The Magi

It was as the sun came up over the mountain that the horses slowed to a walk.

“The trail should be coming up soon,” Qwyxl muttered.

Kharna’s anxiety had been growing throughout the long night ride. She was wondering what the Magi would be like, what they would think of her. She had been wondering something else too.

“Qwyxl, if my father were Driary, not King Sirenze, I wouldn’t have royal blood at all, so…”

“We have done some tracing, Driary’s last name, Nott, is an ancient royal name, way way back. This is what is making me suspect more and more that Driary was your father, not King Sirenze. Your necklace bears an ancient royal symbol, and he had ancient royal blood. It makes sense, you see? There is still, however, the possibility that it might be the other way. So, you have royal blood on either side. Interesting,” he added as an afterthought. “Your mother must have had a taste for royalty.”

Kharna smiled weakly. She wondered what she should think of her mother. Was she a tramp? Or was she just a woman blinded by love? She shook her head. She could only remember her mother acting normally through distant memory. She might never know what her life was like.

They had been riding along a dirt trail all night. The summer trees were waving them on. Qwyxl had brought a horse for her, and something else.

“Here,” he had said handing her a short sword, “just in case.”

The metal had felt clumsy in her hands; she had turned it over looking it up and down.

“Well go on, sheath it in your saddle.” She had slipped it into the metal pouch built into the horse’s saddle, now she could feel its hilt below her leg.

She hoped she wouldn’t be needing it.

“Ah, turn here,” Qwyxl said. He turned his horse into a small trail almost completely hidden by a large rock and some weeds, and she followed. It was no sooner that Kharna had turned her horse into the small path that Qwyxl stopped. He unsheathed his sword.

“Stay here.” He growled as he slipped off his horse. With his head out of the way Kharna could see what had made him so nervous. A young man, who looked no older than she did, was lying unconscious on the ground. His shirt was a kind of thin chain mesh, it hardly looked metal at all, but it did give off the impression that he was some kind of knight. There were scratches up and down his forearms, some even on his face, running right up to his auburn hair.

“Oh!” She exclaimed as she got off her horse. She ran to his side. “He’s hurt!” She said touching his arm.

“Kharna, get back!” Snapped Qwyxl as his pointed nose sniffed the air. Kharna stood up as Qwyxl kneeled down next to the young man. “He’s definitely alone.” Then Qwyxl seized him by the shoulders, and rolled him over onto his back. The scratches didn’t seem quiet as bad as they had first appeared.

“What should we do?” Kharna asked looking down at Qwyxl. But Qwyxl was already busily rummaging through his robes. He took out a tiny vile of thick purple liquid. He poured two drops of the liquid into the young man’s mouth, and sat back on his heals waiting.

Suddenly the young man’s eyelids flickered and opened. He sat up so fast that both Kharna and Qwyxl jumped back.

“Where are they?!” He exclaimed looking wildly around. He tried to get to his feet.

“Calm yourself man!” Qwyxl roared, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Where are they?” he asked turning to Qwyxl. “Where am I? Who are you?”

“Where are who?”

“The—the Sirens!”

Qwyxl looked alarmed. “The Siren’s, where, where are they?”

“I think it was a long way away. I was traveling with my family and they attacked us, I only just got away. They chased me for a long time. I just rode and rode…”

“You’re horse probably got away from you,” said Kharna, examining a large bloody bump near his temple.

“Where am I?” He repeated.

“We are just off of Kent road, at the feet of the Heries Mountains.” “But I was—wow, I must have ridden a long way.”

There was a slightly uncomfortable pause.

“Can you walk?” Qwyxl asked. The young man pulled himself up to his feet. “Good then, you are coming with us.” Qwyxl got back on his horse.

“I—what?” The young man looked surprised. “I don’t even know who you are, or where you’re going.”

“Yeah, Qwyxl, why should he come?”

“Because he knows of us. He may tell the first person he sees about us. I can’t risk having the Sirens find out about us.” He looked over at the young man, and raised his sword. “You could resist, but it would go easier if you don’t.”

The young man still looked stubborn. He looked about ready to accept Qwyxl’s challenge, but she didn’t want either of them hurt.

“Come, we will help you.” She said. “We will tend to those wounds,” her eyes flicked to his forehead. “You can’t stay here alone with no weapon and no food.”

His expression softened. “Where are you going?” He asked.

“To Bristle,” said Qwyxl shortly.

“Bristle, wow, that place really exists?” He looked amazed.

“Of course it does,” Qwyxl snapped, as if he didn’t have time for such idle nonsense. “What is your name?”

The young man paused for only a tiny instant, but Kharna caught it. “My name is Peter Smock.”

“Well Pete,” said Qwyxl, “I hope you can walk, we don’t have a third horse.”

And with that they set off. Kharna noticed the way the young man walked. He didn’t creep along, or walk jaunty and proud. It was more like a walk of awareness. She stayed wary of him; she wouldn’t trust someone who would conceal their real name.

* * *

Kharna noticed that a mist seemed to be rising from the earth. It had rained on them the night before and now the hot air was making steaming clouds rise from the ground. There seemed to be a whispering coming from the tress. The mist was getting thicker, and soon they emerged from the forest onto a short plain, at the end of which was an immense rocky outcropping over which water was thundering down. It seemed to be much louder on the plain, she wondered why she hadn’t noticed the noise in the forest.

They rode right up to the base of the falls. Qwyxl hopped off his horse, she followed suit, and they proceeded to climb up a slippery, rocky trail. It led them about halfway up the waterfall. Finally they were standing on a large rock that jutted out in front of the falls. She had to squint through the watery spray.

“Qwyxl, what—” But then her jaw dropped. Qwyxl had taken a step off the rock towards the falling water. But instead of falling he was standing on what appeared to be thin air. He walked straight out to the middle of the falls, all on air, and came back wearing an expression that suggested he had done nothing more interesting than scratch his ear.

“Come on!” He shouted over the noise of the falls.

She looked back at Peter. He looked as puzzled as she did. So she took a deep breath and stepped off the rock. She did not fall, as she expected, but was standing on what seemed like clear solid ground. Qwyxl grabbed her arm and led her out to where he had been standing. The crashing of the falls was deafening.

Her jaw dropped yet again. Qwyxl had walked straight forward into the falls. The crashing water had enveloped him, and then he was gone. She waited for a moment, then looked at Peter. He gave her a quizzical look back. She stepped toward the falls. Any second the crashing water would fall on her head. She stepped right into the rushing water, but she did not get beaten into a waterlogged pulp. Instead what she felt was quite remarkable. The deafening roar of water had become quiet, and the water felt like silk slipping over her. She emerged through the water into a large stone cavern. As she walked into the dimly lit space she quickly realized that she was not wet, indeed she felt more dry than she had on the rocks. She walked slowly into the cavern, she thought she could make out Qwyxl at the other end, standing near a staircase. She turned around as Peter emerged from the waterfall. He looked around as well, an awed expression on his face.

“Come,” said Qwyxl, turning to stride up the staircase. They hurried behind him, and began to climb the innumerable amount of stairs. Kharna noticed that while the first steps were only roughly chopped out of stone, they were becoming finer and more beautiful with every step she took. They were now walking on polished marble stairs. It seemed to take ages.

It was just as the sound of trickling water reached Kharna’s ears that they reached the top. They emerged into a breathtaking room. It was enormous, its ceiling seemed miles away, and every inch of it was made of gleaming marble. Waterfalls rimmed the room, falling from the ceiling straight through large slots in the floor. The room seemed to be flooded with a magical kind of light. And in the center of the room stood an immense stone table, covered with carvings of ancient symbols she couldn’t read. Standing around this table were six people.

“I do hope we didn’t keep you waiting,” said Qwyxl comfortably. But none of them were listening to him very well, their eyes were all fixed on Kharna. Qwyxl smiled. “I see you cannot be distracted. This is Kharna.” He gave her a small push in the back, and she stepped forward.

“Hello,” she said feeling very small. All of the council members looked slightly imposing. Especially one of them with wild shaggy black hair.

“Welcome, Kharna, to Bristle. This is the meeting place of the Magi. It has been for centuries, ever since the rightful council of Atlas was driven from the castle. Qwyxl has contacted us, he has told us that you have been very sheltered from the politics going on in the country. One of the greatest councils Atlas has ever seen was driven from the castle by evil forces many years ago. We are the descendants of that council. Allow us to introduce ourselves. I am Magus Syrsir. I will be your Council on Palace Affairs.” Said the oldest of all the Magi. She was a wise looking woman with slightly graying hair.

At first Kharna thought that ‘Magus’ was her first name, but then the man next to her spoke up.

“I am Magus Ch’Nakk.” Kharna nodded as her eyes traveled over his long brown hair. “I will be your Council on Resources.”

Kharna began to realize that Magus must have been their title for being a Magi.

“Magus Qoren.” Spoke a beautiful woman with long curly hair and curiously huge eyes. “I will be your Council on Mages.”

“Pleased to meet you.” Said a handsome man reaching over to shake her hand. “I’m Magus Nuniver, I’ll be your Council on Common Good.”

“Magus Saykin, Council on Law.” Smiled a woman with striking dark hair and eyes.

“And I am Magus Wirebeth.” Growled the man with long wild hair. “Council on War.”

Kharna wasn’t sure what she should say to them. She still felt slightly nervous, they all seemed so tall and impressive. Finally she settled on: “Well, I’m Kharna Ziralla, but I’m sure you already knew that.” She was surprised to see that most of the Magi smiled at her. “So is ‘Magus’ your title or what?” She asked nervously.

“Yes, that’s right,” smiled Magus Syrsir.

“I’ve had that title so long I hardly notice I use it anymore.” Commented Magus Saykin. She tucked her long hair behind her ears. “You can call me Tristina though.” She said to Kharna. Kharna felt some of her tension ease away.

“To business,” said Magus Syrsir, sitting down in one of the large stone chairs that had appeared. “We need to finalize the plan. Kharna, you have just joined us, so I will summarize for you what we have been discussing. We are headed to Ibera, the capital, to overthrow the throne. We are planning on having you as our Queen. It will be difficult, I am warning you, but if you want the throne as much as we do you can work through it. You have a lot to learn.” Kharna could tell this woman was very strict.

“Don’t worry, I am ready for a challenge.” Said Kharna, surprising herself with how strong she sounded.

“Good then,” Magus Syrsir continued. “As you know the city and the castle are both well guarded, but we are finalizing a plan to get in. There are many black market trails and passages we can use to get around the royal guard. We have many supporters in the capital city. They will help us get into the castle. The day after the Prince was slain was supposed to be the day that King Sirenze gave him the throne. So, we can tell that the King is definitely looking for someone to inherit the throne. He is tired of his reign. The plan, as of now, is that we are going to go into the castle and convince King Sirenze that he should bequeath his throne to you, his true heir.”

“There has been a problem Brinah,” Magus Nuniver broke in. “We’ve just heard, King Sirenze has sent for his nephew, Zachariah Moon, to become king. The king has chosen another heir.” He said reading a small sparkling piece of paper that had just appeared in his hands. No one but Kharna seemed to find this amazing.

“The King has a nephew?” Tristina inquired.

“Well, not by blood, he has a nephew by marriage. His sister married Zachariah’s father recently.” Nuniver replied.

“I wonder what Uriel would think of that.” Growled Magus Wirebeth. “Who is Uriel?” Asked Kharna.

“Uriel Demeter is the current Council on War. If the King were to die while in possession of the throne and without an heir, the kingdom would then belong to Uriel. This would only happen if the King had no heirs. It is widely known that Uriel wants to be King, so it would not be surprising if he wanted to get ride of Zachariah.” Replied Wirebeth.

“Speaking of Uriel,” broke in Qwyxl. “There has been word of the Sirens.” There was an uproar at his words.

“The Sirens? Where?”

“Do they know of us?”

“Have they discovered our plan?”

“No, no,” Said Qwyxl shaking his head. “This is the reason I brought young Peter here with us. We found him at the beginning of Bristle Path. He was unconscious. He says he was traveling with his family a long way away and got attacked by the Sirens. He managed to escape and they chased him for a long ways. We think his horse collapsed at the beginning of the trail. This does not mean that the Sirens have heard of us, it may only mean that Uriel is suspicious of foul play, or it might mean he is in a particularly foul mood.” The Magi still looked worried.

“Is this true boy?” Rumbled Wirebeth.

Peter nodded. “I’m not sure why they attacked us,” he added.

“Was anyone in your party a person of high importance?” Inquired Magus Qoren.

Peter shook his head.

“Well, it probably isn’t of much importance to our plan. He probably was just in vindictive mood.” Magus Ch’Nakk muttered.

“While all of this is true we cannot ignore the fact that the king has chosen another heir. This could be much more difficult than we first imagined.” Nuniver said, his brow furrowed. By the looks on the others faces they seemed to be thinking the same thing.

“We must use force then.” Priya spoke strongly. “Come on, we can’t stop at the first obstacle. Asher could help us. There are many loyal to us at the castle, let us use that! We will slay the king and his council and take Atlas under our wings.”

Kharna felt strangely relieved as looks of resolution and determination began to filter back into the faces of the Magi.

“All right then, we should probably contact Asher with the new plan.” Muttered Syrsir. She reached into her pocket and extracted a small bit of parchment and began writing quickly on it.

“Who is Asher?” Asked Kharna, wishing more and more that she new the people that they kept referring to.

“Asher is the head Mage at the castle in Ibera. He is our strongest supporter, and the biggest help in getting us to the throne.” Tristina replied.

“That should do it.” Muttered Brinah as she lay down her quill. She reached into her robes and pulled out a kind of sparkly powder and sprinkled it on the parchment. The parchment vanished with a small pop, leaving a trace of the sparkles behind.

“What did you tell him?” Asked Tristina

“Just that we had heard of Zachariah, and the plan will be more difficult because we will need to use force.” She cleared her throat, and continued. “We are going to need some supplies before going into the castle. We will need a map of the black market trails, for sure, and Kharna needs to choose her weapon. I think we will be able to find these—“

“At Artemisia.” Interrupted Nuniver.

“Pardon me?”

“The Artemisia Bazaar is being held in a few days. I would like to attend it, as it may be the last time I can go to it.”

“Don’t you think that is slightly dangerous,” Syrsir asked, raising her eyebrows.

“It might be, but there will be so many people there, I doubt anyone will pay much attention to us if we keep a low profile.” Growled Shyr. “I think it is a good idea, it may be the last bazaar any of us go to for a long time.”

“We will have a vote,” said Syrsir, with a stern look around at them all. “All in favor of traveling to Artemisia for the Bazaar and for supplies before we head to Ibera say aye.” They quickly held a vote, there were an overwhelming amount of positive votes. “All right then, we will travel to Artemisia first.” Said Syrsir, looking disapproving.

Kharna felt amazed. She was actually going to see the Artemisia Bazaar. It was a world renowned festival, she had even heard of it. She was running her fingertips over the surface of the stone table, she could feel the engravings beneath her fingers. Suddenly her fingers stopped, as if they were stuck, and she looked down. Her fingers were stuck to a symbol on the table, but what was even more amazing was that a kind of magic gold was pouring out of the table around her fingers. As it oozed stickily from the table her heart began to pound with worry. Were the others seeing this. Had she done something wrong to make the table bleed gold?

The table must have originally been plated with gold because as the magic gold poured from the symbol it shaped itself and hardened on the table to make it look like new. There were still engravings on the table, now they shone through the gold. Gems even popped up in a few places. The gold finally stopped coming out of the table, and she was able to lift her fingers. The entire table was now plated with gold, shining like new. She looked down at the symbol her fingers had been stuck to. Her jaw dropped, it was the same as the one on her necklace. The table glinted in the magic light, and she looked up to find six mouths hanging open in front of her.

“What was that symbol you had your fingers on?” Asked Ch’Nakk, coming over to her side of the table.

“That one, there.” She looked at her fingers, they had no gold on them.

“That is an ancient royal symbol.” He muttered examining it.

“I know, it’s just like the one on my necklace.” He now straightened up to look at her necklace.

“This isn’t the symbol of the Sirenze era.” He said looking at Qwyxl.

“Let me see that.” Said Qoren, rushing forward. She examined Kharna’s necklace closely. “I have been studying royal symbols for years.” She looked up at Kharna, her huge eyes seemed even more wide. “This is the symbol of the Nott era. Do you know what that means?” She asked her softly.

“It means my father is Driary, not King Sirenze.” She whispered. Suddenly she felt warmer inside. She was glad she was not related to the king. After all, who would want to be related to such an evil man?

“But, Priya, doesn’t that mean she is not the true heir to the throne?” Nuniver asked Qoren tentatively.

“No, it means that she is the true heir. Think of it, we are descendants of the ancient council of Atlas. But do you remember what era our ancestors were in? It was the Nott era! This is truly a sign. We were meant to come together and lead this nation back to greatness.”

“But wait, I can’t even remember where or when I got this necklace, it might not be a sign to my past at all.” Kharna said anxiously.

“Every member born into the royal family is given a necklace that looks like this. Only members of the royal family that are in possession of the throne that is.” Priya explained. “The necklace they give the royals is what we call Carvable, that is, they fit a plain black metal pendant on you when you are a child, and the royal symbol appears there by magic.”

Kharna wondered why she had never thought about this kind of thing before. She had worn the necklace her whole life and never once bothered to try to find out what the symbol meant. She had always wondered where she had got it, but she never thought the engraving meant much. She had wondered about her past her whole life, and the key to all the answers she needed was just hanging around her neck.

“Very well, I think we should begin our journey.” Said Syrsir, standing up.

They all followed her to the door, everyone in high spirits. Kharna got one last look at the room, the waterfalls, and the now golden table. Then she turned to see Peter looking nervous and apprehensive beside her.

Chapter Four!