by Aaron Thomas
Calvin spoke coolly to the King, “I think that it would be prudent to allow your advisor to speak to him. I should also be able to question him on the events today without taking a side to this matter.”
“Briefly, once and only once. You will explain his charges and hear his story. That is it.” Calvin bowed his head in acceptance and the Captain and Chit left the room carrying Kilen.
Once in the hallway, Twilix, Mary, and Alexander gathered around Brent to see what they could do to help. “We all know what the king’s motive here is. He wants to eliminate every potential person from gaining another mark to become king of the Water Realm. His earth magic misleads him in his plans. Use that to help us.” First Wizard Calvin walked by the group and placed a hand on his son’s shoulder.
“Well played my son. I hope you will advise this council well, to protect the boy.” Brent stood straighter at the pride in his father’s voice. He had never been the son to receive this from his father. “I have to stay neutral in this matter so be sure that you do. He was brought here by your mistake and by that mistake you have placed his life on the line. Use every resource you can.” Brent nodded and gathered the council in closely.
“I need you all to work together to protect this boy. None of this is his fault and we as wizards painted him as a target for the king by accident. Mary, the king’s men fear you the most. I need you to interfere with their investigation at all costs. Find their witnesses and intimidate them. Burn any evidence found and delay their progress by standing in the way. Twilix, I know your emotions for this boy. I need you to focus your effort in the books. Find anything in the law books that will help to prove his innocence. You will be representing him at the trial. I cannot because I am on the king’s council. My brother will provide the king with this knowledge so we must think ahead. Alexander, I need you to try and find Kilen’s path where all this took place. It ended in the noble’s courtyard so start your investigation there. Let us hope that the boy did not learn his lessons in stealth too well.” They all nodded as Brent handed out assignments and looked at the situation from every angle. “I will provide for Kilen’s safety. Gortus and Leroy seemed to be our only hope in keeping him safe from plots of the King. Keep each other informed of what you find and speak to no one, including my father, about our doings. Go now and do what you can to save the boy.” They nodded as Mary and Twilix started to chat about where to look for the proper books and how best to interfere. Brent and Alexander went about their missions in separate directions. A small white bird flew down the hallway and turned the corner after the captain and champion.
***
Gortus and Leroy sat at an empty table in the kitchen tents. Gortus was going into great detail about all the types of food that he had not eaten lately. He gave the most vivid descriptions that he could of the food, although he wasn’t a cook. He was born a warrior of his race. Most of the Kapal recipes consisted of raw meat. Leroy adapted each meal as most of the meat in this realm was not as fresh as what the Kapal race would eat. He described tastes and smells so that Leroy would get his attempts to make it correctly.
Brent sat down next to the two men and they sat silent. He did not come near them unless he had something important to do. “Something has happened and I need your help.” Gortus stood to leave the two to talk, but Brent caught his hand, “I need you also, Gortus.” They looked into each other’s eyes, wizard and wizard assassin. Slowly Gortus sat back down and waited for Brent to speak. “Kilen has been taken captive for treason against the king.”
Gortus growled, “What did he do?” His lips pulled back, displaying brilliantly white pointed teeth.
Quickly Brent answered, “Nothing!” He then motioned with his hands that they should all be quiet. He whispered just loud enough that they could hear him. “The king has made it look as though Kilen killed Jace.”
“I just saw them leaving for training in the city not two hours ago. He couldn’t have killed him that fast,” Leroy was frantic. It was his one job to protect Kilen and now he was being held prisoner as a traitor to the Earth Realm. “What can we do? I will help however I can.”
“First things first, Leroy. We are gathering evidence to prove his innocence in this matter. I need you to quickly gather all his belongings and get them out of the castle grounds. If the King’s men get ahold of his things they will make it look as though he was plotting this for a long time. Clear out his room and get his gold out. I need you to take his things and stay in the city until the trial is over. Do not come back to the castle grounds until the trial is over.” Leroy nodded his head and jumped up to get started with the task. “Gortus, your only task is to keep Kilen alive. We are certain that the king will use whatever means necessary to kill him before the trial begins.”
“Why do you think that I should perform this task?”
“Because he is your trainee and you made an agreement to see his training through.” Gortus nodded, grabbed the plate of food he was eating, and left for the castle doors.
***
Kilen noticed the intense pain first. The pain in his head made the room swim and kept him on the brink of consciousness. He kept his eyes shut at first, trying to keep from passing out again. He didn’t know how many times he had come to consciousness and black again. The room was cold, wet, and silent. He would have liked to have something so peaceful in other circumstances. It reminded him of sitting on the bank of the river outside of Humbridge listening to the autumn breeze.
He opened his eyes but it did him no good. The room was black as the darkest part of night. He started to wonder if he was alone in the room or not. He began moving his fingers and his arms, and then Max spoke, Oh good. You are alive. We had been sitting in total darkness for so long that I thought we had all died. I can feel you moving your fingers. It’s almost as good as being an elemental. Kilen smiled at the thought and felt pain in his face, as though it had been it been scrubbed with a wash board.
Hello, is someone there? Kilen recognized the voice, but didn’t understand. He had made it to Twilix. Hello, why can’t I feel anything? What kind of poison did you give me?
Kilen hurt too much to try and verify that it was indeed him, or to explain what had happened. “Max.” He said pleadingly.
Kilen, is that you? Don’t tell me they caught you. I told you to run! Now Kilen knew it was Jace. Jace is the only one that had ever told him to run from his problems. Only this was the first time the problem was too large to face down himself.
Jace, my name is Max. What I’m going to tell you will be hard to explain and hard to accept at first. I will help you understand and I will help you learn the abilities that we still posses. Jace became a knot of confused emotion in Kilen’s brain. Jace, last night Kilen tried to rescue you by taking you to Twilix. Unfortunately in his attempt you died along the way. The arrow sank into your body deeper with every leap he made. You arrived at Twilix moments too late. Your body is dead, but your consciousness survived.
What kind of torture is this? It will not work on me. You can tell the king that I will not so easily succumb to his methods. Jace went from being confused to determined and unshakable. He was a scout even after he had died.
Max seemed to sigh in his head, Kilen, I will see if I can ease your pain, like I did when training in the first days with Gortus. I won’t be able to speak while I’m concentrating so you have to do the explaining. Soon the pain in Kilen’s body began to fade and lighten. He could still feel the soreness of his muscles from a hard day’s sword training. He flexed his fingers and checked his body for injuries. His pant legs were torn open and his face was scraped and bruised, but for the most part everything would heal in the next few days. His body was exhausted to the bone. Max could do nothing for that. Still lying still on the stone floor he spoke to Jace.
“It’s true Jace. You died. I am sorry. I did all that I could do but I lacked the skill to heal your wound. The arrow was barbed and my only hope was getting you to Twilix. I failed you, Jace.” A mom
ent of silence enveloped the room as Max held back the pain. Jace held silent but went through a flurry of emotions.
If I am dead, then how can you still speak to me? The question was a simple one, but not so simple to explain.
“This is hard to explain, Jace so please listen carefully as I don’t know how long Max can hold the pain away.” Kilen felt as if his breath was fogging the air in front of his face. The room was cold and it was adding to the pain and sore muscles. “I am what we think is called a spirit wizard. This is a non-elemental wizard that can collect the spirits of those that die around him. These spirits become a part of his consciousness, and something that he alone can hear. Max is one of those spirits, as well as his brother Joahna. You are now one of those spirits.”
I have been a wielder for a very long time. How is it I have never heard of such a wizard before?
“From what we have found out, they are unsure that spirit wizards even exist. There are stories of men claiming to be spirit wizards that could hear voices in their head, the voices of dead people. Some said they were crazy, but some knew them to be true. The spirit wizards would be able to tell intimate details of people’s lives that only the dead person would know.” Suddenly the room warmed up and became hot, steaming hot. Kilen could feel the stiffness leaving his muscles, and let out a sigh.
Kilen heard scraping in the room, “Kilen, perhaps I can help explain things.” The voice was Joahna’s.
“Joahna, how are you not inside my head? I don’t have my sword or my rings. Are you alive?”
Joahna laughed a small amount, “I am in a way. When you hit the ground holding Jace, he died. The shock of him entering your mind must have cause you to go unconscious, as it has in the past. When that happened I still remained in elemental form. Soon after, Captain Lorusk took your imbuements and left you to succumb to your debt to magic. I still remained. I cannot explain it, but I was too scared to let go of this form less my spirit be destroyed trying to re-enter your mind.” Joahna reached down and placed an icy hand on Kilen’s chest. Soon all the pain faded from his body. Sore muscles were mended and cuts and scrapes disappeared from his face and knees. “That should help some.” Max let the pain return to Kilen’s body, but there was none to return. Kilen was still exhausted and even more so now that his body used its energy to heal.” Kilen succumbed to sleep.
Unsure how long had passed or what had happened since he fell asleep, Kilen tried to move again. His stomach growled loudly. The sound echoed off the walls. He now knew the room was small. Max spoke again, We are here, and so is your food. It is just to your left. You need to eat to regain your strength. Concentrate on that and we will wait. Kilen had already started to ignore Max before he was told. He had only one focus, the food on the floor. He rolled and with much effort found the food. When he found that he did not need to chew the gruel he was half pleased. The food had a rotten taste but Kilen swallowed the lumpy concoction. He thought he was wasting more energy keeping the food down than actually eating it. With his face in the now empty bowl, he fell asleep. This time he was sure that he had only been asleep a short time, before he rolled back onto his back and fell asleep once again.
The recovery of his energy made Kilen lose track of time. In this dungeon Kilen had no way of telling what time it was or even if the sun was up. He began thinking of Kara having to endure this same treatment every day since arriving. It was too much to bear. Kilen imagined Kara alone in the dark room day in and day out, unaware of what time of it was, and with no one to talk to. Kilen, Jace spoke intently, I know it is you now. I remember seeing Kara brought to the dungeons the day that you arrived. She is not alone in a dark room. Mary visits her and she is brought better meals than this or she would burn down the castle. I see now that maybe this is not some kind of torture. I am not hungry or in pain from my wounds. I see only things that you imagine. I feel your feelings and the feelings of the one named Max. My questions is, what do we do now?
Kilen thought about the question, “I will do what I promised to do. I will protect my sister by being in the king’s army. I will do my best to return you all to your bodies if there is a way. I will make my father proud of the weapon bearer I have become.”
Jace laughed in his mind, I meant, what do we do about getting out of this dungeon. Kilen thought about that question for a little while before answering.
“I don’t know, but I’m sure that Joahna will be able to help us somehow.”
Joahna’s voice filled the small room as he spoke, “I have already started helping. How are you feeling now, Kilen?”
“I think that I can sit up if you help me.” Kilen sat up and put his back up against a wall to prop himself up. “Now, we have to find out what is going on outside. Then we will get word to our friends to help get me out of here.”
Joahna filled the room with steam, heating it. Kilen didn’t even know that he was shivering until the steam soaked the cold from his body. “I have plans already in the making, Kilen. I followed you the day of Jace’s death and heard everything that has transpired. You are to be in a trial to determine your guilt of being a traitor for murdering Jace.”
“What!! I didn’t kill Jace. Those men did!”
Joahna calmly replied, “We know that. Twilix, Brent, Gortus, Alexander, and even Calvin knows the truth. Remember that this is all a scheme to get the blade from you. The king will stop at nothing to insure that you do not become a weapon bearer.”
Kilen’s head hung down. He had tried to do what was right for his sister. He would have to pay the ultimate price to see it through. “I have set things in motion to aid in your defense at the trial.”
“What did you do?” Kilen was unsure how Joahna would be able to help him at all. No one would recognize Joahna for who he was.
“I have been traveling around this castle in many forms, a rat, bird, mist, and even a spider. In my travels I was able to acquire some ink and a piece of paper. I flew as a bird and landed on Leroy’s shoulder. The note I wrote him said simply this: find Izabel. She is a witness. Izabel was there and saw Jace take an arrow to the chest and saw that it was not you. She can witness at your trial and find other witnesses that were present. If Leroy can find her, we stand a chance at winning your defense.” Kilen nodded his head as much as he could. “In the meantime, Twilix is researching law to be your defense at the trial. Alexander is investigating the path you took bringing Jace to Twilix, and where the murder happened. Brent is coordinating the efforts and has Gortus watching the entrance to the dungeon to keep you from being murdered.”
“Let us hope that they all succeed with their tasks,” Kilen said while lying back down on the stone floor. He was slowly regaining his strength but still he could barely keep awake during the conversation. He again slept on the floor until Joahna would wake him to eat.
***
Captain Lorusk marched, stomping through the training grounds in search of Bowie. His next task was to make sure the arrow maker stayed under his thumb. He walked up on the archery range where John Curtain was supposed to keep him under control. It was quite elegant. The boy didn’t get any rank and he trained a superior set of archers for the king’s army. They would be much needed if king Atmos was going to war with the Fire Realm.
Lorusk arrived at the range and began to look around. There were over fifty new recruits wearing black hats. Each hat had a feather stuck in it, pinning the side of the hat up. The feathers were of almost every shade of color, but most were the natural brown of a hawk. He spotted John and made his way across the training field, but John noticed him and came running to him. He skidded to a stop and saluted at five paces away. Others stopped what they were doing and saluted also. At least this bunch was well trained in proper respect for an officer. He saluted and they all lowered their hand and went back to training. “Where is Sergeant Crescent?”
“Sir, he is in classes to prepare for graduation,” John gulped after speaking.
“Come with me, Corporal.” Lorusk walked a small
distance away to speak to John outside of earshot. He didn’t want anyone to hear the plans they had for arrow maker. “You’re orders were to keep him from going to class. Why is he in class and what is going on with all the black hats and feathers?”
John was unsure which to answer first, “Master Crescent was overwhelmed with training just as he was supposed to be. Then I came by one day and he had given two of the recruits black hats and made them trainers. The next time I looked around each recruit that had passed archery training got a black hat with a brown feather.”
“Oh really? And you thought it would be a good idea to let new recruits train other recruits?”
“No sir, well not at first. I tested some of them myself, and they are better than me. Each one with a color feather is of some sort of unofficial rank by skill.” Lorusk looked the man up and down and saw that his feather was green with a single yellow stripe across it.
“What does your feather indicate?”
“The green means that I have actual rank in the army. The gold stripe means I’m a corporal. The others have color feathers until they graduate, and then they will get a plain green feather until they obtain rank. Master Crescent also said that if we participate in a battle we are to dye a single feather barb gold. That will allow others to know the veterans from the new.”
Lorusk stalked towards the recruits on the range and then turned to John, “Which are the trainers?”
“The red feathers, sir!” He shouted because the captains’ voice startled him. He wasn’t sure if he was in trouble or not for allowing this to happen. The captain approached the first red feather and grabbed him by the sleeve, pulling him to the last mark on the range. Others cleared out of their way when they stopped at the mark.
“Fire three shots from here. Show me that you know what you are about.”
