by Aaron Thomas
***
Kilen was startled awake when Erica brought a morning meal into the room. His sister and the wizard were still sleeping. At least Kilen thought his sister was sleeping. He still didn’t understand what the wizard had done to her. All he knew was that she was alive and unhurt, and so was the city.
Kilen looked down to see that he had fallen asleep with his hand on the pommel of his sword. He felt refreshed and whole. He breathed deep to check the rib he had broken. There was no pain. It was like he had slept there on that pallet for weeks. While Kilen pulled his boots on and washed in the fresh water that had been left in the night. Erica went to Kara and spoon fed her broth until the bowl was empty. Kilen reached in his pocket and found the blue ribbon that Kara had worn on Springfest. He gently tied it around the hit of the sword right against the crossguard. He felt as if it belonged there. With that tied to his sword he would always know why he took this quest on. He tied the sword to his belt and felt the power of water and earth pass through him when he handled it. He could rest his hand on his sword comfortably now, while wielding the power that it held. Kilen had begun to eat his meal when the wizard woke and joined him in eating. He too washed his face. He placed his hand on Kara’s forehead and Kilen saw his eyes turn blue in the using of water magic. “She’s just fine, and doing much better with that broth in her stomach,” he said to Kilen. “Thank you Erica. Will you see that my horse is made ready?” She left them in the room, and he turned to Kilen. “Are you ok?”
Kilen finally had time to truly search his feelings, without the magic of the rings interfering in his choice. “I know what I must do, and it feels right to me. I will not abandon my sister. I know the kindness in her heart. I am glad that I was here when she found out she is a wizard. This way I can at least help her. I know that I would have felt guilty if I had not been there when it happened.”
“You will find that the choice will become easier once we are with the King and she is out of danger. How do you feel this morning?”
“Wonderful, I cannot believe the how much I have healed in one night.”
“Good, Slowly remove one of the rings from the chain and see how you feel then.” Kilen removed the chain from around his neck and slowly undid the clasp and dropped the ring into the wizard’s hand. The strength went from him along, with the feeling of being able to run forever. He still could feel some power and could probably lift the wizard off the floor easily, but still feeling whole.
“I’m fine without it, should I try the other?”
“If you are up to it. Remember I’ll be here to give it back to you just in case you aren’t ready.” Kilen nodded and dropped the chain into the wizard’s hands. The last of his strength and endurance departed leaving Kilen feeling like he had chopped wood for the better part of the day. His muscles were fatigued, but he could stand and walk.
“You recover quickly. That is good. I, however, still feel a bit fatigued. Would you mind, Armor bearer, to restore some more energy to me?” the wizard asked earnestly. Kilen nodded and placed the rings back onto his chain and around his neck. He grabbed the hilt of his sword resting on the belt, and the water and earth magic filled him. He concentrated on the water in the room, placed his hand over the wizards and pushed hard with the earth magic restoring the wizard’s endurance. “This is enough boy. You push yourself to great. I feel as if you are going to master these abilities quicker than any student I have ever had before. Twilix will have a grand time teaching you.”
They packed all the items that had been used the night before and picked Kara up off the pallet. When she began to stir, the wizard lowered her back onto the pallet. “It is time watch closely. I’ll not put her under so deep this time so that you can practice yourself later today.” He placed his hands on her forehead and motioned Kilen to come closer. “Place your hands on her so that you can feel as well as see what it does.” Kilen held his sister’s hand as he watched the water flow through her in a kind of inner current through her body. When the wizard did this Kara’s body temperature lowered back to a slightly feverish. “Do you think you can do that if the need arises?”
“I know I can. Would you like me to try to put her under more?”
“No, not just now. If something were to go wrong I would like to be able to fix it. Kilen, this is a kind of healing; the only kind that will be difficult at a distance. If you cool her too much she will die, not enough and she will become an inferno. I know where the limits of a fire wizard are. You must not push her temperature lower than it is right now. The fire magic has its effect on her body. Fire, to her, heals. If she is in need of healing we would place her near a fire if not into it. She will not burn; the fire elemental magic protects her.” Kilen nodded, watching and feeling Kara. This knowledge might be the only thing that keeps her alive.
They both grabbed one of Kara’s arms, picked her up into a standing position, and moved down the stairs and through the kitchen out into the stable yard. The Wizards chestnut horse was saddled and packed. Erica was there holding a handkerchief full of honey cakes. She hugged the wizard and nodded to Kilen in thanks. He nodded back to her and turned to see Bowie mounted on Charger come into the stable yard from the street. He was leading two other horses fully saddled and packed. Bowie tossed a coin purse to Kilen. When Kilen caught it he felt as if it was filled to the seams. He opened it to examine the contents and found he indeed had more gold in it than before. Kilen looked at Bowie quizzingly.
“Some archer thought that twenty gold was a good price to bet against my aim. Little did he know that the arrows he used were mine.” They both laughed and exchanged stories of their nights. Kilen crossed to each horse and gave them a boost of energy, feeling them for wounds or sores, but found none.
The wizard finally moved to Kilen and Bowie to give them instructions. “Bowie it is your choice whether or not you will continue on with us. If you don’t I would ask that you carry with you the message of what has transpired with Kilen and Kara. Bring his mother word so that she can make arrangements to come and visit them in the castle.”
“We will have to send a messenger, because for the last year that little git has followed us around everywhere. Well, I got use to it and she’s more of a sister to me than I thought possible. I will go with you and offer my bow to the King, in hopes of helping Kilen make payments.” The wizard smiled at the news from Bowie. The three mounted and started out of the yard. The two boys waved at Erica in hopes that they would return to see her one day. Bowie turned Charger around and rode up to Erica pulling on the reins. Charger whinnied and put its front legs in the air. When Charger settled Bowie bent low in the saddle and produced a small yellow flower. Erica took it from his hand and curtsied. Kilen rolled his eyes and they rode out of the town.
The road out of the town was empty except the occasional farmer rolling by with a cart and team. Very few houses were on the main road. As this was the edge of the water realm, the people here wanted to avoid robbers and thieves that traveled the roads that stretched the country. This particular highway went from Port Craven on the coast of the water kingdom, all the way to Kingston, where the Earth Realm king’s castle was. The path was made of hard packed dirt made by the continuous travelers.
Wizard Parker stopped and turned his horse in the road to face the other three. “Kilen, if you would join me up here we will start your training again. Bowie, it would be good for you to listen, so stay close. You just might learn what we face up ahead.” The wizard started his horse walking again and spoke so everyone could hear him. “Your fate’s have been tangled with mine by the mark I made on your sword, so from here on out I would like it if you called me Brent. After all we should get to know each other as friends. When we arrive at the Earth Realm, I will assume my old command of the water seat on the Wizard Council in the Earth Realm.”
“The Wizard’s Council?” Kilen asked bringing his horse up beside Brent’s.
“Yes, and it is to them that our judgments will fall upon. They ar
e the wizards law, there is a council in each realm comprised of a wizard representative from each element. In order to stay out of trouble and keep that sword belonging to you we will have to prove two things. One, that the sword was given to you by birthright, and that your father was a legitimate weapon bearer. If your father was indeed the scout for Wizard Calvin he will be recognized straight away. The good thing is that sword looks to be recognizable with its silver wrapped sheath. It is the standard look of all the Earth Realm soldiers. First Wizard Calvin might even remember imbuing it. Although my father is one hundred and seventy six years old and his memory is little sketchy on some minor things.”
“Your father is one hundred and seventy six years old!” Kilen said, now standing in his stirrups. “Wait, and he’s the King’s Wizard Advisor?”
“Yes, but that is a tale for later. Right now I’m to advise you on how we should approach the Wizard’s Council, and my father’s council to the king.”
Bowie shouted over them, “Wait, Ok. Your father is the King’s Wizard Advisor, who imbued Kilen’s father’s blade years ago making him a weapon bearer. Don’t you think that it’s a little strange that the son’s of both men meet up perchance in some ally with a fire wizard.”
Brent turned around in his saddle to look at Bowie, “Perhaps the Brights willed us to meet in that alley way. I do not question the past. I do, however, find it strange that a boy who has never met a wizard before can’t hold his tongue when one speaks.”
“Hey! I thought we were supposed to be talking as friends!”
“Both of you need to listen to this as if your lives depended on its outcome, whether or not I speak as your friend.” He resumed his forward position, “First prove that sword belonged to your father, and your father was a rightful weapon bearer. Once we do that the King will be unable to strip it from you by right of inheritance. Then all we have to do is prove my need to mark it was an emergency. The second task belongs to me alone, and it’s my head that lays on the chopping block for the outcome of that.”
“Well that’s good news. I would hate to be the only one left to support Kara,” Bowie piped up from behind them.
“I have a half a mind to freeze your lips shut!” Brent snapped without looking back. The statement must have taken effect because Bowie did not respond. “Now then, when those are all cleared up, there is still the problem of your sister. The king has declared that if an untrained wizard is found, he or she is to be brought to the council to see if they are dangerous. Your sister is definitely dangerous, but the king has more in mind than just the danger. He also wants to help them choose to stay under his control for use in his army. Each wizard he collects in this fashion enhances his strength. He wants every wizard to fall under his control. So he can control the amount of things being imbued. I think this is where I will gain some favor from the king. I will just have to convince them that I did need your help and we prevented the loss of a fire wizard.”
“An untrained weapon bearer being needed to subdue a fire wizard. Isn’t that stretching it?” Kilen asked earnestly.
“It is, but we will have to convince them that it was my only choice, given my exhaustion.” Brent sat quiet to make sure that he had covered the main points on how he had worked out the situation so that he and Kilen wouldn’t be in any trouble. “Once the judgment of innocence is past.”
“If innocence is passed,” Bowie whispered.
Brent turned to give Bowie a stern look and Bowie turned his gaze to the side of the road in embarrassment. “WHEN the innocence judgment is passed you will begin your training with the other soldiers that come in during Springfest.”
“What does the training consist of?”
“Every soldier must pass weapons, bows and, battle formations, otherwise they will become a scribe or other support for the army. Then there are other classes which will determine what you will become such as writing, math, herbs, cooking, history, and animal knowledge. Each class you will receive one week of training in. At the end of the class you will test. To see if you have any talent in that area. Our king likes to have his armies trained in the areas they work. If you’re not good at handling a sword then you shouldn’t be a soldier, but instead a cook for a soldier. A stable master if you have an adeptness for the animals and so on. Unfortunately, scouts seem to be a jack of all trades, so you aim high.”
“Well I guess it’s good my father wanted me to stay in school until my eighteenth birthday.”
“When was that?” the wizard asked.
“Yesterday,” Kilen couldn’t believe it had been only one day since his jump out the schoolhouse window, or the encounter with the stag. He had come a long way since he had started his adventure. This is what he had wished for since he was a child, dreaming of the day he would get out of Humbridge and see the world.
“How do you fare at the subjects I mentioned?”
“Math, history, writing, and herbs will be easy enough. My mother always cooked my meals with my sister’s help. I never owned a horse or dog so I don’t know much about that.”
“What about weapons? This could be the most important one. Scouts have to be able to handle themselves in almost every situation.”
“My mother would have stripped my hide if she had found me even play sword fighting with sticks. My father asked her to make sure I would never join the army.” Kilen sighed, feeling as if he had disappointed his father. “I have a sling, and my mother let me shoot a bow from time to time. The fletcher in Humbridge was a little steep on his prices, so I got little practice,” Kilen looked back at Bowie. Bowie smiled in return, jingling his full coin purse. They laughed and the wizard continued.
“I’ll have to find you a tutor for the sword then. Most new recruits have at least held one. It will be your job to pass the rest of your classes in short order so that you can make the most of your test with the sword. This might be a bigger problem than the wizard council. Since you are going to be an armor and weapon bearer you will be given extra classes during the day in magic. Your father was supposed to train you before you joined the army, but there are always some whose father’s have died. There are also those whose parent’s were lacking the ability to teach. I’ll have to find you a tutor for those as well. Twilix, perhaps? However, if you desire to be a scout then I trust you will try very hard to become one. You can also test early if you want and gain a week for training by showing each instructor that you are proficient and don’t need instruction. If you can truly pass any of those classes with ease, you could make up precious time for learning the sword. This way if you fail the first time. You demonstrate loyalty to the King allowing you to try again, some commanders needed extra time with numbers before they were allowed to take on a company of men. Well, at least I can train you in magic on the way so that you will be head of the class in that area. I’ve been watching and your eyes have been blue for quite some time. Are you watching your sister or practicing viewing the world with the water magic?”
“A little of both I suppose. I also have been watching the energy used by us and the horses.”
“Excellent, have you noticed anything else or have any questions about the ability?”
“How far can I push this vision, and should I keep using the magic all the time?”
Brent smiled. He was glad that his new student would be able to think of questions to ask other than how he could impress others by using it. “Your vision cannot be pushed much farther than what you could normally see on a dark night, but each wizard is different in the distance. I am very weak in the power. You should be stronger than me even though I gave you the mark. The magic is drawn from within you. All I have done is just give you a key of sorts to open yourself to using it. The amount you can use or should hold during a day only you can determine. So if you are especially tired you might want to use it less or stagger it with another armor bearer around you. For example, use it only while you are on watch. I will save my energy and let you take over so you can see how it affects you
tonight. Tell me is there anything you can sense right now that I might not be able to?”
“There are three rabbits in the bush ahead.” Bowie perked up and quickly strung his bow and knocked an arrow. Brent waved Bowie on, and he kicked Charger into a full run to get to the bush. Kilen went to Kara’s side to support her in the saddle. Bowie whooped and yelled until the rabbits ran from underneath the bush. He chased them and let loose five arrows catching and pinning two of the rabbits to the ground. He retrieved his arrows and the rabbits he had caught.
“They are hard to catch, always running from side to side,” he said to the wizard that was obviously impressed.
“Well you are obviously very modest,” he chuckled at his own joke, “Still, you were able to hit a moving target as small as a rabbit while riding a horse. You know the other day I heard of a boy from Humbridge wrestling a deer and breaking its neck, and now a boy just as talented with the bow from the same village.”
