Adamagika: The Spirit Within - 33. Ch 33: Taking It to the Skies

CHAPTER 33: Taking It to the Skies

Jacob, where are you? I asked once more in my mind hoping that I would finally receive an answer. I was trying to speak to Jacob almost constantly with our telepathic connection but I have yet to receive a response. I’ve even tried speaking to Ho-o who had disappeared that same night with Jacob, save that one pained warning from her. Her absence was unsettling, making the clenched feeling at the pit of my stomach worse.

I was in our room waiting for, I don’t know, maybe something to happen I guess. I was supposed to be making my way to the Armory for training, but I just couldn’t bring myself to go there just yet. Jacob was still missing and as much as I wanted to just pretend that everything was alright and that he would at any moment walk through our door with a smile on his face, I knew that wasn’t going to happen. I was moping really but not doing so felt insensitive as though the two of us hadn’t gone through anything together.

It had been difficult. Perhaps Brian alone could sense anything wrong with me if I interpreted his concerned glances during trainings correctly. The others would ask of course how Jacob was and each time I’d have to lie about where he was, always having some excuse. It felt nice to know that they were concerned enough to ask about him but the constant reminders were like daggers. Even the increasing intensity of training was offering little to distract me.

I stared at the large box containing the Aerophalanx helmet. I had placed it on my desk unable to bring myself to open it. It depressed me to realize that the last person who had held the box before that day was Jacob. He had carried it without a complaint from our birthday celebration at CIBO’s. I had since then stored it in our dresser. It still amazed me how that drawer seemed to expect things to happen before they actually did. On that day, we were surprised to find a new compartment within the dresser the exact size of the box. It was as though it sensed the arrival of the helmet.

I looked out the window at the lightening sky. Today was the day we trained with the senior Aerophalanxes. We were to have war games as Brian had called them while flying over the Brallic forest. Two sides were to take each other out in an intense but non-lethal battle. We weren’t actually taught any flight maneuvers but apparently the gryphons were honed and trained with them. What I needed to do was familiarize myself with fighting while on a gryphon.

And, perhaps making sure that I wouldn’t fall off within the first two minutes of combat.

Both sides would have defensive and offensive teams and would be taking the fight to the sky. We were taught several other defensive spells to use like manipulating the wind and redirecting incoming enemy fire, some of which we were supposed to train with today. The idea was not so much defeating the other team but rather getting each squad used to flying with one another.

Finally with a deep breath, I lifted the cover off the box. The helmet was staring back at me like a shallow, carved face. I lifted it out of the box and brushed away the straw that had risen with it.

“I wish you could be here, Jacob.” I turned the helmet around and raised it above my head. Slowly, I placed the massive crafted item onto my head. It felt weird considering it was several times too big for me.

As soon as my head touched the top most section of the helmet, a warm sensation started spreading through my hair. It was odd because it felt like hot air was coursing through the confined space between the metal and my skin. I felt the metal move in my hand as it seemed to retract itself into my head as though slowly crushing it. I felt a little bit of fear at that thought but took relief in the fact that Magister Aenhol would never intentionally give me anything dangerous.

I could hear the metal creaking around me as the helmet shrank to match my head. It took a whole minute before the helmet was still again. I touched it tentatively with my hand and realized that the helmet was warm to the touch as though it had been recently molded. It had also indeed shrunk to fit my head. The lining inside felt soft although it shouldn’t have since it was made purely of metal. I figured that it might be enchanted with the same form of magic that turned the solid surfaces of our training room soft whenever it was needed.

I went over to the mirror in our room and looked at myself. It honestly seemed a little out of place considering everything else I was wearing was made of cloth or linen. Mage robes didn’t seem to offer much protection.

I heard a click coming from our dresser. I looked at it warily, knowing full well that I did not imagine hearing the sound. I walked over cautiously hoping not to find another one of Magister Aenhol’s letters in it. As much as I wanted to know what was happening to Jacob, I didn’t think I could stomach another encounter with a wax face. As I swung the door open, I realized that all my clothes had vanished. All my familiar shirts, robes, and pairs of pants had disappeared. Even my underwear was snatched. Jacob’s half was still filled with his clothes but mine had all disappeared to be replaced by a single set hanging rigidly in the empty space.

It looked exactly like Brian’s attire which he wore to training. The most prominent item was the dark maroon mage coat that stretched all the way to the knees. It was a material much thicker than ordinary mage robes. Beneath it were pants and a shirt in a lighter shade. A brown leather belt hung loosely on a hanger and a single pair of boots that could go almost all the way the kneecaps was on the floor. The compartment for the helmet’s box had disappeared.

I took each item one by one and studied them. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that there were actually small embroideries on the robe which were virtually invisible to the eye unless you looked really close. The strange part though was not that they were nearly invisible patterns but rather the patterns continuously moved around the robe. It was as though magic was coursing through the very fabric. The designs moved where my fingers caressed and I got the impression that these clothes offered more protection than they let on.

I wore each item over myself. They were as always a perfect fit. As I placed my foot into the almost knee high boots I thought of how inconvenient it would be to have to tie them everyday considering the string went all the way up. Almost as though it had heard my thoughts, the string started to tighten by its own accord and the boot fit snugly around my leg. It was amazingly comfortable. I did the same with the other boot and it reacted in the same way. Soon, I was fully dressed.

I got my mace out of the dresser and as I did I felt a slight tingling at my side. I watched as metal pins inched out from beneath the leather belt. I watched in amazement as they curled around each other until they formed the very familiar shape of a holster.

The mace itself was of course still uncharged. I didn’t dare try charging it again. As brief as the warning was, I somehow knew that something was wrong with my weapon. Yet, Brian could sense nothing foul with it so it obviously was not reacting to him. That was the disturbing part. Why was the mace reacting specifically to me?

Or perhaps, why was I reacting to the mace?

I placed the mace into the holster and it fit perfectly at an angle that would have made pulling it out for combat quite easy. I had no real intention to use it of course as it was useless without being charged. However, not having it would draw questions and might give reason to take me out of combat which was something I didn’t want.

I wasn’t lying to Jacob when I said that I needed to be here. I knew with absolute certainty that I could do something – that I should do something – to help save the city from the coming threat. Sitting on the sidelines wouldn’t help me accomplish that.

I watched myself in the mirror. I was amazed at how different I looked. I didn’t look weak. I looked strong. I felt strong. I was dressed to fight. The snug fit of the clothes highlighted what muscles I had developed quite recently on my chest. I realized that from a few months back, I had developed form in my body. I knew that the practice of magic had physical effects on the body. The exhaustion a mage felt after utilizing magic was more than mental or emotional. The body itself felt tired and in response developed muscles, strengthening itself against the strain it was experiencing. I never really thought about it before. I had for the longest time thought that my magic would forever be weak. In that moment though, staring at myself in the mirror, I couldn’t resist thinking that I looked good. Actually, I looked hot.

I closed the box and left it on the table and took the helmet under my arm. I noticed that some red, rigid threads now popped up from the top of the helmet and extended in a line half-way down the back. It reminded me of a smaller, more masculine version of what the Ice Queen always wore on her head sans the chicken head of course.

I made my way out of the room. As I walked down the hall and down the steps to the entrance, I ran into someone I hadn’t seen in awhile.

“Hey, Javier.”

The boy whose eyes were downcast, seemingly focused on the floor, looked up at me. I immediately noticed that his eyes and nose were red as though he had been crying. His long silky hair was rumpled as though it has not been fixed in awhile.

His eyes looked slightly confused. “Hey, Adam,” he said with a small smile. “I almost didn’t recognize you. You’re looking good,” he said as he looked over what I was wearing. “Where’s Jacob?”

“Are you alright?” I asked ignoring the feeling in my stomach which might have been caused by his compliment or his question.

“I’m alright,” he said with a sniff. “You… you should probably get going. I’m sure you have… have training to do.”

He started walking up the steps but I stopped him by holding onto one of his arms. He made no move to get free.

“Javier, what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing,” he said as he shook his head without looking at me.

I turned him around so I could look him in the eyes. He turned without much resistance. As I gazed into his eyes, I could feel how sad he was. He was confused, hurt, and disappointed. He looked and felt utterly defeated. And whatever he was thinking, it had something to do with... his family.

“What happened to your family?” I asked cautiously.

Javier looked at me clearly surprise. “What?”

“Something happened, didn’t it?”

He looked at me and for a moment I saw a deep pain flash across his eyes.

“You can trust me, Javier,” I said. “I’m your friend.”

He looked at me curiously for a moment before responding with a smile. “I’m not allowed to be your friend, remember?” I thought he was going to end it with that but then he added, “but I suppose now that my family has left, it doesn’t matter anymore, huh?”

“Your family left?” I asked as I finally let him go.

He nodded. “They don’t believe that we can win this war. They think Arantiva is doomed and the only way we can survive is if we leave the city before they get here.”

“And they… left you here… by yourself?” I asked incredulously.

“I stayed behind,” he responded softly. Honestly, it sounded a lot like being left here but I suppose it sounded less painful when he said it that way. “I’m supposed to be here. I don’t know why or even if I can do something about this whole war but I know I’m supposed to be here.”

“What do you mean supposed to be here?”

Suddenly, he seemed hesitant and I knew I had asked something awkward. Unfortunately, I had a feeling I knew what he was awkward about since I had received that same look from Brian once.

“The Seer?” I asked.

Slowly, a smile broke through his lips. “Yeah,” he said sounding almost relieved, as though I had inadvertently said you made the right choice.

I didn’t know what else to say. Honestly, I never really did like the Seer but she seemed to exercise a lot of control over the things that were happening. I wondered if all our lives depended solely on what she predicted. I wondered if there was really anything I could do to save the person she predicted would...

Javier spoke up again. “Adam, do you… do you think Arantiva is doomed? Do you think we’re all going to die here?”

I shook my head. “No. No one has to die. We’re going to win this war. We’re going to save this city. I’m sure of it.” There was a certainty in my voice that I didn’t feel. I said them though because I somehow knew that Javier needed to hear those words at that very moment, even if they weren’t necessarily true. I was right.

Javier smiled and a little more life returned to his eyes. “I knew there was a reason to keep you around,” he chuckled as I playfully punched him on his shoulder. “Thank you,” he said softly. There was a moment of silence and before I could reply, he turned around and continued walking up the steps. “I’ll see you later, Adam.”

“See you later,” I said though I wasn’t sure if he had heard me by then.

I continued my way out of the Academy. I was surprised to find many people walking about and they were dressed similarly to me except they had robes in different colors. They were all walking towards the Armory. I followed the throng walking the same direction. We looked oddly like a multicolored dance group.

I looked around hoping to see someone wearing the same thing I was. I saw one familiar body build walking towards the Armory and I jogged to catch up to him.

“Bruce,” I bellowed as I approached him.

Bruce turned his head to me. “Hey Adam,” he said as he stopped to let me catch up.

“Who are all these people?” I asked as we started walking again.

“These are the other Aerophalanxes,” he said. I looked around trying to notice what was special with each of the different colors. Almost as if Bruce had read my mind, he continued, “the color of their robes indicates their squad while the icon on their chest indicated rank and designation. Ours,” he said as he patted his chest, “is the color for Recruits. The Struthius Squad is currently the only squad that wears maroon but depending on how many recruits there are at the time, that number could go up to three of four squads.”

“How come I’ve never seen them around before? And what do the other colors mean?” I asked. Having looked around, I counted at least four other colors: most were wearing navy blue while gold, sea green, and black were scattered around us. I noticed though that the ones in black were moving away from the Armory rather than towards it.

“They usually enter the Armory for training at different times of the day,” Bruce responded. “Those in gold are part of the personal escorts of Lady Helena. They are effectively her guard when she rides out into battle. They are composed almost entirely of women. But don’t let that fool you. They’re some of the toughest, most hardened fliers here. The ones in blue form the core of the Aerophalanxes. They focus primarily on offensive and defensive combat and meeting the enemy head on. Usually these are mages who are strong in elemental, ethereal, or arcane magic. I guess you can say they are the bread and butter of the force and most of us will end up in those robes eventually.”

“Eventually?” I asked.

“You didn’t think we’d be recruits forever, did you?” Bruce smirked. The expression on his face was more unsettling than the scowl I’d learned to associate with him. “The ones in green,” he continued as he raised a finger to a clustered group of green robes, “are what we call the Hygas. They are the ones who specialize in certain aspects of magic that are unconventional. If you’re particularly strong in mind magic but weak everywhere else, you could end up in the squad designated for that kind of specialty.

“Never, and I say never, try to gamble against those guys,” Bruce laughed out loud as he seemed to get lost in thought. “I remember playing a game of Prokish with them once. You know about Prokish right? I had a full set of staves and somehow by the time I put them down to declare myself the winner, they had all turned into daggers and poniards. They could make you see things that aren’t there, make you feel overconfident and careless.”

He laughed out loud again and one of the green-clad Aeros caught his eyes and waved. Bruce waved back.

“How about the ones in black?” I asked. I was particularly curious about them as I remember once seeing them outside the massive hole in our window after Jacob and I got a little too excited and decided to renovate our room.

I could almost sense a shiver pass through Bruce. “The ones in black are called Nyraids. They’re trained to fight and sense in the dark. Their sensory powers are quite exceptional. They also serve as the city’s protection at night while most of the us are sleeping.”

I remembered what Magister Aenhol did a long time ago in the forest. When we first came to the village where we had come upon Jacob, he used magic sensory spells to detect technology in the air. I wondered if that’s what these Aeros in black did all night. I looked over at Bruce and noticed a wary expression flitting over his face. “You’re afraid,” I taunted with a smile.

Bruce looked affronted. “I’m not afraid of them.” And then in a lower voice, he continued. “But they’re mighty strange if you ask me. Some say their training brings them beyond the limits of the human body. Some of them can fight virtually blind and deaf. Some say they can meld so well with their surroundings that you wouldn’t know they were there until they have a knife against your throat.”

“They’re assassins?” I asked horrified.

“No, no,” Bruce said quickly as though afraid we were going to be overheard. “None of us are trained to be like that, at least I don’t think so. They’re just strange I’d say. Very quiet too. I’ve tried talking to one of them before but it’s almost like they’re anti-social or something. It’s like silence is in their code. None of the other Aeros like to talk about them much and I think… I think they prefer it that way anyway.”

I nodded. “I didn’t realize there were so many of us,” I said as we finally entered the Armory.

“Yeah, not only do the others usually train at different times of the day but they also train in entirely different levels. We wouldn’t encounter them unless we purposely went to their training rooms. Today though is different since we’ll be training as one.”

We entered the hallway that led to our training room which was filled only by maroon-clad people. As we entered the training room, we saw that almost everyone else was there. Maybe a third of us were sitting on the side looking sullen. I knew not everyone managed to bond with a gryphon and those sitting there were probably the ones who wouldn’t be training with us for the day or even fighting from the sky in this war. I looked away not wanting to meet anyone’s eyes there. I was, after all, the newbie and I was pretty sure there would be some resentment in my being bonded even if they meant no real harm with it.

The apprentices though were nowhere to be found. We saw Brian on our way in. He merely nodded at us as we passed. We acknowledged him back.

After about five minutes, Brian called for formations.

“Today will be our first combat training with the core group of the Aerophalanx,” Brian began. “These guys are trained for battle and have undergone far more rigorous training than most of us here. I expect you to treat them with the respect due to them. Here in the training room, we have ranks. Out there in the battlefield, ranks still exists but at the same time, they are your equals in every other way. They are your brothers in,” he paused when he heard someone clear her throat, a throaty voice I’d come to associate with Clarisse. “They are your brothers and sisters in combat. Your lives could very well depend on them and theirs on you. Do everything like we’ve practiced the last few days.

“Do not try to be a hero. Their strength is your strength. Your weakness is their weakness. If we work together, then we can overcome the threat that is seeking to end our way of life. But that can only happen if we work as one. Remember, our job is to be on defense. Defend the flyers around us with any spells you can muster, particularly the ones you’ve been taught. Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir,” we thronged.

Brian then divided the squad who were bonded with gryphons into two. The other half was to be led by Bruce who had apparently been promoted as Asst. Squad Leader. (“Hey, you didn’t say I should start calling you Ma’am,” Rick joked at him for which he had received a painful punch.) The half I was in would be led by Brian. We each had our assignments. We had practiced patterns days before with provisions on where the other gryphon riders would be. We would fly into position and receive our commands through the helmets.

As Brian had explained, each helmet contained two resonating crystals in them which were attuned to the owner. Aerophalanxes could use the crystals to communicate with anyone else wearing the helmet, though it was advised that we communicate only with other members of our team as too much talk could be distracting and detrimental. Squad leaders were the only ones who should receive command from higher up. We could choose to block out certain communications if needed.

Brian smiled. “Let’s go out there and show the others what we’re made of.”

The roar that responded him was enough to inspire confidence in anyone. We moved out of the training room and headed up towards the aviary. We passed several Aerophalanxes wearing blue and they nodded towards Brian who nodded back. Most of them disappeared up stairs that I presumed led to their own gryphons.

As we entered the aviary, I saw many apprentices running about. They were moving from one side of the room to the other carrying different pieces of equipment. I noticed some apprentices dressing gryphons in a light chain mail like armor that covered their torso. Some were stretching their wings out as the apprentices adjusted the armor on them. I was surprised that the gryphons weren’t chopping their heads off. Some were even bowing down as apprentices placed large metallic helmets that looked very similar to Aeophalanx helmets. It looked like they were preparing for war.

The rest of the squad dispersed to their own gryphons. I walked towards Aida worried that I would have to prepare her and not have enough time or even any idea on how to do it. I did not after all have an apprentice at that time. Even if Jacob was there, I wasn’t sure if he knew what to do anyway. As I took the stairs up, I was thoroughly surprised to find her head peak out of the compartment clad in a beautiful steel helmet that covered her entire head except the ears, eyes and beak.

“Hey, girl,” I said as I gently patted her. I noticed that her entire body was already covered by armor and the seat was in place on her back. There were also tiny handles near her neck and near the seat presumably for where I was supposed to hold onto during flight. “Who got your ready, girl?” I asked.

“I hope you don’t mind, sir,” came a boy’s voice from voice from behind me. I smiled as a sudden feeling of joy surged through me. I turned expecting to see Jacob. However, it was another boy I had seen just once before.

The smile that had exploded on my face faltered. “Apprentice Stanley,” I said.

“Did I not do a good job, sir?” he asked as he shifted from one foot to the other. I’ve seen Stanley only once and that was when Brian had told him that he wouldn’t be serving as my apprentice. I didn’t realize it until then how small Stanley looked. Perhaps I had somehow grown since I last saw him or he had shrank since then. Either way, he looked particularly young and small standing there before me with an uncertain look on his face. In fact, judging from the boyishness that was still present in his cheeks, he was probably a few years younger than me.

“No. I mean, yes, you did. You did a wonderful job.” As though Aida wanted to agree with me, she screeched into the air.

“You don’t look happy, sir,” Stanley commented, his voice sounding very sad.

“It’s not that. I just thought you were someone else. A friend has been missing and for a moment I thought he was back.”

“The old apprentice, sir?” he asked.

I offered him a smile. “You really should stop calling me sir.” I extended a hand towards him. “Call me Adam.”

“Ok, Sir Adam,” he said with a smile.

I laughed. “You’re going to be a handful, aren’t you?” I asked.

“Just trying my best to be a good apprentice, sir... I mean Adam.”

“You’re doing a good job so far,” I said. I moved to Aida’s side who lowered herself onto the floor. I swung one leg over her and she raised herself up. I took the mace from the hilt in my belt and placed it on one of the two slots on Aida’s back that could hold the miniaturized maces.

Stanley approached Aida’s side. “You have a very friendly gryphon,” he said. “I was afraid she’d chop my hand of when I approached earlier today. I didn’t know how she’d react to me coming here.”

“I guess she must like you,” I said. Aida buckled her confirmation. I whispered to her and slowly she started to move out of her compartment. “Thank you, Stanley, for doing this for me.”

“You’re welcome, Adam,” he beamed. “And please, call me Stan.”

“Okay, Stan,” I said with a grateful smile.

“Good luck,” he said as I moved Aida out of the compartment.

“Thanks. I’m going to need it.”

Aida roared and we were off. She flew swiftly between the spaces in the hallways. Other members of our squad were already in flight. Aida lunged forward towards the exit wall and it dissipated as usual. Soon I felt the strong wind whip through my hair as we broke free of the aviary. We soared higher and higher. I watched the hundreds of gryphons flying around us, most of which were headed North to the Brallic forest for our training.

I could see many stationary gryphons too that were hovering over the city like a net. They were all wearing green. Their maces aglow like torches breathing white fire.

“Those are the Hygas,” I heard Brian say through the helmet. Seconds later he flew alongside my gryphon. He was wearing his usual robes which were tied tightly on. His posture with the wind whipping around him seemed to make the fabric hug tightly across his body. His helmet was also on. It was quite similar to mine except his had what looked like an insignia, one that matched the rank on his robes.

“Yeah, Bruce told me.” I said. “What are they doing?”

“Keep this conversation private please,” I heard Clarisse say through my helmet.

“Try to think of only the person you want to talk to when you speak, Adam,” Brian said. “Everyone near you will hear you as well as everyone else attuned to your crystals if you do not control it. It’s a matter of willing your audience to hear you.”

“Ok,” I said as I concentrated on Brian only. “Is this better?”

It was met with silence. After a few moments Brian spoke up again. “Ok good. They didn’t hear that. You were asking what they were doing right?” he said as our squad flew above and beyond the city walls.

“Yeah.”

“Like I said, they’re the Hygas, mind-speakers, mind-benders, whatever else you’d like to call them. They are most known for mind magic. Right now, they are tapping into the crystals around the city and using the stored power to amplify a large wall of serenity over the general populace. They’re, uhm…” Brian paused as he scratched his chin in thought, “I suppose you can say they’re casting a spell of peace and calm over everyone, making sure nobody panics and thinks we’re under attack.”

“They can do that?” I asked in surprise. “I mean there must be thousands of people in the city.”

“Thousands and thousands,” Brian said. “But yes, they can do that. Magic can influence more than just the environment. It can affect the mind and the body of others as I’m sure you know. It’s much like that invisibility spell that Rick did on you except this is on a larger scale and the spell is far less complicated. People already know this is just for training. The spell just reinforces that belief. Healers actually use this spell all the time on their patients although most of the time those affected by the spell don’t realize it. It takes a large amount of energy and a lot of concentration for the Hygas to cover the whole city though. I imagine most of them will be dead tired by the end of the day. This might be our one and only shot of training like this.”

I nodded then realized that he couldn’t see that. “Okay. Where do we go now?”

“Follow me,” he said as he flew to the western side of the forest where a large number of gryphons were floating overhead. I saw the other half of the squad head towards the eastern end as they followed Bruce. As they moved towards that side, I noticed that the red on their helmets started turning blue. I figured it was an indicator that they were on the other team. “Get into formation and use me as the point of reference.”

He flew above the other gryphons as we had practiced and stopped somewhere over the middle of the whole group that was hovering. We were over a large group of blue-clad Aerophalanxes and they were looking left and right. They were presumably talking to one another and I wondered what they were discussing.

The rest of us got into formation around Brian. We weren’t the only ones flying in the upper part though. Many other riders in blue were floating around us. The number of maroons shrank in comparison to the ones in blue. There may have very well been almost three hundred of us on that side alone. I wondered how I could have gone all this time not knowing there were that many Aerophalanxes in the city. I guess none of us really flaunted being an Aero.

“If I may have your attention please,” came a female voice through my helmet.

I looked out into the distance and saw a sleek golden gryphon streak through the sky to fly right in the middle of the two masses of gryphons floating on either sides of the forest. The gryphon was flanked by two more gryphons that also glinted in gold from this distance. I presumed that the rider in the middle was the one speaking.

“We’re going to have some in flight combat training today,” came Lady Helena’s voice. “I am not going to make it a secret that this is likely our only chance to do this before this war escalates. I have no doubt that your captains and squad leaders have thoroughly informed you of the purpose of this session. Make it count. Members of the Hygas and many of my own guards will hover below to catch anyone that may fall off their gryphon. If you fall off your gryphon, you are considered defeated. Remember, we want to overcome our enemies. Avoid killing when possible although I’m certain that death is inevitable.”

“Killing?!” I asked loudly.

“You’re losing focus, Adam,” came Noel’s voice. “I heard that.”

“What does she mean killing?” I asked ignoring Noel’s comment.

“She just means our enemies,” Brian reassured. “He doesn’t mean us or the other team. You have to understand. We will try to avoid unnecessary deaths when possible but that won’t happen unless the enemy gives up which is something we highly doubt. We will have to kill them before they kill us.”

“This is war, Adam,” Clarisse’s voice came through seriously. The playfulness she had in her voice when she wrote her name in midair was nowhere to be heard. “In defending ourselves, sometimes it is necessary to kill. I hope you understood that when you joined us.”

Somehow, I didn’t. I could still hear Lady Helena saying something but whatever it was, I had blocked it out. I knew we had enemies coming to destroy our city but until then, I hadn’t entertained the possibility of having to kill someone. It occurred to me just then that our enemies wouldn’t just give up and simply go home. Likely, we’d have to kill most of them before they surrendered but I didn’t think that I would be part of the group that would end up doing that. Somehow, defending did not equate to killing for me.

“Adam,” Brian said out loud. By now, he had broken from the formation and was flying in front of me. Even at a distance I could see concern in his eyes. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” I whispered as I shook my head. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I just never really entertained the idea of killing anyone before.”

“It’s okay,” Brian said. “I understand completely. That’s also part of the reason we want to leave the offensive spells to the more hardened combatants. They can more easily overcome the trauma. Just remember what you’re supposed to do, Adam, and you’ll be fine. We’ll try to avoid killing where possible. And in case you missed what she said, if you hear a horn, that means all combat is to stop at once.”

“Okay,” I said as I tried to smile at him.

He smiled back and turned his gryphon away. I heard his gryphon Anny screech something to Aida who screeched back.

“I hope you’re not worried about me too, girl,” I said. She buckled up nearly knocking me off and then she had the nerve to laugh in my head. “Oh, don’t be that way.”

I focused again on what was happening. Lady Helena was no longer speaking. This time, another guy’s voice I didn’t recognize was speaking. He was giving us instructions on what to do. He reminded us that the use of deadly force was authorized though not to the point of killing. That was an odd thing to say actually but who was I to comment. He also said not to drain too much magic from ourselves. We were to use our maces as much as possible and that we were to fly down over the forest once we were feeling too faint to continue.

“Yeah, I’d sooner see Bruce let Rick braid his hair before anyone here would quit because they were tired,” Brian commented. I had to chuckle at that. I knew what he was trying to do. He was trying to take a little of my nervousness away. And to be honest, it was working and I appreciated his efforts. It was just war games right? I mean, how bad could a game be?

Really bad, apparently.

“Alright, forward!” the man’s voice said.

“Aeros, fly in formation. Stay with the marks below you,” Brian said.

I wondered if Aida could hear the instructions too because she started flying with the others in a synchronized pattern. I looked down to see who we were supposed to protect. An Aerophalanx below me was looking up and she gave me a thumb up.

“Can you keep me safe, Adam?” came the girl’s voice.

“Rye?” I asked in surprise.

“Yep,” she said. I saw the Aerophalanx in blue below wave. “You’re in charge of defending me.”

“And me,” came another voice. A gryphon flew by my side and an older man was riding on her. “My name is Ivan. I’ll be swapping in for Rye when she feels her magic getting drained.”

“Okay,” I said to the man. We had discussed this before with Brian. Gryphon riders were to swoop up and down depending on how much energy they’ve drained. We wanted to evenly drain the magic across the flight force so that no one mage became too tired too fast. Flying up also gave them a few moments to rest which in a long, hard battle could make a big difference.

I felt shields shimmering around us. I willed my own shield to expand large enough to cover myself, Rye, and Ivan.

“Impressive,” Ivan said. “Very strong shield for a new recruit. I presume it’s deflective.”

“Yes,” I replied.

“Very good. Let’s see how it fares in battle.”

The two gryphon forces approached in the middle. I saw some of our outer flyers disperse from the group and move to either side of the opponent.

“Follow me,” Rye said. As she swerved, several other dozen gryphons flew in synchrony. I was glad that Aida was paying attention because I certainly wasn’t reacting quickly enough.

“Get ready,” I heard Brian yell. I watched as the skies of the eastern side of the forest lit up and hundreds of fireballs came hurling towards us. Some of them had unusual colors like blue and grey. I presumed they were the combined elemental magics that Brian spoke about.

“Full frontal shields,” I heard Brian say. The air shimmered in multicolored walls as shields shimmered in front of us. I willing my own shield to expand far in front but it felt like it was too far.

“Don’t try to extend your shield too far,” Rye said. “It will weaken the farther it is from the source and will tire you out more quickly.”

I did as she said and I watched as hundreds of wind spheres from our side were hurled towards the approaching fireballs. The sky exploded and loud thunder erupted across the land as huge spells met in the sky. I could feel the air vibrate with magic.

A lot of the fire spells were intercepted midflight but many still made it through. They smashed and exploded against the shields in the front which shook but remained in place.

“Attack formation Togo,” Rye said.

I didn’t even get to ask what Togo was before Aida jerked sidewards and separated with the other gryphons that were moving with Rye.

“I’m glad one of us knows what we’re doing,” I said to Aida. She shrieked in delight.

Soon the group that had moved with Rye was now a short distance away from the opposing team. Aida was struggling to keep up with the rest as we flew in formation through the gryphons of the opposing team. I could feel my shields straining as dozens of spells were being hurled against it.

“You’re doing a good job, Adam,” Ivan said as he hurled a miniature arcane bolt towards an opposing gryphon in flight. The arcane bolt exploded and knocked the shield out of the sky. Two gryphon riders were knocked off and their mounts flew down rapidly to catch up with their falling riders.

“Two down,” he said. “Two hundred and eighty to go.”

“Don’t overexert yourself, Ivan,” Rye said. “It’s too early to use big draining spells.”

“I’m a master of arcane magic, my dear,” he said almost royally. “I live off arcane spells.”

The air above us exploded and I saw three gryphons swooping down straight at us – two attackers, and Rick with a gleeful expression on his face. To be honest he seemed more focused on enjoying the flight than actually defending his group. I willed the strongest shield I could make overhead as two blue fireballs hurled down to us. Both exploded with a mighty roar and expanded outwards like a fiery tornado before finally dissipating. I could feel the heat on my face as we flew away from the point of explosion.

“Damn, that was nice,” Rye said. “Keep this up and you’ll be part of the regulars pretty soon.” Ivan hurled another tiny arcane bolt which exploded on impact. Rick’s shield dissipated. Rye fired a dark wind sphere towards one of the gryphons. The rider swerved out of its way only to be hit by another wind sphere that came from a different direction. Two more gryphons swept down and blasted the remaining attacker and Rick out of the sky. Rick screeched with ecstasy as he fell through the sky, his gryphon trailing behind him flapping madly as though he was enjoying the battle just as much.

“Thanks, Bri,” Rye said.

“No problem,” I heard Brian say. He was apparently with the group that had thrown the wind sphere at our attackers.

“What’s wrong with Rick?” I asked him.

Brian frowned. “I think he was nervous. I know one of the healers gave him something to drink to calm his nerves. I think he drank a little too much…”

Aida swerved as another explosive spell landed on my shield somewhere to my left. Brian and his group disappeared in a flurry of wings as everyone flew away from the point of impact.

Ivan waved his mace overhead at the three gryphons attacking us. Although the defender’s shield was effective at blocking forward attacks, it apparently did not defend them from behind as the wind picked them up and swept around them trapping them in a funnel. As soon as the riders were dismounted, he released the spell and allowed the gryphons to swoop down to save their riders.

“This doesn’t seem safe at all,” I called out. As dangerous as the training seemed to be, I was still impressed at what was happening. The idea was that at all times, three gryphons moved together as a unit. Two would be on offense while one would be on defense. Each unit functioned like one mind. Each group moved together as though they had practiced together all their lives. I began to appreciate Aida even more, perfectly glad that she seemed to have trained for this kind of fighting.

“Well, it will be worse when you’re fighting someone that wants to kill you,” Rye said as she charged down an opponent with a large flying avatar of a eagle. Her opponent’s shield shimmered but held against the assault. The rider she was attacking hurled a fireball and blasted the avatar to oblivion but not before rebounding some of the flames within their shields. The group scattered and were taken down one at a time by other riders who saw their weakness.

An arcane bolt came from nowhere and exploded on my shield near Rye. The shield dissipated as the arcane magic spread. Rye’s gryphon swerved madly to the right and she flew away from Ivan and me as she swerved through the flying spells unprotected.

“Follow her,” Ivan said. Our gryphons twirled in midair leaving my stomach behind as we made our way towards Rye. She was now shimmering a shield around her as she attempted to block incoming spells.

I could see the blue shield around her flicker out. I saw a gryphon rider above her notice her predicament and he prepared to hurl a wind sphere at her. I thrust my hand outwards and a massive grey armored wall appeared between Rye and her unnoticed attacker. The wind sphere dissipated harmlessly against the wall. I waved sideward and the wall slammed with a loud shwaack against gryphon and rider alike and both were knocked down from the sky. The gryphon regained his bearings after awhile and flew after his rider who was falling down into the forest.

Rye spoke up when we caught up with her. “You weren’t supposed to do that,” she said seriously. For a moment, I thought she was about to lecture me. But then she suddenly laughed, “but I’m glad you did.”

We swerved through the hundreds of flyers still locked in combat. Most of the riders had already been knocked out of the fight but those still in combat were fighting ferociously. I saw Ivan replace his mace with another one. I presumed the first was completely drained. I on the other hand have been draining completely from my own stores. My mace was still in the holster on Aida’s back, unused and empty. My muscles were starting to ache and the distance at which I could see seemed to be lessening, as though a mist was falling on me. The fast movements were starting to give me a headache.

I was knocked out of my thoughts when a sudden chill filled me, as though magic was expanding around me and focusing into one powerful spell.

I looked around rapidly for the source. Rye and Ivan seemed oblivious to what was happening and their attentions were focused solely on taking out more opponents with blue helmets.

“Rye, something’s wrong,” I yelled over the noise.

“What?” she asked confused as her hands moved to fire more spells.

“I…” and then I felt it, even before I saw it – cruel eyes looking down upon me. I looked up and saw a lone rider flying down towards us. Shadows seemed to curl around his blue robes, something that should not have been happening given the cloudless sky. His face hidden within his helmet was aglow with green fire.

“No!” I yelled just as the rider released three arcane bolts in rapid succession. All three arcane bolts were headed straight towards me.

I could have tried dodging them but that would have mean that anyone behind me would have been defenseless. Rye and Ivan would no doubt have been in the arcane bolts’ path and I could not let them die, not like that.

I raised the strongest shield I could. I poured as much magic as I could into the shield and I felt it getting stronger as more magic flowed. My skin tingled as though hot needles were being pinned into the pores and I could feel my nose bleeding.

For the briefest moment, I felt small trickles of power coming from somewhere else other than from within. I felt another presence in my head.

Not Adam..., I heard a voice echo in my head. It was barely a whisper but I could hear it as though it was spoken straight into my ear.

Jacob?

I watched as the first two arcane bolts smashed one after the other on my shield, curling it to non-existence. As the third one approached, I knew then that it would kill me but I suddenly felt Jacob inside and his presence swelled into a green shield that raised itself in time to absorb the bolt. The air rocked with an immense explosion as the torrent of arcane energies spread seemingly creating a tiny storm overhead. As though the green shield did not agree with the arcane energies, the air flickered brightly and exploded. Scorching wind coursed through us as gryphons dashed madly away from the point of impact.

The green shield held for a second longer before it disappeared. I fell exhausted onto the back of Aida, the blood from my face staining her armor. I could feel her concern course through me. I heard a horn echoing in the distance.

“Oh my god,” I heard Rye say, her voice dripping with disbelief. She wasn’t speaking through my helmet but she was close enough that I could hear her voice despite the distance between us.

I looked up at our attacker. As numb as my body was feeling, I could not lie down at that very moment while our safety was in question. The lone rider that had hurled the arcane bolts was hovering midair over us. His face was curled in a look of anger, his eyes a menacing green. And I literally mean green. They were glowing a green fire which beneath the Aerophalanx helm was probably masked from everyone else except me who was looking straight at him.

I had seen those eyes before. Several times in fact. I had seen them outside the Seer’s cave while Jacob and I waited for Magister Aenhol and Javier to return. I had seen them in a vision shown to me outside Arantiva where Jacob was last seen. I had seen them in a dream where Jacob was drenched in fire seemingly trapped within a dark world.

Yes, I had seen those eyes and knew them far too well.

“Raezhul,” I muttered under my breath.

The man smiled. His exaggerated lips thinning as his features took an almost skeletal form, grinning at the edge of madness. Lord Raezhul looked down on me not with the undead face of Victor Cross but a man who was among us. An Aerophalanx. A citizen of Arantiva.

And then the green eyes were gone.

With the green light gone, I could see the man’s face clearer underneath the helmet. He didn’t look so much a man as a young adult barely broken out of his teenage years. He still had the mad smile on his face though he suddenly looked uncertain. His lips were twitching as though he was straining to keep up the smile. Then his brow furrowed as though he couldn’t understand why he was smiling.

The strained look on his face gave way to surprise as several gold chains that looked like they were made of pure sunlight hurled towards him and suddenly wrapped around his body, tightening by the second. He heaved as though unable to breath.

The gryphon on which the rider was on moved about restlessly as more gryphons surrounded us.

Suddenly, a mighty roar echoed and an eerie silence followed.

Sunlight blinded me and I wondered who placed the sun on my face. Then I realize that that couldn’t have happened – not without me burning to a crisp anyway. No, it wasn’t the sun. It was a golden gryphon.

“What… did you think… you were doing…” came Lady Helena’s deadly voice. She had always sounded nice to me, her voice often motherly and kind. However, nothing about her voice at that moment sounded, nice, motherly, or kind. In fact, she sounded downright beastly. It seemed in her arrival that the whole world had gone silent. Even the rider who having trouble breathing within the golden chains was unable to whimper even the slightest of moans.

Unlike the other Aerophalanx helms, Lady Helena’s headpiece was more a tiara than anything else. Bright white gemstones glittered across her face and thin metallic strips curled over her ears. Small gem-tipped slivers coursed over her ears like earpieces.

“I asked you… what you thought… you were doing…” she said. Again the world was so quiet, I would have thought I’d gone deaf after her question.

“My lady,” the rider gasped. “I didn’t.”

“Didn’t?” Lady Helena asked. I could feel the distinct hum of magic in the air as though a volley of spells were seconds away from being released from her fingertips. “Do you realize that you have just attempted the murder of an Aerophalanx under my watch?”

The rider started protesting. But between his ragged breathes and panicky voice, I could hardly understand what he was saying.

“Franz, is it not? Franz Mezmer?” Lady Helena asked. “Third Rank, Asst. Squad Leader, Garma Sqaud.”

The young man whose name must have been Franz looked pale white being addressed by his first name and full rank. He was probably so afraid, all he could do was nod.

“Can you explain to me why I personally saw you throw three arcane bolts at a fellow Aerophalanx, a recruit nonetheless? As an Asst. Squad Leader, I’m certain you would have understood that no shield could have defended against that attack and that the third bolt was certain to maim if not kill whoever it was aimed on.”

The man stuttered. “I… My Lady… I didn’t mean to…”

“You didn’t mean to…” Lady Helena echoed.

“My Lady… it wasn’t me…” he begged.

“Don’t lie to me!” Lady Helena yelled and a streak of lightning coursed through the cloudless sky. The others around us looked nervous. Franz had broken down into tears.

“I, Lady Helena, Mage Lord of the Aerophalanx, have a duty to ensure the safety of those who have sworn their life and allegiance to the Aerophalanx. Included in my powers is the capacity to pass judgment upon all prisoners of war and citizens caught at the act of insubordination or rebellion. This includes imprisonment and the sentence of death. If you have nothing more to say, then I shall pass judgment upon you.”

“It wasn’t me!” Franz yelled as his voice cracked and he began sobbing wildly. Apparently, the prospect of death was enough to break any silence caused by the restricting chains. Words spilled quickly out of his mouth before anyone could interrupt. “It was the voice! I couldn’t stop myself. I tried. I wanted to. I saw it happening but I was powerless to stop. I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t stop…” he broke down in wracking sobs.

“My Lady,” someone interrupted. Another gryphon came near with a blue-robed Aerophalanx riding. “If I may.”

“Squad Leader George,” Lady Helena said. The newcomer nodded. “What would you have?”

“My Lady,” George said. “I have known young Franz since he was a pup. I know his family as well. They are all loyal, law-abiding citizens of Arantiva. Franz has been an exemplary trainee nearly all his life, following rules, showing great promise with… the exception of what has happened today. I am inclined to believe that perhaps there is some other explanation for his actions today.”

“Are you willing to stake your reputation on this testimony?” Lady Helena asked. It seemed that she had some respect for this newcomer.

George nodded. “Yes, My Lady. Furthermore if I may add, as capable as a mage he is, arcane magic has never been one of his strengths. Even with the assistance of weapons, he could perhaps generate one or two that quickly. Three would have at the very least knocked him out if not killed him on the spot. I am quite certain of that.”

Lady Helena looked at George and frowned. “Are you suggesting that a… mage here has overwhelmed this man’s will and acted through him as a medium?” The pause was almost invisible but I heard it. The way she said mage suggested that she had another word in mind. “That kind of dark magic is forbidden and to suggest that there would be anyone here that practices such magic would be…” she seemed unable to finish her words as though the mere thought of it was overwhelming.

“I believe him,” I said in the silence that followed.

Every eye turned towards me. Even Franz whose shoulders were hunched in defeat looked at me.

“I believe him,” I said again as I tried to get up from my position on Aida’s back. Despite my efforts though, my arms gave way and I fell back onto her. She fluttered nervously beneath me as though afraid I might fall off. “I’d get up if I could but my arms don’t seem to want to work.”

“Adam…” Lady Helena said in a motherly voice, a stark contrast from her imperious voice moments ago. “What do you mean…?”

“Mother, what happened?” I heard Brian ask. He was coming up rapidly behind Lady Helena and was watching me carefully.

More gryphons were gathering around us. It was becoming apparent to the other flyers that something happened or was happening. Lady Helena looked at her son, then at the gryphons that were slowly growing in numbers around us, then finally at me. Her eyes focused on me for such a long time that I could tell she was trying to decide on something. Finally, she spoke. “Tiffany.” I had the urge to say no, my name is Adam.

Another golden gryphon flew alongside Lady Helena. Although it had the same markings as Lady Helena’s gryphon, it was clear that this gryphon was less regal in appearance. The rider, presumably Tiffany, was also wearing a tiara, also less regal than the Mage Lord’s. She had dark curly hair and a hard look on her face as though she was constantly wondering what the word smile meant. “Yes, My Lady?”

“You and Kiera are to escort Franz to The Hold where he shall be detained indefinitely. No one is to interrogate him or to visit him without my expressed permission.” She looked momentarily at George and then at me. “I will consult with the council on the best course of action. This is now a matter for the council to decide.”

Another golden gryphon flew beside Tiffany. Kiera was a sharp contrast to Tiffany. Her skin was almost pale white as though she wasn’t exposed to the sun enough. Her hair was blond and wavy. Her lips were curled slightly as though they were about to break a smile. She looked briefly at me and I got the feeling that although she looked much friendlier than Tiffany, she was far fiercer and perhaps deadlier in combat.

“Of course, my Lady,” Tiffany responded. She waved her hand towards the Franz and his gryphon began moving in between the two golden gryphons. Franz’ eyes were focused on mine and the message in them was clear. He was grateful that I had believed. I think that had made a whole world of difference for his predicament. Slowly, the three gryphons made their way back to the city.

“Mother…” Brian said again drawing our attention to him. His face was set in a frown and he clearly did not understand what was happening.

“I will explain it later,” she said as she once again looked at me. I could tell that something was going on in her mind. She was looking intently at me and I tried to decipher what her eyes were saying, but I suddenly felt overwhelmingly tired. It was as though Franz’ departure had drained the last bit of energy I had left. I could not focus on Lady Helena’s eyes as the world came in and out of focus. “Could you and Rye please make sure that Adam is taken immediately to the infirmary? Aero Ivan, you may return to your squad.”

Ivan nodded. I only realized then that he was still there, silently watching the event unfold. “My Lady, if there is anything I can do for the young Adam, please do not hesitate to ask. I think he may have just saved my life.”

Lady Helena looked over and nodded. “There is nothing you can do for him now. Let the Healers do their work. I need you to return to your squad. I still have a few announcements to make.”

Aida started descending and I saw Brian and Rye at my sides. We travelled without speaking. The two siblings watched me closely as though I was a frail object that might break at any moment. In the silence, I realized how quietly gryphons could fly. Though their massive wings beat mightily against the wind, there was hardly a sound being made. I wondered privately if some magic was at work with their wings.

Green-clad Aerophalanxes watched our descent into the city. Call me paranoid but I think each and every one of them was watching us, or rather me.

Aida gently floated down through the massive hole on top of the aviary. As soon as we touched down, I noticed two people standing next to Aida. One had a long grey and white beard streaming down his chest. Another was wearing a white gown over her dress and a cap that looked slightly off center.

“You seem to get into all sorts of troubles nowadays, Mr. Lowry,” Healer Cotier said. “And despite having dozens of other healers in this building, I seem to always end up with the task of cleaning you up.”

“At least he hasn’t asked you to give him a bath,” Magister Aenhol offered.

She huffed and with a wave I felt myself floating off Aida. I felt myself being rotated midair and I landed on a soft stretcher similar to the one Jacob had used to bring me back to the room before. Aida moved out of the way and Brian landed in with Annabel.

“Magister Aenhol,” Brian said with surprise as he looked at the older man. “I didn’t realize you were aware of what was happening outside.”

“Oh no,” he said with a chuckle. “I just happened to have been standing at this very spot right here, when you arrived.”

Rye flew in from overhead and landed next to Brian’s gryphon. She quickly dismounted and ran over to me. Brian dismounted Anny and whispered something to her. She screeched and within moments, the three gryphons flew back to their compartments.

“How are you feeling, dear?” Healer Cotier asked as she waved her hand over different parts of my body.

“A little tired,” I said. “I’m feeling a lot better now though than I did earlier.”

“Your body is strained,” she said. “You’ve been using too much magic. Any more and you would have lost consciousness, if not worse.”

“A mage threw three arcane bolts at him,” Rye said quickly as though someone had asked her what happened. It was clear she wanted to discuss this matter and just couldn’t do so earlier, perhaps due to her mother’s arrival.

Healer Cotier looked over Rye and without batting an eyelash stated, “you must be mistaken dear. If that was the case, I’d be looking over a corpse right now.”

“I assure you madam,” Rye said. “I am not mistaken.”

“Last I checked I wasn’t a corpse either,” I offered.

Healer Cotier looked me over as though she wanted to check that for herself. “Well, aren’t you full of surprises, Mr. Lowry?”

“He is indeed,” Magister Aenhol said. I looked over at him wondering what he was thinking. It was only when our eyes met that I realized that I was dying to ask him something.

“Sir, where’s…”

“I think you should get him into the infirmary,” Magister Aenhol said rather loudly, almost as a shout. The others looked at him as though he had gone crazy. “A few elixirs to return his strength would do him well and perhaps plenty of rest, don’t you think?” he asked Healer Cotier.

For a moment Healer Cotier looked flustered and then quickly began straightening her white gown down as though Magister Aenhol had just rudely rumpled it. “Yes, I suppose that would be best.” She waved her hand and the stretcher floated down the hall towards the door.

“I’m glad to see you are alright Adam,” he said quietly as the stretcher curved slightly as it descended the steps. “But as you can imagine I have things that I need to take care of and I should get back to them.”

“When can I see Jacob?” I asked quickly before he could leave. He had been avoiding me, I was sure and I wasn’t going to let this one opportunity to speak to him go by without at least something.

“Very soon, Adam,” he said. “I promise.”

I looked into his eyes and could see sincerity in them. As much as I was angry at him for keeping me in the dark with what was happening to Jacob, I felt too tired to really argue. I nodded, hoping that very soon was really, really soon. Rye was giving me a curious look and Brian was looking towards the wall as though he was seeing something interesting etched on it.

“Sir,” I said. “There’s something else. It’s… Victor.” I wasn’t sure if Brian, Rye, or Healer Cotier was familiar with the name Lord Raezhul and I didn’t want them to start speculating on things until I myself understood what was happening. So, I used the other name he was probably less known for.

At this, Magister Aenhol’s eyes hardened. “What about Victor?”

“I think, no, I know he was there.” By that point, even Brian had abandoned all pretense of finding the wall interesting. He and Rye were listening intently. Only Healer Cotier who was walking a little ahead either didn’t hear or wasn’t interested.

Magister Aenhol was quiet for awhile while we looked at each other. Finally he said, “you should get plenty of rest. I will go speak to Lady Helena when she returns.” He then gave Rye and Brian pointed looks that clearly said do not discuss this.

As we reached the infirmary, Magister Aenhol said his goodbyes and left. Healer Cotier had me placed on the now familiar bed and gave me several potions to drink. They felt revitalizing. As soon as the potions were done, she said I needed to rest. Recovery from magical exhaustion could last a few hours to a day, more if the body was damaged which in my case wasn’t. She reminded me though that the potion only hastened my body’s recovery from its use of magic but did not provide me with additional magic to use. I was advised not to strain myself until I was fully rested with a good night’s sleep. She left after that and I was left in the room with Brian and Rye who were on either side of my bed.

“What’s going to happen to that guy that attacked me earlier? Is your mom really going to have him executed?” I asked.

“Probably not,” Brian said. Rye had filled him in on what had happened while Healer Cotier was giving me instructions. “You know my mom. She’s a good person inside. She’s used that threat a few times on uncooperative subordinates, particularly her children,” he chuckled. “As far as I’m concerned though, he deserves at least imprisonment. I’m not sure how that’s going to work though. A very notable member of the Aerophalanx and of the city gave testimony to his good nature.”

“What were they talking about though?” Rye asked. “Dark magic? Overcoming the will?” She then looked at me. “You know what they were talking about, don’t you Adam?” She then leaned in conspiratorially, “who’s Victor?”

I was spared from answering when Brian spoke. “Sis, Magister Aenhol…” and then let it hang in the air.

She shook her head. “Okay, fine. But you can’t say you’re not the tiniest bit curious about what happened up there. He could have killed Adam.”

Brian suddenly smiled. That didn’t make me feel any better. “But, he didn’t,” he said. “Adam must be a really powerful mage to have shielded himself against so much arcane magic.” While he said this, he was looking only at his sister.

Rye’s eyes suddenly widened as an unspoken understanding passed between the two siblings. Brian’s smile grew even wider while Rye steadily looked more uncomfortable.

“Wait, what’s going on here?” I asked. “Is arcane magic really that strong?”

“It’s a dangerous and destructive branch of magic,” Brian said happily as though we were talking about cute and cuddly animals. “It behaves by rapidly disassembling whatever it comes into contact with. That’s why they make excellent shield breakers because an arcane bolt could easily shatter a shield, even a really powerful one. Arcane magic takes a lot out of a mage’s powers though and using them frequently could easily and quickly get you drained. Haphazard use of it actually gets a lot of mages killed. In fact, I think more people have died attempting to use arcane spells than any other branch of magic. It is difficult to master and perhaps even more difficult to defend against. You’re probably one of a handful of people that can block three arcane bolts at once in this city.”

“How did you create two shields with separate energy sources?” Rye asked quietly.

“What?” I asked not understanding the question.

“You made two shields,” she said. “I saw a blue one and a green one. Normally, a mage can create several shields at once but they all share the same energy source from the mage. When you manage to destroy one shield, the others will flicker out as well. The mage would have to draw more magic to re-summon a shield. It would take at least a few second before he could get a second shield powered up to block anything strong. Yours though was almost instant as though you had two sources of power making two separate shields.”

“That’s just not possible,” Brian said before I could make any response. “Maybe someone else made the second shield while you weren’t looking. Ivan could have made it.”

Rye shook her head. “No. Neither of us were paying attention.” She sounded guilty. “I’m sorry, Adam. I should have been looking more carefully.”

“It’s okay,” I said, “I don’t think anyone could have know what would happen. And… I have no idea how I did what I did. I can’t explain it. I wish I could but I can’t.” That was partly true. I knew Jacob had something to do with it but as to how things had happened as they did, I had no answers.

Brian sighed. “May as well. But whatever it is, I’m glad you’re on our side. It’s good to finally discover who this powerful mage is,” he looked excitedly at me. I could see Rye glaring at him.

“Powerful mage?” I asked.

“It’s nothing,” Rye interrupted, a pleading look on her face directed towards her brother.

Clearly they were something. I looked over at Brian. “Brian?”

“There are rumors going around,” he said quickly as though eager to discuss the topic. “Rye overheard our mom talking about it. Apparently someone had a prophecy about…” he suddenly arched his arm inwards and covered his left bicep with his right hand. “Oww!” he yelled as he glared daggers at Rye.

“Did you just do something to him?” I asked her.

“She pinched me!” Brian yelled indignantly, something I found funny considering they were sitting on opposite sides of the bed I was on.

“I’ll do more than that if you don’t shut up,” she said.

“Wait. What’s with these rumors. And why can’t I know?”

“Yeah. Why can’t he know?” Brian whined. I realized that if one person could push him around, it was his sister.

Rye looked uncertainly at me then at Brian. She looked back at me and our eyes met. I could tell she was hiding something. It was about some detail that had apparently not reached Brian’s ears – something about how it all ended.

“You didn’t tell him everything,” I said to her. “You didn’t say what will happen to the mage he is talking about.”

Rye looked shocked at my pronouncement. “What? How did you…?”

“Wait,” Brian interrupted with a voice that suddenly sounded angry. “You didn’t tell me what? You’ve been keeping secrets from me?”

Rye suddenly seemed to shrink in her seat. “Brian, it’s not that I want to keep anything from you. It’s just…” she shook her head and stopped talking.

“Just what?” Brian asked. He was clearly angry. “If this information helps in this war, then why won’t you tell me? You know that mom has been looking for the mage in the prophecy. And besides, you’re my twin! I thought we shared everything?”

Rye looked terribly sad and I was afraid she was going to cry at any moment. “Remember what Magister Aenhol says about telling other people your prophecies…”

“But it’s not your prophecy,” Brian interrupted. “You heard it from mom who probably heard it from someone else. We don’t even know whose prophecy it is other than the fact that it came from the Seer.”

“You could get the wrong idea. I never should have told you about that,” she said as she once again shook her head.

I placed her hand in mine. She was resting hers on my bed which made it easy to grasp them. “Please Rye. If it involves me then I should know.”

“The prophecy is really old,” she said “For all we know, it could have changed by now. Even if it hasn’t, we don’t even know if the prophecy is referring to you.”

“Oh come on,” Brian said. I rarely saw him being irritable but this issue seemed to spark a nerve with him. “A mage with powers unlike any other, from faraway lands he comes, he alone has the power… THAT powerful mage is lying down in front of you. You saw what happened today. And I’ve seen all the amazing things Adam can do in training. Besides, how many other mages here do you know came from a faraway land. Who else could it be?”

“I hope it’s not you, Adam,” she whispered.

“Why not?” Brian asked in shock. It was clear that he could not comprehend why she wasn’t as happy as him. But I knew. Looking at Rye’s eyes, I knew and I understood.

“Because the one who saves Arantiva,” I guessed, “will die saving it.”

Rye gave a sad smile and I knew I was right. For once, Brian didn’t seem to have any words.

I’ve never really thought about death. I mean when I was nine and my throat was about to get sliced open back in the village, I welcomed death. It seemed like a wonderful escape to the life I was living in the village. I didn’t realize then that I could live a wonderful life elsewhere with other people in other circumstances. In that moment though, that life seemed to be coming to a close.

“What do you mean?” Brian asked, his voice barely a whisper.

“There’s more,” she said, her voice unnaturally loud in the quiet. “A mage with powers unlike any other, from faraway lands he comes, he alone has the power, to give his life to save your lands. I’m so sorry, Adam.”

“No!” Brian yelled angrily. “No, fucking no!” He stood up and clenched his fist as though he was going to punch someone. “No! No! No way!” he yelled as he started pacing the space in between the beds.

“That’s why I didn’t tell you Bri,” Rye said desperately, her eyes glistening. “I was afraid it would affect you like this. I know how you feel about Adam.”

“No!” Brian yelled again. “You’re wrong. It can’t be this way. There must be…” he broke off whatever he was going to say. He looked out the window as his voice cracked.

“Brian,” I said softly. There were so many things I wanted to talk to him about. His feelings about me for one thing but it obviously wasn’t the time to discuss that, especially with his sister there. “It’s alright. If it’s me that this rumor… this prophecy… is talking about then at least we know we can win this. That’s what the prophecy is saying right? Arantiva can be saved.”

Brian looked back at me and I could see fresh tear stains down his cheeks. It was only the second time I’d seen him cry. The first was when I told him about my love for Jacob in that hidden cavern beneath the city. Seeing him like that again made me sad. I too wanted to cry. “No,” he said softly, “not at that price.”

Our eyes met and I could see a whole range of emotions course through his. He felt angry, sad, and confused at the same time. I could also see regret and indecision floating around there. Most surprising was that for the first time, I saw that he did sincerely and deeply love me. That emotion was shining brighter than anything else. He loved me so much that it was causing him pain far beyond the emotional level. It was as though his mind and body couldn’t agree and were forced to fight each. The indecision and the restraint was taking its toll, manifesting itself as physical pain. It was hurting him to love me so much.

He shook his head. “No… please no…” he said softly before he walked out of the room and disappeared down the hall.