The Mapkeeper and the Rise of the Wardens (9 page)

“Now, Bade, you must understand—” King Muttongale began, but the man cut him off.

“King Muttongale. You are an ornamental figurehead, useless to Praxis. The days of kingship are long gone. Now do us all a favor and go play in a corner or something.” He shot a callous glare at the king, who bumbled, offended, but could muster no reply. Queen Oleksandra loomed over Bade and the little man, exuding a menacing air of authority.

“Bade, you will have your time to speak at tomorrow’s meeting. Now be gone. We have a ceremony to complete—a thousand-year-old Praxis tradition that should satisfy even you, since you seem so absorbed by the past.” Bade grinned up at the queen, pulling his cape tighter around his thin body. His freckle-faced friend lapsed into a fit of giggles.

“Ah, my queen, may I say that you are as enchanting as ever. And you are right. This will all be hashed out at the council meeting tomorrow. How insensitive of me to interrupt the ceremony. Please, carry on.” He grinned at her, shot a frown of resentment at Lucy, and with a swish of his cape, turned and shoved his way back through the crowd. His chortling companion followed along behind him, his auburn hair bobbing its way through the sea of people.

Murmurs of uncertainty rippled through the crowd. The Queen met Lucy’s gaze with solemn reassurance, as if to say that everything would be all right. King Muttongale hurried to regain the momentum of the joyous ceremony.

“Ladies and gentlemen, it has been a privilege to introduce Praxis’ new Mapkeeper, Ms. Lucy Barnes. Let the Ceremony of Light begin!” He and the queen turned in unison and looked up at the massive fiery image of Lucy, so the Barnes siblings did the same. The crowd oohed and ahhed as six shrouded maesters approached the great cauldron, arms raised, chanting in unison. The fire sputtered for a moment and then exploded anew, streaked with color. Purple, green, pink, and sapphire flames licked the darkening sky, even higher than before. The heat from the flames pressed down on them until Lucy had to shield her face. The sight was so spectacular that she almost forgot that she was on stage.

From somewhere in the crowd, the jovial sawing of a fiddle split the air. It was joined by two more, and the crowd sprang to life with dancing. Lucy saw the king and queen exchange a look of relief before pasting smiles back on their faces and settling into their thrones. Lucy was grateful to extract herself from center stage and relocate to her wooden chair. She wiped her sweaty palms across her pant legs as her eyes locked onto Cadmus’ stare from the front row near the stage. She froze for an instant, and then averted her eyes, flustered. Why hadn’t he moved away to dance like everyone else? Needing a distraction, she dove into a flurry of excited conversation with her brothers, rehashing the awkward moments of the ceremony thus far.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Cadmus swing a leg up on stage and hop up. He strolled across the platform and began to talk with the king and queen. Lucy kept her back halfway facing them, pretending not to notice.

Central Square was alive, the music slicing through the night air. Street-front pubs and restaurants were well-lit and buzzing with the flow of honeyed mead and elderberry wine. People whooped and laughed, and children shrieked and ran wild.

Lucy slid her hand inside her pocket in an absentminded probe. As she’d hoped, the map glowed warm at her touch. Somehow, this put her mind at ease. She noticed Mack staring at two of the beautiful, tall glowing creatures she’d seen at the start of the ceremony. The rest of their counterparts had left, but these two lingered at the edge of the alley. They stood side by side, whispering to one another and eyeing Lucy with solemnity. Mack was spellbound.

“You like the Bellaux, eh?” Cadmus appeared out of nowhere. Mack jumped, and then looked up at Cadmus from his chair with a slight air of suspicion.

“Bellaux?”

“Those two over there.” Cadmus pointed. “They’re called Bellaux. An all-female creature clan. They keep to themselves for the most part, but will protect the Mapkeeper at any cost. They live in the Tree of Virtue on the eastern edge of Glacial Lake. Very mysterious creatures.”

“Wow…” Mack breathed.

“They’re even capable of magic. They don’t use it often, but it’s said that the Bellaux are some of the most powerful creatures when called upon by the Mapkeeper for help. Of course, it’s been years—before any of us were born—since their magic was used.” Cadmus glanced from Mack to Lucy. She still had one hand in her jeans pocket. She slid it out and folded her hands in her lap, realizing she’d been staring.

“How are you doing, Lucy? This is a lot to take in at once.” He smiled, baring two rows of perfect white teeth. Lucy was determined to appear cool and collected.

“It is. I sort of don’t know where I fit in yet, and I still have so much to learn.” She wished her face would stop burning red.

“Well I want you to know that I’m here to help in any way I can. Not to add any pressure to your plate, but the truth is, if you fail, we all fail…” He smiled. “Wow. That did not come out how I intended. I mean, with that kind of attitude, how could you not feel pressure? I think I’m rambling. What I’m trying to say is—I’d love to show you around and help you get to know Praxis.” He appeared hopeful. “If that’s what you think will help,” he added.

Lucy laughed, relieved that she wasn’t the only one struggling for the right words. “I’d love that.” She smiled up at him. Were her eyes playing tricks on her, or was he blushing too?

A heavy quake suddenly jolted them. Lucy gripped her arm rests for stability as a low rumble reverberated from the north. The townspeople cried out in fear and the fiddles screeched out a few off-pitch notes before going silent. Nervous murmurs rippled through the crowd. The ground continued to shake, though the intensity decreased.

Lucy looked up at Cadmus with wide eyes, her heart pounding. She’d never felt anything like this before.
Was this one of the quakes that Olivia described earlier?
Cadmus was staring to the northeast. The king and queen were doing the same. In fact, all of Central Square stood, hushed and staring at something in the distance. Lucy followed their gaze past the castle and through the darkness, saw a red speck glowing on the horizon among the Dour Mountains.

“Cadmus, what is—” she began, but he raised a hand to stop her and cocked his head, listening. Lucy saw the king and queen exchange a wide-eyed look of fear. She watched Cadmus, desperate for answers. Her knuckles were white where she gripped the arm rests of her chair. He turned to face her, his mouth agape and his expression grave.

“I don’t want to scare you, Lucy, but if I’m not mistaken, I believe that was Praxis’ legendary, long-dormant volcano.”

The evacuation of Central Square was rapid and chaotic. Screams pierced the air. Children wailed and men shouted, herding their families home.

“No one alive today has ever seen, heard, or felt volcanic activity before. Nor have our parents, or grandparents, or great-grandparents,” Cadmus explained to Lucy and her brothers on their hurried carriage ride back to the castle. “This is the stuff of legend—ancient secrets of Praxis that we all grew up hearing about!” Lucy couldn’t seem to stop chills from running down her spine.

“You’ll be safe at the castle,” King Muttongale assured them. “It’s on high ground, after all…” He gave a nervous chuckle, wringing his hands.

A strange, unexpected calmness come over Lucy as they approached the castle. It was as if she were removed from reality, somehow hovering above it all, a detached observer watching events unfold. The map hadn’t stopped glowing with warmth since the rumbling began.

The quake had only lasted about a minute, and since then everything had remained calm. But all of Praxis was now holed away in a panic, hiding and fearing the worst.

Back at Tropos Castle, Lucy and her brothers huddled in the Hearth Room with the king and queen, Milo, Cadmus, Olivia, her brother Pip, and their parents Helda and Quinn. The rest of the servants and cooks were running about making preparations for the worst. Puck, as usual, remained in his room on the second floor with his attendants.

“I locked up the mares,” Quinn reported. “They are all safe, with plenty of hay and drinking water. The stable hands are still out there—they refused to leave the horses alone.”

“Very good, Quinn. You have done well.” King Muttongale nodded. “Milo, collect reports as they arrive from the rest of the staff and let us know how preparations are coming along. But for now, stay here with us. We could use your good cheer.”

“Yes, sir.” Milo bowed.

Lucy hugged her legs, resting her chin on her knees. A thick red blanket was wrapped around her shoulders. They sat in a semi-circle around the hearth, where warm flames licked the edges of the massive brick fireplace. It was cozy and reminded her of home, which made her heart hurt. She thought of her father and her long-gone mother. Despite having just two or three vague memories of her, thinking of her mother brought Lucy great pain. Many times she had imagined what life would be like if their mother were still around: they would lie on the couch together and drink hot cocoa, her mother’s arm wrapped around her like a blanket of warmth and love…

For a moment, everyone was silent as Lucy lost herself gazing into the flames, thinking about home and her parents. Unbidden, suddenly the fire reminded her of the great blazing image of herself in Central Square. It had been snuffed out hours ago, signaling the official conclusion of the Ceremony of Light. Of course, the actual end of the ceremony had been forced when the volcano rumbled.

Queen Oleksandra’s face was creased in contemplation. “More and more ancient warning signs are being realized. It’s just like the legends said it would be,” she explained to the Barnes siblings.

“What other signs were there?” Luke asked.

Cadmus sat across from Lucy, Mack sat to her left, and Luke was next to him, nearest the fire. Pip and Olivia huddled at their parents’ feet sharing a fleece blanket. Helda and Quinn were nestled on a stuffed loveseat, and the king and queen reclined in cushioned, high-backed wooden rocking chairs.

“Oh, all kinds of things,” the queen replied. “Quakes rattled the earth for minutes on end, many storms with powerful lightning and thunder came, bringing sheets of rain and hail stones as big as your head! Vast storms churned the Dark Sea, and of course, as you know now, volcanic activity. The extent of some of the disasters is lost to time, as is to be expected, so no one quite knows what we may be up against.” The fire crackled as she hesitated. Lucy glanced at the solemn faces around the circle. “Up until now, no one was even sure if any of it was real,” the queen continued. “For years, man and creature worked together hunting for the volcano without success. They explored the Dour Mountains high and low, including the miles of maze-like caves where the trolls live.”

There was a brief pause, and Mack broke the silence. “What happened after all those disasters occurred?”

The king sighed and let his shoulders droop. He opened his mouth to reply, but Cadmus interjected.

“Your majesty, if I may, I can explain,” he offered. King Muttongale eased back in his chair and smiled his thanks, gliding back and forth in his rocking chair.

Cadmus’ electric blue eyes shone as he spoke. “Legend has it that over a thousand years ago in Praxis, one by one, these natural disasters began to occur. Each one was worse than the last, but the people tried to weather the storm. They hoped that if they waited long enough, whatever was causing the disasters would subside.

“Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the people, a dark magic was growing in power. The stronger this dark magic grew, the more powerful the disasters became. At last, it was discovered that a group of wizards known as the Wardens were manipulating the dark power, but by then it was too late. They had awakened three terrible beasts that devastated Praxis almost to complete destruction. If it weren’t for the Mapkeeper, Praxis and all the creatures within it would have been destroyed.”

The fire popped with such ferocity that Lucy jumped. She looked away from Cadmus and the others. She could feel everyone’s eyes on her. Only Luke and Mack spared her their scrutiny. They understood her fear and lack of preparation for this enormous responsibility.

Cadmus continued, “The Mapkeeper was able to manipulate the map and defeat the three beasts and for that reason, the Mapkeeper is revered as a position of great heroism. Since then, there has been a Ceremony of Light for each new one. Many Mapkeepers have come and gone over the centuries. Some had very little responsibility during their tenure, while others achieved small acts of heroism, settling disputes and maintaining order among the clans. Our ancestors always said that each Mapkeeper is chosen for a reason. While some were more loved by the people and creatures of Praxis than others, all seemed to have particular characteristics that suited whatever problems arose during their tenure.”

“Like Edmund Burrow, the nineteenth Mapkeeper, who realigned the foothills of the Dour Mountains to settle a territorial dispute among the trolls and the goblins,” Olivia recited.

“Good memory, Olivia!” Helda rubbed her daughter’s shoulder.

“The trolls live in caves high in the mountains, and the goblins live underground in the foothills,” Pip chimed in.

“Then there was Maximus Krieger, the twenty-fifth, who was able to negotiate peace between the Glacial Lake mermaids and the Bellaux, who live in the Tree of Virtue on the lake’s eastern shore,” Queen Oleksandra added. “That took years. He was a patient man.”

“Each Mapkeeper discovers how to unleash the map’s power in his or her own way,” Cadmus explained. “No two have interacted with the map in quite the same way, and its magic only works for the person whose name is inscribed on the map.”

Lucy pulled the map out of her pocket and unfolded it in front of her where everyone could see it. The firelight danced across the soft, beige parchment.
Lucy Barnes
was still inscribed in script in the bottom corner.

“Upstairs on the second floor you will find the hallway lined with portraits of all the Mapkeepers of the past, dating back to the third century PR. We track time based on the great rebuild of Praxis following the fifteenth Mapkeeper, who defeated the three beasts. PR stands for Post-Rebuild. Any records that existed prior to that were either lost or destroyed. You are welcome to go see the hallway of portraits later tonight if you’d like,” King Muttongale offered. “Olivia and Pip can show you the way.”

“Who was the fifteenth Mapkeeper?” Lucy looked up from the map.

“Alas, his name did not survive him. We only know him as the fifteenth Mapkeeper. He perished in the process of defeating the beasts,” the king said with a frown.

“How did he defeat the three beasts?” Luke asked.

Cadmus replied, “No one knows for sure, but legend has it that the king dispatched a great army to fight the beasts, but the entire army was annihilated! The beasts ravaged the town amidst the worst of the natural disasters: quakes, hailstorms, an erupting volcano, and even a massive ocean storm. Many people and creatures perished. Some were able to survive by hiding in the caves of the Dour Mountains or deep within Doldrums Forest. But even they were subject to terrible rock slides and a great forest blaze.

“When the beasts had demolished what was left of the forest and village, they refocused their attention on the castle. They climbed the castle hill, and were almost upon it when the fifteenth Mapkeeper unleashed the full fury of the map. It is said that he rode out of the stable on horseback at full speed toward the three beasts. In a blinding explosion of white light, he rammed straight into them, sacrificing himself but saving Praxis. The Mapkeeper and all three beasts were killed.”

Lucy’s mouth hung open and goosebumps sprang up on her arms. Cadmus continued, “To this day, a wide ring of trees remain leveled in that very spot. Nothing can grow where the white light touched. Records from that time state that the map disappeared without a trace that day and wasn’t seen again until his successor arrived, map in hand.”

“Do the Mapkeepers stay in Praxis their whole lives?” Mack asked. Lucy had been wondering the same thing. This question made her nervous.

“Some do,” the queen replied. “But many do not. They are always free to come and go as they please. In times of peace, the royal family rules in their absence. The map calls them back when they are needed, and they always come.”

Lucy glanced sideways at her brothers. They shared her look of confusion and disbelief.

“As you can see, Ms. Barnes, these are trying times. We all believe that it was no accident that you arrived when you did,” the king commented. He peered down at her through his wiry red eyebrow hairs.

Lucy felt Cadmus’ inquisitive gaze from across the circle. She tried to ignore it, pretending to be absorbed by the map, tracing the edge of Glacial Lake with a finger.

“I can explain our history in greater detail if you’d like, Ms. Barnes,” Cadmus offered. “I have studied extensively and am considered somewhat of an expert on the history of Praxis. If I can be of any assistance at all, please do not hesitate to let me know. I will be staying at the castle and am at your disposal.” Lucy’s heart constricted at his kind words. She met his gaze, and his eyes were sincere.

“Thank you, Cadmus. Your dedicated service is appreciated, as always,” King Muttongale interjected. Lucy let her breath out, relieved. The influx of information was overwhelming, but she was grateful to be surrounded by such kind, welcoming people.
Maybe I can do this…
she thought, allowing herself to consider for the first time in earnest what it would be like to commit to being the Mapkeeper.

҉

That night, the Barnes siblings descended the spiral staircase from their fourth floor apartments to the second floor with Olivia and Pip to see the hallway of Mapkeeper portraits. The hallway was long and wide, and the thick, ornate red carpet swallowed Lucy’s sneakers with each step. They took their time, pausing before each gold framed portrait.

“Aodhan Orman, Thirty-Fourth Mapkeeper” was stamped on a gold plate mounted on the base of the frame. A muscular middle-aged man frowned back at them. Wiry salt-and-pepper hair and a trimmed beard complemented his gruff appearance. His skin was wrinkled and tanned, and intense dark eyes squinted from beneath a furrowed brow. He wore a simple white cotton shirt that bared his thick, hairy arms.

“So this was the previous Mapkeeper,” Lucy said, touching the frame. “He looks a little angry.”

“He was an intense person,” Olivia agreed. She stood by Lucy’s side staring up at the portrait. Their brothers gathered behind them and stared at Aodhan Orman’s portrait.

“What happened to him?” Luke asked.

“No one knows,” Pip replied. He brushed his stringy dark hair out of his eyes. “He left about six months ago and never returned. Next thing we knew, Lucy’s image was burning in the Central Square cauldron and we knew we had a new Mapkeeper.” This gave Lucy the chills.

“How long was Aodhan Orman the Mapkeeper?” she asked.

“He had a short tenure—just a little over fifteen years.” Lucy made a mental note that this aligned with what Mr. Quincy had told her. “Before him there was Edwin Frye. He was Mapkeeper even before our parents were born,” Olivia replied. She led them to the next portrait. Edwin Frye was a round, jolly-looking man with a bulging belly and rosy cheeks. His smile was bright and his piercing green eyes squinted at them.

Lucy wandered past a dozen more portraits, examining each previous Mapkeeper. They were an eclectic bunch, no two alike.

“They are all so different,” she mused as she strolled. “…but it seems like they’re all men.” She glanced over her shoulder at Olivia and Pip.

“Yes, they were for the most part. You are the second female. The first was the sixteenth Mapkeeper, in the first century PR. Her name was Serafine.” Olivia led Lucy to the far end of the hallway and pointed up at the second-to-last portrait. A tall, thin woman stared back with a serious expression. Her straight dark hair was pulled back in a banded braid. She wore a forest green hunting shirt and a shoulder bow and arrow sling. She had high cheek bones and dark, mysterious eyes. The portraits on this side of the hallway near the end were hand-painted and showed signs of their age. The frames were new and in good condition, but the portraits themselves had been restored over the years.