one, possibly in the entire kingdom, with any working knowledge of these relics, I would like you to go to Trevelia and investigate it personally.”

  Sophia blinked at his words. “I’m sorry.” She sat forward, cocking her head to the side so she could hear him better. “You mind explaining what you mean by that?”

  “Exactly what it sounds like,” Malorin stated. “I would like you to travel to Trevelia and investigate the site of this explosion and confirm with your own eyes if you think this is the work of a Legendary Relic or something else. If this was caused by a Relic then we must know, and if it was not, then we must know that as well.

  “The current climate between Lear and Trevelia is tenuous at best. If they have such a weapon at their disposal, I have no doubt they intend to use it against us or someone else. With this, they may even have the military might to assault the Eternal Empire.”

  “I highly doubt that,” Sophia scoffed. “The Eternal Empire is far more powerful than any one nation.” And she would know. She had been friends with the Queen for nearly a thousand years now. “No offense meant to you of course,” she added, nodding at the old man.

  “That may have been true a hundred years ago, but the Queen who sits upon the Eternal Throne now is far more reserved and timid than the Queens of the past.”

  That statement made Sophia frown. Queen Allora was another Immortal like herself and she was anything but reserved. Allora was the only one of the six Immortals bold enough to actually openly reveal their immortality. Be it still behind an impregnable fortress and the largest most well trained military in the world, but bold none the less. She was kind hearted and overly optimistic about the world, and she could never stand back and let evil things go on and not do something about it. To hear someone call her timid was almost anger inducing.

  “Regardless, if this current queen truly is the same queen or a different one merely taking on the same name,” Malorin continued. “We cannot rely on her involvement in world affairs any longer. That is why we must handle this on our own, while we still have time to act if need be.”

  “You are talking about open war,” Sophia stated, her chest beginning to tighten. Sophia had seen enough wars in her life to know she never wanted to see another. And she definitely did not want to help start one.

  “War is always a possibility,” the old man said coldly. “His Majesty would rather avoid one if at all possible, but it is a card we must be willing to play if need be.”

  “I am no soldier, or adventurer,” Sophia said, though neither of those statements were true. But the longer they talked the more frustrated and annoyed she became. “You expect me to do this all by my lonesome?”

  To think that only a few hours ago she was thinking about leaving this city forever. Now she was wishing she would have had that revelation yesterday, then she could have avoided all of this.

  “Not at all.” A smile returned to Malorin’s lips. “I will, of course, send Sir Madilyn with you as an escort.” He gestured with his chin over at the knight still sitting quietly in the chair. “I will also give you access to one of our navy’s airships. Unmarked of course. We will give you papers authen-ticating you as a simple merchant vessel, which will grant you permission for interna
tional trade. Then load a ship up with some basic cargo. That should be enough to get you across the Trevelian border. From there, you will meet with our agent in New Dentin and he will guide you the place where he took these.” He tapped his wrinkly finger on the photo on the table.

  Sophia was not all that thrilled with this plan. She had never ridden in an airship before and had planned on keeping it that way forever. The idea of a flying boat, using hot air or otherwise, seemed ridiculously dangerous and unstable to her. She did not care how safe people said it supposedly was.

  “Doesn’t seem like I have much of a choice in the matter,” Sophia grumbled, crossing her arms in silent protest.

  Malorin let out a regretful sigh. “I am sorry, but you do not. I do not like the idea of sending a woman on such a potentially dangerous mission, and if I thought there was anyone else who could do this then I would send them in your stead. But as it stands now, you are the only one I know who could even begin to understand these ‘Legendary Relics’ and regretfully, I do not think we have time to find someone else. The more attention we give this matter, the greater the chance Trevelia will discover that we are looking into it. If they fear that we are getting too close, we have no way of knowing how they will react. Or how the Council of Lords will react when they find out that Trevelia has such a weapon. They may force an invasion on that possibility alone.”

  Sophia sat back in her chair, her arms crossed in anger. It was not that she was scared or worried for her own safety. She was angry over the fact that she felt she had no agency in all of this. That someone would have the gall to try and make her do something she did not want to was infuriating.

  Despite her anger however, she was still curious. A Legendary Relic really was the only thing she could think of that would cause the destruction that she saw in those photographs. Had she learned about it in a different way, she would probably be asking to join this mission. Citing her fictional grandmother’s research as the reason they should take her.