The Archmage Unbound (20 page)

“I’m just spelling my hands to make them
stronger and heat tolerant. There’s nothing more to it than that,” I said
brusquely.

“There is much more to it than that,”
she insisted picking up the piece I had just been working on. “Do you think
metal can be shaped so simply, so gracefully, just because you have given yourself
stronger hands? You are talking to it, even as you work. Nothing as profound
as what you did with the stone that day, but quietly, subtly, your mind is
coaxing it to shape itself under your fingers.”

I stared at her, stunned, for as she
spoke I knew she was telling the truth.

She set the metal down and pointed at my
staff, which I had left leaning by the doorway. “And what of this? Look at
the runes… do you realize that the geometry needed to align them like that has
to be perfect? Where is the master that taught you that?”

I did have an answer for that at least,
“The duke’s tutors taught me mathematics. It was one of my favorite subjects.”

“And from that you discern how to create
a rune channel to focus power? Doesn’t any of this give you pause to think?
At a time in history when wizardry had almost completely died out… you appear,
an untaught prodigy. You are a mage as strong as any I have ever heard of and
possessing amazing potential as an archmage as well. And after you appear you
manage to defeat the only other remaining wizard, one who was about to summon a
dark god to finish the job Balinthor started in my time. Then you rediscover
the lost art of enchanting and use it to turn back an army of over thirty
thousand men. All in the span of less than two years, does none of this cause
you to question the nature of your existence?”

I hadn’t really considered it, though to
be fair I hadn’t had her perspective. As a young man without any external
guidance I had no way to judge the merits of what I had done. Moira had the
benefit of a viewpoint based on the height of mankind’s civilization, over a
thousand years gone. “I am what I am,” I replied. “Now that you have pointed
it out it does seem odd, but how should I have questioned the gifts I was born
with? They all seemed natural to me. What are you suggesting?”

She was silent for some time before she
replied, “I don’t know, but I think you should be aware that you are far beyond
the pale, even for my time. I cannot help but see the hand of some agency at
work in this and that should make you cautious.”

I snorted, “I already have half the
world and all of the heavens for my enemies. How can I be any more cautious?”

Moira bowed her head, looking at the
floor, and then she returned her gaze to mine. “Just keep this thought in your
mind and be watchful. Whatever has set this course for you has been moving along
this path for over a thousand years. Until you have discovered whether its
intentions are malign or not you should be watchful lest you are maneuvered
into doing something you might not wish.”

“Illeniel’s doom,” I muttered.

“That may well have something to do with
it,” she agreed.

“And you know nothing of it?” I asked
again.

She shook her head regretfully.
“Unfortunately I do not. You will have to discover that on your own.”

I was sick of mysteries and conspiracies
and I decided to change the subject to something more practical. “I have
another question for you then,” I began.

She didn’t respond except to give me her
full attention.

“Will you teach me to create the bond
between a mortal and the earth? Will you show me how to make my own targoth
cherek?”

“I will,” she answered, “on one
condition.”

“And that is?”

“You must promise never to deliberately
leave one to his fate as I did with Magnus,” she said.

I could understand her reasons but
experience had taught me some hard lessons already. “I cannot agree to that,”
I told her.

Her stony eyes widened, “Why not?”

“Life has shown me its dark side
already. I will not gainsay my ability to make choices in the future, even bad
ones. Just as you had to choose between your lover and your guardian’s
welfare, so I may have to make hard choices. If you will teach me this, do so
freely and I will promise to exercise my best conscience in how I choose to use
that knowledge.” I stared evenly into her eyes.

“You have grown in wisdom at least,” she
said at last. “Very well, I will teach you and the consequences of your
actions will be on your own head.”

“I appreciate your trust.”

“The first thing you must understand is
that you can only bind a certain amount of the earth’s power to one person.
The greater the amount the faster they will inevitably turn into a part of the
earth themselves,” she said, starting upon the topic already.

I nodded, “You implied that during our
last discussion.”

“You also are restricted as to how much
of the earth’s power you may bind to others. The limit is set by how much you
can control yourself without losing your own humanity. Though you can create
more than one targoth cherek the sum of the power you bind to them cannot
exceed your own limit. Is that clear?” she asked.

It seemed straightforward. “So I can
only bind a certain amount and I can choose to divide that among more than one
person, so long as the total is no more than my own limit?”

“Yes, a little among many or a great
deal to a few, ideally you should bind as little as possible to achieve your
goal. This will extend the time your targoth cherek can retain his humanity.
If you are sensible they can survive for decades before they begin to suffer.
You must also caution them to exercise prudence in how they use the power. If
they continually draw upon it they will turn more quickly.”

It was late that evening before I
finally retired, but I felt more hope for the future than I had in a while when
I did. I might not understand all the forces moving around me yet, but the
more I learned the better armed I would be in the future.

Penny growled at me as I tried to
reclaim some of the bed sheets to cover myself. “Blankets are reserved for
husbands that come to bed at a reasonable hour.”

“Husbands?” I chuckled. “How many are
there?” I eased up against her backside for warmth.

“There’s going to be one fewer if you
keep skipping dinner and leaving me to go to bed alone like some spinster,” she
replied grumpily.

My dreams were filled with the sound of
drums. Men marched and fire fell from the sky while through it all the
drummers kept up their hellish rhythm, and then I woke up. The deep booming
drums were replaced by the sound of someone beating on the door, which alarmed
me in and of itself. Then I remembered the guards and my extra senses
confirmed that they were still there.

Penny was nowhere to be found and the
windows were still dark, dawn had yet to arrive.
How does she wake up so
early?
I wondered as I stomped toward my door.
Probably her unhealthy
bedtimes.
I threw the door open to glare at Dorian standing outside. “I
hope you have a damn good reason for this,” I growled.

He had his characteristically cheerful
morning face on. “Good morning sunshine!” he proclaimed.

That was enough for me; I slammed the
door shut and stalked back toward the bed. “There’s no sunshine yet you
sadistic bastard!” I yelled at the door behind me.

“Tell that to Harold,” he replied
through the heavy wood.

I stopped halfway across the room while
my muddled brain worked through that statement. I had told Harold Simmons to
prepare his vigil, which meant he had spent the night awake, meditating before
his dubbing this morning. I grinned evilly to myself.
Well at least one
person will have had less sleep than me,
I thought. Then I remembered the
ceremony was to be held at dawn, with the rising of the sun. For an instant my
selfish side warred with my better half, telling me to postpone the dubbing
until noon at least, but I knew that would be disrespectful.

Despite the perception many people have
of nobility, it isn’t all parades and roses. Perhaps some lords wouldn’t have been
concerned, but I didn’t intend to show so little care for the people that
served me.
Unlike the Baron of Arundel
, I thought. I went back to the
door and opened it. “I hate you sometimes,” I said to my dear friend. He was
still smiling… the bastard.

“Just be glad it was me,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“Penny wanted to have a bucket of water
thrown on you for coming to bed so late,” he said chuckling.

“And you decided you’d rather have the
pleasure of waking me up?” I asked.

“No I was worried you might hurt the
servant if you were startled awake so suddenly,” he replied.

“Ahh Dorian, you always have my best
interests at heart don’t you. I’m still going to kill you slowly after
breakfast, but it can wait till Harold’s dubbing is over. I wouldn’t want to
spoil the occasion,” I said in mock seriousness.

“The accolade is first then breakfast,”
Dorian corrected. “Harold can’t eat till after it is done.”

A barbaric damn custom if you asked me,
but then no one had. “Help me dress, the sooner I get down there the sooner we
can all feed ourselves,” I said callously. Dorian did the honors since I still
didn’t have a proper manservant and Penny had gone on strike. I woke up more
thoroughly as I got ready and by the time I was presentable I felt a slight bit
of guilt over my poor temper. Not that I told Dorian. He deserved to learn
prudence, but I did want to do right by Harold.

We went downstairs and headed for the
small chapel that had been repaired when the castle was renovated. Although I
no longer revered the goddess the ceremony was traditionally held there. I had
been tempted to forbid her worship entirely but I had contented myself with
threatening every priest that had applied to minister at the chapel. As a
result there was no priest in residence in Castle Cameron any longer, or
Washbrook either for that matter. I hadn’t officially made my position known
to the people yet, but I was pretty sure that rumors were already starting to
circulate.

“How do you plan to handle the vows?”
Dorian asked. He was referring of course to the references to the goddess that
were traditionally a part of them.

“Millicenth can go to hell for all I
care!” I said vehemently.

Dorian winced visibly. His eyes darted
upward for a moment and I was sure he was wondering when the lightning bolts
would strike. “You can’t say things like that Mort!”

“I’ll be damned if I don’t!” I
responded. “She isn’t the goddess they taught us about when we were growing
up. She all but ruined Marcus and Penny would be dead if she had gotten her
way. If she or any of the other gods want my respect they can start acting
like gods instead of spoilt children.”

Dorian’s face was white as ash now, so I
saved him the trouble of answering and walked into the chapel. Harold was
kneeling inside, with nothing more than a single candle to provide light. The
young man’s shoulders straightened as he heard us enter. I was pretty sure he
had been struggling against the urge to sleep.

Seeing him there I found myself
reflecting on my goal. Harold was young, younger even than Dorian and I. He
was filled with enthusiasm and an irrational belief that the things would work
out for the best. Or perhaps I was just projecting my own past naivety onto
him, I couldn’t really be sure. Still I wondered what effect our choices today
would have upon his future.

I walked to the front of the chapel,
stopping in front of him. He had remained on his knees and his head was still
bowed. “Lift your head Harold Simmons,” I told him. As he looked up I exerted
my will and spoke a word, “
Lyet,
” lighting the candles around the room.
Soft golden light surrounded us, accenting the bronze candlesticks and golden
oak pews.

“Today we gather to form a new order of
knighthood. One pledged to the protection of the innocent and the defense of
the helpless. This order will draw strength from the earth, and its knights
shall be known as ‘earth wardens’. As a member your first duty will be the
protection of mankind from any and all that would see it harmed. That duty
will precede any and all allegiances to mortal men, even myself. Should you
accept this honor Harold, you will be the first knight created by this order
and the second to join it. Do you still wish to join?”

“Yes my lord,” he replied. The
earnestness in his face almost caused me to lose my train of thought. I had
spent some time adapting the ceremony to include what Moira had taught me the
night before. I had also re-written the lines I would say. Hopefully I could
remember them properly.

“Sir Dorian, please come stand beside
me,” I said, gesturing to my friend where he stood behind Harold. He came
closer, till he stood next to me on the dais.

“Dorian you shall henceforth serve as
the grandmaster of the Order of Stone. Do you accept this duty?” I asked.