Affinity for War

by Frank Morin

  Kilian continued. "His humanity was completely consumed by the elements he had unleashed. We couldn't stop him without killing him."

  "That's why she did it," Verena breathed.

  Kilian nodded. "Mother was terrified that whatever had happened to my father could happen to her. She executed my sister before even learning what it was that she had done. She always had a fearful temper, magnified when she embraced her elemental powers, especially marble.

  "In order to destroy the monster my father had become, she raised a fire-bound elfonnel. I think the experience broke something in her mind, but I didn't understand that until it was too late. She ordered the Great Purge, and then she turned against me and my nephew, Tallan."

  "So Tallan really lived," Connor said. It still amazed him to think the legend of Tallan started with an actual person.

  Kilian nodded. "Tallan had been the favorite prince of the realm. He was the only one who matched the full power of my parents' affinities."

  "They were the original Blood of the Tallan," Jean said.

  Kilian nodded again. "My mother believed Tallan knew the secret of what his mother Kirstin had done, and she could not take the risk of leaving anyone alive who might know a way to destroy her."

  Connor said, "You had to fight. The Tallan Wars."

  Kilian sighed. "There was no alternative. After the Great Purge and the other atrocities that she began to commit, more and more of the noble houses revolted and joined us. I didn't want to see my kingdom torn by civil war, but I could not allow my mother to murder my nephew like she had my sister."

  Verena looked close to tears and whispered, "So much tragedy."

  Connor held her a little closer, but was not sure what to say.

  "That's enough history for now," Kilian said, shifting to a more businesslike tone. "Let's focus on today's problems." He pointed at the slate on the table. "I'm assuming now that you have this, it will help accelerate our work?"

  Verena nodded. "I think this offers the solution I've been looking for to make those non-Builder wagons fly."

  "I think it holds the key to finishing that new speedcaravan route too," Hamish said.

  Kilian said, "Good. Make this research your top priority. I doubt we'll have more than a couple of days before we have to head to the front. I want every available mechanical ready to go with us."

  "A couple days isn't much time," Verena said.

  "I don't even have that much," Hamish said with a grimace. "We've got a new Last Word bomb ready to deliver, and I plan to take it to the front personally."

  "I thought Ingrid just left with the bomb," Verena said.

  "She took one, but I've been enhancing a second bomb," Hamish explained. "I've been testing the effects of including activated tertiary-affinity stones within a bomb. They might help interrupt the connections of tertiary Petralists with their elements for a critical second or two."

  Verena grimaced. "The precise time they would need those elements to help protect them from the blast."

  Jean looked a little sick. "I can't believe you're researching that."

  "What choice do I have?" Hamish asked. The same conflict Connor felt about the upcoming war reflected clearly on his face.

  "You're going to cause the death of more people," Jean accused.

  "If I don't, how many more people might die in the invasion?"

  "Oh, Hamish, I'm sorry." Jean hugged him, tears in her eyes. "I'm a healer, and I hate to think our efforts might hurt or kill anyone."

  "I don't like it either," Hamish admitted. "But what choice do we have?"

  "None," Kilian said, his voice firm, but kind. "War is always ugly, my young friends, and I wish I could spare you these hard choices, but I cannot. If we fail to put forth our best effort, we could see this nation overrun and the deaths of many thousands. No doubt we would be among the first to be executed if Obrion wins."

  Connor hugged Verena tighter. She and Hamish were Builders, and Obrion maintained a strict law, in place since the Great Purge, ordering death to all Builders. As for Connor, he would either be enslaved as breeding stock, executed again, or used by Dougal to wreak even greater destruction upon enemies of the realm.

  "But do not abandon hope," Kilian offered. "By the time the rest of us join Hamish at the front, I hope to receive word from Obrion. We sent an embassy to petition a conference to discuss terms for peace."

  "And if they're not willing to consider peace?" Connor asked. All that talk about the Tallan Wars and the tragedy of Kilian's first family made him hate the idea of the upcoming war even more than he had before.

  Kilian said, "We'll have to deal with Dougal. This is personal for him, and he's the main voice pushing for war. His thirst for vengeance against me may drive him past the point of rationality."

  "Because you killed his wife?" Connor asked.

  Kilian held Connor's gaze, his expression grave. "I have done many difficult things in an effort to save the peoples of both Granadure and Obrion from the foolishness of their own leaders."

  "I need to understand," Connor told him. He wanted to trust Kilian, but he could no longer follow anyone on blind faith. "Please. How did killing Dougal's wife help protect the nation?"

  Verena looked like she wanted to punch him, especially after Kilian had shared so much of his painful history with them.

  "His wife was a very powerful Petralist," Kilian said.

  "I heard she was exploring deeper Petralist powers."

  "By the way you're speaking, I suspect you've spoken with Camonica," Kilian said.

  "She told me that you killed her husband too."

  "Why?" Verena asked, glancing from Connor to Kilian.

  "Because they were experimenting with raising elfonnel."

  Hamish shuddered. "I'm glad you stopped them. Elfonnel are not something to mess with."

  Kilian nodded. "You've all seen what they can do. Most Petralists who raise elfonnel must sacrifice all of their humanity. It's irreversible."

  "So you had no choice but to stop them." Connor felt immensely relieved to understand, and to agree that Kilian had done the right thing.

  Kilian continued. "Even for me, it is the ultimate test of my humanity to pull back from that elemental brink. I think the fact that I saw what happened to my mother motivates me to not succumb as she did. Most Petralists don't understand the dangers. Dougal's first wife did not. They had learned just enough of the ancient secrets to destroy themselves and take many others with them."

  Jean was nodding as Kilian spoke. "That's what the stories of the elfonnel attacks in the last three centuries came from. Those were Petralists learning to embrace the elements, but who lost control."

  Kilian said, "Exactly. Those of us who have walked as one with the elements can feel ripple effects all the way across the continent when elfonnel rise. When I feel that, I try to help."

  "How can you help?" Connor asked.

  "When I reach them in time, I try to warn them of the danger. However, few men or women can withstand the lure of such unrivaled power. In the case of Dougal's wife and Camonica's husband, there was no other choice but to stop them before they destroyed hundreds."

  "I doubt that Dougal sees it that way," Connor said.

  "Indeed not. We fought, and I made the mistake of leaving him alive. I had hoped he would learn wisdom."

  "Why didn't you kill him when he started whipping Obrion into a war frenzy?" Verena asked.

  Kilian considered the question. "Killing a high lord is not done lightly. I didn't want to give the other houses a common enemy."

  "You won't be able spare him the next time you meet," Connor said. "He won't stop until he avenges his wife's death, and he had hoped to use me to do it."

  "As I suspected," Kilian said, his expression grim. "No doubt he'll try again. It's clear that he has learned the secret of wresting the mind of another Petralist to his control, especially one weakened right after ascending."

  Connor asked, "How does he do it, and how do I stop
him? I don't have any more porphyry."

  "Don't use obsidian around him."

  Dougal's hold over his mind had seemed to solidify when he'd tapped obsidian.

  "There's more to it than that, isn't there?" Verena asked.

  "Yes. There is another secret that I thought had been lost since the Tallan Wars, but somehow Dougal discovered it."

  "How do you keep all those secrets straight?" Hamish asked.

  "Practice."

  "But you'll tell us, won't you?" Jean asked. She looked ready to burst with questions. She loved new learning as much she loved healing.

  "I think it's necessary. We must deal with Dougal eventually, and you must understand the danger. Dougal has somehow discovered that obsidian, of all of the igneous stones, offers a threshold."

  "Wait, I thought thresholds were linked to the elements," Connor said.

  "Obsidian is the only exception. To ascend with obsidian is a grueling task, one that only a handful of Petralists have ever accomplished. Dougal must have done so, and that unlocks the ability for him to link to the minds of others tapping obsidian."

  "I wonder if that's how he defeated Aifric," Hamish said. "She had the advantage, but she was a Blade too. He challenged her to a duel, even though he was badly wounded."

  "No doubt that's why he did so. She would not have understood the danger."

  "It's a miracle he left her alive," Hamish said.

  "Mercy is not a trait that Dougal has in abundance. I suspect he expected to return and to use her as leverage against her people," Kilian said.

  "I'm really starting to hate that man," Jean muttered.

  Connor agreed. The more he learned about Dougal, the more he wished Kilian had not spared him. So many lives had been damaged or destroyed by that man's ambition and thirst for vengeance. The thought of Dougal using Aifric against her people infuriated him.

  Aifric was a secret Assassin, but in her persona as a Healer, she was one of the nicest people he knew. That time she had tried to kill him hadn't been personal, and they had gotten over it.

  Friends didn't hold grudges.

  The inner door opened and Dierk rushed into the room, looking upset. "Kilian, sir. We just received word of a raid against the Schmitten quarry in the south. Obrioner Petralists, hunting chisels."

  "The raids have begun," Kilian said, not sounding surprised. "General Wolfram will no doubt dispatch raiders against Obrioner quarries in response. Did the invaders obtain any of the tools?"

  "Negative."

  "Was the strike team defeated?"

  "No. They escaped."

  "So more raids will be imminent. Has Obrion launched the full assault?"

  "Not that I've heard," Dierk said, but he looked nervous. "Ingrid will arrive at the front tomorrow."

  "Let's hope the situation remains stable until we arrive," Kilian said.

  "I'll plan to leave within the hour," Hamish said. "I can take my enhanced bomb and as many other mechanicals as we can pile onto the windrider."

  "If you need to do more development on it, remember we've got a secondary Builder research station at Harz Fortress," Verena said.

  "I forgot about that. I'll have to stop by there after visiting the front."

  Jean said, "I should go with you. When we get to that research site, we can begin fine-tuning your suit."

  Hamish took her hand. "Sounds good to me."

  "Perhaps I should join you," Dierk said. "I could take a spare windrider."

  Verena asked, "Are you sure that's a good idea? You have a habit of trying to fall out of windriders."

  "I'm not that bad," Dierk insisted, but neither Verena nor Hamish looked convinced. "Besides, I've added safety harnesses to all the wagons."

  Hamish said, "Good idea. The new catch-fall mechanicals should be ready soon too."

  Kilian said, "Dierk, wait until tomorrow. I need you to oversee loading the highest priority mechanicals and ensuring that manufacturing will continue while we're gone."

  When Dierk saluted and left, Kilian said, "Quarry raids are usually launched when invasion is imminent. I suspect the attempt to establish last-minute peace talks has failed."

  "What are we going to do now?" Jean asked.

  "Study hard," Kilian said, gesturing at the slate. "Figure out how we can use this. We leave in two days."

  "What can I do?" Connor asked.

  Kilian turned to him and said, "You are an ascended Petralist, Connor. It's time you learn what that means."

  Chapter Seventeen

  “The just stand bold in the face of opposition, but flight without pursuit is the mark of the liar."

  ~Ilse

  When they stepped into the bright sunlight outside of the research facility, Verena kissed Connor's cheek. "Study hard. I'll see you soon."

  Connor loved the fact that he could kiss Verena any time, without worrying that Shona or Rory might appear and chastise him for socializing with the enemy.

  He turned to Kilian. "What would you like to start with?"

  "Basalt. Let's see if you can keep up."

  "Let me purge, then."

  He still had a bit of granite in his system, and he knew better than attempting to use two igneous stones at the same time. Double-tap sickness had nearly killed him the one time he'd tried.

  Connor closed his eyes and focused all of his granite strength into the center of his chest, then drove it out through the skin. The itchy-crawly feel of granite change to an intense heat as he forced the power away. A fine, white powder formed on his shirt. Lamacal was the waste product produced when Petralists purged.

  He brushed it away and was surprised when Verena lifted a hand a second too late, as if to stop him. "I want to collect some of that one of these days and study it," she said.

  "Why?" Connor asked. "It's just waste, isn't it?"

  "It is," Kilian said.

  "But has anyone ever studied it?" she asked.

  "Do you study other waste you produce?" Connor asked with a grin.

  She punched him lightly on the shoulder. "You're gross sometimes."

  "I'll save you some lamacal next time I purge."

  He then opened his small bag of powdered basalt, thrust his hand inside and, with a bit of focus, absorbed some powder through his skin. The boundless energy of basalt rippled up his arm and spread through his body.

  As usual, he found it hard to stand still, and motioned Kilian ahead. "Lead on."

  Kilian dashed off, accelerating until he ran faster than a galloping horse. Connor leaped after him, drawing deep from basalt, and laughing with the thrill of pure speed. Kilian still pulled ahead, so Connor tapped more, to the point where his legs could not move any faster.

  Not without breaking.

  Fracking shouldn't still hurt, not with how often he had done it, but it did. He was ready for the sharp pain as a new joint formed halfway down his thigh, allowing his upper legs to shift outward and rotate in full circles.

  That reduced the amount of motion his lower legs had to move and increased his speed tenfold. Once the fracking finished, Connor laughed again as he accelerated and caught up with Kilian. They sped up the valley, moving so fast they skimmed over the top of the long grasses.

  Kilian nodded approval. "Not bad, but now that you've ascended, there is new speed to explore."

  He accelerated even more, drawing ahead and racing toward the low eastern hills and the picturesque little town of Faulenrost.

  Connor drew even deeper from basalt, max-tapping the stone and accelerating so fast it took his breath away. Literally. He was running so fast now that it was hard to breathe. He was going to have to get a mask and a pair of goggles. The wind carried a hint of winter ice, and it dragged tears from his eyes, making it hard to see.

  He loved it.

  That run was the closest thing to absolute freedom he'd ever experienced. He wondered if that was how Verena felt in the air.

  Despite his incredible speed, Kilian somehow still kept just ahead. The two of them fla
shed across the valley and into the hills, veering around the town of Faulenrost, cresting hills so fast they caught air and soared like birds. They sped into the mountains, finally slowing near the base of a steep cliff that was cleft by a narrow opening near the top.

  Kilian stopped near a large boulder, and Connor's legs snapped back into shape as he slowed nearby. It didn't hurt nearly as much going the other way. He didn't even feel winded.

  He grinned at Kilian. "I could do this all day, but is there something different about running in Granadure? I only burned through a fraction of the powder I should have."

  "The difference is you. One of the first benefits of ascension is a tighter integration with your affinities. You can now access greater power, but still consume less fuel."

  "I didn't notice it with granite."

  "You weren't tapping granite very deep. If you hadn't been so distracted by a pair of bright blue eyes, you might have noticed you had a lot of powder left when you purged."

  Connor felt relieved that Kilian did not seem to mind his deepening romance with Verena.

  Kilian continued, "Speaking of granite, go ahead and switch to that."

  Connor wished he hadn't absorbed quite so much basalt. He no longer resided at the Sculpture House with Aunt Ailsa, who managed all the vast power stone resources of the Carraig. There he had access to all he needed. Now, as a fugitive from Obrion and a guest in Granadure, he felt it prudent to be cautious.

  Kilian seemed ready to share his knowledge and his resources generously, but Connor didn't like being so completely beholden to the man. Maybe the next time they trained together, he could get some replacement stores from Verena so he didn't consume all of his small reserve.

  He didn't expect to need to break away from Kilian, but he had learned to be careful. He trusted Verena, but her family was still an unknown. He felt a deep respect for Kilian, but there was always a chance, however slim, their paths might diverge. Kilian was the undisputed master of the arcane, and Connor wasn't foolish enough to think he understood Kilian's agenda.

  More Petralists established their primary affinity with granite than any other stone. Maybe half as many Petralists established affinity with basalt instead, and only a few connected with obsidian. Connor loved the fact that he could use all three. The strength of granite rolled up his arm, itching just beneath his skin like a thousand little insects.