by Aaron Thomas
She seemed pleased to see Alexander, and started humming as he exited the wagon.
As Alexander’s feet hit the ground Ria turned to Bowie and tried to warn him, “Brace yourself.”
Vines curled around her feet and wrists as a gust of wind pushed Bowie onto the floor. Bowie watched as the wind wizard was lifted out of sight. Bowie’s black hat landed on the stairs to the wagon slowly, and un-naturally.
“I told you to brace yourself,” Ria chided. “Pick up your hat, we have work to do.”
Bowie did as she said. The earth wizard walked out of the wagon and headed straight for the field of arrow shaft plants she had grown. The field was picked clean and now stood with short plants all around.
“I can grow a bit more if needed?” She asked.
Auburn came bounding after him and the wizard.
“Wizard Ria!” Auburn said, getting the wizard’s attention. “Thank you so much for the plants. They have given us enough work with for a week!”
“You don’t need any more?” Ria asked.
Auburn shook her head so Ria replied, “Very well. I would ask a favor, though. In the future, when you cut your materials free, be sure and collect the pods that rest at the top so I can make more later.”
She bent over to collect a few discarded pods that had fallen to the ground upon harvesting.
Auburn gathered her skirt and curtsied, “Yes, ma’am.”
The wizard gathered a few more before Bowie and Auburn joined in. They each held as many as they could in their hands. The pods blossomed opened at the wizard’s command and new seeds fell out. Ria collected and put them into the same pouch she had used to grow the plants.
“Thank you for your help. Perhaps if you do not need my help growing arrows, I will be able to grow you a bow or two.”
Bowie and Auburn looked excitedly back and forth at each other to see if she was serious,
“I’ve heard that black yew is the best wood for a bow?” Ria asked, searching through her seed pouch. “Ah, yes here is a black yew seed. Now, Auburn, tell me the traits of a good bow.”
Ria bent down to push the seed into the ground and Bowie reached for his water skin and motioned Auburn to do the same. They emptied them on the hole the seed went into and watched as a tiny tree crept out of the ground. It grew about knee height and stopped.
Ria looked at them both,“Well? I cannot grow you a bow if I don’t tell me how.”
Auburn tried her best to describe how a bow was made, how the curve was supposed to pull the string and without one attached it would bend at an unnatural angle. When Auburn was finished describing the length and height needed for Bowie’s proportions, the tiny tree grew again. A single branch began extending until it was so long that the small tree bent over from the weight of the new growth.
The final result was grotesque, and only slightly resembled the bow Auburn had described. The bark was black, cracked, and had warped as it grew.
The process seemed to take a lot of effort from Ria, as she physically slumped and took in a deep breath. Bowie hadn’t noticed that she was holding her breath while she used her magic. After a moment, she moved to kneel by the thick branch that was laying on the ground. She put her hands on the bark and slowly ran her hands over her creation.
“There, it is finished. I’m sure I will be able to do that easier after I get a few more attempts in, but for now I must sit and rest. I will try again later.”
The three stood looking at the branch. None attempted to pick it up until Ria spoke.
“Go ahead, pick it up and test it out.”
Bowie, with a sigh, picked up the heavy branch. He reached into his satchel and pulled out one of his spare bowstrings. He had nowhere to put the string, so put one end of the branch on the ground and pushed his foot into the middle. The branch bent, as it should, with the bark cracking and snapping. When he let his pressure off the branch, the bark fell away revealing a smooth-surfaced bow. He picked it up off the ground to admire its surface and saw the veins in the wood were ornate and worked into shapes, much like the stitching on his jacket. The surface was so brilliant that he, too, stopped breathing.
Auburn stepped around the bark littering the ground to run her hand over the surface. Ria smiled and walked away, wiping her hands against each other as if she had been working in the dirt.
Bowie turned to Auburn, “I need to get to my tools.”
She nodded and they took off in the direction of Bowie’s tent. Once inside, Bowie pulled out his custom made tools. His grandfather had been a great fletcher and Bowie continued the family business. Each tool was developed for a specific task and he knew how to use every one to produce the best arrows. Even though he had only attempted to build one bow, his grandfather had worked on many when Bowie was a kid. He had made the arrows and his grandfather had made the bows.
It was time to see if he could remember everything he had watched his grandfather do. From his bag, he pulled out a leather tool kit that kept his tools separated.
He turned to Auburn, “Go get me a bit of supplies for the arrows and bring Tyler here as well.”
Auburn left quickly as Bowie concentrated on the tools. He pulled out a triangular file and started working on one end of the bow, slowly and smoothly. When Auburn returned with Tyler, she offered a little instruction on the angle of the notch he was already making. A short time later, he set aside his bow and hoped it was as good as it looked.
He moved over to his table and cleared the papers away. Bowie pulled his table to the center of the tent allowing his students to sit on all sides.
“I’ve never seen tools like these before,” Auburn said, running her hands over their surfaces.
“These were my grandfather's tools. He was the original Master Crescent. He taught me everything I know about making arrows. These tools were his creation and they have provided well for my family. We will need to find a blacksmith to see if we can get some more made.”
He pulled a tool out with a small, curved hook on the end and went to work on one of the arrow shafts. It peeled away a thin layer of the wood and left a perfect groove down the side at the end.
“This is where the feathers go; put a tiny bit of glue here and the feathers spine inside the groove. It makes the surface smooth by the feather and protects the glue from coming undone. Just a tiny amount of glue so less string can be used to hold the feathers in place. Too much string will cause the arrow to catch too much air in flight and slow it down.”
He rotated the feather to make two more grooves.
Auburn watched intently as he dabbed glue along the spine of the feathers and tucked them gently into place. With practiced hands, he pulled string from a spool and ran a spiral pattern though the feather’s bristles up the shaft. He spun the arrow in his hand, checking to make sure it was straight.
Next, he pulled a second tool from his kit and filed away a squared section from the end of the arrow. He placed the arrow head inside the notch he made and wrapped it with string to hold it in place.
He pulled out another tool and ran it along the squared edge of the wood overlapping the arrowhead’s sides. The tool angled and smoothed the wood connecting to the arrow head. Again, he wrapped string around the arrowhead to secure it in place. He used a smaller file to put a notch in the back and then used a rag to rub the areas with string with a light coat of tar. He did the same to the bristles of the feathers. The two watched as he carefully placed it on two small blocks allowing the arrow to dry.
“One Crescent Arrow.”
“These take a long time to make. How are we supposed to make enough for an entire army?” Tyler said, scratching his head in wonder.
“We don’t,” Bowie said in response. “We keep these for ourselves. Each archer will learn the craft and they will make their own arrows. It will give them an appreciation for each arrow they use and waste. They’ll take their time to make sure every shot finds its mark.”
Auburn and Tyler nodded in agreement.
“You two go ahead and get started,” Bowie instructed. “I have other matters to see to. Be careful with my tools.”
Bowie made his way around the camp with his new bow, ready to test it with the arrows the fletchers were making. He didn’t get the chance before John found him.
“Sergeant, I have the numbers for you,” John said as he approached. “The townspeople are about to drop off more supplies. I took the liberty of trading the hides we collect for more goods. They said they would make some leather goods for when the king passes through.”
Bowie noded, “Anything that will help the town survive after the king passes through. I don’t need to know the finer details, but tell me about the horses and carts.”
John nodded and flipped through his papers. “We have twenty-five horses and twenty-two carts, not including Ria’s. It should be enough to transport all of our goods and a large amount of the troops. As we travel, we will be able to clear out some of the carts as we give out arrows and deplete our supplies to make them.”
“I will need one cart filled with finished product to be delivered to the king. John, you will have my horse hooked up to the cart so I can make the delivery. We will start moving again the morning after next.” Bowie started to walk towards the ring of fletchers, “We need to have the cart as full of arrows as it will allow.”
“Sergeant, shouldn’t I be the one remaining behind to deliver the arrows?”
“John, you did very well getting all the men here ahead of time. I need you to take the place that you should have before I showed up. Take a break and enjoy the ride from the front. Besides, I have a message to hand deliver to the king from a wizard.”
**********
Brandon paced in the wizard’s library, trying to learn as much as he could about ageing fire wizards. He was running out of options. He had read the best way to handle an aging wizard would be to have a wizard of each type present to help control their symptoms. His real problem was that only three wizards were left behind to protect the castle.
Two of them were aging at the same time.
He had a handful of wielders that were supposed to help, and they were already hard at work. It was taxing, trying to keep them energized throughout the day. He tried to remember the moments when Kara had been cooperative as he tried to do his best to save her life. She was the one in danger now. Twilix had become encased in an icy casket just after Kara collapsed. They tried to get her closer to Twilix so her heat would keep the ice at bay. Now they tried to melt it away by using regular fire and torches.
Kara was becoming so powerful that she was siphoning heat from the torches surrounding Twilix. She was using the flames that kept Twilix alive to make a heat that was close to consuming her. The water bearers tried to subdue Kara.The balance was deadly. The two wizards worked against each other, one needing heat but getting it taken. One consuming herself in flame and not able to stop.
Newly awakened fire wizards were, by all accounts, unruly, but when they aged during their first year they were downright unpredictable. No matter what Brandon did to convince the king that Kara had discovered to control her passion, it would all be a waste now.She would remain in the dungeon for years, possibly until a new king took the throne. Her newly aged power would double or triple in magnitude. Soon, she would rival Twilix as a young, powerful wizard. He hoped the two would continue to be friends when, and if, they both came through this trial together.
A knock at the door was followed by his name.
“Come in,” he whispered, deep in thought. He bolstered his voice and shouted, “Come in!”
A servant cracked the door and stepped inside.
“Well?” Brandon said standing up.
“Wizard, Sir. Twilix is starting to wake up. She was taken to a guest room in the east wing of the castle. You gave the order to notify you of any changes.”
Brandon smiled. He would have to be quick if he wanted Kara to survive.
“I will be down momentarily.”
As soon as the catch on the door clicked Brandon pushed the hidden button underneath his desk. A false bottom opened and a set of imbued metal beads on a string fell out into his hand. He slipped the string on his foot and picked up a map from his desk. The map gave its user access to secret passageways through the castle and he had already plotted the quickest route to Twilix’s room.
His sudden appearance at Twilix’s door gave the guards a start as he passed them. He shut the door behind him and caught a glimpse of a woman disappearing behind a wooden panel made for changing.
“It is polite to knock before entering into a woman's chamber,” The voice said from behind the panel.
“Excuse me, Twilix. I was merely anxious to see how you were feeling,” He said.
“I will be quite well once I have a set of decent clothes and something to eat. This dress got a bit torn while I was growing.”
Brandon cleared his throat, “I’ll see that one is brought up at once.”
“It’s already being seen to, Brandon. Tell me, how long was I asleep?”
“You were only aging for a few days and I’m glad it didn’t take any longer. Kara was unable to maintain her watch over you.”
Twilix stuck her face around the edge of the panel.
“You didn’t put her in the dungeon, did you? I told her I wouldn’t make her go back there as long as she was in control.”
Brandon shook his head, “She was unable to control herself, but no, I did not force her to go back to the dungeons. I don’t think all of us would have survived if we had tried. Kara began aging yesterday. We kept you as close to her as we could, but you still froze into an ice cocoon. Our men are struggling to keep her subdued right now. I was unsure how long they would last. It’s a blessing that your aging didn’t take too long.”
Twilix pulled linen underclothes off of the divider, “Are you ready to aid me in containing her power, Brandon? I will need all the help I can get, Kara was already stronger than Mary.”
Brandon remembered the days when Mary aged. The castle grounds sweltered and it was a struggle to get into the hallway of the dungeons without being cooked alive.
“I will do what needs to be done. How can I help you right now?”
Twilix reached a hand around the panel and held it palm-up towards Brandon.
“First, I will need a little energy for what needs to be done.”
Brandon took hold of the smooth, soft hand and pushed a cloud of energy into it. Lately he felt renewing others was his only purpose.
“I will also need you to accompany me to the training grounds,” she said.
A knock at the door interrupted the conversation, “Wizard Twilix, I have the robe you requested.”
“Enter,” She commanded.
A servant entered the room with a blue robe and draped it over the panel and bowed to Brandon as he departed. It wasn’t long until an aged version of Twilix emerged from behind the panel. She made her way to the mirror and moved her finger along the curve of her new face. It was the same, but older. She now looked the same age as her mind; in her early twenties. An age that would follow her for some time, possibly the majority of her life.
Brandon didn’t know what to say. Twilix had come to the castle when she first awoke as a wizard. She was guided by his brother in the ways of water magic and she had mastered combatting each element quickly. Twilix’s power would rival any aged water wizard. Brandon had been there to help her learn and grow that power. He had a hard time seeing this woman as the same little girl that had grown up in the castle. He was sure she was just as awestruck by the week’s transformation as he was. That is, until he came out of his stupor and saw her staring back at him.
“Are we going to go check on Kara?” Twilix asked.
He cleared his throat, “Of course. Right this way.”
She laughed, “I know the way, Brandon.”
She moved past him and walked down the hallway. On occasion, she tripped as she walked. She knew the hallways as
well as he did, but her legs were longer than the last time she had used them. The stairs must have been especially difficult to navigate because she slowed down considerably. Brandon lent her a hand when she was about to fall. He watched her closely as they made their way down to the training grounds.
The three wielders keeping Kara’s flames in checked looked exhausted, with sweat on their brows and breathing as if they had run the castle’s grounds. Twilix waved a hand to the men, dismissing them, but they didn’t return the wave. To them, she was to blame for them having to be here. Kara should have started her ageing still confined to a cell.
He knew that Twilix could handle the new fire wizard and he wanted the men here to see how powerful she was. They were there to protect the people of Deuterium, and they hated Twilix for her part in Kara putting everyone in danger. She seemed to pay no attention to the brutes and their ungraceful use of magic.
She got as close as she could to Kara, who now lay on top of a stone bed protruding three feet from the ground. She would have looked like a sleeping princess from a fairy tale if it weren’t for all the sparks and small flames leaping off of her. Heat waves rolled off of Kara, making Brandon’s vision blur. He knew it wouldn’t be long before Kara was engulfed in flames. Brandon’s wielders were not much use against an ageing fire wizard. Twilix moved back to where Brandon waited for her. He dared not get too close, in case another stream of liquid fire burst forth from the sleeping girl.
“I need your help, if you’re up for it?” She asked.
Brandon nodded and pushed back the sleeves on his robe.
Twilix nodded in return, “Create a mound of stone around her so no one can see her. Not a wall that goes straight up, but is sloped on the inside. You must make it so she is at the bottom of this stone bowl. Make a way for me to get to the top easily as well.”
Brandon knew that Twilix was making a request, however the way Twilix usually made a request came off more like a command.
The ground shuddered as the rock bowl rose out of the ground to surround the girl at its center. A small set of stairs dug its way out of the dirt and ended just at Twilix’s feet. Brandon opened his eyes to admire his handy work and saw Twilix staring at him with arms folded beneath her breasts.
