The Elementalist : Next of Kin: The Kothian Chronicles (19 page)

Chapter 23.

Maxim stared sadly at Zack, the tears ready to burst from his eyes. "I'll be back before you know it," he said sniffling, before wrapping his arms around his friend and holding him tightly. "Take care Max...I will miss you," came Zack's muffled reply. "At least I get to say goodbye this time," he added allowing the tears to roll freely down his face and on to Maxim's shoulder.

Joren watched on as his son bade farewell to his closest friend, and felt a little guilt at being the cause for tearing the pair apart. He let them take as long as they needed, allowing them to say their farewell in their own way. A few minutes delay was not going to make a lot of difference, especially when it was clearly something that his son needed to do before he left. Joren watched as the two youngsters finally broke apart from their hug, and with both having tearful faces he felt a lump in his throat.

Maxim gave a final wave goodbye, before allowing himself to be whisked off into the distance. The group of crimson-red robed figures moved at such pace, he was glad he was being carried, and not having to supply the energy for them to teleport as he would normally. They crossed hills and vales covered by an early morning mist, covering mile after mile in a matter of minutes.

After a while, the group paused unexpectedly and Maxim was a little puzzled as to why. "Do they need to have a breather Father?" he asked thinking that if it was himself moving so quickly, he would probably need one. His father shook his head, "No Max...See over there," he replied pointing off far to the distance. Maxim screwed his face up as if it somehow helped him see objects further away. "That is Berxsley...The Kothian Capital city," His father said, "And if all works out well, your friends will one day be back there," he added.

Maxim stared blankly, feeling rather pensive as he thought of all the people living there, and just how frightened they would be. He wondered if they even knew their king had fallen, and the crown prince had taken his place; perhaps they had already given up and were bereft of any hope, that they might one day be liberated.  He dared not think of what horrors might be going on behind those walls at that very moment. His pondering came to an abrupt end as he felt himself once more being dragged forward, leaping further north.

As they reached the north coast, Maxim could smell a change in the air, as the noise of gulls circling above sounded off in the distance. He realised he had never seen the sea before, and as the group came to a halt, was dumbstruck at the sight. They stood atop a cliff top looking out, and Maxim could see water as far as he could see. He ventured a little nearer the edge to peer down over the top, and watched the waves crashing up on the stony beach. Joren smiled as he watched his son, clearly fascinated at the sight. He felt a little saddened that he had of course missed all Maxim's younger years, where he could have showed him such simple things as the sea.

Maxim stood up grinning from ear to ear, "Wow," he said, aiming the word to no one in particular, but turning around to look at his father. "Watch this," the man said placing an arm around Maxim's shoulder and gesturing to look once more out to see. Joren waved a hand and a short distance out to sea a huge ship appeared. "Our transport home," he said proudly unveiling the vessel. "We obviously keep it from view so not to cause alarm to anyone. Having a huge great ship from a foreign land anchored off your coast, tends to attract unwanted attention."

Within a few moments, Maxim was teleported out to sea, and aboard the ship. There were more red robed Icenians aboard, all of whom seemed intent on staring at him. Maxim rather bashfully gave them a small wave, "Hello," he said feeling a little unsure. He felt his father place a firm hand on his shoulder, "This is my son," Joren announced to the crew who had remained onboard the ship, whilst he had visited Maxim. "You shall refer to him according to his status," he added, as Maxim watched them all bow their heads subserviently towards him. Maxim naturally felt uncomfortable with such a thing, and went to turn to his father to say as much, "Come Maxim we shall go below deck," his father said before he could speak.

No sooner had they walked below, than Maxim felt the ship move, although not in a way he had expected. He had been on much smaller boats before, and always assumed that larger craft in such rough waters would cause at least some rocking movement. "The boat is powered and kept steady by the use of magic, just in case you were wondering," Maxim heard his father tell him.

As those below deck were formally introduced to the son of their Icenian High Lord, the ship picked up pace, once more cutting through the waves as if they were not even there. Joren did explain to Maxim that even though they were, and would be travelling far quicker than any normal ship, it would still take them several days to get to Icenia.

After a light lunch, Maxim ventured back up on to the top deck, and stood watching the murky waters of the ocean. The sea appeared to behave unnaturally around the ship, and he quickly realised this was the magic his father had mentioned earlier. He remembered back to when he had used his own powers to propel the barge across the great lake on his own return to Kothia. On that occasion, he had manipulated the water underneath the craft to move it forward, and as he leaned a little further over the edge, he wondered if the Icenians were doing a similar thing. He also realised there was no wind; strange he thought how he had not realised it before. By the size of some of the waves further away from the ship, he could tell the seas were actually quite rough, and he suddenly understood what his father had meant by there being so many other things one could achieve with magic.

Maxim had to admit that both Bosaria and his own nation of Kothia utilised magic as a weapon, apart perhaps from the healers he thought, although he supposed even they were only really there to clear up after any fighting. After deciding he had seen enough of the sea for now, he turned to watch the group of red robed figures stood in the centre of the deck. Each face was staring blankly forward as he circled around them, clearly deep in concentration. He wondered how long they would last before their power levels drained; another question for his father he thought.

By evening, those atop the deck had changed, the boat only slowing slightly whilst they did, before quickly resuming their previous pace. Joren had placed a large map on the table in the room he was sharing with his son. "Here is Kothia," he said pointing to a large land mass on one side of the map. "Here is Icenia," he added pointing to an island, larger than Maxim had first envisaged it would be. There were also several smaller islands around its coast; "Are these smaller ones also part of Icenia?" he asked trying to show an interest in what his father was saying. Joren nodded, "Yes they are all part of Icenia, and they all have people living upon them."

Joren then pointed to a city along the coastline on the main island of Icenia, "Here is Reka, the city where I live, although you will find our cities quite different to yours." Maxim enquired whether all the High Lords were situated in the same city, to which Joren replied they were, but apparently all in different palaces. "That sounds rather strange...So you have three rulers all living in different palaces?" Maxim asked just to make sure he understood the concept correctly. Joren chuckled, "You may find a number of things different to what you are used to."

As the trip they were undertaking was a long one, and the scenery somewhat the same, Joren thought that perhaps they could run through Maxim's repertoire of magical skills. Maxim shrugged; if truth were told, he was not even certain anymore of what he could or could not do, so sudden had the change happened.  "Perhaps we could also spend time discussing our plan of action. Persuading the other High Lords will not be an easy task Maxim," his father warned him. Maxim nodded his understanding, and thought perhaps that they should probably spend more time on this matter than any other.

After venturing briefly out into the darkness, Maxim took one last look at the stars in the night sky, before heading back to his room. At least the time spent on the journey would allow him time to learn more about his father, although the very concept of it still appeared very strange. His mind wandered back to the moment they had first met, and he afforded himself a chuckle as he recalled being hung up in the air to stop him from using his magic.

The room in which he was given aboard the ship for sleeping was surprisingly bigger than he thought it would be. Although the wood from the build of the ship could be seen quite clearly, a large rug on the floor and a tapestry hung on one wall covered a large area of it. Aside from the neatly made bed fixed along the far wall, there was also a small table and seat and even a washstand. Maxim thought the room was far beyond his expectations, and probably on a par with the one that he resided in at Pitford.

Hanging on the back of the door, he noticed a crimson- red robe, the same as all the Icenians seemed to wear. He was not sure whether he was supposed to use it, or whether they had just placed it there in case he wanted to blend in with the others. Seeing the garment did get him thinking, and he realised he had never seen his father or any of the others for that matter, wear anything but their rather distinctive robes. He shook his head, no he thought, surely they must have other clothes to wear, another question to remember to ask in the morning.

As he undressed down to his under-clothes, he did not feel cold, in fact if anything, a little warmer than he usually was in his room at Pitford. More magic he thought, increasingly impressed by how the Icenians appeared to use it for so many different things. The bed was a little softer than his usual mattress, but still very comfortable, as was the pillow he leant his head upon. With a wave of his hand, the small lamp burning on the table went out, sending the room into darkness, he closed his eyes and fell straight to sleep.

Chapter 24.

Zack strolled along the top of the inner wall, looking out into the town below. The people had quickly returned to their normal routines, and aside from the rebuilding, all signs of any battles had all but gone. Even the weather was continuing to improve, as day by day it appeared to feel just a little warmer.

Since his friend's departure several days earlier, life inside the keep had also seemed to return to some kind of normality. Now a new king was on the throne, one of Anden's first declarations was an amnesty for all those with magical ability, and to let them know there was a safe haven and place of learning for them. As of yet, only two people had volunteered themselves to join them at Pitford, but Zack knew that as word spread more would come. Danton had already been dispatched to a nearby town to spread the king's word, and hopefully recruit further possible candidates.

The classes at Pitford had resumed for those magicians fortunate enough not to have been affected by the fighting, although one or two of the tutors had changed as a result. Kurtis Raston, having been pardoned by Anden, had since been given a post of teaching. The young man may have betrayed them, albeit under the influence of mind control, but Ramon trusted him completely. Kurtis had hence been given a teaching role, tutoring the very youngest members of Pitford's magical fraternity.

Zack had been excused most of his lessons, especially as much of his time was taken up advising the young king, who as it happened had stepped into his role quite admirably. Any thoughts that Anden was too young to have made a good king were quickly being proved wrong, as the young monarch was already proving he was a determined, focused leader. The queen mother, although still very wary of any magician being close by, was at least showing signs of improvement.

Ramon had suggested to Zack, that he keep using his magical abilities, especially now he was not taking lessons, to help keep them fresh and sharp. As a result, he had found teleporting around the keep much more fun than walking around it. He had also set aside a little time each day to practice the skill being taught to him by Danton before all the troubles started. Zack was determined to learn the ability to create a globe of light and have it hang there when he needed it to. As of yet, he had only managed a few flickers, but he knew managing the skill was tricky, and he was not far off doing so.

Zack sighed, and let his shoulders drop just a little, as his thought turned to Maxim. Since his friend's departure, he had felt so lonely, especially now Mikel and Melia were spending more and more time together. He hoped his friend was keeping well, and that finding his father made him happy, but that did not stop the pain Zack felt at him not being there.

Katria had informed them that the tribes from the mountain ranges had now returned to their homelands back across the peaks. Her birds had tracked them, just in case they had decided to make another attack, but the further they moved away from Pitford the less likely that was to ever happen. News that Denley was still clearing the destruction caused by the huge battle there, had reached them a couple of days ago, and Anden had sent them a little aid to help them, as well as two platoons of soldiers to help secure the place, should any further attacks be made against them. Of course, nobody actually thought the token gesture would make any difference if they were attacked, but at least it gave the people of the town the impression, that their new king was doing something to help them.

In Waltham, Gorius was inspecting his latest influx of magicians into his army. As was the norm, it was a mix of young and a few very old, none of whom could do anything particularly exciting or different to what he already had. He greeted them individually and thanked them for their loyalty to his cause, making sure however, that each and everyone knew just who was in charge. His friend Davan had been sending him daily updates from Berxsley by bird, on just how quickly the citizens of the captured enemy capital were becoming accustomed to their new rulers.

Shonna, was still spending most her hours, sifting through every-last piece of parchment for any clues as to the artefact she was studying. She had spent many days working on it, and had now managed to decipher several words that were carved so elegantly into the frame. She was also aware however, that completing anything but the full inscription, would likely prove useless, and as such carried on relentless in her search for any clues. Davan, being the friend of the king had sent a message a few days back that he had unearthed a few books and scrolls in the Kothian palace. The man seemed drawn to anything magic, and had discovered them in an old box, stored deep in the palace basement rooms. Davan had hence despatched the box with all haste back across the border towards Bosaria, and Shonna now awaited them with renewed optimism that they may help her in her task.

Maxim stood atop the deck of the ship that had been his home for the past few days. His father stood beside him pointing out the various places as they approached the island nation of Icenia. The seas were much calmer here, and the waters appeared to look a much brighter blue rather than grey murky colour they had looked back off the coast of Kothia. His father had surprised him that morning by not being dressed in one of the red robes all the Icenians appeared to wear. Instead, he had donned a pair of dark trousers, black shiny leather boots and a dark blue jacket. Maxim was glad his father had seen fit to wear something else; he was beginning to think all they ever wore was red robes.

As the ship slowed and approached the dock area, Maxim watched the people moving about. Strangely, everybody he saw had some variation of the reddish ginger hair that had made him stand out in Kothia. "Welcome home Sir," he heard a man shout up from the dock towards his father, who waved a hand in reply. "Come Max, let us disembark and make our way home."

Maxim nodded, and feeling a little nervous, he joined his father walking down the ramp that had been put into place.

The first noticeable difference was the cleanliness of the place. Maxim could not fail to be impressed, as he noticed even the stone streets upon which he walked were bereft of any sign of dirt or grime. "Do you even wash the streets?" he asked his father walking alongside him. "We like to keep things clean," he replied as he acknowledged yet another person subserviently bowing their head just a little as he passed by. Maxim was just about to enquire if they were going to have any guards escort them through the streets, when he realised that his father probably did not need them.

The main street was unusually wide, and aside from one or two citizens calmly strolling along, it appeared almost deserted. The buildings were all made from some kind of white stone and much larger than any he had ever seen in Kothia. They were all well spaced out and not cluttered together like most he had seen; Icenian cities were certainly very different from what he was accustomed too.

Joren explained that they would walk the short distance to the palace, which was situated just on the outskirts of the city up on a small rise overlooking the rest of the buildings. Other than the lack of people, Maxim also noticed there were no horses, and enquired to his father as to why that was. "We do not have much need for them Max to be honest. We walk the short distances, and usually teleport the longer ones," he replied. Although he did also say that those not blessed with the ability to travel as he was, did use them, "We also have them for transporting goods from place to place, but more usually further inland." Maxim nodded as he listened, but did not stop casting his gaze around as they walked.

As they turned a corner, Maxim could see the road sloping just slightly upwards towards three enormous buildings. "Wow," was the only word he managed to use to express his astonishment. Joren explained each high lord resided in one of them with their family if they had one. "Ours is the one on the right," he added pointing it out. Despite the three palaces neighbouring one another, they were actually quite far apart, and the nearer they got, the bigger that space became apparent. Maxim reiterated how bizarre it was that they had three rulers all next to each other and all living in such opulence. Joren just laughed, "It is just the way it has been for a very long time," he added trying to give an explanation.

None of the palaces had any walls; just as he had also noted neither did the city. "Walls are no use to us," His father told him, "Others use them as a form of defence, but not only do we not need them, they would prove no more than a minor hindrance if they were there," he added. Maxim did notice another handful of robed figures walking slowly down the road toward one of the other palaces.

The area of lawn at the front and side of the magnificent looking home, looked almost like a plush green carpet, so much so he felt the need to lean down and touch the grass, just to prove to himself that it was not. Here and there were small flowerbeds, with blooms the like of which he had never seen before. He paused just slightly before climbing up the five white marble steps that led up to what could only be described as very opulent doors. Even the railings leading up the steps glistened in the sunshine, and were so shiny he could see his reflection within them.

The doors opened with a wave of Joren's hand, and the pair stepped into a huge foyer. A glistening glass chandelier hung from the tall ceiling, although there were no candles upon it. Instead, there were several small globes of brilliant white light, which illuminated the area as if the sun itself was casting its rays indoors. The floor was white, but had small specks of colour within, as if there were small jewels embedded within the stone. The white walls were filled with colourful pictures and tapestries, giving the area a vibrant feeling when you entered.

Two youngsters, a girl and a boy and maybe a year or two younger than Maxim appeared and stopped before them. "Is this him Uncle?" the girl said, as the boy seemed intent on eyeing Maxim up and down as if he were some prize cow. Joren nodded, "Yes Kala, this is my son," he replied keeping a watchful on his nephew walking around Maxim. "Willem, please do not be so rude, perhaps introduce yourself," he finally added noticing the attention was making his son a little uncomfortable.

"Maxim, these are your cousins, Kala and Willem, my younger brother's twins," Joren said deciding to take the initiative. "Hello," Maxim said rather nervously, "Nice to meet you," he added holding a hand out in greeting. Neither of his cousins took his hand, "Likewise I am sure," Willem eventually replied, before turning to his sister suggesting they be on their way.  "Stop right there!" Joren snapped, "You will apologise to Maxim now...How dare you be so rude!" Both youngsters froze, before rather bashfully turning to face their enraged uncle. "Sorry," they both said together. "Welcome Maxim," they both added, hanging their heads low.

Maxim was not too bothered; he was more than used to people being rude to him. He shrugged his shoulders, "No problem," he replied as he realised his father was waiting for him to add something. He looked at his two cousins stood before him, was it respect for his father that made them behave in such a manner, or was it fear? Whatever it was, the pair did not move until told to do so by their uncle.

Joren apologised to his son for the rather rude behaviour shown to him, "They are two very spoilt children, my brother lets them do as they please, and sometimes they forget themselves." Maxim had already all but forgotten the incident, and was far more interested in wanting to see more of the palace.

As they walked slowly along a corridor, where one wall was made completely of glass, allowing them to look out across the lush green garden area, Maxim was told where certain areas were. So many side corridors and rooms, he thought he was certain to get lost when left to his own devices. There were meeting rooms, dining rooms, private dining rooms, studies and even two libraries, to add to the usual bedrooms, staff quarters and kitchen area.

Apparently below them, was also a large communal bathing area, where there were large heated pools for washing or just relaxing in. Maxim quite liked the idea of that and thought he might like to visit there sometime sooner rather than later. He was quite glad when his father suggested they move to one of the dining rooms and get something to eat, "I hope my brother and his wife will be there, so you can meet them also," his father said.

Sure enough, they found both of them sitting at one of the two large tables in one of the private dining rooms. After Joren had greeted both with a warm hug, he introduced his long lost son. "Jak, Lucy, this is my son...Maxim," Joren declared with more than little emotion in his voice. Maxim could tell Jak was clearly his father's brother, not just by the way they both looked, but even by the way they spoke. "Pleased to meet you at long last my lord," he said bowing his head just a little. This naturally made Maxim feel a little uncomfortable, he was not used too people behaving this way before him, and neither did he think it was anything he wanted.