“They are taking far longer than anyone else, even if you take into account that there are two of them. Well, they are strangers. Perhaps she is having a more difficult time deciding about them,” Zdenka concluded.
For ten long minutes the Archmage talked with Emil and Renata before finally motioning them to join the others by the bar. Both twins had a pleased smile upon their yellowish faces. “Go ahead, Zdenka; give it your best shot,” Zoran urged her forward. At first, Zdenka was a bit timid, but then strode forcefully over to the Archmage.
Zoran found himself praying that Zdenka would also be chosen. He wondered why? He’d only just met her, but he did like her — quite a lot. She was, well, she was fascinating. Zoran couldn’t think of any better term. Then she too joined those at the bar, and it was his turn to face the Archmage Nadia Oldrich. He walked up to her and sat down as she motioned for him to do.
“Name please and origin city,” she asked, as if she had asked that question a million times before, which she probably had. “No lies please. Merely the truth. What you say will be held in the strictest of confidences.”
“I am Zoran. Er, I’m not sure if I ought to answer the rest, Archmage Oldrich. You see, such knowledge may well put you in some danger.”
“I see. Son, I am now seventy-five years old. Been an Archmage for over half a century. Let me be the judge of all that, if you please. However, I sense that I need to say more. You have my solemn word that what you say to me will not be repeated by my lips under any circumstances.”
“How about mentally to others?” Zoran found himself blurting out. As a Duska, he could well read other’s minds, if he just had to do it. Certainly, he and his sister could communicate mentally across space. As soon as he said this, however, he realized that he had made a grave mistake. Her eyebrows rose sharply, and she stared even harder at him for a moment.
“Yes, mentally as well. Now, I repeat, your full name and origin city.”
“Zoran Vladislov of Dorum.”
“I thought as much, Duska, youngest son of the tyrant Baron Kazimir, are you not?”
“Yes, Archmage. I have been trained for a year or so under his Archmage Milos, but I cannot stomach his attitude and his blind following of Kazimir and now Radek. I want no part of their ruthless ways. Besides, someone has been trying to kill me. Tried three times now. Obviously failed. I’ve run away. I have been very careful to cover my tracks; no one will be able to follow my Shadow Walk. Here, I am called just Zoran, no surname. I want my identity to be a secret, if possible.”
“I do know some twenty spells, but I must know more. I would be very honored indeed if you could take me on as one of your students. I know that you are against the Baron and all that he stands for; we are allies, more or less. Please accept me. I will work hard and do as you ask.”
“Thank you for being honest with me. I suspected as much. Simply Zoran it is. Now then answer me this. You enter a room only to find a table with a bag containing one thousand gold coins in it. Sitting at the table is a young man who is bleeding badly from a sword wound. You see no sword in the room. Cowering against the back of the room is young mother, shielding a small child. What do you do?”
“I go to the man and apply pressure to stop the bleeding and bandage him. As soon as possible, I ask the woman what has happened here and if she needs assistance,” Zoran replied without hesitation.
“What about the bag of gold?”
“Who gives a darn about a bag of gold anyway? We’re talking about people’s lives here, not money. You can always work and make more money, but it is very hard to create life once it is gone.”
“Fine. I accept you as an Apprentice Mage, Zoran. Please bring the others to my tower’s door in an hour. I will meet you all there. It’s been a pleasure speaking with a true Duska for a change. The world is full of rotten Duska’s these days. Until then.” She vanished as suddenly as she arrived.
“Did she take you?” Zdenka asked.
“Yes, I am to bring us all to the tower’s door in an hour. I guess we have an hour to get our things together.” Zdenka smiled, very pleased that her nobleman was also selected.
“Well, I must admit we are the strangest bunch of new apprentices that she’s accepted,” Bernard commented, slightly interested.
“Yes, I have to admit that,” Jarka agreed. “A thief, an archer, a dog trainer, a falconer, a fighter, and two total strangers to these parts. Weird indeed, but then who can say?”
“I am Zuzanna. I am to be your maid and am going to become an Adept!” the young woman added, not wanting to be left out.
“Forgive me, Zuzanna. I am called Zoran,” he said apologetically and introduced the others to the older woman. She then left in a hurry to go pack her things, while they did the same, though most had little to pack.
Right on time the group stood before the towering stone circular building. Zoran knocked on the door, and a man in a robe opened. “Hi all, I am Marek, door warden. If you will follow me, please, I’ll take you to the meeting room.” He led them down a short hall which opened into a large, square room, fully carpeted and with numerous chairs.
Archmage Nadia was there waiting for them. “Welcome new apprentices. First, Marek will show you to your private rooms here on the first floor. Bernard’s yours will be the closest to this room and the front door. I trust you will keep your dogs in there until you get the chance to take them back to your kennels. After you drop off your things, meet back here, and we will discuss many things. Marek,” she motioned with her hand and he led them through the first side door on their left.
Indeed, a long circular hallway lay before them. Each was given a small dorm style room, perhaps ten by fifteen feet, with bed, desk, and chair, frugal by any standard, but comfortable. Zoran suspected he would be spending very little time in here, sleeping mostly. Five minutes later, they sat down in the large meeting room.
Chapter 5 Beginning Lessons
Archmage Nadia began her explanation, “I suspect that you are wondering just why I chose all of you this year. I admit, with a couple exceptions, you are indeed an unusual set of choices. However, I will do my best to teach all of you as much magic as you can comprehend. You see, the limiting factor is really your intelligence, not how diligent you are at studying, or how well-bred or wisely read that you are. You may expect that the spells each of you learn will not be the same as everyone else in your group. Personal identity plays a role in this as well. Do not concern yourselves if one of you cannot learn a specific spell. It is not a reflection on them, rather on their areas of interest and needs.”
“Three of you already have had some training. I’ll be up front with you. Emil and Renata know around a half dozen spells of varying power and casting difficulty levels. Zoran has already done serious study with another Archmage and has two dozen spells at his command. You seven are a team. You will work, study, eat, and play together for the duration of your stay here. I will expect that you will assist one another with any and all things. If one or more members of your team fails to act as a responsible team member, I reserve the right to discharge him or her from my tower. Every team must have a leader; yours will be Zoran. Do not ask why I have chosen him. In time, you may understand my choice. Questions?” No one said anything, though Zoran wondered why he had been chosen. Could it be because he was Duska?
“Now then, times are changing. Events are unfolding at a more rapid pace than ever in the past. I find that I must change my methods as well. This part you may like, but we shall see. In the past, I would take my time training those that I deemed worthy of learning magic. However, now I find that speed of training has become most vital. Hence, you may expect that I will be pushing you hard to grasp and use magic. Much may depend upon your group mastering magic very quickly. If you find the pace too difficult, please let me know. In a way, you are all my guinea pigs in this. I am not too old to change my ways; that is a joke by the way. I am seventy-five years old, if you didn’t know.”
“
In addition to your studies, from time to time, I will have missions for you to execute. Some of these may well prove exceedingly dangerous to your lives. I wish that I did not have to do this, but as you can see, I am far too old to travel very much. Because of the critical nature of events unfolding across Adapazan, I must ask you to undertake these in my place. I will do everything that I can to ensure that you have the skills to be successful in the mission. Yet, I cannot emphasize enough that danger does lie out there.”
“I have carefully picked every member of this team. Each one of you brings some special skills with you that the others lack. In the end, this may well be of tremendous value to you and your well-being. Enough of the doom and gloom. Here in my tower, I wish that you will remain on this first floor until meal times. Our dining room is directly above us on the second floor, where the kitchen and grounds staff dwell. The third floor is where the more advanced teams live and study. I live on the top floor, the fourth and fifth floors are off limits for all students unless I accompany you there. Now then, let’s begin at the beginning. That door there leads to the study room, where each of you may begin your study of magic. Shall we proceed?”
She led them into a large library room. Hundreds of books and scrolls lined one wall. Magical illumination made the room very bright, easier on the eyes for so much reading, Zoran thought. “Now then, even though three already know some spells, I was not their teacher. Hence, I wish that you three would also study the beginning materials as well, just to be sure that there are not any holes in your education. When we get to the actual casting of spells, if you already can cast a given spell, I trust that you will assist me in helping the others attempt to master it. Now here is a checklist of what you are to study. After you feel that you know and can use one of these on the checklist, you are to place your initials beside it.”
“I wish that I had enough copies of everything you need to read and study, but I do not. So you may skip around on the checklist until you have covered everything on it. Finally, if you already have studied thoroughly an item, you may sign it off. Incidentally, you are welcome to read and study everything in this room. I will leave you to it for now; I need to assist the others in some casting. If you need anything, pull that string and Marek will come. I’ll check back with you later.” She left the seven to their study, and Zuzanna entered with a much smaller checklist.
“Hi, I am going to be your maid and look after your things, but first I have to study all these things too. Isn’t this just the greatest thing in the entire world?” she bubbled total enthusiasm, like a child with a long desired new toy.
Everyone settled down to begin their study of magic. Zoran already was totally familiar with over half of the items, which he checked off and began with a History of Magic on Adapazan. While mostly light reading, Zoran found it interesting, as the author presented the advancement of magic in chronological order. Zdenka was also reading the same book. Towards the end of the long afternoon session, Zoran noticed that her face turned beet red. She hid her face; something had really embarrassed her, but now was not the time to ask her about it.
Instead, he continued reading, wondering what in the book had caused her wild reaction. Not very many pages later, he read, During the famine of 2140, General Janos Lavos was given the order by Archmage Milos to carry out his Baron Vladislov’s orders to take the food supplies requested by Archmage Milos, supplies desperately needed to feed all of his many apprentices. General Janos Lavos refused to do the Archmage’s order, claiming that would cause the villagers to starve to death during the winter. He was then tried for high treason and sent into exile in the Wild Lands. Thus, when given a direct order from an Archmage, do not presume to know better. These are the wisest, most powerful wizards on Adapazan. They see the whole picture, not one small snapshot.
Zoran’s face flushed. Now he remembered where he had heard that name, Janos Lavos. Archmage Milos sometimes brought up that incident as a warning to his new apprentices! Damn! This was her father and more importantly, he was still alive. I’ve got to meet him, he swore to himself, and then plotted out a time when he could talk privately to her about it.
Shortly after this, Renata commented to her brother, “Gosh, Emil. There are fifteen other worlds with hoofers besides this one!” Emil leaned over to look at the passage she pointed out.
“What’s a hoofer?” asked Bernard. Of course everyone else wanted to know too.
Slightly embarrassed, she replied, “Our land’s word for antelope. Sorry, I sometimes use our words, not yours.” Now Zoran began to wonder why they were both so excited about deer. That made little sense to him, only adding to the mystery surrounding the twins.
At supper, they joined nearly two dozen others in the second floor’s spacious dining room. Nothing about these first two floors was either elegant or exceptional; everything was purely functional, quite the opposite of what Zoran was used to back at Dorumova Castle where elegance was everywhere. There, even the hall candle mounts were made of gold. Still, here he felt human warmth, a glow that was nearly totally absent back at the castle. Only when he was around his sisters did he feel as he did continually here.
All of the other students introduced themselves and chatted away as if everyone was a lifelong friend. More importantly, the conversation was stimulating, as many discussed things that they learned today. The very atmosphere here was so completely different than in Archmage Milos’ tower that Zoran thought he was in a different world.
“Just so our new arrivals know, you all have Sunday’s off from your studies. You may use the day anyway that you desire. Oh, and one more small thing. Emil and Renata have permission to depart in the very early morning hours on Sunday. Do not be alarmed if you rise and they are gone. They will be back sometime after supper. Now if you will excuse me, my old body is quite tired enough for one day.” She left and one by one the others followed suit.
Zoran took this opportunity to chat with Zdenka about her father. He gently held her back, as she got up to follow the others out. She turned and smiled, picking up his subtle hint that she should dally. When they were alone, he said. “I read that bit about your father in the history book today. I just wanted you to know that it is totally bull, just the kind of thing I detest utterly. They had no right to force those villagers to starve to death. I think your father did the right thing by refusing to carry out those evil orders.”
Tears swelled, though she fought hard to keep them at bay. “I know; dad’s told me about it. That’s why he came here where no one knew of his past. Maybe the rest will miss that connection when they read it.”
“Yes, but they might not make the connection with you. Zdenka, one day I must meet your father! So few ever take a stand against the Baron or his Archmage, I really need to talk with him one day, okay?”
“Sure, but I don’t know when we will get the chance. I can see that we are going to be incredibly busy here. I’ve never read so much in one day in my life. My head is swimming in facts.”
“Don’t worry, it will get easier. This is all background information that puts spell casting into proper perspective. The really hard stuff will come when we have to learn the spells,” he warned her.
The next morning, Zoran rose and dressed. He found that during the night, his clothes had been somehow cleaned and were fresh for him. At the castle, he would just leave his room as it was — bed a mess, dirty clothes piled everywhere. Someone would later come in and clean it for him and make his bed. Now he was in a place that he truly respected. He looked at his messy bed and made it, then tidied up his few possessions. As he was heading off to breakfast, Zuzanna knocked.
“Oh, you’ve made your bed. I was supposed to do that for you, sir.”
“You don’t have to, Zuzanna. I am perfectly able to make it. Tell you what. When I need clean sheets, I’ll leave it unmade. How’s that?”
“Oh thank you, sir,” she grinned. Zoran skipped up to the dining room for breakfast.
Days passed. On the
ir first Sunday, their day off from studies, Zoran noticed that both Emil and Renata had long ago left. The doorman confirmed that they had awakened him to let them out at three in the morning! One more mystery piled itself on top of the others. Zoran decided that he would spend the day studying. Zdenka stayed behind as well, “I’ve got nothing to do in Brn. I know that Karel wants to check on his many hawks, likewise with Bernard and his dogs. Jarka told me that she wants to nose around and pick up any news of what’s been happening in Brn during the week. Honestly, I think she’s a big gossip.”
“Glad you are with me,” Zoran found himself saying, though he didn’t know why. “Say, how far is it to your place in the Dark Woods?”
“Three days travel, less if you have a horse, which I don’t.” That put any chance of a visit with her father out for the time being. True, he could just take her hand and Shadow Walk there in a second, or better once he learned to teleport, they could go that way. To Shadow Walk now would completely blow his cover. Only a Duska could Shadow Walk, that was common knowledge, even if the average person had no clue what it meant.
Days passed into weeks, as they immersed themselves deep into the world of knowledge, magic, and spells. On the day that everyone had at last signed off on Creatures of Adapazan, Archmage Nadia held a conference to discuss what they had learned and to put it into perspective.
She said softly, “Why are the Wild Lands of Adapazan called the Wild Lands?”
Zoran spoke up at once, images of his father strong in his mind. “Centuries ago, we landed on Adapazan and, under the reigns of a number of evil barons, began subjugating all of the other people here by force of arms, deceit, and treachery. Baron Kazimir is continuing to extend his dominion over the planet. He calls those lands not under his iron fist of control the Wild Lands, because here warlords run even worse viciousness on the people living out here.”
Zoran Chronicles Volume 1 A Dragon in Our Town Page 5
