“Well I am with her,” Red said. “I don’t have time for this either, I have places I need to be to put the finishing touches on everything.”
Jonathan watched his friend go and stood up himself. Jonathan ran his fingers through his hair and could still feel some of the bald spots from when he was jumped last year by the Crown Prince, Gerald Morningstar and their hangers on. The spots were smaller and would be hard to tell if Jonathan kept his hair the way it was. Most mages wore their hair long and wrapped it off into a pony’s tail. Jonathan just let his hang wild, his jet black hair and his dark eyes and eyebrows made him look dangerous. Jonathan walked out of the dining hall and into the place where the new students would file in. Jonathan found a small out of the way area and pulled out his spell book and started going over everything. Jonathan lost track of time and could see the room started filling in, the new class must have inprocessed faster than he had thought. Jonathan rose from his seat and could see the Tower Mage, Winchell Rebelle walk in followed by the Golads and Monica.
Jonathan hadn’t seen Farrah or replied to the single letter she had sent. Jonathan pretended he did not see her now and gave the Tower Mage a warm smile. He had seen the man off and on but most of the Tower Mages duties when school was out was overseeing the new Tower and chatting it up with his friend the Archmage. Jonathan walked over and gave the old man a warm hug then turned to address the Golads.
“Lord Russell, Lady Farrah,” Jonathan said as he nodded his head then turned around.
“At least you recognize who your betters are Thunder,” Russell said as the rest of the group passed by Jonathan. “Perhaps this role I turned down has finally taught you some manners.”
“I just feel it is better to let my actions speak Lord Russell,” Jonathan replied. “It has to be rough to be the strongest mage to ever exist and have to chase a commoner. I mean I stuck it to the Raelinians while you and that coward calling himself the Mage Commander needed Prince Jeffery to bail you out. I blew apart a dragon by myself while yours was able to fly away. I think you should be lucky I chased it away, if not you could have gotten hurt.”
“You think you are funny don’t you Thunder?” Russell growled. “You chased away that dragon.”
“Just like you chased away two women who must be utterly blind to find you attractive,” Jonathan said. “But no need to bring up old memories. I can give you a new one, your father will not allow for you to become Archmage and his heir as the Duke. You will have to pick one or the other and in twenty years I will become Archmage.”
“I am stronger than you,” Russell seethed.
“Doesn’t matter,” Jonathan said. “Farrah could argue that she is as well and Monica could say that she is a better mage. None of that matters though, does it? You and Monica are most likely going to wind up together and your father would disinherit you both if you took Archmage. We both know you would be a fool to do such a thing.”
“I could forgo being named Duke,” Russell said triumphantly.
“And leave your sister with the title?” Jonathan laughed. “We both know she would drop that Baron. I wonder who she would choose to replace him? Could you picture me as Duke Golad? All dolled up and telling the commoners what’s what?”
“You will never be Duke and Farrah doesn’t want you either,” Russell said.
“Is that why she has been looking over here?” Jonathan asked. “We both know she is marrying that guy, as nice as he may be, for the money. You are going to be Duke and you are marrying the strongest mage you can find. Any guesses to what she would do if she was in your place?”
“You wish you could be me and named Duke, commoner,” Russell gloated. “But you will never be anyone important.”
“You mean other than the first official mundane instructor at the Tower of Magic, the Queen’s Champion and the first commoner to command mages in a war?” Jonathan asked smiling. “All of that will lead to becoming Archmage, because you or Farrah cannot take the job. Either way I win, you are chasing me, not the other way around.”
“Liar,” Russell said and folded his arms. “All of your plans are based off of what I or my sister will do. You are chasing us, I bet it burns you deep thinking about Farrah becoming a Baroness.”
“My plan before I met Farrah was to become the Archmage,” Jonathan said. “I ended up becoming the Queen’s Champion and I already have one defense of that title under my belt. You have to sit along with His Royal Highness and watch me achieve all of my dreams. I bet it stings that I killed a dragon while you had a team of people who could not. As far as Farrah goes I am over her, I wanted to marry a commoner when you first met me and I am sure I will marry one. You will get a front row seat to see a brash and powerful mage family spring up while you sit back and play Duke. You do have a nice day, Lord Russell.”
“Don’t you turn your back on me,” Russell growled
“Or you will do what?” Jonathan asked. “You don’t have any power over me, I am not one of your subjects.”
“You will stay and listen until I tell you it is finished,” Russell said angrily.
“Say whatever you want,” Jonathan replied. “It still will not change anything. I bet you will not address anything I have said to call me a liar. You know everything I have said is the truth, do give the Duke and Duchess my love. Depending on your level of pettiness, they could be my in-laws one day.”
“Thunder I did not come over here to fight with you,” Russell said calming down.
“Yes you did,” Jonathan laughed. “You wanted to make sure my head didn’t get too big from being a regular Tower instructor.”
“You need to know your place Thunder,” Russell said. “Earl Gillespie has a sister that is being talked about and the girl Prince Jeffrey wants Xalen to marry has strong magic as well. Who knows if in a few years the Big Four will still be revered? A new class could come filled with even stronger mages. Your plan on making Archmage could be turned on its ear and you would have made an enemy of a Duke.”
“My father was never the strongest mage around and he never lost a fight with another mage,” Jonathan replied. “I have my lightning magic and if we fought, stronger or not, you would have to respect it. I will be Archmage and if you were using your head instead of your heart you know nothing will get in the way of it.”
“Thunder you have a nice thing going on here,” Russell said. “For a commoner, you have done better than anyone could expect. Your little friend Red did as well. He rode on your back all the way to the Tower. You both will have good careers here and are doing your part for the kingdom.”
“I am not staying here,” Jonathan smiled. “Being Champion means I deal with the hard things and I will be a part of any skirmish, battle or war we have. I am going to do everything I can to be Archmage. Those robes will look good hanging next to my robes as Champion.”
“You had a chance to lean on me and Xalen,” Russell said. “Look at your friend Bradley, he married a nice girl from a good family and now has a small estate complete with servants. If you would have went to his wedding, you would have known this.”
“I know he married some mountain woman,” Jonathan said. “And I know inviting me was probably not his idea. Despite training together we do not get along and cannot be called friends.”
“You could be him,” Russell said. “Never worrying about work and living a rich life.”
“Did you forget that I come from money?” Jonathan said. “I already have an estate with two servants. My grandfather has stables and he is doing well breeding, breaking and selling horses. Why would I need a rich noble woman?”
“You could be accepted into mage society finally,” Russell said. “Right now you are an outcast and any future children you have will be outcasts.”
“You think I care about being an outcast?” Jonathan laughed. “I am a lion, I do not care about the opinion of sheep. Fuck mage society, I am going to wipe my ass with it like a wet leaf.”
“And that is your problem,” Ru
ssell said. “You throw tradition away.”
“Tradition got my parents killed,” Jonathan said. “I am going to kick tradition in its teeth and there are only three people that can stop me. You and your sister are going to be predisposed and Monica would drop everything to be with you. The best part about it all is that just like I said before, you get a front row seat to it all.”
“You keep bringing up your parents,” Russell said. “What has happened has happened and you already got your measure of revenge.”
“No I have not,” Jonathan said angrily. “I want to take apart everything. Even when I kill that coward Kevin Wilson my revenge will still not be settled. I need to be Archmage Russell. I need to end the practice of sending commoners to die while their so called betters sit in safety.”
“Dying for your kingdom is the best sacrifice a mage could hope for,” Russell said. “Commoners try to sherk that duty.”
“And only commoners die because of it while noble mages sit back all pretty,” Jonathan said. “I am going to send everyone regardless of nobility into the fight. Nowhere will there ever be a young child who has to deal with their parents death because their mother or father was born a commoner. Nobles are not anyone special, many of them see themselves as someone important and commoners as a cowardly bunch. How many of them have you seen challenge me to a fight to the death in the arena? Only one because he did not realize what he had gotten himself into. Change is coming and it is going to kick mage society in the stones.”
“No one is scared of you Thunder,” Russell said.
“You are not scared to fight me, but you are scared of me,” Jonathan corrected. “You are scared of everything I represent. Just watch me when these noble idiots want to try me. I know in this class there are going to be those who want to fight me because they think their nobility will protect them. I am going to smack them hard and laugh while I am doing it, just like I will do to mage society.”
“You are trying to anger me,” Russell said.
“A little bit,” Jonathan replied. “I could have been nicer but my point still stands.”
“Are you two through with whatever this is?” Tower Mage Winchell Rebelle asked? “I want you both to act professional, the new class is filing in.”
Jonathan looked at the door and could see the new class finish filing in. Their lone female was easy to spot and she probably came from a rich family. She walked in like she owned the place and Jonathan thought maybe she was letting the boys around her know that she was no one to be played with. The rest were behind her and were a mixed bag. One boy walked in like the Queen herself, he looked at everyone like they were beneath him. He had red hair but not as bright as Red’s was. Jonathan would keep an eye on him, that idiot probably would be the one. Jonathan’s eyes skipped over to the group in the back, they were all commoners and had looks of wonder on their faces.
Jonathan could remember that look of wonder, those poor idiots probably thought being a mage let them be part of this huge group of powerful people. What they didn’t know was that they would never be truly accepted. They were weak mages and even if they married a mundane noble there was only about a twenty percent chance of their child getting the gift. That is what Jonathan didn’t understand about the entire thing, marrying a mundane noble did nothing but briefly give that mundane bragging rights. Jonathan was not sure but he doubted a mundane noble, no matter who she married would ever be accepted by mage society, only tolerated. Their mage child unless if it was a female would just continue the trend unless the commoner married someone far above his station with big money. The type of money that got one any girl they wanted. None of that would happen though, Jonathan would have to talk to these people to bring them slowly down to reality. Jonathan was about to turn his head away when he saw the mundanes come in.
Each of these girls were done up to perfection and wore expensive dresses. Snobby or not, only fools would fail to give these people the once over. Looking at them made Jonathan smile, these girls were not picked just because they were rich nobles. They were picked because they were more than easy on the eyes and made the mage females Jonathan had seen, seem plain. They walked in with the grace of noblewomen, Jonathan thought even the air smelled fresher as they took their seats opposite the mage students.
“Initiates,” Winchell said. “I am your Tower Mage, I only handle disrespect one way and one way only. I do not care who you were before you came here, just know that you could find yourself in the sparring area staring me or one of my instructors down. Listen to direction and one day it could save your life. All of my mage instructors have seen combat, I know they all look young but they have either fought the Raelinians, the Downey Dragonknights or both. As for my mundane students, kicking you out of this Tower is far easier than you may think. I do not care who your parents are or who sponsored you to be here. Sit back and learn as much as you can. Right now you are ambassadors, you are the first mundanes to ever study at the Tower and your production here can either open the door for others or close it for all time. I do not talk for long or very often. The next time you hear me will be for your break away from this place. If you hear from me anytime before that, then you have shat the bed. I will now turn it over to my head first year instructor, Mage Lehman. He will be followed by his assistant first year instructors and finally the greatest class ever to come out of the Tower of Magic, the Big Four.”
Jonathan could hear whispering after the Tower Mage stopped speaking and before Mage Lehman stepped up. Jonathan could not hear what was being said but knew the students were trying to figure out who was who. Lehman finally got to the middle and cleared his throat. Jonathan thought he could see the nervousness the man had covered in excitement. Jonathan wished he would not have looked at the man, Jonathan was trying to keep his face blank and wondered what he would say. Lehman began talking about the new year and then went into what the initiates and the mundanes could expect. Lehman then introduced Jonathan as the Queen’s Champion. Jonathan walked next to Lehman and then began speaking.
“I am your mage combat instructor,” Jonathan said. “I will teach you techniques to use against mage opponents. I have fought and brought in a rogue mage and have fought twice in front of the Queen. I will teach you what I know, you can practice sparring with each other to improve your technique.”
“And you think as a commoner that you can teach me something I do not know?” the red haired initiate said.
“I do,” Jonathan replied. “And I think after a few classes that everyone will realize it as well.”
“I don’t think a commoner can teach me anything,” the red haired boy said. “We should have a noble teaching this class.”
“I am going to crush you into the dust,” Jonathan growled and looked at the boy. “While you lay broken and crying and am going to grind you into nothing. Immediately after this audience I will meet you outside where you will learn respect. I am going to make you an example, I doubt anyone after this will ever disrespect me the way you are now. I have said enough, those of you who cannot pass the reading test which will be given immediately after I crush this idiot into paste will be handed over to Mage Red.”
“You have stepped in it now,” Red said looking at the initiate. “Good luck, this man has killed a dragon in single combat and left the former Tower Mage a smear on a wall. I want to see this fight, I don’t have nothing that needs to be said that cannot wait until I am in the classroom. The Big Four can take it from here.”
“I am Lord Russell Golad, heir to the Golad Duchy,” Russell began. “I have fought the Blood Priests of Raelin and held my own against a Dragonknight. I did all of this as an initiate in this very same Tower. Much has been made of my class and the Big Four. I can tell you the reputation has been earned and not given. I am not as attention seeking as some of the others but I am the first amongst the Big Four. I take my status as one of the protectors of the Kingdom seriously and look forward to welcoming each and every one of you alongside of me. Before I
let my sister have her say, I think I would be remiss if I did not let you all know to leave the commoner among us alone. He is not the first or even the second amongst the Big Four but he is not to be taken lightly. He will punish you far more than necessary because he likes the attention.”
“And he knows how to fight,” Farrah added. “But enough about him, this is about you. During this year I am sure those of you with nobility will uphold the traditions that have helped our Kingdom grow. Those of you not lucky enough to be born into nobility, you have the responsibility to uphold those same traditions. Everything about you has to change, mages marry early and only to those in high standing in the Kingdom. You are commoners right now but during your studies you will elevate your standing and I am sure Mage Lehman will explain it to you in detail. For the mundanes that are here, I am sure you will make your parents proud. There are not many mundanes that ever get the chance to find out and be immersed in mage culture. For better or worse you will be. If anyone here needs anything, do not hesitate to ask.”
“I am a second year instructor,” Monica began. “I do not know who you are and I do not care. If any of you even think of calling me out I will make sure whatever Thunder hands out seems tame. So who is it then? Anyone want to call me out? Do it now!”
Jonathan looked at the crowd and was not surprised no one said anything. The red haired boy started whispering to the boy next to him and both of them shot Jonathan a look and laughed. Jonathan kept his face blank and walked outside to the sparring area. Every one of the first years followed him out and Jonathan could see some of the senior class start joining them as well. Jonathan thought about the fight then raised a finger signaling everyone to wait. Jonathan quickly flew back to the barracks and into his room, he would take this fight as Jonathan the Lightning. Jonathan hurriedly slipped on his Champion robes and grabbed his staff, no one cast with a staff anymore but Jonathan liked holding it. Jonathan was back at the sparring area quickly and could see that it was filled up with all of the senior class to include their instructors as well.
The Archmage Page 2
