Ramaeka (The Ramaeka Series Book 1) (14 page)

Stripe groaned
and lay back.  “Well at least this might put me to sleep.”

Ramaeka
ignored him and looked at Amar eagerly.  “Go on.”

“You have seen
your magical core already,” Amar began calmly ignoring Stripe.  “That is your
magic in its raw form.  To use it you must use your will power to shape it in
the way that you wish.”

“So
technically you could use it in any way?” Ramaeka asked.

“Yes as long
as you have the will power to shape it,” Amar replied.

“Wait on, what
about spells and symbols and magic words, aren’t they what shapes magic?”
Stripe argued.

“Yes, for most
beings that is the easiest way to use their power.  They shape their power
using words or symbols that have specific meaning, but those words and symbols
have meaning only because we give it to them.  Every word, every symbol has the
potential for great power depending on how it is used.”  He stopped and fishing
in his bag he pulled out an orange.

“You see that
this is an orange yes?” he asked Ramaeka and Stripe who both nodded.  “Now if
you take a simple word like apple, that word does not really hold much power
except to create the image or idea of an apple in your mind.  However if I draw
upon my power and say the same word again while concentrating on the orange.”

He held the
orange up.

“APPLE.”

The orange
changed instantly taking on the appearance of an apple.  Amar passed it to
Stripe who examined it closely before handing it to Ramaeka.  He sniffed it; it
even smelt like an apple.

“You may eat
it if you wish,” Amar told him.

Ramaeka took a
bite; it was definitely an apple he thought cheerfully, and a good one.  He
offered it to Stripe who shook his head. 

“You eat it, I
believe you.”

He looked back
at Amar.  “So why do people have complex spells to do that when they could just
say the word?”

“It is all
about willpower, knowledge, natural talent and versatility of mind.  The mages
that you see from areas such as Hangor or Caffric have very little natural
power.  Therefore they use what they have in conjunction with spells which
extract power from their surroundings.  However people such as us have immense
potential for power.  The more we use it and exercise it the more our power
will grow.  On the other hand if we cannot see what we wish to happen in its
full complexity then we must turn to spells and words in order to create that
which we wish.”

Ramaeka and
Stripe both stared at him blankly.  Amar sighed.  “So if I had not thought
about every aspect of the apple, from its skin to its seeds, then the spell
would not have worked completely.  If I thought only of what it looked like
then the skin would have changed but the inside would still be that of an
orange.  Do you understand?”

Ramaeka nodded
slowly.  “So you need to know everything about what you want it to change into
before you can change it?”

“Exactly. 
This is why healers need to know what the body looks like and how it functions
before they heal somebody.”

Ramaeka chewed
on the last of his apple thoughtfully.  “So you need to know a lot of stuff to
use magic properly.”  It was strange he thought, in the magic classes at the
fortress they were taught to bring their power forth as fire or ice through
their mouths or to chant spells to make things work.  No one had ever mentioned
that magic could be used so differently.

“Yes, and that
is why education is so important,” Amar replied.

“But if you
had a really strong mind and a good imagination you could change at least the
outward appearance of something?  Or capture something and bend it to your
will?” Ramaeka asked.

“Yes you would,
though that is why most civilisations have a moral code they follow when it
comes to magic.”

Ramaeka looked
at him confused.  “Moral code?”

“Rules about
using magic so that you do not use it in a way that is harmful to others. 
Enslaving a being is one of the worst things that you could do with your magic.”

“But what if
it’s not a person but a thing like wind or water?” Ramaeka persisted.

“As long as
you do not enslave the element itself then that is permissible, it is
enslavement of a sentient being that is wrong,” Amar told him.

“An element?” Stripe
asked puzzled, “Isn’t that what water and air are?”

“In a way,”
Amar said, “But there is also an Elementai or elemental for everything in
existence.  These are not sprites; a sprite is attached to one particular
plant, tree or stream.  One elemental can be every tree or the element of all
fire.”

“So kind of
like having individual gods for everything,” Stripe mused.

“Most of them
are extremely wild and roam throughout the worlds in their natural states. 
There are some who have taken human form however and live amongst us.  Fate is
one of these; she travels in her human form, giving prophecies and
fortunetelling to the humans that she takes a liking to.”

“That’s so
strange,” Stripe said shaking his head in disbelief.  “And I thought that there
was only one world.  Where did you learn all this stuff?”

Amar smiled
slowly at him.  “I had a very good education,” he said, his strange
multi-coloured eyes dancing.

“What’s going
on?” Shady’s voice asked sleepily from behind them.  “Hey the storms died down.”

Turning around
Ramaeka saw that it was true, the wind had died away as had the snow leaving
only a light drizzle.

By the time
the storm had finished clearing they were packed and ready to leave, determined
to make up for lost time.  The mountains were extremely treacherous.  Nothing
in all of Ramaeka’s years of living in the mountains prepared him for the
constant avalanches and hidden pits.  After Shady almost disappeared down one
such hidden pit, narrowly avoiding death on the ice and rocks below, Stripe
tied them all together.

“Hopefully
this way if one of us falls we can haul each other out,” he explained.

“Yep or we at
least get to all die together,” Ramaeka grinned at him.

Stripe whacked
him lightly over the back of the head.

They spent the
next three days like that, resting only for a few hours at a time.  On the
second day they saw a massive shape flying in the distance.

“Dragon,”
Stripe murmured.  “Better watch out for a while.”

“Evil things,”
Shady grumbled not taking his eyes away from the wheeling shape.  Ramaeka’s
heart sank at that and he crouched lower to the ground.  How was he going to
explain the truth to his friends when they hated his kind, he couldn’t hide
forever.

“Actually they
are not so bad,” Amar interrupted his thoughts.

“What are you
talking about?” Stripe narrowed his eyes at the other boy while Ramaeka watched
anxiously.

“Dragons are
not so different from humans,” Amar said calmly.

“Except that
they eat people,” Shady angrily interrupted.

“Not all of
them, only a small minority actually enjoy the taste of humans,” Amar
explained.  “In fact there are some dragons that are fighting to pass a law
that bans hunting and killing humans.”

Stripe
sniggered.  “Dragons have laws?  You’re insane, they’re just beasts.  Where did
you even hear something like that?”

“I am well
travelled,” Amar replied unaffected by Stripes amusement.  “You learn many
things when you travel.”

“Yeah like
don’t get eaten by dragons,” Shady rolled his eyes.  “If we could stop
gossiping and start moving?  It’s headed off any way.”

As they
started walking again Ramaeka pondered on Amar’s comments.  It’s possible he
wouldn’t hate me he thought positively, though Stripe’s reaction was not a good
sign.  Determinedly he pushed the thoughts to back of his head, first he had to
survive the mountains then he would deal with other problems.

It was at
evening on the third day that they finally saw the bottom of the mountains and
in the far distance, signs of their destination.

Stripe gave a
whoop and jumped onto a rock pointing at the distant glow.

“Look,” he
called.  “Home is on the horizon!”

Shady leapt up
on to the rock as well with a yell. 

“Porkae! 
Finally were almost home.”  He grabbed Stripe around the neck and scuffed up
his hair.  Ramaeka laughed and climbed up beside them.  The glow was about a
day’s solid walking, he decided.

“So are we
going to make it there tomorrow?” he asked his grinning friends.

“Absolutely!”
Stripe replied.  “Even if we have to run.  By tomorrow night we’ll be eating
the most delicious food you ever tasted.  And you can eat as much as you want,”
he promised Ramaeka with a grin.

He grinned
back sheepishly, so they had noticed how hungry he was.  Turning his gaze back
to the distant city he decided that he would run the entire way if it meant
getting food as good as Ma Dresden’s had been.  Sometimes he still dreamt of
her apples backed with cinnamon and sweet pastry.

“You’re
drooling,” Shady interrupted his thoughts in amusement.

“I’m hungry
and you’re talking about food,” Ramaeka protested wiping his mouth.  As he did
so a pain shot up left leg.  Wincing he reached down and rubbed it.  Strange he
thought, must be so hungry my whole body is cramping up.  He jumped off the
rock and went to investigate the dinner that Amar was cooking.

Stripe kept
his word and made them run at least part of the distance to his home city. 
Ramaeka admired the scenery as they ran through open fields full of animals and
crops.  It was still cold being so close to the mountains but it was also much
clearer than Talok had been.  The animals were all shaggy coated to protect
against the cold and roamed freely through the pastures.  How anyone knew which
animal belonged to who was beyond Ramaeka.  The city itself was bigger than
Talok and more open, there were no walls around the outside and the city
sprawled out around half an immense lake.

“Doesn’t need
walls,” Shady explained to Ramaeka as he ran beside him.  “Not many people can
bring an army through the mountains and if they come up the other way they can
be seen for miles.  Plenty of time for Porkae’s defences to get it together. 
Strange though, all the animals roaming around without a herder.”

As they neared
the city it became obvious that there was something unusual in the air.  Black
smoke rose in patches throughout the city and there were no people at all
moving on the farms or near the start of the city proper.

“Something’s
wrong,” Stripe said stopping abruptly.  They all stopped beside him, staring at
the still city.  It was Amar who broke the silence.

“There is no
noise.  Even at this distance there should be the noises of the city.”

Amar was
right, Ramaeka couldn’t hear anything from the city and with his hearing he
definitely should be able to.  He scanned what he could see of the city, the
black smoke was definitely not good, and he could make out several buildings on
fire.  Birds hovered over the city, scavengers he thought grimly.  Other than
the birds there was no movement at all, turning northward he narrowed his eyes
against the glare of the sun.  There in the distance he could make out shapes
flying away from the city which were definitely not birds.  That army he
thought dismally, what’s his name, Gasha, has been here and gone.

“Come on,” he
told his friends who were still watching the city hesitantly.

“Wait Ramaeka,”
Stripe stopped him.  “We don’t know if there are enemies waiting in there, or what’s
happened.”

“I can tell
you what’s happened,” he replied grimly.  He pointed in the direction of the
distant army. 

“That army we
saw has already been here and gone.”

Stripe paled
and ran towards the city, Shady right behind him calling out his name.  Ramaeka
and Amar followed the pair closely.  The stench hit Ramaeka’s sensitive nose as
they neared the city.  The smell of blood and fire were the strongest and he
tried to prepare himself as they walked past the first of the houses.

Doors swung
eerily in the breeze, almost every window had been smashed and many of the
houses were in flames.  Those were the first things that Ramaeka noticed.  Then
he saw the bodies.

They were
strewn about in the blood soaked street, some lay half in the houses as if they
had been shot down as they tried to get to safety.  Children lay beside their
parents; the army had done their work mercilessly.

“This is
insanity,” he gasped unable to catch his breath for a moment.

“This is war,”
replied a soft voice.  He turned to see Amar crouching beside the body of a
child.  His friend sadly closed the child’s eyes, bowing his head.

“Can’t you do
something?” Ramaeka pleaded.  “Magic them or something.”

“I can’t do
anything for the dead,” Amar looked at him steadily.  “I can help the living if
we can find any.  Will you help me?  I need you to stay calm.”

Taking a deep
breath Ramaeka pulled his emotions under control, if he could help anyone here
he would do anything.  He nodded at Amar, Shady and Stripe had disappeared
without him noticing.  But if this was hard for him it must be so much worse
for his friends who had lived here, had friends and family here.

“I do not
believe that there are any of the enemy left within the city, but we must be
careful.  We will work our way down each street and check every house.”

Ramaeka nodded
again his heart sinking at the thought of the huge city.  With only two of them
checking this would be an arduously difficult task.

“We can only
do what we can,” Amar said softly guiding Ramaeka towards a house by his arm.

They searched
house after house.  Every time that he opened a new door Ramaeka seemed to find
a new tragedy, some fresh horror to haunt him.  He didn’t understand this.  He
had seen full grown dragons battle to the death in sometimes senseless duels,
and he knew that his father had killed some of his own children as infants. 
But this was wholesale slaughter, not even the human’s pets had been spared. 
If this was war then he never wanted to see a part of it again.