Master Mage

by D. W. Jackson

  CHAPTER XXIII

  At first, Thad didn’t know why the soldiers waited to attack. Were they scared of him? He could hear the sound of metal on metal, and for a brief moment, Thad feared that his soldiers had followed him in his folly to the places below where they had lost the advantage of the wall. It wasn’t until dark shadows rose from the ground, striking at the men before him, that Thad started to understand.

  With renewed hope, Thad rushed to the dead man and yanked his sword free. He hacked at the nearest soldier, who was already in a panic, as the Vathari hoard cut through them using the countless eons of fighting experience. No race had better warriors than the Vathari. Thad doubted that even the Katanga could hold up against their warriors.

  Dark globes of dark energy surrounded Thad, killing any Rane soldier foolish enough to come within his reach. Laughing, Thad put away his sword and awaited his friend.

  “Must you always do what you feel is right?” Sae-Thae said, emerging from the throng of warriors. “We had hoped that the dragon would be killed. It is a great beast to have at one’s side, but they are temperamental beings of fire who love to destroy everything. They tend to take little heed as to what they are killing. If not for its god’s demand, it would have never even awoken from its slumber long enough to join us on the field.”

  “I didn’t think much about it,” Thad replied. “Before I knew what was happening, I was already on my way to save the creature.”

  “You always did seem to like the company of ill-natured brutes,” Sae-Thae said, laughing. “Like the dwarves. I believe this might be the first time in history we have fought with them instead of against them. I do hope there is nothing against that in our religion, though as long as we are fighting, I doubt that our god will mind much.”

  “I am glad to see you, my friend. I was not sure if you would come to our aid or not. I had thought our god had forbid you from amassing against humans?”

  “He does, but it seems that he has little love for the Brotherhood and likes you a great deal, so upon his order, not only did we march, but twelve other Vathari cities as well. We have brought more than a hundred thousand blades for you to command. Our god has told us to follow your orders as if they were his own until you release us,” Sae-Thae said with a slight sparkle in his eye. “You have more power over my people than even the councils. You could make your own kingdom if you wished.”

  “That will be up to my queen,” Thad replied. “Even I must take orders from someone.”

  “I hope you do not release us too soon,” Sae-Thae said almost disappointedly. “It has been a long time since we have had a large battle, and my people are enjoying it immensely. Do us a favor and allow us a few more battles so that our younger ones may have stories to carry on to the next generation.”

  “We shall see, my friend. We shall see.”

  The battle was short-lived as the Vathari had come as a surprise not only to Farlan but also to the Rane army as well. Greatly outnumbered, Rane had retreated, but not before they had lost over two-thirds of their number to the combined ferocity of the Vathari and the dragon, who was now once again soaring through the skies, looking for another target.

  Thad marched with Sae-Thae at his side back to the capital, where the queen awaited them, standing outside of the city gates. As soon as Thad drew near, he could see the look on her face and knew that sometime, hopefully later, he would have to deal with her anger.

  “So this is your queen,” Sae-Thae said before Maria had a chance to utter a word. “Much smaller than I would have thought. Could never understand why you humans let someone command you that cannot best you.”

  “You should try me,” Maria retorted, her hand going to the sword strapped at her side. “You might find me more of a challenge than you would think.”

  “At least she has a bit of fight in her,” Sae-Thae replied approvingly.

  “That she does,” Thad said, laughing. “She has more than a bit of it at that. She has even been able to bring my dwarven friend to heel on more than one occasion.”

  “True,” Sae-Thae said, looking perplexed. “That is astounding, Your Grace. I have always thought the dwarves couldn’t be housebroken. How did you manage such a feat?”

  Maria looked at the two and shrugged her shoulders. “It was simple. I threatened to have all the ale within my queendom poured into the sea. Now are we going to stand around all day in the heat, or can we go back to the palace, where I can get out of this dreadfully uncomfortable attire?”

  “Then let us retire to this palace of yours. We have much to discuss, and being under the sun for extended periods of time hurts my eyes,” Sae-Thae replied, offering his arm to the queen.

  Thad and the others awaited the queen in one of the larger banquet halls, where a great feast was being prepared for them. Having not expected to survive the day, the queen had gone all out in order to welcome her new guests.

  When Maria arrived in the hall, Thad could see a slight wetness to her hair. Thad couldn’t believe she had left them waiting so that she could bathe, but then again, he never claimed to understand the queen’s mind. Some things she did never seemed to make sense to anyone else but another woman.

  Sae-Thae was given a seat of honor near the queen, where she bombarded the poor mage with countless questions. Sae-Thae didn’t seem to be bothered; instead, the mage seemed to almost enjoy the deluge of questions. Thad tried a few times to interject when the Vathari mage was on the verge of saying something that could get him into more trouble with the queen than he already was, but each time, he was silenced by a steely glare from Maria.

  When the topic turned to the war, all eyes turned to the mage and the young queen. “So what shall we do next? Do we destroy the army that runs back for its own borders or maybe take Rane for our own?” Sae-Thae asked without a hint of humor to his voice. It was as if the mage was asking something as simple as if they should have wine or water with the evening meal.

  “I don’t know,” Maria said, her lips pursed in thought. “It might be nice to expand my queendom, and Rane is a very rich country. Then again, Farlan is a small country with very few borders. If we expand and take over Rane, it might not be long before its neighboring kingdoms decide they would each like to expand.”

  “Your Majesty, if you have a moment, I wish to speak with you,” Killian said, surprising Thad.

  “What is it, Master Killian?”

  “It might be best if we speak in private, Your Majesty,” Killian replied with a look of displeasure on his face.

  “I am sure that anything you have to say will not be taken amiss among this company,” Maria assured him. “You have fought well for the Queendom of Farlan, and none can say you have not only upheld our agreement but went well above what was expected.”

  “It is about Rane,” Killian said. When the queen made no move to excuse them, the large warrior let out a heavy sigh and took a deep breath. It was the first time Thad had seen Killian acting as if he felt out of place. “I once told you the story of how my people were once simple workers of the land. In truth, that portion of land lay at the northeastern border of Rane. We have fought long and hard in hopes that one day we might once again have a homeland to call our own, but as skilled as we are, we have never had the numbers to strike against those that have taken it from us. Now I see a great army ready for conquest yet no drive to really see it through. I can see it in your eyes, Your Majesty. You are done with the war, yet I would ask that you push on and remove the threat forever.”

  Maria picked up a small glass of wine and quickly drank it. “What should I do with Rane once it is under my control, Warmaster?” Maria asked, her tone heavy. “If I march into Rane and burn her to the ground, then one of the other kingdoms will march in and claim it for their own. If I try and hold it, then they will still march, and we have too few to protect its massive borders and holdings.”

  My people could take over its care,” Killian suggested, his voice slightly stronger than before. “We hav
e thousands scattered all over Kurt, most of whom would be glad to see our wanderings come to an end.”

  Thad watched Maria closely. It was easy to tell that she was conflicted over the notion of marching into Rane. “Maria, the Katanga came to our aid when we needed it, and in the process of keeping your land safe, they have lost more soldiers than even all of Farlan has given. We have an army of Vathari who see more than one simple battle and have requested that we let them enjoy the hunt for as long as possible.”

  Thad could see that his words struck Maria hard, but there was still concern in her face. “If we leave Rane be, it might be years before they come again, but they will come again. Next time, we might not find such friends willing to aid us should we not aid them in kind. For the Katanga, that means giving them a home.”

  “If I give you a kingdom, what would you do with it, Killian?” Maria asked, her voice turning serious.

  “It would be for my people, not for me,” Killian answered honestly. “I would suspect that we would continue as we have. We might even rebuild the merchant network. The Brotherhood had a great idea and if used in the right way would be a great profit to the monarch who controlled it.”

  “And if that should come to pass, I am sure that that monarch would remember those that helped them gain their seat of power.”

  Thad could tell that Maria was leading the conversation in a very narrow path. He had never seen the young queen so demanding or so forthright with what she was after. For the first time, the mantel and crown of her station didn’t seem as simple decorations that adorned her.

  “My people are not keen on forgetting,” Killian replied with a repressed smile spreading to his face.

  Maria turned back to the rest of the ground and looked Sae-Thae directly in the face with a stern and regal look. “Looks like we are going to war. I hope you don’t plan to drag it out, though. I do wish to see some level of normalcy returned during my lifetime.”

  The rest of the night continued on as if the discussion had not taken place. It was a time for celebration. The long attack on Farlan had come to an end.

  That night, as Thad lay awake, unable to sleep, he thought about everything that had happened over the past few months. The war had been bloody and had cost him more than a few friends. A part of him wished he had spoken against the continuing of the fight, but he knew that if they let up now, the Brotherhood would not relent. It wasn’t in their nature to give up. By all accounts, they had been around long before the Fae War and bided their time until the opportunity arose that allowed them to nearly wipe the magical races from the world.

  In truth, he doubted that even the destruction of Rane would end the threat of the Brotherhood for good, but it would go a long way in keeping them at bay. It would give the chance for the magical races and those mage-born to live without constant fear of death from the shadows. It had cost a lot of lives to see that chance brought about, and in the end, Thad hoped it would be worth it. Many things in history had started out righteous in nature but turned foul as they aged.

  Good and evil—must everything be labeled for you? Who is to say what is wrong or right in this world? A long time ago, when you stood on the battlements of Southpass Fort, one of the soldiers told you that every soldier on both sides believed they were right. I see that evident in everything. The Brotherhood believes they are pursuing the work of the true god, the same god who created man. Can you honestly say that they do not hold some form of validation in their beliefs?

  “No creature should be killed based on the circumstances of his birth,” Thad retorted angrily.

  I did not say that I disagreed with you, only that they do. You need to think past your own set of narrow beliefs. Otherwise, you will never see everything. No two people you have met have agreed on everything, and I doubt that you shall ever find two such people. Even I, created from your own thoughts, do not agree with you on many things.

  Thad knew that Thuraman was right. There was no true right or wrong between them and the Brotherhood. Some of the Brotherhood’s actions could be defined as evil, but their initial purpose was one set down by their beliefs in a god. The god who created man might wish for their destruction, but it was no longer a god who held control over their lives. No, it was now up to man to define what was right and wrong within the confines of their own hearts. That was why there were kingdoms and queendoms—so that laws may be imposed to form order. Not all the laws were just in the eyes of every being, but that was the folly of humankind. There were always going to be dissenting views. In the end, the best they could do was move forward and try to live on what they believed to be right.

  That is a little better, but I still think it’s a little narrow. I think it would just be better if you were honest with yourself and didn’t allow yourself to be ruled by the laws of others. Why do you let that scrap of a queen order you about? Why do you listen to any of them? You should take Rane as your own. Build your kingdom so that the only laws that matter are the ones you decide that do.

  Thad thought about Thuraman’s words for a moment. He could build his own land where he could welcome all the magical races. It sounded grand, but in his heart, it wasn’t for him. “I have seen what power has done to those around me. I do not wish to rule the lives of others. I think I am better suited to the station I hold now,” Thad replied honestly.

  Thuraman continued his complaints, saying anything it could think of to push its master into the direction he wanted. Nothing he said seemed to get through to Thad, and when the mage grew tired of his words, he was pushed to the back of the mage’s mind, where he could scarcely be heard.

  Thad had no urge for great power. He had enough problems with his life as it was, and being a king would only make things harder in the future. No, now that the war was nearing its end, Tad had only a few thoughts on his mind, and the first of those was building a school for those who wish to study the art of magic. It was past time that the Mage’s Tower had been rebuilt, and if he was going to accomplish that, he would need time and freedom that running a country wouldn’t allow.

  CHAPTER XXIV

  It was three days before the army was ready to march once again. Sae-Thae had urged them to leave much earlier, but Maria and Killian had insisted that they wait for the Katanga tribes that had been only a few days away.

  Unlike the original army, the Vathari preferred to move at night, when their eyes were not burdened with the sun’s glare. Thad took up his own place around the soldiers of the night, the shadow walkers he had trained with back in Sae-Thae’s village. They welcomed him with open arms. A few of the shadow walkers made jokes at Thad’s lack of practice with the art. Thad had to agree he had set aside the gods’ gifts, preferring to use his own power out of fear. That time had long passed. The fight with the armored soldier had proved that he needed to start using his full abilities.

  The Rane army had a great lead on them and from all reports were quickly returning to their own capital. The Vathari were disheartened at the news that they would find no battle immediately, but Thad was sure that their boredom would be relieved once they crossed the border of the two countries.

  Thad was amazed at the difference in attitude among the few members of the original army. Near the end, when they had been gathered at the Farlan capital, everyone was quiet and solemn as they awaited the end. Now they acted as if that had been a lifetime away. Thad found them joking and talking among the Vathari as if they had been long-lost friends.

  Thad had to admit that he had expected more tension among the different groups. Elves, Vathari, dwarves, and humans were all gathered in one place. The only thing missing was the dragon, who had returned to its home among the volcanoes far to the west. Thad wished the creature had stayed not only to aid them but for him to study. He was left wanting, though, with only Sae-Thae’s knowledge of the beast in replacement.

  On the long rides, Thad talked often with his old mentor about everything he wished he had been able to do back during his visit to the u
nderground city. It was not just things that had piqued his interest but also things that he was sure he would need to know in the near future. Things not only about magic but about the other races as well.

  “The dragon is the creature born of fire. They are massive creatures with a very high intellect, but they are few in number. They live alone and only come together for short periods, every few hundred years, to mate. As a rule, whenever we find one of their kind, we kill it. There is no greater fear than the world becoming overrun with the beasts,” Sae-Thae said as they sat inside his tent as they waited for the heat of the day to pass.

  “What of the other races?” Thad asked as he scribbled notes in a small leather-bound journal. “I have met the Nadari, Vathari, elves, dragon, dwarves, and even a few of the creatures of the sea, but I have yet to meet those of light and energy,” Thad asked probingly.

  “That might be hard for you to do,” Sae-Thae replied in a scholarly tone. “The Alienear were all nearly killed during the Fae War. The entirety of their race lived within the storm plains in central Kurt. They look much like humans, but they are always ringed by a faint glow of energy. They were the easiest for the Brotherhood to find once the war broke out. I cannot even rightly say if any still live.”

  “What of the creatures of light?” Thad asked, crestfallen, but still with lingering hopes that some might yet have survived.

  Sae-Thae gave Thad an odd look of disgust. “Those are one creature we Vathari care little about. As you know, we love to hide things, just as the dwarves love secrets. Though unlike the dwarves, the things we keep hidden are desires, some so dark that we must lie to ourselves about them. The cherubim find fun in exposing all things hidden. Neither the Vathari nor the dwarves are particularly fond of their kind. They are nothing more than self-righteous annoyances to the world.”