Ascendant

by Craig Alanson

  Cecil? Koren’s eyes grew wide. He had never heard that Lord Mwazo had a first name. “Is it true, sir?”

  “None of your business, boy.” Mwazo snapped. “Lord Salva, we waste time, while the sun sinks in the sky.”

  Paedris nodded, and Shomas rose to speak with Koren. “Koren, we’re going to do something, it’s important, and you won’t be hurt, I promise you.”

  “Am I to be tested, sir?” Koren asked anxiously.

  “No,” Paedris hastened to say, “it is us who will be tested. We need you to serve as a, as a, focus.” Paedris avoided looking Koren in the eye, and his words did not ring true. The hair rose on the back of Koren’s neck. Paedris was lying to him, again.

  “Yes, the test will be for those who do not believe their own senses.” Madam Chu looked pointedly at Mwazo, who snorted.

  Koren swallowed hard, and nodded, and stood still. The four wizards stood around him, joined hands, and began chanting, strange foreign words. He began to feel warm, the way he had when Madam Chu touched his forehead. The feeling of warmth started at his toes, and swelled as it climbed his body, until the top of his head was uncomfortably warm. He felt faint, and his knees shook.

  Suddenly, the wizards stopped chanting, and the warmth went away. All four of the wizards seemed slightly dazed, and Lord Mwazo fell to his knees, his face ashen. “Lord Salva, I apologize for doubting you.” Mwazo gasped.

  Madam Chu knelt at his side, concerned. “Cecil, do you need help?”

  “No, no, Wing, I am fine, thank you.” For the first time, Koren saw Mwazo smile.

  “We have hope!” Shomas exclaimed, and threw his arms around Koren in another crushing hug that took the boy’s breath away. “The legends say-“

  “The legends are inconclusive, Shomas.” Mwazo rose unsteadily to his feet, supported by Madam Chu. “I have made it my life’s work to study the legends.”

  “Nevertheless, we do have hope.” Paedris said. “Hope, and opportunity.”

  “And danger.” Madam Chu added.

  “Yes, danger. Koren, you may go now. It’s a nice day, why don’t you take Thunderbolt out for a ride?”

  “Yes, sir.” Koren bowed to the four wizards, and hurried down and out of the tower as fast as his shaky legs could carry him.

  The joyous feeling of the wizards was short-lived. “What does this mean?” Shomas asked . “Out of nowhere, this immense power falls into our laps, and- and we can’t use it! The boy is too young to control such power himself, and if we channeled such power through him, we may kill him.”

  Mwazo rapped his fist on the stone parapet in frustration. “It would certainly kill him. Yet, the enemy would not hesitate to channel power through the boy, use him up until he was a dry husk, and throw him away. Paedris, you were wise to hide the boy’s power from him. Who else knows?” Mwazo asked.

  “Us, and the Regent.”

  Chu bit her lip. “Perhaps it would be best if the Lady Carlana forgot what she has heard-“

  “No.” Paedris cut off Chu’s treasonous thought. “She is the Regent. We may have disagreements, but we both serve Tarador. There will be no tampering with her memories, understood? Besides, Carlana has supported me completely about Koren.”

  “I sensed your blocking spell is wearing thin.” Chu warned.

  Paedris nodded. “We need the four of us to cast a spell that will use Koren’s own power to block his ability. It will wear off eventually, his power is too great to contain. He is already much stronger than all of us together.”

  “We will cast the spell tonight, after the boy is asleep.” Chu declared. “The question still needs to be answered: what does it mean that we find this boy now, when the power of Acedor is growing beyond our ability to contain? Mwazo? You know the scrolls better than anyone.”

  Mwazo rubbed his chin. “There are many prophesies, of the final battle between Tarador and Acedor, or as I should say, between the forces of Light and the Darkness. This is not a battle for Tarador alone,” Mwazo nodded to Paedris and Chu, who were from lands far away, “but for all free peoples. I cannot think of any mention of this boy in the scrolls. He is a complete mystery. But, you are correct, Madam Chu, it cannot be only a coincidence that Koren’s power is rising now, when our need is becoming so dire. We must take hope from that.”

  “There is one thing I know for certain,” Shomas said, pulling a apple from his pocket and biting into it, as his appetite returned. “As much wizardly power this boy has, so far in his life it has been balanced by bad luck. Think on that, Mwazo.”

  "Luck is not a-"

  "And you are wrong about something, Lord Salva." Shomas continued, "There is such a thing as a jinx."

  "What?" Chu exclaimed. Shomas Feany was not known as a philosopher.

  "It seems to me that Koren's life has been jinxed. By now, he should be well on his way to becoming a powerful wizard, beyond the enemy's power to harm. His family should be wealthy beyond their dreams. Instead, he's sweeping floors and chopping wood, abandoned by his parents. You think it's a coincidence, that Koren happens to be in the wilderness, at the exact same time a magic-spelled beast attacks the crown princess of Acedor's greatest enemy?" Shomas asked with a raised eyebrow.

  "It is not coincidence, and Koren is not a jinx." Lord Mwazo insisted, with surprising vehemence. "For us, for the forces of Light who struggle against the Darkness, he is the opposite of a jinx. For our young princess, he was a savior, unlooked for in the wilderness, for when she needed him, he came without being called. For us now, facing what we all believe will be the final battle, he is Hope. No, Shomas, he may feel his own life has been jinxed, but he is the greatest stroke of luck we could wish for."

  "If he remains on our side, if the enemy does not gain control of his power." Shomas warned.

  Paedris let out a great sigh. "Yes. If."

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Koren stumbled out of bed late, unsure why he had slept so late and still felt so stupidly tired. It felt like he had hardly slept at all, and he had a vague memory of disturbing dreams involving wizards, wizards gathered around his bed in the dark of the night. He splashed cold water on his face, tried to drag a comb through his tangled hair, and hurried up the stairs. The wizards were not going to be happy about their breakfast being late!

  To Koren’s immense surprise, the four wizards were already sitting around the table, digging into a feast, and he could smell hot coffee, the wizard must have brewed it himself that morning. Paedris waved to him. “Ah, there you are, young Koren! Had enough sleep, have you, Mister Woolyhead?" He said with a jovial wink. "Come, come, sit down. Shomas fetched enough food for an army.”

  Shomas patted his ample belly while stuffing a buttered muffin in his mouth. “I am hungry enough to eat like an army!”

  Koren almost fainted when Lord Mwazo rose to pull out a chair for Koren, and then poured tea for him. “Jam?” Mwazo offered. “This strawberry jam goes particularly well on the muffins.”

  His head spinning, Koren managed to thank the wizards, and sat eating muffins, and bacon, and ham, and eggs, and bread that Paedris toasted over a fire in the corner of the room. The wizards talked about places they’d been, mutual friends they’d seen, or not seen in many years. Mwazo was in such a good mood that he poured out the rest of the teapot into his cup, and then performed what he called a ‘trick’. With a mumbled incantation and waving his hands around, he made the teapot disappear, right before Koren’s very eyes!

  “Sir! How did you do that?” Koren asked, amazed. Paedris never did any ‘tricks’ with his wizardly skills, Koren had so far never seen him use any magic except for healing spells.

  “It is now in the shadow realm, Koren.” Mwazo said in a dramatic voice, with a wink at the other wizards.

  “The shadow- what does that- where did it go?” Koren sputtered.

  Mwazo waved his hand thru where the teapot had been. “The shadow realm is the land of ghosts, it exists next to us, but we can’t see it.”

  “We usual
ly can’t see it.” Madame Chu corrected. “When the-“

  “Yes, yes, don’t fill the boy’s head with details right now.” Mwazo waved her away. “Now, watch this.” The wizard closed his eyes in concentration, muttered some foreign words under his breath, and the teapot reappeared, right where it had been.

  Koren clapped his hands with delight. “Oh, that is powerful magic, sir!”

  Mwazo smiled, and took a short bow to acknowledge the applause. “No, it is truly very simple, that’s why I call it a mere ‘trick’. Casting an item into the shadow realm is one of the first tests of apprentice wizards’ ability to control their power. You will-“ Mwazo caught himself, as the other wizards eyebrows raised in alarm, “-er, that is, you will see truly powerful magic, during your time with Paedris.”

  Koren stood up to clear away the dishes, but Paedris waved for him to sit. “Relax! Relax, young man, you’ve been cleaning up after us tired old-“

  “Who are you calling old?” Shomas interrupted.

  “-gang of wizards for too long now. It is a fine day, let’s all of us go out for a ride. I need to get out of this stuffy old tower, and it would be a shame to waste a sunny day, with Winter approaching so quickly.”

  "Paedris," Lord Mwazo said slowly, while rummaging around in a great leather bag he'd brought, "I wonder. Ah, here it is." He pulled a small wood box from the bag, a battered old box made of ark, stained wood, with worn copper hinges.

  "You wonder what, Cecil?" Paedris responded absent-mindedly, engaged simultaneously in reading a book, sipping tea, and toasting a crust of bread over the fire. It was late afternoon, not yet time for a hearty dinner, and the wizard was hungry again. True, he had a fine breakfast, a late, and very large breakfast, but they'd ridden far into the countryside, an endeavor that encouraged an appetite.

  "I'd like to try something. With my cards." Mwazo opened the box, pulled out a stack of playing cards, and set them on the table. The cards were also well-worn, but, unlike regular playing cards, these were blank on one side. The other side was inscribed with mysterious symbols well-known by Mwazo, but some of the symbols were a bit of a mystery even to Paedris.

  Paedris forced himself to pay attention. "Cards? Oh, your fortune cards." He frowned, then turned in surprise, which caused his almost perfectly-done piece of toast to fall off the stick into the fire. "Oh, darn it! Have you found something new?" He asked excitedly, hopefully.

  "No, not yet. I think thinking, about Koren, no, never mind, it's foolish."

  "What is it?"

  "A feeling. It's silly, forget about it."

  Paedris set down his book and tea mug. "Cecil, you know better than I that sometimes a 'feeling' is the spirit world trying to talk to us. You are the most sensitive of us to the call of the spirits. What is your feeling telling you?"

  "A vague feeling that, now, maybe something is different. That something has changed. I've had the feeling ever since I first met Koren. I would like to see if I can read the boy's future with these cards."

  "We haven't been able to read fortunes in-"

  "Yes, I know." Mwazo said quickly. "I know. I have a feeling, as you said."

  "Let's see. Koren! Koren, come here!" Paedris walked over to a cabinet and got a thin needle.

  "You called for me, sir?" Koren said, out of breath from racing up the stairs. From the state of the boy's clothing, the wizard surmised his servant had been scrubbing something, perhaps a floor, from the dirt on the knees of his pants.

  "Yes, quite so." Paedris exchanged a glance with Lord Mwazo. He didn't wish to alarm Koren. "You seemed to enjoy Mwazo's magic tricks over the breakfast table, would you like to see some real magic?"

  "Oh, yes, sir!"

  "Good. Mwazo here would like to try reading your fortune. If we can. It requires a drop of your blood, a single tiny drop, you understand? I will prick your finger with this thin needle, and we'll put a drop of blood on this card."

  Koren wasn't thrilled with the idea of a wizard needing his blood, that sounding vaguely like part of a spell wizards used to turn people into frogs, or something more horrible. He couldn't back out now, and he did want to see more magic, so he nodded.

  Over the table, Paedris carefully pricked Koren's finger, and squeezed a drop of blood onto a blank card held by Lord Mwazo. The drop of blood was absorbed so quickly, it was as if it had fallen right through the card. "Hmmm. Still nothing." Paedris expressed disappointedly as the card remained blank. "Well , not every-"

  "Shh!" Mwazo hissed. "The card is not blank!" He peered closely, intensely concentrating.

  "Are you sure?" Paedris asked skeptically, leaning over to see the card closer. "The firelight can be-" The powerful wizard sucked in a breath. "Is it?"

  "Do you see what I see?" Mwazo looked up hopefully. Looked up in hope, and confusion.

  "I, don't understand. I can't truly see anything, it is as if the images-"

  "Yes, yes!" Images flickered across the face of the card, impossibly fast. The wizards were unable to bring an image into focus, not a single one, not even when Paedris hurriedly cast a spell to slow their perception of time. Koren was greatly alarmed by that spell, for Paedris had been in such a frantic hurry that he hadn't explained what he was doing. Suddenly, the room had dimmed for a moment, the flames in the fireplace slowed so they appeared to be made of a sluggish liquid, which Koren found fascinating. The images on the card still flickered too fast for Koren to really see anything.

  Then the spell dispersed, the room brightened, the fireplace went back to crackling flames, and the card was again blank, with no trace of blood on it.

  "What did you see?" Paedris asked wearily, slumping into a chair. The time spell was draining, and casting it so hurriedly had exhausted the master wizard. His hand shook when he reached for a mug of tea.

  "Nothing." Said Mwazo, master of his own type of wizardry. "I almost, no, nothing. But there was something there."

  "What were all those pictures, sir? Lord Mwazo?" Koren asked innocently.

  "Pictures?" Paedris looked up sharply.

  Mwazo leaned forward eagerly. "Koren? You saw something? What was it?"

  "It was," Koren fought for the proper words, "not something, sirs. It was more like everything. Everything, all at once. So fast, it all blurred together. Men on horses, and fighting, and skeletons, and fields of flowers, and sunshine and storms, and farmers bringing in crops, and people dancing, celebrating something, and, and, darkness, and something horrible. Horrible." He shuddered. "Also I think I saw the ocean, sirs, islands in the ocean. And mountains, tall mountains with their tops covered in ice, even at in summer time."

  "Mwazo?" Paedris inquired with a raised eyebrow. "What does this mean?"

  "It means," the loremaster said with a deliberate look at Paedris, "that my fortune cards are still unable to see the future." He turned to Koren. "I'm sorry, Koren, sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't. It is nearly time for dinner, why don't you run over to the kitchens and see what they're preparing for us?"

  Koren knew when the wizards wanted to talk in private. "Yes, sirs." he bowed slightly, and left. If he was disappointed to not know more of his future, it didn't show, for he was still trying to recall more of the amazing images he'd seen.

  "Lord Salva," Mwazo said after Koren had gone back down the stairs, "perhaps it is time to see your fortune."

  "You think that will work?"

  "I think it will help me understand what Koren's fortune means."

  It didn't help Paedris, for the fortune card remained perfectly, frustratingly blank, as it had for everyone recently. Beginning, Mwazo recalled, twelve years ago, the ability of wizards to see the future, or to be more accurate, to see which possible futures were most likely to occur, had begun to fade. Within the last five years, the fortune cards had been blank, completely blank. Except today, except Koren's future.

  "Hmmm. Blank again, as always." Paedris said in disappointment.

  "Not quite." Mwazo announced, holding the card up to
his eyes, and examining it from various angles. "There is something there. Two images, very faint, fading in and out, like they are trying to form, but the spirits yet lack the power."

  "Which images?"

  Mwazo carefully put the cards back in the box. "I would rather not tell you, yet, about one, for I very well could be wrong, and lead us all down the wrong path. About the other, I can say, with very little certainty, mind you, that I think, I get the impression that it is a crown."

  "A crown?" Paedris looked puzzled. For all his wizardly power, he lacked the loremaster's insight into the arcane spirit world. "A crown is in my future?" The Don Salva family was sort of nobility in his home lands, but it had been many, many years since Paedris had been there, and many before that since he'd last exercised any of the legal powers of a Don. When he'd departed La Murta to fight the enemy in Tarador, he had left his lands to his children, except for leaving a large part of the olive groves to the townspeople.

  "A crown affects your future, Lord Salva. A crown determines your future."

  "Huh. I could have told you that, without using your cards. When the princess becomes queen-"

  "No." Mwazo stood up, stretched his tall frame until his fingers nearly touched the ceiling, and strode over to stand closer to the fireplace, stirring the logs with a poker. "Not the jewel-encrusted crown of a queen, nor a princess. What I saw, what I think I saw, was a rather simple gold circle. And this future is soon, not far off, when your Ariana becomes queen."

  "A simple gold circle? I've seen that many times, that's the Regent's crown." Paedris said sourly. "Her mother."

  The next morning, the four wizards requested an audience with the Regent, to discuss ‘matters of great importance to the future of Tarador’, according to the note that Koren delivered to the palace chief of protocol. Carlana invited the wizards to dine in the palace that evening, which meant Koren was busy the whole day getting four sets of wizard robes cleaned and pressed. Even so, as they were about to leave the tower, Koren saw to his great distress that Shomas had a big stain down the front of his robe, from a blackberry pastry he had been eating.