Talon arrived in his room and forced the grin off his face. He had been more than impressed with the academy. Qidan was teaching the students well, and he could sense great potential in many of them. One student, in particular, had caught his eye: the one with red eyes and silver hair. She would be useful when she mastered the power.
Qidan told him he had another few batches of students incoming shortly and that would put them over eighty members within the next week. If recruitment could keep up at that pace, then his power users would match Mortham Tower in a little over a year, possibly sooner if recruitment sped up. Talon hoped he could match the mages' numbers, for he couldn’t see Mortham Tower attacking them if their numbers were equal.
The prison being built would be useful too. Talon assumed the invaders would have power users themselves, and if he could capture some of them alive, that would be good. The invaders knew about Oath-Keeper. What else did they know? The Forest Dwellers had taught him one thing about the enemy, and he feared the invaders knew more about the power than he did.
After returning from the Forest Dwellers, he spoke with the three mages and accepted their proposal to stay a couple more weeks. He was about to meet with them again. Talon cleared his thoughts and headed into the throne room. It was time to focus on the matter at hand.
He barely made it to his throne when the doors barged open and the three mages walked in. Talon looked at Dajrone, Danisha, and Onyakoon, all who looked annoyed. Great, now I have to deal with this.
“Oh good, you’re here,” Dajrone said.
Never good when the older one is angry. Talon gripped the armrests, hoping he could stop himself from exploding. “I take it you haven’t found your rogue power users?”
“No, and your guards aren’t helping matters!” Dajrone was almost shouting. “Why are you having guards follow us everywhere? Do you want to slow us down so much? Why?”
“I have no intentions of slowing you down,” Talon said, his grip tightening on his chair.
“Then why are you doing this?”
“Because I am sick of you mages walking around like you own the place! If these rogue power users exist, why haven’t you caught them?” Talon forced himself to shut up. The truth was, the two rogue power users were caught, by him. He had found them before the mages and sent them to Qidan. The risk seemed acceptable at the time but now he was wondering if he should have given them up.
“I showed you our evidence and you spoke to one of the eyewitnesses. Unless you think they were lying?” Dajrone accused.
“No, I don’t believe there was a lie,” Talon admitted. He was thinking of how to best get rid of these mages without causing further problems. “My guess is the people you are looking for left Carhan.”
“I don’t think so,” Dajrone said after a moment. “We will find them and bring them to justice.”
“No,” Talon said.
“No? What do you mean?”
“I’m done having you wander my streets, bothering my people for a problem that no longer exists,” Talon said coldly. These mages were allowed too much power in the nations. It was time to show them their place. “My guards will escort you out of the city. You will not come back here or there will be consequences.”
“You can’t do that!” Onyakoon said, stepping forward and ignoring the guards who raised their weapons.
Talon felt the power rising in Onyakoon and braced for something. Dajrone clasped Onyakoon’s shoulder and shook his head. “Fine, but be warned, you’d be a fool if you think this is over,” Dajrone said.
The tone of voice sent chills down Talon’s spine. He had half a mind to summon the power and take the mages down himself. Logic held him back. He couldn’t kill them nor did he want to. Despite his feelings, Mortham Tower was going to be important, and antagonizing them would be a sure way to screw up his plans.
Without another word, Dajrone turned around and left with the other mages, much to Talon’s surprise. He had expected the mage to fight him harder than that. Once the mages were gone, he leaned back and sighed. The issue wasn’t done, of that he was certain, but he was grateful to have a brief pause.
Not even a minute passed before a messenger entered the hall. “Your grace, I have a letter for you.”
Never a moment's peace. “Bring it to me,” Talon said.
The messenger rushed up the steps and handed him the letter. He recognized it from King Harold of Eshil Domain. “Thank you.”
The messenger scurried off, and Talon opened the letter.
Dear Talon, I see what you are doing. Moving your armies near our border, and I find this unacceptable. You may have swayed Vandalor with your deceit, but I know better. If you refuse to move your army, then I will have no choice but to declare war. Tread carefully.
-King Harold.
“What a fool,” Talon said and crumpled the letter. He would respond, explaining his reasons for having soldiers on the border. He had no intentions of attacking Eshil Domain, and surely if he explained, Harold would understand.
He began writing a letter, stating that the reason his troops were at the border was to watch for the invaders. There are many ways for the invaders to sneak into Azzellia, and he didn’t want any of his people to suffer because no scouts were watching. Once Talon finished the letter, he put his eagle insignia on it and gave it to a messenger.
Harold was becoming increasingly paranoid in his old age. Talon wondered if there were problems at home, or if Harold truly believed Talon’s goal was to conquer Aidris. All he wanted to do was unite against the invaders. Why was it so hard to understand that?
“Someone send for Peitar and Arthur,” Talon commanded. The nearest guard walked off, and he sat there, waiting patiently for his friends to arrive. The Forest Dwellers should have sent a messenger to them by now.
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How much longer could he keep this up? Talon was finding himself tired, having to fight every day. When was the last time he woke up and was able to relax with no worries? Before I was king, that’s for sure. he thought bitterly, and straightened when he saw Arthur and Peitar arrive.
“Leave us,” Talon said to the guards. The guards shuffled out of the room, leaving the three alone.
Or so he thought. Talon saw a shimmer and a fourth figure appeared. He almost reached for the power until he recognized the person. It was the Forest Dweller power user, Dalaras.
“We saw the mages portal away,” Arthur said.
“Dalaras wanted to remain hidden until the mages were gone,” Peitar added.
“Useful technique. I didn’t even sense you,” Talon said.
“That’s because of this,” Dalaras pulled out a figure in the shape of a jaguar. “This allows me to use the power and not be sensed.”
“An artifact?” Talon asked.
Dalaras nodded. “We have a few like this, though we can’t make more, for we don’t know how.”
It was relieving. Talon had feared the Forest Dwellers had learned how to manifest the power and keep themselves hidden. It was good to know such an artifact existed. “I assume you were sent here by one of the chiefs?” Talon said.
“Yes. I have been sent to keep an eye over here. When the invaders come, I will warn my people, and we shall go to war together.”
“I take it that means our treaty is agreed upon?” Talon said.
“I would not be here otherwise,” Dalaras said.
“Peitar and Arthur will find you a place to stay. If anyone asks, you are my guest,” Talon said.
“You know best.”
Peitar and Arthur walked off with Dalaras, leaving Talon alone once more. Dalaras being here did improve his mood. He felt more confident in taking on the invaders with Vandalor and the Forest Dwellers on his side.
The room was empty, and Talon stood. It was time for him to get some of his training done. He hadn’t been in the hidden archives for a couple of weeks, and the last thing he wanted was to get rusty.
There were only a few servants between the throne room and the hidden archives. He made sure nobody was nearby before entering. There was a book he wanted to read as it had an interesting technique. He looked through the vast number of books and found it. He opened the book and skipped forward a bit.
Talon stopped and read. There was a way to stop other power users from creating portals in an area, except for those the creator allowed. If he mastered this move, he could have his most trusted Ashtari be capable of portaling to him, but nobody else would be able to. A useful technique and one he wanted to learn, not just to protect himself but to prevent unintended visitors, like the mages.
The halls of Mortham Tower were full tonight. Fadamar Kroot sat in his chair and sighed. Nearing sixty years old, he was starting to feel his age. Leading the mages was tiring work, for there were always problems. Rogue power users causing issues was one of the most common. Sometimes, he wanted to ignore the report, but he couldn’t risk a rebel group forming and threatening the stability of Aidris. After all, it was his duty to keep the people safe from power users.
He was the Kaidin of the mages, the highest and only ranking mage with that title. His word was law. Fadamar scratched his short beard and began writing a letter for one of his mages. His assistant, Eve Loren, stood nearby as she always did. A loyal girl and very gifted. She would make a great Kaidin when the time came.
“Kaidin, I have that report when you are ready,” Eve said, her light brown hair flowing down her back, her blue eyes gazing at him intently, ready to absorb every word he said.
“I’m ready now,” Fadamar said and put down his pen. He could finish the letter later.
“The rebellions appear to have been taken care of. There don’t appear to be any left, and as noted, Azzellia never showed any signs of having rebels,” Eve said. “I’ve asked around, and some nobles in the other nations are suspicious and have said they think former King Lerin was behind these uprisings.”
“I don’t believe that for a moment,” Fadamar said with a wave of his hand. Even if it were true, it wasn’t his problem to deal with. He made sure to stick to areas regarding the power and nothing more. Other Kaidins in the past tried taking a more active role, but he didn’t believe that was their place. Alienating the kings would backfire on them eventually if they weren’t careful.
“I agree. It is odd, though, why did these rebellions start in Vandalor, Skahad, Eshil Domain, Malvarian, but not Azzellia? Were these the act of invaders like Lerin and his son say, or coincidences?”
“A question I have asked myself many times,” Fadamar rested his chin on his hands. A peculiar issue. “Have we made any progress on the assassination of King Durran?”
“Nothing,” Eve said with a slight shake of her head. “None of our mages have found anything, and we have sent our best. King Talon has used the assassination as a way to ally with Vandalor.”
“Yes, yes, I know that. Talon isn’t doing anything wrong, and he does appear to believe these invaders exist,” Fadamar said.
“That may be so, but some think Talon is behind Durran’s assassination.”
“Another fairy tale. How could Talon have Durran killed without any trail being left behind? Whoever killed Durran was very careful and I would bet used the power. Talon knows more than anyone how dangerous the power is and what would happen to him if this were discovered.”
“I don’t disagree,” Eve said. “That being said, I think whoever killed Durran wanted this alliance. Perhaps someone in his family killed him?”
“Maybe,” Fadamar said, though he didn’t think that was the case. Durran was many things, but he did love his family. It wasn’t unusual for families to kill one another for power, but he didn’t see that happening here. “We’ve looked for evidence of Talon’s involvement or someone from the family and found nothing.”
Even if Talon was behind Durran’s death, so long as the power wasn’t used, there wouldn’t be much for him to do. The mages didn’t interfere in the politics or war between nations, and he would rather die than get them involved now.
There was a knock at his door. “Enter,” Fadamar said, and the door opened. Three mages walked in, and he recognized them as the ones he sent to deal with the rogue power users in Carhan. Dajrone, Danisha, and Onyakoon.
“Was your mission a success?” Fadamar asked.
“No,” Dajrone said, bowing his head before continuing. “King Talon told us to leave and had the guards escort us out. He was not happy with how long it was taking us to find the power users and believes they have left Carhan.”
“You left because he told you to?” Fadamar was surprised. Talon must be getting cocky to kick three mages out of the capital. What surprised him more was that the three listened to him! No king should be allowed to talk to mages that way.
“We didn’t want to cause any problems. He had guards assigned to watch us almost the entire time.”
“Are you three mages?” Fadamar asked.
The three looked confused. “Yes,” they said in unison.
“I’m not so sure. A mage does what needs to be done, regardless of what a king says.”
“Kaidin, you didn’t see Talon. He was dead set on getting us out of there. The last thing I wanted to do was cause a scene,” Dajrone said.
“There is nothing Talon can do as you have the power! You are mages of Mortham, not some back-alley rogues! You will do your duty. If you have to use the power to get Talon to listen, then do so!”
“Do you want us to go back?” Dajrone asked.
“Do I need to answer?” Fadamar said coldly.
“No, we’ll go right away,” Dajrone said and rushed out of the room.
Fadamar listened to their scurried footsteps and leaned back. He didn’t like having to remind mages of what they were.
“It’s been a long time since a king tried to take control of what we do,” Eve said.
It had been too long since a king had stood up to them. This would be good for the rest of the nations to remember their place if they were thinking of acting like Talon. He couldn’t remember the last time a king tried pushing their luck against the mages.
“This Talon is going to cause problems if he’s willing to threaten mages,” Eve continued.
“I hope this doesn’t become a common occurrence. The last thing I want to do is depose a king,” Fadamar said.
“Let’s hope he cooperates after Dajrone teaches him some manners,” Eve said.
Fadamar didn’t have to say anything. It was a dangerous thought and one he didn’t want to dwell upon. This Talon was already becoming a nuisance, and he had a feeling things would escalate before they got better. Shaking his head, he pulled out his pen and started a new letter. This letter may be more important than he initially thought.