“ Is there any way I can get rid of you?” Calvin said to an empty room. He already knew that answer. That was the reason most warrior mages went crazy and killed everyone. There was no way of getting rid of the demon until it wanted to leave and the longer it spent inside its host the less of the host remained. Calvin couldn’t believe the Arch Mage would stoop to this. He wondered if the rant about Dragons was even true or if the Arch Mage had just worried about the rumors that Calvin would be the next Arch Mage. One way to guarantee that didn’t happen was to make him insane. Wonderful, Calvin cursed to himself.
“Nope, I’m here until our deals complete, you destroy the heart and I’m off. Better hurry if you don’t want me to get bored. There seems plenty around here for me to play with. That sweet little thing that tended the garden with you for a start, say what was her name again?” Rinwid said with a smile from inside Calvin. Unable to find the strength to argue with his new ‘live in’ lodger Calvin struggled to his feet. Standing shakily next to his elm bed Calvin could see clearly out of the arched stone window. He was thankful of the clear weather but the wind had turned and was coming from the south. Normally the smell of the Scorched Lands turned Calvin’s stomach, which was one of the problems with the tower being built so close to the desolate Lands. When the wind was coming from the wrong direction it brought with it the scent of ash and death. It had been a hundred years since the war but so much had died in the Scorched Lands that it was still coated in ash and nothing lived there for long. That was one of the reasons the tower was surrounded by a huge garden. They used strong scented flowers to help combat the smell. Today the rancid stench seemed to make Calvin hungry, the demon inside him was very strong and the binding was happening fast. Calvin wondered just how long he had to find the ‘heart’ the demon mentioned before he was sucking the flesh off of some poor critter out there. Distracted as he was he could tell from the suns placement in the sky that it was around noon. The demon flashed an image of the sun spinning around the sky three times and if Calvin’s poor interpretation of the demons display was correct then it was Dumon the sixth of Nylar and his ward from Neeskmouth would be there soon. Calvin still wasn’t overly sure just what he was actually meant to do. The Arch Mage had said something about helping this person defeat the Dragons and that seemed to be what the demon wanted to, just how they were going to do that. Calvin had no idea. Whatever the answer was it wasn’t sitting in his room with vomit down his beard. Calvin decided to clean himself up and head up to the Arch Mages chamber.
To Calvin’s surprise the Arch Mages room was empty. Well that was apart from the book worms and moths but they were a staple in the dusty old bookcases of any decent magic tower. You couldn’t really call yourself a mage unless you had at least a handful of moth eaten books. Calvin wondered for a second why the moths would bother flying up this high. I mean surely there was food a lot lower to the ground for them without them having to fly a thousand feet into the air. The demon Rinwid flashed a still picture in front of Calvin’s mind of the unknown stranger with short cropped hair followed by the Arch Mage puffing his way up the stairs. The premonitions made Calvin feel a little uneasy but they were a hell of a lot easier to handle than the Arch Mages physic communication, for one, no nose bleeds. The door opened startling Calvin. He could tell it was going to take time, if he did at all, get use to seeing the future. The only thing he hoped was he didn’t end up as nutty as the Arch Mage was because of it.
“ Ah Calvin you’re here already, good.” The Arch Mage said as he ambled into the room smelling rather strongly of witches’ teeth. It was a rare herb that’s only real use was as a cure to baldness. It was something Calvin had never noticed before. He guessed the binding between Rinwid and himself must have enhanced all of his senses.
“Yes, I just woke up after our last little chat.” Calvin said not bothering to hide his anger of being forced into this predicament. “Yes, yes we can go over that later if you really must.” The Arch Mage said rolling his eyes. “For now Calvin this is Darcy Dean. He’s been sent here from Neeskmouth.” The Arch Mage said giving Calvin an obvious wink. The Arch Mages very subtle don’t tell the non-mage we knew he was coming was delivered like an elephant into a mouse hole. Calvin guessed that if Darcy hadn’t already realized that he was expected, he did now. It didn’t take a demon inside you to be able to see that.
“A pleasure I’m sure.” Said Darcy wondering if there was any point
giving the mages the letter, he didn’t know all that much about magic but from the strange greeting he and the caravan had been given when they arrived, he was pretty sure they already knew why he was there. It occurred to Darcy that the mages probably knew a lot more about what was going on than he did. He would have to try to get as much information out of them as he could. It would make choosing if he wanted to be part of it or not a lot easier. After all he wanted a fresh start. Maybe this was fate offering him is very own adventure a chance to make a name for himself that would out shine even his father’s legacy.
“Darcy is here with an envoy from the king of Neeskmouth .” Said the Arch Mage and Calvin could feel Rinwid roll his eyes inside him. A strange feeling but probably one of the more pleasant he was having at the moment.
“ Arch Mage, if you want me to help Darcy then surely we should be honest.” Calvin said unsure of exactly why they were being so diplomatic and hiding the obvious truth. “It’s bad enough you put this bloody thing inside me. I just want this to go smoothly. We do what the king requests inside of that envelope as swiftly as we’re able.” Calvin said very out of character. He had always been the relaxed one. If anything he probably argued with the Arch Mage less than anyone else but he could feel his temper soaring for no reason. He knew that it was probably Rinwid’s doing but there was little Calvin could do to fight it.
“ Silence Calvin, the matters of the tower are not for the ears of everyone.” The Arch Mage said shooting a look through his bushy eyebrows that could kill. Darcy couldn’t help but wonder if he had actually really needed to leave Neeskmouth. The mages seemed to know that he was coming and they obviously knew about the letter. So it was not that unrealistic that they knew what was written on it already.
“ Arch Mage, he must know he’s here to ask us to find something. You know it and I know it. So let’s just cut to the chase. I want this over before the blight even starts.” Calvin said and he knew the bravery to challenge the Arch Mage like this was coming from having the demon inside him. It had only been a few days since the Arch Mage had read the spell that had sent Calvin to the shadow realm and already he could feel something changing in him. He was already not the same man who had spent his life in the tower. Calvin wanted to get the demon out of him before he changed too much.
“ Please both of you. I had heard that dealing with mages was hard work but you two make negotiating with the White Flags look like a picnic. At least with them we both start on equal pegs. So you both know what’s inside this envelope?” Darcy said. He was use to Granny normally having one over on him when he spoke to her but this was different. It was fairly obvious that the two mages could see the future. Well the present in an odd light at any rate and it was frustrating. Darcy already had enough on his mind as it was.
“ See what you’ve done Calvin. Fine you two sort it out. I’m going back to see what effect this has on things.” The Arch Mage said before storming off into the maze of bookshelves to go play with his crystal ball. He seemed to have forgotten it was him that had put Calvin through this and given him the power of seeing the future among other things.
“ Sorry for the bad welcome son. This place is a mad house. Magic does strange things to a person’s mind. Have you opened the letter? Do you know what we’re after?” Calvin asked trying hard to find the nice man inside him and push the demons influence to one side.
“ We, there isn’t we that I know of. I was asked to bring this letter here. That was it. The king wants you mages to find the frozen Dragon heart and delive
r it to Neeskmouth.” Calvin said a little taken aback. It did make sense to him though in a strange way. He had left Briers Hill wanting to make a name for himself and start a new exciting life and what better way than bringing the one thing back that could save the kingdom. That is if he could make it public when he got back and not have the king cover it up.
“Oh it’s just the .” Calvin started but stopped. It was already happening. He presumed that the young man in front of him knew that he was going to be the one to travel the Scorched Lands to find the heart but obviously that was something the Arch Mage had seen in the future. Calvin’s grip on just what people knew and didn’t was slipping already after only a few days of such power. It led Calvin to wonder if the crystal balls were actually created by demons to torment the mortal world.
“ Just the what, blight, I did notice you say that. Have you seen Dragons from the tower?” Darcy asked wondering if he could return home as a Dragon killer. Surely that would out shadow his father’s name and there would be no way the king could cover up that. It would involve Darcy trying to kill a Dragon though and he was not all that sure he knew how. Although he was the son of a hero and brave fighter, the closest Darcy had ever got to having a fight was the time a seagull had tried landing on his arm at the docks and he ran around flapping his arms like he was on fire trying to shoo the thing away.
“ No, we haven’t but surely you can tell something is due to happen. It’s been a hundred years of peace.” Calvin said hoping to change the subject. He was still feeling sick and was really not up to this. If Darcy hadn’t decided to go to the Scorched Lands then telling him about Dragons might change his mind. Changing the future rarely ended well.
“ Peace? Maybe for you mages here, but for those of us in the common population not living in this giant towering fort it’s been war pretty much solid. I haven’t seen my.” Darcy stopped. He didn’t like letting people close. It left him weak in his mind and people could use something like his relationship with his father against him. He felt frustrated at cutting his sentence short. The conversation was barely holding together as it was.
“I wasn’t born in this tower you know. I was from Raidaridin. So I know all about the war Darcy. Look. Time is short for me, don’t ask why but I have to know. Will you come with me to find this heart?” Calvin said knowing the answer to that question. The Arch Mage had told him days before that he would have to help Darcy across the apocalyptic ruins of the Scorched Lands and his link to Rinwid confirmed it.
“I can’t rightly leave you alone with the kings caravan can I?” Darcy said with a lame smile. That night watching the fireworks already seemed like a lifetime ago and maybe it was as Darcy begun to close the first day of his new life he knew it would be one worthy of re-telling. He would make sure of it.
Chapter five – fantasy come true Out across the ocean and away from the hustle and bustle of Neeskmouth, on a rocky and separate shore to the journey of Calvin and Darcy. The voyage of a young Elf named Fintan Flynn was just about to start on the Alienage Isle. The Alienage Isle which Fintan called home was contested territory, but it hadn’t always been that way. The island had little in the way of a chronicles as for most of known history the island had been nothing but shifting marshes. It was an unused mound in the sea until the Elves fleeing the fall of the Earth Mother landed there in the year 450db. Once they had docked and settled the Elves quickly built up a thriving village and planted seeds into the marsh that had been taken from the Earth Mother on the distant shore of Gologan. These seeds grew into a forest that now covered most of the isle. The trees were sacred to the Elves just as the Earth Mother had once been. These trees were seen as the children of their god and it was the huge roots of the forest that had bonded the shifting silt together changing the face of the marsh into a deep and flourishing forest. For most of the Dragon Blight the Elves lived peacefully on their island, tired of the tragedy that had sent them across the ocean to the island in the first place. A few brave souls had even joined the humans battling the Dragons and some say it was their sacrifice that helped save Neeskmouth from the reoccupation. The king had awarded the Alienage as a sovereign state to Diadan, the king of the Elves, at the end of the war but this peace crumbled quickly. The main land all but scorched of life left the humans little in the way of resources to rebuild their fallen empire so the humans occupied the Alienage Isle at the end of the war and started deforesting the sacred trees to rebuild the city of Neeskmouth. The deforesting ripped up tree and root alike and the edges of the forest soon begun to turn back into cracked marshland as the humans shipped the wood back to rebuild Neeskmouth, a war begun between the two races. Both sides had already suffered huge losses and neither wanted to resort to open war so the king of Neeskmouth had used propaganda to try to turn the people of Neeskmouth against the Elves but because so many had befriended the Elves. This had failed. The humans had almost pulled out of the island altogether but the tensions between the two leaders had been passed onto the next generation. A lot of the citizens of Neeskmouth wanted the war of words to end and felt that the island was the Elves home and should remain that way regardless of what the royal family of Neeskmouth wanted. Some of the most supportive of all were within the noble district of the city and almost all attacks that the king planned against the Elves were reported to them long before they happened which had led to a long and drawn-out stalemate which had cost the kingdom far more than it had the peace loving Elves. It was one such report falling into the hands of the queen of the Elves, Cadeyrn Silverleaf daughter of the savior, Diadan, which sparked whispers through her best knights that one of them would be being sent to the human lands. That was something that had not happened since the end of the Dragon Blight. When the humans had started using the sacred trees as building materials the Elves leaders declared that no Elf should travel to the main land. It would seem a strong decree in response to the situation but the Elves had reason to distrust humans and if sealing the borders for good was the only way to protect their lifestyle then so be it. With the help of her council of druids Cadeyrn had concocted a plan to finish her father’s work and find a safe place permanently for her people. She planned to find this so called ‘Dragons heart’ that the humans were after and use it alongside the magic of her druids to transport the whole island into the spirit realm where they could live out the rest of eternity in peace. It sounded unrealistic and even many of her own people did not think it was actually possible to shift the living world into that of the dream lands but if any race on Valadfar could manage it then it would be the Elves whose natural connection to the life stream was the strongest of all the races. Cadeyrn had been looking for a way to do this for years and had almost given up hope until the pigeon had landed on her windowsill. Tied to its scrawny little legs was a ceramic tube that contained the plans of one Darcy Dean and the journey to find the legendary Dragon heart. The small scrap of paper had barely floated to the tabletop after Cadeyrn finished reading it before she sent word out across the glade for the best of her Elves to assemble at sunset to see which would be the one to travel to the human lands of Neeska. Cadeyrn could not sit back and let the one last chance she could think of to gather enough power to finally breach the spirit realm slip by her fingers and into those of the power mad king of the humans. When word reached Fintan’s long and pointed ears, he felt in his heart he would have to try out. He was young to be considered but that did not mean he would not try.
The sun was low in the sky as Fintan arrived at the glade of the druids at the heart of the village. The warm breeze had brought out the spring flies early and they buzzed around above the amassed crowd in ever decreasing circles. The forest had grown tall in the centuries that had passed since the trees were first planted. They now stood high above the huts and flame lit lanterns, their branches inter-wound and blocked out most of the light giving the town a permanent dim, tranquil form of twilight serenity. The whole effect was added to by the blue glow of the lanterns bouncing off of wisps that darte
d around playfully. No one knew, not even the Elves themselves, just why the wisps seemed to favor them, or how they even came to be on the island. One theory was that the Elves were blessed with such a strong connection to the shadow realm that they could manifest little bits of it in the real world using their sacred trees as conduits. If that was true it had little effect on the lives of those that called the mystic forest home aside from making those that lived there feel at peace. The village was almost perfectly picturesque and barely broke the forest edge with its little huts scattered around like fallen acorns. The village didn’t have roads or paths per-say but instead gaps between buildings and trees. The modest huts had glass stained by hand which added a cooling glow to an already rare and beautiful sight. Burning embers gave off a gentle smell of oak as they smoldered away to ash in large stone jars that seemed as randomly placed as the dwellings. The village was built in a circle around the clearing at its heart. Each little white sandstone dwelling looked almost identical to the next. Perfectly rounded white walls poked out between the trees that grew freely in the village. The Elves huts were capped with thatched sticks and fallen branches, some of which carried feathers and twig nests, or pretty red and yellow mushrooms. Without borders or a city wall, Wildlife walked freely within the village. It was not uncommon to see squirrels, bird, or fox trying to enter a home or following along next to the children. One such squirrel seemed interested in the amassed crowd of Elves who had started to gather for the trial of prestige, a chance for one of the brave Elvin knights to head into the human lands. Since the time of the Dragon blight the king at that time Diadan had handpicked his chosen to send in to battle the Dragons. Since that time the tradition had stuck that only the very best could enter the human lands. It was here surrounded by his peers that Fintan would face his challenge. Fintan was considered a huge outsider at the very tender age of forty-three, the equivalent of a teenager if he were of human heritage, most chosen had at least seen in a century or so. No one would have put their money on the young Elf but it did not seem to sway the squirrel that scampered up to Fintan’s nervous feet. The little critter pulled at Fintan’s sandal as if it actually wanted him to enter the ring, but when Fintan did not move the squirrel ran off to harass someone else. Finding his courage Fintan readied himself to push through the crowd. They stepped aside and let Fintan through to join the five others that stood in front of Cadeyrn. A hushed silence hung over the clearing. Unlike the jeering mob that would have amassed if this had been a human affair. No instead the Elves treated violence with a silent regard.
Dragons Blight (Valadfar Book 1) Page 8
