Forgotten Mage (12 page)

“Not bad, you have had some training,
but your movements are a bit too predictable,” Jacob said, his eyes
focused on Bren. “A few years of good training and you might even
be able to petition the king to let you join the official Katanaga
forces.”

Bren’s eyes opened wide with surprise.
Everyone knew who the Katanaga forces were, even the vathari, a
race who prided themselves on war, respected them as warriors. “I
can’t sir,” Bren stuttered, mentally kicking himself as the words
came out of his mouth.

“Why would that be?” Jacob asked, his
face quickly turning angry.

“Sir….I am supposed to train in the
Tower for the next few years,” Bren replied, his mouth almost
choking on the words under the sword masters stern
glare.

“I see, then I will have to talk with
your master,” Jacob said, his eyes never leaving Bren’s. “Well come
on, what is the man’s name?” Jacob asked, nearly yelling when Bren
continued to remain speechless.

“Sae-Thae,” Bren finally said as Jacob
moved closer. The imposing older man stared down at him as if he
were nothing more than a babe fresh off the tit.

Jacob flashed a toothy grin and quickly
raised his arm, prompting Bren to flinch. The older man laughed as
he slapped his hand down hard onto Bren’s shoulder. “Sae-Thae, then
you must show some promise in magic as well. I am sure that he and
I can come to an arrangement. It’s not the first time a mage
student has taken courses from our instructors.”

Bren went to make a reply, but a grey
blur flashed in front of him bearing Jacob to the ground.
Surprised, both Bren and Cass turned to look at the weapon master
as he tussled on the ground with the large Avalanche. “Avalanche
stop,” Bren said, grabbing the creature by the neck and twisting so
that it rolled off the instructor.

Rolling back to her feet, Avalanche
gave a loud rumbling bark and bounced around the stone ring. “I am
sorry…” Bren started to apologize, but Jacob simply laughed and
patted Avalanche on the head.

“So, you must be Master Torin’s son,”
Jacob said, still laughing. “No wonder you know how to handle a
blade. Should have realized it earlier seeing that you’re carrying
his sword, not to mention you look a great deal like your father,
though a bit more on the girly side in the face.”

“Thank you,” Bren said, not sure if he
was getting complemented or insulted.

“Cassius, see our new friend back to
the Mage’s Tower, and make sure you take the pile of rubble with
you,” Jacob added jokingly.

Cass remained silent as he led Bren
away from the training grounds and back toward the Mage’s Tower. As
soon as the large wall of the compound was out of sight, Cass
looked over at Bren and gave him an apologetic look. “I could have
sworn from the way you carried yourself that you were here to apply
for the martial school, not the Tower,” The young fighter said, his
voice tense and sounding somewhat apologetic. “I guess being the
master mage Torin’s son, you would have to attend the Tower though.
I’m sorry, I don’t think you will find your future very much
fun.”

“Why?” Bren asked, not understanding
Cass’s sudden change in demeanor. Bren was looking forward to
training with a Katanaga weapon master.

“I am not near stupid enough to think
that the mage’s Tower does not have its own challenges. Where the
martial school will push you past physical exhaustion, the Tower
will in mental,” Cass replied, giving Bren a worried look. “Every
few years, we have a mage that trains with us for a time, but they
normally quit fairly fast. I think less than half a dozen have
finished a year since the schools founding.

“I see… Then wish me luck,” Bren said
after a long moment of uneasy silence.

“That I will, and I hope in the days
that follow, you will not look too badly on me for my part in your
double studies,” Cass said with a weak smile.

“Oh I might curse your name late at
night when my body and mind begin to fall apart,” Bren said,
earning a worried look from Cass. “If you want to keep that from
happening, then you better give me a hand when you can,” Bren added
with a wry grin.

“That I will do, as long as it does not
involve those two ladies from earlier. I wish to live a long life
and they seem the kind that would shorten it
dramatically.”

The rest of the walk back to the Tower,
the two exchanged stories. Cass was interested in Ben’s father, but
when it was obvious the subject touched on a sore spot, he quickly
dropped it. When it came to Cass’s father, it seemed that he was a
royal guard for King Killian and had fought alongside the former
Warmaster in the war.

As they approached the Tower, Bren saw
a very opposing and very mad looking vathari mage waiting on him.
Bren looked over to Cass, who gave the mage a shocked look. “I
think it is time for me to head back to the training grounds,” He
said, stopping mid-stride.

“You’re leaving me now?” Bren asked in
a half joking plead.

“This is one battle you will have to
fight on your own,” Cass said, before dropping back and
disappearing into the distance at a fast pace.

Bren turned his attention back to the
vathari mage. “Hi,” Bren said, trying to sound cheerful.

“Where have you been?” Phena asked in a
loud and demanding voice. “Master Sae-Thae has been asking after
you all afternoon.”

“I was out with a friend,” Bren
replied, trying to walk past Phena.

“Next time you want to go gallivanting
all over town, let someone know. I don’t fancy being sent to look
for you,” Phena said, grabbing his shoulder for the second time
that day.

Bren had tried to be nice, he had tried
to work with her, but Phena didn’t seem to care one bit. It was as
if she thought the world revolved around her, just like a spoiled
princess he knew. He had dealt with it his whole life had been
forced to deal with it. “Then don’t,” Bren said, knocking her hand
away. “Just because you think Sae-Thae should spend every second of
his life devoted to you, doesn’t mean you have to take it out on
the rest of us just because he doesn’t. If you have a problem, why
don’t you take it up with him?”

Phena stepped aside and let Bren pass
without another word, though he could have sworn that he noticed a
small smile on her lips. He had the urge to turn around to take a
second look, but instead began the long climb up the stairs to his
room. Bren didn’t know what Sae-Thae wanted, but he was too tired
to care and he was sure that it could wait until
morning.

“I see that your boy has a little more
backbone where women are concerned,” Humanius said with a deep
laugh. “I feel better that you are getting to know your son in some
small way, though I doubt what the future will bring will be as
warming as these moments. Cherish them while you may.”

“What do you mean?” Thad asked, turning
his head toward the god. In his countless hours sitting, watching
his son, the god had said little that did not hold meaning and the
words he had just spoke could have meant a great many things. None
of them good.

“I told you how our people found a way
to make ourselves more powerful, but there is much more to it. The
cycle of life is similar to the flow of a great river. At the start
of life, we borrow a small portion of power from the ether. When we
die, that power returns, along with what experiences we have
gathered during our time. Magic is the physical form of that
ether,” the god said

“I don’t see what that has to do with
my son,” Thad said, getting to his feet angrily.

“You must understand the beginning to
see the end,” Humanius replied calmly. “At the source, or what my
people believe to be the center of all creation, there is a massive
pool of ether. That well is called the pool of chaos. Everything is
mixed, but as it spreads out, it separates into its primal forces,
creating new life where none had been. My father did not just learn
how to make us better at controlling the primal forces, he learned
how to let us tap into the combined forces in the pool of chaos.
This allows us to do much more than any being should be able and at
the same time, obstructs the balance of ether. My father learned of
this imbalance and stopped making new children with the power. In
the end, less than a dozen were born as new gods, counting my
sister and me. My father then locked away the knowledge on how to
create new gods away from our people. This is what caused the war
in our world, and in the end, caused our fathers downfall and
death. As we escaped, we took with us the knowledge of creating new
gods and vowed that we would never make the same mistakes of our
father.”

Humanius began pacing back and forth,
wringing his hands tightly. “It would seem that my sister forgot
that vow. As you were pulled in, it was my sister’s hand that
reached for your son. She was not trying to capture him as you had
thought at first. She infused a large amount of chaos energy into
his body. It still lies dormant, running through his body and
changing him. Though at the present, he does not know how to use
it. That will change, and when he harnesses that power, he will be
even stronger than my sister’s children.”

“And?” Thad said, knowing that the god
was still hiding something.

“He has to die before he comes into his
true inheritance. I have already sent my children to find him, and
with the amount of power he is giving off, it will not be hard for
them to locate him.”

Thad didn’t think as he jumped to his
feet and grabbed the god and tried to throw him to the ground. As
soon as his hands touched the god’s skin, he found himself floating
into the air and slamming hard into the ground. Amazingly, there
was no pain as he hit the ground. He didn’t even feel as if the
wind had been knocked out of him, but he still couldn’t make his
body move. “Let go of me,” Thad demanded as he continued to
struggle against the gods hold.

“
I understand your anger,
but everything I do is for the sake of all who live in our
world.”

CHAPTER X

Bren was abruptly awoken as he was
pulled from his bed. As his eyes fluttered open as he tried to
focus on who was in the room, but it was so dark he couldn’t see
past the end of his nose. On instinct, Bren searched for his sword
that he kept hanging at the end of his bed.

“Master Sae-Thae has called for you and
expects you to be in his chambers immediately,” An angry female
voice said before his door was shut loudly.

Touching one of the magical lights,
Bren lit up the room and looked to his so called protector who
still laid quietly on the ground. “I don’t see how my dad survived
with you watching his back,” Bren said, slumping down on his bed,
his hand over his chest trying to still his shaking
body.

In reply, Avalanche lifted her head a
few inches from the ground and gave a loud happy bark. His mother
had always swore that the creature was far smarter than she was
given credit for, and Bren had always believed her. Not only was it
smarter though, it also seemed to have a unique sense of humor.
Bren thanked god that it was only Avalanche and none of the little
nadarie had tagged along on the journey. The little fairies loved
the rock hound and often came to visit her.

Once his heartbeat had returned to
normal, Bren quickly dressed in a set of dark grey robes that
Sae-Thae had sent over. It wasn’t a very appealing color, but it
was tradition that all low level mages wear them until they earned
their place. Bren understood the system, but he wished they had
picked a better color.

After strapping on his sword, which
looked out of place with his new attire, Bren grabbed Thuraman and
made his way toward Master Sae-Thae’s office.

Thad found the elder vathari sitting
behind his desk with the Weapons Master from the day before,
standing calmly in the corner of the room. Bren took a deep breath
and walked slowly to the center of the room before taking a shallow
bow. “Master, you requested my presence.”

“Yes, it would seem that Weapons Master
Jacob has come to petition you to train with them. As you know full
well, magical training is very tiring and will leave you little
time for other studies. Most of the arch mages frown on the use of
weapons and they would look down on you, thinking that you were not
taking your studies seriously,” Sae-Thae said, with little
inflection in his voice.

Bren let out a quiet breath as Sae-Thae
spoke. The idea of training with a Katanaga Weapons Master was
thrilling to him, but he didn’t want to attempt it at the same time
he was trying to master magic. He was used to having a full
schedule, but he wanted to try and enjoy himself a little while he
was away from home.

“But, I don’t feel the same. As you
know, I am a vathari mage, and we believe that every soldier, mage
or not, should learn how to defend themselves in close quarters. As
you know, you can’t officially become a student of the Mage’s Tower
until the age of fifteen and you are still a year away from that.
While I will train you and urge others to do the same when I am
unable, I expect you to also train with Master Jacob every morning
and more if time permits. Jacob has willingly accepted this
compromise and has arrived to escort you to your first day of
training.”