Forgotten Mage (18 page)

“Fine be like that,” Faye said pushing
past his her elbow hitting him hard in the rips.

Bren tried to call after her to
apologize but she had hit him just right that he had lost his
breath for a few moments and by the time he recovered she was out
of sight.

After a dozen small breaks Bren finally
reached Sae-Thae’s quarters. “Bren you are a little later than
usual…You didn’t have any trouble with the weapon master did
you?”

“No just with my training partner…He
seemed to think I needed to learn how much more I had to learn,”
Bren replied rubbing one of his bruises to emphasize his
point.

“That is a lesson I believe has to be
taught, many times over in one’s life,” Sae-Thae said with a sly
grin. “Come with me Bren, today you will be training with Master
Carnear.”

As Sae-Thae started down the stairs,
Bren let out a long groan. “Not more stairs.”

If you had thought to take
me with you, I could at least lesson some of the burden on your
body. Maybe next time, you will think about that before leaving me
locked away in this empty room day after day.

“Not now, please,” Bren pleaded. “If
you can make this better, then I promise next time I will take you
with me.”

I can’t say that I enjoy
only being used because you need me, but at the moment I will take
it. One day, you will learn that life is much easier if you listen
to me more often.

“I will listen to you more often, when
you spend less of your time telling me how every woman in the land
is after me,” Bren grumbled under his breath.

One day, you will understand
how devious women are.

Bren ignored the comment and kept his
mind on the momentous task at hand, climbing down the
stairs.

Luckily for Bren, he only had to go
down two flights of stairs before they reached the floor on which
Master Carnear held his classes. Having spent most his time at the
fighter’s academy or with Sae-Thae, Bren hadn’t had much time or
extra energy to explore the Tower. Unlike the main hall, or where
the master’s chambers were, this had a long broad walkway with only
a few doors on each side. Sae-Thae brought Bren to the second door
and knocked on the door hard. When there was no answer, he knocked
again. It looked as if the mage hit the door with the same force as
before, but this time, as soon as his knuckles hit the wood, it
sounded as if a battering ram had hit.

“What is all that racket?” A shrill
voice asked as the door swung open. “Master Sae-Thae, why did you
have to knock so hard? My ears are still ringing,” A thin, older
woman, with salt and pepper hair said, giving Sae-Thae a withered
glare.

“Master Carnear, I believe we discussed
you working with Mr. Farlane,” Sae-Thae said calmly.

Master Carnear squinted her eyes and
looked over Bren thoroughly. “A little bit younger than I thought
he would be,” She said, after a few moments of harsh stares.
“Listen up boy, I am not your mother. I will not tolerate any
tomfoolery…understood?”

“Yes, Master Carnear,” Bren
replied.

“Well then, come in,” She said, moving
aside to let Bren enter. “Take a seat on one of the pillows,” She
said, closing the door without even a word to Master
Sae-Thae.

The room was much larger than Bren
would have thought. It was sparsely decorated with large paintings
hanging on the wall, but the only thing on the floor were a circle
of thick, richly colored pillows. Bren did as he was told and took
a seat on a large dark green pillow. It was soft and took the
weight off of his aching body. Happy to be off his feet, Bren let
out a contented sigh.

“Why did you pick that pillow?” Carnear
asked, coming up and taking a seat on a dark purple pillow to the
side of Bren.

“I liked the color,” Bren answered
honestly.

“Very interesting,” She said as she
looked him over. “I would have thought you more for a dark blue or
maybe burgundy. Did you know, that even the smallest choice can
tell a lot about a person? Take the color you chose for instance.
It is a dark color meaning depth, and it is green which indicates
rest…which from the looks of you, it makes sense.”

“Just as every small choice has a
meaning to you, it does for your magic as well. The flow of magic
is all around you, and it responds to not only your thoughts, but
your mood. It is not simply a power that lies dormant until called,
it has a life of its own. The reason Sae-Thae has asked me to work
with you, is so that you can work to see those flows. Most the
time, mages pull in more magic then they need, but their bodies
adjust and learn over time how to feel the right amount. For you,
that is not an option because of the sheer amount you can pull in.
You need to learn how to take only what you need and no more,
otherwise…” She said, leaving the ending hanging.

“End up dead,” Bren finished
nervously.

“Everyone dies, but it is the kind of
death you would undergo that would be so horrible. Your body would
be pulled and ripped apart at to the lowest level of being. Now
that I have explained the importance of what we are going to be
doing, I hope you take it seriously.”

“What do I need to do?” Bren asked,
sufficiently scared for his life.

“Simply close your eyes and try to
sense everything around you. The wind, scents, the life around
you…Everything.”

Bren closed his eyes and listened, but
all he could hear at first was the sound of his own heart beating
in his chest. When the smell of something sweet and light hit his
nose, Bren tried to figure out what it was. Bren started to drift
off to sleep when the sound of a bird in the distance, reminded him
why he was there. Focusing harder, Bren tried to listen to the
bird’s song as it grew fainter. When the bird’s song completely
disappeared, Bren tried harder, in hopes of finding anything to
hold his attention.

As he strained his mind, for a brief
moment he thought he had opened his eyes. He could see thin rivers
of color, floating through the air. It had an odd beauty to it, in
a chaotic way. It was as if a painter had simply tossed colors in
random directions on his canvas. The vision of the magical currents
was lost as soon as he found it. He tried to find it again, but for
the rest of the session with Master Carnear, he couldn’t clear his
mind enough to catch another glimpse.

“Did you find anything in your search?”
She asked, pulling Bren from his self-thought.

Bren tried to explain what he had seen,
but he found himself lacking words to describe it. “It is good that
you have made it that far already…You might not be a complete waste
of my time,” The words sounded harsh, but the smile on her face let
Bren know that she was happy with his success, no matter how
limited.

Bren headed from Master Carnear’s,
straight to the academy. When he reached the lower levels of the
Tower, he was amazed to find that the sun was close to setting. He
knew that he had been sitting for a long time, but he didn’t figure
it would have been long enough for the sun to move so far along in
its route in the sky.

His body was still sore, but most of
the pain was gone, which amazed Bren even more than the passage of
time. Growing up, he had his fair share of bruises, and most the
time there was lingering pain, but this time even the worst only
held a mild ache now.

Bren found not only Weapons Master
Jacob waiting on him, but Cass and three other older trainees as
well. “Ah Bren, we were just preparing for your class,” Cass said,
with a devious grin.

Bren knew that Cass was not an evil
man, but he still seemed to enjoy seeing others in dire situations.
Bren didn’t know if it was because Cass himself had been in the
same situation before and understood what was about to happen, or
if it was some sort of game to those that had passed so far in the
Katanaga training. “I can’t wait,” Bren replied with a dour
expression.

“That is good, because anger is one
things that will take a lot of effort to master…and a lot of pain,”
Jacob added with a grin, sending shivers down Bren’s spine. “I
think we will start with something simple. Why don’t you work the
pells for a bit? Cass and the others will watch you.”

Bren shrugged his shoulders and did as
he was told. Working the pells would be a bit tiring, but it was
nothing new to him. He didn’t understand what was really happening
until he made his third strike on the large wooden beam and
something hit him in the back. It wasn’t hard enough to leave a
welt, but it had been done with enough force to get his attention.
Bren looked over his shoulder, and found all three of the boys to
be holding thick wooden reeds.

After more than an hour of the three
boys hitting him whenever he tended to forget about them, Bren
snapped and turned around to confront them. Jacob was right on him,
his face so close to Bren’s that he could smell the sweat on the
older man’s hair.

That night, Bren felt as if he had
accomplished nothing but tiring himself out. He was so tired that
when he was putting up the last of the firewood, Bren crawled into
the storeroom and fell asleep on a pile old leather armor that was
to be used for scrap.

“Your son is progressing much faster
than I would have thought possible,” Humanius said, in a tone that
seemed as much a commendation as a complement.

“Not going to be as easy as you
thought,” Thad replied from his spot on the ground. Humanius had
let him up, but there was little for Thad to do but watch, and hope
for his child’s survival.

“There is still plenty of time before
your son will be a real threat. Once his body starts to turn silver
then, he will start to be a danger.”

“I wouldn’t underestimate him,” Thad
said smugly.

“I might have underestimated you, but I
will not make the same mistake with your son. The mistake last time
was, that they came at you head. This time, they will be taking a
more subtle route to your son,” Humanius said coldly.

“I still think you are underestimating
not only my son, but those around him. They will not allow any harm
to come to him.”

“I will admit that currently, your son
has more resources at his command than my people, but all it takes
is one opportunity. My agents will see the task done, no matter how
long it takes. If they fail, you might see your son sooner than
not, but it will be a short reunion.”

“Do you plan to kill us if he breaks
the veil?” Thad asked, his hand clenching into a fist.

“There would be no need
then…”

CHAPTER XV

Day after day, Bren was put through the
same routine. In the morning he would Train, in the afternoon
meditate, and at night, the Weapons Master would find new ways to
set off his anger.

His training with the sword had
progressed well, though he was still unable to land one solid hit
on Cass. Horseback riding and the longbow were also brought into
the trainee’s daily routine. Having ridden for most his life, the
first part came easy, but Bren seemed destined to miss even the
largest target with a bow.

His meditation had also progressed and
Bren could now see the flows of magic, nine out of ten times.
Master Carnear hadn’t let him cast any spells yet, but she started
making him mentally separate the different flows of magic. It was
hard and daunting work, and Bren had varied amount of success with
the task.

With his hectic daily routine, Bren had
almost forgot about his mother’s pending arrival, until a young
runner rushed into Sae-Thae’s office. “Sir, the Farlan queen is
here to see you,” the young mage said, breathing
heavily.

“Maria has finally made it,” the elder
mage said, setting down the book that he was reading. “I had
thought she would have arrived days ago, but then again, women of
the court love to bring nearly every person they can find with them
on a journey that lasts more than a day. Have her brought up… But
do tell her to leave those obnoxious guards of hers down in the
foyer.”

“She is going to try and force me to go
home,” Bren said, his voice sounding defeated.

You sound as if you don’t
have a choice in the matter. It is your life, not hers, and tell
her so. If she wants you home so badly, she can drag you there in
chains. I swear you’re as bad as your father was when it comes to
dealing with your mother.

“There is always the hope that Maria
will listen to reason,” Sae-Thae said, but his voice didn’t hold
much conviction. “In any case, you can’t go home as of yet… you
still haven’t gotten a good grasp on your magic.” The last bit
Sae-Thae added with a small grin, and wink in Bren’s
direction.

Bren had been used to someone being
announced then directly led into the room, but he had forgot about
the long winding stairs that separated the bottom levels and
Sae-Thae’s office. As he waited nervously, Bren began to wonder if
the reason the head master’s office was so far away from the
entrance, was so that he would have time to mentally prepare to
greet less than friendly guests.

“Sae-Thae, I see that you have already
called my son…I wish I could stay and chat, but these shoes were
not meant for stairs and I wish nothing more than to soak them in a
hot bath,” Maria said, abruptly turning around. “Bren come along...
Your little fun is finished, time for you to return home.” As his
mother spoke, a second form edged into the office, and Bren noticed
the all too familiar look of triumph on his sister’s
face.