“You shouldn't have done it,” the Wizard said. “How is she anyway?”
“She left soon after I was healed,” Knight Jeffries said. “No one wants to live with a monster.”
“You could always leave this life and come with me,” the Wizard said. “I still love you despite cheating on me. I know you want a child, there are plenty of them around.”
“No,” Knight Jeffries said. “My place is here doing the good work.”
“Still an idiot,” the Wizard said. “Still worried about what your buddies would think. Your Squire, he prefers ranged weapons?”
“He is good with them,” Knight Jeffries said, raising his voice. “Best I have seen. I will get him his real armor and make a proper Squire out of him.”
“He looks undersized,” the Wizard said.
“Much bigger than the ones you brought,” Knight Jeffries said as Devin let a throw go at fifty paces.
“That's what it is, right there!” Devin said as his knife sank into the spot he wanted it to.
“Do you think you could best any of the Acolytes?” Knight Jeffries said loud enough to be overheard.
“I think they would find me hard to beat and I just got started with it Sir,” Devin said loudly. “They got the accuracy but not the power like this.”
“Is that a challenge?” the female Wizard asked.
“It is Tasha,” Knight Jeffries said. “Bring your best Acolyte. In fact you can join in along with any other Wizard who wants to be embarrassed.”
“Is that so?” the Wizard Devin now knew was named Tasha said. “Then you have a silver on this?”
“I do,” Knight Jeffries said.
Devin became a little nervous as he went to grab his knives from the target. Devin pulled them out and saw the blond Acolyte Cobra come over with her throwing knives. She looked at Devin and gave him a smile that Devin thought wouldn't be out of place on a crocodile. It was the smile a predator gave prey and Devin took a deep breath and held his knives loosely.
“You challenged me to a throwing contest, Squire Devin?” Cobra asked. “That is the problem with you Knights, you see a female and think we are easy prey. I am in training to be a Wizard and have been since I was too young to walk or speak while Squires are only taken once they reach a sufficient size.”
“I could take on anyone,” Devin said. “I think I picked it up well enough.”
Cobra said nothing as she went up to the tree and marked out a target with her knife about two hands wide. She backed up about six paces and tossed to knives rapidly and then went to retrieve them. All of them landed dead center and she went ten paces away and did the same thing. She was satisfied at ten paces and held up three knives for Devin to look at. One by one, all three knives sank into the center. Devin pulled out his three knives and matched her feat which made Cobra raise her brow a little. Devin stepped back fifteen paces and repeated his throws, they were solid and Cobra matched them. Devin could see her weakness, she was putting her entire body behind the throws and they did not have the same velocity. Cobra walked up until she was ten paces away and threw again. All of them found the target and Devin matched her. Devin then stepped back thirty paces and let his knives fly. They were not dead center but still in the target. Cobra looked nervous as she let her first knife fly, it was too short and landed below the target. The next knife was a bit higher and nicked the bottom of the target while the last was off to left and too short.
“Bring in your male,” Knight Jeffries said. “Your girl is just too small to do anything. And the bet is now two silver so you can win your money back.”
Devin could see the other Wizards who had come had been watching the match along with most of the Knights and Squires. Devin grabbed his knives and waited for the surprised looking male Acolyte who had a look of amusement on his face. That amusement was gone when Devin sank three knives into the target at forty paces. They were not as tight as they could have been but all struck the target. The male Acolyte gasped at the display and went to try it himself. Only one stuck in the wood near the target, the others were wide. The male Acolyte sneered at Devin and pulled out the Crystal Devin had given him.
“Adultero Flamano!” the Acolyte screamed as fire shot out in a straight line, almost like a whip. The fire licked the tree and the male Acolyte brought the crystal up until the flame landed on target and started scorching the knives. The male Acolyte smiled and tossed the crystal to Devin who caught it. Devin looked at it weirdly and held it out like the Acolyte had done and repeated the same words. Devin could feel energy pulse through his arm but it felt wrong, fire erupted from the crystal and struck the tree dead center. Devin dropped the crystal and grabbed the forearm that held it.
“What the pit!” Devin screamed as he flexed his hands open and closed.
“That should not be possible,” Wizard Tasha said as she ran over and picked up the crystal.
“How did you do that Squire?” said another Wizard as he approached Devin who was trying to get all of the pain out of his arm.
“Same way he did,” Devin snapped as the pain in his arm started lessening.
“Both of you get away from my Squire,” Knight Jeffries said. “Come Devin, leave your knives.”
“All magic belongs to the Wizards,” Tasha said. “It is the law!”
“Then tell that to the ones the Savians have that you have yet to discipline,” Knight Jeffries said. “Come Squire.”
Devin followed Knight Jeffries and could see the other Knights were right behind them. Knight Jeffries walked them to a small clearing and told Devin to sit down. Devin sat down and Knight Jeffries told the other Squires to stand watch.
“How did you do that?” Knight Soler asked.
“I just held out my hand and repeated what the Acolyte did,” Devin said as the pain finally went away.
“It should not have been possible,” Knight Soler said. “The Wizards go through some sort of rituals to be able to cast magic like that.”
“It hurt a lot,” Devin said.
“Their bodies are trained and they are given some sort of drinks while they are small to deaden most of the nerves. That is the reason they rarely cry out, you noticed the one you took with an arrow in the shoulder was not bothered by it too much?”
“So that is what it is,” Devin said. “Well that hurt a lot Sir.”
“We have to get your Squire out of here Jeffries and you along with him,” Knight Soler said. “Those Wizards do have a claim, however thin it is. With you gone, we can find out all there is. Get him to the Knight Commander.”
CHAPTER 7
Devin rode hard with Knight Jeffries, his armor was discarded so the horses could last longer. When the horses were tired they changed them out often and when they were ready for sleep they took carriages to stay on the move. When they finally got to Rew, the capital city and one of the main residences where the royal family lived, they stopped. Devin didn't even get a time to gawk at anything, instead he was brought straight to the Citadel, the name of the place where all Squires are trained. Knight Jeffries was angry to learn that the Knight Commander was not present. As a contingency he grabbed whatever Knights that were present and had them follow him to the courtyard.
“What is this all about Gerald?” an older man said angrily. “We have things we have to do, we are in the middle of a war.”
“I know we are in the middle of a war, Master Katee,” Knight Jeffries replied. “But we do not have much time and my mission is of the utmost importance. Anyone of you who wishes to leave, do so now. I am certain the Knight Commander and perhaps the King himself will be cross at you and turn you loose. This is the only time I am explaining anything. Your jobs for the next couple of days is to find out as much as you can about my new Squire.”
“He is your new Squire?” came another voice. “He is a little short for the job.”
“And has killed at least twenty times his weight in men including three Wizards,” Knight Jeffries replied.
�
��Impossible!” Master Katee said. “Those bastards are as slippery as they come. A full Knight would be celebrated for killing even one of them and you are going to tell me this boy has killed three?”
“For all intents and purposes,” Knight Jeffries said. “Which is why we are here right now. You had to have noticed the number of their crystals that he carries.”
“All of you go get something to write with,” Master Katee snapped. “Put every Squire in the building on guard duty. No one gets in or out of this place unless they belong here or are a landed noble. Get to moving, Gerald you and your Squire stay here.”
“It is more special than you think,” Knight Jeffries said. “For that I need to tell you a story and I do not want to be interrupted. What you hear will make you want to interrupt me, either angrily demanding answers and thinking your time was ruined or in wonder. Please do not, just listen to my tale.”
“Go on,” Master Katee said.
“My Squire Festus had been killed a few days prior,” Knight Jeffries began. “He wanted to take out a Wizard on his own and did not bother to use any armor. He died and did so horribly which served as a lesson to the others. My new Squire was pressed into service because he is an archer, I had no use for his services. He mentioned he wanted to be a Squire but I would not be seen with an undersized archer until the actual fighting began. It seemed as if every shot he took killed or hobbled a man. Those rushing us found it hard to keep him off of them, the closer they got, the faster they fell. The enemy became so focused on him that the soldiers under my command were able to kill the unwary. Our deeds of that day were praised by a few Army Officers and may be in a report somewhere soon. It was because of him and his bow. I took him for a Squire immediately after that. It was in the night during the Savian Wizard’s attacks that he really proved himself worthy.”
“Break in your story,” Master Katee said and held his hands up. “Your Squire was the deciding factor in the battle, not you?”
“It was like the elves were reborn,” Knight Jeffries said. “Many men were dead before they even reached me.”
“Continue,” Master Katee said.
“I hide my men in the worst places to sleep,” Knight Jeffries began. “The Savians attack at night and all of those pretty tents in rows attract Wizards. They had killed at least twenty men every night, they are good enough to bypass our sentries. That night either them or one of the Savian elite soldiers tried creeping up on the sleeping Royal Army and ended up stepping on one of my men. My man gave a curse and protested, the enemy stabbed him in the leg and he screamed out. I was up and ready as I noticed I had startled a Wizard. I burst out into the open area, my armor couldn't fight in such close quarters. I didn't notice there were two of them until too late. I prepared myself to die but I wasn't going without a fight. They got more than their hits in, my armor turned most of it away but they hadn't used their magic yet. One of them bathed me in fire, that is when I heard one of them cry out and saw an arrow sticking out of the fire user. Both Wizards started using their magic then, they were looking for my Squire. My Squire took the uninjured Wizard in the gut with an arrow but the Wizard stood proud to deliver his spells. In a lack of awareness the other one joined him and I was able to bring my axe down and deal with one of them. The one with the gut wound was brought down soon thereafter. I joined up with Knight Soler and my Squire took another Wizard down. My Squire gathered war trophies which is where this tale really starts.”
“The trophies being those crystals around his neck?” Master Katee asked as most of the other Knights started returning.
“Yes,” Knight Jeffries began. “Wizards and their Acolytes approached us, not from the Savian side but from our side.”
“There has been much happening that you do not know,” Master Katee said. “I will tell you their story, but I want you to continue.”
“Our Squires and their Acolytes do not mix,” Knight Jeffries said. “A few weeks ago at a party, my Squire met that particular group of Acolytes. A fight started and my Squire was able to get the best of one of them. That Acolyte hated my Squire but noticed the crystals around my Squire’s neck. My Squire wanted to learn how to use the Wizard’s throwing knives and was willing to trade one of the crystals for the instruction. In an hour’s time he was as accurate as could be and I told a Wizard there I bet a silver that my Squire could beat any of their Acolytes throwing those knives.”
“You placed a bet on a Squire who just picked up the skill, to beat an Acolyte?” Master Katee said unbelievingly.
“He trounced the first girl and I told the Wizard I was betting with to send in a male Acolyte,” Knight Jeffries said. “My Squire has their accuracy but the arm of a Squire, so he quickly made the contest one of distance. When the Squire he had fought previously lost, he pulled out a crystal and chanted a spell. His spell burned the target they were aiming at and he tossed over the crystal to my Squire. The only opinion in my story is that I think the Acolyte was embarrassed at losing to a Squire and wanted to prove that he didn't need throwing knives. My Squire grabbed the crystal and held it out. He repeated the chant the Wizard did and fire erupted from his hands.”
“What?!?” came a voice from somewhere behind Devin. “Do this again.”
“He cannot keep it up for long, but my story has not yet ended,” Knight Jeffries said. “The Wizard demanded he be turned over and started quoting a law about magic being the sole property of the Wizards as agreed upon by Kings and Queens past. Knight Soler told me to travel here as fast as possible. I took carriages when it was time to sleep and left all of our gear to get here swiftly. When I returned I gathered all of you and now we are here.”
“Tannel, go get me the spell book,” Master Katee said. “You there Squire, do you think you can cast that spell again?”
“I think so,” Devin said as he pulled out a crystal. “It hurts a lot, it feels weird even holding this thing.”
“Let me see it,” Knight Jeffries said and took it. “This does not feel uncomfortable, just a little warm. Probably from the magical energy inside. Do your spell and do not be scared. This deed of yours could place you in our history as one of the most influential Squires ever.”
Devin did his chant and braced himself as the pain ripped up his arm. The magic flicked across the courtyard and Devin focused on a particular brick. Devin ended up having to drop the crystal and grabbed his forearm in pain. Knight Jeffries picked up the crystal and did the same chant, nothing happened.
“This is unprecedented,” Master Katee said. “Many things have happened since you left. His Majesty summoned some of the Wizards and accused them of breaking the Treaty. They said the Savians had rogues on their side, that the Wizards still had neutrality. His Majesty countered that the Savians then are breaking the Treaty and the Wizards are doing nothing about it, which makes them a party to also breaking it. They were angry but unable to counter what the King said, Wizards are going to fight on our side now. Those you saw were probably just the first going to bolster us.”
“I knew some of that story but not all,” Knight Jeffries said, then looked at Devin. “The casting hurts my Squire, he hasn't undergone the training they do to deaden the pain.”
“Maybe different magics do different things,” Master Katee said. “That was an intense beam of fire, maybe something like water would hurt less.”
Devin just gripped his forearm and waited for the pain to go away. Soon a book was given to him that looked new. Devin looked over the cover and the title was simple, ‘Known Spells of Wizards’. Devin opened the book up and found a water spell, it was supposed to give a light dribble of water and Devin thought it couldn't be too bad. Devin tried the water spell and it felt as if he was being blocked, he could feel the energy rushing inside of him but it stopped at his hand where he felt a burn. Devin put the crystal down and decided to grab another one, Devin tried the spell again and was still blocked, although the feeling from this one felt weird.
“What do you have?” Knight
Jeffries asked, as the rest of the Knights looked on.
“These crystals feel different to me,” Devin said. “They are stopping me from casting but the feelings in each are different.”
“Then it is true,” Master Katee said as he looked over his shoulder at Knight who had an entire table brought out along with a quill. “The different crystals use different magic. I want one of you to study this fire crystal. If we can discover another one you will have something to compare it to.”
“I think I felt wind with this one,” Devin said as he held up the crystal.
“Try a wind spell,” Knight Jeffires said as Devin flipped through his book.
“This is supposed to be for a gentle breeze,” Devin said as he started the chant. Devin could see the clothing of Master Katee start to sway and the pain still raced up his arm, it was just not as severe.
“That still hurt,” Devin replied as he started shaking out his arm. “Not as intense as the last one, but it still hurt.”
“That is wind crystal then,” Master Katee said and took it. “One you compare the feel, shape, size or anything you can notice between this one and the other one. Squire I want you to find out how many different crystal types you have.”
Devin nodded and was able to find a water crystal, an earth crystal and another fire crystal. The water spell he tried felt cold, it was a different type of pain. Devin could hold it longer than fire but not as long as a wind spell. Master Katee spent the day trying to recreate what Devin had done. None of the Knights were able to do so but Master Katee was not upset. Instead he wrote down all of Devin’s thoughts and feelings while casting. Master Katee eventually called a halt and sent everyone away. Knight Jeffries and Devin needed a proper meal and a good night’s sleep and they could try again tomorrow. Master Katee invited them into his room for dinner, there was a table set up and three chairs were already present.
“It was her,” Master Katee said and looked at Knight Jeffries who had taken his scarf off. During their travels the man had a thin scarf which he tied around the top part of his head to hide his scars and deformity.
The Wizard Page 8
