Tarold was sitting on his bed in his chamber, furiously trying to wash off the purple mark in his hand. It had been a month since it appeared. At first he had thought it was just some filth, but when it didn’t disappear, he grew restless.

He believed it had grown since he had discovered it. He wasn’t sure, but it seemed so, and that was a really bad sign. Now He had been desperately rubbing it for half an hour, and it just stayed. Though his skin was becoming red and irritated, and beginning to hurt.

Another thing he had discovered while looking in a priceless mirror was that his hair was slowly becoming black and he believed that his eyes would become green too, given the time. It was his soul messing with the body, shaping it to its most comfortable form. Slowly, but surely.

He hadn’t found a plausible explanation yet. But that was a problem for another time, for right now he had planned to make this body learn all of his old sword techniques, of The First Way. One thing was to know them, another to be able to use them.

He got out of the room, and locked the door. While strolling down the corridor he greeted a few knights, who politely greeted him back. His status was very high in this castle, only below the Redfyr family in theory because he was the official court magician. Arianna being a Redfyr the position wasn’t available to her. His simple presence gave them a lot prestige among nobles, as they now had two young and skilled magicians, which was more than most families had. They had provided him with silk clothes and a mirror, both being very costly, but affordable for most nobles who had more than a few villages.

He went down the stairs and exited the keep. He then arrived in the bailey, and saw wagons coming in through the opened gate, full of supplies and materials. A young man he recognized stood not too far away. He went over and met with the young squire named Cadell. Arianna’s mother, Alis Redfyr had found him a teacher in The First Way, after he had expressed the wish to learn to fight with a sword. Cadell was the one she recommended.

“You seem to be in a bright mood this morning.” In fact he seemed to be about to burst from joy, he had that huge grin on his face.

“My mentor told me that I am ready. The ceremony will happen in a few weeks!” The young man was slim and tall, and strong, but most important of all he was skilled. He was handsome with his catching blue eyes, which attracted attention from the average brown hair. But he was only eighteen if Tarold remembered right, which was much too soon to become a full-fledged knight.

First you became a page at seven years old, and were trained to serve a knight and his squire, while being trained by the squire. The general rule was seven years to become a squire, and another seven to become a knight. So at eighteen, he still had three full years to accomplish.

“Congratulations!” Tarold said with a smile. “You are very early compared to the others.”

“Yes I know. I won’t disappoint Garentior, my mentor.” He said with confidence and determination in his voice. Tarold thought for a moment. ‘Garentior’ was a Notharn name. He gritted his teeth. Those bastards he thought.

“Anyway, let’s go beat you into a pulp.” He flashed a smile, showing that his teeth were white, but not completely aligned.

While talking about knighthood, they walked over to the training grounds. Many other pages, squires, guards and knights were training there. They seemed more serious and concentrated in their training. There were few laughing and chatting.

Tarold decided that he would address the issue with Arianna later. Cadell picked up two wooden swords and handed one over to him. He also began lecturing about different sword styles, which Tarold more or less ignored. He already knew most of it, and what he didn’t knew was probably useless.

They began sparring, with Cadell pointing mistakes out to Tarold, and the latter eagerly tried to correct them. He already knew the mistakes, but wasn’t aware that he was making them.  The last two weeks he had been training the basics, to incorporate them in his muscles memory. Fast reflexes were much needed in a fight.

Growing a little impatient from having studied the basics this much, he tried to use some of his more complicated techniques. It often ended in big mistakes, because his movements weren’t precise and fast enough, resulting in huge gaps which could be exploited his oppenent.

And Cadell began lecturing him about why you shouldn’t attempt techniques beyond your level. When Tarold was covered in bruises, and too tired to continue, he ended the sparring lesson.

Cadell just nodded and they both went to take a swim in the river that was a few hundred meters away. It had a weak flow and was quite small. They enjoyed it and washed themselves.

 “Hey Cadell. Why do Lady Alis like you so much?” Tarold asked out of the blue, feeling a little curious.  Cadell threw him a quick glance, and then continued washing himself.

“Why would you think that?” He said with an uninterested voice.

“It’s obvious. Why else you she pick you to be my teacher, if it isn’t for you to have a powerful magician friend?” Tarold said, while enjoying the water flow against his nude body. “Not that I’m against having you as a friend.”

“Why not me? I’m as capable as any of the other squires, if not better.” Tarold just kept the silence. Cadell was intelligent; he wouldn’t miss something like that.

“You can trust me. If you tell me, I will tell you a secret of mine.” Tarold said, looking dead serious.

“You are only twelve years old, right?” Cadell sighed. “You first.”

“I guess that’s only fair.” Torald looked at his left palm. Then he showed it to Called. “You see this?”

He stared at it for a few seconds, and then nodded with a frown.

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“Well, this is a godly blessing.” Tarold said, while a little smile emerged on the serious face. “The Blessing of the God of Magick, Lucifer.” Cadell’s eyes widened.

“Really? So that’s why you are so good at magick!” He exclaimed with respect. “The blessing of a god…” He whispered, hardly believing him. But the proof was right before his eyes. He grabbed Tarold’s hand and looked at the mark on the palm again. A small purple spiral. He had never seen one before, only heard about it in the Legends. But it definitely looked real.

Tarold pulled his hand back. “Now what’s your secret? “

“Well, it’s not nearly as big as yours, but…” He looked on the defensive, fearing Tarold’s reaction. “You know… The duke’s wife? Lady Alis?” He nodded. “She took a liking to me a few months ago. And we’ve been kind of seeing each other… Not often! Just, once in a while…”

“So you’re basically sleeping with the duke’s wife?” Tarold said with a neutral face. It was funny watching the young man struggle though.

“What! No! I mean… How do you even know about things like that at twelve years old!“ Tarold just sighed. It was really a pain in the ass to be so young sometimes.

“Anyway, this is between you and me. No one else can know, ok?” He said, and Cadell confirmed with a nod.

They got out from the river and dried themselves. On the way home they talked. He learned that Cadell and Lady Alis slept together whenever the Duke went hunting, which could last several days. Her personal servants were all loyal to Lady Alis, and a lot of the household.

They parted at the entry, were Cadell had to see to his mentor’s horse and armor. Tarold immediately headed towards Arianna’s chambers. He found her in her new office, studying a book. She only gave him a quick look before returning to it. He waited for a few minutes, before she put it aside.

“That book is way too complicated.” She said with a sigh. “I don’t even think it is worth learning.”

“Everything is worth learning. Knowledge, is also a form of power.” He said confidently. “And in this situation, I am afraid I am in need of it.” He had approached and sat on her desk, with her glaring at him.

She leaned back on her chair. “I got it. What do you want to know?”

“Why is it that we are preparing for war?” She didn’t react, but simply narrowed her eyes. “The soldiers are training way more seriously that they normally do. In the last week, there have been numerous wagons full of supplies and weapons arriving. And finally, young squires are being promoted to knights in a hurry.”

“Why do you care with things like this? Just leave them to us, the Redfyrs.” She said.

“I’m the court magician. I need to know stuff like this, Arianna.” He said, exasperated.

“You’re only twelve.” She said. How many times are people going to point out my age today? He thought irritated.

“And yet I’m a better magician that you.” He immediately regretted, knowing that she was already ashamed it. This was not the best approach. “Sorry. I just need to know. I don’t like being kept in the dark simply because I’m young. “

She softened and sighed. “My mother told me not to let you know. She has very high hopes for you, and won’t risk losing you at such a young age.”

He smiled. It was good to know that people cared about him. As long as they weren’t bothersome and didn’t get too much in his way.

She took a deep breath. “We are surrounded by the Westoth sea at the West and South, and the Sydli Bay to the East.” Tarold nodded. He obviously already knew this. “But at the North, the Duke of Smithien and his vassals are arming themselves for war. They have the full backing of the Notharn Kingdom, and the duke of Wiwald at their Northern border is neutral.”  She was getting passionate, and was now pointing at a map on her desk. “We will stand little to no chance if Nothar sends an army, but as of lately they have been withdrawing men from their occupied territories in the North, so I don’t think we have much to fear from them, apart from a few isolated help. We don’t know why though.” She said the last pensively, trying to figure it out. She gave up, or delayed it to another time.

“This is why my mother has convinced the duke to counter attack Smithien. “ Now she was smiling. “We will try to take over their vassal, Henrod, at the border.”

Tarold was impressed. He hadn’t expected them to be so aggressive. “Where do I fit in all this?”

“My mother hopes that the war won’t break out in this year, or maybe not the next one either. She is stalling out, to allow our kingdom to rebuild our forces. In the last twenty years, the Notharn has kept an eye for us, and our military. They fear another Empire, like last time.” She had once again leaned back in her chair. “But their influence is weakening, and although we don’t know why it is a great occasion for us.”

They should fear another Empire. Tarold thought.  It is only a question of time.

“And we are also waiting for you to grow older.” She said seriously. “I hope you’re still improving in magick.”

He just smiled at her. He had maintained the illusion that he was studying, to fit in better. But there really wasn’t that much more he could improve on. Adalwulf had been one of the most respected and feared magicians of his time.

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