Until All Curses Are Lifted

by Tim Frankovich

  •••••

  The High Council chamber brought Marshal to a stand-still. He stared until Victor gave him a gentle shove toward his seat. He managed to sit down, but continued to gaze around him in awe.

  A domed roof towered over the circular chamber. At its base, it could easily hold four or five houses. Several hundred chairs filled the floor, all facing the same direction. An angled floor allowed those in back a clear view of the front. All the chairs faced a dais lined with stairs. Eight feet up from the ground, it clung to the rounded wall. Twelve fully enclosed podiums lined the wall, spaced evenly apart. A thirteenth podium stood on a much smaller dais right in the middle of the observation area. Whoever spoke to the high counselors would be standing in the midst of all the watching crowd. It would be quite the audience; Marshal didn’t see any empty seats.

  But the dome itself kept drawing Marshal’s attention. It loomed above him in an unbelievable combination of glass and metal. He had never seen so much glass in one place. And to have it curved! He could see the cloudy sky without hindrance. While fascinating, he couldn’t help but think of the sky full of giant stars he had seen before. This dome must have been designed with that place in mind.

  The high counselors took their places behind their podiums. Marshal and Victor sat with Talinir not far from the thirteenth podium, where Aelia waited. She caught his eye and smiled. He smiled back, but didn’t feel it. Something felt strange here, though he couldn’t place it. He glanced at his hands. His tingles themselves seemed to be tingling.

  One of the high counselors in the center, a male even taller than Talinir, stepped out from behind his podium. He made no sound, but merely stood in the open. The crowd quieted. The counselor spun on his heel and returned to his spot.

  Another of the counselors, a woman with a resonant voice, spoke. “This session of the High Council of Intal Eldanir is called to order. Let those with ears to hear, hear. Let those with minds to reason, reason. Let those with hearts to understand, understand. Let those with wisdom to speak…” She paused. “Speak.”

  After another longer pause, she spoke again. “The High Council will now hear from Aelia, daughter of Evander, a human of the primary world.”

  A murmur swept through the crowd.

  “Guess they don’t hear from us humans too often,” Victor muttered.

  Aelia waited for the murmur to die down, then stepped up to the podium. Marshal thought she had never looked prettier, standing there with a firm set to her mouth, her long blonde hair loose and hanging down her back.

  “Most noble counselors,” Aelia began, “I am keenly aware of the great honor bestowed on me by allowing my voice to be heard in these chambers. As most of you know, this is my second trip to Intal Eldanir, having been here years ago with my father. We sought sanctuary with you for a brief time then.” She paused.

  “We do not do so this time. Regardless of other decisions, we will not be staying long. Events are even now transpiring that will force us to depart this glorious city before many days have passed.”

  Marshal blinked. What events was she talking about? And how had she gotten any news from the rest of the world?

  “And yet, here you are,” said the female counselor. “You came here for a reason.”

  “Yes,” Aelia said. “I did. I came for the simplest of reasons, and yet the most difficult. I come to you as a mother, as one who would give her very life for her child. I come pleading, begging, for that most elusive of goals - hope.”

  “Speak plainly,” another counselor called.

  “I speak for my son, who has no voice of his own!” Aelia said. Her voice rose. “He is cursed! Cursed through no fault of his own, but because of the actions of the evil man who sired him. And so I come to you, the Eldanim, mightiest of all in the ways of magic. I petition you here and now: remove my son’s curse!”

  Marshal caught his breath. He knew it was the reason for their journey, for their visit here. But hearing it said like this… It changed everything. It made it… real.

  For almost half a minute, no one spoke.

  “Why should we do this?” asked a counselor on the far left of the dais. “Humans created the system of curses that binds Antises. Why should the Eldanim interfere in it?”

  “Because it is the right thing to do!” Aelia said. “What has been done to Marshal is wrong in every sense. The original system of curses was warped by those in power, and one of the descendants of those powerful men took advantage of it, leaving me with a cursed child.”

  “Regardless, humans created this. Humans should deal with it.”

  “We have not the power to do so!” Aelia cried. “We are weak, powerless before that which has been done to us! This is not how Theon intended things!”

  “It is not our place.” The counselors spoke one at a time to Aelia. Marshal no longer cared which ones did the talking. His eyes remained fixed on his mother. She had tears in her eyes, but her voice remained firm and strong.

  “You spoke of what a mother would do for her child,” said another counselor. “You have another option.”

  Marshal’s throat caught. Another option?

  “If you will not do it for, for the rightness of the action,” Aelia said, “then you should do it because it is in your own self interest.”

  “Explain.”

  “You knew my father. You know that Marshal is both my son and the son of one of the six Lords. If ever there were an opportunity to change all of Antises, this is it!”

  “Why would we wish to change Antises?”

  “You have wished to change it since Akhenadom and his Lords first bound the magic of Antises to themselves!” Aelia said. “You hated what humans did to the magic of the land. This is your chance.”

  “When the humans bound the magic of Antises, we swore to leave them to their own destruction,” a counselor said. “As much as we might wish to change things, our word binds us. We cannot interfere.”

  Aelia stood silent for a long moment. Marshal had never seen her looking so resolute, so strong. She bowed her head and her hair fell around it.

  When she didn’t say anything else, a counselor turned to look at the others around him. “If there is nothing else,” he began.

  “You should save my son,” Aelia interrupted. “Because he is the best chance you have to save yourselves.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Aelia brushed her hair back, wiping away a tear at the same time. “You have tried to keep it a secret,” she said. “You have tried to pretend. But your secret is open to me. You are at war.”

  This time, the murmur that ran through the crowd grew louder than ever. The counselors looked stricken or horrified.

  The first counselor stepped out from behind his podium again. The crowd quieted.

  “Clearly, the warden who brought you here has spoken out of turn,” the first counselor said. “We will deal with him.”

  “Talinir is not to blame,” Aelia said quickly. “He did his best to keep the secret, even going so far as to do battle with one of the tunaldi in front of us.”

  The first counselor visibly relaxed. “It is true. We are at war with those beasts. They roam–”

  “They are not your enemy!” Aelia said. “You cannot convince me that you fear creatures such as those, however fearsome they may be.” She stared directly at the first counselor. “No. You are at war with the Durunim.”

  The chamber erupted, not with a murmur, but with shouts and cries of consternation.

  “Who are the Durunim?” Victor asked.

  Talinir’s face had gone white. “How did she find out?” he whispered. “How?”

  “Where did you hear that name?” the first counselor shouted over the crowd.

  Aelia waited until the sound died down again.

  “What does it matter where I heard it?” she asked. “Your secret is known. And more than that.” She paused again. “You blame us for the damage done to Antises, for the unnatural use of its magic. You are r
ight to do so. But how do you respond? You withdraw! You hide!

  “The Curses and Bindings do not affect you! You are free to live your lives as you wish, and this is how you do it? By hiding from the rest of the world? You transport your entire city to the Otherworld for weeks and months at a time, spending more time there than in this world.

  “And all the while, you fight an enemy that you created!” The crowd erupted again, but Aelia kept going, speaking louder. “An enemy that you yourself risk becoming, by your own actions! How can you win a war, when you work so hard to become that which you fight?”

  The first counselor took a step forward and raised his arms until the crowd quieted. Another counselor spoke up again. “Counselors, before we discuss this further, there is one other speaker from which we must hear.”

  After a quick consultation between three of the counselors, they asked Aelia to step down temporarily while someone else spoke. As Aelia stepped down, Eniri took the podium.

  “What wisdom do you offer, Eniri, daughter of Harunir?” the first counselor asked. He had re-taken his position behind the podium.

  “I speak not for myself,” Eniri answered, “but for Lady Siratel, the seer.”

  The counselors nodded. They were expecting this.

  “Honored counselors, Lady Siratel can not be here today, because she remains in a state of near catatonia,” Eniri said. She waited for a quick murmur to end. “She entered this state after reading the life of Marshal, son of Aelia.”

  “Has she said anything about what she saw there?”

  Eniri nodded. “Yes,” she said, perhaps realizing not everyone could see her. “She spoke over and over about falling stars.”

  No murmur followed this statement. Instead, a silence fell over the entire chamber, an oppressive silence that could almost be felt. For a brief and insane moment, Marshal wondered if his own curse had fallen on everyone else.

  “Was there anything else?” a counselor asked at last.

  “No,” Eniri said.

  “You may step down, daughter,” said another. Only then did Marshal recognize Eniri’s mother, Indala. Perhaps they had a friend on the council after all.

  Aelia re-took the stand and waited.

  “The humans cannot be allowed to leave,” one of the counselors said. “They have learned our darkest shame.”

  “Who would listen to them?” another shot back. “Many humans do not even believe we exist!”

  “And what of the vision? Can we risk letting this boy out of our sight to fulfill it?”

  “Counselors! We must first decide on Aelia’s original request,” said the first.

  “Is Lady Siratel’s vision more or less likely to come true if we lift the curse?”

  “Is such a thing even possible?”

  The debate continued on for several minutes before the first counselor asked for a vote. “Are there any who believe we should grant Aelia’s request?” he asked. “Stand forth.”

  Three counselors stepped outside of their podiums, then a fourth, Indala, joined them. Marshal felt relieved. He had wondered if they would even be welcomed back to the house.

  But no other joined them. Eight counselors remained opposed.

  “The request is denied.”

  Aelia slumped forward, her head down. Marshal pushed aside Talinir’s hand that reached for him and jumped to his feet. He rushed to his mother’s side and embraced her. She returned his hug with warmth and strength. “You are loved,” she whispered. “You are valuable. And you have a purpose in this world!” The words, so familiar to him, had never sounded fiercer.

  “Are there any who believe that Aelia should not be allowed to leave Intal Eldanir?” the first counselor asked. Only two counselors indicated their support of that idea.

  “Very well.” The first counselor stepped out from behind his own podium and walked to the edge of the dais. He looked directly at Aelia, who lifted her face from Marshal.

  “Aelia, daughter of Evander. You and your son and his bondsman have been our guests here, and you are welcome, in honor of your father and yourself. However, we do request that the three of you will leave this city within three days’ time. After that, it is our intention that Intal Eldanir will once again be concealed from the primary world.”

  “It will be done,” Aelia said, her voice no longer strong. She buried her head in Marshal’s shoulder again.

  A long silence followed. One by one, the high counselors left the room. The gathering was over. Marshal’s feeble hope had been dashed.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  SERI PLACED TWO wooden blocks on a tray and held it in front of Dravid. “Go on,” she urged.

  “I don’t get it.”

  Though he was conscious again, Dravid remained bed-ridden and clearly in pain. His skin tone looked much healthier than it had when they had found him under the stones. His left leg had been crushed, and the healers held little hope he would ever walk normally again.

  “Just hold your hand over each one,” Seri said. “One has magic in it. The other doesn’t.”

  Dravid raised his eyebrows, but put his hand over one of the blocks and then the other. He went back and forth a couple of times. “I don’t feel anything,” he complained.

  “I know, it took me a while, too. Try closing your eyes and concentrating.”

  “I don’t see what the point of this is supposed to be.”

  “Do you want to be a mage or not?” Seri demanded. “This is what Master Hain did with me yesterday, and– and you won’t believe what it’s done to me today.”

  “What it’s done today?”

  “Yes, now shut your mouth and eyes and concentrate.”

  Dravid chuckled and obeyed. “I’m still not–”

  “Keep trying.”

  For the next hour, Seri repeated the exercise with Dravid. She had asked Master Hain for permission and he had granted it without hesitation. Apparently, he was sympathetic to Dravid’s plight of not having a Master to instruct him. When she mentioned this, Dravid wasn’t surprised.

  “I’m bound to him now,” he pointed out.

  “What?”

  “He saved my life. I’m bound to him. He won’t be able to get rid of me, until I return the favor.”

  “Huh. I hadn’t even thought of that.” Seri had known people who were bound to each other, of course. But she had never seen it actually happen.

  Dravid caught on to the magic quicker than she had expected. By the end of the hour, he could pick the correct item within a few seconds. Seri felt somewhat annoying that he caught on faster than she had, even with the pain that continued to distract him. He tried to hide it, but it washed over his face every few minutes. Twice, he fell back against the pillow and had to rest. When that happened for the third time, Seri returned the items to the cloth bag she had brought them in.

  “Are we done?” Dravid asked.

  “For now,” Seri said. “I don’t know if that was enough. I spent a lot longer on it, but you’ve caught on faster. Maybe that’ll work for you.”

  “Enough for what?”

  “You’ll find out in the morning. If it worked.”

  “Uh… all right.”

  “I have to go. I have other chores to do today.” That wasn’t entirely true. But as much as she liked Dravid, she disliked the whole situation more. Dravid still might die, and she couldn’t handle that. Seeing Master Simmar’s death had been enough.

  “Oh. Well, uh, thank you for, um, coming to see me.” Dravid seemed to be stumbling over his words a lot more than usual. The usual lilt to his voice even sounded flat.

  “We’re in this together,” Seri said. “You, me, and Jamana. We’re all going to be Master mages someday.”

  Dravid’s eyes darted away. “Maybe.”

  Seri punched the side of the bed, and Dravid jerked in response. “Don’t give me that. You got caught in an accident. You’re still a part of this.”

  “I– I wasn’t supposed to be there, Seri,” he said. “I was
hiding, refusing a direct order. If I had gone home when I was told, I wouldn’t be here now, with… this.” He pointed toward his leg. His face grew more pained. “I didn’t tell you when you came in, but… but they’re saying they might have to cut my leg off. They don’t know that I overheard them, but I did.”

  “Dravid, I…” She grabbed his hand. “Listen, we’ll get through this. We’re on Zes Sivas! Magical, miraculous things happen here all the time! Who knows what– what could happen?”

  He responded with a forced smile that didn’t look right at all. This was not the Dravid she knew, the Dravid who had welcomed her here and embraced her as a friend. His true smile always spread to others. It could not be contained.

  “I don’t have many friends,” Seri said fiercely. “So I’m not about to lose one! Don’t you give up!”

  “I’m… I…” Dravid trailed off, unable to answer.

  “All right. I’ll be back tomorrow. We’ll see if anything changes then.”

  •••••

  Seri hurried out of the infirmary. Once in the hallway, she leaned against a wall and took a few deep breaths. Dravid’s situation depressed her, but it could be much worse. Even Dravid himself didn’t realize that just yet.

  Regaining her composure, she straightened up and started down the hall. She still felt unsure about this section of the citadel. She had avoided it as much as possible. When she came to an intersection in the hallways, she paused to get her bearings.

  She felt a tiny vibration down her neck at the same time she caught a glimpse of him. Curasir strolled in her direction from the left. That made her decision. She turned right and picked up her pace. She did not want to talk to him right now.

  The hallway curved to the left and a handful of windows opened to the right. It followed the outer curve of the citadel’s West side, if she remembered correctly. There should be a stairway down at the far end. Or was it up?

  As she neared the end of the curving hallway, Seri glanced back. To her surprise, she saw Curasir, barely beyond casual notice. He appeared to have stopped to look out one of the windows. She groaned and sped up. The stairs went up, not down. That meant she would enter the top level, with the library. A good place to get herself lost and avoid unwelcome company.