by Jon Bender
Chapter 2
Jaxom rode for another half hour before making his way back to the palace. His escort did their best to keep a respectful distance while staying close enough to protect him if the need should arise. On an impulse to hold up his end of the agreement with Alimar, Jaxom drew the power of death into himself to perform the test to detect magic in others. The magic sharpened his senses and calmed his thoughts as though lifting a haze that constantly surrounded him. Filled with power, he could truly see, hear, and smell the world around him. Moving slowly, so as to not draw attention to himself, Jaxom slightly raised a hand from the horn of the saddle, letting a small amount of the magic flow out to one of the soldiers. Nothing. He repeated the process five more times. The others showed no more evidence at being able to control magic than the first. Lowering his hand in disappointment, Jaxom moved alone into the stable yard. His escort having left him now that he was safe behind the palace walls.
Handing the reins over to the man who came out to meet him, Jaxom made his way into the palace. He was again forced to endure the bowing and deference at every turn until he was finally behind the large double wooden doors of his chamber. The main sitting room was furnished with tapestries and dark red upholstered furniture. These rooms had been one of the first Celia had decorated when she had arrived. She and Adriana had spent the better part of two days picking out everything in Ale’adar, and it had taken another ten-day to have all of it transported to Terika. Jaxom would never have suspected that the woman he loved would be so interested in décor. When he had first met her, she had been a hunter who spent a majority of her time tracking animals in the Teriken Forest. A woman who was perfectly comfortable sleeping on the ground under the stars.
Entering the side room where they kept his library. He found Adriana sitting in an old chair with her braided brown hair draped over one shoulder and one of his books in hand. Her full lips gave a smile that reached her thoughtful eyes and showing the small dimple on her cheek. She had not been keen on the chair at first, calling it a monstrosity, but Jaxom had refused to budge on discarding it. Now he thought she spent more time in it than he ever did. Seeing him enter, she stood and walked to him. She wore the tan leather armor of a rider, and her firm body moved with a hunter’s grace. He removed his sword belt and hung it over the back of a chair.
“I heard that you went for one of your rides without an escort again,” she said, kissing him. Moving to the small bar in the room, she picked up a bottle of wine sitting next to a pair of leather goggles. Adriana had commissioned a glassmaker for the goggles, along with eighteen other matching sets for her riders. They were an ingenious idea she had thought up after being caught in a storm while flying. The eye-stinging wind had forced her to land and wait it out.
“I see you have been talking to Celia.” He took the offered glass and sat down in the old chair.
“She wants me to reinforce that you should not risk yourself in such ways,” she said, taking a seat on his lap.
“I already told her I would take my escort from now on, so there is no reinforcement needed,” he replied, irritably.
She nodded accepting his word and changed the subject. “Is everything going well with settling the refugees?”
“As well as can be expected. People are starting to rebuild what they have lost, but there is still so much to do,” he said, sipping his wine. “What about the riders? Alimar will have two more durgen done today, bringing your mounts up to twenty.”
“I have taught them everything I know. All are experts with the bow and can shoot from the air with accuracy. They have also been training with swords.”
Jaxom heard a note of uncertainty in her voice. “So what’s bothering you?”
“Only a few have ever been in a fight. I am not sure how they will perform when blood starts spilling.”
Adriana was strong. She faced every obstacle with a fierce determination and rarely showed any doubt. Placing his glass on the table, he slipped his arms around her waist. “With you to follow, they will do well.”
She kissed him gently and ran a hand through his hair. “And with you to follow, I will always do well.” A knock at the door broke the moment between them. “You had better go see what they want.”
Letting him stand, he walked back out and opened the door to find a maid looking decidedly uncomfortable. “What is it?” Jaxom asked.
The girl, who could not have been more than seventeen, gave a shaky curtsy before answering. “Forgive me, my lord. A man has just arrived in the city and is asking for you.”
“Hundreds of people arrive in the city every week.” He said making his tone as he gentle as he could in an attempt to calm her.
“A Captain sent me, My Lord. This stranger… can do things, My Lord,” she said, her voice trembling.
Jaxom started. “What kind of things?”
“Magic, My Lord,” she said in a whisper.
“Wait here.” He left the door open and returned to the side room.
Adriana had pulled her bow and a quiver of arrows from somewhere. “I’m going with you.”
He nodded. Nothing he could say would dissuade her. If the mage had not identified himself as one from the castle in Ale’adar, he could be a possible threat to the city. He belted on his sword again, and then walked out. The maid was waiting patiently where he had left her. Jaxom realized that she was probably a refugee who had seen the destruction mages could cause.
“Take us to him,” he said in what he hoped was a reassuring voice.
Curtsying again, the young woman hurried away, leading them towards the grand hall near the main entrance of the palace. They moved swiftly down the corridors and emerged into the hall where twenty soldiers formed a half circle around a single man in travel-stained clothing. Drawing in the power of death, Jaxom prepared himself for a fight. He could take no chances with so many bystanders. Jaxom stepped into the semicircle of soldiers and heard Adriana behind him, knocking an arrow.
The man did not seem extraordinary, of average size and perhaps a couple inches shorter than Jaxom, with black hair and features that many women would find appealing. He looked to be around Jaxom’s age, but his bright hazel eyes showed an intensity of someone who had seen much in his years. “You wanted to see me?” Jaxom said evenly.
“You are Lord Jaxom?”
“Yes,” Jaxom said, tensing.
“My name is Warin. I heard that you are accepting mages here,” he said calmly.
“We are training death mages to fight the dark god Or’Keer,” Jaxom said, laying out what the requirements were.
The man nodded, listening, then slowly raised his hand, palm facing upward. Jaxom raised his own hand defensively and heard the sound of steel drawn all around them. To his credit, the man did not flinch. He smiled faintly, glancing around at the men who were ready to kill him. Black smoke began to flow over the sides of his hands, gathering in a pool on the floor. Jaxom knew this cast as the veil. The black smoke would obscure sight in small areas.
“I have come to see if you would accept me into your school,” Warin said, still smiling.
Jaxom turned his head and caught the eye of the nearest soldier. “Go find Magus Alimar. We have a new mage who wishes to join us.” Sheathing his sword, the soldier brought a fist to his chest before leaving at a trot. Turning back, Jaxom saw that the death mage had released the magic maintaining the veil. Waving his hand to the men around him, Jaxom indicated they could put up their swords. “Where do you come from?”
“Trad’eon, just east of the border of Kelran.”
The man would have had to travel through Kelran and Denra to get here. The last Jaxom had heard from Corin, Kelran’s leader, King Dillion, had returned home from attacking the kingdom of Denra to deal with a threat from a man known as the Bandit Lord. Many of the refugees within the walls of Terika had come to Ale’adaria after Denra had been razed. If Warin was really here to join them, he was not only another mage to help in the fight against Or’Keer, bu
t someone who might know what was happening with one of their closest neighbors.
The guard returned with Alimar and Lexa right behind him. Jaxom could tell from his expression and the way he carried himself that the older death mage was on guard, prepared to fight if the newcomer proved to be a threat. Walking forward, Alimar took a place next to Jaxom, his eyes scrutinizing Warin as if he were a horse he was considering buying.
“He has shown you?” Alimar asked.
“Yes, he is one of us,” Jaxom replied.
“That is yet to be seen,” Alimar said, his gaze never leaving Warin.
Warin remained unmoving, matching Alimar’s stare. “I understood that you are looking for more of our kind. Do you greet all who come here with such suspicion?”
Alimar remained silent. After an awkward pause, Jaxom replied. “We are looking for death mages, but you are the first to seek us out. You must understand our misgivings.”
“No others have come to you yet?” Warin asked.
“All the apprentices here have been found by us,” Jaxom said.
The newcomer glanced from Alimar to Lexa before finally settling on Jaxom again. “I am not here to apprentice. I am here to join you.”
“We will determine if you know enough to earn the title of magus amongst us,” Alimar said, breaking his silence. “If you submit to a match, you can demonstrate that you have the skill to stand with us as equals.”
“A match?” Warin asked with a confused look.
“A non-lethal fight between mages to test your ability,” Jaxom explained. He had only ever been in one match with his friend, Darian, an ice mage who now served as one of the ruling council for the mages in Ale’adar. If he was to face the newcomer, Jaxom felt that he could handle himself well. He may not have much experience in the training matches, but he had faced other mages in combat over the past months.
“Very well, I accept,” Warin said.
“If we determine that you are not ready, will you stay and learn? Or will you leave us?” Alimar asked. Jaxom had been wondering the same.
“Let us have this contest, and I will give you my answer after,” Warin said with a smile. The man was obviously confident in his ability to win.
“Then please follow me,” Alimar said, turning.
“Which one of you will I face?” Warin asked before Alimar took his first step.
Jaxom was about to volunteer when Alimar beat him to it. “You will face me.”
Warin nodded and followed the other death mage to the yard. Adriana was preparing to follow as well, but Jaxom placed a hand on her arm, stopping her. “I need to you to take some of your riders and patrol the city for anything out of place,” he said quietly.
“Do you think we have something to worry about?” she asked, looking suspiciously at the man’s back.
“I don’t think so, but I would rather be sure. We don’t know him.”
“You’re right,” she said looking into his eyes.
Jaxom met her look with one of deep caring. Over the last half year, he had come to love this strong, beautiful woman, and relied heavily on her skills and intelligence. He did not know what he would do if anything ever happened to her. “Be careful.”
“You are the one who needs looking after. I can take care of myself,” she said with a smile before heading back to their rooms, bow in hand.
When Jaxom entered the training yard, Alimar and Warin were already at the center of the square grass field. The stone benches lining the walkway around the grass were filled with soldiers and palace staff who had heard that the two men were going to face each other. Many of those present would have seen mages work magic, but it was not common enough that they would pass up the chance to watch two locked in battle. Most of those present would have never seen a death mage cast, even living in this city. Alimar and Jaxom did not spend their time among the people showing off, and apprentices were prohibited from casting without supervision.
Lexa stood off to the side with her back to him, waiting for the men to begin. Her shoulder-length straight black hair hid her face. Walking over, Jaxom stood next to the young woman. He had not spoken to her much after finding her alone in the city. She was an orphan who had made her way to the city with the thousands of others looking for a safe place. Lexa had been living alone on the street before the food distribution and homes for orphans had been established. Jaxom had spotted the girl in an alley playing with a cat during one of his rides. Even at a distance, he could tell that she had not eaten or taken a bath in weeks. When he approached her, she had not seen him until he was standing next to her hunched form. Finally noticing him, she jumped away and the cat she had been playing with dropped to the ground, unmoving. Looking closely at the cat, he realized that the animal had been dead for at least a day. Jaxom had been so stunned that he had not seen her start to run away. He reacted on impulse, snaring her around the shoulders and arms with the white coil to hold her in place. When she had calmed down, Jaxom released her, asking why she had run.
On her journey to Terika, a boy in the group she traveled with had died. Lexa had known the boy and had cried over his body, praying to the goddess Elshara to return him to life. When the boy had reanimated, she thought that her prayers had been answered. She quickly came to understand that was not the case. The parents of the boy, along with the others in their camp, saw what she had done. Distraught with fear and grief, the group had attacked her. Acting on instinct, Lexa commanded the risen boy to defend her, and in doing so, had injured two of the group before the risen could be restrained. Fearing for her life, she fled into the night and continued on her way to the city alone.
When Jaxom had seen her casting, she had been afraid that he would react similarly, not knowing what a death mage was or that one was Lord of Terika. From that point on, Lexa had lived in the palace as their apprentice, learning different casts and making leaps in mastering her magic quickly. She still kept to herself and spoke only when necessary, but Jaxom felt she was now beginning to feel more at home with them.
“Have you ever had a match against Alimar?” Lexa asked. The two men in the center of the field were talking to each other, but he could not make out their words.
“No, but I have seen him fight. He knows what he is doing,” Jaxom said.
“Good,” she said.
Jaxom was about to say more when Alimar released the blight at Warin, beginning the match. Warin countered with the same cast, the two twisting streams of black and white smoke colliding between the men. The streams struggled against one another, wrapping and intertwining. It was a deadlock--the combatants evenly matched in pure strength. Warin was the first to break away, rolling to the side as Alimar’s cast continued forward to the spot where he had been standing. Coming up in a crouch, Warin thrust his hand down to the ground, calling forth a handful of small bones that snapped apart into jagged pieces. With a flick of his wrist, the bones shot forward like throwing knives aimed at Alimar’s chest. It was a cast Jaxom had never seen before. He stored it away in his memory to try on his own later. Alimar countered the flying bones by forming the blight into a small concentrated wall before him. As the bones passed through the barrier, they rotted away, harmlessly showering the mage in a cloud of white dust. It was another form of the blight Alimar had taught him, requiring a more concentrated magic to decay arrows quickly. It was very useful variety of the cast, but could only be maintained for short periods because of the amount of energy required.
Changing tactics, Alimar threw the coil directly for the crouching Warin, who again rolled to avoid the entangling white smoke. Alimar redirected the coil to pursue the fleeing man. It was then that Jaxom saw the similarities between himself and the newcomer. Unlike Alimar, who stood his ground while casting as did many other mages, Warin employed his body to evade attacks instead of meeting them head on. That willingness to fight physically often gave Jaxom an edge over other mages in combat. If Warin would learn to use the sword, he could achieve the same advantage.
/> Seeing that his constant dodging and occasional counter-cast would not win him the fight, Warin stopped and waited for the coil to catch up with him. The look on Alimar’s face showed a momentary flash of victory that changed to shock when the newcomer raised both hands. Palms facing forward, Warin stopped the coil with a shimmering barrier. Jaxom had not seen that cast before. From the look on Alimar’s face, neither had he. Recovering, Alimar pulled the coil back and struck the barrier repeatedly, using the end of the coil like a club to hammer away at the magical defense. When that failed, he tried to worm around the barrier, only to have the newcomer change its position to match. A look of deep concentration came over Alimar’s face then, and Jaxom saw his other hand raise slightly. He was about to create a second cast while maintaining the first. Jaxom himself had controlled two different flows of magic at once, and knew that it was not easy. Suddenly, a four-fingered hand made of many different types of bone ripped from the ground near Warin. Seizing the newcomer’s leg, the hand swept the limb out from under him, causing the man to stumble and breaking his concentration. The shimmering barrier dissolved. With the obstruction gone, the coil whipped through the remaining space to wrap around Warin’s body, pinning his arms to his sides. As he lifted the helpless man several feet into the air, Alimar wore one of his rare smiles.
Warin stared at Alimar with a look of defiance on his face. After holding him aloft for several more seconds, Alimar gently lowered him to the ground, the coil dissipating as he released the flow of magic sustaining it. Alimar then walked over to the newcomer, and Jaxom moved to join them with Lexa following him. Alimar offered Warin his hand in an uncharacteristic show of respect.
“If you still wish to join us, I would offer you a place as magus, providing Jaxom agrees,” Alimar said.
Warin looked at Jaxom expectantly. “I agree, as long as you are willing to accept a role in our fight and the training of our apprentices,” Jaxom said.
