Kana led him towards the central tower where the sorcerers lived, sequestered there until such time as they could figure out how to stop the spread of the disease and eventually turn the clock back on those who’d been ravaged by it.
“Do you think they will really end up helping with this?” He asked her, wondering what her take on their magic was going to be, so he knew what to expect for his.
“Well, the sorcerers themselves are masters of some renown as they helped with making sure we had wet seasons when we needed them, ensured we didn’t have to harsh of a summer for the crops and such. Even helping us with our borders when we first encountered the Najiri, when they ended up thinking we were coming to destroy their people, rape their land, and leave nothing of them left. Until this happened they were our best trade partners.”
“Have you ever visited the other lands?”
“Only the Elvin lands, and Kiteng to the South. I’ve never even been to the Antari lands.” She replied as they came to a doorway that would lead them up a set of winding stairs, the stone was smooth and equal. “I never have had the chance to travel much, though I do wish I would get the chance. Maybe once this plague is finished with and we can go back to some semblance of normalcy.” She sighed.
“Yeah, um hey can you tell me something? How long’s it been since you first heard of the plague?” He knew it couldn’t have been too long ago, he was no scientist but even he knew if there wasn’t enough DNA to keep the pool going the entire civilization would die out. But that could take years.
“Since we first heard of it? I would say maybe a year ago now, yes I think that’s correct. It was first discovered in another kingdom, in the Dwarf Islands and they were wiped out, almost overnight from how he the scouts spoke. They were the ones that let us know about it, sending their scouts out as quickly as their horses and boats could take them so they could find aide for their country. But they were too late. Once they’d arrived and told our King and Queen the plague had already taken their home. We found out that even Antar to our south hadn’t fared well against the creatures. That was when King Aleki decided that we needed to be ready for the creatures to come here and ordered us to all train and prepare. He ordered so many weapons of war to be made and when they were finished the scope was unimaginable.” She took a breath and said. “That was when he went to war with them. He never returned.”
She took a moment to orient herself and Blane knew that she wasn’t telling him everything as they crested the staircase and began down the long hall to their destination. “So what you’re saying is even with all of your preparations you were still no match for the Nons that arrived?” When she shot him a murderous glare he held his hands up, “I’m not criticizing I’m merely trying to understand everything. You’ve told me more in this conversation than the entire set told us when it launched.”
“Yes, about that. Could you explain to me what it is you do with these cards of yours?”
“Oh, yeah we battle with them. See you get a couple people together, usually we get called nerds which just means we aren’t sporty like the jocks who play soccer or football. Anyway we get together and shuffle our decks, draw cards and we go until we’ve summoned either enough creatures to overwhelm our opponent or we’ve lost because we were overwhelmed. There’s cards that depict you and Regalia, even your friend Yumiko, and all in striking detail. It’s like Issac was able to see you all while he was drawing. But there’s some who play the other cards, the creatures and the cards depicting the Non. We have names for them, we have states like how much damage they can take before they get defeated, how they attack, even names for their attacks. It’s very nerdy, but it’s also a way I make money back home.”
“You make coins with these cards? It is your job?” She looked confusedly at him.
“There’s not that many people who can play at my level, You could say that because I play at that level is why I make money doing it.” She still looked at him strangely and he sighed. “Okay, like I’m a general and there’s not many generals in the card world. Maybe a few thousand out of the millions who play. And because we are so rare people want to watch us, and we get paid to be in events where people watch us, and we get paid if we win tournaments.”
“Oh, that makes much more sense.” They stood in front of a door and she gestured towards it, “Here we are, the wizards of Tesvala.”
He stared at the door, it was nondescript just like the other doors on this level, which made him think there was something behind it, something much more than just a normal room. It was something he could feel, a tingling in the air and as he pressed his hand to the cool wood he felt a jolt surge up his arm. “Okay, let’s go in.” He said pressing the door open.
Inside the room he saw five men standing there, each one wearing gray or brown robes that covered them from head to toe, he could barely see their hands or their booted feet. They stood around a circle with a six pointed star that was painted on the floor of the room in red and one held a large tome in his hands, he had to be the leader.
When the wizard’s head popped up the air around them went silent, as if they were the reason for the tingle he’d felt. The men turned toward him in unison and one threw back his hood, “It is you. Keeper of the throne eternal.” And he fell to his knees prostrating himself in front of the others.
“Um, hello?” Blane managed as he looked around them at what appeared to be some sort of alchemical chamber like he’d seen in a few RPG games he played.
“Wizard Irion forgets himself, step forward boy and tell me your name.” The one who held the tome commanded.
“I’m Blane Grimm. Who are you?”
“I am Eidolus, Master Wizard of Tesvala, and these are my companions, and you are just who we were looking for.”
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Blane wasn’t sure why but his voice really threw him, it was a strange feeling like he wanted to run, but also that he wanted to stay. He thought for a second he was going insane but there had to be more to it than that.
“You have heard of the Eternal Throne then?” Kana asked as she stepped forward putting herself next to him.
“Oh, child we have been waiting for the Keeper for ages, but he doesn’t realize any of that, do you boy?”
“Are you seriously going to tell me that I’m some kind of Chosen One?”
“In a way you are the Chosen One, and in a way you are not.” The Master Wizard told him as he circled Blane taking him in.
Blane stood, rooted in his spot and stared down the man, “What does that mean?”
“Well we knew that someone from another world would come to claim the Eternal Throne, it was foretold eons ago when our world was young. What we weren’t told was the name of the person because it was someone from another world, with your friends coming through as well it could just as easily be one of them instead of you. So, again, you are and you are not the Chosen One. What will make you the Chosen One is if you can claim the Eternal Throne.”
Blane thought about it a second, if what he said was true then there was really nothing saying he had to take the quest on. And if he knew anything from all of the RPGs he’d played before it was that sometimes the quest took more time than it was worth in the long run. “If I get this Eternal Throne will that allow me to return to my home? Allow me to bring my friends with me to return there?”
“Of course it would, the Eternal Throne would make you something we haven’t seen in a long time here. But once you have that why would you want to go back home?”
“Because I—I don’t know actually. But I need to make sure my friends are safe, is this the only way to do that?” He asked the wizard.
“I believe it is the best way. You will be able to find them if you follow this path, though I must caution you that you will have much heartache.” The master wizard stared into his eyes and said, “I have foreseen what you’ll lose and gain if you go through with this quest in my Amulet of Clarity, you must decide for yourself if you are going to go through with this and save our world so you can return to yours. Or are you going to forsake it all?”
Blane stood and stared him in the eye as he thought of what he’d just said. “Will you be helping me?” He asked Kana.
“I feel like I have to help you Blane, your magic made me stronger than I have ever been before.”
“His magic?” The Master Wizard asked. “What do you mean his magic made you stronger? Did he cast a spell on you?”
“To be honest I’m not sure what I did. I pulled a card from where they were scattered on the ground from my arrival and called out the name and she became stronger, she was able to use a powerful attack to wipe out the thralls in one go.”
“May I see this card you used on her?” Eidolus asked, his curiosity piqued.
Blane pulled the box of cards from his shoulder bag and popped the lid open to pull out the card. As he touched it he could feel a warmth to it and he heard Kana make a sound, “Are you okay?” He asked her.
“Yes I just, felt something, a warmth flowing up my back.”
He stared at her and thought it sounded strange, but since he was able to use his card to benefit her maybe there was more to their connection, maybe that was what she was feeling. Blane handed the card over to Eidolus and watched him as he looked the card over with renewed interest.
“I’ve never seen anything like this, it’s paper to be sure, but this drawing is exquisite. And you have more of these?” The Master Wizard asked him, completely amazed by the card.
“Yes, I have about a hundred of them here with me, and a lot more of them back home.”
“And you say when you used this card, this spell we will say, that it helped Kana here became more powerful?”
“It was amazing Master Eidolous. I had power beyond my normal, I was able to use a special attack that covered my blade in fire and even my armor changed. Never before have I felt such power in my life.” She bowed her head, “If only this had come when the Non first arrived we might have defeated them quickly and our King would not be lost.”
“Child, do not worry. Perhaps if our friend here embarks on his quest there will still be hope that the Non can be stopped.” The man looked at Blane as if waiting for a response.
“I— hell I can’t say no to that face. If you’ll be by my side Kana I will do everything in my power to save your world.” It’s a good thing they don’t know how weak that face makes me. He thought to himself.
“Thank you Blane, this means the world to me.” She grabbed him in a hug, pressing her chest against him for just a split second before pushing back and frowning. “I’m so sorry, I forgot myself. Please, won’t you forgive me?”
He stared at her a second, unsure why she was so flustered, but such a beautiful shade of red and he found himself reaching for her hair. Pulling his hand back by sheer force of will he smiled and said, “Kana, I could never be mad at you, of course I forgive you.”
She smiled and jumped a little before turning to Eidolus and saying. “So when do we go stop those creatures?”
“Well first I need to examine his power, these spells, and figure out what the limits are.”
“Look I will happily let you test me all you want, but I need to know that it can be done quickly because I don’t want to be here too long before going out there. I need to find my friends.”
“No, it shouldn’t take too long and we can do the experiments in here in relative safety. Are you ready to try now?”
“Hell yeah, let’s get going and get this over with.”
----------------------------------------
Regalia stood in front of her queen, Lady Galantine, and waited. Asked to stand back while her friend and this man she couldn’t quite tell if she trusted or not left to see their wizards.
“You don’t trust him?”
The words resonated with her deeply, and she nodded. “I do not know him. Until I do I will have no opinion of him.”
“That is what I wanted to hear.” The queen leaned forward on her throne and spoke. “I have need of your services with this man. Stay close to him and to Kana, I feel she is not thinking with her head, but with her heart—”
“Or something else.” Regalia said bitterly.
“Regalia calm down, she is allowed to lust after a well put together man, however when he possesses such magic that has never been seen before I start to worry.”
“As do I my lady. I saw what he did out there, he healed my leg when it was broken. He used one of those spells and it was healed in seconds, I’ve never seen any of our wizards do something so miraculous on the battlefield, they always need so much time to cast something and they need the right herbs and whatnot for it. This was simple, he said something and the card glowed and then my leg was better.” She stared, her eyes lost in space, “he used such powerful magic so easily, and it would be such a boon to us if he were to join our side in the war.”
“And that is part of what I want you to do. Try to talk him into fighting for us against the Non so we can finally be free of them.”
“I will do what I can madam.”
“See that you do, if you cannot get him to join then at least you can say you’ve tried.” Her voice was kind now, like that of a mother talking to her child. That tone was what made it easy for everyone in the kingdom to follow her rule and accept her as one of their kindest monarchs in Tesvala’s history. “Please do let me know what you find out when you can.”
It was her way of saying she was dismissed, and Regalia didn’t miss a step as she left the throne room and began her journey towards the tower where the wizards resided, and where she hoped she could learn a little more about Blane.