He took a moment to study Phane’s aura. The Reishi Prince had dark and angry colors that were murky and opaque but glowed brightly and extended farther from his body than any aura Alexander had ever seen. The power of the man was clear. His connection to the firmament was intense.
A few steps down the side of the pyramid stood a cordon of soldiers wearing the plate armor and crest of the Reishi Army Regency. Alexander looked around and saw fires burning all around the city. Phane watched, while the hopes and dreams of hundreds of thousands of people died by his command.
Alexander realized he was seeing Karth. The capitol city had fallen, and quickly. There was still a bit of fighting here and there, but Phane stood in the center of the city for all to see. The message was clear. Karth was his. Resistance was pointless.
Alexander let go of his focus and returned to himself more gently this time. He opened his eyes and looked around his room. It was hard to imagine the scale of suffering he’d just witnessed. Karth was a large city, almost as big as New Ruatha, and it was being systematically destroyed, leaving its inhabitants to suffer the loss of homes, loved ones, and their very lives. He felt helpless in the face of such suffering and angry at his helplessness. Worse, Alexander knew with certainty that any who stood against Phane would suffer a similar fate if he failed.
For the first time since he’d received the mark on his neck, he was fiercely grateful for it.
The scope of the loss he’d witnessed staggered him. He’d been chosen to protect his people from the kind of loss suffered in Karth. Then it occurred to him that perhaps he wasn’t just supposed to protect Ruatha but the whole of the Seven Isles. How many countless lives had been lost or crippled this night in Karth? How many more would fall if he didn’t protect them?
He’d been committed to his inherited duty ever since he realized the significance of the threat, but now it was much more real. There was more substance to the enemy and greater proof of his evil. Alexander felt a smoldering anger in the pit of his stomach. He was glad the task of ridding this perversion from the world had fallen to him. He still had no idea how he was going to accomplish such a thing, but he knew now more than ever that he had to find a way. Phane must die, and sooner would be better than later.
He paced for a few minutes before going to bed, the scenes of destruction and carnage still vivid in his mind. He stepped back from his emotions, and with ruthless severity he quenched his anger and forced himself to go to sleep. As much as he wanted to nurse his feelings and dwell on the injustice of his enemy, he knew the most important thing he could do was to find the Thinblade. That meant he would need to be well rested for tomorrow’s journey.
He woke just before light the next morning and dressed in his riding clothes. He came down the stairs to a quiet entry hall with his pack ready to go. He took a moment to inspect his weapons and rest them on his pack against the wall next to one of the armoires. He saw a light in the sitting room and found Lucky and Anatoly talking quietly over a cup of tea.
Lucky poured him a cup and added a dollop of honey and a shot of cream. Alexander took it with a smile and sipped carefully. The first sip was always his favorite. He loved the pungent aroma and the feeling of the heat flowing into his body. He savored the sensation for a moment before lowering the cup into his lap.
“Karth has fallen,” he whispered.
Lucky and Anatoly looked at each other, then at Alexander. Lucky began the inevitable string of questions that Alexander knew his statement would provoke.
“Did you have another clairvoyant experience?”
Alexander nodded, then took another sip of his tea. He always liked this time of the morning just before daybreak when everything was quiet and undisturbed. He spoke softly. “This time I had much more control. I think I’ve figured out how to make it happen when I want it to and how to control where I direct my vision. I saw a large city with a pyramid in the middle of the central square. Phane was on top of the pyramid with two creatures from the netherworld that I never want to see up close.” He shuddered at the memory of the terrifying-looking monsters. “Karth was being razed by the Reishi Army Regency. The whole city was on fire.” Alexander looked down into his tea.
“I was hoping Karth would keep him occupied for a bit longer,” Anatoly said before finishing off his tea.
“Can you describe how you entered the firmament?” Lucky asked, leaning forward with interest.
Alexander recounted the experience in as much detail as he could remember. Lucky listened intently without interrupting. When Alexander finished, Lucky sat back and looked up at the ceiling for a few moments.
“That is entirely different from my own experience with the firmament and from the descriptions of other wizards’ experiences. Typically, a wizard describes the firmament as a vast and endless potential that is entirely apart from the wizard. It beckons with the promise of your greatest desire made manifest and plays on emotion with intensity. No wizard to my knowledge has ever experienced being spread across the firmament … except …” Lucky stopped and looked off into the distance, lost in his own thoughts.
Alexander waited patiently. He knew from long hours of study under the tutelage of the Master Alchemist that Lucky could tune the world out and search the recesses of his mind for an obscure fact or memory and that it was best to leave him to it.
Several moments later, Lucky’s eyes refocused and he looked at Alexander. “I recall reading an account of the experiences of an ancient Reishi arch mage. He lived during the era of the third Reishi Sovereign, maybe three thousand years ago. If memory serves, this mage described his experiences with the firmament much the way you do. As if he became part of it and could listen to the music it made. He did talk of the rapture that was a constant tug against his reason and took great pains to express just how much effort it took to avoid losing himself in it, so his experiences are different in that regard. I’ll ask Kelvin to see if he can find the volume. It may contain information that I don’t remember or that I didn’t understand at the time.”
Abigail, Jack, and Isabel came into the sitting room, each dressed for travel. Alexander poured Isabel a cup of tea as she sat on the couch next to him. She smiled her thanks.
Anatoly took the opportunity to change the subject. The fall of Karth was not a good note to begin their journey on. “The stables will have our horses ready with supplies for our trip. I spoke with the stable master yesterday. He’s a gruff old man but he knows his trade. He showed me the horses he has for us and I must say I’m impressed. We should make good time.”
Adele came in somewhat timidly. Light was just beginning to show on the edge of the sky outside the balcony doors. “Forgive the intrusion, Lord Alexander. Would you like breakfast now?”
Alexander looked up and gave the middle-aged serving woman a smile. “Yes, thank you, Adele.” She looked pleased and hurried off.
There was a knock at the door. Anatoly rose to answer it while Alexander closed his eyes and focused on his mind’s eye. He sent his vision to the door and tried to push through to the other side but found that it was too far away to see clearly. The door seemed to create a barrier to his vision at this distance. He made a note to himself. He’d decided to experiment with his magic when the opportunity presented itself. He knew his all around sight had a limited range that allowed him to see things in his mind’s eye, while his clairvoyance was like seeing through his own eyes as if he were actually there.
He backed off and watched Anatoly lift the bar and open the heavy door to admit Kelvin and the two assistants he had in tow. They were each carrying a large bag. Kelvin was wearing his red-hued black plate armor and had his giant war hammer. Before the door closed, Alexander sent his vision down the hallway. The farther he went, the darker it got and the less clearly he could see details. Halfway down the hall, he was as blind as if he was simply remembering what the hall looked like. When the door closed, he opened his eyes and felt a moment of disorientation before his real vision took over for his magical sight.
Kelvin had his assistants place the bags on the low table in the middle of the sitting room before he walked them back to the door issuing instructions. Lucky followed and requested that they search the library for the tome describing the account of a wizard who experienced the firmament similarly to the way Alexander had described.
Kelvin returned smiling broadly, with Lucky trailing behind. “I come bearing gifts.” He took a seat in front of the two large bags. “My magical calling is enchantment. I’m not very skilled at casting spells, but I can imbue items with magic better than anyone alive.” He made the statement matter-of-factly without hubris or conceit. “My calling has led me to become a master craftsman, since only items of the finest quality and materials can withstand the powerful energies involved in the enchantment process. As such, I am always making or acquiring items of fine quality and I have amassed quite a collection over the years. I’ve brought some of these items to offer as gifts today.”
Everyone was surprised, except Lucky who looked like he knew this was coming. “Kelvin’s work is known far and wide,” he said. “Kings and nobles regularly petition him to make items of power for them. These gifts will help us succeed against Phane, so accept them in the spirit in which they are given.”
He gave Alexander a look that forestalled any protest. Lucky knew Alexander was uncomfortable receiving gifts of great value, especially when he had nothing to give in return.
Kelvin faced Alexander. “Many years ago I visited the central Island of Tyr and struck a bargain with an ancient dragon who lives there named Bragador. She’s a magnificent creature.” He smiled almost wistfully at the memory. “Dragons view time and life a bit differently than people do. They do not die of age. Instead they grow stronger, wiser, and more powerful with every year. She has lived for nearly twelve hundred years. Bragador tested me in ways I did not believe I could endure but I survived her trials. Once she was satisfied that I was worthy of her acquaintance, she allowed me to offer her a bargain. In that bargain I acquired a load of shed dragon scales. Within each scale is a core sheet of dragon steel.” He tapped his breastplate. “I made this suit of armor from those plates. Dragon steel is many times harder than the finest steel and much lighter. It requires magical fire to work because normal fire has no effect on it. With the remaining dragon steel, I made this.” Kelvin lifted a flat-black shirt of finely wrought chain armor that had just a hint of red to it. It was made of metal rings so fine that Alexander had to lean closer to actually see the tiny little rings all linked together.
Kelvin handed the shirt to Alexander, who took it with a look of wonder. The metal shirt was cool to the touch and weighed only a couple of ounces, but it felt durable in a way that Alexander couldn’t quite explain. It had a feel of permanence and a timeless quality to it.
“Kelvin, thank you, but this must be priceless. I can’t possibly …” Alexander started to say.
Kelvin cut him off with a raised hand. “You can and you will. I made this mail shirt years ago and it has sat in my vaults because I couldn’t find someone worthy of wearing it, until now. Mage Cedric chose you. You lead our struggle against a very dark future. This shirt will protect you. If you wish to repay me for this gift, then be victorious.” He gave Alexander a very direct look. “I cannot defeat Phane. I know of no wizard who can match him. If you do not succeed, then darkness will consume our world. You are our only chance at a future worth having.”
Alexander was humbled. He looked Mage Gamaliel in the eye. “If it’s within my power, then I will succeed,” he said quietly and solemnly, as if making an unbreakable oath to an unquestioned authority.
Kelvin nodded his satisfaction and turned to Abigail. “Lucky tells me you are an accomplished archer.” She glanced at Lucky and looked back to Kelvin, wide-eyed. He took a beautifully crafted, medium-sized composite bow from one of the bags. “This bow should be just the right size for you. It’s not too big to use effectively on horseback and will send an arrow farther, harder, and straighter than most any other bow. I crafted it to be very powerful, even without any magic. Before I enchanted it, I wasn’t strong enough to pull the string all the way back and therein lies the magic I have invested in this bow. My enchantment makes it easy to draw. The natural power of the bow and your skill at archery will do the rest.” He handed it to Abigail with both hands.
She took it with a look of delight. “Thank you.” She looked at the well-crafted bow and tested the draw. It pulled back with ease. Her look of wonder turned to a smile. “This is wonderful. I can hardly wait to try it out.” She got up and kissed the Mage on the cheek.
Kelvin smiled broadly. “You are most welcome. I trust it will serve you well.”
He turned to face Isabel. “I’m told you have a familiar. A forest hawk named Slyder. It takes a remarkable individual to attract a familiar without having survived the mana fast.”
Isabel smiled. “He was a gift from my parents when I was little. They had Mason cast the spell to call him to me, although I remember that he doubted it would work. I’m glad it did. Slyder is one of my best friends.”
“You have a natural affinity for animals or it would not have worked. That is why I believe this is the perfect gift for you. It was made before the Reishi War and enchanted by a wizard of great power. I acquired it many years ago and have saved it for just the right person.” Kelvin removed a jewelry case from the bag and opened it to reveal a necklace made from sturdy links of silver with a tiny gold figurine of an animal attached every inch or so along the front of the chain. There were a total of seven animals: bear, wolf, horse, hawk, ferret, mountain lion, and deer.