by Cadman, Dean
LUSAM
THE DRAGON MAGE WARS
BOOK ONE
by
DEAN CADMAN
(c)2015
Chapter One
The cold rain came down hard, driven by the strong northerly wind which had been blowing relentlessly for the past three days. Winter was definitely on its way, and Lusam knew it. If he did not find shelter soon he would be in big trouble.
Ever since his grandmother died two years ago, he had been forced to live the hard, unforgiving life of a street kid. Living on the streets was hard enough, but for a twelve-year-old boy alone in a city like Helveel, where thieves and murderers were commonplace, it bordered on the impossible.
Lusam spent the first two years after his grandmother had passed away living in the alley behind the baker's shop. For the most part, he only had to compete with the rats for scraps of burned or spoiled food thrown out by the baker or his wife. The dead end alley also helped him shelter from the wind, and although meagre, the baker's chimney gave off a small amount of heat, especially first thing in the morning when the ovens were lit to cook the daily bread. In fact, the only reason he had found the alley, which had undoubtedly saved his life that first year with its bitter cold winter, was that chimney.
Almost starving, he had smelled the bread cooking from the chimney and it had led him to that alley. Lusam found a small grate in the wall that first day, and had managed to crawl inside it, out of the worst of the cold. There wasn't much room to move inside, but at least it was dry, and the small space helped retain a portion of his body heat. He didn’t need a lot of room as it happened. Apart from his well-worn clothes, his only other possession was a small crystal amulet his grandmother had given him the day she had died. She had told him that his mother had entrusted it to her for safe-keeping, and that she should give Lusam the amulet when he came of age. Lusam had tried to ask about the amulet and his mother, who he never really knew, but his grandmother was far too ill from the fever to be able to answer any of his questions. He had fully intended to ask her more in the morning, after she had rested, but he never had the opportunity, as she quietly passed away in her sleep that very night.
Lusam had thought many times about selling the amulet to buy a little food, or even one night's warmth at an inn, but no matter how much he told himself he needed to sell it, he couldn't bring himself to part with it. It was the only thing he had left of his mother and grandmother in this world, and selling it for any reason seemed so wrong. So this small insignificant hole behind the baker's shop became his home and safe retreat from the night-time city for almost two years.
One morning, stirring from his sleep, Lusam noticed an unusual smell. It was nothing like the mouth-watering smell of freshly baked bread to which he would normally awaken. At first he thought it part of the dream he was having; it's funny how the mind can take real sounds and smells, and incorporate them into your dreams, making them all the more real. He was very comfortable this morning. An almost spring-like warmth surrounded him in his small living space, the likes of which he had not felt in months. He started drifting off, back into deeper sleep, dreaming of the summer evenings spent with his grandmother in the forest, cooking food over an open campfire with the stars overhead twinkling down on them.
His grandmother had once told him that one of those stars was his mother watching over him while he slept each night, and that had given him great comfort in the cold, dark, lonely nights since he had found himself all alone in the world. As he was drifting deeper into sleep, he was startled awake by a cry of: “Help! … Fire! … Fire!”
When he opened his eyes, he could not believe what he was seeing. The bakery was engulfed by flames, with thick black smoke billowing out of the windows and under the door. The flames leapt through the roof and high into the morning sky. As he started to take in the scene more, and his mind started to process the information through the haze of sleep, he noticed the heat inside his small grate increasing rapidly. He quickly removed the grill from the entrance and was about to poke his head out to take a better look, when a large piece of burning timber landed directly in front of his face, bouncing twice down the alley before coming to rest in a shower of sparks. He knew he had to get out of there fast, before the rest of the building came down on top of him. With a silent prayer to Aysha, that no more of the building would come down on him while he was climbing out, he took a deep breath and wriggled out of the hole as fast as he could.
When he was able to stand, he began to run as fast as he could towards the far end of the alley, away from the burning buildings. From behind him came a huge crash. As he looked back over his shoulder, he saw that the front of the building adjoining the bakery had collapsed right where he had been only seconds before, burying his grate entrance in a mass of rubble and flames. As he stood watching the carnage unfold before his eyes, the cold realisation suddenly hit him. He had lost yet another home.
No matter how poor a home it had been, at least it had been his, and had kept him dry. Then a second thought struck him with even more force. He had just lost his main food source too.
He had no idea how long he stood there staring dumbfounded at the flames, while people were trying to contain the fire and save what they could, and the rats ran in all directions, fleeing for their lives. When Lusam finally regained some of his composure, he simply turned around and walked away from the relative safety of the alley, and into the unforgiving streets of Helveel.
Two weeks had passed since the fire, and Lusam had spent most of that time cold, hungry and tired. He sat on the edge of the fountain in the main square, listening to the water behind him cascading down a statue of some long dead king. He watched the people walk past for hours, all busy in their own little worlds, never taking any notice of the street kid sitting on the small wall of the fountain watching them go by.
He had hoped that the baker's shop would be repaired, and that he could go back to how it had been for the last two years, but the damage had been far too severe, and it had been pulled down instead. Life was much harder now. There were plenty of street kids in Helveel, but there was also a distinct hierarchy among them. Although Lusam had been in Helveel for the past two years, he had not associated himself with the street kids there much, so they didn’t know him, and therefore, he was a long way down the pecking order when it came to anything, especially food or work. Many of the street kids had to resort to theft on a daily basis simply to survive. If caught they would be severely punished with a public whipping for their first offence, and having a digit removed from their hand for any future crimes they committed. Many of the street kids had various numbers of digits missing: it seemed the older they were, the more they had lost. It was simply a choice—steal or starve.
Lusam refused to resort to stealing anything. This was not because he was frightened of the consequences, although he didn’t relish the thought of either type of punishment. When he had been a young boy his grandmother had caught him taking a freshly baked biscuit without permission from the window sill, where they had been left cooling. She had been most vocal in her displeasure with him. Although, obviously he never got whipped or lost a digit over the biscuit, he also never forgot the lesson she had taught him, that stealing was wrong in any form, and he had given his word to her that he would never steal anything ever again.
While he sat there in the weak winter sunshine, he couldn’t help but think about all the good things he used to enjoy doing with his grandmother. His favourite was when she would take him into the forest and teach him small tricks, like how to light a camp fire with only a word, or how he could communicate with the animals. He remembered the time he asked her if they could talk back,
but she explained that she wasn’t really talking to them, she was simply projecting a feeling towards them. She could make a bird, or a rabbit come right up to them by projecting a feeling of safety towards the animal. He practised for hours until he could also do it. In fact, he got so good at it, he could summon several different creatures at the same time with little effort.
He had used a similar method in the alley to keep away the rats at night. He would project the image of a hungry cat as if it was waiting behind the grate, ready for a tasty rat supper, and it seemed to have worked very well indeed. He did feel a little guilty about doing this sometimes, because he once asked his grandmother why she didn’t just get the animals to come to them, and catch them for their dinner, so they would always have meat for the table. She looked him straight in the eyes, and with that stern look she used to wear whenever she wanted him to know something was important, she had replied: “You should never betray the trust an animal gives you willingly, or unwillingly. To use the power Aysha has given you in that way would dishonour her and yourself in equal measure, and that would not be wise in many ways, my child.”
She had also explained that all life had a force of magic running through and around it, and even some things that were not alive had a certain amount of magic within them. Each person had an amount of magic inside them, most could neither sense it nor use it, but a gifted few could see it in others, and even fewer could use the power inside themselves to varying degrees.
She taught Lusam to recognize the aura that glowed around everyone, and how he would notice it glow more intensely around the few who could use magic, and to be very wary of such people if he did not know them.
One of his favourite games as a young boy that he had played with his grandmother, was hide and seek in the forest. When they first played the game, he could never understand how his grandmother was able to find his hiding places so easily. When it was his turn to seek, sometimes it would take what seemed like forever to a young boy to find her, and many times he called out that he “gave up,” and that she should come out of hiding.
On one occasion when they went to the forest and played the game, he had the idea of looking for his grandmother's aura instead of looking directly for her. He was amazed when he cleared his mind, concentrated, and searched using his mage-sight—instead of his natural-sight—that he could spot her so easily, and from so far away, even through the trees. He soon realised how she had won the games so quickly in the past. He was about to suggest they did something different, as it would be far too easy to find each other now that he knew her secret, but then he had an idea. With a mischievous grin on his face, he told his grandmother he would go and hide, and not knowing he had discovered her secret, she readily agreed and started counting to the mandatory one hundred. Lusam ran a few hundred paces into the forest, just as he had done dozens of times before during his previous visits. He found a suitable hiding place, and crouched down behind a large fallen tree. He closed his eyes, cleared his mind as he had been shown countless times, and he tried to hide his aura using magic. He had no idea if it would, or even could work, but he had to try, then maybe he could win for once.
He could see his grandmother stand up from her starting point and head directly for his hiding place using her mage-sight. `No!` He thought to himself, and redoubled his efforts to hide his aura. It was a strange feeling he experienced, like a shutter had been lowered over the lantern that was his mind. He knew the light was still as bright behind the shutter, but no light escaped to the outside world. He saw his grandmother halt in mid-stride, and then start to look around frantically in all directions. He knew for certain at that point he had achieved his goal, and smiled to himself, knowing he was at last going to win for a change.
His grandmother stood still for a few more seconds, before resuming her original line of interception. He was pretty sure she couldn’t see his aura, so he presumed that she must be just heading towards the last place she'd seen him. He was just about ready to accept defeat again, when he had another idea.
He concentrated on projecting his aura to a location about fifty paces to the east. He then set the image in his mind and released a short, sharp blast of power in that direction. Instantly his grandmother turned to look to the east, and then changed her direction to where he had projected his fake aura.
Lusam by this time was chuckling to himself so hard he was surprised his grandmother didn’t just hear him instead of see him. When she reached the place he had projected his aura she stopped, then started scanning the ground all around her. Even at fifty paces he could see the worry and concern on her face as she started calling out his name.
Rules were rules, and the rule was if you didn’t say the words, `I give up,` you didn’t reveal your location, or you lost, and at the age of seven rules were very important; almost as important as winning the game.
After a few more minutes his grandmother must have also remembered the rules because she called out the correct phrase, indicating that Lusam had won the game and should come out of hiding. He did just that with a very loud “Whoop!” while jumping into the air, over and over again. He also noticed the relief that washed over his grandmother's face when he emerged from his hiding place as she rushed over to hug him tightly.
“I won, I won, I actually won this time!”
“Yes, you did indeed. Come, let’s go sit by the fire, I need to talk with you Lusam.”
Lusam felt a little apprehensive as they headed the short distance back to their camp. He wondered if he was in big trouble for playing the trick on his grandmother. When they reached the camp and sat down, his grandmother sat there for what seemed like a very long time just looking at Lusam, then eventually she said in a calm voice, “Lusam, how did you do that? How did you hide your aura from me?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you angry with me. I won’t do it again. I promise,” he replied sheepishly.
“No, you don’t understand Lusam. What you just did is supposed to be impossible to achieve, and to my knowledge, I have never heard of it ever being done before. Could you do it again, here, now for me please?” she asked him. He looked up at her and nodded his head. “Thank you Lusam,” she replied, watching his aura closely.
He cleared his thoughts again and closed the shutter in his mind just as he had done before. This time it was much easier, because he knew exactly what he needed to do to achieve it. His grandmother brought her hand to her mouth, gasping out loud, and a small tear rolled down her cheek, dripping onto the back of her quivering hand.
“Are you alright grandmother?” he asked, suddenly concerned.
“Oh, yes Lusam. I’m more than alright my boy,” she replied with a huge smile on her face.
Later that evening she asked him in more detail how he had done it, and she tried for a long time to hide her own aura with his help, but she was unable to do it, or even come close.
One of the most vivid memories of his early years that had stayed with him right up until now, were of that day in the forest. The simple things like winning a game, or being able to do something an adult couldn’t do. One conversation however stuck in his mind more than any other from that afternoon around the campfire.
His grandmother took hold of his hand and looked deep into his eyes, then said, “Lusam, I thank Aysha, for you have been doubly blessed. Not only can you use the power Aysha has granted you, but you can also now hide amongst the non-magi of this world.”
He looked at her while his seven-year-old mind tried to process what she had just said. “Hide? Why do I need to hide?”
“Oh, my boy, there is a lot of this world I must teach you. The lessons here in the forest you have learned well, surpassing anything I could have imagined. Many things I must teach you must wait until you are older, so you will understand them fully. I must ask something of you now, so it may help ensure that we do have the time we will need for me to teach you all that I must. Promise me, that you will use your new found skill and shield you
r aura at all times. If possible, even while you sleep. Can you promise me this Lusam?”
“But, why grandmother?”
“Please Lusam, if you love me, you must promise me you will do it. For me, and for you.” He looked at his grandmother's pleading expression and knew he had to agree, even if he didn’t know the reasons why.
“I'll do it for you, don’t worry grandmother.”
“Thank you Lusam. It means so much for me to hear you say that,” she said, taking a hold of him in her arms, and hugging him so hard he could barely breathe. It was a good feeling, and he missed those times so much now he was older, and all alone in the world.
Thinking about all the good times he had as a child was all well and good, but it did little to relieve the discomfort coming from his stomach, as it loudly reminded him he had yet to eat anything today.
Lusam had already been to the main gate earlier that morning. It was the place where all the street kids gathered each day, and where they all tried to gain some kind of work, for food or coin. Sometimes a rich nobleman may simply need information regarding the whereabouts of a certain building, or person. Or it could be something as disgusting as clearing out a blocked sewer pipe, or some other equally degrading job that nobody else in town wanted to do. All the people of Helveel knew that the street kids gathered at the gate each morning, desperate for anything they could get, and so they knew exactly where to find the people to do the jobs that nobody else wanted to do in Helveel.
It was a long-shot, but he stood up and headed back down to the city gates. Nobody would usually try to find street kids there at this time in the afternoon, because they knew they wouldn’t be there. If the work didn’t come in the early mornings, it didn’t come at all, and the kids would have to try and eat by other less reputable means.
As he approached the gates he noticed a pretty blonde girl about his own age already standing at the gate. Although her clothes were dirty, they were cleaner and in much better condition than his own attire. She wore green trousers and a brown tunic with sturdy looking black boots, and her shoulder length hair was neatly tied up in a pony tail. He had seen her the previous morning at the gate, but she had kept to herself, and not really spoken with any of the other street kids waiting for work there. As he approached she made brief eye contact with him, and when he nodded his head in greeting, she did the same in return. “Hi there. Are you waiting for work, or are you just meeting someone here?” he asked in his friendliest voice.
