Rise of the Citadel (The Search for the Brights Book 2)

by Aaron Thomas

  He could hear a small scratching sound on the other side of the moss. The sound was like an arrowhead being sharpened on stone. He was sure his presence was unknown to the person on the other side. Slowly, using the arrow’s point, he cut into the moss hanging in front of him. He pushed the moss aside to reveal a beaver with its claws scratching a stone as it chewed through the root of the massive tree. Bowie let out a heavy breath and released the arrow, pinning the beaver to the ground. He slumped to the ground and the other men advanced to keep the line with Bowie.

  Bowie finally moved down to the beaver’s resting place and relieved him of his arrow. He placed the beaver in the sack he brought for carrying game. Bowie could hear his men talking amongst themselves. He stood to look and saw them waving him in as they gathered. Finally, it was time to get some rest. The men who traveled for over a day with him were greeted by those guarding the perimeter of the camp. Each had a bow drawn until they recognized the faces underneath the brim of the black hat. Bowie walked through the camp and tossed the dead beaver to a soldier to prepare it in a stew. He found his way to Ria’s wagon and knocked gently on the door. Ria’s voice called out for him to come inside. Bowie removed his hat and opened the door. Auburn and Ria were having tea at the small table inside.

  “Wizard Ria, we have returned. I just wanted to thank you again for preparing the bows for my men. They were a great help in catching game.” Bowie held up his bow. “I presume you will be leaving soon for the forward camp?” he asked when Ria said nothing in return.

  Ria waved him in and Auburn pulled her seat out for him to sit.

  “Master Crescent, sit and have some tea,” Ria said.

  He knew better than to refuse her, whether invitation or command.

  “We have been in much discussion about where we are needed. Auburn has convinced me that we should do as you ask and proceed to the forward camp.”

  “You agree?” Bowie said as he blew some of the heat off of his cup of tea.

  “We do, archer.” Auburn said, standing behind him. “Most of my fletchers are already moving towards the camp to set up for fletching there. After you get some rest you will be joining us at the next camp. We knew we wouldn’t be able to really talk to you until you had a chance to rest.”

  Ria chimed in, “You are planning on getting some rest, right?”

  Bowie looked at the two women who seemed so concerned with his sleep and well-being. He was sure this is what it felt like to have a mother.

  “Yes, I am going to get some sleep. As soon as I’m rested I will be moving the last of the camp forward. Auburn, you will have to wait for your archery lesson until after I arrive there.”

  She smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder then quickly retracted after Ria gave her a look. She cleared her throat, “I won’t be needing your lessons as much anymore. John and Tyler have been more than adequate in fulfilling your end of the bargain. I am making improvements in archery.”

  Bowie nodded his head, pleased that the others were able to convince her to let them teach her.

  “Ria, is there anything you need from me or my men?”

  Ria smiled at Bowie. He knew she thought he was learning his manners.

  “No, thank you. I will be able to produce one more batch of arrow shafts and a few more bows before leaving this place. Auburn will be watching over me as I rest.”

  Bowie nodded and finished the last of his tea. He was already feeling tired from the warming effect the tea had.

  “Auburn, how many arrows do we have now?” he asked.

  He wanted to make sure he wrote it down so he could send a report to the king as soon as a scout came through the camp.

  She smiled, “We have made eight thousand in the last week. John was able to retrieve your tools from the blacksmith. He had already made half of the tools and said he would pick up the other half when they arrived at the camp nearest town. Once we have those we will be able to make a quite a bit more.”

  Bowie tapped his fingers on the small table. “Eight thousand is ahead of schedule. As long as we do not run into trouble we should be able to get the rest made before this battle begins.”

  Ria spoke in an ominous tone, “This battle has already begun, Master Crescent.”

  **********

  The landscape drifted by as Alexander found himself in his favorite place in the world. The sky was the only place he could truly be himself. He had no expectations or responsibilities to anyone when in flight. Alexander used the extra long flaps on his robe to glide in a desired direction to save energy. Once the descent was finished he would then use magic to swell the pockets sewn in the arms to lift him back into the sky. Using magic in this fashion allowed him to fly for extended periods with little magic use.

  Alexander pushed his mind to remain on one topic at a time but the combination of open sky and magic brought up new topics in his head unexpectedly. Kilen was the biggest priority at the moment. It was possible the fate of all the elemental realms depended on the boy stopping these two realms from killing one another before another dark army threatened their existence.

  He pictured the boy riding the earthen horse to the top of the mountain. Kilen seemed to baffle everyone with his skill at maintaining elementals and keeping his mind about his physical body. He was a rarity in the world and the Elder Wizards would use his talent and ignorance to do their bidding. Alexander promised himself that he would allow it as long as it was just and the boy was in relative safety.

  Alexander’s mind wandered at the thought of Kilen and elementals. He wondered if he would be able to walk beside his elemental if he had practiced more. Wind wizards rarely found a reason to use a wind elemental. Their bodies couldn’t fly while in elemental form unless they were very practiced at it. Alexander had used his in a couple situations to listen in on conversations at windows. Each time he saw Kilen walking beside one of his, he wished he had taken the time to practice the skill.

  He reached the bottom of his descent and began climbing into the sky once more. He liked feeling the wind lift him into the air. The vision of the wind magic swirling under his robes pockets lifting him was something he thought was exhilarating. He prided himself in using the most efficient magic practices to lift himself. He was paying close attention to the swirling wind in his makeshift wings and knew he would readjust his direction when he started to glide his way down.

  Halfway to the peak of his climb, the air ceased to exist. Alexander snapped out of his daydream and scrambled to grasp at the air pushing his ascent. Alexander was falling towards the earth with no wind to slow him. He searched and found wind he could control but was unable to push it near his own body. Alexander knew exactly what it meant. Another wind wizard was attacking him.

  Straining his neck, he turned in the air to see the form of a man growing in size as he hurdled towards him and the ground. Mica was flying low to the tree tops far below Alexander. His own protege was cleaving his link to the wind.

  Alexander dealt with the young wizard on many occasions. He knew this time Mica would do whatever it took to win the match. This was not a practice match but a match to the death. Instead of trying to overcome the hold that Mica placed on the air surrounding himself, he knew it was better to distract Mica by attacking the air around the young wizard. Instead of removing the wind from underneath Mica, Alexander pushed the air down on top of him. Mica plummeted and struck a tree branch. In his attempt to stop Alexander’s counter attack Mica released the hold on the wind Alexander had been using. Wind returned to its natural place beneath the folds in Alexander’s robes. He regained his flight and used magic to protect the wind keeping hold of what he used to fly. Looking between his feet, he saw a bloody faced Mica racing to catch up.

  Mica had lost his element of surprise and now stood little to no chance at winning against the stronger, wiser wizard. Alexander raced ahead in the flight, keeping the advantage. The wizard in front in a fight of speed racing over the land was much like a normal man having the high
ground. It took an effort to keep up and he had to deal with the entropy the leading wizard caused in the wind. The closer he flew to the leading wizard, the more obstacles there would be.

  Alexander, having been interrupted in the glory of climbing to the heights of birds, was irritated with Mica more than he was angry. Alexander knew the young wizard was only doing what he thought was right by killing him. He was protecting those he thought were doing the most good in the world, like King Atmos. Alexander also knew he would still have to punish Mica for interrupting such a wonderful flow of wind.

  Reaching into the folds in his cloak he pulled out some weapons that Mica had never seen him carry. The weapons were simple and used by many wind wizards of ancient times. Each was a small disk of metal with small protrusions carrying razor sharp blades. They were designed like all wind wizards weapons; to catch the wind. He had them made and painted in three colors; blue, green, and black. The black he released first, making a show of throwing his arms out. Then with a flick of his fingers, the green was thrown down towards the tree tops and the blue towards the sky.

  Mica easily avoided the black palm-sized disk, veering to one side and back. The other two disks were nearly invisible to anyone not looking for them. The green blended in with the trees when looking down and the blue blended in with the sky. The disks ripped large holes in Mica’s robes. He fluttered in the wind as he struggled to keep from hitting the ground at deadly speed. At Alexander's command, the disks floating on the wind, returned to his hand.

  Alexander circled and watched as Mica fell into the branches of the thick trees, bouncing off three tree limbs before finally landing on the rich, dark earth. Alexander floated down and gently landed on the soft dirt and watched Mica regain consciousness. Mica’s robes were in shreds, Alexander knew Mica would have to replace them before he flew again. He was lucky Alexander left him alive. Alexander could have easily directed the disks to rip Mica’s body much like the folds of his clothes. He was hoping to teach him the errors of his way and give him a second chance.

  Mica finally came to his knees and examined not only the rips in his clothes but in his flesh. His body was unbroken except the skin that opened when hitting the trees. Alexander had done well helping his former student avoid injury. Mica however, had not seen Alex leaning on a tree near him.

  Alexander said, “Have you ever heard the saying? ‘Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”

  Mica looked up with a chaotic fury in his eyes. “The king feeds me, not you.” Mica pulled himself upright, obviously still dizzy from the fall he had taken. He waivered on his feet.

  Alexander scoffed at his reply, “The king feeds you lies. You need to open your eyes and see the plots that surround your king. If you do not, you will end up like his loyal servant, Jace. Do you remember him?”

  “You know I do. He found me and brought me in to serve the Earth Realm. All along he was a traitor working to destroy what King Atmos had built.”

  Alexander laughed again and walked slowly up to Mica to stand in front of him. “You mean what Atmos’ father had built. What his father had built while leaving others to die to protect his cause. The Water Realm fell because of his father refusing to help build all of the realms back to their glory. The realms’ rulers are supposed to work together, to help each other. King Atmos and his father sought only glory and power. True rulers rule to protect the people of their lands. If Jace was a traitor he was a traitor to that ruler, not to the cause that is just.”

  Mica grew red in the face at the insinuation that King Atmos was the traitor. He reached his hands forward and pushed wind at Alex but nothing happened.

  Alexander smirked, “You should never attack your teacher. They often hold bits of knowledge back that would otherwise take a lifetime to learn. Things that they had tried on their former teachers. I have not used anything that I did not teach you. I told you to design your own weapons. I told you to disable a wind wizard simply hold the wind around them so they cannot use it. No wind will reach us here unless I say so.”

  Mica grew even madder and started to charge Alexander. Without moving a muscle Alex pushed wind from underneath Mica, twisting him in the air where he landed on his face.

  “I think we are at an impasse. I will leave you to find your way back to the glory and honor of your king.” Alexander made a deep bow and gracefully lifted into the sky, leaving Mica to his misery.

  Mica brushed the dirt from his arms and stripped himself of his tattered robes. Underneath he had tied a second set to his waist, which he promptly put on. He had already learned a few tricks that his teacher hadn’t taught him. Alexander smiled, it would take him a moment to change into the robe. In that moment Alex would be a league away. The air rushed around him causing Mica to disappear amongst the trees and he soared into the clouds.

  Chapter 13 - Waves

  The ice sphere protruded out of the ground where Brandon had created the stone bowl. Servants and soldiers avoided the large structure sticking out of the training grounds. Its reflective surface had a way of drawing people's eye. Rumors spread that it contained a powerful fire wizard. They did not come within shouting distance of the dome, thinking it may break open like an egg giving way to a baby chick; that if they neared it Kara would burst forth and destroy their world. Twilix let those rumors spread. She had even gone as far as to meet servants sent to her halfway to the sphere and then glance back as if she could feel Kara fighting her way out. She would watch them scurry away as she told them to run.

  For now, Twilix sat alone at a table near the large ice sphere. She was eating a Kapal dish that had been taught to the kitchen workers. If she was ever going to have another meal with Kilen then she better get use to the spice in the meals he ate. Besides, she knew the spices in the food had a certain energizing property that would help her keep up with Kara’s growth.

  The sphere containing the growing girl was easy to maintain and she took pride by writing about her success in a book for the wizard library. She particularly liked the way the wall cooled the wizard as it melted. The melted ice would run down the interior until it reached the wizard and cooled her with ice-cold water. The time it took to rebuild the water back into a roof was little, allowing the wizard maintaining it to sleep or eat without having to worry. When she was done she would merely rebuild and go perform another task, confident that the aging wizard would be fine.

  She jotted down a few other ideas about how other aging wizards of different elements would benefit by a similar structure. She noted issues that could arise with each type of elemental dome. She wondered if wizards of other elements would be able to add to her ideas. None of her idea’s were as sound as the one she had thought of for water wizards assisting fire wizards.

  She finished her plate of food and refilled her cup of water from the humid air of summer. She drank deeply, which helped the burn in her mouth and throat but did nothing for her lips. She cupped her hand and filled it with water. Leaning forward, she placed her lips in her hand and moved the water to cool her burning lips. Twilix hoped that all the effort she was putting into getting use to the meals would pay off. She did not particularly like the taste of the spices on the Kapal menu.

  With her meal finished she made her way up the stone ramp to the alcove to refresh the wall’s thickness and deplete the water that pooled around Kara. Just before reaching the top, she saw a reflection in the sphere’s surface. Brandon was approaching from the castle. Her new grown-up form allowed her more advantages than she ever had with men. She could merely ask and many of her wishes were granted. Men did not argue or utter disagreement when she offered her opinion. They often talked less and swallowed a lot more. Mary had warned her about using it too often or with the wrong men, but so far all experiences had worked in her favor. She checked her hair in the reflection before turning around, as if she did not notice he was approaching.

  “Good afternoon, Twilix. How is the girl?”

  Brandon sounded pleasant enough, so she walked ba
ck down the ramp before talking with him.

  “Her power is increasing slowly day by day. As long as she doesn’t stay in transition for more than a month and continues to grow at this rate, it will not be difficult for me to control”

  “A month!?! If she stayed in transition for a month I think King Atmos will need every water wielder in the kingdom to assist you in keeping her from heating up. Even then I think he would want you to abandon your cause,” Brandon said.

  She knew he was right. If Kara took too many resources to control and posed too much of a danger to the public the king would let her burn herself up. Twilix was determined not let that happen.

  “You know there have been wizards who remain in transition for more than a month, but it’s rare and unlikely that she will. Besides, I was strong before my transition and now I am more so. I should be able to maintain her fairly easily, especially with your help,” Twilix said smiling.

  “It is also rare that a wizard go into transition so soon after being awakened, Twilix. You should know when dealing with the Everheart family, any rarity is a possibility,” Brandon retorted.

  She smiled, “Yes, they do have a way of overcoming what is normal. Brandon, I wouldn’t worry yourself.” Brandon’s body seemed to calm down as she cood his name when talking to him. She took a step forward, “Her transition shouldn’t be much longer. Her body has already changed form and we know that an increase in power and awakening will follow soon after. I just wanted you to be aware that if it goes much longer than a week, I will need a bit of energy.”

  He was about to speak when she noticed a woman approaching carrying a basket. She directed her attention to the woman and left Brandon standing by himself.

  “Excuse me Brandon, I must see to this. Kara’s body has grown and she needs some new clothes made. She now lies naked, so you keep your peeping eyes away from my work. I know you came by to visit me and my outgrown clothing often.”