Spellscribed: Ascension (32 page)

“But how can you be so sure?” Joven demanded. “How will this fix the problem?”

“It might not. Plain and simple.” Endrance said, running his hand through his hair. “But I have a pretty good idea what’s causing this and I need to make it right. I am not unfamiliar with the magic at work here either, so I am not blindly making this decision.”

Joven’s scowl didn’t get any better, but he turned his back and walked a few paces away, grumbling. It seemed that he was fighting with something internally. Endrance turned to the wolfmen and found them staring at him.

“What?” Endrance asked.

Gnaeus grinned. “You keep your second well under control, Alpha.” He said. “You didn’t even need to prove your dominance to him.”

“No, he’s great.” Endrance agreed. “I’ve had to… how did you put it?”

“Assert dominance?”

“Yeah, I’ve had to ‘assert dominance’ with only one member of my group.” Endrance admitted.

“There’s always a troublemaker in the pack.” Gnaeus agreed. “May I ask who?”

“Bridget. The brown haired woman outside who is missing an arm.” Endrance answered.

“Oh, one of your mates.”
The Alpha replied. “Be careful, she has the smell of a fighter.”

Endrance rubbed his jaw. “Do I know
it.”

“We have talked.” Gnaeus stated suddenly. “We agree to help you with this. Your plan is sound and we should be able to take the mages without many losses.”

“You’re sure of that?” Endrance asked.

Gnaeus grinned again.
“Of course. We are the best hunters of our pack.”

“Great.” Endrance said. “I need to get ready for the Ascension. I want to leave right after that though, so if you can make ready to do this in the next hour, I will return to this house and then lead you to where we will cross the wall.”

Gnaeus nodded. “It will be done. Until then, my second has a request.”

Endrance looked to the younger wolfman. “And that is?”

Wrach set the bundle down and unrolled it. Inside were dozens of pelts and furs from various animals.

“We do not know much about human children.” Wrach said. “We wish to trade these furs for things they would need and teachings on how to raise them.”

Joven, having sorted through his conflicting interests, exchanged a glance with Endrance. The mage blinked, and leaned forward. “Excuse me?”

“We wish to trade for materials and information on the raising of a human child.” Wrach replied again. “It is a female, if that makes any difference.”

Endrance was at a loss for words. Joven stepped in, speaking up. “Wrach,” he started. “Where did you get a human child?”

Wrach shrugged. “Found it.”

“And, you’re just going to raise it?” Joven inquired.

“Her parents are dead, and I promised I would take care of her.” Wrach replied. “I wish to be able to keep my promise.”

Endrance had recovered enough to speak by that point. “Oh, okay. This makes more sense now.” He touched the pile of furs. “This is fine. I’ll make sure that my Draugnoa give you what you need. Can you read?”

“Read?” Wrach asked. “We can read our language, but yours is not taught.”

Endrance grimaced. “Well then, I’ll ask them to coach you on the basics. Maybe someday I can come visit your people and check on the girl; just to make sure she’s getting what she needs.” The mage scratched his head. “I mean, unless you are entirely carnivorous, I suspect your diets aren’t much different than ours.”

“We can eat more raw meats than you, but we eat whatever we can.” Gnaeus replied. “And we learned long ago that cooking foods make them taste better.”

“Well then, you should be fine but I’ll have Selene consult with you, just in case.” He said, feeling like he was finally getting somewhere. “I need to get prepared for the ceremony and then the thing after, so if you can please give me some time.”

The wolfmen were escorted back out. Endrance briefly spoke to Selene, explained the situation and asked for her help. She was more than happy to talk with Wrach about the child and what kind of things she would need. Endrance went inside and Bridget began coaching him on the details of his ceremonial dance.

During the next hour, he performed the dance several times, getting his mind and body accustomed to the motions. The ceremony allowed for little mistakes; should he fumble, he would have to start over. Selene entered the building some time later with a basket containing the costume he was supposed to wear, as well as a light meal for before the ceremony. They ate quickly, with little time for conversation.

Endrance didn’t tell them about his plan for after the ceremony. Joven, though present, followed his lead. He knew that allowing him to go off on this seeming suicide mission was tearing him up inside, but it was necessary. It was something he had to do, and Joven would only get himself killed, accomplishing nothing. He couldn’t tell his wives about it because they’d be impossible to convince to stay

Endrance wondered if that was the way things were going to be from now on. He’d have to manipulate people, and force others to do what he wanted because he knew better. As a wizard and as he got more powerful, he would find himself knowing more and more of the big picture and where everything fit in it. If he wanted to succeed, he would need to move people and put them in the best position that fit into that big picture.

But what if what he thought was the best thing for them was wrong? It was just too easy to lose sight, to become deluded into thinking what was good for him was good for everyone. If he had the power to change the fates of thousands of lives, wouldn’t it be irresponsible to not use it?

Endrance didn’t know the answer, but he knew he would have to keep looking. He didn’t want to become a tyrant or a manipulator, but regardless of his desires, he knew he was growing more powerful. With that power came the temptation to misuse it, and he would need to stay on guard if he wanted to keep his morality intact.

After they ate, Selene took him to the front room to change while the others cleaned up their meal. Endrance looked down at the costume she showed him and shook his head.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” He protested. “This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen.”

“I know!” Selene said, smiling. “I think you’ll look great in it!”

Minutes later, Endrance found himself staring out at the assembled barbarians that could be allowed to be present without leaving the walls vulnerable; which meant that thousands of men and women were staring expectantly at the door of the nearby house they had let Endrance and his companions prepare in.

The mage looked down at himself and sighed. “Are you sure this is the right costume?” Endrance asked, trying to straighten a band on his arm. Selene reached out and grasped his hand before he could.

“Stop fidgeting with it. Yes, this is the ceremonial costume for the Ascension ceremony. You just have to go out there, do the dance and say the words, and give someone your favor.”

“This is ridiculous.” Endrance replied. “I can’t believe that I have to do this.”

The costume he was wearing consisted of leather straps across his biceps, chest, waist, and thighs. Folded into each strap were strips of gray cloth whose ends had been dipped in red and yellow dyes at the tips, soaking up into the gray. Whenever he moved, the strips would swish and sway, baring his body quite embarrassingly. He was barefoot, his feet freezing on the chilled stone. After some argument, he was allowed to keep the bracers on, since the color of the gems matched the overall appearance of the costume. The wooden token he had crafted hung from his neck on a thin leather thong.

“Are you sure there isn’t another layer here?” Endrance asked. “Like, I don’t know, underwear? It’s cold as ice outside and if I do the moves, everything’s going to be exposed!”

“I noticed.” Selene whispered, blushing.

“So are we able to do something about that?” Endrance asked after he realized that Selene was staring into space. She snapped out of it blinking at him as she registered what he said.

“Do we have to?” She muttered. Somewhere behind him, Endrance could hear Bridget snicker and Joven suppressing a laugh. She sighed, looking through the bag she had brought the costume in. She produced a very small bit of clothing and tossed it to him. “Here it is.” She said with a sigh. “Need me to leave so you can get… dressed?”

Endrance raised an eyebrow as he straightened out the bit of cloth. “No, no point.” He said, slipping it on. It didn’t do anything to protect him from the cold and it barely covered the essential parts, which was what he was most embarrassed about. Better something, than nothing.

“I can’t believe you were going to let me go out there pantless in front of all those people.” Endrance complained.

Selene blushed. “I wasn’t trying to do it on purpose, it just… slipped my mind!” she said defensively.

“Ugh!” Endrance exclaimed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I don’t think that having the people of Balator see every bit of me is a great idea. I don’t want to give them any more to laugh at me about.”

Selene turned away with a blush. “I don’t think they would find it laughable.” She murmured. Endrance was glancing back out the window and didn’t hear her.

“Okay, so I just do the dance, right?” Endrance asked. He and Selene walked into the other room where Bridget and Joven had been waiting. They were unsuccessfully attempting to hide their amused grins, and upon him walking in, they burst out laughing again.

Endrance stood there waiting, his face blank as they laughed out loud. He sighed, rolling his eyes. “Yep.” He muttered. “This is going to be a great moment for my career.”

“It could be worse!” Joven exclaimed, chuckling. “You could… no, wait. I can’t think of anything worse. I’d rather go naked!”

Endrance hung his head, unable to form words that could express how embarrassed he was. He had a hard enough time being taken seriously by the barbarians; and dressing this silly was not going to help. He was going to be cold, vulnerable and mocked. How in the world was this ceremony supposed to be a show of his support?

“How did the other Spengur do this without being laughed out of the city?” he asked, sighing. Maybe they had some other magic.

He got an idea. Endrance turned to the three before him and pretended to clear his throat to get their attention.

“What if I do this?” Endrance asked. He cast a spell, and grinned as he saw their reaction. Bridget, Joven and Selene stared.

“Yes.” Joven said, again surprised. “Do that.”

“Wow.” Selene whispered. “So, that’s impressive.”

“If you’re a daisy, I guess.” Bridget said with a smirk. She pursed her lips when he glared at her. “Of course, it looks better than before.”

“I’ll do it then.” Endrance stated.

They finished their preparations, checked on the challengers and made sure Endrance had every motion of the dance learned. He drank an extra mug of hot mead to warm up, and nodded to the Draugnoa.

Without another word they exited the building, leaving Endrance alone with Joven. It would take them a few minutes to go through the opening ceremony, so he had a little time to talk to his bodyguard.

“Joven.” Endrance began. “Who do you think would be a good leader?”

Joven shrugged. “Well, Thorald’s got more wisdom than many of the younger ones, but Balen’s also supposed to run, so I don’t know.”

“Balen’s running?” Endrance asked.

“Aye, all the generals are.” Joven replied. “Except Rohl, since he’s afield and assumed dead.”

Endrance sighed. “Great. What about Kalah Varg?”

“The furie-cursed?”
Joven asked. “She’s dangerously clever to have survived so long under her curse. Or has better self-control than most.”

“Sure.
But no real leadership ability?”

“She had the required twelve subjects willing to cast in their fate with hers.” Joven replied. “Good enough to try for the Ascension.”

Endrance nodded. “What happens if someone doesn’t win?” he asked.

Joven shrugged. “Better luck next time.”

“Ah, at least there’s that.” The mage stated.

He heard three sharp raps on the door, the signal he was to come out. Endrance nodded to Joven and grinned. “Wish me luck.” He said, walking out the door.

Cold air bit at his bare feet, hands and face, but it was relatively still that evening. He saw the expectant faces of hundreds of men and women staring at him as he approached the circle marked out in the dirt twenty yards across. Around it, six groups of people stood equidistant from each other, bunched up thirteen per group. One leader and their twelve staunchest supporters stood ready for the ceremony.

Endrance could see several of the leaders, Balen included, struggling to maintain their serious demeanor. The civilians spectating, however, had no such restraint. Several waves of laughter and jeering echoed back towards him from the crowds. Endrance felt a knot in his stomach that made him want to run back into the house and hide.

Of course he couldn’t; all those people were facing their own destruction. And if dressing like a dandelion would save their lives, then he would do it. Even if they didn’t realize what he was doing in the process. That was the very essence of why they needed the Spengur.

Endrance looked up, spotting the flickering orange speck in the sky that was Gullin.

Gullin, come down to me.
He directed.
I want to give them some more light to see by.

The familiar screeched a loud tripartite note that echoed off the inner walls of the bowl as he plummeted into a nosedive. People looked up as the bird shot towards the Spengur, flickers of flame coming off the crimson feathered familiar in greater and greater quantities. Endrance could feel a faint draw on his aura as his familiar made a surely memorable display.

At what should have been an impossible last second, the Fjallar snapped his wings open, pulling out of the dive and rocketing over the roof of the house the mage had just departed, rattling the timbers. Wings flared, Gullin landed on Endrance’s left forearm. A wave of heat and embers washed past Endrance, causing several of the leaders to blink in surprise.

Gullin tossed his head back and let out a shrill, musical tripartite cry. A small bead of brilliant light rocketed from his beak into the sky, exploding into a ball of flames that hung in the air for several seconds.

During the display, Endrance had his right hand down at his hip, mostly behind his body and obscured from the spectators. While their attention was firmly anchored to the bird of crimson flame, he muttered the words of power and performed the one-handed mudras needed to cast the spell. He drew slightly more power into the spell than the formula would normally require, hoping it would evoke the desired effect.

The barbarians looked down from the fireball to see Endrance toss his familiar into the air with the thrust of his left arm. He released the spell he cast at that moment, speaking the final word of power aloud and with force as he exhaled his held breath.

The warmth spell, amplified as such, gathered up the hot air Gullin had dragged around him and kept it trapped. Invested power kept the air warm, and the only part that felt cold on his body was the soles of his bare feet.

However, the visual effect of the spell was what he’d been pleased with. The random swirls of hot air inches thick around his skin caused the strips of cloth to
flutter, dance and shift as if they were alive of their own accord. His hair, unbound for the ceremony, also danced in a similar fashion. The zip-crack of the cloth strips rolling and snapping could be heard as they furled and unfurled in eddies of magic.

Without waiting to see their reaction, Endrance threw himself into the dance. He had practiced it enough times that he could do it without majorly screwing up, but he had been preparing for the dance only one day, and had some serious hope that the effects of his spell would make spotting any errors more difficult.

He followed the motions that Selene had instructed him, turning one way then another, and moving his arms and legs into the different positions that were ceremonial. It was a lot like the physical components of casting a spell, a revelation that made it suddenly much easier for Endrance to manage.

He had wondered if the dance really was a spell. However, without knowing the other required components, he would only burn power trying to realize it. Endrance moved about the circle, trying desperately not to stumble or fall over. Either way, he wouldn’t want to try casting something that different from traditional spellcasting without a lot of practice.

He came to the end of the dance and had to make a decision. The dance had to end with him facing the one who was to receive his blessing. He closed his eyes as he did the final motions. In the end, he knew who he was going to choose.

Endrance came to a stop, and opened his eyes again. He took one step forward and bowed to Thorald Ivarsson.

“Go.” Endrance declared. “I will be pleased should you take the throne.”

Thorald looked shocked, glancing at first Endrance and then his supporters, who cheered. The elder man bowed back to the Spengur, smiling.

“I will ascend, and take the mountain under my fist.” He replied with the ceremonial response. “Or fall in glory trying.”

Endrance slipped the token off of his neck and handed him the wooden disk. Thorald took the amulet reverently, and at the moment the two held onto the same object Endrance activated the spell he had carefully laid into the wood.

“As long as you wear this over your heart, you will not tire tonight from fatigue.” Endrance said. “Use this token well.”

Endrance straightened, turning from the elder barbarian and walking to the center of the circle. Spreading his arms, he slowly began to spin.

“To everyone, fight hard, run fast; and if you die, die with honor. Do this, and I will withhold punishment for resisting me.” Endrance intoned. He dropped his arms at his sides, the flutter of shifting cloth the only sound as hundreds of onlookers watched with bated breath.

“It is time!” He shouted, using every drop of voice control he had. By consequence, his voice boomed over the silent crowds. “The Ascension begins now!”

With a shout, hundreds of men and women split to let the six groups through. They would have to siege the walls of each bowl of the city, gain entrance, defeat any of the challenges they encountered along the way, and finally seize the throne room. If the leader was critically wounded or prevented from continuing, they would be disqualified. If the leader lost all of his supporters to injury or other circumstances, they were similarly disqualified.

The citizens of Balator took the Ascension very seriously, and Endrance did not want to be in any of their situations. With only twelve subjects, the leader had to do what whole armies of men failed to do. Taking part in the Ascension meant that the person believed he was strong enough, fast enough, clever enough and a good enough leader to rule the largest ‘tribe’ of barbarians in the world. Endrance watched as the spectators dispersed, some to return to the walls, some to rush ahead to man challenges.

He was walking back to the house when Selene and Bridget joined him at either side.

“That was really impressive, Endrance.” Bridget said, slapping him on the back as she stepped up to him. The strips of cloth had shifted, and she had managed to catch him on bare skin with a solid smack. Endrance stumbled forward, his eyes watering.

“I liked the part with your bird.” Selene said, taking his other elbow.