Forgotten Mage (25 page)

Bren read over the page a few more
times, imagining his father sitting down and writing it in his
study. He felt a longing as he stared at those words. He wished to
see his father again and talk to the man he had been deprived of.
Forgetting about the journal, Bren started to think about what is
life would have been like had his father not disappeared. Would
Thad have made his mother let him off the palace grounds? Would he
have taken Bren with him, when he visited the Tower? So many things
might have been different, and in the end, it was his own fault.
Bren knew it, he still remembered what had happened that day. Had
he done what he had been told, and stayed in the main palace, his
father would not had been distracted and he would have still been
with him.

“Are you alright Bren?” Faye asked with
a worried look.

“Just got a bit of dust in my eye,”
Bren replied as he wiped the tears that had started their track
down his cheek. “I don’t think these have been touched in
ages.”

Bren could tell from the look Faye gave
him, that she didn’t believe his words for a second, but she was
kind enough not to push the issue. Lifting up the journal to hide
his face, Bren began to flip through the pages to see what kernel
of truths his father had ferreted out.

Most of what was in the journal were
notes about things he had found in different books, but few of them
held any real substance. It wasn’t until Bren was halfway through
the thick journal that he found his first hint of what the loss of
the veil might mean.

Two seasons have passed
since Sae-Thae brought the tomes with him, and still I only find
hints about here our magic comes from. It seems that most mages
were just content to have their power without any real curiosity as
to where it comes from. Today though, I might have finally found
something. A mage from long before the Fae War researched the
origin of magic and had some very interesting ideas and findings
within his work. Here is a passage that caught my
attention.

“I have followed the trail
of magical energy to the edge of the world and have finally found
where it begins. In a large valley to the north, surrounded by
mountains and cut off from the rest of the world, all magic seems
to spring. While I was there, I could feel it pouring around me. In
the center of the valley, if one watched close enough they could
see a shimmering veil that peeks though a doorway into another
world.”

I read through the rest of
the mages books and papers, but found no other mention to this
doorway or valley, but I believe that he found where the veil is.
At first, I thought that the veil was just a term meaning that it
was everywhere and should it tear then our world and the other
world would be smashed together, but from what I have read, I don’t
think that is the case anymore. I think that the veil is at a set
location and it is more of just a cover that hides a doorway
between the two worlds. I have asked Maria to procure me maps of
every kingdom, but it will take years for her to find as many as I
need. With any luck, I can pinpoint the location of the veil and in
time inspect it for myself.

A doorway to another world, Bren
thought to himself. “Thuraman do you know anything about the
veil?”

I was wondering if you were
ever going to get around to asking me about it. Yes, I know about
the veil. Though honestly, I never understood your father’s
fascination with it.

“Tell me about it,” Bren demanded,
having little patience at the moment for the staff’s attitude of
superiority.

I will tell you what I
remember, though I doubt it will be much since I didn’t find it
very entertaining at the time, nor do I now. The veil is a doorway
that links our world to the world of the gods. At least that is
what your father believed. He was trying to find out how the veil
worked, and if there was a way to strengthen it while still
allowing magic to enter into our world.

“You think my father is on the other
side of the veil don’t you?” Bren asked speciously.

Not on the other side of the
veil, but suck within it. The veil is more a wall than a door, and
there is an empty space between the two worlds. As I told you, the
veil is weakening and I can feel your father, but I can’t hear
him.

Bren sat down the journal and started
thinking about what Thuraman had said. If there was a space
in-between the two worlds, his father could be there, but how long
could he live without food and water? He doubted that he would last
more than a fortnight, let alone ten years. There was still hope
though. Thuraman was a lot of things, few of them good in Bren’s
eyes, but the staff had yet to lie to him for any reason. Even when
he didn’t think Bren should know the answers to the questions that
were being asked. “Do you think you could find the
door?”

Yes, I would just have to
follow the pull of your father. It is weak, but I think I could
find it. Why, are you finally ready to go retrieve your
father?

“No, not yet. I don’t know if I ever
will be, but it is good to know that you could find the door if
needed,” Bren replied, knowing that his answer would infuriate the
staff.

The four continued reading through
their respective notes until the sun no longer shone in the small
window of Sae-Thae’s office.

“Did anyone find anything of
substance?” Sae-Thae asked, setting down the large black
leather-bound book he had been reading through.

“The whole set of notes I was reading
had to do with the Brotherhood swords. Thaddeus believed that they
were linked to the space in-between the two worlds. From what I can
tell, he was trying to see if he could use them to open a small
hole inside the veil,” Phena said, her brow furrowed in
thought.

“That is interesting, but I don’t think
we will travel that route,” Sae-Thae said, shaking his head. “Those
swords are better left alone. I warned Thaddeus about tampering
with them. If only he had listened to me, then he would be here to
answer our questions now. Miss Faye was it? Did you find anything
of interest?”

Faye looked up at the Sae-Thae and
blushed slightly. “Maybe Phena was right, I didn’t know what to
look for,” She said abashedly.

“That is fine, I don’t think any of us
really know what we are looking for. Just tell us if you found
anything that caught your interest?” Sae-Thae said, his voice light
and refreshing.

“Well it talked a lot about how Thad…I
mean Master Torin, thought about Humanius and the other gods. It
was interesting because I didn’t even know there were real gods. He
even said that it might have been possible that the magical races
were created to be warriors against the other world.”

Sae-Thae’s face turned dark as Faye
continued to talk about what she had read. “I see, that is
enough….That is very disturbing, if true,” Sae-Thae said after a
few moments, making Faye blush again.

“Sorry,” Faye replied, ducking her head
slightly. Bren was more than a little surprised at how Faye was
acting. He much preferred when she was headstrong and not demure
and apologetic. He wondered why she acted so much differently in
front of Sae-Thae than she did him.

“That is ok dear, you haven’t done
anything wrong,” Sae-Thae said with his normal toothy smile. “Bren
did you find anything?”

“From what I have read, I believe that
the veil is actually a location or a doorway between the worlds. My
father believed that it was far to the north, in an isolated valley
surrounded by large mountains. I also talked to Thuraman and he
said that he could find it if needed,” Thad said
proudly.

“Isophena, why don’t you take Miss Faye
and go get something to eat,” Sae-Thae said, nearly pushing the two
girls out of the room.

“What is the matter Uncle
Sae-Thae?”

Sae-Thae sat down heavily in his chair,
running his fingers over the front of his face, stopping them at
his forehead. “This is not what I expected to find,” the mage said
in a low voice. “I never believed that there could be a veil, but
some things that I have read and heard tonight rang too true to be
simple lies.”

“What do you mean?” Bren asked worried,
and at the same time intrigued. He had never seen Sae-Thae when the
mage was worried. Bren had always thought that even against a horde
of warriors, Sae-Thae would have stood and fought without ever once
looking worried, even as his head was removed from his
body.

“A long time ago, the vathari took over
all of this land. We controlled it, but there was one place our god
forcibly refused to let us enter. It was a valley that he called
the birthplace of the gods. That alone might have only given me a
pause, but our people have refused to wipe out any of the other
magical races. We are encouraged to fight them, but only to a
point. We are never allowed to slaughter them completely. For most
people, this wouldn’t seem related to anything we have read
tonight, but I think our god is using us to sharpen the other
races.”

Sae-Thae continued to talk, but Bren
was sure that the mage was talking to himself more than he was him.
Some of the things that were said didn’t make any sense, others
only a little. “I will have to return home and speak to my god!”
Sae-Thae declared after more than an hour of talking and arguing
with himself.

“You can just talk with your god?” Bren
asked shocked. He had heard rumors and hinting’s about the gods,
but most of the master mages and magical races kept them a
secret.

“Bren, I know this is a bad time, but I
must leave for a time. In my absence, master Carnear is interim
head master. I trust her to keep you safe until I can
return.”

Bren was left standing in the office
alone, as master Sae-Thae quickly grabbed a few things, shoving
them in a worn travel pack sitting in the corner of his office and
left. Bren had never seen the mage so flustered before. It reminded
him of his mother when she learned that a high ranking official was
coming for a visit and she didn’t have anything prearranged for a
reception.

Left alone, Bren left the office to
join his guards who waited patiently outside, and went to get his
own food. He had hoped to eat among the other apprentices, but
Flynn ordered one of the tower guards to retrieve some known safe
food, and return with it to Bren’s quarters.

As he sat on the corner of his bed,
eating dry crackers and some kind of fruit bar, Bren hoped that
they would hurry and find the rest of the assassins.

Laying back on his bed, Bren thought
about his father and the veil. If his father truly was alive, and
stuck in-between the two worlds, he wondered what it would be like.
He imagined that they could see both worlds as if they were
overlapping and walk about them, yet couldn’t interact with them.
Closing his eyes, he pretended that his father was beside him on
the bed, smiling. Bren decided that he would go with that thought
until it was disproven, as it would explain the feeling he always
had of being watched.

“Do you think we could go see Cass?”
Bren asked Flynn, wishing for any excuse to leave the room that
seemed more like a prison than a place of refuge like it had during
his first days at the Tower.

“I don’t think that it would be wise to
leave the safety of the room, but I am not your mother. You may go
where you wish, just know that any careless actions on your part
could cause the death of others,” Flynn said hauntingly.

Are you really going to
continue to stay here, just because it might put others in
danger?
Thuraman shouted in his mind when
Bren didn’t move.
People die every day that
doesn’t make it your fault. The fault would lie with whoever killed
them, and those that ordered them to do it. If you spend every
moment worrying about how it will affect every single person, you
will never do anything but sit there on that bed. When you do that,
those that wish to rob you of your life have won, because they have
just succeeded.

Bren knew that Thuraman’s words were
skewed, and were only playing to his own fears, but he still
allowed them to move him toward the door. Of course he couldn’t
control the lives of others, but that didn’t mean he should
increase the risk when obvious danger was afoot. Still though, he
wanted to see his friend and make sure that he hadn’t suffered too
greatly in the struggle the night before.

CHAPTER XXI

Having spent a few days in the medical
ward himself not long before, Bren knew that it was an utterly
boring place. Everything was white and there were very few things
to take your mind off the fact that there was nothing to
do.

They found Cass lying idly in bed,
humming an old song. It was a catchy tune that Bren had heard many
times, using many different words, most of them not meant for
polite company.

“Are you enjoying you days of rest?”
Bren asked jokingly.

“Honestly, I am finding my time here
very pleasant,” Cass said with a wry smile. “Since I was hurt on
duty and in an honorable manner, the Weapons Master and my fellow
trainees have seen fit to shower me with gifts to help hasten my
healing,” Cass added, holding up a bottle of ale that was well over
half gone.

“It is good to see that you are not
languishing in torment at the hands of the mages then,” Bren said
laughing.