“My son, I don’t believe you are a failure or weak. You simply have different strengths. I have tried to bring you along, slowly, in the hopes that your special talents would develop on their own. I had been planning to put off your First Quest for a while.”
“How long were you planning to wait mother? I’m sixteen; everyone usually goes between fifteen and seventeen.”
“I was hoping to put it off until you were thirty.”
Waldo stared at her with his mouth hanging open.
“Or until you managed to kill someone,” his mother added pointedly. “Whichever came first.”
“So the fact you’re sending me now is a sign you believe I’m ready?”
“No,” his mother said. “The council has forced my hand.”
“Wait, my going on the quest now was a decision made by the council?”
His mother nodded unhappily. “Not only are you going on your First Quest but there are set conditions you will have to meet before you can return.”
“Conditions?”
XXX
Lilith narrowed her eyes. “What sort of test?”
“Your son is sixteen is he not?” Baldwin asked.
“He is,” Lilith answered suspiciously.
“Isn’t it time he went on his First Quest?” Baldwin inquired in a reasonable tone.
Around the table heads began to nod.
“If he really is worthy of being your heir then let him prove it.” Darius said.
“I will be the one who decides when he should go.” Lilith stated. “It is always the family head that decides.”
“Not always.” Baldwin remained placid. “There have been other occasions when the council insisted someone take their First Quest early. There is precedent for it.”
“If your son is strong enough to replace you, then he should be strong enough for this.” Gawreth said.
“You cannot keep him hidden inside your castle forever.” Xilos added.
“If he can succeed that would certainly convince us and this whole matter would be closed.” Xilos said.
“You have to admit that it’s only reasonable.” Lothas piled on.
Lilith’s eyes went to each of them in turn. Only Poisondagger had not spoken in favor of sending her son out, and from his previous comment it was obvious where he stood. They have already decided, Lilith realized with sickening certainty. While she would not hesitate to take on any of the other Houses, even she did not have the strength to fight all six.
“So, you intend to force me into this?” Lilith asked.
“Why do you even need to be forced?” Darius snarled. “You sent your other children out when the time came.”
“I sent them when I felt each was ready.” Lilith answered coldly. “He is my only living child now. Do you blame me for being cautious?”
“From our perspective it looks more like you are acting out of love.” Darius said.
“I do love my son.” Lilith admitted. “However I would never try to protect him just because of that. I have good reason to be patient. He is my only remaining heir.”
“He is your only remaining child,” Baldwin clarified. “If the tree dies you take a healthy branch and plant it. You have cousins and other relatives. Just how many branch families are there in Corpselover?”
“Forty seven,” Lilith admitted. In the extended family there were a dozen masters, and probably at least that many with the potential
“All of them better,” Dante muttered.
Lilith sent him a sharp look and he seemed to shrink into his chair.
“Don’t blame us if your child is weak.” Xilos said.
“My son is unusual I admit, but he is not weak.” Lilith said. “Even the strong do not always survive the First Quest.”
“Then we must make absolutely certain he is strong.” Baldwin said. “If you are to choose him over the branch members of your family it needs to be obvious he really is the best choice.”
Lilith had an unpleasant suspicion of where Baldwin was leading.
He continued, confirming her misgivings. “We require he meet certain conditions before he will be permitted to return home.”
“That is not how the quest works! Each individual decides when they have done enough. The only absolute requirement is that they leave Alteroth and visit a foreign land.”
“Which means he might cower in some cave just over the border for a few days and then run home!” Xilos said.
Darius nodded “It’s happened before. It’s disgraceful but it has been done.”
“My son would never do something so cowardly!” She sent a cold look in Dante’s direction. “He’s not a Poisondagger after all.”
“What does that mean?” Dante asked even as he squirmed.
“Your son Daryl spent what, three days in Galisia before running back with his tail between his legs? What about your son Pyrus? He killed a couple families out in the Barrens and that was all. I never heard any complaints about his worth."
Dante fumed, but no one spoke up in his family’s defense.
“We are not all Poisondaggers.” Gawreth said pointedly. “I lost Cersei, my daughter from my third wife just a month ago.”
“My son Kiska was burned alive at the stake in Dregal.” Baldwin said.
Darius held out his hands and began ticking names off on his fingers. “Aban, Astera, Casper, Daria, Ewa, Faraz, Jasmin, Melchor, Razin, Shayan.” All ten fingers were up. “I can still continue. We have all lost children on the First Quest.”
“Except for Dante.” Xilos pointed out.
“Yes, except for him.” Darius agreed.
Poisondagger seethed but could not deny it.
“We have all made sacrifices to the First Quest,” Baldwin told her. “You cannot pretend you are the only one. It is a cruel custom, but a necessary. It is the only way to ensure that every member of a ruling family is worthy.”
“Unless you’re a Poisondagger of course.” Lilith sneered.
“At least all of mine have killed! Isn’t it true yours never has?” Dante said accusingly. “Not even a slave?”
“Killing is easy.” Lilith gripped her wand with a single hand. “Shall I demonstrate?”
The others placed hands on their wands as well.
“There is no need for that.” Baldwin said. “We are all members of the Council of Seven.”
“So what? We’d all kill each other if we could.”
“Very true,” Poisondagger muttered.
“We don’t kill each other openly.” Baldwin said.
Garweth nodded. “That would lead to civil war and our ruin.”
“No,” Lilith said bitterly. “Instead we send each other out on impossible quests and let someone else do it.”
“If your son is strong enough he will survive.” Gawreth said. “If not then he is of no use to you.”
“Just what are the conditions you intend to place on him?” Lilith asked.
Baldwin told her.
“I see,” Lilith said. “Do you even still pretend this is anything but a death sentence? Only someone with the potential to be a Grand Master would have any hope at all!”
“I am sorry Lilith.” Baldwin told her. “I know this is drastic, but you have forced us to act.”
He wasn’t sorry. They wanted her son gone, and this was their way of going about it.
“If the six of you are determined then I suppose I have no choice.”
Her son was doomed.
XXX
“Yes,” Lilith said. “The council set three conditions you will have to fulfill before you will be allowed to return home.”
“I’ve never heard of that before.”
“It’s rare, but not unheard of son.”
“All right mother. So what are the conditions?”
Lilith had to struggle to keep the fury out of her voice. She wanted to at least give her son hope that it was possible. “You must make a contract with at least three monsters and bind them to your service. You m
ust defeat at least one knight in battle.” She struggled to get out the last, most impossible requirement. “You must acquire a dragon’s egg or a dragon and return with it.”
Waldo stared at her hoping she would suddenly laugh at him and tell him this was all some huge joke. Her somber manner convinced him this was no joke.
“Bind three monsters, defeat a knight in battle, and bring back a dragon’s egg or a dragon? Is that all? Why don’t I slay an army or capture a castle while I’m at it?”
“Careful son, they might add those.”
Waldo stopped and considered the situation.
Making a contract with just one monster was extremely dangerous and quite a feat. Getting three would be an even greater challenge.
Knights and White Mages were the deadliest threats most Dark Mages could face on a First Quest. Only the strongest candidates, or the most desperate, would deliberately seek out a knight.
Dragons were far and away the rarest and most powerful of the Great Monsters. Even his mother, an experienced grand master, would never try and face one alone. That was work for an entire army. Unless you had some sure method to keep the mother far away, stealing a dragon’s egg was nearly as dangerous.
“Why does the council want me dead?”
“They are afraid you are too weak to replace me as both head of the family and as a member on the council.”
“Well I can’t say I’m surprised. Do you agree with them mother?”
“No. Never.”
“Even though I have never managed to kill anyone?”
“Killing is the easiest thing in the world my son. All it takes is not caring about your victim. You care too much, you feel too much. It’s only ever hard when you let yourself care.” She knew how true that was.
“I’m sorry; I can’t seem to help it.”
His mother looked at him wistfully. “You remind me of your father.”
Waldo had never known who his father was. He had asked his mother a few times, but she had never given him any information. From the color of his eyes it was obvious his father was from Avalon, the home of the White Mages.
“Is that a good thing?”
“To me it is.” Lilith sighed. “I had hoped that eventually you would learn to harden your heart. Unfortunately there is no more time.” She paused. “If you were to find a place in the greater world no one would come after you.”
“You mean go into exile?” Waldo said shocked. “Never come home again?”
“If the only choices are exile or death which do you prefer?”
“'If I can't come home there's no point to any of it. All I have ever wanted is to make you proud of me mother. This is the only place where I belong, the only place I have ever wanted to be. I want to be proud to call me your son.”
He really is like his father. Lilith thought fondly. She felt an ache in her chest and forced herself to ignore it. “If that is your choice then so be it.”
His mother surprised him then by placing a soft kiss on his cheek.
“Whatever happens, I am already proud of you.”
Chapter 2
Setting Out
Waldo was in his room getting ready.
It was tradition that he would have one last meal and then leave. He would not be permitted to take any coins or precious metals. Waldo would have to travel alone on foot, without any slaves or undead. From the moment he stepped outside the castle gate he was expected to rely on his own strength.
Whether he went north or south it would take weeks to reach the border. Though he would be without money Waldo did not expect any problems until he left Alteroth. The peasants would give him food and shelter. They would not dare refuse one who wore the black robes. Once he was on foreign soil he truly would be on his own.
Come the morning Waldo would be given a couple waterskins, as well as a week’s worth of travel food. He had a backpack where he would carry spare clothes as well as some other items. These were spread out over his bed, and he was going over each of them.
First and foremost was his spellbook. Inside it was every spell and ward he had ever been taught. (Including the ones he had never managed to get right.) The basic ones, that he used constantly had long since been memorized, he could perform them without a second thought. The more powerful and complicated magics he would need to study and memorize first. Along with his spells and wards were the recipes for all sorts of potions and remedies. Waldo was skilled at making potions, and was an expert at using different herbs and ingredients to bring out the most potent effects.
As he walked through Alteroth he planned to spend as much time as possible going over the binding ritual. Getting that right was of particular importance; it was the only way he could force monsters to obey him.
It was obvious the order he would need to attempt things. He could not even think about acquiring a dragon’s egg yet. Fighting a knight with his current abilities was akin to suicide. He would have to start by acquiring monsters. Once they were bound by magical contract he could use them to do his fighting. It would be dangerous, but it was his best chance.
Next to his spellbook was his wand.
Like all Dark Mages his had been carved from human bone. Etched into it were three words; power, pride, and strength. He tapped it with a couple fingers and frowned. A wand was supposed to magnify the effects of its user’s spells. The way a hammer multiplied the force of a blacksmith’s blow. It was the most basic tools used by mages. One of the many things that had frustrated Waldo over the years was the fact he’d never gotten much out of his.
Oh he could use them; the problem was there was never a real difference in the spell’s effect. When his mother used her wand the spell was usually two or three times more powerful. When he used one it always remained the same. This wand was his fifth. He’d asked for new ones in the hope it would help; but the results never changed.
There were small cloth sacks, each bound up tight and with a description written in ink. Ginger, mandrake, basalt, sulfur, wolfsbane, ground obsidian, and a dozen other spell components. He had were two pens and a bottle of ink. Beside them were six knives, to a magic user daggers were both a useful tool and a weapon of last resort.
Next were the maps.
Alteroth was a large nation and nine countries touched its borders. To the north were three kingdoms. From west to east they were Wylef, Lothas, and Dregal. To the east was Abura and to the southeast Dacia. To the south, running from east to west were Rutenia, Galisia, and the Barony of Lemur. On the western border, between Wylef and Lemur, was Viscaya.
Within Alteroth, the nations of Wylef, Lothas, and Dregal were collectively known as the northern kingdoms. The ruling families of all three were related to each other and had firm control over their lands. All three kingdoms held a feudal tradition, going back almost to the time of the Shattering. Knights and armed men swore fealty to local lords, who in turn were sworn to serve their King or Queen. There was no slavery to the north, but only nobles could own land. The peasants who worked the fields were allowed to keep a share of what they produced and did enjoy certain rights, but were forced to rely on their liege lords for protection and enforcement of the law.
The northern kingdoms were blessed with fertile soil and plenty of water. There were thick forests, marshes, abundant farmlands, and thriving towns and cities. Lothas also had vast iron deposits and forged large quantities or iron and much smaller amounts of steel. They were rich lands and Alteroth had a profitable trading relationship with all three. Though the growing influence of the whites was stirring up trouble, especially in Dregal where the king was weak and easily influenced.
Abura and Darcia were also feudal kingdoms, but there the ruling families were not as well established. They often struggled to enforce their rule over their nobles. Some of the local lords barely acknowledged any sort of fealty to the crown. They tried to rule over their lands autonomously and often did not bother to send any taxes to the capital. Dacia had only just recently come out of a long civ
il war that had seen the old ruling family exterminated, and a new one installed. There especially, the new king had to be very cautious as to how much he demanded of some of his retainers.
The lands to the south were arid and mountainous, the border region was a desert called the Barrens that was especially unforgiving. The Barony of Lemur was ruled by Baron Artimus Fabri. The Fabri were the only nobles in Lemur, they’d annihilated all the others generations ago. The baron saw the country as being his own personal property and used his extended family to rule over it and drain every last bit of money. Every tax collector was a Fabri and every Fabri was a tax collector.
The (sort of) Dark Mage (Waldo Rabbit) Page 4
