“I said that I wanted to become a master in magic more than anything else in the world,” Fredrik began. “I also said that I love Niki enough to give her anything I have, including my life. I feel strongly about both of those statements, and yet they can be opposites.”
“Expand your reasoning,” suggested Master Khatama.
“It would be dishonest of me to present both of those statements as true facts,” continued Fredrik. “If Niki demanded that I give up magic, how could I ever resolve that? I would either have to deny Niki something that she wants, which I said I would never do. If I gave in and gave up my magic to please Niki, then how could the statement that I desire to learn magic more than anything else in the world be true?”
“A dichotomy,” nodded Master Khatama. “However, they could both be true if Niki desired you to learn magic above all else. Still, you would be wise to reevaluate those statements and truly decide which is the more important to you.”
“That is almost impossible for me,” sighed Fredrik. “As much as I love Niki, there is no guarantee that she loves me back. Or that she will always love me. I could decide that my love for her is greater than my desire to develop my magical nature, and end up with neither.”
“Quite true,” agreed Boris. “So you think your desire for learning supercedes your love for Niki?”
“Same type of problem,” frowned Fredrik. “I could decide that my desire to learn is more important. I could even fool myself into believing that it would never interfere with my love for her, but that has faults as well. My craving for magical knowledge could drag me to the dark side. And in the dark stupor, I would begin to use Niki for my own needs. I might even end up destroying her.”
“Many paths are possible,” nodded Master Khatama. “Still, if you look deep enough into yourself, and you are honest with yourself, you will find one of those two pursuits will take precedence over the other. If you are fortunate in life, no problems will ever arise from you choice, but a conflict is always possible.”
“I do understand that now,” declared Fredrik, “but that really revolves around a decision that I must make. A decision that I have not yet decided. That does not make me dishonest.”
“There was a certain amount of dishonesty involved in that area when we last talked,” stated Boris. “You do appear to have resolved that now and come to grips with the truth of the matter. That is a powerful piece of honesty that you have presented. I am glad that you were able to understand it.”
“Does that change your decision to tutor me?” questioned Fredrik.
“No,” declared Master Khatama.
“Why not?” inquired Fredrik.
“Several reasons,” replied Master Khatama. “You have not yet resolved the conflict that we just spoke about. It is important for you to do so.”
“Does the answer matter to your decision?” asked Fredrik.
“No,” Boris shook his head. “I do not even need to know the answer. You, however, must know the answer. And regardless of your decision, the dedication to your studies is a must.”
“Alright,” said Fredrik. “I can appreciate your thoughts on that subject. In fact, I concur with your conclusion. It is perhaps the most important decision of my life. I will dwell on it some more and come to a decision. What else bars me from becoming your student? Loyalty?”
“There is still the question of loyalty,” nodded Master Khatama, “but you have not fully addressed the issue of honesty yet.”
“I haven’t?” mused Fredrik. “I cannot think of any other dishonesty in our conversation from that night.”
“Honesty is not limited to answering a question truthfully,” lectured Master Khatama. “A person is dishonest when they seek to deceive, whether that deception be by omitting the truth, or allowing one to erroneously come to a conclusion, while fully knowing that the facts are being weighed wrongly.”
“And I was dishonest in that conversation?” questioned Fredrik.
“Were you?” Boris smiled thinly. “Remember, you must be honest with yourself, before you can hope to be honest with others.”
A puzzled frown fell over Fredrik’s face as he tried to remember the conversation he had with Boris that night. Finally, he shook his head. “I am at a loss,” admitted Fredrik.
Boris frowned and stood up. “I think it is time for me to retire as well,” he stated.
“Wait,” pleaded Fredrik. “I must know what you are talking about. I remember talking about my love for Niki and my desire to study magic under you. Was there anything else we discussed?”
Master Khatama just stared at Fredrik without emotion.
Beads of perspiration appeared on Fredrik’s forehead as Master Khatama stared at him. He passed the whole conversation through his mind several times and finally gasped.
“The cloak?” asked Fredrik.
Master Khatama sat back down. Fredrik’s eyes darted left and right as he chewed on his lower lips. The perspiration increased, and rivulets of sweat gathered at his eyebrows. He ran his hand across his forehead and stared at the ground.
“Niki did get Aurora’s cloak from another girl,” Fredrik finally said. “I did not truthfully answer your question when you asked if I knew the girl. I responded that Niki had never told me that she had gotten it from another girl. While that is factual, it is not honest. She did not need to tell me that. I was there when Niki took the cloak from the girl.”
“It was not given to her then?” asked Boris.
“No,” Fredrik shook his head. “Niki ripped it off the other girl. It was a very tense situation.”
“Tell me about it,” suggested Boris.
“You know that I am a gambler,” Fredrik began as the sweat poured off of him. “What you probably don’t know is that I used magic to cheat at the games of chance. It is how I made my living. Somehow Niki knew I was cheating. I was not even aware that Niki had an interest in me before that night. When I looked back upon my gambling sessions later, I realized that her face was familiar to me. Obviously she had been there many times before, and I just never knew she existed. That is how she must have known that I cheated.”
“Where is the cloak in all of this?” Boris shook his head in confusion.
“Niki stole the cloak from the girl because I had brought the girl with me that night,” explained Fredrik. “She stole it to get my attention. When I tried to get it back for the girl, Niki threatened to expose my cheating. I could have been killed if they discovered I used magic to win.”
“Do you know who this girl is?” asked Boris.
“Not really,” Fredrik shook his head. “I mean, I am sure that I knew her name at the time, but it escapes me now. She never was important to me. She was very attractive and seemed to be well known to the soldiers in Trekum. Basically, she was my entrance ticket to the gambling games. I never cared for her. I just used her.”
“So you let Niki keep the girl’s cloak in exchange for her silence about your cheating,” summarized Boris.
“Yes,” nodded Fredrik as his hands began to shake. “Once I noticed Niki, I could not get her out of mind. We ended being good friends, and then we grew into something more than just friends.”
“So the cloak is traced back to some nameless girl in Trekum,” sighed Master Khatama. “Why does remembering this cause you so much fear? Your whole body is shaking.”
“I am afraid,” admitted Fredrik. “I have suppressed my memories of that night for years.”
“Why?” questioned Boris.
“Because we killed the girl,” gulped Fredrik. “I took Niki outside the building in an attempt to get the cloak back. The girl must have followed us, but we didn’t know it. When Niki threatened to expose my cheating, the other girl heard. She tried to run back inside the building and tell the soldiers. We killed her. I have killed many people since that night, but they all deserved to die. This girl did not. I used her for my own purposes, and then discarded her when I thought she could hurt me. It is not something that I wish to remember.”
“I can understand that,” frowned Boris. “I am sorry that I forced you to relive it, but the truth is not something that one can hide from. It will eat away at you from the inside. I think you will feel better now that you have told someone about what happened.”
“I hope you are right,” sobbed Fredrik. “It is something that I wish I could undo. It made me want to forget about magic for a long time, but magic is something that invades my subconscious. I could not abandon it. The best I could do was to try to control Niki’s urges to resort to magical force as a solution to every problem. I was not even very successful at that.”
“One does the best they can do,” sympathized Boris. “I think we have discussed this enough for tonight. I will leave you alone with your memories.”
“No,” Fredrik said as he grabbed Master Khatama’s arm. “You have defined honesty for me and asked me to be honest. Allow me to do so.”
“Very well,” nodded Boris as he sat back down. “I do believe that honesty is essential for relations with oneself and with others.”
“The question you never asked me,” quaked Fredrik, “is whose cloak it was. The girl that I brought to the gambling game that night was wearing the cloak because I gave it to her. It was her price for taking me to where the really big games were.”
“You gave her the cloak?” asked Boris. “Where did you get it from?”
“It was my mother’s cloak,” sobbed Fredrik. “The people who brought me up said it was wrapped around me when they rescued me from the magical battle in the streets when the Empress was killed.”
“You are Sarac’s descendent?” Boris exclaimed.
“Yes,” admitted Fredrik. “I never knew what that meant until we met up with you and the Rangers, but that is who I am.”
“And you hid it?” questioned Boris. “Why?”
“I told you that I would give anything I have to make Niki happy,” explained Fredrik. “Her only worth when we traveled with the Rangers was that cloak and the fact that everyone thought she was special because of it. It made her happy.”
“And what about killing Sarac?” asked Boris. “Were you going to leave that to Niki as well?”
“No,” gasped Fredrik. “No, I would have had to reveal myself then, but that would not be for a long time yet. In fact, I suspect that I will not survive the ordeal. My goal was to prolong Niki’s happiness as long as possible. That was my goal.”
“Why do you think you will not survive your encounter with Sarac?” inquired Master Khatama. “Do you fear that you will not be able to bring yourself to kill your father?”
“That is not the reason at all,” Fredrik shook his head vigorously. “It is just the dreams that I have had traveling with you. I see myself holding the Sword of Heavens and being struck down by Sarac. It is a recurring dream, and it always ends the same. I fear it is a premonition.”
“Well,” Boris smiled thinly, “I think you have answered all of your questions tonight. Even the one you said that you would dwell more on. The answer to me at least is very clear.”
“And to me as well,” Fredrik smiled weakly. “If I have to chose between magic and Niki, my choice is clear. I love her too much to let anything else interfere. I am sorry, Master Khatama.”
Master Khatama’s eyes opened wide as he saw Niki crawling out from under the wagon behind Fredrik. He wondered how long she had been listening.
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” smiled Master Khatama as he rose. “You have made your choice between Niki and Magic, and I respect your decision. However, I am still willing to teach you. It will have to start another night though. I am too tired tonight.”
“Really?” exclaimed Fredrik. “You will teach me even though I chose Niki over Magic.”
Master Khatama just smiled and nodded. As he rose to go to bed, Fredrik felt a weight on his shoulders. He looked back and saw Niki placing Aurora’s cloak on his back. His mouth hung open in shock as he realized that Niki must have heard at least some of what was said.
“I am sorry,” apologized Fredrik. “I had to tell Master Khatama the truth. Forgive me?”
Niki sat down beside Fredrik and wrapped her arms around him. She kissed him passionately.
“What is there to forgive,” smiled Niki. “Everything you have done since we met has been for me, and I have been so selfish and self-centered. I love you, Fredrik. And now I know the extent and depth of your love for me. I could not be happier. I do not care what the others think about me any more. I only care what you think. I want to get married.”
“Really?” grinned Fredrik.
“And I want you to learn magic, too,” smiled Niki.
“But you don’t like it when my magic is better than yours,” Fredrik pointed out.
“I want you to be the best magician ever,” grinned Niki. “I know that my magical skills lie elsewhere. There is no need for us to compete with each other.”
“Right,” nodded Fredrik. “We can complement each other.”
Master Khatama slept with his eyes closed and his ears open. He smiled inwardly as he listened to Fredrik and Niki talk. Finally, he drifted off to sleep content to know that the second Child of the Ancient Prophecy had been found and identified.
Chapter 13
Alcean Parade
The eagle soared high over the old section of Tagaret, looking down on the freshly washed stone streets and the crowds of people streaming towards the western gate. The citizens already lining the parade route looked like tidy colorful lines of paint drops. Lots of grays and browns, but also more colorful blots, randomly interspersed. The only constants visible from such a height were the gray-red spots, which appeared evenly spaced along the whole route. A ground level observer would recognize those gray-red spots as the Red Swords, protectors of the monarch.
The eagle’s keen eyes scanned the rooftops as it spread its wings and held its relative position over the parade route. A flicker of movement and the eagle’s head snapped to the right. Its right wing tucked in slightly, and the eagle started a slow spiral loop towards the area of interest. As the eagle’s eyes focused sharply, two human figures came into sight. One, dressed in dark brown, held a bow and had a quiver on his back. The second was like a night shadow, a dark black wraith that moved stealthily and was aware of everything around it. The wraith looked skyward. The eagle’s eyes fixed on the wraith as the large bird anticipated its path of escape, but the wraith appeared to have other interests. It had identified the eagle and ignored it.
The eagle fully extended its right wing again, and hovered in a position to observe the bowman, while still watching the wraith. With keen interest, the bird watched the drama unfold below. The wraith stealthily approached the bowman and halted. Muffled words drifted on the wind, and the bowman suddenly turned around and confronted the wraith. Too slow to nock an arrow and find his target, the bowman slowly looked down at the silver metallic star imbedded in his chest. The bow fell from limp fingers. The dark brown body followed it seconds later.
The eagle chirped appreciatively and climbed higher in the sky, its keen eyes already scanning other rooftops. Several more black wraiths were seen merging with the darkness of the roofs. The eagle eyed them critically, and then soared even higher. Swiftly winging over the old wall and the new section of the city beyond it, the bird of prey scanned the dim alleys between the low buildings. There was little of interest there.
Beyond the new section was the new wall. Colorful dots rode the top of the wall like a row of sparrows sitting on a wire. Once again, the gray-red spots were evenly spread throughout the rest. Past the new wall was a barren wasteland. Mounds of dirt rested alongside large furrows cut into the ground. Freshly cut trees surrounded by piles of stone dotted the wasteland. Nothing was moving in the wasteland, and the eagle soared onward.
Another wall bordered the wasteland. This wall was crudely built and incomplete. It held no interest for the eagle. Beyond the crude wall were a narrow plain and then the vast forest. A wide
trail cut through the forest, and the eagle detected movement on it. Its eyes focused intently on the small group of travelers. The bird recognized the gray-red dots and glided lower. The small spots of color grew in size as the eagle’s altitude diminished. As the ground rushed up to meet the eagle, one of the gray-red spots grabbed a bow. The eagle screeched loudly and darted over the treetops. A female human voice from the traveling group shouted in anger, and the bow was put away.
The eagle circled to the rear of the group and glided just over the heads of the riders. A shout from the front, and the group immediately halted. The eagle slowed its glide and tarried over the column as the upturned heads stared at it anxiously. A young woman in the front turned and pointed to the right. The eagle screeched and banked slowly into the trees. The woman rode into the forest, followed by a young man with a unique breastplate, a breastplate depicting the dragon banner of Alcea.
In a small clearing, the eagle glided to a landing. In seconds the bird of prey transformed into a beautiful woman with long blonde hair.
“Jenneva!” greeted Tanya as she rode into the clearing. “You take chances flying over this column today. Some of the men were about to shoot you down.”
“That eagle was Jenneva?” questioned Arik.
“I wanted to warn you one last time,” frowned Jenneva. “I figured that you would recognize me.”
“I am glad that I did,” sighed Tanya. “I don’t want to lose you again.”
Arik shook his head in confusion, but Jenneva smiled lovingly.
“The Targa Rangers have already found a dozen attackers and neutralized them,” warned Jenneva. “Are you sure that this is a good idea?”
“It must be done,” nodded Arik. “If the people of Tagaret are to rally around me, they must have something to believe in first. It is a chance that I must take. Besides, we have already eliminated a dozen potential assassins today, according to your report.”
“True,” frowned Jenneva, “but I still worry about your safety.”
“I know you and Alex don’t agree with what I am doing,” declared Arik, “but I truly think it is best.”
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