The Allyen (The Story of the First Archimage Book 1)

by Michaela Riley Karr

  Each person had their own little presence that I could pick up on in my head. I could sense Frederick’s wind magic, his bravery, and other things that made him distinctly Frederick in my mind. I could sense Rachel and James down here with me, and Luke overhead doing his livery work. Their presences were slightly different to me, rather foreign from Frederick’s but similar within the three of them. I figured it was because they were siblings. Technically, I shouldn’t be able to sense Luke at all since he doesn’t have magic and I couldn’t see him. I wondered if I could since Rachel and James were around to amplify his presence. Was that possible? I wasn’t sure.

  When Sam came by, I discovered I could sense him once he was right outside the door. His was a strong presence to me, one that created warmth and leadership. Frederick also reminded me of his earlier lesson, that you can’t sense regular people unless you’re looking right at them, which explained why I couldn’t sense any of the people who came in to do business with Luke upstairs, or anyone outside for that matter.

  No one else out there had magic, which was kind of amazing to me. I was beginning to be intrigued by my gift. I hadn’t learned how to do these things yet, but I learned that I would be able to create things and manipulate objects in nature. Let me tell you, a farmer who can influence the weather is the happiest person alive!

  Most importantly, as I was told, I would be learning slowly how to utilize my magic in a fight. I could tell Frederick was trying to teach me as many magical concepts as humanly possible within our unknown amount of time down here, but he always gave me an hour or so of break as to not overload my mind. This was always greatly appreciated.

  During these breaks, the Owenses started bringing me books from my house, which I was sure Rosetta was not happy about. Being summertime, she loved to read for hours on end, so I wasn’t sure how the Owenses got them past her. Once I had exhausted the three or so novels that Rosetta and I had acquired over the years, they began to bring me books from not only the library but the castle as well. They were a mixture of history books, spell books, books of myths that I now recognized as mostly truths, and books on swordplay, the most boring. My reading ability was limited from what schooling I had gotten up until I was sixteen, but Frederick helped me with the words I didn’t know and clarified things that seemed confusing.

  After a few weeks, I was able to get through my first book by myself. It was a simple myths and legends book, but it made me feel good all the same. There was a particular story about a dragon that Rachel had flagged for me to read, called “Duunzer”, but I didn’t know what the significance of it was. This particular dragon was magical and would cover the land with Darkness before it began its murderous tirade. I moved on because the story seemed depressing.

  There were other entries, even one for the Allyen. It was interesting to read about myself, but the article was vague and gave nothing new to appease my curiosity. There was also a “Lunakan Giants” page, reminding me of the stories I remembered hearing from my childhood. Supposedly, they lived in northeastern Lunaka, but that area was very remote. Good place to tell stories about I suppose.

  At that moment, my mind was flooded with a warm presence, one that smelled of freshly dug Lunakan earth and reminded me of Sam. Strange, it seemed early for him to come. He normally didn’t come until after nightfall.

  James reacted shortly after I did and stealthily brought Sam through the door since it was still daylight. He came bearing a sack filled with food, and he seemed to be happy to see us. I could tell that he had freshly washed his thinning face since no farmer looks that clean in the summer. He had missed a significant swatch of dirt under his jawline, a detail I tucked away for some jab to keep him on his toes.

  After Sam gave the sack to Rachel, he walked over to where I sat on my cot with the book in my lap. “Hello, Lina. How are you today? What are you reading about?”

  I smiled, “Oh, the usual. I read about King Spenser today, the first king of Lunaka. And I read the whole myths book all by myself.”

  “Congratulations. Your reading level now rivals Rosetta’s.” He gave me a wink, because he knew it’d bug me. It always made me jealous that Rosetta could read much harder texts than I ever could. Reading came so naturally to her while the words rendered little to me without help. Before I could retort with some sort of joke about his dirty jaw, he went on, “Maybe someday you’ll be able to read as well as a Royal!”

  Frederick chuckled from across the room, his nose buried in the newspaper.

  “Thanks.” I huffed, hugging my myth book to my chest. I, for one, was proud of myself. I couldn’t wait to tell Rosetta about my progress. I decided to change the subject. “So, why are you here so early today?”

  Sam leaned forward onto his knees. “Luke offered to help with my chores every once in a while, so I can come see you.” Sam smiled sheepishly, staring at his fingers, “He’s there right now, actually. For a one-man team, he does it pretty quick. It’s amazing, really! Your goats don’t like him though.”

  I grinned at him, trying to hide my blush. Sam wanted to come see me? I didn’t allow myself to hope, and began to worry as I asked, “How is my sister? And Keera and Grandma? How are they doing with the farm?”

  Sam’s expression saddened slightly, “They’re doing okay, but not the greatest. Keera has missed you pretty bad ever since you had to leave, but even Rosetta is beginning to miss you now. She and Mikael have been spending a lot of time together, and I think he’s helping a little. She’s just not used to you being gone this long, but your grandma is pretty good about taking care of them and reassuring them. Keera helps me with your chores for as long as she can, but it takes longer than I wish it would. Things are starting to dry up.”

  My heart began a slow sink to the pit of my stomach. Not only was my sister in a relationship that I couldn’t supervise, but no one wants to hear that the crops they desperately worked to plant for days and weeks on end were slowly drying up in the desolate Lunakan sun. All I could picture in my mind were little shriveled brown weeds instead of full, golden heads of wheat.

  Then that image was replaced by a presence that was both regal yet frail, beautiful yet shy, and smelled of roses. I didn’t know this presence, but someone with magic was standing outside of our door. Frederick sensed it too, and a smile suddenly spread across his lips that he could not contain. He didn’t even wait for James to let the woman in stealthily but went and opened the door immediately, holding the mahogany-cloaked figure tightly.

  James had to push them in to get the door fully shut, giving them both a flabbergasted expression like they were making his life impossible.

  “Oh, Mira,” Frederick sighed as he held the Lunakan princess, and then leaned back and pulled her hood off. “How are things in the castle?”

  Mira’s pale cheeks were tear-stained beneath her beautiful, dark wavy hair, her skin the same color as her pearly teeth. “Not well, Frederick. This last month without you has been very bleak. Father will not cease his search for you. He has guards out scouting the entire kingdom at all times.”

  The blond-haired prince grunted, his hands releasing his sister’s arms. “I figured as much. He won’t rest until he finds me because he knows I am with the Allyen.”

  “Mother is deathly worried. Oftentimes, Father will not allow her to descend to the main level of the castle. I rarely see her which frightens me.” Mira’s eyes fluttered downward, implicating a meaning that only Frederick could understand. “Also, Cassandra returned to her home in Lun, and thankfully, she has not been disturbed there.”

  Frederick nodded, biting his lower lip. “Well, then. We must continue with our progress. Lina is doing very well with learning magical concepts although we have not tried very many spells yet. Perhaps, it is time to begin learning swordplay.”

  Sam’s ears almost visibly perked up at that last word, and he bravely interrupted the two Royals’ conversation. “Did you say swordplay? Why would Lina need to learn that? Is Rhydin really that serious
about the Allyen? All this time I thought he was just after Rounans.”

  I looked at Sam sadly. Did he really not know?

  Frederick glanced at me before he sat at the wooden table with his sister. His eyes almost gave away that he felt he had been offended. “Yes, Sam, Rhydin is extremely serious. His attempts on Lina’s life are becoming more dangerous as the year goes on. However, he does not seem to be after Lina herself. He only wishes for her to be out of the way because he really wants her locket.”

  “Her locket?” Sam asked incredulously, “That little necklace she’s had since she was a kid? What’s so important about it?”

  “It’s an amplifier.” Frederick said simply, getting more frustrated with every word, something I had never seen from him before. “It is best tuned to the Allyen, but it can strengthen any kind of magic, whether you’re an aeromage, pyromage, aguamage, you name it. Rhydin wants to steal the locket, kill all of the Allyens, and subject the entire continent of Nerahdis to his control. Now really, what is so hard to understand about that, Kidek?”

  Sam gritted his teeth but said nothing.

  After a moment of silence, Mira spoke up with a queenly tone I had never heard from her either. “Now, Frederick, you cannot blame him for our predicament.” Mira looked at her brother with a soft, but penetrating gaze. “This is a new fact of life for everyone here. Not just you and I.”

  Frederick began to look guilty and stared at Sam slowly. “I apologize.”

  Sam was stoic as Mira continued, “We know this is Rhydin’s intent, but we do not know how he means to achieve it. His plan is complicated and is ever changing. We are sure, however, that it will come to a massive head, whatever it ends up being. This will not be an attack in the middle of the night that no one will ever know about. Rhydin wants control, and currently, no one knows of his existence except a scarce few. All of that will change if we are unable to keep the locket out of his hands. Both pieces for that matter.”

  “Both pieces?” My mouth fell open before my mind could even think it.

  “Yes, Lina. You only have half of the locket. That is why you have never been able to open it.” Frederick said quietly. “The other half remains with your brother, whom we may not-…”

  “Keera told me.” I cut him off, my hands unwillingly gathering my dress into clumps at my knees. “She told me about…Evan.” I struggled to say his name. I really had not thought about him at all, not willing to admit that my parents lied to me.

  “Yes…” Frederick hesitated. “He is your twin. You were separated shortly after birth to be protected from Rhydin. Your magical presence was far stronger together than individually. As such, the locket was also divided, in order to keep Rhydin from having access to both pieces at any time.”

  “So, is Evan going through this, too?” I asked, almost in a pleading voice, looking from Frederick to Mira to Sam to James back in the corner listening in. “Has he had his world turned upside down in order to learn all these things and be safe, too?

  “That’s a complicated question, Lina.” James spoke up, his northeastern Lunakan accent slightly detectable, but not leaving his post at the door. “His life has been different than yours. Rhydin doesn’t have a hold on him because he is a wanderer. He has no roots. His foster parents were killed when he was thirteen, which is when he discovered his magic. He has been in training and under protection ever since by friends of mine and my siblings’, as well as King Daniel of Auklia. He has no one he cares about to allow Rhydin a foothold, as you do. You have people you love, Lina, which is wonderful. But, they’re also your weakness.”

  It was quiet then. I looked to Sam, thinking of my sister, Keera, and Grandma as well. It was true. All this time, I had been thinking about how they could get hurt because of all of this. Rhydin could easily use that to his advantage because the fear already existed. Instantly, the crops meant nothing to me. The goats, the land, nothing. My family’s safety was top priority now. I swallowed hard, unable to speak.

  Sam touched my hand with fingers as light as feathers, but it still felt like lightning. “What do we do then?”

  “We continue your training.” Frederick said slowly. “We will begin to teach you swordplay, because there is not a doubt in my mind that you will need it someday, as well as begin more complicated spells. Nora created the locket specifically to defeat Rhydin three hundred years ago, and it can be used in that way again. When we figure out what Rhydin’s plan is, we can send for Evan to reunite the locket. He will help, too.”

  I nodded, gulping at the thought of meeting this unknown brother.

  Frederick turned to Sam, his voice becoming more regal and kingly. “Sam Greene, are you willing to help us save Nerahdis from Rhydin and protect the Allyen with your life?”

  Sam took a deep breath, his hand becoming more firm on mine. “Of course. Lina is important to me. Regardless of her being the Allyen. I will always protect her. Rhydin is my enemy, too.”

  I blushed in spite of myself.

  Frederick and Mira both smiled as James proudly announced, “Congratulations, you’re officially a member of the Alyen nou Clarii.” James’ tongue rolled off the beautiful words, a different language entirely, and then translated. “Soldiers of the Allyen. Now, let us get down to business.”

  James left his post and walked over to an old chest I hadn’t noticed before. From within, he retrieved an elegant, double-edged, shining sword engraved with golden swirls as well as a much smaller sword made of wood. He didn’t have to explain to me that the second one was for me to learn with so that I wouldn’t hurt anyone. The other was for when I was more experienced. Ready to be trusted with a weapon that could maim and kill.

  For the rest of the day, the wooden sword was a strange, wobbly thing in my hand that did not feel right at all. Rachel and Luke finally returned, one from town and one from farm chores, and both joined James in teaching me how to use the pointy thing.

  However, compared with my magical lessons with Frederick, their teaching style was absolutely terrible. I was overwhelmed within minutes because I didn’t understand what they wanted me to do. They were keener on personally moving my arms and legs for me rather than walking me through it verbally. After an hour or so of being poked, prodded, and made to feel like an idiot because they were the worst teachers on the continent, I had a meltdown and just sat on the ground huddled into a ball for a while. I felt like a failure.

  I heard Sam from the sidelines stand up and walk over. “You guys are awful. I thought my old arithmetic teacher was bad.”

  Rachel, Luke, and James shrugged, knowing that they had no clue how to relay their apparent vast knowledge of swordplay. Sam helped me up. He began to try and help translate what the Owenses were saying into actions, so I could mimic his movements. It was a rough first lesson, but it went ten times better after Sam stepped in to help me.

  Honestly, I was completely surprised that he even knew how to use a sword. Perhaps that was just one more aspect of his life as Kidek. One more trait that I’d never known about. I tried not to let it bother me, and instead just put it down on the list of things we hadn’t told each other before. I hoped someday there would be no more secrets between us.

  His teaching helped tremendously, and I think even the Owenses began to learn what worked better for me and what left me in the dust. Either way, we were making progress, and that was all that mattered at the end of the day.

  Chapter Eleven

  T he day began normally. Like every day had for the last month. The first rays of sunshine took their sweet time traveling down into the deep, dark ravine of Soläna, stretching across my cot in long shapes. I was already awake, for once. I had taken to sleeping in as long as the militaristic Owens siblings would allow, but today I simply could not sleep. I recounted the things I had learned over the last few days, trying to figure out what it was in the air that seemed so strange. It wasn’t the lack of wind this time.

  Sam had taken over my sword lessons, and he was actually an e
ffective, decent teacher. Rachel and James would help with “form” and all that fancy stuff, but I felt like I learned more strategy from Sam. Frederick pitched in once in a while with how to integrate magic into those moves, but nothing seemed abnormal. What was it, then? It felt like my body was off balance even though I was still in bed.

  The only remotely strange thing that had happened recently was that Mira stayed the night with us. She was so upset the day before, her doll-like face even paler than normal if that was possible, and so Frederick offered her his cot while he slept on the dirt floor. In all honesty, I lay awake for a little while after that, just staring at the sight. Lunaka’s future king lying in the dirt to give up his bed for his sleep-deprived little sister. I couldn’t help but think to myself how wonderful a man he was.

  I tried for the umpteenth time to roll over and close my eyes. I breathed in the sweet smell of the wood chips in my flat pillow, trying to pretend that it was the same wooden aroma of home. It wasn’t. It was then that my ears picked up on the whispering a few feet away where I had thought Frederick and Mira still slept.

  “I can’t help it, Frederick. I barely know Xavier. We only spent a few summers together as children, for heaven’s sake! Why would Father marry me away to a man I hardly know? I’m barely of marriageable age as it is.”

  “I don’t know, Mira, but you should use this opportunity to get to know Xavier better. Perhaps you can discover if he knows about the Allyen and wants to help-…”

  “We are talking about my future, Frederick! Marriage is a permanent thing, it is not something to be gambled away!” Mira began to speak louder until Frederick shushed her.

  “Mira, if Rhydin has his way, no one will have a future. All I ask is to give the engagement a chance. Use it to recruit help to our cause. If in time you feel the same as you do now, then we will cross that bridge when we get there. Perhaps, you will change your mind.”