by Taran, David
When the auras had finally settled into place Tyrus felt his perception explode outward, no longer restricted by the suppressing power of the forest. To the south he could sense a forest, similar to the one they had first entered before the deep woods, and aside from that was empty plains with the occasional copse of trees scattered around. Besides Sarena and Uckey there were no creatures larger than a small rodent within his range. Sarena’s aura felt incredibly weak, even though it had only been empty of power for several minutes. She was lying on the ground next to him, unconscious and growing weaker every moment. Tyrus immediately began to push his power into her, watching as her withered aura suddenly burst back into life like a plant that had been thirsting for water.
“Nurazor save us! What did you just do?” Uckey called out, somehow able to speak to Tyrus even though they weren’t connected. “Ah ha! Pure mana! You must be the apprentice Ankaros found for me, not this girlish man. Or perhaps he is actually a she? That must be it, not even those sissy elven men look as feminine as her," He continued to ramble on for several minutes about the different types of elves he had studied before Tyrus finally decided to interrupt him.
“Excuse me, but who exactly are you? I know Ankaros said he would give us a guide, but he never said anything about me being an apprentice to anyone.”
“Yes, yes, of course, where are my manners. I am Uckey Ecklofostrum IX, Exalted Chairman of the High Academy of Magic, Chief Emissary of the Kingdom of Stewrix, renowned Professor of Mana, and a most glorious horse. Given the state of my old body, I would have to say this new one is an upgrade in every way. Except the eyes on both sides of my head are very confusing. And the hooves instead of hands are going to make experiments more difficult...But nothing a bit of magic can’t overcome! Except I can’t seem to use that anymore!” He exclaimed. “And now I am your guide and teacher in all things magical! A horse teaching a sword may sound odd, but I’ve seen many stranger things in my life. What is your race called anyways? I’ve never seen a race of swords before. Or is it a race of sentient weapons of all sorts?”
“Right. Um, my name is Tyrus, it’s nice to meet you Uckey Eckflostlofrum -” Tyrus began to say.
“Ecklofostrum. It’s a noble name boy, don’t butcher it!” Uckey interrupted.
“I think I’ll just stick with Uckey. I’m never going to remember the rest of it. And I’m human, the same as Sarena, the girl on the ground. I’m not entirely sure how, but my soul has been trapped in this sword for almost as long as I can remember. The bindings holding me in here are breaking, and if we can’t find this book for Ankaros in time then Sarena will die from losing my power.”
Uckey continued to question Tyrus as they waited for Sarena to awaken, getting as much information out of him as he could. He explained that he was actually from a race of beings called gnomes, but had been nearing the end of his life and hadn’t been able to find an apprentice to pass his knowledge and research down to. Apparently gnomes live for a very long time, as he mentioned in passing that he was almost seven hundred years old. Tyrus hadn’t even known there were other races in the world besides humans, but his experiences over the past month had left him open to almost anything. His mind began to grow weary as he listened to the gnome constantly brag about his past achievements, of which there seemed no end. Seven hundred years was plenty of time to accomplish almost anything it seemed.
Tyrus mentally sighed in relief when Sarena finally began to stir. He was starting to understand why Uckey had been sent as an emissary to an uninhabited forest. Although he was surprised Sarena hadn’t mentioned him before, his home should have been within sight of her keep. He would have to ask her later on he decided. Sarena’s aura was flourishing once again with the constantly nourishing of Tyrus’ power, and as soon as her eyes were open she was back on her feet. Her aura was a mess of emotions, but was dominated by confusion.
“Where are we?” She said after a few moments. “It looks like we’re at the edge of the Godwoods, but I don’t see Garland keep anywhere. The mountains can’t be more than a dozen miles to the west, so the keep should be visible.”
“Garland keep? I’ve never heard of such a place," Uckey answered while prancing around Sarena in excitement, as if testing the feel of his new body. “My home should have been right where we are standing, but it seems to be misplaced. That blasted dragon may have played quite the trick on us.”
Sarena stared at the glow horse as it continued to frolic around them, the confusion in her aura growing constantly. Tyrus couldn’t help but laugh at the antics of the old gnome - or glow horse he supposed.
“Why is there a glow horse here? And so young that it’s not even glowing," Her memory must have been a little bit fuzzy, Tyrus thought. It had to have been overwhelming for her, especially without his power to sustain her during the encounter.
“My name is Uckey Ecklofostrum IX, Exalted Chairman of the High Academy of Magic, Chief Emissary of the Kingdom of Stewrix-”
“Just call him Uckey,” Tyrus interrupted, “Ankaros sent him to be our guide.”
Uckey stopped his prancing and narrowed his eyes as he stared at Tyrus. “How dare you interrupt me when I am speaking! Being a sword is no excuse for a lack of manners! And neither is being a human! Just because even I have never heard of your race doesn’t mean I’m willing to give you special treatment.”
Sarena’s mouth opened and closed several times before Tyrus felt the confusion suddenly disappear. Her roiling aura became calm in an instant, and Tyrus realized she had started to use her wind element to clear her mind. Before she could even begin to speak, though, Uckey had rushed over to her, his aura showing his astonishment.
“Did you just draw directly on his power? I could feel him feeding you power before, but I never thought I would witness a true bonding! This is remarkable, to think that my apprentice was able to prove part of my research before I even began teaching him! That must have been why you felt so weak before. You have no power of your own do you? No of course not, the bonding would never have worked if you did. Are all humans completely unable to use magic? No, no, Tyrus was formerly human, yet he has a remarkable ability already," The gnome-turned-horse continued to ask his questions, and then answered them himself right after.
“Do you ever stop talking!” Sarena shouted, unable to hold back even with the wind’s calming effect on her. “Yes, I have to draw on his power to survive, but unless you can fix it then we need to move on!”
“Fix it? Even if I could, why would I do that? You don’t even understand how remarkable your situation is! Those fools on the council will have to eat their beards when they see that I was right the entire time! This can only be a benefit to you anyways. According to my research you should be able to gain a core of your own soon enough, and within a year at most it will be strong enough that you can survive on your own. Once that has happened you will have the honor of becoming the first being ever to grow their own core.”
Sarena’s aura surged with hope for a moment, but returned back to annoyance almost immediately. Tyrus knew that the prospect of having power of her own was thrilling to her, but from what Uckey said it would ultimately be meaningless to them.
“We only have a month, Uckey," Tyrus said solemnly. “I told you I used to be human, but I don’t have a body anymore. I’m bound to this sword right now, but the enchantment is breaking, and one month from now I will be free from it. But I’ve already experienced that once before, and I know it means I won’t be able to move. How could Sarena survive when she can’t be more than an arm’s length away from me without dying?”
Uckey’s eyes narrowed as he lowered his head to carefully inspected Tyrus, standing perfectly still for several minutes. Sarena’s aura started to show signs of discomfort from the odd behavior, and Tyrus felt her begin to shift her feet around, unable to stay still.
“I can’t do anything about that," The gnome spoke with no warning, raising his head back up to its normal height. “The enchantment was made wi
th an element I’m unfamiliar with, as unlikely as that sounds. But if that dragon is what I think he is, then it fits in perfectly with my current theory.”
“What theory? Does it have anything to do with where we are?” Sarena asked.
“Not where, we are exactly where you think. Near your Garland Keep, as well as my own home," Uckey said, causing both Sarena and Tyrus to be confused. “Did that dragon happen to tell you his name?”
“He called himself Ankaros," Tyrus replied, still unsure what point the old gnome was trying to make.
“As I thought! That was no dragon in that clearing! It seems I won’t have to edit any of those books after all! Ankaros is the name of an ancient God, very rarely mentioned in some of the older texts within the Stewrix archives." Uckey’s eyes lit up with excitement. “The most interesting thing about Ankaros was that he was despised and feared by the other gods, and they imprisoned him somewhere in the mortal world. It wasn’t his strength that they were afraid of, it was his unique power. They say Ankaros is the keeper of time, and was constantly throwing the world into chaos by shifting powerful beings into times where they should no longer exist. Since any mention of him was so rare, it was thought that his existence was actually a myth.”
“What are you trying to say?” Sarena spoke, her voice unsteady.
“Exactly what you’re thinking Sarena. He’s saying that Ankaros sent us on a task in a different time. If not even Garland Keep is here, then I doubt there’s going to be anyone looking for us either," Tyrus tried to keep his voice gentle. He knew that it would be a heavy blow to Sarena. The time they were sent to made little difference to Tyrus considering he knew so little of the world to begin with, but Sarena’s entire world had just changed. Everyone she knew and loved was gone, most likely even the countries and political powers she knew of no longer existed. He could feel her aura was in turmoil, so much that she had actually stopped drawing on his power and he had to push it into her himself.
The horse’s head nodded up and down. “Tyrus is correct. We are most likely in a time that is unknown to all of us. The only thing we can know for certain is that my home land still exists, or Ankaros would not have told me to guide you to Stewrix. Whether or not this is before or after my time is yet to be seen. How exciting! An entire new world to document and analyze, and I’ve even been given a young and healthy body to do it in!”
Red hot anger boiled up in Sarena’s aura until it finally exploded, drowning out everything else. “You can’t be serious! Exciting? How is losing everything you know on the whim of some so-called god exciting! I can’t even survive without relying on Tyrus! Everything in my life has always been decided for me, and now even how I’m going to die is out of my control!” She shoved Tyrus into the sheath at her waist and turned away from Uckey, walking to the north at a quick pace.
“Where are you going?” Called Uckey, prancing forward to catch up. “I wasn’t done with my examination!”
“I don’t know!” Sarena yelled back. “But where ever it is, I’m going there because I want to, not because I have to.”
Uckey slowed down and walked behind Sarena, letting her take the lead. Tyrus could feel that he was concerned for her, but there was nothing either of them could do to help at this point.
Nobody was willing to break the silence as they continued to walk north, the flat plains eventually giving way to gently rolling hills. A stronger breeze pushed at them from the west. Uckey had told him that it should take another two days before they passed the hills into a lightly forested region. In his time this area had been inhabited by a race called the shavren, and if he was right they should encounter them shortly after entering the forest area. Tyrus hoped he was right. It would make their trip much easier if at least one of them was familiar with the people around them. According to Uckey, there was no such thing as a human in his time.
When the sun had set and the moon was well overhead they decided to set up camp. Uckey complained constantly to Tyrus about how bland the taste of grass was, making sure that Sarena couldn’t hear their conversations. Being able to talk with their thoughts may have been convenient, but it also meant that Uckey didn’t have to worry about being quiet around Tyrus when Sarena was upset, something Tyrus could gladly have gone without. Sarena’s aura had calmed considerably throughout the day, but Tyrus wasn’t willing to speak first. She had so many reasons to resent him, he felt as if she would have been better off if he had stayed trapped in that black void.
“I’m sorry, Tyrus," Sarena finally quietly spoke while lying down on the blue fur blanket she had made what felt like years ago. “None of this is really your fault. You’re in the exact same position I am aren’t you? You lost everything, and were trapped for so long. But I haven’t heard you complain about it even once. I don’t know how you do it," She fell silent as she stared up at the stars above her.
“I’m not sure myself. Maybe I did feel the same as you, but it’s been such a long time that I don’t really remember. I’m free now though aren’t I? Your problems feel much larger than mine now that I have what I want. As long as I don’t have to go back to the darkness I’ll be happy. Maybe Ankaros will return us to your time when we find this book of his," Tyrus said.
“Maybe," Sarena said after such a long silence that Tyrus thought she had fallen asleep. Her aura had settled into its normal vibrant self, finally calm again after the day of turmoil.
The next day Uckey was awake and full of energy as soon as the sun rose, making sure that the rest of them were just as awake as he was whether they wanted it or not. While Tyrus didn’t need to sleep, Sarena spent the entire morning angry at the gnome. It wasn’t until after she had finished a breakfast of dried glow horse meat that she was willing to speak to him. According to Sarena it was early summer, so the weather was mild and the temperature hadn’t quite begun to rise yet. It was the best time of year for traveling, with days that weren’t too hot and the nights weren’t too cool.
Sarena had spent part of the morning adjusting the bag she had made so that it could sling across Uckey’s back. She also used another small portion to make a pouch that she could hide under her clothes to hold the crystal they had found. When Sarena had finished that and her meal they were on their way with Sarena mounted on Uckey’s back. Even though she could easily keep pace with him all day, he had insisted upon it. Tyrus suspected it was to prevent her from running away from his lectures.
“Now that we’re on our way, I think it’s the perfect time to have your first lessons," He began, his voice becoming serious for the first time since they had met. “Ankaros promised me an apprentice, and since I specialize in mana that makes you the perfect student, Tyrus. Normally I would never consider taking on two apprentices at once, but because of the unique situation you two have I will make an exception. Sarena, consider yourself blessed. I will do my best to teach you how to properly use the power you are given by Tyrus. First off, what element is the power you use?”
“Stone and wind I think. Wind I’ve never been entirely certain of," She replied. “I can only use wind to enhance myself, while stone is the opposite.”
“Dual elements? That sounds very similar to the shavren, although it is still rare among them. Being able to enhance yourself is called internal magic, while your stone falls into the external category. Internal magic is much rarer, but is almost always useful. There must be a relation between your two races. Is dual elements common among humans?” Uckey asked.
Sarena shook her head in response. “Magic itself is a rarity in my time, and before I met you I didn’t even know there were races besides humans. Just owning an enchanted weapon like Tyrus was enough to spark wars. As far as I know there hasn’t been a mage born in at least a couple hundred years.”
“What! No races besides humans? And no magic at all! What could possibly have happened to the world?” Uckey dropped his head for a moment. “You must feel very strange then, almost like you have an addiction to the magic. It’s very normal for sha
vren children to feel the same way when they first come into their power. Your body isn’t used to the magic yet, but the feeling will go away in time. You still will need magic to survive, but the addiction will be gone at least.
“You, on the other hand, are a very unique being Tyrus, even more so than I thought. Pure mana mages are remarkably rare, with usually only one born every few hundred years. You called on your core before being trained. Any other element would have caused your body to transform into an elemental, but pure mana is different. It causes a mana explosion that wipes out every living thing it touches. With the power you have, yours must have been spread for several miles in every direction for hundreds of years before contracting back into its original state.”
Should I feel guilty about that? I don’t remember it at all.
“I’m sure Tyrus had a good reason for doing it, Uckey," Sarena agitatedly spoke, bringing Tyrus out of his thoughts.
“Of course, of course. But that’s not the point of today’s lesson. It’s best to know the dangers of what you are working with before you begin though. Wouldn’t want you to go the same way as Tyrus now would we! Gnomes use magic differently than you, but I’m sure I can help you regardless." Uckey said. “As for you, Tyrus, your magic should give you instinctive knowledge for using it. If you aren’t strong enough to do something, there will be no reaction from your power. It won’t tell you how to do something, but it will cast the spell for you.”
“I’ve always understood that much. Why is it that I can’t use my power for anything besides enhancing Sarena though?” Tyrus asked.
“That’s the enchantment. You’ve been bound to your wielder, and the enchantment restricts your power from leaking out so that you can’t escape it. You must have broken the first binding though, or we wouldn’t be able to talk like this." Uckey explained.
