And finally! Chapter 16, writing this arc has been rather awkward. I've been setting up and aborting plot arcs before I even start writing :|, it gets rather confusing. So im happy to get these out of the way, the next arc is called "Blood and gold." (Or at least should be) and will probably be about the same length, maybe with a couple extra chapters not sure.
Well whatever, when it comes we'll both see.
Chapter 16
Around the dinner table there is an eerie silence, broken only by how aggressively our new guest, Alma, tackles each dish. We all act like nothing happened this morning, beside the odd snigger from Tyrell, at either my fortune or misfortune and the odd glance from Raul at our new guest.
Eventually everyone starts to filter out, the herald who had stayed as Diedrich's guest takes his leave meaning only a few are left at the table. Myself, Zan, Diedrich, Raul and of course Alma, who has been feeding and stroking the dragon-form Zan amused at his reactions. Of how he'd turn and coo among other things.
“We have a contract to finalise, Alma?” As Raul says this Zan slips off Alma's lap and lands on the ground with a thud.
“Of course, I have much to say too.” Alma says, sounding far different from yesterday, to the extent I feel unnerved. Before I was dealing with an angry rogue… she seems more composed. She sends a smile my way before looking back at Raul.
“Should I really do this?” I ask Raul, seeking some advice. While she is dangerous herself she can also protect me from that demon Raul warned of. While I follow that line of thought though another concern comes to me, slavery. Am I really ok with making Alma a slave? Casting my mind back to those last few days in the village, the idea of being subject to the whims of another, for any reason, seems repulsive to me. I may be fine going with the flow but I'd never allow myself to spend my life dragged by my feet.
Could I really do that to her?
“The law does say that she must atone. I doubt she would serve the crown however...” Raul answers, his gaze slowly returning to Alma once more.
“They could not enforce it, you wish for freedom?” Diedrich, who until now had been silent, bar the occasional chatter over breakfast, asks Alma.
“Why do you think that I'm here?” She asks in a rather flat tone.
“It's true, I could have escaped any time. Only a token force would pursue me, likely the dregs to get cleaned up.” Her eyes had once again locked with mine, a queer sensation mixed with bloodlust and something else. This isn't some battle aura, she doesn't want me to feel fear. “I came for you.” She says bluntly, as if oblivious to who exactly is surrounding her.
I only need one word to summate my thoughts. “Why?”
“You would have to know my history, are we busy today?” She turns over to Raul who grunts and answers, “We have time.”
“Very well, then I shall begin.”
“You've heard of the south? The dark continent and all?” Alma asks me inquisitively, I nod and she takes it as a sign to continue.
“I was born in the southernmost city of Aeteria, Terrastor. The frontier, and the first to face the beast hordes of the south. Like any child back home I was taught to fight, our home isn't a kind place to live after all-” Alma is interrupted by Raul, “He doesn't have all day Alma.”
“Right, right. Now I didn't find anything else to strive for, but I could fight well enough, so I eventually joined the army. The retinue of the Lord of Terrastor, despite being the only women I was well received…”
“I got around, needless to say-” Alma says in a hurry before going onto the next part, “I don't regret that part of my life, I lived and fought with those men for years but that day came. Messages of a landing in the north, a coalition of kingdoms from across the shallow sea.”
“We were to meet them in the rolling hills of the north, but the last thing I remember was the night before the battle in my bed. When I next came to, completely, nearly nine years had passed. I woke up naked, bleeding from my skull and tied to a bed .” A feeling of disgust comes over me hearing that, considering the implications, Alma doesn't waver at all and continues.
“Now I don't remember what happened in those years, I found the man who captured me, I was stronger than him. So I killed him first and asked questions later, long story short I was on a different continent.”
“Terrastor was razed, I had nowhere to go so I drifted here. The slums are just where the river ended, 'til I saw something in with a trash.”
“... Your story is sad, it is, but you didn't answer me. Why submit instead of going free?” I ask Alma for a final time, not allowing any misdirection or half truths.
“Why indeed…” she says staring at me, “Aeteria only serves one king, whose name is Seteri.” I think I understand where this is going.
“I'm not taking the crown, I couldn't!” I say before I can make another argument however she continues.
“No, I agree. But that's all I have left you see?”
“I have no family left, no brothers in arms or a home. I have no lord to serve, and his line extinguished. My kingdom slew itself, so I only have a king-”
“A dead king.” I interject, but she seems unfazed by the statement.
“And you are his son. As far as I see it I'm already in a slum, where you end up when you have nothing. So being a slave is a step up from a street rat.”
I've heard her story and now I'm left with a choice, despite my misgivings about the situation the answer is clear to me.
“Then I accept.” I say.
She might have other ideas, she might be lying, she might be an agent of Illyria or many other things but… I look at the two old men at the table, neither seem to have reacted poorly to her. If she was lying Raul could find out from the dragon god, so she's telling the truth. Me and Zan are magicians so having someone like her to watch our back can't be a bad thing.
“Very well.” Alma says. And with that it's settled, Raul gestures to a waiting maid along the side of the room, likely to bring the legal papers and such. “Kadimae, make your way back to the academy. We'll sort this out.” Raul tells me so I take the chance to leave the room alongside Zan, who's running by my feet. Soon enough we exit through the great door out to the now perpetually overcast sky, the carriage sitting in wait.
“I doubt they'll need the carriage soon.” I say looking down at Zan, who makes a roar of approval. Approaching the carriage I almost tell him where to go but he says, “You're headed to the academy, right? His lordship told me in advance, come in.” He holds the door open and hurries us in, but no before an unfamiliar maid comes running out the villa.
“Milords, these are Zan's.” In her hands are Zan's robes and bag, unlike myself Zan had taken his bag out with him yesterday. Zan eyes the stack before moving out the way so I could take it, then in a hurry the carriage driver closes the door and sets off.
In almost the blink of an eye Zan retakes his human form and takes the bundle of clothes off me. “You know they wouldn't mind if I attended as a dragon.” He remarks but I'm not in the mood to argue with him. After a quick struggle Zan dresses himself before lounging on his side of the carriage.
A few minutes pass in relative quiet before Zan asks me, “You know our timetable, right?”
“Twelfth floor, magical theory then some mundane lessons. Math and ancient history.” Zan didn't seem to mind the first half but audibly groaned at the second, something I don't really understand. Math might be boring but it can be used for grand magic and ancient history is great for exploring ruins about the land. Even the well known places like the Tower of Rand expose new artifacts every year. Tyrell would sometimes tell me the latest finds he'd heard of in the palace.
The carriage comes to a stop abruptly, far too soon for our journey. I say nothing, not even allowing myself breath. With a finger over his lips Zan closed his eyes to concentrate, leaving us in silence for a moment.
“It's clear.” He says, “Just a road blockage? I think?” It looks like he's straining himself to hear it, even with his superior senses. His eyes then turn to the door, “Someone's coming.”
I prepare myself to cast lightning and Zan mutters something under his breath. A hard knock hits the door, but a moment later it swings open.
“Young lords?” A man says with a mix between fear and confusion, I relax after seeing him; he's just a normal guard. With a dumbstruck expression and a mix of blood and dirt on his face, despite feeling the mood he doesn't back off and starts to speak. “Young lords, there's been an incident ahead. You'll have to depart the carriage.” Zan makes a 'Huh’ sound while I look on in disbelief.
“I hear the prince.” Zan says from nowhere, not sounding too alarmed.
“His Highness was nearby, he gave the order to stop and search the carriages.” His words puzzled me for a moment but then I realised we are probably on one of the larger bridges between the more noble districts and the rest of the city. No other reason for so many carriages to be present.
“Let's just walk.” Zan says and he goes to hop off. The guard moved out of the way and onto the next carriage behind us. The carriage driver from Diedrich's villa looks down on us in distress. “Sorry about this boys, should I fetch horses?” He prepares to jump off but Zan tells him. “We’ll walk, no time to wait around.” Seeing this the driver returns to his spot and waves us off.
The bridge is covered in people crossing both ways across, other than the odd guarded nobleman everyone is huddled together in the traffic. As we take to the side of the bridge I can see down beneath it, housed even more decrepit than those in the slums. My eyes watered from the stink and Zan has a rather nasty look on his face, I bet he'd rather move on.
I can feel the stares of the crowd on us, I can hear Zan's tail flick through the air with even more vivid than normal. He's tense. I look at him closer to find that he seems to be sniffing something out.
“Is something wrong?”
“Blood.” He says, reminding me of the guard from but a minute before. Zan seems to have the same thought and looks ahead of the carriage, to where the crowds are thickest. Despite the sheer number of people gathered it's too quiet.
“Think someone tried to attack the prince?” I say, thinking of the crown prince or Ostell, likely the latter since the first is so busy. Zan shakes his head at that, “Not possible... did Raul tell you about holy spatial magic?” I tell him no and he replies that, “It makes royalty hard to kill.” I still don't get the connection but there's more important things at hand.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
There's a understanding between us, both of us want to check this out. “Let's have a look.” I say taking the lead.
Getting through the bulk of the crowds is easy enough, just looking at Zan makes the people nervous. Tales of high dragons paint them as powerful and merciless monsters, no matter how civil their human selves are. If he isn't being paraded about he gets a mix of awe and fear, it seems it's more fear today is all.
When we finally come upon a wall of human bodies, or mostly human looking at a couple on the side, people are too busy looking forward to see Zan. This leads to him starting to shove his way through. At first evoking the ire of those around him until they notice the two small horns and the tail. Soon enough we reach the clearing at the front.
Zan growls quietly and starts chanting at a whisper, “Lost is he on this perilous journey-” The words are unfamiliar to me so I look around at the clearing.
It's clear why he is worried. The stench of burned flesh reaches my nostrils and despite the urge to heave my gut feels unresponsive. On the ground are three bodies, strewn across the ground. Two them half charred black and the last with his guts spread upon the street. He whimpers as he whispers something to a golden guard kneeling beside him as he bleeds out.
Standing across the gap and looking away is the second prince, talking to one of his guards while another waits to report. The people about us murmur in discontent, “Black dog” and “Severed hand.” Come up, both I guess are names but I've never heard of them. Could just be the rumour mill at work.
Zan keeps chanting but I tell him, “You can stop now.” He continues for a few seconds more before stopping, “I just made it to five verses…” Zan growls angrily but he doesn't explain what he meant by that. “Let's carry on.” He says sounding instead indecisive as Ostell turns to see us. The second prince smiles but does not approach, instead disappearing into the crowd as a man comes to clear the bodies.
We continue on our journey at last but in the meantime I ask Zan if he heard anything, he instead answers with silence. “Well did you?” I ask him again for him to shrug. “Too many people, the smells are giving me a headache too.” He explains as we pass through the marketplace.
Our journey is uneventful, that's not really my problem though. It takes two hours for us to walk there and we're already late.
* * * * *
After stumbling into my room I fall on my bed, for a moment enjoying it's now familiar softness. “Finally home.” I say, half to myself, Zan having already retaken his dragon form purrs in agreement. Before curling himself into a circle to rest. I however already have plans for the evening so can't be lounging around.
After meeting Alma… I just feel to weak. I know I'm just a first ranked magician but still, getting best hurts. My thoughts are clear, I need a practical magic I can use now. Something that uses the death attribute to its best effect. First however I need a practice spot.
My room has three parts, the actual bedroom, the study and a warded room. Having only entered that warded room a couple times I feel reluctant to do so again. Peering through the door I can see the pitch black room, it's walls as dark as the overcast sky on a moonless night. The only thing breaking the blackness are the white lines surrounding the room, etching a complex magical formation onto every surface.
I sigh and step into the small room, sitting myself just in front of the empty circle at its centre.
“Hey Maru.” I ask mentally in hope he responds. After a few seconds of doubt that death god answers. “Hello, nice of you to call me for once.” Maru says with a hint of anger, I wonder what I did wrong for a moment before laughter rings out.
“I jest, why have you called me?” The god asks with genuine curiosity, it seems he is abstaining from reading my mind.
“I want to learn mag-” Maru doesn't even give me a chance to finish before trying to dash my hopes. “No.” He tells me, “I told you I can't teach you mystery.”
“Can you teach me divine death magic?” I ask, this causes Maru to grow silent. He stays this way for over a minute, I'm unsure if he's considering it or discussing it with another god. Anxious I look down into the empty black circle.
“There is no priest of death.” Maru states, without a hint of emotion or making any judgement. A statement of truth.
“Are you volunteering Kadimae? I did joke about it before but would you wish to?”
I only take a moment to consider it, it's not like I had to declare to the world this and I talk to Maru already. Even if divine magic isn't useful against demons I can use it to learn from as a perfect example. That's probably my biggest reason, divine magic is the most ideal form so how can I gleam false mystery from it?
“Yes.” I say it aloud, Maru, who figuratively has all eyes on me would hear it anyway.
Maru doesn't rejoice, at least not verbally, an awkward silence comes between us. It doesn't matter, I need to prepare myself anyway.
I search within myself, to the deepest recess of myself in search of that trickle of energy. I haven't done any magic today so slowly mana radiates from my body before being whisked away, not to Lore as usual but into the formation about me. With regular breath and relaxed thoughts I still the chaotic mana within me and sit ready to begin.
“Are you ready Maru?” I ask aloud once more, this time I hear a response.
“Yes! let's do this.” A moment of silence once again comes over us.
“... you know my verses, right?” Wait what? I think before realizing I don't know much about divine magic. It borrows power from the gods and adheres perfectly to natural law…
“I'd have to say Marati Maru…” I murmur but it becomes clear to Maru, without reading my mind, that I don't know much more.
“Ok here's the basics, Marati Maru invokes the magic. That part is right. Marati is a word from the root Maratar, to abide by a contract. Marati is a command that I answer you, it's not polite so be careful with which god you name.”
So don't name Vera. I think, not wanting to end up as a tree.
“You must say Marati Maru to cast the spell however, no silent casting.”
“Is there a reason?” I ask in my curiousity.
“A god acting creates demons, if I answer a contract then I am compelled, not acting myself. Much safer overall, it's the entire reason priests and holy magic exists.” Maru explains to me.
So this is them cheating…
“And those verses are for?”
“The effectiveness of divine magic is based on compatibility, the closer you are to me in mental state the stronger it is. The words help in that regard.” Maru goes silent for a moment before I begin to hear words. As he says them I mouth them back.
“Empty eyes amidst moonlit night
The mourner shall not sing
Ailing and weak they await you
The raven and the king
Fate fails to avail you now child
Crawling cold in the dirt
This time was never yours my son
You knew of little else
Gold glittered once before you child
This father fails now still
Idle innocent could you be?
Devoid of my ill will”
I don't understand the story but as I mouth the words something builds in my chest, tears begin to fall down my face. Maru stops in the middle of the fourth verse, “You understand now?” Maru asks me, not feeling the need to say it all.
The reason there's no priest of death…
“I die at the end.” Maru says, not betraying any emotion. “It was my last song.”
… Is because to complete the verse you die.