When I awoke, my head was pounding. Again.
Two concussions in one day. That wasn’t good. I needed my brain. It was essential to my wizardly prowess. I needed the little magic instruction that had managed to stick in my head to stay where it was. But that aside, I was alive, which was a start. I waited for the grogginess to abandon me so I could have a look around.
I was in a cave of sorts. The occasional torch illuminated the cave walls, casting twisting shadows. I was in a cell with crude metal bars sealing me in. The bars were ancient, covered in rust, and when I gripped them tightly they shifted, like they weren’t entirely secure. They wouldn’t budge enough for me to wrench any of them loose, however. I cast my eyes elsewhere for a means of escape to no avail. I spied Alicia and Alverd near me, both still unconscious. After checking them for obvious injuries, I took stock of the situation.
The last thing I remember was seeing a figure in a black cloak. Now I was trapped gods-knew-where or why, and my staff was gone. There weren’t a whole lot of options as far as I was concerned. I needed to focus. I pushed my foot into Alverd’s back, and did the same for Alicia. The two stirred and awoke. I watched as they rubbed their eyes, realizing the predicament we were in.
Alicia was the first to grasp what was going on. “What the hell? The last thing I remember was getting hit by a bloody tree on a rope, and then… Where are we?” Alverd crawled over to the metal bars. After kicking them several times, he gave up on using brute force.
“Whoever that man was, I don’t think he’s alone. How else could he have dragged us all to wherever we are? I’m wearing armor.” It was a thin argument at best in my opinion. For all I knew, Mr. Black Cloak could’ve been stronger than a troll. Knowing our luck, he had probably dragged us all back in a net or something and dumped us in this cell after stripping us of our weapons. Either way, it didn’t bode well for any of us regardless of how we ended up here.
We had too many questions and not enough answers. I sat back down on the stone floor and began thinking about our predicament. I had to be rational. I didn’t want to inspire panic in Alicia and, to a lesser extent, Alverd. I tried to make sense of it all, hoping to find some way to get us out of here.
Whoever had taken us had stripped us of our weapons, but not our armor. They had also taken my staff. That probably meant that whoever had taken us knew that I was a mage and had taken proper precautions. And yet, our mystery assailant had left Alverd his armor. There was that damn favoritism again. Of course nobody would strip a knight of his armor, but if there’s a mage prisoner, you take away everything he has. I was just about to will great vengeance on the thief when the sound of footsteps echoed from down the corridor interrupting my train of thought.
The three of us hushed instantly. The echoing footsteps came closer and closer, the pace getting heavier, as though the one walking had some kind of limp. A light shone down the corridor, and as the figure-in-question rounded the corner. The light came from a lantern slowly swaying back and forth to the rhythm of the figure’s unruly gait. The light made its way down the corridor painstakingly slowly until at last it rounded the corner and we could see the man holding it once more.
Mr. Black Cloak looked at us from behind his cowl. We could hear his heavy breathing. After a moment, he removed his hood. As he did so, long, unruly blond hair spilled out. The light revealed a stubble-covered face, sunken blue eyes, and gaunt cheeks. The man’s cloak opened and beneath it was tarnished gold armor covered in dirt and scratches. The man looked at the three of us, but his gaze lingered on Alicia.
“Hello, baby sister. It has been far too long.”
Alicia broke free of her stunned silence long enough to recognize the stranger. “Edgar? Is that… really you?”
The man called Edgar smiled faintly. It pulled at his face, highlighting the wear and tear. The haggard Fourth Prince had apparently been hiding here in the Nest for at least a year and had learned how to survive amidst the dragons. And now, after that self-imposed exile, we had stumbled into his lair, like rats into a trap.
Edgar’s gaze shifted to me. “A mage, heh? You keep strange company, sister. I wasn’t aware so much had changed in my absence. How fares the war against Algrustos?”
Alicia told him everything from our first encounter, the King’s decree, the Ball, the duel, and finally ended with the battle with the sick dragon. Edgar listened intently, but right around the point when Alicia mentioned Marcus’s challenge, his face darkened. Once Alicia had finished, Edgar procured a key from his robe and opened our cell. He motioned for us to follow.
“I’m terribly sorry about your accommodations. I barely had time to load the three of you onto a cart to bring you back to my little hovel. If I hadn’t been following that dragon you slew at the mouth of the Nest, I may never have realized that you were here. I admit, I didn’t know what to do when this one,” he gestured at me, “caught sight of me. I had to resort to more… ‘draconian methods’ than I was comfortable with in order catch you.” He snickered at his little play on words. “Imagine my surprise when I discovered that I had ensnared a mage, as well! I had to take a few precautions. You understand, of course.” Edgar chuckled to himself as he limped down the passageway.
Precaution or not, I still wasn’t happy about it. Without my staff I felt practically naked. I had no way to protect myself without it, and if I didn’t get it back soon then I wouldn’t be of much help to anyone in a fight. That is, if one broke out. I was not one to tempt fate, but that didn’t mean I liked to fly blind and remain eternally optimistic. That was how you ended up face-down in a ditch with a knife in your back.
“How the hell did you outrun us?” I simply had to know. Watching Edgar hobble his way down the hallway, there was no way he could’ve led us on that merry chase through the ravine.
Edgar called back over his shoulder. “I gave the lantern to one of my pets. They are quite quick on their feet once trained. And you were none the wiser.” I noted to myself that Edgar was not as stupid as he looked.
We followed the limping Prince down the torch-lit corridor to a wide open room that was occupied by a crude table. The Prince began poking around in various cabinets for food. As we sat ourselves at the table, Edgar spoke again. “Marcus was always the overzealous one. He always felt that as the First Prince he had an entitlement that no other royal should possess. And if he challenged you in such a fashion, it can only mean that he’s stepped up his plan. If we don’t warn Father, I fear that Marcus’s ambition will destroy us all.”
Alicia cocked her head to one side in bewilderment. “What do you mean? Marcus’s always been overbearing, but he would never jeopardize the kingdom with his antics. What are you talking about?”
The Prince returned to the table toplace some stale-looking bread before each of us as he took his seat. He shifted his weight as he sat to accommodate his weak leg. When he had settled, he leaned forward. “Now, Alicia. You know it’s been just a little over a year since I fled the Ishmarian court, right? It was right after my dragon went feral and died, if you recall.” Alicia nodded. “You see, after my Freya died, I became suspicious. After all, she died through no fault of my own; I always took good care of Freya, and there was no reason for her to just up and go wild on me. I knew there was something wrong. She didn’t respond to any of my commands. It was only after six men stabbed her to death did I realize that there must have been some other circumstance. But I refused to believe that she simply suffered some fit of madness or rebelliousness.”
Edgar folded his hands together. “Now at first, nobody wanted to take my suspicions seriously. They all insisted that I was trying to foist the blame elsewhere, that I didn’t want to admit that I had lost control of her, and thus dishonored myself. So I took it upon myself to investigate further. I managed to trace it all back to about four or five years ago… when Ishmar invaded Marevar.”
I twitched a bit at the mention of my homeland. I knew the conversation was going to go in a very bitter direction, but there wasn’t anything I could do about that now. I put some bread in my mouth to stifle any rude comments I might make and continued to listen. Alverd had the same idea; he was being awfully quiet. His eyes were still cold as ice, but I could tell that he was trying to hold back his emotions. I didn’t think that Edgar would intentionally antagonize Alverd, but the thing about telling the truth is that you often don’t do it to spare someone else’s feelings. Edgar was one of the people who had participated in the invasion, and that made me wary of anything he had to say. But I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt… for now.
“Now, Father didn’t fight in the war because he was sick, but he did accompany us to the front lines. Officially, we went to war with Marevar because we needed their farmland to support our armies. But I think he intended to treat the war as some kind of test to see if we had the mettle to take up the throne after his passing. Of course, Alicia wasn’t there, seeing as how she was too young to fight in a war, but the rest of us were. It was in Marevar that I received the wound in my leg that plagues me today.” His hand went to rest on his leg.
“Our soldiers didn’t sit well with the idea of bribing Kiret and Guilford to stay neutral in our invasion, but we couldn’t afford to have them come to Marevar’s aid. While we may not have enough food, we have no shortage of gold and other expensive baubles from our mines. Those greedy fools in Kiret and Guilford were more than happy to take their money and betray Marevar.”
“The promise of glory was enough to quell the thought of rebellion amongst our soldiers. The delivery of food from our conquered foe would stifle any further plans for sedition within the peasantry. It was a gamble, but one that paid off in spades. Marevar was a ripe target with so few defenders to protect such a perfect prize.”
Edgar paused a moment, then spoke again. “Each of us…we killed so many. When we returned to Father, we were all covered in blood. It didn’t matter whether our enemies were worthy foes or unarmed peasants. We lost ourselves in the revel of battle, and we became intoxicated by our bloodlust. But none of us compared to Marcus. Not only did that sick son-of-a-bitch take to it like a fish to water, he seemed to feed off it. He needed it.”
The Fourth Prince was skating on very thin ice. Alverd may not have been the sort to strike an unarmed, injured man out of anger, but I was. But I could see the grim facade on Alverd’s face begin to crack. We both were thinking the same thing. How many people had Edgar killed? How many soldiers, how many civilians? Did he enjoy it? I could feel my hand ball into a fist underneath the table. Killing him seemed like a great idea. Damn the consequences.
I think the part that made it all worse was that Edgar was trying to say that what he’d done was nothing compared to Marcus’s role in the massacre. I saw no difference. Both had spilled innocent blood. I didn’t care who had spilled more. I could feel my teeth starting to grind in my mouth. Alverd allowed his grimace to become more pronounced. I think Edgar picked up on it, because he quickly moved on to the next part of his story.
“Father never said a word after that. He took our armies home and changed a great deal. He no longer showered us with praise, he didn’t recognize our strength. He began chastising us for our simple thinking and our brutish ways. And when my dragon died and I suspected foul play, Father merely brushed me off. I knew something was wrong. My own guardsmen thought I was grasping at straws until I cornered one disposing of some kind of weird potion. He was feeding it to some baby dragons in a small kennel out of sight of the rest of the other soldiers. I watched as the baby dragons died quickly, but not before going completely crazy. When I questioned the man, he tried to dodge me. I was forced to kill him, but I was able to confiscate what was left of his poison. But when I tried to bring it to my Father, I was ambushed by some of Marcus’s personal guards”.
I broke off another chunk of the stale bread while Edgar continued on. “They managed to break the bottle of poison. I killed them, but knew that if I went to my Father without proof, Marcus would have me killed to cover his tracks. So I took what I could and fled the Castle. I stumbled across this strange place shortly after I came to the Nest. I was surprised to find a fortress hidden here. No Ishmarian would dare brave the Nest, save Deyovar himself, so why this place exists is beyond me. But I found some odd things deep within its depths.”
Edgar’s expression became somber. He limped over to a crude cupboard, a broken thing that was literally leaning on its last legs. He opened the weathered doors and began rummaging through it, soon emerging with my staff. He tossed it to me. Then he motioned for us to follow him down yet another corridor. “I believe it would be easier if I simply showed you.”
We followed Edgar down the corridor, which had a distinctly downward curve to it, stopping at what looked like a jagged rock wall. Edgar pushed a stone jutting out of the wall like it was a button, and a section of the rock wall slid aside. He walked through the opening, his lantern illuminating the room ahead. The three of us stepped into the room and beheld a truly amazing sight.
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We had entered a laboratory of some sort. A large table sat in the center of the room, with vials, beakers, and lamps of all shapes and sizes sitting on it. Cabinets with potions lined one of the walls, and on the far side of the room sat cages with young dragons. As the light of Edgar’s lantern fell across them, the dragons stirred, and immediately began making a ruckus in their cages. Edgar lit the torches in the room one by one, and I could see that one corner of the room was filled up with stacks upon stacks of books, their covers coated with dust. I moved to one and picked it up.
The Incalculable Applications of Alchemy: Potions Edition. I noticed that among the heaps of books this particular book was the only one that did not have dust on it.
I turned to face Edgar, pointing at the vials on the table. “I see you’ve been busy. The only question is, what have you been up to? Alchemy is hardly a layman’s science.”
Alchemy: the process of creation through transmutation, or changing one thing into another. It’s a science that many people mistake for magic; and given its potential, it was hardly surprising. You can create a great deal of incredible things with alchemy, but as a whole, its practice is highly restricted given its potential to be abused. After all, the ability to turn lead into gold is a pretty big temptation. In the past, entire countries fought over possession of those talented few who understood the intricacies of alchemy.
Edgar smiled wryly. “I had plenty of time to kill, and more than enough books to indulge in. This one caught my eye, though. Because it contains within its pages a draught that can drive a dragon, even a fully matured dragon, utterly insane with only a single dose. The dragon you fought earlier was one I’d been observing after feeding it the draught. It confirms my suspicions that Marcus used some foul sorcery to kill my dragon.” That explains the liquid coming out of the dragon’s mouth, I thought.
Edgar picked up a beaker of a dark red liquid on the table. “I’ve tried to remain in contact with a few of my old servants at the Castle. I’m aware that Marcus has been making overtures to do away with the old traditions in order to ensure his ascendancy to the throne. When my sources reported that your dragon went feral, Alicia, I knew that Marcus was responsible. I was running out of time, so I stepped up my efforts in order to bring the proof to our father once and for all.”
Turning to us, there was a grave expression on his face. “But it goes so much further than just taking the throne. Marevar was the start. It only gave Marcus the taste for blood. But I have sense enough to see that even we, as powerful as we are, cannot take the world alone. Our nation has isolated itself. Our pride has alienated us from potential allies. Should we go to war with all our strength, commit our troops to full out assault, we will be crushed by all who hate us. And there are many who despise us.”
He replaced the beaker from its spot on the table. “Marcus’s dreams of invading Algrustos may be delusional, but he has some method to his madness. We are a nation of conquerors; we literally feed off our enemies’ defeat. It is the only way to support our troops for as long as we have. But left to stagnate as we have these past five years, we will consume ourselves before anyone makes a move against us.”
Edgar crossed over to the dragon cages, opening a hatch on top of one of them. He reached in and grabbed one of the baby dragons by the neck, pulling it to the top of the cage. Edgar forced the beaker into the dragon’s mouth, emptying the contents down its throat. Then he released the dragon and sealed the hatch and backed away from the cage. It only took a moment; the dragon suddenly began thrashing wildly in its cage, frothing at the mouth. All of us sat in stoic silence as the creature screeched angrily, throwing itself at the walls of its cage in futile agony. Without warning, the dragon suddenly keeled over, and blood began running from its mouth. “The younger the dragon, the quicker the effects, as well as its inevitable death. For the dragons bound to our siblings, it’ll take far longer, given that they are of a mature age, but make no mistake, it will kill them all the same.”
The Fourth Prince turned to us with a weary expression. “Testing the poison on that dragon you killed confirmed all of my suspicions. Marcus has created something that can pass for simple madness in the short term. Given enough time, the true nature of the poison is revealed, but because the first symptom is uncontrollable bloodlust, the infected dragon would normally be put down to protect those around it. The poison can’t progress if its host is dead, after all.”
Alicia cut in. “But Edgar, he can’t just kill the other dragons! It’s a violation of our tradition.”
Edgar snorted. “I don’t claim to know what goes on in Marcus’s twisted mind, but I agree. He must have some plan still up his sleeve to take advantage of the situation. But now that we have proof of his plot, we can finally bring him to justice and, hopefully, avoid a war that will sign our death warrants.” A shadow passed over Edgar’s face. “Once, the entire world feared us. But in their fear they found common ground. I see that now. For all our strength, for all our glory, it will mean nothing when the march begins. Algrustos may lead the charge, and when they sound the call, it will be answered.”
During Edgar’s monologue about the pathetic nature of his country’s back-assward philosophy, I found myself wandering the lab. Passing by the various apparatus and supplies, I found my attention drawn towards a metal rod sitting alone in a corner. It had a tripod base with a four-pronged head that was shaped in such a way as though it implied something would fit there. As I stepped closer, I felt some magical force emanate from my pocket. Almost by instinct, my hand pulled the red crystal from my pocket. While it had been translucent before, it was now opaque and pulsing in my hand with a steady rhythm. As if in a trance, I lifted the crystal to the metal rod’s head. By the time Alverd turned his head and saw me about to slip the crystal into place, it was too late. The crystal locked into place in the prongs.
The room burst into a kaleidoscopic flurry of lights and flashes. The room fell away and was transformed into a massive, dark cave. As the walls seemed to solidify around us, I became aware of a horrendous creature lurking behind Alverd, Alicia, and Edgar. They followed the line of my stare and looked behind them, then staggered away from the apparition taking shape.
Behind them, a dragon loomed out of the darkness. Cast across its body in countless crisscrossing lines were thick metal chains. Each link was almost as large as my own body and was anchored to the walls, floor, and ceiling, and inscribed with countless interlocking magical runes. The head of the dragon, wound shut by chains and pinned to the ground, rose and fell in the predictable pattern of one asleep.
But then an eye, gold and black and filled with malice, opened. A gravelly voice so deep it rattled my bones, yet feminine enough for me to know with certainty who it belonged to, rumbled out of the dragon’s mouth.
“Who dares? Who enters this place and dares not kneel before me?”
A footstep upon stone directed our attention to the intruder. An Ishmarian man, his dark-tanned skin marred by long healed scars, strode forward. He was swathed in animal furs, likely tarketan, and he sported a modest yet bristly beard of sandy blond hair that reached up his cheeks and onto his head. His eyes were dark blue, like the deepest part of a pond. He was built of muscle and sinew and little else, and as he entered he drew a sword from his back, only to throw it to the ground before the dragon.
“Great Mother Evros,” the man proclaimed. “I am Deyovar. I seek the wisdom of the greatest of all dragons. And more importantly, I seek your strength. My wife and I will unite the scattered tribes of Ishmar, and build a kingdom to honor you as our ancestors once did. And when I have such power, I will free you of your bonds.”
He looked in our direction, and I realized that the entire vision was being “projected” from the perspective of a person. It had to be Deyovar’s wife, as he has gestured in the “viewer’s” direction when he made mention of her. As he stood before Evros, the dragon stirred, and the chains rustled in the black.
“You presume much to ask of me and only seek to return the favor later down the road, warrior. How am I to know that you will hold to your end of this pact?” The dragon’s guttural voice echoed through the cave with an unnerving reverberation.
Undaunted, Deyovar stood his ground. “You will have to trust me, Great Mother. What choice do you have?” The dragon’s eye narrowed, knowing that he spoke the truth. She snarled, but I could hear the defeat in her voice.
“Very well. When you have united all of the tribes, you shall return to me. And to assist you in your task, I will grant you this.”
The dragon made a grinding sound with her mouth, then spat something out of it. It was a small (at least for a dragon) tooth. Deyovar picked it up, which was impressive given that it was almost as long as his arm from the tip to its base. “I will teach you to make a blade so fine, born of the steel within my tooth. Something you will teach to all of your faithful. It will forge a weapon without equal, and with it, you shall be a king.”
Arms reached out from the “perspective” of the woman witnessing all of this, slender and lean. She took the tooth from Deyovar. The warrior kneeled before the dragon’s head. “Then tell me what I must do.”
The scene then collapsed in on itself, swirled into darkness before reshaping into the familiar image of the cave. A woman’s voice, nothing like the dragon's, spoke to her husband as the two of them entered Evros’ domain. “Then we are agreed?”
Deyovar nodded. “I am already committed to this path. It is what is best.” From the darkness, the mewling voice of the dragon emerged.
“Fool. I decide what is best. Speak, so that I may be amused by your ramblings.”
Deyovar pulled his sword from its sheath. It was utterly beautiful; its blade was reminiscent of the dragon tooth blades wielded by Alicia’s guards, but with a finish that was like that of traditional steel, with an ornate golden hilt inlaid with a giant ruby. I heard Alicia and Edgar gasp in unison.
“The Sword of Evros…” they muttered.
“I vowed to free you of your chains, Great Mother Evros,” Deyovar proclaimed. “But the truth is, once you are free, what good am I as king? What is a king to a god? When I release you, the tribes I shed blood to unite will offer you their fealty instead of me. So I think you will remain where you are, and I will inform the others that you have granted me your favor.” He sneered as he jabbed the tip of his sword against the dragon’s snout.
Evros strained against her chains, but they barely budged. “You little worm! Command your wife to free me now, and perhaps I will not devour you whole as punishment for your lapse in judgment!”
Deyovar laughed. “My wife will do no such thing. And neither shall any mage for that matter.” And with that, he turned to the woman through whose eyes we were watching this all unfold, and plunged the blade into her chest. The room spun as Deyovar’s wife tilted back and fell, hitting the ground.
There was a gurgling sound as the vision swam in and out of focus. The last thing we all saw was Deyovar removing a familiar red crystal from the grasp of his dying wife. Her hand reached up toward Deyovar’s face, but whether it was to claw at it or caress it wasn’t clear. “If magic will undo your chains, Great Mother, then I will see to it that magic fades from all of this land. You had your time to rule, Evros. Now it is mine.”
As the vision faded to full darkness, we heard Deyovar’s voice one last time. “My newborn child will learn of the evils of magic, as will his children, and theirs, and all of their children. I will guide our people to glory, and you Evros, will remain here to rot, as befitting a fallen king.”
The light of the crystal faded, ending the vision. We stood dumbfounded, in the lab, as the last of its light sputtered out. Alicia was the first to break the silence.
“That… that’s why? That’s why we hate mages? Because of Deyovar?” She placed her head in her hands and screamed into them. I couldn’t blame her. I wanted to scream too.
Edgar shuffled over to the crystal, plucking it from its place.
“All this time, Deyovar passed the knowledge of his crime to each of his successors. He knew all along where Evros, our goddess, was! And yet he selfishly chose to hide her from us so he could rule instead…?” Suddenly he whirled around, and when he did there was a new look in his eye. His face was already distorting into a lopsided, demented smile. “Think about it! What folly! We could’ve had Evros’ help all this time! We could have freed her and gained control of all of Selarune! Even the servants of the gods would be cast down before her might!”
He stalked over towards me, and I backpedaled to try to keep my distance. He held the crystal out to me, pleading. “Mage! Invoke the crystal again! Make it show me where Evros is! When she awakens, when she flies again, she will usher in a new age! Show it to me!” He slid a knife out of the fold of his cloak, and it gleamed malevolently in the low light of the torches. “TALK!”
Alverd rushed to help me, but Edgar savagely backhanded him, the thick metal gauntlet slamming into Alverd’s face and knocking him flat. Alverd fell onto his back, groaning as he struggled to remain conscious. I felt the stone wall of the lab press against my back and knew there was nowhere else to go.
Edgar continued to advance, his eyes full of fire and glee. “This will change everything! With Evros leading us, every other nation will crumble! The mages of Algrustos will watch helplessly as their Witch-Queen is devoured! They will see their heathen temples and faithless magics destroyed as their people are offered to appease Evros’ hunger! They will-“
Without warning, Edgar fell to the ground as Alicia swung her maul directly into the crook of his good leg. There was a loud, distinct cracking sound followed by a cry of both surprise and pain from Edgar. He looked to the side in disbelief just in time to have Alicia knock him out with a solid right hook straight to his face.
Alicia grabbed me by the arm and started shaking me. “You alright?!” I nodded feebly, and she clapped my cheek with her hand to steady my nerves. “Then let’s get out of here. Grab that book. We need it to prove to Father that Marcus is up to no good. With both his legs broken, Edgar won’t be coming after us anytime soon.” She took hold of Alverd’s arm and hoisted him back to his feet, which was a testament to her impressive physical strength.
As Alverd shook off his dizziness, I ran to the table and grabbed the book on alchemy. It was a long shot, but if it could be used to convince the King that Marcus was up to no good, then there was no harm in taking it. Against my better judgment, I also took the red crystal from where it had fallen on the floor too and placed it back into my pocket. We exited the lab, moving as fast as we could.
We weren’t sure where to go at first, but given that we had descended to get to the lab, the most logical direction to go at the moment was up. The corridors curved gently upward, and eventually wooden slats in the ground appeared to give traction for our feet so we wouldn’t trip. After rounding another corner, we could see a weak light at the end of the tunnel, probably the dim light of the outside world. We rushed forward, but froze when we heard voices echoing down the tunnel.
Suddenly, the sounds of dragons came from outside the cave. The shouting of soldiers could also be heard. It was faint, but I believe I heard the soldiers’ captain say something along the lines of “Kill them all”. This proclamation was immediately followed by the sounds of clanking metal and hurried grunting. Then, six men dropped down through the opening and started charging down the tunnel towards us.
I really should have seen all this coming. I’d like to think I’m smart enough to have done so. That’s what concussions will do to you.